"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods..."
-Thomas Babington Macaulay, Horatius
Nobody dies! Day 1 ends. Night 1 begins, it ends at 10:30 PM EST on Oct 27!
"Black night hovers around with sheltering shade.*"
You spend a few pleasant hours flinging wild accusations at each other and quoting random works of art, stopping only occasionally for wine. Then you all remember that there are some chariot races, gladiatorial spectacles, and disturbingly expensive feasts that you need to visit. The potential fall of Rome can wait.
*Virgil, Aeneid 2.360 Fairclough Translation
Any sufficiently advanced pun is indistinguishable from comedy.
Rosy-fingered dawn reaches her fingers over Rome as you rise from your beds. It is the Cerealia, and the pagans among you spend the morning tying torches to foxes' tails and lighting them on fire before releasing them onto a race track. The Christians spend the morning wondering why you would do such a thing. Truthfully, none of the pagans know either. It's just a tradition.
You're all in a great mood as you head to the forum, until you notice that Makaela is missing. No matter! You'll simply stop by her house, scold her for missing the festivities, and bring her to the forum yourselves.
You find her decapitated carcass sitting in her home. All of her valuables are missing. It seems that somebody pillaged her property quite thoroughly, but didn't think her corpse was worth looting.
You turn from that place and make your way to the forum, with somewhat less joy than you had a few minutes ago. You come across another corpse in the street, with a small dagger jabbed in its back. You flip the body over and discover that it was once Dys.
You hear even worse news when you reach the forum. Rome's gossips are chattering about a conspiracy, about the enemy within the city. Apparently certain wealthy citizens are plotting to overthrow the government. Most of you don't have any real objections to the idea of overthrowing the government, but this case is particularly concerning. Largely because the government in question is you.
-------------------
Makaela was Theodosius!
You were the last emperor to rule over both the East and the West.
That would be notable on its own, but you were also the one who
proved that Christians were just as good as persecuting Roman pagans
as the pagans had been at persecuting Christians.
You made haruspicy into a capital crime, dissolved the Vestal
Virgins, and even suppressed the Olympics. You also closed temples
and tolerated attacks on pagan holy sites. You were also somewhat
harsh on non-Nicene Christians, who you barred from holding public
office.
Imperator:
You were an emperor of Rome,
and you will see the eternal city triumph over her enemies. You
win with the town!
Theodosian
Persecutions: You suppressed
many pagan customs, and your agents are eager to follow those who may
be breaking your rules. At night, you may target another
player to see who they target with a night action.[Tracker]
Dys was Hadrian!
You built a wall. You built some other things, and you were deeply
interested in architecture, but real architects thought you were an
idiot. You were a military reformer who pulled the army out of some
provinces that you recognized as indefensible. You also passed laws
that offered some protections to slaves. But the wall overshadows all
of that.
You also had a thing for Greece, to the point where you grew a beard
in imitation of their culture. You were only the second bearded
emperor, and it started a trend.
Imperator:
You were an emperor of Rome,
and you will see the eternal city triumph over her enemies. You
win with the town!
Hadrian's Wall: You're going to build a wall and make the
barbarians pay for it! At night, you may choose a person and
prevent them from taking night actions. [Blocker]
-----------------
CRISIS! The Catilinarian Conspiracy Has Begun!
Welcome to your first crisis! This is a unique mechanic for Roman Mafia! If you have any questions about it, you can ask them here (if you want it to be public) or in a private message (if you want to be sneaky!)
When a crisis starts, I announce it during the day phase. Like I just did a few lines of text ago.
It won't have any impact during that day phase, but you're welcome to discuss it.
During the night phase after announcement (N2 for this crisis) players who have a night action available can use it to support the crisis. Players of any alignment can do this. If you do not have a night power, you cannot support a crisis. If your power has limited charges, using it on the crisis will consume a charge.
At the end of the night phase, I tally up everyone who spent their night action on the crisis. If the town has more than twice as many people as the mafia, nothing happens. Crisis averted! If not, the mafia gets a bonus. Third parties get to choose if they count as town or mafia!
