Forum Mafia GM
July 22nd, 2012, 06:54 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yh9RywD_Fw
Jenkins swiped a ghoul across the face with the butt of his rifle as Criid stabbed another through the next. Carlson and his squad were running out of ammunition and resolve. Wash lay on the floor, bleeding out from a bite wound he'd sustained to the neck. Jayne and Reynolds had disappeared under a mound of ghouls. Carlson shot a ghoul through the face with his service pistol, before decapitating another with a backhand swing from his machete.
Before his very eyes, turrets dropped down from hidden hatches in the ceiling. Their motors whirred as their camera lenses adjusted to the darkness of the room. From the doorway to the next room, Carlson heard the sound of power cables humming into life and the soft *swish* of pneumatic clamps unsealing. Robots swarmed into the room, and Carlson recognized them to be of the 'Mister Gutsy' variant; flames shot out of the robots' appendages, bathing the feral ghouls in flame. The turrets began unleashing their deadly salvo into the throng. Ghoul flesh rained in the air.
---
Stonny watched in dismay as turret fire ripped into the Brotherhood of Steel troops. The heavy calibre rounds tore through the power armour as if it was tissue paper.
Defender Stonny took seven rounds through her torso before she finally succumbed to the onslaught. Her body fell onto the metal grille of the floor as the corridor became silent.
---
Roxy looked into the eyes of the man that had programmed the targeting data.
"What settings did you put in... Klaus?"
Klaus grinned.
---
Jenkins exploded as the turret closest to him roared. Criid lost both of her legs to the explosive ammunition before a final round blew out her brains. Carlson fired from the hip and took out the turret overhead. He turned his aim towards the nearest Mister Gutsy but the gun had run dry. In a last, desperate attack, Carlson held his blade above his head and leaped at the machine.
The flames incinerated him before he hit the ground.
---
Roxy heard cannon fire outside of the booth in the main office, before everything went quiet. Someone then knocked on the security door to the booth.
The hatch slid open to reveal three figures standing outside. They were all laughing.
It was Wicket, Han and Law.
Law pointed a pistol at Roxy as Klaus began searching the booth.
"Hey, boss, do I waste her or what?"
Law blacked out as Wicket's fist connected with his jaw. He collapsed onto the floor.
"Roxy walks out of here alive."
Klaus raised an eyebrow as Han fidgeted nervously in the corner, before returning to his search.
"Okay, big man, take her. I assume our business is concluded?"
Wicket nodded, before spitting on the sprawled body of Law. He reached his hand out to Roxy. Stunned, and at a loss for anything else to do, Roxy took it and stepped outside the booth with Wicket. Out of the window the installation defences all powered down and Enclave vertibirds swooped into the courtyard.
"Aha!"
Klaus emerged from underneath the console with a metal case in his hands. Four letters were printed on the side. Han was curious.
"Er... what's G.E.C.K. stand for?"
"Never you mind."
Enclave troopers filed into the main office. One of them took the metal case from Klaus before shooting a threatening look at Han.
"Leave him be, soldier. Leave this place, Han. Go find something to do in the wastes - I never want to see you again."
Han took off in a hurry, and Klaus took one last look around the booth. It had been nine long years of suffering, but it might be worth it in the end. The prize would land him in good stead with his peers, and the wasteland was full of opportunities for a man that had been stuck underground for so long.
Today, Klaus thought, had been a good day.
---
Roxy continued trudging along, happy to be alive but scarred by the violence of the last few days. Wicket was in step beside her.
"Why did you save me? Who are you, and why did they let you go?"
Wicket considered the questions.
"I'm a nobody, Roxy. You can just call me Pete - that was my original birth name, long ago."
"Oh, okay... well then, Pete, where are we going?"
"There used to be an old cabin over by the lake. This area wasn't really affected by a bomb blast, maybe it's still there and can offer us shelter for the night?"
He flashed a grin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-q9iR80YU0
---
Congratulations to the Enclave (Klaus, Gaunt, Law, Roger, Beru, Nina), Devourer (Wicket), Witch (Han), Corrupt Journalist (Francine) and Arms Dealer (Larkin) for winning Forum Mafia XIII!
Well done everyone, the game is finally over. It lasted longer than was predicted, but somehow the action managed to be exciting right until the very end. I hope everyone had fun, even those who died early on. The game was a bit of a monster and I'm just relieved that activity levels were high and that most people were enjoying themselves regardless of their role or success. My aim was for everyone to feel involved and important, and there really were many situations where every single player was vital. I'll be including some more thoughts on the setup and the game below, but for now I want to congratulate our winners and move on to some of the interesting stuff.
This is also my special Thank You tribute to Yayap. He volunteered to help me out on the technical side of things, and before the game started he set up all the various chats (FMXIII had a particularly unique set of constrictions placed on us, which Yayap dealt with in a sterling fashion). I was then able to bounce ideas off of him, and he inspired me to take a few risks which really paid off. Throughout the game he then let me do the boring host stuff while he took great pleasure in tormenting all of you with music and cryptic remarks - I was very grateful to have his sense of humour and advice available to me. I always gave him credit whenever someone spoke to me, but I want to make this tribute public. GG Yayap, you incredibly trolly co-host, for making this enterprise even more fun :D
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Role / Player list:
The Enclave:
Framer - McPwnage - Gaunt
Drug Dealer - Capitalier - Beru
Janitor - philie - Nina
Disguiser - Auckmid - Roger
Actress - Dont Shoot Me - Law
Ventriloquist - Escaho - Klaus / Rodgers / Paul
The Brotherhood of Steel:
Ventriloquist - Borkbot - Bragg / Ben / Lei
Actress - Phyr - Lando
Consort - Menautor - King
Fabricator - Raptorblaze - Stan
Grave Robber - Kromos - Tarkin (REPLACED BY: Glip)
Kidnapper - Shaded - Vick
The Wastelanders:
Amnesiac/Bus Driver - Tasogare_Akira - Manning
Student/Medical Student - Crimson - Jabba
Student/Sane Sheriff - straykiwi - Biggs
The Evil Wastelanders:
Arms Dealer - Duzero - Larkin
Corrupt Journalist - Fragos - Francine
Witch - Ubernox - Han
The Wasteland Wanderer:
Devourer (The Lakeside Butcher) - CmG - Wicket
The New California Republic:
Paranoid Sheriff - JSaint - Romo
Insane Sheriff - SirBlayzalot - Brostin
Naive Sheriff - ajkei - Tebow
Naive Sheriff - Bahkieh - Fluttershy
Sane Sheriff - Sumikoko - Vader
Detective - Grimrailer - Ackbar
Detective - creedkingsx - Rachel
Lookout - Goremancer - Ross
Bus Driver - Deathfire123 - Yoshimitsu
Enchantress - Zack - Eddy
Mortician - TimeTrx - Brees
Armoursmith - Bluejay - Rawne
Hitman - Zane - Yoda
Escort - Duffmana - Boba
Bodyguard - Ash - Phoebe
Medical Student - Frostbyte - Mkoll
Saboteur - TheWaaagh - Chewbacca
