After a few minutes of wandering around the plaza, meeting each other and shaking hands, an armored personnel carrier rolls up. Christmas lights are duct-taped to its hull. A woman with pointy ears and a pointy hat dismounts, accompanied by what look like soldiers. You can’t tell if their ears are pointy; they’re wearing gas masks.
“Hello,” she says, in an adorably squeaky voice. “I’m Chordette, and you must be the pure of heart! I’m sure this is all a lot to take in.”
Someone holds up a hand. “Yes?”
“I think I saw a murder earlier.”
“Well,” she says, “have you tried NOT thinking that? Because here in Santagrad, the REAL power is BELIEVING.”
You all look at a bloodstain on the ground. Chordette follows your gaze.
“That could be cranberry sauce.” Her tone is dangerously chipper. “Let’s head over to the Christmas Palace, and I’ll explain more.”
The soldiers shoo you into the APC. Inside, it’s festooned with garlands and tinsel and guns.
“I know this probably wasn’t what you were expecting,” says Chordette, hopping into the shotgun seat. “The truth is that things here at the North Pole are kind of unstable. The popular perception of Santa’s Workshop just isn’t realistic for these dangerous times.”
“Are we at the North Pole?” someone asks. “Because we’re standing on rock, and there’s no land at the North Pole.”
Chordette frowns. “Well, if you MUST know, we’re on an island at maybe 89 degrees north. It belongs to either Canada or Denmark or Russia. Nobody’s entirely sure, which is part of why we spend so much money on arms.” She brightens. “I don’t suppose any of you want a hand-whittled AK-47 for Christmas?”
“Does it work?” someone asks.
“Usually!”
“Uh.”
“Well, maybe later,” she says. “The important part is that you see the North Pole for what it really is. One of you will end up living here.”
The APC rolls out, and you drive through downtown Santagrad. Holy shit, there are a LOT of soldiers here, and they’re hanging tinsel on their anti-aircraft guns and missile batteries. Whole blocks of buildings are burned out, popcorn balls strung up in their gutted windows. There are more craters than you expected.
Towering over it all is an immense skyscraper that reaches into the clouds, and it initially looks like you’re driving there. Someone points out the armored windshield at it.
“What’s that?”
Chordette brightens. “Santa’s workshop!”
“…Oh.”
“We’re not going there today. I need you to meet the Elf Council at the Christmas Palace!”
The Christmas Palace looks like it’s been shelled on more than one occasion, and the sandbag emplacements do not bolster your confidence. But the elves wave to you from their positions.
“Is it safe here?” asks a voice from the back.
“Oh, quite!”
You drive up to the entrance and disembark. From here, you can see all of Santagrad laid out below you. It’s almost pretty in the fog.
“Please, feel free to look around,” says Chordette. “Tomorrow is the reading of Mrs. Claus’ will. The Elf Council won’t be meeting until then, so this evening is just for a celebratory dinner and to get to know each other.” She hands each of you a card that says
MEAL SELECTION
- [] Chicken
- [] Fish
- [] Fish (other)
“I’ll see you at the dinner. Feel free to explore, just don’t go past the warning signs. Ta ta for now!”
She vanishes in a swirl of sparking dust, leaving you alone in an ancient hall full of antique furniture and security cameras.
[spoiler title=PLAYERS]
- April LKD / Kevin McCallister
- Demyx / Lucy Van Pelt
- DW / Venom
- E-Dog / Evaneezer Scrooge
- Emm / Florence, the Little Match Girl
- Fig Plucker / Frank Cross
- Flubba Gunto / Red, of the California Raisins
- Goat / Forky
- Hohopossum / Tiny Tim Possum
- Indy / Dude Love
- Landstander
- Lindsay / Mario Santa
- Mars Five / Xmars Five, Cyborg
- Mayelbridwen / Comet, the Wonder Reindeer
- Mr. I’m My Own Grandfather / Robot Santa
- MSD / Rod the Puppet
- Raven and Rose / Gerald Loggins
- Sic Humor / Tobias, a Make-A-Wish Santa
- Side Character / Catbug
- Spookyfriend / “Dave,” Morally Ambiguous Man Wearing This Sweater
- Subsaharan / Dr. Manhattan
- Sukaluski / Ambiguous In-Flight Meal
- Tobias Morpheus / Joe Camel
- Wasp / Carol
[/spoiler]
[spoiler title=ROLES]
- Pure of Heart (TOWN)
- 16 Santa Aspirants (Vanilla Town)
- 1 Yule Sleuth (Investigator)
- 1 Santa’s Illegitimate Child (functions as Vanilla Town, but will be recruited by wolves if they try to kill them)
- Currently unaligned
- 1 Christmas Prince/Princess – must choose one of these styles of governance by the end of Day 1:
- Figurehead (becomes a jailer, wins with town)
- Constitutional monarchist (becomes a vig, one shot a night, wins with town)
- Despot (becomes a wolf roleblocker)
- Anarchist (becomes a second SK, wins when everyone else is dead)
- 1 Christmas Prince/Princess – must choose one of these styles of governance by the end of Day 1:
- 1 Krampus (serial killer)
- Impure of Heart (WOLVES)
- 4 Elf Cronies (Vanilla Wolves)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler title=RULES]
- Win conditions:
- The wolves win when they are equal to the number of town-aligned players left (if the SK(s) are dead), or outnumber the non-wolf players (even if the SKs are still alive).
- Town wins when all the wolves and the serial killers are defeated.
- The serial killer(s) win when it comes down to just them and one other person. NOTE: If the Christmas Prince(ss) chooses Anarchy and becomes an SK, they and Krampus are NOT aligned.
- A three-way standoff between the last town, last wolf and one or both SKs will result in a special ending.
- Night actions:
- There isn’t a hard order that night actions occur in. This is to allow as many of them to go through as possible. Roleblocks (if applicable) will always take precedent over the actions of the targeted player, however.
- Yule Sleuth: All town forces come back NICE, all scum come back NAUGHTY. If the Yule Sleuth scans Santa’s illegitimate child the same night they’re recruited, the Yule Sleuth gets an error message about moral ambiguity.
- Depending on the alignment they choose, the Christmas Prince(ss) cannot roleblock or jail the same person two nights consecutively (or jail themselves).
- Voting:
- You have the option to vote “No Kill” (or words to that effect). If that option prevails, no one dies at the end of the day.
- A majority vote for one player (or No Kill) will end the day early.
- A tied vote at twilight will result in no one dying.
- There are no secret powers or win conditions in this game. Any changes I have to make to the mechanics will be announced publicly.
- No editing posts.
- No quoting or screencapping from your QTs.
- If you have any other questions about rules, please ask in QT, and I will answer publicly here.[/spoiler]
Day 1 will end Wednesday, December 4 at 2 p.m. EST.