FAQ
Q. Do we get to know what the scum get if they win the crisis?
A. Not by default.
Q. Will you tell us the scores after the crisis?
A. No. Only success or failure.
Q. Do I have to support the crisis?
A. Nope! Entirely up to each and every one of you.
Q. Can powers interact with a crisis?
A. Maybe!
Q. Portius, you're bad at explaining rules and I don't understand this mechanic.
A. Not a question, but possibly true. Remember, you're welcome to ask questions!
---------------
Day 2 begins now!
14 Players remain! 8 Votes required to lynch!
Day 2 ends at Midnight, EST, on October 30th!
"Fear betrays ignoble souls"
-Virgil, Aeneid 4.13
Any sufficiently advanced pun is indistinguishable from comedy.
My interest in this game has tripled with that last post. Wowzers.
0
SylandraJoin Queue for Mafia GamesThe Last Mafia Game
Nobody's going to post? Okie dokie, guess I'm first.
1) Interesting that we see two death types here! Stabbing in the back, and decapitation. The Shakespeare nerd in me says that the first one sounds like Brutus, but no clue about the other one. My current guess is we have serial killer and mafia in this game, but I won't rule out trigger happy vigilante either just yet.
2) @Dys and @Makaela are unexpected targets. Neither has had an especially strong mafia game presence, so I'm guessing they were mainly targeted out of the assumption they would be left alone by most people at night? Not sure what to gain from this line of inquiry, but definitely crossed my mind.
3) Dys was the blocker, huh? And blocks via walls! This answers a question I had about last night: I was "walled in" and had to scramble my way out until morning. So it sounds like Dys targeted me last night.
4) @Portius: does the new mechanic mean you "spend" an action on a crisis? For example, Makaela could say, "Instead of being a tracker tonight, I want to spend my action on a crisis"? And she wouldn't track that night, but instead spend her power on preventing the crisis?
5) Any historians aware of what this current crisis entails? Ie, how bad is the Catilinarian Conspiracy in particular?
I have a few additional thoughts but want to hear other people talk before I go into those.
"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
I'm afraid I'm not too savvy on Roman history beyond googlefu.
However, in the interest of progress and seeing our fine city forward, and in the belief of my fellow council members having my back, I am going to divulge the information I have acquired on the previous night. I am a grand meditator, possible of contemplating the intentions of any member of our council and figuring his or her alignment with, or against our seat in Rome. Last night I meditated hard on Sidd and found only corruption, greed, and hate. I can confirm that Sidd is, in fact, a member of the rebel scum seeking to destroy our society.
That said, I will Proscribe: Sidd.
What do you have to say for yourself, rebel scum?
(I'm the mom of Hallifax btw, so if you are in Hallifax please call me mom.)
== Professional Girl Gamer == Yes I play games Yes I'm a girl get over it
The trend of roleplaying characters leading to early death continues...
Don't know anything historical about this crisis stuff but modpost confirms existence of third parties, supporting 2nd death by serial killer rather than vig idea.
However, crisis mechanics might also rule out my previous line of thinking on who potential mafia are. Throwing Synkarin to the lions will inform us here, and give us some advantage in dealing with the crisis, but that was a very early reveal!
Nothing to report from the night phase for my own part. Didn't notice if anyone targeted me either.
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
Is Yarith a philospher? Seems he's not a very good one though. Given that both Dys and Makaela were emperors, and I, myself am an emperor, I'm going to go out on a limb and say we're all former emperors of Rome. I think we have to be honest a second here and realize that many of us were corrupt. And tyrannical. Such is power. I can claim my power if you want, but I'll leave you with the fact that I'm Nero.
I heard rumours last night that philosphers were discussing me, which I first took as quite the compliment, but it now seems they were discussing that I'm corrupt? Disappointing for all that I've done for Rome
I'm tempted to vote for Sidd, but if he's Nero, he'll probably look corrupt no matter what his alignment is. Nero is kind of a rough claim, I don't see him just pulling that out of thin air and I don't think he would choose it to look good. Believable for now.
