Forum Mafia Terminology
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:08 pm
by RockFire
Official (FM) Games
Spoiler: Episodes
Episodes are the highest level of Mafia games hosted here. These games are played with less variability compared to other games. All changes to the game's formula, mechanics, or roles may be screened in games prior to being played in Episodes. Winning an Episode awards a player a special title beside his or her name. These games are hosted only by FM Game Moderators. Example: Game I, II, III, etc.
Standard
Numbered games are those hosted in between each episode. These games are used to test tweaks in the official FM formula, and integrate in new roles as well as serve as the center of the site's meta. There are three different types of standard games:
Streamlined (SP):
Games that use the Episodic Rolelist in the current meta without any changes and lack whispers and last wills. This is generally meant to create a more competitive atmosphere.
Classic (CL):
Games that use Rolelists modeled after games before more competitive games became more widely sought after. These games will include whispers and last wills and older roles such as the older versions of the Spy and the Agent. These games are meant to create a more casual atmosphere.
Moderator's/Host's Choice (MC/HC):
Games that do not fall into either the SP or CL categories are placed here and may include any number of differences that are up to the host/moderator as the name implies.
Community (CFM)
Community Forum Mafia games (CFM) were older games that were hosted by a chosen player and a FM Game Moderator, they have since been phased out with the new hosting system.
Special (SFM)
These games incorperate mechanics or role lists which differ too far from the standard format to be considered numbered games and are then labeled with an "S".
Tiny (TFM)
Smaller games that can feature a wide variety of mechanics or be simple. This game type has since been merged with SFM.
Vanilla (VFM)
A place for games that contain many citizens and other powered down roles, hence the term vanilla.
Newbie (NFM)
Newbie Forum Mafia games all feature the same rolelist that is being used at the time, they are for new players to accessably dip their toes into forum mafia.
Giant (GFM)
Very large games which are initially split into a few smaller sub-games before these sub-games merge into another game when a certain point is reached. This game type has been phased out.
Game Mechanics Spoiler: Rolecard:
The PM a player receives from a game's Moderator, detailing his or her alignment, abilities, etc. Rolecards are standardized between open games and semi-open games. More information can be found in the opening post of the joined game. Closed games do not have standardized rolecards.
Open Game:
A game where the exact roles in play are known because the rolelist displays them. This is the setup of most VFM games.
Semi-open Game:
A game where the exact alignments and subalignments for each role are known but not the specific roles present. However, certain roles may be set to be in the game such as a Godfather. This is the setup of most standards on this site.
Closed Game:
A game where nothing is known about what roles are present and no rolelist is given in the opening post. SFMs and TFMs tend to be these types of games.
Wire Tap:
When either a Spy or Agent uses their ability to see all whispers sent to or by a player. This made massclaiming through whispers in older games much more dangerous as the Mafia could obtain the claims.
Lynch:
If a player receives a majority vote from all live players during the day, they are lynched. The lynch is an unblockable kill, which will instantly removes a player from the game.
Whisper - A secret message one player may send to another. To send a whisper, players must PM the game's Moderator using the PM protocol: Whisper (to) [RECIPIENT]. Assuming the message conforms to whisper rules (which may be found in the opening post of the joined game) the message is forwarded to the intended recipient. NOTE: Never send a whisper directly to the intended player. This is a violation of the rules and in extreme cases is punishable by blacklisting.
Gamethrowing:
Unjustifiably playing against one's goals, in an attempt to cause one's own faction lose.
Mafia Killing Revamp (AKA Mafia Tactical Kills):
Any member of the Mafia may sacrifice their night action to make the factional kill at night.
Important Terms Spoiler: Hardclaim vs Softclaim:
Hardclaiming is when a player explicitly states their role in the Game Thread or through a whisper to another player. Softclaiming is hinting at one's role either discretely or blatantly. Claiming in general should be avoided, except when a situation demands it.
Crumbing:
Softclaiming discretely to leave a post trail that indicates you are the role you claim to be. This may be done by Town or scum to add credibility to a roleclaim.
Counterclaim (CC):
When a player makes a claim which contradicts another player's claim. In practice, this essentially means that if Claim A is true, then Claim B cannot be true.
Fakeclaim:
When a player claims a role other than their own.
Mass Roleclaim:
A situation where all players must say their role claim in the thread. Non-Town roles must lie about their claim, fakeclaiming instead. Before the advent of SP games, the most common reason for a mass roleclaim was a Mayor revealing or a player becoming confirmed Town, therefore making a mass roleclaim through whispers inevitable. In the current meta, this usually occurs at MyLo or LyLo.
Mislynch:
When a Town member is lynched because they were thought to be scum.
MyLo (Mislynch and Lose):
A situation in which the Town will lose if they mislynch a player.
LyLo (Lynch or Lose):
A situation in which the Town will lose if they do not lynch a scum player.
Confirmed:
A player whose role is 100% proven, without a doubt.
Scum/Scummy:
Scum roles are ones which cannot win with Town, and therefore must be eliminated by the Town. Scummy behavior is behaving in a way which appears anti-town in nature or just not town-like in general. However, such behavior can also come from Town players.
