Hinckley

"I've packed you a lunch," Brigit Bunny tells Lazlo Lion, fighting back tears, "It's your favorite, peanut butter and mushroom." Brigit wrings her hands, betraying the brave face she's trying to put on for her husband. Lazlo Lions hugs his wife. "I'll be back tomorow." he assures her. "I just need to warn the people of Summer Brook that there's a killer loose. It's my duty as Mayor." "I know," Brigit Bunny says, holding back tears. "Are you saying that to re-assure me or for exposition?" "Both," Lazlo Lion says, "I love you." "I love you too," Brigit Bunny says as Zazlo embarks down the river bank. Mod note: TinyPiesRUs is on holiday and will not be around for Day One. He is immune from the vote until Day Two. Thank you.

A long time ago, in the Age of The Eagle, a dark presence hid in the dark corners of The Dark Forest. According to legend, it was an ancient evil that had escaped from the deepest, darkest depths of the Earth and intended to cause harm to mankind...well, animalkind...well, anthropomorphic mankind. One day, a force of nature sent a good spirit to counter the evil presence and restore balance to the Dark Forest's spiritual plane. The good spirit was embodied in a spring and protected the inhabitants of the Dark Forest from the harm the evil presence could cause. But, it was a constant struggle. The dark force learned that it could manipulate mankind to empower it. By offering men and women power, the evil force was able to enter our world more freely, in exchange. And there it preyed on mankind. And yet, whenever it threatened mankind, people would find their way to the spring and connect with the good spirit that kept the balance. The villagers of Spring Haven had faced this presence and defeated it with the help of The Baker and his wife. Together, they defeated the evil Daxia, her Demon Legion and Felix Fox. But did they defeat Felix Fox? Why did his skeleton wander off into the night, dancing and burning? What were the strange fires that continued to plague them? Why did Marcellus find Felix's hat in the forest...and why did it look the same as it had the day Felix died? Perhaps leaving Spring Haven didn't free them from the evil, because the evil wasn't in Spring Haven, after all. It was in the hearts of the men who moved with them. The hearts and minds of their friends and neighbors. "Gabby Goat is dead," Marcellus the Monk announces, sadly, "I found her this morning in the Dark Forest." The villagers of Winter Haven stand in shocked silence. "Worse yet," Marcellus continues, "It appears she has been sacrificed in some kind of ritual." "Who would do such a thing?" Someone asks. "What if they kill again?" Another person cries. "Won't somebody please think of the children?!" Another voice pleads, "And the kids and puppies and chicks and kittens and ... um ... ponies." "Ponies aren't baby horses, stupid," yet another voice interrupts. "Well what is a baby horse then?" the other person retorts. "A foal, you fool," The answer comes. "Foul featherbrained fool forgetting foal is a fledgling filly." "Enough!" Marcellus the Monk interrupts. "There's more." "Oh lots more!" someone agrees. "There are calves, piglets, squabs, eaglets, ducklings, fawns, joeys, larvae, shoats..." "No, I mean there's been another murder," Marcellus the Monk interrupts. "Hatchlings..." "Benji Bulldog has also been murdered," Marcellus says sadly. "Much like Gabby, he was attacked and burned alive in what would appear to be a ritual sacrifice." "That's disgusting," someone says. "You're a downer today, Marcellus," another voice shouts. "Don't you have any good news?" another asks. "Or any breakfast for us?" Marcellus the Monk sighs, "With two people dead and five others missing, I formed a tracking party this morning and conducted a search of the area. After careful review of the evidence, we have reached the conclusion that the killers reside here in Winter Haven." Everyone collectively gasps. "What did you expect?" someone cried out. "We're in a Mafia game. This is the setup. Man up, wussies." "Please stop shouting things during the exposition," Marcellus the Monk pleaded. "Just skip to the part where you tell us to lynch people!" another someone cried out. "Lynch mobs," someone sneered, derisively. "How archaic." "It worked for us last time," answered Marcellus the Monk. "It will work for us again. Sacrifice must be made to defeat evil for the sake of our lovely village and the world we live in." "You didn't have to die last time," someone shouted. "It hurts like a son-of-a-bitch!" "This village isn't so lovely," another person observed. "How about you sacrifice while we go for ice cream?" another person suggested. "It's very simple," Marcellus the Monk continued, "The killers are among us. The best way to solve this is to lynch the most suspicious person every day." "Isn't the best way to collect evidence and hold a trial?" someone asked. "No," Marcellus shot back. "Why are you all so obstinate today? I'm the spiritual leader, I say we're lynching people, we're lynching people." "Fine," was the collective response. "Furthermore," Marcellus continued, "Firuz Fox, the Alchemist has graciously agreed to provide some of our Villagers with special elixirs and ointments to help combat these evil Cultists at night. These chosen few should be able to provide us with information that will help us in our fight against the evil Cultists." "Why didn't I get anything?" someone asked. "Because nobody likes you," Marcellus the Monk answered. "Are there any other questions?" "Why am I so short?" someone asked. "Any intelligent questions?" Marcellus clarified. "Are you going to erect those hideous gallows again?" someone asked. "They make for horrible Feng Shui." "How do you suggest we kill people?" Marcellus asked. "Let's figure that out when the time comes," someone said. "Can we go now?" another person asked. "Yeah, this is getting boring," yet another person chimed in. "Yes. Please. Go. Sorry. Geez," Marcellus the Monk concluded then added under his breath, "I don't know why I work so hard to save you guys from evil. Sometimes, I can