WW XXXIX - Do Werebalrogs have wings?

[Mithalwen]

Cannot stay and cannot risk voting too late again...will do what I should have done last night when I dithered as the axe fell.....

++Naria

[Shastanis Althreduin]

Naria... Nerwen... Naria... Nerwen...

Hm. I can't make up my mind. I'll read a bit and vote later.

[Nerwen]

Damn. That was the worst possible time for the site to break down. Believe it or not as you choose, but by that time I was leaning towards Ranger-ordo lovers, and I was going to argue that we couldn't risk lynching them.

And now Nogrod's dead– no surprises there.

Nogrod, Kath, Legate, I'll do my best to make sure you didn't die in vain.

Originally Posted by Shastanis Althreduin

And that's kinda not cool, Lommy, referring to the Balrog who Sings as a "he", when I'm the only "he" left alive. :P

Thinlómien said she would use "he" for all the Balrogs, and that the narrations would contain no clues to their identity.

OK, people, this is the endgame. Consider your choice very carefully.

I'll be back soon with some arguments.

[Nerwen]

My problem here is that all three of you have been pretty quiet. I'll look at each of you.

Mith: Has some points against her– the leap for Gil, and, more importantly, the fact she has managed to get no less than three innocents lynched by delaying her vote. If she is the balrog, it was a clever tactic. On the other hand, in both cases the choice was a difficult one.

Shasta: Contributed virtually nothing in the first few Days; recently has been more active. Made the first Kath vote yesterday (but then he surely couldn't have have predicted the outcome so early).

He hasn't done anything really suspicious, and his posts sound very innocent. If he's a balrog playing the part of an ordo, he's doing a damn fine job.

And the single biggest point in his favour? He didn't immediately vote Naria when Mith already had. What would a balrog have to lose?

Shasta's out, then.

Naria: The quietest of all, and yet, to my mind, the most suspicious. See Legate's points at #247 and mine at #248.

One of my reasons for coming out with my thoughts about the lovers was that, if they were innocent and Naria was guilty, it looked like she was already on to them. I refer to her sudden vote to lynch Legate– a test to see how Kath reacted? (Shasta's vote for Kath could also be interpreted that way, however.)

Kath's argument that Naria couldn't be guilty, since a balrog would know how many Nights we've had no longer applies– all of you have seemed confused about things at some point.

I am hesitant at casting my vote only because it's so crucial. As the other candidate for lynching, though, and despite my lingering doubts about Mith, I pretty much have to vote for Naria.

I know I'm innocent, so I can't let myself get lynched now. Look at the numbers–

4 players
- 1 (lynched toDay by own side)
-1 (balrogged toNight)
= 2 players (1 villager + 1 balrog)

If I can't think of a good reason not to lynch Naria in the next couple of hours, she gets my vote.

Edit: If anyone's reading this, it should be obvious by now that I am not the balrog.

[Mithalwen]

Naria ..I know I look bad but I have been spectacularly unlucky with RL. I was dithering over my vote and IMed Lommy to ask when the deadline was - the four mins threw me. I was undecided because Kath and Legate voted differently which I thought sus.

Lommie thought I was reminding her to close the day and it was too late ... I was so upset you wont believe - lost sleep .... If I were the balrog I wouldn't have hung around an hour dithering when I should have been elsewhere when any ordo would do....

The fact you haven't jumped on my vote for Naria instantly confirms I am right to believe you innocent.

I think she really has to be a Balrog.


Please believe me .... I have had a bad game but I am not a balrog - think how I pin pointed Brinniel ... and as for Gil ..well there is history .. I backed off as soon as a I guessed he was more likely gifted than balrog. Remeber I said - when he takes an interest he is not an ordo.....? His prompt vote for Brinn was the decider for me.

It is up to you. But from your and Shasta's posts I am sure Naria is the last enemy.

[Nerwen]

Okay, that's decided me.

And apart from everything else, I couldn't bear losing to Naria. At least you've contributed, Mith. And if you're the balrog, you're taking the trouble to put up a good show of innocence. All she's done is turn up now and then and fire off (apparently) random accusations.

++Naria

[Nerwen]

Memo to self: Next time, lynch the enigmas as soon as possible.

[Thinlómien]

They knew who they wanted to lynch, but they couldn't find her anywhere. ”Naria, where are you?” they called, but there was no answer. She had disappeared. ”She must have fled us when she realised we'd kill her”, Nerwen said. The miners looked everywhere, but they just couldn't find Naria. ”Well, it seems we don't need to kill her at all in order to get rid of her”, Shasta commented dryly.

Right at that moment they heard singing from the mines' bathroom. First it was only indecipherable humming, but they could hear Naria sang in a loud, rocking voice:

“Why can't you see
What youre doing to me
When you don't believe a word I say?

We cant go on together
With suspicious minds
And we cant build our dreams
On suspicious minds

So, if an old friend I know
Drops by to say hello
Would I still see suspicion in your eyes?

Here we go again
Asking where Ive been
You cant see these tears are real
I'm crying”

The end of the song was swallowed by sobs, coughs and other, unidentifiable noises. “What is happening? What is she doing?” Mithalwen asked.
Mith, Nerwen and Shasta walked closer to the bathroom. Now they could hear a small, sad voice singing:

”When honey, you know
I've never lied to you
Mmm yeah, yeah...”

”Naria?” Shasta asked carefully.
”You were wrong, it seems we do have to kill her”, Nerwen said gloomily.
”Should we break the door?” Mithalwen asked in a low voice.
”Naria, will you come out?” Shasta asked.
”We won't hurt you”, Nerwen said, her fingers crossed.

There was no answer.

”Or maybe we could just leave her there and let her starve?” Mith asked desperately.
”I think your first suggestion was better”, said Shasta and kicked the door. Nerwen and Mith followed his example. For an hour or so, they were kicking the bathroom door, trying to break it. When it finally gave way, they found an unmoving elf on the floor.
”Naria? Is it you?” Nerwen asked.
”She's dead”, Mith said in a hollow voice, ”and I don't think she looks like a dead balrog.”

