Tol-in-Gaurhoth XXI: Dueling Wizards Werewolf

[littlemanpoet]

Players are strictly forbidden to post to this thread until the Game Moderator (LMP) opens it up.

Introduction

On the shores of For-Luin* there lived a small folk of the Atani who called themselves the Reindeer Folk. Their lore told how they had once been wanderers over the northern plains, hunting reindeer and living off their gift of meat, skins, and antlers. The tales told of how the earth opened its mouth and roared and ate the plain land, the icy sea rushing in. The reindeer that had not been swallowed up, fled to the east and never returned.

*For-Luin is the coastland bounded on the northwest by the Sea, to the northeast by the Ice Bay of Forochel, to the southeast by Ered Luin, and to the southwest by an unnamed bay that separates that land from Forlindon.

Of the Reindeer Folk who had not been swallowed by the earth, many starved for lack of food or froze for lack of skins. All feared for lack of the antler for it had been their lucking and charm against evils. The few that survived until spring turned their eyes to the Sea and saw strange flippered dogs near the shore, barking at them from a distance. The folk saw these as an omen and said to each other, "Maybe the Sea has brought death, but from it now we must find life." Some fashioned rods and lines with hooks and bait. Others twined nets to catch game from the sea; but not the flippered dogs. Still others gleaned strange greens from the salty seas. There were folk who did not take to the sea, and so they tilled the land between the sea and the mountains, so that half of them were farmers and half fishers. Some of the boldest fishers hove out to sea and caught fish that swam farther from shore, and they gave a portion of the meat to the flippered dogs; and their numbers grew. The folk saw in these creatures their new luck and seal against evil, and called the flippered dogs by that name. They renamed themselves the Seal Folk. The seals throve and the Seal Folk throve for many lives of their folk, and their former life as plainsfolk became legend.

One day they when the Seal Folk woke up, they found a new thing. The seals were quiet and watchful, for sitting on a rock near the breakers in the bay were two tall figures looking out to sea. They were fair to behold and seemed as gods. They moved not, but looked ever to the sea. The Seal Folk spoke to them but the two uttered no word back. Awed, the Seal Folk let them be, and wondered what they were. It was not long before the seals barked again and all was as it was before, save that there were two who watched the sea for a mystery. The Seal Folk began to place portions of their catch at the feet of the Watchers, but never saw them take it up. However, each morning the catch was not where they had laid it. Even when the overbold youth watched during the night they did not see the Watchers reach down, but in the morning the catch was gone.

Years went by. The Seal Folk became used to the Watchers, and made up tales about them, that they watched the sea for the sake of the Seal Folk, ever vigilant in care of those who went out in boats to find sea-game for the Folk. Maybe it was so, but the wise among them believed that the Watchers looked to the sea for other reasons. The Seal Folk took to eating at the feet of the Watchers, for they seemed to luck the place, never failing to leave a portion of their catch behind.


Once, when a group of the Seal Folk were at meal beneath the Watchers, the Lady opened her mouth and, still looking to sea, spoke these words: "You shall have a wizard amongst you to tide you against the coming evil." She said no more, but the Man spoke these words: "Hidden from you shall be the wizard, for the evil shall come hidden amongst you." The Seal Folk were stunned at first, but then asked many questions of the Watchers; but got no answer. The Watchers did not speak again during their lifetime.

Each of the Seal Folk took their own counsel, and carefully rehearsed the Words of the Watchers, and passed them down from parent to child for many lives of their folk. Some of them went on journeys inland to learn what they could of wizards, and brought back scrolls and tomes copied by unknown hands. The Seal Folk learned to read and to write, and discovered much of the ways of the world, and of wizards. They learned that when the Sea had eaten the land, it had been the end of a Second Age of the world, and they now lived in the Third Age.

The Watchers remained seated upon their stone, looking out to sea.

Many years later, there came a dark night of deep cold shadow. Had any looked upon the Watchers, they would have seen their countenances darkened and dour. But none looked. To one in the village, carefully chosen, came a Shadow. This Shadow had watched each of the Seal Folk, and this one, who had done no deed of evil and seemed in no wise more given to evil than any other of the folk, bore a seed of malice unvoiced. To this one the Shadow came and said, "You shall my accomplice be, and power you shall have, to wield fear and rule over these folk who have never understood your greatness. Choose first for yourself three to rule over. Through these you will kill. Do this and you shall be given power beyond your dreams." This one understood: "The evil wizard am I." The evil wizard prepared by spending all the days reading carefully the tomes and scrolls in the evil wizard's possession. This did not seem odd to others of the Seal Folk, for every household possessed such books and parchments, and some were known to give themselves wholly to such study from time to time.

The Seal Folk are:

1 Diamond ~ gammer married to Nogrod & mother of eligible young maidens Lhunardawen, Azaelia, & Firefoot ~ Battledore Maker with strong forearms from battledore swinging

2 Celuien ~ wife of The Saucepan Man, daughter of mormegil ~ Healer and Cupper

3 Caranlondien ~ eligible young maiden, eldest daughter of Sleepy Ranger & Roa Aoife (big sister of Thin & Glir) ~ Sled-Team Driver

4 Roa Aoife ~ wife of Sleepy Ranger, and mother of Thinlomien ~ weaver

5 Nogrod ~ gaffer married to Diamond and father to eligible young maidens Lhunardawen, Azaelia, & Firefoot ~ retired jester who has many permanent bruises from battledores

6 Dancing Spawn of Ungoliant ~ eligible young maiden (or wife of Nilp if he plays) ~ Baker

7 Kath ~ eligible young maiden ~ minstrel

8 Lommy~ child of Sleepy Ranger and Roa Aoife, younger sister of Glirdan and Caranlondien ~ little girl who steals other children's candy

9 Lhunardawen ~ wife of Eonwe (no children) & eldest daughter of Nogrod & Diamond ~ jeweler

10 Glirdan ~ child of Sleepy Ranger and Roa Aoife, older brother of Thinlomien, younger brother of Caranlondien ~ with giant crush on Kath (occupation aplenty!)

