Stars Aligned III - The Tenth Day

[Percy]

Stars Aligned III

Stars Aligned III is a Large Theme game for 28 players.

Moderator

: Percy

Backup Moderator and Reviewer

: Vi

Links:
The Ruleset
Day 1 Dawns
Night 1 Begins
Day 2 Dawns
Night 2 Begins
Day 3 Dawns
Night 3 Begins
Day 4 Dawns
Night 4 Begins
Day 5 Dawns
Night 5 Begins
Day 6 Dawns
Night 6 Begins
Day 7 Dawns
Night 7 Begins
Day 8 Dawns
Night 8 Begins
Day 9 Dawns
Night 9 Begins
Day 10 Dawns

Those who yet Live - 7

Benmage
Iecerint

replacing manho replacing Wingless

Nachomamma8

replacing nopointinactingup replacing Super Smash Bros. Fan

Nicodemus

replacing Bowser

totallynotmafia
VP Baltar
xvart

Those who have Died - 2

Feysal

-

Murdered

during

Night 9

,

Insanity Count

: 2

Trilobite

-

Destroyed by an Unspeakable Being

during

Night 9

,

Insanity Count

: 5

Those who have returned to Dust - 19

ReaperCharlie

-

His Soul Ripped From His Body

at the end of

Day 1

,

Insanity Count

: 0

,

Investigator

.

Fate

-

His Soul Ripped From His Body

at the end of

Day 1

,

Insanity Count

: 1

,

Investigator

.

Lost Butterfly

-

Murdered

during

Night 1

,

Insanity Count

: 1

,

Investigator

.

MagnaofIllusion

-

Lynched

on

Day 2

,

Insanity Count

: 2

,

Investigator

.

Furpants_Tom

-

Destroyed by an Unspeakable Being

during

Night 2

,

Insanity Count

: 0

,

Investigator

.

El Goosuki

-

Lynched

on

Day 3

,

Insanity Count

: 1

,

Investigator

.

Furcolow

-

Murdered

during

Night 3

,

Insanity Count

: 1

,

Investigator

.

Wickedestjr

-

Destroyed by an Unspeakable Being

during

Night 3

,

Insanity Count

: 2

,

Investigator

.

SpyreX

-

Lynched

on

Day 4

,

Insanity Count

: 4

,

Cultist

.

Wraith

replacing rewq455

-

Destroyed by an Unspeakable Being

during

Night 4

,

Insanity Count

: 2

,

Investigator

.

Baby Spice

-

Lynched

on

Day 5

,

Insanity Count

: 5

,

Cultist

.

Plum

-

Lynched

on

Day 6

,

Insanity Count

: 2

,

Investigator

.

AurorusVox

-

Murdered

during

Night 6

,

Insanity Count

: 4

,

Investigator

.

hitorogoshi

-

Destroyed by an Unspeakable Being

during

Night 6

,

Insanity Count

: 6

,

Investigator

.

Andrius

-

Lynched

on

Day 7

,

Insanity Count

: 5

,

Cultist

.

Seacore

-

Destroyed by an Unspeakable Being

during

Night 7

,

Insanity Count

: 7

,

Investigator

.

kunkstar7

-

Lynched

on

Day 8

,

Insanity Count

: 7

,

Cultist

.

VasudeVa

-

Destroyed by an Unspeakable Being

during

Night 8

,

Insanity Count

: 2

,

Investigator

.

Triglav

-

Lynched

on

Day 9

,

Insanity Count

: 3

,

Cultist

.

[Percy]

Roles

There are three Roles in this game -

Investigators

, who number three quarters of the starting players;

Cultists

, who number one quarter; and

Murderers

, who appear later in the game.

Investigator	Honest individuals caught in the deadly machinations of the Cult. You must outwit and outplay the evil Cultists and deranged Murderers, fending off the strange and horrifying supernatural world that threatens to overwhelm you. Win Condition : The Investigators win when all Cultists and Murderers have been killed, provided there is at least one Investigator still alive.
Cultist	Depraved individuals intent on slaughtering the Investigators. They command the dark, supernatural forces that threaten the lives of every Investigator and Murderer, but at a price; their sanity will slowly be eaten away by the very beasts they try to control. Special Abilities : Secret communication - All Cultists will receive a link to a QuickTopic thread with their PM. They may communicate with each other in this thread at any time, provided they are still alive. If they communicate during the Day between two successive Vote Counts, the text *whisper whisper* will appear in the next Vote Count. The Ritual - Cultists may select the Night Actions Pass Fetish , Craft Fetish and Participate in the Ritual . However, they may not select the Night Action Stalk . Win Condition : The Cultists win when they number at least half the remaining players, and there are no surviving Murderers, at the beginning of either the Night phase or the Day phase.
Murderer	Players who succumb to the urge to strike out against unseen horrors and go on a killing spree become Murderers. They become lone wolves, fighting for themselves alone. They descend the dark steps to insanity as they strike out at former friends and foes with equal ferocity. Special Abilities : Killer - Murderers may take the Murder action more than once. Serial Killer - Murderers who reach an Insanity Count of 9 may target two people with one Stalk action. Win Condition : A Murderer wins instantly upon the completion of a Murder action, provided that they: -are the only Murderer alive, -have completed more successful murders than any deceased Murderer, and -have completed at least two Murders before this one.

