Luna
December 5th, 2011, 09:22 AM
I'm bored, figured I'd take a stab at the Bioshock theme I talked about. This is just a rough idea, and it's not like these suggestions for FM themes can be taken too seriously since the hosts seem to be picked out for the next million games and the hosts will have their own ideas (but hopefully by then I'll have garnered some trust and can host one, or can share hosting duties with someone else if they want to use this theme ^^).
Spoiler Alert: If you haven't played the original Bioshock, then I suggest you find a way asap. Even if you plan never to read this. Because it's badass. Some mechanics may hint at plot elements.
"...I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture. A city where the artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where the great would not be constrained by the small. And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well."
―Andrew Ryan
(Brief) Setting: All is not well in Rapture, an underwater utopia designed to be free from the meddling of any government. Civil war is consuming the city; Andrew Ryan's regime struggles to fend off Frank Fontaine's thugs, a bloody clash made even worse by the discovery of Adam. Harvested from a special form of sea slug, Adam is a substance capable of rewriting genetic code at a base level. Scientists began finding ways of using Adam to 'splice' people giving them new mutated powers, and the whole city began to revolve around this dangerous practice. As Adam becomes scarce, it must be harvested and recycled from dead bodies - this job is given to the Little Sisters, girls who take the material from corpses and flush it through their own systems (allowing the sea slug implanted in them to cleanse the Adam making it useable again). Hulking monstrosities were created to guard the Little Sisters called Big Daddies, monsters acting as guardian angels who recognise no authority, not even Ryan's.
The Forum Mafia game will begin with the city in anarchy. Fontaine and his thugs seek control of Rapture, whilst Andrew Ryan tries to restore his own failing regime. The majority of the populace only seek escape - by overwhelming each of these factions the townspeople can reach the bathyspheres and reactivate them, letting them all head to the surface and back to normal civilisation. Hidden amongst the populace are those who have their own secret agenda, however, as their life in Rapture and slavish dependance on Adam twists their maligned souls. There are also whispers of a terrible plane crash in the sea above, though the chances of any survivors in the burning wreckage making their way down to Rapture are slim...
In other words, in terms of factions there will be the Town against Ryan Industries and Fontaine Fisheries (2 Mafia-type factions). The Saturnine will play the role of the Cult. There are also some neutral roles.
Role List:
Andrew Ryan (Godfather)
Sullivan, Head of Security (Consigliere)
Hidden Mafia Role
Hidden Mafia Role
Frank Fontaine (Disguiser)
Yi Suchong (Drug Dealer)
Hidden Mafia Role
Hidden Mafia Role
Jack (Plane Crash Survivor)
Little Sister
Hidden Benign Neutral
Hidden Benign Neutral
Hidden Neutral Killing Role
The Saturnine (Cult Leader)
Sheriff
Investigator
Doctor
Armoursmith
Mason
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
You may notice some similarities between this role list and the one used in FMVII. Basically, I used it as inspiration when coming up with the number of players for each faction, I thought it was a well-balanced setup.
Special Mechanics:
The Godfather, Andrew Ryan – In this game, Andrew Ryan is NOT immune at night. He IS immune to sheriffs and investigators, but he is NOT immune to Detectives/Lookouts.
The Disguiser, Frank Fontaine – Originally I had Fontaine as a Godfather like Ryan, but I think this fits much better and, since the GF is nerfed anyway, I think it's balanced. This is not your typical Disguiser anyway: Fontaine may save his ability. If Fontaine has not used his ability and is lynched during the day, he may escape the lynch and disguise as someone else. The day does NOT end if this happens, and the Town is free to lynch someone else in the remaining time. Fontaine is NOT immune at night, is NOT immune to sheriffs/investigators, and NOT immune to Detectives/Lookouts.
Jack (Plane Crash Survivor) – Has the ability to kill at night. Ignores immunities. Jack is not aware of his role; the player will be told that they are a Citizen. Both Fontaine and Ryan will have their own code phrase. Whoever says their code phrase most during day chat will have the ability to control Jack at night, but cannot send another Mafia out to kill. Basically, controlling Jack gives the Mafia an unwitting puppet and proxy. Fontaine and Ryan should do their best to control Jack since neither of them are immune to Detectives/Lookouts/Bodyguards.
Yi Suchong (Drug Dealer) – Suchong has a one-use ability to create his own plasmid. This must be done at night. The custom plasmid essentially acts like a Gunsmith/Armoursmith; Suchong may give this plasmid to anyone he wishes, if it's appropriate. The plasmid will be created at the discretion of the host – Suchong will have to confer his wishes to the host and they will negotiate a fair plasmid. Examples of fair plasmid abilities: One-use kill, Armour save, Bus Drive, Witch ability, foolproof Investigation result on a specific player, frame target, blackmail. Creating plasmids like 'automatically kill the Sheriff' or 'all players silenced during the day' obviously won't be allowed. This should encourage creative thinking, strategic use of a standard FM ability you don't have access to normally is helpful, but Suchong coming up with some really cool outside-the-box plasmid is encouraged.
