[Because I used my ability on him last night]

It seems that I have been burned by my ability somewhat, and subsequently by SirNiko. Given what he has chosen to say, it seems my best chance at this point is to be completely open about things and hope that there is a Guardian-like role out there to protect me in the night, and that enough people believe me to avoid killing me in the day.

Some of what SirNiko tells you is true. Yes, I contacted him today, and told him that I was an ORA agent. I *am*, to the best of my knowledge, an ORA agent. I told him, in great length and detail, of my seer-like abiltiies. Every detail, every limitation, how the ability is used, that I chose him, why I chose him, the precise words used, my exact title, everything. I invited him to quiz me down to the smallest detail, and offered him the choice of directing my abilities this night. He was skeptical, and I said he was right to be. I still shared what I knew with him, and made it clear that even if he can't trust me yet, I'll prove it in time, and that I trust him.

Why the great trust in him? Because I used my ability on him last night. He showed up as a "Loyal Citizen". My aim was to prove to him, as fast as possible, that my ability was genuine.

Prove it Garthy, you say. That is difficult to do, especially after one day. However, I did set up a little surprise of my own for down the track. My aim was to spring this after a few days, if I ever needed to prove my ability. However, I've been burned, so I need to share it now. Look at my first post this day- page four of the city records. Second paragraph. Second sentence. Every second word. The sentence is: "It seems that in crowe's case the party can either...". Every second word: "Seems In Case...". First letter of each sentence: "S I C". The first two (spot the theme?) letters uniquely identify a city resident. "SI" equals "SirNiko" (check the names, two letters uniquely identify everyone). "C" for "(Loyal) Citizen". This is the result from my ability. I can't prove to you that my intentions were good when I set it up this way, but I hope that you can believe me that I was trying to seed my posts with information to later prove my identity.

As for being a "Seer", this is the first half-truth that SirNiko uses. My ability is Seer-like, but I am not a Seer. I am an "Inquisitor". I hope this means something, to someone out there. I am also an "agent of ORA". SirNiko definitely knows this- I told him all of this in detail. In his post, he is trying to muddy the waters somewhat by turning my claim into that of my being a true Seer. I am not a true Seer- I do not get roles, only allegiences.

I will now share with you my last words with SirNiko, after he told me that he didn't believe me. These are my exact words, up until "END" (thank INANI for recording everything for our safety!):

This is not good news.

I can say one thing: You are incorrect about me lying. Everything I have told you is the truth, to the best of my knowledge, right down to the specific role, my target, the exact words, everything. That may be the important thing: "to the best of my knowledge". And here it gets interesting.

(Now, excuse me as I step completely out-of-character for a moment. There are roles for which the player is told that they are a Seer, but they actually aren't. They are told they have an ability, usually with a boolean yes/no response, but the result they actually get is based on something else. Some examples are roles that always return innocent, or guilty, or always the reverse, and so forth. When I contacted you I knew these were possibilities, but they aren't always used in games because, frankly, they are crappy roles. Worrying about the possibility of being such a role tends to cripple Seers, so I figured I'd proceed as if I could trust the information given by the GM. However, given the Orwellian theme, I could see paranoid roles like this being included, but I don't want to jump to such conclusions quite yet.)

Now, do I think it likely that this is the case? Not too likely, but possible. Given your response, I'd say this is the *fourth* most likely occurrence.

The most likely thing, in my opinion, is that your immunity to "night actions" doesn't include Seer-style abilities at all. ie. that you are simply incorrect about being immune to being Seer'd, and possibly jumping to the wrong conclusion. Your immunity would then suggest that there are those among us who can perform night actions, which suggests a vigilante or serial killer, who *can't* hurt you.

The second most likely thing is that you're testing me in some way to see if I change my story. All I can say on that one is that everything I have told you is the truth as far as I know it.

The third most likely thing, again in my opinion, is that you are a rebel/subversive that is simply immune to my ability. Heck, that may be as a direct consequence of the ability you told me about! Now, the odds of stumbling onto a Seer-immune rebel/subversive are pretty low, especially factoring in the chance of inclusion, and I am happy to take that chance. Why? Because if the role existed, and I was unfortunate enough to stumble upon it, I don't think anybody would hold it against me that I trusted someone my own ability told me was innocent. In this case, I'm dead this evening, there's no way you could suffer a Seer to live for one moment longer than necessary. This would of course mean that you are lying, but it won't matter after this evening.

