Gears

[OOC Edit: That is a lot of posts that I did not see in the hours that I've been writing this. Wow. I'll look at them later.] According to recent reports, the Saboteurs went to the Hospital and cut all the life support, so the latest victim, Sixteenth of the Night, perished. The triday sabotage cycle appears to be Brig, Hospital, XXXXX, and I suspect that XXXXX will be filled with whatever seems pressing. Crew's Mess? Main Office? And a new individual that I do not know the name of has replaced Locke Tekiel, who was unable to join our expedition due to prior obligation. Quinn continues to insist that I am the Doctor, and while it makes a delightful reference to an entertaining show, I am not. Third of the Eclipse, I resent the insinuation that I am mimicking a member of Rhinocerotidae. I have always acted in this manner. In fact, I believe I predate the amaranthine pachyderm. Unless you are accusing me of being a Saboteur from beyond the grave. Then I take it as a compliment of the highest order and offer a gracious bow. I do not understand this turn of events. I shall analyse the previous cycle to comprehend. Captain: Perish Philico: Jubilation, throws a knife at Third of the Dawn, suspecting a Dawn/Quinn team for no particular reason, questions the Captain. First of the Stars: Comments about how a convoluted series of events could have caused a Trapper to slaughter Third of the Eclipse. Captain: Confirmation Philico: Overly convoluted, nonviable. Quinn: Had a theory about Third of the Moon and Third of the Dawn that has since been proven wrong. Danex: Perhaps Locke Tekiel is a Doctor? Confusion over how exactly the hospital works. [Danny, think about it. Why would the Hospital save the person we just slaughtered mercilessly?] Quinn: Hospitals don't admit those we execute. Illwei: Questions the choice of the Brig. Thinks about the previous day. I don't understand many of the points. The main argument against Philico is that they disagreed with Third of the Moon while still thinking that they were not a Saboteur. This is perfectly fine. Fourth of the Dark: C'est moi, mon ami. Determined that Third of the Eclipse was slaughtered for being useless. First of the Bone: Questions about prospective Saboteur pairings. Philico: Responds to Illwei's commentary. First of the Bone: Semantics... Quinn: Wasn't terrified of dying, just became a bit more serious. [Understandable. Sit down, put on the mask, let the needle enter your external carotid arteries, feel the apathy seep through your bloodstream.] Philico: Comments on the Doctor. [As an aside, Doctor, I ask again that you do something I would never do. Be informal, perhaps, or insult Doctor Who. Maybe use improper grammar.] Quinn: Knows not of the Doctor. Guesses wrong, as always [Quinn, darling, eternal enemy, best of foes, you know as well as I do that you and I are not close enough for identity to be plain to see except in cases of anonymity, ironically. Knives at each other's throats, guns at each other's temples, swords at dawn.] Illwei: Contemplates the implications of the Lonely Doctor. Third of the Dawn: Swears an Oath of Vengeance, wonders about the nature of absence. Philico: Suspicion... Danex: Mockery is not a fixation, f́l͠aţt̵ery ̸is̀ ͏n҉ot ̶o͢b̡se̶śs̛i̢òn, y͜͢͞ǫ́́͞ų̵̷͢͞ ͏͟ć͟o͢͝͡u͏́l҉͢d̸̨͜ ҉̷̨́n̴̷̡̡e̛̕͞v̨̛̀̕e͘͢҉͏r͠͡ ̴̡͢u̷̴҉͘͝n̶̸͘d̶̷̸͘ę̶͘͘͠r̸̢̕͝͠s̨̡͢t̶̡a͏̨͠҉ņ̶̢̀d͜͝. Puppets on a gleaming string. Why did Third of the Eclipse die? Illwei: Eclipse often seems Crew. Contemplates kills. Sixteenth of the Night [requiescat in pace]: Philico thought the Doctors would prance about like gaudy peacocks except in coats of white and head mirrors? Notes that the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed recruit known as Second of Noon had done nothing but run about like a headless chicken before abruptly curing themself of their bird fever and asking the Captain for a count of the knives thrown at the walls. Just the one Doctor, unless the Captain had a change of heart between the arrangement of killers and the arrangement of healers. Perhaps Eclipse's ally slaughtered them? Throws a knife at Noon for having a cure for bird fever this entire time and not sharing it with everyone. Quinn: Eclipse, reveal all to the Doctor that cares for you. You are as good as dead, after all. Captain: Do what you want, you filthy little rats. No one's escaping until the Saboteurs are slaughtered. Just the one Doctor. Philico: Mourns the lack of blood on their knife. Didn't think things through. Eclipse, master archer from the land of politeness and syrup and snow, reveal all. Second of Noon: Prays to the Father that does not care. Foolish. Mentions a previous voyage, another lifetime spent in the realm of ships and stars. Quinn: Reminisces about an old friend. Illwei: Banters with Philico about halcyon days and bucolic nights. Philico: Three grins in a