A Small Wager – A Practical Guide to Evil

[MerelBlackbird]

I also targeted Merel. Cultist taking her power would absolutely fit with my results. In fact, it would explain an otherwise puzzling outcome.

Cultist, the one character famously known for this ability was decidedly not aligned with the heavens, unless I am missing something here. Am I missing something here?

I am willing to claim in an extremely dramatic fashion if necessary. It might even work.

My role does say Above next to it.

[Let'sGetKraken]

My role does say Above next to it.

Sorry, I mean Cultist. Your role seems fine and makes sense with an Above alignment. The Aspect that Cultist is displaying does not, but like, he knows this, which is why I think I am missing something.

[Snowblaze]

If it helps, Kraken, I agree with you that 3SC's Aspect doesn't obviously fit with Above. And also... hmm.

I need to make a claims list, don't I?

[Let'sGetKraken]

If it helps, Kraken, I agree with you that 3SC's Aspect doesn't obviously fit with Above. And also... hmm.

I need to make a claims list, don't I?

I have a theory that could explain it, but I'd rather hear from Cultist first because while I think he is probably above, I'd rather not give him ideas if he isn't.

[3SecondCultist]

I am the Alchemist. Did you get my set of one shot powers (imbue), or my regular power (brew)?

So - cards on the table, I borrowed your Brew Aspect. My Aspect doesn’t tel me exactly what the power does or anything about your Name.

My initial thought was that you were the Concocter. While the character with that Name is ostensibly a Villain, in practice they fit far better as a Neutral (hell, the TVTropes page lists them as ‘Morally Ambiguous Named’ for a reason).

Furthermore, there is no character for Above with an Alchemist Name in the serial proper, though references to a Villain with that Name are made in the backstory of a certain Hero.

I was willing to put money on the fact that you were a Neutral. That was one of the reasons I had less issue with you full claiming here - an open Neutral is one less place for a Villain to claim later, while not necessarily leaving a target for wolfteam to NK later.

I also targeted Merel. Cultist taking her power would absolutely fit with my results. In fact, it would explain an otherwise puzzling outcome.

Cultist, the one character famously known for this ability was decidedly not aligned with the heavens, unless I am missing something here. Am I missing something here?

I am willing to claim in an extremely dramatic fashion if necessary. It might even work.

The man continued to sip on his brandy, his smile having turned decidedly rueful. In Procer, he was used to being vilified for use of magic - even if it was not his own. And with a Name like his, he supposed he could see how someone might misunderstand him. Still, he had played his part.

He had Confiscated the potion-maker’s Aspect, though had yet to have the time to sit down and craft anything he could Use out of it. He held up an opaque vial, the liquid inside cascading with unfettered possibility.

Is that clear enough for you?

[Let'sGetKraken]

So - cards on the table, I borrowed your Brew Aspect. My Aspect doesn’t tel me exactly what the power does or anything about your Name.

My initial thought was that you were the Concocter. While the character with that Name is ostensibly a Villain, in practice they fit far better as a Neutral (hell, the TVTropes page lists them as ‘Morally Ambiguous Named’ for a reason).

Furthermore, there is no character for Above with an Alchemist Name in the serial proper, though references to a Villain with that Name are made in the backstory of a certain Hero.

I was willing to put money on the fact that you were a Neutral. That was one of the reasons I had less issue with you full claiming here - an open Neutral is one less place for a Villain to claim later, while not necessarily leaving a target for wolfteam to NK later.



The man continued to sip on his brandy, his smile having turned decidedly rueful. In Procer, he was used to being vilified for use of magic - even if it was not his own. And with a Name like his, he supposed he could see how someone might misunderstand him. Still, he had played his part.

He had Confiscated the potion-maker’s Aspect, though had yet to have the time to sit down and craft anything he could Use out of it. He held up an opaque vial, the liquid inside cascading with unfettered possibility.

Is that clear enough for you?

Oh. Duh.

Yeah, I trust Cultist, that claim makes sense.

Also, yes, no good-aligned alchemist. Oops. Edited for minor story spoilers. Doesn't mean Merel is necessarily evil, but really not a good look.

[Snowblaze]

Day One final vote count.

Xihirli 4: Caedorus, CaoimhinTheCape, Snowblaze, MerelBlackbird
Persolus 3: flat_footed, Athedia, Cazero
Cazero 3: Persolus, AvatarVecna, Let'sGetKraken
flat_footed 1: 3SecondCultist
Caedorus 1: Xihirli
Not voting: Dakrsidder

Persolus was struck thrice by Judgement.

