WWJ VIII ~ Things That Go "Quack" In The Night

[Anguirel]

Originally Posted by Cailín

Well. Wereducks, eh? From what deep pit of hell did that horror first wobble out?

I trust none of ye. And let them Elves, Ents and Halflings not start with their holier-than-thou attitude, for I have to say I suspect them the most. Maybe a bit too much in tune with nature, if you get what I mean.

I shall definitely not vote Dancing Spawn -even though she is a nasty smelly orc- or Anguirel toDay, since they will probably be attacked toNight anyway.

Spot the contradiction! Or is that supposed to be...witty? Frivolity at a time like this!

Your comment about the next death is rather depressing, Miss Bird-Portraitist...but not necessarily correct. Experience-as I suspect you well know-will play but a part in the ducks' decision-the rest determined by what we do or say. If any of us in our perambulations strikes too well upon a culprit, they may well be punished for it.

Remember the words regarding the Seer: What did the victim get right? Why did the ducks kill him/her? Complicated by the fact we won't even know if the ducks are right or not...

This new state of affairs, killings remaining mysterious, will cause much befuddlement and for a start greatly increase the hampering powers of, say, the Goose. Still, we must put up with it...

Should we discuss this angle of the situation and how to deal with it? Do any of you have any other questions to raise? Or are you content to sit and fling insults at each other?

[Cailín]

Well, well, Ang, dear. No need to yell at me. Of course, I do prefer just randomly insulting people but if you wish me to be serious than I will. You are limiting me in my freedom of artistic expression, you are.

The new situation does seem rather troublesome. I fear though, that we will have to keep public discussion limited and let each Gifted handle it as they choose. We will know, of course, when the Hawk dies, the Nightingale is rather inconsequential, but the painful part is not being sure of our Owl. Never follow blindly the words of the dead, that is my advice.

And let it come. We will see. It might harm the Ducks more than us.

Besides, there is no contradiction there. I do not like people acting better than me, but that does not mean I cannot act better than others. 'Cause strangely, I have no problems with that at all.

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

Originally Posted by Ang

This new state of affairs, killings remaining mysterious, will cause much befuddlement and for a start greatly increase the hampering powers of, say, the Goose. Still, we must put up with it...

Should we discuss this angle of the situation and how to deal with it? Do any of you have any other questions to raise? Or are you content to sit and fling insults at each other?

Well, the biggest problem, I think, is that we don't know when the Goose is dead and therefore we don't know how many foes there are left. But then again, the Ducks and the Goose don't know each other, so it baffles them just as much. I've heard tales of Villages where the Seer was lost early on and still they survived. I think our situation can be compared to that. The Seer may reveal themselves before their death, and they may not. It's up to them and that's it. In any case, we have to trust our own abilities as much as possible, but that's nothing new, now is it?

About throwing insults at each other, sometimes they turn out to be handy, too... you lot of useless ghazbgûrgnizgs!!! Okay, maybe not that kind of insults. However, the sooner we seriously start going after the Ducks, the more material we will have to build our cases on.

Hey, a question: are the Ducks able to PM during Day, too? If they are, that might make them slightly bolder voting-wise, for example...

[Lalaith]

A halfling dead! Our noble rhymster! We were already outnumbered in this village...
I too am troubled by the prospect of our Owl dying without trace, as it were.

I fear though, that we will have to keep public discussion limited

This I agree with, in as far as we should not speculate as to the gifted status of the living. But I do think we should speculate as to general strategy, particularly now in these early days when there is little else to talk about.

We could of course go by the rule that the Ducks will kill the villager who appears to them most Owlish, and so we could assume that the dead one got something right. On the other hand, though, Ducks could select their kill in order deliberately to confuse.

are the Ducks able to PM during Day, too?

Well, the rules say

During the Night the three Wereducks PM each other

. So I assume they can't PM during the day. But maybe Moddess Goddess could confirm.

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

I have eyes everywhere . . . no, not that way.