---

Global Mechanics

Night and Day

The game is broken into two phases, Night and Day . During the Day , the spirits retreat from the harsh sunlight; at Night , they come out to play... The Investigators retreat to dark corners and small rooms to await the day, managing only small bursts of activity to do what they can to save their fellows and root out the Cultists. Each Night , all players may perform a single Night Action . The Cultists may perform The Ritual . Players may not publicly post at Night . During the Day , all characters discuss events in the game thread and perform a Lynching . Play then proceeds to Night again. The game begins at Night .

Lynching

During the Day , a Lynch is performed. Each player has one vote as to who they want lynched, which can be changed at any time. Once a majority of the players left alive have voted to lynch a player, that player is killed (and therefore becomes Dead ). Once the required number of votes has been reached, no further vote changes will be counted. The lynched player may not post, though others may continue to post until the thread is locked by a moderator. The option to lynch nobody is available ( Vote: No Lynch ). Once a majority has been reached, the game moves to the Night phase. Votes must be marked in bold in the format Vote: Herbert West . You may Unvote: Herbert West to undo the previous vote. Whilst they are encouraged when changing your vote, Unvote s are not mandatory. A successful lynch will reveal the Insanity count of the lynched player, but not his role (but see Rob Grave , below). A deadline of three RL weeks will be in place for the first three Days , falling to two RL weeks for subsequent Days . If activity has been good, the Moderator may extend the deadline by one RL week up to two times per Day by request from the players. At deadline, whoever has the majority of votes will be lynched. If there is a tie, whoever received their final vote first will be lynched.

---

States

Various things can happen to you during the course of the game - you may become

Bloody

, hear

Noise

, go

Insane

, become

Dead

and eventually turn to

Dust

. You must also be wary of a descent into

Chaos

.

Bloody	Characters may get blood on their clothes from the Resuscitate and Murder actions, as well as from The Ritual . The Investigate action can detect blood. The Launder action will clean the blood away. You will be told when you become Bloody .
Hearing Noise	Night Actions that target a character will often make noise. If your character is the target of at least one of Pass Fetish , Craft Fetish , Resuscitate , Investigate , Ward or Stalk , you will receive the message "You heard Noise in the night" upon the start of the next Day . You will receive the same message, even if multiple noisy actions target you.
Insanity	Every character begins the game with an Insanity Count of 0. As they are exposed to the bleak horrors of their environment (willingly or unwillingly), their count rises. The Rob Grave , Stalk , Murder and Commune actions all cause Insanity, as will being saved from death by a successful Resuscitate and participating in The Ritual . Launder , Craft Fetish and Ward can also cause insanity, as will receiving a Fetish of yourself from a Cultist . Each time a player's Insanity Count increases, they will receive a PM from the Moderator. They must choose an Insanity from the list below at the start of the next Day , prior to posting. You cannot choose the same Insanity more than once. You can never remove or change your Insanities . (i) Taboo - Choose an action you have Equipment for. You may no longer take that action. (ii) Hallucination - You always hear Noises each Night regardless of actions taken. (iii) Compulsion - If you are Bloody , you must Launder . (iv) Suicidal - You require one less vote to lynch. This is not reflected in vote counts and does not affect Sadism . (v) Distraction - Your vote, once placed on another player, cannot revert to a player you voted to lynch earlier that Day . (vi) Paranoid - If at least one player has voted for you today, you may only vote players who have voted you today. (vii) Twitchy - If you heard Noise the Night before, you are Bloody , gained an Insanity the Night before, or any combination of these, your first post in the thread for the Day must contain *twitch* or *twitches*. (viii) Obsession - If on a previous Night you chose Investigate , Resuscitate or Commune and your relevant Equipment did not break, you must use that same action this Night . ( Compulsion and Taboo take precedence). (ix) Sadism - You may only place your votes on players who are one or two votes away from a lynch. (x) Denial - Your Insanity Count does not increase tonight, but it will automatically increase by one at the beginning of each of the following two Nights . (xi) Marked - If at least one player targets you with Resuscitate , you count as being resuscitated by one less player for the purposes of Murder and The Ritual . (xii) Mutilation - You always appear Bloody for the purposes of the Investigate action. (xiii) Solist - You may only have one piece of Equipment at a time. If you Search , you lose what you have. You cannot gain Equipment from Rob Grave . (xiv) Necrophilia - You must choose Rob Grave at least once every Night if able. (xv) Sociopathy - You may not speak in The Sanctum during the Day . ( Cultists only ) (s) Psychopathy - You are now a Murderer . ( This may not be selected in the usual way - see Murder , below. ) If a player posts before PMing their Insanity choice(s) to the Moderator, or if they contradict one of their Insanities in any post, the Moderator will send them an Insanity Infraction PM. If a player would receive a second Insanity Infraction PM for the same offence, or a third for any reason, instead they will be modkilled. If a player reaches an Insanity Count of 10 , they will no longer gain any Insanities . Votes that contradict Insanities will still contribute to a Lynch.
Dead	Once you have been lynched, Murdered or killed by the Ritual , you may no longer post. You may still be the target of the Rob Grave and Ward actions.
Dust	You may no longer be the target of Rob Grave . All of your Equipment is destroyed (if it was not taken by a grave robber), and your role is made known to the players.
Chaos	If every living player is Bloody at any time, all Investigators immediately gain the Psychopathy insanity, and the Day phase no longer occurs. For this state to be triggered, there must be at least three more Investigators than Cultists remaining alive.

