Long Game 28: The Awakening at the House on the Hill

[Elbereth she/her]

You going to take your vote off me then, Hael?  

And I've figured out how many people being voted on first have been evil, but not the voters. >> (I do, however, know how many of the people who've placed a second vote have been evil. Of course.) And I want to figure it out, but... also don't. So I think I'll wait until I'm trying to do the lynch tabs in the spreadsheet (thanks, Ecth...). Which... will be a while.  

That said, instinct says that the first vote is going to be slightly tipped towards villagers, rather then eliminators. So there's that, at least. 

[Mark IV he/him]

Spoiler

Ignore this. I'm on mobile. >.>

Haelbarde 

Hael, your initial vote still strikes me as suspicious. From what I've seen of you, you wouldn't really do that, iirc. But, here you are.  More elaboration later when I get back from school.  

Secondly, I did find something useful last night, and I intend to use it tonight. I'm not going to disclose the info here in the thread. PM me In the night if you need details. Just note that it is NOT an omen. Or atleast my GM PM doesn't say so.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Mark IV
Ninja'd by El >.>

[Young Bard he/him]

Honestly, I'm not suspicious of Hael, simply because I think if he were an Eliminator, he'd make a special effort to sound exactly like he usually does - the fact that he has done something that's fairly obviously different actually gives me a slight trust read of him, even if I don't support the lynch on El.

Since so many people have revealed what they found, I'll say I also found nothing, but I don't think it's a good idea to reveal what you found to the thread in future cycles if we do go exploring. Even if you do find nothing, it narrows down the search options for those who did, and we don't want to gain an awesome alignment scanner role just to have them killed the night they gain their power.

I'll toss a poke-vote down on Straw, and ask him what he thinks about the strategy of lynching inactives, or else the idea of not going exploring Night 1 in order to stop the ranks of Eliminators growing. To those who did reply to my plan, I'm not ignoring you, but I'm only able to type out a quick reply right now (this is my lunch break right now), so I'll respond to your comments this afternoon.

[The_Lady_of_Chaos she/her]

Can i get a vote tally of the current votes?

[Elenion he/him]

Isaac Jones awoke with a groan. He did not remember how or when he had fallen asleep, but he did remember that he was in a quite-possibly-haunted house. And when he opened his eyes and saw, in the darkness, a human figure in front of him, bent towards him, he did not hesitate to pull his sword from under his trench coat and attack.

The thick, curved blade sliced through the air with hardly a sound and buried itself in the figure. It tottered for a second and fell, silently, a thick liquid spilling onto the carpet and Jones, who was lying on his chest with his sword in front of him. Some of the liquid splashed onto Jones' face, but it did not have the salty taste of blood. Instead it tasted... acrid. He knew that taste: it was ichor-alcohol. Lifeless blood. He reached forward and touched the fallen figure in front of him. It was a small doll, only about two feet in height, but which had appeared much taller due to Jones' angle of viewing. It now lay in two pieces, cut cleanly through the middle, with ichor-alcohol spilling onto his face. From the south.

Isaac Jones then went on with his morning routine: first up, a quick check of directions. He turned to the east... and met the familiar-looking "north wall". Now that was just great: his mind was playing tricks on him. So he closed his eyes, looked west, and opened them. The same wall.

Next up: check of all of his possessions to make sure thieves hadn't visited during the night. Sword--check. Trench coat--check. Boots--check. Doll from last night--no longer in his pocket.

"Colors," Jones said, "well that explains quite a bit, doesn't it?"

[Seonid he/him]

Well, I'm not sure why I need an explanation for posting in the GM PM and not here yet. The cycle's early still, I'm not habitually a prolific poster, and if you've bothered to read what I actually posted in that PM, you might have some indication as to why I'm a little distracted atm, and why I might be so in the near future.

For the benefit of all, I should share that my wife and I are waiting (any day now) for the birth of our next child. If I drop off the face of the earth again, that's probably what happened.

Now, I have no thoughts yet on this game. There's not enough data for me to be useful yet. I'm paying attention though. I'll vote when I have suspicions.

 

EDIT: Also, I explored and found nothing 

Edited November 21, 2016 by Seonid
To avoid double posting

[Jondesu he/him]

Thanks for explaining, Hael, and I'm beginning to agree with El that you're not as suspicious as my first instinct (plus I was mostly getting you to discuss your reasoning). Lots of poke votes, which is fine, but nothing seems to be really panning out yet.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Jondesu

[Ecthelion III he/him]

Unodus, he was lurking earlier but never posted.

[Arraenae]

Doc. I know you're here. I see you looking at this thread. I know you're usually awake around this time. Mind posting, please?

