[MAFIA WIN] Second Anniversary Fanfic Mafia - Game Thread

[Negrek]

(( It's understandable to be frustrated when another player(s) isn't engaging with your arguments in the way you'd like, but please try not to post in anger. The tone here is a little more aggro than I'd like to see for a game. ))

 

[HelloYellow17]

Tefiren stared back at the Human he'd moved away from a while ago as he started spouting more of the same nonsense he'd been saying before.

He huffed in frustration and turned back to the other four who weren't Mafia, gesturing frustratedly over at the Human with his wing. "That Human's making exactly as little sense to all of you as he's making to me, right? You lot better not start agreeing with him and doing what he wants to do and ruining everything when we've already won."

[[Look, Wes, at this point I can't even make the effort to argue with you any more, you are literally not even listening or making any effort to understand like 90% of the things that I'm trying to say to you and it's clearly not worth my time.

Thinking that Mewtwo still needs to be lynched even if Braixen flips mafia is exactly what Braixen's post is trying to make you think. I cannot believe you genuinely think that Braixen would tell us that we should lynch Mewtwo after he's gone if that would actually be bad for the mafia. I swear to god if you actually fall for that and end up somehow ruining the game for us, so help me.

You and Mewtwo are so definitely surviving tonight, because you are currently making yourself into the mafia's biggest asset by scapegoating Mewtwo so determinedly like this. Geez. At least this means we're keeping both our doctors for another couple of nights, I guess.]]

[[...yo. I get that this game can get frustrating and that it’s stressful and whatnot, but we are on the same team here. I have been trying to state my case and trying to compromise with you where we agree on some (albeit few) points. But I’d like to point out that, while I’ve been trying to work with you, you have not listened to me and have contradicted my every statement for this entire game. I’m not asking you to do everything I say, but I am asking you to just. Hear me out and at least acknowledge where some of my arguments might have merit. Your tone in a lot of your posts has read pretty aggressively as “I’m right and your argument is stupid” and...I’m really not down for that. Maybe it’s unintentional, idk. But my patience is really wearing thin after so many aggressive accusations.

It’s pretty clear that we aren’t going to agree on this point, so I’m just...gonna stop here. I’ll post my reads in a bit, along with some theories on Namco and Braixen, and then I done for the day because this game is once again becoming more frustrating and stressful than fun for me.]]

 

[Equitial]

[[
Coming in with a readlist. I kind of wanted to do more sleuthing this day phase, but days were more stressful than I intended and I lost a bunch of quotes at one point *cry*. I'm ranking everyone by numbers this time.

At this point, I feel pretty comfortable ranking people by their roleclaims, backed by their posts and logic. Obviously, some of these people have to be lying as no one has come out as a Mafia Killer or Third Party yet. So, 5 is most believable, 3 null, and 5 worst

Rank 1
HelloYellow17 (Wes) - solid roleclaim, backed up by confirmed Innocent Dave.

elyvorg (Tefiren) - solid roleclaim, towny thought processes even if I don't agre

Rank 2
DawningWinds (Nefari)- solid roleclaim, Town thinking. Don't really agree that they're sus. Sure, they could be, but I have no specific reason to think that

Namohysip (Alexander) - believable roleclaim, like thinking and hasn't pinged any alarm bells for me since Day 1

Rank 3
Windskull (Kyros) - none of their posts really ping warnings for me, but I have to side-eye an improvable claim

Rank ???
Mellow (Namco) - i just cannot read players like this, sorry. i don't know whats happening, i'm so confused, sure if they had a good ability i don't see why they wouldn't have claimed so i guess they have to be sus but why, confusion, sadulhwetbagr;bjQE;BJFWREdeA

Rank 4
Inkedust (Altair) - ehh, I question their ability because 1) it doesn't seem like it would have much utility in this game and 2) the way they described it seemed a little sus. Also, some of their posts strike me as iffy/inconsistent

Rank 5
Fusion (Cold Fusion) - it feels like they're just copying what other people have claimed, and it also doesn't feel like it makes much sense. Sure, since double roles are a theme that's okay, but another Healer. I do actually think that Ely/Namo had a good point when they pointed out how Fusion could be a Mafia Don, and the whole thing is a ploy.

SparklingEspeon (Zoroark) - I think there's probably a Mafia Doctor running around--just makes sense for the first game with Overdoses. Either one of the above is lying and is actually the Doctor, or it's Espy. Yes, I know they're new, but I feel like if they were going to roleclaim, if they were innocent they would have done it with me and Wes. Though tbh, I don't think they're the most sus, there's still a very goodly chance. And well, if it's not them it's going to be me lolol

So, I'd be good voting anyone three or below (we just gotta have a good chance of striking scum, come on I believe in Town) but for now

Braixen...?/SparklingEspeon.
]]

 

[elyvorg]

[[...you're right. the tone of that was unnecessary and bad and I'm sorry.

what I actually meant to say there was simply that I can tell we're both not going to get through to each other, so we just need to agree to disagree and do our own thing and hope it somehow works out in the end. if I'd continued to argue with you, i'd have gotten even more frustrated and things would have gotten worse. this was me trying to cut that off, but, yeah, in a way that was definitely too inappropriately driven by my frustration. i'm sorry.]]

 

[HelloYellow17]

Wes snarled through clenched teeth and turned away from the Grovyle. Fine. Whatever. If he wanted to stick to his theories, then he could do just that. Wes was too tired to argue anymore.

“Right, we don’t have much time left, so I’ll just state my case one last time. Not sure why I bother, since you’ll ignore me anyways.” He rolled his eyes and turned to the whiteboard that had once belonged to Jesse.

Spoiler: OOC: Wes’ Reads

This gonna be OOC because I’m too tired for more RP lol.

Hard Town:
Nefari
Wes (Hello)
Tefiren
Altair

Idk, gonna say Town for now simply because of numbers: Fusion

Definitely Mafia:
Alexander
Kyros
Mewtwo
Braixen (third party maybe?)
Namco (third party? Will post my theory below.)

“That damn bird has made themself look way too obvious,” Wes said firmly. “I’m willing to bet they are third party...but what if they aren’t?”

He turned to face the crowd with his arms crossed. It was daunting to be making an argument in the faces of so many that he was sure were killers...he suppressed a shudder and pushed forward.

“Namco has made no effort to hide suspicion. It’s almost like they are trying to draw attention to themselves. Now, we’ve brushed them aside for now and have decided they’re probably third party, but...what if they want us to think they are third party so that we will target someone else thinking they are Mafia?”

He narrowed his eyes at Braixen. “Braixen has also made some obvious slip-ups here, and while it could be a genuine mistake out of inexperience...what if they are trying to draw suspicion to themselves and make us believe they are Mafia, when they are in fact third-party? If that’s the case, then we’d be doing the mafia a favor by voting for Braixen and would be completely falling for their ruse.”

He shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. “It’s not...the most solid theory, to be sure. I mean, why would a third party try to draw attention to themselves if it meant they would get lynched and lose? But maybe some third party roles will end up winning if the Mafia wins...” he sighed. He had to admit, now that he was saying it out loud, it was sounding a little too far-fetched. Still...

“I still don’t think voting Braixen is the best play here, but I’m obviously not going to be able to stop any of you. You’re all determined to ignore me anyways, so what the hell. I tried, alright?” He threw his hands in the air, brushed past the group, and made for his tent.

