The basic rules...

1) The game is basically a hunt for a Werewolf in a rural village. All players get a simple persona.
a: Villager- No powers, no PM's to other players. All discusion about who is the wolf takes place in the thread for these folks.
b: Seer- The seer gets to PM the moderator during Night Phase (described below) and ask if a player is a werewolf or not. The moderator will give a truthful answer. The seer can communicate in the thread as a villager, and is on the villager's side. However, it may be unwise to give away that you are the seer, because you are the villager's greatist weapon. The wolves will target you first.
c: Wolfbaner- This is an optional persona. The wolfbaner gets to PM the moderator during night phase as well. They may use wolfbane on a player. If a wolf tries to kill the villager the wolfbaner picks, there is no effect!
d: Wolves- Wolves are villagers that, during night phase, may PM the moderator and choose a victim. That person is found dead during day phase. Depending on the size of the group, there could be two or even three wolves! If that is the case, the wolves can only feast on one victim a night. They are encouraged to PM each other and go over battle plans. The wolves must agree on a victim.
e: Moderator- The moderator is not in the game. S/He is in charge of collecting the Seer, Baner and Wolf PM's and moving the game into day and night phases. S/He is also in charge of assigning persona via PM's. The moderator is also in charge of providing the setting (if there is one) and adding or subtracting optional rules.

2) There are two phases of the game. Day phase and Night phase.
a: Day Phase- Every day phase everyone has abandoned reason and will lynch who they agree upon. Every player in the game (Wolves, Seer, Baner, Villagers) vote who they are going to lynch. Majority vote rules. In case of a tie, someone has to change thier vote. Pleading is suggested. After someone is lynched, all are told if that person was a werewolf, seer, wolfbaner, or villager. Then night phase begins.
b: Night Phase- Night phase is when all non-villager persona PM the moderator to gather thier clues and kill the innocents (The blood of innocents is mighty tasty!). All players can debate and role-play during this time, but there are no accusations. After all the PM's are gathered, the process returns to day phase, until the villagers or wolves win.

3) How to win!
a: Villagers- The villagers win if they get the werewolves! In the case of more then one werewolf, they must all be lynched.
b: Werewolves- The werewolves win if they kill enough villagers to be equal in number to them. Ergo, if there is one werewolf, there needs to be only one villager left. And so on and so on.


Everything else is on the moderator's shoulders. They are in charge, so to speak. I'll begin a signup post shortly. A moderator signup post should have the theme and optional rules posted. Players should make a charater of themselves, should the moderator choose a theme. HAPPY HUNTING!

[ 06-27-2005, 06:43 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]

Morning dawned in the sleepy town of Vallaki. The winter air chilled the town. The pastoral village was located in the midst of the Icepeak mountains, and the passes had been frozen for several days. As the town began waking and shops opened a bloodcurdling scream shattered the calm like a stone through a window pane.

Several of the villagers quickly arrived on the scene to see Reverend Bors torn apart in the town square. His eyes were fixed with horror on something before him, death preventing him from looking away. His crucifix was bent halfway down, and his clothes were shredded, as if by some monstrous beast. Most of his body had been savaged by teeth and claws, his throat torn out coloring the snow around him a deep crimson.

"What horror had done this" many of the townsfolk wondered, praying that the tales of werewolves were only fables meant to frighten children, fearing that they were not.

OOC: the game has begun. feel free to post in character, and put a little backgroud information on your character in the OOC thread, much as Dplax and Salinye have done, it doesn't have to be much, just enough to give an idea to everyone else who and what you are.

