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Another Pandora? I hope we don't end up with another Pandora/Ancora situation. =/ I do like our detective this time. (The game setup and detective route have been quite entertaining so far.) Mix. posted:So, the bets. There's going to be quite a few of these over the course of the LP, and we actually have to also wager a set number of chips each time too. The way I'm going to be handling the amount of our bets is pretty simple – after the vote is concluded, I'm going to take the percentage of the votes that [i]didn't win and calculate what that percentage of the chips we currently have comes out to. That way, for bets where people are collectively in agreement on, we'll bet less chips as a result, but for bets where people are more divided, the bet will be higher – which means a higher potential payout as a result. The voting setup to determine our wager is a bit counterintuitive. We almost had a situation where all votes were that Athen died first (i.e., bet nothing). Athen dying first was a supermajority, nearly impossible to overturn. I dislike how this setup encourages disingenuous voting. If I personally agreed that Athen died first, my goal would be to maximize the amount we bet. Going with these rules, I would've lied, voting "Max died first" to boost the amount we wager. If I personally thought that Max died first, I would have voted "Athen died first". This would increase the Athen:Max ratio, driving the wager down closer to 0. However, the setup is good since we cannot run out of chips this way (i.e., the rules only let us bet half our current chips at a time). I doubt it'll be a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps counterintuitive voting is one of the themes of the game; Aija is up for re-election after all. NeoRonTheNeuron fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Jul 10, 2023 |
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Jul 10, 2023 04:58
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 13:49 |
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Gambling is a core theme in this game! The gambler is fun but lacks much of a reason to exist so far. Lock came to gamble but got sidetracked by Ossa, Polly, and Kane. It was interesting to learn more about everyone, but will the setup pay off?
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Jul 11, 2023 01:17
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Yeah, I don't know much about Vels at all after that arc. We learned much more about the detective and got a glimpse of what the gambler wanted. But I would have chosen to trust Yi w.r.t. Krish. We'll see what happens.
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Jul 19, 2023 01:43
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Yeah, this person is dreadful, but I never thought I'd see this type of perspective narrated. It's refreshing, and I'm glad we're going to rotate to someone else after the next update.
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Jul 20, 2023 07:07
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Chara is being genuine. Any counter-trolling will just cause Olif to expose her identity again, and Chara's already been proactively posting and airing grievances about Olympo.
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Jul 22, 2023 01:33
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Yay for unanimous votes and gambling! Nothing could ever go wrong when so many people uniformly agree! Next up is the flashlight icon. Did we get the archetype names already? It could be a spelunker, but considering the city setting, someone on night watch or guard duty is more likely. (They should have had us bet on the meaning of the icons before we see their perspective.)
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Jul 23, 2023 08:46
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It really is a spelunker. I didn't expect a ghost ship!
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Jul 25, 2023 09:02
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Oh good, you're paying attention and making connections. I think you're on to something here regarding the bigger picture. I've been too distracted by the viewpoints to think about all the allusions they're making. 
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Jul 26, 2023 05:24
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What a meta-question! We covered a lot of ground in this first set of updates, and we ended up on open waters with no signal and almost no hope of getting back safely now that Thane knows we exist. Mercury will have to commandeer the boat, get help by coincidence (i.e., another boat), or hide/explore. Mercury will still be in a boat, even by the end of Mercury 3.
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Jul 27, 2023 05:55
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Yeah, Max dying is unexplained so far, and I like how well Laverna has done with her deductions. Characters: Laverna, Lock, Vels, Olif, Mercury, "Thane", and Devon Most interesting: Laverna Most boring: Vels Laverna has an over-the-top detective personality. Her route seems to have the most interactions with major NPCs and is associated with Devon, so she's caught my interest the most. Vels is trying to reject the plot hooks, and the route has been driven by Krish so far. Boring. Best NPC: Kane Kane is the most well-developed of the NPCs so far and has connected the most with the 7 PCs.
