[Forum Game] Werewolf XVI: The Shadows of the Underdark

[D'Espana]

The Underdark. A continent under a continent, unbeknown by the majority of the upper world and feared by the few that have heard the legends about it. Legends about dreadful creatures, which come out at night and ravage villages and towns, leaving no survivors behind them. Legends about mythological beings, long disappeared from the surface of the world, which custody huge treasures from forgotten times. Legends about heroic (or mad) adventurers that found an entrance and ventured in this misterious place, only to never be seen or heard of again.

What lies in this cursed land, where the only sound you want to hear is the echo of the water dropping from the stalactites? What rests in this place that the light of the sun has never nor will ever touch? Does it even hold any life at all? Is it possible for something to grow or prosper in this most hostile environment?

The answer is - yes. Miles under the continent, this gargantuan cavernous system spreads for leagues, always silent, always immutable yet changing. Collapses are not uncommon, and the air itself can be an added trouble, since it can grow stale and even poisonous, when not outright flammable or explosive due to trapped gases. Though the weather is always reasonably mild, water is extremely cold, posing hypothermia risk to those who remain in it for too long... and do not suffer other "accidents" while taking a bath. Here and there, solitary beings can be found, as well as herds of creatures unseen by most mortals. However, you would do well in avoiding contact with anything or anyone, as in the Underdark, pretty much everything can kill you or wants to eat your flesh. Even the rare plants (or so they seem) are venomous to the extreme, making from this land a barren place where life is scarce and expert in the art of hiding and ambushing.

Even rarer, little nooks of civilization can be found, composed by one of the few intelligent races that have made from the Underdark their home. The corrupted Duergars, or gray dwarves, compete with the deep gnomes, also known as Svirfneblin, for the rich veins of ore available to the miners. The Illithids or mind flayers inhabit caverns with their own kin, protecting the Super Brain that binds them together and only worried of enslaving other races, which will serve either as slaves or the next meal of their masters, which find in brains their source of food. Amongst the less civilized creatures, Goblins, Kobolds or Quaggoth live in tribal societies, trying to profit from any chance they have to survive meanwhile they try to avoid being detected by the superior races. On the other extreme, extremely intelligent entities, such as Aboleths, Cloakers or even Dragons live on their own, very often looking after their possessions with ultimate zeal and determination.

And then, there are the Drows. This elven sub-race was expelled from the surface by their elven cousins an eternity ago, and have adapted extremely well to their life in the Underdark. Dark skin, extremely pale hair and red or pale eyes make up their appearance, with compact and slender bodies granting them stealth, agility and speed as their defining physical characteristics. They use infravision as their main resource to see, though they can change to standard light spectrum at will. They have both exceptional magic abilities and great resistance to it, and can become fearsome warriors or mages because of that. They can live several centuries, some reaching as much as a thousand years old, though very few die of old age, being by far the violent death by other species or their own the first and foremost cause.

Psychologically speaking, drows are completely and absolutely corrupted. They are evil, treacherous, arrogant, narcissistic, sadistic and above all: cruel. This attitude is enforced on the newborns by the adult females, as in this matriarchal society they are the uncontested leaders of their people, relegating males to powerless position unless they exceed at some sort of combat or they become the chosen puppet of the first female of their House (and being all of them only ceremonial positions). It is also heavily indoctrinated the cult of Lolth, the spider goddess and most worshipped drow deity.

When (if) a Drow becomes finally an adult, he is a merciless machine of death and destruction, complementing his tough training with his innate abilities, which range from creating globes of magical darkness and faerie fires to levitating, depending on their social position and that of their House, which means pretty much the same in this alien world. However, their society does not see favorably open hostilities and infighting, and instead rewards the less obvious techniques such as "my dagger has ended in your back, I still wonder how" or "it was not me, but that terrible creature we were fighting a minute ago. Poor guy, I'm sorry". Even the different Houses exterminate each other as the primary way of advancing in the global rigid hierarchy, sometimes being successful and achieving their goal, sometimes failing and thus being eradicated to preserve the "morale" of the society. Drow Justice at his maximum exponent.

