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[Tomasque]

Welcome everyone! You all probably know what Town of Salem, and this is basically it, but on an online forum. I'll go over the differences here, but if you don't know the basic rules of mafia at all, here they are.

Spoiler: Mafia: A Basic Tutorial by JoshuaFH (click to show/hide)

Mafia, as it stands, is something of an in-crowd thing. People not already in have the very real barrier of having to grasp the rules of Mafia in order to play, and this can be a daunting task to someone that has no idea what Mafia is or what it's about, so I've decided to write this tutorial to explain the basic rules as simply as I can, which will hopefully lower that barrier.

I will not be discussing strategy, metagaming, game balancing, or any of the special themed mafias, only the basic rules.


When someone starts a game of Mafia, that person is considered the GM of the mafia and is not a player, they only manage the players and enforce the rules.

Anyone may sign up for a Mafia, often by simply posting "in!" on the thread when it's in its beginning stages, and once the GM believes he has a satisfactory number of people, he will close the sign-up period and begin the game.

Mafia, to put it simply, is basically a large group of players, and some of those players are contacted by the GM at the beginning and told that they are the Mafia. Everyone else is contacted and told they are townspeople, or townies.

The objectives are simple: the Mafia's goal in the game is to kill every townsperson, and the townie's goal is to kill all the mafia.

The main differences between the two factions is that the Mafia are considered to be an Informed Minority, that is, all the Mafia know who each other are, and can coordinate their efforts. The townspeople are known as the Uninformed Majority, that is, there are many more townspeople than there are Mafia, but none of the townspeople are informed as to who are townspeople and who are mafia, and have to use reasoning skills to deduce who the Mafia are.

The game itself is separated into rounds, called days, and between each day is a night.

Each day, all the players are allowed to talk in the thread. On top of this, the players are allowed to vote for people to lynch. By this, I mean that at the end of the day (determined by the GM), whomever has the most votes will be killed by the moderator, and then forbidden from play. The Town must use this method of killing players to try to eliminate all the Mafia, however, the Mafia can also use this to mislead the town, and direct the lynchings toward Town players.

At night, no one is allowed to talk in the thread (although PM'ing may still be allowed) and the Mafia are allowed to perform one Nightkill, that is, they are allowed to kill one player of their choosing, and that player is removed from play in the same way a lynched player is. It is through this method that the Mafia must try to eliminate all the Townspeople. ((Note by Tomasque: In this game, the Mafiaso is the specific mafia role that handles the killing. The other member of the mafia can only suggest who should be killed.))

At the end of the night, a new day begins, and the process starts over. This will continue either until either all the Mafia are dead, or the Mafia have an undeniable advantage in votes. ((Note by Tomasque: This game only ends if the town wins by eliminating the mafia and the Serial Killer / Arsonist / Witch, if the mafia and/or Witch win by being in a position where they cannot be eliminated, or if the Serial Killer / Arsonist win by being the last player alive.))

On top of all that, depending on the Mafia one is playing in, players at the start of the game will be PM'd by the GM and given a special Role. That is, they will have special powers beyond being ordinary townspeople or mafia. These roles are too numerous to list, so it's best to consult with the local rules that the GM undoubtedly placed, and ask questions if you're confused about anything.

Lastly, be very certain to read the rules of every Mafia you plan to join, as any of the above might be altered in it's style of the house rules.

That, to my knowledge, is mafia in its most basic form. I hope I haven't overlooked anything.

For further help, you can ask for it here, or follow these links which explain further:

A Flash Animation that is very helpful and instructive.

Mafiascum's Newbie Guide

Mafia's occurring here on the forum have some hitherto unspoken rules which are often not mentioned, but everyone adheres to. These include:

-Never editing one's post.
-Never directly quote any private communication from the mod, including your role PM.
-Talking to other players after you've been killed.

This game supports between 6 and 10 players. Of those one or two will be seasoned ("Inexperience Challenged") veterans who'll be able to clarify rules and explain the conventions of the game to new players as they play. Even if you still feel a little shaky about joining - don't worry, they'll be there to help you get the hang of it. The Mafia also gets a seasoned veteran ("Scum IC") who's not in the game, but who can talk to them in the mafiachat.