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Aug 2, 2023 07:40
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Yes, Laverna is great. So far, she's "Rooster" of this game: annoying in a good way My initial guess is that Art's laptop escaped the building by being dropped out of a window, perhaps via a bathroom or office. Alternatively, Odin is interfering because he thinks Art was behind the disappearance, and Laverna is about to expose Art's deceit. Both would be fun outcomes. After Devon's perspective, it was looking unlikely that Max died after Athen, and this section confirmed that Max died at the start of the party (i.e., before Athen). I thought Ez would interrupt and point out we'd lost the bet, but nothing happened.
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Aug 4, 2023 07:10
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That's right! My laptop defenestrated theory holds strong, though Laverna and co do not seem to be pursuing this line of inquiry. 
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Aug 8, 2023 04:39
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Yay for data defenestration! Laverna has a twin. From the "false bottom" conversation, could we infer that Art and Polly also have a long-lost or deceased sibling? Perhaps Art was not Odin's first choice of successor.
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Aug 10, 2023 06:34
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Aija is disingenuine, and Bach lacks killer instinct. We need Chara to be the dark horse and take over this town. I see why the thread determines the # of chips to bet by the ratio of losing votes to total votes. That's the counterintuitive-ness this game has, where payout scales with the risk you took to win.
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Aug 12, 2023 20:56
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It's amazing how disgusted I felt after reading that. I didn't think it was possible for Lock and Ossa to go lower than Olif. There is no way that Nohoi's Nest should be able to operate like this and retain a player base.
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Aug 15, 2023 01:27
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There's nothing exciting about this scam, and I don't see what Lock is getting out of targeting Bach. I want to know why Bach has to be targeted, why he decided to come to Nohoi's Nest, and how he knew the value of a white chip without knowing the risks of gambling here. If Lock's goal is to swindle Panthea, he's off to a poor start. This scam is dull and uncalled for; Bach is not a worthy mark. Lock has shown that he can only pull off these scams under the protection of Nohoi's Nest. The only worthy mark I can see is Polly Deisma. Aija is not coming here. Lock posted:For every card on the loser's side of the table once the scoring phase begins, the loser has to pay the winner a white chip. After losing the game and suffering through Lock's gloating, a competent Bach can still argue his way out. Ossa will have no choice but to acquiesce since there won't be any rules broken with these approaches. Lock posted:Time to pay the piper, Bach. As I said, you owe me 174 white chips worth of cash. Competent Bach posted:Oh, did you mean now?
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Aug 15, 2023 08:02
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I don't find Bach winning realistic, even with Lock's semi-antagonistic help. Still, I'll take it. This is one of the few ways Lock's route can continue its plot. Let's hope that Vels's route picks up too.
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Aug 17, 2023 06:05
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Agreed. Each step in the progression soured me on Lock and Ossa. Tricking Bach with the ruleset to easily win the bet. --> Lock is clever! Ossa is professional. Forcing Bach to owe the full amount, beyond what was in his pocket, was nasty. --> Lock is cruel. Ossa is a stickler. Throwing on 3 extra decks of cards and forcing that to count as part of what's owed. --> Lock and Ossa are trash. Taking blackmail photos of Bach --> Still trash. Forcibly becoming Bach's campaign manager in exchange for future bribes/access --> Delusional trash.
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Aug 18, 2023 05:18
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Krish is endearing for now; they continue to carry this route. Some people do not think things through when they try to make something happen. But things might never happen if people think too much.
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Aug 19, 2023 01:41
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Yi is nicer than what Krish and the crowd could have faced. Better to learn their lesson now, than later. I hope this dark-green notebook forces Vels to take action. (I don't count calling the police; almost any NPC could've done that.)
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Aug 23, 2023 05:15
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Seth! You had one job! You're not supposed to have two! T_T Vels continues to be a mere observer. Fighting the Duats didn't lead to much since the police sirens would've broken up the event soon enough. I don't think Yi was going to do more than threaten Krish in the minute-or-less fight scene and subsequent de-escalation.
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Aug 25, 2023 22:43
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Well that solidifies Aija as a baddie. Hope Laverna, Lock, or Olif can expose her.
