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[Mini-Phalla] of Brass: The Philosopher Kings (God Save The Queen: Cultist/Templar Win)
Posts
Of course, if we hadn't just lost TRV and Lockeout, we might have been able to last one more day. But TA stole that from us, and I see no reason to reward him for that.
IMO, the meta that says Leave Neutrals Alone goes out the window when those neutrals kill 3+ villagers in a 25-person game.
Skyrim
GT/Twitter: Tanith 6227
Fate is a cruel mistress.
Skyrim
GT/Twitter: Tanith 6227
Shame on you, TA; you're better than that.
Skyrim
GT/Twitter: Tanith 6227
Thought about it a little bit. If we have two kills coming our way, we spend our vote on a neutral and we are doomed. We have to at least try to get a mafia.
Yeah, I was way too aggressive there. Sorry, TA. What I meant to be highlighting was that you knew some other stuff, about what the trait 'mad' is like (caused by an ability), and you hadn't said anything about that. You also seemed very confident that it wouldn't spread, given that you killed Sega.
Honestly, I really would expect a role like yours to have a seer ability too, to see who is mad.
And on that note, jdarksun has been very quiet, and what do I have to lose at this point?
Skyrim
GT/Twitter: Tanith 6227
The problem is that I'm an actual villager with a bonus to arguments with info attached.
As much as I'd like to vote off TA since he's a DIRECT THREAT to me, that doesn't really help the village.
So, my dunalist is as follows:
Jdarksun
Kime
ObiFett
Thanks you and good night.
Skyrim
GT/Twitter: Tanith 6227
I will too!
Oh wait no that would be silly :P
premium
BradicusMaximus
Question: Have you met my children?
Declaration: They are very eager to meet you.
Final statement: Happy mothers day to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooo
OOOOooOoOOoOOooOoooO
Amazon Wishlist for any secret santa hintings
Ashe Swiftclaw in Jdarksun's World's Largest Dungeon 4e Campaign
Iron Weasel, stop casting spurrious stones. :P
This is why I despise cyclists
...well, except for that one post. I think I still owe @Invictus an apology for that one. That was...not very professional of me.
She had failed. Or Skybarrow had failed her.
Perhaps Skybarrow deserved to fall. She had imagined her peers would be brighter. But in the arrogance of the West they allowed their enemies to dictate everything about them. They drank and made merry, and never turned an eye to the future. Iron Weasel Sima Xue closed her luggage tightly, and walked out the doors of the University.
“Take me home, coachman,” she sighed. Out the window she saw the lights in the windows of Skybarrow go out one by one. Perhaps it was a small mercy that she was afforded an opportunity to leave.
“I'm only going as far as town,” the coach driver grunted, “The rest will be on your own.”
“I do not expect this country to help me,” Xue murmured, “But that will suffice.”
Was Vernland worth an alliance? She was not sure she knew. Learning that was her mission, and while she had learned something she could not interpret it herself. How deep did the fingers of the Treacherous Prince go?
Another day. Another time. For now, she could rest. Her allies were dead, and her people called her home. So many late nights were over.
Sima Xue closed her eyes on Skybarrow.
She had succeeded. Or Skybarrow had succeeded her. No, wait, that didn't quite work.
The Anonymous Katarina Liddel's mission had been a success. The taint of the dead god had been purged from Skybarrow. She had honored Assuran Judith Priest with a quick death. The girl had the etiquette to be honest about the madman's touch. “Your body shall rejoin the cosmos and beat in the heart of the sun,” Katarina whispered to her. She closed the girl's lifeless eyes and kissed her forehead.
jdarksun Vice-Chancellor Daniel Mason watched her with a mixture of wariness and amusement. “And you truly do not care what we do here?” he asked her.
Katarina looked back, pushing herself up with her sword. “The Golden Dawn's mission here is fulfilled. I have no further orders.”
“That is not what I asked.” Daniel Mason stopped leaning against the door frame, considering what arguments he could make quickly. Katarina took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a single moment. It seemed an eternity to her. The bags under her eyes seemed to hang to the ground. How long had it been since she slept?
“It doesn't matter,” she answered, returning her mask to her face. She pushed past the vice-chancellor. “No servant of the Treacherous Prince can be trusted,” she said as she marched down the hall. “I know this. You know I know this. You know I will have prepared for it. Stand before me as I leave at your peril.”
“You needn't worry about us, dear,” Mason said calmly.
“Why's it so fuckin' heavy?” kime Nell Hastings (The acquaintance of madness) demanded, as the three of them struggled up the stairs.
“It's a coffin,” Invictus Jourdain Lalonde (The good makeshift doctor) answered coldly.
“Still,” Zombie Hero Lyndon Pollock (The narcissistic paramour) proposed, “It's a damn sight heavier than one young lady.”
“Many of her bones were missing,” Jourdain continued. Shouldering the back as he was, he had little respect for complaints from the two sharing the weight up front. “I replaced them where necessary.”
“With what?” Nell snarled, “Girders?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think we could have done anything differently?” ObiFett Emmanuel Colt asked the other student in the hall.
“Well, could never have come to this fucking school,” MrTLicious Maria Priest proposed. The two students left who had not fled the building watched as the cultists brought in the coffin. The Vice-Chancellor entered from the opposite door.
“Our sunlight problem will not be troubling us any longer,” Daniel Mason assured his compatriots. “We have parted on mutual courtesy.” He glanced at the two students. “Mm. Only need one patsy.”
Without warning he took a pistol from his coat and shot Maria through the chest. Shocked Emmanuel caught her, but her life had already faded before he could lay her to the ground. Another life died in front of him.
“Who?!” came the voice of Passeridae from the doors at the head of the hall. “Who is firing guns in my university?!”
“Richard!” Mason said cheerfully as the doors swung open. “Good news! We found your daughter.”