trenchcoat adorned with gold. Illwei: Suspicion not based on history. Quinn: Unrelated to standard Saboteur behavior. Philico: Fair. Quinn: Remember Tuscany? Philico: Of course, of course. Death is not a fear, but Hospitals taste like lavender and sassafras. Illwei: Kwinny, you are a strange individual worthy of confusion and laughter. Quinn: Indeed! You see the light. Phlico: But you were evil... Quinn: No...? Illwei: But you've gotten better, aye? Quinn: Nay. Philico: Selective examples... Quinn: Not acting like a Crewmate is not un-Crewmate-like Philico: For me as well, old friend. Quinn: Aye! Chugs three fingers of rum. Tosses a knife at Illwei in a drunken stupor. Illwei: Ponders the nature of excising life. Laughs at the drunks. Quinn: Irrelevant. Illwei: Relevant to kills. Quinn: Comprehension, drunk ramblings, Hospital Logs... Philico: Reasoning for knives? Eclipse the Archer the Madman the Dead, reveal yourself. Quinn: Absolutely none! Rejoice in the drunken fever of the mad! Third of the Dawn: Notes that Quinn, Illwei, and Philico are old drinking buddies, and everyone else is a good-for-nothing scoundrel, except for the ones who aren't. Philico: Defensive because knives are being thrown at them. Quinn: CHAOS SHALL REIGN Illwei: Notes that Dawn has varying reads on two identical people. Captain: With no Hospital, the murdered shall perish. The dark, strange laughter of one delights in watching the rats scrabble at the exits. Philico: Far too spread out, ties are not ideal. Suspects Dawn for gut and the reads list, Noon for floating, doesn't understand the others. Illwei: Throws knives at Dawn. Perhaps they got into the rum as well. Third of the Dawn: Everything is instinct trained by the Father's kill attempts. Philico: Always defensive. So very, very confused. Retrieves a knife and throws it at Illwei. Sixteenth of the Night: Why? Illwei: Comprehension dawns in an instant, light from beyond the horizon. Dislikes Dawn's continual emphasis on not protecting themself. Throws a knife at Philcio in retaliation. Philico: Instincts obviously skewed by heavy consumption of rum. Second of Noon: Probably merely one chatty Saboteur. Sixteenth of the Night: No one cares about you. All Crew? Third of the Dawn: Perhaps... Second of Noon: Chucks a knife at the sleeping First of the Bone. Illwei: Sleepy little shywei. Sixteenth of the Night: Thinks Philico, Illwei, and Dawn are Crew. Throws knives at Quinn. Second of Daybreak: Looked over the world, learned nothing, throws knives at Quinn. Philico: Tired, takes knives and throws them at Quinn Quinn: Philico seems unusually interested in the Hospital Staff. Overestimations abound. Paranoia dwells in the hearts of men. First of the Bone: Quite busy. Fourth of the Dark: Forgoes actually speculating on killing someone in favor of contemplating roles. Philico: Confused and drunk and sad. Quinn: Danex = Crew because no inside knowledge. Sixteenth of the Night less so. More commentary. Philico: Sad and drunk and confused. Quinn: Reads, still under the baffling delusion that I am the Doctor. You silly little thing, drinking the red ambrosia and falling to the floor in a boneless heap of crumbling ashes. Third of the Dawn: Lots and lots of thoughts. Removes knife from Philico's "hand". Second of the Noon: Removes knife from First of the Bone's hand. Illwei: Confused and strange. Stabs Quinn's hand. Locke Tekiel: Asks to be replaced by courier pigeon. Quinn: Suffering from a strange and terrible madness. Vaguely confused. Third of the Dawn: Throws knives at Second of Noon. Danex: Have faith in Patji. It will always kill. Philico: Retracts the knife from Quinn, throws it at Second of Noon. Illwei: Patji is cruel. First of the Bone: Throws a knife at Second of Noon and goes to lunch. Illwei: Why is no one defending Noon? Third of the Dawn: We are wrong. Illwei: Nay, the eyed one is the counterpoint to Quinn. Quinn: Si, since they started it. Third of the Dawn: Inconsequential, time runs down. Illwei: Self-preservation early on leads to steel cage jousting. Quinn: Not just a self-pres. Not just anything. Paranoia, suspicion, life, death. Illwei: The gleaming eyes exist. Quinn: Doesn't know why. Philico: Confused and drunk. Illwei: Philico, vote on Quinn. Captain: Here are the votes, you little mice. Scamper for all you're worth or you'll be replaced. Philico: Refusal. Illwei: Wonderful. Quinn: Ah. Captain: Confirming, you little rascal rotten rat. Second of Noon: Let the Father decide. Quinn: Aye! Oh good heavens, it's a tie. Philico: Ties... Illwei: Emoticon. Captain: The end is nigh. In conclusion, I know nothing. Alas. I instinctively distrust everyone and know nothing. I will return later since I have a great deal of work to do. Farewell. [OOC: Schoolwork exists, and I wasted far too much time procrastinating with this. Farewell, I'm a bit busy for a while.]

