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

[Young Bard]

28 minutes ago, Elbereth said:

....Did you miss the post in which I literally quoted that exact section of the rules saying that they're added to a doc together?...

Oh. Gah. Right. You put other peoples texts in like that. I see. My mistake *facepalm*

I thought you were commenting to those people, not quoting them. Silly me.

[Elbereth]

Confusion about that seems to be going around tonight. >> I'd make them into actual quotes, but I need to be going to bed. Maybe I'll bother in the morning. 

[Wonko the Sane]

I never said anything about them not being in communication. That has been read into my words, and I did not intend for it to be there. I did say, however, that it's entirely possible that they do not all have the same victory conditions. It would be a very effective way of balancing what has every chance of becoming a greatly oversized, role-madness Eliminator team -- make it so they can ally with each other, but it is an uneasy alliance.

It is interesting, though that Doc somehow missed that the first time I suggested this, when I did mention the possible lack of a doc, I was pretty quickly corrected on it. The mist likely way I can imagine him reading that into my post is if he read the first one -- so why did he miss El's correction that time?

Anyway, like I said before, people with powers they haven't already announced should now find at least two confidants via PM, and make sure each is aware of who the other is. And I also think everyone should explore again tonight, though there's a good chance this will be the last night I recommend that.

NOTE: I am up way too late. If this post was grammatical nonsense, I'm sorry. I get verbose when I'm tired.

[Magestar]

5 hours ago, Elbereth said:

Doctor: Mage's post strikes me as a liiitle suspicious. I, like Wonko, believe that Wyrm might have given the eliminators different win cons, and not necessarily a way of contacting each other. Someone before me has pointed out that Omens can grant roles, and someone has said that the writing on the wall might denote a PM role. I find myself thinking that the eliminators themselves might not necessarily know who the other is, and might have to find each other. Thus, Mage could be an eliminator who was turned last night, and was confused when he didn't get a contact for anyone else, thus asking this question. He also hasn't been posting anything, thus I'm hoping he gets on to clear my suspicions. 

It took me about two minutes to realize you were quoting Doc.  It was right around the same time that I checked Doc's post and found that it was the exact same text.    It might have been a good idea to put that in a quote box.

[Haelbarde]

@Elbereth I... Had forgotten I had made that post. It's not exactly conveniently placed either...

And a proper article would go into more detail on giving examples, offer other ideas, and maybe explain the reasons why you do each thing.

To anyone here who has thoughts on how to contribute when you're a village regular, I'd appreciate it if you could think it over and write something up - at the conclusion of my MR, I'd like to be able to discuss these sorta things, and offer suggestions for how people can play better in that situation.

[Elbereth]

6 hours ago, Wonko the Sane said:

I never said anything about them not being in communication. That has been read into my words, and I did not intend for it to be there. I did say, however, that it's entirely possible that they do not all have the same victory conditions. It would be a very effective way of balancing what has every chance of becoming a greatly oversized, role-madness Eliminator team -- make it so they can ally with each other, but it is an uneasy alliance.

Again. From the rules:

Quote

• The Traitors win when they outnumber the Explorers.

While it's possible that they could have secondary win cons that are partly conflicting or different than that, that is most certainly not the implication, and I don't think it's something we can afford to think. We have to assume that the eliminators are acting in concert. It makes the most sense given the rules and it's more problematic for us than them fighting each other. 

This post actually makes me somewhat more suspicious of you, for a couple reasons, but I'll wait until day to say why, if I live. 

3 hours ago, Magestar said:

It took me about two minutes to realize you were quoting Doc.  It was right around the same time that I checked Doc's post and found that it was the exact same text.    It might have been a good idea to put that in a quote box.

I have broken the forum with quote boxes before. I didn't want to bother last night.  I am, however, going to edit it into quote boxes now that I'm properly awake. 

1 hour ago, Haelbarde said:

@Elbereth I... Had forgotten I had made that post. It's not exactly conveniently placed either...

And a proper article would go into more detail on giving examples, offer other ideas, and maybe explain the reasons why you do each thing.

To anyone here who has thoughts on how to contribute when you're a village regular, I'd appreciate it if you could think it over and write something up - at the conclusion of my MR, I'd like to be able to discuss these sorta things, and offer suggestions for how people can play better in that situation.