Jourdain pulled the coffin lid off. His work sat within. Despite her death the colour remained in her cheeks – his delicate hand had painted it in place. Despite the explosions upon the airship, her skin was as healthy as ever – the flesh of murdered students carefully and seamlessly stitched. Despite the crash and all manner of steel shredding her limb from limb she was composed as though only sleeping – the brass of artificial men reinforcing her bones.
Annika von Kamanov, née Annika Passeridae, lay at rest.
“D-daniel...” Passeridae whispered quietly. Only his hand on the lectern kept him from falling to his knees. “W-what is the...”
“Jade, Richard!” Daniel insisted, “Hearts of jade! The secret of the east! The secret that lets the Djavol continue to live, to love and embrace their family!”
“Y-you cannot...” the Headmaster-King whimpered.
“She was stolen from you, Richard. She was stolen from herself!” Daniel approached him, kneeling down earnestly. “Is it fair that those robots murdered her and all the others upon that ship? Did she deserve that? We have accepted the end of the story only because we have not had the means to extend beyond it, but now we do!” He caught Richard Passeridae as he stumbled and fell. “She just needs a strong voice to call to her...the voice of a philosopher, Richard. The voice of a king. The voice of a father.”
“Annika...” Richard shivered, but shook his head. “It...it cannot...”
“You can make things right, Richard.” Daniel Mason whispered.
Passeridae closed his eyes. “My Annika...died in a skyship crash. That's what they told me.”
Jourdain shuddered. He felt so very, very sick. The wraith seemed to flicker about its body, impatiently.
“But such a crash... It would have been so damaging to her body,” Passeridae continued. Mason smiled. “And the woman before me is untouched by such violence...it can only mean...”
“She must not have died, Richard,” Daniel whispered, “She must have survived.”
“Yes...” Passeridae gasped.
“Then you have an heir,” Daniel said, and shot him through the head.
The body in the coffin cracked. Its hips lurched forward, the spine seizing to life. Fingers outstretched and bent unnaturally before settling. A deep, guttural groan came as dust was shaken from lungs. Up, up, up the body began to reach, stretching towards something it could not see, before stumbling forward and falling to its face. Lyndon moved as though to help it, but the stillness of his associates stopped him. Slowly, its hand stretched out across the floor and braced itself once again. It pushed up, and lifted its head.
Daniel Mason met its gaze, and even he had to swallow. Within those eyes he saw the coldness of death, and the imprisonment of space between spaces.
“Daniel,” it said. Its voice had far, far too many teeth.
“You have served me well.”
“God save the Queen,” Lyndon murmured under his breath.
“God is the Queen,” Jourdain corrected him.
Void Slayer: Sima Xue (Seer) – Expelled
Assuran: Judith Priest [Mad] – Excommunicated
MrTLicious: Maria Priest – Betrayed!
The Anonymous: Katarina Liddel has achieved their victory condition and left victorious!
The Cultists of Bel Hazan have achieved their victory condition!
RETURN OF BEL HAZAN
This is why I despise cyclists
T_A did you really just get a lucky kill on me?
I got really lucky by getting into that first debate. I honestly wasn't even trying to get in, just improve a rule a little bit, but it somehow put me up against the village vig. Huge stroke of luck.
The Cult of Bel Hazan
Daniel waited for the student to conclude his heartfelt rant, taking the time to carefully choose his words. “Then perhaps,” he mused, “It is time we seek assistance from the similarly abandoned.”
Collectively, you all are the cultist infiltrators. It is your duty to eliminate the Headmaster of Skybarrow. You will accomplish this by betraying your fellow students, by terrorizing them, by making them doubt themselves. By making them doubt their Headmaster, their King. And when they no longer believe him to be capable of fending you off, neither will he.
There are a few tools you employ to make this easier. All of you are trusted members of the student body and faculty, of course – or at least, as trusted as anyone can be when your neighbour could betray you. The most useful tactic you employ however is most likely murder. Each turn, you can choose two players. You will attempt to kill those players. (EXCEPTION: If one mafia member is alive, only one player can be chosen. Two kills will still go off the night the mafia is reduced to one person)
Each turn, you may choose to have these kills come from specific players of the mafia instead of from no one. If you do so, that kill will benefit from any status effects or kill modifications or any other sort of nonsense that you may acquire through the game. Note that this will open this action up to roleblocks, action seers, and any other such nonsense that may wind up in the game.
Your members are as follows:
Vice-Chancellor Daniel Mason (jdarksun)
Jourdain Lalonde (Invictus)
Nell Hastings (kime)
Lyndon Pollock (Zombie Hero)
Charlotte Warhol (premium)
You have all learned several tricks that can aid you in the debates if necessary – secret techniques known only as METAPHORS. Each of these techniques may only be employed once per game, regardless of who uses them. You must have a member involved in the debate to use these abilities.
Poisonous Manner
When employed, this Metaphor will poison the opposing debater. At the end of the next turn, they will die.
Encoded Agenda
When employed, this Metaphor will allow you to alter or add one word to the subject of the debate. This may not force the debate to go against debate rules.
Cross-Reference
When employed, this Metaphor will give you information on the opposing debater's alignment, Teaching, Philosophy, and Epiphany at the end of the turn.
Filibuster
When employed, this Metaphor will secretly cancel the debate.
In addition, you each have access to the following epiphany:
EPIPHANY – Death of God: When used, this power reveals the identities of all mafia, even if their identities have been hidden in some way via changes to the rules, and instantly kills the opposing player. This Epiphany can only be used once in the game and becomes unavailable to other players when used.
Please invite the host to any and all proboards.
jdarksun/Vice-Chancellor Daniel Mason
As he placed his vest and jacket back on seven minutes later, he was momentarily struck by the weight of his position. Not as vice-chancellor of the school, for he had long been capable on that front. Rather the dreams came to him, haunting him now in the hours of the day. The march of brass bodies, the sky painted red in the blood of a god. If he had known that he would have to do the dirty work of defending Westpire from that future, perhaps he would have killed himself in Tardis all those years ago.
