[INNOCENTS WIN] First Anniversary Fanfic Mafia - Game Thread

[Starlight Aurate]

[[Yami Bakura looked around. The place was flat, featureless, and smoggy. Almost like the Shadow realm, but brighter and without the soul-shredding monstrosities that turned everyone's existences into a living hell.

How boring.

He swept his gaze over the crowd standing with him. What were these things? Some of them appeared to be Duel Monsters--but where were the cards? Who was playing? And they weren't like any Duel Monsters he had ever seen before. He looked down at the Millennium Ring hanging around his neck. Perhaps, if he didn't like these people, he could capture their souls and keep them quiet...

He turned up as he saw a dragon-looking creature--which looked somewhat like Baby Dragon--speak.

"My name is Diyem..." said the Baby Dragon.

An ice breaker? It was no good showing his true colors. He would do much better if he took on the appearance and mannerisms of his innocent host.

Losing the cold, callous demeanor, Yami Bakura put on a sweet smile. His doleful brown eyes gazed kindly at everyone around him.

"Hello, everyone," he said in a slight English accent. "My name is Bakura. I like using occult-themed decks! Not sure where we are... Looks a bit like the Shadow Realm, but not nearly as frightening."

Hardly anyone took notice of him. Perfect--he blended in perfectly. But nobody died last night--how boring! Was there going to be terror and murder in these parts or not? And what would be done about it? If no one would be murdered, he at least wanted to see an execution. What divine power was protecting the lives of all these useless creatures?

[[Dave scowled. "I mean, as far as I'm concerned the only way to win is not to play the fucking game. Except even then they'll just play it for you anyway, so what's the fucking point. There is no winning when all-powerful fucking party game deities are involved. All you can do is play along with their bullshit until it's over."]]

Yami Bakura laughed openly, losing a bit of the dolefulness of his host.

"No point in trying to win against deities, you say? HA! I've already done so, three-thousand years in the past! The deities I know have been trapped and enslaved to be used for peoples' bidding! Oh, when there are deities, they have weaknesses. And those weaknesses can ALWAYS be found out and exploited," he growled.]]

 

[elyvorg]

[[Dave scowled. "I mean, as far as I'm concerned the only way to win is not to play the fucking game. Except even then they'll just play it for you anyway, so what's the fucking point. There is no winning when all-powerful fucking party game deities are involved. All you can do is play along with their bullshit until it's over."]]

[[Tefiren stared at the Human, dismayed and more than a little confused. He'd been hoping to hear exciting tales of cunning escapes from this guy - though, now that Tefiren gave his dishevelled state a proper once-over, he didn't exactly look like the cunning type - but instead... nothing he said made any sense at all. He blinked, responding to the only part he could latch onto. "Why would you... not want to play the game?"

Elsewhere in the conversation,]] halp how do RP when there's like 5 things going on at once, [[Tefiren was caught by surprise as a small glowing slate that he'd disregarded as just part of the scenery suddenly started talking. Was the slate a strange kind of Pokémon, too? Or... was it someone's hiding place? His eyes lit up - how did they fit in there!? That was brilliant!

Except... whoever was in there had completely ruined what would have been such a clever trick by speaking up. Obviously you didn't go making noise while in hiding, that was basic stuff! Tefiren had almost wanted to talk to the person in there to learn more, but they probably weren't worth talking to after all if they were going to make such a blatantly stupid slip-up.]]

 

[Namohysip]

[[

Diyem's eyes trailed over to the human of a world far away. Human... Was it human? He wasn't sure. He sensed a great amount of darkness coming from him, though. Defeating gods? Interesting, interesting...

"I believe Dave can confirm this: Our powers in the worlds we come from have no impact here. Everyone is equally suspect. I was prompted by an acquaintance of mine who had prevailed in a similar incident some time ago. Unfortunately"--he swished his tail irritably--"that means we have even less information than the last time I spoke."

]]

 

[Namohysip]

Whoops forgot to add my ooc comment -- just moving things along in-rp to reiterate in-universe that nobody's background will contribute to who's what, as per Negrek's randomization clause.

