Sins of the Seven Seas [Rules, Roles, Explanations]

[Autumn Sativus]

How does the game work?

The game is a strategy and sneaking game, with roleplay. Though plenty of roleplaying should occur through the flavor text, the primary point of the game is to discover the Pirates or to take the vacationers hostage, depending on your alignment. The players are each assigned a role before the game begins, with Vacationers, Crew and Pirates. The goal for either side is to eliminate the opposite. Feel free to make descriptions of what you are doing, have fun with it, etc, but these will not affect the game-play, only the voting truly affects the game.

After receiving roles, the game begins by electing a Captain of the Ship. Though the actual Captain is on deck, our Cruise Captain will make deciding votes if there is a tie in a lynch vote. If the voting for the Captain is tied, the GM will roll dice to decide who will become Captain. If the Captain is taken hostage or arrested, a new Captain will be voted in on the next day before the arrest.

Night will fall after the Captain is elected. The Pirates will learn who their colleagues are, and they will decide on one Vacationer/Crew to take hostage during the night. Some of the special roles can prevent a hostage exchange. All roles that work at night will have their abilities used or left for another night before morning comes. When morning comes, a post will be made outlining what had happened during the night (if someone died, or if they didn't).

When a person is taken, their role is revealed and they will not longer be able to participate in the daily vote or post freely in the game thread.

When day comes, the vacationers and crew will gather and vote on someone to arrest, someone who they think is working with the Pirates. Everyone will vote, and eventually the person with the most votes will be cast off. Some of the special roles can save others from such a fate, or force it to occur on a different person than selected (see the Roles below). Night will fall, and the cycle of night-day will repeat.

How do you win?
>>The goal of the vacationers is to try and find out who the pirates are and to eliminate them before they take all of the innocents hostage and overtake the ship. The vacationers win when all the pirates are arrested.
>>The goal of the pirates is to take all of the vacationers hostage before their identities are discovered. The pirates win when their numbers equal or outweigh the numbers of the vacationers and crew.

Notes
-Once the game has started, no new players can join unless requested by the GM to replace a member who had to leave.
-You must have access to PMs to play this game. I'm sorry unapproved members.
-The game decides your alignment, not your friendships.
-Your role will be PMd to you before the game begins. Approximately 1/4 of the players will have Pirate roles.
-The Pirates are made aware of who the other Pirates are, after the Captain is chosen.
-You are required to vote. You may not vote for yourself. If you do not vote for several rounds, the GM may take you out of the game to keep it running smoothly.
-Campaigning for votes is not necessary.
-Pirates may not kidnap other Pirates.
-If someone is spared from the Pirates by a special role, they must be a Vacationer. (Use this to your advantage specials - you know those people are on your side. Speak to them!)
-The game is a game of lies and deception. Lying about your role, motivation, and what others have said/done in private is encouraged.
-Vacationers are encouraged to talk amongst each other in private. Please use forum PMs, and add Saffron to any messages sent. If you insist on using Instant Message, please forward a copy to Saffron.
-Remember that everything you hear could be a lie... who can you really trust?
-Expect the unexpected in this game.

*NOTE* You may have noticed a difference here. The players taken hostage by the Pirates are not killed.

[Autumn Sativus]

Rules for the Forum Games

Kidnapped characters don't talk without permission. If/When you are taken, you should not post in the active game thread in any way other than directed by the GM. Do not discuss the game with any of the active vacationers, and do not discuss the game where they can see it when talking with your other hostages. This applies especially to the OOC threads.

There's no copy machine. You cannot directly quote/copy anything game related that was told to you anywhere other than in the active game. For example, you can tell others what role you received (and lie about it), but you cannot actually quote the text stating your role. Likewise, you can tell others what people told you (and make stuff up), but you can't actually quote what they said to you. You can of course quote anything said in the game thread, since everyone can read it. For clarification, copying someone's text without using the board quote tags is still quoting and still against the rules.

Monitor the game, not the players. Do not go check the Who's Online often to see what players are doing. Do not go check when each player was last online right after a certain action occured. Base your opinions on what players are saying, not on outside elements!

The game decides the team. If you're a bad guy, and your best buddy is not, then so be it. You are still supposed to kill each other.

Games are for fun. This is a game, and it's supposed to be fun. Keep this in mind when playing, and don't try to think anything bad about the other players. See them as enemies or suspects in the game, but friends outside the game!

Keep the GM entertained. Whenever you send another player a PM regarding the game, send it to me as well. I'd like to read up on the discussion between players :)


Rules for Voting

Voting is mandatory. You cannot abstain from voting. There is no "undecided/no-lynch" option. After all, a major part of the game is based on deducting the voting pattern of other players. Preferably, everyone should vote as fast as possible, but of course people also have other things on their mind. This game will be running fairly quickly at 24-48 hours per day, so please make sure you're not abstaining from voting waiting on others. You can always change your vote later.

Please do not hold back your vote until there are more votes in. If everyone starts thinking like that, then eventually nobody would vote anymore. Just bring out a random vote, and change your vote at a later time, if you found a more suitable target.

Votes can always be changed. Until a "Final Vote" tally is posted, you may change your vote as many times and as often as you like.

Please do not consider the person that votes first a 'bad guy', simply for the reason that they voted first. That person just happens to be the person to check the thread first, and if everyone always accuses the person first to vote, then nobody will vote first anymore, meaning nobody will vote anymore.

Do not vote based on game experience. Just because LadySky plays in every game, or Saffron is the GM in most games, that doesn't make them a target. The point of the game is to play well, and I will not accept votes based on "Well they're a strong player... we should take them out first." (This applies to kidnaps and arrestings).

