Roles!

Mafia

Leonardo DiCaprio
Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role
One of the finest actors of your generation, you are both critically acclaimed and a box-office draw. From your first nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, to the smash hit Titanic, to the more recent Inception and The Great Gatsby, you have consistently turned in well-regarded performances in generally well-regarded movies. However… you still have never won an Oscar. Well, you’re done with that, and taking your revenge.

You are the Don. Because duh. You are ultimately responsible for getting the mafia actions in on time, and make the final decision on what those actions will be.

Hugh Glass (The Revenant) - In your latest role, you portray a frontiersman out for revenge after being left for dead by your compatriots. This resilient streak makes you harder to get rid of then it might appear…

Jordan Belfort (The Wolf of Wall Street) - In this role as a fast-talking stockbroker, you’re a master of the art of the sale, even when what you’re selling is just a bill of goods. Target a player at night to misdirect them.
Howard Hughes (The Aviator) - Originally a director, Hughes then branched into aviation, founding Hughes Aviation and acquiring control of the airline TWA. Target two players at night to bus-drive them. You can’t target the player chosen as the mafia kill target.

Michael Fassbender
Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role
You’re the new Magneto! You’ve been in some other movies too, I guess. You’re also German-Irish, which is a bit of an interesting combination. You also wore a giant paper-maiche head for basically the entire movie Frank, so there’s that. Now you’ve decided it’s time for a little golden statue. But aren’t you and Leo in the same category? Yes, technically true, but if you win you’ll just force the Academy to give you one anyway.

Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs) - You portray the brilliant, iconic entrepreneur and creative force behind Apple. People capital L love your products, but they do tend to get made fun of for being sort of cult-like. Once somebody buys an iPhone, or a Macbook, you tend to have their absolute loyalty. As such, you’re a vote stealer. Target a player at night to take a vote from them and give it to yourself.
Edwin Epps (12 Years a Slave) - Your first Oscar nomination was for the role of this sadistic slave owner. One of the main antagonists of the film, you’re a pretty easy character to hate; however, this movie’s brutal, realistic portrayal of slavery is difficult to watch. Once per game, you may choose to be a magnet; all night actions will target you, but any kill attempts originally targeting another player will fail.

Saoirse Ronan
Nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role
All of 21 and already with two Academy Award nominations, but that’s not good enough for you apparently - you want to actually win. After all, what better way to cement a long and fruitful career for yourself?

Eilis Lacey (Brooklyn) - A young Irish immigrant in the early 1950s, you struggle to find your place between your old home of Ireland and your new adopted home of America. As part of this process, there are many letters sent between you and your sister in your hometown, as well as your new beau in Brooklyn. You are a note passer. Submit a message to me and I will pass it along to the player you choose to target. (Restriction - I won’t let you tell people they’re silenced or otherwise cannot post.)
Briony Tallis, aged 13 (Atonement) - In your breakout role, you falsely accused your older sister's lover of a crime because you were jealous. When chosen to make the kill, the target will be roleblocked as they are hauled off by the authorities.

Mark Ruffalo
Nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Once you were known for starring in rom-coms, now you’re mostly known as the Hulk. You’re a serious actor, though, and have the nominations to prove it! Well, apparently nominations aren’t enough for some people, and you’d like to have something to actually shove in their face when they start asking you if you’re angry. You are, and the Academy won’t like you when you’re angry.

Mike Rezendes (Spotlight) - This is your third nomination for best supporting actor; this time, as a Boston reporter who won a Pulitzer for his work investigating the cover-up of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. You are a power cop. As a night action, you may target a player to learn what power they used that night.
Dave Schultz (Foxcatcher) - You were previously nominated for this role in which you portrayed this Olympic gold-winning wrestler who was ultimately shot by eccentric philanthropist E.I. du Pont. As a wrestler, you are good at escaping those who attempt to pin you down; when assigned the kill, you cannot be roleblocked.

Town

The Martian
Nominated for Best Picture, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Adapted Screenplay, and Production Design
Mark Watney is a member of the Ares III manned Mars mission, which is forced to evacuate early due to a large dust storm. In the process, he is struck and left behind, presumed dead. However, it turns out he has survived, and the film follows both his struggle to survive as well as the efforts of those back on Earth to bring him home.