---

Night Actions

The following are the available Night Actions. They take place in the listed order, and each action resolves simultaneously amongst those who have chosen it (most relevant for

Murder

,

Ward

and

Commune

). If your action fails for any reason, you will be informed via PM (with

Ward

and some instances of

Resuscitate

being the only exceptions). A failed action will not produce the

Effect

, but all

Side Effects

still apply. Some actions allow you to take another action, but you may never perform more than two actions in a single Night.

Cower	Target : Yourself. Effect : You gain an Insanity . Notes : Players who do not submit a Night Action will default to this action.
Participate in the Ritual	Target : Any player. Effect : You submit the target's name to the Ritual. Prerequisites : Only Cultists may take this action. At least one third (rounding up) of the Cultists must submit the same name for the Ritual to take effect, and the Cultists must possess a Fetish linked to the target. Greater Ritual : If two thirds (rounding up) of the Cultists target the same player, the Ritual counts as an extra kill for the purpose of Resuscitate . If the Cultists use Corpse Dust , the Ritual counts as an extra kill for the purposes of Resuscitate , and the Corpse Dust is consumed. These two effects are cumulative. Free Action : You may Participate in the Ritual and perform another (different) Night Action .
Launder	Target : Yourself. Effect : If you are Bloody , your Blood is removed. Prerequisites : None. Side Effects : If you are not Bloody when you take this action, you gain an Insanity .
Search Target : Yourself. Effect : You acquire your choice of Equipment - Forensic Tools , Resuscitation Kit , or Occult Books . Prerequisites : You may not search for a Resuscitation Kit while Bloody .	Forensic Tools Effect : You may choose the Investigate Night Action. Destroyed when : An Investigate you perform discovers Blood .
	Resuscitation Kit Effect : You may choose the Resuscitate Night Action. Destroyed when : You are Bloody .
	Occult Books Effect : You may choose the Commune Night Action. Destroyed when : Commune discovers someone more Insane than you are.
Ward	Target : Any other player. Effect : If your target is targeted by the Pass Fetish , Craft Fetish , Stalk or Rob Grave actions, those actions fail. Prerequisites : None. Side Effects : Your target (if alive) hears Noise . Your action will fail if someone targets you with Ward , and you will not be notified of the failure. If you target a Dead player with this action, you gain an Insanity .
Pass Fetish	Target : Up to three (different) non-Cultists. Effect : The targets acquire a Fetish of themselves, causing them to gain an Insanity . Investigators and Murderers cannot gain more than one Insanity per night as a result of this action. The Cultists lose any Fetishes they successfully pass. Prerequisites : You must be a Cultist to choose this action. The Cult must also possess Fetishes of each of your targets. Side Effects : Your targets hear Noise .
Craft Fetish	Target : Up to three non-Cultists. Effect : You create a Fetish of your targets. Prerequisite : You must be a Cultist to choose this action. Side Effect : Your targets hear Noise . If you targeted three players, you gain an Insanity . Notes : Fetishes are not Equipment , and once made are available to the Cult as a group. This action will fail if your target has also been the target of Pass Fetish .
Rob Grave	Target : Any Dead player. Effects : Your target turns to Dust , and the role of the player is publicly revealed the next Day . If you are the only player to target them, you will receive all of their Equipment ( Resuscitation Kits provided you are not Bloody , Forensic Kits and/or Occult Books ) if they had any. Special Effects : If you are a Murderer and target the victim of a successful Murder action, you will learn who killed them. If you are a Cultist and are the only person to target the Dead player, you may elect to take Corpse Dust . The Cultists cannot have more than one lot of Corpse Dust at any one time, and it is available to them as a group. Prerequisites : None. Side Effects : You gain an Insanity . Free Action : You may choose Rob Grave and another Night Action . You may select Rob Grave twice.
Resuscitate	Target : Any other player. Effect : You protect your target against one of either Murder or The Ritual . Prerequisite : You must possess a Resuscitation Kit . Side Effects : Your target hears Noise . Any Resuscitate action targeting you tonight will fail, and the player who targeted you will not be notified of the failure. If you successfully protect them, you become Bloody , and your target both becomes Bloody and gains an Insanity when the killing action ( Murder or the Ritual ) resolves. Notes : If more killing actions target the player than there are players Resuscitating them, then the kill is not prevented, though you still become Bloody when the killing action resolves. If you save your target from death, they will be notified that they were saved, but not by whom.
Investigate	Target : Any other player. Effect : You determine whether your target has Blood on their clothes. Prerequisite : You must possess Forensic Tools . Side Effect : Your target hears Noise .
Stalk	Target : Any other player. Effect : You prepare yourself to Murder your target. Prerequisites : You must be an Investigator or a Murderer . Side Effect : Your target hears Noise . You gain an Insanity . Notes : Murderers with an Insanity Count of at least 9 may target two players with this action; each target hears Noise , but you still gain only one Insanity .
Murder	Target : Any other player. Effect : You kill your target. They are now Dead . Prerequisite : You must have targeted them with Stalk the previous night. Side Effects : You become Bloody . You gain an Insanity . When you select this action for the second time, you automatically gain the Psychopathy insanity in addition to any other Insanities you would gain that Night .
Commune	Target : Any other player. Effect : You learn whether your target has (strictly) more Insanities than you. Prerequisites : You must possess Occult Books . Side Effects : You gain an Insanity after the Effect resolves.
Ritual Resolves	Effect : The target of the Ritual is killed. Side Effects : All Cultists who selected Participate in the Ritual gain an Insanity . If the target was not Murdered , they also become Bloody , even if the kill was prevented by Resuscitate . Notes : Only one Ritual may succeed per night. If there are multiple names submitted for the Ritual, whoever has the clear majority will be killed. If there is no clear majority, the Ritual will fail. This action cannot be selected; it is included in this list to indicate its place in the resolution order.

