Swords in the Moon [Concluded]

[Andres]

~~~ Swords in the Moon ~~~

Night 2 - Conclusion

Hour of the Rat

Fujiwara Ritsu (The Spartan) was tired. The emotions of that day, the constant seemingly random accusations and the absurd possibility of getting ordered to commit seppuku for being a traitor had taken their toll.

He was quite happy not to have guard duty that night. The bottle of saké, which he had hidden under his kimono, would make him feel better soon.

While he was taking out the bottle and looking for a clean cup, he didn’t notice the dark shadow on the opposite wall of the room. The man sneaked up on Fujiwara. With one well placed punch, he broke the young samurai’s neck.

The ninja picked up the bottle of saké and left unnoticed.

~~~

Hour of the Rat

Konishi Yukinaga (Iskander III) was standing guard. Clouds were gathering and soon it would snow. Again.

Konishi sighed. Why Shingen preferred the freezing cold of the mountains over the slightly more bearable winter carpets in the valleys, went beyond him. Most Daimiyo were an excentric bunch and all in all, this strange custom was one of the few really weird things in the Tigers’ character.

Konishi’s thoughts were disrupted by the sound of footsteps in the snow.

“Hey!” a voice said loudly.

Konishi turned towards the sound of the voice and got temporarily blinded by the campfire. That was all the ninja needed to throw a sharp, poisoned throwing knife right through the samurai’s throat.

Konishi died within seconds.

~~~

Hour of the Rat

Uesugi Kenshu (Shinseikhaan) let a sigh of relief. After all, with such a name as his, it was a little miracle they didn’t single him out. Of course, he was one of the most loyal samurai to Takeda Shingen, following his army since he was 16, but does that count in a situation where paranoia and madness rule instead of common sense?

But for now, he was still alive and he could still enjoy beauty. And so, he decided to go outside, because, contrary to his fellow samurai, he loved the cold, dark nights in the mountains. They were silent and the scenery was majestatic.

While he was walking and enjoying the freezing yet silent cold, he didn’t hear nor see the blade that was being lifted. When it struck down, it seperated Uesugi’s head from his body, ending his life mercifully quick.

The warrior behind him cleaned his sword with the kimono of the fallen Uesugi and carefully left the scene unnoticed.

~~~

Hour of the Ox

Watanabe Yumi (Olavi) entered his room. He was tired and in dire need of some sleep. He quickly undressed himself, placed his katana and his wakizashi in a corner of the room and went to bed.

As soon as his head touched the cushion, he slept.

He didn’t notice the figure entering his room. Two strong, dark gloved hands grabbed Watanabe’s throat and broke his larynx. The knife piercing through his right eye, into his brains ended the job very quick.

The dark shade left the room unnoticed.

~~~
Day 2 - Bloodshed.

Hour of the Rabbit

The previous night had been very pleasant for Takeda Shingen. While he was eating his breakfeast, he was enjoying the beautiful scenery.

He heard some noises on the courtyard and decided to take a look.

The Tiger came outside and walked to his platform. He looked at the four woodpiles and noticed the 4 sheets covering what seemed to be dead bodies. The Tiger sighed.

"It seems like this isn't over yet." He paused for a while and then picked up a scroll one of the samurai had put next to him. He took a careful look and then watched Fujimoto Yunishiro (Glenn) and Watanabe Yunishiro (Northnovas).

"Let the Yunishiro nephews begin," Takeda said, softly.

One of the samurai officers bowed to both men.

"No armor, no hidden weapons, just katana and wakizashi."

Both samurai nodded and took their places.

Fujimoto quickly unsheeted his katana and stormed forwards. The younger Watanabe didn't expect this ferocious attack, but his quick reflexes saved him from what would have been a fatal blow.

Fujimoto however was out of balance now and Watanabe managed to take a stab at him. He ruined Fujimoto's kimono but, surprisingly, didn't hurt his opponent.

Fujimoto made a move to the left and then suddenly swung his katana to Watanabe's left side. He deflected the blow with his katana and came in with an incredibly quick riposte. Fujimoto parried but lost his katana in the proces.

Watanabe grinned. Without his katana, his opponent was at a huge disadvantage. He stormed forwards, but in his enthusiasm, he stumbled. Fujimoto drew his wakizashi and burried it into Watanabe's leg. The younger samurai groaned. Fujimoto tried to kick his opponent in the stomach, but Watanabe managed to roll away, but without his katana. Fujimoto quickly jumped upon Watanabe and both men struggled for a while, both giving blows and kicks. Then the wrestling stopped. Fujimoto stood up, and he saw Watanabe bleeding to dead, looking at his own wakizashi that somehow got planted in his chest. Fujimoto picked up his katana and quickly decapacitated his opponent.

The duel was over.

Shingen nodded respectfully to Fujimoto.

"Now that this has been settled, we'll go through the proceedings again."

