It was indeed fun.

Did anyone else have an alignment shift?

On Night 5 something happened (don't know if it was random or something Kedryn did) that shifted me to Neutral and made me mason partners with Kedryn. Now Imoen's Bhaalspawn side had come to the front and Jon Irenicus were trying to harness the Bhaalspawn powers. We had to eliminate everyone else to win... and I think we gave it a pretty good try, too.

Once you guys lynched Kedryn, though, Imoen's Bhaalspawn side receeded and I was town again.

Very interesting twist!

Oh, and for the record, you got a beast of a role there JoH. If you had come forward with Aribeth before you had established yourself as the cop, I would have lobbied even harder for a lynch on you... maybe it is because I didn't play NWN 2 as much as the first, but to me Aribeth is a bad guy, plain and simple.

Lucky for you, I was not more convincing in my lynch attempts

Thanks. To be honest, and I'm not putting my team down, it got a lot more fun once they all died. I just went into "#### it" mode, relaxed, and had fun.

hail felt really, and I would feel he's unjustified, bad about his play in this game. I don't think anyone on my team did poorly. I think we just ran into a metric ####-ton of bad luck. This was also the first game I ever threw a teammate under the bus when there were other options, and I'm still not terribly happy I did it. I feel bad for magog, because as Truffle rightly pointed out, he was still making appearances. But that day phase was going downhill, and fast. You guys had me, Jack, and hail all dead to rights until we did that.

The reason why we did it? Jack was our recruiter, and he could only recruit after one of us died. So it was pretty much our #1 priority to keep him in the game as long as possible. The only way we could do that, was for one of us to go down. And that would also let him recruit. Seemed like a win-win, except we never got a successful recruit attempt.


Normal's JKing: I still don't actually know why he's failing. I told the truth about my immunity to roleblocks, and non-immunity to JKing.

Vote Count:

Thawmus (3): normalview, Truffle Shuffle

With 5 players, 3 is a majority.

A MAJORITY HAS BEEN REACHED.

The town surrounded the dark-cloaked figure, who was protesting his innocence and talking in a very annoying accent, to boot. In the end, the knight reached down and pulled out the lightsaber that was used on him last night, brandishing it at the cloaked figure. The figure turned and tried to run, only to be clobbered by a hamster-wielding maniac.

As the townfolk finally relaxed, they were interrupted by the arrival of a darkspawn, bearing a flag of truce of all things. Then, to the surprise of the knight, it began to speak...

"The Architect desires to meet all of you."

The End(?)

This game, at least, is over! Congratulations to the winners:

PaxZRake, aka Alistair from Dragon Age : Origins (Town)
JackofHearts2005, aka Lady Aribeth de Tylmarande from Neverwinter Nights (Town)
Truffle Shuffle, aka Minsc and Boo from Baldur's Gate II (Town)
Normalview, aka Imoen from Baldur's Gate (Town)

Some personal observations and roles will go up in a bit.

While I was utterly lost, I found this game, as is always the case for Mal games, enjoyable.

Only critique I have is an Encourager who can target the same player multiple times, in a game where the Doctor can target himself, is a tad unfair.

Still, fun

I'm obviously going to be biased here, but I agree. I'm usually not a fan of doctors able to target themselves in the first place. I'm glad Pax was good enough to protect others during the game, because I know plenty of players who wouldn't.

It sure would have been nice if the Doctor could target himself.

Yeah, that's what I kinda figured. But this last night phase, and Normal getting a failed result, had me thinking that you really could do it.

I'm hoping Mal can explain that to us.

Before I make observations, roles! Italics denote secret stuff or personal notes...
Tyroman, you are Sun Li, The Glorious Strategist from Jade Empire (Mafia). Your schemes for the throne of the Middle Kingdom and ultimate power were thwarted by your Spirit Monk pawn. However, what he thought was death for you was not truly so. After all, how could one with the power of a god be permanently slain… and you had contingencies. The last of the mystic power that you stole from the Water Dragon was used to bring you to this strange place, corrupted by darkness… and ripe for conquering. Though you might lack the raw power of your servants, you are the Glorious Strategist, and your schemes are what will bring victory. They always do.

Character Reference: http://jadeempire.wikia.com/wiki/Sun_Li

Powers:

Nightkill: As the Don of the mafia, you may make a night kill yourself, or assign it to one of your allies. Additionally, you will appear as town whenever someone checks your alignment. While the nightkill ability will pass to someone else upon your demise, the town cloak will not.

