If thou ever feeleth the desire to striketh another, restrain thyself and burneth a pound of meat to OsiOsi. He will allow thee to bed the wife of thee enemy.
A priest's sermon
You are a Priest
Background:
There are a two prerequisites for becoming a priest:
1) Being old
2) Being a virgin
After that you can worship the gods all the time instead of just on weekends!
Battle Rating:
1 – Devoting yourself to the rituals of the gods leaves little time for military training. The strongest man is the one with the strongest faith as you say.
My role PM with its ability... which I put to good use only to rid us of one of the most powerful pro-townie role...
Hello Tristan de Castelreng, thanks for playing
Quote: Look at these peasants at the gate, shouting for bread and burning things. So matter of fact and straight to business. I somewhat like that. No...no, "like" is the wrong word choice. "Hate" is more the feeling I was trying to capture in that phrase...
You on the masses
You are The Oligarch
Background:
Oh how you loathe the insufferable domestics of society! Now the brazen horde wants to participate in political and social life...
Your distaste for the lower classes goes far back. You were a young man, and in love with the most wonderful girl. She had it all: noble lineage, loads of money, good looks...
You were going to pull all your charms on this noble lady at a ball, and made the most careful preparations. Yet this meticulous plan was undone by the ineptitude of the common rabble.
You see, you had pulled out your trump card, a most exquisite pair of trousers, which would no doubt attract your prospective mate. You left very careful instructions with the tailor to put an extra two pleats on the codpiece, which would be the key to your love's heart.
Of course, the ignorant fool did such shoddy work and ruined your entire love life. Such a wait for service too! Enraged, not only did you withhold the tip, but you devoted your life to keeping the common settlers in their place, and sparing the nobles from their evil and stupidity.
You must save the settlement from the settlers!
Battle Rating:
3 – Your life has been one of comfort and privilege, but the job of keeping the unwashed masses in place has forced you take the initiative and undergo military training.
Abilities:
Vote Tampering: Every day, before voting ends, you may tamper with the vote count, adding one tally to a settler of your choice and removing one tally from a settler of your choice.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
Public Role:
Quote: I have found myself kneeling before quite a number of prominent priest kings and their pants were down sometimes.
You on life as a courtier
You are a Bureaucrat
Background:
Looking around at your society you cannot help but feel pleased at the integral job your play in its administration. You perform a wide variety of crucial tasks for the priest king such as deciding on the pattern of his royal seal, matching the furniture with the drapes in the temple complex and planning the potlucks.
It is clear that the people of your station is what makes the settlements run, which is why the animosity from the lesser peoples is so startling.
By the gods, you are a class of benevolent land owners and yet you are discriminated against because of your God given birthright!
Battle Rating:
1 - Living a most pampered and sheltered life has kept you away from military training or any sort of physical exertion whatsoever. Your high quality arms and armor will only be of so much use to one who knows nothing of fighting.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
King Baldwin the Tyrant, King of Jerusalem, Warden of the Holy Sepulchre, Slayer of Sultans in the Crusades Hotseat (new write-up here and previous write-up here) Methodios Tagaris, Caesar and Rebelin LotR Mexica Sunrise: An AztecAAR
If it makes anyone feel better, there is a group out there dedicated to healing their wounds and attempting (failing miserably) to wash away the stink of townie failure. Here is our meeting place, and here is our TOP-SECRET HIDEOUT.
-we make the shame go away. Or no, wait... the opposite of that. We make it stay, and we embrace it.
Last edited by Askthepizzaguy; 04-07-2009 at 11:40.
My role PM with its ability... which I put to good use only to rid us of one of the most powerful pro-townie role...
That was my fault, not yours. I was intentionally trying to get a few votes on me each round so that the mafia would leave me alive at night. I was carefully watching the vote count on me to make sure I never went over into an actual lynch, but I cut it too close. I can't remember how I knew that there was a vote switcher out there, but I was aware of it and yet it simply didn't occur to me that it might be used against me. That was my error alone, since I was intentionally drawing votes. That was actually the main reason I think this was my worst performance; my lynching was my own fault and I could have easily avoided it if I had been more careful.
That said, I was also just happy to have a legitimate excuse to act differently from my previous games. I've gotten a bit bored with the whole constant analysis bit. I find it useful at times, but it's tiring to be expected to do it all the time. This was the perfect opportunity to make a break from that and act a little more amorphous, while still benefiting myself. I had a lot more fun with my posting style in this game, so I'll probably continue to edge towards that in the future.
Apon passing under the main gate:~ Turn right at the Blacksmiths' then pass by the Brewery ~ Head past the fish market, through the square and it's the big hall with the skulls nailed to the door.
Posts
465
Re: The Settlement (Concluded)
Originally Posted by TinCow
That said, I was also just happy to have a legitimate excuse to act differently from my previous games. I've gotten a bit bored with the whole constant analysis bit. I find it useful at times, but it's tiring to be expected to do it all the time. This was the perfect opportunity to make a break from that and act a little more amorphous, while still benefiting myself. I had a lot more fun with my posting style in this game, so I'll probably continue to edge towards that in the future.
Do you think it was the fine setting that Reenk created that made this easier? I realise that not everyone is into roleplay but, for me, it makes the difference between a good game and a great game. I shall mention it again I'm sure, but I can't thank Reenk enough for the excellent and entertaining writing (especially the role PMs) which I have found most inspiring
Follow the sorcerous carnage HERE!
Come get your NEW RE_SIZED! Council of the Magi Teaser Sigs here!
Do you think it was the fine setting that Reenk created that made this easier? I realise that not everyone is into roleplay but, for me, it makes the difference between a good game and a great game. I shall mention it again I'm sure, but I can't thank Reenk enough for the excellent and entertaining writing (especially the role PMs) which I have found most inspiring
Ironically, I never really tried to roleplay. Any similarities between my posting style and my role should probably be clocked up to actual parallels between who I am in real life and the description of the 'Psyensil.' I did greatly enjoy both your and khaan's efforts to RP though. I've been known to use poetry as humor before, so I had a lot of fun arguing in that style.
Seamus is away on vacation btw. Should be back at the 8th.
Just got to reading this thread this morning while the kiddies slept in. Can't say as I expected it to finish this way....
"The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that's why it's so essential to preserving individual freedom.” -- Milton Friedman
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." -- H. L. Mencken
Nice job there Seamus, Andres, Jolt etc... you know who you are.
And to not seeing that two Masons was suspicious. Two Masons? A mason group is only really effective with 3 or more members.
I guess I could blame RL ... well not really. I still have my faculties and I was played like the rest of them.
Great game to all that played, and a well-earned victory for Seamus. Guess you finally survived to the end.
I admit that this game overwhelmed me at times. Being not much of a Mafia RP'er and combined with the fact that my role was destined to not have much of an impact on the greater scope of things, I quickly got left behind. I'm at least glad that I was able to contribute to the lynch of Andres, and that the rest of you had such a good time. A very well-hosted, intricate game Reenk.
"I'm going to die anyway, and therefore have nothing more to do except deliberately annoy Lemur." -Orb, in the chat
"Lemur. Even if he's innocent, he's a pain; so kill him." -Ignoramus
"I'm going to need to collect all of the rants about the guilty lemur, and put them in a pretty box with ponies and pink bows. Then I'm going to sprinkle sparkly magic dust on the box, and kiss it." -Lemur Mafia: Promoting peace and love since June 2006
Originally Posted by TosaInu
At times I read back my own posts [...]. It's not always clear at first glance.