~~~

Alive (55):
TinCow
Thermal Mercury
Quintus.JC
GeneralHankerchief
FactionHeir
Caius
Glenn
peverblue
Beefy187
Ichigo
Warluster
White_Eyes:D
Sasaki Kojiro
Stephen Assen
Peasant Phill
Sigurd
Kukrikhan
Captain Blackadder
A Very Super Market
Louis VI the Fat
Gobbledygook
Psychonaut
LittleGrizzly
Gregoshi
taka
Jolt
shlin28
YLC
Reenk Roink
Rhyfelwyr
Beaver
AggonyDuck
El Diablo
Beskar
atheotes
Chaotix27
Ibn-Khaldun
CountArach
Ignoramus
Husar
Death is yonder
Tristan de Castelreng
Chimpyang
Yoyoma1910
TosaInu
Seamus Fermanagh
Banquo's Ghost
Crazed Rabbit
Haudegen
woad&fangs
Xehh II
ajaxfetish
glyphz
Dutch_guy
Yaropolk

Killed (7):
Khazaar
spL1tp3r50nal1ty
Lord Winter

The Spartan
Iskander III
Shinseikhaan
Olavi

Fallen in battle (1):

Northnovas

Lynched (1):

Askthepizzaguy

WoG/Suicide (0):

~~~

It's now day. You can start voting. Day will last for +/- 24 hours (until 21.00 GMT+1)

[Chimpyang]

Flowers shiver,
In autumn's breeze,
Like human hearts,
After our fall.

[TinCow]

The combined list of kills from the first two nights is very random. It seems so random that the randomness itself must be intentional, probably from random.org. There's still nothing decent to work with yet, due to game size and the early phase. I recommend spreading out pressure on many people.

[edit]Also, ATPG is still listed as alive, which I believe is an error.

[Prince Cobra]

Maybe a scratch can make the things simplier?

[Prince Cobra]

Yup. I think we are thinking in the same way. No offence but you don't strike me as a high profile player. If I am correct to assume that all three kills were from the same hostile family, two things are strange.

One because all three dead players are mafia regulers in gameroom (Split is new, Khazaar is recently from TWC) and Lord Winter. All of them are not really a populer kill target in night one, suggesting that either the mafia gang is just picking random targets or trying to give the non regulers some chance to get active on mafia.

I may do just that, I'm opposed to killing new commers on earlier rounds. Plus killing Khazaar naturally points at TWC players including my self.

I think theres a good chance of mafia being in those four.

Anyways, for those who are making assumptions that lynching ATPG is the only way to silence him. Thats a big mistake. If ATPG turns out to be innocent, we will have to swim through 10 post of ATPG per page! Not that I have any problems with that.

Vote:Beefy187

There is too much obvious honour in this man, which makes me wonder if this is not just a mask to hide his true intentions. This makes him suspicious.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Andres' write-ups are not clueless, but there is little to go on. Nevertheless, I believe I am noting some small pattern regarding the killers:

Vigi-Sam Killer

I see parallels between the killings of Lord Winter and 'kkhaan. Both of these appear to be sword killings as of a Samurai in vigilante mode. Both targets are known players with several GR mafias under their belts. Also, both targets often lessen their participation following death.

I could be wrong and this could be a bad-guy doing the killing, but I believe this is one killer and he or she is killing experienced players of known skill but those who do NOT normally feature as early round lightning rods.

Butcher

Khazar's particularly gory death on N1 strikes me as the work of a SK. Both Samurai and Ninja were capable of lots of violence and beheadings were common, but hacking the taget to ribbons is excessive and betokens instability. No such killing occurred on N2.

Ninja

We have more than one of these, but I am not sure that they all were up to speed on day one. I get the suggestion of some being late with their orders and late to the game -- as I was -- so it might be wothwhile to query those who were inactive at first but active now. I fit that profile, so have at me if you wish. ALL of their targets have been relative newcomers or those with very low profiles (save for The Spartan, returning after a long absence). I am not sure it's as random as Tincow suggests -- just prudent targeting early while the big names and frequent posters lynch each other in the early rounds (as we all know happens pretty often).

Thoughts?

[Prince Cobra]

Andres' write-ups are not clueless, but there is little to go on. Nevertheless, I believe I am noting some small pattern regarding the killers:

Vigi-Sam Killer

I see parallels between the killings of Lord Winter and 'kkhaan. Both of these appear to be sword killings as of a Samurai in vigilante mode. Both targets are known players with several GR mafias under their belts. Also, both targets often lessen their participation following death.

