Mafia. Werewolf. Salem. It goes by many names, but it's a classic forum game. Players join one of two (or more) sides and try to root out the conspirators among the groups.
The first of the two teams, the larger one, is the villagers. Players here represent a peaceful, thriving community. The second, smaller team is the Mafia (/ Werewolves / Witches / whateverthefuck, but we'll be calling them Mafia for this). The mafia is a small team of evil players who have infiltrated the village. The goal of the Mafia is to kill or get enough players lynched so that they switch from the minority to the majority of players. If they do this, the Mafia win. Conversely, the goal of the villagers is to kill all Mafia, by publically lynching them (+ the assistance of certain, powerful villagers.)
Gameplay Loop:
The game consists of two phases. A Day Phase and a Night Phase.
During the Day Phase, the whole town can talk amongst themselves, using the thread. The goal of the Day Phase is to attempt to determine who the Mafia are. If the group is confident that they have found a potential lead, another can nominate a target to be lynched. If another person seconds the lynching, the group has to vote. If more than 50% of the group agrees to lynch a person, the vote passes, the person is publically lynched, and the day ends. If it doesn't pass, the Day Phase continues to it's natural end.
What follows is the Night Phase. During the night phase, the Mafia can talk amongst themselves in private messages and agree to murder someone. Several other players will have abilities they can use during the Night Phase. These may help track down the Mafia, prevent them from killing someone successfully, or even get other players killed. Once the night phase is settled, the day phase will come, and people will learn who died.
Roles:
Both sides have a number of special characters on their side. These people have specific roles within their team, and have special powers as a result. Many of these powers happen during the night phase. Some example roles are in the spoiler below. Depending on the size of the game, some or all of the roles listed may or may not be included.
Other Notable Rules:
1: NO PRIVATE DISCUSSION (DMs) DURING THE DAY.
2: NO PUBLIC DISCUSSION DURING THE NIGHT.
3: NO PRIVATE DISCUSSION DURING THE NIGHT UNLess you're in one of the groups that explicitly can. (Masons, Mafia)
4: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES.
5: Let me know of any night-time discussions.
6: No lurking. All players must talk at least once every in-game Day Phase. Failure to do so will get you killed.
The intended time frame is Mon-Fri will be the Day, and Sat-Sun will be the Night.
And with that, it's open for players. The main three themes I have in mind are Mafia, Werewolves, or Witches, but if you have any other suggestions, let me know! If this gets traction, I'll put up a poll for the theme. Particular Themes may get thematic roles as well.
The first of the two teams, the larger one, is the villagers. Players here represent a peaceful, thriving community. The second, smaller team is the Mafia (/ Werewolves / Witches / whateverthefuck, but we'll be calling them Mafia for this). The mafia is a small team of evil players who have infiltrated the village. The goal of the Mafia is to kill or get enough players lynched so that they switch from the minority to the majority of players. If they do this, the Mafia win. Conversely, the goal of the villagers is to kill all Mafia, by publically lynching them (+ the assistance of certain, powerful villagers.)
Gameplay Loop:
The game consists of two phases. A Day Phase and a Night Phase.
During the Day Phase, the whole town can talk amongst themselves, using the thread. The goal of the Day Phase is to attempt to determine who the Mafia are. If the group is confident that they have found a potential lead, another can nominate a target to be lynched. If another person seconds the lynching, the group has to vote. If more than 50% of the group agrees to lynch a person, the vote passes, the person is publically lynched, and the day ends. If it doesn't pass, the Day Phase continues to it's natural end.
What follows is the Night Phase. During the night phase, the Mafia can talk amongst themselves in private messages and agree to murder someone. Several other players will have abilities they can use during the Night Phase. These may help track down the Mafia, prevent them from killing someone successfully, or even get other players killed. Once the night phase is settled, the day phase will come, and people will learn who died.
Roles:
Both sides have a number of special characters on their side. These people have specific roles within their team, and have special powers as a result. Many of these powers happen during the night phase. Some example roles are in the spoiler below. Depending on the size of the game, some or all of the roles listed may or may not be included.
Seer: A classic role. Each night phase, the Seer selects a target. They then learn whose side that player is on. Vital for many teams, Seers generally have to cautiously learn as many roles as they can, before leading the party to the right targets either subtly or rolling the dice on a call. Generally, if they're discovered (or out themselves) they're gonna die the next night, unless they have the help of a...
Medic: Sometimes played as a bodyguard, the premise is the same. During the night phase, if the Medic and a murderer target the same person, the target survives. There may be town-aligned murderers, mind.
Lookout: Sees if anyone visited the house of a target in the night. If you see Hillary visit Jeff's house, and the next morning Jeff turns up dead, it might be worth asking Hillary some pointed questions.
Masons: My personal favourite role. Masons are a pair of two players who are part of the Freemasons - a group not associated with the Mafia, and whose own schemes mean that the Mafia must get lynched. They are on the side of the town, and knowing even one person is innocent is a huge piece of information. They can even talk at night. The problem? If anyone publically acknowledges or speaks of the Freemasons in any way, the speaker will die by the next morning. The challenge the Masons face is knowing that they're both innocent, but being unable to communicate that in any way for fear of death.
Framer: A Mafia role, whose job it is to dupe the seer. If you think the seer will go for a certain target during the night, frame the target, and they will show up to the seer as a Mafia member. Sit back and watch the chaos unfold.
Death Seeker: The death seeker hates his life, hates everyone around him, and wants them all to burn in hell. The only thing a Death Seeker wants is to be publically executed. The Death Seeker is on neither side, and will only win the game if he is publically lynched. The other two sides will be considered second and third place if he wins.
Medic: Sometimes played as a bodyguard, the premise is the same. During the night phase, if the Medic and a murderer target the same person, the target survives. There may be town-aligned murderers, mind.
Lookout: Sees if anyone visited the house of a target in the night. If you see Hillary visit Jeff's house, and the next morning Jeff turns up dead, it might be worth asking Hillary some pointed questions.
Masons: My personal favourite role. Masons are a pair of two players who are part of the Freemasons - a group not associated with the Mafia, and whose own schemes mean that the Mafia must get lynched. They are on the side of the town, and knowing even one person is innocent is a huge piece of information. They can even talk at night. The problem? If anyone publically acknowledges or speaks of the Freemasons in any way, the speaker will die by the next morning. The challenge the Masons face is knowing that they're both innocent, but being unable to communicate that in any way for fear of death.
Framer: A Mafia role, whose job it is to dupe the seer. If you think the seer will go for a certain target during the night, frame the target, and they will show up to the seer as a Mafia member. Sit back and watch the chaos unfold.
Death Seeker: The death seeker hates his life, hates everyone around him, and wants them all to burn in hell. The only thing a Death Seeker wants is to be publically executed. The Death Seeker is on neither side, and will only win the game if he is publically lynched. The other two sides will be considered second and third place if he wins.
Other Notable Rules:
1: NO PRIVATE DISCUSSION (DMs) DURING THE DAY.
2: NO PUBLIC DISCUSSION DURING THE NIGHT.
3: NO PRIVATE DISCUSSION DURING THE NIGHT UNLess you're in one of the groups that explicitly can. (Masons, Mafia)
4: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES.
5: Let me know of any night-time discussions.
6: No lurking. All players must talk at least once every in-game Day Phase. Failure to do so will get you killed.
The intended time frame is Mon-Fri will be the Day, and Sat-Sun will be the Night.
And with that, it's open for players. The main three themes I have in mind are Mafia, Werewolves, or Witches, but if you have any other suggestions, let me know! If this gets traction, I'll put up a poll for the theme. Particular Themes may get thematic roles as well.
