The Art of Game Creation

[Kasimir he/him]

I love the spin you have put on MR1, it looks good so far.  I think your concerns about the MaiPon Forger are reasonable, but considering they will only be included if enough people are in the game, I think that the role might be reasonable.

 

Edit:  And I should mention, should it be run, I will definitely participate.

Noted with thanks I've already decided to tweak the MaiPon Forger anyway, so I've neutered them just a little more, but hopefully, they should still be able to stand up to the other Factions's unique roles.

[Wyrmhero he/him]

This is a set of rules that can be applied to any ruleset without too much difficulty, but I feel there are circumstances under which this works best. Also, it turns out this isn't quite as mind-blowing an idea as I thought, as the Mafia Wiki has this on it as a rare but not unheard of variant >>.

 

Ghosts in the Night (QF)

Or: Two-Headed Elimination

 

The Ghostbloods are well-known for being a secretive organisation. It could be said that this secrecy is the only reason they have existed for such a long period of time. They carefully pick and choose their people, evaluating each individually before adding them to their members. They operate in cells, each only aware of the one they report to.

 

The secrecy the organisation has thrived on has now bled completely through into the very lives of their members. It is said that a half-decent Ghostblood could walk out the door, and suddenly they would be a completely different person. A different face, different hair, all changed within a matter of seconds. It is for this reason that they are known as ghosts, an ethereal presence that many doubt even exists.

 

But through time, they have become complacent, and their hidden nature has started to work against them. Their recruitment methods have become lax, slowly, and they have been infiltrated by their enemies. The Sons of Honour walk amongst their members, their own secrecy preventing them from finding out who they are. The order came down from someone - who, no-one knew - to purge the Ghostbloods of these people. The ghosts are grim, but determined in their task. The Sons of Honour are their enemy, they know this, and if they are left unanswered, they will slowly dismantle the organisation from within. They must be eradicated before that can happen, they say.

 

But when everyone in the organisation is two-faced, how can one tell who is a friend, and who is a foe?

 

The Rules

 

The variant is the same as a normal set of Elimination, but with one major difference; At the beginning of the game, the GM assigns half the players to be Day Players, and half the players to be Night Players. Players are then paired up, Day/Night, until everyone is in a pair. In the event of an odd number of players, the last player is both Day and Night. Day Players may not post in the main thread unless it is the Day, and vice versa. Day Players may not talk in PMs unless it is with their pair.

 

The pairings between players are hidden, and only the player knows who their partner is. However, all players start the game aware of whether each player is a Day or Night Player. Each player pair shares an Alignment and has the same Role, and they share a Role/Action PM. Players may talk to their other half via a PM, regardless of whether it is a Day or Night Turn. If a player dies, then the paired player dies with them.

 

During the Day, Day Players vote for another Day Player to lynch. During the Night, Night Players may target other Night Players with their Action. In order to account for the fact that players can only talk half the time, the Day and Night Turns are of equal length, and both last 48 hours. Due to the fact that Night Players cannot take part in the lynch, Actions can only take place during the Night Turn. There are no cross-Turn Actions. It is possible that the game will be Role Madness.

 

Roles

• Assassin - The Assassin's job for the Ghostbloods is to take out anyone who may be a threat. They have the ability to use a Kill Action every Night.
• Backup - The Backup has been trained in one of the other Roles, but lacks the go-ahead to use his skills. If a player with the Role that the Backup has dies, then the Backup is then able to use his Role.
• Hired Thug - The Thug's job is to be a target while other Ghostbloods carry out a mission, and is hardened and tough in combat. The Thug cannot die at Night.
• Lookout - The Lookout is able to keep a careful watch on a player each Night, and is informed of whether they use a Kill Action.
• Messenger - While at least one Messenger is alive, players may send messages to other players within their Turn, while it is that Turn.
• Shadow - The Shadow is able to conceal his own nature, and potentially that of another as well. Players targeted by the Shadow's ability cannot have their Day Player, Alignment or Role discovered.
• Spy - Who said that the Ghostbloods didn't have their own agents amongst the Sons of Honour? Each Night, the Spy may dig up information on a player, confirming whether or not they are a Son of Honour.
• Stalker - The Stalker is able to stealthy follow a player back home each Night, and is informed of who they are during the Day.
• Strategist - The Strategist is privy to knowledge that most are not. Each Night, they may use their Action to discover another player's Role in the organisation.
• Surgeon - The surgeon's task is to prevent the deaths of the Ghostbloods. They may save a player (including themselves) from death each Night.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Wyrmhero

[Herowannabe he/him]

Interesting idea Wyrm... I'm not 100% sure I'm following it, so let me just talk it back to you to confirm:

 

• Given say 20 players, there would be roughly 4-6 Eliminators (sons of Honor) and 14-16 villagers (Ghostbloods), as per usual.
• Players are paired up at random into day-player/night-player pairs, meaning that a handful of the villagers will be paired with the eliminators without knowing it.
• Day players post during the day and vote.
• Night players post during the night and use actions, if they have any.

 

is all of that right?

 

A few more questions:

 

What happens to a player when her partner is killed? Anything special? or does she just continue on as usual, fulfilling her half of the day/night pairing, but without a partner to talk to?

 

In the title, you list it as a Quick Fix (QF), but in the description you said 48-hour day phases and 48 hour night phases, like a long game- which is it? Personally, I think this idea would work best as a Mid-range game, with 24 hour day phases and 24 hour night phases. Going 48 hours without being able to use actions/votes, actively participate in the thread, or PM anyone except for 1 person is a long time, and I fear it would breed inactivity. 24 hour on/off cycles seems a lot more palatable to me.

[Kasimir he/him]

Interesting idea Wyrm... I'm not 100% sure I'm following it, so let me just talk it back to you to confirm:

• Given say 20 players, there would be roughly 4-6 Eliminators (sons of Honor) and 14-16 villagers (Ghostbloods), as per usual.
• Players are paired up at random into day-player/night-player pairs, meaning that a handful of the villagers will be paired with the eliminators without knowing it.
• Day players post during the day and vote.
• Night players post during the night and use actions, if they have any.

is all of that right?

A few more questions:

What happens to a player when her partner is killed? Anything special? or does she just continue on as usual, fulfilling her half of the day/night pairing, but without a partner to talk to?

In the title, you list it as a Quick Fix (QF), but in the description you said 48-hour day phases and 48 hour night phases, like a long game- which is it? Personally, I think this idea would work best as a Mid-range game, with 24 hour day phases and 24 hour night phases. Going 48 hours without being able to use actions/votes, actively participate in the thread, or PM anyone except for 1 person is a long time, and I fear it would breed inactivity. 24 hour on/off cycles seems a lot more palatable to me.

A Day and Night player pair are basically playing the same 'character'. It's kind of like a Janus system, with two heads. So, the Day and Night pair share alignment and role (no Tyler Durdens here, thank goodness!) It's just that the Day player doesn't get to use their role ability and the Night player doesn't get to vote. Since they're playing the same person, if one half of the pair gets killed, so does the other half. Kind of like the Lovers, really.

Consider it co-op gaming at its most chaotic finest

Edited June 17, 2015 by Kasimir

[Wyrmhero he/him]

Interesting idea Wyrm... I'm not 100% sure I'm following it, so let me just talk it back to you to confirm:

 

• Given say 20 players, there would be roughly 4-6 Eliminators (sons of Honor) and 14-16 villagers (Ghostbloods), as per usual.
• Players are paired up at random into day-player/night-player pairs, meaning that a handful of the villagers will be paired with the eliminators without knowing it.
• Day players post during the day and vote.
• Night players post during the night and use actions, if they have any.

 

is all of that right?

 

A few more questions:

 

What happens to a player when her partner is killed? Anything special? or does she just continue on as usual, fulfilling her half of the day/night pairing, but without a partner to talk to?

 

In the title, you list it as a Quick Fix (QF), but in the description you said 48-hour day phases and 48 hour night phases, like a long game- which is it? Personally, I think this idea would work best as a Mid-range game, with 24 hour day phases and 24 hour night phases. Going 48 hours without being able to use actions/votes, actively participate in the thread, or PM anyone except for 1 person is a long time, and I fear it would breed inactivity. 24 hour on/off cycles seems a lot more palatable to me.

 

For 20 players, there would be 10 pairs, probably 3 of which are Eliminators. Paired players are always on the same team. People control the same character, basically. Otherwise, yes.

 

Whenever a player dies, their partner dies as well.

 

The reason I listed it as a QF is because the game will finish half as quickly as usual due to the fact there are 'half' the number of players. The length of the Turns is due to a combination of the fact that both halves need to talk, and that it helps mitigate the timezone issue a bit.

[Herowannabe he/him]

Thanks, that makes sense.

I'm still of the opinion that 24 hour cycles would be more palatable to most people, but it's your game and I bow to your final decision.