I could be wrong and this could be a bad-guy doing the killing, but I believe this is one killer and he or she is killing experienced players of known skill but those who do NOT normally feature as early round lightning rods.

Butcher

Khazar's paricularly gory death on N1 strikes me as the work of a SK. Both Samurai and Ninja were capable of lots of violence and beheadings were common, but hacking the taget to ribbons is excessive and betokens instability. No such killing occurred on N2.

Ninja

We have more than one of these, but I am not sure that they all were up to speed on day one. I get the suggestion of some being late with their orders and late to the game -- as I was -- so it might be wothwhile to query those who were inactive at first but active now. I fit that profile, so have at me if you wish. ALL of their targets have been relative newcomers or those with very low profiles (save for The Spartan, returning after a long absence). I am not sure it's as random as Tincow suggests -- just prudent targeting early while the big names and frequent posters lynch each other in the early rounds (as we all know happens pretty often).

Thoughts?

One is for sure: at least one or two of the Ninjas are experienced players. The others can be relatively new.

I also think that one of the traitors is a seasoned player.

On the other hand, I would not recommend killing all the experienced people since it won't solve the problem (not all of the assassins are experienced).

Edit: I think there is something like voting and consulting in the ranks of Ninjas. After all they kill 3 and they are 4 people.

[Yaropolk]

So do the battle ratings run on a scale from 1-10?

Not much to go on, but I wonder if AggonyDuck has a 9 or 10 rating. This could mean either he's either an assassin or a bodyguard, so I wouldn't want to FOS him yet, since he may be a valueable role.

[Csargo]

Vote:GH

This is not a random vote.

[Gregoshi]

, Sadako tosses the pineapple stem next to body of the recently Late Pineapple Samurai. Her lips move, but no sound issues forth. As she turns away, she looks at the beef bone and whispered sounds finally force their way out>

I guess this means you are next Lord Beefy. I'll have to hide you well tonight. The boots will have to wait.

[Chimpyang]

Vote:GH

This is not a random vote.

Care to explain? Or gut instinct?

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Vote:Sigurd

[Seamus Fermanagh]

That's two bald votes. Both by experienced hunters.

Gentlemen, you can do better than that.

[Iskander 3.1]

Bah, I'm dead...proof that abstinence doesn't work

[ULC]

The excessive violence is still there Seamus - the last kill was done by crushing the larynx and then stabbing the person through the eye and into the brain. Instability doesn't necessarily require one to complete an act the same way each time.

Challenge: Seamus
Vote: Abstain

I want to see how good you truly are. Whoever wins this will make the other suspect though...

[Beskar]

Beefy187 1 Stephen Asen
GeneralHankerchief 1 Ichigo, TinCow
Yaropolk 2 woad&fangs, Sasaki Kojiro

Abstain 3

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

YLC
Rhyfelwyr
Beskar

I won't be voting till later. Exam at 9am, will be voting how things go at around 1pm GMT. I will just make my current Vote:Abstain until then.

Bah, I'm dead...proof that abstinence doesn't work

It actually makes you an easy target. For example, if you was hunting down some one you suspected was Mafia, that person might bump you off in order to silence you. It makes suspicions against that person more revealing. When you vote Abstain, it is a free pass kill for the Mafia as to everyone else, no one has any idea who would have done it. Not sure if this appears often on the forum version in this game, but in the real life version, people quickly start pointing fingers in order to survive the round.

[Iskander 3.1]

"Real life version?"

This is my first ever game but it's been fun, I'll have to try some more. I'll lurk around to see how this one plays out. By the way, excellent naration, Andres

[Beskar]

"Real life version?"

This is my first ever game but it's been fun, I'll have to try some more. I'll lurk around to see how this one plays out. By the way, excellent naration, Andres

Yeah, you have to rely on things like body language as well. I first played the real-life version on New Years. Basically, to choose, you have a pack of cards then the game Master. They give out the cards with cards having the role on, then start the night and day phases just like on the forum. In the game I was in, Mafia only killed one person per night and they simply pointed at whoever they wanted to kill in agreement, then the detective, then the doctor. The other players put their heads in their hands and the game master watched them to make sure they don't try to cheat, if they do, they get kicked out the game. Then the day starts, then people have to use their voices and actions, looking at people, trying to see who it is, looking around at each other, and coming to a vote.

