Admin Thread for WWLXX: At the Prison of Ice

[Roa_Aoife]

In game terms, the false start was a definite advantage for the village, giving them more info and stopping the lynch of an innocent, which in this case led to the lynching of a wolf. That may not always be the case, but it still stopped a lynch that causes the death of an innocent 9 times out of 10 and forced the wolves to change strategy.

Birthday dreamer- not unbalancing at all, considering the damage a regular seer can do to the wolves. You can't really account for one-hit wonders like Lottie.

I've made my feelings on "smart hunters" known before, but for the sake of commentary, I've always disliked them as being untrue to the spirit of the game. Before the invention of the logical hunter (I believe that credit goes to LMP in DWI), hunters had a long proud tradition of killing the seer. There was an edginess to it that you had only one choice, and that choice had better be right. And when used like Shasta did, it has a seer like effect of revealing roles and providing known innocents.

This aside, it doesn't really unbalance the game all that much. I do think that using a logical hunter in conjunction with communicating gifteds does unbalance it, though.

The sacrifice day could have gone either way, potentially ending the game with victory for either side, depending on how it went. Again, you can't account for what plans people might come up with, but it was potentially extremely deadly for the wolves, being as there were only two left. I would suggest using it earlier in the game next time, before it becomes a potential game ender.

All that said, the wolves were disadvantaged this game (though not heavily), and everything that could go wrong for them did. (First lynch is a wolf, the seer's ONE DREAM is a wolf, the hunter kills a wolf...) The only thing that didn't go wrong for them was a successful Ranger block. So their victory is that much more impressive.

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by The Mod of Amon Lanc

Your WW role
Congratulations! You are a Werewolf. Your spirit has possessed a body of one of the explorers and now you are here to destroy the rest of the expedition to make yourself free. Your fellow Werewolves are Bes, Mnemosyne and Nerwen, you can communicate with them by PMs at Night. Each Night, you and your mates agree on one person to kill and then you send the message about whom you have picked to me. Your goal is to remain alive until there are as many Werewolves as the remaining innocents.
Good luck for your plotting!
Note: For your own good do not reveal your role on the thread by any means; even if you are about to be lynched (like these resignated „okay, you got me, bye“ posts).

Night 1

Originally Posted by Pitch

Hail packmates!
Dear comrades in tooth and claw,
I'm pleased and honoured to hunt with you. We have some formidable opponents, but I'm confident we'll taste their sweet blood before the end and destroy this miserable expedition.
This is my first game as a wolf, so I'd naturally appreciate any hints and suggestions how to go about it. Bes, you're new, but have you played anything similar before? Mnemo, I actually don't know how many games you've played (I'll never forget the one you modded, though!), but I don't remember seeing you as a wolf before. Luckily, Nerwen at least is a seasoned veteran.
It's probably too early to discuss strategy yet, but the rules look like they don't have a Seer this time, which should make our job a bit easier. On the other hand, there's a pesky secret role which might work against us* (unless, maybe, one of us has it : ?)...
Looking forward to hear from you,
Pitchwolf

*Guess what? It did!

Originally Posted by Bes

Hey there.
Nice to be working with you three. I never imagined I'd be a wolf in my very first game!
In response to Pitchwife: This is the first game very much like this I've played, based on the description of how it's usually played that I received from Roa. The closest I've come to it is the Mafia card game, and that's much more instinct and face reading.
So, do we get right down to business then? Do we kill someone tonight? If so, how should we pick them?

Originally Posted by Pitch

Re: Hey there.

