Tol-In-Gaurhoth XXXVIII - E.T.T.T.S.O.W.I.

[Thinlómien]

I guess I have to congratulate you villagers. You were quite superior.

Brinn - you were awesome as well. I would never have guessed you were the villain. I thought it must be Nogrod or maybe Volo.

Funny, on Night1 I had hard time deciding whether to kill Menel or Legate...

And I really wasn't that frustrated on Day2 and if I was annoyed with someone, it was myself (and Xyzzy), not any of you. Sorry for being a bit harsh. I realised I was doomed if I continued the way I was playing so I decided to see how you'd react if I went totally crazy. I'm both sad and glad you weren't convinced. I hoped you'd be confused and think I was too touchy even for a wolf. Like Legate said, it was not normal innocent-Lommy -behaviour, but I hoped you'd realise it was not normal guilty-Lommy behaviour either. And it was a way of having fun, I admit. The funniest part of the game for me was when I was attacking Nogrod and I was beginning to be more and more convinced he actually was a wolf - until I realised he can't be because I'm a wolf and my fellow's Xyzzy! I think most of your arguments against me were more than reasonable (for example when Mac said why he thought Menel was killed I realised I had subconsciously acted just that way!), but there were some very fishy arguments as well - since when, for example, has Nogrod thought it's wolvish to try to think from a wolf's perspective? *insert some ugly grinning smilie here*

Anyway, thanks for a great game everybody, I think you all did very well. And now that this was such a short game and you certainly want to have some more ww in order to be satisfied, you can sign up to my game as soon as I get the final roles decided and an admin-thread up (which should be in a few days)...

[Volo]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

I would never have guessed you were the villain. I thought it must be Nogrod or maybe Volo.

Hey! Me being confused or confusing doesn't mean anything about my role! :somerandomsmiliethatshowsmycurrentmoodofwhichI'mn otcompletelysure: I understand that I can be more than frustrating at times with my nonsense. You can always tell me to shut up, though I'm not sure if that works.

...

Sorry, out of topic. What shall we do about Xyzzy?

[Shastanis Althreduin]

I.... uh. Posted twice, I think. I can't remember.

Congrats to the innocents.

[Nogrod]

Don't be so fast dealing out the roles you know nothing about Susie!

I was indeed the Super Scientist and Legate was my bodyguard. We just thought it best to come into the open with roles turned around just in case we'd need to fight someone the next Night. If the henchman would believe our roles the wrong way we could have used it to our advantage.

Happily Xyzzy-villain was killed and we needn't the trick.

So my first experiment was on Lommy who turned out henchman. Just think how I laughed myself when I accused her from trying to think like the wolves do...

I also tried to look like a seer on Day2 because Legate had defended himself on the first Night of the game and so could have protected me the next one. Sadly it was Mac who died. For Mac was the target of my second experiment.

We discussed it at length whether to choose Mac or Brinn as my target on N3 as we suspected both of them and finally decided - the villain factor being around as well at that time - that we win more and lose less with Mac not being a baddie than with Brinn.

We also discussed that we could use our retractables to get some information from the remaining people and Legate would go first to "reveal" himself as the scientist... Nicely done Legate! As the Day went further I finally realised that I just had to finish it off.

Hurrah KGB, hurrah CIA!

And you can imagine the amount of text Legate and I produced via PM's in just the two Nights! It's something like 20 pages of discussion and speculation... And some people say we write lengthy posts in the thread!

But it was a lots of fun indeed! Thanks Legate once again!

And thanks to all you others as well!

It was sad to see Mac die so early - as well as Lommy. You both really made some efforts to engage in the game.

Same goes to Volo in the end. You really made an effort and I do appreciate it - even if your logic is sometimes hard to follow from the first reading and only clarifies after you have posted ten times after that...

Brinn was also nicely between the line of active and concealed - actually contributing a lot for us to chew. Great!

From others I'd hope a bit more active stance to the gaming. Just guessing from oneliners or none at all is frustrating and not exactly playing a game.

And thanks to Gil for an entertaining concept of play. The in-character stuff was pretty fun in this one - and challenging to me at least as I'm myself anything else but a McCarthian conservative...

[Brinniel]

Yeah, as it has been stated before, I was NOT the henchman (girl, whatever) until Night 3. My last henchman slacked off, so I had to punish him, then do the dirty work myself.

But really, Gil asked me halfway through Night 3 if I would switch roles to keep the game going and I agreed. Even if xyzzy hadn't been default killed, you guys would've figured out the no-kill came from him.

Day 1

Went quite well actually. Props to Lommy for getting the ball rolling on the idea of lynching a quiet player. Her wolf-on-wolf vote was risky, but it worked for that Day at least. I knew Shasta had to be innocent, so in my evil plotting, I voted him.

I slightly had a hunch that Lommy was evil, so I was careful to avoid her.