There is also the Warcraft 3 version using custom maps. Basically, that is a time limited game, where at the end, the survivors had to choose who the killer was. The killer to win, had to kill them all before that time-period. If the time ran-out and the killer wasn't voted out. It was classed as a draw/the killer escapes.

[shlin28]

I am really really tired right now, and I got school tomorrow... so er... I'll probably vote when I get back home tomorrow and read the thread properly...

[Rhyfelwyr]

Vote:Abstain

[woad&fangs]

Not much to go on, but I wonder if AggonyDuck has a 9 or 10 rating. This could mean either he's either an assassin or a bodyguard, so I wouldn't want to FOS him yet, since he may be a valueable role.

vote: Yaropolk
That was a very overly-neutral statement. Wishy-washy statements allow the mafia to appear to be contributing while also leading the town in never ending logic circles.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Hmm interesting.

unvote:sigurd,vote:yarapolk

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

stupid voting rules!

[Beskar]

Hmm interesting.

unvote,vote:yarapolk

Just saying, the correct format is:
Unvote: Sigurd; Vote: Yarapolk

I added on my table earlier that you changed your vote, however, Andres might be nitpicking and count your vote still as Sigurd.

[TinCow]

As others have noted, there is not much in the way of clues in the write-ups. However, it will be useful to keep track of who is killing who. Here's my stab at it.

First, the rules list the roles as:

- 1 ninja master - 3 ninja : they get 3 kills each night;
- 2 traitors (loyal to Takeda Nobutora, Shingens' father : they get 1 or 2 kills each night;
- Takeda Shingen : has certain abilities (secret);
- 3 sword masters: they protect Shingen at night;
- 1 shinobi : pro-town, secret abilities;
- 2 geisha: pro-town,
- 1 secret role
- samurai - regular townies - some of them are more experienced in sword fighting than others.

The ninjas and the traitors are our mafia, likely two separate families. The powers of the pro-town roles remain unknown, but it's possible that some of them can kill at night. There is also the secret role which could be a serial killer.

N1 Deaths:
Khazaar - Killer repeatedly called a "shady figure." Decapitates target and wipes blade on kimono. Likely ninja.
spL1tp3r50nal1ty - Killer repeatedly referred to as a samurai, which would preclude the ninjas. Likely traitor.
Lord Winter - Killer specifically called a samurai, which would preclude the ninjas. Killer first attacked unarmed, then finished with a blade. Likely traitor. Worth nothing that Lord Winter was obviously a geisha, indicating that the town is down a power role right from the start.

N2 Deaths:
The Spartan - Killer specifically referred to as a ninja.
Iskander III - Killer specifically referred to as a ninja.
Shinseikhaan - Killer not referred to as either samurai or ninja, only "warrior." However, the killer decapitated his target and wiped his blade on the kimono. This is very similar to the N1 Khazaar death. Thus, likely the ninja killer of Khazaar.
Olavi - Killer not referred to as either samurai or ninja, only "dark shade." However, the killer first attacked unarmed, then finished with a blade. This is very similar to the N1 Lord Winter death. Thus, likely the traitor killer of Lord Winter.

Thus, we have 5 killers so far, 3 ninjas and 2 traitors. This matches the killing power listed in Andres' rules.

Ninja Larry: N1 - Khazaar, N2 - 'khaan
Ninja Moe: N1 - Did not kill, N2 - The Spartan
Ninja Curly: N1 - Did not kill, N2 - Iskander III

Traitor Dante: N1 - spL1tp3r50nal1ty, N2 - Did not kill
Traitor Randal: N1 - Lord Winter, N2 - Olavi

Two of the ninjas keeping quiet on N1 is not really remarkable. It is a common and intelligent tactic to intentionally refrain from killing. However, the failure of Traitor Dante to kill on N2 is interesting, as there are very few circumstances in which a mafioso will voluntarily not kill after he has started murdering. The usual reasons are (1) to make the town think he just died, (2) he didn't get his orders in on time, and (3) he was blocked. (1) is pointless this early in the game. (2) is unlikely since he was active on N1... usually people who are inactive as mafioso are that way in the beginning, not after they've already gotten involved in the game. That leaves (3). So, my conclusion is Traitor Dante was blocked last night.