Conventionally, the Night 1 kill is the Mod - in our case, judging from the narration so far, the captain of the ship. So I expect Legate will take care of his own demise in the narration without any need for us to get our claws bloody.
As to picking our kills early in the game, from what I've seen so far there's two (well, actually three) approaches to this:
1. Kill the loudmouths - i.e. take out an active player who talks a lot and makes good points before they can become a threat to us. (Disadvantage: the loudmouths have a nice habit to suspect one another, which of course can distract them and the rest from us; I think Nogrod and Roa are almost famous for this.)
2. No trail kills - i.e. kill somebody who hasn't posted a lot and hasn't voiced any serious suspicion against any of us, so that the poor innocents won't be able to draw any conclusions from the kill.
3. I almost forgot this, but it's actually the First Commandment: Thou shalt not suffer a Gifted to live.
We'll just have to wait, see and choose according to the situation, as the game unfolds.

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Re: Hail packmates!
Hail! And welcome to the deep end of the alignment pool!

Well, on Day One all we really need to do is avoid the noose. We should also try and spot the gifteds if possible... they can often be picked by their jumpy, often "wolfish" manner. In fact, if all the innocents start saying "X looks wolfish", and X isn't one of us, X might well be a gifted.
The main general advice I can give you and Mnemo is to try and play as much like you normally do as you can. You two are rather vulnerable, though, as everyone will expect you both to post something of substance. So make sure all your cases and lists look well-reasoned.
Bes, as a newbie you'll be immune from lynching on Day One, unless you actually confess or something. If you have time, you might want to read through one or two of the previous games to get the hang of it. (However, bear in mind that the rules change with pretty much every game.) Don't worry if you're a bit confused early in the game, as it will tend to make you look more innocent... as though you couldn't possibly be a wolf who had had other wolves give you lessons on Night One.
The important thing is not to let the village see there are connections between us... especially, don't go all out to save a packmate from lynching. That doesn't mean you have to lynch your fellows- just don't try so hard to save one that you give yourself away in the process. (Mnemo and Pitch know this stuff already, of course, so I'm really talking to Bes here.)

Yes, but the Hunter and Ranger know each other's identities and can pm; also the Hunter gets three shots. That could make things difficult. On the other hand (paw?), it might make it easier to spot them...

No use worrying about that yet. I just hope it's not a renegade wolf!
~Nerwolf.

Originally Posted by Pitch

Re: Hail packmates!

Yep, the less we're seen working together in broad Daylight the better. And being wolves, we should be comfortable with natural selection, shouldn't we? Meaning if any of us manage to get themselves in serious danger of getting lynched, I'd suggest they're on their own.

Darn, I forgot about the three shots, thanks for reminding me. A good argument for killing the Hunter soon, if we can. So we want to look out for any two people who either seem to be playing into each other's hands, or on the other paw pointedly ignoring each other so as not to give themselves away.

The thought has crossed my mind, too. That would be a real nuisance - but it's only a might-be, so let's not start out mistrusting one another because of the mere possibility.

Originally Posted by Nerwen

FW: Hail packmates!

I forgot to say, though, let's not fall into the opposite error of obviously knowing too much. Anyone who "suspects" a packmate needs to be able to point to a good reason for doing so. Otherwise it becomes a question of, "Wait a moment, how did Nerwen know Mnemo was a wolf?"

Yes- a lot of wolves want to avoid the Hunter at all costs, but these modified Hunters have to die as soon as possible. The longer they live, the more chance they have of catching one of us.
However, it depends... if it looks like one of us has been spotted already, we may need to rethink this.

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Bes

Well, I feel sheepish.
I'll admit I rushed in to my vote to try to save Mnemo. No one's commented on it in the thread, but I realize it was a gamble that could have (and still could) cost us two wolves instead of the one. Especially since it was effectively my only post of real substance/significance.
Does anyone else feel like Roa and Nogrod are both gifted, and trying to screw with our heads?

Originally Posted by Pitch

Re: Well, I feel sheepish.
Don't. Or rather, I feel the same. Three of us getting involved into the Mac bandwagon wasn't exactly an ideal thing to happen, but honestly, I totally didn't refresh in time to see your vote before posting mine; on the other hand, even if I had, I don't see what else I could have done. For me, it wasn't so much going out to save Mnemo, but sticking with the only 'suspicion' I had voiced so far, anything else would've been suspicious.
Nog and Roa as gifteds - i.e. Ranger and Hunter, putting up a fight for the sake of appearance, counting on it that none of them would be lynched on Day 1? Possible.
And do I need to say I feel rather cheated by Legate's Special Event? No Night kill! Really! Or could that work for us in any way? Don't see how right now...
What d'you all think?
Pitch

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

Re: Well, I feel sheepish.