The priest king Reenk Roink woke up in the middle of the night sweating. It was just a horrible dream. Washing his face, he went to his window and stared out at the now desolate settlement. A feeling of great sadness came over him.
Shuffling his feet towards the altar, he began to hold a night vigil, asking the gods to reveal whether the threat was finished. Expecting the same negative answer he had received for the past eleven nights, the priest king was astonished when he received the good tidings from OsiOsi that the last servant of Vode was slain in the mass crucifixion. It was the manliest man with the manliest name Boudica!
The priest king ran out of his temple complex in euphoria and woke up the shepherd Seamus Fermanagh and the cook and generous brewer and psycho named Naut to give them the news. Though it was just them, and a few women and slaves remaining, now the settlement could move on. New settlers would undoubtedly come and prosper under the priest king Reenk Roink...
settler victory! (seriously )
purple: good men (normal settler) olive: men (normal settler) green: divine (pisuf...) cyan: loyalist (pro town roles) lime: idiosyncratic (self motivated story that falls in line with town goals – “pro town lite”) dark orange: nefarious (self motivated story that is in opposition to town goals though non usurper) red: usurper (mafia)
GeneralHankerchief - Bureaucrat
Sasaki Kojiro - The Blessing of Kefy [Water Carrier]
taka - Iffo the Fallen/Risen [Merchant]
White_eyes:D - Farmer
seireikhaan - Poet
Lord Winter - Farmer
Captain Blackadder - Priest
Gaius Scribonius Curio - Scribe
Beefy187 - Tax Collector [Bureaucrat]
TheFlax - Scribe
Psychonaut - The Generous Brewer [Cook]
CountArach - Pisuf [Potter]
FactionHeir - The Last Thief of Carn [Farmer]
Andres - Vode's Dagger [Merchant]
boudica - Vode's Eyes [Farmer]
Jolt - Vode's Wand [Priest]
TinCow - The Psyensil [Sweeper]
Ichigo - Laborer
Yoyoma1910 - The Eye of OsiOsi [Priest]
Tristan de Castelreng - The Oligarch [Bureaucrat]
pevergreen - The Village Idiot [Farmer]
Sigurd - Merchant
shlin28 - Soldier
777Ares777 - Vode's Sword [Laborer]
Askthepizzaguy - Shepherd
LittleGrizzly - The Watcher [Beggar]
Seamus Fermanagh - Shepherd
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
Note: Some of the roles have been cleaned up (typos and formatting errors and the like) and so may be slightly different from the ones sent out.
men basic roles:
1 beggar (0)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
You: Spare some change sir?
Nobleman: Away with you beggar!
You: May the gods bless you!
You: Spare some change sir?
Another Nobleman: Well there, don't you just add to the local color? Quite the smashing bit of dress you wear there. I'll have to look into such an outfit when I next attend one of aunties' full dress costume affairs. I'll be the talk of the party!
You: May the gods bless you!
A common day of begging
You are a Beggar
Background:
Things could have been better you guess. Your father died before you were born and your mother died during your delivery. At least that's what the ladies at the orphanage used to tell you as they chained you up for the night. It's not as if you minded being locked in a dark room every day; it's just that the rats had the superior numbers and usually took the gruel that was left for you.
Boy those were the good old days. After leaving the orphanage you went on the streets. You found that trading blessings for food or money doesn't really work well, but what the hell, you gave out a lot of free samples!
You left the city to go sailing for new lands. They said people were getting paid to make the journey to a new settlement. You didn't get paid anything but hey, there's a better chance of catching a fish on the sea than on the dirt roads. Unless, of course, you're near a fish market; what a banquet!.
Boy are those slaves lucky, gods bless them.
Battle Rating:
0 - They say a hard life hardens a man. Well they obviously haven't had a life as hard as yours. Constant lack of food has left you weaker than a baby. Constant lack of clean water has left you stricken with disease. Constant lack of shelter has taken a huge toll on your body. You have a hard enough time going through the act of eating much less fighting.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
1 cook (2)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I am not a cook!
A crook
You are a Cook
Background:
The story of you becoming a cook is a long and odd one. It all began when your friends wanted to play a practical joke on you.
They told you of a mysterious place called the food pyramid where witchcraft was practiced. You were sent to infiltrate the food pyramid and gather intelligence for secret missions and other cool stuff you did as kids.
When inside you saw the most horrific occult acts imaginable. The witches of the food pyramid would perform bizarre rituals where they would sacrifice animals and then skin them, remove their organs, and then chop them up. They would then toss these remains in boiling cauldrons and add intoxicating herbs to the mix; obviously some form of incense that pleased the demons that the witches served.
It took you a very long time to realize that this witch coven was in fact a training camp where newly married women went. You yourself got a very good domestic education.
However, it seemed that the people in your village were not very open to the idea of a man cooking and you were mocked and ridiculed, which is why you ventured off to start a new life.
Battle Rating:
3 - Though you have no military training, your experiences in the kitchen have made you proficient with knives and given you a keen sense for vital organs.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
6 farmer (2)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Farming is the eternal war continuously being waged by mankind against the relentlessly invading hordes of the evil plant kingdom.
Definition of farming
You are a Farmer
Background:
In the beginning the gods/mods decided to create a game. A mortal multiplayer on-earth role playing game called Life. So they created the Earth. Then they created the factions that would inhabit the Earth. On the one hand there were the plants, a faction of seemingly passive warriors who overwhelmed others with their sheer numbers. On the other hand there were the animals, who were much less stationary and much less numerous than the plants.
The animals at first were seriously nerfed, with only some among them being able to cause minimal damage the plants by grazing attacks. What was worse was that animal poop was plant food! For a long time, the plants pwned the animals. Plant spamming was a frequent complaint to the gods/mods.
Obviously the game was unbalanced so the gods/mods decided to introduce a new animal class: the human. The human was the most dangerous animal yet. However, the human had a long learning curve so for quite some time the plants had an easy time pwing the human players who were all noobs at that point. Their gathering attack was even less effective against the plants than the other animals' grazing attacks.
Eventually however, some clans playing on certain maps unlocked a new package: the farmer. For the first time, the humans began to turn the tide against the plants, much to the chagrin of the latter who accused the humans of h4x. Now that the basic techniques of farming have been honed the learning curve is gone and over 70% of players now choose to be farmers.
Beware, however, as the gods/mods are rumored to introduce a new expansion pack called Urbanization which will nerf the farmer and force him to the margins of Life! Luckily the release date is a long time away. Until then, you will continue to rack up the points as a farmer. You did have to find a new server though, as you got banned from your old one.
Battle Rating:
2 - You don't have any type of military training and are dirt poor (actually you have a lot of dirt...) but you are ripped from toiling the fields all day and can swing a mean hoe.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
2 laborer (3)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Your mother reminds me of the most just socio-economic ideal: every worker gets a share!
Laborer inside joke
You are a Laborer
Background:
Once upon a time the gods would build buildings and plow fields for humans. Then some stupid priest king tried to kill the gods because he was upset at how he had to walk downstairs to use the bathroom in his palace. Needless to say, the gods weren't happy with this ungrateful attitude towards their architectural design and so they made humans work.
So you work. It really isn't that bad, but you lot are a bunch of lazy whiners so you always complain and are ungrateful to the benevolent bourgeois.
You make a long list of grievances, but they really are pretenses for wanting a cushy white robe job like the priests and bureaucrats have where they just look at pretty women when their bosses aren't looking.
Battle Rating:
3 – Your line of work really toughens up a man, and even though you don't have any military training or equipment, you are pretty tough to fight against.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
2 merchant (1)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Much of the information contained in this message is not necessarily true and not available in all locations and valid for a limited time only.