Frank got up that morning with a chip on his both shoulders. Some kind of damned ruckus and noise kept woke him up in the middle of the night, and nothing he did, drank or ate could send him back to sleep. After eating whatever ham and bread was leftover from yesterday, and spending a single minute in the bathroom on the usual morning hygiene, he dressed in his everyday work clothes and put on his shoulder leather. Coming down the stairs from his home to his shop, he could see some commotion outside through the windows. He could see some people running towards the town square, but he couldn't be bothered. He took one of the razors from the table, wetted it and started going up and down the shoulder leather to sharpen it. While in the practiced routine, he took some time to clean the two barber seats and the counters. A knock came on the door, his assistant Hans was standing outside holding closed his macintosh overcoat. Frank came up and opened the door to let Hans and the cold in. "Have you heard about the murder? Some poor soul lies dead on the town square, not a single drop of blood in him I've heard." Hans said instead of the normal "good morning".
"Yes, I know. If I had stayed in longer to feast on the dried remains I would have been caught. Good thing we bloodsuckers can turn into bats." Frank chuckled, thinking that it was probably just someone slipping on the ice and knocking himself out cold, and the news passed through a dozen mouths, gaining something with each telling. Rumors spread fast in a remote town such as this. Hans looked at him, and said "Well, then it is my duty to inform the authorities about the identity of the vampire in our midst." he joked, and continued "There isn't much work here now, could I go and take a look at it?" Frank took a moment to think, and realising noone came in for a shave in the morning for the past month, he agreed. As Hans left, Frank could see more people walking towards the town square. Something really did happen, or otherwise the people wouldn't still be walking off to see. Frank took off his leather, left his razor, took his keys and coat, and left the shop to see for himself what happened.
After pushing through the crowd to see what they gathered about, he saw blood on the snow. His eyes followed the blood to the butchered body of reverend Bors. It looked as if a whole pack of wolves attacked him, but wolves never came this far up the mountains. "Well, it might not have been a vampire." Hans said, finding Frank and pushing himself close to him. Frank's stare told him it wasn't funny.

Drancy stood among the horror-struck onlookers staring at Reverend Bor’s Body. Everyone in town liked the reverend; he had been friend to all despite one’s social status or circumstances. She had seen things like this before, but never quite as gruesome. Tying the sides of her brown hair back so the winter wind would quit whipping it in her face, she pulled out her investigative journal and a charcoal stick.

“Pardon me, Ma’am?” She asked a woman sobbing next to her. “You’re Cherrie Le’Blanc, yes?”

The petite, well-dressed woman turned toward her blotting at her eyes with a lacy edged kerchief. “That’s right.” She responded with a slight upper class tone.

Drancy ignored the superiority in the woman’s voice and continued with her questioning. “You and your husband own the Vallaki inn?” She pointed across the street to the wooden structure.

“Yes, we do.”

“I see, so did you or any of your guests see or hear anything strange throughout the night? Anything at all could turn out to be helpful. Rule nothing out.” Drancy leaned in eagerly, ready to jot down every bit of information the woman could give her when a gruff voice rang through the street.

“Drancy New! What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

Drancy stiffened immediately recognizing the voice of the Town’s sheriff. “Arriving first on the scene, as usual and gathering as much information as I can.”

The law official walked up to her glancing unemotionally at the dead body of the reverend. “Drancy, you’re a woman, for Pete’s sake. The day a woman is allowed to be in law enforcement is the day I’ll eat my badge.”

Several snickers rose up from the crowd and Drancy snapped her journal closed. “You just wait, I’ll solve this case before you do and then you’ll be FORCED to recognize me as the best person for this job.

He rolled his eyes at her and turned back towards the body. “Go home, Drancy. Let us do our job.”

Pippy

Pippy had been working in the corn fields next to his home when the news of the death of Reverend Bros. Pippy had only known the Reverend by sight, not being a religious person himself (he had never even set foot inside of the temple).

As all the curious townsfolk Pippy too made his way towards the town square. Due to all the people gathered around the body and his own smallness he could not at first see the body, but then managed to squeeze through to the front and caught sight of the gruesome spectacle.

Ten minutes later Pippy was being questioned by the town sheriff.

"Now tell me Pippy, what had you been doing this morning?"

"Well I had breakfast before sunrise, worked the corn fields, then had second breakfast, did some more work, then I heard the horrible news."

Seeing that he would get nothing useful from Pippy the sheriff walked off muttering something about small people eating much more than their fair share of food.

Although it was still early, all the excitement had made Pippy hungry again, and he headed towards the tavern for an early lunch.

[ 06-28-2005, 06:04 AM: Message edited by: dplax ]

Brom

He watched the townspeople run to the body, watched them run away, watched them come back with friends. There was wild speculation about the cause, but to him it was obvious.