 Sometimes, screenshots are useful. (You made a post a few posts below that which is useful as well, by the way, though I'mnot sure it's still relevant with the forum update.) Meta's made one or two posts over the years that I could pull out as well, particularly one in... LG3, I think. I may go find that later.

[Araris Valerian]

3 hours ago, Haelbarde said:

To anyone here who has thoughts on how to contribute when you're a village regular, I'd appreciate it if you could think it over and write something up - at the conclusion of my MR, I'd like to be able to discuss these sorta things, and offer suggestions for how people can play better in that situation.

Just start killing people. Since you are a villager, your actions don't have the same organization as the eliminators. So vote, and be willing to change your vote based on thread discussion. Don't be afraid of killing people with useful roles, and maybe have some fun with RP on the side. If you have an RP character that you are invested in, it is a lot easier to follow a game. I'm nowhere near as comfortable as other folks here with coming up with personalities, but I've had a lot of fun with Aralis, especially last AG. On that note:

Aralis wandered around the House in search of a chair. Since the House seemed unwilling to stick to a floor plan, he tried to follow roughly the same path he had taken the night before. After all, if the House was changing, and he was changing paths, they might cancel each other out, and that would mean he would find the Library again. People these days just don't make houses they way they used. Libraries always should have a nice place to sit down and bother youngsters that make too much noise. As he was thinking, Aralis noticed a glass door leading off the hallway he was in. And right outside the door was a rocking chair, on a porch! Suddenly, Aralis's legs began to ache at the sight, and he leaned more heavily on his walking stick to stay upright. Unfortunately, the door wouldn't open. It wasn't locked, just stuck. Well, Aralis had dealth with stubborn people before, a door wasn't all that different. He imagined a fellow he had met once, named Rent, was right where the door was, in between Aralis and his porch. Then he hefted his stick and gave the fellow a THWACK upside the head. A different sort of noise reverberated through the House, and Aralis was brought back to the present. Bother. The door seemed to be on par with Aralis's stubbornness. Well, now I have an incentive to see this whole bothering thing through. That is quite a fine porch, and I bet nobody could find me and bother me there.

[Darkness Ascendant]

I slept in the house and found nothing

[Paranoid King]

Well, I'll be exploring again tonight. Maybe this time I'll find something.

[Elenion]

Something behind the door shook slightly: a metallic pinging that reverberated oddly in the room Isaac Jones was in. It was the third time in three minutes that it had done so; enough to make Jones suspicious enough to venture to take a look at what it was. Of course, such a strange sound could only come from a strange object, so it was wise to take... extra precautions. So Jones Hammered the door, smashing it with a meaty fist. The old wooden door left its frame with the sound of splintering wood, and struck the ground with a dull clunk. Inside was an old, dingy office, complete with an old wooden desk covered in papers. And on the desk, standing up of its own accord and repeatedly hitting itself against a lamp, was another Awakened pen. And it had left a message, scrawled across the papers on top of the desk:

Only an utter brute would bash down an unlocked door.

Jones Hammered the pen. One insulting writing implement was more than enough for him, thank you very much.

---

I'm exploring tonight, and would suggest everyone else do the same. Even if we can't find the Heart of the House, we can get useful items and abilities.

[little wilson]

Khaos hurried into the room the second that brute left it. He'd crushed her poor pen. Brutalized it. It was....gone. She crouched down beside the little broken pieces, sifting through them for any sign of a piece big enough to possibly still be useable.

As her fingertips brushed the first couple, they trembled and she froze, staring at them. The first tiny sliver righted itself and started scribbling on the floor. 

Idol of idiot-worshippers!

The second soon joined it, with an entirely different message. Storytellers will tell cautionary tales of your tremendous senselessness for centuries after you are publicly executed.

Khaos' eyes widened and she looked at the rest of the pile. There must be hundreds of the little slivers. And all of them, somehow, could still insult. Colours, she thought. This is brilliant. And while a part of her insisted that this wasn't how Awakening worked, she was never one to second-guess what could cause a little chaos. She picked up the first sliver and placed it in her pocket, just in case. The rest, she gathered up into her hands and left the room.

As Khaos explored that night, she dropped a few slivers all along her path, in corridors and rooms, spreading their insulting joy where'er she went. The more spread out the slivers got, the better.

When her hands were empty, she brought out her full (well, half actually) insulting pen and considered finding the Hammer again. Maybe he'd break this one too. She studied it as she walked around a corner, and when her head cracked against something hard, for a moment she wasn't sure what she'd hit. And then she noticed another person. A girl. The...crazy one.

