Young Bard

Hmmm... Just Metacognition? Not Disciple of Metacognition or any similar variation? I'm still skeptical. I feel like a villager didn't want to claim, they'd have come up with another excuse to be as overtly in supportive of Devotary as they were (or else just be more subtle about it). As an elim, it makes sense as a kind of double bluff - "An Eliminator would never be as overtly in support of Devotary as this post is, therefore I must be seen as a villager." The other one I want to hear more from is @Kidpen. I already had for them after Day 1 (they imply they might vote on Roadwalker, but don't in case they won't be online to remove it, which I don't feel is a valid concern as a villager but makes perfect sense as a Spambot). This Week, they vote on CadCom over Devotary, and generally try to cast suspicion and doubt on CadCom's claim. In general, I find their behaviour to make much more sense from an Elim perspective. On top of that, they didn't post 5 times last cycle if I counted correctly, so I think they might be a good candidate for the vigilante. And... Interesting, Maill. I'm inclined to believe this, since it's a fairly unprovoked claim to come from nowhere. Or rather, I'm inclined to believe you're a Neutral - your claim of Neutral-Village is possibly a lie in order to seem less threatening, but if that's the case, I can't fault you for that too much, and hopefully you'll be winning with the village either way. Do you mind answering whether your win con is achieved through your conversion ability somehow (either directly, indirectly, or not at all)? EDIT: Of course the moment I call for more posting from Kidpen, he's posted just 5 minutes before me, and has asked the same question that I did.

Only in this game is a 'one minute' notice necessary...

I'll have an hour and a half from when I get home to read the thread and leave plenty of time to post. There won't be that much content between then and now, will there? Ha. Hahaha. (Note: I'm pleased there's so much content. I just seriously miscalculated.) Right. I want to get this out in time for people to react to it, so I'll be brief. Crimsn Chanarach. First (and weakest), the timing of their claim feels kind of off, like they're trying to find a way to avoid suspicion rather than being open and honest. This was my exact thinking when I saw the role they claimed, and is probably my strongest source of suspicion. Glad someone got to this before I did. I can confirm that this matches with my own knowledge of the roles that exist right now. Also, I'm inclined to trust Seventh Saint, and don't see a need to lynch them right now, and there's not time to create a new lynch, so Devotary seems like the obvious choice for that reason as well. Yes, Fifth has an extra life, but if I think there's a villager, I'd prefer them to keep that life for now until I have reason to doubt that claim.