I think you'll be able to get off with it, because you're such an enigma right now. If you can come up with a "I had to rush in and out, better explanation comes here" post toMorrow and just leave it at that, that's just as well.
The whole last hour or so (I got out of class early, so I was able to lurk and see how things were going) was really tense for me, but I'm still pretty sure that those who voted me were voting more for me than me-as-wolf... I was not trying to sound agreeable or please anyone, thank you very much. There was about one thing I did differently (so far as I can tell) than what I'd do as a regular player. And that was that I did not flip that coin.
Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.
The good news about toDay's voting scene is that there were a lot of people who rushed in to save everyone, which means that all y'all's votes will be buried in the murk should I get lynched and found guilty. Maybe we'll lose one in the insanity afterwards, but we shouldn't all go from that.
Bes, I was thinking the same thing you were. Once Lommy said they were in cahoots I was like, "Bingo!" In which case we'd need to get one or both of them immediately...
But at the same time I'm not so sure... I've seen Ordo Wars before (they're hilarious) and they have gotten this ridiculous in the past. As a wolf I'd love to just egg them on, but that's not how I play. Whoever everyone is about to jump on on Day One I almost always want to discourage from being jumped upon.
One huge thing, though... do not bail me out unless it's something you would actually do. I have no problem with being shoved under the bus.
All right, advice, input, discussion would all be lovely right now. I'm still reeling from toDay.
~Mnemo
P.S. If one of us gets lynched toMorrow, is it considered Fenris or not?

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

Actually, three of us on the same bandwagon looks kind of ridiculous in hindsight. I'm just saying. Might be enough to throw off suspicion.
The no Night kill ticks me off, too, but at least we have a Day's information to go off of and analyze. And Inziladun's not dead, which is good... I honestly didn't think that there would be such a huge pile-on!
Pitch, I'm probably going to go after you a bit toMorrow. Maybe even vote. Just warning you.
My own gut feeling for my situation is that Green isn't going to let go of her gut feeling for me. Maybe Lommy will, maybe Eomer...
There's nothing I can do, though, except continue being myself. Hopefully toMorrow people will have reread through everything and let their opinions settle... I was seriously going off gut there myself!

Originally Posted by Nerwen

FW: Well, I feel sheepish.

No, your vote was fine, Bes. I mean, it had some reasoning behind it- following Zil, true, but you'll probably get a newbie pass on that. Mnemo only had two votes at that point, and those both pretty questionable ones... so it's hardly obvious you were trying to save her.
If anything, mine looks the worst, but I was in a position where I had to vote one of the leads or else make a throwaway vote... and a vote against Zil or Mnemo would have come out of the blue.

*shrugs* Maybe... but they usually do come to blows. It's something to bear in mind, though.
My current guess is that the gifteds are Boro + Mac or Nogrod, most likely the latter. That was quite an extreme reaction to the way people were questioning Boro, and I must admit it took me by surprise.
Nog's attack on Roa is interesting. Looks like the ordos' pms specified the number of wolves... but I'm really surprised at Nogrod, of all people, using such dodgy meta-reasoning. I feel the best-fit explanation is that he's looking at things through a "Boro is innocent" filter, so that Roa was already "suspicious" for having questioned him.

Originally Posted by Bes

Gifted
Nerwen's analysis makes pretty good sense to me. Nog was hinting pretty hard that he had another reason he couldn't disclose as to why Roa was a wolf; I guess that's what he means about the "Boro is innocent filter".
The way they went about it, if that's the case, suggests that Nog would rather he get lynched than Boro. So I suppose the logical course would be to let that happen and then nightkill Boro as quick as we can? Or help that lynching happen if at all possible/safe.

