Archer

Well done, Eluvianii! And everyone else too. Also, I hereby withdraw from the competition, for secret reasons.

That's that guy who wrote Hamilton right? Hey TJ, say there's three players, one from each faction. The exe kills the villager, so they lose. Then the elims try to kill each other with their elim kills. Who wins?

Signing up as the village's deliberate bystander who intentionally loiters for reasons know only to him. I'll join the game as Dim, who in his free time is trying to create an Eastern street slang grammar book.

QF51: Aftermath: Notes “Alright, everyone take a knee. This is getting serious.” “Master Johnson, when-” “Wait a minute! That’s not Master Johnson. He died in the prologue!” “That’s right! But if you’re not Master Johnson… who are you??” “Ha. Ha ha. Ha HA HA HA HA. You were all so eager to follow a commanding voice in the mist. Like cathartes aura following a carnivorous dragon to feast on the carrion left over from their bi-weekly hunt when their seasonal terrain aligns-” “Just tell us who you are!” “Isn’t it obvious? You’ve suspected me for so long,” said Loom. “Gasp!” “That’s right! For days, I’ve been eating nothing but garlic to maintain this charade. I led us to this waterfall so I could finally have a shower.” “We can stop you! It’s five to one.” “Mm.” “That’s wrong! I would know because I am the best at counting! Hiya!” “What are you doing, piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-!” “You’re the one who’s been pushing people off cliffs! Quick, help me stop Loom and pikS! You, random bystander, why won’t you help us?” “Oh, I’m with them. Sorry.” “Double gasp! Hey, Loom, where'd you get that crossboooooo-!” “I believe we have a majority now. Shall we vote about what we do next?” “I like voting.” “Me too.” “All in favour of dissolving this hunting party and donating the group’s funds to a charitable foundation dedicated to the study and appreciation of dragons?” “Aye!” “Aye!” “Eh.” “Then it’s settled. Note that down in the minutes, then let’s go wash our hands of this whole business. Literally and metaphorically!” “Huzzah!” *** “The view from up here really is lovely. It’s no wonder that dragons love to fly.” “Indeed. One thing is bothering me though. Now that those of us with a knack for attracting dragons outnumber the rest of the party…” “Giving us a majority stake in the venture!” “Yes, but now that our scents are no longer masked by the smell of garlic…” “I’m not sure what you’re implying, pikS.” “ALLOW ME TO ENLIGHTEN YOU, TASTY ONES.” *** Annnd scene. The Dragon Bait have won the game. My congratulations to Matrim’s Dice, TJ Shade, and Random Bystander! This cycle, two Hunting Party members fell. Gears was killed by the eliminators. The Unknown Order was exed. The votes were as follows: Experience (2): Matrim, The Unknown Order The Unknown Order (3): TJ, Experience, Gears, Player List: Links: Spectator Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rvX1YCqAU9650OuPxQwNiqZNGwbp0I293-_Uqdk4XeE/edit?usp=sharing Ghost Realm: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FYtLmj7Nf2P32TQNyGrxLrv2NyEaqfc4smh5t_5TfFs/edit?usp=sharing Skip’s Grammar Club (Eliminator Document): https://docs.google.com/document/d/13QIFbdBRNwiMeoPurfrvNP9egDFIviUzc7wCFenGt0o/edit?usp=sharing GM Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qDMLUCPC1SZDFyObmeWFp2RdMm3h-nZb0WF9NHNp5rs/edit?usp=sharing GM Ruleset Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YLaAJeUraqpf0qvQCWkI1sK7yqKET6OP6bx9xc_D7yk/edit?usp=sharing The Secrets: Secret #1: Secret Bonus Task [Everyone received the following message in their GM PM at the beginning of the game] You also have an optional bonus objective! If you successfully use the following phrase in three separate posts without someone commenting on the use of it, you will be given a snazzy joke title in the final write-up: [word sneak phrase] [GM Notes: This was a nice non-combative objective people could work towards during lulls. I did not fully think through how it would function, and had to rule after the game had begun that white text was not allowed, and that the words had to be together but that punctuation could be fudged.] Half of you successfully completed your bonus challenges! So as promised: Gears, I dub thee this game’s Maniacal Monocled Monopoly Master. Shard of Reading, for your boundless optimism, you have become a Friend of Dragons. Illwei, you said your phrase excellently, but so I can make a meme reference, I dub thee an Okay Vroomer. Flyingbooks, your fear of flying insects is well warranted, for you are the Bane of Butterflies. TJ Shade, for having the strength to complete your task, I dub thee a Pew Pewterarm. And lastly, Matrim’s Dice, as you’ve said all along, you are The Best at Counting. Secret #2: The Note [This was a limited messaging mechanic in