His fingers brushed over what was left of the priest's eyelids and closed them. “Place him in the furnace,” he told his associates, “I need to discuss the expansion of Kamanov Hall.”
You are Vice-Chancellor Daniel Mason, trusted confidante of the Headmaster-King. And cultist of Bel Hazan. Had you lived a different life, perhaps the latter would not be true. You were a man of logic, of science and philosophy, not some oracle. Yet the dreams reveal what you inexplicably, intrinsically know to be the future. It is one where Adabage marches on Vernland. It is one where the Sky abandons man to die. It is one where foul, mechanical undead abominations demand the noble bend before them.
It cannot be allowed to pass.
If the Sky will not help man, they will have to seek help elsewhere. They will have to look to the Treacherous Prince.
TEACHING – Thus Spoke Daniel Mason: As Vice-Chancellor you can influence the bookkeeping of the university as you wish. Each turn, you may choose substitutions for the debates that are scheduled to take place next turn. If players die, these substitutions will take their place. You may choose as many levels of substitution as you like.
PHILOSOPHY – Experience The Other: Dread has coloured your school of thought, and lead to a certain passion for inter-human connectivity. It is only with the aid of others that you can truly find any sense of peace. To that end, you receive a bonus to debating about socializing.
DECEPTION – Alan Mason: In the event that you are required to lie about your role, the following cover has been provided for you. You are not obligated to use any part of it should you choose to lie: it is provided as a framework to help imagine how you could craft a setting appropriate cover.
You are Alan Mason, son of the Vice-Chancellor of the University. Your father is distant, and has only grown more so in the recent months. Starved for human interaction, your sense of abandonment fuels your arguments. You gain a bonus when debating about socializing.
Victory Condition: You win if the cultists outnumber or equal the remaining players.
Invictus/Jourdain Lalonde
You are Jourdain Lalonde, a student of Skybarrow University. And a cultist of Bel Hazan. It was not your initial intention to seek aid from the Treacherous Prince – indeed you are quite aware of the irony of hoping someone with a title like “Treacherous Prince” will assist you! As the good fortune of your family wavers and the threat of conflict looms on the eastern front, a deep and wordless dread collects itself in the pit of your stomach. Fear and desperation make for strange bedfellows. With the aid of your fellow cultists, you should be able to secure your family's safety in the years to come and better yet your country's.
It is tragic that your fellow students cannot see it this way, but it must be done.
TEACHING – Phenomenology of Spirits: On the first turn of the game, choose two players. At the beginning of the second turn you will be provided with a proboard. On this proboard you will be permitted and are encouraged to use an anonymous name. In the event that the players you chose at the beginning of the game perish, they will be given the link to your proboard and be allowed to continue posting there after their death.
PHILOSOPHY – Necroism: Being a Lalonde has helped you to attain a particular perspective on this mortal coil and its temporary nature. You are well aware that the dead can linger onwards, and as such it is responsible to keep them in mind when making decisions. Much as the care of a family pet is the family's responsibility, so too is the well-being of the deceased who cannot speak for themselves the responsibility of the living. You gain a bonus to debating about death.
DECEPTION – Martin Goldsmithe: In the event that you are required to lie about your role, the following cover has been provided for you. You are not obligated to use any part of it should you choose to lie: it is provided as a framework to help imagine how you could craft a setting appropriate cover.
You are Martin Goldsmithe. Your family worked their fingers to the bone to provide an education that could mean something for one of their children, and you were the one that showed the most promise. The guilt of knowing that you received this over any of your siblings pushes you to succeed. You gain a bonus to arguing about sacrifice.
Victory Condition: You win if the cultists outnumber or equal the remaining players.
Zombie Hero/Lyndon Pollock
He was so fucking handsome.
You are Lyndon Pollock, a student at Skybarrow University – and a cultist of Bel Hazan. As a young and spritely man, you are of course filled with a nihilistic apathy towards the world. Disaffected and disenfranchised, it's not that you actively think that there's some great crisis approaching, or that there needs to be some dramatic regime change. It's more that you desperately need something to happen, and calling upon the Treacherous Prince seems as good a notion as any. If nothing else, it gets you out of the dorm.
TEACHING – Appealing to Authority: As a ruggedly handsome devil-may-care disaffected student, you have charmed the pants off of Professor Janet Skinner. Quite taken with you, she subconsciously puts more stock in any argument you see value in. Having such a prominent philosopher support an argument can have dramatic effects. Each turn you may “Agree” with one post in an argument. That post will be worth double points.
Please note: The Agree button is easily removed and is much easier to do without notice than editing a post. For the purposes of this power, please consider removing Agrees as editing your posts, and do not do it once you have decided to commit.
PHILOSOPHY – Nihilism: You've given up on a lot of things, or you don't think they're worth caring about. While this offers you a certain roguish charm it does not particularly aid you in debates. You receive no bonuses to debating.
DECEPTION – Ill Advised: In the event that you are required to lie about your role, the following cover has been provided for you. You are not obligated to use any part of it should you choose to lie: it is provided as a framework to help imagine how you could craft a setting appropriate cover.
It is not recommended that you lie, given the public nature of your power, nor any apparent anti-village bend to it.
Victory Condition: You win if the cultists outnumber or equal the remaining players.
premium/Charlotte Warhol
150.51, primary work by Pullman. Printed five years ago, not checked out in three. “Mm,” she said calmly, “I don't believe we have anything of that nature here.” Behind the counter, the men could not see the sigil on her letter: the skull of a horse and the jaws of a shark.