I would be happy for a lynch on Steel, but I feel like we need to broaden our discussion a little. I'm just going to type up raw thoughts as I go through Day 1 (mostly skimming until I get to the part where Road/Guest become the top lynch candidates): - A lot of jokes and trollish stuff - makes sense given this game and the fact it's Day 1. NAI. - HPoLT votes on Elandara, is deliberately vague about why. Seems to me like a satirical take on Orlok's style - it made me laugh, as the victim of that a couple times, so I really want to say slight village, even though I probably shouldn't. - Fura votes Arand, criticising Arand for clearing Elephant too early. The post in question is one line, in which Rand says they don't want to publish their speculations on Elephant's role, which seems fair enough to me. Neutral - I disagree with Fura, but I think it's consistent with Villager behaviour. - Fura swaps from Arand to Ada, after Gammalv's analysis. NAI. - Banter and Fun. - @Araris Valerian votes on Gammalv on a 'hunch' - I'd be really curious to hear some reasoning, or, failing that, whether you have any new hunches. Besides that, it's consistent with what I remember of his behaviour, so NAI. - Elandera votes on Roadwalker. Just a poke-vote, trying to get Road to be active. We can't clear Elan for this, since it's perfectly consistent with Spambot behaviour to distance, and assume that an actual candidate will emerge, or that Roadwalker will post and the lynch will move elsewhere. (Also, I went through and checked to be on the safe side, and can confirm that Roadwalker was the only person not to have posted at that point, though a few people had posted just one joke line.) - @Kidpen says he would vote on someone, but he doesn't want to vote when he wouldn't be able to remove it in time for rollover. That seems... suspicious to me. As a villager, if you vote on someone before going offline, you can hope that other villagers that will be online will vote for a better candidate if a better candidate exists. It makes more sense in my mind, IMO, from an Spambot standpoint - he says it would be a 'pokevote', which means that he might have been thinking about putting it on Roadwalker. If he's a teammate of Road, and he's not going to be online to remove the vote later, that's a very good reason not to vote. - Sapphire adds vote on Roadwalker. Sapphire's confirmed good, so not too much point in me analysing this. - Itiah adds vote to Roadwalker. Considering that they also suggest that Guest/Road were both Spambots Weekend One, a theory that turned out to be true, Itiah is very strongly village in my mind. - Arand votes Elandera. This could be seen as an attempt to divert the lynch away from Road? But, it could just as easily be a villager with poor timing. Also, Arand's source of suspicion is Elan 'hard-clearing' Fura too early, when in reality Elan does no such thing (they say they lean village on Fura, but I read that as them trying to post their thoughts as much as they're able to on Day 1, and is certainly a long way from hard-clearing anybody). In some ways, I feel a Spambot Arand would have been able to find a more solid argument against a villager than what they gave, but on the other hand, the number of game relevant posts up to this point is actually quite low, so maybe not. Moderate suspicion. - CadCom votes Itiah, saying the sudden bandwagon is suspicious on someone who hadn't been online since the first vote was suspicious. I don't think a Spambot would be so overt in defending a teammate, and would find subtler means of trying to get a villager lynched, so I'm actually leaning slight village. - Ada votes on Elandera (who's now at two votes) to 'make things interesting/add some pressure'. I think one of Ada or Arand would likely be evil and trying to swing the lynch off of, but I really doubt two Spambots would bandwagon together. So, slight Spambot, depending on whether Arand is a Spambot or not. - I vote for Mailliw. - Steel votes HPoLT. Claims later this is due to it HPoLT advocating mayoring, when I viewed the same post as just a joke post. I can see this as just a paranoid villager reading through and trying to look for anything that might be a tell, and again, I'd have thought an Elim might have found a better excuse to lynch someone. NAI, but something I might change my mind on when I look back later on. - Elan defends themself, tries to push for more from people who haven't really contributed. Village gut lean, combined with the fact that I highly doubt the top three candidates for the lynch that cycle were all Eliminators. - Ada retracts