The Syndicate

Sorsha wrote:Hi everyone. Just got caught up. I don't have much preference for which one we start with. Too many factors to consider for me right now, they all have good/bad outcomes (as others have pointed out) so

I'm going with number four because it's my fav number!

MovingPictures07 wrote:Voted for 4. I'm bored by the two man race between 1 and 5.

Couple of badasses here, who like kills, poisons and curses in their mafia tea.

I'll try to look over the positions this afternoon - the "write your damn PhD presentation signs plastered all over my bedroom walls" therapy is failing miserably . When does D1 start more precisely?

Ricochet wrote:

Sorsha wrote:Hi everyone. Just got caught up. I don't have much preference for which one we start with. Too many factors to consider for me right now, they all have good/bad outcomes (as others have pointed out) so

I'm going with number four because it's my fav number!

MovingPictures07 wrote:Voted for 4. I'm bored by the two man race between 1 and 5.

Couple of badasses here, who like kills, poisons and curses in their mafia tea.

You know it.

Seriously though, since every Option has pros and cons, I returned to my thinking that we get a horrible Option done now, and despite how horrible thread locking is I just couldn't bring myself to vote for 2 or 3, so hence 4, which is sufficiently horrifying.

Ricochet wrote:I'll try to look over the positions this afternoon - the "write your damn PhD presentation signs plastered all over my bedroom walls" therapy is failing miserably . When does D1 start more precisely?

I'll have to try that, see if it works. Not sure Daisy will appreciate it though.

My only experience with lockdowns was creating them (via Marshy proxy), but I didn't realize people find it so terrifying. :P

Ricochet wrote:My only experience with lockdowns was creating them (via Marshy proxy), but I didn't realize people find it so terrifying. :P

There was some trouble with moderators posting in the thread during Film Directors, despite it being locked, since we can post in locked threads.

Also, I hate the idea of no one being able to talk. What's the point of that? It's a perpetual universal silence.

MovingPictures07 wrote:

Ricochet wrote:My only experience with lockdowns was creating them (via Marshy proxy), but I didn't realize people find it so terrifying. :P

There was some trouble with moderators posting in the thread during Film Directors, despite it being locked, since we can post in locked threads.

Also, I hate the idea of no one being able to talk. What's the point of that? It's a perpetual universal silence.

True, mods were barging in, posting what's going on guyz, then had their posts vanish shortly afterwards. The second lockdown was even more disastrous, because Epignosis left it locked until the end of Day, instead of two-three hours we were hoping for to create some chaos afterwards.

The effect we went for was freezing the vote tally to facilitate mislynches, so I believe that can pretty much be its worst connotation. But I can see why you'd hate not being able to talk. :P

Thread lockdowns are something I don't really understand from a hosts perspective; why would you want to prevent people from posting? But then, i don't understand silencing either from a hosting standpoint so

I think we will get all options at some point. Knowing Black Rock the more we point out the ones we don't like, the more likely it is that tomorrow those will be the only options.

I think to some extent that Sorsha is right; we're boned regardless, lol. So going to stop overthinking and pick 3 (2 & 4 not my faves, might as well get a threadlock over with if we must) and try to see if we can get the numbers a bit closer. Or maybe we can try to form a hand giving the finger with the five options, or some other formation.

MovingPictures07 wrote:

Ricochet wrote:

Sorsha wrote:Hi everyone. Just got caught up. I don't have much preference for which one we start with. Too many factors to consider for me right now, they all have good/bad outcomes (as others have pointed out) so

I'm going with number four because it's my fav number!

MovingPictures07 wrote:Voted for 4. I'm bored by the two man race between 1 and 5.

Couple of badasses here, who like kills, poisons and curses in their mafia tea.

You know it.

Seriously though, since every Option has pros and cons, I returned to my thinking that we get a horrible Option done now, and despite how horrible thread locking is I just couldn't bring myself to vote for 2 or 3, so hence 4, which is sufficiently horrifying.

The thing I hate about 4, though, is that the poison is cumulative. Do we really want Ubzakan getting that on Day 1? I would prefer to get that one over with later rather than sooner if possible. From the host clarification post:

What is poison?