a non-PM game. It functioned as advertised, however, players were not told that if they attempted to pass it back to the person who gave it to them, it would be instead sent to a random person. The final product is in the below spoiler tag, with the sender noted in red.] You're bonked on the head with a paper airplane. It has some writing on it, but there's room for more! You think it would be fun to write a note and pass the paper on. So far it reads: [All messages written will be recorded, up to 25 words. Only words and standard, appropriate punctuation will be accepted. If a player is holding the note during rollover, it will automatically be passed to someone random, unless they received it within an hour of rollover. If a player dies with it in their inventory, the note is passed to a random individual. Otherwise, tell me what you want to write and who you want to give it to. The recipient will not be told who passed it to them.] [GM Note: This was labor intensive to manage, but fun. I think the combination of shortness and not being able to pass between two people consecutively limited its usefulness, but it had a lot of potential if used differently. If you’re an active GM, it’s good for a QF. If you’re running a longer game, it should probably be passed once a cycle or something.] Secret #3: Notes in the Night [This was a way for the dead, who were sequestered in a sperate doc from the Spectators, to communicate with the living.] The following message appears in both the Elim and Ghost Realm docs: While many among the group seem to have made up their minds about dragons and the future prospects of the Hunting Party, a few individuals seem persuadable. The members of Skip’s Grammar Club (aka The Dragon Bait) have taken to slipping 25-word notes, written on pages ripped from their well-loved copy of An Enthusiast’s Guide to Dragon Spotting, to the people who do not vote each day. But even after dying, some Hunters refuse to give up. As ghosts, they try to edit the messages that are sent out. Through sheer force of will, and a little bit of magic!, they are successful about half of the time [Your GM will flip a coin]. The messages placed in the following chart [they had tables in their docs] will be distributed during roll-over. A new chart will be made each cycle. When Dragon Bait die, they go straight to the Spectator document. Everyone else is sent to the Ghost Realm, then may choose to pass on to the Spec doc at any time, at which point they are taken out of the game. [The following appeared in non-voters’ GM PMs during rollover.] You wake up to find a ripped piece of paper on the ground beside you. It seems to be taken from a book. [insert a few sentences from AEGtDS here] Scrawled along the bottom is some handwriting: [insert message here] [GM Note: AEGtDS is a made-up text I wrote in advance:] [GM Note: Like Secret 2, this had lots of potential. I was surprised how little either secret was discussed in-thread, but credit that to it being used mostly jokingly throughout the game. The ghosts got a good message out at the end of C3, but by then it was too late. A doc of confirmed villagers working together is a mighty force to be reckoned with, but the game was too short for this to work well. I’d love to see it reused, as it’s a nice way to give people a way to contribute after they’ve been killed. I was tempted to have everyone get a message even if they voted, but I prefer the idea that at the end of the game, people who know how it works will have to balance voting power with the chance of receiving a valuable message. Note to future GMs, be warned that it makes for a very quiet spec doc.] Other GM Notes: -ILD is fabulous source material for a light QF. I enjoyed reading the dialogue-only RP people made. -This game would probably be more balanced with three elims and eleven villagers, with the elim win-con as parity. Twelve is a hard number of players to balance, because you have to go with three elims, but that makes them a solid quarter of the group, which is the upper end of what’s considered good balance. That said, the crossbow is likely going to a villager, and would have been more effective if the village hadn’t decided to exe the Crossbowman when they did. -The crossbow is hard for the elims to grab without exposing themselves, especially in a non-PM game. I like the election element because it acts as a conversation starter on C1 while giving the elims a chance to make a play. It’s probably the feature I’d most like to see reused. -Anyone who wants to has standing permission to re-run this game in whole or in part. Steal whatever ideas you want. -Finally, thank you to my wonderful IM, Devotary. And to all of you! You were a great group to run a game for. I was impressed that no one fell to the activity filter. Y’all can come back any time.