"I seen my share of violence," he told no one in particular, "But this' no man's doing. It some monsterous daemon curse he gone drawn upon this place, I tell you. And bet you that nosy girl Drancy's where the devil's hiding, trying work out just what we suspect with her questioning."

He nodded fiercely, then added: "If this a regular bear or wolf's doing, they eat him or drag him off like old Greg when we up there in Thonsbury pass. It's a curse, I tell you that much."

“You’re right.” Drancy said thoughtfully looking past the man in the overcoat to the body now surrounded with different men with “authority”. “Too much blood to be a vampire. Rumor has it they usually feast on the blood and the body is definitely lacking the tell tale puncture wounds that would be left by fangs.” The men turned their attention to her, probably embarrassed that she had overheard the barbers assistant’s comment and was now talking fairly loudly about it in serious context.

“So…” She continued looking back to the men and reopening her investigative journal. “Most people don’t take these sorts of possibilities seriously. They think it takes men to do such heinous acts. By the way, why do you know so much about the dark arts?” She narrowed her eyes mildly accusingly and searched the men’s faces for their reaction.

Kyrobe

Kyrobe worked intently on his creation, a new type of metal that was extremely light. The crowd was gathering outside he noticed, and stopped his own work to see what could have drawn all the attention.

The crowd parted as he entered the enthralled circle, and Kyrobe was disgusted by what he saw. Their was blood everywhere. It wasn't even a clean kill. Kyrobe could see scratch marks, so he dismissed a human being the culprit. But why would an animal kill and not take the body, he wondered...

[ 06-29-2005, 12:07 AM: Message edited by: Kyrvias ]

ooc: moving things into the first night.



<font color=CCCCCC>The Villagers were shaken up by the events of the morning, was it a one-time unexplained murder, or the herald of dark days ahead. The constable was able to keep things calm for the most part, but the stories were still told, screams heard in the night, the shadow of a hulking beast in the moonlight. It was a mystery that the townfolk clutched closely to their breasts, the reverend was a man with no enemies, and compassion to all. With the roads closed due to the winter storms tales grew taller and paranoia was rampant.



Night fell and many Vallakites bolted doors that they had never felt the need to bar before. When the first howl broke out that night children cried in fear, and mothers comforted them, while fathers watched the windows fearfully, whatever weapons they had were prepared to be used against an intruder.</font>

<font color=yellow>The dawn broke over the mountains, it's light pale and sickly adding little warmth to the day. There had been no scream during the night, and so many of the villagers felt a slight returning of normalcy.

That illusion was shattered early however when Hans' small shack was seen by the first of the early risers. It seemed that an entire wall had been torn off, his meager possessions were scattered, shredded, bent, or shattered. What remained of Hans was in a similar condition.</font>

ooc: today the villagers get to start the lynchings [img]smile.gif[/img]

Another murder, and kyrobe was extremely suspicious of this one. The whole wall was torn off; Kyrobe couldn't even imagine what could have done it. Possibly sorcery, but here? In the small town he'd known all his life?

As suspicions arose, Kyrobe had his own. Dracy. She had knowledge of the vampires, too much knowledge.

Brom

The veteran shook his head at the discovery, looking a little smug despite the horror.

"I told you it no accident," he said to whomever passed by, "just like the other day. I said it that nosy girl then and not a one listens. Perhaps they listen now, to what Brom has to say."

It some monsterous daemon curse, like I tell you. That nosy girl too, and there going be more killing too from our inaction, mark the words."

OOC: That'd be Drancy then

[ 07-01-2005, 06:47 PM: Message edited by: Legolas ]

Drancy rolled her eyes as her name started popping up in suspicious conversation. “This is so typical.” She said in a tone that was more sad than angry. “How will we ever get past this if your first inclination is to lynch those who have more knowledge than you?” Some people scoffed, insulted that she would insinuate that she, the town laughing stock could possibly know something more than them. “The only difference between myself and you people is that I didn’t need to see two bodies ripped apart to believe in things darker than humans. Perhaps if someone would have taken me seriously before now we could have at least prevented poor Hans’ death. Just yesterday he mentioned his suspicion of vampires. He seemed the only one worth talking to, not that he’d tell me anything. Smart not to, apparently, look where it got him. I don’t know who’s behind this, but it’s pretty obvious that they’ll kill anyone even close to being onto them. At this point, I won’t be surprised if I’m next.” A slight fear crept into her eyes as she spoke this last statement.

