Admin thread for TIG XCIII - Betrayal at Henneth Annûn

[Pitchwife]

This is the year 3015 of the Third Age. Sauron the Great, the Dark Lord, has returned to Mordor and is amassing an army to wage war on Gondor and the whole free world. Already the once fair land of Ithilien has fallen under the Enemy's sway.

All of Ithilien? No! Yet the daring Rangers of Ithilien, led by their valiant and wise young captain Faramir, persist as a thorn in the Dark Lord's side. Operating from their secret refuge at Henneth Annûn, they continue to harry the Enemy's gathering forces, fight back bands of raiding Orcs and hunt Sauron's servants wherever they find them; life isn't easy for the Uruks and Snagas garrisoned in Minas Morgul, Cirith Ungol and the rest of the Ephel Dúath.

But now the Dark Lord has conceived of an insidious plan to rid himself of the pesky Rangers. Unbeknownst to Faramir, three of his men have been done away with and replaced by servants of the Enemy - Black Númenóreans, disguised in the likeness of the slain Rangers by sorcery. Soon the Rangers find that their plans have been betrayed and their hidden refuge is no longer safe. Unless they can uncover and execute Sauron's spies, their resistance against Sauron will soon be history.

__________________________________________________ ___________________

ROLES

Bad Guys

3 Black Númenóreans*, undercover agents of the Dark Lord, whose goal is to eradicate the Rangers. Conspire by PM every Night and send me the name of a player whom they wish to kill. Additionally, of course, they mingle among the true Rangers during the Day and try to mislead them into lynching an innocent. They have won when their number is greater or equal to that of the living innocents.
*(henceforth abbreviated BNs)

Good Guys

Faramir, the Seer. Every Night he may pray to the Lords of the West (i.e. PM me a name) and ask them to show him in a dream the true nature of a player, whose role will then be revealed to him. Wins if the innocents win.

Anborn, the Night Guardian, who has been appointed by Faramir to stand guard at Night and foil the BNs' attacks as best he can. Every Night he will send me the name of a player whom he has resolved to guard; if that player is targeted by the BNs, they won't be able to kill them. May not protect the same player twice in a row and may protect himself only once in the game. Wins if the innocents win.

Mablung and Damrod, Brothers-in-Arms who know they can trust each other and have sworn to watch each other's back. May PM every Night and share their opinions. Win if the innocents win.
If either of them dies, the survivor will vow to avenge him and will be promoted to Hunter. He may then PM me at any time with the name of a player whom he wishes to kill in case of his own death. The details depend on how the other Brother died:
1. The other Brother (lets say e.g. Mablung) was killed by the BNs. In this case, the survivor (Damrod) becomes a 'semi-logical' Hunter, i.e. if he is killed by the BNs, his pick will die only if a BN, whereas if he is lynched, his pick will die regardless of role.
2. If e.g. Mablung was lynched by the village, Damrod becomes a regular Hunter, i.e. his pick will die with him regardless of their role, no matter whether Damrod himself is lynched or Night-killed.

Rangers of Ithilien, aka ordinary innocents. Discuss each Day and vote whom to lynch as a spy of Sauron. Win when the last Black Númenórean is dead.


RULES

Players must post at least once and vote every Day. Failing to do so once will earn you a severe frown from the Mod (that's me); failing to do so twice will lead to the culprit being modfired from the game. Leniency will be given in case of good RL reasons, which should be posted on the Admin thread.

Votes should be in an extra line, bolded and highlighted, like this:
++Pitchwife
(Highlighting is done like this [ highlight ]++Pitchwife[ /highlight ], without the spaces.)

In case of a tie, the last player to reach the required number of votes will be lynched, being the best-informed choice of the Rangers.

Deadline will be 2300 GMT by the Barrow-Downs clock. Votes posted at DL:00 will count, votes posted at DL:01 won't.

Dead men do not tell tales, and neither do dead women; deceased players of both sexes may, however, cheer their respective teams or throw popcorn at the Mod from the ranks of the Admin thread, if unable to restrain themselves.

Narrations are works of fiction; their purpose is to create atmosphere and entertain the players. They will of course reflect kills, lynches and saves accurately, but will not necessarily reflect other goings on-in the village 1:1 (although they may in cases). Where gendered pronouns are used in the narration, they will reflect the gender of the role, not the respective player (although the two may of course coincide). They should not be mined for meta-reasoning clues.