[Kasimir he/him]

Totally not inspired by the awesome trailer for Assassin's Creed: Syndicate. Nope. Not at all >>
 
I know Scadrial is supposed to be the closest analogue for Earth, so theoretically, what they have, we have. But we also know that Scadrial in TAoL is probably just a little off from the Industrial Revolution. And yet we know that unionisation and mass mobilisation and class consciousness are existing: in fact, they coalesced as forces somewhat earlier than they did for us, considering what the broadsheets say about unions negotiating with the Nobles' Collective. It sure messed with me a little: so I've set this particular QF a little earlier, hopefully right at the point they coalesced on Scadrial.
 
Syndicate

Scadrial is transforming. Railways are being built to connect the civilised octants of Elendel with the far-flung cities and towns in the Roughs. In Elendel itself, foundries are springing up all over, employing unprecedented numbers of workers. Harmony willing, Elendel will see a new era of prosperity and technological advancement.

But all of this comes at a cost. Hundreds of workers find themselves increasingly crammed into small dormitories meant to take less than half their numbers. Soot and smoke from the foundries lingers in the octants, like the legends of ash in the old days before the Final Ascension. Hours are long and the work is hard. Boxings are going into the pockets of nobles and factory owners...and scarcely any is trickling down to the workers.

In Elendel’s Fifth Octant, a small group of foundry workers meeting at the local establishment finally decide to take matters into their own hands. Things must change. And this is the beginning of the end...
 

General Rules:

1. This game is a standard QF, with 24 hour cycles, referred to as Nights. Voting is to be done in the thread, and PMs between players are not allowed. Where applicable, actions should be PMed to the GM. There is no minimum threshold for lynches to take place: a single vote will suffice. Ties in lynch voting will result in a coin being flipped to determine who gets lynched.

2. Because this is a QF, inactivity will be penalised. Players who have been inactive for 2 cycles will be fired. Activity in this game constitutes: posting in the thread or sending in actions.

3. Write-ups will include the role and alignment of dead players. If a kill is prevented, whether through the Brawler’s role-block, the Rooks’ protection, or the Thug's survival, it will be revealed in the write-up. However, the write-up will not distinguish between these methods of kill prevention. In addition, the identities of those involved will not be revealed.

4. This game employs a small currency system, involving gambling and currency actions. Furthermore, it is possible for players to begin the game with some boxings. More on that below.

5. There are two factions in this game: the Workers and the Informants. Flavour-wise, this game is set a decent amount of time before TAoL, at the very beginnings of class consciousness, mass mobilisation and unionisation. The Workers are attempting to collectively organise themselves for the first time, and to demand better pay and better working conditions. The Informants are Workers who are being paid extra to report troublemakers to the foundry owner, minor nobleman Karden Heron.

6. The Informants know who each other are and the roles they have, but do not have access to a faction doc. In addition, they have access to a report ability [=faction kill]. Responsibility for reporting the cycle’s agitator to Karden’s enforcers will pass from Informant to Informant in a repeating fixed order. On any given cycle, the Informants not reporting to Karden’s enforcers will be allowed to send one PM to the one doing so. The GM should be included in that PM. The recipient is not allowed to respond.

7. Each player gets three actions: the vote, a role action (where applicable), and a currency action. In the case of regular Workers, they are able to undertake two currency actions at once. Informants must choose to sacrifice one action slot to be able to make a report. Their PM, however, is a free action.

The order of actions is as follows:

-Payout [Work]
-Lynch
-Voice of Reason
-Role-block [Fist Fight]
-Gambling, Rooks’ Protection, Broadsheet
-Kill [informant Report, Vigilante Kill]
-Enhanced Senses

 
Mechanics:

Currency: The currency in Elendel is the boxing. As previously mentioned, it is possible for players to begin the game with some boxings. By and large, however, boxings can be earned through activity or gambling.

Players can earn a maximum of two boxings each cycle from activity. Posting in the thread a minimum of once is sufficient for a player to earn one boxing. Placing a vote on another player also earns the player one boxing.

In addition, should a player be lynched, their boxings will be distributed equally among the players who voted for them, rounded down. Unfortunately, the other kill actions result in the boxings being lost.

There are three actions that players can take with their boxings.

1. The Broadsheet: The Worker’s Daily is a broadsheet with an editorial section, read and distributed widely among the workers of Elendel, from the canalworkers to those working in the many foundries. For the cost of one boxing, a player can send in one anonymous letter or article to the Worker’s Daily. The broadsheet only accepts one letter/article per player per cycle.

2. Gambling: Another way to earn boxings is through gambling. A player bets one boxing, and twice the total number of boxings bet are distributed randomly among the participating players.

3. The Rooks: The Rooks are a local gang, well-known among the workers of the Fifth Octant. While they’re prone to their fair share of criminal activities, the Rooks generally leave the workers alone, and for a price, are even willing to provide protection to a worker who needs it. Bidding for the Rooks’ protection begins from three boxings.

 
Win Conditions:

•The Workers win when they’ve removed Karden Heron’s Informants from among their numbers.

•The Informants win when they outnumber the rest of the Workers.

 
Roles:

Worker Leader: You’ve got a reputation for being a solid fellow with a good head on your shoulders, which probably explains why your fellow Workers often look to you to decide what should be done. While you haven’t yet won over everyone to your way of thinking, you feel confident that you’ll be able to get everyone on board with your plan eventually. After all, even a businessman like Karden Heron’s got to start negotiating when all his workers are on strike…

•Voice of Reason: With your standing as a voice of reason among your fellow Workers, you’re able to reign in the hotheads and cool tempers when things appear to be about to escalate. You understand that frustration must be carefully channelled in order to effect change, and the others respect you enough to heed your words. Once in the game, you are able to save a player who is about to be lynched.

Brawler: Your knuckles are scarred and you’re proud of it. You’ve been in your share of brawls and street fights and whatever the result, you’ve always got back on your feet and reported to work--sometimes a little worse for the wear. You can take and dish a punch, and sometimes you spend your free time in one of the brawling rings beneath the local establishment, taking on challengers for a few extra boxings.

•Fist Fight: Few of your fellow Workers can take you on a straight up fist fight: no holds barred, no weapons, no shirts. Every cycle, you can pick a fight with one player and administer to them the beating of their lives. While it’s nothing that won’t heal with time, the target is injured enough that they can do nothing else for the rest of the cycle.

Tineye: It should’ve been easy to find a honest work somewhere as a Metalborn, but instead, you find yourself working long shifts for dog’s wages at a foundry, until your clothes cling to your skin, soaked through with sweat. Still, you’ve just enough to buy yourself cheap vials of tin, and tin doesn’t burn that quick.

•Enhanced Senses: With tin, your senses are enhanced several times beyond their usual capacities. You’re able to stealthily follow one of your fellow Workers from the usual meeting place, to see what they’re up to without being detected. Every cycle, you may choose to follow one player from a distance and discover their actions for the cycle.

Thug: You headed from the Roughs to the octants of Elendel in search of jobs that didn’t involve you working protection all day. The job at Heron Foundries isn’t what you expected, and sometimes, you work extra shifts back-to-back just to earn more boxings to set aside. You’re pretty sure your overseer knows you’re a Pewterarm, but you’re still getting paid as though you’re one of those thousands of itinerants to enter the foundry looking for work.

•Toughness: You’ve been frequenting the metallurgists to make sure you have enough pewter. Sometimes, pewter-dragging is the only thing that keeps you on your feet as you grit your teeth and work forty-eight hours in a row with scarcely time to grab a baywrap. Still, because you’ve been burning pewter so often, you begin burning it instinctively when attacked. This allows you to survive one kill directed at you.

Crasher: You don’t tell anyone you’re Twinborn, because they inevitably ask you why you ended up working at the foundry instead of becoming some lone lawman or something, and you’re not really into explaining your life and your choices. You keep your mouth shut, avoid attracting notice, and work, curse, and drink as hard as the rest of the other Workers. Life at the moment has an attractive sort of simplicity, and you’re hardly the kind to invite complications, whatever your past may be.

•Vigilante Kill: You’ve spent most of your time storing weight and you’re very precise with your Steelpushes, since you’ve been surreptitiously burning steel to avoid accidents at the foundry. Although you’re not invincible, someone’d have to be very brave or very reckless to tangle with you. Every cycle, you may kill one player.

Worker: Whatever the story that brought you to Heron’s Foundries in the Fifth Octant of Elendel, you’re increasingly discontented with your pay and your working conditions. The whispers of discontent have brought you to Farren’s where your fellow foundry workers talk about banding together over drinks. Maybe something will come of it. You’re street-wise enough to know the winds of change are blowing, but first, you’ve got to root out those Informants from among you...

Informant: At the end of the day, work’s work, and you’re saving and counting the days until you can find better digs, and a better life. You aren’t particularly attached to working for Karden Heron, but you’re looking out for yourself, and what have your mates done for you anyway? At least the boss’s promising to pay you well...as long as you get your job done and discreetly point out all the people talking about strikes and collective organisation to his enforcers. Anyway, ain’t you that’s taking them out, is it?

