Coup

[Silent_Interim]

Using a Contessa to block. I'll add RP after results are determined.

[aspi]

Not challenging

[Eloel]

Using a Contessa to block. I'll add RP after results are determined.

You can't use a contessa, you need to use your own
Not challenging

[Ramsus]

Not challenging, though from what I understand Silent basically had to either challenge the assassin or claim a contessa to block with in order to not immediately lose right?

Edit: Does Penguinator have to discard the assassin after use if it's not challenged or does it just stay in his "hand" until a situation forces him to actually reveal it? (Assuming he actually has one.)

[Silent_Interim]

It stays in his hand. Only a challenge, coup, assassination or use of an ambassador would mean it leaves his hand.

Also, yes, I did. What does it tell you about my card that I chose to claim Contessa rather than challenge?

[Eloel]

What does it tell you about my card that I chose to claim Contessa rather than challenge?

It tells that you believe the chance that anyone would challenge you is lower than the chance that he had an assassin. Nothing more, nothing less.

I would assume that means the card in your hand is not an Assassin, but I have a strong suspicion it's not Contessa either. I would have challenged if I still had 2 cards.

[Ramsus]

I would have challenged but I don't see that Penguinator has any choice but to challenge.

[Silent_Interim]

Well, let's run through the possibilities. I don't have a Duke- it's unlikely that I would have been holding both Dukes, since we know one must be in aspi's hand or the deck. Also, why would I have claimed Foreign Aid last turn if I had a Duke? I don't have an ambassador by similar logic- one is on the table and one is in Ramsus' hand or the deck, and I would have used it last turn rather than make myself such a target by bringing myself to 7. There's a higher chance that I have a Captain, but I would have used it anyway. There were still two people possibly holding Dukes at the time, nobody had claimed Captain yet, one ambassador was definitely out and the other probably was. Ambassador, again, one was on the table, and the other in the deck or Ramsus' hand. Assassin, surely I would have challenged just now or used it earlier rather than paint a target on my back bringing myself up to Coup levels of cash. I don't see why it's unreasonable to suppose that I have a Contessa.

[Eloel]

I don't agree. You could not use any powers except maybe Ambassador last round, because you'd just expose yourself and would die. That doesn't say anything about your card.

[Penguinator]

Challenge it.

Might as well live dangerously, right?

[Silent_Interim]

A video message transmitted itself to The Captain. This time, it was a direct transmission. No need to protect his location via proxies. The Fat Man appeared in almost perfect clarity, glaring straight at the screen.

"You utter bastard."

A few moments passed as the Fat Man quivered in rage.

"I mean that. You are a total, complete and utter bastard for this. How could you? How could you? I had no good reason to attack you! You were both well defended and low on funds! Now, my ship is in pieces, and hundreds of lives ruined with it! That sleeper agent has done more damage than you know. I remember when you were still a decent man. When you had morals. Standards." The Fat Man sighed. "It worked, even if you didn't get me personally. I'm broke and almost friendless. I'm going back into cryo until this all blows over. I hope you win. I know you, and it won't bring you a spot of happiness."

The transmission ended.

---

Ah well, it was fun while it lasted. I was actually holding an Assassin, so good job, Penguin. I hope the rest of you enjoy the rest of the game (No enjoyment for those who killed me ). I do still stand by most of my reasoning, I was just playing a riskier game than I had implied there. Eloel, what I was saying was that I couldn't have any of those powers, because if I had claimed them, I could be almost certain that I would be challenged and then lose. The fact that I didn't claim them when any one of them would have been a better move indicates that I didn't have them. That's my point. The reasoning behind my not having an Assassin was deliberately sketchy, I admit. I would have had to be an idiot to have claimed any of those without having the actual card.

Anyway, good game, best of luck to all of you.

EDIT: Suppose I did have a Duke/Ambassador/Captain. Why would I not use them? I would know that they would get challenged, but I don't lose anything if I have the card in question, so claiming them if I had them would make sense. Because I know they would get challenged, I wouldn't claim them if I didn't have them. I didn't claim them, so I didn't have them. I can't really present good reasoning for why I wouldn't have an Assassin though, on account of my having had an Assassin.