[[Gonna make one last statement: if I die tonight, PLEASE consider not going for Namco right away. They seem too obvious to me. Mewtwo IS SUS AF and they NEED to be done away with, so they should take priority. If Braixen flips mafia, this does not and should not prove anything about Mewtwo’s innocence. Anyways, I’ve said my piece, I’m tired, and I’m kinda done with everything rn so. This is my final post for the day. Peace out, y’all. ]]

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmmmmmrh. You. Human with the machine." Alexander drifted toward Wes. "Skepticism is healthy, but I have a very important question in return. Why would I deliberately avoid Strengthening Mewtwo in favor of you, and openly state my suspicions of Mewtwo yesterday and prior to Braixen's behavior, if both Mewtwo and Braixen are Mafia, and I, too, am Mafia? I could understand attempting to frame one Mafia member to make the rest look good. But two?" He narrowed his dark eyes. "What benefit would come from raising suspicions on Mewtwo one day, and then suddenly Braixen right after, if it meant risking losing both? Think carefully on this one. What benefit would that give me?"

 

[elyvorg]

The others didn't even answer Tefiren; they just gave him these looks. Tefiren shrunk a little under their gazes, glancing away and wincing.

"Fine," he muttered to the ground. "Do whatever you want."

And he slunk away back to his tree, pausing only when he almost tripped over a stick on the ground along the way.

...He took the stick with him, placing it in the boughs of the tree like it was just another branch, as he hid himself up there away from everyone else.

He missed Forsira.

[[Dismissive frustration 100% in-character here; I just needed a way to get Tefiren out of the scene. I think I'm done posting for today, too.]]

 

[Inkedust]

[[Just caught up with the thread and now I have some thoughts(tm). I'm not going to post a full readlist today, rather, I want to talk about the players who have earned the most suspicion from me:

The Doctors, Mewtwo (Equitial) and Braixen...? (SparklingEspeon)
Mewtwo's performance at EoD3 as well as all the little inconsistencies in his posts prior still reads scummy to me and shouldn't be overlooked because Dave died last night. I do believe he should be questioned immensely, no matter how Braixen...? flips. Braixen...? on the other hand, has the sudden Doctor claim (which would've changed the course of D3 drastically had he claimed then) along with the stumbling defence of himself.

I initially said that I was more wary of Mewtwo than Braixen...? however, after rereading the thread and considering all the points and possibilities, I think Braixen...? is more suspect than Mewtwo. If Braixen...? flips innocent, then we should also consider giving Alexander, Kyros and especially Mewtwo a much closer look as they seemed more than happy to start that bandwagon after Tefiren cast his suspicions on Braixen...?.

Namco (Mellow)
I'm more convinced that Namco is a Third-Party (most likely Arsonist/Serial Killer) player than Mafia. Of the three players listed here, Namco is by far the most scummy but I do believe that getting rid of the Mafia Doctor will be more beneficial to us in the long run as it seems that Namco can only act on odd nights. So I think we can afford to hold off on them for today and look into them more deeply in the upcoming days.]]

Vote: Braixen...?

 

[Fusion]

Ah, so it would seem Fusion had gained someone's suspicion. Wonderful. Being sussed as a villain without even mentioning Frieza and that shorter-than-his-temper tyrant. Fusion took a deep breath, materialized himself a cup of coffee, forgot about his mask and how to take it off, and tossed the cup behind him. "I'm too tired for this shit but sure. If it'll stop me from looking suspect, I'll try and refute what I can. Remember that there's nothing confirming my innocence or guilt, and I'm more than fine with whatever you guys think of me at the end of the day."

"I either live to the end of the game and see the real culprits brought to justice, or... die. Fitting that I might get voted out later on. Call it Karma for voting for Chappie." Miraculously, the cup of coffee he tossed reappeared in his hand, and much to his surprise, he managed to take a sip. Bittersweet. Fitting.

Out of everyone roleclaiming today, he claimed last. Granted, maybe that's just a timezone or availability thing and I'm not going to side-eye that in and of itself. But what it does mean is that his roleclaim is incidentally the least credible one before even getting into what it is, because, if he's lying, he had the chance to ensure he didn't pick something that someone else had already claimed. Nobody can counterclaim the last roleclaimer of the game.

[[I feel like I could still have been counter claimed, and I can assure you that I hardly even remember the roles of those still alive, let alone the roles of everyone else as well to try and pick the best roles to lie and claim as my own. I, personally, feel like it would have been better for a lying Mafia to just randomly pick a solo healer or something like bulletproof this late in the game, instead of roleblocker and healer, especially with how many healers there already are. I'd have to have been an idiot as a Mafia to think that'd fly.

I may be an idiot, but I'm not shtupid... Debatably. Depends on who you ask]]

There is nothing about his claim itself that makes it inherently unlikely to be faked. Not even the fact that it's one of those multiple-choice delayed-onset roles, because at this point it's clear that several people in this game have that, so he could easily have just made one of his own up after the fact.

Fusion took another sip of his coffee. For a moment, he thought it needed some creamer to mellow out the bitterness, and he didn't even need to conjure it up himself. The cup just mixed itself to his preferred level of cream; a light, milky brown. "Actually, everyone who's claimed that, as far as remember at least, have been innocents. Yeah, it'd be a good thing to lie about as a mafia but like... why would I lie about the prerequisite? Why not just say the same thing the other pick-one role guys did and say it was after two nights, or picked one on the first night? Why even mention that I have a prerequisite or multiple powers in the first place, I could have easily chosen one of those two and said I was them."

"Saying it needs to targeted twice also feels like an odd thing to lie about, doesn't it? Why not just once? Or three times? I had an entire numerical alphabet, or whatever the hell it's called, and picked 2 of all numbers." Another sip. Still bittersweet... actually, less sweet than before. "Hell, I could have straight up said I had no role and I'd probably still be just as suspect to any of you. And yet I took the time to, allegedly, make one up with a ridiculous prerequisite, one of the most common powers in this game so far, and a role that could easily be debunked by the next day by simply asking me who I roleblocked the night before, and seeing how everyone left alive has some role, I'd have to be incredibly lucky to make a believable lie."

Another doctor, really? Potentially four of them in the game if he and Wes both choose that? This could easily be either a slip-up in that he didn't realise how ridiculous it'd look for there to be that many doctors, or it could maybe be a deliberate attempt to take the heat off Braixen, because look, guys, there's just lots of doctors in this game, it's totally fine that Braixen claimed with such suspiciously specific timing. Either way, not a good look for him.

"I already talked about this, but yeah. I'd have to have been sub-brick levels of intelligence to purposefully pick the healer role at this point in the game."

His condition of having to be targeted twice before he can get his power; I don't buy it. At least Wes and Nefari's conditions will definitely eventually happen at some point in the game. It's delayed, but guaranteed sooner or later. With this one, Fusion could live until the very end of the game and potentially never get his power. The only way for him to guarantee it would be to roleclaim and ask people to target him, but then that just puts him at risk of getting killed. A role like that would be bad design, methinks.

[[I can't wait for when I'm dead and the game is over and I can show everyone my PM. I literally can't refute this without saying or showing my role specifically. To be fair, for the same reason Tefiren sussed Fusion or me or whoever as Mafia (being that someone called me clever and dangerous as a Mafia Thanks for that confidence boost, btw), the Mafia could have easily seen me as dangerous as a Town... maybe. I feel like being dangerous on one side is the same as being dangerous on either.