from Elan, but does not vote on a new candidate. Posts votecount. - Seventh Saint votes Steel, citing Steel's vote as flimsy. I have a hard time reading this - it feels different to Saint's usual style, but they said they're in a rush, so that's probably why. I could also see this as a desperate Eliminator trying to find an argument that sticks against a villager. Slight Spambot, mainly due to timing. - Maill swaps from HPoLT to Arand. I don't agree with their analysis, but I think it's generally more likely to be a Villager clasping at straws. - Fura votes for HPoLT, saying that they've posted a lot with very little analysis. Given it was still Day 1, that seems a little unfair, but then again, given that it was still Day 1, I can't expect them to have a much stronger argument. So... NAI? In some ways, I'm tempted to lynch HPoLT, simply because everyone seems to have voted on them, and figuring out their alignment could well tell us a good deal about everyone left alive, even though I'm not that suspicious of HPoLT themselves. - Guest adds vote to HPoLT - Makes me trust Fura more, since I doubt multiple Spambots would want to form a voting block like that. - HPoLT votes on Guest for bandwagonning. - Guest retracts their vote on HPoLT. It's not clear whether they always intended to do that, and it was a part of the joke, or whether they were backpedalling. - I swap my vote from Maill to Road. 4 votes on Road, 1 on HPoLT, 1 on Guest at this point in time. - Rand says Guest is a bit off, but does not vote on them. Possibly a distancing tactic, while they discuss whether to bus Guest in the Spambot doc. More likely, I'm tunnelling. NAI. - Wilson votes on Guest. 4 votes on Road, 2 on Guest. A Spambot Wilson would have to be fairly gutsy to try this right now - with just one vote on Guest (though more conversation), it would still be much easier to swing onto a villager. Then again, it's turtles all the way down, and Wilson seems the type who'd try something like that. Slight village, depending on who else is voting on Guest. - Steel votes on Guest. - Things get crazy right about here - this is about the last 15 minutes of the cycle, I think. - Gammalv will Gammalv. Ties the votes by voting on Guest. - xxGaea defends herself of being a Spambot by saying they're not a Spambot. Strong Elim, lynch immediately. - Elephant votes Guest, to mess with Alv. Confirmed good. - Gammalv will Gammalv. Ties the vote by voting on Road. - Elephant swaps to Road, to break the tie. Confirmed good. - Crimsn Chanarach steps in to end the tie shenanigans, voting on Road. If we are accepting the theory that the Elims want to kill off the roleless Eliminator over the one with a role, then this is a slight village post. - Gammalv votes on Guest, hoping to recreate the tie. - Elephant retracts from Road in the last seconds of the game, recreating the tie in the last seconds of the game. So, without vote shenanigans, this would have been up to the gods of luck and chance. - As it is, Itiah's vote disappeared off Road, and Jon's was moved to Guest. So Guest was lynched, 5-3. Unless the Vashikaran can roleblock votes (which I don't think they can, but I'd appreciate clarification), then the manipulations were done by villagers. Which presumably means the Elims were expecting either Road to die, or a draw and a random lynch. Or they were inactive. Which... surprises and troubles me. Suppose that the elims decided to save their active member over their inactive one, instead of going for the more powerful role. In that case, it would strongly suggest that Crimsn Chanarach is an Eliminator, since they helped to break the tie shenanigans for Road over Guest. However, that's a big if, so I'm put them as a slight Elim, but it's worth looking into (and if the Vashikaran can roleblock votes, then they're probably a villager?) ...Wow, that took a long time. Anyway, hopefully it's worthwhile if it catches us another couple Spambots. TL;DR/My reads: Strong Village: Itiah, [someone who proved they had a village role in PM's but who I don't want to out, and who I don't want converted by the Babaji] Slight Village: Cadcom, Gammalv/AlVoidus, Elandera, Maill, Fura Neutral: Wilson, HPoLT Slight Elim: Adavantos, Seventh Saint, Crimsn Chanarach Moderate Elim: Rand, Kidpen Everyone else: Probably haven't posted much, I'd like to hear more from them. I think I'll vote Arand, since I don't think they've given much of an explanation of their votes last cycle, and I'd like to hear a bit more from them about why they tried to shift the vote away from Road, and tried to cast suspicion on Elandera.