11 Valier ~ not so eligible young maiden ~ gardener

12 Sleepy Ranger ~ married to Roa Aoife, father of Thinlomien ~ Wanderer from the days of old, now settled in the village

13 Kitanna ~ courting Eomer ~

14 Firefoot ~ tomboyish young maiden (engaged to stuffy, boring, rich jerk) & daughter of Nogrod and Diamond; younger sister of Azaelia ~ artist

15 Alcarillo ~ gaffer married to Cailín ~ old retired sea captain

16 Cailín ~ gammer married to Alcarillo ~ match maker

17 Oddwen ~ orphan child, in the care of Lalaith ~ aviary keeper (filthy, insane street urchin who steals chickens & other fowl and keeps them locked up in boxes)

18 mormegil ~ widower, father of Celuien ~ retired mariner and currently mayor overseeing honorary functions

19 Feanor ~ husband lost at sea, widowed and eligible ~ suspicious and somewhat creepy shepherdess with a love of alliteration

20 Azaelia of Willowbottom ~ eligible young maiden & daughter to Diamond and Nogrod [open to whims of the mod] ~ (apprentice?) seamstress

21 the phantom ~ single semi-eligible young man, brother of Eomer of the Rohirrim ~ loud, unpredictable, adventurer

22 Naria ~ young eligible maiden ~ servant who empties and cleans chamber pots

23 Jenny Hallu ~ unmarried maiden & aunt; Celuien's sister ~

24 The Saucepan Man ~ husband of Celuien ~ barkeep

25 Lalaith ~ frivolous aunt and guardian of Oddwen ~

26 Eonwe ~ husband of Lhunardawen & son in law of Nogrod & Diamond ~

27 Eomer of the Rohirrim ~ young eligible, brother of the phantom, courting Kitanna ~

28 Nilpaurion Felagund ~ hubby of Dancing Spawn

29 Gurthang ~ Kath's older brother, son of Nilp & Spawn ~ stable-hand

30 Loki ~ ~ leech collector

Family Tree of the Village

Players are strictly forbidden to post to this thread until the Game Moderator (LMP) opens it up.

[littlemanpoet]

Dueling Wizards Werewolf Rules

There are two wizards, and no other gifted at the beginning of the game, which must have a minimum of 20 players, and an arbitrary maximum (first time) of 30. The two wizard roles are assigned from a list of volunteers who are willing to play the roles.

The two wizards don't know who each other are. One is evil, one is good. Neither wizard can be killed, except by each other.

The game begins with a Night phase.

Evil Wizard: each Night the evil wizard picks a villager to curse as a werewolf. The new werewolf is immediately informed and the mod requests a kill choice, which the werewolf provides by the end of the 24 hours. On the first Night of the game, the Evil Wizard chooses three werewolves; thereafter s/he chooses one per Night.

The werewolves do not know each other's identity because while they are werewolves at Night, they cannot detect the identities underlying the curses. When there are multiple werewolves, and they make differing kill choices, the person with the most werewolf "votes" is killed.{**} If there is a tie, the sub-mod for the evil wizard PMs back to each werewolf about the others' choices, and serves as a go-between until the werewolves have come to a majority choice.

{**First, the werewolves place their individual nominees before the Evil team sub-mod. The sub-mod informs the EW & werewolves of all nominees. The werewolves then pick from amongst the nominees until there is a consensus for the Night as to whom to kill. If there is not unanimity, the kill will be based on majority votes. If no majority has been established by the end of the Night, the EW will choose from among the nominees. The EW may overrule all of the nominees (but should be cautious about doing so), and informs the Evil team sub-mod when s/he does so; the sob-mod then informs the werewolves and gives a summary of the EW's reason(s) for the overrule, if the EW wants to give one.}

If the werewolves happen to pick the EW or a werewolf, ALL will be told to pick another kill.

Note: Werewolves do not PM each other and therefore cannot debate with each other; thus, they are not going to find out each others' identities. If in some odd circumstance, a werewolf gets the most votes for the werewolf kill, the evil wizard has the right to overrule the choice, and the werewolves are told to make a different pick. If in some even odder circumstance, the werewolves choose the evil wizard as their kill, the evil wizard of course has the right to overrule their choice. In a 20 or more player game, if there are 4 to 6 werewolves, there are 2 kills per Night; if there are 7 or more werewolves, there are 3 kills per Night.

If the evil wizard chooses a gifted villager to curse, the gifted villager loses the gift but does not turn into a werewolf ... this time. The good wizard is informed of the loss of the gifting.

If the evil wizard picks the good wizard at Night, he is informed that he has discovered the good wizard, and has the option from then on to call out the good wizard to battle during any Day.

The evil wizard may choose to inform one or more werewolves who one or more other werewolves are; but this is a risky option and should be used with great care, considering the possible consequences.

The evil wizard is allowed to lie to his were-creatures.

Good Wizard: each Night the good wizard picks a villager to scry.

1. If the good wizard scries the evil wizard, the good wizard is informed of that, and can call out the evil wizard to battle during any Day, which results in the death of both wizards.

2. If the good wizard scries a werewolf, the werewolf is turned back into an innocent by the good wizard's power.

3. If the good wizard finds an innocent, the good wizard has the option of turning that innocent into a gifted, the choices being seer, ranger, and hunter. If a gifted is de-gifted by the evil wizard's curse, the good wizard may assign that gift to another. A newly assigned gifted may immediately function in the gift the same Night. If a gifted is killed, the gift may be assigned to another innocent. The new assignment is made via the nightly scry.

NOTE: There may only be one seer at a time, one ranger at a time, and one hunter at a time.

The good wizard may choose to inform one or more gifteds who one or more of the gifteds are.

The good wizard and gifteds may PM during the Day. The good wizard may withhold from, or divulge information to, the gifteds as the good wizard sees fit. All PMs between gifteds and good wizard must pass through the good team sub-moderator. The gifteds do not know who each other is unless the good wizard tells them.

The evil wizard and werewolves win when the werewolves equal or exceed the number of innocents. The villagers and good wizard win when there is no evil wizard left, and no werewolves left.

There are no shirriffs, no werebears, and no cobblers.

If the good wizard and the evil wizard choose the same previously innocent villager on the same Night, the two wizards discover each other's identity by means of the contest. Since the evil wizard still wants a werewolf, the good wizard must choose whether to let the villager die as a casualty of the wrenching experience of the contest, or let the villager survive and become a werewolf.

Just to be perfectly clear: a wizard battle always results in the death of both wizards, and may only happen during the Day. Once both wizards are dead, the werewolf game reverts to classic rules: no PMing between gifteds during the Day.

There is a vote for lynching every Day. If there is a tie vote, then the first player to have received that many votes, is lynched. If a wizard is voted to be lynched, he will be lynched but cannot die that way, and is thus forced to declare himself, and the opposing wizard can call him/her out for a wizard battle the following Day. A wizard cannot be killed by lynching; instead, nobody dies that Day.

If the evil wizard dies, the werewolves are informed of each other's identity, and revert from there on to traditional werewolf group dynamics.

Each Day and Night will be 24 hours; if such a time frame proves somehow unworkable, it may be changed (with notice of course!) during the game.

Order of Night Activities:
1. Evil wizard picks whom to curse.
2. Good wizard pickes whom to scry.
3. Affected players are informed of results of #1 & #2 (if both wizards pick same villager, this phase gets longer but is completed before the next phase begins).
4. Ranger picks whom to save.
5. Seer picks whom to dream.
6. Hunter picks whom to hunt.
7. Werewolves pick whom to kill.
Note: Steps 4 - 7 can happen simultaneously, but will be recorded by the moderator in the order as listed so as to keep the game straight.