You are Charlotte Warhol, a student of Skybarrow University – and a cultist of Bel Hazan. There are a number of fascinating texts buried in the depths of university libraries. Volunteering to assist with said library gave you access to a number of essays and textbooks long forgotten. Though you gained exposure to many viewpoints and the knowledge of many secrets, many still yet remained out of your reach. Turning to occultism was not your first choice to acquire them, but it seemed to be the most promising tactic. Indeed, you have studied, and you have learned, and you know there is yet more information to be gleaned.
It is possible that the world is becoming a worse place as you dig through textbooks and slip through the nuances of politics. Should it be a permanent alteration, you doubt that your presence in the cult would have meaningfully affected this. And if you do prove so important, surely the knowledge gained will allow you to push back the turn of the world.
TEACHING – DDC DDT: Thanks to your extensive knowledge of the filing systems of Skybarrow University, you can quickly pull up papers, essays, and other assorted texts. Each turn, you may choose a player. Through looking through that player's collected works, you will acquire a firm knowledge of their common argumentative practices. You will learn what that player gains a bonus to arguing about.
PHILOSOPHY – Creatio Ex Nihilo: From nothing comes something. This is a nature that goes beyond man; it is the way of the universe itself. The successful survive, and the unnecessary cease. Experimentation is key. You gain a benefit to arguments about adding mechanics.
DECEPTION – Ill Advised: In the event that you are required to lie about your role, the following cover has been provided for you. You are not obligated to use any part of it should you choose to lie: it is provided as a framework to help imagine how you could craft a setting appropriate cover.
Your role appears village with little effort and has no intrinsic mafia capabilities. No lies beyond potentially name should be required.
Victory Condition: You win if the cultists outnumber or equal the remaining players.
kime/Nell Hastings
“Well?” Aleister smirked from the doorway, “Are you going to keep them waiting?”
You are Nell Hastings, a young student in attendance at Skybarrow University. Since before you can remember, you had lived on the streets. The Treacherous Order took an interest in you as you grew older, and nurtured your growth and development. It is unheard of for a student at Skybarrow to have come from a background such as yours, and it could not have been possible without them. Now they have called upon you to aid them in this task, but you have some reservations.
For many months now you have been able to pick the brain of Aleister Burgess (SeGaTai), a cultist who follows the dead god. You have asked him questions about his past, about the gods, about philosophy, and life. You are a deeply curious young lady, and he has answered your inquiries when he sees fit. This has equipped you with a certain amount of knowledge.
TEACHING – Beyond Good and Evil: Each turn, you may choose to go mad, or return to sanity. While mad, you will be unaffected by all changes to rules of the game, including any powers granted by them. If you choose to go mad while you are the only cultist of Bel Hazan alive, the cultists of Bel Hazan will be considered to have no members and lose the game. In this instance, you will win the game if you achieve Aleister Burgess' victory condition.
PHILOSOPHY – Rebel Youth: You are young. Thoughtful. Curious. Perhaps most importantly, you are not certain what to believe. You are unsure of things you have learned, and paths that lay before you. The older you get, the more it becomes apparent that you can only be taught by others what they personally perceive as true. As a result, your philosophies are less about what you know, and more about challenging what you can learn. You receive a bonus to debating for change.
DECEPTION – Queen of Powder: In the event that you are required to lie about your role, the following cover has been provided for you. You are not obligated to use any part of it should you choose to lie: it is provided as a framework to help imagine how you could craft a setting appropriate cover.
You are the Queen of Powder, a member of the Westspire spies The Suits. You were visiting the University upon hearing the rumours of an imminent assassination attempt on the Headmaster-King. Unfortunately your specialty is sniping, something very difficult to do to enemies skulking in the shadows. As such you've resigned yourself to scavenging. Each turn you may target a dead player. If that player has a power you will gain a one use version of it.
Victory Condition: You win if the cultists outnumber or equal the remaining players.
SeGaTai/Aleister Burgess
-Traditional Adabage sailor's hymn
You are Aleister Burgess, former captain of the sky vessel Intimidation. You have sailed through cloudbanks most men would not dare approach. You have traversed the world, and in that process its nature has been peeled back before your eyes. Now you are a cultist (A scholar you would argue) in a cabal of no name, following the dead god. This has empowered you to know a simple truth: There are no dead gods. You study things unknowable, things unthinkable, and it grants you a certain...clarity.
You are mad. While mad, you are unaffected by all changes to the rules of the game, including any powers granted by them.
TEACHING – Open To New Experiences: Each turn, you may target a player. You will make that player mad. While mad, they will be unaffected by all changes to rules of the game, including any powers granted by them.
You have known one of the cultists infiltrating the school for some time. Young Nell Hastings (kime) has asked you many questions about the dead god over the course of this association, and will likely ask you many more.
PHILOSOPHY – Certainty: A cosmic joke has been played on man. You know the punchline, and this knowledge renders much of what passes through the mouths of philosophers meaningless. There are things on this earth which will happen. Debating whether another student should be expelled is trivial next to that. As such you have two options: ignore it, or take great amusement in it. You receive no bonuses to debating.
EPIPHANY - The Only Sane Recourse: When used, this Epiphany will instantly drive the other player mad.
DECEPTION – Vanessa von Kamanov: In the event that you are required to lie about your role, the following cover has been provided for you. You are not obligated to use any part of it should you choose to lie: it is provided as a framework to help imagine how you could craft a setting appropriate cover.
You are Vanessa von Kamanov. Due to the close ties between the von Kamanov family and the Headmaster-King, you were in attendance at the University when the incidents began. You have no formal training in Philosophy and thus do not benefit in debates. However, you have worked for some time with Westspire Intelligence and thus became capable at reconnaissance. Each day you may check 3 people for madness.
Victory Condition: You win if the majority of players are mad when a game-ending victory condition is achieved.
In the event that all players in-game are mad, you will immediately win and end the game to the exclusion of all other victory conditions.
The Anonymous/Katarina Liddel
Katarina unwrapped her sword, testing its weight and familiarizing herself with the pommel once again. “Something like that,” she replied.
