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In Progress The Calamitous Chronicle of the Codex Cannibals

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
DAY 4 BEGINS.

This time, there are no elaborate rituals. There is no search. Indeed, it is the dead who awakens the living.

"aooiiooiiiiiioooo...."

What the fuck is that?

"oooiiiiiiiiiooooaaaaaa....."

It is hello friend, lying in a pool of his own blood, just a few steps outside the cave. It seems that the killer, now without his accomplice, could not easily incapacitate or move the victim elsewhere.

And yet, he had still succeeded, the others be damned. hello friend recognises his friends, and tries to say something...

"oaeeeooiiiiiooo...."

But his vocal cords are no longer up to it. Good grief, and may you serve as a delicious meal, hello friend. Seems like someone's had a leg as hors d'oeuvre already.

-------------

4 players remain: Deuce Traveler , Doktor Best , Grimgravy , Mr. Pink .
The game ends when the killer is lynched, or if the killer reduces the population to 2.
 

Grimgravy

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
So we wait for Doktor Best to accuse someone. Hopefully he got lucky and stalked the killer last night.
 

Doktor Best

Arcane
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
2,849
Nope, not so lucky. But the doctor is still alive so we should wait this day without having supper.

Tomorrow we will know for sure. The game is won.

Ofcourse the doctor should protect me this night.

Gesendet von meinem GT-I9000 mit Tapatalk 2
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Alright, let's fast-track this.

DAY 4 ENDS.

There is no gluttony come the end, my friends.

diet6.jpg


Send thy night actions.
 

TOME

Cuckmaster General
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
1,820
So hello friend was an innocent? And there is a killer, stalker, priest and an innocent left?
 

Doktor Best

Arcane
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
2,849
yes. only 2 more possibilities and i have one night to stalk. im eager to find out if i am right with my guess about the killer.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
THE LAST DAY DAWNS.

It is not easy going to sleep, knowing your odds on survival. The last killer may have few places to hide, but at least for this night, he will get his fill of blood.

Deuce Traveler is the first to awaken. Looking around, he sees Mr. Pink, snoring from deep in his belly, as usual. Doktor Best, on the other side of the cave, stretches. But where is...?

Arousing the gourmand, the three, with much trepidation, walk outside the cave. And there, almost the exact spot where hello friend had splurged out.

Geralt_7.jpg
They got him.

15159.jpg
Is that.... that is Grimgravy, right?

Geralt_7.jpg
Yes, sonny, that he is. Or was, rather. And that stethoscope up his arse, it's not gonna come out easy, if you're still itching for breakfast.

19326.jpg
He was the doctor!

19326.jpg
Uh... but what about you? Is that a fedora? And a cigar?

Geralt_7.jpg
You got to be dressed right when investigating a crime, gentlemen. Now, if you would allow the light to shine through the Venetian blinds...

19209.jpg
My Banjo is ready, Mr. Gerald!

-----------------

We now have Doktor Best, Deuce Traveler, and Mr. Pink.
One is innocent, another is killer, and another a stalker.
The Codexers, hungry from their diet, and Grimgravy not looking particularly appetising, must vote to eat someone.
At the end of the day, that vote will either catch the killer, or leave the killer free to devour the last victim at night.

CHOOSE WISELY.
 

Deuce Traveler

2012 Newfag
Patron
Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
2,899
Location
Okinawa, Japan
Grab the Codex by the pussy Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Shadorwun: Hong Kong Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture
Well, I don't know about you good doctor, but I think it's obvious that Mr. Pink just sounds a lot more appetizing to eat than I do. I'm too stringy.
 
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Doktor Best

Arcane
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
2,849
Well well thats maybe true, but you are GUILTY in the end. Your meat will taste like sweet justice.

Sad thing grimgravy had to sacrifice himself, but he did it for a good cause, to save my precious ass.

I have to say i stalked Mr.Pink last night. Some comments of Nevill made me suspect a giant twist in the end, the way he spelled out Mr.Pinks innocence for example. But no, hes innocent.