understand why people want to kill you ungrateful, whiny... " And he wandered off, grumbling under his breath as the people of Winter Haven began to giddily discuss who should be lynched first. Day One has begun. You may not vote in the first 24 hours. Objective: The Cultists win when they have outnumbered the Villagers, including any third-parties and the Villagers win when all of the Cultists are dead. The Rules: Each player will be given a character to play, who will be aligned with either the Villagers or the Cultists. To win the game, the Villagers must kill off all of the Cultists, while the Cultists must outnumber the Villagers. Any third party player will have win conditions that are detailed in their role PM... Each day you will be able to vote to lynch a player. Voting should be done in the following format; Vote: Character (Player). Similarly, unvoting is to be done in the format; Unvote: Character (Player). No other format will be accepted. You may also proxy your vote to another player, using this format; proxy: Character (Player). Naturally, unproxying a vote is also possible. The player with the most votes is lynched. In the case of a tie, there will be no lynch. A game day will last a maximum of 72 hours. You may not vote in the first 24 hours. The day will not end when a majority vote has been reached. If there is time left, a majority vote can be over-turned. After the day has concluded, a night stage will commence, which will last a maximum of 48 hours. Night actions must be sent to the host in the first 24 hours of the night stage, or they will not be accepted, no exceptions. The alignment of lynched players, as well as those that died during the night, will be revealed at the beginning of the next day, barring any interference. You may not quote or pretend to quote anything sent to or from you in PM with the game host. This includes all the details and pictures of your character and role, as well as any night action results. Role claims and reporting of night action results are acceptable, but in your own words only. Do not attempt to use the structure of your role PM to your advantage. You may not quote PMs from other players. Paraphrasing is allowed but no direct quoting. Please refrain from quoting PMs in the game threads and in private. Do not play the game outside the thread. Similarly, do not post out of character inside the thread. Game tactics and roles may only be discussed in the game thread or via PM with other players. Private discussion is done at your own risk and should be treated as part of the game. If you are dead, you may not post in thread or discuss the game with any of the players. Any information you had becomes void, and may not be passed on. Violation of this rule will result in a multiple game suspension. If you are converted, you must accept your new affiliation. If it's proven that you gave up your new team after conversion, the whole game will be null and you will most likely not to be asked to play one of my games again. You may not edit your posts. You must post in every day thread. If you encounter a problem or have a question, please contact the host or co-host via PM. Please please please use only the confirmation PM I sent you to communicate with me. All new conversations regarding the game will be deleted. Violation of the above rules will result in a penalty of one vote per every four living players (1/4 of the active players list) on the first violation and death of your character on the second. Some additional guidelines, although they are not rules that will incur penalties if you don't follow them: Metagaming is allowed. Go ahead. You all know how to identify it and how to ignore completely irrelevant information. The pictures may or may not contain clues. They most likely do not, but look all you want. Wildly speculate. It's fun. Using acronyms, especially tl;dr will cause major trouble for your character, perhaps even instant death. Roleplaying is a good thing and it is encouraged in this game and will be required at some point. So get to know your personality quirks, they've been created for a reason. You have all been sent a role PM in this format: Any Third Parties may have slightly different role PMs. Non-Playable Characters Marcellus the Monk, played by Hinckley Firuz Fox, the Alchemist, played by Fugazi Active Players (26) Baxter Bulldog, Mechanic, played by Waterbrick Down Becka Bulldog, Beautician, married to Booker Bear, played by Rick Booker Bear, Garbage Man, married to Becka Bulldog, played by Dragonator Brigit Bunny, Florist, First Lady of Winter Haven, married to Lazlo Lion, played by Sandy Bristol Bunny, Seamstress, played by Bob Cameron Crocodile, Carpenter, married to Gilda Goat, played by Rufus Carly Cow, Ice Cream Shoppe Owner, played by Tamamono Casey Cat, Painter, married to Maurice Mouse, played by Scouty Edgar Elephant, Fisherman, married to Portia Poodle, played by WhiteFang Ernie Elephant, Dock Worker, married to Ralphy Rabbit, played by JimButcher Gibson Goat, Bartender, brother of Gilda Goat, played by Pandora Gilda Goat, Doctor, married to Cameron Crocodile, sister of Gibson Goat, played by Quarryman Gordon Gorilla, Lawman, played by Scubacarrot Heidi Hippo, Farmer, played by CallMePie Horace Horse, Blacksmith, played by iamded Lazlo Lion, Mayor of Winter Haven, married to Brigit Bunny, played by TinyPiesRUs Maurice Mouse, Dock Worker, married to Casey Cat, played by Cecilie Mindy Mouse, Accountant, married to Pancho Parrot, played by Professor Flitwick Pancho Parrot, Postman, married to Mindy Mouse, played by Zepher Pennie Pig, Schoolteacher, played by Eskallon Petey Panda, Fisherman, played by darkdragon Portia Poodle, Grocer, married to Edgar Elephant, played by CorneliusMurdock Ralphy Rabbit, Farmer, married to Ernie Elephant, played by badboytje88 Seamus Sheepdog, Taxidermist, married to Shawna Sheep, played by Dannylonglegs Shawna Sheep, Lawman, married to Seamus Sheepdog, played by Shadows Wallace Walrus, Lawman, played by Masked Builder

Now I'm going to have dinner. I skipped it, of course, since Mafia wasn't finished. See?

