READ this post, post #2, post #3, post #4, post #5, post #6, and post #7 in their entireties before posting!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!! RULES !!!!!!!!!!!!

1 - Please, NO POSTING IN THIS THREAD - unless you are a player in this forum mafia game!
Thank you very much! (this means you!)

2. - I am the moderator, JMich is the assistant moderator. Everything I say goes. Everything JMich says goes. If you have any questions or concerns, contact me or JMich privately - DO NOT ask questions to me in the game thread.

3. - Read everything the moderators post. If it seems that you have not read everything the moderators have posted, you will be sent a PM making sure that you have/do.

4. - ABSOLUTELY NO LINKS PERMITTED in this thread. The single exception to this is if you link to posts made in THIS thread like this!

5. - Conduct yourselves in a civilized and gamesmanship manner. This includes following all rules and participating in a manner that shows respect for all players and the moderators.

6. - Have fun & HELP EACH OTHER HAVE FUN! Remember that it is everyone's goal to have fun! With this in mind, realize that disagreements, contention, and frustration are part of the game and is all game-inclusive, and hopefully fun! Nothing is to get personal and things are not to be taken personally. If someone upsets you, convince others they are scum and try to get them lynched.

7. - This rule is dedicated to the "PM info-sharing" hubbub and related.

I.) - First, all references to characters or lack of mentioning characters is not necessarily of any setup, alignment, role, or mechanical significance. It is all flavor and a narrative representation of what has happened. PMs sent to individual players, or a lack thereof, and any sort of variance in length or amount of details given to characters does not indicate anything in regards to the setup or the character's role significance or alignment, or mean anything more or less other than how much creativity I came up with / come up with for each individual character.

II.) - REST ASSURED! I am on top of what is and is not allowed to be said in the game thread by any and all players and I will absolutely ensure the game's integrity is upheld in this regard. Please, don't worry yourself about it at all and just focus on the game and enjoy yourselves! If you have any questions or concerns about what you may or may not say or what someone else has said and what it may or may not mean in regards to game-issues/rule-breaking or anything else, CONTACT ME PRIVATELY, do not discuss it in the game thread.

III.) - I am intentionally creating all PMs with NO uniform format whatsoever. There will be no way to discern anything by the use and existence, or lack thereof, of any punctuation, capitalization, syntax or phrasing, or whatever else is used in individual PMs. Simply, there is NO consistent method of format for the giving of information through the individual PMs AT ALL.

example: one person's PM might be "You are bob (VILLAGE - VANILLA), and you like to fish!" and someone else might have "you are bobbette, a vanilla villager, and you like to read~" in their PM, and yet a third person could have "you are bobbina - you like to eat fish" in their PM, and could be "vanilla" but never even has been directly told so or given any more detail than what is in the quotes right there.

note: if you yourself specifically are confused about your role or alignment once you've received and read your character's PM, be sure to send me a PM with any questions/concerns you may have! (don't worry about bobbina, she doesn't exist! if she did, she could simply ask "what is my role/alignment" and I would answer her "you are a non-special villager" or similar.)

To be clearer and further elaborate! Some PMs will have "-", some will use ":" , some will use ".)", some may use other things, some may use a variety of some of them or all of them, some may use completely different, foreign and/or weird 끀, and some may use nothing at all, and it will all mean nothing.

IV.) - Everyone, regardless of role, alignment, abilities, or whatever else is in their individual PM has been given at least 1 simple fact about their character. Feel free to use any and/or all information provided to you, or not at all, to any degree you like.

8. - Days have different "post-frequency guidelines" that are to be followed each Day. Every Day except D1 requires you to make at least 1 CONTRIBUTORY POST*, some days or stages in certain days require different things, so make sure you pay attention to the requirements or you could be held in violation of the rules. The requirements will be explicitly stated during each Day and each Stage. If there are any questions or concerns about posting requirements, CONTACT ME PRIVATELY.

Days have 6 STAGES (not as complex as it may seem.) I will make a post clearly notifying everyone that there has been a STAGE change and what is required during that stage.

If there are any questions / concerns about any of the stages CONTACT ME PRIVATELY.

--- Be sure to know what STAGE of the Day it is before making a post. ---

I - DAYBREAK - The Day has just begun. Everyone is still processing the what happened during the Night. There is NO POSTING during this stage, ever.

II - MORNING - Everyone is awake and the Day's discussions are beginning. Players may now post, but MAY NOT VOTE during this stage, ever.

III - MID-DAY - The Day and it's discussions are under way, and things are certainly warming up, to say the least. Players MAY VOTE during this stage.

IV - SUNDOWN - ANY and ALL posts made during this stage must contain at least one argument or statement either:

a.) defending themselves and/or another player, or,
b.) explaining why a player(s) / character(s) is a valid lynch choice.

