Mafia Game: Mafia!

[Remiel]

Players wanted for a new Mafia-Style Game, by which I mean similar to the style and rules of Werewolves of Miller's Hollow or Valerian's Vault. If you've never played a game like this before, the basic formula is that a population of innocents are terrorized by vampires/werewolves/etcetera who are hiding amongst them in disguise.  Their goal is to discover the identities of the predators by voting one of their own number off each day, while the vampires/werewolves/etc. get to eliminate one of the innocents each night.

This game will be a little bit different, however, in that instead of a single population, there will be two distinct teams, or Families, vying for control of Little Italy.  The goal of each Family is to eliminate its rival.  There will, of course, be a couple of curve balls thrown in to make this a little bit more complex and unpredictable.

To win, a team will need to work together, communicate with each other, exercise good judgement, and, of course, will need a little bit of luck.


For years, the peace in Little Italy has been upheld under the firm but benevolent sway of Don Vito Pastrami, head of the Pastrami family and undisputed king of organized crime in the city.  All of that changed when, last month, Don Pastrami died of a sudden and unforeseen heart attack.  Without a universally recognized heir apparent, the Pastrami organization has dissolved, splintering into a handful of warring factions and bitterly conflicting loyalties.  After an intense week of bloodshed and murder, two main contenders have surfaced to vie for control of the Little Italy Mafia: the Cannoli family and the Linguine family.  Underfunded and outmanned, the police are powerless to interfere.  Whichever family prevails will control the city.

The Cannolis are well-established in the city's seedy criminal institutions, having run for decades its alcohol, hash, and Funfetti smuggling operations.  It was a Cannoli who served as Don Pastrami's consigliere.  The first Cannoli in America was Vincenzo Cannoli, who came over from Sicily in 1833. It is said that the phrase "atsa one-a spicy meatball!" can be originally attributed to him.

The Linguines, on the other hand, are relatively new, having only established themselves as major contenders within the Little Italy crime syndicate in the past twenty years.  Nevertheless, Don Pastrami chose a Linguine to be his highest-ranking caporegime.  The Salty Seaman, a bawdy burlesque house situated on the harbour, serves as the Linguines' front and base of operations.

From the very beginning, it will be public knowledge who the Cannolis are and who the Linguines are.  Thus, the players will know the identities of their enemies, with one important exception.  Hiding among each Family will be a single Rat, who will be paid off by his or her rivals to betray his or her Family.   For example, the Cannoli Rat will be secretly loyal to the Linguines, and vice versa.

Both Families will be led by a Don, whom they will choose democratically.  The Don is the most important position in each family, and carries with it a number of priveleges, including the ability to cast a tie-breaking vote for a nightly Mob hit, and being immune from being targeted for a hit himself.  The Don is also the only position that cannot be a Rat.

However, the Don is not the only Mob member with an important role.  The other roles consist of:

• The Underboss carries no particular ability, but is effectively the Don's second-in-command, and will take over the family in the event that either the Don is killed by the Assassin, or the Don's player has to take a leave of absence from the game for whatever reason.  Unlike the Don, the Underboss will not be publicly known; also unlike the Don, the Underboss can be killed by a rival mob hit (as well as by the Assassin).
• The Consigliere, or Counselor, is responsible for ferreting out the Rat.
• The Assassin is armed with a high-powered rifle and can eliminate any person in the game.  He is the only one who can assassinate a rival Don. He gets only one attempt, however, so he must choose his shot carefully.
• The Capo, or Mafia captain, possesses the ability to protect one team member from a rival Mob hit, or from the Assassin's bullet.
• The Bodyguard's function is to protect her Don from the enemy Assassin. Each night, the Bodyguard must choose one person to protect; if she chooses the same target as the Assassin, the victim's life is spared. 

At the outset of the game, the players will be randomly sorted into two equal groups, the blue Cannolis and the red Linguines.  The first order of business for each family is to vote for their Don.  Players can roleplay, trash talk the other team, or strategize during this time.

Once the Don has been elected, the Rat will then be randomly assigned from the associates left in his/her family.  Thus, the Don is the only member of the family who cannot be a Rat. Remember: the Rat is the enemy masquerading in friendly clothing, so it is advised that care be taken when communicating with your own family.  After all, you may never know who may be secretly relaying information back to the other team!

After the Rats have been secretly assigned, the Don will assign some of his confederates special roles.  This is complicated by the fact that the Don does not know who the Rat is. Choose carefully!