At that moment, they heard an unbearably loud noise and the roof of the bathroom collapsed. They were blinded by the dust and a bright, unnaturally green light. A big metal hand reached from the roof and picked Naria up. Various beeps and cracks followed.

”Noooooooo! You can't take me!” Naria screamed, definitely alive. The more she screamed, the redder she got, until she was glowing like a firebrand and a great shadow shaped like wings was around her. But she did not get away, however hard she tried. The metal hand took her and put her inside a cabin with white walls. Then a door closed and Shasta, Nerwen and Mith could see Naria no more. From the hole on the roof they could see a big, shining saucer-like shape disappearing to the blue sky.


~*~

Dead
Thinlómien (mod) - killed by a wingless balrog on Night1
Rikae (ordo) - ate too many cobblers on Day1
Volo (Maeglin the Cobbler Lover) - dropped by a winged balrog on Night2
Lhunardawen (ordo) - committed suicide by smashing her own head on Day2
Macalaure (The Balrog with Swing) - left after being insulted by his low-class fans on Day2
The Might (Eärendil the Seer) - became the miners' shining star on Night3
satansaloser2005 (ordo) - landed face down on Day3
Gil-Galad (Glorfindel the Hunter) – died in a duel on Night4
Brinniel (The Balrog with Bling) – died in a duel on Night4
Kath (Idril the Ordinary Lover) - involuntarily ate poison mushrooms on Day4
Legate of Amon Lanc (Tuor the Ranger Lover) - voluntarily ate poison mushrooms on Day4
Nogrod (ordo) - roasted and eaten for breakfast on Night5
Naria (The Balrog who Sings) – taken by a big metal hand on Day5

Living
Mithalwen (ordo)
Nerwen (ordo)
Shastanis Althreduin (ordo)


VILLAGE WINS.
BALROGS LOSE.
LOVERS LOSE.

Congratulations villagers!

I will write a final narration that tells the final fates of those who survived. I hopefully manage to do it tomorrow, but other than that, the game has ended.

Thanks to everyone for playing, it was a hilarious game!

Everyone of you, living, dead or stalker, are welcome to discuss now.

[The Might]

Well, hate to tell you I told you so, but I told you so.
Short post to explain what i did.
First night - dreamed of Legate, knew he was a ranger so quite important.
First day - suspected Nogord because of his repeated attacks and suspicions against me.
Second night - made the good decision to dream of Mac instead of Nogrod, because I felt something was wrong about him.
Second day - probably the mistake was my very sudden change from neutral to Nogrod and Legate friendly and aggresive towards Mac
Second night - dreamed of Kath, since I suspected her, turns out she was an ordo actually.
Unfortunately got lynched due to my more or less obvious seer behaviour Day 2.

All in all, good game everyone, nice to see the wolves lost!!!

Yours, Earendil.

[Thinlómien]

Well, Might, it made me and Aganzir laugh quite a lot that you decided to dream both of your parents actually. Unfortunately I decided I won't tell you those detail because it might have revealed more than a seer dream should...

[Volo]

What a totally boring game, even the narrations weren't funny...

No!

Wonderful game, truly! I bet my left hand that I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as a player (Good that I'll never find out.), seeing the genious moves by all players was better. I completely honestly say that you played brilliantly! Every one of you!

I lost my notes about posts I regard most clever, but if I manage to find them (anew), I'll say more.

Congratulations anyway! Both to you fellow players and our mods (Next time make it less funny. Ok? Laughing is good, but laughing all night is a bit excessive.).

The last but not least congratulations to myself for nearly winning.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Anyway, great game! Congrats to the victors! And thank you all, folks, for playing - this was after some time a game with more players and you all participated very well (and even those who did not appear that much had good enough contributions). And I was really surprised by all you new folks, I'd say you classified yourselves among the regular WW players here! And thanks, of course, to our Mods - for letting us play and also for these great and funny narrations!

My Ranger protection list:
Night 2 - myself
Night 3 - Kath
Night 4 - myself.

Very, erm, variable, is it?

Oh, and I am glad that I was at least right with Naria. That gives me the feeling of satisfaction.

[Aganzir]

Congratulations for winning, miners. I can but agree with Lommy; quite hilarious.

Originally Posted by Lommy

Well, Might, it made me and Aganzir laugh quite a lot that you decided to dream both of your parents actually.

Some kind of a sixth sense, surely.

Everybody played so well, but I was quite surprised especially by the skill of all the newbie players. Wonderful, what else can one say?

This was actually so typical me; no, I don't think I'll have time to co-mod the game now that it's exam week coming and there's loads of schoolwork etc... And guess if I managed to stay away from computer even one day.

Congratulations also to Volo for nearly winning! You almost did it! ;P

[The Might]

Strangely I just ahd a thought of Legate telling me "I am your father!"...

[Kath]

I can't believe I died the Day before we won. But it was fun watching the last Day! Lommy told me you'd got it right before the end of Day but I was so hoping you'd got it! Congratulations.

[Brinniel]

Yeah, so my death was very stupid. Stupid on my part, that is.

I had this bad feeling that Gil could be the hunter, but I picked him anyway, silly me. I was debating between him and Legate, but now that I know Legate protected himself that Night, I don't know if picking him would've been much better...

Argh. Days later, and I'm still banging my head against the wall for that one. You'd think after 3 1/2 times of being a werewolf (or whatever), I would know better by now. I think you could make a decently long list of what not to do as shown by me.

Oh yeah, and I also learned to never make theories about lovers. Because you'll always be wrong.

Night PMs coming up...

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Oh, and one more thing. I wondered why the Balrogs did not attack me or Nogrod, seeing that we were both innocent and we were, as far as I see it, quite active and helpful (most times *coughNerwencough* Now I verified my thought that whenever I start to make such an analysis, it is wrong. This is for the second time I did that).

[Macalaure]

I don't think I've ever been so avidly watching a game of werewolf after I've been killed. Congrats to all the players, especially Nerwen and the Might, who made excellent debuts!

Well, when I congratulate all the players I should maybe exclude myself. This really was not my best showing, I think. I was shorter on time than I expected last week, and much that I posted was rather rushed and not well thought through. At least I was right in suspecting Legate to be gifted (as you will see when Brinn posts the PMs) - we abstained from trying to kill Legate in Night 2 because we thought he'd be the hunter who would've killed me in turn.