Alright, now for what's different between this game and Town of Salem:

• Days last 48 hours. Once per day, they can be extended by 24 hours if a majority of the players vote for it. Nights last 24 hours.
• Players can vote for someone at any time during the day by saying their name in bold red. Instead of going on the stand, they will simply be lynched if they have the most votes against them at the end of the day. You can change your vote or unvote at any time.
• The game will start with a day as long as any other day, during which players will be able to vote as they normally do.
• There are no whispers. The mafia can talk to their partner at any time using a quicktopic chatroom that I will provide for them. The dead can talk with each other at any time using a different quicktopic chatroom.
• There are no death notes or last wills. Players will be allowed to post one thing right after they die, but it cannot contain any kind of game-related information.
• There is no draw after two consecutive days of no deaths. However, if this is caused by egregious lurking, the lurkers will be mod-killed.

Now, since that's out of the way, here's how the role distribution works. To keep the exact roles in the game unknown, most roles in the games will actually be one of three different roles. The exact roles will be randomly determined by me then distributed to each player just before the game begins. It is possible for two of the same role to be in the game.

     6 Players
      Mafioso
      Consort / Framer / Consigliere
      Sheriff / Investigator / Lookout
      Doctor / Bodyguard / Spy
      Spy / Vigilante / Escort
      Escort / Transporter / Doctor
  7: Bodyguard / Vigilante / Transporter
  8: Executioner
  9: Sheriff / Investigator / Lookout
10: Serial Killer / Arsonist / Witch

Spoiler: Simple Role Descriptions (click to show/hide)

Mafioso: Kill your target player. If you die, the other mafia member becomes the Mafioso.
Consort: Prevent your target from using their ability tonight. You cannot be prevented from using your ability.
Framer: Make your target appear evil tonight.
Consigliere: Learn your target's role.
Sheriff: See if your target is a mafia member/Serial Killer or not.
Investigator: Receive a group of roles that includes your target's role.
Lookout: Learn who else visited your target tonight.
Doctor: Prevent your target from dying tonight. You can target yourself once per game.
Bodyguard: Kill one attacker targeting your target tonight, but get killed by them. You may target yourself to become immune to attacks for a night, once per game.
Spy: See what results your target receives (except for informational results). You are also told who the mafia visit each night.
Vigilante: Three times per game, kill your target player. You cannot do this on the first night. If you kill a town member, commit suicide the following night.
Escort: Prevent your target from using their ability tonight. You cannot be prevented from using your ability.
Transporter: Switch your two target players, causing all abilities tonight targeting one of them to affect the other one instead. You cannot be forced to or prevented from using your ability.
Executioner: You win if a randomly-determined town member is lynched. You cannot be killed during the night. If they die at night, you become the Jester.
Jester: You win if you are lynched. The following night, unpreventably kill one of the players who voted for you.
Serial Killer: You win if you are the last one alive. Kill your target player. You cannot be killed during the night. If you would be prevented from using your ability, you kill the player that's preventing you instead of your target.
Arsonist: You win if you are the last one alive. Douse your target for the rest of the game. This will overwrite their role for investigation results. If you target yourself, you will unpreventably kill all doused players. By doing nothing, you will clean yourself off if doused. You cannot be killed during the night.
Witch: You win if the town loses. Learn your target's role and force them to visit your second target. You cannot be prevented from using your ability. You survive the first time you would be killed by someone at night.

Spoiler: Detailed Role Descriptions (click to show/hide)

Here's something I don't want to write for each ability: Unless otherwise stated, you visit whoever you are targeting with your ability. Similarly, unless otherwise stated, you cannot intentionally target yourself and mafia members cannot intentionally target another member of the mafia.

Mafia Roles You win if a mafia member is alive and there is no way (ignoring the Witch) that they can be eliminated.
 Mafioso:
  Ability - Kill your target player. You will fail and be informed of it if your target's defense is too high, which is the case with the Bodyguard (targeting themselves), Executioner, Serial Killer, Arsonist or Witch (if not already attacked).
  Additional Info - If you die, the other mafia member's role is replaced with the Mafioso.
 Consort:
  Ability - Prevent your target from using their ability tonight. The Escort, Transporter and Witch are immune to this, and you are told if your target has that immunity. If your target is a Serial Killer, they will be forced to use their ability on you. Your target will be informed of the attempt, whether or not you succeed.
  Additional Info - You are immune to the Escort and Consort's abilities.
 Framer:
  Ability - Make your target appear as "Suspicious" to the Sheriff and "Framer, Jester, or framed player" to the Investigator tonight. This overpowers the deceptive effect of the Arsonist's dousing.
 Consigliere:
  Ability - Learn the role of your target. If they have been doused, they appear to be the Arsonist.

