Welcome everyone to WW8! The role-play intro will follow in the next post, this post is for the dry facts. If you have any questions, please contact me privately at cherade9 dot zakalwe at gmail dot com.
Here are the things you need to know:
My role-play narrative will be posted in yellow, like this. The role-play is intended to entertain, and tie events into an internally consistent narrative. Do not take.my words as gospel or read too much into anything that I'm posting in yellow.
This is my gospel voice. If I want to draw your attention to something specific, for example to clarify a rule or notify you of some important change in the game-state, I will post in orange. Nobody else should post in orange. Everything I post using my gospel voice will be factually true and intended to be unambiguous. (So feel free to ask for clarification if it's not.)
Lynch votes should be posted in red (feel free to bold them as well). When a player receives half or more of the votes, he will be lynched. At this point, the day phase ends, and I will post a note to that effect ASAP. I will then post the lynch result as soon as I can sit down at a keyboard. Depending on the timing, you may need to wait a little while for the lynch results to be posted. I ask that you refrain from posting during this "twilight" time period, although you may talk at night, after the lynch results are posted.
Nights will last for at least 24 hours. When I post a lynch scene, I will also post a deadline for night actions that is at least 24 hours into the future. As noted, you may talk at night, if you wish.
Roles will be randomly assigned.
When a player dies, the player's role PM will be revealed.
You may not communicate about this game outside the game thread, unless your role PM explicitly allows it.
You may not edit posts in the game thread.
You may not quote any game-related private communication from me. You may paraphrase it very loosely, in your own words.
Forum related meta comments (i.e. information acquired by profile camping, “green dot” observation) are strictly banned.
Dead players may make one posthumous post that doesn't contribute to discussion.
Although the lurker thread will be kept spoiler-free, you may not read it until you are dead or the game is over.
If you do not post anything in the game thread for 96 hours, you will be [strike]mod-killed[/strike] consumed by a space crystal.
If you break the rules, you may be mod-killed thrown into the total perspective vortex. Since this is my game, I'm the only one who would survive that unscathed.
If someone gets mod-killed gobbled up by a sarlacc, the day will continue if the player is SCUM, or end if the player is innocent. (Rationale: there should be no incentive for anyone to deliberately get mod-killed.)
Vanilla role PM:
Quote:<Name>, you are a regular nutcase, but NOT afflicted with SCUM. You are an innocent pilot, and want to root out the SCUM so you can repair the spacetime portal and get out of here. (Or at least, bring in some fresh beverages.)
You may cast a lynch vote every day. You have no other special abilities. You win the game if/when all remaining players are innocent, like yourself.
Player list:
Rowain
Novice
Serdoa
Catwalk
Lewwyn
Uberfish
Injera
Sareln
Bobchillingworth
Erebus
Winston Hughes
The game is over. If you want to read along from the perspective of an innocent player, don't open the following spoiler tags.
Roles revealed so far:
Winston Hughes, innocent, lynched on day 1:
Quote:Winston Hughes, you are a regular nutcase, but NOT afflicted with SCUM. You are an innocent pilot, and want to root out the SCUM so you can repair the spacetime portal and get out of here. (Or at least, bring in some fresh beverages.)
In the past, you've participated in your fair share of pub brawls, and you believe you can hold your own in a fist fight.
You may cast a lynch vote every day. You win the game if/when all remaining players are innocent, like yourself.
You also have the following one-shot day-time ability (can only be used during the DAY phase):
- Punch: Invoke this ability by posting Punch: <Name> in yellow and bold. The player you target will feel your right hook and become wounded. If he is already wounded, he will die and the day will end. You may only use this ability once.
Important note about day-time abilities: If a lynch has been reached, you may no longer invoke any day-time abilities, even if the lynch results have not been posted yet. Please make sure to double check that no lynch has been reached before invoking a day-time ability.
Injera, innocent, killed on night 1:
Quote:Injera, you are a regular nutcase, but NOT afflicted with SCUM. You are an innocent pilot, and want to root out the SCUM so you can repair the spacetime portal and get out of here. (Or at least, bring in some fresh beverages.)
You were always a hopeless romantic. Ever since you watched Top Gun as a kid, you've been trying to get lucky by getting boozed up and belting out "you've lost that loving feeling" to girls approximately twice as tall as yourself.
You may cast a lynch vote every day. You win the game if/when all remaining players are innocent, like yourself.