I'm uploading pictures now. Sorry for the delay. I forgot how long this takes. I didn't even get to finish some of the stuff I wanted to...

Hosting can make you very self-conscious. I know that when I host, any criticism makes me feel like my game is very fragile and that I've screwed something up. You'll learn over time to let those feelings roll off your back. Trust your game and stick to it. The host knows best when its his/her game.

(Family comes first. I'm glad you're OK. Welcome to the game!) We're all here now. Thanks for the quick confirmation. You can expect Day One to be posted ~12 hours from this post.

I understand the translation without even knowing French. The confusion is that why does it list the Troll as being from Isengard? Also, I think I used a lower case l the first time not a capital i. Then I just started misspelling it after that. Thanks for looking that up. Weird...

UCT. (~14 hours from this post)

If everyone confirms their roles, I can get Night One up tonight.

I haven't cataloged the last five titles, so it'll take me some time to come up with them. The most recent one "Brought to you by Pepsi" is because I think we should sell our naming rights to the highest bidder. Imagine: Fruit of the Loom presents Hinckley. See? Brilliant, right? Thanks Rick. I like it.

Number – 9473 Name – The Mines of MoriaTM Theme – Lord of the RingsTM Year – 2012 Minifigs – 9 Pieces – 776 Price – $79.99 USD Links: BrickLink, Brickset, Peeron – no entry yet, Shop@Home For the release of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the RingTM, the construction toy license was awarded to the dreaded and evil Megablocks corporation (Booooo!). Fanboys speculated that the LEGO Group had turned down the opportunity to bid for the license due to the violent content of the movies. The resulting Megablocks product line was more horrifying than a night trapped in The Mines of Moria . For years fans hoped for a LEGO line of Lord of the Rings sets and rumors constantly rose that it would come to pass. Many talented builders created beautiful renditions of Tolkien settings while the community waited for official LEGO sets to be released. And now, here they are. Were they worth the wait? Did the LEGO Group do justice to the timeless tales or come anywhere near to the beauty of the fan MOCs? Read on to learn more... Packaging The Box Let's take an in-depth look at the new packaging. Here is the front of the box adorned with the beautiful Lord of the Rings logo. We also see the evil Sauron's finger adorned with The One Ring. There is a nice cold and dark feeling to the packaging, reminding us of the ancient stone and adventurous nights lost in the forests of the Lord of the Rings story. There's a nice gradient into the warmer colors of the fires of Mordor, all across a map of Middle Earth. The graphics are very exciting. They re-create the danger and adventurous feelings of the story and indicate that you'll be assembling a quality product! The back of the box shows of the set's many play features. Look, you can give the cave troll an upper back injury by toppling a column onto him. Don't forget to tell him that his shoes are untied first... Oh no! Look at this! Lord of the Rings, the video game!!! I can't wait to play this with my nephew. Look at all the great minifigs you get in this set and wonder at their corresponding trademark emblems. There are so many languages! This is definitely being marketed outside of their main target markets, the US and Germany. It's good to see the brand rising in popularity enough to require this many translations. So, why does one of the translations of "Cave Troll" omit the cave altogether and just go to Isengard? If you put an accent over the o, there's no trademark. At least this isn't the entire credits from the films. This is the Sauron of Megabloks flipping us off for purchasing the product. I love that the Elvish writing is present. Oooh, someone nailed an additional parchment, containing the set's minifigs, to the front of the box. It must be hard to package with that nail sticking out. A perfect marriage. Hi, I'm a minifig with a creepy face and enormous mouth. Don't you want to join my club? "Oh no! My head! I'm not supposed to have brick walls fall on it!" "If you want to come through the door you have to put both arms at your side, stupid Troll de I'lsengard." "Aaah! Giant child!!" "Stop shooting me with arrows. I'm really no threat. My scary mouth is only painted on." "It's silk-screening, you stupid Troll de I'lsengard." Wow, lots of new weapons! Pieces Instructions Let's take a quick moment to have a round of applause for the LEGO Group's decision to start wrapping the DSS (Dreaded Sticker Sheet) and instructions with cardboard to prevent them from being damaged. Those who like to keep their instructions in pristine condition, rejoice! Mines of Moria comes with two instruction books, labeled 1 and 2 to indicate which order they should be built in. How about that? Behold, instruction book #1! And now, bask in the glow of instruction book #2! The pictures on the cover of each indicate the models that the corresponding book has the instructions for. The DSS! These are some great designs. I really wish these bricks came decorated this way. Some of my sets that are over 10 years old are starting to show some serious failure on the sticker front. There are some stickers that seem to last forever, but there seems to have been a time when they were using different stickers. My Rebel Blockade Runner (10019) had to be completely de-sticker due to major sticker curling and utter failure. I would really love to see these as decorated elements. I understand that is much more expensive and the licensed sets are already more expensive due to the Intellectual Property fees, but I wonder how much more it would cost to silkscreen the graphic onto the brick. Probably a lot. Otherwise, we'd probably see these as decorated elements. I could see a ton of uses for a graphic like this one. Although, it would be quite fun to build this out of brick too. Bag #1 Parts Parts from bag #1. This set includes the new orange brick separator and lots of great pieces for castle builders. More parts from bag #1. The nice thing about this as a parts set for castle builders is that it's more specific and detailed than regular System Castle sets. So there are better pieces for the serious Castle builder and a great selection and quantity thereof. New figure parts!! Let the patented Hinckley over-done and over-photographed-causing-the-review-to-run-too-long-and-take-forever-to-load new figure parts parade begin! Bag #2 Parts There's a great amount of dark bley elements in this set, basic and special. Since this theme is replacing Castle, for the time being, it's nice to see that castle builders part monkeys have this line to boost their collection of castle parts. This is a nice, detailed set, so all parts monkeys, not just the castle