Werewolf General Guidelines--Read First Before Playing!

[mormegil]

Before you dive into the wonderful world of werewolf please read the following posts that have been crafted by many veterans of the game. It is in hopes that this will help you along your way to diving right in and having the best possible game experience you can. Please don't hesitate to PM (Private Message) a veteran player to ask them for some assistance.

A. Guidelines for Players:

I. Expectations and Responsibilities:
1. Read the rules of the game you are playing in and abide by them.
2. After signing up for a game, you are expected to participate (post at least once per day and vote) throughout the entire game or until your death.
3. If a player cannot participate for a Day, it should be stated and explained on the Admin thread (and only there). Extensive absences can lead to modfire subject to the mod.
4. Remember that the team you are playing on is counting on you. Lack of participation or deviation from your role (in particular its intended alignment) will spoil the game for the other players.

II. General Rules:
1. Name-calling, swearing, and abbreviated/implied swearing are not allowed. This is against the rules of the forum and may lead to consequences beyond the game.
2. Turn your status on invisible so that people do not know when you are online when playing.
3. Editing a post for reasons other than grammar or crossposting is prohibited. Once a post is submitted, the content within it must not be changed.

III. Deadline and Voting:
1. Posting in the game thread has to stop at the deadline.
2. Unless otherwise specified by the mod, votes should be on a separate line, preceded by a "++", and bolded. Otherwise they do not count.
3. Votes are counted up to deadline 'downs time. Votes posted after this time do not count. (F.ex., for a 1pm deadline, a vote posted at 1:00 counts, at 1:01 does not.)
4. Votes can be regarded as non-retractable unless otherwise specified by the mod.

IV. Guidelines on communication between players during a game:
1. No PMing or other outside communication about an ongoing game is allowed, unless your role specifically allows it.
2. No game-related communication between living and dead players is allowed.
3. PMs and other private discussion may not be quoted during the game.
4. Post-game discussion including the dead should not begin until after the final narration or until the mod officially allows it.
5. Admin threads are only intended for rules, signups, game management, and notifications about absences. They are not a place to chat.


B. Guidelines for Mods:

I. Before Signing up for Modding:
1. Would-be mods must have participated in at least 7 games of Barrowdowns werewolf before modding.
2. When you sign up to mod you should say when you are or aren't able to do it.
3. Mods who miss their turn twice or miss a reserved month once are removed from the list.
4. Members who have already moderated a game cannot mod again until at least 6 months after their last game.
5. It is required that your game have a Tolkien-related theme or some tie, remember this is a forum dedicated to him.
6. Try to keep the number of traditional and experimental games even.

II. Before the Game:
1. If there is a foreseeable chance that you might not be available at one of the deadlines, consider appointing a co-mod.
2. Among the first posts in the admin thread one post should contain all of the following
- List of players
- List of roles including the respective number.
- Any special rules or events, in particular an announcement of any secret twists.
- Deadline time.
- Deadline for submission of picks (if differing from general deadline).
- Rules in case of a voting tie.
- Modfire rules for no-shows or inappropriate behavior.
3. If your game is experimental, make sure that you thought everything through and that the game has equal chances of victory for all sides.
4. The rules post should be as clear, complete, and detailed as possible.
5. If you change rules, edit the post and point out the change.
6. The mod has to pm the roles to all players, including ordos.

III. During the Game:
1. Mods should abide by their own rules. Should changes be necessary, they have to be made known to everybody.
2. Mods must not make any extra knowledge available to any player outside of what is covered in the rules.
3. Make sure to start/end all days and nights exactly on time.
4. The game thread should contain a list of players and dead players with time of death and role at the end of every Night and Day.
5. The mod should reveal the role of a lynched player within 30 minutes of the deadline.
6. At the end of the game, the mod has to ensure the beginning of post-game discussion within reasonable time.

Don't forget that your players are counting on you. You are responsible to provide them with a well-managed game.

[mormegil]

The following post was a sticky thread submitted by Saucepan man, but in an effort to capture all pertinent posts into one thread I will merge his post into this thread.



I am becoming increasingly concerned over the amount of rancour that these games seem to be causing.

In particular, I think that some of the criticism of personal playing styles and the resulting disagreements are becoming rather out of hand.

It has been said many times, but it bears repeating. Tol-in-Gaurhoth is just a game - one that is intended to be played between any forum members who wish to join in the spirit of fun. It is not an examination or a professional project, upon which fellow players are to be judged. The only qualification to play in a Werewolf game is that you are prepared (unforeseen events apart) to make sufficient commitment to the game to post at least once per day and to see the game through to its end (or to your end, as the case may be). Beyond that, there is no obligation placed upon players, whether with regard to the number of posts, playing style or the quality of play.

As far as involvement is concerned, relative silence is perfectly valid, whether as a playing style or as a tactic.