Coroner - Jr4life24 - Monica
Journalist - clementine - Leia
Alien-Citizen - J - Luke (REPLACED BY: BurntEskimo)
Citizen - Bruno - Hayley
Citizen - Brendan - Steve
Citizen - Clock - Greedo
Citizen - RaikouRider - Chandler
Citizen - The Nightbringer - Owen
Citizen - suicidaln00b - Brady
Citizen - Blazer - Wedge
Citizen - Gingerape - Heihachi
Citizen - Guardian - Jin
Aliens:
Alien/Host - Luna - Applejack
Alien - Minecraft - Corbec
Alien - Nick/Rocshi/MagmaRam/Ganondorf/Vornksr/Yayap/Luna- Dorden
Alien/Co-Host - Yayap - Gunther
Alien/Citizen - BurntEskimo - Hwoarang (replaced with the other Aliens when he was Luke)
Alien - Nick/Rocshi/MagmaRam/Ganondorf/Vornksr/Yayap/Luna - Newton
Alien - Archangel - Stafford
Alien - Nick/Rocshi/MagmaRam/Ganondorf/Vornksr/Yayap/Luna - Palpatine
Vault Distribution:
Vault 5: Gambling Vault
Detective - Grimrailer - Ackbar
Citizen - suicidaln00b - Brady
Corrupt Journalist - Fragos - Francine
Framer - McPwnage - Gaunt
Citizen - Bruno - Hayley
Actress - Dont Shoot Me - Law
Citizen - Brendan - Steve
Bus Driver - Deathfire123 - Yoshimitsu
Vault 9: Armoury Vault
Naive Sheriff - Bahkieh - Fluttershy
Witch - Ubernox - Han
Citizen - Gingerape - Heihachi
Actress - Phyr - Lando
Disguiser - Auckmid - Roger
Paranoid Sheriff - JSaint - Romo
Sane Sheriff - Sumikoko - Vader
Vault 21: Cannibal Vault
Mortician - TimeTrx - Brees
Enchantress - Zack - Eddy
Alien-Citizen - J - Luke (REPLACED BY: BURNTESKIMO)
Amnesiac - Tasogare_Akira - Manning
Armoursmith - Bluejay - Rawne
Citizen - The Nightbringer - Owen
Grave Robber - Kromos - Tarkin (REPLACED BY: Glip)
Kidnapper - Shaded - Vick
Citizen - Blazer - Wedge
Vault 37: Maintenance Vault
Drug Dealer - Capitalier - Beru
Escort - Duffmana - Boba
Insane Sheriff - SirBlayzalot - Brostin
Citizen - RaikouRider - Chandler
Student - Crimson - Jabba
Citizen - Guardian - Jin
Janitor - philie - Nina
Lookout - Goremancer - Ross
Hitman - Zane - Yoda
Vault 66: Devourer/Puppet Vault
Student - straykiwi - Biggs
Ventriloquist - Borkbot - Bragg / Ben / Lei
Ventriloquist - Escaho - Klaus / Rodgers / Paul
Bodyguard - Ash - Phoebe
Detective - creedkingsx - Rachel
Devourer - CmG - Wicket
Vault 103: Drug Vault
Saboteur - TheWaaagh - Chewbacca
Citizen - Clock - Greedo
Consort - Menautor - King
Arms Dealer - Duzero - Larkin
Journalist - clementine - Leia
Medical Student - Frostbyte - Mkoll
Coroner - Jr4life24 - Monica
Fabricator - Raptorblaze - Stan
Naive Sheriff - ajkei - Tebow
---
Graveyard:
Hayley (Citizen): Shot herself during a game of Russian Roulette. [Night 1]
Heihachi (Citizen): Killed by a Mysterious Stranger. [Night 1]
Eddy (Enchantress): Killed by Strike Force members in the vault. [Night 1]
Chandler (Citizen): Murdered by traitorous Strike Force members in the vault. [Night 1]
Rachel (Detective): Executed via decapitation. [Night 1]
Chewbacca (Saboteur): Killed at night by Strike Force member. [Night 1]
Stan (Fabricator): Lynched by insane vault members, driven crazy by the sounds... [Day 2]
Steve (Citizen): Tried to be manly, but shot himself. [Night 2]
Owen (Citizen): Gunned down as he sniffed for clues, by Strike Force members. [Night 2]
Yoda (???): Went missing, he did. [Night 2]
Greedo (Citizen): Cut down in a frenzy by a traitorous Strike Force. [Night 2]
Ben (Puppet): Clubbed to death within the luxury of Vault 66. [Day 3]
King (Consort): Lynched by an angry mob. [Day 3]
Ackbar (Detective): Poisoned by a melon. [Night 3]
Brostin (Sheriff): Committed suicide like a demented fool, by running naked into a turret. [Day 4]
Larkin (Arms Dealer): Exiled into the valley to be killed by the base defence systems. [Day 4]
Bragg (Ventriloquist): Killed by a Mysterious Stranger... [Night 4]
Lei (Puppet): Committed suicide. [Night 4]
Yoshimitsu (???): Went missing, mysteriously, leaving no trace of his role. [Night 4]
Lando (Sheriff): Killed and maimed by multiple sources. [Night 4]
Phoebe (Bodyguard): Gunned down in a duel. [Night 4]
Fluttershy (Sheriff): Vaporised by a vertibird rotor. [Day 5]
Francine (Corrupt Journalist): Shot by Boone, the NCR Marksman overlooking the courtyard. [Day 5]
Boba (Escort): Found lying in the courtyard, having been attacked by multiple sources. [Night 5]
Biggs (???): Disappeared under mysterious circumstances. [Night 5]
Roger (???): Disappeared under circumstances which were just as mysterious. [Night 5]
Beru (Drug Dealer): Impaled through the chest by Ross. [Day 6]
Vick (Kidnapper): Crushed under debris after creating a breach in the base defences. [Day 6]
Brees (Mortician): Shot through the heart by Brotherhood Troopers during the breach. [Day 6]
Ross (Lookout): Killed during the breach through shrapnel wounds. [Day 6]
Romo (Sheriff): Gunned down mercilessly while charging a Brotherhood Kill Team. [Day 6]
Paul (Puppet): Riddled with bullets by a Strike Force member during the panicked retreat. [Night 6]
Wedge (Citizen): Murdered with a one-shot pistol in a bathroom stall. [Night 6]
Jin (Citizen): Killed in cold blood by Strike Force members as soldiers stormed the building. [Night 6]
Nina (Janitor): Had her brains blown out with a one-shot pistol in the back room. [Night 6]
Manning (Bus Driver): Had his organs ripped out and was crucified. Executed as kill teams infiltrated the building. [Night 6]
Monica (Disguiser): Hunted down in the Vault-Tec corridors and scalped. [Day 7]
Mkoll (Doctor): Executed when an NCR trooper triggered a trap which tore him apart and burnt him alive. [Night 7]
Brady (Citizen): Killed during the night by a Strike Force member. [Night 7]
Tarkin (Grave Robber): Shot through the head with a one-shot pistol. [Night 8]
Tebow (Sheriff): Murdered by Strike Force members during the confusion of the ghoul outbreak. [Night 8]
Gaunt (Framer): Had his head crushed by a Strike Force member during the night. [Night 8]
Jabba (Doctor): Executed by being hung from the rafters. [Night 8]
Vader (Sheriff): Executed in a grisly manner by the Lakeside Butcher. [Night 9]
Luke (Alien-Citizen): Shot by the Enclave as they took took the facility. [Night 9]
---
Awards:
MVP - Wicket (CmG)
This was a very, very hard pick. I wish I could give out three or four MVP awards. I tried to take into account consistency and roles. He didn't have to lead the scumhunt, nor did he have the opportunity to pull of some crazy strategies with any teammates, but CmG played a good game. He was in a tough position - Vault 66 became exposed very early on and he couldn't really exploit his jail chats to the fullest. CmG shared a running commentary on the game with me, and he was pretty dialled in. He was forced into a rather defensive position and couldn't lead much discussion in day chat, but he avoided the radio interviews and the spotlight despite the pressure continually increasing. I wasn't expecting to give MVP to the Devourer at all - getting a code established with the mafia was nice, and pressure was evaded well, but there were two main actions which changed my mind. CmG was getting more and more active in day chat, and when he finally got revealed and hunted by multiple factions for the lynch, he managed to juke the hammer at a critical time with a silver tongue. He also trusted his own gut instincts when it came to the kills, and took out the gun-toting Vader on the final night which secured the scum win. I also think he deserves MVP simply because he managed to gobble up both Students, both of their Mentors, the Amnesiac and the player whose role the Amnesiac remembered.