I also could've been randomly roleblocked or shielded or healed or anything by night 3, but literally no one has even targeted me with anything which is like... Understandable, seeing how I wasn't here for a whole day cycle.

Still, when I die and turn up innocent, it's gonna be hilarious and sad to see Tefiren get torn apart about sussing another innocent as Mafia. It'll be even funny-sadder if I get voted out because of him. I still haven't read the rest of the thread by this point so idk if the votes have changed.]]

Fusion answered that question for us when the very first thing he did after roleclaiming was ask specifically Alexander to target him, supposedly in order to activate his power. He didn't even ask Altair, the one who could could target him with no consequences, the one whose power is probably the least useful to us and therefore fine to use on this.

[[It's easy to lie about not knowing things, but I legit didn't know Altair had a power like that at the time. Because I didn't go back to check because I didn't think a role like that existed? Hell, I forgot about Alexander's power too and had to ask for it, it'd have been a miracle if I remembered Altair's and not Alexander's

I also still have no idea what a don is. If it was Strongman I feel like you would have said that already, but you used them both in, like, the same post? So I think they're different things?]]

Then, after I suggested Alexander definitely shouldn't strengthen him in case he's lying and actually the don - which, at the time, I was mostly just using as a cautionary hypothetical and not because I strongly believed it to be the truth - Fusion immediately popped in to go, "but I'm not, though?". This felt unnecessary - like, if he were actually innocent and understood my point as the complete hypothetical that it was, he wouldn't have felt the need to say anything. It feels like he did that as a kneejerk defence to the fear of having been figured out.

[[You vastly overestimate my ability to understand what's a hypothetical and what's an honest to god sus.]]

"Yeah, don't give either of us that kinda credit. I'm "smart" in the same way a learning AI is smart, I just try things until they work since death, in my universe, is of little consequence."

[[And I'm... probably the closest thing I think I know describes me is a savant, and I don't know what that means. I think it's someone who's really smart some of the time, and really not smart the rest of the time. Which fits me to a T]]

(Can I just say though, "I'm literally just vibing here" is probably my favourite "I'm not mafia" defence I've ever heard.)

A pair of rad shades blipped into existence over Fusion's eyes, and he leaned back all cool like, using his tail as a balance. "What can I say? I'm good at what I do, and most of what I do is nothing."

"And... save the timelines from collapsing in on themselves, but that's beside the point."

Also, as another point against him unrelated to his roleclaim: He's voting Mewtwo today. He did so extremely quickly at the start of the day without spending any time thinking about it.

• Now Wes, I can kinda understand gunning for this so quickly and so hard, because he essentially has "history" with Mewtwo at this point in the game that might lead him to make some snap judgements and cling to them in the wake of Dave's accusation and death. (Basically, for a while yesterday a lot of us were thinking Wes was definitely the mafia doctor while completely trusting Mewtwo, and I can understand why that'd make Wes frustrated and lead him to feel that Mewtwo might have cultivated that on purpose with sneaky mafia intentions.)
• But Fusion? He has no reason to be so adamant about this. He just... is voting Mewtwo, just because.
• So, when Braixen flips mafia and we all learn for sure that Mewtwo is innocent (because there cannot be two mafia doctors, and because Braixen's post is clearly a desperate flail to get us to still suspect Mewtwo even after Braixen flips mafia and that's exactly why we shouldn't), think about why Fusion would be doing this. Aside from Wes, because I believe he's genuine and just being stubborn and misguided, the only other people who vote Mewtwo today should be the mafia members who are trying to make us lose.

[[Using IC things to prove Mafia or Innocence is kinda... not what I think someone should do? Because the best way for a mafia to avoid that kinda risk is to... not do anything, or much at all, IC that would make you as a player look sus. People did that during the fall game too, surprisingly the Mafia to make me look even worse than I already made myself. As if that was at all possible, which it turns out, it was.

Anyway, IC, Cold Fusion was upset over an innocent dying pretty much thanks to his vote. He also already sees highly of Wes and would have voted along with Wes regardless, and was aware that Dave knew what he was doing in this sort of thing, knew that Dave was sus of Mewtwo, and voted based on that

OOC, I voted mewtwo because Dragonfree was pretty damn sure Mewtwo was sus, and I trust Dragonfree, who in this game was basically set as the most Town Townie that Towned the Town. It would have been kinda odd if I didn't vote Mewtwo.

I even, later on and I think IC, acknowledged that Dave dying could have been a play by the Mafia to get Mewtwo sussed. And I shall put that... here

"Yes, Dave dying after he put Mewtwo under the spotlight could have been a trick by the mafia to get us to bandwagon against Mewtwo. But, and lets be honest, Dave and that cowboy were probably the two most experienced players of this "game," and now both of them are dead.

Even if Cold Fusion didn't spill every neuron of thought on his actions and wills, I thought it was said here well enough for people to point to it and say he was voting based on what at least one of the two dead players he mentioned said.]]

And then I want you to look at my logicpost once Braixen and Fusion have flipped mafia and realise that it's the only option left that fits.)

[[I'm gonna feel actually kinda bad when at least I turn up innocent, and even worse if me and espy do... Yikes.]]

Fusion chugged more of his coffee, it didn't seem to have an end. "I won't, I'm gonna be laughing my space-blue ass off, watching the one person that thought I was a bad guy wallow in sadness at how hard they gunned for me, only to realize I'm innocent, and have all that hard work they put in torn to absolute shred."

"Yeah, you might not know about my race's struggle against literally being named after a homicidal Space Dictator, but you could at least have the courtesy to not gun as a fucking villain just because my role is absurd."

[[Let him be pissy all he wants, I'm more flattered and excited someone thinks I'm the mafia this time around. With minimal effort! I can hear the sans circus incoming, like a sweet serenade upon mine ears... Oh how I will miss its bliss ringing true for my blunders...]]

"...Yo does anyone wanna swap guardian spirits? Mine is kinda... defective."

So, honestly, Fusion's roleclaim? Actually a kinda clever fakeclaim that covers a lot of bases in terms of the things he was trying to achieve with it. But also, because of that, pretty noticeable and easy to figure out that it's really a mafia ploy.]]

[[Like, seriously, for your own sake... don't put all your chips in one basket like this, especially with me in the equation. I really don't wanna see what happens after I get voted out and proven innocent because like... Geez.]]

"Like betting it all on black and having it land on orange, of another table," Fusion chuckled, then sighed. "I wish I knew more about poker or whatever to have that make sense. Still, uh, Tefiren's Guardian Spirit, maybe don't be super sure of yourself. In our case at least."

Tefiren grinned at the tall blue one. "The fire cat said, when he wanted to get rid of you a few days ago while you were still napping, that he thought you'd be clever and dangerous if you were a Mafia. And maybe he was a little bit right! That wasn't a bad try at tricking us!" He giggled, relishing the fact that this was beginning to be fun again. "But like I said to your friend the purple fox, you can't fool me that easily. I can figure out anyone's tricks. All you're doing is making it obvious to me where you are!"

"And as for you--" Fusion glared at the grovyle, then shrugged. "Whatever, have your fun lil guy. The only one getting tricked here is yourself, honestly."

"But do know that I will enjoy watching the tears stream off your face when you get another innocent killed~" Fusion cooed, petting Tefiren on the head. "Good luck."