The Werewolf General Guidelines apply until expressly specified otherwise in these Rules. All players are encouraged to consult them.

SIGNUP IS CLOSED.

Players:

G55
sally
Agan
Greenie
Boro
Lottie
Nog
Glirdan
Bom
Shasta
Pomegranate
Zil
Rune
__________________________________________________ _____________

EDIT: updated the change in the specs for Mablung and Damrod, as per discussion below.

EDITEDIT: fixed DL.

[Inziladun]

It sounds intriguing, but the week after next is going to be an awful time for me to play.

When are you looking to start?

[Galadriel55]

I will definitely be in if we start right after New Years. But if we're waiting till the 9th, I'm afraid I'll have to miss this game, as much as I want to play. The last couple games taught me the downsides of playing while spending 90% of my time either at school or extracurriculars or sleeping. It's just not going to work. So unless we start next week I won't be able to join

I really like the look of the lover-hunter smush. It makes sense with balance too: while both are alive the village gets the bonus, but once one of them dies there's a better chance for the wolves to grab onto it than the village, methinks.

[satansaloser2005]

As long as we have the understanding that I am not participating in any arms races this game, I'm in. (Seriously, I can't take it, but I also don't want to miss this game. I simply must play.)

[Aganzir]

Sign me up with a teeny question mark, please! I want to play, but I also want to spend time (like 24/7) with my best friend before she goes back to her English uni, and if the two are at risk of colliding, I can't tell yet which way the scale will tip.

[Eönwë]

I really would like to play, but it's exam season.

[Pitchwife]

Zil and G55: I'm ready to start as soon as we have enough people together; I'd prefer 14-15, to have a sane ratio of wolves/gifteds and ordos, but if that's not possible, I'm willing to start with 12 (and I'm thinking of condensing Mablung & Damrod into a single role in this case). So it all depends on how many people sign up in the next couple of days.

sally: Understood.

Agan: Welcome aboard, and I hope that question-mark will dissolve into thin air, but of course I understand that friends are friends. (On the other hand, you might as well try to convince Annina to stop lurking and play too!)

Eönwë, I guess that's a no, but that's OK - exams have to take precedence. There'll be a next time.

[satansaloser2005]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

On the other hand, you might as well try to convince Annina to stop lurking and play too!)

Yes please!

[Kitanna]

I'd like to join, but for right now I'm only a maybe.

[A Little Green]

I thought I'd take a break but decided I won't. Not yet, in any case. Sign me up, please!

[Boromir88]

Great game idea, Pitch. Sign me up.

[Pitchwife]

Welcome, Kit, Greenie and Boro! If this keeps up at the current rate, we might be able to start next week after all.
Agan and Greenie, do you think you could coax Lommy and Nog into playing?

[Loslote]

I have a week before school starts, so I might be pretty quiet that first week of being back and working again, but I should have enough time to play - and this game looks great!

[A Little Green]

Originally Posted by Pitch

Agan and Greenie, do you think you could coax Lommy and Nog into playing?

I'll try! Meaning, Nog promised to take a look and Lommy is out of town until Monday or something but I'll probably call her today anyway so I can ask her.

[Nogrod]

Hehe. It didn't take a lot of persuasion...

I actually noticed Pitch was going to run a game but somehow I forgot about it in the Christmas-business. So why not - especially when there is something like a decent deadline on offer for a change.

PS. I also like the concept. Nice idea Pitch!

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Pitchwife asks nicely, but my verdict is still uncertain - I have another week of daily Father Christmas Letters posts to write, and I'm not sure I can play WW with the limited time I have to invest. (If the game continues until Jan. 13, I would miss a day or two completely because I'll be away.) Still, I'm not saying "no" yet...

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Eönwë, I guess that's a no, but that's OK - exams have to take precedence. There'll be a next time.

Yeah, I'm sorry Pitch, I think it has to be a no. I really would love to play, but it's at one of the wurst... er... worst possible times for me to do so.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Pitchwife asks nicely, but my verdict is still uncertain - I have another week of daily Father Christmas Letters posts to write, and I'm not sure I can play WW with the limited time I have to invest. (If the game continues until Jan. 13, I would miss a day or two completely because I'll be away.) Still, I'm not saying "no" yet...