 

[windskull]

[[Nip's ear feather flicked as he considered the dave's - no Dave, not the Dave - as he considered Dave's words. Dieties? This... This couldn't be some divine punishment from Yveltal, could it? Some cruel game of mistrust and being hunted down like prey? No, that couldn't be right. Yveltal could be a cold god, unwilling to intervene in life. But in death, she was caring, taking lost souls under her wing and guiding them to a better world beyond. He was quite certain he wasn't dead - yet - but this had neither the callousness towards the living nor the caring for the dead that matched her nature. No, this was the work of something more... sinister.

Realized he had drifted off into thoughts, he turned his attention back to the discussion, chiming in after Diyem finished speaking. "Then maybe we should start off by figuring out what we do know."

 

[Namohysip]

[[

"In effect, nothing," Diyem said simply to Nip. "We know nothing about who was targeted, why, who blocked them, and so on. We do not even know what powers are in play, how many people here have powers, or even if there may be individuals who have the same powers. And until someone adds to that pool of knowledge... That is all we will ever know."

Diyem closed his eyes. "If we know nothing, then I suggest we take a risk and disturb the waters. We must consider the possibility that we eliminate someone now, today: the knowledge gained from how everyone reacts to this process is all we can do."

Opening them, Diyem scanned the crowd with his dim, blue eyes.

"Do we have any objections?"

]]

 

[kyeugh]

[["Ah, hell..."

Lauchs had been awake for a while. He was a morning bird, after all, not that there were any worms to be got in this hellish place. That lizard fellow had managed to conjure a tree from seemingly nothing, so Lauchs had spent the last quarter hour trying in vain to summon a plant of his own—of the edible variety, of course. Tired of trying, he rummaged through his armor with a grumble, taking a census of the leeks he'd stashed inside before being warped here. A healthy number, fortunately, though it didn't seem this ground was going to be of much use for farming, and God alone knew how long he would be trapped in this strange realm. The place didn't seem to obey the normal rules, so perhaps he wouldn't grow hungry, but... the idea of not eating seemed so very tragic, whether it brought starvation with it or not.

He pushed those disturbing thoughts from his mind and looked to the other matter demanding his attention: the motley group of concerned creatures before him.

"...Perhaps introductions are in order," Diyem said. "My name is Diyem. I..." Think. What is an ice breaker? What is a good approach? How did he relate to others, again?! No. He spoke. They were still staring at him. His voice was too loud and too deep. Too late. Something. Think of something! "My favorite beverage is coffee. Black. No sweeteners."

"Well met, Diyem! You are remarkably well-spoken for a charizard, I must say. Truly, you command respect! Oho! As for my favorite drink, why, nothing beats a good Galarian ale, eh? Their cuisine may as well be sand in the beak, if you ask me, but ale is one thing they do right."

The others started to introduce themselves. Part of him didn't want to say anything, but the faster he could learn who everyone was, the faster he could figure out which of them were traitors. When there seemed to be a suitable gap, the Pikachu stood up, nodded curtly to the others and said, "You can call me Chibi."

"Well now, a talking pikachu! Zounds. I suppose I've seen it all now!"

Dave scowled. "I mean, as far as I'm concerned the only way to win is not to play the fucking game. Except even then they'll just play it for you anyway, so what's the fucking point. There is no winning when all-powerful fucking party game deities are involved. All you can do is play along with their bullshit until it's over."

"I don't mean to overstep, Lord David, but it seems to me like your words speak truth not just to the nature of this game, but to the nature of life itself! And, well, of course it's always an option not to play... But can you truly call that victory? We are all, and have always been, hopelessly subject to the powers that be, but that has never stopped this duck from carpe-ing the diem, as it were. Oho! Look at me, waxing so philosophical. Terribly unlike me, I assure you. Though I have been praised in the past for my powerful mind..."

"In effect, nothing," Diyem said simply to Nip. "We know nothing about who was targeted, why, who blocked them, and so on. We do not even know what powers are in play, how many people here have powers, or even if there may be individuals who have the same powers. And until someone adds to that pool of knowledge... That is all we will ever know."