There are scant few hours left, and I don't know who to slaughter. Perhaps I will abstain because I have seen no reason to act. I shall reevaluate role numbers in view of the fact that there is only the one Doctor. [As an aside, my good friend Quinn has challenged me to a bet, and I must ask the Good Doctor to act in a manner that I never would. Perhaps use strange esoteric "modern slang" or emoticons or other such things. Act in a manner that decidedly proves that you are not I and I am not you. I thank you in advance] First assumption: All roles are on the ship. Second assumption: The distribution is not absurd. Aviar Holder: Perhaps only one, maybe two if it's split between the Crew and the Saboteurs [as an aside, "saboteur" is such a delightful word. Rolls off the tongue like warm honey]. Biologist: I think only one, though the faction remains unknown, leaning towards Crew. I doubt there will be two, but it's possible in the event of split faction. Bookkeeper: One or two for the Crew, maybe 2-1. Doctor: Confirmed to be one from the Hospital Log. Unknown faction. Messenger: One or two, at least one Crew. Security Officer: One, Crew. Trapper: One, Crew. As a conclusion, 7-10 people likely have roles. I would expect 4 Saboteurs under this expectation with 1 powerful role or 2 weaker ones. Perhaps 4 with Aviar Holder or Bookkeeper. Alternatively, a powerful team of 3. Perhaps all with roles. Some of Aviar Holder, Bookkeeper, Doctor, Messenger? I lack comprehension of why anyone is voting on anyone else. People who are voting, I request that you inform me as to this fact.

.......I don't have the Clock. Maybe the Thief stole it from you? Chat with Sart in your GM PM about it and get back to us. V!entyl [puns!] would pass it because the elims might snatch a random item and then if they didn't pass it, it would only make it more likely that the elims found it. Of course, saying who they passed it to was a strange move [silly duckling]. Using it would be silly, so they definitely shouldn't have done that. What about the gun? Ventyl has been a confusing entity every time I've played with them, so I'm setting them aside for a bit, at least until they get back about the Thief confusion. Let me investigate. [Apologies for long quotes] My points: Conjuring suspicions with little substance, refusal to pay attention to new evidence or consider a village PoV, Order sheeping, not dying. Your points: Order sheep villager more likely, tunneling villager, was busy. We can debate about Order's vote for a while, but I perceive it as a likely response to elim!Striker being voted on. While sheeping a villager may be more advantageous in general, I don't think it happened here for the following reason: Order sheeped 2 minutes afterwards, not enough time to ask and get a response about sheeping the vote, and I'm uncertain as to whether or not they'd do it on their own, being a relatively new player and a first-time eliminator. Your points about tunneling have merit. Confirmation bias is a powerful thing on both sides, and your narratives of confirmation bias could seem more insidious to me, who suspects you. If you were busy, you were busy. I don't like voting on someone with no reasoning with barely any previous mention of them, but if that's all you could do, perhaps I could let it slide. HOWEVER: You are not dead. I do not consider this point addressed. You are alive despite being a prime target. Conclusion: Order vote inadequately addressed [you have good points, but I remain unconvinced], tunneling excuse acceptable, preoccupation valid, but you are alive. Alternates: Araris [that one post... Everything comes back to that one post...], Devotary [and I don't remember why, which irks me], Ventyl [for Striker's points, which is also irksome, I'd rather wait on them until they confer with Sart and get back to us] Ninja'd by Striker. Could you quickly outline the reasoning for your suspicions, especially Random Bystander and Reading?