Night One: Persolus was killed, and had three minor and two major injuries.

Day Two:

flat_footed was struck thrice by Judgement, despite only having one vote.

Night Two: no-one died.

---

flat_footed is the White Knight, Above, and has the Aspects Smite and Rise.

Snowblaze claims to have a one-shot vig, usable in any phase.

Caedorus claims to be the Thief, neutral, wanting to survive long enough to accomplish some end, and to have mechanical evidence that Snowblaze and flat_footed are town. Soft-confirmed by Snowblaze.

MerelBlackbird claims to be the Alchemist, town, and to have the Aspects Imbue (a set of one-shot powers) and Brew (a set of "regular" powers). Verified by 3SecondCultist? Also claims to have received a minor injury Day Two.

3SecondCultist claims to have a power relating to stealing Aspects, and to have targeted MerelBlackbird Night Two and found evidence they are Above.

Athedia verifies that 3SecondCultist has the power he claims with a Night Two power usage.

Let'sGetKraken has information from Night Two which fits with 3SecondCultist stealing MerelBlackbird's power.

Probably missing stuff. Please point it out if so. I will at some point reread thread to check for that missing stuff.

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I am also an idiot. Yeah. 3SC's claim makes sense. It is too long since I last read PGTE.

[3SecondCultist]

Oh. Duh.

Yeah, I trust Cultist, that claim makes sense.

Also, yes, no good-aligned alchemist. Oops. Edited for minor story spoilers. Doesn't mean Merel is necessarily evil, but really not a good look.

When the options from story are the Salutory Alchemist (Villain) or the Concocter (technically also Villain)… yeah. Either Neutral or wolf. I’m not buying an Above Name there - especially not with mine already in play. Role-wise in a game, they bump; why have two on the same team?

I haven’t quite got a handle on your Name yet btw, Kraken (so no need to feel bad about missing my hints!). So far your initial logic from D1 is one of the reasons you’ve been townread, but I don’t want to proceed too much further without at least some intimation of a claim from you.

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3SecondCultist claims to have a power relating to stealing Aspects, and to have targeted MerelBlackbird Night Two and found evidence they are Above.

To be clear, that is not what I said. I said they are ‘probably not wolf’, because I thought they were Neutral and a Concocter.

Them claiming Alchemist instead throws it all off, and is making me increasingly suspicious.

[Snowblaze]

Mmm. Yeah, there is no character with the Name of Alchemist in the story iirc, which very much does not fit with the Names that have been revealed.

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To be clear, that is not what I said. I said they are ‘probably not wolf’, because I thought they were Neutral and a Concocter.

Them claiming Alchemist instead throws it all off, and is making me increasingly suspicious.

Noted, thanks. Was piecing stuff together from incomplete information and got an incorrect conclusion.

[3SecondCultist]

Merel Blackbird.

I think I would like to see a full claim from her now, with details on Aspects.

Quiet folks, anyone else care to weigh in here? Who defended Merel initially (beyond the ‘there is no case’).

[Snowblaze]

MerelBlackbird, yeah, sure.

If we do decide we're killing her for this it's probably better for me to shoot her so that we can have actual discussion about the elimination as normal.

Or possibly it's better to have a single elimination wagon to remove the possibility of vote manipulation affecting things.

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Merel Blackbird.

I think I would like to see a full claim from her now, with details on Aspects.

Quiet folks, anyone else care to weigh in here? Who defended Merel initially (beyond the ‘there is no case’).

Uh, me? Me + Kraken definitely townread Merel's "I'm okay with dying" post. I will need to reread.

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I do think Kraken/Merel not w/w though. For Reasons.

[MerelBlackbird]

...huh. I did not see that coming.

Whatever, I can't see in the mind of the host. I strengthen temporarily (stolen); I have a heal and a permanent strengthen left in my one shots, I was planning to give them to flat and Athedia. Although I might strengthen Cultist instead now, he seems like a good choice.

I really should finish the serial. If my role name can cost me my life - I ought to have known.

[Let'sGetKraken]

When the options from story are the Salutory Alchemist (Villain) or the Concocter (technically also Villain)… yeah. Either Neutral or wolf. I’m not buying an Above Name there - especially not with mine already in play. Role-wise in a game, they bump; why have two on the same team?

I haven’t quite got a handle on your Name yet btw, Kraken (so no need to feel bad about missing my hints!). So far your initial logic from D1 is one of the reasons you’ve been townread, but I don’t want to proceed too much further without at least some intimation of a claim from you.