Esty, please please please play! If you sign up I'll be in no matter what, screw RL. Please?

[A Little Green]

I spoke to Lommy and she said she'd love to but she's going to Prague on Saturday so she isn't sure. In other news, I guess she's a questionmark.

[A Little Green]

Esty, please please please play!

Can I just second this?

[satansaloser2005]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Still, I'm not saying "no" yet...

Tonight I will make a sacrifice to the great skwerls of old, in hopes that they will compel Esty to play in this game.

And if not, I have one coming up soon anyway.

[Inziladun]

I could definitely play this week, but as I said, next week's going to be horrible for leisure time.

So unless we start within the next day or two, I'll have to sit this out.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I guess I was asking to be persuaded, wasn't I?! Well, since you asks and even begs, and since I said I'd play *one* online game after the live game at Finmoot, I will join in this one. The European time deadline is good for me, and as long as I can take off the day or two I'm away without internet access, I shall endeavour to do my inexperienced best. The sooner the game starts, the better for me - January 21 is the last day I can play. After that, I am no longer available.

[Galadriel55]

YAY!!!





I guess that means I'm in as well.

[Pitchwife]

Yesss! *punches the air*

Welcome on board, Esty, and thanks for the honour to have you playing! Your day off should be no problem, as you've given fair warning (and if you're lucky, it'll fall into a Night phase, but if so I advise against commenting on the fact at any length in the game; G55 can tell a story of that). And I still hope the game will take off and end before the 21st so you won't have to withdraw; or in the worst case, maybe the other side will see fit to arrange an honorable demise for you.

Great to have you too, Nog, and thanks for the news about Lommy, Greenie; I've put her down with a question mark for now.

Zil, I've removed you from the players list for now, as I don't see the game starting in time for you. If your schedule eases unexpectedly, I'll gladly put you in again, but if not, it can't be helped. I'd have loved to have you playing, but it's OK, we all know RL can be a jealous goddess at times. Same to you, Eönwë.

G55, I've removed your question mark; I trust you're responsible enough to judge whether you can play or not.

Looking at the list now, we're still at least two players short, even if all remaining question marks can play. I'll try to think of a few more people to ask, and maybe I can bother you, sally, to twist an arm or two for me; I've heard you're quite good at it.

If we start with a village of 12 (which seems to be the best we can hope for), I'd like to hear some opinions on what I should do with Mablung and Damrod. I like the roles as they are now, but maybe four gifteds would be a little too much in such a small village. What do you think?

[satansaloser2005]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

I'll try to think of a few more people to ask, and maybe I can bother you, sally, to twist an arm or two for me; I've heard you're quite good at it.

I live to harass, my lord.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

...and if you're lucky, it'll fall into a Night phase, but if so I advise against commenting on the fact at any length in the game; G55 can tell a story of that).

Indeed.

Originally Posted by Pitch

G55, I've removed your question mark; I trust you're responsible enough to judge whether you can play or not.

I should be able to play like in the last game: I'll post as much as I can, though DL is not the most convenient thing once again. I don't like playing when I have to read through 3-5 pages in the last half-hour of the game to decide who to vote for, but I'll manage.

Originally Posted by Pitch

If we start with a village of 12 (which seems to be the best we can hope for), I'd like to hear some opinions on what I should do with Mablung and Damrod. I like the roles as they are now, but maybe four gifteds would be a little too much in such a small village. What do you think?

It would be 3 wolves, 4 gifteds and 5 ordos. But Mablung+Damrod don't have any powers until one dies. They just know one extra innocent.

But if you combine M+D into one role the whole lover thing loses the point. Would it just be a semi-logical hunter?

And their roles are so cool, if someone has to go, maybe Anborn?

[Boromir88]

About M + D, if it stays at a smaller number like 12-13. I think keeping the semi-logical hunter part works fine. However, if one dies, then the revenge kill might be overboard, especially if the other will then be removed.

So, say Mablung dies. Then with Damrod, either have it be a semi-lover (?) type of role? Damrod would get a revenge kill OR Damrod is removed by suicide/desertion/whatever. Not both. In small villages I try to keep the 1 to 1 death ratio as much as possible, and having both revenge kill/Damrod or Mablung die is overkill. Unless there can be 15-16+ players.

I'll ask around to some long time WW players, but I think many are still busy this time of year.