[Eloel]

EDIT: Suppose I did have a Duke/Ambassador/Captain. Why would I not use them? I would know that they would get challenged, but I don't lose anything if I have the card in question, so claiming them if I had them would make sense. Because I know they would get challenged, I wouldn't claim them if I didn't have them. I didn't claim them, so I didn't have them. I can't really present good reasoning for why I wouldn't have an Assassin though, on account of my having had an Assassin.

Claiming Duke/Captain/Assassin means you absolutely do not have Contessa. You get assassinated, can't claim Contessa, game over.

[Silent_Interim]

Challenging the Assassin claim still works. Anyway, I'll shut up and leave you all to it now.

[Penguinator]

The Captain watched the transmission with a weary look on his face. As it ended, he eyed the upstart officer. "I suppose you're pleased with yourself?"
The officer beamed. "Of course, Sir. A dangerous force was put down, and our sleeper agent was able to make it out alive without being captured." He wiped a hand through his hair. "A move of tactical genius, if I do say so myself."
The Captain, without moving much, responded with, "Except that we're broke, responsible for first blood in what promises to be a galaxy-spanning conquest, and if the Fat Man is to be believed, responsible for ruining hundreds of lives." The Captain finally sat up straight, and in a level tone, asked, "How do you account for that?"
The officer shook his head. "We took a chance, Sir, and had an impact on the struggle. Even if we don't win, we'll be remembered." His grin returned, and he began to leave, throwing the last statement over his shoulder. "And the man said 'ruined,' not 'killed.' You should be happy about that."
Watching the officer leave, the Captain shook his head. From behind him, his communications officer spoke. "He was right, wasn't he? The Fat Man."
The Captain looked into her eyes, then shrugged. "I suppose that depends on which part you mean."
"Winning. It wouldn't make you happy." The communications officer laid a hand on the Captain's knee. "I know you that well, Sir."
The Captain patted the officer's hand, then turned back to his work. Casually, he answered, "So did the Fat Man."

[Legato Endless]

Snip

Awesome send off.

Game State

Players	Coins	Card 1	Card 2
Ramsus	5	???	???
Silent Interim	0	Duke	Assassin
Eloel	5	Ambassador	???
Penguinator	0	???	???
Aspi	5	???	???

The Deck contains 5 cards.

Note- No, you can not steal Silent Interim's coins now that's he gone. Whatever wealth he kept is sealed in the Cryo chamber with him.

[aspi]

Anyway, I'll shut up and leave you all to it now.

Speaking just for myself, I don't think there's any reaoson why you couldn't keep discussing the game with us, if you wanted. After all, there's no secret information to divulge that we shouldn't have.

Note- No, you can not steal Silent Interim's coins now that's he gone. Whatever wealth he kept is sealed in the Cryo chamber with him.

(You appear to have read my mind... very well then)

As the Arciellaun's convoy passed the twin ringed moons and entered the shadow of the system's gas giant on it's approach to Wayland Station, a heavy frigate dropped out of hyperspace where it had apparently been standing by. While it clearly bore the the royal Eranion seal, it's outer hull was scarred and scorched from blaster fire, which would have been atypical for an Enranion military vessel, a small but proud stellar alliance that took pride in it's fleet. But then again this wasn't a a regular vessel with a crew of properly enlisted men. Within moments, a group of small fighters launched from the frigate and headed towards the convoy. A heavily accented voice was audible over the intercom of all convoy vessels within range, automatically activated by slightly outdated but still valid military communication override protocols. "This is Captain Garenez of the Royal Warship Meredin Cruz. You are suspected to be in violation of Commerce Regulations sections 7, 8 and 13. Power down your engines immediately and prepare to be boarded. You have 20 seconds to comply before we open fire. This is your first and final warning."

(Using my Captain to steal 2 coins from Ramsus)

[Eloel]

Sure, why not. No challenge.

