Mid-Range Game 8: Highborn Intrigue

[Renegade he/him]

I totally planned that. 

 

Anyway, the Day is now over!  The write-up will be coming sooner or later, but you may now not use your PMs (until Day 2).  The Conspirator Doc will also be opened shortly for the Conspirators to conspire in.

[RippleGylf she/her]

The cycle should be over soon, right?

[Haelbarde he/him]

The cycle should be over soon, right?

Soon as in 2 minutes before your question even!

[Renegade he/him]

Night 2: An Executed Plan

After Dalinar’s declaration, the solemn partygoers began discussing and chattering to each other nervously, in the light of the morning.  The feasting basin had been drained, and all of them stood within, servants cleaning up the last scraps of food from the tables.

“Conspirators?” Leyton asked.  “Seems pretty suspicious…”

“I’m just trying to get out of here alive,” Merilee Kavdar spoke, then immediately shied away.

“Trying to get out of here?” Klanal asked, lifting up his hat and scratching his head.  “Perhaps you put the poison in Galad’s drink, then.”

Merilee paled, and turned away.

“I agree,” Resha said.  “Perhaps she doesn’t wish to show her face to us because she’s afraid it will reveal the truth.”

“Liar!” Cleo shouted, pointing a dagger at Resha.

Resha blinked, widening her eyes at the dagger.  “Liar… what do you mean?  That doesn’t make any sense!”

Cleo just shrugged and went back to sharpening her knives.

“Perhaps we should all just remain calm,” Orlok said, trying to remain composed.  “Let us not forget that there was an accusation made against Brightness Katara.”

Mallan shrugged, pointing at a random person who wasn’t Brightness Katara.  “She’s always suspicious.  Too young…”

The arguments and conversation went on throughout the course of the day, until, by evening, the nobles realized that they’d need to come to a conclusion.

“Alright,” Arilir grumbled, “I think we are all in agreement that Badhab Eony has been up to…”

“We are not in agreement!” Badhab protested.  “What have I even done?”

“You delivered a blight upon our land!” Mallan shouted, then considered.  “Or maybe that was someone else.”

“Gentlemen,” Wannan said.  “We are focusing on the wrong issue.  We should not condone those who have been fervently in the discussion of this execution; we should be focusing on those who haven’t been participating.  Namely, Brightlord Seixa.”

“Seixa?” Leyton asked.  “Where’d he even end up at?”

-----

Seixa couldn’t really remember much of what happened the last night.  Was there a lot of punching involved?  Because when he finally woke up, he discovered a horde of angry faces hovering above him.

“I, um… woah, what’s going on?” Seixa muttered.

“He’s awake!” someone gasped.

“Well, obviously,” another voice said.

“Well don’t just stand there like a bunch of chulls,” another voice shouted vehemently.  “Get ‘im!”

Seixa still could not fathom what was going on, but he ended up being forcefully thrown to his feet, and pushed towards some location that he could not see, due to the large number of people clustered around him.  Someone appeared to be leading the mob, shouting, but he couldn’t see who he was.  In fact, his vision was so blurry now that he couldn’t really see much of anything.

Though, if the one part of his brain that was still awake was correct, then what he was seeing now would possibly be the last of what he saw.  Possibly.

The crowd suddenly parted, revealing a wooden platform, and atop it, a large, muscular man carrying a heavy sword.  Not a Shardblade, but big enough that it could almost be confused for one.  I don’t think this is good, Seixa noted to himself.

“My name is Rengar,” the sword-carrying man said.  By the sound of his voice, he seemed to be the man who was leading the mob.  “Distributor of justice!  Protector of righteousness!  Magistrate of honor!”  The man cackled eerily.  “I have been through the horror of Sadeas’ bridge crews, and I know that the vile man is behind this plot!  I will see vengeance for all those who have been murdered at his corrupt hands!  Send the man forward!”

The crowd violently pushed Seixa forth, causing him to tumble onto the platform.  Seixa gulped, nervously looking at the giant man above him.  Alright, don’t panic, Seixa thought.  Use your training.  Your words should be able to get you out of here.

Seixa opened his mouth, but was hauled up by his hair, and only ended up letting out a screech.  The sword-carrying man swung back his sword, and Seixa saw a madness in the man’s eyes that chilled him to the bone.  No matter what his training as a Worldsinger taught him, he couldn’t stop this man with a story.  He was as good as dead.

Rengar swung the enormous blade, and Seixa’s head fell from his shoulders.

The first execution had come.