You are Katarina Liddel, a Templar of the Golden Dawn. From a young age you've been aware of the order, thanks to the involvement of your father. It was only natural that as you grew into a mature young woman you would put yourself forwards as an agent of divine right. What surprises you is the knowledge that the success of the infiltrators seeking to remove the Headmaster from power is irrelevant. The Golden Dawn is prepared for both circumstances. Instead, there is another force at play in the events that are to soon transpire.
That force cannot be allowed to succeed.
TEACHING – The Ultimate End: Each turn, you may target a player. You will attempt to kill that player.
You are immune to going mad. When someone attempts to drive you mad, you will be alerted of this event (but not the individual who attempts to do so). In addition, as long as you are alive, players who are mad will be denoted in death recap when killed.
PHILOSOPHY – Glory: You know what is best. You have been illuminated by the many teachings of the Dawn. Trust, and follow you. You receive a bonus to arguments about empowering you and you alone.
EPIPHANY – A Still More Glorious Dawn Awaits: When used, this Epiphany instantly kills the opposing player.
Victory Condition: You win if there are no more living players who are mad. You may achieve this victory condition post-humously as long as you were personally responsible for the deaths of two mad players.
You are Sima Xue, a student at Skybarrow University. Unlike the majority of students you do not hail from the Nation of Brass, coming instead from the far-off Kingdoms of Jade. Since before your grandmother's grandmother it has been tradition that a member of the Sima bloodline remain in the western world. Some would call you a spy, but there is no subterfuge involved. You make it quite clear that your duty is to inform the ruling caste of your homeland what precisely the west gets up to. Though your land is on the other side of Adabage and thus would not be immediately harmed by an outbreak of war between Adabage and Vernland, it is very much in your best interests that nothing take place.
Now while studying at the prestigious Skybarrow you appear to have become embroiled in a plot of some nefariousness. The political climate can not bear a radical shift in leadership at this time. Should the Headmaster-King fall unforeseen and undesirable consequences can only result. Serve your country. Preserve the status quo. Eliminate those who would damage it.
TEACHING – Rectification of Names: Between your political training and a hint of the tools taught to you by your family, you are adept at discerning a person's nature. Each turn you may target a player. You will learn that player's true name and religious affiliation. Religious affiliation is, in this case, lore fluff for that little, unimportant detail known as “alignment”.
PHILOSOPHY – Classic of Poetry: What Vernland knows as Philosophy, the Kingdoms of Jade recognize as something quite different. The way to alter the world, to leave your mark upon it: what could it be but an Art? While you have studied and learned how Vernland approaches this alteration, your soul trends towards impassioned arguments that cover what you were raised with. You gain an bonus to arguments about creativity.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
Langly/Madelaine Lalonde
Professor Woodsworth made a note not to assign any more essays concerning mortality.
You are Madelaine Lalonde, a student at Skybarrow University. With your family's future uncertain, the decision was made to enroll you in Skybarrow instead of focusing on a mortuary education. Philosophers have always managed to shape the world, and you know that if your family is banking on that instead of their heritage things may be more dire than you thought. Still, you will do your best to do them proud. Being able to learn philosophy is a rare opportunity.
At the same time, you have not forgotten the knowledge that passes through your family like osmosis. You are keenly attuned to the veil between life and death. In circumstances as increasingly dire as the ones you presently find yourself in, this heritage may prove useful.
TEACHING – Phenomenology of Spirits: On the first turn of the game, choose two players. At the beginning of the second turn you will be provided with a proboard. On this proboard you will be permitted and are encouraged to use an anonymous name. In the event that the players you chose at the beginning of the game perish, they will be given the link to your proboard and be allowed to continue posting there after their death.
PHILOSOPHY - Necroism: Being a Lalonde has helped you to attain a particular perspective on this mortal coil and its temporary nature. You are well aware that the dead can linger onwards, and as such it is responsible to keep them in mind when making decisions. Much as the care of a family pet is the family's responsibility, so too is the well-being of the deceased who cannot speak for themselves the responsibility of the living. You gain a bonus to debating about death.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
Grunt's Ghosts/Arthur Norvulk
“I know,” was his only reply.
The lamplight barely illuminated the texts. Nothing remained to burn.
You are Arthur Norvulk, a student at Skybarrow University. Your family has a history of decorated military service, with one flagzeppelin in the Vernland army named after your grandfather. This prestige has allowed you to advance where deep coffers might otherwise have been required. Though philosophy is an art never before attributed to your family, you showed enough of an early talent that you were accepted into Skybarrow.
You had expected it to be a relatively peaceful experience, but now in your second year it seems that a villainous cult has decided to change that matter. For some this might be a frightening prospect, but you are a member of a proud lineage. You do not fear confrontation. You will do what is necessary.
TEACHING – The Solution of Evil: When one's life and the lives of those around them is threatened, one is morally justified to defend themselves. This you knew long before your studies. The cult of Bel Hazan threatens your friends and peers. You will handle this the best way you know how.
The best way you know how is by shooting them. Each turn you may target a player. You will shoot that player. Due to the nature of firearms this is liable to be fatal.
PHILOSOPHY – The Straw Man Strong-Arm: You have to admit that though you demonstrated an initial talent for philosophy the actual learning has been slow. Some weave grandiose appeals to logic and reason, but whenever you attempt such things it never quite works out how you want it to. On the other hand, you've developed a certain brute-force way of getting results, and while it may not be quite what your teachers hoped for it is an argument. You gain a bonus to arguments that are petty.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
ObiFett/Emmanuel Colt
Emmanuel politely brushed aside the thanks from the flustered madam. “It is the very least I could do,” he informed her. In a single brusk movement he returned his glasses from his pocket to his nose and returned to the dissertation on hemophilia.