Mindy Park (Mackenzie Davis) - Your examination of the satellite feed was how NASA discovered Watney was still alive. Target a player at night to track them.
Mark Watney (Matt Damon) - In his own words: “I've been thinking about laws on Mars. There's an international treaty saying that no country can lay claim to anything that's not on Earth. By another treaty if you're not in any country's territory, maritime law applies. So Mars is international waters. Now, NASA is an American non-military organization, it owns the Hab. But the second I walk outside I'm in international waters. So here's the cool part. I'm about to leave for the Schiaparelli Crater where I'm going to commandeer the Ares IV lander. Nobody explicitly gave me permission to do this, and they can't until I'm on board the Ares IV. So I'm going to be taking a craft over in international waters without permission, which by definition... makes me a pirate. Mark Watney: Space Pirate.” Once per game, you can force one player to target another player.
Rich Purnell (Donald Glover) - You’re a steely-eyed missile man. You have a permanent +1 to lynch. (Mostly because there’s a good chance that if this really happens, this guy would be a classmate of mine)
[HIDDEN - You’re a miller. Ridley Scott has lost an Oscar, and was expected to be nominated for Best Director, although he was not.]

Adam McKay
Nominated for Best Director
What do SNL, Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers have in common? That’s right, Oscar-nominee Adam McKay! That’s who you were going to say, right?

The Big Short - You directed this movie portraying the financial crisis cause by the housing and credit bubbles, based on the book by Michael Lewis (who also wrote Moneyball and The Blind Side). It centers around a group of investors who use investment vehicles called credit default swaps, essentially betting on the market to fail. As such, you’re betting on players you think will ‘fail’. Each night, submit the names of up to two players (you can submit the same name twice). For each player who leaves the game before the next night phase, you gain the ability to permanently raise or lower a voting threshold by 1 (minimum 1 vote, maximum remaining players - 1 votes) as a night action (in addition to submitting names).

Brie Larson
Nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role
You made your debut on Leno, apparently. I don’t know how that even works. But since then you’ve acted in both movies and films, and even released a record. Now you’re up for an Academy Award!

Ma (Room) - You were nominated for your role as a woman imprisoned in a 10-by-10 shed with her young son, Jack. Despite their horrific environment, Ma does everything she can to ensure Jack is happy and safe. You are the doctor; target a player at night to protect them from any kill attempts.

Mark Rylance
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor
You’re an English actor, which means you’re obligated to play the bad guy. Nevertheless, you’ve been nominated for an Academy Award for your portrayal of Rudolf Abel, who really wasn’t a ‘bad guy,’ just on the other side.

Rudolf Abel (Bridge of Spies) - You earned a best supporting actor nod for portraying captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (real name Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher). What do spies do? Find out information, of course. You are the cop. Target a player at night to determine their alignment.

Inside Out
Nominated for Best Animated Feature
This animated film from Pixar follows a young girl named Riley from the perspective of her five emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger. It was praised not only as a work of art, but also for its portrayal of the psychology of emotions. As all of these emotions work together, so shall you. You are a jack-of-all-trades; you can use any of the powers listed below at night, but you cannot use a power twice in a row.

Joy (Amy Poehler) - So happy and upbeat! Target a player during the day to give them an extra action at night.
Sadness (Phyllis Smith) - When a kid is sad, people just want to cheer her up. You create a roleblock nexus on yourself.
Fear (Bill Hader) - AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Target a player (including yourself) to place a misdirection nexus on them (anybody targeting them will be misdirected).
Disgust (Mindy Kaling) - Ugh. Gross. Target a player to jailkeep them (roleblock them and make them untargetable).
Anger (Lewis Black) - We’ll eat our dinner… right after YOU eat THIS! Target a player at night to roleblock them.

Mad Max: Fury Road
Nominated for Best Picture, Costume Design, Visual Effects, Makeup and Hairstyling, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Production Design, and Sound Editing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNsPF3GVvig
“What do you suppose he’s gonna do?” “Retaliate first.” - Between the Doof Warrior, Imperator Furiosa and Max himself, nobody should want to stand in your way. You’re the vigilante. Target a player at night to remove them from the game.