The fourth most likely thing is that I have been misled as to my actual role and/or ability, as detailed above. Maybe I'm not actually an ORA agent at all. In that case, I have no way of knowing what I *should* be doing, since I cannot determine what I am. It is possibly testable by using my own ability on myself I guess, but in this case, can I even trust the result? There is simply no course of action I could take that I know to be correct if I can't trust the role I have been given.

The sixth most likely thing (skipping the fifth for now) is that instead of *me* being misinformed about my role, it is you. However, the first possibility is far more likely.

The fifth- every single one of us has faulty information.

I am going to proceed as if the first case applies, whilst considering the fourth as a possibility. In any case, continuing to trust you is the best course of action for every scenario except the third, and I'm sure I'll be forgiven if this is the case. So I'll trust you, feed information to you, and so forth. Eventually I'll be able to establish the truth of what I've said or determine that I have a fake ability.

Of course, there's the option that I'm lying to you, but I'm sure you can understand why I'd rule that one out, and I understand why you need to consider it.

I hope that this is all just a test.

(Out-of-character: I am, to the best of my knowledge, an ORA agent. If you're actually a rebel/subversive, this would make us enemies, one of your prime targets, and would mean that my ability is either faulty or I have been incredibly unlucky. In this case, please do the merciful thing and just kill me off.)

In any case, *if* you want to decide my target this evening, let me know, and I'll direct my ability onto that target. I'm not sure what else I can offer at this point.

END

I swear that this is exactly what I sent him, word for word.

Now, the second-last bit was to see if he'd take the option of an easy kill, which he seems to have done. I'm guessing he might not have assumed I'd just reveal absolutely everything about myself publicly. I hadn't planned to, in case he was just misguided, but with him taking the option of trying to get me killed, as well as muddy my "Seer" claim, I suspect he has specific reason to want me dead. Read my third-most likely outcome in my message above. This is now what I suspect to be the case. This means that the subversives/rebels/Freedom's Road operatives know everything about me and my ability, so I may as well be completely public now.

This evening, I vote for SirNiko. Do not assume Ashkin to be a foe just because he voted for me, it could very well have been misguided. Now, consider carefully who you want to vote for. Ashkin too, if you are not a subversive, please reconsider your vote. As mentioned, the first vote gets additional weight, and as SirNiko has cast it, someone else needs to get two or three votes (deoending on Ashkin) for me to survive.

In the extremely unlikely event that I survive a lynching and night action, I may as well post my nightly results publicly after this point.

Let me close with part of a message that he sent me:

I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is that I know you are lying about being the seer. My role, unfortunately for you, is immunity to all night actions by securing myself in a foolproof hideaway after sunset. Had you really used a seer role on me it would have failed. I suspect you never were a seer in the first place.

The good news is, I'm still of the opinion we're on the same side.

(removed) You're either a citizen or a rebel, and I think either way you and I are on the same side. (removed)

END

Note that SirNiko is suggesting the possibility that both he and I are rebels. I would ask you to consider why he would say this.

I have removed two bits of the message. SirNiko can fill them in if he likes. Of course, in doing so I think we'd all be interested in whether you consider the rest of the message to be genuine.

Oh, and his final message. I'm sure you'll love this: "Unfortunately for you, you've stumbled precisely upon a person you should not have. Maybe in another life we'll be allies, but in this life we are not. Make sure to bid farewell to iNANNY before you go. Goodbye, Garthy."

Now, my vote: SirNiko

I will answer any questions anyone has, publicly or privately.

Choose wisely everyone.

INANI has protected us all with over 83% efficiency! Long live INANI!

With two deaths, I think it is a reasonable assumption at this point that we are facing two parties. It seems that in crowe's case the party can either compromise- or control- security systems in INANI's network. In Geeze's case, the killing was a bit more old-fashioned.