 

[Negrek]

At the end of the last day, cries to oust Mewtwo had been building. But as a new day dawns, those calling for his removal find themselves in the minority. Tefiren, in particular, thinks he's cracked the code--found the mafia, unraveled the whole game! He turns on Braixen instead, the fire-type withdrawing nervously, perhaps wishing she'd never spoken up.

Braixen hangs back while Wes and Tefiren debate whether to vote him out, so wrapped up in their argument that they don't appear to notice the way Braixen's disguise flickers, the shadow of a larger pokémon standing where he is, his fur shifting yellow to black. It doesn't go unnoticed by the others, though. One by one they turn their attention towards him, and no matter where Braixen looks he sees only distrust. Fear. Anger. And then: the vote.

--​

Assassins. Tricksters. Bread stealers. Spawn of a devil no-mon even knew the name of anymore. No-mon ever trusted a zoroark. It was why he’d taken on his illusion in the first place. All he’d wanted was a second chance. To be treated like a pokemon who hadn’t committed a grave crime just by existing.

Then he’d made a mistake. One mistake. An honest mistake, but a mistake all the same. And that blasted dragon had told everyone what he actually was. And it all went downhill from there. He made arguments. He pleaded for people to see things from his side. The words were useless and slid off everymon’s ears. Because no-mon was going to trust him. Not once they learned of his true nature.

It soon became clear the court was rigged. Everymon believed what they wanted to believe, what they always believed, that he was guilty. Even the human, who had sided with him initially, revealed later that he did it out of strategy and would turn on him later. None of them were worth it. He wasn’t going to get a fair trial here, so he’d do what he always did: Run. Hide. Take on a new illusion once it was safe. So just minutes before the day turned to night and the rest of the town would kill him, he turned invisible to the eye and made a run for it.

He almost made it.

--​

Alexander turned aside from the fading green patch on the ground, scanning the thin group of players as the shadowy spear materialized in one of his secondary mouths. "I think we're done here, aren't we?" he murmured quietly. Rising into the air, he bellowed, "Which of you is the slacker who kept skipping my planning meetings? This is the last chance to make yourself known if you don't want to suffer the same fate as these other fools."

Namco turned a bored look on the hydreigon. "As though I'd need to coordinate with a scalebag like you to win this game. I've done quite well on my own, thank you." Alexander started to growl some rebuttal, but Namco simply gave him the finger, then rose into the air with a couple gentle flaps. She ducked easily under a shadow ball from Alexander, then coasted off into the sunset, calm and unhurried.

While the hydreigon fumed, darkness dribbling from his mouths, a few others slunk over to join him near where Zoroark had disappeared: Kyros. Mewtwo. Altair. Not so many, perhaps--but more than the small group standing opposite.

The last dregs of light were fading from the blank, endless sky. Below Alexander, the growing shadows twisted and shivered, as if alive. Building. Growing. Alexander smiled thrice. "It seems our little game is over," the hydreigon said. "But we haven't been sent home yet, have we? Perhaps there's still time to have a bit of fun."

Zoroark (SparklingEspeon) has been eliminated. He was Innocent.

The Mafia outnumber all other factions! The Mafia win!

Final Vote:

SparklingEspeon: 5 (elyvorg, Namohysip, windskull, Equitial, Inkedust)
Equitial: 2 (HelloYellow17, Fusion)
HelloYellow17: 1 (Mellow)

Not Voting: DawningWinds, SparklingEspeon

(( SparklingEspeon wrote Zoroark's POV for this post! ))

 

[Negrek]

And some end-of-game notes:

Spoiler: Roles

Windskull: Kyros

Ability: Breaking Point (Custom)

You were supposed to be a hero. If there was anything good about being transformed into a litten, it was a chance to start over again and do things right this time. You don't want to kill, either for the Mafia or the "Innocents." You don't want to fight all the other people who washed up here, even if that's supposedly the only way to escape this place. But neither can you stand to hang around doing nothing while one person after another vanishes, while your teammates--not that you care about your teammates, you only happened to end up working with them anyhow--disappear. You don't want to get more blood on your hands.

But it seems like that's all the force that organized this "game" want to see: more death, more violence. And as people drop around you one after another, it looks as though that really is the only way forward. What else are you going to do? What else unless you want to give yourself up for dead yourself? You won't. You're done. You'll do whatever it takes. Are you happy, then, mafia-game gods? You give up. If you have to kill to escape from this hell-world, then kill you shall.

You are aligned with the Mafia and win when Mafia-aligned players make up the majority of remaining players. Your associates are Alexander (Namohysip), Altair (Inkedust), Lusamine (Shiny Phantump), and Mewtwo (Equitia). You may communicate freely with other Mafia-aligned players outside the game thread on the scumchat Discord server: https://discord.gg/QzVsTKE8

But wait. There seems to be someone missing... Weren't you supposed to have five teammates? Pehaps there's someone else with your interests at heart playing innocent amongst the crowd. If only you could reach them; how unfortunate if you were to eliminate them by accident.

At the outset of the game, you have no ability. Immediately once at least three Mafia-aligned players have been eliminated, you will gain the ability to eliminate players during the day. You may use this ability no more than once per day and no more than twice total. In order to activate this ability, make a post in the game thread including the phrase, "Shut up, [character name]!"* in BOLD font. The target character will be eliminated immediately and play will continue as normal for the duration of the day. Your post must be made at least two hours before the end of the day phase in order for the kill to go through.


If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

* If it would be in character for Kyros to say "Fuck you, [character name]!", feel free to use that as the trigger phrase instead--just make sure it's in bold font!

--

AbraPunk: Chappie

Ability: Volt Switch (Bus Driver)

You don't know how you ended up here, and it seems this is a dangerous place. But at least you have a team on your side, and your lightning intact--it's not like you're some sitting duck these "Mafia" can just ignore. It seems to have taken on some new properties in whatever this world is, though. Before your volt switch let you make a quick swap with one of your own teammates; now you can suddenly use a pulse of charge to make two other people switch places instead! It's kind of neat; pity you won't have a lot of opportunity to experiment with it, given everything that's going on.

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. Once per night you may choose two other players to swap. If you do, any other night actions that would have targeted the first player target the second player instead, and vice versa.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

DawningWinds: Nefari

Ability: Dark's Cunning (Custom: Rolestopper or Firefighter)

If there's anything worse than being dragged away from your home to play some stupid "game," it's getting dragged away from your home to play some stupid game that requires you to work with other people. Keep your head down, stay out of trouble, don't attract the Mafia's attention--that's good enough for you. But as more and more people disappear, you reluctantly have to admit that maybe you do need to do something. Help out a little bit. Or there's a chance that everybody, including you, is going to die. It's truly unfair that you got stuck working with so many people who clearly can't match your skills but, well, here you are. You have the chance to show off how good you are at this game, you suppose.

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. You have no ability to use at the outset of the game. However, on the night immediately following the elimination of the fourth Innocent-aligned player, you will be prompted to choose one of the following options to use that night and to serve as your ability for the duration of the game:

- Howl: Nickit might not be very large or intimidating, but you can certainly sound big and scary if you try! A few ghastly howls will be enough to send most suspicious characters fleeing--nobody dead-set on murder, maybe, but you should be able to scare off most minor nuisances. If you choose this ability, once per night you may select another player to guard. If you do, all actions targeting that player besides killing actions will fail.