builders, will enjoy the selection Bag #3 Parts Gems and treasure chests? I predict an unnecessary play feature that has nothing to do with the movie! Loads of dark bley... Bag #4 Parts If you like headlight bricks, this set is definitely for you. New Parts There are a lot of new SNOT (Studs Not On Top) parts this year. This one is listed as "Bracket 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 Inverted" on Bricklink. The "inversion" would be that the bracket is perpendicular to the plate and above it as opposed to the configuration of the original bracket piece: Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2. The bracket is also 1 x 2 as opposed to 2 x 2. The "brick brick" is also new this year and seems to be the LEGO set designers' new favorite part! It's available, so far, in four different colors and in 15 different sets. The 2 x 2 facet brick has been around since 2010 but this is the first year we are seeing it in the light bluish gray color. The panel 1 x 2 x 2 corner has been around since last year but, so far, is only available in light bluish gray in this set. This set also contains the new brick separator piece in orange. Spare Parts Figures Cave Troll Like the Giant Troll found in the Castle sets, it comes in five parts: body, right arm, left arm, right hand, left hand. Here is a closeup of the arm mold. And this is the hand mold. Also like the Giant Troll, a minifig foot fits in the troll's hand so he can swing minifigs around by their feet. The hand also has a notch where a minifig utensil can be held. The body is the largest mold. The legs are rigid and his face is painted on, but it's still a very neat figure and looks very much like a LEGO version of the troll from the movie. It could use a little more drool though. Tee-hee, troll butt-crack. He must be a red-head, he is covered in freckles. Graaaaaawr!!! Oh, how convenient. There are studs on his head, in case a minifig elf wants to stand up there and fire arrows directly into his brain. I wonder if natural selection will cause that feature to evolve out of his species... ! The arms connect directly to the troll body. They move in a complete circle, but do not hinge out like the old Dino joints do. The hand are connected with blue Technic friction axle pins. RAAAAWR!!! Here is the troll all put together. Rut-ro! This doesn't look good for our friend, Hinckley! Oh, the humanity! Bag #1 Figs Here is the legs and torso for Boromir. The figure parts for this line are beautiful and excellently detailed. They are great illustrated versions of the fantastic costumes from the movies. I so welcome this era of back-printed torsos! Boromir's very detailed face. There is a nice likeness to the actor in the movie. Good definition added to the regular minifig face by employing the use of some simple lines. Turn Boromir's nice face around and you get angry face! Grrrrrrr!!!! Boromir's weapons match his from the movie as well. The shield makes a great new crest for Castle builder's army factions! It's an excellent weapon too. Here is Gimli's torso. I assume it's close to the costume from the movie as it's often covered by his beard. A collection of these would make a cool castle faction. Here is the printing on the back of Gimli's torso. Gimli's face, similar to Boromir's, is detailed with some simple design lines. This is an excellent face for new characters. Grrrr, watch out though. That kind face of a hero can get snarlingly angry as well. Now let's cover up that great minifig head with a huge beard. Here's the kind, bearded Gimli. And here's the snarlingly angry, bearded Gimli. See the difference? Well, the difference is in the eyebrows, but no matter! We'll just cover those off with this awesome and beautiful helmet. Here's a side view of this amazing helmet. And we can't have the back of the helmet feeling left out. Gimli's double-fisting the axes. ... ... Is this the torso of Tiny Tim from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol?? No, of course not. Not only would that make an incredibly odd addition to this Lord of the Rings set, but it's Pippin! Here's the back of Pippin's torso. Here's Pippin's cute face and fun new hair piece. Pippin is the only hobbit appearing in this set, despite this being a pivotal scene for our hobbit heroes. However, neither Gandalf nor Aragorn are in it either so I guess you'll need to buy a lot more sets to complete the story. Pippin is needed to knock the bucket into the well, of course. Speaking of which, here is Pippin's second face, appropriate for use in knocking buckets down wells. Here's a side view of that fun new hairpiece. And here's a back view of that fun new hairpiece. And here's Pippin, completely assembled, along with his weapons. Here is Pippin's broadsword. Did someone say "fun new hairpiece"? Let's spend way too much time putting this fun new hairpiece on different figures and cause the lengthy review to be lengthier and more difficult for those with slower connections to load! American Idol auditions. Yay! It's Braveheart! Can this be the scene where we show them our butts? Here's a bag #1 family portrait. Oh, right. There are two skeletons, too. There's lots of bones laying around Moria. Bag #3 figs LEGO ears!!!! I'm really happy they went with the ears and I wonder what the discussions were at the table with the LOTR licensing team. Did LEGO resist this due to their minifig patent? Either way, it's very cool and very well designed. This sets contains three hairpieces with ears. One for Legolas and two for the Orcs. Here is an extraneous top view of the hairpieces with ears. Before moving on to the figs, let's play with these new headgear elements. You can play The Dark Crystal! Look, it's Kira! Hey, Legolas! What's up? Great figure. Olive green torso with excellent printing. These colors look great together, the olive green, dark brown and light blue. His cheek bones are a little too severe, in my opinion. Here we see the back of the hairpiece again. Excellent molded braid. Here we see the back of the torso print and Legolas's angry face. This is a very complete and well designed torso. I like the way the belt knocks again in the back. The angry face's cheek bones seem high again. Here his is all put together on the right side with the angry face. The cheekbones make his face look like it's being squeezed out of his head. No wonder he's angry. This is not the best print on Legolas's face, in my opinion. "I see your equipment is bigger than mine." This set uses a new bow and arrow mold: bigger, thicker, better. Here is the Orc torso: ripped fabric over scaly armor - freaking cool! The back is equally cool and well detailed. Freaky Orcs! What an amazing face and headgear element. It's a pretty intense, scary fig. It's more severe than any other fig I can remember from past lines. The huge mouths in the Atlantis line were kind of freaky, but they were intended to enhance elaborate head molds. They were