Miscellaneous Rulings:
*There are no multiple lynchings.
*A killed or lynched persons previous roles will not be revealed until the game is over.
*Regarding player etiquette: Accusations and suspicions are what the game of werewolf is all about, and that's why we play. This sometimes includes insults which must be considered as 'all in fun' (using appropriate 'smilies' helps to show that it's all in fun); however, there are limits that must not be crossed: if your gameplaying insults are beyond the pale (you're going to have to accept the moderator's judgment on this), you will be considered to have gone overboard. Therefore, anyone going overboard will get a PM from the moderator with a warning to use better etiquette. Any player that "goes overboard" a second time, will be summarily removed from the game with no death narrative. As one of the Wise once said: "It's only a game - don't be offended, but it's only a game - don't be offensive."
*The seer may dream of the same person more than once. The Ranger may NOT defend the same person two Nights in a row; but may defend the same person every OTHER Night.
*The Hunter may kill (and be killed) either by being killed by a 'picked' werewolf, or when lynched.
*No retractable votes.
*When a player dies, the identity and last role of the player will be named, but previous roles will not.
*References to past werewolf games may be made as follows: "My werewolf lorebook(s) say(s) ....."

[littlemanpoet]

The Game begins at 6 p.m. today with Night One.

At that time the following things may happen simultaneously:

1. The evil wizard may officialy pick the first three werewolves.
2. The good wizard may scry one player, resulting in the discovered evil wizard, a discovered and uncursed werwolf, or gift an innocent player.

Immediately following that, the next things may happen simultaneously:

3. The three werewolves may nominate one victim to kill, by sending a PM to Boromir88, the evil team sub-mod.
4. If the good wizard has bestowed a gift, the gifted player may, if a seer, pick a player to dream; if a ranger, pick a player to guard; if a hunter, pick a player to hunt.

The victim nomination process will continue until (1) a consensus is reached regarding the werwolf kill, or (2) a majority is reached, or (3) the evil wizard overrules the werewolf choice, which ever happens first.

There will be another narrative post roughly around 6 pm EDT today. Following that will be the first Day post, which will go up at roughly 6pm Friday. Once that post is up, posting may commence.

CRITICAL EDIT: The first Night's kill is Elempi, widowed father of Diamond of the Battledores. Therefore, the werewolves do NOT need to nominate a kill for Night one. Sorry for the confusion.

[littlemanpoet]

The Evil Wizard coveted the power spoken of, and did as instructed. The evil wizard knew that there was a Good Wizard, for the Watchers had foretold it. It came into the evil wizard's mind to have the werewolves kill the Watchers first, but the Shadow had expressly forbidden it saying, "Those two belong to me. It is mine to end their lives. Touch them at your peril." The Evil Wizard left them alone.

After much study, the Evil Wizard deemed that the time was ripe, and cursed three of the Seal Folk, and they became werewolves that Night. He sent them forth to do their killing.

* * * * *

One of the Seal Folk, who had, as all the others, prepared for the prophecy through much study and practice, woke up to see the Two Watchers standing in the room.

The Lady said, "You are the Good Wizard foretold."

The Man said, "You must act tonight. You know what you must do."

This person blinked and rubbed at sleepy eyes, and looked again. The Two Watchers were not there. Had they ever been? They were only ever seated upon the stones! Scry a villager, spoke a whispered voice in the person's mind. "I am the good wizard," said this one. "I must do what I can!" The Good Wizard got to work.

* * * * *

Night One has now begun. Let the Game Begin!

[littlemanpoet]

Night One Intricacies

The good wizard felt at a loss, and rushed about the room looking for just the right book. "Scrying," mumbled the good wizard. "That's what I need to do. How is it done?" At last the good wizard found the right ancient volume and poured over it long into the night, and almost until dawn before being sure of what action to take.

Meanwhile the evil wizard had not been idle, but had cursed three villagers, and they had become werewolves. They raced into the night and sought their prey, finding him alone, asleep, and defenseless. They woke him and leered at his terror, then attacked him, first a gash to the throat so that he could not scream. Then they mauled him, almost beyond recognition. Almost.

At last the good wizard rose from the table and scried. The one scried was fanged! "Uncursed be!" cried the good wizard. As luck would have it, the killing and disposing of the body had been long gone and the other two werwolves were not nearby. The uncursed werewolf was safe, and no longer a werewolf. Almost, however, the good wizard saw a shadow of some kind, lurking in the darkness behind the identity of this former werewolf. "The evil wizard!" the good wizard said. "I must discern!" But the good wizard had not studied discernment of the evil wizard, and was unprepared, and could not discover the evil wizard's identity. The good wizard resolved to be prepared the following night.

[littlemanpoet]

A Note on Rules

The first loophole has been discovered. The good wizard chose to scry one of the players that the evil wizard had cursed. On any other Night, I would have allowed the rules to function as I have written them. This Night, however, is a special Night, and I decided that the play of the game would be compromised if the good wizard found out the identity of the evil wizard before there was even a Day One. So I made a decision that the evil wizard's choices would be made early on this Night, and the good wizard's scrying performed late. If this game is ever played a second time, I would strongly recommend that: The Good Wizard does not scry on Night One. The plot does function more cleanly that way, as Loki has suggested. But the gameplay was the deciding factor. There you have it. We shall see how many more of these snap decisions will be needed during this game. Not too many, I hope. Bear with me, it's going to be an interesting ride!

[littlemanpoet]

Day One

Elempi's father had been all the way to Umbar in his day. He had returned with the oldest tome the village had seen, and won renown thereby; and the hand of a fair maiden named, if bargain one could call it. When Elempi was a name of Umbarian origin, and so the babe's father settled on it. Elempi is translated from the Umbarian tongue as bard of little account; or in the slang of that land, two bit poet. Elempi did grow into his name. He gained a reputation for the wittiest doggerel that any had heard, but never a serious line of verse passed his lips. He married Nar and their only child was Diamond. But Nar was drowned in the sea in a sudden gale while her fishing husband was safe off the coast. Elempi grew sad for the loss, but gladness came when Diamond married Nogrod, the village jester who, though not given to verse, took up where his father-in-law had left off for jollity. Nogrod and Diamond gave joy to Elempi's declining years. with three children, though Diamond lost that same number to illness and early death. Yet the three who lived to walk on two feet were lovely girls. Their grandfather loved them and delighted in them.

Until this day. The sun rose over the distant Ered Luin, shedding light upon fragmented, rushing clouds that broke off the sea as if fleeing in fear, chased on crying winds by the gods.

The villagers found a corpse lying at the foot of the Rock of the Watchers, who looked still out to sea. But a single tear slid down the quiet face of each. The corpse was Elempi, and was marred cruelly by wanton maulings that were far more than needed to kill.

"Papa!" cried Diamond, kneeling by the corpse.

"This is murder!" grated her husband, Nogrod. "It is the evil the Watchers warned of! What should we do?"

Lalaith said, "The Watchers said there would be a wizard among us. That one will save us."

"How do we know that is so?" asked Lommy.

"So the Watchers spoke, according to the old tales," said Alcarillo.

