Gnosia: Werewolf the Single Player RPG

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gnosia Loop 1


Gnosia is a Japanese adventure game or "visual novel" based on everyone's favorite social game Werewolf.  Shapeshifting aliens called Gnosia are murdering humans aboard a spaceship, and it's your job to warn the crew about who's suspicious.  Or lie to them if you happen to be scum.


One difference between Gnosia and Werewolf is that you level up and can distribute stat points.  An explanation according to the character creation menu:


Charisma-"Increases the influential power of your comments, making others more likely to agree and follow your lead".

Intuition-"Allows you to pick up on other people's lies and suspicious behavior".

Logic-"Makes it easier for you to convince others that you're right".

Charm-"Makes you more amicable, and thus less likely to be selected for cold sleep".

Performance-"Makes you a better liar, and helps you to more efficiently get your point across".

Stealth-"Makes it harder for others to pick up on your malicious intent, and makes the Gnosia less likely to target you".


I wanted the wolfiest character possible, so I made a man named JACOB with the Black symbol, and put all 5 starting points into Performance.  WAGNER was another potential choice:  Wagner the Werewolf is unintentionally funny if you can tolerate florid prose.


The backstory scrolled too quickly for me to catch, but I took some photos on Switch to look at it.  "Cold sleep" is the preferred method of getting rid of Gnosia to avoid unnecessary casualties from "military suppression".  "Schrimpf transfer" is the equivalent of warp speed, and can't be used without containing all Gnosia, or else the ship will self-destruct to prevent them from spreading to other star systems.


A woman named Setsu awakened JACOB.  He told her "I don't get it" when asked about the briefing.  He was suffering from amnesia like all good RPG characters as an excuse for a tutorial.  Setsu asked him a question that would have outed her as Gnosia immediately if it weren't so blunt:  "JACOB.  Do you believe that mankind should be wiped out from the universe?" 


You're thinking "WHO WOULD SAY YES?", but I've seen questions that bad on job applications.  Some employers will ask if you think stealing from their store is acceptable.  When JACOB said "I don't think so", Setsu warned him that one of the next three people he would meet was Gnosia.


Raqio believed JACOB was a Gnosia pretending to be an amnesiac.  "Hah, you tried your best to pose as human, but to no avail".  Setsu defended JACOB by saying "Amnesia at a time like this is too suspicious, and brings unwanted attention.  Do you really think a predator would try something like that?"  No known Gnosia had tried the amnesia bluff either.


Gina agreed with Setsu, but SQ had the most questionable dialogue yet:  "Uh-oh, hey-we're outta time!  Well, we have like, no idea who the Gnosia are anyway.  Let's just hurry up and get the voting done!"  JACOB voted for SQ due to her evasive speech, Raqio voted for JACOB, and everyone else sent Raqio to Cold Sleep.


Raqio's response to being sent to Cold Sleep:  "Once the warp has finished, the Gnosia will have killed someone, and you'll realize I was innocent.  You're basically giving the Gnosia carte blanche".  SQ retorted in her usual Valley Girl manner:  "OMG Raqio, you're like, such a whiner.  Let's just hurry up and start the freeze".


LeVi the ship's AI instructed JACOB about the equivalent of the Night phase.  Passengers are rendered unconscious during warp speed transit for their safety:  the perfect time for the Gnosia to commit murder.  SQ forced herself into JACOB's room and tried to flirt with him by alluding to "that night". 


Logic has another use besides what the character creation screen tells you:  it lets you view more of the Backlog.  JACOB couldn't remember anything before the start of the SQ conversation.


SQ commented on how nice Setsu was to JACOB, then suggested "OH-EM-GEE. . .What if Setsu was like, totally Gnosia?"  SQ wanted to spend the night with JACOB, and probably not to ogle his abs.  LeVi saved his life with some space protocol:  "Anti-Gnosia procedures do not allow that.  SQ, please return to your room".


Setsu realized on Day 2 that Raqio was innocent, and Gina had been killed on Night 1.  Gina wasn't just dead, but "erased from this universe".  The only suspects were Setsu and SQ.  


What followed was a basic conversation system with Doubt and Cover options.  JACOB used most of his 5 turns to Doubt SQ, and Setsu eagerly agreed.  SQ's only attempt at an alibi was "Um, excuse me?  But Setsu is so quiet and like, super sketch?"