Torture and slavery are commonplace, especially for members of other races which happen to be captured in one of the many raids Drows perform to obtain goods, luxuries or "preemptively striking an enemy that may attack them afterwards". Their own race is regarded as superior to all the rest, something that when added to all the rest makes them one of the most hated and feared species of the Underdark, perhaps even in the whole world. These raids take them from time to time to visit the surface and slaughter brutally some Wood Elves, their most detested enemies, as vengeance for exiling them now so much time ago.

The Drows live and thrive under these conditions, mastering the regions they own with ruthless and brutal efficiency. But still, not everyone is keen on following this order. Bregan D'aerthe, a secret organization composed exclusively by rogue males disenchanted by the general situation, has become the first source of information and paid works of all kind, being essentially so important for the intrigues of the high society that their unusual and otherwise heretical presence has been tolerated, at least for the time being. Also, a number of Drows that have retained and hidden their decency and moral values from the eyes of the rest have started the absolutely forbidden cult of Eilistraee, also known as "The Dark Maiden" and goddess of all the Drows that abhor from the practices of their kin and want to break free from the evil that lies in the soul of their own race.

So many factions confronted for the ultimate consecution of their goals... So much distrust and hatred... Will you be able to navigate the sea of intrigue and conspiracies, or will you sink and drown in this chaotic Drow world? You are invited to discover the answer...

[D'Espana]

The Rules

Werewolf is a game of paranoia, deception and betrayal. Hidden amongst the unknowing Followers of Lolth are the Members of Bregan D'aerthe, a mercenary guild that has been hired to assassinate everyone in the raiding party. The Followers of Lolth outnumber the Members of Bregan D'aerthe, but they don't know who to trust. The Members of Bregan D'aerthe want to kill enough Followers of Lolth so that they can reach parity and overthrow the Followers of Lolth openly, the Followers of Lolth want to destroy the Members of Bregan D'aerthe by uncovering their identity.

If that wasn't a dire enough situation for the Followers of Lolth, there are also Devotees of Eilistraee looking to eliminate the Followers of Lolth, so as to purge the land of their evil. Fortunately the Followers of Lolth have the aid of the Drow Sorcerers, who have developed their magic abilities and may help them in finding their enemies; and the assistance of the Drow Paladins, whose close range combat skills and powerful armor and weapons make them capable of protecting their partners. Apart from them all, there is also the Drow Archmage, an extremely powerful wizard that has sensed in advance the incoming slaughter and has decided to get involved in it, trying to get rid of everyone else so as to maintain hidden his identity. These characters must hide their identity just as much as the Members of Bregan D'aerthe must, as they are the greatest threat to the rogue elements and will surely be killed if revealed.

It may seem like a simple Follower of Lolth is powerless in this clash of confronted interests, but he is not. Every day the Followers of Lolth get to choose one person to lynch in their efforts to kill the Members of Bregan D'aerthe and Devotees of Eilistraee. The Followers of Lolth must vote to choose the person they think most likely to be a Member of Bregan D'aerthe or Devotee of Eilistraee. With their vote, the Followers of Lolth can reveal much about the motives of others. But they must be cunning, or more than a little lucky, if they are to survive.

Standard Big Rules

All roles will be handed out after the last person signs up, with all players receiving a PM containing their role. The game will then proceed to a night deadline.

The game is divided into two periods - night and day. For practical reasons these two periods are run concurrently, from one update till the next. Each update is 24 hours apart.

Each day, all players vote to lynch one of the players - the person they think is most likely to be a Member of Bregan D'aerthe or Devotee of Eilistraee. Every two nights, the Members of Bregan D'aerthe and Devotees of Eilistraee decide who to kill, hunting in alternate nights. In each 24 hour period, the Followers of Lolth will lynch, and the baddies will hunt. The Followers of Lolth can try to not lynch anyone by creating a glorious tie, and the baddies can also decide not to hunt anyone at all at night.