Originally Posted by Nerwen

FW: Well, I feel sheepish.

It's Nogrod and Roa. If they're the gifteds, they would indeed have needed to stage a quarrel just to look "normal"- but I feel that, with all the opportunities for scheming our Ranger and Hunter have, they wouldn't have used something as clumsy as Roa's "mistake" + Nogrod's meta-reasoning.
I'd certainly keep them both near the top of the hit-list, all the same.

Probably not... interesting point.
~Nerwolf.

Originally Posted by Nerwen

FW: Gifted

Which- if it is those two- would make him the Hunter to Boro's Ranger... but that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Generally, it's best to keep out of the lynch of a gifted if you possibly can. For the moment, since we can't kill anyone, let's just make a "most likely gifteds" list:
Nogrod, Roa, Boro, Mac. There.
In answer to your other question, a "Fenris Wolf" is one who gets lynched on Day One.
By the way- check out the admin thread. Legate is going crazy trying to make up his mind whether it was Mac or Zil who failed to get lynched.
~Nerwolf.

Originally Posted by Pitch

For tomorrow

Do, by all means. But based on what: my vote (which could speak against me, given that I generally prefer to stay out of bandwagons) - or general performance, being 'too agreeable', too non-controversial, that kind of stuff? Just so I'm prepared.
I'm considering whether to back off Mac toMorrow or not. His defense against the points Zil and I made against him might well have convinced me if I were innocent, or at least make me waver.
Speaking of Zil, agree it's good he's still alive, he makes such a good pseudo-wolf - though I still don't quite see where the votes against him came from (apart from yours, and Mac's who voted to save himself). It's funny how often I find myself in one corner with him, whatever his role. Similar playing style? Makes it hard for me to go after him, in any case.
'x-ed' with several of your PMs, which I just saw.

Originally Posted by Pitch

Re: Gifted

I'd make that Nog, Boro, Mac, Roa, because I can well imagine Roa reacting the same way to Nog's attack if she's an ordo.
Sorry, it's bedtime for me, but I'll pop in again in about 9-10 hours, and then again 3 hours or so before DL. Hope my PM box won't be overflowing when I wake up (I'll clear it now).
Good night,
Pitchwolf

Originally Posted by Nerwen

FW: For tomorrow

Take care how you do it... Nogrod, for one, is seeing everything as "suspicious back-pedalling".

No, you leave Zil- others are going after him anyway.
Now I just want to say: disregard my reasoning on Nogrod being a gifted. I wasn't thinking clearly. I just realized he very probably isn't, based on my original point about his reasons for suspecting Roa- if he knows what's in the ordos' pms, he must be an ordo.
In which case his behaviour is quite extraordinary...

Originally Posted by Nerwen

FW: Gifted

I wasn't putting them in order. Note what I said about Nogrod, too- he's probably not gifted, unless I'm completely misinterpreting the meta-reasoning thing. Which I could be, at that.
-Bes, remember not to let your inbox get full

.

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

Re: For tomorrow

Well, as I was reading through the thread a lot of the things you were saying just seemed to be "tense wolf." Which means absolutely nothing, because part of that was me seeing things through my knowledgeable night eyes. But generally I dislike people who seem to have little to say in their actual posts, especially those who have the reputation to be louder, but just ride on the coattails of the current action. (Which is definitely what I was doing later yesterDay... I blame it on the latter half of the day being during my classes; it's too hard to focus!)
At any rate it seems that both you and Inzil just give me "bad vibes" at some point. I'm going to be looking more into overall meta-ish playing styles than anything else. I'll also have to look into Mac as I'd basically put him on hold and I'm kind of curious now as to what everyone saw in him.
BTW, Day!me is convinced for now that Roa and Nog are the gifteds, which is why I kept on laying off them.