Edited November 21, 2016 by Arraenae

[Haelbarde he/him]

@Mark IV @The Young Bard See, I don't think of me doing poke votes to try and stimulate as being different to normal. Although, it's possible that perception is due to the fact that more recently, I've had important roles that have made me want to draw as little attention as possible. As in, since AG2, QF15 has been the only game I've been regular village in - I've been a Spiked, Skindancer, a Seeker, Padan Fain (conversion faction), Autonomy (neutral), and Khriss (secret faction). Village!Hael has been hibernating... :/ 

Edit: Ooops. Elbereth.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Haelbarde

[Elenion he/him]

Seonid. Doc. Can you give us an idea of why you're lurking?

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

All right, some things have come up in my life that are likely to occupy a lot of my attention going forward. I'm not withdrawing from the game as of right now, but I wanted to warn everyone here that I will be considerably less active than I usually am. I apologize for this; I will do my best to put in the effort this game deserves, but there are simply times when real life must intervene.

[Jondesu he/him]

Doc's lurking is reaching the point of suspicion to me. He might be getting caught up in figuring out his new role as an Elim, if he was turned, though there might be plenty of other reasons potentially. For now, though, Doc until he provides some defense.

[Assassin in Burgundy he/him]

@Doctor12, any explanation for your behavior?

[Doc12]

Okay, I'm finally on a computer, after being out all morning. Do you guys know how frustrating it is to see yourself being poke voted and being unable to type out a response to it? Bleh. I'd just like to note that this page is always open on a tab in my phone, which I use to check often, even if I can't immediately get a response up. So even though I have read all your posts, and you see me active, I have only been able to get a post up now. 

---

Frost woke the next morning on the cold hard floor. Sure, there were plenty of beds lying around, but he had woken in a cold sweat in the middle of the night with the blankets wrapped around his neck, as if to strangle him, he had chosen to forgo them and take his chances on the floor. The house was cold, and confusing. He supposed he shouldnt' be surprised, after seeing the map the late guide had used. The feeling of being watched followed him everywhere, and as he passed every mirror he fought not to stare too long inside, and every dark doorway made him pause.

Finally, he stumbled into the study, where he found most of the group he had come with yesterday gathered, tension palpable in the air. 

Several eyes swiveled to him as he entered the study, and more than one...had a glint of accusation in their eyes. 

---

Okay, so I'm being voted on for my lack of activity. Fair enough, I acknowledge that I have not been as active as I was in previous games. Why is that? Well, as Hael has pointed out above me, there was absolutely nothing going on during night one. I saw no reason to say anything, seeing as everyone started out as villagers, and there was nothing I particularly felt like responding to. I wasn't inactive last cycle, however, as people like El, Jon, Rae and Dani can attest, to name a few. I've just been in PMs. My stance on inactives I have shared with several people and in previous games. I am very much biased against inactives.

This cycle, again, I see nothing much to respond to. What I see this morning is nothing more than a bunch of poke votes and responses to said votes. I think that we're not going to get much discussion from the lynch this cycle. Why? Because in previous games, the eliminators always started as a group, and one or two of them were likely to defend their own. That's how the lynch used to generate discussion. This cycle, there are only two eliminators. What do you think are the odds of one eliminator defending another if the second one is getting lynched? Not very likely, I think. Due to this, I don't think poke voting is going to do very much here, unless it's being used to find out who's active and who's not. 

Oh, and one more thing, I will not just post some stuff that has no substance to make myself seem active. If I genuinely have nothing to say, I will not say it. So when I post something, i want it to have some active discussion in it, and not just forcing myself to contribute, as seen in QF19. So excuse me if my posts take a little longer to type out.  

Yep, that's all I have to say. 

Oh, and I found nothing during last night's exploration. Hope that helps..

Edited November 21, 2016 by Doctor12

[Assassin in Burgundy he/him]

6 minutes ago, Doctor12 said:

Okay, I'm finally on a computer, after being out all morning. Do you guys know how frustrating it is to see yourself being poke voted and being unable to type out a response to it? Bleh. I'd just like to note that this page is always open on a tab in my phone, which I use to check often, even if I can't immediately get a response up. So even though I have read all your posts, and you see me active, I have only been able to get a post up now. 

---

Frost woke the next morning on the cold hard floor. Sure, there were plenty of beds lying around, but he had woken in a cold sweat in the middle of the night with the blankets wrapped around his neck, as if to strangle him, he had chosen to forgo them and take his chances on the floor. The house was cold, and confusing. He supposed he shouldnt' be surprised, after seeing the map the late guide had used. The feeling of being watched followed him everywhere, and as he passed every mirror he fought not to stare too long inside, and every dark doorway made him pause.

Finally, he stumbled into the study, where he found most of the group he had come with yesterday gathered, tension palpable in the air. 

Several eyes swiveled to him as he entered the study, and more than one...had a glint of accusation in their eyes. 