Terms and conditions
You are a Merchant
Background:
You have made your living by selling your products to other people who either do not need them or would be better off buying other products.
However, life for a merchant is tough in the big city with all the competition, which leads to drama, then politics, then violence. Because of this you got together with a few of your merchant acquaintances to decide what to do next.
Common sense eventually dictated that you all go find new settlements to live in. This way there would be less competition leading to more demand leading to more profit. You all agreed to follow this plan; all but one.
One among you decided instead to write a book about this plan and submit it to the local priest king. The priest king was so impressed by this plan’s applicability that he elevated the author to the chief administrative office and declared that he had invented a new science called Economics.
Somewhat jealous at your acquaintance’s newfound success, you nevertheless are optimistic at testing the unsaturated markets of the new settlements.
Battle Rating:
1 – Not only do you have no military training or equipment, but you have not done much in the way of physical exertion and are as soft as the silk sheet you sell. Good thing your trade requires you to convince people, because the only way you’ll come out alive from a fight is by having the other guy not fight you.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
1 potter (1)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Can I get it with chicken?
A customer when buying a bowl
You are a Potter
Background:
Why did you become a potter? You often think about this question when your mind is idle on the wheel.
The most widely held theory is that you are descended from a tribe which incorporated pottery into a central position of their hunting rituals. Your tribe believed that if the hunter cannot see the prey then the prey cannot see the hunter and so one man of the tribe ingeniously instructed the hunters to put clay bowls over their heads so as to increase productivity during a famine.
Other theories have recently been advanced, more based on actual reality, such as the theory that you have inherited your profession supported by the fact that your father and your father’s father were potters, but so far these have not gained popularity from academics or the general public at large.
Whatever the reason, every new settlement needs a potter to make sure that the history and culture of a people is remembered when the potsherds are dug up thousands of years later (as well as the less important reason for providing vessels for various uses).
Battle Rating:
1 - You continue the traditions of your tribe by putting a pot over your head when you go into battle. Unfortunately, baked clay is not that effective at protecting against blows and a pot over the eyes impedes vision.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
2 shepherd (2)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Damn it Shakespeare, how'd you get out of the pen? You poop in that pool and you're gonna end up lunch meat!
You to your sheep
You are a Shepherd
Background:
Your line of work was never easy, or glamorous, or well paying, but it was very rewarding. Until the Tax Collector began to show up that is. The man literally took everything from you, your sheep, your land, your children, and to top it off he demanded conjugal relations with your wife to pay off your debt.
When this point was reached, you had had enough. The Tax Collector was eventually dismissed from his post on account of the cost of the army that needed to be sent to accompany him when he visited the countryside, and so he went off to a new settlement to continue his evil work.
You are following him to bring justice and make sure he never oppresses others like he has oppressed you. You are accompanied by a fellow shepherd who has a similar history.
Battle Rating:
2 – Raising sheep means having to keep them in line, and while you haven't exactly had any type of formal military training, your background has made you scrappy if nothing else.
Note: In the case of a duel against the Tax Collector, both of you can fight together thus adding to your chances of victory (your battle ratings will be added together). This double team situation will only occur in a fight against The Tax Collector.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast The Tax Collector
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
1 soldier (4)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Why the **** did you stab me in the ribs?
A civilian to a soldier
You are a Soldier
Background:
The first soldiers were priests who were committed to a peaceful environment in which the gods could be worshiped. They were given an exceptional military training and truly became vehicles of destruction long before the first pickup trucks were invented.
However, they turned out to be consummate professionals who oddly did not like to steal, rape, and kill. They were highly intelligent and individualistic, and so they were quickly able to note the contradictory nature of their means and goals and decided instead that it would be a more constructive use of their time to utter chants and burn meat.
The kings, realizing the problem, quickly needed a new demographic to fight for them. They found one that was more numerous and better suited for the job: the common people. Rounding up a rag tag bunch of foul mouthed farmers, highway robbers, and rugby players, the kings spent much more time brainwashing loyalty into these men by promising them women, alcohol, gold, and land in that order.
As a result, not much time was devoted to learning the techniques of warfare such as how to use weapons or how to march in formation leading to the resulting soldiers being unable to acquire complex military skills such as distinguishing friend from foe.
So the story goes of you, the loyal soldier of the priest king Reenk Roink.
Battle Rating:
4 – You were a strong man to begin with when you were recruited into the army, and after being given a rigorous military training and standard arms and armor, you are not one to get into a scuffle with.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)[/QUOTE]
1 sweeper (1)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
For imaginative play and easy cleanup, the broom is the perfect toy!
The merchant's slogan that convinced you to buy the broom
You are a Sweeper
Background:
You used to be a down-trodden beggar until the gods smiled upon you one fateful day. A grumpy old man just came up to you and handed you a masterwork suit of armor. It was constructed from the finest materials and so richly adorned that it would be the envy of the greatest kings in the land.
So many potential opportunities opened themselves up for you that day. You could become a great warrior! You could use the suit of armor to buy a great manor with a lot of land and many slaves! You could walk the streets decked out in the armor and have all the ladies of high lineage and low morals flock to you!
All of those scenarios seem to pale with the one that immediately confronted you. A most savory merchant seeing you with the armor, offered you a bargain you could not resist. He pulled out a broom, an object so versatile that it boggled your mind. You could make an entire career with it as a sweeper! You could use it as a weapon! You could use it to make a scarecrow! That was just the tip of the iceberg too, the possibilities of what you could do with the broom were endless, so you quickly made the trade.
When you heard about the expedition to new lands to found new settlements, you saw a great opportunity for adventure with your broom! Brand new streets to sweep and a lot of time to think...
Battle Rating:
1 - You have never had any military training and the only weapon you have is your broom. You may place a great deal of confidence in it but a fact's a fact: you are an easy pushover in a fight.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)[/QUOTE]
1 water carrier (2)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
lol!
Other people on hearing that you carry water
You are a Water Carrier
Background:
Why do you do the most humiliating job ever? The work that even slaves laugh at? There are many answers given to questions like these by many different people.
Your mother states you do it because you are the strongest man.
The farmers say you do it in order to piss in the water because you believe your urine has cosmetic benefits for the women who are not renowned for their beauty.
A pious priest says you do it because you are a kind man who likes to do beneficial services for the community.
A theory popular with academics is that you are actually an evil wizard who is putting some kind of dormant poison in the water. You will one day activate that poison which will make the entire settlement fond of nothing but archery. Then you will call in your army of mercenary swordsmen who will invade and a bloody battle will be fought with you eventually prevailing because swordsmen are strong against archers.
Some salute you, some ridicule you, and some warn against you but you go on, bringing water to the settlement every morning.
Battle Rating:
3 – Though you don’t have any military training or equipment, all the water lifting has made you ripped. You are as strong as the average warrior. All the taunting has also given you thick skin.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
good men basic roles:
3 bureaucrat (1)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I have found myself kneeling before quite a number of prominent priest kings and their pants were down sometimes.
You on life as a courtier
You are a Bureaucrat
Background:
Looking around at your society you cannot help but feel pleased at the integral job your play in its administration. You perform a wide variety of crucial tasks for the priest king such as deciding on the pattern of his royal seal, mathcing the furniture with the drapes in the temple complex, and planning the potlucks.
It is clear that the people of your station are what make settlements run, which is why the animosity from the lesser peoples is so startling.
By the gods, you are a class of benevolent land owners and yet you are discriminated against because of your god given birthright!