The Members of Bregan D'aerthe win if they manage to reach parity with the Followers of Lolth and root out completely the Devotees of Eilistraee. The Devotees of Eilistraee win if they manage to reach parity with the Followers of Lolth and root out completely the Members of Bregan D'aerthe.The Followers of Lolth win if they manage to destroy the Members of Bregan D'aerthe and the Devotees of Eilistraee. The Drow Archmage wins if he fools everyone else and guides them to their deaths, as he needs to reach a final 1v1 to emerge victorious.

Standard Werewolf Rules

• §1A. - You sign up to the game by requesting so in a post in this thread.
  §1B - No new players will be admitted after the game has started, except to substitute for another player.
  §1C - You may at any time be substituted out by requesting so in the thread.
  §1D - Failure to vote has NO consequences.
  
• §2A – Players will vote or can decide not to. See Rule 1D.
  §2B – Votes are valid or invalid according to the situation.
  §2C – In the event of a tie NO ONE will be lynched. Lynching also requires a minimum of 2 votes for the to-be-lynched person.
  §2D - The player(s) with the majority of votes at deadline will be lynched (subject to other player actions). They will not reveal any inside information after the deadline. The presumed dead player(s) should post in a non-default color until their true role is confirmed.
  
• §3A - Orders and votes submitted after deadline are ignored.
  §3B - Orders (scans, hunts, etc) are sent to the Game Moderator via PM.
  §3C - Players are responsible for any Private Messages missed due to inbox being full.
  §3D - Orders take place in the DAY EVENTS and are determined in the NIGHT EVENTS (before lynchings) except for hunts which comes after lynchings in the NIGHT EVENTS.
  
• §4A - Spectators may comment, but never suggest a course of action, reveal any new information, including vote counts, or discuss any details of their former character, in the case of ghosts. Preferably spectators will comment only in a manner tangential to the actual game.
  §4B - When doing spectator commentary, please use a non-default color.
  §4C - Please don't use the same color of text as the GM is using (orange).
  
• §5. - Alliances and Feuds which aren't based on your characters or roles in the game between players are forbidden. Alliances and Feuds which continue from one game to another undermine the whole idea of the game.
  
• §6A – The Game Moderator has the last word on all matters.
  §6B – If the Game Moderator makes a mistake (e.g. with the vote count, hunt/scan orders), if critical information has been revealed, the mistake will be corrected or kept depending on the situation.
  
• §7A – Forging PMs is allowed. Screenshots of PMs is not.
  §7B – Posting or quoting of PMs from the GM is not allowed - real or forged.
  §7C – Players may use PMs to coordinate their actions. Players are reminded to use the public thread where possible.
  
• §8A – Voting must be done in the following way. Write "VOTE" and the person you are voting for in bold text.
  §8B - If you wish to unvote someone, write "UNVOTE" and their name in bold text.
  §8C - In case of revoting without unvoting the original vote will be the counted vote.
  §8D - Do not edit votes after posting them. If you make a mistake, unvote and revote in a new post.
  §8E - Votes should be oversized or clear of other text to ensure they are not missed by the GM.
  §8F - I won't be super specific about how you must vote, but be a dear and hit at least two of these: bold, larger font, white/light colored text.
  
• §9 - The GM can and will remove players if the GM believes that the player is adversely affecting the game, for example through deliberate violation of the rules. This will be done through the use of killing the player's character, or using substitutes, if they are available. All such decisions are made solely at the discretion of the GM.
  
• §10 - The game will start once an NPC dies. Orders can be sent by PM to the GM. Until then, life goes on as usual at the Underdark.
  