4599
Evil Mastermind - Lando (Phyr)
Another German gets an award! I think Phyr deserves this recognition because he was really active and played a great game. He is a natural town player, and while he was a target of suspicion he knew that he could afford to be. It was a pleasure to have him in the game, and he wasn't afraid to put himself out there. No one's analysis was foolproof, but he was one of the lynch-pins in the Brotherhood of Steel strategy discussions and he even managed to snag himself a Veteran's Assault Rifle from Vault 9! He played the role of the Actress rather well, and even though he was helped out by the role's abilities and circumstances (getting shot by the Enclave on the night he gets killed in a duel, luckily getting the death descriptions covered up!) he managed to stay hidden until the very end. I'd have liked to see a more aggressive use of his strategy - he did not manage to really counter-claim any important roles or cause any direct distractions - but he was convincing enough to really screw over the Enclave in the late game!
4601
Citizen Incarnate - Luke (BurntEskimo III)
It is with great pleasure that I give this award to BurntEskimo! He was originally excluded from the game, before FMXIII I did not have a good impression of BurntEskimo and I really didn't want him in the game. When engaged in *ahem* the 'distraction' game he was involved in, however, he gradually dropped his trollish facade and began to get into it. Yayap and I moved him to the top of the reserve list, and he hopped into Luke. He did a really great job. He was not a town leader or anything, but he was really active and involved. He contributed to discussions, and pulled off a couple of really nice plays which showed off some neat skills; he managed to avoid claiming when at L-2, and when he realized that the Brotherhood of Steel needed to be protected he managed to convince everyone that he was a mafia member. Citizens usually try to take bullets for town PRs, not mafia members! Hopefully BurntEskimo won't be shamed now that he has been revealed, and I hope he signs up for more FMs and plays like this :)
4602
Most Honourable Mention - Klaus (Escaho)
Klaus was one of the frontrunners for MVP, and I had to give Escaho the recognition he deserves. He had three accounts to manage, and he played a really good game. He was quite active in day chat, and even had a Sane Sheriff claim going for some time. Escaho also provided a solid voice in the night chat. After Day 7 I also appreciated his attempts to salvage the train-wreck of a situation which had developed, and Escaho never stopped fighting on behalf of the Devourer.
4603
Inquisitor - Leia (clementine)
I knew that clementine would make a good journalist. It's one of my most favourite roles. She wins this award for her leadership skills and activity; she never stopped her questioning, and was always a a threat to the scum! Unfortunately she was incorrect on quite a few assumptions and was led on a wild goose chase for half of the game, but she never gave up. I just feel sorry for poor old Larkin, who got lynched on very shaky grounds, but while clementine may have stumbled here and there she always found a scum of some kind.
4604
The Fixer - Roger/Monica (Auckmid)
Auckmid did really well in this game. He managed to snag the Vigilante gun in Vault 9, as well as the Gunsmith tools (okay so he got the Gunsmith tools because he was the ONLY person that voted, but he got them nonetheless). Auckmid provided his team with enough firepower to just about eek out the win, and should have listened to his instincts when he was asked to jump into Monica.
4605
Guardian Angel - Rawne (Bluejay)
This award is issued in recognition of the crucial saves made by Rawne's armour! Okay so the timing of the player it was issued to is important, but Bluejay managed to keep the armour flowing in the right direction, and even saved himself at one point. He may have been suspicious to most, but he had some of the most efficient night actions in the game. Well done!
4606
Best Avatar - Han (Ubernox)
I didn't want to give this award to Ubernox. There were plenty of awesome avatars kicking about, and I liked some of the creative/serious ones. Ubernox showed me the picture that he'd cropped the image from, however, and it's hilarious - every time I see his avatar I chuckle, and it perfectly encapsulates the derpiness of his night actions in this game.
Player's Choice Award - ???
PM me with your vote for the Player's Choice Award! This is the award given out by you, the players. Some reasoning behind your choices would be nice. Maybe you liked someone's line of questioning, or a gambit they made. Maybe you thought they'd been overlooked in another category, or maybe you just enjoyed playing with them.
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Final thoughts:
Thanks for sticking with it guys. We had a few unfortunate drop-outs, but overall everyone should be proud of themselves - it's a mafia game, after all, the entertainment is made by the players and you certainly made it fun for me. I received lots of lovely feedback, and I'm grateful that people were patient with me. I was rather ambitious and, even with Yayap's aid, I could not make things go 100% smoothly.
Setup thoughts:
I knew going into this game that balance would be a nightmare. It's impossible to balance a standard game of mafia, after all. Deception, lies and skill are important but there's also that degree of luck. A Veteran might randomly kill off ten people on night one, the investigative roles might never find scum, there's so many variables involved. I knew that I couldn't predict what would happen, but I tried to create some semblance of balance. KPN was restricted in some vaults, for example, because I didn't want over half of the players in the game getting shot/lynched before they even left the vaults.
Oh yeah, there was also going to be a Cult Leader in this game originally. He was going to be introduced when the vaults emptied - a random non-mafia player was going to be assigned as Cult Leader, and two Citizens would be randomly chosen as Masons. This was to combat the nature of the vault system; narrowing down the scum after the vault stage would be stupidly easy, so I wanted there to be that element of doubt when a 'confirmed' town PR from the vaults spoke up. This was obviously later changed, and instead I increased the number of mafia players on each team as well as making the roles lists more confusing with hidden roles.