stop posting game over?

Cycle Four: Game Over? “I need to use the bathroom.” “Hold it in, lad! A dragon could come by at any minute, and now we’ve got the high ground.” “Not the moral high ground.” “Who said that? I can’t see nothing in this fog.” “Actually, it’s mist. The gallons of rushing water cascading down the cliffside make a spray that-” “I really need to use the bathroom now.” “We didn’t march to the top of a mountain at the crack of dawn just to take a break when the dragons begin their morning fly about.” “Oh, we’re hunting Eastern Blue Dragons then? They come out at sunrise.” “How the garlicorice would you know that?” “Read it on a piece of paper. Someone put it by my bed.” “I have an idea. Everyone who isn’t a Dragon Bait, raise your hands.” “Hey, I can’t, I’m holding a heavy crossbow.” “Gottem! Jillian, get him!” “Hey. OW.” “OWaa!” “I’m back from my bathroom break, what did I miiiiiiiiiii-” “Oooo, that’s a long drop.” “They just got tripped right? I was sure I saw someone’s foot knock them over the edge. That’s murder!” “Oi. It’s not murder until those three hit the grou… Oof. Okay, now it’s murder. Care for some garlicorice? It’s like normal licorice, but it’s made entirely out of garlic.” *** Shard of Reading was exed! They were a member of the Hunting Party! The votes were as follows: Shard of Reading (4): Gears, Illwei, Mat, Quinn Quinn (2): TJ, Experience As they died, they shot Quinn with the crossbow! And in the confusion, Illwei was killed by the Dragon Bait! Both were Hunting Party members. This cycle, the Hunting Party may choose another individual to try to bait the dragon with [Village Faction Kill] while the Dragon Bait crew may choose to kill someone as well [Eliminator Faction Kill]. PMs are closed. Ties will be decided randomly. Players who are inactive for an entire cycle will be replaced. This cycle will last ~24 hours, until March 5th at 11am EST. Players:

oh boy. this cycle is now over

Shard of Reading (4): Gears, Illwei, Mat, Quinn Quinn (2): TJ, Experience

I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about, but when I posted cycle's end, your post had your vote in it, so I counted it. Also, thanks for purpling, Quinn. And let me know, Random Bystander, if there's anything I can do to help. Current Vote Count: TJ: Quinn Quinn: TJ Reading (3): Gears, Illwei, Matrim's Dice