Wounding System

So as to make the game more lasting and entertaining, wounds have been introduced. Any successful hunt on any healthy character will wound him, not instantly kill him. A second hunt while wounded will be lethal. However, Drow Sorcerers of any faction may heal a wounded character, making him to recover his peak health in a turn. There are two drawbacks to this: no other action can be performed in the same turn (scan and heal are incompatible orders) and the healed character may learn the identity of the Drow Sorcerer (50% chance), though the faction cannot be discovered in this fashion. The only way to instantly kill a healthy character is through a lynch.

Deadline

The deadline of this game is 12 am (00:00) BM Time (6 hours after BM Sunset) (forum time will be used).
Votes and orders made at 23:59:59 will count, while those made at 00:00:00 WILL NOT.

The Factions and Roles

• Followers of Lolth: Drows faithful to Lolth and to the current system. Being the very best rangers, sorcerers and paladins of the city, they have been chosen to make a raid in the surface and slaughter as many Wood Elves as possible before returning home. All of them win when the Members of Bregan D'aerthe and the Devotees of Eilistraee are killed.
  o Drow Rangers (Villagers): Quiet and invisible as a mere shadow, a Drow Ranger knows nothing for sure, but can use the power of his vote to help lynch others.
  o Drow Paladins (Bodyguards): Carrying heavy armor and close range weapons, they are elite warriors who can take and deal huge amounts of damage before collapsing. They may protect someone each night from being hunted AND lynched, though they can’t protect anyone two times in a row. They will automatically protect themselves against ONE attack, as from then onwards they can be taken down by surprise when they are alone.
  o Drow Sorcerers (Pseudo-Seers): Trained in the art of magic, they can use their powers to undercover the rogues within the group, as well as feeling when someone is performing magic against them. They may scan someone each night, and will learn the FACTION of their target (not their role). They will also automatically feel who is scanning them the FIRST time it happens (the scans of the Drow Archmage do not count for this).
  
• Drow Archmage (Super-Seer): One of the extremely few that have achieved a complete mastery in the arcane field, the Drow Archmage is an incredibly powerful wizard who has decided to get involved only for the sake of it. His knowledge is vast and his powers beyond the mortal comprehension, and he is even more twisted and wicked than his regular counterparts. He has stood aside from everything for the last centuries, focused in his research and never intervening, no matter the situation. Thus, he cares little for allegiances and siding with anyone, and will consider only his own safety as important. He may scan someone each night without the fear of being detected, and with the proper magic learn both the faction and the role of his target. He may also cast a ONE time spell which will grant him complete invulnerability for a whole day, no matter the situation. The Drow Archmage wins once everyone else is dead, but since he can only kill the rest with regular lynchs he must have an extra dose of strategy and care.
  
• Members of Bregan D'aerthe: Male Drows belonging to a secret organization, which performs every kind of work in exchange for bulky payments. Most of them are renegades or rogues expelled from their House, and some others were simply tired of suffering the abuses of the reigning females. They have accepted a very advantageous deal from a very powerful House and now seek to destroy everyone in the raiding group, thus raising instability in the internal politics of the city. All of them win when the Followers of Lolth and the Devotees of Eilistraee are killed.
  o Drow Rangers (Werewolves): Quiet and invisible as a mere shadow, they can perform assassinations without anyone noticing them. They are the ones who strike every two nights, and are eager to return to the city once their mission is accomplished to receive their payment.
  o Drow Sorcerers (Werewolves/Pseudo-Seers): Trained in the art of magic, they can use their powers to undercover the loyalties of those within the group, as well as feeling when someone is performing magic against them. They guide the hand of their fellow Drow Rangers in their hunts, though usually do not participate in them. They may scan someone each night, and will learn the FACTION of their target (not their role). They will also automatically feel who is scanning them the FIRST time it happens (the scans of the Drow Archmage do not count for this).
  GM Note: Drow Rangers kill, Drow Sorcerers scan. That means that the Drow Ranger has to send me the hunt order and the Drow Sorcerer has to send me the scan order, not the other way around. If and only if the Drow Ranger dies, the Drow Sorcerer may start the kills himself, though will have a 25% chance of being discovered by normal Drow Rangers. Both roles can of course communicate and coordinate with PMs, and can decide not to attack if they think that it suits them better.
  