- Knock Off: A number of people around here seem to have acquired some strange psychic mark--and they don't even seem to realize it! You're not entirely sure what it is, either, but you know it's nothing good--when is it ever anything good with psychics? And all it takes is a little jolt of darkness to remove. If you choose this ability, once per night you may choose another player to purify. If that player had previously been marked by psychic interference, that mark will be eliminated; if anyone tries to use the psychic mark to attack them on the same night you target them with this ability, you will prevent them from being eliminated in addition to removing the mark.
[/b]

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

IFBench: Arctozolt

Ability: Two Heads are Better Than One! (Universal Backup)

"I'm pretty sure this moron counts as -1 heads, actually."

Look who's talking. If it weren't for me, I'm pretty sure you would've gotten us both killed ages ago.

Who asked you, you literal asshole?

...in theory, anyway. Having the benefit of two minds to work things out gives you the ability to pick up new skills twice as quickly once you're sure what will be most useful. If the Innocents lose one of their special powers, it stands to reason that the thing they'll need most is someone to step in and take on that same role. With a little practice (easy) and some cooperation (very difficult), you'll be able to replicate what was lost in no time flat, ensuring that the Innocents have their full complement of abilities available for as long as possible.

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. The first time that an Innocent-aligned player with an ability you're capable of emulating is eliminated, you'll quickly learn to take over their role in the game, and their ability will become yours for as long as you remain in the game. You will receive a PM from Negrek informing of you of this change and the details of your new ability when this power triggers.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

Seren: Miyako

Ability: Summon Secrets (Oracle)

You may be trapped here, cut off from the outside world, but it seems this place has a weaker hold on Nephthys. Her understanding of the "game" is nearly as foggy as yours, but perhaps she's closer to its creators than you, because she's able to divine something of their intent from whatever realm they've banished her to. Give her a question, and she'll do her best to find the answer before daylight separates you again; perhaps if you work together, the both of you will come through this unscathed.

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. Once per night you may ask Negrek a yes or no question about the game setup and receive an answer back at the end of the night.

These questions must relate to the initial setup of the game, when the roles included had been decided, but before they were assigned to any particular players and before alignments had been determined. Therefore, "Is Negrek a doctor?" would not be an acceptable question, as it couldn't be known prior to role assignment. On the other hand, "Is there a doctor in this game?" would be an acceptable question. Likewise, "How many Mafia-aligned players are there?" would not be acceptable because it's not a yes or no question, but "Are there three Mafia-aligned players?" would receive an answer.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

Equitia: Mewtwo

Ability: Heal Pulse (Doctor)

You can hardly imagine a less pleasant scenario--all these people, all these humans, and you trapped in with all of them. Clearly the best course of action is to play this game, to win this game, as swiftly as possible so you can escape be out of here. Nevertheles, you have no stomach for killing, however bloodless it might be in this strange land. Your powers of destruction are immense, but you don't want to use them unless your hand is forced. For now, you will simply do your best to keep those working with you safe, even the human. It's disgusting, the company this strange world has forced you to keep. But with the "Innocents" out for blood as much as the Mafia, it hardly feels as though you'd be better off on their side.

You are aligned with the Mafia and win when Mafia-aligned players make up the majority of remaining players. Your associates are Alexander (Namohysip), Altair (Inkedust), Lusamine (Shiny Phantump), and Kyros (windskull). You may communicate freely with other Mafia-aligned players outside the game thread on the scumchat Discord server: https://discord.gg/QzVsTKE8

But wait. There seems to be someone missing... Weren't you supposed to have five teammates? Pehaps there's someone else with your interests at heart playing innocent amongst the crowd. If only you could reach them; how unfortunate if you were to eliminate them by accident.

Once per night you may choose another player to heal. If you do, that player will be immune to any attempts to eliminate them during that night. But beware--if you and at least one other Doctor target the same player during the Night, that player will be eliminated instead of healed.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

DeliriousAbsol: Spark

Ability: Berry Feast (Doctor)

An extradimensional trip, huh? It's a good thing you brought snacks! Lots of snacks! Snacks that weren't really meant to be shared, but... perhaps other people might need them more than you. It's remarkable how much a good sitrus or hearty oran berry can do for almost any ailment. You're willing to go hungry if it means you can stop other people from disappearing. Those awful Mafia, though--now they're to blame for your empty stomach on top of everything else! They really are the worst.

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. Once per night you may choose another player to heal. If you do, that player will be immune to any attempts to eliminate them during that night. But beware--if you and at least one other Doctor target the same player during the Night, that player will be eliminated instead of healed.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

Fusion: Cold Fusion

Ability: Greater Transformation (Custom: Roleblocker or Vigilante)

You were hoping this "mafia game" would be just a bit of casual fun, but with people disappearing, tensions running high, and weird abilities flying every which way, it seems like you're going to need to get serious. The weird energies of this place should give you enough power to properly unlock your combat abilities, provided you manage to tap into them. It might be a pain, but you suppose you can't just stand around and watch people get disappeared. If you've got to fight, well, the Mafia had better watch out.

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. At the outset of the game, you have no night action. Once you have been targeted twice during the night by other players, you will be prompted to choose one of the abilities below, which will serve as your power for the duration of the game. You may use it immediately and once per night thereafter.

- Imprison Ball: One of your psychokinetic orbs should be more than enough to hold anybody else here at bay. There won't be any mischief if they're trapped in one of these! If you choose this ability, once per night you may choose another player to trap. If you do, that player will be unable to use any of their abilities during the night.

- Death Beam: The name says it all, really. A straightforward solution to a wide variety of problems. If you choose this ability, once per night you may choose another player. That player will be eliminated at the end of the night.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

Namohysip: Alexander

Ability: Oderint Dum Metuant (One-Shot Strongman)

In theory, you're annoyed to have been yanked into this strange world to be a part of some strange powers' game. You have a kingdom to run, after all, and certain pressing concerns there to attend to. On the other hand, the waves of fear coming off the other fools brought to this place as they watch their comrades vanish one by one are delightful. And there's a certain satisfaction in being able to immediately deal with anyone who annoys you, in an entirely direct and permanent way. Perhaps a little vacation is exactly what you need.

Your connection to shadows is weakened here, but with enough time and concentration you can summon enough of them to properly corrupt another spirit. Once your darkness has invaded your target's spirit, there's no hope for escape; as the shadows grow, they'll consume their host from the inside out, only working faster the more the doomed soul struggles. What a pity the process takes so much out of you. The effects on the target are delightful.

You are aligned with the Mafia and win when Mafia-aligned players make up the majority of remaining players. Your associates are Altair (Inkedust), Lusamine (Shiny Phantump), Kyros (windskull), and Mewtwo (Equitia). You may communicate freely with other Mafia-aligned players outside the game thread on the scumchat Discord server: https://discord.gg/QzVsTKE8

But wait. There seems to be someone missing... Weren't you supposed to have five teammates? Pehaps there's someone else with your interests at heart playing innocent amongst the crowd. If only you could reach them; how unfortunate if you were to eliminate them by accident.

Once per night you may choose another player to strike. If you do, they will be eliminated at the end of the night. Once per game you may choose to make a "strong" attack that cannot be blocked, healed, redirected, or otherwise tampered with; the target chosen for such a "strong" attack is guaranteed to be eliminated at night's end.