Khaos got another brilliant idea. Or crazy (fitting, for the company she was in). She looked at her pen and then back up at the other girl. "Here," she said, holding her pen out. "This is for you."

[Elenion]

32 minutes ago, little wilson said:

There must be hundreds of the little slivers. And all of them, somehow, could still insult.

What. Have. I. Done!!!   First Cuddles, and now this!

Very well then, this is going to be fun.

 

At first, Isaac Jones did not know what the scratching sound was. Like a swarm of angry beetles, the sound came from ceilings, floors, inside the walls. Never present but always there, scratching, a maddening sound. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. This was a kind of enemy that he had never faced before: most foes could be dropped by a Hammer, or by a well-timed slash of a sword. But this scratching was much more... sinister. Like the knives of a thousand demons, all sharpened and ready for blood. And worst of all, he couldn't even find out where it was coming from.

He found the first message gouged into his preferred patch of sleeping floorboard: Violence never solves problems. Sometimes, it multiplies them. The second was on the wall, directly next to it, The pen is mightier than the brute. And then he saw one: a tiny fragment of a pen, wobbling slightly as it lay on the bare floorboards. Taking out his sword, The Hammer smashed it in two, all the while mumbling an incantation to ward off demons. This was one demon that wasn't going to get him!

But then, one of the fragments moved. Then the other. A third joined them, skittering across the barren floorboards to join its comrades. Then a fourth. Five. Six. Eight. Twelve. An army of tiny, sharp fragments that moved and insulted as one. They began to draw on the floor, working as with a collective mind. Jones should have run. They couldn't have stopped him. But he stayed and watched as they drew an intricate network of lines and curves on the ground. He could feel his heartbeat in his chest. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. The fragments began to connect the gouges, forming an image.

It was him. Dead. With a rope around his neck.

Isaac "The Hammer" Jones ran for his life.

[JUQ]

Sorry, but I won't be able to pay much attention to this game. If anyone really wants to tell me something, please mention me.

[Darkness Ascendant]

When night has fallen

And the house has awoken

The explorers died.

Edited November 24, 2016 by Darkness Ascendant

[Wyrmhero]

That's the end of the Night Turn, please stand by for the Day...

[Wyrmhero]

Day 2: Spooky Scary Skeletons

There was a scream. It was not a scream of terror in face of some nefarious entity or psychological horror, but a simple cry for help as someone did something they did not intend to do. This was followed by a loud crashing noise, followed by several more similar sounds. Then – much to the relief of those nearby – it was followed by Moro cursing every and all gods he knew of in the Court, interspersed by wincing and groaning.

“Are you alright?” Billy shouted down the stairs. “Are you still alive?”

“He sounds it, doesn't he?” Greg pointed out. “Besides, what were you going to do if he had said no?”

“Let's give him a hand,” Billy said, ignoring Greg's comment. He carefully made his way down the stone steps, a hand on the railing to keep himself steady on the slippery rocks. He was grateful that the little light from the hallway showed that they were not slick with blood, just highly polished.

He stepped down onto the floor and checked Moro over briefly, making sure there was no lasting harm as best he could tell. When he was certain that the man was merely bruised rather than sporting broken bones, he helped Moro up, supporting his weight until he was properly ready to stand. Thankfully, it seemed there was no lasting damage.

“Blasted pencils, tried to kill me!” Moro said, shrugging off the aid that Billy had lent him.

On second thoughts, perhaps the damage was worse than Billy had initially thought.

“No need to thank me or anything,” Billy muttered, looking around. “Is this the cellar? Wondered where they kept their wine here.”

“Must be,” Greg said, finally having made his way carefully down the steep steps to join them. “Don't remember seeing that door there before though. Or maybe this place is just getting to me.”

“Must be getting to me too,” Billy nodded in agreement, “'Cause I swear that wasn't there either.” He frowned. “Doesn't look much like a cellar to me though. Looks more like a proper basement than anything. No idea what they'd put down here though; you'd think they'd have enough room upstairs. And why would it be hidden, and why's it now open?”

“Maybe someone opened the door somehow,” Greg suggested. “A secret switch, or something.”

“Well,” Moro said, dusting himself down a little. “If it's hidden, that means it's valuable. And if it's valuable, that means I want it.”