[Clanky he/him]

I don't have a full game idea but I thought of an interesting idea for a possible mechanic. I got this idea from the Debtor role in LG12 sort of. It is mostly just the name I stole and I can't think of an alternate name for it.  I think it would work best as an add-on to a role instead of a role unto itself:

 

Debtor: You have spent beyond your means and owe a great deal of money to some unscrupulous folk. Your Debt-holder has the ability to call in your debt once in the game and take control of your lynch vote or special role ability. However they do not automatically know your special role ability and must guess in order to take control of it. If they guess incorrectly your debt is cleared without any negative effects. The Debt-holder gets all results and information from any action they force you to perform. 

 

Debt-holder: You have made an enormous sum of money by through your money lending business. However not everyone can pay in traditional means. You hold the debt of player name. You have the ability to call in your debt once in the game and take control of your debtors lynch vote or special role ability. However you do not automatically know their special role ability and must guess in order to take control of it. If you guess incorrectly their debt is cleared without any negative effects. You get all results and information from the action you force your debtor to perform. 

 

 

I think this works best as a secondary role for at least the debtor so that it isn't just a one shot vote manipulator. 

 

Any thoughts? Has someone already thought of tis? Also if it is any good you feel free to use it. 

[Adamir he/him]

In celebration of the trailer for Dishonored II, I decided to write up a basic description of a Dishonored variant for Mafia.

 

Name: Plague of Dunwall

 

Type: Medium Game

 

Universe: Dishonored (Game, Bethesda Softworks)

 

Factions: Village, Cult of the Outsider, Weepers (yes, I know, generic)

 

Summary

 

A plague has struck the city of Dunwall.

 

Three weeks from the city, refugees flee like rats from a sinking ship. At first, towns and villages are all too happy to show their philanthropy and welcome them in. But then, inhabitants start bleeding from the eyes. The plague strikes, and as news spreads, more and more places shut their borders.

 

Now, a group of some twenty refugees are camped miles from a populated town, from where they have been barred. They have nowhere to run; the road ahead is barred. The roads to the side are impossible to traverse. The road behind is diseased. No, they can only wait this out in the hollow shell of another village decimated by the plague. As whispers start to spread of a cult walking among their number, plague rats slowly filter back in, spreading the disease to an unlucky few.

 

Factions/Roles

 

Neutral

 

These are roles that can be both Survivors and Cultists.

 

Detective

 

Information is your specialty. Of course, people wouldn't give you information if they knew you were paid to get it, and so you took on another identity built of disguises and false accents during work hours.

 

The Detective can choose one of two actions during the night; either following someone to find out who they interacted with and who interacted with them that night, or searching through someone's property for a list of their items.

 

Player Number: 2

 

Role Type: Private

 

Natural Philosopher

 

You are a man of the sciences, a student under the great Sokolov himself. He taught you how to make his machines, but lacking the proper materials, any you made would be incredibly fuel-inefficient. You start with four canisters of whale oil. You may construct one device for a single player during the night phase. Sokolov technology kills also destroy items. The devices you can construct are, as follows;

 

Alarm. Reveals two random letters from the names of everyone who visits the target. Uses one canister per night. When re-wired, the intruder can decide what it reveals.

 

Ark Pylon. A pylon that fires bolts of electricity at anyone unregistered within a certain distance. You can set up an ark pylon to kill anyone who visits your target at night. Uses two canisters per kill. When re-wired, kills the person it was set up to protect.

 

Wall of Light: A literal force field that prevents all access to an area. Cannot be re-wired. Stops anyone from interacting with the target at night, but stops the target from performing any actions at night aside from searching for items. Uses one canister per night.

 

Player Number: 1

 

Role Type: Public (everyone knows your role)

 

Survivors

 

Victory Conditions

 

Kill all Cultists and Weepers

 

Defeat Conditions

 

All members have been killed

 

Overseer

 

You are a champion of the Abbey of the Everyman, one of the few actively fighting against the evils of the Outsider's magic.

 

The Overseer can order executions, but only against people for whom he has proof own a Rune. Whenever a Detective searches another player's property, the GM sends him a message telling him what was found. Proof means the Overseer was included in that message.

 

Player Number: 2

 

Role Type: Public (everyone knows who you are)

 

Survivor

 

A survivor. Enough said.

 

Player Number: Everyone who wasn't assigned one of the other roles.

 

Role Type: Private

 

Cultists

 

Victory Conditions

 

Kill all Survivors and Weepers.

 

Defeat Conditions

 

All members except the Outsider have been lynched.

 

The Outsider

 

The Outsider is the unseen deity who meddles in human affairs. He prefers to simply observe, and cause indirect chaos if the world begins to bore him, but is incapable of direct action. The Outsider is unique among other roles in that he cannot be targeted or lynched during the game.

 

Powers

 

The Outsider can hear any paragraph that uses his name, even in private messages and docs.

 

The Outsider is able to follow a single person per night, and track their action. That person is unaware they are being followed, unless they are either Marked or have a Rune.

 

The Outsider is able to suppress a single person's vote per day.

 

The Outsider is able to Mark a cultist who has a Rune in his possession. He cannot Mark another cultist until the first one dies.

 

Player Number: There is only ever one Outsider.

 

Cultist

 

Cultists have no role abilities, but can commune in a doc. They can perform a private lynch vote at night in their doc for whom to murder.

 

Player Number: There are four cultists at the start of a game.

 

Converter

 

The Converter may attempt to Convert a single target, turning them into a Cultist and removing their Role ability. The Converter may only do this once every two nights, and only three times through the entire game. He cannot convert the Overseer.

 

Player Number: There is only one Converter.

 

Marked

 

The Marked uses different mechanics compared to other Cultists, being a normal cultist that is elevated to its position. If a cultist has a Rune, the Outsider may Mark them. The Marked cannot become a Weeper. The Marked has the following abilities. Note that each ability used requires the Marked to expend a Rune.

 

Agility - this triggers automatically if the Marked is attacked at night and has a Rune. The Marked evades death.

 

Blink - Blink allows the Marked to target two different players during one night phase. This is used in conjunction with other abilities.

 

Bond - the Marked can use a single rune to create a link between himself and two other Cultists. This Bond has to be renewed every four days, and dissipates if the Marked dies. While the Bond is active, the other Cultists can use their Runes as though they were also Marked.

 

Dark Vision - the Marked can use this to find out what every other player is doing that night.

 

Devouring Swarm - the Marked can summon a swarm of plague rats. These Rats will not attack Weepers, but act as an instantaneous kill to anyone not protected by Sokolov technology.

 

Grasp - the Marked steals a random item from a target's inventory.

 

Possession - the Marked can possess someone during the day phase, changing their vote, or during the night phase to decide on their action (or lack thereof). They can also force that person to disarm their Sokolov technology by removing the canisters, and to give one item to someone else. Said person will know that they have been possessed. Possessing someone reveals their role and inventory.

 

Weepers

 

Victory Conditions

 

Kill all Survivors and Cultists

 

Defeat Conditions

 

All Members Killed

 

Weepers function across three different stages, advancing once per cycle.

 

Stage 1: The Weeper still looks normal, and still thinks lucidly. Even they are unaware they are infected at this early stage. Using a cure item, such as Sokolov's Elixir or Pierro's Remedy, will switch them back to their former faction.

 

Stage 2: The Weeper has begun bleeding from the eyes. His vote is disqualified, and his faction is immediately changed to Weeper. He can no longer perform actions from his former role. The Weeper may either 'murder' or 'infect' a target during the night phase. An Infected target goes into Stage 1. The Weeper hides in his home, and can only be killed with a unanimous vote (representing an angry mob) wherein he will infect a random person come to kill him, or with an item.

 

Stage 3: The Weeper has gone insane. The Weeper may choose nine words at the start of Stage 3 and repeat them in any order, but those are the only words the Weeper may use until the end of the game.

 

Player Number: Two weepers at Stage 1 when the game begins. They are aware that they are Weepers.

 

Items

 

A note on items: Aside from Runes, players can spend their night action searching for an item. They have a 50% chance of actually finding an item. The item they do find is picked at random. A player's items are either distributed to those in his will when he dies (except for Runes, if there are any remaining Overseers) or randomly distributed to those who voted for his death. If he was killed by a night action, the killer takes his items.

 

Elixir: Sokolov's Elixir is not only a cure for the early stages of the rat plague, it is also used as a common healing remedy. You can use it to cure yourself if you are a Stage 1 weeper, and to survive one attack on the night you take it.

 

Pistol: A single-shot pistol, which can be used to kill one person during a night cycle. The killer will be revealed the following morning.