---

Okay, so I'm being voted on for my lack of activity. Fair enough, I acknowledge that I have not been as active as I was in previous games. Why is that? Well, as Hael has pointed out above me, there was absolutely nothing going on during night one. I saw no reason to say anything, seeing as everyone started out as villagers, and there was nothing I particularly felt like responding to. I wasn't inactive last cycle, however, as people like El, Jon, Rae and Dani can attest, to name a few. I've just been in PMs. My stance on inactives I have shared with several people and in previous games. I am very much biased against inactives.

This cycle, again, I see nothing much to respond to. What I see this morning is nothing more than a bunch of poke votes and responses to said votes. I think that we're not going to get much discussion from the lynch this cycle. Why? Because in previous games, the eliminators always started as a group, and one or two of them were likely to defend their own. That's how the lynch used to generate discussion. This cycle, there are only two eliminators. What do you think are the odds of one eliminator defending another if the second one is getting lynched? Not very likely, I think. Due to this, I don't think poke voting is going to do very much here, unless it's being used to find out who's active and who's not. 

Oh, and one more thing, I will not just post some stuff that has no substance to make myself seem active. If I genuinely have nothing to say, I will not say it. So when I post something, i want it to have some active discussion in it, and not just forcing myself to contribute, as seen in QF19. So excuse me if my posts take a little longer to type out.  

Yep, that's all I have to say. 

Oh, and I found nothing during last night's exploration. Hope that helps..

*Applauds*

Time to withdraw the poke votes, people. 

[Elenion he/him]

Doc has a good point about why discussion hasn't started so far. I'm inclined to see him as innocent.

[Jondesu he/him]

Yep, remembering what little I've seen of Doc previously, I'm satisfied.  Thanks, Doc!

Doc

[Haelbarde he/him]

I don't think that the day 1 discussion is ever about trying to get one eliminator to defend another. It's about learning how players view the game, because the eliminators have a different perspective, which starts as soon as they are eliminators. It's about making it harder for the eliminators to hide and not contribute opinions. It's about providing information that can be analysed once a player has died.

Edit: We poke and apply pressure to do all that. I don't think there's any excuse for there not to be discussion this cycle. Day 1 isn't about reacting to discussion. It's about making it, and that's something everyone has to contribute to.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Haelbarde

[Jondesu he/him]

Exactly my thinking, Haelbarde.  That's part of why I post a lot at the beginning, and then I might not as much later on sometimes (though I haven't done enough games to really have a set pattern yet, that's just my expectation from what I've seen so far).

@phattemer, we mentioned that you were inactive, but no one actually summoned you yet, and I'd like to hear from you since we haven't yet.  You haven't said anything at all since signing up, which isn't specifically suspicious since you weren't an Elim at the time, but we also don't know anything about you yet either.  Do you have any strategies you're planning, did you find anything last night, etc?  In fact, did you explore, or did you resist the temptation?

[little wilson she/her]

Your father smells of elderberries and your mother was a hamster!

Khaos giggled, watching her Awakened pen scrawl nonsense on the the paper. She wasn't sure what a hamster was--or elderberries, for that matter--but the pen clearly thought it was funny. Or....maybe that it was trying to offend her? She wasn't sure. One of the two, certainly.

It continued writing, ignoring her giggles of delight. Thou art a fawning fly-bitten horn-beast!

Okay, definitely trying to offend. Not that Khaos was actually offended. She wasn't sure what use the old Heron family had for a pen like this, but whatever it was, she was glad she'd found it. She giggled again and picked it up before it could scrawl out another insult. Twirling it between her fingers, she thought for a few moments, and then snapped it in two. She then placed both tips on two separate pieces of paper and released them, hoping that her idea actually worked.

Both pen tips started writing.

Your stink is unreservedly revolting.

I never knew so young a body with so old a head.

Khaos clapped her hands in delight. She now had two pens and they worked perfectly! She snatched them up and hurried out of the room. She wasn't sure who she would use her new find on, but surely one of those amateurs from elsewhere in the house would be ripe for a well-placed insult. She couldn't wait to see their reactions to her glorious gift.

Now if only she could find them....

[Arinian]

Ohh well, I found something and that can be useful (but not on the first turn and useful only for me (because I can use It only on myself).

[STINK he/him]

Welp, one of the peeps that found nothing signing in, is that all we're doing?

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

I really think people should stop posting in the thread about whether they found something. It only makes targets of you, or, if you found nothing, makes targets of everyone else. If you want to get the word out about the power you found, a safe way to do it is to wait till night, then make PMs with 2-3 other players, informing them about your power and the identities of the other people you told.

[Unodus he/him]

poke votes are bad mkay? V:

and for the record Ecthe, I did make a post- just because it isn't a thousand words long doesn't mean it doesn't count.

honestly, I don't see why anyone should be lynched yet from an rp perspective- nobody's died yet and nobody in character knows that the house is making us turn on each other. If we lynch someone today there is literally no justification except "because the gm said so". I get people like to metagame these sort of competitions, I just think it's immersion breaking.

but that's just me, I guess