Don't worry, neither have I.

I do think that whether there is room in Above for Merel depends very much on a) whether we have a Hedge Witch, which is absolutely what I thought Merel was until the claim and b) whether Cultist has a set of one-off abilities.

But I am comfortable with a Merel wagon.

But hey, Caohimn, you mind giving us a little insight or action here? If we shoot Merel, I kind of want to wagon you in the absence of any reason not to.

[3SecondCultist]

MerelBlackbird, yeah, sure.

If we do decide we're killing her for this it's probably better for me to shoot her so that we can have actual discussion about the elimination as normal.

Or possibly it's better to have a single elimination wagon to remove the possibility of vote manipulation affecting things.

We have 44 hours (barring some silly Aspect shortening the phase). I’m willing to wait to hear a claim and get the takes of some other people before we commit to a vig plan. I would like the opportunity to cross-examine statements earlier about Merel and vote movements from D2 in conjunction to how folks vote here.

Let’s start with someone else confirmed as Town: flat, besides Merel who are your top scumreads and why? Also, I never asked you if you were compelled to speak in haikus. I suspected someone (who hadn’t read Guide) was the Exalted Poet, but it might just be shenanigans.

[Caedorus]

I am the Alchemist. Did you get my set of one shot powers (imbue), or my regular power (brew)?

I Stole your Brew so I know that is one of your aspects

So - cards on the table, I borrowed your Brew Aspect. My Aspect doesn’t tel me exactly what the power does or anything about your Name.

My initial thought was that you were the Concocter. While the character with that Name is ostensibly a Villain, in practice they fit far better as a Neutral (hell, the TVTropes page lists them as ‘Morally Ambiguous Named’ for a reason).

Furthermore, there is no character for Above with an Alchemist Name in the serial proper, though references to a Villain with that Name are made in the backstory of a certain Hero.

I was willing to put money on the fact that you were a Neutral. That was one of the reasons I had less issue with you full claiming here - an open Neutral is one less place for a Villain to claim later, while not necessarily leaving a target for wolfteam to NK later.



The man continued to sip on his brandy, his smile having turned decidedly rueful. In Procer, he was used to being vilified for use of magic - even if it was not his own. And with a Name like his, he supposed he could see how someone might misunderstand him. Still, he had played his part.

He had Confiscated the potion-maker’s Aspect, though had yet to have the time to sit down and craft anything he could Use out of it. He held up an opaque vial, the liquid inside cascading with unfettered possibility.

Is that clear enough for you?

This is me gloating that my Steal power is so much better than your Confiscate because the target doesn't notice or lose the use of the aspect


Unrelated: I think wolves tried to kill Flat, and I took a major injury Protecting him. OUCH
Y'all better be grateful

[MerelBlackbird]

I submitted a heal on flat, but Book Wombat is offline. So I'm probably out of luck.

[Caedorus]

I submitted a heal on flat, but Book Wombat is offline. So I'm probably out of luck.

Oh I meant to ask you, it would be nice knowing exactly what Brew does before I use it.

[Snowblaze]

...huh. I did not see that coming.

Whatever, I can't see in the mind of the host. I strengthen temporarily (stolen); I have a heal and a permanent strengthen left in my one shots, I was planning to give them to flat and Athedia. Although I might strengthen Cultist instead now, he seems like a good choice.

I really should finish the serial. If my role name can cost me my life - I ought to have known.

...yeah, sorry if you're town here. I can see a world in which Wombat just decided to throw in one Name that doesn't feature in the story because bastardry + counter to the solve-by-massclaiming-Names strategy.

Can I get a reads list or similar please?

[Let'sGetKraken]

I Stole your Brew so I know that is one of your aspects


This is me gloating that my Steal power is so much better than your Confiscate because the target doesn't notice or lose the use of the aspect


Unrelated: I think wolves tried to kill Flat, and I took a major injury Protecting him. OUCH
Y'all better be grateful

Thank you! If it helps, my negative ability was going directly at you before you made that deal. It wouldn't have killed you, but it would certainly not have been pleasant.

[MerelBlackbird]

I Stole your Brew so I know that is one of your aspects


This is me gloating that my Steal power is so much better than your Confiscate because the target doesn't notice or lose the use of the aspect


Unrelated: I think wolves tried to kill Flat, and I took a Mayor wound Protecting him. OUCH
Y'all better be grateful

So I should heal you or Athedia - except flat is also injured from the whatever-is-going-on with the lynch. Decisions... and I have to do it fast so I get it in before I die.

