2011 SUBSIM Werewolf Game: Intro, Rules, FAQ, & Aftermath

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by The Enigma

I found his part of the game a bit misleading/unfair.
I thought he was unable to play the game any longer, due to RL.
So I took him of my list.

Later I learned that he wasn't posting anything, but still fulfilling his role of
werewolf.

How can one ever discover which role he is playing when he no longer takes part of the game?

That's a very good point, see below.

Originally Posted by August

As Neal said all a person really has to do is make a daily vote.

Maybe next time a rule should be added that if you don't vote or abstain your character gets killed off in some neutral fashion like tripping and falling off a cliff or something like that.

I think that's what we will do on the next round. My experience with the original Subsim Werewolf game told me that a few players would sign up but not participate, or only participate in the night actions. Now, in the case of Duc and August, they were both drafted to play, they did not volunteer And I appreciate that they were able to participate to an extent (August a great deal towards the end).

In the future, I think if a player is not active, he's fall off a cliff or something. Nothing personal, but it skews the game to have a low profile player.

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Good role play also includes acting in a realistic manner to things. Are you a werewolf? Well it might be a good idea not to put your character in a situation where he's going to be watched all night long. Leave yourself an out so that your wolf can go out on his killing spree and be back without anyone knowing he was gone. Is he in a bunkhouse with people sleeping all around him? That's good - he can believably sneak out and be back without waking anyone around him. Is he up drinking with a group of other characters throughout the night? That's bad - it leaves him no time to make his transformation and kill and be back before someone missed him.

And that's a point August brought up in PM, about mid game. He was manning a guard post with another player to see if the other guy was a WW. But that won't work and allow the game to work, so no matter how determined you are to pin a player down in the game...these werewolves have the additional power to hypnotize you, go out and kill and return, and you will never know you were asleep


Another factor the Narrator has to be wary of is writing character actions in the narrative. He has to be sure and not give away a character's identity while still making it interesting. Jimbuna was the only character I gave away, I felt I was allowed one, and it would make the game more dynamic.

You go back and read some of the narratives, I tried to make sure when mentioning characters, they could be seen in good or bad lights, independent of their identity.

[The Enigma]

In the future, I think if a player is not active, he's fall off a cliff or something.

That would/could solve it.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

And that's a point August brought up in PM, about mid game. He was manning a guard post with another player to see if the other guy was a WW. But that won't work and allow the game to work, so no matter how determined you are to pin a player down in the game...these werewolves have the additional power to hypnotize you, go out and kill and return, and you will never know you were asleep

This is true, there has to be that fall back for a game master to compensate for holes in a player's role play. Hypnosis, to me, is sort of a "soap opera amnesia" trope. It can work if you're forced to do it for storyline and game mechanics sake, but I personally try to not even go there. For example, when I was off in the lighthouse, I was trying to make it back to the castle in game (even though I had my day/night cycle screwed up) so that I could realistically perform my guardian role. It doesn't make any physical sense if I'm off on the other side of the island, but I somehow protect someone miles away. If you want to say it's a mystical psychic projection, then that's one thing. But I try not to lean too heavily on those sorts of plot devices.

As for the inactive player thing - I agree. It's no fun to only have half a group playing. I'd kill them off too.

[Bakkels]

Well I guess it's also each player's responsibility to try to line up his actions with the overall storytelling and ingame roleplay of others. That way the narrator doesn't have to bend over backwards in order to keep everything credible and running smoothly.
But maybe next time it should be made very clear that

- This game asks for a lot of involvement, and may take up quite a bit of your (real-life) time. (Not that I would know anything about that though )
- The 'real' game can -for a large part- take place behind the scenes through PM's.
- Roleplaying is important -as it makes it fun, and it's not only about winning, but also about creating a great story with eachother- but generally has no effect on the storyline. Except when the narrator sees fit to make a particular action influence the storyline. (For example, digging yourself in with lots of guns and ammo doesn't protect you from anything, but certain plot-triggers do affect the game. And kudos to Neal for the plot-triggers in this one)

Just my two cents.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Jimbuna was the only character I gave away, I felt I was allowed one, and it would make the game more dynamic.

Where was that ya bugga?....I must have missed that bit

I do agree on dispensing with those who don't vote or abstain even.

If people won't vote for fear of reprisals or drawing attention to themselves the game would soon get bogged down.

[Raptor1]

I agree with killing off players who don't participate at all or don't vote repeatedly, they just make the game unfair. I don't agree with removing players who properly abstain from lynching, though, there's plenty of valid reasons for not voting to lynch someone besides fear of reprisals.

[Bakkels]

The way I understood it, was that abstaining from a vote wasn't a problem as long as you actually PM it to the narrator.
I think you could have a reason to abstain from a vote, but at least PM it to Neal (or Mookiemookie next time? ) so it's clear you're playing the game.