Theeb
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film
“In Hejaz province, Arabia, recently orphaned brothers Hussein and Theeb, who live a traditional Bedouin life, are caught up in the world events of 1916 when a British officer asks them to guide him through the desert to strategically important Ottoman train tracks. Their journey, fraught with danger, leads them in an unanticipated direction.”

Hussein and Theeb - The two main characters, Hussein and Theeb, are orphans who serve as guides to a British officer and an Arab revolutionary. As such, you are a guide; target another player at night to make them immune to being targeted by roleblocking or misdirection. You are also a double voter.

Amy
Nominated for Best Documentary (Feature)
“British singer Amy Winehouse, a six-time Grammy® winner who died at the age of 27 in 2011 from the cumulative effects of substance abuse, had a turbulent life after her powerful singing voice was discovered and she was propelled to fame. Her strong personality, complicated marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil and love-hate relationship with the press are reflected in her music.”

Through the Lens - Documentaries are concerned with capturing reality, and those revolving around a single person often attempt to show what went on in their lives that made them who they are. All the interactions, relationships, and occurrences are sifted through to determine what’s important. This takes a sharp eye for detail… you’re a reverse tracker. Target a player at night to determine who targeted them.

Neutral

Chris Rock
Comic, actor, writer, director, producer - is there anything you can’t do? [insert joke about race in America here]. As somebody noted for commenting on racial matters, hosting an Academy Awards with a controversy about the lack of diversity among the major nominees, I for one am looking forward to seeing what you have to say.

Host - You hosted the 77th Academy Awards, and now you’re back! Target a player at night to appear in the writeup interacting with them in some way. You’re a dragger.

Idris Elba
You’re a British actor primarily known for playing Stringer Bell on the hit crime show The Wire, and among a certain crowd (likely well-represented on this website) as Heimdall in the Thor movies. You recently were the star in one of Netflix’s first forays into original feature-length entertainment.

Commandant - You were widely regarded as one of the favorites to win Best Supporting Actor, but instead you weren't even nominated. Meanwhile, every single nominee for the individual awards is white. Are these things related? Who knows. What you do know is that you're going home with an Oscar, by hook or by crook. You're the serial killer. Every night you submit a name to remove them from the game. You win when there are no town or mafia remaining.
Maybe it's cause I was on Netflix? - Looks like Netflix is just too plebian for these hoity-toity Hollywood types. Anybody targeting you with a copping power will fail.

Oscar the Grouch
You're one of the iconic characters from perhaps the most beloved children's show of all time. Sure, it's got nothing to do with the Academy Awards, but it does have the most Emmys of any show in history! And hey, they're called the Oscars after all, and you're an Oscar…

I Love Trash - Trash is your favorite thing, and you're constantly collecting things other people find useless. As a night action, submit the name of a player to collect a piece of their trash. You win when you've either collected 6 pieces of trash, or if you've collected trash from everyone remaining in the game.

Thoughts!

On roles:

So, mafia theme was actors who had been nominated previously and lost. Fairly weak power set, but I also felt like this was a relatively low-powered game. However, I did make a major mistake in putting both their defensive abilities (bus drive and MD) in the same character... who, of course, got himself lynched D2. Oops. Also in my defense, I was nervous about making them too powerful as I thought Leo's 'not dead yet' ability could be pretty strong. I think if he had been killed at night instead of vigged it would've been (looks like mafia has a janitored hit). That's not what happened though.

Town I thought I covered all the bases... didn't really load up on any particular powers. Gfish probably had the best powerset, although a double voter is also powerful in a small game like this. I loved I_R's Big Short power, but it was definitely pretty hit or miss in a game this size. I also tried to mix up actors, movies, directors, etc... try and prevent anybody guessing themes too easily.

Neutrals were designed for 1 town friendly (dragger), 1 a little more mafia friendly (clue collector who needed 6 nights), and the SK. Low-power SK, so I let him win with the other neutrals (not a huge perk, but hey). Was certainly sad to see Roy and kontrol die before the end, as I thought they both played their roles well.