inadvertently freaky. This figure is just plain disturbing by design. They have two different faces. I'm not sure what the huge emotional difference is. I admit, however, that the emotional range of an Orc might not be very elaborate. Orcs are coming to beat your megablocks! Look at these guys. They are LEGO figures to create nightmares... Here is the Orc's shield. I can imagine these being bought en masse where possible for faction builders. Allow me to go overboard photographing this bad-megablocks new mold. It captures the Orc shields from the movies very well. Exorbitant shots of the shield. The Orcs have a plethora of weapons at their disposal in addition to the ones the instructions intend them to carry. These weapons litter the floor of the Mines of Moria as well. Build Bag #1 Build On to the building of the set...only 77 pictures into the review. The first build of the set uses our fun new bracket pieces! Here we see the completed hammer that the cave troll carries. It's not a Fabuland hammer, but it is pretty severe. The new bracket piece holds some cheese wedge at angles to provide spikes to the troll's weapon of choice. The hammer fits into the troll's hand at the connection point shown here. The troll must hold the hammer at this angle or the weight knocks him over. Rut-ro Hinckley Dimble Chubb! That's my hobbit name. The cave troll stays balanced, with the hammer at this angle, only by resting the hammer on Hinckley Dimble Chubb's head. The troll can also stay balance, while holding the hammer, when the weapon is at the post-swing position. Here is the beginning of the well. Notice how the texture of the bricks is randomly mixed up with the texture of the "brick-brick" to achieve that run-down, ruined feeling. Here we see the cool new 2 x 2 facet bricks in use and the 2 x 2 dark bley (bluish-grey) tile indicates that there will be a sliding mechanism in use for this well feature! Here is the completed well, completed with stickers. I usually do not apply the stickers, but in this case, they really do enhance the feeling of the Mines of Moria. Some nice brick patterns and crumbly stone to make the tiles look like slabs of old, weathered limestone. I would love it if these were decorated pieces, instead of tiles, but I digress. I do, however, question the logic of using a brick pattern sticker when the "brick-brick" is in such wide use in this year's sets, let alone this particular set. It's even on a 1 x 2 brick! Then again, that is a 1 x 2 x 2, so it wouldn't be possible unless that one piece was replaced by two...but I can't see that adding a lot to the cost, so this choice is a bit confounding to me. You must adorn the skeleton with the chain and bucket exactly like this and then rest it on the tile right where the instructions say. You must! Play feature test! Here's how it's supposed to work. The skeleton is sitting there, minding his own business, hanging out with his bucket on a chain. To knock him into the well, inadvertently summoning the Orcs of Moria and their Troll de I'lsengard. Woosh! I pull the lever and the bucket falls through, but the skeleton just curls up on the edge and smiles. "Ha ha," he says, "I'm still here. I like it here..." Not as much fun as if he had just fallen in, he must be tapped to complete the play feature. Thunk! Here come the Orcs! As we move on to the sarcophagus, we can see that there will be a play feature added. Considering the technique being used, there'll be some sort of catapult. Oh yes, and as is typical for these devices in LEGO instructions, the obligatory warning appears next to this step in the instructions. They couldn't be bothered to make a new graphic from the warning about the triggered missiles with the rubber ends. They just removed the end of the missile so it looks like the head is being hit by a simple ball. What does that have to do with a LEGO set? There are no balls inside. So the warning is "While building your LEGO set, don't throw a ball at a bald man's disembodied head or he will wink and shed one black tear. There we have it, the catapult will......launch the body? Let's give him our skeleton friend a hand! "I already got one!" He looks so sweet, lying in his final resting place. Awwwwww. Here is the lid to the sarcophagus. More good use of designs, however stickered instead of silkscreened. This is a pretty cool design. Using the brackets allows it to slip right over the panels of the sarcophagus and not need to stud on. It's necessary for it to be held in place with just gravity since the catapult will be blowing the lid off and popping the skeleton up from his little nap. Here is the complete coffin with all its stickers and the little book. Let's test out this coffin-catapult. Fawiiiiiiiiiiing! Um.... It didn't fawiiing anywhere. It just kind of moved over a little. Oh. Well, he flipped over anyway. That's ... helpful. I have to deem this play feature a failure. Bag #1 family portrait. Onto Bag #2, I'm impressed that they've decided to put a pebble/dirt texture to the base of these structures. Here we see the cool stickers being put to use. Also notice the wall panels are asymmetrical. They face the same way. I love the creepy eye sticker, but it doesn't worry me that it might be a scary animal. What kind of frightening animal would fit inside a thin wall panel? A flatworm? Aaaaah, parasites!!! Here, we can see the giant door frame starting to take shape. The designers really know how to use the new brick brick piece. I think it's really effective, blended in with a normal column. Play feature alert: there is a removable chunk of rock on the top of the door frame... ...that can be catapulted off, but hopefully not into a floating, crying head. They really only have that one ball graphic. If you flip this rock catapult too hard, a ball will hit a child in the head. It's a very odd warning, but I suppose they have to cover all bases. Faaaawiiiiiiiiiing! Fawhump! Someone knows what this says in Elvish. Look at the details over the door frame! They're not skimping on little parts, they're designing it! The instructions are very specific about where each sticker goes. They are numbered for reference. Here's how teh new bracket piece is put to clever use. This configuration of LEGO elements becomes... ...the lock for the door! Now, let's add the bag #2 build to the mix for our family portrait. At this point, there is already a plethora of extra pieces. As predicted, here is the beginning of a play feature that involves a treasure chest...nothing to do with Here's the base of the bag #3 build. Notice we still have a bit of asymmetry, which I really enjoy in this design, since it lends to that feel of a ruined old ancient dwarf mine. The placement of the stickers is still specific and I must say my sticker application skills have improved over the years. The treasure hides under the platform ... just like in the movie? One thing I noticed in this set is that a dark bley 