With suggestions from webadict, IcyTea and FallacyofUrist, I've been working on an idea to help bring new players into mafia, and I want to pitch it here to see what you think about it. Like Beginner's Mafia, it's meant to introduce newbies to the conventions of forum-based mafia. However, while BM eases them in with a minimalist design, my idea is to appeal to them with a thematic and mechanical link to Town of Salem. Potential players have probably played that game before, and so will be more likely to sign up and enjoy playing because they are familiar with the game and it's rules.
The round can be run with 6 players, but can support up to (and seems best with) 10. It's a semi-open setup, with many of the roleslots being one of three possible roles. Here is the breakdown of that:
6 Players
Mafiaso
Sheriff / Investigator / Lookout
Doctor / Bodyguard / Vigilante
Vigilante / Veteran / Escort
Escort / Transporter / Spy
Spy / Mayor / Doctor
7: Consort / Consigliere / Blackmailer
8: Sheriff / Investigator / Lookout
9: Random Town (from the 11 above)
10: Serial Killer / Arsonist
Days will last 48 hours, and nights will last until all actions are submitted (maximum of 24 hours). 6 players games (and maybe others?) will require a lynch everyday, to prevent the town from stalling things out while they gather info. Lynches will work as we're used to them, but - in the case of a forced lynch - ties will extend the day by 24 hours, and then will be broken at random if there's still a tie. Unlike Town of Salem, there are no whispers, and mafiachat works even during the day.
Now, I need to address the problem of balance. At face value, the town has a massive advantage because each of their players is a power role. However, I don't want to include vanilla roles in the game, because the guarantee of being a power role is the core appeal of Town of Salem. Therefore, I've done my best to balance out this advantage through other aspects of the game's design. First, the "1 of 3" roles make any claim by scum sound reasonable. Few of them can be directly counterclaimed, and even a massclaim can't pinpoint the liar. Secondly, the exact roles in the game have been chosen to give every type of scum at least one indesputable claim for an investigator. Lastly, some of the town roles in the game (Escort, Transporter, Vigilante and Veteran) can hurt or hinder the town, so their "anti-synergy" helps bring down the inherent advantage of being a power role.
What do you think? Is this a good setup, or are there some considerations I missed? Would anybody here - especially potential players who are considering joining the subforum - be interested in playing?
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Topic: Mafia Setup Discussion and Review (Read 236992 times)