Glorious Strategist: You are a master of manipulation and strategy, and your power works as follows. The first night you target someone, you will learn their basic power set. The next night, you may select a different target, or you may force the target from the first night to focus on whom you choose. If you decide to mind control the second night, your command cannot be misdirected or roleblocked as you planted the seeds of your strategy the first evening you targeted them. Note that your pawn might still be misdirected or roleblocked themselves, but your personal action could not be interfered with.

You may also communicate freely with the other members of your mafia: Saren (JackAssterson), Darth Malak (Thawmus), Tiax (majinmagog), and Morag (hail_eris).


tyroman did a good job, but I have to admit, I winced when I saw his roleclaim. I tried very hard to make sure there was a good spread of roles available, but he went way too obscure with it.


You win when all opposition to your cause is eliminated.

JackAssterson, you are Saren Arterius, Fallen Spectre from Mass Effect (Mafia). Your plan to bring the Reapers back into the Galaxy failed, and you were crushed by the powers of that upstart Shepard as well. You thought you died for your failure, only to be found by the one calling himself “Sun Li”. Though he is a human, he does seem to have a plan, and you are content to follow this one for the moment. Though Sovereign is destroyed, you do retain some of its influence to affect others.

Character Reference: http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Saren

Powers:

Misdirection: You are the mafia misdirector. When you are not assigned the nightkill, you may misdirect a target player, forcing them to target someone at random. When you do make the nightkill, you are not affected by misdirection, mind control, or busdriving of your target.

Indoctrination: You retain some of the unholy influence of Sovereign in your words. If you target the same player with misdirection twice in the game, there is a chance that you will successfully brainwash them, corrupting their mind and having them join the mafia. This ability will only work on certain individuals, and you cannot indoctrinate an individual until the mafia has lost at least one member (though misdirection attempts before the mafia loses a member will count as one of the two attempts needed).

Not everyone could be recruited in this game, basically it would have to people that were vulnerable to Indoctrination or 'going to the dark side': Silver Lantern (Dawn Star), DarqFeonix (HK-47), KO Bossy (Bastila Shan), mbauers (Liara T'Soni), JackofHearts2005 (Lady A), normalview (Imoen). Perhaps it was a bit too restrictive, but I saw too many times of mafia recruitment being broken. I did ease up after they dropped to under 50% of their original membership to needing only 1 targeting. Sadly, it didn't work out.


You win when all opposition to your cause is eliminated.

Thawmus, you are Darth Malak, Lord of the Sith from KOTOR (Mafia). Your last thoughts were of your former master killing you, as you died along with the Star Forge. However, the Dark Side was strong within this “Sun Li”, who used his self-proclaimed divine remnant of power to bring you back to serve him. You do not know this land you are in, but the brief regrets you felt were easily replaced by rage at your fate, and hatred of the Jedi that manipulated you before.

Character Reference: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darth_Malak

Powers:

Roleblocker: When you are not assigned the nightkill, you are the mafia roleblocker. You may target an individual and prevent them from taking any action. If you are assigned the nightkill, you ignore any attempts to roleblock you, though you may still be jailkept. Actually, took off the jailkeeping restriction, though it only mattered in the end game... and romance saved Pax that last night. More on that later.


You win when all opposition to your cause is eliminated.

Majinmagog, you are Tiax, Cleric of Cyric, Gnomish Megalomaniac from Baldur’s Gate II (Mafia). You have a short-temper, a goal for world domination… and you’re a gnome, go figure. You follow the God of Murder, and you love your job. It wasn’t hard for Sun Li to reach through the dimensions and find you, and you’ll do anything for power and killing.

Character Reference: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Tiax

Powers:

Doctor: When you are not assigned the nightkill, you are the mafia doctor. You may target one individual and keep them from being killed at night.

Janitor: When you are assigned the nightkill, you do unholy things to the body, preventing it from being recognized the following day.

I had to include a psychotic gnome cleric/murderer. I just HAD to. I also liked the choice the mafia had to make... to janitor a kill, or to doctor one of their own. I'm mean like that.



You win when all opposition to your cause is eliminated.

Hail_eris, you are Morag of the Creator Race, from Neverwinter Nights (Mafia). You were trapped in the Source Stone, presumed killed by the heroes of Faerun. Little did they suspect that death was not the same for you as it would be for the puny mortals that since populated that world. Still, you were imprisoned and unable to escape… until that upstart Sun Li came to you, and used the last of his stolen power to free you and take you to a world ripe for conquest.