1 x 1 brick with 1 side stud is used every time just a 1 x 1 would work. This works out great for us LEGO fans who love this new piece. It's just odd that they used it considering the set comes with plenty of regular 1 x 1 dark bley bricks. The particular build pictured is very effective in adding a cool brick texture to the wall. See what I mean? Here is the complete bag #3 build. The top uses some SNOTted tiles to achieve another very interesting ruined wall texture. It looks like someone didn't enjoy reading very much. The numbered stickers make interesting archways and the goofy treasure slides out when the lever is pushed from the back. That is one goofy play feature. And finally, (thanks for sticking with me through this lengthy review) here is the bag #4 build. In the first couple steps we can predict another play feature a-brewin'. It does appear that it will be another catapult of some kind. This build attaches to the side of the bag #3 build and it appears the catapult will topple a column, just like the chunk of rock at the top of the doorway from bag #2. The other platform is basically a mirror of the first, yet it is asymmetrical again. The designers seem to have put a bit more effort and detail into these sets. The Castle builds, probably intended for younger builders, tend to be a bit more generic. The level of design on this set is a bit more sophisticated. Maybe simple asymmetry doesn't impress others, but I'm happy to see it here. Here are the columns that will topple when the troll hits them with his hammer. They use a simple brick pattern sticker to create some interesting texture. Again, it's odd to see a brick pattern sticker on the same build as the brick brick mold. Here is the completed bag #3 and Bag #4 build. Faaawiiiiiiiing! Yay! The columns fell over ... Well, one of them did. The other jumped and landed in place. And we've reached the end! Here's the complete set with all of its characters. I wonder who will win the battle for the treasure! I mean ... if our heroes will all make it out of the Mines of Moria alive. Conclusion Design 9/10 The LEGO Group has suspended the regular Castle line while they have the Lord of the Rings license. While some Castle fans may be disappointed, there is a lot for them to be happy about. Judging by this set, The Lord of the Rings sets are designed with more focus on detail than the regular Castle line. There's a lot of detail, subtle asymmetry and a high quantity of special pieces like 1 x 1 tiles, 1 x 1 brick with 1 side stud, cheese wedge and many other small pieces in dark and light bley that castle MOCers love to work with. The Lord of the Rings line will support our Castle fans more than the recent System Castle lines. Overall, the designers seem to give Lord of the Rings builders more credit for being able to figure out more clever building techniques. Parts 9/10 There are a lot of pieces for creating detail for serious builders. There are brackets, bricks with side studs, a lot of tiles, cheese wedge, etc. While the price per piece is higher than non-licensed lines, there appears to be a lot more pieces in this set that are in higher demand. The inventory list almost read like a Castle LUG's LUGbulk list. Figures 10/10 Despite the ridiculous amount of cheekbone on Legolas, the figures are amazing. There are great new torso prints as well as new head prints. Sometimes they are a bit covered up, especially with Gimli, but the detail that is covered by the beard will be greatly appreciated by LEGO castle builders who want to create unique characters. Besides haven't beautiful and accurate Build 9/10 The instructions are very detailed, with some steps only adding two or three pieces. This is great for new builders who may be drawn to the sets because they are fans of the movies. With the DSS employed, there's an added element of aggravation for the sticker-impaired. Each sticker is numbered and the numbers are indicated in each step where the stickers are added. There's a nice build of anticipation waiting for those hairpieces with ears to come into the design! With three figures in the first bag and three more in the third bag, it gives a little something to look forward to later in the build. Like when grandma comes over in the evening on Christmas and brings you another gift to open! Since the design is more intricate and challenging the build is more interesting and enjoyable. Playability 7/10 While I appreciate the fact that the play features get young builders thinking about simple machines without even realizing they're learning, some of the play features are a bit lame or out of place. The toppling columns and coffin lid don't work the way they're supposed to. They work occasionally but it would be nice if they were more consistent. I love The LEGO Group and I have noticed integrity and consistency in their brand. In the past few years that has come into question with some production problems as they've farmed out the production of the brick to other countries. It makes me feel a bit weary when it comes to things that are questionable. So, I'm probably a little over sensitive to catapults that don't work. However, there are other things that I feel don't really belong. Could we take the treasure chest on a lever out and put an extra Orc in? Does the coffin lid have to catapult off? Could we get an extra hobbit instead? I'm sure this is just from an adult fan point of view. The LEGO Group has their target and it's definitely the kids, but this review is for an adult fan community and the play features are a bit annoying for those who want LEGO Lord of the Rings displays. Price 7/10 I am sure that the high price in the States has a lot to do with the weakness of the American dollar. We've seen the cost of LEGO sets go up quite a bit over the years and that's especially true with the licensed sets. I'm not going to harp on this for too long. It's noticeable the prize has risen. I've been around for a while though, too. Inflation is going to be noticed in a lifetime. If we have to pay a bit extra so LEGO can purchase a license and create quality sets like this, I'll eventually learn to live with this. Overall 85% It was worth the wait. The LEGO designers have done the movies and characters justice with an excellent product. It works as a model for fans and a great toy for kids. There's a lot of play features in it that don't necessarily work the way they're supposed to. However, they do spark the imagination and get kids thinking about simple machines like levers, without even realizing it. The new minifig molds are pure gold for fans and kids alike. The introduction of minifig elf and orc ears and some great new torso and face prints are sure to make their mark on MOCs and displays for ages to come. The build is more challenging than regular Castle sets with many a great amount of smaller detail pieces that are sure to challenge young builders and please the adult fan. -