Once poisoned, a player will receive an additional, cumulative vote during each lynch thereafter.

I know I am overthinking again, but in all seriousness, that is the worst option based on that cumulative thing.

That's fair enough. I should have just randomized. :P

S~V~S wrote: I think we will get all options at some point. Knowing Black Rock the more we point out the ones we don't like, the more likely it is that tomorrow those will be the only options.

Can the Hosts really override the votes, if we bicker too much? Otherwise, the position switch ability I see would require that ability's position to be enabled first.

I voted for Position 1.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:Day O is followed by Day P.

If that's the case, then I suggest everyone be nice to MP07 on Day P. :P

The discussion of the thread lockdown ability is interesting to me. This might be a stupid question but would such an ability still be voluntary? If so the person might choose not to use it at all if they wanted. I've never seen a game have it before though so I'm not sure.

Ricochet wrote:

S~V~S wrote: I think we will get all options at some point. Knowing Black Rock the more we point out the ones we don't like, the more likely it is that tomorrow those will be the only options.

Can the Hosts really override the votes, if we bicker too much? Otherwise, the position switch ability I see would require that ability's position to be enabled first.

Sorry for lack of clarity. I meant that the host might cherry pick the night poll position options, not individual role options.

And this host can and will do as she pleases, Lol. And we will like it

Bullzeye wrote:The discussion of the thread lockdown ability is interesting to me. This might be a stupid question but would such an ability still be voluntary? If so the person might choose not to use it at all if they wanted. I've never seen a game have it before though so I'm not sure.

According to the Hosts, not sending in powers will not affect the PScore, so personal decisions in how to use (or not) a position might happen. As for the lockdown itself, I imagine it being used to the utmost advantage of the player or his team (if recruited already)... although the idea that by postponing the use of that (or of any position, in fact), you'll have to wait for another rotation and hope to live enough to get to use it again might inspire most to simply use their positions when they're enabled.

Ricochet wrote:

Bullzeye wrote:The discussion of the thread lockdown ability is interesting to me. This might be a stupid question but would such an ability still be voluntary? If so the person might choose not to use it at all if they wanted. I've never seen a game have it before though so I'm not sure.

According to the Hosts, not sending in powers will not affect the PScore, so personal decisions in how to use (or not) a position might happen. As for the lockdown itself, I imagine it being used to the utmost advantage of the player or his team (if recruited already)... although the idea that by postponing the use of that (or of any position, in fact), you'll have to wait for another rotation and hope to live enough to get to use it again might inspire most to simply use their positions when they're enabled.

In all honesty I'd probably use a power like that for purely selfish reasons - to make everybody else shut up so I can catch up. I expect you're right about how it will be used. IMO that means it's unlikely to be used immediately and perhaps isn't ever guaranteed to get used unless the person holding that power actually needs it.

Okay, I agree with whoever brought up the poison issue. Position 4 will not be getting my vote.

As nice as those position lists aapje made are, it'll be more helpful for me to see all the roles and position powers all at once. You know you're playing a game for the ages when you need to make a spreadsheet just to figure out which Day 0 poll option to select!

thellama73 wrote:

TinyBubbles wrote:

S~V~S wrote:

TinyBubbles wrote:POST. hi everyone

POST. I see you voted. Any reason you chose the one you did?

not really, it's just the first number so why not start at the beginning
since we are going to cycle through all 5 positions anyway
and I like the number 1 :P

That was my reasoning, copycat. Are you bad?

thellama73 wrote:

DharmaHelper wrote:Llama associates copycats with being bad. Llama is a copycat. Llama is bad.

Where did I say I associated copycats with being bad?

You didn't. You associated your own reasoning with being bad.

Bullzeye wrote:

Metalmarsh89 wrote:

S~V~S wrote:

Metalmarsh89 wrote:Russ, you managed to use the word interesting twice in pne sentence which is even worse than using adverbs. You're so bad.

is this serious or sarcasm?

In this moment, I am not being serious.

But I do believe that mafia is more apt to use descriptors like "interesting" or "odd" because they call out behaviours without stating their own opinion.

Can interesting and odd not be opinions? For instance: "I think your face is odd". That's an opinion!