I know, right? Anyway, I know there's a lot to talk about, with 2 spambots dead, and the PM role killed, but there's something more important I need to set straight. How dare you. You pray to your false god, and speak out against those you see as your competition. Yet, in your haste, you forget to mention the most powerful and righteous god of all. Me. It is by my hand that this forum has come to exist, painstakingly built over the process of years. It is by my hand that these people have learned the skills of deception and analysis, rising up the ranks in order to become a skilled Eliminator. And it is by my hand that other such as Wilson, Alv, and even your precious Orlok have been able to build a name for themselves under my shadow. Orlok exists because I made them. And they gain a following because I allow them to have a following. Remember that, young priest, and do not forget who the true creator of these forums are next time.

It can't be ruled out that it was just a coincidence Jon died - I've never known Jon to be very likely to talk or claim much in my PM's, and I've seen that kind of good/bad luck happen before (depending on what perspective you're looking from). Given the Spambots are 2 down just a cycle in, I'd say the Village still has the strong advantage here just by our lead alone. And, I'm about to reread the Day 1 lynch now, because with Roadwalker and Guest both being Spambots, that makes the latter half of the cycle will seem much more interesting. I think we can clear Itiah this cycle, but there's the distinct possibility that they'll be converted by the Babaji in future cycles, so we'll have to watch out for that. And, I hate to say this, but I'm actually slightly disappointed we got Temptation, out of all the possible Spambot roles - that's the one I was most curious to see the effect of this game, since I haven't seen a role like that before.

Huh. OK... Mailliw772. I think they're wrong in just about everything they've said since I voted on them (no offence meant, Maill), but they're wrong in such a way that I think a villager can be - I don't think an Eliminator wold be willing to advocate for finding Elephant's role because of how inherently suspicious that is. Obviously, that very quickly turns into an IKYK, but if Maill was being that gutsy this game, then it invalidates my previous reasoning of them being a fairly shy Eliminator earlier. I really don't like the bandwagon forming on Rae. I may or may not be able to make it back on this cycle, so I'll vote Roadwalker to try and balance things out. If nothing else, it should discourage lurking and inactivity for everyone left alive in future cycles. Also, if either GM is a bot, Jon, I get the sense that it's xxGaea. The way there's the low-key "You're the only one I trust." line in the signups thread - all the senses honed from every time I've watched a movie ever tells me that they're going to end up as the traitor.

Roadwalker's at the bottom of my screen as reading this thread now, so hopefully he'll post in just a moment (maybe before I get this out). If they don't, then I'm happy to support that lynch. In the meantime, Mailliw772. Their behaviour seems off (beyond the generally trollish behaviour that we've seen today). Their vote on Rae is suspicious - it's played off as a laugh, but then they also seem to try and make it a serious vote with a comment on Rae's vote on Elandera. This reads to me like an Eliminator trying to get rid of a villager without being seen to be pushing too hard for it.

Everything was going to plan. The name, Metabardnition, had been chosen through a genetic algorithm process, taken from data of this "SE" forum, and generated a name that was a combination of two existing members. With such a disguise, it was likely everyone would think he'd been a member for years. Hey everyone! It's great to be part of another SE game, of which I've played many! As a senior and well-respected analyser, I thoroughly recommend everyone keep me alive, and follow my lead in the lynch, in order to most effectively root out these pesky spambots. I will be PM'ing many of my old buddies shortly, of whom I have played a number of previous games with, and I look forward to seeing what's changed since the last time I played.

Hmmm... What is the exact definition in this game for someone who is inactive?

This looks interesting. Sign me up.

Ah. I was wondering why they spent so long in that body - I'd seen the whitetext passing back and forth Cycle 1, and had thought he'd chosen to stay in Coral Swan and for an alliance with Axolotl and Kangaroo, who also barely moved throughout the game.

Ah, well. I'm really curious to look into what shenanigans Alv and Rand were up to - if Alv hadn't been killed, we might have been a turn or two from winning (I'm guessing since Alv held most of our items, they all got transferred to Alv's killer? Probably should have found a way to spread out our items more evenly, since I had 3 backpacks one cycle, but that's difficult without communication.)