You are Emmanuel Colt, a student at Skybarrow University. You're a pretty tough guy, having come from a family BIG into rugby. You look like you could hurt someone, and truth be told you have! Tackles gone bad and physical contact results in broken bones sometimes, even if it's all in good fun. While you still respect the game, you really have no desire to be responsible for any more harm. It would be a trite cliché to call you a gentle giant, but it would not be far off.
Learning and books and other such faff eventually brought you here, to Skybarrow. You're a bright kid. You have a strong future. And the thought of someone else losing their future in the clusterfuck that is the recent infiltration of the university horrifies you. You're a gentle giant, but you're still a giant. If you need to play that up to make a difference, you will.
TEACHING – Singular Perpetual Peace: You preferred to play defensive line back in the day. Each turn you may target a player. You'll run interference for that player in secret, keeping an eye out for anyone attempting to do them ill. Should a kill action be made against that player, you will negate it.
PHILOSOPHY – Harnessing of Curiousity: No man can make a claim without knowing what he is talking about. This is an opinion you have taken to heart in your years within the libraries. You gain a bonus to making arguments that are researched.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
Void Slayer/Danielle Parkins
More unfortunate than that, she was expected to read them.
You are Danielle Parkins, a student at Skybarrow University, and teacher's aide to Professor Janet Skinner. You regret this decision immeasurably. Though understanding of the work you would be doing, you underestimated the degree to which Professor Skinner would pass this load onto you. You're not convinced she's actually doing anything. Well, other than that – no no, that's improper, you shouldn't gossip. Even if everyone knows. THE POINT IS, you are just fucking swamped, so no you can't go down to the city for the weekend.
And you spend all this time busting your buttocks for that little extra experience with your degree, and what happens? A cult infiltrates your university and starts doing sneaky murders. Awesome. Just, awesome. This is exactly what you need. Skinner probably expects you to keep grading papers during all this as well, even though your very life might be at risk.
If nothing else, maybe you can provide a little bit of assistance.
TEACHING – Burdened With Proof: You've spent a great deal of time grading papers and assignments for Professor Skinner, and as such she has begun to trust your judgment on what makes a sound argument. Having such a prominent philosopher support an argument can have dramatic effects. Each turn you may “Agree” with one post in an argument. That post will be worth double points.
Please note: The Agree button is easily removed and is much easier to do without notice than editing a post. For the purposes of this power, please consider removing Agrees as editing your posts, and do not do it once you have decided to commit.
PHILOSOPHY – Crunch Time: You would love to elaborate on your personal philosophies, the discoveries you've made, and the unique lens through which you view the world. But you have read a great many papers over the week, and are going to read a great many more, and until you are done it is going to be remarkably difficult to locate your own voice amongst the many dissonant student theories ricocheting through your head. You receive no bonus to debates.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
Phyphor/Braide Cobbler
Maybe she had a problem.
You are Braide Cobbler, a student at Skybarrow University. It would be rude to call you an underachiever, but you do spend a lot of time drinking. It would be improper to label you an alcoholic, but there are an excessive number of ales in your dormitory room. Most of all it would be scandalous to insinuate you don't care about the university, but your parents did fully fund your tuition without your input. Now you're here, and you're making the best of it.
The best of it involves a lot of drinking and socializing. You're only human. As someone who is only human, and possessed of all the fragility thereof, this recent abrupt outbreak of murder has you mildly concerned. It would be a real shit deal to have your school days ended with a knife in the throat. You've expressed your concern to one of your drinking buddies, Professor Janet Skinner, and openly discussed the wisdom in remaining while these events take place. She advises you to keep calm and carry on. You are not convinced of the stiffness of your upper lip, but unless anyone else is leaving you're going to look like a right arse if you do...
TEACHING – More Beer Please, I'm Vernish: You've done a lot of drinking with Professor Janet Skinner, and spent many an hour just shooting the shit about various theories deep into the night. As time goes on the two of you have wound up agreeing on a number of concepts: such as what constitutes a good argument. Having such a prominent philosopher support an argument can have dramatic effects. Each turn you may “Agree” with one post in an argument. That post will be worth double points.
Please note: The Agree button is easily removed and is much easier to do without notice than editing a post. For the purposes of this power, please consider removing Agrees as editing your posts, and do not do it once you have decided to commit.
PHILOSOPHY – Lush: When was the last time you reviewed your own work, much less someone else's? You've got your own personal philosophies and ideas, sure. You've spent so little time pondering them that you could never meaningfully support them. You receive no bonus to debates.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
SLyM/Lillian Améry
If she wanted to be known, she had to be the meat.
You are Lillian Améry, a student at Skybarrow University. Some call you quiet, reserved, distant, and other such phrases generally meaning “you don't talk much”. Truth be told, this is because you have spent a great portion of the last year at Skybarrow refining the nuances of a revelation that has changed the way you perceive life: It's meaningless. Legacy is formed by death. The connections between people you make now will mean nothing in the end, for they too shall die, and your presence will be forgotten. Expending time in pursuing them is futile.
Now the school is under attack. If the cultists are bold enough to perform such an action, they must be dangerous to a degree you cannot perceive. It is time to make your legacy.
EPIPHANY – Martyr's Apotheosis: Mankind is remembered for their deeds. Fame is acquired through death. No one doubts the martyr. When used, this Epiphany instantly kills the user and wins the debate for them.
PHILOSOPHY – Voluntary Death: You have sunk so much time into preparing for your singular glorious moment that your ability to argue about anything else has been negatively affected. You receive no bonuses to debates.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
Retaba/Javed Nabavi
I wish to return soon, but know I must further understand them. Kavash rol'dim, mother.
You are Javed Nabavi, a student at Skybarrow University. You are a rarity among the students, hailing from the eastern country of Mohamn rather than being native to Vernland. It's a strange place you've found yourself in, but it's important to learn about this nation given its prevalence on the world stage. You're not quite certain you've fully gotten this conceit of philosophy – to be honest it sounds like a bunch of window dressing for what your people are well aware is witchcraft. A very strange place indeed.