Cycle Three: Animosity “Alright, gather round, you lot. I’ve received a petition.” “What’s it say?” “It’s titled, and I’m not pulling your leg, A Proposal Regarding the Standardization of Comma Usage in Official Hunting Party Literature.” “Sure sounds like someone recognizes the need for a common grammatical style guide!” “Who said that? Hop, did you write this?” “Wasn’t me. Didn’t they sign the page?” “Oh yeah. I haven’t actually opened the envelope this thing came in. Just read the outside. Hey Faleast, open this up for me.” “Sure thing. Let’s see. It’s from some group called Skip’s Grandma Club.” “I didn’t know Skip had a grandma.” “Everyone’s got a grandma. Was she that witch who used to cut them dragon stomachs open?” “I always thought she was from the government.” “Oh golly, that’s a lot of pages. You don’t need to read all that, Faleast. Faleast? What’s wrong with his face?” “He’s got powdery stuff on him…” “Don’t touch that letter! They’ve poisoned him with it. Now you Dragon Bait have gone to far. Run him through, Seba!” “But I’m not aaaaargh!!” “Good work. Dragons don’t seem to be coming to eat his body though.” “Maybe he wasn’t one of them…” “You might be right. Nice going, Seba. Really messed up there. Alright, who else might it be?” *** Flyingbooks was exed! They were a member of the Hunting Party! The votes were as follows: Flyingbooks (3): Matrim's Dice, Reading, TJ Shade TJ Shade (2): Books, Ashbringer Matrim's Dice (1): Gears Quinn (1): Illwei Hunting Party member Ashbringer was also killed, by those dastardly Dragon Bait! This cycle, the Hunting Party may choose another individual to try to bait the dragon with [Village Faction Kill] while the Dragon Bait crew may choose to kill someone as well [Eliminator Faction Kill]. The Crossbowman may also take a shot PMs are closed. Ties will be decided randomly. Players who are inactive for an entire cycle will be replaced. Thanks for keeping it pretty active so far! This cycle will last ~24 hours, until March 4th at 11am EST.

Cycle's over!

This way I get to say I would have won, had it been judged. I'm actually not really playing to win though so it's all good.

Cycle Two: RAWR “I FIND THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE SUSPICOUS.” “Why are you shouting?” “NOTANI N QUISITOR SOUNDS LIKE A PSEUDONYM!” “WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING?” “Alright, knock it off Hop, I’ve got the results of the votes here.” “” “How’d you do that, Faleast?” “” “Anyway, I think we’re all agreed that Notani smells the most like a Dragon Bait.” “How?? We all smell like burnt garlic!” “That’s exactly what a cowardly Dragon Bait would say. Put ‘em in the catapult!” “If we have a catapult, why are we using swords?” “Don’t be pretenderous. Ready!” “Sbshhshwhahswhaaaaaaaa?????” “I think you mean pretentious.” “Me? Misspeak? That’s propostureous. Notani, could you move a bit? Lie prostate. Aim!” “Preposterous. And he means prostrate-” “What do brothels have to do with this? Hop, would you like to do the honors?” “FIRE!” “Wow, that’s some good height. Hey you, take the crossbow. When a dragon snatches them out of the air… Oh.” “What do we do now?” “Oh dear! I left my glasses at home! And have suddenly become short-sighted! On noes, I cannot tell what happened to Notani!” “Well, they flew about a thousand feet into the air towards that mountain-” “Everyone close your eyes, we need to… vote again. Got ‘em closed? Alright, now listen- Ah! Oh gosh, it’s a dragon! Rawr. RAWR. Did you hear that, it just flew by, right now. We were so close that time, haha.” “” “Lunch time! Who wants a garlic smoothie?” *** Dannex was eliminated! They were a member of the Hunting Party. The votes were as follows: TJ Shade (2): Illwei, Ashbringer Dannex (4): Flyingbooks, Matrim, Quinn, TJ Shade Shard of Reading has been elected Crossbowman and given the crossbow, which grants them immunity to Eliminator kills and the ability to kill one player when they desire to. The vote tally was as follows: Shard of Reading: 3 Quinn: 2 Gears: 1 Random Bystander: 1 TJ Shade: 1 Dannex: 1 Ashbringer: 1 Experience: 1 Illwei: 1 This cycle, the Hunting Party may choose another individual to try to bait the dragon with [Village Faction Kill] while the Dragon Bait crew may choose to kill someone as well [Eliminator Faction Kill]. PMs are closed. Ties will be decided randomly. Players who are inactive for an entire cycle will be replaced. This cycle will last ~24 hours, until March 3rd at 11am EST. Player List:

The cycle is complete. My washing machine usually signals that with a cheerful series of beeps, so boop de boop da da. Stop posting.