---

Vote Tally
Seixa (5): Wannan, Merilee Kavdar, Leyton, Efrihm, Owain
Merilee Kavdar (3): Resha, Klanal, Mortago
Badhab Eony (2): Arilir, Mallan
Katara (1): Night Vote
Leyton (1): Orlok
Nivina Odict (1): Draela Heb
Resha (1): Cleo

Seixa was executed!  He was a Noble Worldsinger!

Night 2 has begun!  The turn will end in just over 23 hours.

(Also, I will update my sig with the player list in a minute or so.)  Good luck!

Edited October 28, 2016 by Alvron

[Haelbarde he/him]

My vote tally was:

Tally:

Phattemer(5): Hero, RippleGylf, Alvom, Stink, Lopen
Ripplegylf(3): Clanky, Raven, sart
Honey Badger(2): Mailliw, Araris 
Wilson(1): Nobles
Stink(1): Orlok
Shallan(1): Haelbarde
Raven(1): Winter Cloud

 

Which lines up with what we got. So no vote shenanigans. Though, the late Seixa would have been one of the people who was capable of causing voting shenanigans, and he was obviously absent.

 

Also, the Con Artist(s?) will be Worldsinger(s) for cycle 2. 

[Paranoid King he/him]

Eradin walked alongside the chasm that night. He couldn't sleep, not after hearing of the death of an innocent noble. "A worldsinger," he mumbled to himself, "why must those meant to spread peace be the first to go?"

 

He moved along the edge of the warcamps for perhaps an hour, silently thinking. Then raised his head, resolute. He - and everyone else in the warcamps - were stuck in this mess until the culprits were found. Reaching into one of the pockets of his coat, he whipped out his detective hat. It was a black hat with a small brim. It was also his favorite hat, and he found opportunities to wear it often. His complexion darkened slightly, and his eyes changed from bright blue to a light green. The wrongdoers must be found before the warcamps were emptied. He intended to do a bit of undercover work.

 

Who should his first suspects be? Those who rested during the day, of course. So they would have enough energy for secret meetings during the night, obviously. He had ways to make them talk.

 

At least, I hope they talk. I don't like lynching people just because they give me no info.

[Amanuensis he/him]

Efrihm was not fond of death; especially not when dealt out with such brutallity. Roshar was a cruel world, however, and death was abound. Whether it was political maneuverings or plateau assaults, innocent men and women died every day. One might think that one of the world's greatest kingdoms would be free of such savagery, but in truth it was ridden with both the corrupt and the corruptible. After watching the man who he had condemned only moments ago lose his head, his stomach began to churn. In a very un-Alethi way, he grabbed a hat off the noble nearest to him and retched into it, relieving his stomach of the apetizers he had been munching on during the discussion. Only the taste of acid and the sharp pain of regret remained.

 

If you're reading this, sorry phattemer. Given that you were on the forums frequently throughout the day, but had not even bothered to post, I hoped it might have been you. I don't know what to make of the fact that three of the people I expressed suspicion of (and the fourth being the one with the second most votes) all voted along with me, though.

[phattemer]

EXECUTED HA PUN

[Emerald101 he/him]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm back. Analysis forthcoming sometime tomorrow morning (which is in about 11 1/2 hours for me, in case anybody's wondering.) I gotta say though, that was quite the D1. It portrayed exactly why I'm in favor of D1 lynching. Now we have a good amount of discussion to base suspicion on.

 

Edit: capitalization.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Emerald101

[Shallan she/her]

I missed a lot. So. Day 1: good lynch, as emerald just said, gives us lots of info. What really stood out to me at first was the ending. At first Phat wasn't up for it at all and then 5 votes all of a sudden. Several people had said that they'd get on at the end and vote but I think we could find a valuable eliminator role in one of the alternate targets, or in the voters.

[Amanuensis he/him]

My gut still tells me not to trust Stink, and am apprehensive as Lopen as well. I have a feeling that if we lynch one and it turns out that he's an Eliminator, other might be as well. If there's any ardents out there, I'd get a read on Stink first.

[Seonid he/him]

Well that was sad. I missed the end of cycle by 4 minutes. Of course, I wasn't planning on voting, because where things stood before I checked back in was a place that I wanted to leave where it was. I had no strong suspicions and, likewise, no strong reasons to believe any of the potential targets were innocent. One had a 1-vote lead. On Day 1, I was going to leave it like it was to see if any vote shenanigans happened.

 

And then the lynch train happened. From 2 to 5 votes in the last hour of the cycle? Screams that something was wrong with it.