You didn't expect to get tied up in some sort of religious war, though. It seems that your understanding of philosophy is about to be tested in a trial of fire.
EPIPHANY – Eternal Punch Return: Humanism strikes a chord with you, in what reading you've done. There is great value in an individual life. When used, this Epiphany guards you and your opponent from all attacks this turn.
PHILOSOPHY - Incoherence of the Philosophers: Many aspects of this foreign art escape you, and you have some doubt of their validity. You have spent so much time deciphering and interpreting the nuances of philosophy that you have not yet formed your own, and calling upon your native schools of thought is often disregarded in the university. You receive no bonus to debates.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
Zonugal/Joshua Langleyshire
“I suppose the round's on me,” he said casually, as though he expected anything else.
You are Joshua Langleyshire, a student at Skybarrow University. What will come to be will come to be. What was will ever be. This is how you have walked through all your life. Where others would name apathy, you see fatalism. There was only one path you could have ever walked given your nature, and you are upon it. Your parent's money and absence could only have made you into this person.
Now others have entered the school intent on murder, and you know that it is not chance. They had to have done so. It was in their being, just as it is in yours to oppose them. Self-preservation is key to existence. And if you should fail, you can die knowing that it was the only way it could have gone.
EPIPHANY – Fatalist Drive: Your fatalism is so pronounced it can be used to stun others into silence. When used, this Epiphany immediately closes the vote. The day will end at the regular time.
PHILOSOPHY – The Idle Argument: It is fated for you to win your arguments. Or it is fated for you to lose your arguments. Either way it is futile to gain a bonus to arguments. You receive no bonuses in debates.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
unrelatedly....
I really wish I had been a townsperson in this game. Seriously, guys, I was really surprised that people didn't pick me out as obviously acting weird, in that I never actually suggested a rule change. Did you people really think that the guy who hosted two rulechange games couldn't think of a rulechange to suggest?
Also, I'd have dearly loved to debate something else; I have six years of competitive debate in my history, and also I'm going to finish a doctorate in philosophy in within the next twelve months. This is what I do, for a job.
“If that's what their god is then call me an athiest,” he said loudly. As an afterthought, he amended “Motherfucker!”
The conversation continued.
You are Vincent Calviera, a student at Skybarrow University. You're pretty capable, pretty competent, funny to your friends, a hit with some ladies. You also seem to be a bit of an idiot. It's not as though you're intentionally trying to be stupid, it's just that you're having trouble acting in any other manner. You don't want to be called stupid, but despite your best efforts you feel surrounded by people brighter than you. Perhaps it's just a matter of comparison, and you would be a savant on the typical Westspire street. Perhaps academia is an atmosphere you are unsuited for. Stubbornly, you refuse to turn away and admit either.
Oh, and there's a cult infiltrating the school and killing people, you should probably get on that.
PHILOSOPHY – Conceptual Containment: Recently you read a book about analyzing synthetics, or something to that effect. It's coloured your perception of the world. In fact, you have a habit of regurgitating what you've recently read instead of coming up with your own thoughts...but it seems to work for you. You gain a bonus to making arguments involving previous phallas.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
TheRoadVirus/Matthew Steinfin
You are Matthew Steinfin, a student at Skybarrow University. You are, truth be told, a bog-standard ordinary student. It's not a mark against you, many students at Skybarrow are exceptional in comparison to the common raff. When compared against them, however, you just don't particularly stand out. Which is probably why you have political aspirations. Change the world for the better: that's what it's all about, right? Philosophy or public office.
But with a strange threat infiltrating Skybarrow and doing generally improper things to people (like murder), the time to prove your mettle may come sooner than you hoped. You could spin this, you suppose – a hero of the Skybarrow terrorism – but quite frankly you'd just like to get out of this nonsense alive.
PHILOSOPHY – Theories of Justice: You are possessed with the ideas of democracy, and the power of the common man. Their voices must be represented. You gain a bonus to arguments about the vote.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
Megafrost/Andrew Scanton
-Graffiti inside “A Brief History of Determinism”, signed A.S.
You are Andrew Scanton, a student at Skybarrow University. Having come from a family that's, let's be honest, a bit lower class, you're painfully aware of how difficult it was to get yourself in Skybarrow. Every day you strive to make as much use of it as possible. Whatever you can learn, whatever you can study, you will. Your social networks are strained, your friendships distant. Nothing matters but your own success.
Murderous cultists with strange and unknown goals is a hell of a roadblock on the path to success. You should probably try and take care of that one as fast as possible.
PHILOSOPHY – Will to Power: There is no merit to your name or your blood. Despite this here you stand, a man capable of changing the world with his very words. All men can make something of themselves. All men can seize strength. You gain a bonus to arguments about powers.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
Assuran/Judith Priest
You are Judith Priest, a student at Skybarrow University. No one fucks with you, because no one is stupid enough to piss off the daughter of one of the founding fathers of Westspire's organized crime. You've had a fortunate life growing up as such, with almost any need you've had discretely taken care of by your father. So thank god you're finally out of the house. It's been just suffocating. Always “Is there anyone you need dead” and “Can I give you a thousand pounds”. Let a girl live her life! It's so good to be free of that environment. Also the absence of gangsters is nice. Having those guys around was strange.
Though at the same time, their presence would be pretty useful given that there appears to be a bunch of crazy cultists trying to kill everyone. Professional murderers are well-suited for that exact purpose. Still, you've been this long without your father's aid, and there's no need to call back now. You should be able to take this.