Battle Rating:
1 - Living a most pampered and sheltered life has kept you away from military training or any sort of physical exertion whatsoever. Your high quality arms and armor will only be of so much use to one who knows nothing of fighting.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
1 poet (1)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Poetry is for cuckolded men and lonely women.
A jerk on poetry
You are a Poet
Background:
The gods gave you the gift of words
To entertain the common turds...
You finish the damn thing, you are the poet are you not? Most usless group of people ever...
Battle Rating:
1 - You have always believed the word was mightier than the sword. Such a sentiment led you to neglect any physical or military training and will obviously hurt you in combat.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
3 priest (1)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
If thou ever feeleth the desire to striketh another, restrain thyself and burneth a pound of meat to OsiOsi. He will allow thee to bed the wife of thee enemy.
A priest's sermon
You are a Priest
Background:
There are a two prerequisites for becoming a priest:
1) Being old
2) Being a virgin
After that you can worship the gods all the time instead of just on weekends!
Battle Rating:
1 – Devoting yourself to the rituals of the gods leaves little time for military training. The strongest man is the one with the strongest faith as you say.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
2 scribe (1)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
To the man who asserts that reading frees one mind we will respond that this proposition is patently false, and its falsity is perspicuously demonstrable as reading causes the man to take on board the ideas and views of the writer and thus his mind becomes nothing more than an intellectual slave to the writers he has read.
Yet we will go further than this and demonstrate that reading is not free even in monetary terms.
First consider the price of reading materials. We scribes make sure the prices of our writings are exuberant.
In considering the case of the man who does not buy what he reads, we offer this most excellent argument of indirect cost:
- it is a fact of temporal-spatial existence that the act of reading consumes time
- the above may be restated in language as reading causes the loss of time
- it also is a well known maxim that time is money
- thus money may be substituted for time in the statement reading causes the loss of time
- thus we obtain the conclusion that reading causes the loss of money
- the above may be restated in language as reading is not free
While the above argument is thoroughly devastating to any notion of reading being free, we will offer yet another one to thoroughly savage the potential objection of the apologist of reading that while reading may not be free, its net worth results in profit and thus it should be considered as a worthy enterprise to be undertaken by man.
To such an argument we offer this further rebuttal:
- it is said that reading gives one knowledge (this is a very disputable premise but we will grant it for the moment)
- it is a well known maxim that knowledge is power
- but it is also a well known maxim that power corrupts
- and it is a moral and legal principle that corruption is a crime
- and it is a well known maxim that crime does not pay
- and by a series of implication inferences and substitutions the conclusion that results is that reading is not free
Excerpt from the book A Refutation of Reading
You are a Scribe
Background:
Scribes are the most elite and assiduous soldiers in the cause of Writing who have been warring against the clearly inferior but vastly numerous warriors of Reading.
It is said that the war began when the chief of an ancient desert tribe noticed that his walking stick was coated with dirt and this led him to try and remove the dirt by tapping the ground. He did so in a somewhat rhythmic manner and the lines and dots that resulted from his action was the first instance of writing.
This led to much jubilation for the chief and his tribe who began to engage in this new activity for hours. This led to many works of writing. Unfortunately it also resulted in the death of the nearly the entire tribe due to heat stroke.
Many years later, a group of men came across the plain where the ancient tribe had written and discovered their writings, preserved as carvings on the ground which had now become baked clay. By reading the writings the men became insane with the infinite possible constructions of interpretation and became a savage cult following the evil idol of Reading. The descendants of the survivors of the ancient tribe saw this and declared a holy war against Reading and its followers.
It is quite clear that the cause of Writing has the upper hand today, as most of the population cannot read while scribes hold high positions in priest king administrations.
Battle Rating:
1 - Not only has a life of writing kept you from any sort of physical exertion and military training, but your hand has also become crippled with overuse. The pen is mightier than the sword only on paper.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
loyalist roles:
the blessing of kefy (3) both [water carrier/priest]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Don't die.
The best medical advice
You are The Blessing of Kefy
Background:
You were always a pious man, honoring the gods and helping your fellow men. The goddess Kefy was impressed by you and gave you the power to heal.
She did this by two ways. First she gave you some divine wisdom and supernatural powers of restoration. Second she taught you some important things about "normal" medicine.
Your new talents served you well. Word spread about you as some miracle man and you soon received the epithet "The Blessing of Kefy" for not only your healing skill but also your agreeable bedside manner.
You soon were elevated and made the local priest king's personal surgeon, and you used the great influence you gained in such a position to make the lives of the people better in all ways. Your motto always was prevention over treatment.
When the priest king died he named you heir instead of his eldest son. However, you declined because you wanted to prevent jealousy and strife, because taking such a position would prevent you from having the time to heal, and because you were too humble.
One day, Kefy came to you in a dream informing you the the agents of the god of war and foreign peoples Vode were going to try and usurp the new settlements that were to be made on the frontier lands.
Without hesitation you left your comfortable position to sail with a group of settlers, that you may ease their suffering in the turbulent time to come.
Battle Rating:
3 – You are not a man of war by any means and have no military training or equipment, but your healing abilities more than easily make up for your lack of strength and it will take quite a bit more effort to put you down as compared to men with similar stature and strength.
Abilities:
Healing: Every night, you may go and visit a settler to see if he is in good health. This will involve going into his tent or house and treating him if he is injured or sick in anyway. With the goddess Kefy working through your hands any miracle is possible.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
the eye of osiosi (1) - good men [priest]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Kid: He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake...
OsiOsi: That Santa Claus is such a ****** charlatan.
OsiOsi on Santa Claus
You are The Eye of OsiOsi
Background:
OsiOsi, the sky god, the king of the gods, sees all.
When the peoples were created, OsiOsi thought that because they knew he was always watching them, they would be respectful and prudish. This was not so, and the people flagrantly picked their noses and scratched their butts.
The fact that the peoples did not seem to care one bit that OsiOsi was watching them enraged the sky god immensely. This was what led to the first great flood... The descendants of the surviving peoples were just like their ancestors, and this is why the early history of the world is so riddled with floods...
However, it was OsiOsi who learned his lesson before the peoples learned theirs. A distant god watching did not really have much of an effect on human behavior, so instead, he created in humans an innate nosiness.
Now people were much more careful not to pick their noses and scratch their butts unless they were alone. Chalk up another win for OsiOsi.
Your very refined mannerisms have led you to become one of the special elect of OsiOsi, and therefore he grants you his sight and lets you see what he sees.
Battle Rating:
1 – Devoting yourself to the rituals of OsiOsi leaves little time for military training. The strongest man is the one with the strongest faith as you say.
Abilities:
Investigation: Every night period, you may attempt an investigation on one settler. This will involve making a request to OsiOsi who will then send you down the exact knowledge on that settler.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
the watcher (6) - men [beggar]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
We've got some great men here eh? Heroes of Legend; but Little Grizzly is by far our greatest warrior...
Reenk Roink to his Bronze Companions before a raid
You are The Watcher
Background:
Born into a noble family closely associated with and even related to the line of the Reenk Roink, your tie with the priest king goes much beyond that. As young children you were inseparable playmates. As you grew older you were schooled in the ways of the gods, the study of administration, and the science of warfare. You participated on raids with Reenk Roink before the hair on either of your faces had grown dark and thick. Whenever the spoils were to be distributed, Reenk Roink would offer you the first pickings from the booty (in both senses), and you of course would decline courteously, in lieu of him. You would die for Reenk Roink and he would die for you.