“Maybe if we had some actual light,” Billy said, looking around. “There's torches down here,” he said as he unholstered one from the wall. “Anyone got a way to light one?” Two shakes of the head. “Okay, back in a second,” he said, carefully making his way upstairs to light it from a torch upstairs.

“Why are there even lit torches here?” Moro asked. “Or is that a question I don't want answered?”

The torch was brought downstairs, and illuminated a small room. Before them, now they could properly see them, iron bars raised up towards the room. A set of keys hung on a little stand on the wall on the opposite side. Within the bars, the torch illuminated ivory that had yellowed with the passage of time. A human skeleton, chained up to the wall. Clearly it had been tortured, carvings performed on it which hard worn through the skin and marked the bone. Even as they looked at it, there was a snap, and the worn wrists finally gave way, the bones falling to the floor in a heap.

“You know what?” Moro said, throwing his hands up and turning around to go back up the stairs. “I am no longer interested.”

“Wait,” Greg hissed, grabbing Moro's shoulder to stop him going anywhere. “Billy, move your torch closer.”

Billy gulped and did as he was told. He took a hesitant step forwards, casting the torch's light further into the room. The next body it illuminated was not just bones, but had flesh too.

“Is that Huxton?” Billy asked, looking back at the others. The body was lying on the floor, a long wooden stick poking out of his mouth. There was something pink and fluffy on the end, as though he'd been run through by a cleaning implement. Blood pooled around him from his mouth.

“Yeah...” Greg nodded. “We'd better tell the others. You stay here and guard the body.”

“Guard it? From what?” Billy asked. He shook his head and followed after Greg and Moro. “Colours no! I'm not staying one minute down here on my own! What if I'm next?!”

By the time they had found the others and dragged them all to the dungeon, both the skeleton and the body of Huxton were gone. Only the blood remained.
 

---

Day 2 has begun! It will end at 9 PM GMT on Saturday 26th November.
Please halt all PMs for the duration of the Day Turn. This means you. You know who you are.

Huxton (The Young Bard) was an Explorer!

An Omen was discovered!

Character List

 

1. Dr Konwa Arelle (Wonko the Sane) - A biochromantic scholar.
2. Frost (Doctor12) - He changed his name to something he thought sounded cool. Coincidentally, he is no longer invited to parties.
3. Shara (Nyali) - A real estate agent that ain't afraid of no ghost, because she doesn't believe in them.
4. Stick (I_Am_A_Stick) - A thin piece of wood that has been cut off or that has fallen off a tree.
5. Aralis (Araries Valerian) - Not all-together there.
6. Yiferien (Daniyah) - A murderous maid with her mind on the property market.
7. Exion (Unodus) - Gambling with his life...
8. Rotiart (Paranoid King) - Not suspicious at all guys.
9. Moro (Magestar) - Searching for treasure.
10. Bugsy (Bugsy6912) - Not related to any potential crook.
11. Doctor Ryan Oglethorpe (phattemer) - Has a strange speaking problem. - Explorer
12. Quintus (Jondesu) - Entering the mansion.
13. Khaos (little wilson) - A fear junkie.
14. Isaac 'The Hammer' Jones (Elenion) - In search of treasure.
15. Nightspud (Assassin in Burgundy) - A questionably starchy person.
16. Nathan (Nathanvanduij) - Signed up.
17. Dr Artie Neuems (Arraenae) - An old gentleman comparing about today's youth.
18. Billy (Darkness Ascendant) - An rural man enamored by the House's appearance.
19. Arinian (Arinian) - Appearing as himself.
20. Greg Ronald (STINK) - TBA
21. Locke (Orlok Tsubodai) - George Washington in disguise.
22. The Guy in the Red Uniform (Ecthelion III) - Too easy...
23. Aon Deag (Aonar Faileas) - Has no interest in buying, so what is he there for?
24. Sean (polkinghorndb) - Planning on asset-stripping the House.
25. C. L. Anky (Clanky) - Hired for investigative purposes.
26. Prof. Alberd Hae (Haelbarde) - Searching for the research notes of the Five Scholars.
27. The Lady of Chaos (The_Lady_Of_Chaos) - TBA
28. Jeffery Wilferson (jefrywlfersn) - TBA
29. Eques Tempore (Straw) - TBA
30. Sheon Idris (Seonid) - A shade of his former self.
31. Juq (JUQ) - TBA
32. Huxton (The Young Bard) - He means well but does bad. - Explorer
33. Kasther (Kasimir) - Intreped young estate agent. - Estate Agent
34. Kresla (Elbereth) - Wide-eyed and innocent. This cannot end badly.
35. Mark (Mark IV) - Better than Mark III.