Little Sister – A completely neutral role, she wishes only to survive. The Little Sister almost acts like a Veteran, one person who visits her at night gets pulverized by a Big Daddy. If multiple people visit her at night, the killing is randomised, and one of the survivors gets to 'harvest' the Little Sister. The results of the harvest differ based on which faction the harvester belongs to, but harvesting will always be beneficial. If the Little Sister is lynched, then the Big Daddy will pulverize two of the lynchers at random, but the Town will then benefit from the harvest. Most importantly, the longer the Little Sister stays alive the more ADAM she collects, making the benefits from harvesting her all the more fruitful...
Notes:
I'm still working out a few things, and would appreciate feedback on balancing. I've got a few cool ideas for people like Sander Cohen (who I originally had as Cult Leader, but I think something special can be done for him...). I'm also working on a Tenenbaum role, can't decide whether she should be Town or Benign Neutral, and how she should be linked to saving Jack and the Little Sister. I like the idea of having Jack's objective be to see Andrew Ryan and Frank Fontaine dead, but that could be tricky for him unless there's some kind of way for him to be released from the mind control and discover who they are.
Basically, some things I have an idea I'm still fleshing out, and some things I have intentionally left blank so far so we can be flexible with balancing. Pretty sure I want someone able to heal on a Mafia side since neither leader is immune at night, and Jack can pierce through any healing :)
I'm aiming for this game to 'mostly' act like a normal game of Mafia, but with some fun twists. The amount of WIFOM in the battle for control of Jack between Fontaine and Ryan should be awesome, since the Mafia which doesn't control him at night has a distinct disadvantage. The Little Sister is the Risk vs. Reward element - people WILL die trying to harvest her, but the rewards will be worth it, and if she's still alive in the lategame she'll be a target despite not actually posing a threat to anyone (it may seem like a dull role to actually have, I might tweak some things, but I think it'll pose a good challenge to the player, and you know you're fairly well protected by your Big Daddy... hell, maybe the Big Daddy could end up being another player role?).
Originally I was going to have a 'Splicer' character, who was Town and had the same create-a-plasmid ability as Suchong. I may still put that in, I know a normal game of Mafia isn't helped by an unknown element like that because it upsets the logic puzzle, but the limited nature of it plus the WIFOM nature of FM should be interesting.
Spoiler Alert: If you haven't played the original Bioshock, then I suggest you find a way asap. Even if you plan never to read this. Because it's badass. Some mechanics may hint at plot elements.
"...I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture. A city where the artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where the great would not be constrained by the small. And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well."
―Andrew Ryan
(Brief) Setting: All is not well in Rapture, an underwater utopia designed to be free from the meddling of any government. Civil war is consuming the city; Andrew Ryan's regime struggles to fend off Frank Fontaine's thugs, a bloody clash made even worse by the discovery of Adam. Harvested from a special form of sea slug, Adam is a substance capable of rewriting genetic code at a base level. Scientists began finding ways of using Adam to 'splice' people giving them new mutated powers, and the whole city began to revolve around this dangerous practice. As Adam becomes scarce, it must be harvested and recycled from dead bodies - this job is given to the Little Sisters, girls who take the material from corpses and flush it through their own systems (allowing the sea slug implanted in them to cleanse the Adam making it useable again). Hulking monstrosities were created to guard the Little Sisters called Big Daddies, monsters acting as guardian angels who recognise no authority, not even Ryan's.
The Forum Mafia game will begin with the city in anarchy. Fontaine and his thugs seek control of Rapture, whilst Andrew Ryan tries to restore his own failing regime. The majority of the populace only seek escape - by overwhelming each of these factions the townspeople can reach the bathyspheres and reactivate them, letting them all head to the surface and back to normal civilisation. Hidden amongst the populace are those who have their own secret agenda, however, as their life in Rapture and slavish dependance on Adam twists their maligned souls. There are also whispers of a terrible plane crash in the sea above, though the chances of any survivors in the burning wreckage making their way down to Rapture are slim...
In other words, in terms of factions there will be the Town against Ryan Industries and Fontaine Fisheries (2 Mafia-type factions). The Saturnine will play the role of the Cult. There are also some neutral roles.