As TJ pointed out, I'd missed their vote on Gears, so here's a VC update: Gears (1): TJ Shade TJ Shade (2): Illwei, Ashbringer Dannex (3): Flyingbooks, Matrim, Quinn General reminder to green out your previous votes, Illwei, and to submit your votes and Crossbowman picks before rollover in an hour. [Edit: @Quintessential you missed the one in the bold post]

@Experience is receiving an inactivity warning. As a general reminder, remember to submit your votes for who should become Crossbowman by rollover in about 12 hours. Vote Count: (I think this is right. Let me know if I missed anything) Gears (1): Flyingbooks Quinn (1): Illwei Illwei (1): Quinn

Unsolicited reminder that the elims have no C1 kill. Also I keep wanting to do analysis and sus people but then I remember I know who the elims are. Or elim singular. You don't know. I love my job!

Hi, just popping in to say that if you elect a Crossbowman and exe them today, they die and the role is lost. You may also exe them at any time. @Gears

Cycle One: Democracy “You want it lighter? It’s a heavy crossbow, weight is where power comes from.” “I knew that, I meant-” “No, I don’t think you did. Look at you, have you been eating enough?” “Actually, it’s been quite difficult to make nutritionally balanced meals when the only rations we carry are potatoes, garlic, and olive oil.” “And dragon meat, when we find ‘em.” “So I’m told. Yesterday it was the other way around though, wasn’t it.” “Master Johnson knew what he was getting into. So did Skip and all the rest of them. Shouldn’t have stood so close to the olive oil cart when the beastie started spewing fire.” “Speaking of which, we’re out of olive oil.” “Still got garlic though, right? Need that for the werewolves.” “You’re thinking of vampires. Although we have some, the point remains that we are low on food.” “You didn’t use it anyway, what are you complaining about? Master Johnson left explicit instructions that he should be avenged, so that’s what we’re gonna do.” “Actually, his instructions were more along the lines of eeeeeaaaaliitgoogoheeeeeeellllp.” “I found a bolt!” “Finally, some good news. Who said that? You, you have a knack for reading dialogue tags, tell me who said that.” “I can’t.” “Why the blazes not? You can’t see ‘em anymore, isn’t that convenient! What is this, some extended metaphor about being blinded by greed?” “No, sir, it’s just that there aren’t any.” “What kind of a stupid story doesn’t have dialogue tags. I’m surrounded by-” “I’m also good at finding feathers, if that would be more useful.” “No it is not. The only half intelligent thing that anyone has said so far is that this crossbow weighs a ton. Who’s gonna carry it?” “I think we should vote on it!” “Who said that, you’re fired.” “I like voting.” “Me too.” “Me too.” “Fine. We’ll vote on it. Show of hands, who gets the prestigious honor of lugging this lump of wood about. And where are the Dragon Bait? Come on, show yourselves!” “Maybe we should vote on who they are.” “That’s not how-” “I like voting.” “Me too.” “Me too!” “Fine. It’s your funeral. Everyone close your eyes and raise your hands…” *** The game's afoot! Signups are now closed. This cycle, you may cast one public [Village Mobbing] vote for who will be bait tomorrow and one secret vote in your GM PM for who will be given the crossbow and become Crossbowman. There will be no Eliminator kill. PMs are closed. Ties will be decided randomly. Players who are inactive for an entire cycle will be replaced. This cycle will last ~24 hours, until March 2nd at 11:00am EST. You should have your GM PM now. I tried to pre-make them all with a generic post then add the alignments after in a second post, but the Shard didn't like that, so I ended up editing alignments into the first messages. That's why they say they were sent yesterday. I really did the distribution a few minutes ago. Invisible (white) text is not permitted. Player List:

They remain open Edit: signups are now closed

Signups remain open until I post the first cycle. So welcome to the Hunting Party, Illwei!