I am unseen. I am unfelt. I can see and hear much this way. Therefore I have gathered much information about all of you, and from this I have determined . . .

Uh, what's with the scroll?

i-inu-tori-saru-hitsuji . . . Aka Higi: Hyakki no Pigeon*!

With this I shall defend this village! (Not a reference to Gift.)

So, I'll leave these pigeons with you. I have to go.

++Nilpaurion Felagund
__________________
Secret Red Technique: Hundred Pigeons.

[Nogrod]

Hello there fellow villagers!

I agree with the point of doing something reasonable on the first day.

One thing I've been thinking, is that we would be decent villagers, if we were to try and help the owl to begin with. The situation is a new one - and at least I, if I were a seer, would be more than happy to hear other peoples opinions about the tactics. Many heads see the problematic issues better than one. That would, then be, really building our first defences.

What worries me in this situation, is that we stand a very high risk of losing all the dreams, with no way to convince ourselves, whose post are worth looking really closely. Just think of the confusion, when we start to guess, on the basis of one's or other's post afterwards, whether their suspicions were owl-like or not! And then the wereducks plotting in the midst of that chaos...

[The Saucepan Man]

Grrr! The nasty Wereducks killed the nice Halfling poet. I don’t hold much with poetry and the like. It makes my head hurt. But Miss Took was kind to me and did not treat me as an outcast just ‘cos I’m an Orc, unlike some I could mention.

*Glares at Glirdan*

But Halflings are weak and easy prey for these evil Ducks. Not like us Orcs. We are strong. We command! I have no fear of Ducks. They should fear me, ‘cos it’s my job to scare birds and I’m good at it. I will laugh in the face of their misshapen bills! I will roar to drown out their ridiculous quacks! I will spit on their downy backs! No, they hold no fear for me. So let’s hunt them down like the overgrown game-birds that they are!

Originally Posted by Glirdan

I suggest watching those two evil folk as you Men, Dwarves and Elves would call them.

How hasty you are in trying to stoke up the village’s prejudices against us Orckind, Glirdan. As the enlightened bird-catcher has pointed out, we make easy targets. But we are reformed Orcs, not the evil creatures of the olden tales. Many amongst you will know how useful I have proved myself in scaring the crows away from your crops. And so I hope to prove myself equally useful to the village in seeking out and destroying these Ducks of Udún.

I suppose it should not surprise me, coming from an overgrown twig such as yourself. But I wonder if there is some scheming behind your attempt to pick on the more vulnerable members of this village. I will be keeping an Orcish eye on you, Ent. ‘Tis oftentimes the case that those who arrive first at the scene turn out to be those who committed the grisly act.

And I don’t like the look of that idle Elf, mormegil. Quite apart from him being a filthy tark, he is unwilling to aid our village without payment of some kind. That smacks of selfishness and greed to me. But perhaps he has other motives for his reluctance to help out. Perhaps he would rather help the Duckish cause, either because he is one of them himself or because, being but a Goose, wants them to suck seed – er - succeed.

There is little point now in dwelling at length on the consequences of our inability to recognise the Gifteds (except, of course, the Hawk) following their deaths. Not until the Ducks kill again, at least. So, they (and especially the Owl) should act as they see fit with that knowledge in mind.

Originally Posted by Nogrod

What worries me in this situation, is that we stand a very high risk of losing all the dreams, with no way to convince ourselves, whose post are worth looking really closely.

That is something which I am sure has occurred to all of us (guilty and innocent alike), and one of which I am sure the Owl is only too aware. But I think we should leave the Owl to act as he or she thinks best. Discussing Owlish tactics amongst ourselves only risks exposing the Owl. In fact, Nogrod, I am wary of one who would suggest such a thing. I think it best that we concentrate on rooting out the Ducks.