Town Roles You win if the mafia and the Serial Killer / Arsonist / Witch are eliminated.
 Sheriff:
  Ability - Receive a result based on your target's role. It will be a "Suspicious" result if your target is a member of the mafia, the Serial Killer, or a framed player, and "Not Suspicious" if otherwise.
 Investigator:
  Ability - Receive a group of roles that includes your target's role. The different groups are: Vigilante or Mafioso; Spy (& nothing else); Sheriff or Executioner; Framer or Jester or framed player; Lookout or Witch; Escort or Transport or Consort; Doctor or Serial Killer; Investigator or Consigliere; Bodyguard or Arsonist or doused player.
 Lookout:
  Ability - Learn who else visited your target tonight. You will receive the list in a randomized order. You will not see the Transporter or Witch at their second target nor the Doctor and Bodyguard when they target themselves.
 Doctor:
  Ability - Prevent your target player from being killed tonight. You and your target will be told if you prevented an attack, even if multiple people prevented it, but will not receive additional messages because of extra protectors or extra attackers. You cannot prevent a kill from the Vigilante (if they are commiting suicide), Arsonist or Jester. You can target yourself with this ability once per game, and it will not count as a visit.
 Bodyguard:
  Ability - Prevent your target player from being killed by one attacker tonight. You will kill and be killed by that attacker (the attacker will still be visiting your target, not you). You, your target, and the attacker will be told if you prevented an attack, even if multiple people prevented it, but will not receive additional messages because of extra protectors or extra attackers. If there are multiple attackers visiting your target, you affect a random one. If another Bodyguard is visiting your target, it is randomly determined which one of you faces the attacker. You cannot prevent a kill from the Vigilante (if they are committing suicide), Arsonist or Jester. You can target yourself with this ability once per game, and it will not count as a visit, nor will it kill the attacker, and attackers repelled by it will be told your defense was too high.
 Spy:
  Ability - Learn what abilities your target knows they are affected by tonight. For a list of all the messages you can see, look here.
  Additional Info - You learn which players the mafia visits every night. This happens whether you use your ability or not.
 Vigilante:
  Ability - Kill your target player. You may use this ability 3 times per game, and cannot use it on the first night. You will fail and be informed of it if target's defense is too high, which is the case with the Bodyguard (targeting themselves), Executioner, Serial Killer, Arsonist or Witch (if not already attacked). If you kill a town member, you will commit suicide the next night, which cannot be prevented in any way.
 Escort:
  Ability - Prevent your target from using their ability tonight. The Escort, Transporter and Witch are immune to this, and you are told if your target has that immunity. If your target is a Serial Killer, they will be forced to use their ability on you. Your target will be informed of the attempt, whether or not you succeed.
  Additional Info - You are immune to the Escort and Consort's abilities.
 Transporter:
  Ability - Cause all targets visiting your first target tonight to instead visit your second target, and vica versa, using their ability on the new person they're visiting. They are informed that this ability was used on them, but told who the other target is. You do not visit your second target, and you may choose yourself as that target. If the Doctor or Bodyguard are targeting themselves or the Jester is targeting one of their voters, they will not be switched to another target. If the other Transporter targets one of your target players, either you or they are randomly chosen to have their ability trigger first.
  Additional Info - You are immune to the Escort, Consort and Witch's abilities.