And finally, the most congratulations go to Lommy and Aganzir, for a great game and hilarious narrations.

[Macalaure]

I wondered why the Balrogs did not attack me or Nogrod

I can only talk about Night 2, but, as you see above, we thought you were the hunter and after me. We didn't kill Nogrod because we thought that his suspicions of Kath and Mith might be helpful for a while.

Also, if you attack the most helpful villagers, there's of course always a higher risk that they're protected by the ranger.

[Brinniel]

Night 1

Yeah, I don't really have any PMs saved for the first Night. It was basically hellos between Mac and me. Naria didn't show up until Night 2.

Night 2

Getting down to business:

Originally Posted by Naria

Funny how Gil usually pins the wolf and everyone just dismisses his agruments. Ah well better for us!!

Okay, I have read through the posts and the ones that stand out the most to me are Noggies and Miths. Mith for saying one to many things pointing towards Seerism and Nogrod for his little chat with Rikae at the end, possible Seer? I would however, lean more towards Mith.

We should get some kind of plan for next day. Brinn, I think you are doing pretty good. I may beg the question to everyone why Gil's post is so confusing and a few other things...that way it may put distance between myself and Brinn. Mac, you don't have too much of a problem, but it looks like a few people are going to push for you. And I think, if the Seer is Noggy, you may be dreamt of this Night.

So whom to feast on this Night. Any other candidates?

Originally Posted by Mac

While Naria is perfectly safe still, and Brinn might only face minor suspicions tomorrow after the votes have been analysed, I have a feeling I might end up being under pressure. Rikae repeated that I've been playing too nice and several are slightly suspicious because of the way I commented on the Rikae-commenters. I also misunderstood the gifted comments of Nogrod and Volo and messed that part up. I didn't exactly help our cause today, I fear. You're right, Naria, I will probably be dreamt of soon. I don't think I'll survive for very long in this game, so I guess you two would be well-advised to keep some distance from me the following days. Don't suspect me too much, but unassertively disagree with my points.


And who shall we kill?

I'd say no to TM, Nerwen, and Sally, because they're new and should get at least two days to play.

I'd say no to Lhuna, who didn't get to post much.

I'd say no to Shasta, who got killed too early recently, and because he will usually end up with some suspicions.

I'd say no to Gil, because I think he will receive some suspicions, too, because of his vote.

I'd say no to Mith, because I killed her first in the last game I was a wolf. I haven't checked her carefully enough to judge whether she could be the seer.

This leaves me only with Kath, Nogrod, Volo, and Legate.

Even though I'm usually scared of Kath, I think she might be useful for us, at least for now.

Nogrod, Volo, and Legate are most dangerous to me at the moment, I think.

The mutual suspicion between Kath and Nogrod is good for us, so Nogrod should be kept, I think.

I know it is hard to say it, but Volo is maybe least harmful to me, because fewer people actually listen to him (let's hope he's no seer again).

This leaves me with Legate. I also think he has never been killed early so far. Do you think he'd be a good candidate for the ranger to protect?

Originally Posted by Brinn

I agree with Mac: Our newbies Might, Nerwen, and Sally should be left alone for now. I've been killed on Night 2 as a newbie more than once, and it can be quite discouraging. But after toNight, I say they're up for grabs.

Shasta- Killing Shasta would be pure cruel. He gets killed early too much and I know he's been very frustrated about it. I can sympathise.

Lhuna- Would probably be our safest kill. But I'd rather not kill her when she's only posted once with no vote. I've only played with her one other time and I was responsible for her death then (though with reversed roles). But I'd like to see more of Lhuna before eliminating her.

Gil- It's a funny thing about Gil. Indeed, it's true he often pins the right people and gets ignored (I don't think it's the first time he's pinned me). I think it's because of how he goes about his accusations (strong is the best word I can find for it). The problem with his accusations of me is that Volo is right; they're very contradictory. Like always, Gil is a smart one to keep around simply because he never fails to confuse everyone.

Mith- I have a hard time with Mith. I usually think she's either gifted or a wolf, and most often she turns out to be an ordinary. It's possible she's a gifted, but I'm not sure. While I wouldn't mind killing her, I think I'd like to keep her around for at least another Day.

Kath- We have only heard one post from her, but so far she finds both Mac and me to be innocentish. I'm not anxious to kill off someone who is on 2/3 of the balrogs side. Of course, after all that's happened we don't know if she's changed her mind, but for now it's best to let her be. I agree she could be potentially useful.

Nogrod- Would be a very bad idea to kill him. Not only is he heavily suspected, but he heavily suspects Mac. While I don't get any seer vibes from him, it's possible he might be a hunter or ranger. But under the circumstances, he's one of my last choices for a kill.

Legate- Well, I feel he's been trying to be very helpful to the village. I really can't tell whether he is a gifted or not...I need more time. I don't know if he's the best choice to kill; he thinks me innocentish and heavily suspects Mac. It's quite possible that Legate might be the ranger's choice for toNight, simply because he gives off an innocentish vibe. Hard to say.

Volo- I think Volo is our best candidate. He spoken up, but not enough to leave too many tracks. His suspicions of Mac came from one small comment...not as worrysome as other players. Killing him would be a fair choice, and I don't think his death should absolutely condemn any of us.

Originally Posted by Naria

Lhuna=pure evil. I have played in a few games with her and if she is left alive for too long she can cause some crazy, blindsiding damage. There is a reason why she picked up the nick name of Lhuna-tic. But, she hasn't said or done anything yet to warrant our wrath..so she be left alone for now.

Legate and Volo...hmm yeah, one of those would be our best bet.

Volo would leave less tracks back to us.

Legate is on your butt Mac, but I don't think that it would be too hard for you to weasel your way out of.

So we leave Legate and go for Volo? I'm ok with it.

I understand the feelings surrouding Mith(she usually does turn out to be an ordo), but from a few things she has said in her posts toDay makes me wonder if she could possibly be a gifted this time...meh, maybe next Day will shed more light.

Originally Posted by Mac

These are just my notes. I had no time to put them into something better-looking.