As for the vaults themselves, well, they grew organically. I created a huge list of vault ideas, and there were some REALLY crazy ones in there. I began pruning, though some crazy ones were still being considered (a Tranquility Lane-inspired vault was in the works at one point...). I knew that I was being ambitious with FMXIII though, so I was very conservative with my final selection. I only picked the most basic ideas, which added cosmetic or minor changes to the game - I thought that the vault system would be fine enough. Fortunately Yayap kept badgering me to take a couple of risks, and they really paid off. I'm still glad I took the conservative approach to the whole vault system though, since even the tiniest changes to mechanics could provide significant changes to strategy.
--
Vault 5 - My favourite idea for a vault, simply because I love gambling. At first I thought it was a rather simple change to the normal lynch mechanic, but there were some interesting possibilities. The players could speak to each other during their roulette game, privately, and there was the potential for some information sharing/deception going on. Scum teammates/etc. could also collaborate in this chat and decide who would sacrifice themselves, or a Citizen could take a bullet for a Town PR claim they believed. I also restricted night kills
How it went: Well, it was an interesting vault. It had a higher ratio of citizens to PRs than other vaults (for some possible shenanigans in the roulette game). Ackbar didn't submit any actions, and Yoshimitsu/Francine didn't want to reveal their roles, so the day chat was rather interesting. Two people HAD to play roulette, after all, so the players couldn't afford to wait around for investigative roles to reveal. Obviously I can be criticized for introducing the element of luck into the game, and there were rumblings that the NCR was 'unlucky' in Vault 5, but neither Enclave member ever made it to a roulette game :S
--
Vault 9 - Originally, a one-shot pistol was given out each day via lynch which had to be shot at night. It was essentially a very simple 'reverse' lynch (instead of voting for the most suspicious player, you vote for the most reliable). I even considered making this a vault of town roles, maybe even with a roles list which showed they were all town, and letting the 'Saw' type social experiment play out (would you like to play a game?). This idea grew into the rewards system. I also made this the 'Cop Insanity' vault - lots of Sheriffs, who would desperately be working together to find out what alignment they were! In retrospect I could have included a couple of Sheriffs in the vault roles list :P
How it went: This was an interesting vault. Lots of long posts, with an intriguing back and forth as the scum subtly vied for the guns without knowing it. This vault was let down by a couple of players that didn't really participate, but the actions taken in this vault had an impact on the whole game. If only Fluttershy had been given the Veteran's AR! ^^
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Vault 21 - I liked this vault design. It was simple, but had some interesting dilemmas involved. Lynching someone obviously creates that hidden role in the player list, but sometimes you have to take that risk.
How it went: Well, it seemed the Enchantress lured the killer on night one (who was targeting her anyway) and THIS WAS PRETTY MUCH OVERLOOKED! It was really amusing to see Owen lead the town down a path of self-destruction.
Vault 37 - This was another simple vault that followed on the 'Well it's basically a normal game with one tiny twist' guideline. The roleblock/jail technician position provided discussion topics for the day chat, and could be utilized for a variety of strategies, while the core gameplay remained intact.
How it went: I think the NCR really dropped the ball in this vault. There was no semblance of structure to the day chat, and a real lack of scumhunting or pressure. No lynches were even attempted. There was also a lacklustre response to the secret ballots, which had some interesting repercussions for the late game (Boba got very sidetracked when he assumed certain things about the technician votes).
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Vault 66 - Also known as the 'Vault of Wasted Potential'. I was thinking of ways to have the mafia and the neutral killer in a vault together without having the KPN sky-rocket. I also liked the idea of a bunch of puppets all in a vault, talking with each other. In fact, my initial idea was to ONLY have the ventriloquists and puppets in a vault together. This was the vault where the scum had a chance to reach the surface telling their own story. This was also a vault which didn't require special mechanics to create the tension, simply a custom roles list.
How it went: There was a supreme lack of confidence and creativity in this vault (sorry guys but you have to admit, it was not a riveting first couple of days :P). Both the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel immediately suspected that the other Ventriloquist was in the vault with them. After night one, everyone was also convinced that the Devourer was in the vault with them. Neither mafia team even considered the idea of an alliance until it was way too late. Everyone was so busy playing the 'passive lurking scum' strategy that they didn't grasp the opportunities in front of them. I think everyone would play that vault differently if we did this again, though the Enclave and Devourer did try to draw out the Brotherhood's ventriloquist (however subtly). What's also interesting is that it wasn't the lone NCR player that exposed the vault, but the Brotherhood ventriloquist! Biggs also claimed that he 'wanted to take a scum mentor' yet didn't choose anyone in his vault hehe.
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Vault 103 - This was a weird vault. It went through many different iterations; there was talk of clones named Gary, hallucinations, even a situation where the vault went psycho and on the last night everyone was forced to pick someone to attack. In the end we plumped for the 'extra fake feedback message' mechanic. I wasn't going to make this a hidden mechanic, but once again Yayap convinced me to take a risk. We also introduced the 'aural torture' idea. The notion was that the annoying sounds had subliminal messages in them - it also masked the fact that there was a hidden mechanic in the vault, people might get suspicious otherwise.
How it went: This was hilarious. Leia created a huge plan for the town which relied completely on feedback messages. This was a genuine co-incidence, and Yayap and I laughed and laughed. Greedo made a very unusual and reckless play in this vault. As a Citizen, he claimed Detective and said he followed Stan to the kill target. Not a weird gambit in itself. What made it weird was that Greedo was under the illusion that he had been lured by an Enchantress. This turns a cute little gambit into something very risky, since if an Enchantress was actually present they would probably have revealed this lie and turned the lynch round on Greedo.
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So one last thanks to all, hope you enjoyed it, bring on more games!
P.S. The Alien Mothership was a randomly improvised theme, created on the spot to justify a separate 'game' where potential troublemakers (Archangel/GriM-DeMoN) could be placed so the beginning of the game was not marred by any childish 'I didn't get into FM' rant threads. BurntEskimo was initially placed in there but he deserved a spot in the main game. Most of the accounts are controlled by the co-hosts and the observers.
P.P.S. There were accusations made by a certain person on these forums that I 'stole' this idea. These rumours are unfounded and preposterous, and this individual preferred to slander me behind my back and post his quarrel in public rather than actually talk to me at any stage. For the record I not only had this idea many, many, many months ago (in fact the campaign of disinformation Yayap and I embarked on to throw people off the trail was carried out because I'd spoken about this idea some time ago and I wanted it to be a surprise), but I also never had the arrogance to think it was an original idea anyway. Mafia has been around for a long time - in fact, a couple of weeks before the game started, I was speaking to oops_ur_dead and he showed me the link to a similar idea (http://wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=Tri-Cities_Mafia). I didn't feel the need to start any drama by responding to these accusations when they happened, however, because that person was currently playing in my game (signing up with a smurf after publicly criticizing my game, of course). For some reason, despite never telling me his idea, he was convinced I'd stolen his setup plan and therefore assumed the game was laid out the same as his; which turned out to be wrong, and he royally shot himself in the foot.