It was you who stormed the walls of the Thieves of Carn, bringing much death to the criminals and recovering vast troves of stolen artifacts. It was you who came up with the brilliant stratagem that led to the capture of the island city of Kos with just sixty men. It was you who dealt the killing blow to the giant Qirt during the Great Civil War. It was you who tricked the demon Iffo into a signing a contract which bound him to charity.
You were the first of the Bronze Companions to pledge his sword when Reenk Roink had to seek new lands, and you were the one who volunteered to go and infiltrate the settlers in order to flush out the usurpers.
Disguising yourself as a beggar, you are the only one of the Bronze Companions who does not reside inside the walls of the priest king's Temple Complex. Instead, you blend inconspicuously among the settlers, determined in your goal to identify and destroy the usurper threat.
Beware, for your past heroic deeds have earned the ire of the less heroic. It is likely that they plot revenge...
Battle Rating:
6 - You are in the prime of your life. You have received the best training from an early age in both marital and tactical areas. You have been battle hardened with many experiences. You possess the highest quality arms and armor. You are truly an elite champion, your prowess being too great for most mortal men to handle.
Abilities:
Investigation: Every night period, you may attempt an investigation on one settler. This will involve breaking into his tent or house to get a glimpse of what he is up to beyond the public appearances and interpreting the ever present and ever ambiguous signs of the gods. Well trained in both methods of surveillance and sign interpretation as well as focused on the goal of finding the usurpers you are confident that you will get reliable and relevant results, although everything may not be apparent to you.
Kill: Every night period, you may attempt to kill one settler. This will involve breaking into his tent or house and putting him to the sword. Of course, you are no capricious murderer, and this ability should only be used on those strongly suspected of having something to do with the treachery.
Note: You may only perform one action each night (you cannot both investigate and kill on the same night).
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
idiosyncratic roles:
the generous brewer (1) - men [cook]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
You shoulda givens me the boozies when I -hic- ahsked ya. Ya know who I am? I'll lets ya into a little shecret.... I'm a DEMON! Yessh -hic- I am, powerful magicsh I wields and so nows whats its -hiccup- gonna be, death or... something?
A drunk after you stopped serving him
You are The Generous Brewer
Background:
Wine is an amazing gift from the gods is it not? It makes a man's friends funnier and it makes a man's wife prettier. It makes a man's troubles hard to remember and it makes a man's pain not hurt.
You were always fond of drink ever since your mother passed away and your father gave you swigs of wine instead of hiring a wet nurse.
However, your love for booze went to a whole new level recently. After having been traveling for several weeks, you were waylaid by bandits and robbed clean. With no food and no money, you were easy pickings for the unmerciful sun, and on your way to the nearest city you collapsed from exhaustion.
Most men would have died in that situation but thankfully things were different for you. Pisuf the party god was wandering around and found you dying. He gave you wine and restored your energy and then he gave you his secret to make the most divine wine.
Since that day, to honor the god, you have been brewing wine in the manner he told you and share the blessing with others. This made you very unpopular with the bartenders where you lived as you were ruining their business so they conspired to kill you.
One night on your routine booze drops, four bartenders showed up armed with broken bottles. However, just as they were about to stab you to death, the god Pisuf showed up with a well shaken bottle of wine and sprayed the **** out of your assailants.
After the close call, you decided to leave your city and join one of the voyages to a new settlement, where you may spread drunkenness in peace.
Battle Rating:
1 – Why fight when you can drink together eh?
Abilities:
Serve Drinks: Every night, you brew your special wine and leave it in front of a settler's house or tent. Whatever they are doing that night will have to wait for a night of hitting the sauce.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
the oligarch (3) - good men [bureaucrat]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Look at these peasants at the gate, shouting for bread and burning things. So matter of fact and straight to business. I somewhat like that. No...no, "like" is the wrong word choice. "Hate" is more the feeling I was trying to capture in that phrase...
You on the masses
You are The Oligarch
Background:
Oh how you loathe the insufferable domestics of society! Now the brazen horde wants to participate in political and social life...
Your distaste for the lower classes goes far back. You were a young man, and in love with the most wonderful girl. She had it all: noble lineage, loads of money, good looks...
You were going to pull all your charms on this noble lady at a ball, and made the most careful preparations. Yet this meticulous plan was undone by the ineptitude of the common rabble.
You see, you had pulled out your trump card, a most exquisite pair of trousers, which would no doubt attract your prospective mate. You left very careful instructions with the tailor to put an extra two pleats on the codpiece, which would be the key to your love's heart.
Of course, the ignorant fool did such shoddy work and ruined your entire love life. Such a wait for service too! Enraged, not only did you withhold the tip, but you devoted your life to keeping the common settlers in their place and sparing the nobles from their evil and stupidity.
You must save the settlement from the settlers!
Battle Rating:
3 – Your life has been one of comfort and privilege, but the job of keeping the unwashed masses in place has forced you take the initiative and undergo military training.
Abilities:
Vote Tampering: Every day, before voting ends, you may tamper with the vote count, adding one tally to a settler of your choice and removing one tally from a settler of your choice.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
the psyensil (4) both [sweeper/scribe]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Superstitious rabble: The gods are true.
You: O RLY?
Superstitious rabble: Our traditional stories show the best way of life.
You: LOL R U SRS?
Superstitious rabble: You are an *******.
You: This is why I have young nobles following me around writing my sayings for wisdom, right?
A common day of spreading enlightenment
You are The Psyensil
Background:
Everything is accessible to mankind. Or at least to certain men. Or at least to a certain man. You.
Nobody knows (or cares) where you born or to who, but yet you still write that you are the most important man on the world due to the fact that you have acquired wisdom and thrown of the chains of superstition and ignorance. Now if only the others would see it that way...
You were a pretty normal child growing up, dirty, stinky, and always annoyingly asking Why? Why? Why? The only difference is that you didn't outgrow this habit but rather embraced it in your adulthood and styled it as a method of polemic. With this valuable method, you were able to win any argument.
However, proving others wrong became unsatisfying after a while (not to mention socially isolating and even physically dangerous at times), and you began to turn your method inwards after both your arms were broken by an brothel owner and prostitution apologist who you humiliated after you convincingly argued: "Even if you contend that ******* are ****, then I would contest that this is most certainly a social mistake, as intrinsically this is not so and it is of those things you profess, and so you should not pretend to the contrary when the truth is that ******* ain't ****” (although he claimed that the beating was due to the fact that you did not pay for his venue's services).
With this new attitude of introspection, your most important ideas sprouted. You began to not only criticize existing notions, but promote alternatives to fill their place. Your alternative was that of a worldview that would be based on sound reasoning and empirical evidence. You began to investigate every phenomena (theoretical, natural, social) using your methodology and provide explanations for them within its parameters.
An enlightened paradigm emerged, and it (along with your new found commitment to personal hygiene) began to draw to you a great number of followers, usually young nobles fed up with the traditional restrictions that suffocated their free thinking. Obviously, it also drew the ire from the conservative elements in both the religious and political spheres, where you were charged with blasphemy (as you believed men created the gods rather than vice versa) and promoting rebellion to the old order (as the entire framework on which the priest kings ruled was challenged by you).
You fled from court to court of different priest kings, only to find you quickly overstayed your welcome. You were evicted on many pretenses bastardized from your actual teachings. Especially prevalent were the accusations that you were a foreigner who wanted to erase the memory of the gods to replace them with a new set of foreign gods and that you were a a wicked sorcerer who possessed a deep understanding of nature such that you could use its powers.
So you found yourself having to leave the mainland as the majority of the people were not ready for the enlightenment that you preached. Perhaps a new settlement away from the shackles of the old ways would be a better setting in which the seeds of your teachings could germinate. While you have a lot of money from your generous patrons over the years, some of your poor personal hygiene habits have resurfaced and you are too busy immersed in the vast oceans of thought to look after your personal grooming or dress.