V - EVENING - No posting is required in this stage, but, if you decide to post during this stage it MUST contain:

A correction, change, or altering to position of or any final response to any of the posts made during the SUNDOWN stage. A vote-status change fulfills this requirement as well, vote explanations are not needed during the EVENING stage.

If you wish to make more than 1 post during the EVENING stage, it must contain a vote-status change.

VI - TWILIGHT - votes are LOCKED ! A decision has been made! A LYNCH is about to be held (or not!) - You may continue to converse until the NIGHT post is made.

RULES CONTINUE IN NEXT POST

9. - LYNCH(es) (or NO-LYNCH) will occur when I've posted the LYNCH post. The assistant moderator is not allowed to call lynch. LYNCH and NIGHT are two different events and will be denoted as such in their respective posts.

There is no auto-lynch when a majority has been achieved. LYNCH-ACHIEVED mechanics will become clear as the game unfolds and specific parameters are met.

10. - NIGHT will start when I explicitly say and last as long as I desire. There is NO POSTING at NIGHT.

11. - I will post vote-counts at my discretion and at various pre-determined intervals that will not be revealed until the times come. Hopefully I will post them often enough that no one ever feels they are lacking.

12 - VOTES and UNVOTES must be bolded to be counted. If you have your vote currently on a player you must UNVOTE that player specifically (character name or player name is acceptable, NO general UNVOTEs) before casting a new VOTE on a new player or character or it will not count.

example:

VOTE SuspiciousMan - to cast your first vote of the MID-DAY, and then you must:

UNVOTE SuspiciousMan - in order to clear your vote so that you may then:

VOTE SuspiciousWoman - and cast a vote on a new player

note: votes will be cleared at the beginning of each Day.

13. - NO editing of posts. This is VERY important. In addition, don’t make two consecutive posts within 10 minutes of each other or the forum software will merge them, creating the appearance of an edited post. This is bad, don't do it!

14. - No crypto-claiming.

15. - No betting/wagering/deal-makings among players or observers.

16. - Required participation specifications: refer to the signup thread for an elaboration, as I don't want to have it a set-in-stone rule, as I will cater to what is best for the game as the game goes along. Pay attention to my posts and you will know what is required of you how often, and when, if you have questions, CONACT ME PRIVATELY.

I.) - This game has more players than average for a standard game here on the GOG forums! Thanks you all VERY MUCH for joining! Your passionate participation is part of what makes this game a successful and rewarding experience for all of those involved!

II.) - With this many players, the length of play for Days very well may be longer than average (again, for here on GOG.) Please try to savor and enjoy the experience! There is potentially a lot of content and developments to be revealed and things to be learned about the village and community if time permits.

III.) - With those first two things in mind: Please, be patient each other, the game's development, and most of all, please, be patient with me! I will be busting my butt getting all of the flavor and PMs and posts written and sent/posted as things progress and the game evolves into whatever beast it decides to be, and of course I'll be trying to manage it so it all runs smoothly and fun for all!

I will throw the axe down if I have to!

Thank you!

Oakwood Village (population: 56)
------------------------------------------------------------

September 29, 1696 -

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" A woman's blood-curdling screams broke the tranquil silence of the morning from somewhere deep within the woods that encompassed the small community of Oakwood Village. Further screams of "Nooooooo! Julie?!" were heard in a harsh cry that echoed through the forest and fog. Another terrifying set of screams were heard, the woman's fears confirmed. "OH, GOD! God, NO!!! Nooooooooooooo!! Julie! Juuulie!" The forest air was rather cold now that it was getting later into September, and it was made even colder by the screams and sobs that cut through its otherwise peaceful depths. "Nooooooooo!! Noooooo! God, whyyyyyyyyyyyy? God, nooooooo!..." She wept and screamed in an awful agony of loss and terror for what seemed for the moment to her to be the rest of her life. She felt like she was going to die from the shock and the sudden grief.

Everyone within the vicinity who was outside in the early morning hours - chopping and gathering wood and kindling, getting the early morning fires started to begin cooking for the day. Others were tending animals, some were gathering water from their wells, and others simply sat on their porches smoking a pipe or playing an instrument or enjoying a cup of tea or coffee before getting to the day's work. They all heard the awful cries come through the woods, and each stopped what they were doing. Once the screams continued, most set off running into the forest and fog in search of the source of the screams.

One of the villagers had been up with his eight-year-old son, preparing to go fishing, and they dropped their gear and set off running at the sound of the screams. The boy had run along with his father after the first set of screams, but upon the second set of screams, which confirmed just how dire whatever had happened probably was, the man told his son to run to The Community Home and ring the bell to gather the rest of the villagers there. He told him to tell them of the screams and to wait for him to come back to tell them all what had happened, and then they both set off running into the depths of the woods in their respective directions.

