Final Fantasy Advent Children IV - Centuries of Sin - Game Underway!

[Gray Mage]

Have I voted yet? No, I see I haven't. Lamech

[Helgraf]

Wait, what? Not prone to lapses in logical thinking and loss of paying attention?

This is the same Helgraf who mis-PMed in two games, accidentally giving away the wolf list to the good guys. Well, okay, to be fair, in one of those two scenarios, we still managed to win - but only because we had the game mostly sewn up and we delivered on one helluva Hail Mary pass.

This is the same Helgraf who failed to scry anyone as the seer for three days in a werewolf game because he completely forgot he wasn't a basic villager.

This is the same Helgraf who damn near got himself lynched as the Fool (Jayne) in Firefly Werewolf because he thought the Fool worked differently than it does -despite- the many WW games he played.

This Helgraf has won WW games mostly due to blind luck, and has developed an overinflated reputation somehow as being effective and attentive - probably because his borderline OCD means when he gets obsessed, he compiles lynch records in the hope of finding data inconsistancies that will find wolves and posts them so everyone (but mostly more experienced players) can use them better than he does.

About the only thing I don't do is get autolynched (with the exception of one game that I can remember.)

Yes, it's pathetic that my defense is "This is the reason why I suck". However, that doesn't make it any less true.

But looking at the list ... pfff. Most of my suspects are apparently cleared or dead. So why, after the charge on me, is Grey Mage coming out of nowhere to point at Lamech?

[Gray Mage]

But looking at the list ... pfff. Most of my suspects are apparently cleared or dead. So why, after the charge on me, is Grey Mage coming out of nowhere to point at Lamech?

I don't find you particullary suspicious, but I do think Lamech is. Besides, I wouldn't call it out of nowhere, since I've pointed at him yesterday too, I'm just stubborn.

Also, yesterday we had quite a number of people voting for him, but today it seems they all have forgotten about him.

[Helgraf]

The hobbled man moves through the land. Villagers stare and point, and murmur under their breath.

Ill Omen. Curse-drawer. Ill Aspected. Different. Not One-Of-Us.

Hatred flows like the river, down from parent to child. Teaching twisted lessons on the back of hurting pride.

A stone's toss. A stone's throw. Stones thrown. The children practice lessons in cruelty taught by their parents.

Blood flecked stones strike the sand where they fall loose from his broken skin.

He did not run. Outside, the sand worm loomed large. It was perhaps fitting that the conqueror worm should be echoed by the monster who threatened them all.

A sickening squelch as a jagged rock tore into his left arm. Blood welled up, thick and red; soaking into his rag-hide shirt, a slowly expanding crimson web.

He looked around for respite from the assault.

[Fan]

Okay, looking into yesterday, I'm the most suspicious of Helgraf. He's an experienced player, not prone to the sort of lapses in logical thinking and apparently not paying attention that he showed.

Especially suspicious is the whole pushy attempt to discredit Qwaz, just before he's attacked. Perhaps the wolves hoped to make the Baner doubt Qwaz enough to not protect him?

If Murska has a hunch, I'd hazard it's pretty smart go with it.

Helgraf.

/Keep in mind that I previously pointed at Murska...

[Diva De]

The hobbled man moves through the land. Villagers stare and point, and murmur under their breath.

Ill Omen. Curse-drawer. Ill Aspected. Different. Not One-Of-Us.

Hatred flows like the river, down from parent to child. Teaching twisted lessons on the back of hurting pride.

A stone's toss. A stone's throw. Stones thrown. The children practice lessons in cruelty taught by their parents.

Blood flecked stones strike the sand where they fall loose from his broken skin.

He did not run. Outside, the sand worm loomed large. It was perhaps fitting that the conqueror worm should be echoed by the monster who threatened them all.

A sickening squelch as a jagged rock tore into his left arm. Blood welled up, thick and red; soaking into his rag-hide shirt, a slowly expanding crimson web.

He looked around for respite from the assault.