Battle Rating:
4 - Although you are physically weak, you have invented many contraptions which serve to terrify the uneducated masses (although to an enlightened man like yourself they simply exhibit the normal properties of the physical world). You thus have a huge psychological advantage, as people are wary to cross what they perceive as a demon sorcerer.
Abilities:
Investigation: Every night period, you may attempt an investigation on one settler. This will involve breaking into his tent or house to get a glimpse of what he is up to beyond the public appearances. You will collect all sorts of empirical observations and then subject them to rigorous analysis to formulate sound conclusions. You are confident that your results will produce solid evidence which you then can take to the town to catch the usurpers, thus solidifying your position in society and paving a way for a general acceptance of your worldview.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
the tax collector (2+) - good men [bureaucrat]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The Tax Collector took everything I owned, so my family has been living on manure stolen from the landlord's estate.
A peasant on you
You are The Tax Collector
Background:
Your line of work is an important one. Whenever a priest king needs to start a war, build a temple complex, pay off a gambling or prostitution debt, or wipe after heeding nature's call he looks to you.
Your job is a simple but important one. You go around the countryside with a band of big men and shake down all the peasants taking whatever gold, animals, or children you can find on them.
Astonishingly, this makes you quite unpopular among the masses. You were eventually dismissed from your old post as the priest king noticed how he had to send larger and larger groups of men to accompany you to the countryside.
So you have decided to join the voyage undertaken by the priest king Reenk Roink and become his tax collector. You are extremely excited at the new opportunity for the implementation of a more comprehensive tax system.
In fact, you have a dream. You have a dream that one day the peasants will be educated enough (with money from tax revenue) to be so well trained that they shake down themselves and mail you their trusts themselves. What a great day that will be!
Beware, however, there have been threats from peasants who said they would hunt you down even after you left your old posting...
Battle Rating:
2+ – You are not physically strong or militarily trained at all but have quite a bit of exposure to fighting with watching your thugs beat up peasants and what not. You can also afford fine arms and armor, even if you don't know how to use them.
Note: Your Battle Rating can increase (see Abilities).
Abilities:
Indentured Servants: Every round (a night and day period), you will get an indentured servant to come join you in the settlement. This indentured servant is wholly at your command, and will vote on your behalf and fight for you. Whenever an indentured servant arrives, you will have one added to your battle rating and your vote tally count (you may still only vote for one person).
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
the village idiot (-1) - men [farmer]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
What's that big sword for?
You to a Bronze Companion
You are The Village Idiot
Background:
You were always a quiet child, until one day a teacher said that children should always ask questions, and thus set into motion one of the biggest scourges placed upon mankind.
From that day you went around your village, stopping people on the road and engaging them in the most imbecilic dialogue imaginable. Thousands of attempts were made at your life, and you were spared in each one of them simply because the god Pisuf was so amused by you (he considered you the greatest human alive and made you his chosen one) that he would whisk you away to a different city or village where the cycle would start afresh.
You have been considered as a weapon of mass destruction sent by rival priest kings and as a demon sent to punish all of mankind for their wickedness.
The last whisking away to spare your life in a long time placed you aboard the ship of the priest king Reenk Roink on its way to found a new settlement. Apparently, Pisuf has fallen out of favor with the rest of the gods and stripped of his power. You are on your own.
Battle Rating:
-1 – Nuff said.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
nefarious roles:
iffo the fallen/risen (0/7) - men [merchant]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
It gives me deep and profound joy to relate to you that I do not have the particular item that you desire.
You to a person asking you for something
You are Iffo the Fallen/Risen
Background:
You are Iffo, a demon of great power. You are the corrupter. Crooked men from all walks of life look up to you and your example.
Or at least those things were true. You were beaten at your own game of deceit by a Bronze Companion of the priest king Reenk Roink. Though you never learned his identity, he called himself The Watcher.
He came to you once claiming desire to learn one of the sciences you taught: swindling. You accepted to teach him on the condition that he would give you 100% of the profits he made by this art.
He agreed and even stated he would write the terms down on a contract which would have the king of the gods OsiOsi as witness, rewarding those who upheld the agreement and punishing those who broke it. You eagerly signed the contract, only realizing the grave error you had committed after the ink had dried.
You watched in horror as he smirked at you, peeling off the top layer of papyrus revealing the real text of the contract you had signed. You, Iffo the mighty, had bound yourself to total charity and total pacifism as long as The Watcher stayed alive, and this was enforced by the god of the sky himself!
Since then, you have wandered around the world with your many possessions, giving them freely to whoever may ask. Many children have come to you, pelted you with various objects, and gave you noogies and you bore this humiliation in silence as obliged.
Eager to save whatever possessions of yours that remained, you disguised yourself so as to avoid notice and embarked on one of those voyages to found a new settlement. Ironically, the group you went with was to be led with Reenk Roink, and so you know The Watcher is among the settlers.
How frustrating indeed that even as he is in your presence, you may not strike or even plot against him, as stipulated in the contract. So you wait, and bitterly loathe...
Battle Rating:
0/7 – You are a powerful demon given to terrible war possessing many magical artifacts that bestow on their bearer great power. Few could resist your battle prowess. With that being said, as long as The Watcher is alive, the contract you signed binds you to total pacifism, and you must not fight even when attacked.
Note: While The Watcher is alive your battle rating will be 0 and you may not issue any challenges. If/when The Watcher dies your battle rating will be 7 and you may issue challenges.
Abilities:
Contractual Charity: Every night, you must part with one of your many items of wonder and give them to a settler. This will involve dropping the item in front of a settler’s house or tent. Although your items are of diverse uses, they all will give the new owner some power that will make them a more formidable foe (add one to the settler’s battle rating).
Note: This is your ability (contractual obligation) while The Watcher is alive. If/when The Watcher dies you will gain new (your original) abilities.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the settlers
Outlast the usurpers
Outlast The Watcher
the last theif of carn (4) - men [farmer]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
We respect property. We merely wish the property become our property so we may more perfectly respect it.
Thieves of Carn motto
You are The Last Thief of Carn
Background:
The Thieves of Carn started off as a band of thugs who engaged in petty theft and highway robbery but they soon grew to much more than that. Soon they were able to establish a stronghold and conduct raids and assassinations. A raid led by priest king Reenk Roink himself was launched against the Thieves of Carn stronghold where almost every last thief was slaughtered.
Only one thief survived. You.
You don’t seem to mind that your friends were massacred. You don't even mourn much for all the loot you had worked so hard to steal throughout the years. What really boils your blood is the damage done to your occupation and way of life.
You blame it all on one of the closest Bronze Companions of Reenk Roink. They called him The Watcher. It was him who was the first over the walls of the stronghold. It was him who killed your brother and took your brother's wife. It was him who embarrassed you in combat making you feign death so you would not be killed. While you lay there, pretending to be dead, he confiscated all of your loot.
Ever since that day you have vowed revenge against The Watcher. When you learned that Reenk Roink would make the journey to found a new settlement you knew that The Watcher would be there. So you would also be there.
Battle Rating:
4 – You are not physically strong but you are extremely quick. You have also had extensive training with weapons and fighting techniques as a former assassin and although a straight up fight is not your usual modus operandi, you can more than hold your own in battle.