A handful of the villagers arrived within moments of each other to the sight of a now just loudly-sobbing woman, and then a few more people who had heard the screams arrived, and then the rest who had heard her all found their way to the sight within a few more minutes of each other.

They found Wilma Ives covered in blood, kneeling in a pool of dark sticky pool of guts and bone and blood, holding a few small pieces of shredded human flesh and a small, bloody skeleton that was limp, mangled, and beyond recognition. By the size of the remains and from the seemingly blonde-colored hair (which could barely be seen because of the blood), and more certainly because of the identity of the owner of the screams, most quickly came to the conclusion that it was Wilma's eldest daughter, Julie, whose bones she held and was sobbing over. Wilma also clutched a small piece of her daughter's nightgown that was now red with blood. Not a single inch of Julie's soft pale skin remained.

Wilma's brother, Eli, was one of those who arrived to the scene with the rest. He knelt in front of her at a pace and gently reached for her hand and drew her attention up to his face. She was in such shock she had not seen that anyone was even there up until that point, and with his quick distraction he was able to deftly remove the remains from her arms without resistance. He set them on the ground at their side, and quickly wrapped his arms around her. He began to sob with Wilma as their embrace tightened, and everyone else waited quietly and respectfully while they all took some moments to process and feel their pangs of sorrow and loss that they all felt to varying degrees. After several minutes of her wailing into his chest and him holding her and crying with her, he spoke.

"Do you have any idea what happened?"

She was able to stop her sobbing briefly and she looked at him with a dead blank stare.

"I... " She looked around at the others gathered, grasping for any sort of explanation from them as much as they were from her. "I...just found... I was looking for... I found..." She looked back down and noticed she no longer held the remains of her daughter. She saw them on the ground at her side, almost as she had first found them and she reached for them, again, as she had the first time.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Again she screamed and broke into a heavy weep. Eli grabbed her again, stood her up, and gave her a quick shake before she got too lost in her sorrowful wails.

"Look at me," he said as he shook her. "What happened?" She broke from her started cries.

"She...she had gone off to collect mushrooms very early, before sunrise..." she gasped for air to continue "...and, then she, she didn't show up to help start breakfast..." *gasp* "... and she had been gone too long...*gasp*, she started speaking faster "and I got worried, and I started looking for her..." *gasp*, and faster "...and I called, and she didn't answer, and..." and she spoke even faster "I got this horrible feeling, and I started running, and I just ran, and then...I...I....found..." She broke. She looked down at her daughter's pieces of nightgown in her hands again, and again began weeping. Eli just stood there and held her while the others began to talk among themselves.

"Was it a bear perhaps?" suggested someone from the group of villagers that had gathered to be witness to the aftermath. Another villager knelt down beside Wilma and Eli and looked around the pool of blood and pile of bones to see if anything else could be determined besides what was already obvious.

A couple of the others looked around for signs of anything. "I don't see any tracks of anything" one person said, and others agreed that they didn't either. The scene gave no indications either way of anything that happened other than Julie Ives having been horribly mutilated and seemingly devoured from head to toes.

"Could it have been something rabid?" A woman from the group asked.
"I think something rabid would have just killed and ran, not..." he spoke in a quieter voice so as not to be heard by Wilma "not, eaten practically all of the flesh. It looks to me like something, or things, was very hungry."

Someone else added: "It's so fresh, and it doesn't sound like she'd been missing for long. Even bears would have taken longer than that to eat even a small child, I think."

"It's seems impossible to tell what happened," added another from the group.

Just then, wolves howled. They sounded close, within a few hundred yards, and it could be determined that there were at least three of them, but there could have maybe been more, no one was sure.

"WOLVES!" A man half-shouted it as the revelation came to them all. The word came out louder than he intended and it startled him and everyone else. They all went still and looked out into the cold depths of the forest, all more scared than any of them ever recalled being before. The man's shout of "WOLVES" echoed through the woods and they all paused in the silence, ears sharpened to hear anything they could.

More howls came from deep within the cold fog. This time they were farther away.

"I haven't heard wolves around here before ever!" A man whispered to the others as quietly as he could.

It was true, there had been a complete absence of the spotting or hearing of any wolves anywhere around the area ever before, as far as anyone knew. There had never been any evidence showing that they'd ever had a presence anywhere near here, and probably never anywhere within the entire 70 miles down to Nashua and probably even farther north in the entirety of the time people had been living in the area. It had even been noted several times over the years by various people that it was perhaps a bit odd that there weren't ever any wolves around, and yet the deer and moose populations never seemed to get out of hand, either.

Most in the village simply didn't think about it much or just felt lucky to be in an area that was not inhabited by wolves and didn't give it a second thought.

"Wolves shouldn't act like this, though. And if we haven't seen them around here before, well, I think something could be wrong with these wolves." Someone from the group shared their thoughts on the matter.