---

Other Game Rules

Do not discuss this game with other players outside this thread. The only exception to this rule are the Cultists, who may post in their QuickTopic thread at any time.

Do not directly quote any PMs you receive from the Moderator. Do not mention any content in an attempt to learn the content of another PM ("its third and fifteenth letter is g", etc.) - PMs will be flavoured and (hopefully) interesting, but they are just for you. Don't fake a PM and quote it, either.

Your

Night Action

choices are due to me by the posted deadline. If I do not receive your choice via PM by the posted deadline (usually 72 hours from the threadlock) you will default to the action

Cower

.

This game is a commitment, and should be treated as such. If you're going to be unable to post for a significant period of time, let me know!

(it will help to let the other players know as well, of course).

I will prod players for being inactive for 3-5 RL days at my discretion, and then possibly replace at my discretion. Players who receive multiple prods throughout the course of the game may be replaced as well.

All of the Moderator's decisions are final. The Moderator reserves the right to modify the ruleset at any time.

Purple is the Moderator's colour

. Do not use it. Do not use small/invisible text.

Violating any of these rules will result in a punishment according to their severity, from a private or public rebuke up to and including a

Soul Rip

. Players who have their soul ripped from their bodies will spend eternity as a plaything for the gods, while their bodies remain as a shattered shadow of what once was. Their role becomes

Soulless

, and count as a Neutral Survivor for the purposes of other

Win Conditions

. They lose the ability to post publicly in the thread, to post in

The Sanctum

if they were a

Cultist

, and lose their

Night Action

. They may still be targetted by other players'

Night Actions

. During subsequent

Days

, living players may post

Dispatch: Playername

at any time, and if a majority of living players do so, the

Soulless

player immediately becomes

Dead

. A successful

Rob Grave

action will reveal the player's alignment just prior to the

Soul Rip

.

Soul Rips

may be accompanied by a change in phase, at the discretion of the Moderator.

If you see something you don't understand, ASK! If you have any questions feel free to PM me directly, or

mark your question in bold

in the thread.

---

Role PMs

Twenty one players will receive the following Role PM:

You are an

Investigator

.

It is now

Night 0

. The following

Night Actions

are available to you:

Cower
Launder
Search:

Forensic Tools

Search:

Resuscitation Kit

Search:

Occult Books

Ward
Stalk

You are not bloody.

Your

Insanity Count

is

0

.

You have until

5:00pm, Wednesday October 20th default site time

to submit your action to me, or you will default to the action

Cower

.

The gamethread can be found

here

.

Good luck.

Seven players will receive the following Role PM:

You are a

Cultist

.

Your fellow Cultists are

Shathak

,

Hastur

,

Iod

,

Rhogog

,

Nug

and

Yeb

.

You may speak with your fellow

Cultists

at any time in

The Sanctum

.

It is now

Night 0

. The following

Night Actions

are available to you:

Cower
Launder
Search:

Forensic Tools

Search:

Resuscitation Kit

Search:

Occult Books

Ward
Craft Fetish

You are not bloody.

Your

Insanity Count

is

0

.

You have until

5:00pm, Wednesday October 20th default site time

to submit your action to me, or you will default to the action

Cower

.

The gamethread can be found

here

.