If you are eliminated from the game, your fellow Mafia will inherit this ability--losing their own ability, if any, in the process--in the following order based on which players survive: windskull, Equitia, Shiny Phantump, Inkedust.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

Navarchu: Lance

Ability: Maverick Conviction (Arsonist)

You know what it's like to be controlled. To be someone's pawn, a plaything, nothing more than a tool. You thought you'd left that behind long ago. And yet here you are, stolen from your home and asked to dance for someone else's amusement.

You aren't going to play their game. The Mafia, the Innocents. They're just acting out the roles thrust on them by whatever force brought you here. Joining with them isn't the way to bring this to an end. The only way to win this is to destroy the game itself. All of it. You don't like to think about what might happen to the other "players"--if they're even real people. Whether or not they are, they seem content enough to go along with this awful "game."

They don't matter. What matters is that you won't let yourself be controlled again.

You are not aligned with the Mafia or with the Innocents. Instead, you win the game if you are the only player remaining. Each night, you may take your choice of one of the following actions:

- Mind Reader: This ability lets you study a character's every tic and habit, ensuring that they will have no way to defend themselves from your attacks. On a night where you use this ability, choose another player without an active Mind Reader on them. That player will have a Mind Reader set over them for the duration of the game unless they are struck by an Extremespeed or have the mark removed by another player's ability.

- Extremespeed: On a night when you choose to use Extremespeed, you will dash from one sleeping target to the next, striking every one that you were able to successfully lay a Mind Reader on so swiftly and brutally that they will neither be able to see it coming nor defend themselves in any way. On a night where you take this action, all players that successfully had a Mind Reader laid on them will be eliminated, and this effect will overcome most standard protections (e.g. they can't be healed by a Doctor, a Bulletproof target won't survive, etc.).


If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

Mellow: Namco

Ability: Shadow Blast (Odd-Night Vigilante Traitor)

How on earth did you get caught up in this silly little game? You have far more important things to be doing. Far more entertaining things as well. The Mafia may have the right idea, eliminating these tedious outsiders, but you hardly want to join their little club. Why bother? You're more than strong enough to bring this "game" to a close all on your own.

You are aligned with the Mafia and win when Mafia-aligned players make up the majority of remaining players. You are aware of which other characters are Mafia-aligned: Alexander (Namohysip), Altair (Inkedust), Lusamine (Shiny Phantump), Kyros (windskull), and Mewtwo (Equitia). However, the other members of the mafia ARE NOT aware of your alignment, and you MAY NOT communicate with them outside of the game thread.

Beginning on Night One and once per odd-numbered night thereafter (Night Three, Night Five, etc.) you may choose another player to attack. If you do, they will be eliminated at the end of the night.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

Inkedust: Altair

Ability: Siren Song (Roleblocker)

You've always enjoyed a good shanty, the freedom to bellow at the top of your lungs as you enjoy the wind and waves. In this strange place, though, your song seems to have taken on strange new properties--or perhaps it's not the world, but some power of your new, ghostly body.

Whatever the case, those who hear your song become entranced, unable to do anything but simply wait and listen. Sitting ducks, in other words, and you know the best way to deal with those. It'll be a messy business, but the sooner you finish this game, the sooner Yveltal will have to resurrect you, right?

You are aligned with the Mafia and win when Mafia-aligned players make up the majority of remaining players. Your associates are Alexander (Namohysip), Lusamine (Shiny Phantump), Kyros (windskull), and Mewtwo (Equitia). You may communicate freely with other Mafia-aligned players outside the game thread on the scumchat Discord server: https://discord.gg/QzVsTKE8

But wait. There seems to be someone missing... Weren't you supposed to have five teammates? Pehaps there's someone else with your interests at heart playing innocent amongst the crowd. If only you could reach them; how unfortunate if you were to eliminate them by accident.

Once per night you may choose another player to sing to. If you do, they will be too distracted to take any action during the night.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

Shiny Phantump: Lusamine

Ability: Wormhole Swap (Bus Driver)

What a pity that your Ultra Wormholes can't connect you back to your home dimension, for whatever reason. This tedious game isn't worth your time, and the scruffy group that's been brought together to play it is just as distastefu. At least you still can open Ultra Wormholes here, and far more easily than you could at home; they're quite convenient for moving things from one place to another, and you've got a strong suspicion that in this little "game" what you'll be wanting is to move a lot of things away from you.

You are aligned with the Mafia and win when Mafia-aligned players make up the majority of remaining players. Your associates are Alexander (Namohysip), Altair (Inkedust), Kyros (windskull), and Mewtwo (Equitia). You may communicate freely with other Mafia-aligned players outside the game thread on the scumchat Discord server: https://discord.gg/QzVsTKE8

But wait. There seems to be someone missing... Weren't you supposed to have five teammates? Pehaps there's someone else with your interests at heart playing innocent amongst the crowd. If only you could reach them; how unfortunate if you were to eliminate them by accident.

Once per night you may choose two other players to swap. If you do, any other night actions that would have targeted the first player target the second player instead, and vice versa.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

unrepentantAuthor: Jesse

Ability: Self-Reliant (Jack of All Trades)

Out on the frontier, as the only one with the power to stand against all the shit the wilds can throw at you, you've had to learn how to fend for yourself. You've had to pick up a bit of everything--telepathy, divination, flameweaving, and even a smidge of healing--and no doubt your human background helped with that. These "Mafia" had better watch their backs; you've had years of experience dealing with just their kind, and they won't even be able to guess how you're going to fuck them up in this here killing game.

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. Each night you may choose to use up to one of the following abilities:

- Future Sight: Something 'bout this place clouds your proper telepathy. It ain't right, and it ain't comfortable, being blind to what people are thinking. But with enough concentration you can still use your precognitive abilities--enough to catch the odd flash here and there. And that's enough to tell if an apple's going to turn out rotten. On the night you use this ability, choose another player. You will receive a PM indicating that player's alignment.

- Wish: You ain't really a healer, but you give what succor you can. In a desperate situation like this, that has to be enough. On the night you use this ability, choose another player. That player becomes immune to any attempts to eliminate them during that night. But beware--if you and at least one other player heal the same target during the night, that player will be eliminated instead of healed.

- Hypnosis: A sleeping opponent can't make trouble; that's basic stuff. Nighttime's supposed to be for sleeping, ain't it? How 'bout y'all actually sleep? On the night you use this ability, choose another player. Any actions that player attempts to take during the night will fail.

- Mystical Fire: There's some outlaws don't understand nothing but force. It ain't a pleasant business, but sometimes all you can do is put a rabid dog down, and if it comes to that, you won't hesitate for a second. On the night you use this ability, choose another player. That player will be eliminated.

After you've used an ability once, you won't be able to use it again for the remainder of the game.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

Chibi Pika: Lexx

Ability: Network Probe (Cop)

A lot of people around here sure are getting worked up, rushing around, shooting each other, that sort of thing. It's really all too much effort. Much smarter to hang back and do a bit of poking around before flinging accusations everywhere. These "Mafia" obviously haven't invested much in securing their communications; just a little light hacking, and you'll have their identities in no time.