 

Remedy: Pierro's Remedy is used to cure the earliest stages of the Rat Plague, and contains chemicals to induce a sense of thoughtless bliss. The Marked can use a vial of Pierro's Remedy instead of a Rune to fuel one of their powers, and it can cure Stage 1 Weepers. If anyone but the Marked takes it, they cannot vote the following day.

 

Rewire Tool: When targeting someone with Sokolov technology, you may use the Rewire Tool to reverse the effect of their defenses. Details will be included in the Natural Philosopher section in Factions/Roles.

 

Rune - Once per night, a random player will find a Rune. Runes are generally useless to anyone but the Marked, save for the fact that the Overseer can order an execution on anyone carrying a Rune. A Rune cannot be discarded, though it can be traded.

 

Seven Scriptures: The seven tenants preached by the Abbey of the Everyman. Renders the holder immune to being converted, and tells them the identity of the person come to convert them.

 

Whale Oil Canister: A small canister of volatile whale oil. It can either be thrown at a target during the night phase, incapacitating them and preventing them from voting or taking any actions for the next cycle, or be used to power Sokolov technology.

 

To those who haven't played Dishonored

 

Essential lore - the city of Dunwall recently went through a technological revolution, once a scientist discovered that whale oil was a good source of electricity. The Empire of the Isles, of which Dunwall is the capital, is a partial-theocracy, in that the Abbey of the Everyman holds more power than a normal religious organization, but still answers directly to the Empress. 

 

The Abbey of the Everyman has two types of priest, Overseers (male) and Oracles (female). After the assassination of the Empress, the Abbey is given the right of martial law and the authority to execute civilians without trial. The Abbey has no deity, and indeed opposes worship in the traditional sense. Instead, it is built around opposing another deity, known as the Outsider, to whom humans are things to amuse himself with. The Outsider meddles with humans simply for the sake of it, occasionally granting select people magical powers to cause chaos.

 

Around a year before the Empress's assassination, a plague came to Dunwall in the form of carnivorous rats. These rats are twice the size of other rodents, far more intelligent, and vicious. The plague they spread has mild symptoms at first, but then causes the victim to start bleeding from the eyes, before going insane and attacking others. Those who survive a 'Weeper' attack usually contract the plague themselves.

[Aonar he/him]

So, with my Roshar LG apparently coming up soon, I figure I should post the most recent version of the rules. What do you think? Any obvious imbalances? Any clarifications you'd like to ask ahead of time?
 
Traitors on the Plains:
 
The Everstorm has come. Heralds and Voidbringers alike are returning. The Vengeance Pact has broken, shattered like the Plains themselves. Some Highprinces flee, returning to their princedoms, trying to prepare as best they can. Others rally to Dalinar’s call, fighting their way across the near impassable Plains to the Oathgate, and Urithiru.
 
Your small group once belonged to Highprince Thanadal’s camp, but now you are searching desperately for the Oathgate, hoping against hope that you arrive before you succumb to the elements. Bound together by adversity, you would like to believe you can trust each other. Not all is as it seems, however.
 
Trouble seems drawn to your expedition like rotspren to a wound. Bridges collapse, chulls die; your progress has been hindered left and right. And it’s beginning to seem as if it might not all be coincidence…
 
Factions:

In this game, there are two factions. The Refugees, and the Diagramists.
 
The Refugees wish to survive and reach Urithiru. To do this, they must kill all the Diagramists.
 
The Diagramists wish to prevent the group of Refugees and the nascent Radiants within it from reaching Urithiru. To do this, they must kill enough Refugees to outnumber them. As a group, they may make one kill each cycle, and they are allowed a google doc to conspire in.

 
Roles and Powers:

There are twenty possible roles in this game, but unless we get in excess of thirty people, (unlikely, based on past amounts) a good number will not be used. There are no safe roles.
 
Knights Radiant: Radiants gain two charges of stormlight each Highstorm, and may use these charges in a variety of ways depending on their Order. The two powers that each may use are listed listed below. Both charges may be used in the same night, but one cannot use the same power twice in the same night.
 
Windrunner: Adhesion, Gravity
Skybreaker: Gravity, Division
Dustbringer: Division, Abrasion
Edgedancer: Abrasion, Progression
Truthwatcher: Progression, Illumination
Lightweaver:  Illumination, Transformation
Elsecaller: Transformation, Transportation
Willshaper: Transportation, Cohesion
Stoneward: Cohesion, Tension
Bondsmith:  Tension, Adhesion
 
 
Adhesion: You may stop one player from performing any actions for a full cycle. This includes voting and all actions, save those boosted by Gravity.
 
Gravity: Any effect that would hinder your actions, or those of your target, is cancelled out for this cycle. Includes Progression, Transportation, Adhesion, Tension, etc.
 
Division: You may kill one player per cycle.
 
Abrasion: You are untargetable for this cycle. This includes any and all abilities (PMs, kills, Seekings, direct roleblockings etc.), other than those boosted by Gravity.
 
Progression: You may save one player from death each night. Each attack made on them will drain one more charge of stormlight.
 
Illumination: You may open PMs with as many players as you like for this cycle, and this cycle only. The GM will make the PMs at the end of the night, and they will last until the beginning of the next day. Transportation, Adhesion, Tension, Abrasion and Cohesion can all interfere with PMs. PMs are one-to-one, unless messed with by Cohesion.
 
Transformation: You may learn the powers and alignments of one single person.
 
Transportation: You may redirect any powers used on one player to another.
 
Cohesion:You may choose one target who will be affected by any powers used on you.
 
Tension: You may cancel one random action against another player.

 
Mechanics:

  Squiring:
Each Knight Radiant can choose to spend their night creating a Squire. They can choose one other player, and assuming that player is not already Squired, or a Radiant, turn them into a Squire. Radiants may PM freely with their Squires, and their Squires will know who their benefactor is and what powers they have. Squires gain one of their patron Radiant’s Surges at random, and gain one charge of stormlight each Highstorm.
 
The number of Squires that each Radiant will be able to create will depend on the total number of players. The game is designed for 21+ players, in which case there would be between seven and ten Radiants, with each being able to create one to two Squires.
 
Highstorms:
There will be a Highstorm every three cycles. It will be noted in the write-up, and each Highstorm will grant Radiants two charges of stormlight, and Squires one charge. The first cycle will start with a Highstorm.

 

---

 

Also, if you're interested, I've got a couple non-Sanderson games in development (Garth Nix's Old Kingdom and Brian McClellan's Powder Mage series) that I wouldn't mind some help with. Those can be found here. (Just scroll down a little ways.)

Edited June 22, 2015 by Aonar Faileas

[Herowannabe he/him]

Looks good Aonar. A couple questions:

 

I take it that any use of a power consumes one charge of stormlight? So for example, Division says that you can kill one player per cycle, but really you mean that each cycle you have the option of spending a charge of stormlight if you have one to kill a player.

 

Gravity: So am I to understand that it works like the traditional coppercloud power, allowing you to affect yourself and one other player each time you use it? Or are you simply allowed to target any one player, including yourself?

 

Progression: If you use it to target a player and they are not attacked, do you still lose a charge of stormlight? I take it from how you've written it that if your target is:

• attacked 0 times     ->     you lose 0 (1?) charges of stormlight
• attacked 1 time       ->     you lose 1 charge of stormlight
• attacked 2 times     ->     you lose 2 charges of stormlight
• attacked 3 times     ->     you lose 3 charges of stormlight
• etc.

Illumination: PMs are one on one, you say, so not 1 PM with a bunch of players, but a bunch of PMs with you and one other player. So with this power, you could theoretically spend 1 charge of stormlight to open a one on one PM with EVERY other player in the game? It's hard to envision exactly how the game will play out, but that may be a bit OP. For one it would allow the Illuminator to immediately discover everybody who has been hit that cycle by things like abrasion, transportation, and Cohesion. I would suggest a cap of some sort. 1 charge of stormlight for 5 (or however many PMs), with the option of spending more than one charge for more PMs.

 

Transportation and Cohesion: These sound remarkably similar, or am I reading them wrong? For cohesion, does anything that target you ALSO affect your target or does in ONLY affect your target and leave you untouched? If the latter, it is too similar to Transportation (albeit weaker, since you can only protect yourself) for my tastes. I'd suggest something to make the powers a bit more distinguished from each other- maybe one could let you transfer 1 vote (at random) from yourself to another player for each charge of stormlight used?

 

Tension: seems a little weak, especially when compared with other powers like Transportation and Abrasion. Not quite sure how I'd fix it though. Maybe a vote-manipulation power again? The number of votes your target receives the next cycle is cut in half (or doubled, depending on your preference)?

 

Overall it looks really cool though. Simple and straightforward yet thematic. I'll be signing up for this one for sure- I haven't participated in a good Rosharan game yet.

[Wyrmhero he/him]

Well, I don't need to have all the particulars figured out yet, I suppose, since most of the stuff is hidden.