PHILOSOPHY – Negative Capability: Despite a general inference that you are only present at Skybarrow because of your father's money, you have a great capacity for the acquisition of knowledge. Perhaps it is because you have seen first hand the strength of having the right bit of gossip about a man. It can lead to quite a profitable state. You gain a bonus to arguments about information.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
Gizzy/Morrighan Strade
You are Morrighan Strade, a student at Skybarrow University. You looooove being rich. That's not an understatement. Being rich is absolutely fantastic, everyone should try it. Except poor people. But you suppose not everyone can be as fortunate as you: otherwise you wouldn't actually be fortunate, you'd be middle-class, and that would suck. Seriously you've got it made, you've always had it made, and you will always have it made. Everything is as good as it could possibly be forever.
Except that part where apparently you might die because a bunch of crazy cultists have infiltrated the school. That part seems like it's a bit sub-par. You could do without it.
PHILOSOPHY – Love of Fate: The system works. It obviously does, because you benefit from it. Change is dangerous. You gain a benefit to arguments about the status quo.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
Lockeout/Christopher Wineson
He sat down at his desk, cracked open his textbook, and started to work on his essay. Faster that was done faster he could enjoy life.
You are Christopher Wineson, a student at Skybarrow University. You're a rarity in this day and age: a completely ordinary person who simply wants to do what's best for him and everyone else you know. You applied yourself in school, you worked hard to support yourself, and you showed some promise in the noble art of philosophy. Between a fortunate scholarship, your own savings, and some assistance from your parents, you made it to Skybarrow. Now here you are, responsibly splitting your time between study and socializing. You're a stand-up guy, Christopher.
You hope you don't get murdered by the crazy cultists that have infiltrated the school.
PHILOSOPHY – Groupthink: Nothing is more important than your fellow man, and the happiness of as many people as possible. This belief has shaped your outlook on life. You gain a bonus to arguments about the village.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
KetBra/Geoffrey Jerston
You are Geoffrey Jerston, a student at Skybarrow University. Hailing from a moderately prominent family of bakers, most people would not have expected you to find your way to the halls of Skybarrow. Even in the most unlikely and yeasty of places, a brilliant young mind can be discovered. You fell into the habit of writing to the papers, and your level of discourse caught the attention of the philosophers. After visiting and testing you, they informed you that they felt you were wasted toiling with bread. Now you stand in suits that do not fit and ties that seem too tight, and you argue about semantics and discrepancies, and you wish that all you had to worry about was making cakes.
Mad cults never started murdering people over cakes.
PHILOSOPHY – Banality of Evil: While some might expect little from a baker's son, you have a cunning insight into the thought process of those considered immoral. You gain a bonus to arguments about the mafia.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
MrTLicious/Maria Priest
Her talents were wasted here.
You are Maria Priest, a student at Skybarrow University. It is absolute rubbish that you have to spend your time here. You wish to be with your father, learning his trade and preparing to inherit the family business: organized crime. It's a pretty sweet business, all told. Far more interesting than this nattering pompous and arrogant self-flattery that passes for “meaningful questions”. You want to discuss real things, things of meaning like money and status and fear. Not painfully dry material like how to prove the knife is sharp. You know how to prove the knife is sharp! You shiv someone!
Apparently there's some crazy cultists intending on making life difficult as well now. It seems to you that this might be the most exciting thing to have happened in the starched shirt community. Finally, some action, and a chance to prove to your father that you're good in a violent, bloody pinch.
PHILOSOPHY – Body Without Organs: While philosophy in general is fucking dull dry bullshit, there are a few niches that you find yourself uniquely qualified to discuss. Thoroughly. You gain a bonus to arguments about murder.
Victory Condition: You win when all of the cultists have been eliminated.
&
Jeremy Irons/Himself
I can't believe that no proposals were passed.
A rule change game with no rule changes...
Day 2:
INVICTUS Defend (1/0)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26731131/#Comment_26731131
Phyphor Attack
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26733986/#Comment_26733986
Invictus Defend (4)
Philosophy: Death (Of Phalla) Active
ZH DOUBLE POINT
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26736615/#Comment_26736615
Phyphor Defend (1/0)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26738246/#Comment_26738246
Invictus Attack
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26738567/#Comment_26738567
Phyphor Defend (1/0)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26739218/#Comment_26739218
Invictus Attack
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26739627/#Comment_26739627
Phyphor Defend (1)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26739631/#Comment_26739631
Invictus Defend (1)
NOTE: Grunt's Ghost frequently Attacked the subject of the debate itself rather than ZH's arguments. These have been fitted to Defend motions.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26729654/#Comment_26729654
Grunt's Defend (2)
Philosophy: Pettiness Active
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26732331/#Comment_26732331
Zombie Hero Defend (1)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26732596/#Comment_26732596
Grunt's Defend (1)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26733046/#Comment_26733046
Zombie Hero Defend (1)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26733187/#Comment_26733187
Grunt's Defend (1)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26733466/#Comment_26733466
ZH Defend (1/0)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26736760/#Comment_26736760
GG Attack
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26736808/#Comment_26736808
ZH Defend (1/0)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26736974/#Comment_26736974
GG Attack
Day 3:
Zombie Hero Defend (1/0)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26744688/#Comment_26744688
jdark Attack
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26746135/#Comment_26746135
ZH Defend (1/0)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26746429/#Comment_26746429
jdark Attack
Jdark: 0
ZH: 0
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26743874/#Comment_26743874
ObiFett Defend (4)
Bonus: Research
ZH Boost
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26744518/#Comment_26744518
TRV Defend (1/0)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26744804/#Comment_26744804
ObiFett Attack
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26746094/#Comment_26746094
TRV Defend (1)
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/26746686/#Comment_26746686
ObiFett Defend (1)
Total:
ObiFett: 3
TRV: 1
Thanks for running the game.
Bummed I died.
Stupid RP
Amazon Wishlist for any secret santa hintings
Ashe Swiftclaw in Jdarksun's World's Largest Dungeon 4e Campaign
Minis should last 4-6-ish, so while on the lower end that's nothing really bad.
premium
BradicusMaximus