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. Once per night you may choose another player to probe. At the end of the night you will receive a PM disclosing that player's alignment.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

Dragonfree: Dave

Ability: Reluctant Avenger (Custom: Tracker or Weak Hider)

Another one of these games? Lovely. Another great oppportunity to dance for some sadistic assholes' amusement. Why even bother? It's not going to change anything anyway. Whether you win or lose or even fucking "die" here, you'll probably just end up back here, ready to go through this all over again. At this point, the only winning move is not to play and give them the satisfaction of watching you enage with their stupid "game."

Of course, pointless isn't the same as not real, and some of the people who've gotten dragged into this... Goddammit. You're fucking tired of losing people. You don't know most of the ones who've been brought here, hell, you don't even like most of them, but you're tired of watching people fucking disappear. Maybe if you can do something to help stop this, you can at least spare them the

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. At the outset of the game, you have no night action. During Night Zero, select one other player. In the first night phase after that player is eliminated, you will be prompted to choose one of the abilities below, which will serve as your power for the duration of the game. You may use it immediately and once per night thereafter.

- Odor Sleuth: What the fuck? You aren't a fucking Poochyena here. You can't "sniff out" the bad guys. Even if sometimes you feel like you get a faint sense of where people are or where they're going, it's not the same at all. One thing's for fucking sure, you aren't playing puppy for whatever twisted bastards are running this horrorshow. If you choose this ability, once per night you may choose another player to tail. If you do, at the end of the night you will be informed what player(s), if any, they targeted with an ability during the night.

- Run Away: As you seem adept at letting other people take bullets for y--wait. What the fuck? Who the fuck wrote this? Do you think this is fucking funny? You're all fucking sick. If you choose this ability, once per night you may choose another player to visit. If you do, any actions targeting you during the night will fail. However, if your target would be eliminated by a killing power during that night, you will be eliminated along with them. You should also be careful of who you choose to drop in on--no doubt the Mafia won't appreciate a visit and will make sure you know it. If the player you target with this action is aligned with the Mafia, you will be eliminated at the end of the night.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

elyvorg: Tefiren

Ability: Unkillable (One-Shot Bulletproof)

Oh? Another one of Their games? Finally! Hopefully it'll be better than the last one. That was too easy! They hardly put up any fight at all!

They must have been thinking the same thing, because it seems They've sealed off your tricks somehow. You can still fly, you can still attack, but something feels... missing. Somehow your tricks aren't as special as they once were. They must be afraid of all the things you can do.

Even better! It's no fun to win when you outmatch Them so clearly anyway. And losing your tricks isn't about to slow you down. You've been playing Their games all your life; you know Them too well to be caught off-guard by their attacks, even without tricks to keep you safe. Let's just see Them try to get you this time!

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. Once per game, if you would be eliminated during the night, you will survive instead. You will be informed when this ability has been activated, but not why or by whom.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

--

HelloYellow17: Wes

Ability: Reluctant Protector (Custom: Doctor or Firefighter)

You don't want to be here. You have your own life to look after, your own plans--how do you keep getting pulled in to deal with other people's problems? It's like the universe has it out for you or something.

And it's not like you care about these people anyway. You don't know them, and you don't want to know them, either.

But watching them get picked off one by one, seeing how scared they are, the Pokémon and even the humans--look, you still don't care about them, okay? But it makes sense to stop the Mafia from bumping any more of them off. As much as it sucks, they might be your ticket out of here. So if that means you have to help some of them out a bit, whatever. As long as it means you can finally go home.

You are aligned with the Innocents and win when all non-Innocent players are jailed. You have no ability to use on either Night Zero or Night One. However, on Night Two, you will be prompted to choose one of the following options to use that night and to serve as your ability for the duration of the game:

- Item: You're a trainer, after all; of course you brought a decent stock of potions. They work great on Pokémon, and who knows, in a weird place like this, maybe on other things, too. If someone's about to die otherwise, whatever, you can spot them a Potion. Only thing you're not sure of is if there will be any weird interactions with other forms of healing... If you choose this ability, once per night you may choose another player to heal. If you do, that player will be immune to any attempts to eliminate them during that night. But beware--if you and at least one other Doctor target the same player during the Night, that player will be eliminated instead of healed.

- Call: You have all too much experience with what can happen when some evil group's been messing with a Pokémon's (or human's?) head. You don't want to see anybody subject to that kind of awful violation--it'd get in the way of your escape plan, right? If you choose this ability, once per night you may choose another player to purify. If that player had previously been marked by psychic interference, that mark will be eliminated; if anyone tries to use the psychic mark to attack them on the same night you target them with this ability, you will prevent them from being eliminated in addition to removing the mark.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Spoiler: Night Action Log

== N0 ==

- Dragonfree keys to Seren
- AbraPunk swaps Inkedust and Shiny Phantump
- Shiny Phantump swaps Namohysip and DawningWinds
- Inkedust blocks uA
- Flyg0n defends HelloYellow
- Equitial heals Chibi
- Chibi inspects Dragonfree (response: Innocent)
- uA inspects Dragonfree (blocked!)
- Namo shoots elyvorg (survived!)
- Seren asks: "Is there a mafia role-blocker in the game?" (response: Yes)

- elyvorg's protection is broken!

== N1 ==

- Inkedust blocks AbraPunk
- AbraPunk swaps Chibi and DeliriousAbsol (blocked!)
- Shiny Phantump swaps Mellow and Chibi
- uA blocks Seren
- Flyg0n defends uA
- Equitial heals elyvorg
- Chibi inspects Namo (response: Mafia)
- Seren asks: "Is there a third-party arsonist in this game?" (blocked!)
- Namo shoots Mellow
- Mellow shoots uA

- Flyg0n takes the bullet for uA!
- Flyg0n dies!
- Chibi dies!

- Bench's ability activates! Bench becomes a cop!

== N2 ==

- HelloYellow17's ability activated! HelloYellow17 became a doctor!
- Inkedust blocks AbraPunk
- AbraPunk swaps Mellow and Equitial (blocked!)
- Shiny Phantump swaps IFBench and uA
- HelloYellow17 heals IFBench
- IFBench inspects Shiny Phantump (response: Mafia)
- Equitial heals IFBench
- Seren asks "Is there or was there a town-aligned backup?" (response: Yes)
- uA shoots Shiny Phantump
- Namohysip shoots uA

- uA overdoses!
- uA dies!
- Shiny Phantump dies!
- IFBench dies!

- DawningWinds' ability activates!

== N3 ==

- DawningWinds becomes a firefighter!
- Inkedust roleblocks Seren
- DawningWinds douses Namo
- Seren asks: "Were multiple third-party roles included?" (blocked!)
- Equitial heals DawningWinds
- HelloYellow17 heals elyvorg
- SparklingEspeon heals Inkedust
- Namohysip strong-shoots Dragonfree
- Mellow shoots Seren

- Dragonfree dies!
- Seren dies!

When designing this game, I had two primary considerations. The first of these is speed. My ideal for a game is that it last five to six day phases--I think this gives enough room for interesting play and day discussion, without allowing the game to drag on for so long that large numbers of people get burnt out or lose interest. It's always disappointing when an initially-exciting game stumbles to a sputtering end with three to four day phases (more than a week real-time) of halfhearted posting and general low interest. My preference is for shorter and more explosive games, and I did my best to ensure that in the setup.