 

The Awakening at the House on the Hill (LG)

 

There is a House on the Hill at the end of the road. It is a large and foreboding mansion, grandiose but quiet. In fact, it is almost eerily so, the only noise coming from it the chirping of insects or the whines of birds and beasts. It is surrounded by an acre of land, and the high walls give it a measure of privacy, a feeling of defensiveness and isolation. The parts of the House that can be seen from the road are grey and dull, a blot of darkness in the colourful outskirts of Hallandren. While it seems to be in perfect condition, if it weren't for the bright candles bathing the rooms in a pale yellow light at seemingly random times, one might think it was abandoned. That no-one lived there.

 

In this, the public are actually right. There has not been anyone living there for as long as people can remember, even if, people reason, someone must visit now and again to dust and replace the candles and so on. Its owner died many, many years ago, and presumably now the only people who go in are the people who take care of the place in preparation for its eventual reuse.

 

There are rumours, of course. Everyone has an idea of what happened, even if they are all contradictory. The rich owner killed his wife and then himself when he discovered her tryst; The Returned who claimed it as his court gave away his Breath in a final act of selflessness long since forgotten; It was built for the God-King, but twenty builders died in its construction, their bones holding the foundations in place; Lifeless prowl the hallways, obeying a last command from a mad Awakener, who died (or perhaps lives yet in a state of unlife) when she decided to replace her own blood with ichor. Yes, everyone has an idea of what happened.

 

Whatever really happened, it seems that none of these rumours hold any truth to them, for the eventuality seems to be now. A 'for sale' sign is up at the rusted and ancient iron gates, and people are arriving to have a look around. Not just prospective purchasers, but the usual sort that turn out at any open house - Nosy neighbours who cannot remember anyone living there in all the time they've lived on the road, gawkers hoping to see the place the previous occupant died, thieves trying to make off the with any Awakened Objects scattered in the House while no-one notices. All sorts stand before the gate, shoulder to shoulder as they try to peer within the grounds.

 

Whatever reason you have for your actions, you have turned up on the first day that the House has been opened to the public for sale. It might be a pointless endeavour, or it could turn out to be an opportunity of a lifetime. But in either case, you don't feel too bad about being one of the first at the gate, waiting for the tour to begin. After all, what could possibly happen to you at the House on the Hill?

 

General Rules

For the most part, the game is similar to a normal Sanderson Elimination game, except for the fact that the game is a Hidden Information game. Please be aware of this before you sign up.

There are two Turns in a Cycle as normal, Day and Night. The game starts on the Day phase.

Players can only use PMs during the Night.

The Traitors win when they outnumber the Explorers.

The Explorers win when all the Traitors are dead AND the House has been killed. This requires the players to find the Heart of the House, as well as a method of slaying it. Neither of these can be found before the first Traitor is killed. While the House is dead, no more players can be converted to Traitors.

 

Each Day Turn, a player may choose to vote for another player that they think is a Traitor. At the end of the Turn, the player with the most votes is lynched. If there is a draw, or the player with the most votes gets less than two votes, then there will be no lynch. Some players may have Actions to use during the Day Turn. If they do, they cannot use an Action during the Night Turn.

Each Night Turn, if a player did not use an Action during the Day, they may use one now. All players, regardless of Alignment, have the ability to Explore during the Night Turn. While exploring, a player may discover one of three things (or they may discover nothing):

• Event - An Event is a single-time immediate effect that will usually grant some kind of Role to your character. Roles require an Action to use.

• Item - An Item usually has multiple charges that allow it to be used a few times. They require an Action to use. Items are reclaimed by the House upon player death. Items can be given away using an Action.

• Omen - An Omen is a symbol of fear. When an Omen is discovered, a player has their will subverted by the House, gains a Role and access to the Traitor doc, and their Alignment changes to ‘Traitor’. All Omens grant different Roles depending on what is discovered.

During the Night Turn, if there are no Traitors, the House will kill a player at random. Otherwise, the Traitors will have the chance to confer amongst each other and target a player for death instead using an Action

Edited November 10, 2016 by Wyrmhero

[Herowannabe he/him]

@Wyrmhero: Ahh, I see you are also a fan of *Betrayal. Great game. I just played it again for the umptillionth time last night, actually.

I think you made one small typo: last paragraph, second to last line- that should be "eliminators," not "explorers," right?

Only a couple questions: so does nobody start out with any role other than explorer?

Since this game is taking place on Nalthis, will breaths and awakening have an impact on the game's roles, like LG4?

Do you have plans to host this game anytime soon? Because I'm definitely in if you do.

(*Betrayal as in the fantastic board game: "Betrayal at the House on the Hill," not Betrayal as in the act of turning against your friends/allies when they least expect it. If you have never heard of the board game, go find it and buy it right now. Seriously. You will not regret it.)

[little wilson she/her]

Wyrm, I am so madly excited for this game. I absolutely forgive you for telling Gamma to kill me in MR6. All is forgiven if I can play this game. I don't even care if I die the first cycle. I just want to play it!

 

One question though: Is there still a lynch during the day before the first traitor is converted?

[Wyrmhero he/him]

@Wyrmhero: Ahh, I see you are also a fan of *Betrayal. Great game. I just played it again for the umptillionth time last night, actually.

I think you made one small typo: last paragraph, second to last line- that should be "eliminators," not "explorers," right?

Only a couple questions: so does nobody start out with any role other than explorer?

Since this game is taking place on Nalthis, will breaths and awakening have an impact on the game's roles, like LG4?

Do you have plans to host this game anytime soon? Because I'm definitely in if you do.

(*Betrayal as in the fantastic board game: "Betrayal at the House on the Hill," not Betrayal as in the act of turning against your friends/allies when they least expect it. If you have never heard of the board game, go find it and buy it right now. Seriously. You will not regret it.)

 

Thanks for that, Hreo. Should've been Traitors/Eliminators indeed, yeah. Breaths and Awakening certainly do have an impact on the game's Roles, but they're not alone... Everyone starts this game exactly the same - Roleless Explorers. I must admit though, I'm not planning on running it too soon. I do want to run at least one of my Mistrunner games beforehand. Problem with me is that I make games quicker than I run them

 

I have fond memories of 'Professor Iron Man' from my first game at university four years ago... (I had the suit of armour, skull ring and revolver, and so was fairly robust). Everyone should play Betrayal at least once. I've actually bought the board game for my dad for his birthday this year, since he's rather a fan of that sort of B-movie horror/Lovecraftian horror. I wrapped it up twice; once for father's day last weekend, and once for his birthday next month. He's only undone the first layer, so he has no idea what it is yet .

 

Wyrm, I am so madly excited for this game. I absolutely forgive you for telling Gamma to kill me in MR6. All is forgiven if I can play this game. I don't even care if I die the first cycle. I just want to play it!

 

One question though: Is there still a lynch during the day before the first traitor is converted?

 

But what if I don't want to be forgiven >>.

 

While there is not a lynch, there is still the Day Turn on the first Cycle. Basically, that Turn is just used for Exploration. Some Omens will be public knowledge, some not, so there will always be a little ambiguity as to how many Eliminators there are. But the players are aware that no-one is a Traitor on the first day, and that there is no lynch.

[Herowannabe he/him]

Everyone should play Betrayal at least a dozen times, since every time it's a different game.

Fixed that for you.

[little wilson she/her]

But what if I don't want to be forgiven >>.

 

Then I guess you shouldn't have made this game. I didn't tell you, but this was my payback for siccing Gamma on me. I made you create a game that I really wanted to play.

[Wyrmhero he/him]

Then I guess you shouldn't have made this game. I didn't tell you, but this was my payback for siccing Gamma on me. I made you create a game that I really wanted to play.

 

...Isn't that basically what I do? I just spend my days making games that you really want to play (this is, I believe, the third you've stated that about?) >>.

[little wilson she/her]

...Isn't that basically what I do? I just spend my days making games that you really want to play (this is, I believe, the third you've stated that about?) >>.

 

Well, yes, but I gave you the idea for this one, because I didn't want to build it. I wanted to play it. Don't you remember that Facebook chat that one Sunday when I was supposed to be paying attention in church but instead I was talking to you about a game with rules that constantly change and then we realized that Betrayal would be perfect? Because I definitely do. It was glorious.

[Wyrmhero he/him]

Well, yes, but I gave you the idea for this one, because I didn't want to build it. I wanted to play it. Don't you remember that Facebook chat that one Sunday when I was supposed to be paying attention in church but instead I was talking to you about a game with rules that constantly change and then we realized that Betrayal would be perfect? Because I definitely do. It was glorious.

 

Vaguely? Definitely recall talking to you about the rules. I think it moved a little away from a game with changing rules (that became Amber), but hey, it works

[Aonar he/him]

Looks good Aonar. A couple questions:

I take it that any use of a power consumes one charge of stormlight? So for example, Division says that you can kill one player per cycle, but really you mean that each cycle you have the option of spending a charge of stormlight if you have one to kill a player.