• Devotees of Eilistraee: Drows that have not been corrupted and have remained (more or less) pure and untouched by the evil of their race. Their goal is to eliminate the raiding party to prevent them from harming other sentient beings, as well as gaining liberty once they have killed everyone else. They believe fervently in Eilistraee, a benevolent goddess that binds all the drows that abhor the cruelty of their kin. All of them win when the Followers of Lolth and the Members of Bregan D'aerthe are killed.
  o Drow Rangers (Werewolves): Quiet and invisible as a mere shadow, they can perform assassinations without anyone noticing them. They are the ones who strike every two nights, and are eager to purge the darkness in the souls of the group and finally become free.
  o Drow Sorcerers (Werewolves/Pseudo-Seers): Trained in the art of magic, they can use their powers to undercover the loyalties of those within the group, as well as feeling when someone is performing magic against them. They guide the hand of their fellow Drow Rangers in their strikes, though usually do not participate in them. They may scan someone each night, and will learn the FACTION of their target (not their role). They will also automatically feel who is scanning them the FIRST time it happens (the scans of the Drow Archmage do not count for this).
  GM Note: Drow Rangers kill, Drow Sorcerers scan. That means that the Drow Ranger has to send me the hunt order and the Drow Sorcerer has to send me the scan order, not the other way around. If and only if the Drow Ranger dies, the Drow Sorcerer may start the kills himself, though will have a 25% chance of being discovered by normal Drow Rangers. Both roles can of course communicate and coordinate with PMs, and can decide not to attack if they think that it suits them better.
  
  General GM Note: In case of a final 1v1 between a Member of Bregan D'aerthe and a Devotee of Eilistraee, the ranger will kill the sorcerer. If they are both of the same role, the group with the most kills will win the game. If there are the same number of kills, a different number of points will be awarded for each kill, and the one with the most points will win. Point equivalence is Drow Archmage (5 points), Drow Paladin (3 points), Drow Sorcerer (2 points) and Drow Ranger (1 point). The faction they belong to is meaningless for this punctuation system. If the final 1v1 is between the Drow Archmage and any other faction, the Drow Archmage will be the winner.
  

FAQ

Do I have to roleplay? No. It's fun and helpful to do it, but it's not required. Some players don't really roleplay at all, and instead simply post votes and accusations, and that's okay too.

What do I post?/I don't understand! You can post anything you like, but preferably in an IC POINT OF VIEW. Typically Followers of Lolth will post accusations. "I think he did it, just because!" or "I think she did it, because last turn she voted against the guy who turned out to be a Member of Bregan D'aerthe". Accusations work better when you can back them up with some reason. Trash talking is allowed and encouraged.

I'm a Member of Bregan D'aerthe /Devotee of Eilistraee. What do I do? You pretend to be a Follower of Lolth and do and say WHATEVER IT TAKES to survive and kill all your opponents.

I'm a Pseudo-Seer. What do I do? You try to scan everyone in order to learn their faction and help your own one. Discover who’s who in this game of paranoia and deception!

I'm a Bodyguard. What do I do? Protect the Followers of Lolth from the rogue elements. Be careful, though: your ability makes you an interesting target for them, and you can only protect yourself once.

I'm the Drow Archmage. What do I do? Watch everyone’s efforts from your comfortable position of superior knowledge, and try to guide them all to their doom. Aid one side temporarily, trick the other when it suits you best or better yet, fool everyone around for your particular amusement and deadly intentions. Be wary of being killed by mistake, it would sure be a pity to not survive to continue your researches!