You also have the following one-shot night-time ability:
- Serenade: Invoke this ability during the night by sending me a message with the words Serenade: <Name> (or something equivalent but more verbose, if you prefer). You will spend the night loudly serenading the targeted player, getting increasingly drunk outside his cabin. This will confirm your whereabouts that night to the player in question, so he will know you went nowhere else (and be informed of this via PM from me). Of course, you will never know if he's been listening to your endearing endeavor all night long or taking the opportunity to slip out the back. You may only use this ability once (you can only take rejection every so often).
Bobchillingworth, innocent, lynched on day 2:
Quote:Bobchillingworth, you are a regular nutcase, but NOT afflicted with SCUM. You are an innocent pilot, and want to root out the SCUM so you can repair the spacetime portal and get out of here. (Or at least, bring in some fresh beverages.)
As your friends (if you had any) could attest, you like to drink. In fact, you find it hard to stop. Luckily, your body sometimes makes the call for you.
You may cast a lynch vote every day. You win the game if/when all remaining players are innocent, like yourself.
You also have the following one-shot day-time ability (can only be used during the DAY phase):
- Pass out: Invoke this ability by posting Pass out in yellow and bold. Once you post this, you must stop posting for the remainder of the day, and for all of the following night. This also means you cannot change your lynch vote after passing out. You are allowed to cast the deciding vote in a lynch and immediately pass out, by voting in the same post where you pass out. In the narrative, this action will be reflected as you passing out and snoring loudly until the next morning. On the next morning (if you are still alive), it will be publicly confirmed that you performed no night action.
Important note about day-time abilities: If a lynch has been reached, you may no longer invoke any day-time abilities, even if the lynch results have not been posted yet. Please make sure to double check that no lynch has been reached before invoking a day-time ability.
Serdoa, innocent, killed on night 2:
Quote:Serdoa, you are a regular nutcase, but NOT afflicted with SCUM. You are an innocent pilot, and want to root out the SCUM so you can repair the spacetime portal and get out of here. (Or at least, bring in some fresh beverages.)
Before you came to the Space Bar, you made a pit stop at the Kille Mall near Vega. One of the toys you acquired was a second-hand combat armor with motion enhancer fields. You admit that the main purpose of this purchase was to improve your mojo and become the undisputed king of the dance floor, but it might also be of use in close combat, fighting off rabid SCUM.
You may cast a lynch vote every day. You win the game if/when all remaining players are innocent, like yourself.
You also have the following one-shot night-time ability:
- Guard: Invoke this ability during the night by sending me a message with the words Guard: <Name> (or something equivalent but more verbose, if you prefer). You will keep an eye on the player in question and interfere, clad in [strike]shining[/strike] sweat-stained armor, if anyone tries to attack him during the night. If such an attack is made, you will chase off the attacker and prevent the kill, but you will suffer a wound in the process. As a wounded player, you will keep playing, but you will die if you suffer an additional wound. You cannot guard yourself, as you need the element of surprise to be effective. Also, you cannot guard anyone if you already are wounded; you don't have the stamina for that. You may only use this ability once.
Rowain, innocent, lynched on day 3:
Quote:Rowain, you are a regular nutcase, but NOT afflicted with SCUM. You are an innocent pilot, and want to root out the SCUM so you can repair the spacetime portal and get out of here. (Or at least, bring in some fresh beverages.)
In the past, you've participated in your fair share of pub brawls. Along the way, you have become well versed in the art of patching up the remains of your crew.
You may cast a lynch vote every day. You win the game if/when all remaining players are innocent, like yourself.
You also have the following one-shot day-time ability (can only be used during the DAY phase):
- Heal: Invoke this ability by posting Heal: <Name> in yellow and bold. Use this to heal any player (including yourself) that has become wounded, for whatever reason. Wounded players are vulnerable, as a second wound will kill them. The player you target with this action will be healed instantly, courtesy of your medical skills, and revert to his normal, healthy state. You may only use this ability once, as you only have limited medical supplies.
Important note about day-time abilities: If a lynch has been reached, you may no longer invoke any day-time abilities, even if the lynch results have not been posted yet. Please make sure to double check that no lynch has been reached before invoking a day-time ability.
Sareln, innocent, killed on night 3:
Quote:Sareln, you are a regular nutcase, but NOT afflicted with SCUM. You are an innocent pilot, and want to root out the SCUM so you can repair the spacetime portal and get out of here. (Or at least, bring in some fresh beverages.)
In the past, you've participated in your fair share of pub brawls, and you've picked up some [strike]dirty[/strike] pragmatic tricks along the way.
You may cast a lynch vote every day. You win the game if/when all remaining players are innocent, like yourself.