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
4) @Portius: does the new mechanic mean you "spend" an action on a crisis? For example, Makaela could say, "Instead of being a tracker tonight, I want to spend my action on a crisis"? And she wouldn't track that night, but instead spend her power on preventing the crisis?
Yes.
Any sufficiently advanced pun is indistinguishable from comedy.
Well while I'd agree with Sidd in that several/all emperors could have been considered to be corrupt dictators, Nero is attributed to letting Rome burn, or even ordering the fire to be started himself. If there is an emperor among the mafia, Nero would be fairly high up the list of those least concerned with the welfare of Rome.
So I would be wary of Nero being an arsonist based on this, and am still down for the lynch even if he is another emperor.
Don't think we need to rush into the lynch though, so will hold off for now.
2
SylandraJoin Queue for Mafia GamesThe Last Mafia Game
Well that brings me to a second point I wanted to discuss regarding last night.
I didn’t only receive a message about being walled in by Dys. I also received a curious flavor message about being jeered at by angry peasants. It wasn’t unpleasant. At first I thought maybe the two messages were from the same power, but seeing Dys dead and his role revealed today, it’s more likely to me this is another power at play.
My guess? Either a mockery power (ie lowering vote count required to kill me for the day) or arsonist prep flavor. In which case there’s only one move I can make regarding Nero.
"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
0
SylandraJoin Queue for Mafia GamesThe Last Mafia Game
"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
0
SylandraJoin Queue for Mafia GamesThe Last Mafia Game
I'm tempted to vote for Sidd, but if he's Nero, he'll probably look corrupt no matter what his alignment is. Nero is kind of a rough claim, I don't see him just pulling that out of thin air and I don't think he would choose it to look good. Believable for now.
I find this logic a little confusing, too. “Nero will always look corrupt so I’d rather not vote someone claiming Nero”? It’s Day 2 and our investigator put out his neck for us to give us this information, not sure we will get anything more concrete today.
"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
I'm tempted to vote for Sidd, but if he's Nero, he'll probably look corrupt no matter what his alignment is. Nero is kind of a rough claim, I don't see him just pulling that out of thin air and I don't think he would choose it to look good. Believable for now.
I find this logic a little confusing, too. “Nero will always look corrupt so I’d rather not vote someone claiming Nero”? It’s Day 2 and our investigator put out his neck for us to give us this information, not sure we will get anything more concrete today.
Is there someone you would rather vote for?
No, Sidd seems as likely as any. I'm just saying that if he's Nero, he could be either town or scum and still look scummy. Isn't there a role or power that does that?
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
0
SylandraJoin Queue for Mafia GamesThe Last Mafia Game
Miller, yeah. But the only way to determine a miller is by lynching or analyzing gameplay and on day 2 that leaves less options there.
"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
I'm more concerned about how strong the crisis is on resolution and how much we want to devote to offsetting it. Disregarding 3p influence, though it will likely be there, and assuming a 3-4 member mafia, it would take the dedicated action of 6/8 night acting town powers depending on if mafia decides to act with their kill tonight and pursues no other action. With 16(14 remaining) players, 3-4 mafia and any number of 3p, that's still potentially a large chunk of our night to fight if they invest and, unless we can remove one member of their group, one that will get a lot harder given that we can't properly organise our response without giving away too much yet.
It is also possible, as per the post above, that there are roles that are particularly strong at fighting the crisis or having instances of helping it go through.
Do let me know if I've made a mistake, but that's my take on it.
(I'm the mom of Hallifax btw, so if you are in Hallifax please call me mom.)
== Professional Girl Gamer == Yes I play games Yes I'm a girl get over it
Going to agree that that looks like SK + mafia kills. Based on the OP, I'm still guessing that there's three possible non-town entities: rebels (mafia, according to Yarith), conspirators (3p win condition?), and the vengeful enemies (SK?).