Jenkins swiped a ghoul across the face with the butt of his rifle as Criid stabbed another through the next. Carlson and his squad were running out of ammunition and resolve. Wash lay on the floor, bleeding out from a bite wound he'd sustained to the neck. Jayne and Reynolds had disappeared under a mound of ghouls. Carlson shot a ghoul through the face with his service pistol, before decapitating another with a backhand swing from his machete.
Before his very eyes, turrets dropped down from hidden hatches in the ceiling. Their motors whirred as their camera lenses adjusted to the darkness of the room. From the doorway to the next room, Carlson heard the sound of power cables humming into life and the soft *swish* of pneumatic clamps unsealing. Robots swarmed into the room, and Carlson recognized them to be of the 'Mister Gutsy' variant; flames shot out of the robots' appendages, bathing the feral ghouls in flame. The turrets began unleashing their deadly salvo into the throng. Ghoul flesh rained in the air.
---
Stonny watched in dismay as turret fire ripped into the Brotherhood of Steel troops. The heavy calibre rounds tore through the power armour as if it was tissue paper.
Defender Stonny took seven rounds through her torso before she finally succumbed to the onslaught. Her body fell onto the metal grille of the floor as the corridor became silent.
---
Roxy looked into the eyes of the man that had programmed the targeting data.
"What settings did you put in... Klaus?"
Klaus grinned.
---
Jenkins exploded as the turret closest to him roared. Criid lost both of her legs to the explosive ammunition before a final round blew out her brains. Carlson fired from the hip and took out the turret overhead. He turned his aim towards the nearest Mister Gutsy but the gun had run dry. In a last, desperate attack, Carlson held his blade above his head and leaped at the machine.
The flames incinerated him before he hit the ground.
---
Roxy heard cannon fire outside of the booth in the main office, before everything went quiet. Someone then knocked on the security door to the booth.
The hatch slid open to reveal three figures standing outside. They were all laughing.
It was Wicket, Han and Law.
Law pointed a pistol at Roxy as Klaus began searching the booth.
"Hey, boss, do I waste her or what?"
Law blacked out as Wicket's fist connected with his jaw. He collapsed onto the floor.
"Roxy walks out of here alive."
Klaus raised an eyebrow as Han fidgeted nervously in the corner, before returning to his search.
"Okay, big man, take her. I assume our business is concluded?"
Wicket nodded, before spitting on the sprawled body of Law. He reached his hand out to Roxy. Stunned, and at a loss for anything else to do, Roxy took it and stepped outside the booth with Wicket. Out of the window the installation defences all powered down and Enclave vertibirds swooped into the courtyard.
"Aha!"
Klaus emerged from underneath the console with a metal case in his hands. Four letters were printed on the side. Han was curious.
"Er... what's G.E.C.K. stand for?"
"Never you mind."
Enclave troopers filed into the main office. One of them took the metal case from Klaus before shooting a threatening look at Han.
"Leave him be, soldier. Leave this place, Han. Go find something to do in the wastes - I never want to see you again."
Han took off in a hurry, and Klaus took one last look around the booth. It had been nine long years of suffering, but it might be worth it in the end. The prize would land him in good stead with his peers, and the wasteland was full of opportunities for a man that had been stuck underground for so long.
Today, Klaus thought, had been a good day.
---
Roxy continued trudging along, happy to be alive but scarred by the violence of the last few days. Wicket was in step beside her.
"Why did you save me? Who are you, and why did they let you go?"
Wicket considered the questions.
"I'm a nobody, Roxy. You can just call me Pete - that was my original birth name, long ago."
"Oh, okay... well then, Pete, where are we going?"
"There used to be an old cabin over by the lake. This area wasn't really affected by a bomb blast, maybe it's still there and can offer us shelter for the night?"
He flashed a grin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-q9iR80YU0
---
Congratulations to the Enclave (Klaus, Gaunt, Law, Roger, Beru, Nina), Devourer (Wicket), Witch (Han), Corrupt Journalist (Francine) and Arms Dealer (Larkin) for winning Forum Mafia XIII!
Well done everyone, the game is finally over. It lasted longer than was predicted, but somehow the action managed to be exciting right until the very end. I hope everyone had fun, even those who died early on. The game was a bit of a monster and I'm just relieved that activity levels were high and that most people were enjoying themselves regardless of their role or success. My aim was for everyone to feel involved and important, and there really were many situations where every single player was vital. I'll be including some more thoughts on the setup and the game below, but for now I want to congratulate our winners and move on to some of the interesting stuff.
This is also my special Thank You tribute to Yayap. He volunteered to help me out on the technical side of things, and before the game started he set up all the various chats (FMXIII had a particularly unique set of constrictions placed on us, which Yayap dealt with in a sterling fashion). I was then able to bounce ideas off of him, and he inspired me to take a few risks which really paid off. Throughout the game he then let me do the boring host stuff while he took great pleasure in tormenting all of you with music and cryptic remarks - I was very grateful to have his sense of humour and advice available to me. I always gave him credit whenever someone spoke to me, but I want to make this tribute public. GG Yayap, you incredibly trolly co-host, for making this enterprise even more fun :D
------
Role / Player list:
The Enclave:
Framer - McPwnage - Gaunt
Drug Dealer - Capitalier - Beru
Janitor - philie - Nina
Disguiser - Auckmid - Roger
Actress - Dont Shoot Me - Law
Ventriloquist - Escaho - Klaus / Rodgers / Paul
The Brotherhood of Steel:
Ventriloquist - Borkbot - Bragg / Ben / Lei
Actress - Phyr - Lando
Consort - Menautor - King
Fabricator - Raptorblaze - Stan
Grave Robber - Kromos - Tarkin (REPLACED BY: Glip)
Kidnapper - Shaded - Vick
The Wastelanders:
Amnesiac/Bus Driver - Tasogare_Akira - Manning
Student/Medical Student - Crimson - Jabba
Student/Sane Sheriff - straykiwi - Biggs
The Evil Wastelanders:
Arms Dealer - Duzero - Larkin
Corrupt Journalist - Fragos - Francine
Witch - Ubernox - Han
The Wasteland Wanderer:
Devourer (The Lakeside Butcher) - CmG - Wicket
The New California Republic:
Paranoid Sheriff - JSaint - Romo
Insane Sheriff - SirBlayzalot - Brostin
Naive Sheriff - ajkei - Tebow
Naive Sheriff - Bahkieh - Fluttershy
Sane Sheriff - Sumikoko - Vader
Detective - Grimrailer - Ackbar
Detective - creedkingsx - Rachel
Lookout - Goremancer - Ross
Bus Driver - Deathfire123 - Yoshimitsu
Enchantress - Zack - Eddy
Mortician - TimeTrx - Brees
Armoursmith - Bluejay - Rawne
Hitman - Zane - Yoda
Escort - Duffmana - Boba
Bodyguard - Ash - Phoebe
Medical Student - Frostbyte - Mkoll
Saboteur - TheWaaagh - Chewbacca
Coroner - Jr4life24 - Monica
Journalist - clementine - Leia