 

On the other hand, phattemer had been talked about as a potential lynch target beforehand. Why did everyone become so sure so fast that he was a viable lynch target? Sure, he hadn't been active. But this is the first day. Plenty of people miss the first day and come back to be active, productive participants. A data point of one day is not enough to confirm game-level inactivity. The reasoning was poor all-round.

 

Stink, at this point I am most concerned with your vote, placed without any supporting reasoning. Alvom, you're my second suspicion at present. Why an inactive on the first cycle, and why phattemer specifically? And perhaps we ought to ask why Ripple was saved.

 

Any or all of these could be bum leads, of course, or even deliberately orchestrated to put us on the wrong trail. We don't have access to what happened in any PMs, where Eliminators could have been influencing innocent people to vote in suspicious ways. But we can't afford to ignore these questions, either.

[Amanuensis he/him]

My reasoning was this: first, I advocated from the beginning that I was pro-lynching, but when the majority fell on ripple I felt for certain that wasn't the right choice. I had no way of telling if anyone would act after I did, so I delayed as long as I could without fear of missing out on weighing in. I would have preferred for there to have been another option, but if I voted for anyone else it would have more likely ended with a tie and no progress would have been made. Of the two, I was in favor of lynching phattemer over ripple because I had seen the former active several times throughout the day and yet he did not participate. I was far from sure about him, but that was one strike for me, whereas nothing ripple did made me suspicious. I was well aware of the possibility that phattemer might be a villager, but took that risk because it'd help me narrow my next choices. These are the outcomes I saw:

 

1: Phattemer is an Eliminator; thus by creating that last minute tie, his Eliminator friends would leave well enough alone so that no one dies or vote against his opposition. I would then immediately be suspicious of whoever broke the tie in favor of lynching ripple.

 

2: Phattemer is a Villager; thus by creating that last minute tie, at least two Eliminators would gang up on him last minute to ensure that a worldsinger could not sway enough votes away from him. I would immediately be suspicious of both players.

 

It just so happens that the two who voted against him following me were two people I expressed doubts for and established a connection with one another at the very beginning of Day 1.

 

If at least one of them turns out to be an Eliminator, then I would even go so far to say that either Herowannabe is as well for offering the first vote against him, or that I was actually wrong about ripple and she jumped on him simply because the discussion was leaning towards targeting inactives and she got her fellow Eliminators to jump on the bandwagon to save her life.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Alvom

[Herowannabe he/him]

Well I stand by my vote. Of course I'm sad to see that Phat was innocent (sorry phat), but I would honestly rather lynch an innocent who isn't contributing anything than lynch an Eliminator who is active, at least at this point in the game. Why? Because the more that the Eliminator is contributing to the discussion to more information he or she is giving us. And once one eliminator is lynched we will have a lot of posts to analyze and compare and use to find the other eliminators.

Besides, taking it a step back beyond the villagers vs eliminators aspect of the game- By lynching an inactive player it leaves one active player- someone who is involved with and enjoying the game- alive to enjoy and play the game a little longer. And win or lose, that is a good thing.

Now all of that being said, it IS interesting and a little surprising that so many people followed my lead- I was honestly expecting to be alone in (if not outright lynched for) my little crusade.

[Araris Valerian he/him]

@Hero: What you did almost seemed like something Meta would have done; propose some sort of plan, then wait to see how many people jump onto it. When I read that I felt a sort of warning like, "This may be a ploy." If the lynch is uncertain then Eliminators might have been willing to vote for someone that a village person suggested that was also a villager. But I will have to look back over things last cycle around when you posted that.

[little wilson she/her]

Last minute Lynch trains don't mean there's eliminators manipulating it. In LG12, I was a Jeskeri Cultist and there was a last fifteen minute lunch train, also on the first cycle. And there was no Jeskeri involved. I advocated lynching those involved because I was a Jeskeri. (Jeskeri were eliminators then)

 

And this is exactly why I don't think Stink is an eliminator. At this point, it's been proven time and again that Day 1 lynches rarely harm eliminators, and they can stay well enough away and just watch the villagers lynch one of their own because we're so gung-ho on killing.

 

While there could be an eliminator in the 5 people who voted for Phatt, I'm far from certain that there is. Even if there is one, it would be highly unlikely for there to be two. Of those 5, I'm less inclined to think that Hero, Stink or Ripple are eliminators (Ripple's response to my comment during the day assuaged my suspicions of her), so that leaves Alvom and Lopen. Assuming one of them is an eliminator, I'd be looking at Lopen, since he placed the very last vote.

[Adamir he/him]

I don't really have anything to add to the discussion, so let me start off by apologizing for my terrible RP post during Day 1. Hopefully this can at least partially redeem me - switching POVs to Lysen.