[Glirdan]

Originally Posted by satansaloser2005

I live to harass, my lord.

And it didn't take much twisting for me to come check it out. Yes, I'm back. I've been unavailable due to a recent move and settling in and stuff. Also, lack of a desktop computer and Internet has been a major factor. BUT, I've decided to try and give using my data on my phone a shot, sooo....count me in

[A Little Green]

Esty!!!! I'm impressed!

Timetable-wise - if we start this week then whichever phase Saturday is I'm going to miss it completely. Otherwise my participation should be above average, as my studies don't continue until two weeks from now! Incidentally, Pitch, any idea when we're starting?

[Pitchwife]

Yay Glirdy! Welcome! I suppose it's too much to hope for a wilwa as well?

Thanks for the input on M&D.

Originally Posted by G55

But if you combine M+D into one role the whole lover thing loses the point.

My thought exactly, which is why I think I'll keep them both (I just love the idea of changing a role in mid-game, because, as Jimi Hendrix said, only cowboys stay in tune all through a song).

Originally Posted by Boro

So, say Mablung dies. Then with Damrod, either have it be a semi-lover (?) type of role? Damrod would get a revenge kill OR Damrod is removed by suicide/desertion/whatever. Not both. In small villages I try to keep the 1 to 1 death ratio as much as possible, and having both revenge kill/Damrod or Mablung die is overkill.

This is a very good point - in the worst case we'd actually lose three innocents at once (Mablung + Damrod + Damrod's pick), which, depending on when it happens, could very well mean instant win for the wolves; this is way too hard on the village, and I must admit I hadn't thought this out thoroughly.
The idea behind it was that the side which kills Mablung/Damrod takes the risk of the Hunter kill, and I'd actually like to keep that aspect. So what do you think of this:

• Mablung is wolf-killed -> Damrod becomes a semi-logical Hunter (kills pick only if a wolf);
• Mablung is lynched -> Damrod becomes an illogical Hunter (kills pick whatever their role).

This would remove the instant carnage of the revenge kill and still give the wolves a chance of a Hunter-kill backfiring against the village. Sound good?

Originally Posted by Greenie

Timetable-wise - if we start this week then whichever phase Saturday is I'm going to miss it completely. Otherwise my participation should be above average, as my studies don't continue until two weeks from now! Incidentally, Pitch, any idea when we're starting?

At the moment I'm inclined to start as soon as we have 12 players, and we still need at least one more. If one or two more people sign up before the weekend, I'd say let's go rather than risk having people dropping out. So if we start this week and you have to miss Saturday I'm now forewarned and will withhold my modly frown.

[Kitanna]

I don't think I'm going to be able to play this time around. I'm looking at a couple more busy weeks at work.

[Nerwen]

Much as I'd like to play, Pitch, it's not looking like I'm going to be able to this time.

[Bom Tombadillo]

I'm trying to cut down on my participation in games where the deadline is less-than-ideal for me (I seem to participate little enough when I have plenty of time) but since you seem to desperately need players, I'm in.

[Glirdan]

Originally Posted by Pitch

Yay Glirdy! Welcome! I suppose it's too much to hope for a wilwa as well?

I can see what I can do, but I make no promises as she is entering her final semester of University and has quite the workload for it from what I remember.

[satansaloser2005]

Originally Posted by Glirdan

I can see what I can do, but I make no promises as she is entering her final semester of University and has quite the workload for it from what I remember.

I asked her, and she said no.

Please do bother her though. I demand some Muffin and Cupcake Show action.

[Shastanis Althreduin]

So, this one time... I'm playing. 'K?

[Pitchwife]

Sorry you can't play, Kit and Nerwen, but I wish you success with whatever keeps you busy.

On the other hand, yay Bom and Shasta! Now if I can get confirmation from our two remaining question marks, we could actually start this week. *keeps fingers crossed*

[Boromir88]

Originally Posted by Pitch

This would remove the instant carnage of the revenge kill and still give the wolves a chance of a Hunter-kill backfiring against the village. Sound good?

Yes, I think that's more balanced, while it keeps the risk in the wolves killing one of them, but also the risk to everyone if one gets lynched. If there were more players, I always approve of the most carnage. But small villages it can become really unfair.

Ooh welcome back, Glirdan, Shasta and Bom. (And Esty is too! )

[Aganzir]

I simply won't skip a game with Esty in it. Period.