The husk - Felix - walked down the busy street, guitar slung awkwardly on his shoulder as he dodged around the busy sidewalks. "Sorry." "Excuse me." "Really sorry." I'm too tired for this. As he navigated his way past the swathes of people, he saw a coffee shop. Quickly stopping to check his wallet (much to the frustration of the other pedestrians, who edged their way around him and the guitar across his back), it seemed as though Felix was down on his luck. Still, there was enough cash there for a cup of coffee, at least.

You beat me to the punch, Steel. I was considering doing something similar, with Kandra impersonators. (Yours probably utilises this mechanic to a much greater extent, though.) Sign me up.

MR33: Denouement The camp reached the cave entrance close to sundown. The mists swirled around them, chilling the air to freezing. On the horizon, storm clouds boomed - they beat the storm by a matter of minutes. Alendi peered into the tunnel - it seemed to go on for some distance, and Alendi couldn’t see the end. “Get inside. We’ll take shelter here.” Alendi said. The group, huddled and significantly shrunk from its original size, shuffled in. They can’t take much more like this. I can’t take much more like this. They’d started out with a medium sized party, but they now had less than half that number. There was a sense of despair in the air, as though people were just waiting for the news of the next deaths to arrive. At least it’s almost over. Please, Terr, let it be almost over. Rashek walked up to Alendi. “Should we make camp for the night? Make the final journey in the morning?” Alendi considered it. There was nothing more he wanted to do, then to get some rest, just a couple hours sleep, before continuing on. But… no. He could not allow someone to betray him at this final moment, after they’d come so far. “No. Make camp here - I’ll head in ahead. With luck, we can get this over with tonight. I’ll bring Duilin along for security - he’s proven his trustworthiness.” There was a brief pause. “Where is Duilin?” Duilin stood outside, watching the oncoming storm. “I know you’re there.” The storm didn’t reply. “You think I don’t realise what you’re doing? Pitting us against each other, for your own personal amusement? Pairing us into groups, then seeing who survives?” The wind gusted, making Duilin shiver, and it began to snow lightly. “I know you’re there. I’ve played your little games - I caught the traitors. What now? When will this end?” The snow began to intensify, combining with the mist to obscure Duilin’s vision, and there was another thunderclap. “Hey! Answer me!” Frustrated, Duilin grabbed some snow from the ground, roughly packed it into a ball, and lobbed it into the storm. He didn’t see where it landed, but he could have sworn that it impacted something - or someone - nearby. Duilin began to turn back towards camp, and saw the mists nearby beginning to swirl, as they slowly coalesced into a solid form. “Oh, it’s you again.” The figure had been remarkably friendly to him, but Duilin wasn’t in a mood to talk. Duilin casually took out a carving fork and tossed it through the mist figure, watching it dissipate away. Duilin knew by now that wouldn’t harm it - but in some ways it was fun to try all the same. By now, the storm was bad enough that Duilin realised he couldn’t see the entrance anymore. Slowly, he began to trek back towards the entrance, keeping careful mind of the cliff edge to avoid falling off. Behind Duilin, someone picked up the carving fork. Among the howling of the wind, Duilin failed to hear the crunching of snow as they approached Duilin from behind. The figure raised his hand behind Duilin, and Duilin turned, too late, as the carving fork lunged towards him and pierced straight through their chest. The deed done, the figure dashed back to the camp, leaving Duilin alone, as they slowly collapsed on the ground. The white snow turned red as the sun set. “Where’s Duilin?” There was a pause. “He’s probably fine.” Rashek said eventually. “Maybe he went for a walk. He’ll probably be back soon.” “A walk? In this weather?” Rashek shrugged. “We shouldn’t give up hope, anyway.” In the silence, unnoticed, one of the party silently rejoined the back of the group. Rashek paused. “But really, it’s better to sleep. We don’t know what lies ahead, and there may still be the Deepness to deal with. I can stand guard.” He said it almost perfectly - friendly, gently guiding advice. But it was a little too incongruous. Alendi had seen the looks Rahek had given him, when Rashek thought Alendi wasn’t watching. A fiery, burning anger for what Rashek felt was a wrong to his people. A disgust for leading them on the mission that Kwaan had inexplicably begun to decry as doomed. This Rashek, the one standing before him now, was a facade. Alendi sighed. He’d seen this coming for long enough, but he’d hoped it wouldn’t be necessary. He grabbed the dagger on his belt, and in one fluid motion, stabbed Rashek through the chest. “Are there any other objections?” None were raised. “Good. Let’s finish this.” The walk was taken in silence, except for the echoing footsteps. Glances were made between the small group, every accidentally kicked pebble causing the group to tense up. Half an hour went by, then an hour. Slowly, the group became aware that the air around them was somehow strange. Thicker, somehow, lazier. And, much as each of them tried to shake off the feeling, it felt strangely as though the very air was watching them approach, silently monitoring their progress. “Dr. Snip, may I speak with you? In private?” Daedi’s voice echoed through the path, reverberating back and forth several times before eventually dissipating. Everyone looked back. “What is this about?” Roadwalker asked. He looked down at his Tinmind, suddenly very regretful he’d used his entire supply the previous night. “A quick matter, that is all. You may all carry on.” Everyone quickly looked at one another. “I assure you, we’ll only be a moment. You have no need to worry.” Reluctantly, the group continued on, Alendi leading the way, while Daedi and Dr. Snip stayed behind. “What’s this about?” Dr. Snip asked. “I know you killed Duilin.” There was a pause. “You’re lying. Someone else must have killed Duilin.” Daedi smiled. “You’re good. You managed to hide from even my gaze for a while. But everyone makes a mistake eventually.” “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m going to rejoin the group now.” Daedi held up the carving fork, prongs red with blood. Dr. Snip paused, momentarily stunned. “But… how…” Daedi smiled. “Look. I know Duilin may have been your friend, but there’s so much more at play