After SQ was sentenced to Cold Sleep, she confessed her identity:  "Whaaaaat. . .I totally thought that was gonna work!"  Setsu handed JACOB a Data Reference so he could look at crew data and comment logs.  JACOB earned 385 EXP for winning Loop 1, only to be sent to Loop 2 for a new iteration of Gnosia. . .


It's likely that SQ is the culprit in Loop 1 every time, since she's the character on the cover.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gnosia Loop 2


JACOB woke up and checked the Data Reference.  It seemed as though Loop 1 was a dream, since SQ was his official Friend, and accusing her of lying when she said "Okaaay, but I'm like, totally not Gnosia, or whatever" prompted the message "The loop has turned back time.  Because of this, the 'Crew Member' and 'Gnosia' roles have changed".


Instead of accusing JACOB immediately as they* did last time, Raqio was more reasonable:  "JACOB, I assume you have evidence to back this up?"  "Sure, SQ does look like a liar.  But accusing her of being Gnosia just for that is going a bit far".


Setsu asked if there was anyone who didn't leave the ship last time it docked, and realized that no one fit that criterion.  Gina asked if everyone except for her could be Gnosia.  Setsu said the ship detected only one Gnosia this time.  Setsu outlined the usual procedures, but Raqio thought "This is lame. . .Do we have no better way to handle this".  Setsu speculated that anyone who would change the procedure was a Gnosia setting a trap.  The voting was a compromise to ensure that LeVi didn't just kill everyone on the ship outright.


Raqio was worried about being ruled by machines:  "So whether we live or die is left up to an AI?  Well this is certainly cause for concern".  SQ replied "So like, we just need to vote for whoever's like, sketchiest, then?  Okaaay!"  Raqio was unenthusiastic, but agreed to the vote.


SQ asked "So like, what exactly *IS* Gnosia, anyways?"  Setsu answered that they were humans infected by the alien Gnos.  Raqio thought Gnos was an "unknown intelligent lifeform", or maybe a "god from another dimension".  Raqio accused SQ for her purported lack of basic Gnosia knowledge. 


JACOB came to SQ's defense, as he needed every ally he could find.  Setsu was also suspicious of SQ, and asked if she was trying to split the crew up.  SQ's accusation was "OK, here's my take!  Raqio is totally sketch!"  Gina agreed with Raqio. 


JACOB voted for Raqio, but the other crew members split the vote between Setsu and SQ.  Gina said "Setsu. . .Yes, Setsu.  Something certainly feels strange".  Raqio disagreed:  "You just don't get it, do you?  This whole trend of casting doubt on Setsu is clearly some kind of ploy".  Setsu was sentenced to Cold Sleep in the runoff election.


Before having to go to bed for Night 1, JACOB took a tour of the ship.  LeVi asked what his favorite indoor game was, and was outraged at his choice:  "Oh my, how shameless!  This is a clean and proper interstellar vessel.  But. . .th-three. . .THREE-DEE CHESS?  Even just saying it out loud is obscene!"**  LeVi refused to give JACOB his favorite meal of steak, saying it was a "controlled substance".***


In the EVA preparation room, JACOB met Gina.  When Gina asked "Who's there. . .?", JACOB clicked "state your name" instead of "Gnosia".  Gina had her first significant character development when she expressed her worries about the Gnosia corrupting humanity.  LeVi implied that the Gnosia did much worse than kill their victims:  "There are many cases that even I, as an AI, wish that I could erase from the records in my memory. . ."


JACOB said that he was scared as well, and Gina promised to reveal what information she had learned tomorrow.  During Night 1, the Gnosia murdered SQ.  Gina mourned for SQ the next morning and said she was the Engineer, probably this game's equivalent of the Seer.  Gina decided to "examine Raqio's dimensional waves", and the signal said they were Gnosia.


LeVi couldn't confirm that Gina was the Engineer since the records were corrupted.  Raqio said "I don't have a single reason to trust Gina, personally", but JACOB accused them and voted them into Cold Sleep.  Their final speech:  "So I'm gone, then, hm?  You're all beyond salvation.  Like a bunch of lemmings.  But that's fine with me.  I don't care.  I'll accept my death sentence.  In fact, I welcome it".


