Tagline: Several weeks after the failure of the citizens of WebDiplomacy to stop the Bearnstein multis, the mods have finally managed to root them all out. However, a greater threat has been emerging, as another site greedily eyes the WebDiplomacy playerbase... Can you prevent vDiplomacy taking over?

INTRODUCTION

Mafia is an educated guessing game of epic proportions. The objective of the game is to ban or kill all mafia members before they outnumber the rest of the town. It's much like a game of poker because mafia members are also part of the town during the day and may manipulate the vote to their liking.

The game is typically very active, so the thread will get big quickly. However, it is essential to read the thread to play the game.

RULES

0. The GM reserves the right to adjudicate individual scenarios that arise during the course of the game at his discretion.
1. All players must vote at least once per game day.
2. All players are forbidden from posting screenshots of their role PMs.
3. All players are forbidden from using encryption.
4. All players are forbidden from using non-sanctioned PMing.
5. All players are forbidden from deleting previous posts of theirs.
6. All spectators and players who have been eliminated are forbidden from posting on all comment threads related to the game notes.
7. All players are forbidden from cheating.
8. All players are required to play to win.

ELABORATION

0. Given my lack of omniscience, I cannot create a rule to resolve all possible scenarios pre-emptively. In order to compensate for my inability to do so, I am permitted to resolve a given scenario however I please. I will resolve all scenarios as closely as possible to the written intention of the rules, and will present an explanation regarding the adjudication to the greatest possible detail (which does not compromise anything in-game) and as closely in accordance with the written rules as possible.

1. A minimum posting limit of one required post (with a vote included) has been set to reduce lurking. While inactivity is, on some level, an important part of the game of Mafia, players who provide nothing but a warm body serve only to reduce the degree of enjoyment and increase the degree of frustration of the other players in the game. Signing up for this game is an expression of commitment to taking it seriously – do not sign up if you believe you will not be able to spend any time on it.

2. This is more a formality than anything: all role PMs have been posted in the setup information later in this post. The point of this rule is to forbid "gaming" the role PMs to determine alignments; this is a game of reading people, not outguessing the GM.

3. Encryption is defined as posting an encoded message on public channels which an average person would require outside tools to decode. It is perfectly acceptable to leave "hidden messages" in your posts (for example, spelling out "I AM THE COP" with the first letters of every sentence), but as a rule of thumb, if you don't think the average webDip user could decode it without a decryption service, don't post it.

4. All in-game communications should be kept within the thread. The mafia will receive a QuickTopic thread for communicating with one another outside of the thread; aside from this, there should be no other forms of private messaging.

5. I don't think this will actually be an issue on webDiplomacy, since users aren't able to edit or delete their own posts anyway; but, if you in fact possess some means of deleting or editing your posts after you've submitted them, do not use it.

6. Players who have been removed from the game are no longer playing the game, and will not be permitted to comment on it in private messages or comment threads. A special chat room will be opened for individuals who wish to spectate on the game, or players who have been eliminated. Use these channels to discuss the game while it is still ongoing.

7. This is a catch-all rule intended to preserve the spirit of the game. If you’re considering saying or doing something that may be against the spirit of the game, PM me about it before saying/doing it and I’ll let you know whether it’s allowed or not.

8. This rule simply means that your actions should in some conceivable way advance your win condition as stated in your role PM. This rule is somewhat subjective, because the difference between a mistake and sabotage is sometimes hard to determine; I will err away from assuming malevolence where reasonably possible. This also means that if you need to leave the game for any reason, you should not simply drop out, but should message me first so I can determine the best course of action.

PENALTIES

The penalty for breaking one of the above rules is decided at the GM’s discretion, up to and including immediate removal from the game and/or sanctions from future games. Removal and/or sanction are instruments of last resort and will be used only if absolutely necessary. A player removed from the game may or may not have their role revealed on removal, depending on the circumstances surrounding their removal.


MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

SPAM
Spamming (defined as excessive content-free posting; or, excessive posting regarding subjects irrelevant to the game) is not banned by rule in this game. A mechanic exists to curb any advantage that spamming as a tactic may confer; please reference the “VOTING” section below for more information. Suffice to say that spamming isn’t worth anyone’s time in this setup, and it is frowned upon, so while you may not be *banned* from doing it, you still shouldn't do it.

VOTING
There are two levels of voting in this game. The first level of voting is for whom you intend to ban. Notate this vote with a pair of octothorpes before your intended vote target. (EX: ##VOTE Eden) You do not need to spell out your intended target's username fully; as long as I can understand who you're referencing you're good. If you don't use double octothorpes then I won't see it when I ctrl+f through the thread and your vote may not be counted.

The second level of voting is whether or not to employ the hammer mechanic. By default, days are set to 48 hours long, and nights to 24 hours long; however, players may instead elect to end the day as soon as a majority is reached (called a “quick hammer” or simply “hammer”). Notate this vote with a pair of octothorpes before the word end. (EX: ##END) The game will switch to the hammer mechanic for the duration of that day once a majority of players choose to do so.

If you are not able to vote before the hammer is dropped, you will not be penalized for failing to vote during that day.

If two or more players are tied at day’s end, no one will be lynched.

REPLACEMENTS
A player wishing to drop out may be replaced with another person if the need arises before the end of the first day. Individuals wishing to serve as replacements must NOT join the out-of-game spectator chat. Replacement is not guaranteed, and after the first day no replacement requests will be accepted for balance purposes.