Alien-Citizen - J - Luke (REPLACED BY: BurntEskimo)
Citizen - Bruno - Hayley
Citizen - Brendan - Steve
Citizen - Clock - Greedo
Citizen - RaikouRider - Chandler
Citizen - The Nightbringer - Owen
Citizen - suicidaln00b - Brady
Citizen - Blazer - Wedge
Citizen - Gingerape - Heihachi
Citizen - Guardian - Jin
Aliens:
Alien/Host - Luna - Applejack
Alien - Minecraft - Corbec
Alien - Nick/Rocshi/MagmaRam/Ganondorf/Vornksr/Yayap/Luna- Dorden
Alien/Co-Host - Yayap - Gunther
Alien/Citizen - BurntEskimo - Hwoarang (replaced with the other Aliens when he was Luke)
Alien - Nick/Rocshi/MagmaRam/Ganondorf/Vornksr/Yayap/Luna - Newton
Alien - Archangel - Stafford
Alien - Nick/Rocshi/MagmaRam/Ganondorf/Vornksr/Yayap/Luna - Palpatine
Vault Distribution:
Vault 5: Gambling Vault
Detective - Grimrailer - Ackbar
Citizen - suicidaln00b - Brady
Corrupt Journalist - Fragos - Francine
Framer - McPwnage - Gaunt
Citizen - Bruno - Hayley
Actress - Dont Shoot Me - Law
Citizen - Brendan - Steve
Bus Driver - Deathfire123 - Yoshimitsu
Vault 9: Armoury Vault
Naive Sheriff - Bahkieh - Fluttershy
Witch - Ubernox - Han
Citizen - Gingerape - Heihachi
Actress - Phyr - Lando
Disguiser - Auckmid - Roger
Paranoid Sheriff - JSaint - Romo
Sane Sheriff - Sumikoko - Vader
Vault 21: Cannibal Vault
Mortician - TimeTrx - Brees
Enchantress - Zack - Eddy
Alien-Citizen - J - Luke (REPLACED BY: BURNTESKIMO)
Amnesiac - Tasogare_Akira - Manning
Armoursmith - Bluejay - Rawne
Citizen - The Nightbringer - Owen
Grave Robber - Kromos - Tarkin (REPLACED BY: Glip)
Kidnapper - Shaded - Vick
Citizen - Blazer - Wedge
Vault 37: Maintenance Vault
Drug Dealer - Capitalier - Beru
Escort - Duffmana - Boba
Insane Sheriff - SirBlayzalot - Brostin
Citizen - RaikouRider - Chandler
Student - Crimson - Jabba
Citizen - Guardian - Jin
Janitor - philie - Nina
Lookout - Goremancer - Ross
Hitman - Zane - Yoda
Vault 66: Devourer/Puppet Vault
Student - straykiwi - Biggs
Ventriloquist - Borkbot - Bragg / Ben / Lei
Ventriloquist - Escaho - Klaus / Rodgers / Paul
Bodyguard - Ash - Phoebe
Detective - creedkingsx - Rachel
Devourer - CmG - Wicket
Vault 103: Drug Vault
Saboteur - TheWaaagh - Chewbacca
Citizen - Clock - Greedo
Consort - Menautor - King
Arms Dealer - Duzero - Larkin
Journalist - clementine - Leia
Medical Student - Frostbyte - Mkoll
Coroner - Jr4life24 - Monica
Fabricator - Raptorblaze - Stan
Naive Sheriff - ajkei - Tebow
---
Graveyard:
Hayley (Citizen): Shot herself during a game of Russian Roulette. [Night 1]
Heihachi (Citizen): Killed by a Mysterious Stranger. [Night 1]
Eddy (Enchantress): Killed by Strike Force members in the vault. [Night 1]
Chandler (Citizen): Murdered by traitorous Strike Force members in the vault. [Night 1]
Rachel (Detective): Executed via decapitation. [Night 1]
Chewbacca (Saboteur): Killed at night by Strike Force member. [Night 1]
Stan (Fabricator): Lynched by insane vault members, driven crazy by the sounds... [Day 2]
Steve (Citizen): Tried to be manly, but shot himself. [Night 2]
Owen (Citizen): Gunned down as he sniffed for clues, by Strike Force members. [Night 2]
Yoda (???): Went missing, he did. [Night 2]
Greedo (Citizen): Cut down in a frenzy by a traitorous Strike Force. [Night 2]
Ben (Puppet): Clubbed to death within the luxury of Vault 66. [Day 3]
King (Consort): Lynched by an angry mob. [Day 3]
Ackbar (Detective): Poisoned by a melon. [Night 3]
Brostin (Sheriff): Committed suicide like a demented fool, by running naked into a turret. [Day 4]
Larkin (Arms Dealer): Exiled into the valley to be killed by the base defence systems. [Day 4]
Bragg (Ventriloquist): Killed by a Mysterious Stranger... [Night 4]
Lei (Puppet): Committed suicide. [Night 4]
Yoshimitsu (???): Went missing, mysteriously, leaving no trace of his role. [Night 4]
Lando (Sheriff): Killed and maimed by multiple sources. [Night 4]
Phoebe (Bodyguard): Gunned down in a duel. [Night 4]
Fluttershy (Sheriff): Vaporised by a vertibird rotor. [Day 5]
Francine (Corrupt Journalist): Shot by Boone, the NCR Marksman overlooking the courtyard. [Day 5]
Boba (Escort): Found lying in the courtyard, having been attacked by multiple sources. [Night 5]
Biggs (???): Disappeared under mysterious circumstances. [Night 5]
Roger (???): Disappeared under circumstances which were just as mysterious. [Night 5]
Beru (Drug Dealer): Impaled through the chest by Ross. [Day 6]
Vick (Kidnapper): Crushed under debris after creating a breach in the base defences. [Day 6]
Brees (Mortician): Shot through the heart by Brotherhood Troopers during the breach. [Day 6]
Ross (Lookout): Killed during the breach through shrapnel wounds. [Day 6]
Romo (Sheriff): Gunned down mercilessly while charging a Brotherhood Kill Team. [Day 6]
Paul (Puppet): Riddled with bullets by a Strike Force member during the panicked retreat. [Night 6]
Wedge (Citizen): Murdered with a one-shot pistol in a bathroom stall. [Night 6]
Jin (Citizen): Killed in cold blood by Strike Force members as soldiers stormed the building. [Night 6]
Nina (Janitor): Had her brains blown out with a one-shot pistol in the back room. [Night 6]
Manning (Bus Driver): Had his organs ripped out and was crucified. Executed as kill teams infiltrated the building. [Night 6]
Monica (Disguiser): Hunted down in the Vault-Tec corridors and scalped. [Day 7]
Mkoll (Doctor): Executed when an NCR trooper triggered a trap which tore him apart and burnt him alive. [Night 7]
Brady (Citizen): Killed during the night by a Strike Force member. [Night 7]
Tarkin (Grave Robber): Shot through the head with a one-shot pistol. [Night 8]
Tebow (Sheriff): Murdered by Strike Force members during the confusion of the ghoul outbreak. [Night 8]
Gaunt (Framer): Had his head crushed by a Strike Force member during the night. [Night 8]
Jabba (Doctor): Executed by being hung from the rafters. [Night 8]
Vader (Sheriff): Executed in a grisly manner by the Lakeside Butcher. [Night 9]
Luke (Alien-Citizen): Shot by the Enclave as they took took the facility. [Night 9]
---
Awards:
MVP - Wicket (CmG)
This was a very, very hard pick. I wish I could give out three or four MVP awards. I tried to take into account consistency and roles. He didn't have to lead the scumhunt, nor did he have the opportunity to pull of some crazy strategies with any teammates, but CmG played a good game. He was in a tough position - Vault 66 became exposed very early on and he couldn't really exploit his jail chats to the fullest. CmG shared a running commentary on the game with me, and he was pretty dialled in. He was forced into a rather defensive position and couldn't lead much discussion in day chat, but he avoided the radio interviews and the spotlight despite the pressure continually increasing. I wasn't expecting to give MVP to the Devourer at all - getting a code established with the mafia was nice, and pressure was evaded well, but there were two main actions which changed my mind. CmG was getting more and more active in day chat, and when he finally got revealed and hunted by multiple factions for the lynch, he managed to juke the hammer at a critical time with a silver tongue. He also trusted his own gut instincts when it came to the kills, and took out the gun-toting Vader on the final night which secured the scum win. I also think he deserves MVP simply because he managed to gobble up both Students, both of their Mentors, the Amnesiac and the player whose role the Amnesiac remembered.