"Cursed by the evil one," said a voice they had not heard before, "werewolves three." It was the Lady Watcher.

All the Seal Folk, after a moment of stunned silence, erupted in a chaos of questions. She did not reply, but looked out to Sea.

"One cursed new each Night shall be," said the Man, not taking his eyes from the sea.

Now the stunned silence was not broken, for fear had overcome them all.

"Two remain," the Lady intoned, "for one was turned again."

At last, mormegil the mayor spoke. "The good wizard may help us, but we must do what we may," and this one laid out a plan for the village to talk amongst themselves and choose one each day from their number whose life should end as sundown, in hopes of ending the life a werewolf. Each of the Seal Folk acknowledged that it was a desperate measure, but needed nonetheless.

Suddenly Diamond wailed. "They've taken his heart!" Sure enough: almost surgically, the chest had been opened and the heart removed, carefully cut. What diabolical purposes did the evil wizard have for this? All wondered, but none could say.

So the Day began.

Play Officially Commences for Day One at 6pm EDT.

[Loki]

Loki grumbled, thoroughly annoyed at the events that had taken place the night before. "If you think that this bloke had a rough night," He jerked his head toward the desecrated corpse of Elempi midsentence, "...you ought to have waited until morn' in my bed." The aging leech collector cracked his neck, advanced beyond its years fromt he abuse his work had put him through-- namely infections of the bacteria from the collected creatures, but added upon the stresses of blood loss and forced rapid revitalization.

"By Eru, both of those damned wizards must have been vying for the collection of my soul this night. Visions of fur and claw and tooth dominated my mind; I couldn't catch a wink." He growled in a quiet tone, irritability clearly having become the order of the day. "The wizarding pair of which the Watchers spoke must have lost nearly as much sleep as I in fighting over the reclaimation of my soul." He kicked a nearby puppy that had dared cross his path in the early morning. "Thankfully, perhaps, I neither lost my life in the scrap nor transformed into one of those foul lycanthropes."

OOC: Gee, what does Loki know? He must be some kind of bloomin' idiot, he must. Know what? I fully exercise my right to the "I told you so" clause of the Immaturity Papers.



I told you so.





...MAN, that felt good.

[Nogrod]

What a discrace! What an evil!

My father-in-law killed! You morons will pay for this!

Why didn't the watchers tell us, that this would befall on us? Are they in a league with the evil-doers? And how come the leech-collector makes his predictions already before they were killed?

Loki grumbled, thoroughly annoyed at the events that had taken place the night before. "If you think that this bloke had a rough night," He jerked his head toward the desecrated corpse of Elempi midsentence, "...you ought to have waited until morn' in my bed."

"By Eru, both of those damned wizards must have been vying for the collection of my soul this night. Visions of fur and claw and tooth dominated my mind; I couldn't catch a wink."

So fifteen minutes before he died, this Loki guy was already making his

I told you so.

remark here... and trying to assure us, that he was astonished, why he was not the subject of the death - or scrying!

...MAN, that felt good.

DO I need to comment on this one?


Well, it's the time of grief, and I won't be with you in some hours. We must make preparations for the funerals right now. But believe me, I'll be back, more furious than ever you have seen - to hunt down these horrible mutations that have killed my father-in-law!

[Celuien]

Evil times are upon us, friends. Long have we known that doom would come upon us, yet none us of looked to see it in our time. Yet it seems that fate has chosen us alone of the Seal Folk, and the Reindeer Folk that were our ancestors (may their memory be praised!) to meet this horror. And what a wicked horror it is that would choose to slay Elempi, kind man that he was. I will not forget the many hours he spent, telling me the tales of our folk, when I was but I lass no higher than his knee. May we swiftly avenge his death.

I know not who among us has turned to evil. I will vouch for my own family, though in truth, I cannot be certain if any among them have been brought into the dark. But I find it hard to believe that my own husband, the Man of Many Pans, could possibly slip out of our home to do foul works without somehow alerting me. Nor could my girls, Kitanna and Naria. And don’t any of you go accusing my poor, sweet, quiet Naria for her shyness. Why, it isn’t her fault, what with her father and me always talking at each other. Poor child could never get a word in edgewise. No wonder she doesn’t say much to us anymore. Nor can I believe that my dear sister Jenny or my father (morm) could be werewolves. I’ve known them my whole life and they’ve never been anything but good to me. Except for the whole business of their opposing my marriage, but I’ll not hold that against them.

That Eomer though. Imagine him courting my daughter without so much as a word to her father or mother. ‘Tis most shocking behavior and speaks to some mischief. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he did turn out to have lupine tendencies.

So much uncertainty. I would try to heal the evil that has befallen us, but this foe is beyond my poor skill. Fevers and ill humours - ailments of the body - I can assuage, but the business of Wizards, Good or Evil, is outside my ability.

I rejoice that the Good Wizard in our midst has cured one of our number who had fallen to evil treachery. I doubt, however, that the one was Loki. Though I appreciate his deliveries of leeches for my healing art, he is somewhat less known to the village than some of the others here. The Evil Wizard could strike a sore blow to us by taking those closer to the community; my husband or father, for instance. That crazed adventurer the phantom. Or even, yes, the rascal Eomer. And any of them are as likely to have drawn the notice of our Good Wizard too. All have served our village well, and could aid us greatly in possession of the gifts the Good Wizard is said to be able to bestow. But only the Wizards, and perhaps the saved victim, know who the fortunate one is.

In way of advice, I can only say to try and keep a clear head. Watch for those among us who are changeable, for they might have changed in more ways than their words. Even to the point of seeking our destruction.

[mormegil]

I've never trusted that Eomer and I would suspect him of Lycanthropy at best but more than likely he's the evil wizard. I say we kill him! Plus this will prevent him from marrying into my family.

[Loki]

OCC: *rolls eyes* Fine, Nogrod, if it's THAT important to you, I'll delete my post and repost. Is that what you want? I had just happened to be available at that point in time, and making sure I could catch one last meal at my favorite cafe before it closed for the summer happened to be more important to me than some silly internet game. I had to use the money I had on credit there, else I would lose it. So, unless you're willing to cough up $20.00 for my meal next time, I'll be sure to follow the rules a little more closely. If you REALLY want me to delete that post and place it later, you're certainly welcome to ask. I simply did not have the time for wait around for an extra fifteen minutes. Some of us have lives and jobs outside of this forum.

Also, my "I Told You So" statement was directed towards this:

If this game is ever played a second time, I would strongly recommend that: The Good Wizard does not scry on Night One. The plot does function more cleanly that way, as Loki has suggested. But the gameplay was the deciding factor. There you have it.

Not directed towards my being transmogrified and then scryed. That, even I could not predict. I was not wholly suprised by this action; I am, obviously, the best pick(And, being newest to the forums) and least suspicious of the group. Chances are good that I would not have been considered to be anything evil and wrong... just yet.