I ACCUSE Deuce Traveler

Happy new year folks, it was a good game :mrpresident:
 

Deuce Traveler

2012 Newfag
Patron
Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
2,899
Location
Okinawa, Japan
Grab the Codex by the pussy Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Shadorwun: Hong Kong Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture
Yes, I am the killer, but I'm much better at cooking folks than Mr. Pink would be. The two of us can kill and cook him, then go our separate ways with full packs of well preserved meat. The game ends after all when there are two people left, but that doesn't mean it has to be Mr. Pink and you that survive. It could be Doktor Best and the killer. Now that would be a memorable twist. Oh, and did you like the hint I left for you? "Spy Shot In Face. obsidian romance ends. vicious end regrettable." => SSI Forever.

It wasn't just bad poetry. It was based on my current portrait.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Alright. I guess I'll end my enforced slumber and do a little post-mortem, now that the game has (almost) concluded.

First, though, I'll say it was a good game. Props to everyone, especially to Doktor Best, who proved a formidable opponent. I may have been a bit too forceful and vocal in my accusations, but it was all a part of the role. 10/10, would engage in a lynching contest again. :salute:

Best was completely right on the money about everything he said about me. I was given a role that doesn't really favor active play, but I could not afford not being active. In fact, I could not afford to behave in any kind of manner that would be consistent with how I would normally play a killer. Thus, I've entered an argument with Viata, and killed him on the very next night.

Everything I wrote to Best about it being stupid was true. Killing Viata would have been an unprecedentedly dumb move for a killer, considering our history in the first game. He really could have been a shield I'd hide behind later in the game... however, I knew that my only option was the truly Codexian way of MAXIMUM FUCK. Hiding was useless, the stalker was coming for me. It would be extremely strange for him not to come, considering all the flashy moves I was doing and attracting suspicion from anyone I could reach.

I did suspect Best was the stalker after the 2nd day (though I never voiced it), but I couldn't afford to kill him or have him hanged after he flat out accused me. If I was right, I'd get hanged; if I was wrong, it would have invited the real stalker; but if I left him be, there was a very remote possibility the stalker would ignore me as someone who is 'too obvious'. In my position, I didn't want to pass on it.

The plan to pose as a false stalker was thought out in advance. I hoped I could stave off the accusations until the third day because being suspicious was a norm to me. I got a few votes in the first day, testing the waters on how likely people are to hang me, and it looked like without something to go on they were not too inclined. A perfect environment. Best's accusations on the second day fell on deaf ears, since they were preceded by the ones on the first. I thought if they couldn't hang me then, they wouldn't do it after Viata got killed to obviously set me up. On the other hand, I was preparing for the next day, the day of a big reveal. To look like a stalker, I had to think like one. But I also had to know the roles of the people I allegedly checked. If I mess up and call a doctor an innocent, I am done for.

That was the reason I got in an argument with Viata in the first place. If I were a stalker, I had to check him after what happened in the 1st game. For me to pretend being a stalker without being found, Viata would have to be dead by the 3rd day. I just moved him up the schedule after being accused on the first day, to make my claims of a setup more plausible.

The second day we lynched Jew on the basis of him being a lurker, which I cautiously suggested without naming names. He didn't like me much and would probably vote against me the next day. I was quite happy with the outcome.

Then comes the third day. By now, surely the stalker must have checked me! And they can't remain quiet - if they don't kill me today, they will fight an uphill battle. So I waited with baited breath for them to come forward and accuse me, but without revealing themselves (because they want to live, right?). That's when I would drop my 'I am a stalker myself, and you are the killer' bomb, and I was confident I would convince the others. It was impossible for the real stalker to prove their identity, and I would have the benefit of being the first to bravely come out of the closet. Surely, this is a deed that only a courageous innocent prepared to die for his team would do.

The one who gets the first jump is usually the winner of these debates, all other things being equal. That's just how it works in social games. :(

This is what I wrote to Deuce Traveler in chat:
Nevill said:
While I am probably a goner today, the current plan is to wait until I am accused. This is likely to come either from the stalker, or from Dr. Best, and hopefully they aren't the same person.

Then say that I am a stalker and checked the person accusing me. If that's a stalker, it's my word against his... and we'll see how it works out.
Nevill said:
This is how I see it.

The person comes forth and accuses me (this is what I am waiting for). I accuse them back and add that I am a stalker, conjuring a plausible list of people I investigated. The accusing person, of course, is one of them.

If that person is a stalker, then it's me against him, and if he isn't smart enough to get outed himself first, I get a positive first impression I can spin.

