[Coppermirror]

♪ Courage, elves, for bright daylight
Is with us to cast out the blight ♪

People who have shown up so far: Kitanna, me, Tar-Jêx, Aganzir, Loslote, Shasta, McCaber, Boro. (8)
We have yet to hear from: Farael, Sally, Rikae. (3)

That's better than I expected given that we're still on the first page.

Game rules and roles

Some of the roles in this game seem to be characterised by deliberate ambiguity, which adds a little more interest to it.

(1) Are there two wolves or three wolves? Our fair village consists only of eleven at present. A game of twelve would usually have three wolves and three gifted. However, the third gifted in this game is not a Hunter but a Lover. I find it reasonably plausible that there could be either two wolves or three in such a context. Oh well, that line of enquiry hasn't led me to a useful conclusion yet. Continuing on.

(2) What's up with the Lovers?

Originally Posted by Nerwen

The exact nature of the Lovers' relationship is a secret. You are free to speculate.

Well, that suggests that something is unusual there, but doesn't give any details. We already know that the Lovers can PM each other, at least.

Lovers usually appear to have an independent affiliation from the village. However, in this case one of them is also the Ranger. I assume the Lovers have the same affiliation as each other by default. I do find it implausible that there could be three wolves and also a pair of independent Lovers. Would the game balance be off if there were two wolves and independent Lovers? Hard to say, but not having the Ranger firmly on our side would still be harsh.

Also, I find it hard to believe that Amroth and Nimrodel would not be on the side of the elves of Lorien at least to begin with. The narration shows no hints that anything is amiss with our ruler, and the Lady Galadriel has promised to aid him.

ToDay so far

Kitanna: Believes that tea is never optional. Well, I also agree that in my view, tea is never optional. But I understand that some poor souls feel otherwise, and one must be considerate of them. Kit throws out some random-looking guesses. She brings up the possibility of joint-Cobbler Lovers. But it doesn't look like a serious suggestion the way she phrases it.

Originally Posted by Kitanna

I feel like there's going to be more to it than that, why else would our moddess want it to be a secret? As to what could be involved? No idea. Maybe Nimrodel chooses who Amroth protects and he cannot protect her, but she can have him protect himself. Maybe the 2-3 wolves thing is a hint. If Nimrodel dies Amroth goes to the dark side or vice versa?

This looks like good speculation. An affiliation change after one of them dies could be a tricky enough thing to explain Nerwen's deliberate vagueness about both the roles.

And then Kitanna votes for Tar-Jêx, saying it is a random guess. Nothing she says there really looks suspicious. I can believe that if innocent she might have to resort to a random guess at this point of the game. But if she's not innocent then Tar-Jêx, who I believe is a first-time player, is a safe vote for her on Day 1.

Tar-Jêx: Post #17 looks the most interesting. They caution Kitanna against early guesses, then go ahead to make early guesses of their own. Tar also guesses that there are probably two wolves. The writing style doesn't seem villainous to me, but I can't rule out that Tar could be a scheming evil prodigy.

Aganzir: Is very energetic! And apparently rolled in here drunk.

Originally Posted by Aganzir

*licks lips* looking forward to that! I love when things come back to bite me.

Well, if Tar and Agan are both wolves, they're very bold ones with all that talk of biting. It does seem a bit unlikely.

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Story-wise it would make sense that Amroth decides to abandon his people if he loses Nimrodel (ie her death kills them both)

Interesting. I had better look these things up. Anyway, Agan speculates that the wolf numbers could swing either way. What she's saying generally sounds pretty sensible. I'm not getting any innocent or guilty vibes.

Loslote: She contemplates that there might really be a cobbler around. That's fair enough. Then she says she'll have to vote soon, then she votes for Boro based on slight confusion and the elimination of people she'd rather not vote for. With so little to go on, it doesn't say much for her innocence or guilt.

Shasta: Has said next to nothing.
McCaber: Ditto.
Boromir Ditto.

I'm glad I don't have to vote for a while. But for first impressions, I don't think I'll be voting for Kitanna, especially as she's already left. For Tar-Jêx and Farael there are reasons to cut them some slack. Agan and Lottie don't seem particularly suspicious as of yet.

I'm going to be gone for a few hours to watch TV and eat dinner, but barring sudden disaster, I'll be back at least two hours before the deadline.

Edit: Crossed with Tar-Jêx.