Striker. Reasoning is as follows: You seem to conjure suspicions out of nowhere occasionally [EX: Illwei start of D2, Condensation] and say that you had mentioned them earlier. In most cases you did, but just as an aside with barely any reasoning. Then you follow those suspicions with no reasoning and say, "I suspected them earlier." In addition, many of your votes seem to be capitalising on small mistakes that you are blowing out of proportion in an attempt to kill them. Instead of being open to an alternate perspective, you weave a narrative that seems specifically designed to get them killed [EX: Matrim, Gears]. So this vote seems a bit sensible. It seems strange that Matrim would do this. [But the point about disagreeing seems odd. People are allowed to disagree] But then the misunderstandings are clarified, and Striker remains on Matrim despite new evidence. Okay, to be clear: I was trying to say two things at once. The first being that it’s concerning that there’s only like...2-3 players posting reasoning and we only like 9 hours left in the turn. The second thing I was trying to say is that, because you were one of the few actually posting reasoning, I was able to go through and find flaws in your reasoning. Okay, I see what your primary reasoning is now. I still think the book thing was you picking reasoning opportunistically. This isn’t what I’m suggesting though. I’m literally just saying that I’d prefer we have 1-2 extra protects each night to avoid roleblocks and stuff. Even if we go overboard a bit, there’s like, what, 3 maps? Plus someone probably started with one as well. It just seems way too odd to me that you’re so adamant about not accounting for roleblocks and stuff. It would be way too easy for the elims to mess us up if we don’t overprotect at least a little. Anyway, I’m sorry for the misunderstandings, but I still think you’re worth voting on. As you can see, despite the points Striker used being explained, Striker remains on Matrim. This post is not one of the votes I was talking about, but it is good to note. Why look at Illwei again? Illwei was fairly cleared at this point. No reasoning, no points. Easy credit for no work. Reasoning against Gears: Profiling and revealing. Striker makes no attempt to consider the perspective of the idiot village and attempts to build a case against me. They cite prior suspicions without those suspicions existing [as far as I can remember/find in my iso]. Then come the post-justifications. Reasoning for suspicion in post. Staunchly opposed. Why wouldn't I lie? I lie a lot in these games [see MR46, that was a doozy of a lie-fest, Cryptics would have flocked to me]. I see no reasons why a villager would not speculate on elim actions. Also, the evidence hinges on the fact that I'm intelligent. That is a lot to predicate this on. Besides, this read seems designed to paint all of my actions in a negative light. No attempt to view anything from the village PoV. PM reasons. Easy to misrepresent events, easy to skew. It's not inherently suspicious for a player to steal from you. If they thought you were suspicious, it would be the villager thing to do. In conclusion: Striker's suspicions and votes seem to come from the perspective of someone who wants the chosen few dead and will find any reasoning to do so, NOT from the perspective of someone who actually wants to find the guilty. They refuse to consider the PoV of a villager and fit every action into the chosen viewpoint. Then the Order vote. A sheep from an elim who had never sheeped before. Other people have talked this point to death, but it contributes. Another point that makes me think better of Ventyl: You were the only one who knew they had the Revocation Specialization. As such, why aren't you dead? They could have silenced you easily, and then no one would have known that they had stolen it, merely that it had been stolen. The benefits of the Lantern returning to the pile are not high. Perhaps Araris is an elim and trying to become the sole indicator of Defense, but still. You have been coordinating things this entire game. You have been SpiderEZ. You have been Connected. So why aren't you dead? [Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.]

I'm surprised they haven't killed Kas yet. Then again, TJ had the Lantern [feeds my Araris suspicions]. Good for STINK. Village, send many people after the Book of Warding so the elims don't get it. Sidenote: Based on scans and actions, I trust Araris a little. They've consistently gotten and used Defense items. Then again, this could be the elim strategy of stockpiling Defense and garnering village trust while getting them hooked on a bit of Defense. Combined with the Lantern kill... I still don't like that post where they voted for Striker. Also, we should really try to coordinate the gun snatching [EDIT: Kas the ninja, coordinating guns before I said to coordinate guns. Good on you.] Then again, a bussed elim could snatch it to try to kill a villager like how Order did. People currently on my radar: Ventyl, Devotary, Striker, Araris. [I'll look at them later, I'm a bit busy now. Maybe in 20-24 hours.] Items we NEED: Shadowblaze [URGENT], Book of Warding, Lantern [SIGNIFICANTLY LESS URGENT]. Swarm them if you have to. Just get them [less so with the Lantern, but still very useful]. If you get the Shadowblaze today, you will become an immediate target. Pass it or LoF and pass it some other time. Alternatively, die with it. If you do so, we have a confirmed villager in Archer [who would be a suspect for their behavior if they weren't the NR] Items we WANT: Chalk, Crabs, Acid, Maps. Acquire, they are helpful.

The actions of Order and Araris. Order sheeped your vote. Araris voted you despite building up for a Gears vote. This is incriminating. However, based solely on your actions, you seem villagery. [That could have been phrased better]. So if you are an elim, you've done a great job at disguising yourself, and your teammates gave you away. Congrats. If you're a villager, you've clearly expressed your villager-ness. Also congrats. The Servant of the Mad God stood before the forest and began the Good Work. Each tree required an offering, so he left the bones. The seed were not especially hungry, only taking the malleus, the incus, the stapes. The older ones, the established ones, they hungered. He left them femurs and fibulas, ulnas and radii, and still they hungered. He would have to leave them more than just bones.

That Striker iso I mentioned doing earlier [am I over-iso-ing? I've never iso-ed before, and it's somewhat nice] [Future Gears update: I spent hours on this stupid thing. I'm never iso-ing a chatty player again]: Conclusion: Based on POSTS ALONE, I trust Striker a bit more. However, the Order and Araris actions cannot be ignored. As such, mild village read.