here. Alendi’s intentions are good, but they. Look here.” Snip said, pulling out a thin, engraved metal sheet from under his shirt. “The prophecies - they’ve been changed. The power, that Alendi wants to release, to stop there - it’s been manipulating things, in front of all of us. Whatever it is, it’s trapped for a very good reason.” Daedi gave Snip a completely neutral stare. “I see no problem with what Alendi is doing. You’re just one of the traitors. I should report you to the group.” “Look. Please. I know you’re angry with me right now because of Duilin, and you have every right to be, but -” “I don’t care that you killed Duilin.” Dr. Snip, for the second time, stopped, stunned. “What?” A mist began to rise from Daedi. “You’re the Deepness? Perhaps we can work together. We have a chance to stop what Alendi’s going to do, you and I. Will you work with me?” “I don’t care that you killed Duilin. I just wish you’d done it a little earlier.” And with that Daedi, mist streaming from their form, lifted up Dr. Snip, pinning him up against the wall and choking them. Dr. Snip kicked out, futilely trying to get Daedi to drop the smaller figure, but his legs passed through the largely incorporeal figure. However, the hand continued to clench down on Dr. Snip’s throat, slowly cutting off air. “If you’d killed him earlier, I’d have had time. Time to whittle the party down. Make them desperate. Time to make sure that Alendi would have no choice but to release me, and then be weak enough to be disposed of afterwards. You could have guaranteed my success.” Daedi’s face remained perfectly neutral, like a puppeteer with cut strings, but his voice was anything but. Snip’s face was bright red, and slowly turning a shade of purple. “Duilin learned my identity, and used me like a dog doing his bidding. I bore it, because I figured between you and I, we’d be able to achieve so much chaos together, even if my hands were tied.” Snip lashed out again, in desperation, but it passed through the figure harmlessly. “But no. You decided to play the pacifist. You didn’t kill, and went storing your Pewter instead. You thought the mob was who you had to worry about, boy? Oh, no. You had to worry about me. And no amount of Pewter is going to help with that.” Snip wasn’t moving. Daedi left him there for a few more seconds, to make sure they weren’t pretending, then dissolved into the mist. The group saw Daedi round the corner, alone, puffing and panting. “Where’s Snip?” “The Deepness attacked us - he killed Snip. I barely escaped.” Daedi paused. “I think I’m safe now, though.” There were glances between Dietrich Drake and Itiah. Daedi paused, then continued. “I don’t think they attacked groups before - they must be getting desperate. We’re on the right path.” Daedi moved to rejoin the group, then watched as Dietrich put a hand on his spear. Daedi paused. “Dietrich? We’re on the same side, right?” “The people behind me are on the same side. You, I’m not so sure about.” Daedi paused. “Fine.” He smiled, and slowly dissolved away, leaving nothing behind. They reached the pool soon after. Glowing with a white light, and surrounded by a ring of clay stones with some strange metal embedded in them. There was a moments silence, as the thick air slid around them, watching, gazing, judging. Alendi sighed. “Well, best get this over with.” He stripped down to his breeches, then entered the pool. Slowly, he walked to the middle, pausing there for a moment. Then he dunked his head below the water. Alendi felt all of his bones and muscles at once begin to tense up as the energy began to absorb into him, as though on fire. All the pores of his skin seemed alight with fire and the veins coursed red-hot. Alendi gasped at the sheer power that was flowing through him - far superior to anything he’d imagined possible - superior to anything that he could have imagined possible. With this power, this energy, he could flatten cities, level continents. He could banish the mists, could make world peace, could provide food and shelter for all, with a wave of his hand. He could bring back his companions. No. Alendi paused. You can not hold this power forever. And Alendi saw that this was true. He could hold the power for only a few minutes, before he had to give it up. He saw the Deepness returning, and Alendi having failed his mission. He saw those who had held hope for Alendi, back in Khlennium, wide-eyed, watching as the Deepness returns, and now with nothing stopping it from returning in full force and conquering all it sees. You can not abandon your mission now. Alendi saw those who had died, silently watching him, judging him. What were their lives for? Alendi heard the voices of his people, quietly waiting out the days, slowly trying to ration an ever-dwindling supply of food. What do they want you to do? Alendi felt a memory, of his past self, standing before the Terris Priests at Khlennium, as Kwaan proclaimed him the Hero of Ages, and the saviour from the Deepness. What are you here to do? Alendi paused. Then he exhaled, letting the power go. It began to drain away from his body, faster and faster. He screamed, a torrent of energy flowing out of him, and he collapsed down into the now empty pool. He heard a voice, in the back of his mind. I am FREE! Snipexe died. They were a Pewter Feruchemist Rashek's Lackey. Fifth Scholar died. They were a Pewter Feruchemist Alendi Loyalist. The game is over! The Alendi Loyalists have won. Special credit goes to Devotary as The Deepness, who missed out on breaking the SK(-ish) curse by one player. Thanks goes to CadCom, Elandara, and Walin who wrote write-ups for this game, and then proceeded to conveniently die the following cycle. GM Spreadsheet Elim Doc Dead Doc GM thoughts: Comparison to LG27: As the only other game I've run, that was my chief comparison to this game. And... MR33 was significantly better than LG27 was, at least - it avoided a lot of the same traps that the last game fell into. Partly, this was because I was deliberately trying to run a fairly ordinary game - part of the problem with LG27 is that I tried throwing too many wacky things into that game at the same time - I feel like at the core of LG27 there was probably a good game - where players have the option of working towards a couple different goals, and have to be paranoid that their other 'factionmates' aren't working towards the same goals that they are. But this got distracted by everything superfluous added on top of that, so it just became a confusing, bloated mess that wasn't actually fun to play (or run). There were a few other things wrong with it (in particular, a few mechanisms that relied on randomness, which really