#28+#30
Legate defends Nogrod, starting with "you never know" and ending with "he gives out normal vibes". A seer who dreamt of an ordo and carefully defends him from suspicion? Nogrod is a likely Night-One dream.

#36+#38
a bit about Nogrod
Volo agrees with him that Rikae isn't gifted
clears up that he said it to protect her from being killed (I still don't understand this)

#47+#48
Volo is suspicious of Gil (who might become a good scapegoat, BUT: people won't lynch him just because he's weird, not in this game now)
disagrees with Nogrod about Kath (good, he's part of the Nog-Kath discussion)
is really upset about Rikae, votes her

#60+#63
Legate is suspicious about me. The reason he gives I think I can "weasle" myself out of (by admitting them and explain in "all honesty"), but it will draw everyone's attention towards them.
again, sees nothing suspicious about Nogrod, without(!) giving any reason (and adding that he is not easy)
would like to vote me most
uh-oh: "maybe I will look at him totally differently when I have time to read all his posts in quiet and calm state" Do you read that the way I do?

In my opinion, Legate is the seer. The way he treats Nogrod made me raise an eyebrow, but what he said about me in the end leaves no doubt, at least to me.
It's possible that he's faking it for some reason (hunter(!)/cobbler) and it's not unlikely that the ranger picked it up as well (and even if he didn't, Legate is alwazs a good one to protect).

If Legate is the seer and survives, he's definitely going to dream of me, so I'm slightly scared.

Originally Posted by Brinn

Hmm...looking at it, it's quite possible Legate is a seer. But then, why would he make it so obvious? Unless he's trying to make hints to the ranger....I don't know.

Legate may be dangerous to keep alive, but I'm wary about going after him for a kill because I really think he may be a likely candidate for protection. It would really suck if our first kill is the same pick as the ranger's. I also worry that if Legate did die, others may suspect Mac got nervous (though perhaps you could manage to weasle yourself out of that).

I doubt a ranger would pick Volo toNight...he would be our safest bet. My vote still goes for him. Depending on how the Day goes, we can still consider Legate for Night 3.

Originally Posted by Mac

You are right - he is too obvious. The more I think about it, the more I think he's the hunter, and I wouldn't like to step into his trap. Or maybe he's a seer who's faking to be the hunter who's faking to be the seer? Do you think I'm overcomplicating this?

In any way: he's gifted.

If he's the seer, then I'm done unless we kill him tonight. But of course, even if we try to kill him, he might be protected tonight. We could kill him the next night (and might have to if he's the seer and more obvious), but maybe he's protected then. In that case, you two need to be careful not to make a good dream victim for the next night tomorrow (but you probably weren't planning to do that anyway ).

Let's go for the sinister seer instead.

Yeah, so killing our cobbler probably wasn't our best choice. But considering Legate protected himself that Night, picking him could've been much more disastarious. Funny how we seemed to think he was a seer or hunter, but we never thought of Legate as the ranger. Though at that point, I know I wasn't even sure if the ranger could protect himself...

[The Might]

So why did you kill me?

[Shastanis Althreduin]

Hehe, thanks, Balrogs, for noticing that. <3

Also, I'm sorry I didn't vote, I actually ended up getting sick last night. I just woke up about twenty minutes ago. x_x My throat's acting up again.

Anyway, good game to everyone!

[Brinniel]

Night 3

After Mac's death. Naria made the first obvious statement:

Originally Posted by Naria

We need to figure out who the Seer is toNight.

The next is some random first thoughts just after the Day ended. All before any really analysing.

Originally Posted by Brinn

I can't say how things are going to go toMorrow. I don't know if people are suddenly going to start suspecting me or you. Mac's accusations will either help or condemn me. But I wouldn't be surprised if I were next. Urgh...I probably should've voted for Mac. *hits head against the desk*

I'm pretty sure now Nogrod is not our seer. And I'm not sure Legate is either, but he could quite easily be a gifted. Legate is going to look very innocent toMorrow,I'd like to kill him, but I fear the possibility of him being the hunter. If he were, would he choose one of us?

I need to go back and look at seer/gifted clues. Though I'm thinking, if we can't find the seer, we could always try to go after the lovers....search for possible alliances. Two kills in one Night would be nice. I can't look at anything now, but I will later tonight.

Originally Posted by Naria

Hehe, do you think that Lommy would pair Nog and Legate together as the Lovers? I mean they have both been really chummy and when has Nog ever been consistenly nice to someone. I wouldn't put it past either one of them to come up with the idea that they will be totally open with their favourtism. Even if someone picked up on that, no ordo is going to point it out. Mainly for fear of not knowing if it's an ordo/ordo pair or gifted/ordo pair.

I actually wrote Naria another PM later on with many long analyses and theories in a four page PM that took two hours to write. Unfortunately when I hit "send," I got a notice saying her inbox was full. She never did see the PM until I sent it to her the next Night. But the PM did include a lot of thoughts that lead up to my kill choice:

Originally Posted by Brinn

Okay, so I just spent an hour and a half taking notes, so I hope I got something out of it:

Nogrod: He might be a gifted, but I doubt he's the seer. At first his arguments against Mac made me suspect that, but then he changed his mind and didn't even vote for him. I doubt a seer would do that. He could still look like a possible suspect to others, so I think we should leave him alone.

Mith: Could be a possible gifted as well. If she's a seer, she dreamt of Nogrod last Night because she doesn't seem to mention him yesterDay. I don't know. She didn't get a chance to participate due to RL, so I'd like to leave her alone.

Legate: Very hard to say. If he were the seer, he would probably dream of Nogrod Night 1 and Mac Night 2. He doesn't seem to suspect Mac at first yesterDay, but after a hard debate, he chooses him. If he is a seer, he's being very sneaky about it. He's a possible kill choice, but I still partly fear the chance that he's a hunter, and if he were, I'm not completely sure who he'd hunt.

The Might: If there's any chance at all he's gifted, he'd be a seer for his very major change of opinion on Nogrod and his tendency to bandwagon with him. When I think about it, it's a very newbie seerish behaviour. But then again, I'm kind of doubtful a newbie would be given the most important role. I don't know how suspicious he'll look toMorrow; he voted the right person, but it came from a bandwagon. He's a possible kill choice....I doubt he'd be protected either.

