Post
Post #1 (isolation #1) » Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:34 pm
Postby Percy »
Roles
There are three Roles in this game -
Investigators
, who number approximately three quarters of the starting players;
Cultists
, who number approximately one quarter; and
Murderers
, who appear later in the game.
Global Mechanics
States
Various things can happen to you during the course of the game - you may become
Bloody
, hear
Noise
, go
Insane
, become
Dead
and eventually turn to
Dust
. You must also be wary of a descent into
Chaos
.
Night Actions
The following are the available Night Actions. They take place in the listed order, and each action resolves simultaneously amongst those who have chosen it (most relevant for
Murder
,
Ward
and
Commune
). If your action fails for any reason, you will be informed via PM (with
Ward
and some instances of
Resuscitate
being the only exceptions). A failed action will not produce the
Effect
, but all
Side Effects
still apply. Some actions allow you to take another action, but you may never perform more than two actions in a single Night.
Other Game Rules
Questions and Answers
Questions asked publicly of the Moderator will be appended to this post.
“Fools!” said West, his clenched fist striking the lectern before him. “We must prepare today’s youth for a world whose terrors are etched upon ancient clay tablets recounting the fever-dreams of the other gods... who lie beneath the earth, waiting until the stars align so they can return to their rightful place as our masters...”
Last edited by Percy on Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:22 pm, edited 14 times in total.
Post
Post #2 (isolation #2) » Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:46 pm
Postby Percy »
Quick Reference for Night Actions
Below is a greatly simplified list of the Night Actions, presented in the order in which they resolve. Consult the post above for more details; many actions have
Side Effects
.
Participate in the Ritual
-
Cultists only
,
Free Action
. Kills a player.
Launder
- Default action. Removes
Blood
.
Search
- Acquire equipment.
Ward
- Prevents
Stalk
,
Pass Fetish
and
Craft Fetish
.
Pass Fetish
-
Cultists only
. Causes
Insanity
.
Craft Fetish
-
Cultists only
. Required for
Pass Fetish
and
The Ritual
.
Rob Grave
-
Free Action
. Reveals alignment of
Dead
players, can acquire equipment.
Resuscitate
- Requires
Resuscitation Kit
. Prevents kills.
Investigate
- Requires
Forensic Tools
. Determines the presence of
Blood
.
Stalk
-
Investigators
and
Murderers
only. Prepares for
Murder
.
Murder
- Requires
Stalk
from the
Night
before. Kills the target.
Commune
- Requires
Occult Books
. Determines whether your target's
Insanity
is higher than your own.
Ritual Resolves
- Target of the Ritual is killed.
Last edited by Percy on Tue Feb 16, 2010 3:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Post
Post #3 (isolation #3) » Mon Feb 15, 2010 9:30 pm
Postby Percy »
"What you are seeking lies to the North. Go North. North."
Every night, my dreams were invaded by the monotonous, maddening voice. The newspaper clippings strewn around the room, covered in insane scratchings I barely recognised as my own, pointed to something, but clarity eluded me. I hadn't left the house in weeks. My wife had left me months ago. Or perhaps years. Did I ever have a wife?
"North. Go North."
It was a dim winter's evening when I set out to find the object of my hunt - foretold in the stars, prophesied upon ancient clay tablets. It... called to me. What "It" was I could not say.
"North."
I rented a car and drove for days. When the car broke down, I walked. The snow was perpetual during the day, though the stars were clear at night. I spelt out words with them and formed my own constellations, making my own prophesy.
"North."
I was joined by another man, then a woman. We said not a word. We pushed on. Days passed. Weeks.
"North."
My body had withered, but still I walked. It was night again, and staring up at the stars, they seemed to blur, or shift. Far off in the distance, I saw a searchlight beaming its feeble light into the cosmos. I ran. I had made it.
The structure was immense, larger than any work of man; a mansion of some sorts, or perhaps a temple. Carved directly into the face of the mountain, it jutted out at strange angles, twisting the eye and turning the mind. We bounded up the great stone steps to the warm, inviting glow from inside.
Looking around, there were twenty-five of us, cold and miserable, eyes searching for some clue as to why we were called here. The entrance hall was well-lit, and passing through we found dinner laid out for us. Still not a word was spoken as we gorged ourselves on the strange food and drink; meat from no animal I had ever seen, fruits of all hues that burst with the slightest pressure, and a strange green liquid that burned inside.
Before long, I regained my senses. Looking at the others, these strange creatures, I knew I was in danger. I ran.
Post
Post #6 (isolation #6) » Thu Feb 18, 2010 2:26 am
Postby Percy »
"I managed to find a small alcove where I thought I could get some sleep, and though my body yearned for sleep, the noises of the others kept me awake.
The rooms in this place were immense. The high ceilings, supported by twisting pillars, hung menacingly over me, as though they had watched thousands of fools like me dare to learn the secrets of this place.
I returned to my hiding place and pulled my ragged coat over my head. I escaped into the land of dreams...
Far below this place, I choked for air, thrashing and churning the water around me. I was drowning, and there was nothing but darkness around me. As the blood ran from my head, I felt it move - the thing that had called me here, slowly rising below me. The size of it was... incomprehensible. I saw an enormous, pale tentacle reach out towards me, and I screamed.
I woke up screaming, covered in sweat. I held onto the floor, digging my fingers into the solidity of reality, and slowly caught my breath.
My scalp hurt, but I couldn't recall injuring myself. Puzzled and scared, I made my way back to the dining hall where the others had been last night.
I found them gathered there, frightened and haggard. The sunlight, filtered through the clouds and slicing up from the snow outside, was warming and welcome in this dark and terrible place. We began to talk."
It is now
the First Day.