Oh, it's a joke. Phew. I was thinking "I sent him an invitation and I'm pretty sure he turned it down. What's he mad about? Did I misread it." It's an acronym! Har har OK, jokes. Jokes...

Way to go.

Mod note: No gay sterotypes! Seriously, stop it.

Listen fuckstick, or pool cue, whatever they call you, I can send out the role PMs without a link to the confirmation thread or I can post the confirmation thread and then send the role PMs. It's a fine balance and I prefer to do it this way so shut it! Someone kill him tonight, please. Of course not! It's brilliant. No out-of-character posts though. Well, they're all right here, I suppose. But don't get in the habit!

Thank you all for your patience. Role PMs are going out now. Sorry for the delay. Apologies to those I didn't choose, especially Adam. I look forward to you returning to games, but I think it's best that you go through a Mafia School game first. The games have changed a lot and you might be slightly lost. You'll probably figure it out, but it's still best to ease your way back in. To the others who didn't get selected, it's blatantly because you like and use acronyms. Duh. It was a TQ.

About 15 minutes from now.

Any member can post here but do not discuss game tactics, clues, hunches or any sort of game strategy. This discussion is meant for comments on the game, production value, funny players, etc. It is not to discuss someone you think is guilty or why a player did or didn't do something. Thank you! Please confirm receipt of your Role PM here. Also, please post the attached character image as your avatar or in your signature for the duration of the game. Please also remember to only use your role PM to contact me about the game. Any other PM about the game will be ignored and deleted. Thanks Have fun! Once upon a time, in the world of FABULAND, deep in the Dark Forest, was the little village of Winter Haven. Winter Haven was a peaceful, happy place where the Sun always shone and the flowers always bloomed. All of the residents of Winter Haven were happy…and adorable. Many of Winter Haven's residents had once live in a village called Spring Haven, where a terrifying incident occurred involving an evil group called The Demon Legion...and an evil entity known to them as Felix Fox. Over a year had passed since those awful incidents. The residents of Winter Haven were starting to feel safe and secure & happy and adorable once again. And that's when it started happening. Strange noises and movement in the forest at night, phantom knocks on the windows and doors, fires starting on their own, people sleep walking, waking up to find themselves alone in the dark forest...hearing something following them...feeling something watching them... Then one day, Marcellus the Monk discovered the cause. Some dark magic had been performed in the forest surrounding Winter Haven. "I've seen this before." Marcellus said sadly, "Someone has summoned a spirit ... the spirit of Felix Fox." The last time the villagers of Winter Haven had seen Felix Fox he was a burning skeleton dancing off in the forest with his kerosene can. Why would someone summon such an evil entity? And then the disappearances began. Dear friends of the Villagers: Marcus Monkey, Helen Hippo, Kenda Cat, Gabby Goat, Gilbert Goat, Wendell Walrus... Marcellus believed that those summoning the evil and responsible for the disappearances were the victims' own friends and neighbors. Indeed, it seemed like someone, or a group of someones, was behind the evil presence returning to their lives. "Firuz, I need your help, friend," Marcellus the Monk said. Firuz Fox, The Alchemist, had moved to Winter Haven recently. Wendell Walrus had mysteriously disappeared and left his library empty. Firuz moved into the space and opened an Apothecary. The villagers of Winter Haven were intrigued by the mysterious fox and the strange liquids they could see him brewing through the Apothecary's large windows. "Certainly, dear friend," Firuz replied. "I will need your help ridding this village of the evil presence," Marcellus explained, "I wonder if you have any special potions that can help us in this battle against evil." "Of course I can help," Firuz answered, "However, evil is an illusion. It is simply one side versus the other. Neither side is good or evil, they just have different points of view." "Well I believe one point of view is trying to kill the other" Marcellus replied, darkly. There are 26 citizens left in the peaceful, adorable village of Winter Haven. Will they find the evil that is living among them or will they be consumed by the evil force that is hidden amongst their own numbers? Objective: The Cultists win when they have outnumbered the Villagers, including any third-parties and the Villagers win when all of the Cultists are dead. The Rules: Each player will be given a character to play, who will be aligned with either the Villagers or the Cultists. To win the game, the Villagers must kill off all of the Cultists, while the Cultists must outnumber the Villagers. Any third party player will have win conditions that are detailed in their role PM... Each day you will be able to vote to lynch a player. Voting should be done in the following format; Vote: Character (Player). Similarly, unvoting is to be done in the format; Unvote: Character (Player). No other format will be accepted. You may also proxy your vote to another player, using this format; proxy: Character (Player). Naturally, unproxying a vote is also possible. The player with the