Originally Posted by Pitch

Nog & Roa

Indeed. If he's an ordo and thinks Roa can't be, based on the PMs, how can he be so convinced she's a wolf? Why not even consider she might be gifted?
Unless he thinks Boro's gifted and Roa wouldn't have pounced on him if she were, too. But being an ordo, he couldn't know for certain about either. So why is he so convinced of his case?
Very puzzling.

Originally Posted by Nerwen

I know... but I've been trying to think up some kind of strategem that they could be using as a pair of gifteds, and nothing really works. I mean, say it's a trap and Gifted!Nogrod's hoping to get the wolves to give themselves away by saying they, too, got an "ordo" pm mentioning four wolves when the "ordo" pms said nothing of the kind. Problem: he couldn't know that. And if he guessed right- that is, the ordo pms don't really give the number- he'd just make the real ordos think he was a wolf!
Besides, I think a gifted would be unlikely to make Roa's mistake. I'm not saying rule them out, mind you, just that I don't share Mnemo's conviction about them.
More generally, we shouldn't get locked into the idea that it has to be any of the four we've been talking about. It is likely enough that at least one gifted has managed to lie low, more or less. It could be Lommy or Brinn or Loslote*, or perhaps [b]Nienna[/B- who seemed to be trying to trying to save Mac yesterDay.
I also wouldn't overlook Zil, who might indeed be a classic lupine-looking gifted. I'd say we can rule out Zil + Mac, though.
~Nerwolf.

*Prophetic!

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Bes

: ( Mnemo : (
The first kill is one of our own. Arg.
So, pretty much every one of us is openly suspected at this point. I dunno if that's normal or not. Now what?

Originally Posted by Pitch

Re: : ( Mnemo : (

Yes, it's a pity about Mnemo. I'm sorry I contributed to it, but she said it was OK with her, and she really was my best choice.
Suspicion - looks like I'm getting most of it at the moment, let's see what comes toMorrow. Being attacked because I'm 'too agreeable' or 'too much either/or' is enough of a nuisance when I'm innocent, I don't take it any better when I've actually got something to hide.
To continue from last Night, I'd say we can safely forget the whole Nog and/or Roa = Gifted theory. Any new ideas on who the Gifted may be (aside from Boro and/or Mac)? Or who else deserves to be our midNight snack?
(Only thing I can say for sure, Shasta's an ordo*; evidence in his long post about Nog & Roa yesterDay, where he referred to the ordo PMs.)
By the way, Bes, I also made the mistake to assume you were female - for some reason I can't stop thinking of you as 'Bessie'. Sorry 'bout that. As you can probably tell by now, I've got the same problem because of my nick.
So, are you two still awake?
Pitch

*Well, obviously not...Grrr!

Originally Posted by Nerwen

FW: : ( Mnemo : (

Bes, each of us is suspected by a few people and thought innocent by others... which is fine, really... and you and I fall into more people's "innocent" or "unknown" categories. (You're doing well!) Pitch could be in a bit of trouble toMorrow. However, hopefully Mnemo's being a wolf will make him look better.
I'm sorry I had to turn on her, but she really stuck her own neck in the noose yesterDay. Weird. Wonder if she could have been the secret role- i.e. a kamikaze wolf? It's happened before.
The good thing is that various innocents look like they were trying to save her, and they've all been accusing each other. ToMorrow could be a lot of fun.

Wilwa likewise.
As for who the gifteds are... well there's the people I mentioned last time, but I'll read through the last two Days and see if anyone jumps out at me.
If we get stuck, could just eat Shasta, as it would look like an attempt to frame me- and even if he doesn't have a role, his psychic powers could make things difficult.
Finally, Boro appears to think Sally has a role**... but knowing Boro, that might mean he thinks nothing of the kind, and it's an attempt to lure the wolves away from the real gifteds. He does that kind of thing.
~Nerwolf.