Gina said she was happy that JACOB trusted her and believed her when she said she was the Engineer.  But just before the end of Loop 2, there was an odd flash around Gina.  She was the Gnosia!  Setsu was the true Engineer.


This game randomizes the roles and crew members, but I didn't think it would set the "fake Engineer" trap this early!  Even losing gives you EXP, though not as much as victory.
   


*Raqio's gender is N/A, and the player is referred to as "they" in the script regardless of gender.

**Isn't 3D Chess a staple of every spacefaring science fiction show?

***Sadly, there was no option for "bananas" for a Final Fantasy Legend 2 contraband reference.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gnosia Loop 3


Let's try to write this post again!  Two new crew members joined in Loop 3:  Shigemichi the Gray alien and Stella the woman of Unknown origin.  This was to compensate for the two Gnosia attacking the ship.  Raqio pointed the finger at Shigemichi right away, and Shigemichi gave the funniest response in the game:  "Hey, man. . .!  Raqio, what the hell?!  Do I look like an alien to you?!"  JACOB's reply?  "You stated that he clearly looks like an alien".


Shigemichi said "C'mon, bud. . .Don't judge a book by its cover, ya know?  This is just. . .well, I got reasons for lookin' like this, OK?"  SQ was startled by this revelation:  "Wait whaaaaat?  So you're like, NOT an alien. . .?  That's actually like, weirdly unfortunate".  Gina and Setsu agreed that he was "unfortunate", but didn't accuse him of being Gnosia.


Setsu asked the Engineer to come forward before the vote.  No one did.  Shigemichi was JACOB's Detractor, but JACOB waited out the conversation to get more clues.  SQ claimed Raqio was a Gnosia.  Setsu made her stock comment of SQ trying to split up the group.  Stella and Gina thought they shouldn't doubt Raqio.  Shigemichi accused Raqio of looking "kinda alien-y" even if they weren't Gnosia.


SQ proposed an alliance with Stella:  "OMG Stella, let's like, totally team up and like, survive?  'Kay. . .?"  Stella was too afraid to agree.  Gina thought Stella was suspicious, while Setsu supported her.  JACOB voted for Stella and she was put into Cold Sleep. 


A new option available in Loop 3 was to visit one room on the ship before the Night phase.  JACOB picked the Cold Sleep Room in case he could learn anything from Shigemichi.  "Ya know, just lookin' atcha kind of pisses me off.  Maybe there's just something wrong with me".


Setsu was the first victim.  On Day 2, Gina and Raqio wanted Shigemichi to be frozen.  SQ suddenly announced she was the Engineer:  "OK you guys, I'm gonna put in my bid for Engineer!  I mean, I did figure out that Raqio was like, Gnosia, right?"  Raqio claimed the same position afterwards.  "Hm. . .So SQ isn't human.  It's simple.  I know this because I'm the only true Engineer here".  That meant one of them was Gnosia.*


In the next round, Raqio was sent to Cold Sleep, but SQ and Shigemichi each got one vote.  JACOB tried to visit SQ in Main Control, but she was killed before she could say anything.  Shigemichi thought "Gina's lookin' pretty strange" on Day 3.  Gina had been too friendly with Raqio in accusing Shigemichi on Day 2:  "Shigemichi. . .Yes, Shigemichi.  Something certainly feels strange".  So JACOB voted for her and won Loop 3!  Shigemichi was happy at the chance for "some peace".


Gina and Raqio were Gnosia.  SQ told the truth about being the Engineer.  Wouldn't want to be on any ship that she was maintaining!  Setsu, Stella, and Shigemichi were ordinary Crew.


Loop 4 will give JACOB a new role, though what it is will have to wait until another day. . .


*Has there ever been a game of Werewolf where the wolves accused each other to throw the villagers off?

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gnosia Loop 4


Loops 4-6 occurred in the same playing session, but I'll split them up into multiple posts.  JACOB was the Engineer in Loop 4, and explained the role to Shigemichi, who was eating soup.  Shigemichi shot his ray gun at the soup and realized he couldn't eat the rest of it because it had "1.5% salt content".