Good luck.

---

Questions and Answers

Questions asked publicly of the Moderator will be appended to this post.

Q: I'm an

Investigator

. What can I do on Night 0?
A: You may take the

Ward

action to interfere with the

Cultists'

plans, or

Search

to allow greater choice of Night Action for subsequent nights. You can also

Cower

or

Launder

(not recommended) or

Stalk

.

Q: I'm a

Cultist

. What can I do on Night 0?
A: The first thing you should do is talk to your fellow

Cultists

in your quicktopic. On the first

Night

, you should be looking to perform

Craft Fetish

on multiple targets, as well as choosing

Search

to get

Equipment

that will help your side later on (such as a

Resuscitation Kit

in case you are threatened by

Murderers

). An important strategy will be faking claims - such as explaining your

Insanities

, what

Night Actions

you took and when and how you heard or produced

Noise

, so discuss this with your Cultist buddies.

Q: I want to be a

Murderer

! What should I do?
A: Carefully read the

Murderer

Win Condition. Your first action should probably be

Stalk

.

Q: The

Murderer

Win Condition actually doesn't require everyone else to be dead. What happens when a

Murderer

fulfils their Win Condition? Does the game continue?
A: Game ends,

Murderer

wins! Winning as a

Murderer

takes at least 6 nights worth of effort, and a lot of luck.

Q: Are

Commune

and

Investigate

results always accurate?
A: Yes.

Q: The

Cultists

cannot kill Night 0 because they must first craft fetishes, right?
A: Yes,

Investigators

are safe from being killed by

the Ritual

(or

Murder

) on Night 0.

Q: For

Commune

, do you gain an

Insanity

before or after the action?
A: Afterwards.

Q: Actions like

Murder

and

Stalk

can be prevented. Do I still gain an

Insanity

if they are?
A: Yes.

Side Effects

always apply, even if the

Effect

is cancelled.

Q: Can I submit "No Action"?
A: You can

Cower

, but you will gain an

Insanity

. There will always be a better choice than doing nothing.

Q: Can I have more than one piece of

Equipment

?
A: Yes, there is no limit.

Q: Can I make multiple

Fetishes

of the same player?
A: Yes, there is no limit.

Q: Can a

Cultist

become a

Murderer

?
A: No;

Psychopathy

is achieved only through

Murder

or

Chaos

.

Q: Can

Rob Grave

be used multiple times per

Night

?
A: Yes, but the maximum of 2

Night Actions

per player per

Night

still applies.

Q: If my

Night Action

fails, will I be notified?
A: Yes, with two exceptions: (1) You are not notified if your

Ward

action fails due to someone warding you, and (2) You are not notified if your

Resuscitate

action fails due to your target also choosing

Resuscitate

.

Q: What happens if my

Insanity Count

reaches 10 and I gain another

Insanity

?
A: Your

Insanity Count

continues to go up as usual, but you don't choose any new

Insanities

.

Q: Will we be able to tell whether a death was due to a

Murder

or

The Ritual

?
A: Yes, but no further information will be given (such as number of

Murders

and/or who committed them).

Q: If a player is the target of

Murder

,

Resuscitate

and

The Ritual

, what happens?
A:

Resuscitate

prevents the

Murder

, but

The Ritual

succeeds.

Q: Can the

Murderer

Murder

both the players they

Stalk

if they use the

Serial Killer

ability? Or can they only

Murder

one of those two players?
A: No, they must choose only one to target with the

Murder

action.

Q: Does a player hear

Noise

if somebody uses

Commune

on them?
A: No.

Q: If the last

Cultist

is eliminated on the second

Murder

for an

Investigator

, which takes precedence? Gaining

Psychopathy

, or the

Investigator

win condition?
A: The gain of

Psychopathy

.

Q: This game is so complicated!
A: Well, that's not really a question, is it? This game is complex, with multiple strategies that can be employed by the players.

Q: I played in Stars Aligned and/or Stars Aligned II. What's changed?
A: The following has been changed from the first edition:
-

Investigators

no longer begin the game with equipment.
-

Ward

requires no equipment.
-

Distraction

,

Aversion

,

Avolition

and

Twitchy

have been slightly altered. You cannot choose the same Insanity twice anymore. You cannot gain more than 8 Insanities.
-

Commune

(the old

Research

) no longer interferes with

The Ritual

, and

The Ritual

requires at least one third of Cultists to participate. Cultists can also make their Ritual kill harder to prevent.
-

Craft Fetish

has been altered so that Cultists can more easily manage their Fetishes, as has

Pass Fetish

.
-

Search

is the old

Equip

, but only the name has changed.
-Default action is

Launder

.
-

Rob Grave

is now a free action.
-

Cultists

are free to talk during the

Day

.
-

Fetishes

are no longer equipment, and are available to all Cultists.
-Enough

Insanity Infractions

result in the loss of your

Night Action

rather than a modkill.
-Cultists may no longer become

Traitors

.