Isa hears the taunts of the children and peeks outside to see what is going on. Following the flight of a rock with her eyes, she gasps as she sees its target - that odd little man who helped her. Grabbing a towel that she kept nearby to clean her hands as she bakes, she twirls it between her hands as she runs. A boy named Locke leads the children, and she narrows her eyes at him first. Approaching from slightly behind him and off to the side, she gives her wrist a quick flick. There is a popping sound, and a Squeak escapes Locke's lips before he can help himself. Isa doesn't need to see the welp running across the small of his back to know its there. Tears brimming in his eyes, the boy turns to her. Twirling the towel again casually, Isa speaks quietly, calmly. Shame on you - all of you! Throwing rocks at him because he...what? Because he looks different? Turning her eyes to a little girl in the group, she continues. Remember when you fell into the bonfire and couldn't grow any hair on nearly half your head for the better part of a year? Another boy in the group. Or when you were the first to lose a tooth and the other kids laughed at you?Her emerald eyes flick back to Locke, trying to sneak back and lose himself in the group. And you, Locke - you most of all. Remember just last year, when your mother came to mine for advice about your little problem? Locke blanched, then sneered. I don't have any problems, except you keeping me from having fun! Isa smirked, lowered her voice still more. So those herbs my mother told her to grow in the garden must have worked. You aren't still wetting the bed anymore? As one, the eyes of the other children turned to Locke. They all remembered the hubbub last spring as his mother tore up their perfectly manicured yard to plant a small herb garden. A giggle snaked out of someone's mouth, then the whole group burst into laughter. Locke's face went white, then red, then nearly purple. He threw his last rock at Isa's head, which she easily deflected with her towel, then turned it to pop his hand. As the others laughed, she glared at Locke, who scurried away. I'm telling Fin! Isa was careful not to show the children how much that frightened her, though if any had looked closely they would have seen her heartbeat in her neck pounding. Now go home, and leave that poor man alone. If I have to keep coming out here to keep you in line, I won't ever get these cinnamon rolls done. The children, all remembering how good the cinnamon rolls in Isa's family were, couldn't leave her to her work fast enough. When they were gone, she hurried over to the crooked little man and offered him the towel to clean his cuts and wipe himself off. I am so sorry about them - are you alright?

[Lamech]

So why, after the charge on me, is Grey Mage coming out of nowhere to point at Lamech?

Probably a similar reason to why enough people voted for me that I got lynched yesterday? (Although bladescape confuses me...) Also Helgraf

[Fan]

Probably a similar reason to why enough people voted for me that I got lynched yesterday? (Although bladescape confuses me...) Also Helgraf

Yeah gotta.. wonder.

Though someone should PROBABLY scry the current suspects, and get a trusted person to oust whoever it is, and then have the trusted person connect with a scried trusted person in case the wolves end up knocking that one out.

[Mordokai]

Though someone should PROBABLY scry the current suspects, and get a trusted person to oust whoever it is, and then have the trusted person connect with a scried trusted person in case the wolves end up knocking that one out.

...what?

No, seriously... what?

[Helgraf]

-reluctant snip for space-

The children, all remembering how good the cinnamon rolls in Isa's family were, couldn't leave her to her work fast enough. When they were gone, she hurried over to the crooked little man and offered him the towel to clean his cuts and wipe himself off. I am so sorry about them - are you alright?

The gnarled little man smiled, yet there was a sadness in it. Bobbled his head slightly, as he considered the offered gift, tied it around his arm to stanch the blood-flow.

"It will be ruined I fear. Never so bright and colorful again. Dear dear Spira." He patted her arm awkwardly. "Still ... still. Before they chase me off again. Children learn what they are taught. And ... and I ... I am not what I am made to be."

He winced briefly, stretching out the arm, curling it in again.

"They are coming again. The devil. The white-haired demon. The brute and the trickster reborn. They will consume Spira as they have Gaia ... Balamb ... Midgar. If they succeed again, they will find another world - another special soul to feed to oblivion before taking all of value."

His face lifted, eyes meeting her own.

"Stop them when I am gone."

[Fan]

...what?

No, seriously... what?

Seer --> Proxy -- > Proxies Proxy.

Seer --> Scan Suspects if they don't get lynched, have proxy inform us.

[Deathslayer7]

Seer ----> dead

[Fan]

Seer ----> dead

Really?

That worked relatively okay in the Playground WW, and in Memesville WW.. >_>

[mangosta71]

Perhaps one of you more experienced players would be willing to share your wisdom. Why is it "faulty logic" to be worried about someone unproven (and thus potentially a wolf) trying to get all of our power roles to tell him who they are?