“You’re all fools if you think your precious magistrate can protect you from this darkness or put an end to it. The only thing he was interested in was snapping some pictures and getting the body off the street. It’s bad for business, don’t you know? Put me behind bars if you want to, but it would be a waste of energy. I may be the only person here who has any idea how to help any of us.”

[ 06-30-2005, 11:41 PM: Message edited by: Salinye ]

Pippy

The news of the newest death nearly made Pippy choke on the bread of his second breakfast. But eventually he managed to overcome his "culinary difficulties" and reached the main square. Drancy seemed to be the center of attention again, and it was not without suspicion that Pippy watched her trying to excuse herself. In his opinion she was pushing too hard, as if she needed to make up an excuse.

OOC: I'll be the brave first and I'll vote for Drancy.

[ 07-01-2005, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: dplax ]

After returning to the smithy, Kyrobe went home to breakfast. He eyed his food suspiciously, as so many thigs were going on; it was too much to handle.

"Alhana?" ASked Kyrobe.

"Yes Dear?" answered Alhana.

"Hans is dead. Ripped apart; pieces of him were everywhere. I think we should invite the barber to dinner tonite, help him outta the slump he's in"

"I think thats a great idea Kyrobe. I'll go down to the barber right now and invite him."

[ 07-01-2005, 10:46 PM: Message edited by: Kyrvias ]

ooc- enter Simone, stage left ;)

ic-

Simone was in the back, wiping off the last plate when the barman, Lance, walked in to The Dragone's Bane, letting the door slam behind him.

<font color="blueviolet">"I thought I told you to catch the door when you come in,"</font> Simone called towards the front, with the familiarity of an old argument. When she heard no jest in reply, she set the plate down and walked around the corner to the main room, tucking the cleaning rag into her apron. Lance was standing behind the bar, looking pale beneath his tanned skin as he fixed himself a stiff drink.

<font color="orange">"Hans was killed at his house today,"</font> Lance said to Simone, his strong voice wavering slightly. The two of them had been good friends, having been around the same age of each other.

Simone said nothing, waiting for Lance to take a big gulp from his concoction. After setting the tankard down, he continued. <font color="orange">"The day before it was the Reverend, may his soul rest in peace,"</font> he added automatically, crossing himself. <font color="orange">"Some of the locals don't think the killings were done by natural means, since an animal would have carried off it's kill, not just left it there. And it's too bloody for a human. Rumor is that Drancy New has something to do with it."</font> Lance lowered his voice, glancing over his shoulder fearfully. <font color="orange">"Something to do with dark arts, I hear."</font>

Simone snorted derisively. <font color="blueviolet">"The only thing that child's ever done was flaunt her smarts too much. No, she's a bookworm. The worst thing she's done is irritate the sheriff and get in the way of the law, although she usually finds clues that they would normally have overlooked. I don't think even Drancy would kill the Reverend, and Hans would have been strong enough to fend off a scrawny girl like her, dark arts or no."</font>

She picked up Lance's now empty glass and started striding towards the back. <font color="blueviolet">"Only a man is capable of such slaughter, with or without supernatural powers. Now clean up and pull yourself together, we should be expecting patrons at any moment, especially in this time of need."</font>

ooc- Simone does not think Drancy did it, and will not have an opinion until she interacts with the other characters some. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Pippy

<font color=green>"Three sausages and the usual amount of beer."</font> - Pippy said stepping inside the Dragon's Bane. He was a good customer of the establishment, returning almost everyday. It was still early today, but the day's events had gotten him all excited and when he was excited he became hungry. There weren't many people in the tavern, but Pippy knew that they would arrive sooner or later. They always did. He settled into his customary seat by the bar. The seat had been elevated, letting Pippy be at the same height as the other people in the inn. He took out his pipe and lit it, puffing on it slowly, enjoying the tobacco.