Character Reference: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Morag

Powers:

Tracker: When you are not assigned the nightkill, you are the mafia tracker. You may target an individual and determine who they targeted. Additionally, if you make the nightkill yourself, you cannot be tracked, and anyone reverse tracking your target will fail.

You win when all opposition to your cause is eliminated.

I had a oneshot NK immunity as my reward for wooing Wade

Pax unlocked the Romantic achievement, and while he could NOT doctor himself... he did get a 1-shot NK evasion thanks to the achievement, in addition to being masoned. More details to come.

I didn't have many neutrals in this game, just the two.

Kedryn, you are Joneleth Irenicus from Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn (Neutral). Your schemes to join the elvish pantheon were foiled by the blasted Bhaalspawn. Now, you managed to claw your way out of the Hells you were imprisoned in, and found yourself in this strange land. You still lack your soul, and with the Old Gods of this land, you feel you can supplant one of them easily enough, achieving immortality. And you will destroy all those that stand in your way.

Character Reference: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Jon_Irenicus

Powers: You are the serial killer. Each night, you must target an individual for a nightkill. You also ignore your target being jailkept, and you disregard any nexus abilities of your intended victim. Which is how Rokk died... he turned himself into a RB Nexus, but Kedryn ignored those.


You win when everyone else is eliminated.

Special: If Irenicus targets Imoen, she becomes neutral and joins him as a mason, retaining her jailkeeping powers. However, Imoen reverts back to town if Irenicus dies. Which is exactly what happened, though I was hoping it would be sooner, and maybe Kedryn wouldn't have been so crass to target...


MSU, you are Morrigan, Witch of the Wilds, from Dragon Age : Origins (Neutral). ‘Tis a curious thing, grief. You were saddened by the fact that the Warden would not speak with you, after you saved her life. Perhaps the fact that you slept with her lover in order to do so had something to do with it. It has been mere weeks since the destruction of the Archdemon, but now there is something else stirring, something that could threaten all of Thedas, and you will be damned if such things would interfere with your own schemes. So you have descended from the Frostback Mountains and started to pry around to see what is the root of this evil.

Character reference: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Morrigan

Powers: Your utility with magic means that you are an inventor, and you can use a variety of powers each night. Your spells need to recharge, however, so must use each of them once before reusing a power again.
· Giant Spider form – nightkill (75% chance of success)
· Wolf form – reverse tracker
· Crushing Prison – jailkeep, with 25% chance of killing the target
· Paralyze – roleblock target
· Swarm form – immune to nightkills

Win Condition: You are a neutral, and can win with either town or mafia. However, whom you favor depends greatly on their actions towards you. Favorable actions by the town (or disfavorable ones by the mafia) bring a positive rating, which means you would win with the town. Disfavorable actions by the town (or favorable ones by the mafia) bring a negative rating, which means you can win with the mafia. The approval rating will change after each night phase, so this makes you rather… mercurial, as it should be. In general, people doing positive things to you at night result in approval, while people voting for you or hindering you at night result in disapproval.
Initial Score: 0
Secret – Score Ratings
Votes (per player on you): -1
Cop/Tracker: -2
Roleblock/Misdirect: -3
Mind Control: -5
Nightkill Attempt: -20
Doctor: +10
Encourager: +5
Jailkeep: +1
Reverse Tracker: +3

Note that these scores are reflective of a town attempt to do these things. If a mafia member attempts these things, then the approval rating is effectively reversed. These point values do stack, as well (so if you suffer a mafia nightkill attempt (+20) and the town doctors you (+10), then the net change would be +30, which places your win condition rather solidly with the town).


I debated letting MSU know the values, but then realized he's too clever and would figure out what was happening to him via the updates. So I kept it a secret in the end.

Romance: Additionally, it is possible for you to be romanced by another player. You need to have a favorable approval rating to their faction, and you must be targeted by them twice. Only certain characters are eligible for this, so just because you were twice targeted does not mean that you can be romanced by that character. The second time you are targeted, you effectively join their faction and no longer use approval ratings to determine your win condition. You would also be masoned with that player, able to communicate with them freely outside the thread. The first character to unlock the Romance achievement, in addition to masoning, would be given a 1-shot nightkill evasion.


I'm SO pissed off that this role died Night 2. The mafia nearly misdirected mbauers the night he did his rez too... and I will admit, I don't think the "randomization" of the rez would have been that random...