Day 2

I still thought Lommy might be a henchgirl, so I didn't want to place any suspicion on her originally. But as I read through the posts and I finally got the chance to write something halfway through the Day, it was pretty much impossible to avoid. Lommy was acting very odd...even for a baddie. I remembered back to one time when she was a wolf, completely calm and innocent-looking; she had totally fooled me. So, I thought perhaps she had fooled me again and played with the idea of her being a gifted. And the only thing I could do without looking completely guilty was add on the pressure. In the next few hours when the votes started coming in, Lommy never revealed, so I ruled out that possibility. Though I was about 90% sure she was a henchgirl, at that point I felt stuck, so I just hopped on the bandwagon like everyone else.

When I reflect back on it, I think I would've played it out differently...like cause a double lynch. After all, I wasn't that concerned about my life. And I definitely would've done it differently if I knew xyzzy was a henchman. But I had Halloween festivities, plus a screenplay due the next day, so I was too tired for cleverness. Sorry Lommy.

Night 3

I got Gil's PM somewhere around 2am that night, I think. I was exhausted trying to finish my homework and the deadline is about 45 minutes after I have to go to class. So unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of time to think through my kill (though surely I did better than xyzzy). I came to the decision that Mac and Nogrod were the gifteds, after going through a phase of suspecting each other, but never going through with their suspicions. Nogrod seemed so obviously gifted to me after Day 2, and I thought there would be a good chance he would be protected. So, I went for Mac hoping that if he was a hunter, he wouldn't hunt me. If I had taken down a gifted, I would've claimed the other role on Day 3 and let the civilians guess which is the right one. Sadly, Mac wasn't a gifted.

Day 3

Unfortunate result for me. I discovered there was no way I could claim giftedness. The only way I could avoid a dead-on revealing was if the Seer dreamt of Mac or xyzzy. So, I was confused when Legate revealed Volo as a henchman. So, was it a joke on him? I was started to think it was more of a joke on me...playing with your prey before actually killing it. I don't know...all I could do was play along.

I went to bed assuming both votes would be switch to me by the time I woke up, and that wasn't so. I started to think Legate and Nogrod would let Volo die, but only to set up a trap for me. After all, I couldn't go after Nogrod because he'd hunt me and Legate probably would be protected. Or maybe since they had the advantage of communicating at Night (something the henchmen never had), they decided to trick me and switch roles. That way, I would go after Legate thinking he was the seer, but in fact he was the bodyguard...then he'd hunt me down.

I knew from early on I was a goner. If I didn't die toDay, I would die later. There really wasn't any way of avoiding it...

Anyways...

Congrats to the villagers, especially our gifted for their excellent work.

And though Lommy, things didn't go so well for you, you made a good effort. I know how it feels to lack a teammate for an entire game...it's quite frustrating. And if I recall correctly, this isn't the first time you were paired as a wolf with xyzzy (that goes all the way back to Menel's game). Though in all fairness, he at least showed up then...

In every game, there always seems to be at least one no-show. I agree it's really frustrating. Perhaps there should be a penalty, like if you are default-killed or a no-show for two games in a row, you are not allowed to play in the next game. That may be harsh, but no-shows can spoil the fun...

This was a good game, though short one. I don't mind smaller games, except it's been that way for sometime now. And now it's taking a month or more to even get games going...that's a bit long. I really hope we can somehow get the interest in WW back up...there's so many players that haven't been around lately.

Lommy- You can count on me to join your game, as long as it isn't running during Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 21-25 for those who don't know).

(I was trying to figure out why no one else was busy on Day 2 going out and celebrating Halloween...then I realised I was the only American still alive. I don't know how Halloween is celebrated in Europe, but I know it isn't nearly as a big deal as it is in the US. Anyways, that's my excuse for being gone for most of Day 2.. )

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

I was indeed the Super Scientist and Legate was my bodyguard. We just thought it best to come into the open with roles turned around just in case we'd need to fight someone the next Night. If the henchman would believe our roles the wrong way we could have used it to our advantage.

Aha, I was right! And I had suspected you as the Seer, Nogrod. I'm glad I didn't go after you. It's a good thing you changed your vote, because in my suspicion that you two were trying to fool me, I probably would've chosen you, not Legate for my kill...

And thanks to Gil for an entertaining concept of play. The in-character stuff was pretty fun in this one - and challenging to me at least as I'm myself anything else but a McCarthian conservative...

Agreed. I was laughing throughout Day 1 at all the in-character posts. And Nogrod, you were quite a believable conservative.

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Or maybe since they had the advantage of communicating at Night (something the henchmen never had), they decided to trick me and switch roles. That way, I would go after Legate thinking he was the seer, but in fact he was the bodyguard...then he'd hunt me down.

That was indeed the plan if things would have gone wrong from our point of view...

Well perceived!

But yes I do agree with this unfortunate thing of the henchemen never getting to work as a team. Well it's Lommy's game as the next one and I don't know whether there is anywhere a rule that one needs to take in everyone who wish to sign in. I'd bar Xyzzy at least for a few games if he doesn't show up and both apologise & promise to actually play. A non-poster actually spoils the fun much more effectively than a oneliner-poster which position can in principle be defended as a strategy whether one appreciates it or not.