Finally, once the Don has assigned all of the roles, each family will vote publically on which member of the opposing group they want to take out a hit on.  The Dons themselves are immune from being targetted; everybody else is fair game.  However, before the voting starts, the Capos will privately notify me whom they wish to protect.  Thus, the Capos will basically choose their target before the vote occurs.  To move the game along, each family will be given 72 hours, or three days, to vote on a victim.  After that time, a NPC hit man will be sent after the target with the most votes; in the event of a tie, the Don has the deciding vote. If the Don (or Underboss) does not break the tie, no hit will be taken.

If the Capo has is protecting the same individual that the opposing Family has chosen to eliminate, then that individual is saved.  Additionally, the Assassin may choose to try to assassinate any target of his choosing (including the Don). The Assassin's bullet can be blocked by either the Capo or the Bodyguard.   

The Consigliere, meanwhile, will attempt to uncover the Rat hiding within her own ranks; to that end, she will PM me with the name of the target for that night. If that person is the Rat, he will be immediately exposed and executed.

The special role of every slain victim will be made public upon his death, with the exception of the Rat.  If the Rat is discovered by the Consigliere, the Rat will be immediately executed, and his identity will be revealed.  If the Rat dies by mob hit or by the Assassin, it will not be revealed.

If the Don is the last gangster standing, he loses his immunity from Mob hits.  If the Don and the Rat are the last two members standing, the Rat will immediately defect and join his true Family, and the Don will lose his immunity from Mob hits.

The game ends when either Family, or both, is completely wiped out. 

Detailed description of each role:

Don: Elected by his family, the Don is the only Mob member who cannot be the Rat.  The Don casts the tie-breaking vote for nightly hits.  The Don himself is immune from a hit (unless he is the last man standing), although he can be killed by the Assassin's bullet.  The Don is responsible for assigning all of the other roles (except, of course, for the Rat).

Underboss: The Underboss has no particular ability, unless the Don is killed or goes absent.  In this event, the Underboss will cast the tie-breaking vote for nightly hits.  The Underboss can be targeted by Mob hit.  The Underboss's identity will not be made public, unless she is killed. 

• If the Underboss is the Rat, and the Don is incapacitated for whatever reason, the Underboss can choose to (privately) nullify his own family's choice of victim for that night, thus rendering her family powerless until the Don returns, the Underboss is killed, or the game ends.

Consigliere: The Consigliere's responsibility is to hunt the Rat within her own ranks. Every night, she will PM me with the name of a member of her own family. If that person is the Rat, then the Rat will be immediately revealed and executed.  The Consigliere may also choose to investigate deceased members of her family (if the Rat was killed by a Mob hit or rival Assassin).

• If the Consigliere is the Rat, her role is inverted. She can uncover the specific role of her target (Underboss, Assassin, etc.), and may relay that information to the rival family's Don.

Assassin: The Assassin has a high-powered rifle and the element of surprise.  She has one chance to eliminate any target of her choosing.  The Assassin is the only role who can kill a Don. The enemy Bodyguard or Capo may block an Assassin's bullet, however, so choose your shot carefully!

• If the Assassin is the Rat, she may choose to attempt to kill anyone on her own team, including the Don, bearing in mind that the Don may be protected by the Capo and/or the Bodyguard.

Capo, or Mafia captain:  The Capo is responsible for keeping his Associates safe from harm.  Before every round of voting, he may choose one person to protect for that night.  If that person is voted to be eliminated by the other Family, or is targeted by the Assassin, the would-be victim is saved.  The Capo may choose to guard himself only once per game.

• If the Capo is the Rat, this restriction does not apply.  He may guard himself every round (and will be presumed to do so), but may choose to guard somebody else in order to "prove" his "loyalty".

Bodyguard: The Bodyguard's job is to protect his Don from the Assassin.  Every night, he will tell me whether he chooses to guard the Don, or whether he chooses to guard someone else instead.  He cannot stop a Mob contract hit, but will block the enemy Assassin's bullet.

• If the Bodyguard is the Rat, he may not guard anyone at all (or guard himself), thus giving the Don a false sense of security.

Associate: Associates are family members who do not have any special roles, yet still are valued and respected members of the family.  They are responsible for determining, by majority vote, the target for their family's hit man.

• If an Associate is the Rat, she has no special abilities, and no obligations, other than to try to sew discord and mistrust among his Family.