The following has been changed from the second edition:
-Several changes to the list of available

Insanities

. Please read them all again carefully.
-

Insanity Infractions

are now private, and

much

more severe.
-Posts that violate

Insanities

still count towards a lynch.
-

Ward

has been altered to be less punitive in general, but can now prevent

Rob Grave

from succeeding.
-

Rob Grave

now gives

Cultists

Corpse Dust

and allows

Murderers

to learn the identity of other

Murderers

.
-

Murderers

are now more able to

Stalk

their victims when their

Insanity Count

gets extremely high.
-

Cower

replaces

Launder

as the default action.
-

Cultists

can craft up to three

Fetishes

per night, but gain an

Insanity

if they do so.
-If the

Cultists

talk during the day, the Vote Count will reflect this.

“Fools!” said West, his clenched fist striking the lectern before him. “We must prepare today’s youth for a world whose terrors are etched upon ancient clay tablets recounting the fever-dreams of the other gods; those who lie beneath the earth, waiting until the stars align so they can return to their rightful place as our masters..."

[Percy]

Entry 1

Dusk creeped along the city streets, casting long shadows through the crowds. I wasn't sure how I got here, what I had been doing before, but I knew the entrance was around somewhere. I could feel it in my mind's eye, drawing me closer.

I had prepared, just like in my dreams. I have a long, warm coat, some jerky, water, a lighter and cigarettes - enough to keep me alive and civilised for a few days, at least. This leather-bound diary will serve to record my observations in the field.

The small door was suddenly on my right. A tiny thing, easily missed by the mindless crowds. I looked hastily over my shoulder before darting down the alleyway and opening the unmarked door. I stepped into the darkness.

There was enough light for me to see the first few steps down. I struck my lighter to guide me, and was confronted with the scrawling on the wall. Whatever language it was in was incomprehensible to me, but I read it all the same. I wanted more than anything to know who it was who had been talking to me in my dreams, whispering of the knowledge of aeons that could be mine. I began my descent down the uneven, slippery stone stairs, reading as I went. Here is something I could only just make out:

ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

Cthulhu... I have read of this ancient deity, but I know nothing beyond the speculation of those who were likely crackpots. The words spun in my head like a prayer, their imprint upon my mind indelible.

It felt like I descended for hours, and I could hear people below and above me, called just the same to this place. When at last I emerged into the enormous structure, I could hardly believe my eyes. The ruins were vast, stretching out for miles, as though the city where I had been living had been built to keep this one secret and lost.

There were many others. They looked at me warily, unsure of themselves. I thought I saw the glint of madness in more than a few faces, just as I saw it in mine the night before, sweating and panting from my nightmares.

The city calls to me. I know I'm in danger, that this is the crucible I must pass through to gain the promised knowledge. I am setting off to explore, to find a space of my own. The others can wait until morning.

It is now

Night 0

.

Role PMs are out. You have until 5:00pm, Wednesday October 20th default site time to submit your action to me, or you will default to the action

Cower

.

[Percy]

You have less than 24 hours to submit your

Night Action

to me, otherwise you will

Cower

.

[Percy]

DAY 1

InFinit watEry dEEp thE abySS tHat SpeaKs to mE, bluE nd wHIte pAlE, sliMe tEntaCleS cuRlinG uNcoiLinG
theY spOKe t mE told mE to tHE EnTRanCe doWn daRK stairs I gO because he SaYS

GO!

I haVe nO choIcE I haVe nO choIcE I havE oNLy KN

IVES

he

MAK

E

S M

E

GO

Im worthY thE worthY

est

hE saY t mE i Can bE tHE bEst onE hE hAs EveR eVeN haD, the

BlOOd

wiLL ruNN...
I fouNd Em and I fouND iM nd i foLLowEd iM nd I kNow iM nd I wiLL KiLL iM I wiLL

LaUgH AT HiM

thEn I wiLL fiNd em aGin maKe Light gO ouT for eM ALL it wiLL bE So

GOOOD

th TaSTe sMeLL ReD

HELP ME

ENTRY 2

My instincts kicked in. I tried to recognise where I was, where I had come out, but I couldn't find the entrance. I panicked when I noticed some of them were looking at me strangely, with hunger in their eyes. When I looked closer they had dirt on their faces. How long had they been down here? For a moment I thought...

I had to move again. I found a spot I thought was safe, but I heard noises and I think I saw blood. What the hell am I doing here? I think I remember, I just...

I slept, for a while. The dreams were vivid, as though an enormous storm was approaching, and I needed the rain but I didn't want the storm, and then I jumped into the ocean and tried to swim, and I woke up as I was drowning. I haven't had a dream like that for years.
I found a flashlight and explored, but at the moment it just looks like ruins. I'm going back to where I think the entrance is to see if I can see it in the daylight...

Well, we can't find the entrance, and someone found this slip of paper on the ground:

On the back was written the address that we all came to last Night, not to mention all our names. Some of us have the word "Kill" written next to their names, me included. Needless to say, everyone is a bit tense.