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Sep 15, 2023 06:21
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Pipe Dream: Devon takes Lock out, has the truth exposed by Laverna, and eliminates Aija. Devon's father is dead. No particular deep reason behind guessing this, but we still need some sort of trigger for him to be so loyal to Aija's vision.
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Sep 20, 2023 04:56
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Best to worst: Laverna Devon Thane Olif Mercury Vels Lock Laverna's twin is Olif. Devon might have noticed that Laverna has a twin through his investigation. Hard to say how the timeline is between "Thane" and Mercury's Thane. My guess is that Vels is the one Marduk wants on his side; otherwise, Vels is not a very useful perspective. I want Vels and "Thane" to intersect at some point. Lock is scum, and I would like Devon to eliminate him even if it furthers Aija's goals. EDIT: My previous post didn't have a full ranking, but I was consistent with Laverna being the best. Vels is still the most boring, but Lock plummeted to the bottom because of how poorly Bach was treated and how many holes are in his plan. NeoRonTheNeuron fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Sep 21, 2023 |
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Sep 21, 2023 04:47
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Oh good. I didn't think there was a murder here. Ossa may be terrible for what he did to Bach, but he has fared well against Baldera, Laverna, and Arrianne. The Devil's theory was that Aija, the Police (Arrianne), the Duats, and Olympo (possibly with Kane at the Oracle) are working together. I do not get the sense that Arrianne is involved from this scene. Some people must be uninvolved; it's hard to explain why else they keep inviting genius detective Laverna into their circle. Not quite sure what the motive is for the prank call, other than to distract the police from something else.
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Sep 27, 2023 09:26
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Yeah, this seems unfair, but whatever? None of the "games" by Themis are fully-specified at face-value, so I'll try to enjoy the ride. For example, - You can reshuffle card orders at any time since it wasn't explicitly disallowed. - You can place any card between any other cards while still maintaining a geometric line - Who places the 13th card? Which end of the line? - Rules changing favors the first winner, since they can simply lay down the conditions for their victory right away (i.e., win threshold is the first to reach the # of points they already have). It doesn't even matter if they lose the next round terribly, since they are the first player to reach the victory threshold. In any case, this should be considered a 1-round game. ------------------------ Odin: "Of all my children" Odin has more kids than Polly and Art. This was also implied earlier by Art when discussing magic tricks. Ossa: "The gamble will begin when both players agree to a clearly specified set of rules. Once the rules are laid, they are final, so be sure to get any clarifications you want out of the way." Ossa tries to throw Lock under the bus w.r.t. Bach, but Ossa didn't give Bach anything more than a half-hearted "Let it be known, the rules are being laid." This gave Bach no way out of getting suckered. Odin: "That suitcase of yours is filled with cash equivalent to 500 white chips... correct?" Lock: "Right." It definitely is not right, and Odin is going to get 3 cuts. Sure, the first two might be for the pinkies, but what will the 3rd be for? Nightmare scenario: It's Lock who gets murdered here, and Odin who makes the call.
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Oct 4, 2023 18:33
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Unless there's a trick I'm missing, this seems favored for the Dreamer. The Dreamer always places the 12th card (i.e., has the final chip placement for the round). With up to 5 chips of leeway, it should be trivial to force a star alignment on the Dreamer's last turn. The Ruler won't have any turns left to counter that attempt. As I mentioned earlier, this is a 1-round game. Since Lock is the Dreamer in Round 1, he should be easily wining this. Odin cannot counterplay a 0-5 chip placement since he won't have any more turns. Something seems wrong.
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Oct 4, 2023 19:22
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I don't think Lock would lose the 2nd time around. More experience with the game should give him a much easier time. Plus, if he already knows how the hands are dealt, it shouldn't be too hard to force a star alignment as the Dreamer. I didn't expect Odin to give Lock so many chances, and Odin saw through him easily. Lock continues to be scum by not completing the bet, ruining Ossa's side gig, and wasting Laverna's time.
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Oct 7, 2023 00:58
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Sure, Ez, sure. If you assume that it's a fresh game with different cards dealt, then that's fine.
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Oct 7, 2023 21:43
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Good thing Chara has swooped in to save the day. If that didn't happen, Vels' route would have ended with them leaving Panthea.