SQ said we were late, and Raqio insisted that the Engineer should reveal their identity immediately.  Setsu believed that if the Engineer would soon become a victim.  SQ outed herself as scum when she said "I'm actually kinda surprised myself, but I'm like, the Engineer.  Look out, Gnosia, I'm gonna find ya!"


Stella prompted JACOB to say he was the true Engineer.  As if Raqio weren't dodgy enough, they supported SQ along with Setsu.  When she was Doubted, SQ said "JACOB, why're you so, like abrasive?  Yeeaah, that's like, super sketch"?  Raqio was sent to Cold Sleep.


Stella proclaimed her love for JACOB at the end of Day 1, and believed he was the Engineer.  She speculated "They will likely sacrifice one of their own to be rid of the true Engineer.  Chances are high that this is exactly what the Gnosia will do". 


One surprise occurred on Night 1:  nobody died!  Gina wondered on Day 2 why this was the case.  Stella said it was the Guardian Angel, who could protect one crew member by delaying warp speed travel to throw the Gnosia's timing off. 


SQ said "I checked out Setsu!  Big ol 'nope' for Gnosia!  Setsu is like, totally clear!"  Setsu pretended to show concern by saying "Let's avoid trying to figure out the Guardian Angel's identity.'  Gina accused JACOB of talking too much , and SQ added "JACOB is just like, way off the sketch charts".  Gina tried to cast doubt on Stella, but JACOB defended her.


JACOB voted for SQ, but it was Stella who was sent to Cold Sleep on Day 2.  Gina died on Night 2, and JACOB's investigation revealed she was human. 


Suspicions of Setsu were confirmed in the ending for Loop 4.  "Another win for us Gnosia. . .Hehe, that's kinda rare, me winning over JACOB like this.  Some info, only Gnosia can find out, or are only found out by winning.  That's why I try to win as much as possible.  But yeah. . .I want to hurry up and loop.  As long as I'm infected, I can't get away from this.  From this urge to eliminate humans, I mean".


Setsu's right eye glowed red, and the skin surrounding it darkened.


SQ and Setsu were Gnosia, Stella was the Guardian Angel as was readily apparent, and everyone else except JACOB was crew.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gnosia Loop 5


A new crew member, the dark-haired girl named Yuriko, started out hostile to JACOB.  "JACOB. . .Go and be frozen".  Stella was astonished, and told Yuriko "Please do not make any rash decisions. . .".  Yuriko replied "If we have no idea whom the enemy is, then anyone will do, right?  I see no problem with freezing JACOB".


Gina thought Raqio was up to no good, and Raqio didn't think Yuriko was Gnosia.  Setsu defended Yuriko, prompting JACOB to Doubt her.  Yuriko became a hypocrite regarding her earlier accusation:  "Would Setsu be your sacrificial lamb?  Even if Setsu bears no burden of sin?"


Raqio gave their most hostile statement yet:  "JACOB, you're casting the discussion into confusion.  Hmph. . .I'll rephrase it in a way even you can understand.  JACOB, you're annoying.  Shut up".  Yuriko agreed:  "Without JACOB, it would certainly be more quiet".


Setsu thought Stella was suspicious, and JACOB defended her.  SQ started the vote thus:  "OK, let's see who's going to the fridge!"  JACOB voted for Yuriko, but it was Stella who went into the fridge.


Yuriko invited JACOB to a conversation and revealed why he was never sent to Cold Sleep:  "This is because everyone's awareness of your very existence has been distorted.  Interference by the insane gods themselves.  Hehe. . .I shall correct that distortion for you".


A text box then said:  "From now on, just as all the other characters in this play, you too, shall be susceptible to suspicion-and cold sleep.  You shall also be open to Gnosia attack".  


Yuriko now told JACOB:  "Now, you stand on equal ground as all the rest. . .Possibly even. . .lower ground". 


JACOB still had one advantage over other characters, since he gained the ability to level up in his Room.  He put 5 points into Charisma and 4 points into Charm to increase his sway over the crew and to reduce his chance of being voted out.  It wasn't enough to save him.  Setsu's ominous last words before Night 1 were "I don't think I'm going to be able to work with you this time, JACOB.  It's unfortunate, but that's just how it is".