**Surprise - she had!

Originally Posted by Bes

I hope you don't mind if I leave the heavy thinking to you on that front. My instinct is to get rid of Mac or Boro, but the first would probably make me very suspicious right now, and the second one I second guess based on what you've just said. :-/
Alternatively, I don't know if it's a good strategy, but we could maybe kill Morsul and see if the crowd decides to kill Mac for it.

Here the PMs Nerwen has posted above start. Two more after she'd gone to sleep that Night:

Originally Posted by Pitch

Re: Thoughts about Mac (and toMorrow)
Yep, I can do that***, I'll be around till Daybreak and after.
You're probably right that I'm overestimating the danger. Nog , for one, may just have been putting me through one of his little pressure tests. Still, I need to be careful - but rather not too careful, like I've seemed up to now.
Eomer has occurred to me too - it would be kinda nice to fulfil sally's wish in her after-DL post.
Zil would actually be a nice move - if we're lucky and he turns out to be Gifted, some people who were out to lynch him before could be in a bit of trouble. And as I've quite stubbornly defended him against Mac on Day 1, it might do me good.
Good night, Nerwen!
Bes, are you still around? Any comments?
Pitch

(***i.e.send in the Night kill)

Originally Posted by Pitch

Just to let you know
Since you're probably both asleep now, and since Nerwen said it's OK with her, I've decided to spare Mac toNight - for sporting reasons, as Nerwen said - and go for Zil.
If Zil turns out ordo, however, we should definitely get rid of Mac next Night.
I just realized I have to do some shopping before DL, so I'm going to send in the kill now; hope you have no objections, Bes.
Good luck for toMorrow!
Pitch

Originally Posted by Bes

FW: Night Kill

I was actually at work, on a day I didn't expect to be, but Ihave no problems with this. Yummy Inzil.

Night 4

Originally Posted by Pitch

Re: Ranger

No, the Ranger doesn't die protecting someone - unless the wolves have already spotted them and decide to kill them instead of the Seer, as they can't protect themselves at the same time as another person.
Of course they can't know for certain she's not a wolf, but every innocent in their right senses will be willing to take the chance (unless there's a counter-reveal) - especially as this is her only Night to dream.
Bad thing is, even if she doesn't dream one of us, she'll give them a known innocent (in addition to herself). So your impulse to get rid of her was of course correct, but it wouldn't have worked - and believe me, if I'd known how to do it better, I'd have tried.
Sorry again - I really had to occasionally remind myself 'remember you're a wolf' toDay. Problem is, when I'm too conscious of my wolvery, I end up as being too hesitant, too balanced, too agreeable etc. So toDay I tried to play as much like an innocent as I could and keep our interests in the back of my mind at the same time. It's an uneasy balance.
Anyway, I've really got to get some RL things done now. See you.
Pitch

Originally Posted by Pitch

Re: More on the Nightkill

Brinn or Greenie? Either would be good, although Greenie would leave a trail to me, as she's been keeping stubbornly suspecting me. Unless I'm overlooking something (as I said, I haven't had time to re-read the thread) Brinn had no strong feelings about any of us, so she might be a good choice.
Are you two around, and what do you say?
Pitch

Originally Posted by Pitch

DL approaching...
Hey, is either of you there? I suppose we should send in the kill a little before DL, to give Legate time to finish the narration, so...??
If I don't hear from you till, let's say, a quarter to DL, I'll decide to go for Brinn.
Pitch

Originally Posted by Pitch

Once more about Brinn
Sorry, I totally forgot Brinn voted Nerwen on Day 1. She hasn't followed it up since, as far as I see, but her death would give Shasta new ammunition for his Nerwen-hunt. Not a good idea?
And didn't I say I'd prefer not to make a lonely decision again...
Pitch

Originally Posted by Pitch

PMing in chunks...
Or could we make it look like Shasta-wolf killed Brinn to frame Nerwen?
Or could anybody kill Greenie to frame me?
Arrgh!
Pitch

Originally Posted by Pitch to Legate

Night Kill 2
After that chunk of raw meat last Night, we'd like some salad. Or meal toNight shall be
A Little Green
Pitchwolf in proxy