The crisis mechanic is a bit confusing. I am wondering if we will see these every day, on some cool down, or if it's someone's power to initiate these. In any event, it looks like it makes us choose between using town utility and preventing the crisis, which is certainly going to be tough to decide without knowing more. Though at the same time, mafia will probably expend their actions, as well. What are we thinking? Is it worthwhile to dedicate our resources to stopping this, assuming that these won't happen often? I'm not sure we should openly decide whether we're going to support it en masse, but any thoughts on how this mechanic could work/the effects might help inform our actions.
I don't have anything to report from last night. The Yarith/Sidd saga is worth some discussion, but let's please hold off on completing the lynch until we can compare all of our night notes and also maybe talk a bit more about our crisis theories. I think a few people have not checked in.
I'm not scum or 3p, I'm town, I want to see Rome succeed so I can continue my lavish lifestyle. I only started the fire to build my Golden House anyway.
My power is that twice a game I can force all 3p to forgo their regular power use and contribute to the crisis for town instead. If anytime I use this power and the town does not succeed, I wind up commiting suicide.
Comments
I think we need some information, so let's have a night. Fingers crossed.
Proscribe: No lynch
Proscribe: No lynch
descriiiibe.
== Professional Girl Gamer ==
Yes I play games
Yes I'm a girl
get over it
"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods..."
You were the last emperor to rule over both the East and the West. That would be notable on its own, but you were also the one who proved that Christians were just as good as persecuting Roman pagans as the pagans had been at persecuting Christians.
You made haruspicy into a capital crime, dissolved the Vestal Virgins, and even suppressed the Olympics. You also closed temples and tolerated attacks on pagan holy sites. You were also somewhat harsh on non-Nicene Christians, who you barred from holding public office.
Imperator: You were an emperor of Rome, and you will see the eternal city triumph over her enemies. You win with the town!
Theodosian Persecutions: You suppressed many pagan customs, and your agents are eager to follow those who may be breaking your rules. At night, you may target another player to see who they target with a night action. [Tracker]
You built a wall. You built some other things, and you were deeply interested in architecture, but real architects thought you were an idiot. You were a military reformer who pulled the army out of some provinces that you recognized as indefensible. You also passed laws that offered some protections to slaves. But the wall overshadows all of that.
You also had a thing for Greece, to the point where you grew a beard in imitation of their culture. You were only the second bearded emperor, and it started a trend.
Imperator: You were an emperor of Rome, and you will see the eternal city triumph over her enemies. You win with the town!
Hadrian's Wall: You're going to build a wall and make the barbarians pay for it! At night, you may choose a person and prevent them from taking night actions. [Blocker]
-----------------The Catilinarian Conspiracy Has Begun!
1) Interesting that we see two death types here! Stabbing in the back, and decapitation. The Shakespeare nerd in me says that the first one sounds like Brutus, but no clue about the other one. My current guess is we have serial killer and mafia in this game, but I won't rule out trigger happy vigilante either just yet.
2) @Dys and @Makaela are unexpected targets. Neither has had an especially strong mafia game presence, so I'm guessing they were mainly targeted out of the assumption they would be left alone by most people at night? Not sure what to gain from this line of inquiry, but definitely crossed my mind.
3) Dys was the blocker, huh? And blocks via walls! This answers a question I had about last night: I was "walled in" and had to scramble my way out until morning. So it sounds like Dys targeted me last night.
4) @Portius: does the new mechanic mean you "spend" an action on a crisis? For example, Makaela could say, "Instead of being a tracker tonight, I want to spend my action on a crisis"? And she wouldn't track that night, but instead spend her power on preventing the crisis?
5) Any historians aware of what this current crisis entails? Ie, how bad is the Catilinarian Conspiracy in particular?
I have a few additional thoughts but want to hear other people talk before I go into those.
I'm afraid I'm not too savvy on Roman history beyond googlefu.