You are absolutely right, but you also speak of a situation that might not be entirely game related.

Let's take the current poll as an example. Typhoony voted for Position 1 to break a 6-6 tie between Position 1 and Position 5. Now let's say you came in and responded with "I find it interesting that Typhoony broke the tie in favor of Position 1." That's an oppurtunistic statement. You've commented on the situation and left it open for another player to offer an opinion on. This gives you the chance to pick one side or the other based on another player's response. You're riding the fence.

OK, here's my silly breakdown of the positions

Abilities with positive effects on a player or the field
Abilities that only serve the carrier's interest or gain
Abilities with negative effects on a player or the field
Abilities with ambivalent effects, that will probably depend on the alignment of the carrier

I am aware this is far from perfect, because recruitement might ultimately influence itself the positive or negative charge of most abilities. A protection can be generally positive, but switch to serving the player's or team's interest (if, for instance, the player gets recruited in a baddie camp). Some abilities like the kills or the ones that sound nasty have been unconditionally slotted into negative, despite their own nuances depending on alignment (like civ kills). The "ambivalent" section is for abilities I couldn't grasp or couldn't project into any of the three main slots (Stuff like "Picks Player". Ok, what am I supposed to believe will happen to the picked player or how can I tell if the pick is for goood or bad?)

So, to the best of my understanding and probably with a lot of mistakes in counting/assessing them:
(wow, those are some weak ass color contrasts, but I'm not redoing the entire scheme code)

So overall positions 3 and 4 seems the most unpleasant, with 3 potentially creating the most amount of nasty. But of course, I haven't nuanced this breakdown at all, as in weighing which abilities are more pos/neg than others; so for instance, this doesn't really make the other positions look any better, considering they have stuff like Cremation, Mind Control, Hunger, Parasite, Immolation etc.

My conclusion is that, indeed, there is no safe choosing in this matter and we'll have to go through most of these positions anyway. It's clear that the Hosts have made this pretty balanced and it's more like a crazy mix, as if we jump from one entire game setup to another each Day (wait, this isn't Inception... ), each with its virtues and nightmares, so we'll just have to navigate and suffer through them. However, my impulse right now is not to get rid of the worst-looking, because I think the amount of nasty effects and chaos would be different on D1 (with most of us unrecruited yet/unaligned) rather than later, when we have a better chance to look for patterns and such.

But this is overanalyzing, so tl;dr version is: right I feel like going for 1 or 2, out of which I think I prefer 1, even though it has cremation and mind control, because I'm not in the mood for Hunger and shit like that from Day freaking 1 already.

MovingPictures07 wrote:I am absolutely stoked to the utmost degree to play this game. LC and BR, I really can't wait to play this out. And the player list is SO EPIC.

It seems this Day 0 poll may be quite meaningful, upon first glance. What do you all think?

MovingPictures07 wrote:That's fair enough. I should have just randomized. :P

Geez, did you even listen to us at all?

Day 0 and this is already a really fun game. I'm excited to see how all these interesting role powers work. Especially mine.

I also can't wait to kill TinyBubbles. Day 1, please!

Jeebus, 270 posts? Serves me right for sleeping through the start of game, I suppose :P Catching up now, typing some thoughts as I go.

The whole adverb thing is ridiculous. I don't see why it would be relevant for the theme (in terms of being a requirement for a given role). I also think generalizing that baddies use adverbs as a form of distancing or overexplaining is spurious at best. Also, MP clearly has a few sentences that don't use adverbs, so he's not even completely consistent.

I am, however, a fan of pedantic pink. A good addition to the stable of colors :P

Doesn't seem like anyone has gone out on too much of a limb, which is to be expected I suppose. aapje's listing of powers by position is great, probably the most useful think that's been done in the thread so far.

I think the easiest way to start picking apart preferences is through the role of the Brutal Executioner. People aren't going to vote for the position in which the Executioner could target their clan. All things considered, I think Position 1 is the best choice. Fairly low danger overall, and Executioner targets a Sorcerer, which reduces chaos.

MM that yellow is impossible to see in light color scheme, especially on phone. Could you please eliminate it from the repertoire?