Nerwen: I really don't know. She tries to be helpful without saying too much. But I don't think she's the seer. I'd only kill her if we wanted to pick someone who won't leave much tracks.

Sally: Hasn't said enough for me to figure anything out. I think it'd be smart to leave her alive. Some people slightly suspect her, and they might fear she is an under-the-radar balrog and vote for her.

Shasta: Hasn't provided any substance. I'd leave him alone. There's a chance he could get mod-killed in the future.

Gil: I don't think he's our seer, partly because I think he would've dreamt of me already if he were. He got some votes yesterDay and could be a possible lynch candidate for toMorrow. Let's leave him be.

Kath: She's the only one I'm confident is not the seer simply because she would've already dreamt of Nogrod by now. She's gathered suspicion, so I'd choose to leave her alone too.

When it comes to gifteds, I think there's a good chance at least one of them is a newbie. After all, 1/3 of the remaining possibilites are newbies and I think Lommy would mix it up when choosing the gifteds.

About lovers. I took a look at all the possibilities and there's 34 of them. The odds are not in our favour. Most of the possibilites, I have no idea whether they could be lovers or not. I do think if none of the newbies are gifted, one is at least a lover (or maybe we have a lover and gifted among those three). If a newbie is a lover, they're probably paired with a more vocal and experienced player. Anyways, here's some combinations I had thoughts on:

Nogrod and Mith: I think it's unlikely. Mith voted for Nogrod Day 1 at a point where it was uncertain how the votes would turn.

Nogrod and Legate: I know you mentioned it, and I guess it's possible. They have been careful to suspect each other slightly, but not too much....it's almost too careful, really. These two were teamed as gifteds in the last game. They were very good at keeping their distance and won because they played together very well. The chances they're paired again are possible, but unlikely (and they're so good, it'd just be unfair ). If one of these two is the seer (more likely Legate ), then I'm sure he already dreamt of Nogrod and is being careful because he knows he's innocent.

Nogrod and Gil: This is a possible coupling. Nogrod goes back and forth on Gil, ultimately saying he's probably innocent. Gil says he finds Nogrod's behaviour irrational. Neither have voted for each other.

Mith and Legate: They make very little mention of one another, so it is a possibility.

Mith and Kath: Possibility for the same reasons above.

Legate and Might: I thought Nogrod's idea that these two were paired as balrogs interesting, though wrong. Though, what if they are paired, but as lovers? Legate sort of mentoring his newbie lover. He does say he highly suspects him, but then fails to vote for him.

Again, I don't think two quiet ones would be paired as lovers or two newbies. I do think there is a good chance one lover is a gifted.

Kill Possibilities: Legate, The Might, Mith (and I'm reluctant to choose Mith)

When I think about it, the more and more I like the idea of Legate and Might as seer/ordinary lovers. Let's just theorize if they were:

Night 1:
Legate dreams of Nogrod and tells Might of his innocence. But Legate being the experienced mentor, tells him to keep his distance toMorrow.

Day 1:
The two possibilites are Rikae and Nogrod. Knowing the latter is innocent, Legate clearly directs suspicion at Rikae and keeps distance from Might by pointing out weird behaviour in his posts. Might keeps his distance by voting Nogrod. It doesn't seem too risky since Rikae is already in the clear lead. Legate votes Rikae.

Night 2:
Legate dreams of Mac and tells Might.

Day 2:
Might still knowing he's innocent, chooses to openly change opinion of Nogrod. After all, he knows Nogrod is accurate with his suspicions of Mac and decides to help push for his lynching by backing Nogrod up. I don't know if that's the smartest of tactics, but then again he is a newbie.

Legate tries to be more subtle. Instead of making a "crusade" against Mac, he gradually suspects him more and more. He attacks Might to keep distance, using him as a number 2 suspect. It was a safe plan, since Might wasn't at risk of getting lynched at the time. And if Mac was lynched, he probably figured Might wouldn't look so suspicious and he would play with that.

--------

Okay, I feel really strong about this idea, but then again, it almost seems too easy. I've been wrong many times before. The only time I've been right about a theory this big was in Legate's game.

Okay, if Legate is the seer and doesn't get killed toNight, I think we'd still be alright. He was a bit suspicious of Kath and Sally, both of which didn't even vote. I think it'd be most likely he would dream of one of those two.

We could try to kill Legate, after all we thought he was protected last Night. But we could be wrong...it's totally possible he could be protected toNight instead (after yesterDay, he's looking pretty innocent). Then, we might be totally wrong and he could be something else, like the hunter. But even then, we might be okay because once again it's more likely he'd hunt Kath or Sally.

Or, if we're sure enough that these two are lovers, we could kill Might. I highly doubt anyone will protect him. If I'm right, we'd be taking down Legate too. But of course, if I'm wrong, Legate lives. And if Legate is protected, I don't know what happens (can a ranger protect a lover from killing himself? I don't know).

When it comes down to it, I'm all for killing either Legate or Might. I want to put my theory to the test. The question is, which one? I'm almost leaning a little more towards Might, but I'm still undecided. Let me know what you think.

In the final hours I tried to email Naria since her inbox was still full, but I realised I probably wasn't going to get in contact with her, which worried me. I'm pretty sure I actually lost sleep over this, debating whether to pick Legate or Might. In class the next day, I didn't pay any attention to the discussion but instead took notes on different scenarios that could play out, and the positives and negatives to picking one of the two. In the end, I decided Might was the smartest choice. I gave one last effort to email Naria:

Originally Posted by Brinn

I just sent The Might as our kill. Why?

-He's less likely to be protected
-If my theory is wrong, he still won't leave tons of tracks and his death might incriminate an innocent. Hopefully it won't make either of us suspicious.
-I PMed Lommy and she said if someone's protected, it will be indicated in the narration. So, if Legate's a seer, he could reveal knowing he'll die the next Night. Even worse, he could end up a ranger and reveal, resulting in the seer revealing too. We could kill the ranger, but the seer would still have an opportunity to dream of us.

I keep second-guessing myself, but I hope I made the right decision. We'll see.