JACOB was murdered on Night 1, and yes, Setsu and Yuriko were Gnosia.  Raqio of all people was the Guardian Angel, and Stella was the Engineer.


Loop 6 will probably be posted tomorrow morning as that was a longer round.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gnosia Loop 6


Got a literal Blue Screen of Death the first time I tried to type this post, so let's try again!


JACOB started Loop 6 by asking where Yuriko was.  Gina didn't know Yuriko, and Setsu responded that no one on "this ship" was named Yuriko.  Perhaps Gina isn't aware of the Loops yet?


Raqio was as rude as ever:  "JACOB seems pretty suspicious, right?  Just sort of too pathetic to be an actual human".  Will there be any Loop where Raqio is a Friend?  Shigemichi doubted JACOB too, but Stella and Gina trusted him.  SQ defended Raqio when JACOB doubted him. 


JACOB found out that either Shigemichi or SQ were Gnosia when both announced they were the Engineer on Day 1.  SQ naturally thought Shigemichi was Gnosia, while Raqio thought doubting him was "some kind of ploy".  Shigemichi was sent to Cold Sleep in a runoff vote between him and Raqio.


Setsu spoke privately with JACOB before Night 1.  "You haven't gone through very many loops yet, right?"  She warned him not to "stand out" by talking too much, or protesting frequently when doubted.  A text box appeared saying that the Stealth stat would help in this situation.  JACOB acquired the Step Forward skill because he had 10 Charisma, so he could convince someone to announce their role.


Raqio's final words before dying on Night 1 were "I really feel the vastness of the universe now.  To think that someone as unpleasant as you could exist here. . ."  Rather similar to the way Louis XIV felt about me when I used to play Civilization IV!  (Never was any good at that game. . .)


JACOB requested that everyone state their roles.  SQ must have been the real Engineer:  "Here comes your daily SQ report!  I checked out JACOB!  Big ol 'nope' for Gnosia!  JACOB is like, totally clear!"  But both SQ and Stella thought Setsu was up to no good, so JACOB defended her.  Setsu gave too much advice this Loop to be an enemy.


Gina attacked JACOB:  "I retract my previous statement.  I just can't trust JACOB".  Stella thought Gina was dodgy because of that line.  Setsu reasoned that since Raqio was killed, and they were Stella's enemy, then Stella was probably Gnosia.  JACOB then doubted Stella, and so did Gina.  SQ was Stella's only defender, and Stella was sent to the fridge.


SQ was killed on Night 2.  Day 3 came down to a pointless argument between Gina and Setsu, and since JACOB was the deciding vote, Gina was eliminated and the humans were victorious.


"We humans have won, fulfilling conditions for completion.  That's it for this loop.  But, JACOB. . .You've gotten a lot better at handling yourself in discussion.  I just hope I don't hold you back, JACOB.  Hehe, just joking.  Huh?  That. . .wasn't funny?  Uh, sorry. . .I'll try harder".  So said Setsu.


Gina and Shigemichi were Gnosia, and Raqio returned as the Guardian Angel.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gnosia Loop 7


This iteration began with an image of a dark cat, with ??? asking JACOB "Do you like cats?"  Not wishing to offend some cat god, JACOB said Yes.  The picture zoomed out to reveal a man named Chipie who was holding the cat.  A girl with tattooed arms named Comet was beside him.


Chipie became suspicious quickly when he said he wanted to sleep rather than report for the Gnosia debate in the Control Room.  He thought Setsu was always "really serious".  Chipie asked Comet if she liked cats, and she said she had never seen one because they were a "luxury" on her home planet.  She had a strange thing to say next:  "I've heard you can pull a cat's tail and make them fly, right?"


Comet thought it would be easy to knock out the Gnosia because "So we just have to weed out whoever's lying, right?"  Raqio replied "Haha, it'd be amusing if you turned out to be the liar, Comet", but more as a joke than an accusation.  Shigemichi was offended:  "Raqio!  C'mon bud!  That right there, that's exactly what your problem is!"