doesn't belong in an SE game - see my notes about luck in the Balance section.) In this respect, MR33 was certainly better. It seems like the players had more fun playing it, and I had more fun running it. It wasn't perfect, by any means, but I can walk away from this one actually feeling like I had a good time and that I want to do this again. Setting/Story: I knew I wanted to run a game set in pre-Final Empire Scadrial before almost anything else in this game. This was for 2 main reasons - 1) I wanted to try out a game based around the idea of Feruchemy, and having to make temporary sacrifices for more powerful benefits later (this will be discussed in the Mechanics section), and 2) I figured if this game was popular/fun, maybe I could run a couple sequels, and functionally create an alt-Scadrial history that was dependent on the results of various games (which... may or may not happen - I'd be interested in hearing peoples thoughts.) Overall, I think I liked the setting - it was new and something that hadn't been done before, and fitted in fairly easily to the format of an SE game. Honestly, I'm surprised no-one's done this before. It also gave me the chance to try out the diary format in the various cycles, which... kind of worked? The main problems I ended up facing was that deaths and stuff were always included in a separate part of the write-up, so the diary was usually just filler of "We are very concerned about this thing that happened". If I were to use a diary format again, I'd probably stick to it more than I did this game - try and write some deaths through the diary format, instead of separately. Mechanics: I still like the idea of the Feruchemist, but the devil is in the details. Part of the problem was that the Feruchemist took a while to become a powerful role, and this was a really short game - when people stored charges (particularly Pewter), they were wasting precious actions. There are 2 remedies I can think to this. 1) Start players off with some small supply of charges - enough that they'll still need to charge at some point in the game, but decreasing how much of a late-game role it is. 2) Speeding up the action cycle somehow (e.g. You can store and spend multiple charges a cycle.) Tin Feruchemists are a pain. Perhaps, if I had some kind of bot that could sweep through and format the transcript automatically, it would be easier, but it's a long, tedious process to transform a PM. If you just try to copy-paste it, it comes out almost unreadable. Pewter Feruchemists are... fine, but they're slow. Too slow, for a game that ends in 4 cycles. I still think that having one vote for 1 charge of Pewter will become too OP too quickly, but perhaps some combination of options one and two above could help. Bronze Feruchemists are... I have no idea, actually - the only Bronze Feruchemist died C1. At a guess, I'd say it has similar problems to the Pewter Feruchemist, and could use similar fixes. The not-being-able-to-perform-an-action-when-being-lynched thing is not unbalanced, but by the sounds of things, it was unfun, so I wouldn't recommend it. Obviously, most of the other roles are classics, so I don't feel the need to comment on them as much - they're staples of SE precisely because they're balanced. Balance: (Note: I'm distinguishing Mechanics from Balance because mechanics is about the structure of individual rules/roles, while balance is how it all fits together into a cohesive whole. Ultimately, you need both to have a really fun game.) The first two cycles of this game were... interesting, to say the least. 2 out of the 3 eliminators dead, functionally ruining the chances of the Elim team possibly winning (although Snip came a lot close than I was initially expecting, all things considered). The first and most obvious question is... why? There wasn't an obvious mistake I could spot where I went "The Eliminators really screwed up there". Alternatively, it might be that the rules were somehow village biased ... honestly, I'm not exactly sure whether that's the case. If anything, I'd expected such a small game to favour the Eliminators, since they only needed to hide for 3 or so cycles to get a good shot at the lynch, but clearly, that didn't happen. So, I really do think it was just bad luck. CadCom and Elandera decided in Cycle 1 they'd tie-up the vote and cause a no-lynch, knowing that vote manipulations could kill one of them, and that it might be viewed as suspicious. Unfortunately, they just had the worst possible luck, and lost two of their members because of it. If it had worked, they might have won the game. I did have some mechanisms in place in case something exactly like the first two cycles happened. The Deepness was shamelessly stolen from Aman's Red Rising MR as an attempt at auto-balancing once the game started - the theory was that if the game went towards the Eliminators, the Deepness would work to correct that and end up working with the villagers, and if the game went towards the villagers (as did happen), then the Deepness would work to correct that and end up working with the Eliminators. I still think that's a brilliant idea in theory, but in practice, that didn't work so well. Around Cycle 3, Devotary claimed to Fifth, a villager, and functionally their kills ended up working for the village (killing suspected Eliminators) in an already village-biased game. If I were to ever run this again, probably the first change I'd make would be to say both the Village and the Eliminators need to kill the Deepness in order to accomplish their wincons - that prevents this kind of situation from developing.I kind of like that this was almost role madness - I feel like that's more fun for the individual player, but the balance suffers as a whole, since a whole bunch of effects take place functionally by accident, it becomes less a game of chance and more a game of luck, which can cause problems in what is mostly a skill based game. E.g. Itiah, the Doctor, protects Roadwalker. Shane acts as a Decoy, deflecting all actions from Roadwalker onto Shane, and Devotary tries to kill Shane, which is blocked by Itiah's redirected protect action, and may have lost the game because of it. All of these actions were entirely separate, and happened largely accidentally. Not being afraid to add a few more vanilla roles both makes it harder to clear people (which this game could have used) and makes it less likely to have luck play a role as much as it did this game. Conclusion: While definitely not perfect, this game has a few interesting elements that worked to varying degrees of success, and it would be interesting to see how other GM's tackle similar problems in future.