A few last comments:

-If any chance I gather up a lot of suspicion toDay like Mac did, I might reveal myself as a gifted (depending on how the kill goes). I doubt it'd help save me, but if I go down, I want to at least keep it interesting. And at least it would probably draw out a gifted for you to kill.

Waiting for the narration, I was so scared...so I'm sure you'll understand how happy I was when Might turned out to be the seer. I don't know why I originally thought he was more likely to be lovers with the seer...it just seemed more plausible at the time. That, or I like to complicate things.

And yeah, when I was getting a lot of suspicion, I seriously considered revealing myself with a special role. But then the voting got close, and I decided against it.

[The Might]

Nasty balrogs...

[Brinniel]

Night 4

Originally Posted by Brinn

Wow, that was a close one. For awhile I didn't think I was going to make it. Not to mention, this isn't the first time I've narrowly escaped lynching as a wolf. But yay...another victory for us.

And as for The Might being the seer...I wasn't expecting that. I thought he was a lover...

Anyways, I feel quite sure I'm not going to survive toMorrow...it'll be a miracle if I do. It could depend on how the Night goes, but the votes against me could roll in quickly. So we better do as much damage as possible while I'm still here.

Next, we need to look particularly for the ranger. Though finding lovers would be nice too. And we've got to avoid the hunter because I have a hunch whoever it is will hunt me.

But if I'm not hunted down and we don't kill the lovers, and I look basically doomed for lynching Day 4, I plan to claim I'm a lover. It could work (a real lover would commit suicide by revealing their partner). I'm doubtful anyone would believe me, but I'd do it in the hope of drawing out at least one lover; then it'd be a lot easier figuring out the identity of the other lover and you could kill them.

At this point, I have no idea who to pick...I'm quite scared of everyone.

I didn't hear from Naria until shortly before the deadline, so if you can't tell, I was pretty nervous writing this. Not to mention, I kept changing my mind halfway through:

Originally Posted by Brinn

I must admit, I'm feeling a little panicky right now, mainly because I haven't heard from you for two Nights and I'm quite certain this will be my last Night alive. But I really do hope you show up before the deadline, as I really hate to make another decision alone. Here are some thoughts of mine:

It's really important we kill the ranger and avoid the hunter more than anything. Unfortunately, I don't know how we do that, unless it's by luck. Quite frankly, the hunter and ranger typically won't appear much different than an ordinary. A hunter can only guess like an ordinary who the baddies are; their role doesn't take action until they are dead. The only clue to who the hunter may be is perhaps someone who is trying to look way innocent and before Day 3, maybe seerish - a martyr. As for the ranger, they have no idea whether the person they're protecting is actually innocent...it's only a guess. The only time they know something is when the one they're protecting is attacked. But in this case, it's possible everyone will know from the narrations. I don't know how much I like the idea of a known innocent wandering around, even if it did mean a for sure kill for the next Night.

Lovers. The possibilities went from 34 to 19...but that's still a lot. Your idea that Legate and Nogrod are lovers is starting to look more likely, but I'm still not sure. I wrote some possibilities in the PM I tried to send yesterDay; I'll send it to you again, though obviously not all of it will be useful anymore. There are so many possible combinations of lovers, and after spending an hour on a theory I was wrong about last Night, I rather not waste my time overanalysing again, especially considering the late hour.

Quite honestly, I almost prefer if the lovers didn't die toNight. Partly because the risk one may be a hunter. Also because if in trouble, I still want to claim I'm a lover....it'd cause a lot of helpful confusion. If lovers do die (which of course would still be a good thing, as long as one isn't the hunter), and if I'm a dead girl anyway, I'll just claim I'm a ranger. They'll be less likely to believe me, and if they did, I'd be revealed not much later, but at least it would expose the ranger. And hopefully they cannot protect themself.

For our kill, here's some thoughts:

Nogrod- If he wasn't protected last Night, he'll definitely be protected toNight as a practically known innocent. I'm not willing to risk it.

Mith- I'm actually considering the possiblity she could be a lover. Yet, with her last minute vote and my last comment, she could possibly be seen as suspicious for being hypocritical, plus I think things might go badly for me if I kill her.

Legate- Boy, is he an endless debate. I still get the feeling he's not just an ordo, but I'm not sure what he is. If he's the hunter, it'll be a toss-up between hunting me or Nerwen. There's also a chance he could be protected as quite a few people saw him as innocent.

Nerwen- There's no way we can kill her. If she dies, I WILL be lynched toMorrow, no doubt about it.

Shasta- He's kept pretty much under the radar, along with you. I kind of doubt he has a special role, though I'm not positive. After Sally, the other enigma, got lynched and he didn't vote for me despite expressing suspicion, he could be seen as a possible balrog. I suppose if we wanted to play it safest, he'd be our kill. But I think it may be smarter to leave him alive; I partly fear that if he dies, more attention will be drawn to you, as you'll be the only quiet one left.

Kath- She's been gathering some suspicion for quite sometime now. And with her out-of-nowhere vote for Sally (which basically gave me a chance of survival), she could be a possible target for toMorrow. Best to leave her alone.

Gil- This may end up being very dangerous, but I think he should be our kill. A lot of people are already assuming he's innocent, and it's possible he has a special role. But then again, I'm starting to think he might be the hunter, and if so I'm dead. Urgh...now I'm starting to change my mind on this because I worry it may be a trap.

Looks like I just eliminated everyone.

So, I'm actually coming up with a new theory. How about this:

Gil is a lover with the hunter. Gil is seen as innocent, so he attacks me openly, while his lover acts a little more unsure. Since a lot of people are disregarding Gil, it might actually be a trap so that we kill him, we kill the hunter, and I die.

Of everyone else, I would find Nogrod most likely to be that other lover. My reasons:

Day 1

-Nogrod finds Gil's behaviour to be odd, and his vote fishy, but he comes to the conclusion that Gil is just confused

Day 2

-Gil's little outburst on how he's not confused, and he wants people to stop saying that.
-Gil calls Nogrod's behaviour irrational
-Nogrod thinks Gil is innocent

Day 3

-no mention

----------

I'm probably just reading into this way too much as I said I shouldn't. I don't mind dying toMorrow; in fact, I expect it. But I really would rather not be hunted down...I want another chance to cause chaos. I'd even rather hit someone who's protected...at least we no longer have to worry about a seer exposing us.

