Art by Zeph.
The impossible has happened. Our beloved Mayor and the tree hugging Pardoner have been viciously attacked and killed. Townston has been thrown into chaos with the power vacuum that they left behind and the Mafia intents to take full advantage of that fact.
For new players:
This is a standard game with all the classic roles with few minor and major changes.
Players are placed into two teams, villagers and criminals. The criminals, most particularly the mafia, is trying to take control of the town and won't hesitate killing those who stand in the way. The villager's job is to prevent that from happening.
The game breaks down into turns/cycles, alternating between days and nights. Each cycle lasts 24 hours and what you do during that time depends on what type of a turn it is.
During day cycles the villagers try to figure out who the criminals are and put them to justice. They do that by lynching those who they think is guilty.
The night cycles are then dominated by the criminals, which is when they go out to to strike. Few villagers, like the vigilante and the bodyguards have night powers as well which they use in order to keep the town safe.
Normally a classic game starts with an election for a new leadership but in this version we will be forgoing that. The town operates under majority rules where the largest group gets to have their say. Of course, should more then one large group form, with different opinions, things may boil over.
Lynch rules:
During days, players will form lynch mobs where they vote to lynch a player that they believe is a criminal. Like usually, criminals in disguise are free to attempt to manipulate those votes. Since there is no central figure around to help organize the town these lynch mobs will operate under different rules.
Basically it works like this: If Suspect 1 and Suspect 2 are both suspected of being criminals, we can assume that people will flock and vote for those two miscreants. However, votes are not depicted as calm people politely standing in a line to cast votes for the one they wish to lynch. Instead they form mobs. Players who vote to lynch Suspect 1 represent one mob while the ones who vote for Suspect 2 represent another.
If either Suspect 1 or Suspect 2 receives more votes, it will mean that the winning mob that promoted the death of their player grew to such high number that all other mobs submitted to their will. However in the case where both suspects receive equal amount of votes and we end up with a tie, chaos occurs…
Lynching complications:
In a case of a tie, during lynch votes, two of the mobs (or more in case of a three way tie or more) will have formed great support for their cause and both sides will refuse to back down. The heated debate will end up in a street conflict which will cancel the lynch. During these conflicts, ONE player of EACH side will die. A randomizer will determine the casualties and the players who were voted to be lynched can breathe a relieving sigh about being ignored during these street fights… that is of course unless they happen to be part of the conflicting mobs. In that case they're free game, like all the other players participating in the fight.
Roles:
In case of a game with 20 players, the number of starting roles will be:
PRO TOWN:
8 Townies
2 Bodyguards
1 Paramedic
1 Veteran
1 Detective
1 Vigilante
1 Paranoid
Criminals:
Mafia:
1 Godfather
1 Mad Hatter
2 Hitman
Serial Killers:
1 Psychopath
Villagers!
Lynch a bad guy during the day. Survive the night. Rinse and repeat. These players are Pro-Town and are in business to save Townston from corruption.
Townie
As a townie, you stand to loose big, should the mafia ever manage to take control of the town. Be critical! Be suspicious! Most importantly, be on time to vote for a lynch or you won't have any fun at all.
Bodyguard
As a bodyguard with no one to protect, you're pretty useless. Therefore it is advisable that you find someone who you prefer stays alive during the course of this game. You're free to pick any player as your protected target and you will defend him with your life. A protected player can not be killed during nights or lynching complications. Once you've picked a player to protect, you will continuously protect him unless you change your mind and decide to protect someone else (You need to notify the GM if you change target).
Paramedic
Since you're now able to actually stay in your clinic, you now have full access to all your medical equipment. After a good nights sleep, you spend the following day, looking over the newest victims to see if you can help him.
No wait! He's still breathing!: Pick a player who was killed during the night or lynching complication and revive him. This power can ONLY be used on a player who died during yesterday's lynching complications or the previous night (the corpse can't be older then two turns). This power does not work on people who were properly lynched. Using this power will leave a clue to your identity.
Veteran
You've been around the block a few times and know how to escape an attack on your life. But for how long? The veteran gets two lives, meaning two hits must be made on him before he dies. A veteran can survive a bombing attempt or an attack during lynching complications, if he still has both night lives but it will count as a hit attempt.
The Detective
The detective is after the bad guys of Townston. His brilliant reasoning skills and numerous contacts makes him among the best investigators in the town. The Detective is capable of using his powers both day and night.
And you are?: Using this ability the Detective can find out much about the person that he's scrutinizing. Things like, what size of shoes he wears, his favorite brand of toothpaste, magazine subscription but most importantly, he can find out if the villager is a villager or a criminal. (Mafia and serial killers will show up as criminals, unless they have powers to help hide their identities.) This power can only be used twice.