 

Actual RP post No. II - Lysen

 

'There are usually guards posted out front,' Caesarae said. 'Give me a moment with the lock.'

 

I sighed, closing my eyes and glancing into the Semata. The Plains were barren in terms of Gifted, both aware and unaware, leaving time mostly inaccessible. But a man like Thay and his heresy could crack the barrier by simply passing through. The Libatis were muttering among themselves of the force that gave them vision of the Physical. I paid them no mind.

 

The Sight was too close to Kagé's blasphemies for my liking, but I understand the difference between Libatis and gods. For once, I don't even have to question them; there is still an immense pressure on their world. Thay is in the mansion.

 

Caesarae pulled out a thin stick from his pocket and started twisting it in the lock. This was going to take too long; every second he spends tinkering with the lock is another second for Thay to escape.

 

I brushed Caesarae aside with a mild wind, before applying a stronger current of air to the door. It flew free from its oppressive hinges and slammed into the guard with his back turned. I heard a few ribs crack; he wouldn't be up to fight back.

 

'That...' Caesarae muttered. 'That was unnecessary. Do you want to get us killed? Congratulations, you've announced our presence.'

 

I pulled free both scimitars from my back. 'Tabhair dom Fuaim do mo spiorad.'

 

The funeral chant rang in my ears as I caught the first attacker's sword with my own. A kick disoriented him, allowing my other scimitar access to his chest. It sliced through the padded leather and thin cloth, sliding neatly between two ribs.

 

I engaged the second. 'Tabhair dom leigheas do mo spiorad, do mo chroí.'

 

Two dead. I was distinctly aware of Caesarae dispatching a third, but my mind focused on the three men closing in on me. Spearman leading, trained swordsman to the left, axeman to the right. Sirona sing them souls anew.

 

The swordsman stood back to analyse my methods, while the spearman and axeman stepped in. I stepped in close to the spearman, too close for his weapon to be effective, while crippling the axeman's aim. If he didn't want to hit his ally, he would have to hang back.

 

Three seconds. I don't need the Semata to tell what the spearman will do in this situation. He does what any trained soldier would, trying to slam into my ribs with his elbow. At that close range my scimitars are both useless and unnecessary, and so I lash out with another kick. A blade catches him above the collarbone before pulling out.

 

Two left. There is only one way to use an axe with any great efficiency, and my opponent attempts it. A full charge while I step to the side and slide a weapon along his ribs. Not quite fast enough, but my opponents would need to be precognisant to stand any hope.

 

I gave the swordsman as little to learn as I could. My methods against the spearman will not work against a rotu swordsman, whose short blade is designed for close quarters. The axeman was bleeding on the floor due to his own sheer stupidity, a mistake the swordsman would not have made. He would have to act on his own instincts.

 

He stepped to the left in my vision a moment before he actually did. I continued to sing in a soft whisper while taking a small bound to the right. We continued to circle as Caesarae fended off a knifeman behind me. For now, my attention was on the fight in front of me. I didn't even need to see his leg twitch to know he was going to step to the right; The Semata warned me moments in advance.

 

Just as I twitched to the right, he leapt to the left as his Semata vanished. A flick of the wrist, and he held a knife in his other hand.

 

The knife flew, end over end, at a pace too fast to respond to. It caught me in the shoulder, blade first, but without pain. I raised a scimitar to block it as the Semata vanished - and the swordsman hesitated, knife gripped in his hand.

 

This wasn't any untrained mercenary or unskilled soldier. A master with his weapon, one who adjusted during the act for any developments. If any Stormlander could kill a Sematin, it would be a Stormlander like him.

 

In any other circumstance, I would close my senses to the Libatis and take him for the challenge. But every second was another second for Thay to escape. I blinked through a grey haze, focusing Agony to his sword-arm. He clutched it, close to but not quite screaming in pain. But pain... pain was enough for what I needed.

 

I opened the floodgates.

 

Libatis surged forth from the Cognitive, a hundred, two hundred, three hundred, emerging from my Voidsphere and focusing on the greatest source of pain in the room. They flitted across the floorboards, claws scraping Soulcast stone and leaving long gashes and dents, swarming their target. He screamed, flailed, then an arm dropped from his shoulder where a half dozen had gnawed it off. More began to work on the neck stump, as the Libatis began their feast.

 

Four seconds. Bones.

 

Seven seconds. Nothing but blood on the floor.

 

Nine seconds. The Libatis lick the topmost layer of stone free, leaving a four inch hollow in the floor.

 

Three hundred Libatis gazed up at me.