Now, we can probably assume that one of the killings was initiated by Freedom's Road. Did they compromise INANI's systems, or was the other killing theirs? And then, what of the other party- are they an ORA officer, targeting subversives, with the full permission of INANI, somewhat like a vigilante? Or are they independent, acting much like a serial killer?

Statistically, it is most likely that both of the deaths were of loyal citizens. If a rebel is found, I feel we might be told more about their deaths. But I'm not sure we can assume that either way.

Garthy: Well, if you have anything you want me to play, just send me a message and I'll gladly give you some feedback. And this offer is valid from now to whenever.

Awesome! You rock! Thankyou!

I won't be able to take advantage of your offer for a while, but when I'm in a position to do so, this is something I'll definitely do. The thing I'm working on isn't feedback-ready yet, but when it is- you won't be able to get rid of me.

Thanks so much, I really appreciate the offer. I've been having a really crappy day today, and in one post you just made my day.

Giving feedback used to be my favorite activity around here but it was quite time consuming.

I was (am?) a bit of a fan of yours from some of your early feedback. I had told myself that when I was in a position to get feedback on a game of mine again, I was going to do what I needed to get my game in front of your eyes. I wasn't going to mention either of these two points to you though. Those I'd planned to keep to myself.

Perhaps in finding the subversive elements amongst us we will learn more of the fate of your parents, and they will be brought to justice. This may even be part of INANI's greater plan.

Ah, I see. An explosion caused by the destructive subversive elements amongst us, I assume?

Geeze: Explosion?

Ah, what a fine and glorious day is given to us by the great INANI! We are blessed to be living in this perfect world that he creates for us.

How are you all, my fellow citizens?

I am well, thankyou for asking. I have come back from a council meeting, where we have all been voting on the best measures to ensure the safety of our town. Thankfully, voting is an easy matter nowadays, unmarred by the chaos of inferior systems of the past. Simply put, INANI lists a set of carefully chosen resolutions, and we all vote on whether we will implement them or not. Thankfully, INANI makes the process easy, for only a subversive would vote against INANI's proposals, which are clearly for the good of the town. Thus, all of the resolutions are unanimously ratified, as a general rule. From time to time a subversive will speak up, but we do not let ourselves be swayed by those who would wish harm upon our perfect society! Their votes don't actually count anyway, being subversive, so they cannot corrupt us from within. The will of the righteous always prevails. The system is clean, simple, fast, and free of the arguments and dissention from the days of old. It is perfect. I feel honoured to play my small part in it.

...

So, there are ORA representatives amongst us now, yes? I take it that they are effectively our protection against the dangerous subversive forces that have infiltrated our society, seeking to disrupt the harmony of this town. But as they protect us, I say: We can protect them! By being hidden amongst us, we can shield them from the depredations of the subversive rebels. Sure, some of us may die in the process, but what better way is there to die than to die protecting the ideals of our perfect society?

Long live the great INANI!

[INANI]

Of course. It is our patriotic duty as citizens to be involved in our local government, as representatives of the people and INANI, who are one and the same. All hail INANI!

[INANI]

I cannot stand idly by as our perfect society is corrupted from within by the actions of these agents of terror! Do they not understand the perfect society that INANI has given us? How INANI has guided us to this new age of peace and truth?

I would bet my entire chocolate ration that these malcontents would have us return to the dark days of old, before we were graced with the perfection that is INANI. Well, let these malcontents beware, for we fight with righteousness and freedom on our side. Long live INANI!

Ironically, as Queen I could have tested your (fake Pawn) ability by asking you to target me while I shot a random I hadn't told you about. It would have strongly suggested my role though.

Right, if you'd asked that I would know you were either a bishop or a queen, because that's the only way that could be effective as a test.

Exactly. That made it too risky to use. In any case, I would have thought you were more valuable as a potential ally (big mistake on my part), and probably would have tried to test someone else first. I didn't suspect that your contact with me was anything but random (mistake). I did think it might have been a mass send-out though (also wrong). Whilst I was mildly sceptical about your claim to be a pawn, I had no real reason to believe you to be an enemy specifically. I did not even *slightly* suspect you to be a King. Not at all. I did not see that coming. Maybe something would have come out later to give me a hint as to your allegiance or identity, but I was pretty-much in the dark.