Kasther's Pocketwatch

 

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by Alvron

[Kasimir]

Rule Clarifications:

1. If I'm roleblocked, will I still be told I found nothing?
If you're role-blocked, you will be informed.

2. Do people who discover Omens get explicitly informed of this in their results? i.e. "You found an Omen: <description.>"
The results PM does not explicitly tell you it is an Omen.

3. Is it possible for more than two Omens to be found in a single Night? 
It is possible, depending on the dice, that more than two Omens can be found - It's just very unlikely. [Incidentally, it's also possible that your keyboard will tunnel through the table, just very, very, very, very, very, very, very unlik--hey, Chief, why're you scowling at me like that?]

4. Can I send in orders in advance so I don't forget to place them?
"I'm afraid I don't allow advance orders like this, as it can provide a false impression of activity."

Edited November 25, 2016 by Kasimir

[STINK]

No song linked 4/10

[Haelbarde]

Quicklinks
> Rules
> Night 0
> Day 1
> Night 1
> Day 2

Edited November 25, 2016 by Haelbarde

[Arrae]

I'm a little suspicious of Jondesu for phrasing and tone. In a PM, he asked if I had any ways to "actually" find a traitor. The word "actually" pings me off. It doesn't sound like something a villager would say.

Also, N1, Jondesu said this, which feels off to me:

I already posted why that felt weird to me right below, but I'll repeat it again. It seems weird for a villager to be able to conclusively say that lynch "didn't really lead ourselves to an elim." True, Phatt, the player who got lynched, was a villager, but how is a villager, in this case Jondesu, supposed to know that no suspicion landed on an elim during the lynch disscussion, no elim was trying to push the lynch a certain way, etc? The only way for a player to know that is to be able to see into the future, or not be a villager.

[Jondesu]

Sorry to hear you're suspicious of me, Rae. When I said that, I knew phatt was innocent, and I knew I hadn't seen a single thing that made me suspicious of anyone else. Nor was I expecting to, since the ratio of Elims to villagers was/is so low. Our job is much harder with so many fewer Elims to find than average, so I was fishing for suggestions (I also asked a few others similar questions). I don't see how that makes me suspicious, nor was I claimed prescience or extra knowledge.

[Elenion]

At the time I was thinking the same things as Jondesu; there were no suspicious vote swings or information leaks. The lynch didn't give us much to go on, and so Jondesu articulated that. I don't see that as suspicious.

[Arinian]

1 hour ago, Arraenae said:

I'm a little suspicious of Jondesu for phrasing and tone. In a PM, he asked if I had any ways to "actually" find a traitor. The word "actually" pings me off. It doesn't sound like something a villager would say.

Also, N1, Jondesu said this, which feels off to me:

I already posted why that felt weird to me right below, but I'll repeat it again. It seems weird for a villager to be able to conclusively say that lynch "didn't really lead ourselves to an elim." True, Phatt, the player who got lynched, was a villager, but how is a villager, in this case Jondesu, supposed to know that no suspicion landed on an elim during the lynch disscussion, no elim was trying to push the lynch a certain way, etc? The only way for a player to know that is to be able to see into the future, or not be a villager.

I do not understand why you suspect him. For me it seems like he just was against lynch on the first day(and I agree with him). Because, I don't understand how you want to get useful info from lynch of inactive(and how suspicion can be landed on someone if there was only two votes on him, your and Elenion's). It was just lynch of inactive player that truly gave nothing.

[Arrae]

I'm not suspicious of Jondesu's content. I'm suspicious of his tone.

And that, of course, could be a sign that I'm tunnelling. Still, it feels off.

[Araris Valerian]

Aralis set down his book and looked up from his rocking chair. "Well, you all know that I said we should get rid of that Quintus fellow yesterday. Stands to reason that I agree with the folks that don't like him much. Somebody's brain has gone to mists, and if I'm going to enjoy that porch we need to find out who. If anybody has a better way that killing folks, speak up now." With that, Aralis went back to his book in a way that suggested anyone that disturbed him would be in for a Thwacking.