 

I focused Fear onto the Libatis, going from naught to all I could channel through the Voidsphere at any one time. They began to shriek, rushing for the walls and trying to claw their way through. The transition from Cognitive to Physical would only last a few minutes, and Fear would likely keep them running until it ran out.

 

I turned to Caesarae, quietly retching in a far corner of the room, as far from me as he could get. I sighed, then hit him with a burst of Loyalty; he cringed further into the wall, abject terror in his body language. Coward.

 

A burst of Obedience has him standing straight, ready to follow my every command. Loyalty vanishes, the two opposing concepts warring in his mind and the one I am still fuelling gaining victory over the old. He was one of the weak, who could only handle a single Manipulation at a time. He would still fear me, but he would at least obey.

 

‘Be quiet. If anyone comes in, kill them.’

 

Having left my commands, I went through the mansion, methodically searching it room by room. Two bedrooms, a dining area, a small library, a wine cellar...

 

And a balcony without its railings, a figure disappearing into the distance.

 

I went back to Caesarae, still rooted at the entrance, standing guard against his will. ‘Thay has escaped, but there is something he wants from the feast. He will be back. Find him, and kill him yourself. You may now speak, but not to me. You are to say nothing of what happened this night.’

Edited August 22, 2015 by Adamir

[Haelbarde he/him]

To be honest, I'd be more suspicious of Ripple for placing the first vote after Hero than Lopen for placing the last. But really, my take on that 'Lunch Train' as Winter called it, was all our new players not realizing bandwagoning is frowned upon as a general rule.

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

I want to apologize for not making a vote yesterday. I was away from a computer, so I did not have the opportunity to post.

[Orlok Tsubodai]

Ok, so it turns out that I will certainly struggle with internet over the next couple of days.

Whilst I am still able, I'd like to have my view known on the lynch swing last night. I am of the opinion that such a swing renders far less useful the discussion we had earlier in the day - the information from which only becomes usable to discern who is an eliminator if one is actually lynched.

As such, I am slightly suspicious of Hero - I would have though that he'd have known better.

Ripple's behaviour is also somewhat erratic - and whilst he can have some slack from it being his first day, his earlier actions as well as joining the bandwagon second are... Interesting.

I suppose that an element can be excused for just trying to save himself, but he has certainly found his way onto my watch list.

Edited August 22, 2015 by OrlokTsubodai

[RavenRadient7 she/her]

I'm inclined to agree with Haelbarde, and say this was mostly a new-player lynch train, but Lopen has played before. And placed the last vote. Of all of those who voted for phattemer, he's the one I'm most suspicious of.

 

Other than that, I won't be on for most of this cycle. I'll be checking in every so often for the next few hours, and then I'll probably won't be on again until after this cycle ends.

[STINK he/him]

I voted because at the time of my voting, a worldsinger could of managed to lynch someone else who was active.

[RippleGylf she/her]

The reason I joined the lynch train was simply because I didn't want to die. Looking back on it, however, Hero's actions do seem odd. We already had plenty of good discussion going on, but why would he suddenly divert attention to an inactive? Concerning Stink, his style of play seems very odd. That could possibly be from being a first-time player, but still... Lopen also attracts suspicion, as the lynch train seemed mostly composed of new players, aside from him and Hero. I know I'm not a very good player, but I'm not a killer. In games like this, I never know what to think, hence me switching around yesterday.

 

Also, I'll probably be inactive tomorrow. I might try to get on late just to see how the vote is going.

Edited August 22, 2015 by RippleGylf

[Paranoid King he/him]

I prefer to vote for inactives over actives, unless I have evidence to convince me otherwise, and here's why:

 

Scenario 1: inactives lynched at beginning, hearty discussion continues after inactives are gone, Eliminators are much more likely to be wiped out. (Because they have to keep active, meaning more opportunities for seeing their strategy.) Game is interesting most of the way through.

 

Scenario 2: actives lynched at beginning, almost no discussion continues after actives are gone, Eliminators also remain quiet, eliminating people with sneaky eliminator powers during the night.

Either that, or they are inactive as well, making the game incredibly boring and tedious for both players and the GM. (I would know. I've been in one of those games. There was one day that nobody voted.)

 

However, I didn't vote on day 1 because, as Seonid said, people who are inactive on the first day may turn around and become active later. I would prefer to not lynch someone just because of temporary circumstances. 2 day/night cycles are enough for me to confirm them fairly inactive, and I plan to vote on anyone who still hasn't responded by then.

 

So Shallan, Venture Mistborn, and Feligon, speak up!

[STINK he/him]

Where are all these people saying no to D1 lynches coming from now?