If that person is not a stalker - which would mean a stalker hasn't investigated me yet for whatever reason (WTF?), I earn my place on stalker's shit list, and there are 2 people alrerady who would want me dead. That's a bit tricky. Though coincidentally, there are 2 murderers on the loose. I can spin it into a desperate act by discovered killers to avoid justice.

The problem is the doctor. Only a stalker can know the doctor. Given that none of us are actively accused, we must have slipped under their radar, which means there is an 1/3 chance the stalker has met them. If they did, this is going to fail, hard, because I do not know who the doctor is, while the stalker does. It can sway the doctor... and it will go downhill from there.

We'll see. Looks like hello_friend isn't the stalker. I have my doubts about Grimgravy or Mr. Best.
So I waited. And waited. For the whole day, with only a single post to my name (something that is highly unusual for 'innocent' me). No accusation came my way. No votes. Zero. Zilch. What the hell, people? Are you willing to lose? Was the stalker so dumb as to actually not check me once!? Hah, LOOOOSERS!! :cool:

Best outplayed me here with his patient waiting before accusing me. I don't know if it was deliberate or not, but he did. Hat's off to you, sir. :salute:

My carefully crafted plan was endangered, so I had to switch it for Plan B, accuse the first person who had other people voting for him, come up with some lame reason to eat them, and send the stalker a message that they can come out, it's totally safe now! Otherwise it's game over for the innocents! Come on, motherfucker, show yourself! You didn't check me, did you, else you wouldn't be silent all that time! :cool:

And then he did, immediately. Best came out and admitted being a stalker, stating that he checked me and that I was the killer. Welp. NOT. AS. PLANNED. AT. ALL!

:rage::rage::rage:

It took me a bit of time to repurpose my old plan and come up with something plausible. But instead of me vs. stalker (which I might have won), it became me vs. Best and Pink. Pink wouldn't vote for himself, now would he?

I think I did a good job pointing out non-existing connections between Pink and Best, explaining my actions away, and generally providing an alternate version of the events and moitivations. For example:
I think its weird that Nevill would ask for a stalker to come out, and then claim to be a stalker unless he is trying to root out a killer.

I will abstain because I honestly can't think of a reason for a killer to act in such a blizzare way.
I don't think it was weird, and it was a legitimate way to play if I were a real stalker. Just like it was justified for me to say 'priest, heal me' when I was a priest in the last game. See, if I am a stalker and I say 'stalker, come out', I know for a fact that no one will, so there will be no one to protect the suspect. That's something I can use - after all, if there is no one to defend the guy, lynching is made easier.

And there was no other road left for me to walk but a bizarre one. The stalker told everyone I was a killer. What the hell else was I supposed to do? :D

Everything I accused Dr. Best of, I was thinking about myself. The desperation tactics, the logic behind his actions - all of it I took from my personal experience. I would like to think it sounded convincing... but he really got the drop on me with his well-written accusation that came first. These things matter.

My chances were still decent. He was one man against two, and that meant I only needed to sway Grimgravy or hello friend, and we would have a tie which would have been beneficial to me. And if I got both, well, I would outright hang the stalker! It looked to me that they weren't certain who to believe until the end - I really tried to conjure up a cover story that was plausible and consistent. I would really like to know why you guys joined Best.

After realizing that I am losing support and is heading for a grizzly death, all I could do is to try and cover Deuce with my last post, urging him to come out and vote (he was hesitant to throw me under the bus), as well as omit Mr. Pink from the suspect list to make Best follow a false lead. If Deuce killed the doctor, we would have a chance... but it was not meant to be.

Still. I hope I at least made it entertaining.

Now, for my thoughts about the game rules.
I think the current setup favors the innocents.

See, the reason I tried my gambit was because I realized that once the number of players gets low enough (about 5 or 6), the stalker could go in the open and start checking people one by one, being completely immune thanks to the doctor. He would then share his findings with the innocents, outing the killers easily, or if he found the killers, hang them. More than that, revealing yourself as a stalker is safer than not doing so - if you don't, the doctor wouldn't know whom to heal, and you could be killed accidentally when the killers get lucky. If you do, the killers have to find the doctor, first.

With a stalker in the open, the chances of killers drop severely. And with a diet rule, the innocents could stall until the stalker roots the murderers out.

So when Best asked me why a killer would be desperate enough to claim himself a stalker - that's the reason. With such a claim, the killer wins instantly if they are believed. I do not envy their chances if they continue to hide and hope to avoid detection.