We then have this post by Ichigo:

Vote:GH

This is not a random vote.

The above is explained if Ichigo was a role blocker and got a successful result on GH. Thus:

Vote: GH


[edit] Worth noting that Ninja Larry's kills are ambiguous enough in his identity that he could be the special role instead of a ninja. However, I will continue to refer to him as a ninja until more evidence comes up.

[Csargo]

As others have noted, there is not much in the way of clues in the write-ups. However, it will be useful to keep track of who is killing who. Here's my stab at it.

First, the rules list the roles as:



The ninjas and the traitors are our mafia, likely two separate families. The powers of the pro-town roles remain unknown, but it's possible that some of them can kill at night. There is also the secret role which could be a serial killer.

N1 Deaths:
Khazaar - Killer repeatedly called a "shady figure." Decapitates target and wipes blade on kimono. Likely ninja.
spL1tp3r50nal1ty - Killer repeatedly referred to as a samurai, which would preclude the ninjas. Likely traitor.
Lord Winter - Killer specifically called a samurai, which would preclude the ninjas. Killer first attacked unarmed, then finished with a blade. Likely traitor. Worth nothing that Lord Winter was obviously a geisha, indicating that the town is down a power role right from the start.

N2 Deaths:
The Spartan - Killer specifically referred to as a ninja.
Iskander III - Killer specifically referred to as a ninja.
Shinseikhaan - Killer not referred to as either samurai or ninja, only "warrior." However, the killer decapitated his target and wiped his blade on the kimono. This is very similar to the N1 Khazaar death. Thus, likely the ninja killer of Khazaar.
Olavi - Killer not referred to as either samurai or ninja, only "dark shade." However, the killer first attacked unarmed, then finished with a blade. This is very similar to the N1 Lord Winter death. Thus, likely the traitor killer of Lord Winter.

Thus, we have 5 killers so far, 3 ninjas and 2 traitors. This matches the killing power listed in Andres' rules.

Ninja Larry: N1 - Khazaar, N2 - 'khaan
Ninja Moe: N1 - Did not kill, N2 - The Spartan
Ninja Curly: N1 - Did not kill, N2 - Iskander III

Traitor Dante: N1 - spL1tp3r50nal1ty, N2 - Did not kill
Traitor Randal: N1 - Lord Winter, N2 - Olavi

Two of the ninjas keeping quiet on N1 is not really remarkable. It is a common and intelligent tactic to intentionally refrain from killing. However, the failure of Traitor Dante to kill on N2 is interesting, as there are very few circumstances in which a mafioso will voluntarily not kill after he has started murdering. The usual reasons are (1) to make the town think he just died, (2) he didn't get his orders in on time, and (3) he was blocked. (1) is pointless this early in the game. (2) is unlikely since he was active on N1... usually people who are inactive as mafioso are that way in the beginning, not after they've already gotten involved in the game. That leaves (3). So, my conclusion is Traitor Dante was blocked last night.

We then have this post by Ichigo:



The above is explained if Ichigo was a role blocker and got a successful result on GH. Thus:

Vote: GH


[edit] Worth noting that Ninja Larry's kills are ambiguous enough in his identity that he could be the special role instead of a ninja. However, I will continue to refer to him as a ninja until more evidence comes up.

Your assumption is wrong. I voted GH because I haven't seen him post anything.

[TinCow]

Your assumption is wrong. I voted GH because I haven't seen him post anything.

Then why didn't you say that the first time?

[Beskar]

Well, put it this way. If your assumption is right, you just alerted him to all the ninja and he is going to get lynched. He is naturally going to say that you are wrong.

[Thermal]

Then why didn't you say that the first time?

It's Ichigo, like he even requires to be serious.....

A leader he may be
he runs so wild and free
but not into battle
instead making mere prattles
as he curses his generals to death.

vote:TosaInu

Intuition, and no better way to remove myself from the game early on than for voting for the site owner. But perhaps a mafia site owner?

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Speculating about who might have a pro town role is rarely a good idea.

btw Beskar...are you now voting yarapolk?

[Splitpersonality]

Regarding my death.

It seems that my assailant (and murderer) was someone who chose to attack, with little honor, while my back was turned.

Poisoned weaponry is that of the ninja, and a ninja disguised as a samurai would not be difficult to manage.