4599
Evil Mastermind - Lando (Phyr)
Another German gets an award! I think Phyr deserves this recognition because he was really active and played a great game. He is a natural town player, and while he was a target of suspicion he knew that he could afford to be. It was a pleasure to have him in the game, and he wasn't afraid to put himself out there. No one's analysis was foolproof, but he was one of the lynch-pins in the Brotherhood of Steel strategy discussions and he even managed to snag himself a Veteran's Assault Rifle from Vault 9! He played the role of the Actress rather well, and even though he was helped out by the role's abilities and circumstances (getting shot by the Enclave on the night he gets killed in a duel, luckily getting the death descriptions covered up!) he managed to stay hidden until the very end. I'd have liked to see a more aggressive use of his strategy - he did not manage to really counter-claim any important roles or cause any direct distractions - but he was convincing enough to really screw over the Enclave in the late game!
4601
Citizen Incarnate - Luke (BurntEskimo III)
It is with great pleasure that I give this award to BurntEskimo! He was originally excluded from the game, before FMXIII I did not have a good impression of BurntEskimo and I really didn't want him in the game. When engaged in *ahem* the 'distraction' game he was involved in, however, he gradually dropped his trollish facade and began to get into it. Yayap and I moved him to the top of the reserve list, and he hopped into Luke. He did a really great job. He was not a town leader or anything, but he was really active and involved. He contributed to discussions, and pulled off a couple of really nice plays which showed off some neat skills; he managed to avoid claiming when at L-2, and when he realized that the Brotherhood of Steel needed to be protected he managed to convince everyone that he was a mafia member. Citizens usually try to take bullets for town PRs, not mafia members! Hopefully BurntEskimo won't be shamed now that he has been revealed, and I hope he signs up for more FMs and plays like this :)
4602
Most Honourable Mention - Klaus (Escaho)
Klaus was one of the frontrunners for MVP, and I had to give Escaho the recognition he deserves. He had three accounts to manage, and he played a really good game. He was quite active in day chat, and even had a Sane Sheriff claim going for some time. Escaho also provided a solid voice in the night chat. After Day 7 I also appreciated his attempts to salvage the train-wreck of a situation which had developed, and Escaho never stopped fighting on behalf of the Devourer.
4603
Inquisitor - Leia (clementine)
I knew that clementine would make a good journalist. It's one of my most favourite roles. She wins this award for her leadership skills and activity; she never stopped her questioning, and was always a a threat to the scum! Unfortunately she was incorrect on quite a few assumptions and was led on a wild goose chase for half of the game, but she never gave up. I just feel sorry for poor old Larkin, who got lynched on very shaky grounds, but while clementine may have stumbled here and there she always found a scum of some kind.
4604
The Fixer - Roger/Monica (Auckmid)
Auckmid did really well in this game. He managed to snag the Vigilante gun in Vault 9, as well as the Gunsmith tools (okay so he got the Gunsmith tools because he was the ONLY person that voted, but he got them nonetheless). Auckmid provided his team with enough firepower to just about eek out the win, and should have listened to his instincts when he was asked to jump into Monica.
4605
Guardian Angel - Rawne (Bluejay)
This award is issued in recognition of the crucial saves made by Rawne's armour! Okay so the timing of the player it was issued to is important, but Bluejay managed to keep the armour flowing in the right direction, and even saved himself at one point. He may have been suspicious to most, but he had some of the most efficient night actions in the game. Well done!
4606
Best Avatar - Han (Ubernox)
I didn't want to give this award to Ubernox. There were plenty of awesome avatars kicking about, and I liked some of the creative/serious ones. Ubernox showed me the picture that he'd cropped the image from, however, and it's hilarious - every time I see his avatar I chuckle, and it perfectly encapsulates the derpiness of his night actions in this game.
Player's Choice Award - ???
PM me with your vote for the Player's Choice Award! This is the award given out by you, the players. Some reasoning behind your choices would be nice. Maybe you liked someone's line of questioning, or a gambit they made. Maybe you thought they'd been overlooked in another category, or maybe you just enjoyed playing with them.
------------
Final thoughts:
Thanks for sticking with it guys. We had a few unfortunate drop-outs, but overall everyone should be proud of themselves - it's a mafia game, after all, the entertainment is made by the players and you certainly made it fun for me. I received lots of lovely feedback, and I'm grateful that people were patient with me. I was rather ambitious and, even with Yayap's aid, I could not make things go 100% smoothly.
Setup thoughts:
I knew going into this game that balance would be a nightmare. It's impossible to balance a standard game of mafia, after all. Deception, lies and skill are important but there's also that degree of luck. A Veteran might randomly kill off ten people on night one, the investigative roles might never find scum, there's so many variables involved. I knew that I couldn't predict what would happen, but I tried to create some semblance of balance. KPN was restricted in some vaults, for example, because I didn't want over half of the players in the game getting shot/lynched before they even left the vaults.
Oh yeah, there was also going to be a Cult Leader in this game originally. He was going to be introduced when the vaults emptied - a random non-mafia player was going to be assigned as Cult Leader, and two Citizens would be randomly chosen as Masons. This was to combat the nature of the vault system; narrowing down the scum after the vault stage would be stupidly easy, so I wanted there to be that element of doubt when a 'confirmed' town PR from the vaults spoke up. This was obviously later changed, and instead I increased the number of mafia players on each team as well as making the roles lists more confusing with hidden roles.