On the game:

Night 1 - Boy this night could've gone a couple different ways. First Silver submits Nifty the vig as a target, which would've been big. Instead, though, mafia uses their RB+NK on Silver, who therefore doesn't hit Nifty. Meanwhile, Darq targets gfish, who used his MD-nexus, and gets redirected to... Silver, of course. Mafia is upset, but it was probably a blessing in disguise.

Day 2 - Boy, ERS kinda dug a hole here. I feel bad for him, because he seems to always be getting pressured at work while he can't respond, but popping on after spending most of a day phase with votes on and seeming remotely vague and unhelpful generally doesn't end well. However, he's got the extra life, so it's not nearly as bad as it seems.

Night 2 - Darq notches his second save (first intentional), but then gets taken out by SL, who he saved N1. Where's the gratitude? Meanwhile, RP gets vigged (didn't really get that one, but I'm a cautious vig).

Day 3 - Silver did get kinda write-up copped N1, but I'm not really sure how else to handle it. I tried to be vague, but he's right that there wasn't a good similar claim. Also, apparently nobody buys my ingenious "Leo is dead SIKE" power. Hmph.

Night 3 - The magnet disrupts everything. I allow ERS's kill to go through, because I realize just how limited the powersets for the mafia are (and it seems like people are already onto his kill). Using the magnet tonight probably saved the mafia's bacon, since otherwise ERS was going to be blocked and killed, the cop would be alive, and Iceman would've been dragged.

Day 4 - I had Ice and Brainiac use their night powers, because giving Rokk a list of results that's literally all the non-mafia members except I_R seemed a little broken. Of course, that backfires when Ice gets pressure for being on the list (which I'll be honest I didn't see coming at all). He gives a master class in how to get out of pressure, though. Wow. ERS ends up getting lynched.

Night 4 - Nifty picks up a good hit, and Rokk is doubled... only to inevitably die (he certainly called it). Things are looking slightly town-friendly, but still very possible for the mafia to pull the win...

Day 5 - until today, when brainiac gets pressured and can't really put up much of a defense. Ice was throwing out fakeclaim ideas, but brainiac couldn't get on until the end of the phase and it was too late. Nearly got a lynch on kontrol, if grizzz hadn't stolen one of Ignatz' votes, but I really don't know that it would've helped much, as Nifty probably would've just vigged him that night anyway.

Night 5 - Unfortunately for kontrol, his evasion during the day phase didn't convince Nifty, who removes him. Ice takes out Ignatz, which I thought was a bit of an odd choice... but it proves a very wise decision when Ignatz PMs me "Pretty sure Ice is scum" with his night action. Perfect timing there.

Day 6 - I was a little confused gfish went down so easily, since he probably had the best chance of stopping Ice (JK, RB, RB nexus), but I guess I understand the ploy to convince people you're town and I_R is too (via the JK).

Night 6 - Both Ice and Nifty target poor Roy. Nifty submitted first, while Ice took some time to think. If he had targeted I_R, he would've won that night. Fortunately for him, Nifty sided with him the next day phase, and his RB+NK meant he would come out on top.

All in all, I had a lot of fun modding this game, and I have to give huge props to Ice. I really thought this was going to end up another town landslide, and I was starting to seriously doubt my balancing skills (and also curse small games). But he really put on a show and in my opinion played one of the best games I've seen to get the win.

Also have to give props to Ignatz for pretty strong town play, even as just a guide.

Finally, I'd love to hear any and all comments on my modding, whether it's role balance, write-ups, how I handled things, good or bad. Post here or (if it's really bad) feel free to PM me.

Thanks again to everybody for playing!

Like I said earlier, once you claimed Neutral I was wanting to keep you around. Didn't vote for you.

We had power copped you before you claimed.

That's what I meant. I was cool with you after that.

Think people are downplaying the Mafia power set a little. Some good Crowe control in there and any time you get bonus abilities when making a kill that's a huge bonus. So think you're being a little tough on yourself CBob - especially since you gave them boons once game was going - but still a great job by Mafia (and shame on Nifty for forgetting the whole DB / Ice fiasco ).