As far as playing style is concerned, the interest of the game often lies in the variety of different playing styles. If we all played the same way, then it would be a dreadfully dull game, surely. And, where we are simply playing for the pure enjoyment of it, no one playing style is “better” than any other.

And as far as quality is concerned, I would reiterate that this is a recreational activity, played for fun, not a job or an examination. A certain degree of deconstruction and discussion following the game is fine, and has become standard. But problems can arise when this moves into the area of personal criticism. If you feel that other players “let you down” because they did not (in your subjective opinion) play well enough, then you are taking things far too seriously. That kind of an approach might be justified in some kind of professional Werewolf league, but it has no place in a simple internet activity which is intended purely for the enjoyment of those participating.

Accordingly, going forward, I reserve the right to delete any post, whether in whole or in part, which I consider is unduly critical of other players, or is becoming too personal or offensive, or where the debate is simply becoming too heated and so potentially spoiling the fun for others.

Furthermore, if the current trend of increasing rancour and disagreement continues, then I will consider the options of either calling a halt to Werewolf games in general or barring certain players from playing (and, believe me, I can enforce such measures if I have to). That may seem overly dictatorial by some, but my concern is to ensure that the game may be enjoyed by all able and willing to participate, not just by those with particularly strong or loud views. I hope and trust, however, that such draconian action will not become necessary.

This thread is closed to further posts. If, however, you wish to comment on anything that I have said above, please feel free to do so in the regular Tol-in-Gaurhoth admin thread.

[mormegil]

Glossary

General Terminology

Analysis: The systematic investigation of a player, kill, or voting. Differs from a summary by being rich in observations, opinions, and conclusions.

Bandwagon: A large number of votes for the same person.

Bolding of names: The practice of bolding player names occurring in your post. Usually required when casting a vote.

Bus: (Of a wolf) to betray your packmates or allies. (From "throw under the bus".) See also: Wolf-on-wolf.

Day: The phase during which players can post on the game thread, and at the end of which a lynch (q.v.) takes place. Usually lasts 24 hours.

Day One: First Day of the game. Lacking the information provided by previous kills and lynches, Day One is regarded by many as random and not very useful. This is debated, however.

Drive-by Fenris: A wolf who is Fenrissed (q.v.) seemingly by accident.

Endgame: The last stage of the game, in which most players have been eliminated and the outcome will soon be decided.

Fenris: A wolf who is lynched on Day One; (as a verb) the act of lynching such a wolf.

Gifted: A player with special abilities. The term is usually only applied to good-aligned players. The standard gifted roles are Ranger, Seer and Hunter (q.v.) but others are possible.

Kill: (also a noun) To eliminate a player directly through the use of a special ability. Roles with this ability include the Wolves, Hunter, Werebear, Assassin and (sometimes) the Lovers (q.v.)

Known innocent/wolf/etc.: A player whose role has been revealed, usually by a known seer. Players with known roles frequently have quite a limited life expectancy.

Legate-180: A sudden reversal of opinion about another player. (From Legate of Amon Lanc, d. 11-15-2006.)

Lynch: (also a noun) To eliminate a player from the game by general vote.

Meta-reasoning: The practice of trying to deduce roles from factors outside the current game. This tends to be frowned upon.

Modfire: Ejection of a player from a game, usually due to prolonged absence.

Multiple Lynching: Happens when the mod rules that a voting tie is not broken. All players (sometimes limited to two) that received the maximum number of votes die.

Night: The phase in which no one may post on the thread, but in which designated players (wolves and certain gifteds) can pm, and during which the wolves pick a player to kill. Usually lasts 24 hours.

Night One: The first Night phase of the game. Occurs before Day One. Generally, players with pm-ing abilities may use them on Night One, but no kill may take place.

Pack: The wolves.

Packmate: One's fellow-wolf.

Reveal: To openly claim a special role, such as the Seer.

Submarine: Quiet player who is overlooked by the majority.

Summary: Synopsis of information available about a certain player, kill, or voting. Differs from an analysis by missing the poster's individual opinions.

Tally: A list of votes cast on a Day up to the point of posting.

Throwaway: A vote which is highly unlikely to affect the outcome of the lynch.

ToDay/toNight: The current phase of the game. "YesterDay", "last Night" "toNight" and "toMorrow" are used to refer to past and future, to avoid confusion with day and night in the real world.

Turning: The transformation of a Cursed Villager (q.v.) into a wolf.

Under the radar: A player who has largely escaped another player's attention.

Under the reindeer: See "Under the radar".

Village: 1. The good-aligned players ("a village victory"). 2. The entire group of players ("there are three wolves in this village"). Comes from the fact that early games were always set in an actual village.

Villager: A player who counts for the village (in sense 1.) in the tally. 2. Any player. 3. An "Ordinary Villager" (q.v.).

Vote Count: See "Tally".

Wolf-on-wolf: A tactic in which members of the wolf-pack accuse and even vote for one another, in order to make the survivor(s) look good.