[Diamond18]

I have the most reason to mourn this day, since it was my very own venerable and beloved father who fell to the beasts. Ai! Foul dwimmerlaiks. *shakes fist*

However, one does not get to be my age without learning to maintain a stiff upper lip and turn sorrow into action. Vengeance! *raises battledore with a mad gleam in eyes* I do not like the idea of losing any more of my family to this menace, but am prepared to avenge each and every loss. I've been preparing all day by knitting together battledores, a pair for each of my daughters to defend themselves with. Noggie dear has a nice collection of juggling knives, also, which will no doubt come to good use.

And so, I now lay out my thoughts about the days ahead:

Well, I do believe I announced my intentions for this earlier, but I will repeat myself for the sake of annoying redundancy.

Today I do not intend to vote for anyone in my family. This includes Nogrod, Lhuna, Zali, Firefoot, and if he's a really good boy, Eonwe. Also, being the loyal battledame that I am, I will vote to save the lives of any of these people should the opportunity present itself.

As the days darken and evil stretches its clammy hand over the village, (i.e. after Day 1) I will break with family ties if I see fit. But not before then, so don't bother trying to talk me out of it.

Now, on to the really serious portion of my opening speech. Here are my thoughts on the various inhabitants of the village and some predictions for how their time amongst the dueling wizards shall go.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Diamond (a.ka. me) ~ I am clearly a wolf. Possibly even a mangy one. With a foaming mouth. In a strange twist of fate, I am also a Seer, a Hunter, and a Ranger, as well as being versed in both Good and Evil Wizardry.

Celuien ~ Evil. Just look at those beady little red eyes. It's not natural.

Caran ~ The eldest child of Roa and Sleepy, obviously prone to bouts of uncontrollable evil, and with parents like that, who can blame her? Still, she's just your ordinary psychopath. Can't find any traces of fur on her.

Roa ~ Seer, of course. Why else do you think she always appears to know everything?

Nogrod ~ My dear long suffering hubby, it's only a matter of time before he snaps. Sure he's okay now, but watch out for that one in the later stages.

Dancing Spawn of Ungoliant ~ Is the Evil Wizard, no doubt about it.

Kath ~ Pure as the driven snow. Possibly Ranger material.

Lommy ~ Another one of them Roa/Sleepy spawn. This one's clearly got hair sprouting in all the wrong places.

Lhuna ~ My eldest child, my pride and joy. Clearly innocent.

Glirdan ~ Owl.

Valier ~ Is the Good Wizard. Naturally.

Sleepy Ranger ~ I'm predicting will die innocent at the hands of a lynch mob headed by his wife.

Kitanna ~ Will eat her beau for midnight snack before the game is over.

Firefoot ~ My youngest, the baby of the family, sadly obviously a wolf.

Alcarillo ~ Is sick. Sick sick SICK.

Cailín ~ Completely innocent of everything but marrying Alc and giving birth to Phantom and Eomer, folly which will surely be punished by a lynching.

Oddwen ~ Will eventually be killed in a struggle between the Wizards.

Mormegil ~ Is completely innocent but will be highly suspect the entire game, until he is lynched at a crucial point.

Fea ~ Wolf.

Azaelia ~ Future Seer. My children are all high achievers.

the phantom ~ Wolf, Seer, Hunter, Ranger, Good and Evil Wizard. Also, Cobbler, Shirrif, and newspaper delivery boy. He gets around.

Naria ~ Inhuman.

JennyHallu ~ Bad to the bone.

The Saucepan Man ~ Must die.

Lalaith ~ An angel incarnate. Also a centerfold. Scary, isn't it?

Eonwe ~ Well, obviously I would never marry my daughter to anyone I thought less than highly of. He's the Good Wizard, too.

Eomer ~ Hunter. He'll kill Kitanna while she's snacking on him. What a narrative that will make.

Nilp ~ Is a freakin' genius. He'll be the first to die, though.

Gurthang ~ Clearly, he's evil.

Loki ~ Smells bad.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And that, ladies and gents, is the word from the battledore shop.

[Diamond18]

Originally Posted by Loki

OCC: *rolls eyes* Fine, Nogrod, if it's THAT important to you, I'll delete my post and repost. Is that what you want? I had just happened to be available at that point in time, and making sure I could catch one last meal at my favorite cafe before it closed for the summer happened to be more important to me than some silly internet game. I had to use the money I had on credit there, else I would lose it. So, unless you're willing to cough up $20.00 for my meal next time, I'll be sure to follow the rules a little more closely. If you REALLY want me to delete that post and place it later, you're certainly welcome to ask. I simply did not have the time for wait around for an extra fifteen minutes. Some of us have lives and jobs outside of this forum.

I was wondering to myself, today, as I was knitting my battledores, "I wonder how many posts it will take for Loki to get insulting and insufferable."

And the answer is two!

Seriously, though, don't blow your stack every time someone calls your posts into question. It happens to everyone.

[Valier]

Now this is truly sad! One of our own villagers, Killed!! Well my sister Fea and I cannot possibly be one of the culprits, you see we were at home, together, eating Mutton and vegetables, yes, lots and lots of vegatables! Now I have often wondered about some of you damn families....always so happy, so wonderfully happy...who needs all that when you have mutton and vegetables? mmmmmmmm mutton and vegetables....

Oh so I was saying...I don't trust these family units. They can cover for a furry family member for quite some time, I am sure. So I for one will be keeping my eyes on all of you...there has to be some family termoil that shall point us towards those fiends!

[Kath]

Mum, Dad? Now where have they disappeared off to?

Well, Day 1 has barely begun and we seem to have arguments already. Going to have to watch this Loki fellow I think, certainly a snapper! And morm already gunning for Eomer's death. It's all go around here!

But it is getting late for me, so I think I'd better pack myself off to bed before I get grounded. Til tomorrow (RL)!

[Alcarillo]

Ah! What woe! Our poor Elempi is dead! What grief! I remember those days we rhymed together in the square, I with my sea chanteys and he with his limericks. But now these days are gone!

Originally Posted by Celuien

That Eomer though. Imagine him courting my daughter without so much as a word to her father or mother. ‘Tis most shocking behavior and speaks to some mischief. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he did turn out to have lupine tendencies.

Though his mother may have raised him to be a lady-killer, I did not raise my son to be a murderer! I will stand by my family.

Originally Posted by morm

I've never trusted that Eomer and I would suspect him of Lycanthropy at best but more than likely he's the evil wizard. I say we kill him! Plus this will prevent him from marrying into my family.

What, my son not good enough for your granddaughter? Is that it?!

I've got my eyes on you, gramps. Your entire family reeks of werewolvery to me.

Originally Posted by Diamond

Alcarillo ~ Is sick. Sick sick SICK.

Cailín ~ Completely innocent of everything but marrying Alc and giving birth to Phantom and Eomer, folly which will surely be punished by a lynching.

And now my wife is threatened! I swear...

[Firefoot]

My grandfather dead? This is an outrage! We must have vengeance on these terrible wolves. I must say that I slept quite soundly last night, with no one in our house going in and out; I do believe that they are quite innocent until I receve clear evidence otherwise. And why would we murder our own kin? Now the question is, who would?