JACOB sat out most of the Day 1 debate with the Wait & See option, since he didn't want to draw unwanted attention, and he didn't have much information anyway.  Setsu asked for the Engineer to come forward, and of course both Shigemichi and SQ claimed the role.  Chipie said "You don't look so hot, SQ.  Something botherin' ya?"  Shigemichi also thought SQ was strange.  Setsu supported SQ, and Comet wanted to "take it easy" rather than doubt SQ.  SQ accused Raqio, and Setsu agreed:  "So you want to get rid of Raqio ASAP, huh?"  Gina trusted Raqio and distrusted SQ.  Raqio said "So I see I wasn't the only one suspecting SQ.  You're starting to come around, I guess".


Raqio was sent to Cold Sleep even though JACOB voted for SQ.  Comet asked JACOB if he was Gnosia, which seemed like a really stupid question until a text box appeared saying Comet had "extremely high Intuition, and can spot lies easily".  Does this apply across Loops?  Comet thought JACOB was a bad liar, "like Shigemichi and Gina".


JACOB returned to his Room and put one point into Charm and Stealth.  He wanted to find out more information from Comet, so he visited her.  She said "Yeeaah, you should be careful, JACOB.  The trap has been set.  You're gonna die".


But Stella was the victim on Night 1.  JACOB used his Charisma to ask the other roles to step forward.  SQ was the true Engineer when she said JACOB was human.  JACOB somehow figured out Shigemichi was Gnosia when the screen glowed like a negative photo when he accused Gina.  JACOB promptly clicked the Doubt option, and the whole crew seemed to be against Shigemichi except for Chipie.


Setsu asked if there was evidence that Shigemichi was deceitful, and Comet said "It's just intuition, really".  Shigemichi was sent to Cold Sleep on Day 2 with 4 votes, and Setsu, Gina, and SQ each received 1.  Comet was murdered on Night 2.  SQ performed an autopsy on Comet that said she was human.  Since both SQ and Comet thought Gina was lying, JACOB voted for her over Chipie.  Despite much advice in that direction, JACOB should've picked Chipie as soon as he heard about his desire to sleep in.


"Last night, after being attacked by the Gnosia, JACOB disappeared".


Chipie and Shigemichi were Gnosia, SQ was the Engineer, and Stella was the Guardian Angel.  At least JACOB got enough EXP for one more skill point! 


The next Loopwould promise to be the most interesting yet, and didn't start with the Loop # as usual.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gnosia Loop 8


"Haha!  Idiot humans.  Let's burn through all of them one by one".  The only time Raqio is on JACOB's side is when they're both scum!  And even then, Raqio doesn't like JACOB much:  "Listen, JACOB.  Don't do anything stupid and get in my way.  If need be, I will absolutely throw you under the bus.  So you'd do best to just keep quiet and let me do my thing, OK?  I don't trust anyone.  Human or Gnosia".


At last the Loop 8 screen displayed.  Stella said both an Engineer and Guardian Angel were here.  Raqio claimed to be the "Engineer", and Setsu revealed herself as the real Engineer:  "Raqio is an enemy.  To me, the only Engineer here, at least".  JACOB used Doubt on Setsu, and her usual remark "So, I guess I'm in the way, huh?" was more appropriate than ever.  Shigemichi and Gina both supported Setsu.


Stella was suspicious of Chipie since his "behavior feels very unnatural".  JACOB agreed since Chipie was now an easy sacrifice.  SQ wanted to team up with Setsu, but Setsu refused as always.  Comet thought Chipie was "fishy" because of his eyes.  It came down to a runoff between Chipie and Comet, and JACOB voted for Comet to get rid of her Intuition.


JACOB had enough experience for 1 more Stealth point.  The screen turned into black and white swirls of light and darkness that looked like storms on Jupiter.  Raqio appeared as sort of a negative image with bright green hair and elbows and blue skin.  Raqio explained Gnosia powers thus:  "Pan-possibility calculation is used to warp, right?  As 'terminals', you and I are automatically connected to Gnos".


Raqio asked "Which pitiful human will be the next one to be erased from this universe?"  JACOB was going to pick Setsu, but Raqio was more clever than the player.*  Keeping the true Engineer around would prevent Raqio from being revealed as Gnosia.  Since everyone else seemed to hate Chipie, that was the obvious target for JACOB to select.


"Chipie should actually be thanking us.  Kindly putting an end to such a worthless life like that".  As soon as JACOB touched Chipie with his fingertip, "Chipie's skin starts to swell up, then peel back. . .And then, with a snap. . .Like a bubble popping, everything disappeared".