For a game with 19 people I wouldn't want to go below five Mafia unless I used multiple third party roles, and that meant that, in the absence of nightkills on the Innocent side, the minimum game length would be five day phases/twenty real-world days. More people also tends to mean more protective and disruptive roles, and thus more ways for a kill to fail. I figured I wanted 2-3 kill powers activated per night in order to ensure a minimum of no-kill nights and hopefully score some days of double or even triple kills (or potentially more, if the Arsonist got off a good shot). Given the risk of someone rolling e.g. vigilante and then either being inactive, or dying immediately N0, or being too timid/uncertain to use their power, I needed more killpower than would be expected if every able player were expected to shoot every night. All told there ended up being six potential sources of nightkills, although not all of them could be active at the same time. On top of that I also chose to use the "overdose" healer mechanic, which hadn't appeared in my previous games, to allow some interesting play with a mafia doctor and to somewhat balance out the large amount of protection available.

My second objective in this design was to give the Mafia a fairer shot than they'd had in my previous fanfic mafia games. Role madness setups tend to bias Innocent by their very nature, and the last two fanfic mafias had been very Innocent-slanted, as evidenced by the mildly insane fact that there had only been a single mislynch across both of them. My impression was that this was due to an overabundance of interactive roles, and inforoles especially, on the Innocent side--the Innocent faction managed to construct a picture of what was going on at night quite quickly in the previous games, and that left the Mafia with very little room to maneuver and forced them into suboptimal claims that could be checked too easily. I therefore set out to power down the Innocents while powering up the mafia here. In particular, I included a number of "evolution" roles that would do nothing at the beginning of the game, but would allow the people with them either a choice of roles (powerful for its flexibility) or unusually powerful role after some condition was met. This would allow a number of players to essentially operate as "vanilla town" for at least part of the game, giving the Mafia more wiggle room (and, indcidentally, reducing burden on me to track a large number of night actions in any given phase), while encouraging interesting gameplay. Early-game the Mafia could ignore anyone with these abilities, but they'd have to be wary of letting their bearers slip by for too long; and people with these powers would be presented with an interesting choice, with the potential for additional strategy in how they chose to push towards their respective trigger conditions.

If the Innocents played as well in this game as they had in the past (e.g. no more than one mislynch), then even with perfect Mafia and Arsonist play, Mafia would still lose. Perfect play can never be expected, of course, and I didn't want to power the Mafia up even further, so I left the setup where it was and crossed my fingers for a good game anyhow. What I didn't take into account with my game simulations was the in hindsight obvious Day 1 abstain, which is much more costly than usual in this setup and is nearly as bad as a mislynch, and also some poor luck in that the Innocents had more inactive players this game than in the past, with some in rather important roles. All in all, while I'm fairly pleased with how this setup played (and loved the dynamic the Traitor role brought to the game--hope Mellow enjoyed it!), if I were going to run this again I'd use one fewer Mafia player (with the removed one being bus driver specifically), make the Innocent vig a simple even-night variant rather than locking it behind an activation requirement, and perhaps even give the Innocent faction one additional inforole, as a treat.

While I think the evolution roles were a good idea in principle, I think this implementation suffered from a bit of rushing on my part--I ultimately had trouble coming up with trigger conditions that were interesting and gave players some control over when they activated without interfering with the day phase too much ("make at least 15 posts during the day") or causing information leak ("vote for at least two Mafia-aligned players"). However, with more time to think about it, I believe I have a few ideas for how to fix that, including tying trigger conditions more in with RP than with game mechanics. I will probably use this concept again in future games, with some modifications.

I'd also considered running a beginner-only game this year, using only more "standard" roles and only open to people with one or fewer games under their belt, but didn't think there'd be enough people--I'd want at least eight or so to have a good game. I think there may be enough demand to hold one next year, though--we'll see! I'd be happy to put one together if there was interest.

Although I'd make some tweaks if running this game again, though, I had a great time with this incarnation, and I hope you did as well! There were a lot of fun twists and turns in this one, and brilliant plays on both sides. Thanks all for playing, and good game!

 

[kintsugi]

oh my god thank you for this wild ride, i didn't play at all but i have been spectating AGGRESSIVELY

please enjoy my finest shitpost i have peaked artistically

 

[windskull]

It was over Kyros let out a long sigh, fear and anxiety clawing at his chest. Had he done the right thing? He couldn't know.

"Well, at least I didn't have to tell anyone to fuck off... Let's just get out of here."

 

[Fusion]

[[Yeah, i did lie... about the roleblocker.

Was gonna slap on the vigilante shoes and shoot Namco during the night, which would have given us a big ole chance to get the rest of the mafia. A shame that didn't pan out]]

Fusion threw his head back in laughter, roaring like a beast unhinged. "WOW, as it would turn out, the fox and the space demon weren't Mafia! Golly gee, I wonder how that could be?"

"Maybe pick someone who didn't actually speak, instead of regressing the progress the universes as a whole had against space r--" Before he could have said something too heated for this good ol' fashioned chat, Fusion's masked sealed entirely shut. No air or voice could leave or enter it. Not that voice would enter it, it's a mask not a microphone.

 

[Namohysip]

Alexander took in a slow, deep breath and breathed it out, and suddenly it felt as if his power was revitalized. A deep, dark haze trailed from his mouths as he said, "All of the discord and mistrust has done nothing but make me hungrier... but at least now, I know that I have regained my power." His Shadowy lance lifted high into the air, even bigger and ever more volatile than before. Trails of darkness snaked their way around his arms and through his wings.

"This realm is filled with countless lost souls." He pointed toward the sky. "It is time to see how many I can claim for my kingdom."

 

[Fusion]

As for Fusion...yeah, he’s pretty sus. BUT. You may not know this since you’re not in Discord, but Fusion is notorious for trying to get Mafia to win regardless of his alignment. So he could easily be innocent or mafia and just making sus moves to throw us for a loop. We don’t know enough about him yet, and I don’t think he’s a huge concern for us just yet.

[[This. This gives me life. For no reason. I swear to god I have a problem]]

 

[Fusion]

"This realm is filled with countless lost souls." He pointed toward the sky. "It is time to see how many I can claim for my kingdom."

A surge of power rose within Fusion, and the first thing he did was shoot some holes in his mask. Not to breath, his race had no need for that, but to speak.

"Yeah, sorry, but as the time and space police I can't really let you do that..." Fusion said, sucking his teeth. He aimed his palm at Alexander, and a durable pink bubble formed around the dragon. "King Yemma is a bitch about letting souls safely come to him for judgement, and I don't wanna get nagged at after the headache this shit is gonna give me so... maybe don't."

 

[Namohysip]

Alexander's shadowy form was starting to lose its definition as the corruption twisted his very bones into something greater. Dark eyes widened and a horrible smile spread across all three faces. "Oh? You're aiming at me? Instead of running away, you're challenging me to a duel?"

 

[Fusion]

A flash of regal gold raced up Fusion's body for a second, and his eyes fell into a glare. His power was coming back slowly, but surely. Hopefully fast enough so that he wouldn't die to this guy. "I can't stop you from eating those poor, wretched souls if I don't."

Something tempted him to strike a pose... He refrained, for now.

 

[Namohysip]

"Eating? How cute of you." Alexander tilted his spear until it was aimed at Fusion. "I do something far better than consume souls. I... repurpose them." The dark end of his spear absorbed the light around it, blotting out the already dim skies. "Would you like to see?"

The staredown lasted for what might have been a minute. Then, in a flash, it seemed that both he and Fusion disappeared, shockwaves ripping through the realm in the distance.