TURN DURATION
This game’s days will last 48 hours and nights will last 24 hours, unless cut short by in-game mechanics (e.g. hammer). Extensions may be granted at a moderator’s discretion, but don’t count on it.

MODERATOR TEAM
The moderators for this game are CaptainMeme and Jmo. PM either of us with any concerns and we'll get back to you asap.


FORMAT INFORMATION

18 players:

13 town:
9 Vanilla Town
1 Cop
1 Doctor
1 Vigilante
1 Question Asker

4 mafia:
3 Standard Mafia
1 Mole
1 factional kill
1 factional roleblock

1 Independent:
1 Serial Killer

ROLE PMs:

Vanilla Town:
You are a Vanilla Town. (Feel free to pick a username for flavor.) During the day you may make an accusation against someone; the candidate which reaches a plurality will be banned at the end of the day. You have no night actions. You win once all mafia members and the serial killer have been eliminated, assuming that at least one town player survives to the end of the game.

Town Cop:
You are ABGEMACHT, the Town Cop! During the day you may make an accusation against someone; the candidate which reaches a plurality will be banned at the end of the day. During the night you may select one player to investigate; at the end of the night you will be told whether that player is Innocent or Guilty, unless you are roleblocked. (The mole will always show as innocent, and the serial killer may show as innocent depending on his initial choice; see the Serial Killer section for details.) You win once all mafia members and the serial killer have been eliminated, assuming that at least one town player survives to the end of the game.

Town Doctor:
You are KESTAS, the Town Doctor! During the day you may make an accusation against someone; the candidate which reaches a plurality will be banned at the end of the day. During the night you may select one player to protect; if that player would otherwise be banned that night, the player’s ban will be appealed, unless you are roleblocked. You will be notified if your target was threatened with a ban that night, and your target will be notified that they were protected by KESTAS. You may protect yourself, but not on subsequent nights. You win once all mafia members and the serial killer have been eliminated, assuming that at least one town player survives to the end of the game.

Town Vigilante:
You are ZULTAR, the Town Vigilante! During the day you may make an accusation against someone; the candidate which reaches a plurality will be banned at the end of the day. During the night you may select one player to ban; at the end of the night, if the player isn't saved by the doctor, that player will be banned, unless you are roleblocked. You have two shots for the entire game; after your second shot you will no longer be able to ban people. If you are roleblocked, you will be refunded for that shot; if your target is saved by the doctor, you will not be refunded for that shot. You win once all mafia members and the serial killer have been eliminated, assuming that at least one town player survives to the end of the game.
Town Question Asker:
You are JMO, the Town Question Asker! During the day you may make an accusation against someone; the candidate which reaches a plurality will be banned at the end of the day. At the start of the first day, and during every night, you may submit a yes/no question to the GM, which, in the event of your death in the same night or following day, will be posted in the thread by the GM along with the answer (this answer ignores the SK’s potential copscan immunity and the Mole’s copscan immunity). If you are roleblocked, the question that will be answered in the event of your death will be the previous one submitted.

Standard Mafia:
You are SLEEPCAP/KANER/FASCES, a Mafia Member! During the day you may make an accusation against someone; the candidate which reaches a plurality will be banned at the end of the day. During the night, you may talk to your mafia partners, vote on who to ban and vote on who to roleblock. Your mafia partners are <Mafia Partner A>, <Mafia Partner B>, and <Mafia Partner C>, the last of which is the mole. The target of your factional roleblock WILL be notified that they have been roleblocked. You may vote not to ban someone and you may vote not to roleblock someone. You win once the serial killer has been eliminated and once either all of the town players are dead, or nothing can stop you from eliminating all of the town players. You may use, and must submit night actions to, this QuickTopic thread: <QuickTopic thread link>
Mafia Mole:
You are CAPTAINMEME, the mafia mole! During the day you may make an accusation against someone; the candidate which reaches a plurality will be banned at the end of the day. During the night, you may talk to your mafia partners, vote on who to ban and vote on who to roleblock. Your mafia partners are <Mafia Partner A>, <Mafia Partner B>, and <Mafia Partner C>. The target of your factional roleblock WILL be notified that they have been roleblocked. You may vote not to ban someone and you may vote not to roleblock someone. You win once the serial killer has been eliminated and once either all of the town players are dead, or nothing can stop you from eliminating all of the town players. You may use, and must submit night actions to, this QuickTopic thread: <QuickTopic thread link>
In addition, if you are scanned by the cop, you will not be found guilty. However, this immunity will not hold against the Question Asker’s question – if he asks about something involving you, the truthful answer will be given.
Serial Killer:
You are BLANKFLAG, the Serial Killer! During the day you may make an accusation against someone; the candidate which reaches a plurality will be banned at the end of the day. During the night, you may select one player to liberate from webDiplomacy’s establishment brainwashing; at the end of the night, if the player isn't saved by the doctor, that player will “voluntarily” self-ban, unless you are roleblocked. Prior to game start, you may choose one of the following protections: immunity from investigations (will return Innocent on cop scans), or immunity from nightkills (you may only die by a ban). The protection you have chosen will not be announced publicly in the thread. You win once everyone else is dead.

Please PM me if you have any questions. The game has not yet started.