Game Sequence:

1. All players are randomly sorted into two equal groups.
2. Players vote for the Don of their respective families. They cannot vote for themselves.
3. Once the Dons have been selected, the Rat is randomly assigned from the remaining members.
4. The Don chooses which of the remaining members will be the Underboss, Assassin, Consigliere, Capo, and Bodyguard.  The Don does not know at this point the identity of the Rat.
5. The first round begins:

6. The Capos choose someone to protect.
7. All family members vote publically upon their intended target.  The Don (or, in his absence, the Underboss) gets the deciding vote.  The vote will go on no longer than 72 hours.
8. Once a target for the hit is selected, the Consiglieres message me with who they intend to investigate. The Bodyguards will message me with the name of the person they wish to protect (which will most likely be the Don). The Assassin will indicate if he/she decides to take his/her shot, and who the intended victim is.
9. The results are posted. 

Repeat steps 6 through 9 until either family, or both, is completely wiped out.

Cannolis will be asked to post in blue; Linguines will be asked to post in red.  As always, players who are eliminated are asked to confine their posts to the OOC thread and refrain from communicating to other players in PMs about the game.


-------------------

Player Sign-Ups:

1. Aiden
2. Imogen
3. Esoteric Myobi
4. DTW ramster
5. Absinthe Tori
6. Iksander DudelRok
7. Moirae
8. Cassiopeia
9. Rolin
10. thirteenhearts
11. Beguile's Mistress
12. Valerian
13. Xandi
14. Mithlomwen
15. Lord Mayerling
16. Galanthor

[Aiden]

first!

[Imogen]

second!

[Esoteric Myobi]

Darn it Dx Third place is mine! ><

-snatches-

[Love And Submission]

I'd like to be in on this as well.
Also , Fourth apparently.

[Zealously Jaded]

I'd like to join.

Erm fifth...whatever the counting is for.

[Iksander]

I've heard these types of games are excellent fun, and so I throw my hat into the ring!

[Remiel]

I'm putting the sign-up list as part of the first post.  I'm shooting for 16-18 people (8-9 per team).  In case that fills up, I'm also looking for alternates, who will step in if one of the players goes MIA (defined as disappearing for a week or longer without a PM or some sort of notification of absence).

[desert ashes]

I'm totally game! :)

[Cassiopeia]

This looks awesomesauce!  Count me in  ;D

[Tharic]

I'd like to play as well, I've read several of the past games like this in the archives and they look like great fun.

[thirteenhearts]

I'd like to give it a *shot*

[Beguile's Mistress]

Add me to the list.

[Ryven]

Does the Don assign the special roles privately?

[Remiel]

Does the Don assign the special roles privately?

Yes.  For example, let's say that you are picked by your team's Don to be the Consigliere;  you will get a PM from me saying "Don so-and-so has appointed you to be the Consigliere."  Whether you choose to let the other members of your team know this is entirely between you and your Don.

Your role will be revealed, however, if you are killed for any reason.

[desert ashes]

Quickie!

Can you provide more information on the Rat?  I don't see that role detailed in the list but see it mentioned a few times elsewhere.

[Remiel]

Quickie!

Can you provide more information on the Rat?  I don't see that role detailed in the list but see it mentioned a few times elsewhere.

The Rat is essentially a spy for the opposite team.  For example, let's say that you're a Cannoli Associate; if you're the Rat, it means you're secretly working for the Linguines.  None of the Cannolis know that you're working for the Linguines, however, so it's in your best interest to keep that knowledge to yourself! The Consigliere's main job is find out who you are -- if he guesses your identity, it's game over! 

It will be entirely up to the Rat to decide whether or not to reveal his identity to the Don of his true family.  Doing so will let the Don know who you are, which is advantageous because otherwise he might vote to take out a contract on you; it's entirely up to you though.

[Love And Submission]

Hmm it'll be very instresting if a  consigliere ends up being one of the  rats.

[Remiel]

Still looking for one more player.  Just one more!

[Galanthor]

call me luigi i'm in

[Remiel]

Awesome! Okay, we've got a quorum.  I'm going to wait juuuuust a couple more days to see if we catch any more, but otherwise I'm going to start this up soon.

[Remiel]

Well, it looks like one of our players dropped out, so we need one more.  If you've never played a "Mafia" type game before (or Murder in the Dark, as it is played sometimes),  you can see great examples currently run by Valerian or Saffron here or here.  This one will be different, and a little bit experimental, in that there will be two teams competing against each other instead of just a single population.  Nevertheless, I hope that it will be lots of fun.

The OOC thread can be found here and the in-game thread here.

[Tharic]

*bump* You know you want in on this mafia action!

[Remiel]

Looks like another one of our players went inactive.  We need one more Cannoli!

[Aiden]

Sorry for my delay i was out of town his weekend, but I r back!
wrong thread!


BUMP!