Now, that Loki, he's a pretty shady character.

And Eomer and phantom... can't say I quite trust either of them. They've certainly been known for mischief before now.

That Oddwen has always been a rather strange child as well; can't say I'd quite trust her, nor her aunt, letting her carry on with those antics of hers.

[Celuien]

Originally Posted by mormegil

I've never trusted that Eomer and I would suspect him of Lycanthropy at best but more than likely he's the evil wizard. I say we kill him! Plus this will prevent him from marrying into my family.

Well, I agree to anything that stops him from marrying Kitanna. But sadly, if he's the evil wizard, we can't kill him, dad. What's this I hear about his being involved in piracy?

Have at thee, battledore maker! I care not about insults to my own character, but where my sister, husband and children are concerned, I will brook no scornful words proffered without good cause. At least no insults were hurled at my poor father, which speaks well of you, but apologies are still owing.

[Nogrod]

= Loki
OCC: *rolls eyes* Fine, Nogrod, if it's THAT important to you, I'll delete my post and repost. Is that what you want?

= Diamond
I was wondering to myself, today, as I was knitting my battledores, "I wonder how many posts it will take for Loki to get insulting and insufferable."

I just must second my wife here! *ducks the battledore-sweep* But really, that was not the point... and do not care about it... for awhile at least. Just don't make yourself forcibly made available to that kind of indecent accusations later on...

[QUOTE]Also, my "I Told You So" statement was directed towards this:

=lmp
If this game is ever played a second time, I would strongly recommend that: The Good Wizard does not scry on Night One. The plot does function more cleanly that way, as Loki has suggested. But the gameplay was the deciding factor. There you have it.

I will drink to your favour on this one!
But I will also request you to see the probability of this one happening (and thence kind of ask, whether lmp was a bit overhasty in his judgement - or whether those dry runs didn't take consideration of us WW-gamers being "known enough" to build up some categories that are not the same as neutral dice-rolls - that was one of my concerns before the game)

But anyhow, we all get it right sometimes, and on others not (I got two werecats right from the initials of an original death poem, but can't say, that I could have honestly bragged afterwards, that "I told you so"!).

I am, obviously, the best pick(And, being newest to the forums) and least suspicious of the group. Chances are good that I would not have been considered to be anything evil and wrong... just yet

Anyone making that claim is the most suspicious so far. I'm kind of irritated by the change of the tenor of your voice in the discussion thread. There you were mostly challenging everyone. So why not anymore? Now after just one light suspicion (basic first day stuff anyhow - just picking on some twistable detail), you start defending yourself like a wolf (even appealing to your newbieness - quite unlike in the discussion-thread)?

If you have been picked as a wolf by the EW just because no-one will vote you on the first days as a vocal newbie (and somewhat an arrogant one) - I hope you rot in hell pretty soon - if you are an innocent, well, try to do something for us! "Show your qualities"!

Now the funeral awaits, and I must try to support my wife and children... Sorry, the time of mourning is holy. I hope you see it as such too. See you in the evening..

EDIT: X-posted with Alcarillo, Firefoot & Celuien

[Caranlondien]

Dear me, this is most distressing. Elempi shall be sorely missed!

Caran ~ The eldest child of Roa and Sleepy, obviously prone to bouts of uncontrollable evil, and with parents like that, who can blame her? Still, she's just your ordinary psychopath. Can't find any traces of fur on her.

Indeed, the only fur you'll find on me will be that which naturally gets all over one's clothing when one is a sled-team driver. Speaking of which, my team of dogs is fierce and loyal, so you werewolves out there had best not come near my family!

(Looks around at the villagers.) Alas, I see evidence of neither werewolf nor evil wizard. Perhaps my dogs could sniff out the culprits...

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Checking in so that everyone will know that I'm here. Sort of.

[Loki]

OOC: Gasp. Who ever would have guessed that I, Loki, play games in a tone removed from my traditional communication methods? Nogrod! You have stumbled upon one of the everlasting mysteries of time itself! Alas! I reveal myself! I do, in fact, play games in a different manner than I live my life! Too cruel, now you all know the horrid, terrible truth...

Know now that Loki will get insufferable and retaliatory within one post of someone deserving a swift kick in the teeth. Verbal or otherwise. (That being a post of his own, not necessarily the next post linearly. That's just asking too much.)

I merely remarked that being new to the game would make me appear to be rather UN-canine in nature. A very good choice to curse, if you would. However, if you do so wish to ignore this offer of insight upon the thought processes of those who had attempted to transmogrify me, be it well on yourself. Think of it as me being a wolf. It's your bloody loss, villager. Unless, of course, you are a wolf, and turning suspicions on me is naught but a not-so-clever scheme to remove suspicions from yourself. Bear in mind, lycanthrope, that when I am lynched, eyes will turn upon thee...

I defend myself because I offer insight. I defend myself because I have, at least for the moment, a serious claim to my innocence. I offer more than attacks against an arrogant newcomer to divert attention away from anyone else in this game. I may be a new and shady character, but that does little to condemn me.

I also was not the one who said: (And I quote

See you in the evening..

[Nogrod]

Loki!

If Spm would have taken on a new identity, it would be you...

[Diamond18]

I see I'm going to have to be a bit clearer about this....

Originally Posted by Mod God LMP

*Regarding player etiquette: Accusations and suspicions are what the game of werewolf is all about, and that's why we play. This sometimes includes insults which must be considered as 'all in fun' (using appropriate 'smilies' helps to show that it's all in fun); however, there are limits that must not be crossed: if your gameplaying insults are beyond the pale (you're going to have to accept the moderator's judgment on this), you will be considered to have gone overboard. Therefore, anyone going overboard will get a PM from the moderator with a warning to use better etiquette. Any player that "goes overboard" a second time, will be summarily removed from the game with no death narrative. As one of the Wise once said: "It's only a game - don't be offended, but it's only a game - don't be offensive."

I stand by my "husband" on this matter... perhaps his initial accusations against Loki were not strictly logical, but they had no malice outside of the usual game dynamics. Loki, you seem determined to respond with personal insults and a highly belittling tone of voice in all your posts. I've got my eye on you, and not for lycanthropy or wizardry -- for garden variety bad sportsmanship. The fact remains that you DID post early in your eagerness to get the first post in, and the fact that Nogrod used this against you does not make him deserving of your rather hyperbolic rants. I find it really rather amusing that you were overeager enough to post early but then reacted to Nogrod by railing about your RL situation -- a mere hour later! -- saying how you have a life outside this board. Well, my goodness, I have a life too and that's why I wasn't able to post till about 50 minutes after the start time. You couldn't wait that long to post in "some silly internet game," eh? Sorry, but I'm not impressed by your antics so far.

[Firefoot]

I have to say that I agree... Loki, so far I have found your behavior to be down-right rude and overreactive.