It is now

Day 1

.

With 28 alive, 15 secures a lynch.

[Wingless]

vote: kunkstar7

[ReaperCharlie]

I HEARD NOISE.

[MagnaofIllusion]

Greetings to those I know – the player list is long enough that it is pointless to list you all.

Welcome to those I don’t. I look forward to getting to know you as we play this game.

I’ve reviewed the player list. Of those players I am familiar with the player I feel is most likely going to be a potential problem long-term for the Investigators (regardless of alignment) is Furcolow. This is based on direct personal experience and the end of Stars Aligned II.

VOTE: Furcolow

vote: kunkstar7

A quite stirring entry into the game. Bravo [/sarcasm off]

I HEARD NOISE.

Let’s review the hearing noise information -

Night Actions that target a character will often make noise. If your character is the target of at least one of Pass Fetish, Craft Fetish, Resuscitate, Investigate, Ward or Stalk, or if your character performs the Ward action, you will receive the message "You heard Noise in the night" upon the start of the next Day. You will receive the same message, even if multiple noisy actions target you.

Based on it being N0 the only actions that could possibly cause you to hear noise are as follows –

Targetting You – Craft Fetish, Ward, or Stalk
You targeting others – Ward

So if you are telling the truth and Warded someone else you can’t really mine that information.

I myself also Heard Noise and did not Ward. I don’t think at this juncture we are going to get a ton of information out of who heard noises. Anyone who didn’t hear noise might provide something to go on as those players (if telling the truth) can’t be the target of a NK action N1 and thus should not be protected via Resuscitate.

Anyone want to volunteer as to not hearing noises N0?

[kunkstar7]

Vote: Fate.

Murderer or Cult. Its win-win either way.

Might as well do the noise claims. Heard noise here.

[hitogoroshi]

Welcome everyone. A few people I know (glad to be playing with Spy and VP), a lot of new faces for me.

I have a question for everyone: What is your Stars Aligned experience? That is, have you played in both 1 and 2, just one of them, or is this your first?

Personally, this is my first Stars Aligned game.

I would appreciate if someone who has played in at least one previous Stars Aligned game would weigh in on the merits of noise-claiming versus not. We know that people who didn't hear noise today won't die tonight, but it also gives the cultists information and I'm not entirely convinced it's in our favor to claim noise. If a player heard noise and WASN'T targeted by cultists, cultists know they were either warded or stalked (or warded someone else.) The benefit to town seems smaller than this, and so I'm leaning towards saying we shouldn't claim noise.

[Lost Butterfly]

Let's just skip RVS and get down to business.

(Well, actually...

Daykill: Fate

I've waited for months to do that!)

I'm in favour of a mass Noise/No noise and Ward target claim, popcorn style. Faraday and I were in favour of a mass claim, but then I noticed that players who resuscitate that night can't be resuscitated. So I don't think we should give away who has what equipment.

I think Faraday had his own opinions on who'd be most likely to go murderer, but my personal choice to go first would be VasudeVa, because of this post from the sign-up thread:

This makes me want to help a murderer win. (Especially after seeing that ultra delicious Cult win flavor yum, yum. <3.)

Someone awesome please go murderer? <3vpbaltarsottyrulezojanenspyrexmagnaofillusion I'mlookinatyou

Anyone have another choice?

====================================================
EBWOPreview: Ninja'd by RC and Magna. Do people agree that we should do it in order to maximize the chances of someone slipping up?

I myself also Heard Noise and did not Ward. I don’t think at this juncture we are going to get a ton of information out of who heard noises. Anyone who didn’t hear noise might provide something to go on as those players (if telling the truth) can’t be the target of a NK action N1 and thus should not be protected via Resuscitate.

I think it's still informative to claim if you heard noise AND ward targets, because:

1) It allows for better direction of Resuscitation/Warding tonight:

i-if someone didn't ward and heard noise, we know absolutely that he was stalked or had a fetish crafted of him (unless he's lying), and would be a good resuscitation target.

i--if someone claims to have warded you, you know you can't be killed tonight. (Although hang on, I just thought of a caveat.

Mods: will players be informed if Craft Fetish and/or Stalk fails?

) Other players would also know that a protown player who didn't hear noise would be a good ward target on N1.

2) It might be interesting to see how the numbers match up (if a suspiciously high or suspiciously low number of people claim to have heard noise, for example).

[Lost Butterfly]

(By the way, Faraday and I can start signing our hydra posts, but I think it's pretty easy to guess who's who just by looking at the word count. )

Welcome everyone. A few people I know (glad to be playing with Spy and VP), a lot of new faces for me.

I have a question for everyone: What is your Stars Aligned experience? That is, have you played in both 1 and 2, just one of them, or is this your first?

Personally, this is my first Stars Aligned game.

This is my first Stars Aligned game, although I'd skimmed the post-game of the second one. I think Faraday said he'd replaced out of SAII.