Roles

Basic Roles

Cobbler
Alignment: Evil. Counts for the village in the tally. Wins if number of wolves becomes equal to that of villagers. Special abilities: appears as ordo to the Seer. Note: typically, cobblers do not know the identity of the wolves.

Hunter
Alignment: Good. Counts for the village in the tally. Wins if wolves are eliminated. Special abilities: chooses a player to hunt each Night. If the Hunter is killed or lynched, this player will die also. Note: there are many versions of this role, however, the two standard ones are the Logical Hunter (kills target only if a wolf) and the Non-Logical Hunter (kills target regardless of role).

Ordinary Villager ("ordo")
Alignment: Good. Counts for the village in the tally. Wins if wolves are eliminated. Special abilities: none.
Note: By default, all players are "supposed" to be ordinary villagers, though in reality some have other roles.

Ranger
Alignment: Good. Counts for the village in the tally. Wins if wolves are eliminated. Special abilities: chooses a player to protect each Night– this player cannot be killed by the wolves. Note: typically, the Ranger may not protect the same person two Nights in a row.

Seer
Alignment: Good. Counts for the village in the tally. Wins if wolves are eliminated. Special abilities: chooses a player to "Dream" each Night– this player's role is revealed to the Seer (with some exceptions).

Werewolf
Alignment: Evil. Counts for the wolf-pack in the tally. Wins if the number of wolves becomes equal to that of innocent villagers. Special abilities: may pm other wolves at Night. May choose one player to kill each Night.


Typical Special Roles
In theory, special roles can be almost anything, but in practice most fall broadly into one of the following categories.

Assassin
Alignment: Good. Counts for the village in the tally. Wins if wolves are eliminated. Special abilities: can kill another player, typically either once a Night/Day or once during the game at a time of the assassin's choosing.

Cursed Villager
Alignment: Variable. The Cursed is an ordinary villager who becomes a wolf if "turned" (attacked by Night). Note: The Cursed may or may not be aware of his or her status from the start.

Lovers
Alignment: Neutral/Good (usually). Count for the village in the tally (usually– see note). Win if both survive the game. Special abilities: may pm each other. Often the death of one will kill the other, or the survivor may be allowed a "revenge-kill". Note: there are many possible variants of Lovers; sometimes one or both has another role, which may be evil. Otherwise Lovers are generally assumed to play for the village, but this is not always the case.

Werebear
Alignment: Evil. Counts for neither team in the tally. Wins when everyone else is dead. Special abilities: May choose one player to kill each Night. Often has one or more extra special abilities.
Note: typically, though not always, gifted abilities work on the werebear just as on the wolves. The presence of a werebear changes the victory conditions for the other players, as they now have to kill the bear as well as the wolves in order to win.

[mormegil]

Guide to Players' Nicknames

Agan– Aganzir
Alona– Alonariel
BeiGe, BeiGei– Blind Guardian
BG– Blind Guardian
Boro– Boromir88
Brinn– Brinniel
Cabbie– McCaber
Cel, Celly– Celuin
CoD– Captain of Despair
Cupcake, the– satansaloser2005
Di– Diamond18
Dun– Inziladun
Dure, Dury– Durelin
EW– The Elf Warrior
Fea– Feanor of the Peredhil
Foley– Folwren
Form– Formendacil
Glirdy– Glirdan
Glirdypie– Glirdan
Greenie– A Little Green
Gwath– Gwathagor
Kit– Kitanna
Kuru– Kuruharan
Inzil, Inzy– Inziladun
Izzy– Isabellkya
Lal– Lalaith; Lalwendë
Lari– Lariren Shadow
Leggy– Legate of Amon Lanc
Lhuna– Lhunardhwen
Lommie, Lommy– Thinlómien
Lottie– Loslote
Lottiepop– Loslote
Mac– Macalaure
McCobbler– McCaber
Menel– Meneltelmacil
Miggy– The Might
Mira– Mirandir
Mith– Mithalwen
Mnemo– Mnemosyne
Morm– mormegil
Mr Agreeable– Pitchwife
Mr 88– Boromir88
Muffin, the– wilwarin538
Ni– Nienna
Nilp– Nilpaurion Felagund
Nog, Noggins– Nogrod
Pitch– Pitchwife
Sally– satansaloser2005
Sallycakes– satansaloser2005
Sauce– The Saucepan Man
Shasta– Shastanis Althreduin
Steve– Eönwë
Stick– Mirandir
SPAM– The Saucepan Man
SpM– The Saucepan Man
tgwbs– The Guy Who Be Short
tp– the phantom
TORE– The Only Real Estel
tum– autume98
tummy– the phantom (mormegil only)
Vanilwa Muffin, Vanilwuffin etc.– wilwarin538
Wilwa– wilwarin538
Xed– Celuin
Zil– Inziladun