For some strange reason, reading about the gun death made me cackle for a solid few seconds. I have no idea why. An analysis of Order's posts: No major connections. A bit of focus on Revocation Specialization [Ash has been put on the radar. Not suspected, but noted], that tie to Striker, but nothing particularly new. Doesn't want an X, trying to hoard village items, excusing Day maps, etc. I might do that iso of Striker later, but it's getting late. Maybe tomorrow. EDIT: Just read this thread, Ventyl has the Revocation Specialization? Also noted. Is this the one who started with it?

The Saboteurs have taken out the Brig. Makes perfect sense, the brig is a dangerous threat to them. I predict that they will sabotage that location every three days. Prospective entries in the triday include the Main Office, the Hospital, the Aviar Holding Area, or the Crew's Mess, not in that order. I presume that Third of the Eclipse is a Crewmember, though we cannot know for certain until their final demise. No Trapper would be so foolish as to waste the kill so early. I will examine what they've said to see why they were slaughtered. In conclusion, Third of the Eclipse was killed for the simple fact that they had no ties, no distinguishing factors, nothing to bind them to this earth. Their death would not be incriminating or telling. Nothing would be revealed from this death. They were attacked because they leave behind a useless corpse. I do not understand Philico's suspicion on Third of the Dawn. Is it because they are the last of the Three Musketeers? I shall reread the minutes to comprehend.

I would like to participate. @Illwei and @Flyingbooks expressed interest, but I would be perfectly willing to be on a team with or without them.

Striker because 1. I am a fool, as always, and 2. The tide has turned towards my other suspicion, Order. Striker, I should have considered the vil!Striker PoV. The Servant of the Mad God stood above a prison of chalk, watching the Chalklings tear each other apart. This batch was remarkably resilient, surviving for over eight minutes. Or perhaps they simply did less damage. He would have to mix batches to confirm. As a further test, he pulled out a handful of powdered gemstone and let it fall on the Chalklings. The previous batch had reacted negatively. This batch seemed to be inert.

RNG reasons are worse than any faux reasoning I have encountered. Nothing against your chosen playstyle, but I find it... mildly distasteful. What if you are merely declaring your actions to be RNG? [I am not accusing you, merely noting an exploit.] I'm an idiot. I daresay I would be more intelligent as an elim. If I was an elim, why would I lay out my reasoning for NK'ing Quinn N1? I somewhat misstepped here, my apologies. I should have conferred with you. You are welcome to kill me for this oversight. I've already submitted some death RP. No reasoning is worse than faux reasoning. I would be willing to move to Order.

Striker you liar. I scanned you with a Line of Making. You grabbed the Ornate Clock.