I merely remarked that being new to the game would make me appear to be rather UN-canine in nature. A very good choice to curse, if you would.

Loki, your being new could mean just about anything. Perhaps the EW would avoid you because of it, figuring on your inexperience, or perhaps he would choose you for it, figuring you were something of a wildcard. It could go either way, and you are getting extremely fired up over it, which leads me to wonder if we aren't hitting close to the mark...

[Diamond18]

Originally Posted by Alcarillo

And now my wife is threatened! I swear...

Actually I did not mean it a threat, per se, more as a prediction. Let us hope that many of my predictions were overly dire and don't come true. I've considered myself a friend of your wife these many years, especially since both your sons have shown interest in my daughters from time to time. Many afternoons were spent drinking tea and eating honeycakes while clucking our tongues and gossiping about the antics of our children. By the way, if you see your elder son any time soon tell him that if he wants to court my Zali he'd better keep away from Evil Wizards, or he'll have hell to pay!

[Diamond18]

Regarding the matter of Loki being the villager changed and un-changed last night:

It's altogether possible that the Evil Wizard would choose Loki in hopes that his newbie status would grant him safety from lynching. I can't say that I think the EW would be very smart to do this, because Loki is highly vocal and likes rubbing people the wrong way -- and make no mistake such things do come into play for lynchings, especially in a Day 1 situation. I certainly have no qualms about the idea of lynching him, he's eager enough to show us all how good he is at the game so I don't see the need to give him the benefit of the doubt like I would a newbie who seemed quiet or shy. But, oh well, who am I to tell the EW how to play? So it is entirely possible.

It's also possible that the Good Wizard decided to scry him as well. Perhaps s/he was counting on Loki not being an attractive Werewolf kill -- from a Wolfish point of view his brashness could provide plenty of distraction for the villagers to fight over, and so they'd leave him alive. From the GW's PoV, this might be a good reason to Gift him -- he has a very good chance of surviving the Nights. So the GW tries to Gift him and instead un-curses him. All entirely plausible.

However, even though it's possible and I can certainly see the reasoning of both Wizards, I can't accept it as fact just because Loki claimed it. He could be lying. He could be telling the truth. We have no way of knowing, besides a lynching.

EDIT: Actually, silly Diamond, even a lynching wouldn't tell us that. Loki could easily come up as an Ordo and still have been lying, for whatever reason. So I amend my final comment to: "We have no way of knowing, till the end of the game."

[Celuien]

I'm not sure. Loki's...ahem...self-assuredness isn't entirely inconsistent with his legendary debates with the phantom. His behavior today certainly set off alarm bells for me, but because it is sort of what I expected to see, I'd rather adopt a wait and see attitude for my part.

[Diamond18]

Originally Posted by Celuien

I'm not sure. Loki's...ahem...self-assuredness isn't entirely inconsistent with his legendary debates with the phantom.

Actually, Mrs. SpM, I was going to ask my husband about that matter, and forgot, thank you for reminding me.

Noggins: Why exactly do you think Loki has changed since before the death of Elempi? (Poor Papa! *sniff*) The well known spat he had with Cai and Alc's boy (always was getting into trouble, that one -- Zali, what do you see in him??) made me expect to see more of the same... and... well basically I'm a little flummoxed by your talk of a different style, because I've also seen what I expected. *nods to Mrs. SpM*

There you were mostly challenging everyone. So why not anymore?

He's been challenging you, my dear jester! That's why I find this comment rather strange.

[Gurthang]

Why, Eru, why! Why now! I had a vacation coming up soon!

Truly, this is a sad day in the history of the Seal Folk. The loss of Elempi shall always sting in my mind. Perhaps a holiday of remembrance should be put into writing? That is, assuming that any of us survive this horrid ordeal.

It's those blasted wizards, I tell you! That's the core of this problem. Those Watchers told us this would happen, and here it is. And what's worse? We can't even get rid of this Evil fellow ourselves! The Good Wizard has to do it for us. And until that time, we won't have any clue what's happening. Until the wizards are gone... *thinks*

That gives me an idea. We have to find those wizards. Well, maybe not 'those' wizards so much as a wizard. It'd be pretty hard to find both, but we don't have to. Think about it. If we try to lynch the Evil Wizard and thus reveal him, then the Good Wizard can call him out and kill him. Then we can concentrate on finding all the wolves that will be running around. Conversely, if we accidentally try to lynch the Good Wizard, then we will know who he is and be able to follow his lead. The Evil Wizard won't be too eager to battle him, as his [the EW's] strength lies in surviving for long enough to make lots of wolves.

So, what do the rest of you think? I'm thinking it's almost a win-win. It gives us something solid to shoot for, as opposed to randomly lynching people who might be wolves, or might have been wolves, or whatever. *thinks again* Ah, shoot, maybe I'm off my rocker anyway. I guess it's almost just as random, but I'd rather have something solid to shoot for than try to aim at something that won't stay still!

But, seeing as this plan might not be favorable by all, I guess I should try something else. If we are concentrating on wolves, then it seems like we should think about who's least likely to be dreamed of by a Seer. I'm going to use Saucepan as an example, because he's well respected for his mind.

I do not think we should worry about Saucepan Man. Here's why: Even if he is turned into a wolf (which would be the only reason we would want to lynch him) then he'll probably be revealed sooner rather than later anyway. That's because any good Seer will dream of him first (or close to that). So, if the Seer will dream of him, then we'll have a good way of figuring out if he's a wolf or not.

So, in summary, I think we should aim to lynch people who would not be obvious Seer choices. And on that note, I think we should look at Naria or Alcarillo or Azaelia or Lommy or Lalaith.

Wow, that was a mouthful. But I do have a bit more to say, although you'll have to read it here.

[the phantom]

How sad. I rather liked Elempi. He always made me laugh.

But don't go accusing my brother. I'll admit, Eomer is a bit of scoundrel, but he's also a good man at heart. Not only that, but I would know if he had been up and about last night- he's my room mate.

Now, about Loki's claim. Maybe we should just leave it alone for the time being. The GW is bound to reveal him/herself soon, and will no doubt tell us the truth of this matter. Until such time, I see no overwhelming reason to believe or disbelieve Loki.

Now, at this time I'd just like to say that Diamond is making a lot of sense, besides being very lovely.
*hopes flattery will soften Zali's mother up*

And I'd better not hear a word against Zali from anyone. According to my stories I've heard of Werewolves, Zali can't be cursed because of... er, because of... her... extreme hotness.

Yes! That's right- I've read that ridiculously beautiful people can't become Werewolves, because.... Werewolves.... are ugly.
*hopes that sounded convincing*

[Alcarillo]

Originally Posted by Diamond18

Actually I did not mean it a threat, per se, more as a prediction. Let us hope that many of my predictions were overly dire and don't come true. I've considered myself a friend of your wife these many years, especially since both your sons have shown interest in my daughters from time to time. Many afternoons were spent drinking tea and eating honeycakes while clucking our tongues and gossiping about the antics of our children.