Incidentally, in case anyone has missed it, Inanimate is setting up a new game:

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=26891.0

Ironically, as Queen I could have tested your (fake Pawn) ability by asking you to target me while I shot a random I hadn't told you about. It would have strongly suggested my role though.

I think almost all of the roles could be tested in *some* way, but usually required a few pieces working together. And then it becomes a matter of how you manage *that*.

Alevice: "I was surrpised that at least everyone decided to gank on the poor greys instead"

I had thought I was possibly working with one of the greys, crowe, who turned out to be King instead. It was part of my cunning* plan.

* - Cunning: Completely wrong.

"Apart from the odds, I think I was wrong about every single thing of consequence in the game."

I've just manage to out-do myself here. I even got the odds wrong in my post. That should have been four allies and five foes, not three allies and four foes.

Whilst I could edit my previous post and correct it, I wouldn't want to give up the opportunity to have been completely wrong about everything. Far out. So let me correct my last statement:

"I think I was wrong about every single thing of consequence in the game."

Much better.

[my own King]

Many thanks to Alevice for hosting the game.

The result feels a little like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fool%27s_mate

So I was effectively, as Queen, working with the enemy King and Queen. Yay me.

crowe had suggested he was a pawn to me, I said I'm not a pawn, then the event happened that made pawns and non-pawns enemies, but I figured, screw it, I'll work with crowe anyway, until I had a reason to distrust him, and then I'd fake it. As far as I knew there were two grey pawns, and they'd be nice allies to our cause.

I suspected his message to me was undirected, and he sent out a whole bunch of similar messages to other people. I guess I was probably wrong.

crowe: "I knew that Garthy had to be important, because he was talking a lot"

I think I'm just impossible to shut up in any case. It turned out well for you in the end though.

I had Autothysis pegged as a minor piece, possibly in contact with someone who could protect him or redirect an attack, since he seemed to be trying to attract a lot of hostile attention. At least, that's how I saw it. So, I wasn't going to touch him at night. I did not suspect him to be a King on my side at all. Nice to know I managed to lynch my own King. *facepalm* If he survived the day and night though, I'd imagine nobody would have believed him to be anything but a minor piece, so if circumstances were a bit different, it could have been an incredible bluff.

First turn, the results for a blind Queen strike in isolation are four foes, three allies, and two Kings (blocked). If I fired and somebody redirected me, I may have ID'd myself to my King. If I hit a King, I've either found my King or the enemy one. Both results are valuable. So, that's six positive results and three negative, even ignoring the hope of my King ID-ing me. So, the odds said I should fire blind.

My kill on Dacke basically came up from a random roll of idle players. I agreed with the random roll though. I could see him being given a King role since he was very active last game. It didn't matter what side he was on, if my attack failed I may have almost-ID'd a King, and he wasn't likely to have been protected since he hadn't even spoken. It would have turned out nicely if I was right. But I was wrong.

When the day dragged on, I figured that Paul Jeffries was probably a King, since if the day ended with his automatic execution for being idle, the game would end. I was going to target him that night. Again, wrong.

Apart from the odds, I think I was wrong about every single thing of consequence in the game. Yay me.

Congrats to everyone for successful sleuthing with extremely limited information.

Wade McGillis, whilst I want to support you with your intended target for execution, I simply cannot stand by while you are singled out for execution by yourself. I would step in and vote for your cruel attacker, but I fear a retaliatory vote by myself against myself if I do so.

[Autothysis]

Wade McGillis, I understand the need to vote in response to my vote. Your response is entirely reasonable and not unexpected. As I have said, I do not know if you are friend nor foe, and suspect neither above the other in you. I do not take it personally.

At this point I had promised to shift my vote to a random non-participant, but unless I am mistaken, everybody has now spoken at least once this day. I would consider that a success of sorts.

Now, I would prefer that neither myself nor Landshark RAWR meet their ends this day, and with two votes apiece, either is a possibility. I also do not Wade McGillis to be in any danger. So I am going to make a deliberate tactical vote at this point.

I retract my vote for Wade McGillis. I instead vote for Autothysis.

There may be some additional votes from page four of the kingdom records that have missed the tally.

I happen to think that "G" is a lovely letter to begin a name with.