[OOC: Fourth of the Dark is played as a series of journal entries about the game that are equivalent to the posts I would normally send, so the only difference is that “village”, “elim”, player names, etc. are replaced with their in-game names, there’s a lot more fluff, and it’s all in italics. Please offer these posts a cursory glance, since in previous games with Fourth, he was ignored along with all of my use[ful|less] tips. Ta! Also, the bits about cleansing Patji are not an elim claim. Sidenote: Sorry for not existing for hours, I was dragged away by family.] I have returned at last to the land of my origin. Becoming one of a multitude was not anticipated, but I have been changed for the better. The Father has always been merciful, and in exchange, I shall ensure that it remains itself, as always. But of course, to destroy the enemy, one must understand the enemy. And so, I am determined to comprehend this ship. Messages are limited. Tied votes call upon fate’s mercy [see the Bar]. There is no manipulation of opinions, so orchestrating a tie is simple. Sabotaged parts are repaired in a relatively short duration, though it seems that the crew needs more mechanics. Take advantage of this delay when time is needed. The two core factions seem to be remarkably similar in long-term goals and names [which are all pretentiously long and meaningless], but in the short-term, the Southern Influence Commerce Syndicate Crewmembers want the mission to succeed and the Northern Interest Trading Company Saboteurs want the mission to fail. I want them all to fail. Now onto the parts of the ship. Aviar Holding Area: See Aviar Holder, moderately low priority target [Keeps people from surviving kills, but Sabetours may have one] Brig: See Security Officer, moderately high priority target [The only protect and roleblock, disarm and keep down] Main Office: See Messenger, Bookkeeper, Doctor, moderately high priority target. [Three roles for the price of one, Doctor is powerful since it breaks the death barrier, Bookkeeper is less important, and Messenger is helpful for all sides, if you want to disable the death barrier you may just want to hit the hospital] Laboratory: See Biologist, moderately low priority target [they can see who you target, not what you do, though in late-game it may be critical] Trapper’s Quarters: See Trapper, moderate priority target [Trapper kills are dangerous and sabotaging this at a crucial time can cripple them later, but not urgent early on] Crew’s Mess: PMs, low priority target [PMs can help Sabotuers too, very limited PMs, maybe cut off mid to late, up priority if Biologist sharing] Hospital: Dead people get to talk for a cycle, very high priority target [especially in later stages or when the kill target knows the killer’s identity, it breaks the death barrier, so you have to strike this down once the pool of suspicion narrows] Bar: Ties no longer kill, low priority target [There’s no manipulation, so ties can’t be orchestrated, and sabotage is public, so everyone will know to avoid the tie.] Priority of sabotage: Hospital, Main Office, Brig, Laboratory [very important in later stages], Crew’s Mess [more important once knowledge is possessed but not shared], Trapper’s Quarters [more important in later stages], Aviar Holding Area [more important in later stages], Bar [basically useless] There are a variety of roles on this ship. Aviar Holder: Survive a kill [don’t take this to mean you can act without fear. Your life depends on the Aviar Holding Area. Make decisions as though the holding area will disappear at any moment] Biologist: See targets [Moderately alright, though since there are so many roles that can target, it may not be useful until the later stages. Stay alive, keep your head down, and find a way to share information.] Bookkeeper: Rolescan [Roles don’t indicate alignment, but good for finding the Biologist. DO NOT TRUST ANYONE based on role. DO NOT TRUST THE BOOKKEEPER based on role.] Doctor: Can speak to the dead [You break the death barrier. Paramount importance that you mine them for as much information as you can get. Once they fade, all the information they got is gone. Take all the information they’ll give you. TO THE DYING: Make sure you delineate your knowledge as certainties, unconfirmed near-facts, suspicions, paranoia, etc. Clarity is important because you will be gone. Unless you are a Saboteur. Then just confuse people. Take advantage of the remaining time you get. Share everything. Talk with your fellow dying. List all of your theories [clearly labeled as such], everything you can think of, all the possibilities you can conjure. The dead are not yet gone, so make the most of it.] Messenger: You may commune with a multitude, though only individually. Security Officer: You protect and roleblock at once. [Unfortunately, protecting a powerful Crewmember role is nonviable since you also roleblock them. Protect random roleless people?] Trapper: Deadly. [1-shot killer. Save this, but the Saboteurs may sabotage the Trapper’s Quarters in the late game, so use once suspicions coalesce. Use your instincts to deny your instincts to deny your instincts.] There are sixteen of us. I could believe that there are three or four of them. If there are three, they are stronger. Perhaps with an Aviar Holder. If there are four, perhaps not. Unfortunately, it seems that I am late to this gathering. I shall document what has been said in an attempt to analyse it. Philico: Excited about a Hospital [Did they come from a land without medical care?], accuses Second of Daybreak for building the ship [voting for no reason whatsoever irks me], thinks there are 4 saboteurs [I concur] Quinn: Is Philico a Doctor? Agrees with 4 Philico: Not a Doctor. Quinn: Speculates on Doctor quantities, assumes many Doctors, suspects 1 Saboteur Doctor [Are they a Doctor? Certainty has implications.] Illwei: A questioning tone that vaguely confuses me, assumptions Quinn: Assumptions, suspending. Third of the Eclipse: Chatter, votes Locke Tekiel for being foreign. Illwei: Adores chaos, votes Quinn for not obeying chaos, awaits my arrival [I apologise] Quinn: Banter, votes self for fun Illwei: Banter Philico: Assuming only 1 is also an assumption Quinn: Discusses concurrent existence Illwei: Discussing the myriad is forbidden. Quinn: Really? Philico: Ah. Quinn: Point... Third of the Dawn: Exists First of the Bone: Longs to be a pirate [Would you like to form an alliance and burn this organisation to the ground? We can keep the ship afterwards] Illwei: Time, multitudes Patji: Multitudes Illwei: Private communication Quinn: Apologises to the Father Philico: Chats with Bone Illwei: Let fate decide? [No.] Danex: Speculation, 2-4 Doctors [a bit high there mate], Crewmember Security Officer [assumptions, assumptions], 3-4 Aviar Holders [absurd, too many, 4 extra lives?], 2-3 Bookkeepers [perhaps]. Valid assumptions, all of them, but a bit too certain. Quinn: Scanner plausibly Saboteur Patji: Messenger is not a messenger, but a selfish little spider Danex: Viable Illwei: Responds to Danex Danex: Misunderstandings I have learned nothing from what has been stated, besides the fact that many are foreigners. Danex is clever, probably wrong about some things.

My first thought: Condensation lied? Burned through the trust for nothing. Probably a bad play [like Super Mario Sunshine rushed release]. All of Condensation's posts. I'm fairly certain that the formatting is going to get ruined. Summary: Condensation was trying to tie herself to Archer. If they knew that Archer is the NR, it implies elim!Devotary. For the future: Note that elim!Condensation tends to be a bit quieter. illweiSuspicion--; Vote analysis: There were 6 people on Condensation: Archer, Striker, Illwei, Kas, TJ, and Devotary. The first vote on Condensation was Kas with no reasoning. Next was TJ with valid reasoning about the Mat vote. Illwei votes next because of Condensation's 'confession'. Archer follows suit [if Archer wasn't the NR, I would be very suspicious of them for the Condensation/Archer links and this shoddy vote, may be worth looking into later if elim!Devotary]. Striker votes because makes sense out of targets [fair] without reasoning [they said they were busy]. Devotary votes Condensation to prevent a possible tie. Of those, Kas, Archer, Striker, and Devotary stand out. Since Kas was the first vote and Archer is the NR, they are off the list of evil. I might do a Striker or Devotary ISO [why is that capitalised? It's shorthand for 'isolated', so shouldn't it just be iso, in lowercase?] later, but I'm mildly busy now.