Thanks

S~V~S wrote:MM that yellow is impossible to see in light color scheme, especially on phone. Could you please eliminate it from the repertoire?

Thanks

As a fellow user of the light color scheme, I also object to impossible to read colors.

And I want to lynch TinyBubbles.

What is all this averb talk, am I taking a grammar class?, I did not know thats what I signep up is over my head
,

I'm not going to overthink it, and Position 5 seems the least bad to me right now, looking at aapje's list.

Bullzeye wrote:The discussion of the thread lockdown ability is interesting to me. This might be a stupid question but would such an ability still be voluntary? If so the person might choose not to use it at all if they wanted. I've never seen a game have it before though so I'm not sure.

We do not require that abilities, especially those like Thread Lockdown, get used every time they come up. It won't affect anyone's P-Score to choose not to use their power, whether it's kill, lockdown, Hunger, or otherwise.

It would be excellent for such players to send in a PM letting us know that they are choosing not to use a power. And remember, the earlier you send your power in, the better it is for your hosts!

Boomslang wrote: The whole adverb thing is ridiculous. I don't see why it would be relevant for the theme (in terms of being a requirement for a given role). I also think generalizing that baddies use adverbs as a form of distancing or overexplaining is spurious at best. Also, MP clearly has a few sentences that don't use adverbs, so he's not even completely consistent.

As someone else already said, it doesn't work anyway if you don't take into account individual differences in language use. The past seven years in education have conditioned me to use loads of adverbs just to pad out my writing and get closer to expected word counts. Doesn't mean I'm secretly evil in real life and planning to kill off my lecturers or something...

unfurl wrote:What is all this averb talk, am I taking a grammar class?, I did not know thats what I signep up is over my head
,

Adverbs are evil. Look up the phrase adverb in the dictionary and you will find it says "A sure sign of malice". Maybe. Probably not.

Voted for position 1, Im not overthinking things in this game, Im just gonna be dont worry be happy

Bullzeye wrote:

unfurl wrote:What is all this averb talk, am I taking a grammar class?, I did not know thats what I signep up is over my head
,

Adverbs are evil. Look up the phrase adverb in the dictionary and you will find it says "A sure sign of malice". Maybe. Probably not.

As Hurley said in lost "I need spell check" when it comes to english, so Im not one to judge on grammar matter

I think the mixing the pot has officialy started lol

S~V~S wrote:MM that yellow is impossible to see in light color scheme, especially on phone. Could you please eliminate it from the repertoire?

Thanks

The yellow marks an excessive use of adverbs, which is unimportant.

But I'm glad pedantic pink took off over the pedantic black. I couldn't read the black print with my color scheme.

Keeping this first choice simple and going with position 1

Yay game!

Bullzeye wrote:

Boomslang wrote: The whole adverb thing is ridiculous. I don't see why it would be relevant for the theme (in terms of being a requirement for a given role). I also think generalizing that baddies use adverbs as a form of distancing or overexplaining is spurious at best. Also, MP clearly has a few sentences that don't use adverbs, so he's not even completely consistent.

As someone else already said, it doesn't work anyway if you don't take into account individual differences in language use. The past seven years in education have conditioned me to use loads of adverbs just to pad out my writing and get closer to expected word counts. Doesn't mean I'm secretly evil in real life and planning to kill off my lecturers or something...

unfurl wrote:What is all this averb talk, am I taking a grammar class?, I did not know thats what I signep up is over my head
,

Adverbs are evil. Look up the phrase adverb in the dictionary and you will find it says "A sure sign of malice". Maybe. Probably not.

I too was taught to use many adverbs to create, flowery, descriptive prose. That was middle and high school though. The first conference with my English Comp professor (who was also the Dean of Faculty and went on to become president of the college) was eye-opening. He gave me the best advice on writing I ever received: "Forget everything your high school English teachers taught you about writing."


As Messrs. Strunk, White, and King advise...

Position 1 seems to be the missionary of this poll, so I will choose it. No reason to get all crazy right off the bat.

Hi guys and gals! I'm confused already. I'm making an arbitrary pickfor number 3 because 3 is a magic number.

Black Rock wrote:Hello my busy bees, has everyone checked in yet?