Vote in bold. Whenever you cast a vote on someone, be sure to put the name in [ b ]bold[ /b ], so I can easily check who is being voted on.

You cannot vote on yourself (for both the captain and the arrest). You can only vote on others. Of course, two vacationers can make a deal to vote on each other.

No need to run for election, though you certainly may. You can be elected to Captain against your will, if you happen to receive the most votes.

Do not edit your posts. If you change your opinion, make a new post with your new vote. Everything that's said in the thread should be visible at all times.

[Autumn Sativus]

Vacationers & Crew

Vacationers

• Vacationers form the core of the cruisers. They do not possess any special powers, and only have the power of their own vote in the democratic system.
• Approximately half of the players are Vacationers.

Lookout

• The lookout can see everything that's happening on the ship at night.
• Each night the lookout may choose to pay close attention to one vacationer. In turn, they will learn that player's role come morning.
• The lookout is in all other regards a Vacationer. There is only one Lookout.

Greenhorn

• The greenhorn is still new, so we have him posted outside one of the cabin doors each night.
• Every night, greenhorn chooses one player (send by PM) to defend against the Pirates.
• The greenhorn can choose to defend themselves.
• The greenhorn cannot defend one person during two consecutive nights. They must choose a different player than the player they guarded during the last night, though they can guard players again that were guarded during earlier nights.
• If the Pirates try to attack the guarded Vacationer, their attack fails. If the Night Watchman still has not used their ability, they will not be informed of a Vacationer in danger this night, which should inform them that the greenhorn did a good job.
• If the Mutineer decides to try to turn the guarded Vacationer, the attempt fails and their ability is wasted.
• The chosen player will not be informed that he is guarded. If the chosen player is attacked, he will not be informed.
• If the greenhorn successfully guards someone against an attack, they will not be informed about this incident.
• The greenhorn is in all other regards like a vacationer. There is only a single greenhorn.
• The greenhorn cannot save someone from being arrested.

Night Watchman

• The night watchman can intervene in the case where they see a Cruiser being taken hostage at night.
• As long as the night watchman is alive, he will be posted on rounds outside at night and will see the person being removed from the ship. They will recieve a PM about a person being taken hostage.
• If the night watchman saves the cruiser, the cruiser will not be informed about the attempt to take them. There will not be any note made about why a cruiser was not taken hostage during the night.
• The night watchman is in all other regard like a Vacationer. There is only one night watchman.
• The night watchman may choose to save themselves if the pirates attempt to take the night watchman hostage.
• The night watchman cannot save someone from being lynched or being turned Pirate by the Mutineer.

Photographer

• The ship's Photographer has one single exposure on a film that will reveal the true nature of a cruiser.
• One time during the game, when suspected Pirate is to be arrested the ship's photographer can choose to use this exposure to take a photo.
• If the Cruiser happens to be of Pirate alignment, photo will prove them guilty and they will be arrested.
• Otherwise, the Vacationer's innocence is proven, and nobody will be lynched that day.
• The photographer is in all other regards like a vacationer. There is only one photographer.
• The photographer may use this exposure to prove their own innocence and save themselves.
• The photographer has no power to save someone from being taken hostage at night or arrested.

Security Officer

• The security officer has a set of handcuffs and a key to one of the cells in the lower decks.
• During a single night, except for the first night, the security officer can choose to arrest another player.
• The chosen player will be removed to an isolated cell regardless of their alignment.
• If the security officer chooses the player defended by the greenhorn or saved by the night watchman, the ability is wasted.
• Nobody will be informed about the incident, a person will disappear as if taken hostage or arrested.
• Players will not be informed of any difference if multiple players go missing at night or not.
• The security officer is in all other regards like a vacationer. There is only one security officer.
• If the security officer chooses to use their ability on the same night the Pirates attempt to kidnap them, their ability will still take effect. They will still be kidnapped unless protected by the Greenhorn or saved by the Night Watchman.

[Autumn Sativus]

Pirates

Pirates

• Pirates are vacationers looking to cut a deal on smuggled goods within the ships cargo.
• Pirates learn who fellow pirates are immediately following the Captain's enstatement.
• Every night, the pirates must together choose a single player to take hostage by unanimous vote.
• Pirates cannot take other pirates hostage.
• The chosen player will be removed to a desert island, unless defended by the greenhorn or saved by the night watchman.
• During the day, pirates pose themselves as vacationers, hiding among the other vacationers and crew. Since no one knows yet that they are pirates, they get to vote just like the other vacationers.

Rebel

• The rebel is a pirate, but they're still close enough with the crew to pass as a vacationer.
• The rebel appears as a vacationer, when viewed by the lookout or when arrested.
• The rebel appears as a vacationer, when tested by the photographer.
• The rebel is in all other regards like a pirate. There is only one rebel.
• The rebel knows the pirates at the start of the game, and gets to vote along with them.

Mutineer

• The mutineer is the original pirate who is looking to overthrow the captain and take over the ship.
• During a single night, the mutineer can choose one other player.
• The chosen player will be turned into a pirate, unless defended by the greenhorn or arrested during the night. In these cases, the ability is wasted.
• When the chosen player is turned into a pirate, they will lose their old role. If they were the Lookout, they do not learn the requested role in the morning.
• The chosen player will learn who the other pirates are. The other pirates will learn who the new pirate is.
• The mutineer is in all other regards like a pirate. There is only a single mutineer.
• The pirates cannot convert one player and eat another player during the same night.
• The pirates cannot convert a player on the first night.