Diyem closed his eyes. "If we know nothing, then I suggest we take a risk and disturb the waters. We must consider the possibility that we eliminate someone now, today: the knowledge gained from how everyone reacts to this process is all we can do."

Opening them, Diyem scanned the crowd with his dim, blue eyes.

"Do we have any objections?"

"None here!" Lauchs announced with a broad grin. "If a bad onion spoils the bunch, it's best to start tossing them out before the whole bunch is spoiled, eh? Perhaps we should eliminate you, my oversized, fire-breathing friend! Or would you sooner make roast duck of me? Ohoho!"]]

 

[Chibi Pika]

[[

Chibi's ears twitched at the mention that the human named Dave had played one of these games before. That was something to go off. It meant that he'd managed to beat the enemy last time... or maybe was among them last time. He considered the notion for a bit, but then shook his head. Whatever had happened in the past was irrelevant at best, misleading at worst. Regardless of whatever happened in that game, this human had some insight that might help them here... if he decided to share it. The Pikachu could already tell that this human wasn't the cooperative sort.

Diyem closed his eyes. "If we know nothing, then I suggest we take a risk and disturb the waters. We must consider the possibility that we eliminate someone now, today: the knowledge gained from how everyone reacts to this process is all we can do."

"It's true that we don't know much. But we do know one thing. The mafia failed to kill one of us last night. Either they managed to fight off their attacker, or they were protected. It's small, but it's useful--it tells us that it's possible to stand against them. There might be others among us that have other means of stopping them."

The Pikachu stopped and clenched his paws. "If this were happening in my world, I would fight them. But... I don't think it's going to be that simple here." All he'd known, his whole life, was fighting. What was he supposed to do against an enemy he couldn't see?

]]

 

[Namohysip]

[[

"Agreed," replied Diyem to Chibi. "But it tells us nothing about who it is that can do such a thing."

And then, his eyes trailed to the avian, the loud one, the energetic one. Energy annoyed him, but he had to be civil here. "Are you going to make such a proposal official?" he asked Lauchs. "Am I your target?"

All the while, his expression remained blank. His eyes studied the bombastic bird.

]]

 

[elyvorg]

[[Tefiren had barely paid any attention to this talk of names; that didn't matter. But now the conversation was getting much more interesting.

[["In effect, nothing," Diyem said simply to Nip. "We know nothing about who was targeted, why, who blocked them, and so on. We do not even know what powers are in play, how many people here have powers, or even if there may be individuals who have the same powers. And until someone adds to that pool of knowledge... That is all we will ever know."

Diyem closed his eyes. "If we know nothing, then I suggest we take a risk and disturb the waters. We must consider the possibility that we eliminate someone now, today: the knowledge gained from how everyone reacts to this process is all we can do."

Opening them, Diyem scanned the crowd with his dim, blue eyes.

"Do we have any objections?"]]

[["It's true that we don't know much. But we do know one thing. The mafia failed to kill one of us last night. Either they managed to fight off their attacker, or they were protected. It's small, but it's useful--it tells us that it's possible to stand against them. There might be others among us that have other means of stopping them."]]

[["Agreed," replied Diyem to Chibi. "But it tells us nothing about who it is that can do such a thing."]]

Tefiren finally came down from his white tree, slowing his descent with a big gust of air from his wings. (The tree stayed there behind him.)

"The funny Pikachu is right! We won last night's round! We must all have so many tricks that can stop Them in Their tracks! Well... most of us. Some of us? Enough for us to keep winning, anyway!

"So if we get rid of someone, and it's not one of Them"--(it was possible to catch Them in this game, just by talking! This was so bizarre, but so exciting, too)--"then won't that be such a waste of whatever tricks they might have? We might just end up helping Them by doing that." He chuckled at the ridiculousness of the thought, and then kept talking before he could think about just how ridiculous that would be.

"And if the person we try and get rid of tries to make us keep them around by telling us they have a useful trick, that might waste it too, right? We don't want Them to find out what we have hidden under our leaves. Or the person could just be one of Them, telling us They're useful so we'll leave Them alone, and we wouldn't be able to tell. Isn't it silly to take a risk like that right now, when we're winning?"