I'm still confused/I don't know who to vote for. Either watch other players in action and see how they're doing it, or jump right in yourself. This game is both deadly serious and quite comical, where people will accuse others for the slightest and most vague of clues, or just in retaliation for voting against them! The first round of voting is difficult, as the only way to try to tell who's a werewolf and who's not is to listen to what people are saying. In later rounds you can try to identify patterns, or look for groups that vote together, or people who changed their votes to keep the baddies from being lynched.

Are votes private or do they go in the main thread? Very definitely public!

Do the Members of Bregan D'aerthe/Devotees of Eilistraee vote with the Followers of Lolth? Absolutely. You want to do everything you can to keep the naive Followers of Lolth from suspecting that you’re a baddie. If the Followers of Lolth think you're not one of them, they'll vote to lynch you! So your job is not only to kill the Followers of Lolth, but also to convince them that you’re actually one of them as well!

Aw man, I'm just a Follower of Lolth. We can't all be the Members of Bregan D'aerthe/Devotees of Eilistraee. Have fun being a Follower of Lolth. Root out the rogue elements! Try not to be confused for them and be lynched by your own fellows!

How does a substitute work? If a player cannot continue to play, another player may jump into that role. Subs may be players who were previously killed in the current game (though there are caveats, a Bad Guy is often not a good sub because he knows things) or a late signup. In either case, when someone subs in, they assume the identity of that slot. Thus if someone who was playing and was a Drow Sorcerer - Follower of Lolth, if he gets subbed, the player who comes in is a Drow Sorcerer - Follower of Lolth, and pretends that he's been there the whole time.

How long does a game last? Depends on setup and what happens in the game. Could be as short as 2-3 days, or as long as 10 days!

Players

• Vierna D'Espana (NPC) - Vierna D’Espana (NPC) the leading Drow High Priestess has died in her forced transformation to a spider.
• Sonya
• Stabbity
• Ketchum
• Lefanis
• Fury
• Dishman
• Cren
• Disturbedyang

[/list]

[D'Espana]

Events

Night 0

Vierna D’Espana (NPC) the leading Drow High Priestess has died in her forced transformation to a spider.

[Sonya]

Reserved for future i am in!.


And I am!

[Stabbity]

I want to be a mindflayer.

[Ketchum]

I want to rule this underdark world. I am In of course!

[Lefanis]

Hey, this looks like Ozrat! 

[Fury]

Forgotten realms?

[D'Espana]

I want to be a mindflayer.

That's interesting, I hadn't thought about making a game with them. Perhaps next time... but for the time being, you'll have to accept being a drow

I want to rule this underdark world. I am In of course!

Have you thought about a sex change? You'll need it for ruling down there... There are feminazis, feminazis everywhere

Hey, this looks like Ozrat! 

Wait to see its inhabitants. You'll find that they are the perfect Sorrainians. Those damned treacherous neighbours will cost us something big, I tell you

Forgotten realms?

And drows! WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED?!

[Stabbity]

And drows! WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED?!

Mindflayers.

[D'Espana]

Mindflayers.

But... but... DROWS!

[Ketchum]

Have you thought about a sex change? You'll need it for ruling down there... There are feminazis, feminazis everywhere

As long as I have the best cookies from Evil Empire

[Dishman]

Would it matter that I'm not familiar with the settings? I'll throw myself in anyhow. I've been in several games in a row, though, so let someone else have my spot if a newbie pops up and there aren't enough spots.

[D'Espana]

As long as I have the best cookies from Evil Empire

Then get you some sharp scissors. And analgesics. LOTS of analgesics.

Would it matter that I'm not familiar with the settings? I'll throw myself in anyhow. I've been in several games in a row, though, so let someone else have my spot if a newbie pops up and there aren't enough spots.

Of course it doesn't matter! You'll have them posted this weekend anyways, which is when I'm finally going to have some friggin' spare time after a friggin' long week. And don't worry for the spots, there are always less people than needed. Much like our dear BM

[Stabbity]

But... but... DROWS!

Pale in comparison to C'thulu esque monster capable of slurping brains