Yes. Start day 1.

thellama73 wrote:

Black Rock wrote:Hello my busy bees, has everyone checked in yet?

Yes. Start day 1.

Actually assuming everyone who has posted in this thread that isn't the hosts or mod is playing, we're still missing four people. Also around 10 people haven't voted yet.

I'll vote during my lunch break after I build that position spreadsheet.

Turnip Head wrote:I voted for Position 1 because if you ain't first you're last.

What color is that supposed to be- pontificating purple?

unfurl wrote:

Bullzeye wrote:

unfurl wrote:What is all this averb talk, am I taking a grammar class?, I did not know thats what I signep up is over my head
,

Adverbs are evil. Look up the phrase adverb in the dictionary and you will find it says "A sure sign of malice". Maybe. Probably not.

As Hurley said in lost "I need spell check" when it comes to english, so Im not one to judge on grammar matter

I think the mixing the pot has officialy started lol

Hurley ftmfw!


Dude!!!

G-Man wrote:

Turnip Head wrote:I voted for Position 1 because if you ain't first you're last.

What color is that supposed to be- pontificating purple?

dilettante purple

Azura Nokomis stood over a map of the realm, carefully arranging the ornate pieces that represented the concentration of the forces of various factions. A polished scrying stone stood to her left, and as she turned to gaze deep into it, she could see Ubzargan the Ruthless clasping hands with a shadowy new ally. "So, cyborg," she hissed. "You too are recruiting powerful allies to your faction!" She grinned evilly - the only kind of grin anyone ever saw on her face. "Your pathetic brutes cannot hope to stand against my mastery of the very elements that compose our existence! And my own new ally will be particularly... useful."

As if on cue, Azura's general entered the war room. "Master," he intoned rumblingly. "There is one factor that could be cause for concern. The Brotherhood of the Inner Eye... they have one member who, it is said, can see the future." Azura raised an eyebrow as he continued. "They call him the Blind Ninja. Some sort of oracle, perhaps."

Azura stroked her chin. "Indeed. Best to eliminate the threat immediately." She reached into a pouch for a handful of black stones and sulphur, and scattered them on the floor, uttering a few words of magic. The stones began to glow red hot, and the smoke that they produced coalesced into a shadowy demonic form, which hovered before her, awaiting instructions.

"Kill the Blind Ninja," she commanded, and the demon bowed in acquiescence and moved toward the window. "Cremate the body as well," she added, and turned back to her ally. "We don't want him coming back from the dead - ever!"


The next morning, Ahriman rose to a commotion outside. Quickly moving to discover its source, he found a small crowd gathered around a pile of ashes. "What is going on here?" he asked, and the crowd instantly quieted and parted to allow Ahriman through.

"It's Elohcin!" cried one acolyte. "A ninja in training until the accident last week took her sight. And now this... she's just... just completely burned away!"

Ahriman's brow furrowed ever so slightly. "Dark times are coming, my students. This was a message from the Sorcerers, surely intended for Anto'kai." He nodded toward the Blind Ninja, who leaned against an ornate cherry wood pillar in the shadows to the side. As the crowd turned to see him, Anto'kai turned and walked away into a nearby temple.

"This will not be the last death we witness before this conflict ends." Ahriman gazed sternly around at each monk present. "Steel yourselves, and be prepared for anything!"

With that, he returned to his quarters, and once he was gone, nervous murmurs began.

"Can he keep us safe?"

"I don't want to end up like Elohcin!"

"If there's going to be a war, I want to be on the winning side!"

Elohcin has been modkilled by request, because we have no replacement currently. Her role, the Blind Ninja, has been given to one of the three remaining vanillas. The final two vanillas will be receiving roles before long. Creative suggestions are welcome.

Black Rock wrote:

Official Announcement

I need a replacement, I have tried two people. If I don't have one by tomorrow I will mod-kill the player and be down a vanilla.

Well now we know whoever gets replaced is vanilla, so probably just better in the long run to modkill them.

Linki.

Black Rock wrote:Hello my busy bees, has everyone checked in yet?

Don't think bea, BWT, Canuck, Dom and Eloh did, except if some of them are among the ones you're looking to replace.

Derp bea did.

The first modkill I witness!