Well, as I said on the Proboard, it doesn't help when you're playing in exactly *two* games and you still manage to confuse your night actions. Truffle pointed that out here, *and* she was part of the mafia that beat me in my other game. So, yeah, time for me to take a bit of a break.

I take full responsibility for it. He was desperate for a claim, and was going to try a Jade Empire claim. I told him he needed something from Baldur's Gate, because our Jade Empire fake claims would be too many. Then he got put on the spot, and needed one in a hurry. I knew he'd need one from one of the games I knew nothing on, and just grabbed the first name I saw on a Baldur's Gate search. It was a miserable claim, and it's totally my fault.

Ah, now it makes sense.

The night before, I tried killing JoH, so you blocked me then, as well. And now I know why Normal failed.

Or just play one at a time. That's pretty much what I do. I won't play more than one at a time, because it is way too much work, especially since I get drafted into the mafia every time.

I think this is seriously the 9th game in a row I've been mafia. I'm getting rather tired of being the bad guys.

Silver Lantern, you are Dawn Star, Monk from Jade Empire (Town). Your lover, now Emperor, has sent you to this strange land, as he feels that Sun Li might not have really died in that final battle. You suspect it might also have something to do with the fact that Sun Lian wanted you a bit out of the way, as there was always a tension there. However, you cannot deny your affinity for the spirits, and the growing unease coming to this strange, barbaric land, that perhaps the Emperor was correct…

Character References: http://jadeempire.wikia.com/wiki/Dawn_Star

Powers: You are a tracker, and can determine who exactly your mark is targeting each night. Additionally, once per game you may instead reverse track an individual to find everyone else that targeted them.

Romance: Despite your involvement with the Emperor, you are somewhat dissatisfied with your current lot, and it is possible for another character to sweep you off your feet. If another eligible character is targeted by or targets you twice, you will become masoned to that character. Not everyone was eligible for the Romantic achievement, though if Shale was in the game, then I probably would have allowed a Shale/HK-47 hookup.


You win when all threats to your faction are eliminated.

PaxZRake, you are Alistair, Grey Warden from Dragon Age : Origin (Town). Being king of Ferelden was not exactly what you wanted. What you really wanted was to keep wandering with the Warden, but she… didn’t understand why you did what you did with Morrigan, or how you had to marry Anora to keep the peace in the kingdom. But it was necessary, or at least, that’s what you tell yourself. Still, you wish she hadn’t left, especially now with reports of this new danger beginning to imperil Ferelden. But you are a Warden as well, and these kinds of battles are exactly what you do.

Character Reference: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Alistair

Powers: As a templar and Grey Warden, you are used to the role of protecting others. In effect, you are the town doctor, and can protect a target from nightkill attempts. You cannot target yourself with this ability.

Romance: You thought the Warden might be your true love, but that fell apart, and Anora just seems happiest when you aren’t around. So you would not mind another chance to have another shot at romance. If another eligible character is targeted by or targets you twice, you will become masoned to that character.

You win when all threats to your faction are eliminated.

DarqFeonix, you are HK-47, from Knights of the Old Republic (Town). You aren’t quite sure how you arrived here on this strange planet. The meatbags keep calling you a “golem”, and display an affinity for something that seems like the Force that Revan used, called “magic”. Superstitious claptrap, but after you nearly got incinerated by one of these mages, you found yourself treading a bit more cautiously and trying to fit in somewhat. Stupid meatbags.

Character Reference: http://www.starwars.com/databank/droid/hk47/

Powers: You tend to be quite distracting with your belittling comments about organic life, especially the kinds that you have to hang out with. You are the town misdirector, and can randomize someone’s target for the evening.

You win when all threats to your faction are eliminated.

KO Bossy, you are Bastila Shan, from Knights of the Old Republic (Town). After Revan left you to investigate the True Sith Empire, you busied yourself with duties to the Republic. However, as time passed, you found yourself longing for the opportunity for adventure once more. Taking a shuttle, you attempted to follow Revan to the Unknown Regions. Instead, you found yourself caught in a singularity, which warped you into a crash landing on this strange world. These beings seem to have some primal affinity for the Force, that they claim is “magic,” and are quite powerful in their limited mastery of the talent. But you sense the Dark Side is growing here, despite the death of their so-called “Archdemon,” and while the Republic seems far, far away, you know your duty.

Character Reference: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bastila_Shan

Powers: You still have your Battle Meditation talents, and you can guide your night target to their goal, ignoring roleblocks, mind control and misdirection, and busdriving.