Yeah. That's one of several the should probably be rewritten, to make how they function a little clearer.

 

Gravity: So am I to understand that it works like the traditional coppercloud power, allowing you to affect yourself and one other player each time you use it? Or are you simply allowed to target any one player, including yourself?

Any one player, including yourself, I believe it was. Gravity isn't exactly the coppercloud power. It's only one half of it, but buffed a bit. I decided with the sheer number of action-affecting powers, (transportation, cohesion, adhesion, tension, and abrasion) there needed to be an ability that balanced them out, and gravity is it.

 

Progression: If you use it to target a player and they are not attacked, do you still lose a charge of stormlight? I take it from how you've written it that if your target is:

• 
  
  • • attacked 0 times -> you lose 0 (1?) charges of stormlight
    • attacked 1 time -> you lose 1 charge of stormlight
    • attacked 2 times -> you lose 2 charges of stormlight
    • attacked 3 times -> you lose 3 charges of stormlight
    • etc.

 

 

If you target a player with progression, you lose one charge regardless. It can just block extra kills with more stormlight.

 

Illumination: PMs are one on one, you say, so not 1 PM with a bunch of players, but a bunch of PMs with you and one other player. So with this power, you could theoretically spend 1 charge of stormlight to open a one on one PM with EVERY other player in the game? It's hard to envision exactly how the game will play out, but that may be a bit OP. For one it would allow the Illuminator to immediately discover everybody who has been hit that cycle by things like abrasion, transportation, and Cohesion. I would suggest a cap of some sort. 1 charge of stormlight for 5 (or however many PMs), with the option of spending more than one charge for more PMs.

That's a good point, although for strategy reasons it might not be viable (no safe roles, lots of kills flying around etc) it is still an option. I'll probably end up working it around a % of the players in the game, rounded up.

 

Transportation and Cohesion: These sound remarkably similar, or am I reading them wrong? For cohesion, does anything that target you ALSO affect your target or does in ONLY affect your target and leave you untouched? If the latter, it is too similar to Transportation (albeit weaker, since you can only protect yourself) for my tastes. I'd suggest something to make the powers a bit more distinguished from each other- maybe one could let you transfer 1 vote (at random) from yourself to another player for each charge of stormlight used?

Another one I should re-word. Cohesion makes any power to target one of two people affect both of them (one of the two would need to be the player with cohesion). It's basically a slightly more powerful, and double-edged version of roles like MR1's Shamed Guard, and LG12's Pirate.

 

Tension: seems a little weak, especially when compared with other powers like Transportation and Abrasion. Not quite sure how I'd fix it though. Maybe a vote-manipulation power again? The number of votes your target receives the next cycle is cut in half (or doubled, depending on your preference)?

Yeah, it is a little weak, but don't know how to fix that. It's meant to be a counterpart to Adhesion, but if I let it affect all actions, then it might become unbalanced. With Illumination nerfed though, that might not matter as much, as it'll be harder to get communication started. It might be worth it to just nerf Progression (one kill attempt only) and Transportation (target the player making the action, instead of the person receiving), and leave it as is. (Abrasion is alright the way things stand, I think. The ability is both a help and a hindrance at the same time, and it can only be used to protect oneself. )

 

Overall it looks really cool though. Simple and straightforward yet thematic. I'll be signing up for this one for sure- I haven't participated in a good Rosharan game yet.

*Grumble* Back in my day, when these games were still getting off the ground, we hadn’t even heard of anything so complex as all the new-fangled roles and mechanics these whippersnappers are trying to run. *Grumble*

All kidding aside, thanks. I’m not trying to run anything too complex (already had my fill of that with LG11) but hopefully this will be interesting for people.

 

[Really cool stuff.] For some reason the formatting isn't working, and the contents of this quote was just showing up as a mess of random BBCode.

 

 

...Yup. What was I saying about all the new, extremely complicated games being built? Anyways, this game does look really cool. I haven't played, (or even heard of, actually) the board game, but this looks like it should be very fun to play. 

[little wilson she/her]

Wyrm told Gamma to kill you? How did I miss this? I GM'd that game.

Wyrm wasn't playing. Gamma had a dilemma about what to do with me and he asked Wyrm what he should do. Wyrm (who know nothing about my role) told him to kill me. Hence my Cycle 1 death.

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

I've been tinkering with the Game of shards. Major changes include a lack of Safe roles, The reveal of Survival, changes to Hoid, and a complete Overhaul of Devotion. I'd like your thoughts on the matter.

Investiture

Shardic Roles have two abilities, one they can access (Shardic Power), and one they can grant (Investiture Power). In order to use their Shardic Power, they must give their Investiture power to another player (Referred to as Investing a player). That player will keep the Investiture Power for one whole cycle.

Some Shards also have a passive ability. This ability is always in use, whether or not the Shard has invested.

 

If a shard attempts to Invest in another Shard, they are told Exactly: “Your Target cannot receive Investiture.” This will be copy/pasted into the PM. Nothing else will be told.

 

Multiple Shards may Invest in the Same Worldhopper. That Player may choose to use one ability per Turn. Example; she can use Domination’s Day vote-Change as well as Odium’s Night Kill in the same Cycle.

 

A Shard may send a Message along with their Investment. This message will be anonymous. The Worldhopper cannot reply. If the Sender chooses to reveal their identity in the message, the GM will neither confirm nor deny the identity. If the Shards sends orders in the message, the Worldhopper is free to obey or disobey them as they see fit.

 

If a player with a Shard goes inactive, which is shown by failing to take any action for two cycles (4 turns) in a row, the player will lose their shard, and Endowment gets to choose a new Shardholder. This shard is not shattered, and can still invest. This rule is to prevent inactives from wasting shards.

 

Roles:

Hoid and Endowment are Village only. Odium and his Champions are Eliminator only. Survival is Neutral. All other roles can be on either the eliminator or the village team.

Shards:

ENDOWMENT: Shardic: When a player with a Shard is killed, Endowment receives the Shard. Endowment may use that Shard's Shardic Power once. Example: Ruin is lynched on Day 1. Endowment may make one kill. Endowment must give then give Ruin to a player.

Investiture: Once per cycle, Endowment can Invest a Shard in a worldhopper. From this cycle on, the player is treated as being Invested by the relevant Shard, and may use its Investiture Power for the remainder of the game. If this player dies, Endowment picks up the Shard again.

Special Notes: If Endowment is killed, their shard is picked up by a random Worldhopper.

 

CULTIVATION: Shardic: Once per day cycle, Cultivation can submit their vote to the Game Master as a Private Message. This vote takes precedence over the in-thread vote. It may NOT be affected by any vote changing abilities. Cultivation may also begin PM Conversations between herself and any amount of others, or between any three people without being in it herself. These Conversations do not stop until Cultivation dies. Cultivation cannot listen in on any PM’s that she isn’t in. Cultivation may choose to start the Conversations herself, or have the GM start them, keeping her anonymous.

Investiture: Once per cycle, Cultivation can invest in a worldhopper. That player can cast their vote during the next day turn in a Private message with the Game Master. This vote takes precedence over in thread votes. It CAN be affected by any vote changing abilities. The Player may also start one PM Conversation, with up to 3 other people. This Conversation ends once Cultivation takes her power back. If Cultivation invests in the same Worldhopper twice in a row, the Conversation keeps going. The Invested individual may choose to end this PM at any time.

 

DOMINION: Shardic: Once per cycle, Dominion can change a player's Target. They must specify what action they are changing. (Day Vote, Day Action, Day Invest, Night Action, Night Invest) If they try to change a non existent action, they will instead change a random action. Example: Dominion targets Meta, and makes him use his night invest on Alvron. Meta doesn’t have a Night invest, but does have a night action, so Meta’s Night action hits Alvron.

Investiture: Once per cycle, Domination can invest in a worldhopper. That player can change another player’s vote during the next day cycle. The invested player cannot change Dominion or Cultivation's Vote.

 

HONOUR: Shardic: Once per night, Honour can target a player, and that player will be given an extra life. The Player will not know they have been targeted, unless they are attacked.. They can only survive one extra attack. Honour CAN target himself.

Investiture: Once per night, Honour can invest in a worldhopper. That player can Lash someone during the next night phase, granting them an extra life. Honour and Honour’s Worldhopper can both target the same Worldhopper, allowing them to survive two attacks. They can also target each other.

Honour’s Worldhopper can NOT Target himself.

 

PRESERVATION: Shardic: Preservation has a One time use of Ultimate Preservation. Once they activate their ability, all actions, investments, votes and retractions made after that point, are null, until that day/night ends. I will be using timestamps for this to be accurate. This includes retracting the Ultimate preservation ability. Once it’s set off, you can’t take it back.

Passive: Preservation can survive a single attack.

Investiture: Once per cycle, Preservation can invest in a worldhopper. That player can survive one attack for a full cycle. This life is not permanent, and will be removed upon the end of the cycle.