Our old forum rules made it so that a doctor can't heal the same target twice in a row. So outing yourself is a dangerous act (as it should be), because if the killers want you dead, you will be in two nights tops. I think this is the right way to play it. The game is not about checking one's role via GM, but about psychology. As a stalker, you can get hints about people, and you can either share them and likely die (no more hints, but the innocents have more information and more chances at victory), or keep them to yourself (you know more, but you have to convince people to believe you without giving away your role). I think this small addition makes it a far more meaningful choice.

Also, I think the game would be better off with 10 people and 3 killers. 2 people make for a really small team.
 
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Grimgravy

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
Nevill I was always suspicious of you. You're performance in the first game and Alpha Centauri made me cautious. I Gave you the benefit of the doubt, and protected you the first night. When no one tried to off you and you lived again the second night, I figured you were a killer. I actually suspected Deuce Traveler as well. I would have voted to lynch him, but the others wanted to let Best do his work. Accusing him would have muddied the water, and I hoped Best would check the others and not waist time on me. If he did, and the killer got me, the killer would still have a chance. My one regret was not protecting hello friend the night he died. I immediately jumped to protect the stalker, but I almost, ALMOST, took the risk of protecting the only confirmed innocent. If I had, we would have had things locked up for sure.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Nevill has jumped the gun, so I guess I'll forego a fancy finale.

DOKTOR BEST and MR.PINK survive to return to an Internet connection.
They spend the next 72 hours catching up on pornography.

----------------------

THE KILLERS

Deuce Traveler and Nevill were selected for the killing role. I used random generator for roles, but had a mind to confirm Nevill for killer anyway; even if it was predictable it was interesting.

Congratulations! You are even more depraved and narcissistic than your average Codexer. Your deranged qualities, always latent in your save-scumming habits, have now led you to kill your fellow Codexers each night and devour their soft flesh.

THE DOCTOR
Grimgravy was the doctor, with the remarkable track record of failing to save a single Codexer. He tried to save Nevill on the first night, and then gently massaged Doktor Best's groin thereafter, even up to his own death.

Years of experience prematurely killing frogs has given you the confidence, if not the skills, to operate upon bleeding, half-eaten Codexers. You are an amateur doctor, and you may send me the name of the person other than yourself you wish to save each night. They will be prevented from death, if they had been targeted.



THE STALKER
Doktor Best was luckier as a stalker, actually identifying Nevill on the very first night. He then stalked hello friend, grimgravy, and finally, Mr. Pink.

20111012180816.jpg


It's always been love.

Why would he do that to you? You don't believe it. Someone else must have filed that restraining order. Tim wouldn't. No, not Tim. You know he would bake for you, walk in the woods with you, play Arcanum with you... if you could just, just tell him your feelings.

Oh, Tim. If you only knew where I am now. Stuck with some hobos in the middle of potato land, out of food.

I'll survive, Tim. And I'll use my powers of love to do so.

---

Felicitations! You are a registered stalker. You may reply to this PM each night, and tell me one person whose identity you would like to discover. You may do whatever you wish with this information.

On the first night, as he stalked Nevill:

As night falls, you cannot stop thinking about Tim. His round, curious eyes, his sexy mixed-colour beard, his rotund form that bespeaks his love of cooking. Oh, Tim. Why did you have to abandon me?

But just as you prepare to cuddle up into a foetal position, you notice movement in the dark cave. To be precise, the dim light from the outside is interrupted for just half a second. Someone has passed by the entrance - in? Or out?

Your stalker instincts will not let this lie. Immediately rising into a creeping stance, you professionally tiptoe past the many tangled legs and arms of the sleeping Codexers without arousing a soul. Peering outside, you are just quick enough to catch Nevill darting off into the woods. What is he doing? Despite yourself, you follow...

A few minutes later, you are in a dark clearing in the Polish woods, and see a disturbing sight. Two men - who are they? Their faces are masked by the dance of lights; the fire burns bright under the cauldron. The cauldron? Yes, a giant cauldron, bubbling hot, and there is something, there is.... an arm?