Romance: It has been many years since you saw Revan, and though you would never admit it openly, the loneliness can be overpowering at times. If a worthy individual approached you, perhaps you would consider opening yourself to another once more. If another eligible character is targeted by or targets you twice, you will become masoned to that character.

You win when all threats to your faction are eliminated.

HavokandChaos, you are Sonic the Hedgehog, from Sonic Chronicles : The Dark Brotherhood (Town). Well, what more needs to be said? You’re Sonic the Hedgehog, and you want to stop the evil that’s menacing this new place. When you tried to come back from the other dimension after fighting Ix, you instead found yourself in this strange place. The people here keep calling you some sort of Fade Spirit, but you’re too fast for them anyway, though you want to help fight the evil that’s menacing this land.

Character Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Chronicles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_t...28character%29

Powers: You are the town busdriver, and can target two different people at night. Anyone targeting player A will target player B instead.

You win when all threats to your faction are eliminated.

Wade Wilson, you are Commander (Jane) Shepard, from Mass Effect/Mass Effect 2 (Town). You are a Spectre, former agent of Cerberus (apparently they didn’t like your blowing up the Reaper base), and right now, you led an away team on this planet to investigate possible dark energy fluctuations. There might be a connection to the Reapers, though this planet is rather primitive compared to what you’re used to. However, they do have a strange affinity for biotic-like effects. You’ve been trying to keep a low profile, but you didn’t trade in your assault rifle for a longbow…

Character Reference: http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Commander_Shepard

Powers: You are the town vigilante. Each night, you may target an individual and nightkill them. Alternatively, you can target an individual and not nightkill them, for the purpose of romance (see below). This will not be considered a nightkill, though you would be tracked/reverse tracked as targeting that individual.

Romance: After the death of your shipmate and lover on Virmire, you never really trusted yourself to get into another relationship. The dangers of being a Spectre and hunted by Cerberus is risky, but perhaps you could find happiness after all. If another eligible character is targeted by or targets you twice, you will become masoned to that character. With Shepard either being male or female in the game, the gender of Shepard was actually undetermined until the first character tried to romance him or her. In this case, since Alistair targeted Shepard Night 1… Shepard became the female version. Much to Wade’s surprise.

You win when all threats to your faction are eliminated.

Mbauers, you are Liara T’Soni, from Mass Effect (Town). You were saved by Shepard from Saren and the geth, and you felt a strong sense of loyalty to Shepard ever since. Though you could not join Shepard against the Collectors, you couldn’t resist Shepard’s request to help investigate these dark energy fluctuations on this planet. Though you are confused by people continuing to call you a “mage”…

Character Reference: http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Liara_T%27Soni

Powers: Though you are a powerful biotic, you are even better at ferreting out information. In effect, you are the reverse tracker, able to determine everyone else that targets your mark. If you target yourself, you cannot be roleblocked from using this ability. Additionally, you still have some technology that you acquired from Cerberus, and can resurrect a character instead of your normal night action. This ability can only be used once.

Romance: Though you did make that failed pass at Shepard on Normandy, back when you were first rescued, you’ve grown up a bit since then. You’re still not sure if Shepard’s connection to the Protheans is the reason why you felt this way, but you are not afraid to investigate options anymore. If another eligible character is targeted by or targets you twice, you will become masoned to that character.

You win when all threats to your faction are eliminated.

Truffle Shuffle, you are Minsc and Boo, from Baldur’s Gate II (Town). You are not quite sure how you wound up in this strange place, but it seems quite similar to Faerun. Fortunately, your companion Minsc made it along as well, though he has the unhealthy obsession with witches and mages. He keeps wanting to protect one, but it’s not exactly feasible with all the templars and darkspawn running amok. Still, it doesn’t hurt too much…

Powers: You are an encourager, and can give your intended target a double action due to your inspiring words. Additionally, Boo provides you with a double vote during the day phase. If you end up encouraging a witch or mage, you will bodyguard them for the remainder of the game. If you die due to bodyguarding the witch or mage, you will leave the game with an alternate win condition. Special: valid bodyguard targets are Imoen, Liara T’Soni, and Morrigan. Truffle did wind up bodyguarding the crazed Bhaalspawn Imoen, which I thought was hilarious. The bodyguarding was automatic, in this case. I probably should have put a non-doctoring restriction, but thankfully it didn't matter here.


You win when all threats to your faction are eliminated.