Comforting words. I'm glad somebody approves of my son. *glares at morm and Celuien*

By the way, if you see your elder son any time soon tell him that if he wants to court my Zali he'd better keep away from Evil Wizards, or he'll have hell to pay!

I can assure you that Cailin and I allow absolutely no black magic in our household.

Originally Posted by Gurthang

That gives me an idea. We have to find those wizards. Well, maybe not 'those' wizards so much as a wizard. It'd be pretty hard to find both, but we don't have to. Think about it. If we try to lynch the Evil Wizard and thus reveal him, then the Good Wizard can call him out and kill him. Then we can concentrate on finding all the wolves that will be running around. Conversely, if we accidentally try to lynch the Good Wizard, then we will know who he is and be able to follow his lead. The Evil Wizard won't be too eager to battle him, as his [the EW's] strength lies in surviving for long enough to make lots of wolves.

It would be much harder on us if we lynch the Good Wizard (no new gifteds, for one thing), so I would focus primarily on hunting down the Evil Wizard to stop the cursings.

So, in summary, I think we should aim to lynch people who would not be obvious Seer choices. And on that note, I think we should look at Naria or Alcarillo or Azaelia or Lommy or Lalaith.

You want to lynch me?! I have to be careful of what I say from now on...

[JennyHallu]

Mercy me! Our dear Elempi...what a shame. I always did tell you though, no good comes of meddling in furrin places. But my thoughts are with your family, Diamond, even if you did go and get married to a fool. At least you never take any nonsense.

Now, I've got a big house to take care of, and my dear old dad will be needing his supper, so I'm not going to be around much for a few hours. But you can be sure that I will be around and alert in a little while here. I've got my eye on you!

[Diamond18]

Originally Posted by the phantom

Now, at this time I'd just like to say that Diamond is making a lot of sense, besides being very lovely.
*hopes flattery will soften Zali's mother up*

Flattery, as a rule, will get you everywhere. But if I find that you had anything to do with my father's death (anything!) even the most honeyed words will avail you none. Got that? Good.

[Gurthang]

Originally Posted by Alcarillo

It would be much harder on us if we lynch the Good Wizard (no new gifteds, for one thing), so I would focus primarily on hunting down the Evil Wizard to stop the cursings.

Well, even if we did attempt to lynch the Good Wizard, we can't kill him. So basically we would only force him out, but I don't think that that really hurts us.

So phatom, if werewolves are ugly, how about you take off that burly cloak and show us how you look...

But I'm inclined to agree with you about Azaelia, though, despite her being on my little maybe-to-lynch-toDay list above. But it's not because she's so beautiful... *trys to think of another reason*... uhm... ( )

[Caranlondien]

Well, Gurthang's idea of searching for the evil wizard seems to make sense to me. We must help our good wizard in his/her search! As for the danger of accidentally stumbling upon the good wizard and revealing him/her, it seems to me that by the time the evil wizard would be in such a position that he/she would actually want to challenge the good wizard (i.e., by the time our poor village has been overrun by werewolves), chances are that the evil wizard would have found the good wizard on his/her own, anyway.

An aside: Blast these pronouns! I just don't want to unconsciously make assumptions about the genders of the wizards...

[the phantom]

Gurthang, you speak wise words. Trying to lynch the wizards isn't a bad idea. The GW won't stay hidden for long, so it won't hurt too much to reveal him/her. However, I think we can do better than lynching the GW. The GW and EW will likely have different playing strategies. I won't go into detail now, but there are certain things that will likely define the way the GW and EW post during the day, and we can use those behaviors as a guideline, making it more likely we will lynch the EW than the GW.

Every night, the GW has a chance of scrying the EW or scrying the same person the EW curses, and the Seer has a chance of spotting the EW. On top of that, if we villagers try our best to lynch the EW every day, that will give us three chances per cycle of catching the treacherous villain.

Honestly, catching an independent EW is no more difficult than catching wolves right now in a way, because though the wolves are "on the same team", they are likely clueless as to the identity of his/her wolvish counterpart, thus they will not be supporting each other or functioning as a team in any way.

Originally Posted by Gurthang

I do not think we should worry about Saucepan Man. Here's why: Even if he is turned into a wolf (which would be the only reason we would want to lynch him) then he'll probably be revealed sooner rather than later anyway. That's because any good Seer will dream of him first (or close to that). So, if the Seer will dream of him, then we'll have a good way of figuring out if he's a wolf or not.

I believe you speak truth. If you ask me, Sauce and I (and some others, perhaps, such as morm, Eomer, and Firefoot) will not be turned into a Werewolf early in the contest. The longer one is a wolf, the better chance there is of getting caught, especially if the Wolf is a likely Seer/GW target. If the EW wants to curse me (or one of the others I named), it would make much more sense for him/her to do so late in the game, right before the death of the wizards.

Also, don't bother looking for clues from the Seer. The Seer will no doubt be passing on all dream info to the GW, and leave it to him/her to divulge. The primary goal of the Seer is to avoid being killed and continue nightly activities. Unfortunately, this is identical to the goal of the EW, and so if we adopt Gurthang's plan of trying to lynch the EW, we might lynch the Seer by mistake.

(and no, I don't believe Gurthang had this in mind when he recommended it)

No matter how this village fares, we are likely to see a lot of death in the coming weeks. In my many travels I've heard stories of events such as these, and few of them ended well, and the ones that did- there weren't many left to celebrate. I, myself, fully expect to die before the end. But no matter. Let us all keep a stiff upper lip through these events, and not allow grief to stop us from doing our duty- stopping this tide of evil here and now! If we fail, there is no telling how far the evil will spread.

[Diamond18]

Originally Posted by tp

I won't go into detail now, but there are certain things that will likely define the way the GW and EW post during the day, and we can use those behaviors as a guideline, making it more likely we will lynch the EW than the GW.

Well, I'll be on pins and needles to hear this... I've been giving it some thought and haven't really come up with any good ideas about what sorts of posting may indicate Wizadry. I kind of expect the Evil Wizard to be quiet, though, since most of his/her activity will take place during the Night and the less noticable s/he makes his/herself during the Day the less chance s/he'll have of being dreamt about. But "quiet" can often describe a good many players, so I'm feeling a bit vague on that score.

I must say, to discover the Evil Wizard toDay or next Night would be excellent luck for the village, since there are only two Werewolves and a massive amount of villagers. I really don't think the wolves could stand such odds; though they might be able to hide among the masses for a while, eventually I expect their luck would run out.

[Naria]

Lmp will be missed, he always showed my the lighter side of my occupation and it always seemed to pull me through another days work with a smile.

Speakin of, I have to say that I honestly hate my job(shouldn't have been so quick to jump on that ad in the Daily Herald).....and the lot of you really need to cut back on your fiber consumption. Always so full of crap and the like.

Which reminds me, I don' t trust any of you at this point! Only except of course for my dear mummy, my doting dad(where is he by the way, Mum?) and of course my older sis.