Abilities:
Assassination: Every night period, you may attempt an investigation on one settler in order to determine if he is The Watcher. This will involve breaking into his tent or house to make sure of his identity. If the tent or house your break into belongs to The Watcher, you will assassinate him. If not, you will grab some loot and flee.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the usurpers (settler victory)
Outlast The Watcher
divine roles:
pisuf (10) - both [potter/poet]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I shared a bottle of wine with him once and woke up with a terrible pain in my loins...
Kefy the goddess of the earth on you
You are Pisuf
Background:
The god of the arts, you are the patron of the things which some misguided fools, both divine and mortal, call low. You inspire man to create the most exquisite works of pornographic poetry and pottery from his deepest and most basic instincts.
You are a free spirit and some call you a troublemaker, including that hard*** OsiOsi, lord of the sky and king of the gods. He didn't give a damn when you bedded his wife Remi along with three mortal woman in his chambers. Yet when you farted during the assembly and then blamed it on him he banished you from the Divine Forest and forced you into a mortal form...
As you walked among the mortals you made your presence felt in many ways. You were the one who started the great Civil War by first going to each different priest king and making many interleaving treaties. Then you triggered the war by disguising yourself as one priest king and sleeping with another’s wife. You singlehandedly ended years of famine in one city by introducing a thousand talents of gold into the economy and you brought the end of another city by stealing the money from them. You rounded up all the disenfranchised people in a city and had them overthrow the priest king only to personally lead an army to reinstate the priest king when the new rulers become corrupt with power.
Your actions have been labeled as many things by the mortals, but you are a god, far above the standards of men, and so it bothers you little that you have been accused of indulgent caprice.
OsiOsi has given you a redemption quest which you have ignored for far too long. You are to find and kill an impious man who dishonors the gods. He is called The Psyensil and OsiOsi gave word that he was heading with a group to found a new settlement. You have jumped along with this group. Given the situation, your mission taking a backseat to the opportunities for fun you will have.
Battle Rating:
10 - Although your status as an god has been stripped from you, you still are the most powerful mortal being on the world. Standing over nine feet tall in this mortal form, you are more fearsome in war than the greatest heroes of legend ever were. Your knowledge far surpasses the greatest sages of this world and you have an incredible command of magic. You will indeed seem like a god to these mortals.
Abilities:
Investigation: Every night period, you may attempt an investigation on one settler. This will involve making a request to OsiOsi who will then send you down the exact knowledge on that settler.
Resistances: Due to your unique status, you will be unaffected in many ways from the world around you. However, you do not know the limits of your resistances and they may change depending on the path you choose.
Kill: Every night period, you may attempt to kill one settler. You will have many methods at your disposal to perform this deed.
Note: You may only perform one action each night (you cannot both investigate and kill on the same night).
Victory Conditions:
Your victory conditions depend wholly on what course you decide to follow. You can ally yourself with the settlers or you can ally yourself with the usurpers or you can give aid to neither and go your own way. However, a necessary condition for your victory regardless of which course you undertake is that you must outlast The Psyensil.
Note: Send me your choice at any point during the game while you are still alive. You cannot change your choice.
usurper roles:
vode's dagger (4) - men [farmer]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Andres flees... to rule from afar!
You
You are Vode's Dagger
Background:
You just were a thief. A good one, but just a thief. Then these weird but scary men recruited you with promises of power and wealth beyond your wildest imagination.
You pretended to agree while adeptly pickpocketing the one wearing the high highfalutin robes (the burly man with the scary face was too intimidating) and you nearly got away with it, but you swear some invisible force started telling him about what you were doing.
The burly man was about to cleave you in half but the robed man stopped him and smiled at you. He said you had proven your worth to be part of their plans. He then produced for you a large bag of gold from thin air, telling you that it was just the tip of the iceberg for what plans they had.
Could there be any better friends and colleagues?
Battle Rating:
4 - You are a weak small fan who nevertheless is very dangerous in a fight due your speed and stealth abilities. Larger, stronger, and better trained men would do well to watch out for your
Abilities:
Kill: Every night period, you may attempt to kill one settler. This involves entering his tent or house and stabbing him to death. You are much better at escaping with your own life if you fail to take your target than most.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the settlers (usurper victory)
vode's eyes (2) - men [farmer]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The mind will show you more, if you will only set it free.
Vode while removing your eyesight
You are Vode's Eyes
Background:
You used to be a great warrior from a faraway foreign land, but you sacrificed it to the god of wars and foreign peoples. Vode removed much of your life essence leaving only a dessicated husk of a body.
The wisdom you gained was worth it. Left blinded by the removal of your essence, you have never seen any more clearly, and you see your goal firmly in front of you.
Battle Rating:
2 - Though the draining of your life essence was thorough you still possess some fraction of your former strength thanks to Vode and can put up a scrappy fight.
Abilities:
Investigation: Every night period, you may attempt an investigation on one settler. This will involve making a request to Vode who will then send you down the exact knowledge on that settler.
Occultation: Vode protects you with his own presence from any scrying methods or magics, even of divine origin.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the settlers (usurper victory)
vode's sword (8) - both [laborer/bureaucrat]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, and to rob them of their wealth and lives. To see them bathed in blood and to and those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.
The motto of Vode
You are Vode's Sword
Background:
You were heir apparent to become priest king of a powerful city, but on his deathbed, your father decided that you would not succeed him due to your cruel and unjust nature. You killed your father because of this and thus did Vode enter your life.
Vode is the god of wars and foreign peoples. He is no friend of your people, but then again, you are not either.
Vode offered you great power, much greater than you would have had as just a priest king. Vode offered you to become the king of all the cities. The king of kings. The god of foreign peoples indeed piqued your thirst for power, and you decided to serve him.
He taught you well, Vode did. He increased your power greatly and gave you many wondrous items. He stripped all compassion, conscience, and remorse from you and filled them with anger, hate, and violence.
Now it is the time to act. Vode has decided that the best place to start is to conquer the new settlements that will be forged in the frontier. So Vode has sent you with three other agents to usurp power from a young priest king Reenk Roink. How you hate him. He embodies everything you are not. You will take great pleasure in cutting him down.
To reach this Reenk Roink, you must first kill everything in his settlement. Vode demands bloodshed; he gains power from it.
Battle Rating:
8 - Before devoting yourself to Vode you already were a warrior of legendary power. Now that you are in the war god's service, you have truly become a vessel for killing. You are indeed the most powerful human in the world. Nothing can resist you.
Abilities:
Kill: Every night period, you may attempt to kill one settler. This will involve breaking into his tent or house and putting him to the sword.
Victory Conditions:
Outlast the settlers (usurper victory)
vode's wand (6) - good men [priest]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
On my left I bring a line of water and on my right I bring a line of fire.
Vode's mystical saying
You are Vode's Wand
Background:
It is true that the god of wars and foreign peoples has bestowed the most power on Vode's Sword, but you are indeed his most trusted servant.
True to your god's portfolio, you are a foreign sorcerer of immense power. Vode has sent you to accompany his agents to ensure that both the earthly empire is carved out for Vode's Sword and that enough blood is spilt on the earth for Vode. For the true reason behind this plan is for Vode to kill OsiOsi and replace him as the king of the gods!
It all starts with disposing this pathetic little priest king Reenk Roink.
Battle Rating:
6 - You are diminutive in stature but your very presence makes people wary as it emanates power. You are one of the most skilled in the use of magic, and your spells can cause terrible damage.
Abilities:
Kill: Every night period, you may attempt to kill one settler. With your powerful magics, you have many avenues of murder at your disposal.