Make sure you read your
Night 0 Result PM
before posting in this thread.
Deadline for today is 8:00am (site time) on Thursday the 11th of March. You can view a countdown to the deadline here.
With 25 alive, 13 votes are required to lynch.
EDIT: Site seems to be having issues. Apologies to anyone who received more than one Result PM; they will be identical if you did.
Post
Post #103 (isolation #8) » Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:36 am
Postby Percy »
"Talk of those who were moving around in the night consumed us. Suspicious looks were cast around the table, and before long, I found myself calling for someone's blood."
Post
Post #379 (isolation #15) » Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:27 pm
Postby Percy »
Phate wrote:
Mod: Can you please explain your policy on kill flavor? Specifically, is there a standardized kill flavor, and are Murder and Ritual distinguished? Is there a distinction between Murder committed by Investigators and Murder committed by Murderers?
You will be able to tell whether the deaths were a result of a
Murder
or by
The Ritual
. There is no flavour distinction between Murders.
Post
Post #392 (isolation #16) » Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:19 pm
Postby Percy »
Phate wrote:
Mod: I would like to know whether Adel's proposed plan in post 385 (or a similar one) a) is against the current rules, or b) will result in any mod alteration of the rules, disciplinary mod action against those who participate in the plan (other than the Insanity Infraction for failing to post *twitch*) (please provide specifics, if any).
What I'm asking you, in short, is whether you have a problem with a concerted attempt to break your setup, or whether you would take steps to prevent this midgame if you thought this was possible.
I am currently discussing it with Vi.
I have reserved the right to alter the rules of the game as the game progresses. I continue to reserve that right. If I believe a strategy has been concocted that will break the game (as per Texas Justice), I will alter the rules to prevent this from occuring, such as broadening the definition of
Chaos
.
As it stands, I do not believe that any breaking strategy exists for this game. This included the various plans that Adel has proposed.
I'll give it some more thought, continue to talk with my backup mod, and get back to you.
Post
Post #409 (isolation #18) » Fri Feb 19, 2010 3:20 am
Postby Percy »
Let me make something abundantly clear.
I do not believe a breaking strategy exists. I have worked very, very hard to make sure there is no such thing in this game.
A "breaking strategy" is something that
breaks the game
. If there is some sequence of Night Actions that one faction can take to
ensure
their victory, then I believe this will make the game very unsatisfying for all involved. If it becomes broken, then I have two choices - either let it play out, or fix it and let play continue. If the fix were to change anything fundamental about the game, then the game would be abandoned.
I'm not going to change the rules if some element of the game can be exploited to give one side an
advantage
. In fact, I've built many such things into this game deliberately, so that careful and observant players can help their side (or themselves, as the case may be...)
I hope this makes my position crystal clear. I have no desire to spoil your fun, and I am an avidly strategic player myself. I also can assure you, with 99.99% confidence, that the rules will be unaltered throughout the course of the game.
Deadline for today is 8:00am (site time) on Thursday the 11th of March. You can view a countdown to the deadline here.
I have updated the Q+A section with the questions from the thread. I've also included another (unasked) question that was related to some of the questions being asked, as my response to this question has changed from the first version of the game:
Q+A wrote:Q: If a player is the target of
Murder
,
Resuscitate
and
The Ritual
, what happens?
A:
Resuscitate
prevents the
Murder
, but
The Ritual
succeeds.
Prods on inactive players will be going out tomorrow.
Post
Post #1098 (isolation #31) » Wed Feb 24, 2010 3:51 pm
Postby Percy »
"I will never fully understand what happened to us that day. All of us, perfect strangers, screaming for the death of others.
The anger and madness built to feverish intensity. Someone found an extension cord and began thrusting it into the air, and I found my mouth uttering words no human mouth should ever utter. We chanted in unison:
Some restrained his flailing limbs and bore him to the dusty ground. One of us, a slight woman, grabbed the cord and wrapped it around his neck. Her boot held his head firm as she strangled him, a mad rictus transforming her into a creature of nightmares.
The body shuddered, and lay still. We cheered. We cheered!
The cheers turned into astonished cries as the world lurched. The sun, still many hours from setting, dropped below the horizon, and we were plunged into darkness.
'What have we done?' cried someone. Perhaps it was me. But all order and unity was lost as we clambered over each other to find a safe place, away from the others, away from what we had done."
Nicodemus
has been lynched. His
Insanity Count
was
0
.
I will be sending out your Night 1 PMs when I get home from work, in ~6 hours. 72 hour deadline for
Percy, if a Cultist accrues 3 Insanity Infractions, will he lose his ability to participate in the ritual that night? Additionally, would you consider purposely going for a modkill in this game blacklistable (Like going for a modkill in any other games?)
Yes to both questions. Note also that a modkill may end the
Day
at my discretion; for example, forcing a player to receive a modkill due to Insanity Infractions will end the day as though a
Lynch
had occured.
Prods going out to Chaco, Plum, semioldguy and Wickedestjr.
Post
Post #1341 (isolation #38) » Tue Mar 02, 2010 11:55 am
Postby Percy »
(Some) Insanities are post restrictions, and intentionally violating a post restriction in any game is against the spirit of the rules, if not the letter. I've allowed players to do it once, and will continue to do so; however, if I believe a player has incurred enough Insanity Infractions
Post
Post #1399 (isolation #44) » Fri Mar 05, 2010 7:20 pm
Postby Percy »
IRL crazy will prevent me from starting the game today. Deadline is pushed back 24 hours. Sorry everyone.
In the meantime, I've updated the Rules post to include all PMs that players may receive, in an attempt to avoid having to modkill anyone. Happy reading, and see you in 24 hours.