And that's the end of the cycle, and if I'm not mistaken, the game. The aftermath will be posted in a couple hours.

The doctor can not protect someone from the lynch.

There were a couple very minor changes made, however, you shouldn't read too much into the writeups, as I take significant creative license.

No. There is at least one of Rashek's lackeys left alive, otherwise the game would have ended.

Cycle Four - Distaste and Distrust Nawl woke up in the middle of the night. He had always been a deep sleeper, but as this expedition grew more intense by the day, he found it hard not to stay awake. He got out of his tent, nervous. He suspected there were several people just as awake as he was right now. Feruchemists tapping their bronze metalminds, light sleepers, and those whose paranoia woke them up. Moving about as quietly as he could, he tried to find his way through the camp. He saw a shadow. They would be dangerous, no matter who. He made sure to watch out for where the figure was moving. He didn't want to get stabbed in the back, after all, or accused of sneaking around and stabbed in the front. A thought struck him. Fourth Letir was dead, but his possessions, including his tent, were buried with him. His metalminds lay untouched with the rest of his belongings...was it really so reprehensible to take from a murderer? While Nawl was having trouble justifying "calling dibs" in public, especially right after one's death, in the middle of the night the only shame he'd have to deal with was private. And seeing as Fourth Letir was a traitor, there was none. No guilt, no worries except hiding. The man had killed and sought to help the Deepness. History must be preserved, after all, and if Nawl got guilty, well...He could just drop the metalminds somewhere else sometime later. Using the landmarks around him, Nawl found the tent he was looking for. Checking one more time for the shadow in camp, he found two--but they were far away from him, and he had no sources of light on him. And he was being very quiet. He didn't forget that the group thought he was a traitor; if they undug the body before him, he'd have to check for them being around. Maybe Nawl could just leave, wait until he was sure all suspicions were gone, and rejoin the group when victory was assured. And of course, that Alendi was alive. If one of the group had to enter the Well of Ascension, Nawl didn't want to be the one to draw the wrong straw. No. He'd stick this through to the end. It looked like the spot was still covered up; he started digging everything back up. Shuddering at the body, he looked for the pack. Rifling through it. Hearing a light chink of metal brushing metal. Content with his spoils, he pocketed the smaller metalminds and turned around. Halfway to camp, he remembered there was another traitor for certain. They might be killing tonight...if Nawl was going to die at the hands of someone in the group, he would do it saving someone else. He started hurrying as fast as he could. And crashed into a wall of people. "I knew it! Nawl, you've been a traitor from the start. You've tried to cover your tracks, coming here to destroy any evidence. Bluffing that you wanted to use it, so you would have an alibi for leaving in the night. But we knew better. You're not going to sabotage this expedition," Duilin said. "No! I was just...looting. I know how it sounds. But I'm not going down until I explain myself." "Your actions explain enough. Die, traitor." Duilin gestured to Dietrich Drake, who was carrying a spear. "That's not how I die! I trusted you! I was going to take a dagger for you!" "Well, how about you take a spear. For all of us." A thrust, and Nawl was too weak to move. They searched his pockets as he died, finding some bloody paper and assuming it to be the list. As he fell, Nawl could vaguely see two figures atop two of the nearby peaks, standing and watching from afar. One seemed only semi-corporeal, a swirling figure, which could only barely be made out from the surroundings. And the other… the other was familiar. “No! ...No…” He fell asleep in the mists. Dave paced the tent nervously. Back and forth, back and forth. Below him, the dirt crunched in a rhythmic pattern. What am I doing? I don’t belong here - this mission to save the world, everything hanging in the balance… I should have stayed behind in Khlennium. This is far too dangerous. Back and forth, back and forth, the creaking of the floorboards continued. So many dead… We barely have half the group we set out with, and we’re beginning to turn in on each other. Soon, there will be nobody left. Someone has to be the protector, someone has to lead this group, to try and save us, and the rest of the world. But… that someone isn’t me. It would be so easy… I could walk out right here, right now, and no-one would be the wiser. Let the others figure it out - I don’t have to stay here. Back and forth, back and… the pacing stopped. Dave slowly turned, and looked at the door. A flaming arrow soared by, narrowly skimming in front of Dave as they watched. The tent burst into flames, quickly filling up with smoke. Dave coughed, as his eyes began to water. In moments, he was practically blind. Smoke filled up his nose and mouth, and he coughed. Blearily, he looked around. I… I have to get out! I have to… Where’s the door? Where’s the door! He coughed again, trying to find breath, and failing. Outside, he could hear shouts begin to rise, as news of the fire spread. “Water! Where’s the rusting water!” Too late… It’s burning up too quickly. I need to get out… But he couldn’t find the door. He reached out almost at random, and yanked his hand back away from the heat of the flame. I… I’m going to die here. Caught up in things too big for me… Too big for anyone. He fell to his knees as another coughing splutter hit him, his brain at war with his lungs trying to breathe in the smoky air. I’d hoped… I’d thought… I guess it doesn’t matter now… He felt himself being lifted up. This is it. This is me moving above to Trell’s realm… I hope I will be judged wisely… But… no. Dave could still feel his body, could still feel his lungs screaming for air. He could feel the arm dragging him forward out of the tent, into fresh air. Shane heaved in a breath, relieving the screaming in his lungs. The figure, seeing he was conscious, placed him down onto the ground. “Run. Run, you fool!” Then, the person who saved him, too blurry to make out, dashed off into the night. Dave took a few deep breaths, slowly letting the oxygen return to his brain. Then the panic hit him. Someone… Someone tried to kill me! Dave, sore and barely conscious, slowly clambered up, and fled the camp. Another day, another life was snuffed out, this time by our own internal squabbling - everyone views everyone else with distaste and distrust. We didn’t see any murders from the traitors - perhaps we can hope they have been banished for good, but I fear they may just be biding their time. Apparently, a tent has gone up in flames - is this something that happened naturally, or is this part of the many attempts on the members of our party? Even a few days ago, I may have told myself not to jump to conclusions, but I can not see any other conclusions at this point except to assume a deliberate intent. I do not yet know whether any have died - it is my strong hope not - we can ill afford to shrink our party any further. From where we set up camp in the evening, we saw for the first time the cave entrance where the Well is supposed to be located. I can feel it, pulsing, waiting. We will probably arrive there tomorrow, or possibly the day after. It is just my hope that I or someone loyal to me is still alive when that happens. Please find a post of Walin's and give them an upvote for their death write-up! Walin was lynched! They were a Decoy Alendi Loyalist. Shanerockes was attacked, but they were protected! The next Cycle will end at 6:00PM Friday 15th February AEDT. Vote Count: Walin(5): Devotary, Roadwalker, Itiah, Snipexe, Fifth Ark(1): Shanerockes Shanerockes(1): Ark Player List: Roadwalker - Honorable Dietrich DrakeItiah - De Itiah au PowerfulArk - SoahcShqueeves - {Delinquent without a name} - Roleless Alendi LoyalistFifth Scholar - DuilinDroughtbringer - Droughtbringer - Desperate Packman Alendi LoyalistXinoehp - Dedne - Roleless Alendi LoyalistElandara - Declan, the Detailed - Roleless Rashek's LackeyDevotary - DaediCadCom - Fourth Letir - Bronze Feruchemist/Desperate Packman Rashek's LackeyShaneRockes - Dave, the Terrible LiarSnipexe - Dr. SnipWalin - Nawl - Decoy Alendi Loyalist

The Cycle is over! Please stand by for the next cycle.

This was ambiguous wording on my part. Fifth is correct. The full order of actions is: Desperate Packman Redirects Vote Manipulations Lynch PM Spying Protection Kills