You also have the following one-shot day-time ability (can only be used during the DAY phase):
- Kick: Invoke this ability by posting Kick: <Name> in yellow and bold. The player you target will receive a vicious kick in the nuts and become wounded. If he is already wounded, he will die and the day will end. You may only use this ability once.
Important note about day-time abilities: If a lynch has been reached, you may no longer invoke any day-time abilities, even if the lynch results have not been posted yet. Please make sure to double check that no lynch has been reached before invoking a day-time ability.
Catwalk, innocent, killed on day 4:
Quote:Catwalk, you are a regular nutcase, but NOT afflicted with SCUM. You are an innocent pilot, and want to root out the SCUM so you can repair the spacetime portal and get out of here. (Or at least, bring in some fresh beverages.)
Before you came to the Space Bar, you made a pit stop at the Kille Mall near Vega. One of the items you purchased was an autonomic defensive drone. Unfortunately, its force fields interfere with your own [strike]penile[/strike] combat implants, so you cannot deploy it in your own defense. You could tell it to go protect someone else, though. Of course, you got it second-hand, and it does have some combat scars already, so you don't know how effective it would be. And it probably won't survive more than one more engagement. At any rate, it's probably worth a shot, but you wouldn't want to waste it on protecting some weakling.
You may cast a lynch vote every day. You win the game if/when all remaining players are innocent, like yourself.
You also have the following one-shot night-time ability:
- Protect: Invoke this ability during the night by sending me a message with the words Protect: <Name> (or something equivalent but more verbose, if you prefer). The player you target will be partially protected by your defensive drone against night-time attacks. If someone attempts to kill the player, he will not die, but instead become wounded. A wounded player keeps playing, but will die if he suffers an additional wound. You may not choose to protect a player who is already wounded. You may only use this ability once.
The journey through a wormhole has always carried a certain risk. Occasionally, a molecule will fail to unfold in the correct manner, or an electron will resurface with the wrong spin. Machines can be built to tolerate such inconsistencies; but for the organic vessels of the human mind, these effects are more precarious. Coupled with the traumatic disconnection from the rest of reality, and the peculiar effects on human perception that arise when the laws of space and time are openly mocked, most people exit from a spacetime portal as another person, quite literally.
Usually people can recover from these effects by going on a solid drinking binge, or by undergoing other more or less equivalent psychological treatments. But there is a minority who can never fully recover from the mental trauma, who have irrevocably entered unpredictable mind-states. Some are obsessively wondering if they remembered to turn off the gas back home, knowing full well that by the time they can ever return to find out, their apartment may well be inhabited by an altogether new species (evolved, perhaps, to enjoy the atmosphere). Some take up live action role-playing or cricket, claiming it's a world sport. Others acquire more severe personality disorders and become outright psychopaths. Collectively, these symptoms are known as the Spacetime Cognitive Unsettlement Malady. The term describing the symptoms is also used informally in reference to the people afflicted with them. You never know what to expect from SCUM, but if you want to leave the conventional space lanes and travel to the realms beyond, you must be prepared to encounter them.
As you may know, the western exit of wormhole #8 is famed for its Space Bar, where eccentric travelers from all corners of the galaxy meet to exchange stories and bodily fluids. Telling the SCUM from the ordinary nutcases can be particularly difficult in this environment. This was also the scene of a particularly nasty SCUM incident very recently. Like most of the early portals, WW8 is powered by a local neutron star, and on this fateful day, there was a starquake: a sudden release of pent-up stress in the rapidly spinning star's inflexible crust. The resulting and unexpected increase in angular momentum triggered a corresponding spike in power output, which overloaded the wormhole stabilizers. The failover energy sinks also failed to compensate, as they were out of order; apparently, some of the recently arrived maintenance crew were afflicted with SCUM. All spare parts (and some that strictly speaking couldn't be spared) had been appropriated to construct a giant space fair, featuring an asteroid-sized Ferris wheel. When the power surge hit, the Ferris wheel set a new speed record, but that was of little consolation to the thousands of spacefarers who disintegrated along with their ships as the wormhole lost stability and its radius dwindled to zero.
Only a few of the very smallest single-pilot ships escaped, propelled by a spacetime shock-wave like wind-surfers ejected from a tornado. Gathering along with the other survivors in the Space Bar for some much-needed post-traumatic stress treatment, they quickly realized that the situation was dire. They had to root out the SCUM before they stood any chance of repairing the spacetime portal and regaining contact with the rest of the uncivilized world. What's more, they were almost out of ice.