It had occurred to Tefiren, as he'd gone over and over this new game in his head, that this needed so many different kinds of tricks - not just tricks to protect oneself, but tricks to protect others, and to detect where They were hiding amongst the group. What if... what if some of the people with the best tricks... couldn't actually escape from Their clutches themselves? That thought was so backwards, so alien to Tefiren, but if that was how it worked in this game, then the ones with those tricks definitely needed to keep quiet about it until just the right moment, to avoid drawing Their attention too soon.

"Obviously we should keep our tricks a secret from Them, at least for now, but that doesn't mean we don't know anything. Each of us knows what tricks we have and what we did with them last night, don't we? So we can just use them again! Or... Hmm..."

But then again, if They were being more sneaky and subtle about things this time, the person whose trick had stopped Them last night probably didn't even know that they'd been the one to do it, did they? And if it was a trick for protecting someone else, the one with that trick couldn't know who else They would go after next - assuming They weren't going to go after the same person twice, which They probably wouldn't now that They'd finally stopped being boring and predictable about things. Hmm. This was so tricky - but so fun.

"Well, at least, if anyone has a trick that can stop someone in their tracks and make it so they can't do anything, they should use it on the same person tonight! That might have been what stopped Them last night, and we'd be able to stop Them again, easy!"

]]

Tefiren is being Tefiren and exaggerating about how obviously inevitable it was that no-one would be eliminated last night, but I do think that while we got lucky, it wasn't miraculously lucky. There's a number of things on Negrek's list of roles to expect a majority of in this game that can block a kill if aimed right.

(also man it's frustrating by having to use both capitalised and non-capitalised "they" in the same sentence to denote two different entities, but Tefiren is absolutely not going to stop doing this. I promise, he has a very pointed loaded intonation in his voice when he says a capitalised "They" that makes the distinction perfectly clear to the others, honest.)

 

[Namohysip]

[[

"Hrm... Of course." Temporarily, Diyem turned his attention away from the Sirfetch'd. "Normally, I would actually suggest that we get all of the knowledge we can out. However..." Diyem took a copy of the informational booklet Tefiren was using. "If everybody revealed all of their roles here, or at least the most important ones, it won't be as beneficial to us here. There appears to be a power present that allows one to bypass protection and other powers. Revealing our seer and healer, and then relying on perhaps some sort of target switcher or counter-striker of some kind to protect the doctor, may not be viable."

]]

Translation: "Strongman" could be an active role here--and, more importantly, it could be a mafia strongman. A guaranteed kill. I don't know if it's safe to reveal critical townie roles in this context like in One Night Zoroark where knowing as much info as possible is best. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[kyeugh]

role revealing today indeed seems like a bad idea. how much longer is this day phase? we should probably start talking about who, vaguely, we are interested in lynching before too long. inactives? truly random?

 

[Tanuki]

[[Well now, this'd been nuff words whistlin' for Desper's tastes. He was s'moultanyussly impressed 'n' horrified they'd already talked themselves to lynchin'. "I ain't trustin' any mon, man'er whatever y'is that claims 'e's a sheriff. Y'all ever used those neckweights afore'r should I teach ya?" That talkin' brick hadn't done no good but spout words from some'n who didn't wanna show their face. He'd keep it f'now.

"Only two kinds claim a hand 'fore the river's ran, y'hear?" He tipped his hat back to ensure the taller'ns'd see his talkin'. "Fools 'n' those who ain't got nothin' in the pool." A brief glance 'round suggested he'd gain from s'more explainin'. "Take it from an outlaw. I'on't wanna shoot no one more'n a sheriff. Tellin' me you is one?" He spun his iron out its holster'n flicked its muzzle at the broodizard afore spinnin' it back with a chuckle. "Ain't nothin' but a favor."