most votes is lynched. In the case of a tie, there will be no lynch. A game day will last a maximum of 72 hours. You may not vote in the first 24 hours. The day will not end when a majority vote has been reached. If there is time left, a majority vote can be over-turned. After the day has concluded, a night stage will commence, which will last a maximum of 48 hours. Night actions must be sent to the host in the first 24 hours of the night stage, or they will not be accepted, no exceptions. The alignment of lynched players, as well as those that died during the night, will be revealed at the beginning of the next day, barring any interference. You may not quote or pretend to quote anything sent to or from you in PM with the game host. This includes all the details and pictures of your character and role, as well as any night action results. Role claims and reporting of night action results are acceptable, but in your own words only. Do not attempt to use the structure of your role PM to your advantage. You may not quote PMs from other players. Paraphrasing is allowed but no direct quoting. Do not play the game outside the thread. Similarly, do not post out of character inside the thread. Game tactics and roles may only be discussed in the game thread or via PM with other players. Private discussion is done at your own risk and should be treated as part of the game. If you are dead, you may not post in thread or discuss the game with any of the players. Any information you had becomes void, and may not be passed on. Violation of this rule will result in a multiple game suspension. If you are converted, you must accept your new affiliation. If it's proven that you gave up your new team after conversion, the whole game will be null and you will most likely not to be asked to play one of my games again. You may not edit your posts. You must post in every day thread. If you encounter a problem or have a question, please contact the host or co-host via PM. Please please please use only the confirmation PM I sent you to communicate with me. All new conversations regarding the game will be deleted. Violation of the above rules will result in a penalty vote on the first violation and death of your character on the second. Some additional guidelines, although they are not rules that will incur penalties if you don't follow them: Metagaming is allowed. Go ahead. You all know how to identify it and how to ignore completely irrelevant information. The pictures may or may not contain clues. They most likely do not, but look all you want. Wildly speculate. It's fun. Using acronyms, especially tl;dr will cause major trouble for your character, perhaps even instant death. Roleplaying is a good thing and it is encouraged in this game and will be required at some point. So get to know your personality quirks, they've been created for a reason. You have all been sent a role PM in this format: Any Third Parties may have slightly different role PMs. Non-Playable Characters Marcellus the Monk, played by Hinckley Firuz Fox, the Alchemist, played by Fugazi Active Players (26) Baxter Bulldog, Mechanic, played by Waterbrick Down Becka Bulldog, Beautician, married to Booker Bear, played by Rick Booker Bear, Garbage Man, married to Becka Bulldog, played by Dragonator Brigit Bunny, Florist, First Lady of Winter Haven, married to Lazlo Lion, played by Sandy Bristol Bunny, Seamstress, played by Bob Cameron Crocodile, Carpenter, married to Gilda Goat, played by Rufus Carly Cow, Ice Cream Shoppe Owner, played by Tamamono Casey Cat, Painter, married to Maurice Mouse, played by Scouty Edgar Elephant, Fisherman, married to Portia Poodle, played by WhiteFang Ernie Elephant, Dock Worker, married to Ralphy Rabbit, played by JimButcher Gibson Goat, Bartender, brother of Gilda Goat, played by Pandora Gilda Goat, Doctor, married to Cameron Crocodile, sister of Gibson Goat, played by Quarryman Gordon Gorilla, Lawman, played by Scubacarrot Heidi Hippo, Farmer, played by CallMePie Horace Horse, Blacksmith, played by iamded Lazlo Lion, Mayor of Winter Haven, married to Brigit Bunny, played by TinyPiesRUs Maurice Mouse, Dock Worker, married to Casey Cat, played by Cecilie Mindy Mouse, Accountant, married to Pancho Parrot, played by Professor Flitwick Pancho Parrot, Postman, married to Mindy Mouse, played by Zepher Pennie Pig, Schoolteacher, played by Eskallon Petey Panda, Fisherman, played by darkdragon Portia Poodle, Grocer, married to Edgar Elephant, played by CorneliusMurdock Ralphy Rabbit, Farmer, married to Ernie Elephant, played by badboytje88 Seamus Sheepdog, Taxidermist, married to Shawna Sheep, played by Dannylonglegs Shawna Sheep, Lawman, married to Seamus Sheepdog, played by Shadows Wallace Walrus, Lawman, played by Masked Builder

No, it's not too late. I'll just give you ScumbaRadish's spot.

I would lock this but it seems you guys are having too much fun with it.

It will start on Monday.

I've got the cups ready. Just waiting for confirmation from one potential player. Jerk potential player. He must be Scum...

All private invitations have been answered and I have more than enough potential participants in this thread. Role PMs and Confirmation thread will be PMed and posted tomorrow.

Creepy...

It is a bit of a goosestep isn't it? Of course there is that but we do our best to highlight all outstanding work here and your definitely is outstanding. Thanks for sharing your technique! I'm totally planning to do a stop motion test today. As if I didn't already have enough to do...