JACOB requested role reports on Day 2, and Raqio said that Stella wasn't Gnosia, but "Stella is suspicious anyway, you think about it".  Why did you add that last line, Raqio?!  Setsu revealed that Shigemichi wasn't Gnosia.  Everyone except Raqio seemed to have it in for JACOB now, in spite of his accusation against Shigemichi.  Setsu proposed to freeze JACOB:  "Even if JACOB is on our side, I feel it's too dangerous".


JACOB became a popsicle with only 2 votes total, and the rest were split among Setsu, Gina, SQ, Raqio, and Shigemichi.  Raqio was disappointed too.  Gina was the Guardian Angel in the post-match screen.


In Loop 9, JACOB would go back to being Crew again, but that round hasn't been played yet.


*I'd be worse at the Werewolf party game, especially the in-person version.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gnosia Loop 9


The twist in Loop 9 didn't come with JACOB.  Chipie started the conversation with "Like, do we really *have to* eliminate the Gnosia?  They do act like humans, so couldn't we make a deal with them?"  Shigemichi replied "Yeah, that's a good point".  Chipie was optimistic:  "Maybe if we asked them not to get rid of us, they might actually listen. . .?"  Raqio doubted it, saying that they'd never heard of someone making a deal with Gnosia or Gnos.


Chipie's next opinion was that the Gnosia might have good ideas, if only humans would listen.  SQ thought it might work, but Setsu shut it down by saying that killing humans was why Gnosia existed, as naturally as humans or cats behave like their own species.  Stella wondered if Chipie was an AC Follower.  JACOB asked her what an AC Follower was, since he had no idea.


Raqio explained:  "Oh come on. . .All this ignorance.  'Anti-Cosmic' - abbreviated as 'AC' - Follower.  A bunch of weirdos who worship Gnos."  Setsu elaborated "They believe that this universe is insane.  But if we could be eliminated by the Gnosia, we could transfer over to the 'true' universe. . .".


Maybe that's why the game's called Gnosia.  AC Followers sound like the more radical Gnostics who believed the material world was evil. And the "Anti-Cosmic" part is similar to "acosmism", the belief that denies the material universe is real.


Setsu said that the AC Follower "disavows the laws of physics and humanity", and that the sect was growing quickly.  Even the suspicion of sympathizing with Gnosia could bring the death penalty on some planets, according to Stella.  Chipie denied being an AC Follower:  "Haha, sorry to let you down.  But I'm nothing that dramatic."


What the AC Follower is in terms of game mechanics is a human that allies with the Gnosia, but doesn't know who they are.  Is there any role in Werewolf like this, or is it only an interesting plot twist for a single player game that lacks the social element?


Shigemichi asked for the Engineer to come forward, and both Raqio and Comet applied.  Comet hated Gina's eyes, but Raqio defended her and said "Aren't I such a good person?  Ahaha!"  Stella doubted Comet, but SQ was opposed to Gina.


What happened next was one of the most unusual moments in the playthrough.  A runoff occurred between Gina, SQ, and Comet, and no one could break the tie.  Shigemichi had the telltale lying glow when he said he "Ya know, I think Comet is definitely alright".  JACOB proposed freezing all of them to make sure, but.  Raqio was the only supporter of the that plan.  No one went to the fridge on Day 1  The Guardian Angel must have been lucky when nobody died on Night 1.


Comet claimed that Gina wasn't Gnosia on Day 2, and both of them accused Raqio.  Stella was Raqio's ally.  But it was JACOB who went to Cold Sleep with 4 votes, versus 3 for Comet and 1 each for SQ and Raqio.  Can't say that Gnosia the game lacks challenge!


Setsu was the Guardian Angel, Raqio was the real Engineer, Shigemichi was the AC Follower, and both Chipie and Comet were Gnosia.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Gnosia Loop 10


Loop 10 began in a field of flowers where the new characters Kukrushka and Jonas were introduced.  Kukrushka couldn't talk at all, while Jonas fancied himself a poet:  "However, a young girl is an ephemeral miracle, one that eventually ceases to be.  For an old man like myself. . .hehe, 'tis one that is a bit too dazzling indeed".  Jonas was only old in the Tales of Vesperia sense where a 35-year-old was the party geezer.  (Have to check Jonas's age in the character data!)