 

 

DEVOTION: Shardic: During the day, Devotion can take the place of whoever is being lynched, dying in their stead. During the Night, Devotion may target a player. all actions that would hit that player, not hit Devotion.

Investiture: Once per Cycle, Devotion may target a player. If that player has a minor role, they receive another set of items. (The awakener will be given 3 more breathes, the Voidbringer another charge of Stormlight, etcetera). If the Player does not have a minor role, they are given one.

 

RUIN: Shardic: Once per Cycle, Ruin can target a player for death. He can target a Shard or a Worldhopper.

Investiture: Once per day, Ruin can invest in a Worldhopper. Once every day/night cycle, the invested player can target another player. During the day, a targeted player’s vote doesn’t count. During the night, a targeted player cannot use their ability. This does not stop a shard from investing.

 

ODIUM: Shardic: Once per night, Odium can target a player for death. If that player is a Shard, they die. Odium can choose to either shatter the shard, removing it from the game completely, or letting Endowment take it. Odium can NOT shatter Endowment. If Odium attempts to kill a non shardic Player, nothing happens. It is not revealed in the Writeup.

Investiture: During the Day, Odium can invest in a worldhopper. That player can kill a non shardic player during the night phase of the same cycle. If they target a Shard, nothing happens. It is not revealed in the writeup.

Special Notes:: If Odium dies, his shard is given to the player last invested in rather than to Endowment.

 

SURVIVAL: Shardic: None.

Passive: Survival is immune to all non kill actions. But, he starts with 3 Lives, rather than the usual 1.

Investiture: At the cost of one life, Survival can target a player once in the game, and join that player’s team. If Survival targets Odium or a champion of Odium, He joins their Doc. If not, he simply becomes a villager. If Survival has one life left when he targets a player, he miraculously survives.

Special Notes: If survival has not chosen a side by the end of the game, he wins only if he is still alive.

 

Non Shards:

 

ODIUM’S CHAMPIONS: Odium's Champions get a doc to conspire in. They may have another role as well.

 

HOID: If Hoid is invested by a Shard, he gain’s a copy of that Shard’s Investiture power for the remainder of the game. Hoid may use three of these powers per cycle.

• Honour: If Hoid is invested by Honour, he can Lash players once during the night cycle for the remainder of the game, saving they from death.

• Cultivation: If Hoid is invested by Cultivation, he can cast all his votes in Private Messages.

• Preservation: If Hoid is invested by Preservation, he can survive a single attack for the remainder of the game. If he is attacked, He can be reinvested by Preservation. These lives do not stack.

• Dominion: If Hoid is invested by Dominion, he can change one players vote during the day cycle.

• Devotion: If Devotion attempts to invest in Ruin, Hoid mocks her and nothing happens.

• Ruin: If Hoid is Invested by Ruin, he can prevent one player action during the night cycle.

• Endowment: Hoid does not keep the shard. He can choose to give it to someone else, or Shatter it, removing it from the game forever. Either way, he is still invested by that Shard. For Example: If Endowment attempts to give him Dominion’s shard, Hoid can use his Dominion ability for the rest of the game. But he must give Dominion to another worldhopper. If he attempts to give it to a shard, Endowment picks it up again.

• Odium: If Hoid is invested by Odium, once a night he can target a player for death.

• Survival: If Hoid is invested by Survival, Hoid becomes Neutral. He may now target a player to join their team. Survival does not lose a life in this case.

 

WORLDHOPPER: You aren't from this world. Perhaps you come from Yolen, Scadrial, Nalthis, Sel or Roshar. Maybe you were born on Threnody, or Ashyn. You might hail from Braize. Or are you one of those inhabitants of an unimportant Shardworld? Wherever it is, you have no abilities unless you're invested, but you can still vote during the day cycle.

 

Minor Roles:

For every two players above 16, I will include another minor role. These minor roles will all be included in the rules.  

 

AWAKENER: You start with 3 breaths. Each Cycle you can target a player, and will be told that they have Normal Investiture (meaning an Uninvested Worldhopper or Odium’s champion), High Investiture (A Invested Worldhopper/Hoid or a Minor role), or Oh My God King Investiture (A Shard).

 

BLOODSEALER: Your pets are ready to hunt. You have 2 skeletals, every Night, you may choose two people and put a bloodseal on them. If they attempt to perform a kill move, one of your skeletals will attack the killer. The Skeletal is destroyed in the process. The Target's attack is also canceled.

 

POISONER: You start with one Vial of poison. You may administer it to anyone. That player will die the same cycle you do.

 

VOIDBRINGER: You start with One charge of Stormlight. If you are attacked, you will start consuming one charge of stormlight per cycle. Once you run out of Stormlight, you will die.

 

LIFELESS OPERATOR: You have one lifeless. You can send this lifeless to protect anyone you want, at any time you want. It’s default state is protecting you. If your target is attacked, the lifeless dies instead.

 

UNMADE: You have two Charges of Stormlight. The Unmade may use one charge of Stormlight to destroy the planet s/he's on, removing it from the list of possible PM Planets. The Unmade may choose to do this during the day, in which case all participants of the PM will be sent to whichever world has the most players, Or they may send it in at night, which forces players who were transferring to that planet to stay put.

 

PM's: There are two ways to use PM's. One is to be in one with Cultivation, or a follower of Cultivation. The other is to be on the same world as a player. In addition to any other action a player may have, they may choose to go to a certain world. (The amount of Worlds is equal to 1/3 of the Original number of players, rounding up.) All players on that world will be put in a PM group for the duration of that cycle.

You CANNOT PM somebody on the same World as you privately. You just have to talk through the World PM.

Edited June 30, 2015 by The Only Joe

[Guest]

I've been tinkering with the Game of shards. Major changes include a lack of Safe roles, The reveal of Survival, changes to Hoid, and a complete Overhaul of Devotion. I'd like your thoughts on the matter.

Investiture[/size]

Shardic Roles have two abilities, one they can access (Shardic Power), and one they can grant (Investiture Power). In order to use their Shardic Power, they must give their Investiture power to another player (Referred to as Investing a player). That player will keep the Investiture Power for one whole cycle.[/size]

Some Shards also have a passive ability. This ability is always in use, whether or not the Shard has invested.[/size]

 

If a shard attempts to Invest in another Shard, they are told Exactly: “Your Target cannot receive Investiture.” This will be copy/pasted into the PM. Nothing else will be told.[/size]

 

Multiple Shards may Invest in the Same Worldhopper. That Player may choose to use one ability per Turn. [/size]Example; she can use Domination’s Day vote-Change as well as Odium’s Night Kill in the same Cycle.[/size]

 

A Shard may send a Message along with their Investment. This message will be anonymous. The Worldhopper cannot reply. If the Sender chooses to reveal their identity in the message, the GM will neither confirm nor deny the identity. If the Shards sends orders in the message, the Worldhopper is free to obey or disobey them as they see fit.[/size]

 

If a player with a Shard goes inactive, which is shown by failing to take any action for two cycles (4 turns) in a row, the player will lose their shard, and Endowment gets to choose a new Shardholder. This shard is not shattered, and can still invest. This rule is to prevent inactives from wasting shards.[/size]

 

Roles:[/size]

Hoid and Endowment are Village only. Odium and his Champions are Eliminator only. Survival is Neutral. All other roles can be on either the eliminator or the village team.[/size]

Shards:[/size]

ENDOWMENT[/size]: [/size]Shardic: [/size]When a player with a Shard is killed, Endowment receives the Shard. Endowment may use that Shard's Shardic Power once. [/size]Example: Ruin is lynched on Day 1. Endowment may make one kill. Endowment must give then give Ruin to a player.[/size]

Invest[/size]iture:[/size] [/size]Once per cycle, Endowment can Invest a Shard in a worldhopper. From this cycle on, the player is treated as being Invested by the relevant Shard, and may use its Investiture Power for the remainder of the game. If this player dies, Endowment picks up the Shard again. [/size]

Special Notes:[/size] If Endowment is killed, their shard is picked up by a random Worldhopper.[/size]

 

CULTIVATION:[/size] [/size]Shardic: [/size]Once per day cycle, Cultivation can submit their vote to the Game Master as a Private Message. This vote takes precedence over the in-thread vote. It may [/size]NOT[/size] be affected by any vote changing abilities. Cultivation may also begin PM Conversations between herself and any amount of others, or between any three people without being in it herself. These Conversations do not stop until Cultivation dies. Cultivation cannot listen in on any PM’s that she isn’t in. Cultivation may choose to start the Conversations herself, or have the GM start them, keeping her anonymous.[/size]

Investiture:[/size] Once per cycle, Cultivation can invest in a worldhopper. That player can cast their vote during the next day turn in a Private message with the Game Master. This vote takes precedence over in thread votes. It [/size]CAN[/size] be affected by any vote changing abilities. The Player may also start one PM Conversation, with up to 3 other people. This Conversation ends once Cultivation takes her power back. If Cultivation invests in the same Worldhopper twice in a row, the Conversation keeps going. The Invested individual may choose to end this PM at any time.[/size]