Neutral Roles
 Executioner:
  Win Condition - You win if your target (a randomly chosen town member) is lynched.
  Additional Info - You cannot be killed at night except by the Arsonist, and repelled attackers will be told your defense was too high. If your target dies during the night, your role is replaced with the Jester at the beginning of the following day.
 Jester:
  Win Condition - You win if you are lynched.
  Ability - You can only use this ability the night after you are lynched, and your target must be a player who was voting for you at the end of the day. Kill your target player. This cannot be prevented in any way. This ability does not visit, and therefore you will still kill your original target even if the Transporter targets them as well.
 Serial Killer:
  Win Condition - You win if you are the only player left alive.
  Ability - Kill your target player. You will fail and be informed of it if target's defense is too high, which is the case with the Bodyguard (targeting themselves) or Executioner. If you are targeted by the Escort or Consort, you will be forced to target them instead, and target all of them that visit you if multiple do so in the same night. If the Transporter targets a Escort or Consort that visits you, you will still target them and not the Transporter's other target.
  Additional Info - You cannot be killed at night except by the Jester, and repelled attackers will be told your defense was too high.
 Arsonist:
  Win Condition - You win if you are the only player left alive.
  Ability - Douse your target, secretly marking them for the rest of the game. If investigated, they will appear as "Bodyguard or Arsonist or doused player". If you target yourself, you will kill all the players you have marked. Their death cannot be prevented by anything. If you do not use your ability, you will clean yourself off, removing any mark you've put on yourself.
  Additional Info - You cannot be killed at night except by the Jester or your own ability, and repelled attackers will be told your defense was too high. You are told if you are doused.
 Witch:
  Win Condition - You win if you are alive and there is no way (ignoring the mafia) that you can be killed.
  Ability - Force your first target to visit your second target and use their ability on them, if possible. You will learn the role of your first target (ignoring all deception), and your first target will be told that they were the target of a Witch. You do not visit your second target. If your first target is prevented from using their ability by the Escort or Consort, or is the Transporter, they will not be forced to visit your second target.
  Additional Info - You are immune to the Escort and Consort's abilities. Once per game, if you would be killed at night by anything except a Jester's ability, you will survive and repelled attackers will be told your defense was too high. If multiple attackers attack you in the same night, a randomly determined one will be repelled.

(If I've made any errors in the role descriptions, feel free to tell me, and I'll correct them as soon as I can.)

Alright, that's it! You know now everything you'll need to start playing. Sign-ups are open, so feel free to join in on the fun!

Players
-TricMagic: Spy
-IcyTea31: Investigator
-Pavellius: Escort
-piratejoe: Spy
-heydude6: Framer
-Leodanny: Transporter
-hector13: Mafioso

ICs: hector13 (Scum), IcyTea31

[TricMagic]

Ptw.

Also join in if you need another player to fill a spot.

[hector13]

I can be scum IC.

[IcyTea31]

I'm a bit of a borderline case for being inexperience-challenged. I've only played a couple games here on Bay12 in the slow, asynchronous format, but I have plenty of experience in playing Mafia on other sites in quicker formats; my playstyle is different from that of the local old guard.

If you'll take me, count me in. Otherwise, PTW.

[Tomasque]

With Toady's permission, I've moved this to the Forum Games & Roleplaying board to give it more exposure.

[M00S12]

Not to be a downer but isn’t this setup pretty townsided when days aren’t 30 seconds long?

[Tomasque]

Not to be a downer but isn’t this setup pretty townsided when days aren’t 30 seconds long?

It could end up being that way. I've gone through various iterations of this setup and I think I've balanced out that advantage through other aspects of the game's design. If you want to know more about that, check it out over here.

[Tomasque]

Bump

[Pavellius]

In!

[evictedSaint]

Can I be a vanilla citizen, please? No special powers or abilities, thus ensuring I survive to the very end of the game.

[Tomasque]

Can I be a vanilla citizen, please? No special powers or abilities, thus ensuring I survive to the very end of the game.

But that's no fun.

[IcyTea31]

Can I be a vanilla citizen, please? No special powers or abilities, thus ensuring I survive to the very end of the game.

That's not at all how it works. The roles are randomized so nobody initially knows who anyone else is. This is what builds into the concept of the deception game.

Also, being a vanilla townie definitely doesn't ensure your survival. On the contrary, it makes you expendable. Scum generally goes for whoever seems most threatening, or barring that, someone at random. As a vanilla townie, one of your jobs would be to make yourself seem as threatening as possible so that scum kills you instead of the power roles.

[evictedSaint]

the joke is that you live the longest when you have the most boring role.

[piratejoe]

May as well Join

[heydude6]

After looking at my schedule, I think I'll be able to join. It would be nice to see this game up and running.