"WHERE would the wolves have come from?" Someone else from the group asked, though not as if he was expecting anyone had an answer.

"Where indeed?" Said another.

There were plenty of bear and deer and moose and foxes and rabbits and squirrels and chipmunks and all manner of birds all sorts of other animals all throughout the area, but never had they seen or heard any sign of wolves. It was more than a little disconcerting to them all.

Suddenly again, they all startled as an undeterminable amount of wolves howled from a far distance, as if to make sure their presence was known to the villagers, Regardless, there were certainly wolves here now, they all knew it, and the wolves seemed hungry enough to eat a little girl. That wasn't normal.

Wilma spoke. "WOLVES?! I did hear them this morning! I didn't even recognize the sound at first! I didn't even think about it being wolves!" She looked at the blood all over her and the ground and began to cry again.

"Come," Eli said. "Let's take her back to The Community Home and tell the rest of the villagers what we know."

They all made their way back to The Community Home where the rest of the townspeople had gathered. Eli, Wilma, and some of the others who had seen the scene explained to the rest what was known and gave their views on the matter.

After several hours of discussion about the circumstances surrounding Julie's death and everything else under the moon that seemed like it might be relevant, which for some included the fact that there had been a Full Moon the night before, they eventually all came to the consensus that in case something was in fact wrong with a pack of wolves in the area, they should act on the side of caution and take precautions to protect the overall well-being of the community and village.

There were some who simply couldn't believe the existence of wolves in these woods, no matter how much they trusted the word of their fellow villagers. They hadn't heard it themselves and couldn't help but be a bit skeptical about their sudden presence in the area, much less any that would do something so atrocious. Some believed that it was Werewolves because of the maliciousness and awareness the wolves seemed to display. Others held off judgment, and others were certain that at least something wasn't normal and that more discussion needed to be had and that precautions should be taken regardless.

And so they finally agreed that what was best was for the majority of them to leave Oakwood Village and stay in Nashua for at least a few months while a smaller group stayed to watch over the village to try to determine what, if anything, was going on and further decide what actions, if any, should be taken to resolve it.

It is now:

EVENING -

No posting is required in this stage, but, if you decide to post during this stage it MUST contain:

A correction, change, or altering to position of or any final response to any of the posts made during the SUNDOWN stage. A vote-status change fulfills this requirement as well, vote explanations are not needed during the EVENING stage.

If you wish to make more than 1 post during the EVENING stage, it must contain a vote-status change.

rRAaaa raAa!!

It's an anxious Day in the village, which is no surprise after the morning's events.

Hopefully everyone can keep a cool head while discussing what should be done.

I think bookwyrm has been into the "medicine" cabinet again....

MMMMRR aarraaa rRrRrrAaa Rrrr Raa roOoO sRRr rRrOo oRr aHHh GgGGrr!!

In the morning, when the screams were first heard, Sean'O was busy milking his cows. The cows were unquiet today and, the farm being on the far side of the village, the screams were lost to Sean'O. But he did hear the village bell, a bit later, just as he was driving his cattle to pasture. Quickly he locked the fence behind the animals and hurried to town.

Horrified he heart the tale of what happened and was quick to volunteer to stay behind. One, he was young and able-bodied and well capable of defending against some wolves. Two, he wasn't going to leave his cattle unguarded in this situation. A goodly portion of the welfare of the small community depended on his cows and the milk they provided and herding them back to Nashua, with wolves prowling the woods, would be even more dangerous to them then guarding them here behind his sturdy fences.

While the rest of the village already packs up and leaves, Sean'O takes counsel with his fellow volunteers.
"Methinks we should fortify the village with a high fence. Or at least set up some traps around it. Who's with me? Secondly, I could use some help keeping an eye on my cows during day. At night they are inside their stable and I sleep next to it. So I'll hear when they get unquiet. But who knows if these wolves, being strange ones at least judging from that attack, may not be about during the daytime too. Also, if one of you could help me with milking the cows, I would be grateful. My farm-hand and my maid left with the bulk of the village, so I'm on me own. Thirdly, we shouldn't be about in the woods on our own. If someone needs to go into the woods, we go at least in pairs and we go armed." he suggests resolutely.

But then he looks quite alarmedly at Craig (Bookwyrm) and asks warily: "What's the matter, Craig? Why d'you scream so? Lost your power of speech? Or did something rabid bite ya?"

I was definitely not bitten by a zombie bear, but I have been thinking about a new kind of place, one where we might have certain rights.

In any event, if someone needs to be stoned, I'm the one to come talk to.

Gone for several hours.

Behave yourselves.

Have fun!

...So we're going to need the Zombie Translator for Bookwyrm's early posts and some manner of "bits in third person" filter for Lifthrasil (who has got overly into the spirit of the flavour). Okay, then. :)