Jonas thought the summons to the debate was "rather tactless".  Shigemichi showed concern for Kukrushka:  "I feel like someone who can't talk is kinda screwed, right. . .?"  Kukrushka could communicate with gestures and facial expressions, as represented in the speech boxes.


Jonas's "sixth sense" caused him to accuse Raqio, and SQ and Shigemichi agreed.  Chipie and Kukrushka were on Raqio's side.  Kukrushka proposed an alliance with Jonas, but despite his flattery towards her in the beginning, he refused.


Then Raqio, Kukrushka, and Gina ALL claimed to be the Engineer!  Comet accused Shigemichi instead of one of those three.  JACOB defended Shigemichi.  Setsu distrusted Gina.  Due to the early suspicion against Raqio, JACOB picked them.  It's not like there were many better options.  Comet went to the fridge for some reason, even though nothing had been said against her.  Maybe the Gnosia teamed up to vote?


JACOB had enough experience to increase Stealth to 8, and went to Private Room 1 to investigate Kukrushka.  She obviously wasn't Gnosia when she was killed on Night 1.  Was she the real Engineer?  On Day 2, Raqio's "report" said Kukrushka was human, and Gina's "report" claimed Stella was human.


Jonas proclaimed his role in melodramatic fashion:  "But it is knowable.  Knowable to ME!  And why, you ask?  Because I. . .am JONAS!  The Doctor of this very ship!"  The Doctor could investigate one person sent to Cold Sleep to find out whether they were Gnosia.  Essentially a weaker Engineer.  He "confirmed" that Comet was human.


Everyone ganged up on Raqio except for Stella, who thought the blaming was premature.  Shigemichi doubted Stella.  SQ offered an alliance to Gina, but she refused.  No AI character has ever accepted an SQ alliance!  JACOB voted with 4 other characters to send Raqio to Cold Sleep.  Gina got 3 votes and Shigemichi got 1.


JACOB met Jonas in the Synthesis Plant, where he toasted "To strange encounters, surpassing space and time!"  The Gnosia had erased SQ from the universe on Night 2.  Jonas said Raqio was Gnosia in his Doctor report, and Gina claimed Shigemichi was human.   Jonas distrusted Gina, but Shigemichi and Stella came to her defense.  Stella accused Setsu, and JACOB and Jonas defended Setsu.  JACOB agreed with Chipie's doubts about Gina.  Setsu called JACOB a liar.  Gina was frozen with 3 votes, with 1 for Setsu, Stella, Shigemichi, and Chipie.


At this point, special events before Night were unlocked.  JACOB took advantage of this to visit the Viewing Lounge and form an alliance with Jonas.  "We must huddle together to wait out the storms of, um. . .naughtiness. . .".  Shigemichi was the victim on Night 3.


Jonas reported that Gina was human, but started with a creepy remark:  "The frozen, icy human body is a beautiful thing.  I kinda messed it up with my 'examination', though".  What was going on here?  Raqio was Gnosia and eliminated.  But Kukrushka was murdered, and Gina was also human.


Setsu pointed the finger at Stella because of her rivalry with Shigemichi.  Jonas doubted Setsu:  "But are these words spoken by Setsu in verity?  Or. . .like. . .NOT verity. . .?"  He followed that up with "Further contemplation tells me that Setsu is, indeed, sketchy.  Hehe, 'tis said:  'A wise man changes his mind; a dumbass. . .like, doesn't".  JACOB agreed.  Stella concurred, while Chipie sided with Setsu.


Jonas defended JACOB when Chipie tried a subtle accusation towards him.  Setsu was openly wondering if she could trust JACOB.  The vote came down to a runoff between JACOB and Setsu, but JACOB came out the victor.


Setsu and Raqio were Gnosia.  Gina was the real Engineer, and SQ was the Guardian Angel.  As for Kukrushka?  She was the AC Follower.  Why the Gnosia would get rid of their sympathizer on Night 1 doesn't make sense to me, unless the Gnosia really didn't know.


This will probably be the last Loop for today.  Who knows what will come next?  Based on the results screen, there may be spaces for four more characters by the end of the game.