Admittedly, unless the Ducks slip up, this first Day will most likely provide little enlightenment to us while we are living through it. But things that are said now may prove helpful to us in the future. Remember, the Wereducks will be trying to maintain a semblance of innocence on the surface. But, underneath the water, their nasty little legs will be paddling furiously. We need to try to spot the guilty activity below the surface. And to do that, we all need to keep talking, and thereby force the Ducks to keep quacking or else stand out like targets in a shooting gallery.

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by me

And I don’t like the look of that idle Elf, mormegil. Quite apart from him being a filthy tark, he is unwilling to aid our village without payment of some kind. That smacks of selfishness and greed to me. But perhaps he has other motives for his reluctance to help out.

Oops! Being an Orc of little brain, I see that I misread mormegil's post. He wants to pay someone to help him out. Well, my comments stand. That's just selfish. Why should he be in any better position just because he is rich? Perhaps he is trying to buy innocents onto his side and thereby use them for his evil ends. I still don't like him. Filthy tark!

[Kath]

Ah I see Nilp has arrived!

I have little time right now, I've just seen a rainbow and must go catch it! But I will return later to see what's been going on.

[Mithalwen]

Just checking in here - I don't expect to be able to do much more than read what others have posted. As well as the problems of not knowing about the gifteds, we have the added dynamic of the hawk and nightingale being in league as well ... just something to bear in mind.

I wouldn't suspect someone automatically for raising issues and options. On the first day it is a darned sight more useful than a lot of "oh woe is me Diamond is dead/ ooh I have had a hard morning knocking the saggar-makers bottoms" ...

However some peoples' professions just demand a few cheap and pointless jibes... but I shall resist for now....

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

But I think we should leave the Owl to act as he or she thinks best. Discussing Owlish tactics amongst ourselves only risks exposing the Owl. In fact, Nogrod, I am wary of one who would suggest such a thing. I think it best that we concentrate on rooting out the Ducks.

Eurggh! Another nasty Elf. But I agree with you - provided that it doesn't risk exposing any (helpful) Gifteds. That's the reason I don't like talk of Owlish strategies. It just seems unnecessarily risky (or fiendishly calculated).

I can't see how discussing the owl tactics would endanger the Owl? S/he doesn't have to partake in an open discussion - s/he can just lay back and think about the things we say to help to make her/his mind. As I said earlier, this is just so different situation, as we will not have a track-record to trail after, if s/he dies. That's why I thought we could help the Owl by trying our best. Were I an Owl, I would appreciate the help (I was a seer in my first ever game, and boy was I lost! - and with this new rule, it's not obvious, that the traditional tactics apply).

And making arguments have this nice quality, that they can be shared - so no wolfy-orcsy-ducky scheming in there - as everyone can see a good point and a bad point... The duckies might want to twist good arguments by downplaying their worth, by attacking them rhetorically, or whatever. But even a duck can't twist 2+2 to 17,453...

So Saucepanman: your posts just quoted up above, put you in the head of my suspicion list to begin with...

1) the counter-argument is just a bad one (and as I have the impression of you being an intelligent person - that just calls to see foul-play in it).

2) Your second point: "In fact, Nogrod, I am wary of one who would suggest such a thing" could be seen as a rhetorical turn-around, trying deliberately to twist us out from helping the Owl, to loosely thrown out and about suspicions about other people (& trying to make yourself look like considerate person).

3) And then it is followed by this: "I think it best that we concentrate on rooting out the Ducks"! We all know the first day cluelesness before any real discussions: so what is this? Just rhetorics without any substance? At least it's not a call to have any discussion, that would reveal anyone's attitudes - or would make them slip anything.

This is just, what I would like all of us to be wary of! Sensible points put down or twisted, or set aside, with no real arguments, but leaning on other grounds like rhetorics, charisma, earlier renown, whatever...

Spm. I know, that a good and thinking villager might be doing something like the thing you are doing - opening some, even shallowly grounded - suspicions by casting his eye anywhere to find something doubtful on the first day. It's always better to have a reason for one's vote, even in the first day. You should see, that I'm doing exactly the same thing here.

EDIT: X-posted with Ang