Role List:
Andrew Ryan (Godfather)
Sullivan, Head of Security (Consigliere)
Hidden Mafia Role
Hidden Mafia Role
Frank Fontaine (Disguiser)
Yi Suchong (Drug Dealer)
Hidden Mafia Role
Hidden Mafia Role
Jack (Plane Crash Survivor)
Little Sister
Hidden Benign Neutral
Hidden Benign Neutral
Hidden Neutral Killing Role
The Saturnine (Cult Leader)
Sheriff
Investigator
Doctor
Armoursmith
Mason
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Hidden Town Power
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
You may notice some similarities between this role list and the one used in FMVII. Basically, I used it as inspiration when coming up with the number of players for each faction, I thought it was a well-balanced setup.
Special Mechanics:
The Godfather, Andrew Ryan – In this game, Andrew Ryan is NOT immune at night. He IS immune to sheriffs and investigators, but he is NOT immune to Detectives/Lookouts.
The Disguiser, Frank Fontaine – Originally I had Fontaine as a Godfather like Ryan, but I think this fits much better and, since the GF is nerfed anyway, I think it's balanced. This is not your typical Disguiser anyway: Fontaine may save his ability. If Fontaine has not used his ability and is lynched during the day, he may escape the lynch and disguise as someone else. The day does NOT end if this happens, and the Town is free to lynch someone else in the remaining time. Fontaine is NOT immune at night, is NOT immune to sheriffs/investigators, and NOT immune to Detectives/Lookouts.
Jack (Plane Crash Survivor) – Has the ability to kill at night. Ignores immunities. Jack is not aware of his role; the player will be told that they are a Citizen. Both Fontaine and Ryan will have their own code phrase. Whoever says their code phrase most during day chat will have the ability to control Jack at night, but cannot send another Mafia out to kill. Basically, controlling Jack gives the Mafia an unwitting puppet and proxy. Fontaine and Ryan should do their best to control Jack since neither of them are immune to Detectives/Lookouts/Bodyguards.
Yi Suchong (Drug Dealer) – Suchong has a one-use ability to create his own plasmid. This must be done at night. The custom plasmid essentially acts like a Gunsmith/Armoursmith; Suchong may give this plasmid to anyone he wishes, if it's appropriate. The plasmid will be created at the discretion of the host – Suchong will have to confer his wishes to the host and they will negotiate a fair plasmid. Examples of fair plasmid abilities: One-use kill, Armour save, Bus Drive, Witch ability, foolproof Investigation result on a specific player, frame target, blackmail. Creating plasmids like 'automatically kill the Sheriff' or 'all players silenced during the day' obviously won't be allowed. This should encourage creative thinking, strategic use of a standard FM ability you don't have access to normally is helpful, but Suchong coming up with some really cool outside-the-box plasmid is encouraged.
Little Sister – A completely neutral role, she wishes only to survive. The Little Sister almost acts like a Veteran, one person who visits her at night gets pulverized by a Big Daddy. If multiple people visit her at night, the killing is randomised, and one of the survivors gets to 'harvest' the Little Sister. The results of the harvest differ based on which faction the harvester belongs to, but harvesting will always be beneficial. If the Little Sister is lynched, then the Big Daddy will pulverize two of the lynchers at random, but the Town will then benefit from the harvest. Most importantly, the longer the Little Sister stays alive the more ADAM she collects, making the benefits from harvesting her all the more fruitful...
Notes:
I'm still working out a few things, and would appreciate feedback on balancing. I've got a few cool ideas for people like Sander Cohen (who I originally had as Cult Leader, but I think something special can be done for him...). I'm also working on a Tenenbaum role, can't decide whether she should be Town or Benign Neutral, and how she should be linked to saving Jack and the Little Sister. I like the idea of having Jack's objective be to see Andrew Ryan and Frank Fontaine dead, but that could be tricky for him unless there's some kind of way for him to be released from the mind control and discover who they are.
Basically, some things I have an idea I'm still fleshing out, and some things I have intentionally left blank so far so we can be flexible with balancing. Pretty sure I want someone able to heal on a Mafia side since neither leader is immune at night, and Jack can pierce through any healing :)
I'm aiming for this game to 'mostly' act like a normal game of Mafia, but with some fun twists. The amount of WIFOM in the battle for control of Jack between Fontaine and Ryan should be awesome, since the Mafia which doesn't control him at night has a distinct disadvantage. The Little Sister is the Risk vs. Reward element - people WILL die trying to harvest her, but the rewards will be worth it, and if she's still alive in the lategame she'll be a target despite not actually posing a threat to anyone (it may seem like a dull role to actually have, I might tweak some things, but I think it'll pose a good challenge to the player, and you know you're fairly well protected by your Big Daddy... hell, maybe the Big Daddy could end up being another player role?).
Originally I was going to have a 'Splicer' character, who was Town and had the same create-a-plasmid ability as Suchong. I may still put that in, I know a normal game of Mafia isn't helped by an unknown element like that because it upsets the logic puzzle, but the limited nature of it plus the WIFOM nature of FM should be interesting.