Seamus stayed alive during a town victory and I remember him saying he always wanted to do that so that's nice. Our usurper crew were great prevailing against incredibly bad luck (as will be seen). A big congrats to them and thanks. Of course every one who got a role played it greatly as well, and the game wouldn't be a tenth as good without them. Lastly thanks to all the townies for participating in any way you did. Obviously you were the meat of the game.
So glad i was wrong on Seamus and that no-one paid any attention to my suspicions of him whatsoever!
Well played town, we got them in the end!
Awesome game Reenk!
One of the most enjoyable i have played... next time your hosting im in for sure....
Last edited by LittleGrizzly; 04-07-2009 at 16:26.
In remembrance of our great Admin Tosa Inu, A tireless worker with the patience of a saint. As long as I live I will not forget you. Thank you for everything!
I figured the usurpers were mostly regular men, but not all. Looks like only Jolt infiltrated the pro-town network, and by the time he did, it was too late.
Nice triple lynch. It resulted in a win, for sure, but I would like to say if the shoe was on the other foot, I would have been all like...
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Triple lynches to "be sure" you kill the mafia are kind of lame, be honest.
Thanks, Reenk, for hosting a wonderful game! I can hardly fathom the work that was put into this. Now, I'm assuming the commentary is ready right now?
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
"I'm going to die anyway, and therefore have nothing more to do except deliberately annoy Lemur." -Orb, in the chat
"Lemur. Even if he's innocent, he's a pain; so kill him." -Ignoramus
"I'm going to need to collect all of the rants about the guilty lemur, and put them in a pretty box with ponies and pink bows. Then I'm going to sprinkle sparkly magic dust on the box, and kiss it." -Lemur Mafia: Promoting peace and love since June 2006
Originally Posted by TosaInu
At times I read back my own posts [...]. It's not always clear at first glance.
I am "TheCunning". My old Org username was "AndresTheCunning". I don't know how easy these quicktopic thingies are found through google, so I figured to use a fake name, but then I realised you guys and me are already posting under our Org usernames, so what's the point.
Got this quicktopic mixed up with the inishmore one, ay?
Fantastic game!
Seamus stayed alive during a town victory and I remember him saying he always wanted to do that so that's nice. Our usurper crew were great prevailing against incredibly bad luck (as will be seen). A big congrats to them and thanks. Of course every one who got a role played it greatly as well, and the game wouldn't be a tenth as good without them. Lastly thanks to all the townies for participating in any way you did. Obviously you were the meat of the game.
Ah, yes! Seamus finally survives one. There was good play all round in this game, probably because the game sparked peoples interest.
Last edited by Sasaki Kojiro; 04-07-2009 at 16:50.
Unless you hear from me otherwise (ie. my fellow Usurpers want me to check out someone else) I should plead (quietly) to Vode to show me the soul and all the other pertinent bits of Askthepizzaguy please :)
Should I be flattered that you want to see my bits?
Originally Posted by boudica
Sweet. Hopefully he will die quietly. I'm leaving my investigation on ATPG unless anyone has any other ideas - Sasaki?. Might be a waste on ATPG (what am i saying, it's BOUND to be a waste), but every game i play in, I automatically want to know whether either Pizzaguy (or Reenk for that matter) are EXACTLY who they say they are... :D
Excellent game Reenk btw. As you can probably tell - I prefer to RP than improve my Total War skillz :D - sorry, i promised to keep quiet but couldn't help myself on the thread... just dub me 'Askthepizzagal" :/
I am so glad I am an early investigation target when I am a worthless townie, and I avoided an investigation when I was a mafia henchman. This worked out perfectly.
By the way, "Askthepizzagal", is there something you're not telling me?
Originally Posted by boudica
I'd be very careful what you say to pizza guy right now - Pizzaguy as asked for people to contact him regarding their roles. I am slightly nervous that the fake farmer role is a cover for alot of people and may become associated with scumminess. however, I am going to continue playing as a farmer. I was thinking that ATPG may be played in some way though if he survives Sasakis challenge (which he's accepted :D). I'm not going to contact him before/if that happens though and definitely not before talking it through with you guys.
Yes, indeed I believe the farmer role should have been an automatic lynch. By the way, I'm disappointed you didn't want to play with me.
Originally Posted by Jolt
Anyways, my kill on beefy managed to attract some heat on ATPG. Go me! :D
I am truly honored that the usurpers were obsessed with killing me. That is so awesome.
Originally Posted by Jolt
For when the game is over and ATPG & Seamus are reading this:
>>>>Thank you for the free information! :)<<<<
You're welcome, Jimmy. How did that work out for you, btw?
Just the obligatory "rebuttal" jokes. I am so happy that I became the focus of your attentions, mafiarrrrs. Oi wood loike to soiy tanks varrry moch. Turns out Oi wuz useless to the town after awl, as alwoiys. Now eeef yoo'll excuse me, Oi 'aff to go make whoopie wiff moi lovely one Betsy over 'ere.
*baaaaahhhhh*
Come along betsy, don't act loike yew dan't loike it.
Apon passing under the main gate:~ Turn right at the Blacksmiths' then pass by the Brewery ~ Head past the fish market, through the square and it's the big hall with the skulls nailed to the door.
Posts
465
Re: The Settlement (Concluded)
Mwahahahaha! There is plenty in our private thread including an apology to White_Eyes:D when I was appearing to be a far greater detective than I actually am and calling him out on his Watcher's Apprentice role.
I honestly didn't know what to do - given that I couldn't kill any of you , but I think even if I had got online in time to upset the tie at the end it would only have prolonged my miserable existence for one more night before I was lynched for the scummy behaviour fitting a servant of Vode.
I have to say that every time I read the lines.....
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
You reach into your barrel of infant corpses to prepare the sacrifice for Vode in order that he may inspire you with knowledge. As per the ritual, you roast the corpse and make an incision in the torso, pulling out the liver, which you then sink your teeth into. A flash of inspiration comes to you revealing the true nature of ...
...it gave me an evil thrill of pleasure! Mafiaz 4EvA!!!
ahem.
Follow the sorcerous carnage HERE!
Come get your NEW RE_SIZED! Council of the Magi Teaser Sigs here!
I have to say that every time I read the lines.....
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
You reach into your barrel of infant corpses to prepare the sacrifice for Vode in order that he may inspire you with knowledge. As per the ritual, you roast the corpse and make an incision in the torso, pulling out the liver, which you then sink your teeth into. A flash of inspiration comes to you revealing the true nature of ...
...it gave me an evil thrill of pleasure! Mafiaz 4EvA!!!
ahem.
Ewwwwww.
Good thing the town circle of investigators really actually for the most part worked. Apparently it wouldn't have caught you anyway. But, we did end up nabbing Jolt and Andres, as well as inadvertently CA. That was half of who town needed to catch right there.
I suppose it even accidentally helped lead to the capture of Taka, by causing his existence to be revealed after LG's death. And, because I never got around to actually investigating you, it even helped to make you look suspicious a bit. Although I had my suspicions based off of TC's result on you...
Originally Posted by Reenk Roink
As you slip into the tent of the man with the manliest name Boudica, you are overwhelmed with the smell of manure and sod. The tent seems more like a barnyard with dirt and hay everywhere and not much else. Taking a look around you come to the conclusion that this pathetic farmer has a hard enough time taking care of himself to prove any threat to anyone. You seriously doubt he has the intelligence to farm properly, much less be involved in any plots.
Even our mistakes seem to have worked against you.
Re: The Settlement (Concluded)
Originally Posted by Reenk Roink
Hello Captain Blackadder, thanks for playingA priest's sermon
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to not seeing that two Masons was suspicious. Two Masons? A mason group is only really effective with 3 or more members. 
My kingdom for a 
.
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