 

DOMINION:[/size] [/size]Shardic: [/size]Once per cycle, Dominion can change a player's Target. They must specify what action they are changing. (Day Vote, Day Action, Day Invest, Night Action, Night Invest) If they try to change a non existent action, they will instead change a random action. [/size]Example:[/size] [/size]Dominion targets Meta, and makes him use his night invest on Alvron. Meta doesn’t have a Night invest, but does have a night action, so Meta’s Night action hits Alvron.[/size]

Investiture:[/size] [/size]Once per cycle, Domination can invest in a worldhopper. That player can change another player’s vote during the next day cycle. The invested player cannot change Dominion or Cultivation's Vote.[/size]

 

HONOUR:[/size] [/size]Shardic: [/size]Once per night, Honour can target a player, and that player will be given an extra life. The Player will not know they have been targeted, unless they are attacked.. They can only survive one extra attack. Honour [/size]CAN[/size] target himself.[/size]

Investiture:[/size] [/size]Once per night, Honour can invest in a worldhopper. That player can Lash someone during the next night phase, granting them an extra life. Honour and Honour’s Worldhopper can both target the same Worldhopper, allowing them to survive two attacks. They can also target each other. [/size]

Honour’s Worldhopper can [/size]NOT [/size]Target himself.[/size]

 

PRESERVATION:[/size] [/size]Shardic: [/size]Preservation has a One time use of Ultimate Preservation. Once they activate their ability, all actions, investments, votes and retractions made after that point, are null, until that day/night ends. I will be using timestamps for this to be accurate. This includes retracting the Ultimate preservation ability. Once it’s set off, you can’t take it back.[/size]

Passive: [/size]Preservation can survive a single attack.[/size]

Investiture:[/size] Once per cycle, Preservation can invest in a worldhopper. That player can survive one attack for a full cycle. This life is not permanent, and will be removed upon the end of the cycle.[/size]

 

 

DEVOTION:[/size] [/size]Shardic: [/size]During the day, Devotion can take the place of whoever is being lynched, dying in their stead. During the Night, Devotion may target a player. all actions that would hit that player, not hit Devotion.[/size]

Investiture:[/size] [/size]Once per Cycle, Devotion may target a player. If that player has a minor role, they receive another set of items. (The awakener will be given 3 more breathes, the Voidbringer another charge of Stormlight, etcetera). If the Player does not have a minor role, they are given one.[/size]

 

RUIN:[/size] [/size]Shardic: [/size]Once per Cycle[/size], [/size]Ruin can target a player for death. He can target a Shard or a Worldhopper. [/size]

Investiture:[/size] Once per day, Ruin can invest in a Worldhopper. Once every day/night cycle, the invested player can target another player. During the day, a targeted player’s vote doesn’t count. During the night, a targeted player cannot use their ability. This does not stop a shard from investing.[/size]

 

ODIUM:[/size] [/size]Shardic: [/size]Once per night, Odium can target a player for death. [/size]If[/size] that player is a Shard, they die. Odium can choose to either shatter the shard, removing it from the game completely, or letting Endowment take it. Odium can NOT shatter Endowment. If Odium attempts to kill a non shardic Player, nothing happens. It is not revealed in the Writeup.[/size]

Investiture:[/size] [/size]During the Day, Odium can invest in a worldhopper. That player can kill a non shardic player during the night phase of the same cycle. If they target a Shard, nothing happens. It is not revealed in the writeup.[/size]

Special Notes:[/size]: If Odium dies, his shard is given to the player last invested in rather than to Endowment.[/size]

 

SURVIVAL:[/size] [/size]Shardic: [/size]None.[/size]

Passive: [/size]Survival is immune to all non kill actions. But, he starts with 3 Lives, rather than the usual 1.[/size]

Investiture:[/size] At the cost of one life, Survival can target a player once in the game, and join that player’s team. If Survival targets Odium or a champion of Odium, He joins their Doc. If not, he simply becomes a villager. If Survival has one life left when he targets a player, he miraculously survives.[/size]

Special Notes: [/size]If survival has not chosen a side by the end of the game, he wins only if he is still alive.[/size]

 

Non Shards:[/size]

 

ODIUM’S CHAMPIONS:[/size] [/size]Odium's Champions get a doc to conspire in. They may have another role as well.[/size]

 

HOID[/size]:[/size] If Hoid is invested by a Shard, he gain’s a copy of that Shard’s Investiture power for the remainder of the game. Hoid may use three of these powers per cycle.[/size]

• Honour: If Hoid is invested by Honour, he can Lash players once during the night cycle for the remainder of the game, saving they from death.

• Cultivation: If Hoid is invested by Cultivation, he can cast all his votes in Private Messages.

• Preservation: If Hoid is invested by Preservation, he can survive a single attack for the remainder of the game. If he is attacked, He can be reinvested by Preservation. These lives do not stack.

• Dominion: If Hoid is invested by Dominion, he can change one players vote during the day cycle.

• Devotion: If Devotion attempts to invest in Ruin, Hoid mocks her and nothing happens.

• Ruin: If Hoid is Invested by Ruin, he can prevent one player action during the night cycle.

• Endowment: Hoid does not keep the shard. He can choose to give it to someone else, or Shatter it, removing it from the game forever. Either way, he is still invested by that Shard. For Example: If Endowment attempts to give him Dominion’s shard, Hoid can use his Dominion ability for the rest of the game. But he must give Dominion to another worldhopper. If he attempts to give it to a shard, Endowment picks it up again.

• Odium: If Hoid is invested by Odium, once a night he can target a player for death.

• Survival: If Hoid is invested by Survival, Hoid becomes Neutral. He may now target a player to join their team. Survival does not lose a life in this case.

 

WORLDHOPPER: [/size]You aren't from this world. Perhaps you come from Yolen, Scadrial, Nalthis, Sel or Roshar. Maybe you were born on Threnody, or Ashyn. You might hail from Braize. Or are you one of those inhabitants of an unimportant Shardworld? Wherever it is, you have no abilities unless you're invested, but you can still vote during the day cycle.[/size]

 

Minor Roles:[/size]

For every two players above 16, I will include another minor role. These minor roles will all be included in the rules.  [/size]

 

AWAKENER:[/size] You start with 3 breaths. Each Cycle you can target a player, and will be told that they have Normal Investiture (meaning an Uninvested Worldhopper or Odium’s champion), High Investiture (A Invested Worldhopper/Hoid or a Minor role), or Oh My God King Investiture (A Shard).[/size]

 

BLOODSEALER:[/size] Your pets are ready to hunt. You have 2 skeletals, every Night, you may choose two people and put a bloodseal on them. If they attempt to perform a kill move, one of your skeletals will attack the killer. The Skeletal is destroyed in the process. The Target's attack is also canceled.[/size]

 

POISONER: [/size]You start with one Vial of poison. You may administer it to anyone. That player will die the same cycle you do.[/size]

 

VOIDBRINGER:[/size] You start with One charge of Stormlight. If you are attacked, you will start consuming one charge of stormlight per cycle. Once you run out of Stormlight, you will die.[/size]

 

LIFELESS OPERATOR:[/size] You have one lifeless. You can send this lifeless to protect anyone you want, at any time you want. It’s default state is protecting you. If your target is attacked, the lifeless dies instead.[/size]

 

UNMADE:[/size] You have two Charges of Stormlight. The Unmade may use one charge of Stormlight to destroy the planet s/he's on, removing it from the list of possible PM Planets. The Unmade may choose to do this during the day, in which case all participants of the PM will be sent to whichever world has the most players, Or they may send it in at night, which forces players who were transferring to that planet to stay put.[/size]

 

PM's:[/size] There are two ways to use PM's. One is to be in one with Cultivation, or a follower of Cultivation. The other is to be on the same world as a player. In addition to any other action a player may have, they may choose to go to a certain world. (The amount of Worlds is equal to 1/3 of the Original number of players, rounding up.) All players on that world will be put in a PM group for the duration of that cycle.[/size]

You CANNOT PM somebody on the same World as you privately. You just have to talk through the World PM.[/size]

I liked Hoid as he was

The Cultivation ability was definitely the most OP last game, however useful it happened to be. Quite honestly, it made Hoid significantly more powerful than the actual Shard. You might also consider making Hoid only keep the abilities for two cycles, or even one, but I don't really know.

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

The Cultivation ability was definitely the most OP last game, however useful it happened to be. Quite honestly, it made Hoid significantly more powerful than the actual Shard. You might also consider making Hoid only keep the abilities for two cycles, or even one, but I don't really know.

 

Hoid's been depowered quite a bit now, that's why I'm letting him permanently keep the powers. (He also can't stack lives like you could how many lives did you end up with?) There's also a small chance he'll be able to switch sides, which I find hilarious.