OOC: Sorry it took me this long to post. Busy preparing for college.

Frank was deep into his fourth bottle of wine, with the first three broken in his anger. He was half lying and half sitting at the bar of the Dragon's Bane, listening to the angry mob. Hans, his apprentice, the man he knew as his best friend for the last seven years, was murdered by whatever beast was hiding in the town. "The murdars demon killed the b'shop" he started, his drunken yelling barely recognizable as speech "en now 't killed Hans! ... The best daem apprneties barber I've eva had!" He got the crowd's attention, but even without it he would have continued "En I wanna see the demon die b'fore me, t' see 't burn 't the stake! 'Cause that's how ya kills a beast from hell, ya burns it!" With every "t" spit flew from his mouth. He looked around to find Drancy before, and when he did, he took another long gulp of red wine from the bottle. He tried imagining her using magic to tear Hans' home down, call up vicious demons from the pits of hell or turning into one herself. Somehow, it wasn't at all hard to imagine it, it was different and weird enough to believe it. "En tat's why you'll burn!" he pointed with his bottle at Drancy.

Drancy shook her head sadly at Frank and turned back to her glass of juice and began reviewing her notes. She couldn’t be angry at the man for blaming her, everyone handled their grief differently. She always knew her “investigative nature” would get her into trouble one day, but she didn’t care. The truth needed to be found. Raising her gaze from her notes she looked around at the accusing faces. “You know we’re all grieving and scared, but pointing the finger randomly without even TRYING to look for evidence or reason is just a really great way to get more of us killed. You want to blame me because I’m an easy target. I put myself out there and I keep my mind open to more possibilities than is in the magistrate’s handbook. I don’t get why you’re not lining up with my thinking. I mean here we have people being seemingly randomly, or perhaps not too randomly slaughtered in the streets, so now you as a townfolk want to solve that problem by randomly killing more innocent people. What is wrong with you?”

She stood next to the counter, her anger at the injustice and blind ignorance of the people stirring a rise in her. “Look, if you really want to point the finger at someone, at least use whatever half brains you have left behind the alcohol you’re drowning it in and vote wisely. If I had to make an educated guess….” She scrunched her eyebrows picking up her notebook in review. “You know, it’s hard to do this so quickly, but if you were to force my hand, I’d probably vote to have Pippy investigated. First of all, he’s just about the only person in town who won’t set foot in the reverend’s temple. Secondly, since most people are finally acknowledging that there could be a force greater than human at work here, I look at him and I feel like he may be something of a different kind of person.” She tried to speak as politely as she could. She wasn’t one to discriminate, but the fact was that Pippy was very physically different. He was much smaller than everyone else and proportioned differently. “He eats more meals than seems humanly possible. Usually 3 meals just before noon alone, why such an appetite? I hate to do this, but I know the sheriff will be here soon to take one of us away and I’d really like to see it at least be someone that could logically be guilty. I know you all say "OH, Drancy is always poking her nose where it doesn't belong. Drancy acknowledges the dark arts." I say So What? That's been the case for years and you haven't seen killing before now, have you? At least I don't hide who I am. THIS is me, and I'm not likely to change. Charge me with being eccentric or even annoying, but I doubt either of those are crimes worth dying for. Your votes are a powerful thing, there is enough blood on the ground lately, but if my blood is spilt, it will be innocent and it will be on your hands. This is your last chance to change your votes and I hope you will reconsider. Either way, it’s your lives that are at stake. I’m betting I’ll be safer behind prison bars than I will be in that humble shack I live in. Besides, if you're really that ignorant, it might be better to be hung rather than have to live among stupidity any longer.” With her final plea she sat back down and nodded to the server who had always been kind to her, despite her obvious “differences”. It didn't occur to her that ending her plea with an insult might not have been the best political move, but that was Drancy.

OOC: I'll vote for Pippy.

[ 07-05-2005, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: Salinye ]

Pippy

Pippy put down his mug of ale, when he heard Drancy speak about him. He waited for her to finish before he replied.