Concerning my lack of significant contributions: Very true. I've been incredibly disengaged and I have no idea why. This is entirely my fault and I will attempt to work on this. Concerning the profile of no N1 kill: This is false. Elim!Gears would have killed Quinn N1. The no kill strategy is only theoretically advantageous. It only helps if one assumes that everyone has a chance at being X-ed. The benefit: Hypothetical +1 Strength when your potential target gets X-ed. The cost: Losing out on a chance to eliminate a village stronghold. Quinn had a Lantern and a Specialization. They would not be X-ed in the near future because Lantern verification, Specialization, utility superior, etc. Now, hypothesise that perhaps Quinn would have been X-ed. There was a tinfoil theory along those lines after all. Then again, that line depended on Matrim and Illwei also being elim, and they were under more suspicion than Quinn, so Quinn would have been mostly ignored. Now consider the risk of the unknown specialisation. Warding: Give the Camp extra Defense [so killing them would be practically equivalent to letting them be X-ed in the short term], Forbiddance: A protect with superpowers [which is also powerful and incentivises murder], Vigor: Secret roleblocks [the elim wouldn't know if the person had protection or the roleblock, hurts elim!perfect information], Making: Scan actions [basically catch the elims in the act], Silencing: Prevents elim!PM shenanigans [.....significantly less dangerous than the others, but still a risk for elim!PM spiders], Revocation: Thief [Also less of a risk but still dangerous in hypothetical scenarios]. Most of the Specializations are dangerous for the elims. Leaving Quinn alive long enough for them to get X-ed had major detriments. The strategy of no kill is equivalent in benefit to killing people who won't be X-ed and can't do anything to harm the elims. It is viable under this ruleset but inferior to striking down dangerous village individuals. This is why I somewhat think there was a Quinn kill N1, not no kill. I will not discount the possibility of someone not extending the line of reasoning, but I would not have done this. [Have I inadvertently made a case for elim!Gears who NK'ed Quinn N1 and N2? Yes. Do I regret it? That one's a toss-up. I think this point is moot. I also think I rambled a lot because I was writing this during class like an irresponsible buffoon, so if it doesn't make sense, yell at me with words of logic and reasoning.]

C1: I don't usually vote here. C2: I returned late, the general populace had orchestrated the tie, and I didn't really suspect either Illwei or Matrim. Why does the lack of a N1 kill fit me? While theoretically advantageous, it squanders an opportunity to take out potential village leaders [like yourself] who would never be X-ed given enough time. Sidenote: Not NK'ing N1 is not the only possibility, and I believe Quinn being attacked then was discussed [Lantern, Specialization, LoF, then no chalk C2]. Sidenote: I have not been very engaged with this game. Usually I'd do some sort of vote analysis or something. The hot potato plan is non-viable for many reasons that have been pointed out by a number of people, but mainly because forcibly taking the Shadowblaze is nonviable, verifying the Shadowblaze is nonviable, and benevolence is nonviable. Do not attempt it if/when the Shadowblaze comes into play.

Last turn, I used one on Araris and saw that they were indeed telling the truth about using a Line of Warding. All previous turns, I was grabbing items. I bet you the item you successfully grab that you will successfully grab an item.

Someone obviously used a map, ta very much. The Lantern is from Quinn. 2 Bribes have vanished [at least, one could have been added from the Map], we've regained several Spring Powered Crabs, a Clock [Assume the elims want this. They need us to not have it, so we must get it at all costs], and a Book of Silencing [which doesn't seem incredibly useful except as an elim method of terminating PM networks, so be on the watch for that]. The chalk has returned, make the most of it. Possible. They publicly had a Specialization and a Lantern making them a good C1 target, and then they were out of Chalk and thus couldn't protect themself.

The Servant of the Mad God crushed limestone with his pestle, beginning the first act of creation. The dust accumulated, some lost to the air, but most remaining in the mortar. Once a sufficient quantity had been gathered, he placed a fragment of bone from the sprawling entity known by many names, but mostly by Yog. He continued grinding away at the stone, but soon, the dust seemed to resist the pestle, twisting away from it like a living thing. Perfect. He trickled water into the powder and added a single drop of blood, then stirred. The Chalklings gathered around, and watched him form another one of their kin. The new one screamed as he tore it out of the void. "Welcome to the world," he whispered.