Yes, you're proven now. Well done to the baner. Good luck getting us organized. But why should anyone have trusted you when all we had was your word in a game of lies and deception?

[Istari]

Because we've he was a mason, he gave us the identity of another proven mason (Lex) and if he wasn't one there is an extremely large chance the masons would be smart and realize, hey maybe we should counter claim the wolf pretending to be us.

The Fiery Tower

[bladescape]

(Although bladescape confuses me...)

I'll take that as a compliment.

[Qwaz]

Because we've he was a mason, he gave us the identity of another proven mason (Lex) and if he wasn't one there is an extremely large chance the masons would be smart and realize, hey maybe we should counter claim the wolf pretending to be us.

The Fiery Tower

Er...the gist is correct but I told people Im Da Rogue was a mason before they autolynched. That + Lack of counter claim made it exceptionaly likely I was on the good side. No mason would let power roles blindly contact me without a counter claim.

I accept I wasn't proven but techniquly Im not proven now. Can't be more proven while being alive though.

[Istari]

Whoops, remembered you gave us one autolynched mason, just forgot who that was.

[Rogue Nine]

Murska, I don't think Helgraf is Remnant, but I think your point about tactics is fuzzy logic:

Tactic A (night killing X to get town to lynch Y because he/she was suspicious of X) is proven to work. It is stupid, because what wolf team would be that vindictive early on when they KNOW people are looking for such ridiculous patterns?

Tactic B (believing Tactic A is over-used, night killing X anyway in hopes that Town would be so jaded by Tactic A to ignore it) is suicide, plain and simple. Why try something so overly complicated and prone to failure when people still line up to be taken in by Tactic A?

Yeah, yeah, both of those end in rhetorical questions that seem to contradict each other, but as long as Tactic A works in getting Lynch control, the wolves have no reason to stop it.

[Dragoon]

The rusted armored man wonders if whoever attempted the sending failed as he swears he hears the poor man who died yesterday. Shaking it off he gives the group a look over, while the man claiming to be forget seemed off, then again one of the others suggested they go talk to the dead seer. Perhaps, Helgraf would remember how to fight this creature better than he thought.

[Murska]

Murska, I don't think Helgraf is Remnant, but I think your point about tactics is fuzzy logic:

Tactic A (night killing X to get town to lynch Y because he/she was suspicious of X) is proven to work. It is stupid, because what wolf team would be that vindictive early on when they KNOW people are looking for such ridiculous patterns?

Tactic B (believing Tactic A is over-used, night killing X anyway in hopes that Town would be so jaded by Tactic A to ignore it) is suicide, plain and simple. Why try something so overly complicated and prone to failure when people still line up to be taken in by Tactic A?

Yeah, yeah, both of those end in rhetorical questions that seem to contradict each other, but as long as Tactic A works in getting Lynch control, the wolves have no reason to stop it.

Actually, Tactic A is proven to very, very rarely if ever to work. Seriously, I haven't seen it working in months and months. However, I see the logic of 'That's an obvious attempt by the wolves to discredit Player X' very often.

Tactic B, on the other hand, is taking advantage of the above line of logic. Plus, it also works on the simplest possible level - wolves want to kill people who point at them and wolves do push lynches on threatening people, and if it fails, they resort to killing. It's the first and third Yomi level. Like high-level strategy gaming, in Werewolf communities there are trends of different Yomi being more and less effective.

Regardless of this, my main point was that the whole argument was moot for the purposes of this game, as Helgraf didn't do anything like this particular move and so reading into its Yomi is worthless. What actually happened was a wholly different, rather common and often very effective wolf ploy. If we want to discuss the Werewolf metagame and strategic trends, we should either talk about the actual moves used in this game or take it to Central, okay?

[V.Z.]

Almost that time already? Better get my vote in on time this time. I'll go with the Helgraf wagon then. Not really that much of a fan, but as far as I can see it's the best thing to go on right now. RP probably to follow later on.

[Tasroth]

Ugh. Need to point, despite not enough sleep and fuzzy brain...

I'm going to say TheLaughingMan today I think.

[banjo1985]

Day over, update to follow in a while.

[banjo1985]

((Some quotes stolen from Helgraf's own roleplay, I wanted to try and mesh the narration with the RP a bit. Hope you don't mind. ))

A stone's toss. A stone's throw. Stones thrown. All too familiar. Now a wizened old man, Helgraf has seen it all before. Not for the first time he feels the sharp kiss of stone against flesh, and the warm blood that follows. It’s just like last time.