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...yeah, sorry if you're town here. I can see a world in which Wombat just decided to throw in one Name that doesn't feature in the story because bastardry + counter to the solve-by-massclaiming-Names strategy.

Can I get a reads list or similar please?

You, Kraken, Cultist, and Athedia are all townreads for me right now.

[Let'sGetKraken]

So I should heal you or Athedia - except flat is also injured from the whatever-is-going-on with the lynch. Decisions... and I have to do it fast so I get it in before I die.

Definitely flat. And if this can be done at instant speed, and flat confirms, I don't think you end up yeeted or shot this phase.

[Snowblaze]

So I should heal you or Athedia - except flat is also injured from the whatever-is-going-on with the lynch. Decisions... and I have to do it fast so I get it in before I die.

I would, uh, really appreciate being healed myself (having also obtained a major injury last night) if you're telling the truth.

I don't want to say specifically why but I'm ~confirmed town and would really like to not die N3.

[3SecondCultist]

I do think Kraken/Merel not w/w though. For Reasons.

I can see the unpairing.

I do need to go back and see if I can find any pairing. Right now, my focus is too tunnelled.

...huh. I did not see that coming.

Whatever, I can't see in the mind of the host. I strengthen temporarily (stolen); I have a heal and a permanent strengthen left in my one shots, I was planning to give them to flat and Athedia. Although I might strengthen Cultist instead now, he seems like a good choice.

I really should finish the serial. If my role name can cost me my life - I ought to have known.

Is it possible that BookWombat gave you a Name not technically in the story to throw off those of us who have read it all multiple times? Yes. I hope you understand that I am keeping my vote where it is until I hear from some other folks and do a bit more digging.

If you still want to strengthen me in spite of that, I won’t say no. It’s ultimately your call.

This is me gloating that my Steal power is so much better than your Confiscate because the target doesn't notice or lose the use of the aspect

Neat. I’m not going to comment on the specifics and limitations of my aspects any more than I already have (don’t you know wolf team are listening in?), but I’m quite happy with my Name and Aspects overall.

[Snowblaze]

flat is definitely a better choice than Athedia or Caedorus though and I won't object if you choose that.

I do think healing me is probably better for town though, but that requires you to trust me sufficiently to do that.

[MerelBlackbird]

I asked to heal flat, but I can still change it to Snow and I think I will.

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Who should I strengthen permanently? That was going to Cultist but if there are any preferences, I'll listen.

[Let'sGetKraken]

I asked to heal flat, but I can still change it to Snow and I think I will.

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Who should I strengthen permanently? That was going to Cultist but if there are any preferences, I'll listen.

Don't change it to Snow, as much as I think she's town. Flat is guaranteed town and Snow could just be pocketing us all. Go for the guaranteed move to help town.

[3SecondCultist]

I asked to heal flat, but I can still change it to Snow and I think I will.

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Who should I strengthen permanently? That was going to Cultist but if there are any preferences, I'll listen.

I would say a strengthened White Knight is a story blade we can use to force Providence later. That generally seems like a great thing to have in the endgame.

The question is: how injured is flat? If he’s okay, then I say give it to him. Otherwise, someone else you trust as town is a good bet. I am currently uninjured, which does make me a good alternate.

[Let'sGetKraken]

I asked to heal flat, but I can still change it to Snow and I think I will.

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Who should I strengthen permanently? That was going to Cultist but if there are any preferences, I'll listen.

I mean, if it can be the same person... I would go with the person who is inarguably town, Flat. But Cultist is fine too.

[3SecondCultist]

Hells, a White Knight struck down and protected, brought back to the peak of their strength and aided by their fellow heroes? That is straight up a Story to use against wolfteam.

Assuming, of course, you are not a wolf tricking us into leaving someone open as a target.

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I am confirming once again that Snow is town. My source remains as impeccable as ever.

[MerelBlackbird]

I settled both powers on flat. I really hope this works. Now I just have to wait for our host to come online.

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Hells, a White Knight struck down and protected, brought back to the peak of their strength and aided by their fellow heroes? That is straight up a Story to use against wolfteam.

Assuming, of course, you are not a wolf tricking us into leaving someone open as a target.

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I am confirming once again that Snow is town. My source remains as impeccable as ever.

Thanks, and I really hope all this works. Good luck to the town when I am gone, and I hope you and Caedorus get some good use out of my boosts. (Assuming you can use what you stole/borrowed/confiscated).