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Oct 11, 2023 05:13
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Polly is chill when he's not being actively baited into fights... We're shown glimpses as to why Chara is willing to work with him. (Yet another reference to Art as the "oldest sibling".) I don't find CEO Polly as a realistic option. Setting aside the premise that Polly already has 20% (Odin 25%, Art 30%) and that Chara could rally most of the remaining 25%, Art has a good track record, and Polly doesn't. Chara's trying to expose Deisma dirt via the Olif route, but that's only anti-Art and anti-Odin. We need a lot more to be pro-Polly. While I enjoy the underdog challenger parallel (Aija vs Bach), I think they'd have a better time talking it out with Art. Vels is finally showing some agency too! Predicting that Vels is the person Marduk wishes he could recruit and that Vels decides the way out is to eliminate Marduk, forcing the Duats to implode from infighting between Yi's and Lara's factions. "Thane" and Krish get to move on and enjoy life, at least until rival gangs make their return to Panthea because of the resulting power vacuum.
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Oct 14, 2023 00:46
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Aw, Eris cares! Her in-person persona is nice to see. Laverna and Eris suit each other. With his mixed loyalties, Seth is in an right spot. Assuming Arrianne isn't corrupt, then Seth is safest if nothing big happens. Aija assassinating Laverna, or Laverna uncovering the truth are both bad for him. It makes sense for him to ask Eris to convince Laverna to lie low.
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Oct 19, 2023 09:36
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Called it! A boat was needed no matter what for Mercury! Laverna's 2nd part has us losing a bet over who died first. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=4036012&pagenumber=4#post533785588
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Nov 1, 2023 04:36
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Lara's last name is Naomi. Thane saying "Little Miss Naomi" isn't the issue; the two of them are colleagues under Marduk. It seems like this Thane knows one of her dirty secrets though.
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Nov 5, 2023 02:08
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So that explains the missing Deisma sibling. No major changes in ranking for me. Laverna's still the best and Lock is still the worst. Lock gets some credit for not dying and having a game in his section, but he continues to be an underhanded jerk. Based on my understanding of the game, he failed pretty badly and should've swept that. I know we're not ranking Odin, but I like him a lot as a villain.
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Nov 9, 2023 06:29
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Chief Arrianne is not a direct accomplice. She could be a good person overwhelmed by her force's corruption, or she's letting Aija do her own thing without getting involved. For the mistake of buying a mass-produced portable safe, the egregious error of snitching on the Duats, and the failure to use proper security cameras, Milo deserved what was coming to him.
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Nov 13, 2023 07:34
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Assuming the overall update pace remains the same, I prefer the updates split up since there's more time to theorize and comment. Laverna's mysteries and Lock's games are well-suited for discussion.
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Nov 14, 2023 01:12
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I think the theory is that the Duats swapped and left the new safe open. Milo didn't need to unlock anything. Now that the swap theory is public, Milo is incentivized to reinforce it by claiming his code and key don't match the new safe. The Duats can discredit anything he has to say since he has been trying to frame/accuse them from the start. The sticker defense was cool, but was there a vase in the first place?
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Nov 15, 2023 19:51
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Haha, I meant that more rhetorically. Can Milo even prove that there was a vase in the first place? The Duats can't be caught with such flimsy evidence.
NeoRonTheNeuron fucked around with this message at 06:20 on Nov 16, 2023 |
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Nov 16, 2023 06:09
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 13:49 |
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Bach has no more secrets from Lock because Lock knows everything about him already and Bach is both unremarkable and incapable. Considering the legwork Lock has already put in for Bach, he's at stalker levels of creepiness. This campaign manager gig is an excuse for Lock to spend more time with Bach. (Not very serious; I just dislike Lock and Bach and prefer to vote this way.) EDIT: I also think Ez is capable of resolving this kind of bet and simply claiming Bach has no secrets. Last time, we were asked what would happen if Lock were to go back in time and play again against Odin, and it was simply assumed that he would lose again. NeoRonTheNeuron fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Nov 19, 2023 |
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Nov 19, 2023 22:13
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