I'm considering new possibilites:

1. Legate. We've considered him every Night so far. Perhaps we should just go for it and get it over with. Hopefully he's not the hunter, and if he is, I think I still have a 50/50 chance.

2. Gil. It seems really really dangerous, but sometimes we have to take risks...

3. Mith. I wanted to use her as a target and fear her death might incriminate me somehow (though perhaps at this point, anyone's will). But I could work around it.

4. Shasta. Still a possibility, but I'd rather not. I think keeping him alive will keep you safe.

Really, I need to stop with these lover theories...

Anyways, the truth is revealed. I didn't want to die at Night because I wanted to pretend to be lover the next Day. I knew I'd probably get lynched, and I just wanted to have fun.

Originally Posted by Naria

I would also like to get the Lovers. I was thinking that it could be maybe be Nog and Mith, but I'm not so sure now. They have been playing careful with eachother...just enough bantter to make it look unsuspicious. I really don't know at this point. Gil and Nog could be a possibility. Nog when just a plain 'ol ordo usually plays flippent and his posts aren't very good(to his standards). It is odd that he hasn't voted for Gil either.

We could go for Gil and I do think you could get out of any suspicion quite easily. The same would go for Shasta. I think.

I'm thinking that Legate might be just an ordo. I don't know if he'd be the Hunter. Maybe Nerwen? Giving the Hunter roll to a newbie is the perfect thing to do, IMO. Legate could be the Ranger...he has been very actively trying to push people and see their reactions.

Kath, I just don't know! I have never been able to pin down what she is in any game I've been in with her. Do you think that her and Nog could be Lovers? She's going full blast against him and he just gives little responses to her. Have either one of them voted for eachother yet?

Ack! I just don't know at this point. I'm going to skim some posts. I'll also go and see if Kath or Nog voted for one or the other yet.

Oh btw, nice job getting the Seer

Hmm, I just thought of something. In light of my blunder with the Nights, do you think one of us could go after Legate during toDay? I was thinking about doing it...mainly because he is an enigma and he quickly jumps on Nog's theory of both of them being dreamt of. And he has made some excuses for his posts before and at the end. I dunno, it might be a long shot. What do you think.

Naria had finally replied to me, but unfortunately, I overslept and woke up 45 minutes before the deadline.

Originally Posted by Brinn

So, you think Legate should be kept alive? I'm looking back at Mac's comments to us and am still worried he might be a hunter. Hmm...yeah, probably best to keep him alive.

And Gil, if you agree, then perhaps we should go for him. I just hope he's not a hunter or lovers with the hunter.

Strategy: Go ahead and suspect me if you like. Just do it in a fashion that won't put too much attention on you.

If you don't reply, I'll send the kill in five minutes. We're running out of time.

It really sucks to rush in picking your kill. I was already a half an hour late in submitting. Lesson: Don't oversleep...even if it is Sunday. Though once again, either one of those choices would've resulted badly.

Originally Posted by Naria

Let's go for it. Send in Gil's name.

I did, twenty minutes before deadline. Once again, very sorry Lommy.

Originally Posted by Brinn

God, my heart is pounding...I'm so scared I might die toNight and I'd at least like to be around toMorrow. But I decided the hunter could be anybody, and just about everyone will probably hunt me anyway.

I decided Legate will probably go back suspecting me after I think he misunderstood my last post. I wrote it, warning them if they didn't vote, they'll look suspicious for being indecisive. But I feel like he almost took it as a confession or threat. Mith is being very hypocritical after suspecting me for being indecisive Day 2, so I could criticise her for that. Hopefully my last comment won't be the ruin of me...I tend to screw things up like that.

In the most likely scenario, this is my last Night chatting with you. Let's hope I'm wrong. Anyways, I do wish you the very best of luck.

At that point, I started to figure myself doomed for the Night. It seemed no matter who I picked, it would be the wrong choice. And in this case it was...

So, that was my demise. When it comes to why Nogrod died, you'll have to ask Naria.

[Brinniel]

Okay, so my theories were wrong, but at least I got some things right.

Legate was protected Night 2.
There was a seer among Legate and Might.
Legate was a lover.
There was a hunter among Nogrod and Gil.

Lommy and Aganzir- Good work with the game. The narrations were very entertaining; I couldn't stop laughing on some of them.

Mac- Okay, so maybe third time is not a charm, considering we won the other times we were teamed together. But still, it was fun while it lasted. Sorry you weren't able to stick around past Day 2 and plot with Naria and me.

Naria- It's a shame we had some trouble getting in contact with one another, but still I had a lot of fun. This was my first time playing with you, so it was certainly a new experience for me. I hope you'll join another game in the future.

Congrats to the villagers, and the gifteds/lovers in particular for totally confusing me.

And for our newbies: You guys did really well for a first game here. I always find it interesting to work with new people and I hope you all will return for future games.

Okay, seeing that I've been in an airplane all morning and I'm completely sleep deprived, I'm (finally) going...

[Nerwen]

Thanks for a great game, everyone!

[Gil-Galad]

this has definately been one of my best games so far...

i am so glad that someone finnally said that i have always had the knack of pinning down wolves yet i always get ignored which help the wolves... i feel i've developed a way of playing that makes the wolves let me live for being a scapegoat but always not putting too much suspicion on me from the villagers.

personally i was surprised that Naria was the 3rd balrog, mainly because i read like nothing from her. my guess with Mith and Nerwen.

again good game and i'll say this... listen to me more often... third game in a row where i pinned 2 wolves into suspicion.

[Gil-Galad]

lets see here if i can remember my hunts

Night 1 - Nogrod

Night 2 - Brinniel

Night 3 - Mac(i think)

Night 4 - Brinniel

i'm sure those are right...

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Gil-Galad

again good game and i'll say this... listen to me more often... third game in a row where i pinned 2 wolves into suspicion.

Aye, I'd say we should remember that. You did really great job!

[Thinlómien]

Brinniel and you other balrogs, forgive me, but I really laughed at your speculations so much. Very funny PMs.