Who dun it?: Whenever a crime has been committed, it's up to the detective to investigate the crime scene. Should he choose to investigate someone, the detective can figure out if that person was responsible for the crime (The detective can ask the GM if a specific player committed a specific crime and get a yes/no answer).
What's going on here?: During lynches, the detective can infiltrate a lynching mob and look for possible suspects. Should he choose to use this power he'll be able to find out if any criminals voted for a specific player and also how many criminals voted for that player (if any). This power can only be used during the day and he can only investigate the lynch mobs that form during that time (can not investigate lynches from previous times). The results of his investigation will be presented to him at the end of the lynch election.
Note: In order to activate this power, the detective HAS to vote for the same player that the mob that he's investigating is voting for, in order to infiltrate it.
Vigilante
You are the caped crusader of Townston. A masked man who has decided to take the law into his own hands. Each night you can target and kill someone who you believes to be a villain. Be careful who you chose though because you just might be taking out a friendly.
Paranoid
The paranoid is a wee bit unhinged by his experiences in some horrible and bloody war. During days, he's perfectly normal but during the night he keeps to himself and relives the horrors of his past. The Paranoid will kill whoever was the first person to target him in any way during the night, whether it be mafia or townie (such as a bodyguard opting to protect him). The Paranoid is unable to NOT kill, but will only kill one person a night. Should two persons interact with him during the night, the first person will die but the second will not. Special note, investigation powers can be used on him without fear of death since the Detective is merely investigating him and checking his background and is not directly interacting with him. He can also be targeted with a horse head (although it will not affect his ability to kill someone). Also, the paranoid is not aware that he's insane and thus believes himself to be a normal townie.
CRIMINALS!
MAFIA
The mafia’s win condition is to kill all the townies and rival opposition. Unlike townies, all mafia members know who each other are. All mafia members have kill powers in one form or another. With the exception of the Godfather, a mafia member cannot kill fellow mafia.
Godfather
The godfather is the undisputed leader of the Mafia and has several special abilities in his arsenal.
Send him a message: The godfather is able to leave a severed horse head in the target's bed. This will scare the targeted player, causing him to go into hiding for the next day and night cycle. During this time the player can't perform any action at all. He can't vote for the next lynch and he can't use his powers if he has any. While the player is in hiding he can't be killed. A person who's already been targeted with a horse head attack can't be targeted again.
Call in a favor: The Godfather can once per game, cancel a lynch. If this ability is used during lynching complications, the fight will be prevented.
Welcome to the family: The godfather can turn one of the villagers into a made man, causing him to become a member of the mafia and can thus share in their victory. The target has to be a willing applicant and thus can not be changed into a mafia member without his permission. This will alter his alignment, turning him into a criminal (if he isn't one to begin with), and thus he needs to be lynched/killed in order for the town to win. This will not alter the role of the player in any way and he will still have access to his original powers. This power can only be used once.
The kiss of death: The godfather is the only mafia member who can kill other mafia members. Just remember that killing your own teammates is counter-productive.
Behind the curtains: The Godfather doesn't dirty his hands since he has his goons to carry out his orders. The godfather will appear as an innocent villager to the detective. He's also considered to be protected if he's attacked during the night or lynching complications.
Now it's personal: The godfather has decided to take actions into his own hands. By brandishing his pistol the leader has taken to the streets. He gains the ability to kill once per night but looses all benefits he received from his Behind the curtains power. If the godfather is the only mafia member left, this power is automatically activated.
Mad Hatter
Each night, the Mad Hatter is able to plant a single bomb on someone or detonate a bomb that's already been planted. He can't plant a bomb and detonate during the same night. The Mad Hatter can at most keep two undetonated bombs in circulation but is free to plant more once he's detonated or lost one of them. Every time he detonates a bomb, a clue is given about his identity. Should the mad hatter be killed either through a lynch or a night hit, all bombs in circulation will detonate, killing his targets. If a target of his somehow dies by other means, the mad hatter loses that bomb. That bomb is also discovered on the body, which gives the townies a clue who the Mad Hatter might be. Bombs can be intercepted by the bodyguard, giving clues to the identity of the Mad Hatter as well.
Hitman
You are a mafia hitman. Each night you get to stab somebody in the face. Have fun with that.
SERIAL KILLERS
While these individuals are not allied with the Mafia, they're none the less dangerous people. Their ultimate goal is to be the last people standing or cause as much chaos as possible.
Psychopath
If it moves, you kill it. If it's standing still, you shake it so it moves and then you kill it. You love the smell, taste and texture of blood. Your epiphany is the sound of a screaming victim. In short, you're not right in the head. Each night you must kill someone of your choice to satisfy your blood lust. Leave none left standing.