Originally Posted by Legate

Re: Night Kill 2

So it happened. Looking forward to see how you are going to proceed from there, alas, mess happens. By the way - I thought about just noting this to you just in case - I have quoted your PM to Greenie (the thing about salad) as we have been at one place when I was posting for the DL, but Lommy was close there and I am not sure if she didn't overhear and would not remember the content of the PM, so that's just so if you had the idea to use a similar phrasing on the thread (an unlikely possibility, but it occured to me to just to mention it to be on the safe side). Otherwise I of course didn't say anything about your identity or anything like that, just the salad joke...

So, otherwise, good luck for toDay and even fur the future (ha, I'm leaving the typo there ) for you and all your pack.

[Inziladun]

That was a nice bit of wolf-on-wolf between you and Mnemo, Pitch. Mnemo was so over-the-top, outrageously creepy Day 2 it seemed too easy that she would be a wolf!
And you did me a bit of a favour by doing me in, as I ended up being a lot busier than I thought I'd be with RL stuff.

[satansaloser2005]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

That was a nice bit of wolf-on-wolf between you and Mnemo, Pitch. Mnemo was so over-the-top, outrageously creepy Day 2 it seemed too easy that she would be a wolf!

Yes, but believe me when I say that she's telling the truth; she always acts like that.

[the phantom]

Oh no Legate, you blew my cover before checking first to see if the participants wished to physically harm anyone behind the "false start"! According to Mnemo your slip has cost me my life.

Well, since I have little time left, I had better explain. The idea sprang forth suddenly out of a soil of Day 1 complaints- "I hate Day 1", "Day 1s are annoying", "Day 1 is a shot in the dark", "Day 1 is random", etc etc...

People often use completely different voting reasoning on Day 1. There have been no deaths or votes, and so it is rare that someone actually looks worthy of a Day 1 vote, particularly if you must vote early in the Day. And so it is logical to use criteria other than suspicion. There is, for instance, the infamous noob-pass that I and others extend to players that we have never played with. Additionally there is the died-early-last-time pass that a player is granted if he was an unfortunate early victim in the previous game. Some grant a noisy-player pass, figuring that leaving a loud player alive will make for a more talkative game, with the added bonus that due to his words you will form an opinion of him later, while the same cannot be said of "submarine" type players. And of course there are friend/roomate/relative passes that may be given out, or in fact work in reverse (e.g. it'd be easier to play this game without this individual that I'm around a lot looking over my shoulder).

I was thinking about these problems one day and it hit me- the answer was quite simple. If you don't wish for Day 1 random voting, Day 1 free passes, and Day 1 non suspicion based voting to impact the game, just don't have a Day 1! Duh. Skip to Day 2.

Well sure, but how? That's impossible. You technically have to have a Day 1. The game must have a starting day, right?

Solution- have a Day 1 without consequences.

Problem- but if people know that there are not consequences on Day 1, they will act out of character and there will be no reason for them to try and accomplish anything, and the day will simply be wasted and Day 2 will become Day 1.

Solution- have a Day 1 without consequences but don't warn anyone.

Now, naturally that would leave open the possibility of disaster (the Seer is about to be "lynched" on the fake Day 1 and reveals), so included in the PMs to the gifteds/WWs there must be a rule forbidding any sort of Day 1 reveal or hinting. But obviously you cannot reveal the true reason, so you must lie to them. Make up a reason. Tell them, perhaps, that you wish to see Day 1 truly be in the spirit of Day 1- a random lynch with no guidance or revealing. Any reason you tell them is fine, so long as they don't know the true reason.

Enter Legate. I saw that he was on the Mod list, and I thought he was the sort who would appreciate the thought behind the idea, be interested in the results such a stunt would yield, was bold enough to try something untested, and clever enough to pull it off. My thanks to you, sir, for breathing life into the dream.

And now in the interest of self preservation I am off to purchase a duck-gun.