[Ramsus]

Just to check, because despite all the very helpful explanations I still get a bit confused, if I didn't wish to challenge but did wish to block with either a claim of captain or ambassador would I have to do both now? Or do I and everyone else need to say we don't challenge before I would declare if I'm going to block?

I'm mostly asking just so I'm following the proper order of things, I kind of doubt anyone aside from myself would have any reason to challenge aspi's captain claim. But it would be weird if I didn't challenged and declared a block and the other players were now in this weird position where they could potentially challenge two different things.

[Eloel]

You can wait for all "no challenge" votes before blocking, or I guess you could just go "block!" and wait for everyone else to explicitly say "no challenge" since you're already blocking - though you'd in essence be revealing extra information.

[aspi]

Although this is likely to drag out the game a bit at these points, I would always give everyone else a chance to challenge, even if you can block an action. The reasoning: blocking is at best a zero sum action for you (if you do have the card to block) or a risk (if you do not). But if someone else challenges your attacker, this will always work out in favour of you, as one of these other players will loose an influence once a challenge is made. So always give other people the time to challenge, there's just no point in removing that option early.

[Penguinator]

No challenge.

[Ramsus]

((No challenge, blocking with a captain))

The Arciellaun did not bother to decloak the Myth and simply let the Meredin Cruz dock with the Legend. There wasn't much to fear, the questionably legal AI that handled the legal documentation was amazingly adept at finding the proper legal justification or loophole for just about any action and it helped that the Arciellaun didn't specifically belong as a citizen to any of the governments and yet enjoyed a special status with most of them. And if the Meredin Cruz was not really the Meredin Cruz, though the identification checked out, the Legend's incredibly powerful force shields could also be used inside of the ship to block access and cage any would-be pirates trying to seize it. And of course there were the top of the line robots and expertly trained soldiers armed with the best equipment money could buy, thievery could acquire, and the on-board weapon's labs could invent.

[Penguinator]

I won't challenge Ramsus' claim, either.

[aspi]

(Hm, small side-note, going by Star Wars terminology: I wasn't about to attempt to hijack the Arciellaun's two-dreadnaught main convoy with a single frigate. I was thinking of just some trade convoy to rob. But ah well...)

As the Meredin Cruz approached the Legend, the fighters also drew closer, in what seemed like a threatening fly-by that could be turned into a strafing run within a matter of moments if any resistance became apparent. Instead of passing the two ships, however, they docked in rapid sequence with the Meredin Cruz in what was clearly a well trained maneuver that took merely seconds to execute. Even before the hangar doors of the Meredin Cruz had closed, it jumped back to hyperspace. Maybe it had been a sensor reading of the impending trap or just a gut feeling, but something had clearly spooked the pirates.

(No challenge, I'll accept the block. So unless anyone else wants to challenge, that makes it Ramsus' turn.)

[Ramsus]

((Ah. Well the Arciellaun basically only has the two ships. Everything else would be someone else's property. Someone else who pays the Arciellaun allegiance perhaps, but their ships are theirs. I suppose you could have tried to steal something that was being shipped to the Myth or Legend, though that probably isn't a whole lot typically. Food and refined materials you would get while orbiting a planet or such, information and money is probably handled digitally, valuables for sale in case an economy crashes are probably kept in various hidden caches or held in banks and never come anywhere near either ship. So that basically leaves special items like loads of new weaponry or other technology that has to be produced in amounts that can't be made on the two ships in a reasonable amount of time but are actually needed on the ship.))

Basically just waiting to see if Eloel wants to challenge then.

[Eloel]

Sure, why not. No challenge.

I've already replied

[Ramsus]

Not to my claim of having a captain you didn't. But I'm just going to count that for now since you had a fair chance to actually notice, what with me pointing out you hadn't done so, and move on rather than wait more for probably no reason.

I'll just take some Foreign Aid.

Can't think of much worth RPing for that, maybe if someone tries to block or something.

[Penguinator]

No challenge/block.

[aspi]

Not blocking

[Legato Endless]

Deadline for blocking will be in 12 hours.

After that, it is Eloel's turn.