You can't stand it anymore. Muffling a gasp, you turn - and with great effort, avoid stumbling and spewing - and return to the cave as soon as possible. You huddle up, again in that foetal position, and take out your crumpled photo of Tim Cain at a local bakery. Someone had been killed tonight. And Nevill was there. But was he the killer, or the victim? You knew it had to be one or the other. And soon, in a few short hours, the Codexers would all awake, and the numbers will be counted....

(Nevill is a killer, you lucky bastard)

His third attempt, on Grimgravy:

Well, well.

You open your eyes, in the middle of the night. You are getting close, you can feel it. Tonight, you will investigate-

"Uh, what are you doing to my ballsack?"

Grimgravy looks up, looking as surprised by the question as the fact that you have awakened.

"Medical examination, of course. Did you know that balls are a delicacy in this country? Can't have it go missing in the night."

Grimgravy is the doctor. And as you two bicker on, you realise: in fact, this cave seems a lot less populated than it should be, even after the recent deaths...
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Regarding the rules:

First, the game became almost impossible to win for poor Deuce, once Doktor Best received unanimous faith and Nevill was offed. I continued because mathematically it was still possible for Deuce to win. I have seen it happen, where on the very last day, Deuce might convince Mr. Pink that Doktor Best is masquerading and is the real killer. This is, of course, much easier if the stalker has been killed. But the way it panned out in this game, it was unreasonable to really distrust Doktor Best. If Nevill had won his gambit and had the Doktor lynched, it would have turned out very differently.

Second, for future games we should keep fiddling with the rules little by little. I'm always in favour of more special roles or more interesting setups, because this stops the system from getting stale and also gives people more clues to work with / get confused with. Things that can work well:
  • A 'quirks' system where your role forces you to include some signature in your posting (E.g. a hitler-in-a-bunker theme where the killer Nazis must always insult the Jews in some way in every post)
  • A vigilante role who has no info and is on the innocents' side, and has 1 kill per game
  • A lone wolf who has kill per night like the killers, but is in it for himself. This is better than having 3 killers, which makes it too easy for them.
  • As Nevill says, the doctor having to change people they save each night is a good rule. It was my mistake to not instate it at the beginning.
Third, I can't believe nobody lynched Mr. Pink. I was very close to making him the second killer.

Nevill has jumped the gun, so I guess I'll forego a fancy finale.
Sorry. I figured when everyone spelled their roles out, the game was already over. :M

No worries, I agree with that.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Lastly, yes, people who posted played well, and Nevill v. Doktor was a good match-up. The killers also did get everything right up to that point.

Someone host the next one already. Duraframe300
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Quirks system is good.

We actually had a more complex system of roles on the forum.

The mafia was an organized crime group, a triad with a leader. If the leader got killed by a commissar or visited by a whore, they would skip a turn, and then a new one would be elected via chat. Also, the leader is the one who decides the victim if there is no agreement between the killers.

There were a commissar and a hobo among the innocents. A commissar could either investigate or shoot a person at night, but not both. A hobo could only investigate.

There was a whore who could paralyze night activities of a single person. She never learned their role, though.

And there was a maniac, aka 'lone wolf', whose goal was to kill everyone but himself.

It wasn't often when they were all present, though. The more people played, the more special roles were added. With 18 people it was something like 5 mafioso + maniac + doc + hobo + commissar + whore + 8 innocents. With 1 person lynched daily and 1-3 killed at night, the games went by fast and furious even despite a big headcount.

Maniac wins were usually the funniest.

3 killers among 10 people are hardly at an advantage. More chances for a detective to find them, and more chances to accidentally lynch one. Of course, if their colleagues want to intervene and save them, they'd have to reveal themselves a little. It all balances out.
 

Mr. Pink

Travelling Gourmand, Crab Specialist
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
3,042
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Good job, everyone. Very entertaining game. Wish I could have been more active, but the fucking holidays got in my way.
 

Doktor Best

Arcane
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
2,849
Nice sum up Nevill, would brofist if i could. Nice to see how things unfolded from your perspective.

Deuce Traveler Hehe, tempting offer ;) But i would have been at your mercy then, sorry. Games concluded now as it seems anyways.

@Tigrane Thanks for hosting the game, i really enjoyed your writing

Quirk system also sounds very interesting! If theres another round, i am up for it.
 

Duraframe300

Arcane
Joined
Dec 21, 2010
Messages
6,395
I'll start one tomorrow evening (~18 hours) if you people can wait that long.

I'll need ~9+people as well.
 

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