He looked decidedly away from the no doubt smolderin' sadster. "An' the hangin' tree ain't sprouted yet. Even my neck'd break it, y'hear?" He fin'lly smirked at the 'zard who'd suffered his aim. "We get to killin' so soon? 'T's like turnin' in y'own bounty. 'T'ain't nothin' but fool's gold. We'd be doin' their job for'm."]]

OOC/Translation: Anyone can say they're anything, and killing this soon just risks lowering the innocents more than we already will.

 

[Namohysip]

[[

"I propose we lock this one up," Diyem said, pointing at the incomprehensible Raichu. "Not for strategic purposes. We simply lock him up and perhaps muffle him."

Bringing a hand to the top of his muzzle, he took a slow breath to calm himself. Desper was a person just like all the rest, no matter his strange ways. "...But I disagree," he said, after running through his speech several times in his head to parse it. "We cannot let our hearts get in the way here. Strategically speaking, a day we do nothing is a free day for the assailants. Yes, we risk striking down an essential innocent--but the opportunity cost is dwarfed by the potential gains of striking an assailant early... particularly if the person we are striking has been quiet, or is providing no useful information otherwise."

]]

According to the wiki, it seems that striking lurkers is a not-so-controversial early policy, if only because you can't really get a whole lot of information from them whether you like it or not. I know some folks are busy but hey, less information = bad and giving no information = red flag.

For those who have seen my gameplay in the previous iteration of this, it'll seem like night and day relatively to my previous strategy. Simply put, I've learned more about this game since last time, and it seems that in general, not killing on the first day is a bad idea for the innocents. Statistically, at least. Again, if anybody wants to correct me if there's a hidden variable in this game that I'm missing (I believe what I read was related to vanilla or mostly-vanilla mafia) let me know.

Oh, speaking of which -- don't forget, we also (might) have a "backup" role in play. Even if we accidentally kill the seer, for example, the backup role will become our new seer.

 

[kyeugh]

killing this soon just risks lowering the innocents more than we already will.

the thing is that this will literally always be true unless you know someone is scum with 100% certainty. if we do nothing today, the day ends and mafia gets another kill on their terms, and it's unlikely that we're much closer to figuring anything out, leaving us back where we are now. if we keep putting it off until we have a lead, well, we may just be handing the mafia kill after kill until we bump into something and who knows when that will be? might as well shoot in the dark, worst thing that can happen is we take a loss we can afford and get no information from it. most probably we will learn something though. also the math works out that abstaining d1 is basically always bad but i forget the math tbh.

i seem to have missed it in the rules; are roles revealed upon death?

 

[Namohysip]

Alignment is revealed, but idk for the role. I'm 90% sure the role isn't revealed, similar to the first game. Negrek can clarify.

 

[NonAnalogue]

-- Conversation initiated with WitchesBlue [FORTUNATA, FIAMETTA] --

[WB] shoot
[WB] that's
[WB] a pretty good argument
[WB] i was fixin to come down in favor of not votin for anyone today
[WB] since we basically got a free hand
[WB] a mulligan
[WB] a chance for everyone to use their abilities one more night for free
[WB] might as well jump at the opportunity right
[WB] but
[WB] yeah
[WB] we might get one of the mafia early
[WB] which would be really usin this mulligan to its fullest
[WB] just mulliganin the hell outta this situation
[WB] gettin some mulligan all up in
[WB] yes i know what mulligan means shut up
[WB] this kinda game theory hurts my head a bit
[WB] destas better at it than me
[WB] but yeah
[WB] takin aim at someone this round makes sense

 

[Namohysip]

[[

"...You have a head?"

]]

 

[Negrek]

i seem to have missed it in the rules; are roles revealed upon death?

They aren't.

The day ends in about 21 hours, FWIW.

 

[NonAnalogue]

-- Conversation initiated with WitchesBlue [FORTUNATA, FIAMETTA] --

[WB] of
[WB] of course i have a head
[WB] what kinda question is that
[WB] goddess almighty
[WB] please tell me thats just some kinda roleplayin that youre takin
[WB] like 
[WB] super seriously
[WB] and if it is
[WB] lemme know
[WB] i dont wanna be the only one on this server not roleplayin