<font color=green>"If you have a problem with my eating habits then why didn't you mention it in the last 20 years? I've always eaten this much, not because I am the monster you are trying to depict me, but because I have a big appetite. You speak of not blindly accusing people, yet the reasons you bring against me are ridiculous. And I have also been the same all my adult life. I always work in my fields, I always come to eat here at the tavern, and always have a mug of ale. Had you properly investigated me Miss New you would have found that I have never done anything extraordinary."</font>

He turned back to his food, but then remembered Drancy's comment about his height.

<font color=green>"And about your comment of me being different, due to my height, I do not need to reply to it. I never liked people who discriminated me because of my height."</font>

The townsfolk in their paranoia and fear had decided that a woman who tried to solve mysteries and was better at it than the local constabulary had to have some supernatural influence. She tried to appeal to their reason, but the villagers were beyond reason. She tried to appeal to their emotions, but their fear told them only that they could be safe only when the monster was dead.

The gallows were raised quickly outside of the Dragone's Bane, before the Sheriff could arrive, and she was strung up. Try as she might, Drancy New was hung by the neck until dead.

OOC: The werewolf has been slain, congratulations villagers. If anyone else wants to start a game set in a different genre feel free, otherwise I'll be starting a new one later today with any rules modifications that are needed, as shown through this test run. I had a great time and hope you did as well, and I look forward to having more players for the next installment.

Brom

Step, tok, step, tok...

The retired soldier marched himself into the tavern carrying a smug expression. The townsfolk might soon forget it, but for the moment he felt the hero again.

"I been telling them for ages," he declared, his year-long tab forgotten and fresh 'holics waiting at the counter. "It about time you started listening to old Brom. Got more to tell you too, listen in..."

As he spun another tale, he realised it wasn't quite true. He would not let them forget.

ooc- good luck with preparing for college, Bozos. I know the first time I prepared I ended up getting tons more stuff at school, heh. [img]smile.gif[/img]

ic- Simone

Simone viewed the gallows outside critically while sipping from a warm tankard on her break. Shaking her head and pouring the rest on the ground outside she sauntered back inside.

<font color="blueviolet">"'Tis bad for business, it 'tis,"</font> she muttered. <font color="blueviolet">"With that sight hanging outside, I wouldn't wonder if the competition starts getting more customers than us, heaven forbid."</font> She scowled prettily in outrage at the thought of her patrons going to the larger, fancier tavern across town, owned by Cherrie Le’Blanc and her husband.

Shaking her head again, she turned and called to Pippy, <font color="blueviolet">"So, 'tis time for second breakfast already, then?"</font> She smiled amusedly as she brought his usual heaping platters of food, remembering the day she forced Lance to make the raised stool for their more popular patron.

After setting down the meal and watching the slight figure dig into it with gusto, Simone went and put a comforting hand on Frank's shoulder. <font color="blueviolet">"I think you've had enough, now. I don't want to have to clean up more glass than 'tis necessary,"</font> she advised.

<font color="orange">"That'll be one of my wake-up punchers, then, aye?"</font> Lance asked calmly, already mixing up his special concoction. He had recovered for the most part, once the hanging had taken place.

The strange drink was slid to the upset man while Simone swept up glass, keeping an eye on the troublemaker to make sure he drank it. <font color="blueviolet">"This'll perk you right up, if my name isn't Simone,"</font> she advised. <font color="blueviolet">"It's Lance's own recipe, and it will make the sky look bluer then a robin's egg, and the grass greener than the other side. It will put you right as rain, don't you worry. Sober you up, at any rate."</font>

Tipping her head head slightly as she overheard Brom launch into one of his 'war stories,' she huffed in exasperation and turned around. <font color="blueviolet">"Now Brom, what have I told you about disturbing the other patrons with your past escapades? Come over here and have an ale."</font> She paused, considering the recent past events. <font color="blueviolet">"It'll be on the house. But only just today,"</font> Simone said warningly. She couldn't have the patrons taking advantage of her generosity, after all.

ooc-
You assume much, my friend. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

edit- oh, and please tell me if the font colors I chose do not work for someone, I don't want to be hurting people's eyes. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 07-08-2005, 07:54 AM: Message edited by: Skydracgrrl ]