Then, from nowhere, a friendly hand provides aid. The young orphan Isa, now homeless as well, driving back the children with their sticks and stones, offering a towel to staunch his wounds and a hand to give him strength. He smiled. Whilst even the smallest kindness existed amongst Spirans, there was still hope, faint as he feared it was.

"They are coming again. The devil. The white-haired demon. The brute and the trickster reborn. They will consume Spira as they have Gaia ... Balamb ... Midgar. If they succeed again, they will find another world - another special soul to feed to oblivion before taking all of value."

"Stop them when I am gone."

Helgraf turned away from her then and hurried away towards the beach and the waiting Sand Worm. Best not give her a chance to protest, a chance to try and stop him. Yevon forbid, a chance to volunteer to go in his place. Even if she were lucky enough to defeat the beast, such an encounter would strip her of her kindness, as the death of her parents and the destruction of her home had failed to do. A soul could only take so much before kindness failed and shriveled to pity and hate. While he feared it would be so before the Remnants were done, he refused to play a part in it.

Soon the Sand Worm loomed before him, a massive trunk of a creature big enough to swallow houses whole. One man had stayed behind when the warning came, either through mistaken bravery or foolhardiness, ThirdEmperor, a junior Hunter and keen blitzball player. Rumour had suggested he could try out for the Aurochs next season, maybe even the Goers. But of ThirdEmperor he saw no sign, consumed by the beast to sate its ravenous hunger for a precious few seconds. A Sand Worm, clumsily effective,a crude weapon for the Remnants to wield. Did they really think so little of the world they wished to obliterate.

“A club with a nail in it. Disappointing.”

The Sand Worm seemed to notice the old mans presence, its gaping maw began to salivate long thick strands of acidic mucus.

“A clubs blow will break bones, and the nail will slash and pierce. But do you not realise how easily such a swing can be parried aside?”

The Sand Worm reared up in front of him, yet Helgraf stood his ground. The weight of the creature forced its tail deeper into the sand beneath.

“A clever weapon on the other hand, a clever weapon will beat a club every time. The wielder will exhaust their energy quickly, and eventually over extend. It is then that the clever weapon dives under the defenses and strikes.”

The Sand Worm slithered forward, now close enough to strike. It reared up ever further, and prepared to pounce. Helgraf smiled and held one hand outstretched in front of him.

“Of course, even a club can be effective when an opponent wields no weapon at all. But not all weapons are obvious to observe. To wield a club you must be certain your foe is helpless.”

“Certain as STONE.”

The last word rang out with a power belying the old man’s whispered delivery, reverberating across the beach and all the way back to Besaid itself. Every rock in every childs hand exploded as one, bruising flesh and teaching lessons as the shrapnel cut. On the beach the sand instantly hardened to glass, and the Sand Worm pushed deep into the sand stood no chance. Within moments it was nothing but a statue, facets of glass breaking up the watery sunlight and reflecting shining rays back into the sky.

To the people of Spira it looked like a beacon of hope. A few started to believe, little by little, that all was not lost.

Helgraf turned back towards the village, but made sure his voice carried enough for the whispering sea to hear.

“If you wish to break me Remnants, it will take more than a club to do it.”


Summary

Helgraf defeated the Sand Worm.

ThirdEmperor was autolynched. He was a Spiran Civilian.

Night 6 begins now and ends on Wednesday

[Fan]

I think... Yeah, this tells me a few things.

Welp, glad Helgraf killed the encounter, means one less lynched for the wolves!

[Lamech]

I think... Yeah, this tells me a few things.

Welp, glad Helgraf killed the encounter, means one less lynched for the wolves!

Wait what? How does this tell you diddly squat? Unless you're Cid claiming or something...

[Helgraf]

Someone scrambled my eggs. Sand Worm is not one of the monsters I was told I could beat.

EDIT: Never mind this. Re-read my initial PM (thanks for the resend, Banjo). Someone is definitely monkeying with me though.

[ThePhantom]

Hmm, that means Kadaj used his power on you. Interesting.

[Ramsus]

Or he's lying. One of those. Anyone want to take a bet on which I think is more likely?