Originally Posted by Brinn

It's a good thing you changed your vote, because in my suspicion that you two were trying to fool me, I probably would've chosen you, not Legate for my kill...

That was what I was afraid of until I realised there was a path open to secure the win already during the Daytime. Then I just had to sit back and bite my nails for Volo not to make a suicidal retraction from frustration and change his vote to himself while waiting for the deadline to come...

[Thinlómien]

Thank you, Nogrod and Legate, now I can think I succeeded in something - I KNEW you were bluffing and assuming each other's roles! I KNEW! You were quite transparent there, congratulating each other...

I know how it feels to lack a teammate for an entire game...it's quite frustrating.

Probably the most annoying situation you can get into when playing ww. There's no one to negotiate and speculate with, there's no one you can try to save when you reallaise you're going down whatever you do and lastly, you feel like you're completely alone. Currently, I have the feeling that I never want to be a wolf again. I have been wolf thrice. First time it was my second game ever and I was so nervous typing was difficult 'cos my hands were shaking (really ) and I ended up a Fenris wolf thanks to my mate Anguirel. Second time I was a wolf with Glirdan and Xyzzy. Neither replied pms on Night1. I took part in Glirdy's lynching on Day1 as that was the wisest thing to do. Night2 Xyzzy failed to send our kill and there was no kill at all. Also, Mac the seer dreamed of me so I got lynched on Day2. And the most ironic thing here was that he didn't dream of me because he found me particularly suspicious, but because he thought that by learning my identity he might be able to guess the identities of some other villagers. Lastly, I was sick and with no net access so I had to play in public libraries sneezing all the time and didn't manage to post a lot. And now, this game, which was more or less a disaster from my part. If someone has a reason to dislike being a wolf, it must be me. Well, there's no chance I'll end up a wolf in the next game... *smug smilie*

And I hope I don't sound grudgy/whining, for I actually feel quite good about this game. I sure learned a lot about the art of being a nasty fanged hairy thing... especially what not to do. *if I hadn't exceeded the smiley quota already, I'd add one here*

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

Thank you, Nogrod and Legate, now I can think I succeeded in something - I KNEW you were bluffing and assuming each other's roles! I KNEW! You were quite transparent there, congratulating each other...

So no one fell for that?

But what comes to the congratulating on Day3 that was all meant to put pressure on Volo as we acted like it was game over already. A wolf might have cracked there and confessed - like Volo actually did at first!

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I have to say that this game was very interesting and funny, despite the fact that it was indeed very short. But it was full of these "hidden struggles" and the henchmen did really good job in some parts - Lommy's vote for xyzzy (with this, we almost totally discarded the possibility that xyzzy was a henchman. It is true that a large part of that decision was based on the fact that xyzzy did not appear at all - of course, had he appeared, our reasoning would have been probably very different) and even Brinniel kept the good level of secrecy (probably I would not have thought her a villain, on Day 1 and at the start of Day 2 I thought her being a henchman - which, in fact, is good for a henchman).

Originally Posted by CIA

But what comes to the congratulating on Day3 that was all meant to put pressure on Volo as we acted like it was game over already. A wolf might have cracked there and confessed - like Volo actually did at first!

Indeed. I was a try, and it could have worked. It was the possible way to minimalize the losses. Apologies once more Volo, but when you reacted the way that you "confessed", that was a moment when it was "clear" that you are a baddie. Why would an innocent confess after he gathered 50% votes from the gifted?

Originally Posted by Lommy

Thank you, Nogrod and Legate, now I can think I succeeded in something - I KNEW you were bluffing and assuming each other's roles! I KNEW! You were quite transparent there, congratulating each other...

Transparent?
But it did not work at all? Not even on Brinn? Maybe we should have done that the other way around...

Originally Posted by Lommy

Funny, on Night1 I had hard time deciding whether to kill Menel or Legate...

I see the protection of myself was not that much waste after all. From what I read (also from Brinniel), there were moments when the game was balancing on the edge. Well, in such a small village it's quite normal, but... It was nice of you that you didn't target me, though. Not as nice against poor Menel (looks like some sort of disease - "Brinnomenelitide", causes players to die in less than two days. Brinn looks almost cured now, however).

If there was anything bad on this game then it was that it was too short, with so few players, and I need to say also a little bit "confusing". Writing simple, clear summary of rules - ALL rules, and FINAL rules - in the first post of the admin thread when the game started would have helped a lot. When the rules change in the course of preparing the game (and this game has been prepared to start for really a long time), it's always better to sum them up.
But the setting was very interesting and the roles were fun. I really enjoyed our little CIA-KGB plot with Nogrod and even the role (although I clinged to the stereotype. No one says or, I believe ever said "Comrade" in every sentence, except maybe Milouš Jakeš...). So thanks Gil for this refreshing setting and a funny game.

[Gil-Galad]

i'm glad you all enjoyed it. if you really want i might put a end game plot up but give me a day or two...

i was mostly sad that i didn't get to use my Villain Concept... perhaps another game it can be used. it just makes a Cobbler role more interesting then just being pushed aside.