As for the vaults themselves, well, they grew organically. I created a huge list of vault ideas, and there were some REALLY crazy ones in there. I began pruning, though some crazy ones were still being considered (a Tranquility Lane-inspired vault was in the works at one point...). I knew that I was being ambitious with FMXIII though, so I was very conservative with my final selection. I only picked the most basic ideas, which added cosmetic or minor changes to the game - I thought that the vault system would be fine enough. Fortunately Yayap kept badgering me to take a couple of risks, and they really paid off. I'm still glad I took the conservative approach to the whole vault system though, since even the tiniest changes to mechanics could provide significant changes to strategy.
--
Vault 5 - My favourite idea for a vault, simply because I love gambling. At first I thought it was a rather simple change to the normal lynch mechanic, but there were some interesting possibilities. The players could speak to each other during their roulette game, privately, and there was the potential for some information sharing/deception going on. Scum teammates/etc. could also collaborate in this chat and decide who would sacrifice themselves, or a Citizen could take a bullet for a Town PR claim they believed. I also restricted night kills
How it went: Well, it was an interesting vault. It had a higher ratio of citizens to PRs than other vaults (for some possible shenanigans in the roulette game). Ackbar didn't submit any actions, and Yoshimitsu/Francine didn't want to reveal their roles, so the day chat was rather interesting. Two people HAD to play roulette, after all, so the players couldn't afford to wait around for investigative roles to reveal. Obviously I can be criticized for introducing the element of luck into the game, and there were rumblings that the NCR was 'unlucky' in Vault 5, but neither Enclave member ever made it to a roulette game :S
--
Vault 9 - Originally, a one-shot pistol was given out each day via lynch which had to be shot at night. It was essentially a very simple 'reverse' lynch (instead of voting for the most suspicious player, you vote for the most reliable). I even considered making this a vault of town roles, maybe even with a roles list which showed they were all town, and letting the 'Saw' type social experiment play out (would you like to play a game?). This idea grew into the rewards system. I also made this the 'Cop Insanity' vault - lots of Sheriffs, who would desperately be working together to find out what alignment they were! In retrospect I could have included a couple of Sheriffs in the vault roles list :P
How it went: This was an interesting vault. Lots of long posts, with an intriguing back and forth as the scum subtly vied for the guns without knowing it. This vault was let down by a couple of players that didn't really participate, but the actions taken in this vault had an impact on the whole game. If only Fluttershy had been given the Veteran's AR! ^^
--
Vault 21 - I liked this vault design. It was simple, but had some interesting dilemmas involved. Lynching someone obviously creates that hidden role in the player list, but sometimes you have to take that risk.
How it went: Well, it seemed the Enchantress lured the killer on night one (who was targeting her anyway) and THIS WAS PRETTY MUCH OVERLOOKED! It was really amusing to see Owen lead the town down a path of self-destruction.
Vault 37 - This was another simple vault that followed on the 'Well it's basically a normal game with one tiny twist' guideline. The roleblock/jail technician position provided discussion topics for the day chat, and could be utilized for a variety of strategies, while the core gameplay remained intact.
How it went: I think the NCR really dropped the ball in this vault. There was no semblance of structure to the day chat, and a real lack of scumhunting or pressure. No lynches were even attempted. There was also a lacklustre response to the secret ballots, which had some interesting repercussions for the late game (Boba got very sidetracked when he assumed certain things about the technician votes).
--
Vault 66 - Also known as the 'Vault of Wasted Potential'. I was thinking of ways to have the mafia and the neutral killer in a vault together without having the KPN sky-rocket. I also liked the idea of a bunch of puppets all in a vault, talking with each other. In fact, my initial idea was to ONLY have the ventriloquists and puppets in a vault together. This was the vault where the scum had a chance to reach the surface telling their own story. This was also a vault which didn't require special mechanics to create the tension, simply a custom roles list.
How it went: There was a supreme lack of confidence and creativity in this vault (sorry guys but you have to admit, it was not a riveting first couple of days :P). Both the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel immediately suspected that the other Ventriloquist was in the vault with them. After night one, everyone was also convinced that the Devourer was in the vault with them. Neither mafia team even considered the idea of an alliance until it was way too late. Everyone was so busy playing the 'passive lurking scum' strategy that they didn't grasp the opportunities in front of them. I think everyone would play that vault differently if we did this again, though the Enclave and Devourer did try to draw out the Brotherhood's ventriloquist (however subtly). What's also interesting is that it wasn't the lone NCR player that exposed the vault, but the Brotherhood ventriloquist! Biggs also claimed that he 'wanted to take a scum mentor' yet didn't choose anyone in his vault hehe.
--
Vault 103 - This was a weird vault. It went through many different iterations; there was talk of clones named Gary, hallucinations, even a situation where the vault went psycho and on the last night everyone was forced to pick someone to attack. In the end we plumped for the 'extra fake feedback message' mechanic. I wasn't going to make this a hidden mechanic, but once again Yayap convinced me to take a risk. We also introduced the 'aural torture' idea. The notion was that the annoying sounds had subliminal messages in them - it also masked the fact that there was a hidden mechanic in the vault, people might get suspicious otherwise.
How it went: This was hilarious. Leia created a huge plan for the town which relied completely on feedback messages. This was a genuine co-incidence, and Yayap and I laughed and laughed. Greedo made a very unusual and reckless play in this vault. As a Citizen, he claimed Detective and said he followed Stan to the kill target. Not a weird gambit in itself. What made it weird was that Greedo was under the illusion that he had been lured by an Enchantress. This turns a cute little gambit into something very risky, since if an Enchantress was actually present they would probably have revealed this lie and turned the lynch round on Greedo.
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So one last thanks to all, hope you enjoyed it, bring on more games!
P.S. The Alien Mothership was a randomly improvised theme, created on the spot to justify a separate 'game' where potential troublemakers (Archangel/GriM-DeMoN) could be placed so the beginning of the game was not marred by any childish 'I didn't get into FM' rant threads. BurntEskimo was initially placed in there but he deserved a spot in the main game. Most of the accounts are controlled by the co-hosts and the observers.
P.P.S. There were accusations made by a certain person on these forums that I 'stole' this idea. These rumours are unfounded and preposterous, and this individual preferred to slander me behind my back and post his quarrel in public rather than actually talk to me at any stage. For the record I not only had this idea many, many, many months ago (in fact the campaign of disinformation Yayap and I embarked on to throw people off the trail was carried out because I'd spoken about this idea some time ago and I wanted it to be a surprise), but I also never had the arrogance to think it was an original idea anyway. Mafia has been around for a long time - in fact, a couple of weeks before the game started, I was speaking to oops_ur_dead and he showed me the link to a similar idea (http://wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=Tri-Cities_Mafia). I didn't feel the need to start any drama by responding to these accusations when they happened, however, because that person was currently playing in my game (signing up with a smurf after publicly criticizing my game, of course). For some reason, despite never telling me his idea, he was convinced I'd stolen his setup plan and therefore assumed the game was laid out the same as his; which turned out to be wrong, and he royally shot himself in the foot.