I must say this'd been a total chaos without Aganzir - I can't understand how some people manage a game without a co-mod! I mean, I was all the time calling her, sending her smses or talking with her in MSN: "can I do it this way?" can I say that?" Should I do this or that?" As important as her advices was her help in writing the narrations. Sometimes she wrote hardly anything, sometimes about half of the narration. Besides she did most of the crap job: finding quotes and writing the least interesting parts of narrations and she never complained and she kept coming up with great silly ideas and made sure I really used 90% of my silly ideas. Although, maybe at least half of the jokes in the narrations were some sort of inside jokes or only understandable for people who know certain things... like Glorfindel's battle song...

You all really played so well and I must say I was especially delighted to see so many (three!!!) very skillful new players. Cheers! Extra props to The Might and how handled the important role of the seer very well.

Also, I think this was one of the most even games in a while so congrats to balrogs. Lovers did remarkably well as well, since it's very difficult for them to actually win a game with any rules (especially if none of them can slaughter people at Night).

[The Might]

Indeed, great job Gil !

I couldn't help to imagine him as Glorfindel falling with one of the balrogs, but helping us in the process.

[Gil-Galad]

i just realized that as Glorfindel i come back anyways! i win!

[Mithalwen]

All I can say is phew... I would never have forgiven myself if we hadn't won. this was really the "If anything can go wrong it will" game for me and while all the firstimers did well, I was particularly impressed by Nerwen's cool head and so pleased she gave me the benefit of the doubt.

Particularly sorry about the Lovers .. even though Legate did start to do a Nogrod impression

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Particularly sorry about the Lovers .. even though Legate did start to do a Nogrod impression

I'm not sure what this is supposed to refer to...?

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

All I can say is phew... I would never have forgiven myself if we hadn't won. this was really the "If anything can go wrong it will" game for me and while all the firstimers did well, I was particularly impressed by Nerwen's cool head and so pleased she gave me the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks. I was probably going to vote Naria anyway, but your reply helped me make my mind up.

[Lhunardawen]

Originally Posted by Naria

Lhuna=pure evil. I have played in a few games with her and if she is left alive for too long she can cause some crazy, blindsiding damage. There is a reason why she picked up the nick name of Lhuna-tic.

I love you too, Naria!

Aww, Kath and Legate, I'm sorry you didn't win - I had been rooting for the two of you.

And I'm waiting for Rikae to say something along the lines of "Why does Brinn keep conspiring with my Macalaure?" again...

[Thinlómien]

Melkor never had a word of what happened in the mines of Gondolin.

The Balrog with Bling was killed by a bloodthirsty Elf lord.

The Balrog with Swing slipped on banana peel and broke his skull while walking back to Angband eyes so full of tears he couldn't see a thing.

As for the Balrog who Sings, she didn't see Arda again until after thousands of years when the aliens brought her back and she returned as The King of Rock 'n' Roll.

~*~

”Now, how does this sound?
'Honourable High King Turgon,
there were Balrog spies in the mines. However, we managed to wipe them out, all of them, and the threat has been removed. Respectfully,
your most loyal subjects,
Shastanis Althreduin, Mithalwen and Nerwen'”, Shasta asked.
”You forgot to add that his daughter is dead”, Mithalwen said.
”And his grandson too”, said Nerwen.
”And his son-in-law...”
”And his nephew!”
”And one of his most valiant captains.”

”Err... ladies, are you sure we want to send this letter at all?”

A silence fell.
”What keeps us here anyway?” Mithalwen asked after a while.
”Nothing, I guess”, Nerwen said.
”Yea... now that the old Thinlómion is dead and Aganwë as good as a zombie we won't get even any pay”, Shasta agreed.

They packed their things, picked some red mushrooms and departed through the hole in the bathroom roof. Conveniently, there were a few wild eagles around. The Elves caught and tamed them and flew to the sunset.

~*~

Even though the battle in the mines was won, it could but delay the Fall of Gondolin. Maeglin had already betrayed the city before he betrayed the miners.

~*~

As he sailed his starship, little Eärendil was unaware of all the bad things going on. On his third night on the sky he was almost crushed by a flying saucer that came from his home planet. It made him sad. ”Home, home, home”, he wept.

”What is wrong with you?” asked a little white seabird chick who happened to pass by.
”I miss home. I miss mummy and daddy.”
”I know. Space is cold. But I will be your friend, if you wish.”
Eärendil smiled through his tears and asked: ”What is your name?”

~*~


For those interested in further discussions on whether balrogs have blings, swings, kings or anything else, you may want to have a look at the thread that inspired me:
Do balrogs have swings?

PS. Brinn, I hope you don't mind I used your gorgeous bling pic...

[Nogrod]

Thanks for an interesting game people!

I really enjoyed this and was sad to be so little around the last Days I was alive. Although I had a lots of fun and interesting things outside the game I have to admit.

Just a few special thanks and congrats...

Lommy and Aganzir for marvellously funny narrations and well organised game. Kudos for you!

Legate my friend. I really believed you were innocent to the second last Day for I was quite sure that Lommy would have picked the hunter as the second pair of the lovers and thought you to be him. But somehow the idea of you running amok as a villain in the last Days of the game just became too heavy when Gil's death proved me wrong... It was a pleasure as always.

Nerwen you really took the initiative in the last Days. I'm so happy you were an innocent. You could have made quite a havoc had you been a baddie or a cobbler there. Great game! I hope to see you in the next one!

Hats off to Gil as well! You have good instincts and you got yourself involved which I do appreciate a lot!

And many of you played in a way that made this game pretty entertaining: Mith, Kath, Brinn, Mac... It's always nice to play with you.

Well done Shasta, The Might and Stan as well.

It was sad to lose you that early Rikae. I'd say we'd all do good to sharpen our judgement on Day 1's...


I hope to see as many of you as possible in the scouring of the Shire.

[satansaloser2005]

lol he called me stan. that's fantastic. :P



I thoroughly enjoyed playing with all of you, even if I wasn't around much. It was pretty much the best mafia/werewolf game I've had in ages. Can't wait to play with you all again!

~~Sally~~