However, in the interest of progress and seeing our fine city forward, and in the belief of my fellow council members having my back, I am going to divulge the information I have acquired on the previous night. I am a grand meditator, possible of contemplating the intentions of any member of our council and figuring his or her alignment with, or against our seat in Rome. Last night I meditated hard on Sidd and found only corruption, greed, and hate. I can confirm that Sidd is, in fact, a member of the rebel scum seeking to destroy our society.
That said, I will
Proscribe: Sidd.
What do you have to say for yourself, rebel scum?
== Professional Girl Gamer ==
Yes I play games
Yes I'm a girl
get over it
I am happy to support Yarith though and events shall prove her right, or bring her next to the colliseum
Proscribe: Sidd
Totally not Ess.
Probably Kistan but that only has one s
Don't know anything historical about this crisis stuff but modpost confirms existence of third parties, supporting 2nd death by serial killer rather than vig idea.
However, crisis mechanics might also rule out my previous line of thinking on who potential mafia are. Throwing Synkarin to the lions will inform us here, and give us some advantage in dealing with the crisis, but that was a very early reveal!
Nothing to report from the night phase for my own part. Didn't notice if anyone targeted me either.
i will trust yarith & proscribe Sidd! May the furies eat him.
I heard rumours last night that philosphers were discussing me, which I first took as quite the compliment, but it now seems they were discussing that I'm corrupt? Disappointing for all that I've done for Rome
So I would be wary of Nero being an arsonist based on this, and am still down for the lynch even if he is another emperor.
Don't think we need to rush into the lynch though, so will hold off for now.
I didn’t only receive a message about being walled in by Dys. I also received a curious flavor message about being jeered at by angry peasants. It wasn’t unpleasant. At first I thought maybe the two messages were from the same power, but seeing Dys dead and his role revealed today, it’s more likely to me this is another power at play.
My guess? Either a mockery power (ie lowering vote count required to kill me for the day) or arsonist prep flavor. In which case there’s only one move I can make regarding Nero.
Proscribe Sidd.
Is there someone you would rather vote for?
No, Sidd seems as likely as any. I'm just saying that if he's Nero, he could be either town or scum and still look scummy. Isn't there a role or power that does that?
It is also possible, as per the post above, that there are roles that are particularly strong at fighting the crisis or having instances of helping it go through.
Do let me know if I've made a mistake, but that's my take on it.
== Professional Girl Gamer ==
Yes I play games
Yes I'm a girl
get over it
== Professional Girl Gamer ==
Yes I play games
Yes I'm a girl
get over it
While we might eliminate a threat in Nero, mafia may still have full complement numbers-wise for the crisis.
Going to agree that that looks like SK + mafia kills. Based on the OP, I'm still guessing that there's three possible non-town entities: rebels (mafia, according to Yarith), conspirators (3p win condition?), and the vengeful enemies (SK?).
The crisis mechanic is a bit confusing. I am wondering if we will see these every day, on some cool down, or if it's someone's power to initiate these. In any event, it looks like it makes us choose between using town utility and preventing the crisis, which is certainly going to be tough to decide without knowing more. Though at the same time, mafia will probably expend their actions, as well. What are we thinking? Is it worthwhile to dedicate our resources to stopping this, assuming that these won't happen often? I'm not sure we should openly decide whether we're going to support it en masse, but any thoughts on how this mechanic could work/the effects might help inform our actions.
I don't have anything to report from last night. The Yarith/Sidd saga is worth some discussion, but let's please hold off on completing the lynch until we can compare all of our night notes and also maybe talk a bit more about our crisis theories. I think a few people have not checked in.
I'm not scum or 3p, I'm town, I want to see Rome succeed so I can continue my lavish lifestyle. I only started the fire to build my Golden House anyway.
My power is that twice a game I can force all 3p to forgo their regular power use and contribute to the crisis for town instead. If anytime I use this power and the town does not succeed, I wind up commiting suicide.
There is no threat here.