I would appreciate if someone who has played in at least one previous Stars Aligned game would weigh in on the merits of noise-claiming versus not. We know that people who didn't hear noise today won't die tonight, but it also gives the cultists information and I'm not entirely convinced it's in our favor to claim noise. If a player heard noise and WASN'T targeted by cultists, cultists know they were either warded or stalked (or warded someone else.) The benefit to town seems smaller than this, and so I'm leaning towards saying we shouldn't claim noise.[/quote]
I haven't played either of the SAs, but I don't get your argument. How does it help the cultists to know that someone was warded or stalked on N0?

Meanwhile, if we know who heard noise and wasn't warded, we can figure out who most likely to die tonight and stop the kill.

hitorogoshi, since you're the one arguing we shouldn't noise-claim, what possible benefit do you think the cult would glean from knowing who was warded on N0?

[Furcolow]

I warded El Goosuki
MoI pushing policy lynch D1 when it should be RVS is suspicious, but he's just mad I got him lynched in ReaperCharlie's mini theme 1000.
I did not hear noise last night.

[hitogoroshi]

hitorogoshi, since you're the one arguing we shouldn't noise-claim, what possible benefit do you think the cult would glean from knowing who was warded on N0?

If you know that someone was warded, you know that someone thinks they're worth protecting even knowing they might be scum. Actually though, the biggest isn't knowing who was warded, it's that they get a good idea who was

stalked

.

Skill is subjective to a degree, but I think if we all divided the playerlist into "great players" and "not great players", we'd have considerable overlap. If a not-great player hears noise but was not targeted by Craft Fetish, it's less likely they were warded and more likely they were stalked.

For the record, I'm not arguing that we shouldn't noise claim. I'm just pointing out that there ARE negatives to noiseclaiming. There are positives as well, and they could well outweigh the bad stuff. That's why I'd like to hear from someone who's played Stars Aligned before. But with ReaperCharlie's first post being "I HEARD NOISE", I'm worried that people think there are no negatives.

I warded El Goosuki
MoI pushing policy lynch D1 when it should be RVS is suspicious, but he's just mad I got him lynched in ReaperCharlie's mini theme 1000.
I did not hear noise last night.

If you warded, you would have heard noise. Lynch all liars.

Vote: Furcolow

[Furcolow]

also, i'd like to add, where I didn't hear noise and I warded, this needs to be rectified somehow... makes no sense.

[Furcolow]

that's not a lie. things offset wards, as in other wards. are you dumb?

[Furcolow]

"Your action will fail if someone targets you with Ward. "

[Percy]

Version error from ruleset now corrected...

Night Actions

that target a character will often make noise. If your character is the target of at least one of

Pass Fetish

,

Craft Fetish

,

Resuscitate

,

Investigate

,

Ward

or

Stalk

, or if your character performs the

Ward

action

, you will receive the message "You heard

Noise

in the night" upon the start of the next

Day

. You will receive the same message, even if multiple noisy actions target you.

Also,

Mods: will players be informed if Craft Fetish and/or Stalk fails?

Yes.

[Furcolow]

Percy, since you're hear, and you said "your ward action will not be messed with" basically... can you tell me how someone can NOT be told when they know they DIDNT hear noise and SHOULD HAVE?

you basically told me my action failed though you said "you will not be informed"
that is a little bit... um... i don't know the word... slighted?

@mod: did I hear noise last night? I warded, I should have heard noise

[Furcolow]

oh... i see the stripe now. sorry percy.

[hitogoroshi]

Your action will fail if someone targets you with Ward.

If someone had warded you, you still would have heard noise.

Preview-edit: Oh, but that was a ruleset error. Cheerfully withdrawn!

Unvote

[Furcolow]

hitorogoshi, since you're the one arguing we shouldn't noise-claim, what possible benefit do you think the cult would glean from knowing who was warded on N0?

If you warded, you would have heard noise. Lynch all liars.

Vote: Furcolow

I find benefits from who heard noise and who didn't based upon ward claims, because we know who to ward and who will be potentially dying. Information for the uninformed majority is good from my perspective. I want as much information as we can get.

You need to unvote me now that the mod has rectified the situation.
If you do not unvote me, you are voting me without reason now, as it is shown I am not fucking lying.

[Furcolow]

Your action will fail if someone targets you with Ward.

If someone had warded you, you still would have heard noise.

Preview-edit: Oh, but that was a ruleset error. Cheerfully withdrawn!

Unvote

I didn't even get to preview edit this. I guess we hit submit quick enough together I didn't get to.

Sorry for the language, brosef, I didn't mean to not be brolite.

[Lost Butterfly]

There's stuff I wanted to say to hitorogoshi, but I have to go, so I'll save it for later.

I just remembered that there's another juicy benefit to a Noise/No Noise and Ward Target claim, but I won't give it away until after a massclaim.

Kunkstar and RC, since the cat is out of the bag, did you ward?

Is anyone interested in continuing this in order, or should I just claim to make this go more quickly?

Also, has Furcolow just been confirmed town?

[Furcolow]

Yes.