@Gears @Matrim's Dice@Quintessential @Random Bystander @Shard of Reading @The Unknown Order @Dannex @Ashbringer @Experience Animation @Flyingbooks @Experience Sorry for the pings. Two things: -Reminder that QF51 begins in about 22 hours (hype). I'd have liked to have had at least 12 people, but because this is a pretty simple ruleset, it works with 10, or any number really. I'll RNG the eliminators tomorrow, shortly before we start. -I've updated the activity filter. You will now be replaced after a single cycle of activity. Since we have a small group playing, this game will be short. Being out for two full cycles is probably equivalent to missing half the game. If there's going to be a reason you'll miss a day, let me know and we'll work something out. I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

I am signing up

You were kind of, helpful? Like, if we compare you to a strong village read like Devo, they're all tight lipped and wary whereas you were like, go team! Happy to help!! (That is honestly the thought process I went through. You'll note I didn't actually vote for you because of it, but I came closer to it than I'd like to admit.) TUO called your ISO annoying in the dead doc. That's high praise To clarify, I wasn't condoning the deaths. I'm not a monster

Some time later. They had a nice garden, this – Evan looked down, checking the address on letter in front of him – Hougetsu. Flowers lined the walkway up to their door, reds, blues, and whites just starting to bloom. He had practiced what he was going to say on the journey to Japan. Shimamura was brave. They were caring. They were… He paused as he pictured the response. Sobbing. Screams. And questions. How did they die, Evan? How did they die? They had a nice doormat too. It wasn’t well worn. He wondered if they got many visitors. Evan stood still for a minute. It started to rain. No, that was just tears falling on the page. The sun was starting to set. How long had he been standing there? Inside the house, he heard a thump. The boy made a snap decision. Ding dong. Ding dong. He was out of the garden and up the street by the second ding. Sakura’s letter lay on the mat, waiting to be found. *** A week later, a different letter arrived in the mailbox of Ms. Emilia Wallace. Hey mom. I made it to the front lines. The people there are nice, but I didn’t find Dad. There was a problem with the defence and people kept I’m okay though. We went to an old building that had supplies. I found a map. It had a spot circled on it that we never ended up going to, further away from the fighting. Mom, I know what his circles look like. I know Dad marked this map. I need to follow it. I’m going back now to pick up the trail. They gave me money so I’ve bought some better gear this time. I’ll write you when I can. One more thing. There was something else in the envelope. A photo. Not old and smeared, no, though it bore a striking resemblance to the one Evan still carried in the pocket over his heart. It was a young man in a crimson coat, posing with a vial of acid and a spring-powered crab. I paid a man at the station to take this. Hang on to it for me? I Evan had hesitated before he wrote the last line. There was a smudge where he’d lifted his pen before finishing the sentence. I don’t want to become forgotten. All my love. Evan. *** General Notes: -Woo hoo! Thank you for running this, Sart. I initially thought that four elims would be enough to balance, but it worked out with five, so that was ultimately a good choice. In retrospect, the ability to scan or NKs was a big boost for the village, especially near the end. -I enjoyed playing my role. The restriction to only being able to teach at night was a good addition. I also liked that it wasn’t a death sentence if I told the wrong person (or the whole group), as the possibility of conversion provided some incentive to not NK me. I’m kicking myself that I was duped into teaching two elims, but that’s how it goes sometimes. -Speaking of which, Flyingbooks grabbing the Shadowblaze was a fabulous gambit. I was certain they were village. -Lotus grabbing the gun to kill someone as they died was also a clever move. -Apologies for shooting you Ventyl. That was a combination of you having a similar playstyle to what many of the elims were doing and me making a bad call when I felt pressure to use the item before I was converted. (I’m happy I didn’t end up shooting Araris though. Wow did I flip flop on them a lot throughout the game) -Devo, I respect you submitting the NK last night and not switching to just playing like a villager. You and the rest of the elim team played a good game. It's always nice to see a long elim doc. -Thanks for posting your notes, Kas. They were very helpful! -I much enjoyed dueling people in PMs. You know who you are. -This whole game is still less pages than QF50. Ha.