I attempted to take a Bucket of Acid since I have other uses for Chalk [Specialisation in Making does make for a useful lie detector]. Alas, RNG was not in my favor. There is no way to verify this, so feel free to doubt me. Sidenote: Did I really not post this turn? Alas, I am truly a fool.

I disappear for hours, and this happens? Alas, it seems that school is sapping away at my SE efforts, despite my best intentions. [I suppose that's what comes of being a odd double-digit number of interlocking gears]. So Archer has claimed with a plan that is based on flawed assumptions, but I think we can trust this claim, especially given the lack of a counter-claim. The only downside for a non-Rithmatist claiming is that the village will not trust them after a few cycles, given the incentive of the elims to convert them. Then again, it may actually be strictly disadvantageous for the elims to convert the non-Rithmatist since it gets rid of the Shadowblaze [which is better in elim hands] and adds an extra way for the Strength to decrease for some added action economy, especially when the non-Rithmatist is public knowledge. However, waiting to kill them until the elims have converted them seems like a viable strategy, even if it does burn the Shadowblaze. HUMANS: I have no idea why any of these people are getting X-ed. That's mostly my own fault, but I quickly request a summary of the general consensus reasoning and each individual voter's reasoning. Ta in advance. I instinctively distrust Casper [also known as CSP, also known as the Coming of the Second Plague, also known as Weighted Illness, also known as Weill, also known as Illwei], but that's a standard sort of distrust that would be worrying only in the event of its absence. I would genuinely be willing to abstain from the X yet again, since my brain refuses to actually function in any manner that contributes to generating suspicions. [Also, my previous three attempts at resuming post-by-post analysis were eaten by the hungry Shard we call home, which certainly hasn't helped. Perhaps I should spreadsheet it instead of writing it in the Shard editor.] Then again, if anyone is sufficiently convincing, maybe I'll be swayed. Any one person offering a point of view is instinctively distrusted, so beware.

It takes away the "majority vote" feel of a standard X. Recommendation: Have 3 doses of poison be fatal (or whatever number you want for balance), but doses stack over the game (and antidotes can cure doses from previous rounds). Antidotes cannot put a person into the negatives. Have some downside to being poisoned, but nothing too bad. EDIT: Does this belong in the Game Creation thread? I don't know where to put it, but this isn't really a game per se.

The Servant of the Mad God smiled as he watched the corpse dance. It seemed that the chalk dust made it do his bidding, perhaps because he had made it. Fascinating. "Pretend to be the person you were before," he ordered, and the corpse obeyed, marching onwards in a facsimile of life. No one noticed the change. He would have thought the bloodstains and the torn shirt were a tad bit obvious, but humans seemed determined to be oblivious. Wonderful. Yet another note for his psychology notebook. When you think about it, the lack of a kill makes perfect sense. Killing a Rithmatist does nothing, but X-ing a Rithmatist ups the Strength. As such, the elims would rather watch us kill ourselves in fits of madness and bloodlust. A bit boring, to be sure, but sensible. Less information for the village, and more voices to disrupt the field. A roleblock or protect could be valid, but don't put perfect stock into it. Unlike in other games, there is an actual incentive not to kill people. [Or maybe I'm an elim trying to obfuscate and confuse the roleblocker into not sharing out of fear of getting a villager X-ed [insert reference to MR46 here, Quinn]] Change in Camp Supply: 5 Chalk, 1 Bucket of Acid, 1 Bribe, 2 Spring-Powered Crabs, 2 Lanterns removed. Assume a mix [mis-X], 3 Defense needed at least, preferably 1 extra in case of roleblocks. RNG plan, remember to RNG which turn as well. Alternative: PM coordination, RNG turns. I would still prefer actual coordination, but alas, public opinion seems to disagree.

The Servant of the Mad God watched as the light faded from the sky and the stars showed their teeth through the curtain of the sky. So many people had been willing to be part of his experiments, practically throwing themselves at his knife. All you had to do was ask, and so many people were willing to die. "Will you donate your body to science?" It was lovely to see so many willing test subjects. Unwilling test subjects tended to struggle erratically, which threw off results. As the darkness grew and swallowed hope, he went on the hunt. So many had offered, and so many were foolish enough not to enact a minimum collection date. "See you tonight," he had told them, and they had frantically skittered away from him like a cornered cat, barricading their domicile and setting up so many boundaries. Futile, of course, but a good entry for his notebook on human psychology. Little had they known, he had been in the room the entire time. "Have fun?" he asked, stepping closer, and they screamed. "They won't hear you," he said. "The uses of Chalk in this realm are such fascinating things." They stumbled backwards, falling against the wall, face distorted into a visage of terror. His knife struck true, and the screaming stopped in favour of laboured breathing. Now for the chalk dust. He pressed a handful of dust against his victim's mouth, and they couldn't help but breathe it in. He pulled out his notebook and waited for the effects to take hold. Nothing left to do but wait.