Bandwagon:
When a large number of players begin to vote up a specific player for the lynch although there may or may not be a reason for this. Generally speaking, bandwagons occur when someone is being pressured for a reaction or for a roleclaim due to being scummy. This can also occur if someone is the main contender for that Day's lynch. Sheep are players who participate in bandwagons blindly.
No Lynch:
This also occurs if a majority is not reached on one player by the end of the Day. Players may vote to no lynch as well although many players believe such actions to be scummy without proper reasoning.
Random Lynch:
When a player is lynched without apparent reasons.
Policy Lynch (PL):
When a player is lynched not because they are scummy but for other reasons. Policy lynches are done on players whose alignment is not known but their play may hurt the Town if they are Town.
Play-style Spoiler: Jesting: Acting as a Jester would. This is generally done either by a Jester to get lynched, or someone not wanting to be targeted, by acting just Jestery enough NOT to be lynched.
Sheep: Sheep are players who participate in bandwagons blindly.
Lurker/Lurking (Prodger/Prodging):
Players who are inactive for most of the game and rarely post anything to contribute to or move discussion along. Scum may lurk to not get caught up in what they say, but this may be done by apathetic Town.
Shepherd:
A player who leads a bandwagon. These players can either be Scum gunning for a mislynch, or a Town leader organizing the town.
WIFOM:
Wine in front of me. A situation where a player must decide between a finite number of options with knowledge that their actions and decision will be scrutinized by the second party; the reverse is also true.
Miscellaneous Terms Spoiler: Signup Phase:
The time in which players are freely allowed to join the game before it starts. At this point, players must go to the Sign Up thread in order to join. The Signup Phase ends when a game becomes full.
Confirmation Phase:
The time between the Signup Phase and a game starting. Depending on the host, players may receive their role cards now or only a confirmation PM. Players are expected to respond to the Moderator in charge of the game, so as to inform them that the player will be participating in the game.
Backups
Backups are any player eligible to join a game after it has started. If someone requests replacement, the people more the backups list will be the first ones contacted in the order they joined. This process is largely gone and replaced with simply being the first to PM the Moderator/Host to replace into the game.
Reads:
Used by players to state what alignment they'd place another player in based on their own assumptions regarding that player.
V (Villager) and W (Wolf/Wolfie):
Villager refers to any Town member while Wolf/Wolfy refers to any scum member. This is derived from Werewolf, an offshoot of Mafia.
Townslip:
Anything accidently said by a player that makes them likely to be Town. This can be faked by scum to gain credibility.
Scumslip:
Anything accidently said by a player that makes them likely to be scum.
Alt (Alternate Account):
A different account from a main account used by a player. This is typically done to prevent metagaming or play without bias from others.
FoS:
Finger of Suspicion. Putting the Finger of Suspicion onto a player means that one is calling that player scummy and saying that other players should keep an eye on that player.
PoE (Process of Elimination):
Eliminating alternatives based upon evidence.
OMGUS (Oh My God You Suck):
An acronym used to describe retaliatory actions such as votes. Ex: voting a player because they voted you and citing the fact that they are not good at the game or dumb.
PbPA:
Post by Post Analysis. Analyzing a player's posts in succession, typically associated with ISO.
ISO:
Isolation. Looking at a player's total posts in a game without the context of when they were said in order.
AtE (Appeal to Emotion): Anything done to create pity to persuade others.
CFD: Chinese Fire Drill. Quickly switching the lynch to another player with a small amount of time left in the day.
Role Abbreviations Spoiler: TOWN ROLES
MAFIA ROLES
NEUTRAL ROLES
ROLES FACTION AND CATEGORY Spoiler: Town
Town Power - TPw, TPow
Town Support - TS
Town Killing - TK
Town Protective - TP, TPro
Town Investigative - TI
Town Citizen - TC/Cit
Mafia
Mafia Head - MH
Mafia Tactical - MT
Mafia Support - MS
Mafia Deception - MD
Mafia Espionage - ME
Mafia Goon - MG/Goon
Neutral
Neutral Killing - NK
Neutral Evil - NE
Neutral Benign - NB
Miscellaneous
Suspicious - Sus
Innocent - Inno
Last will - LW
Death note - DN
ACTIONS
Town
Transported - Transported by the transporter with another player.
Jailed - Jailed by the jailor.
Interrogated - Interrogated by a sheriff.
Executed - The jailor has decided to kill you in jail.
Healed - You were attacked by a killing role and visited by a doctor.
Guarded- You were attacked by a killing role and visited by a bodyguard.
Scared away- Your action was stopped by a Marshal.
Town & Mafia
Escorted, RBed- Role-blocked by a consort or escort.
Invested- Investigated by a investigator or a consigliere.
Tapped- The Spy or Agent may see all whispers sent to and sent by you.
Mafia
Framed- Made to appear as a Mafia member to Sheriffs or as a Mafia Framer by an actual Framer.
Neutral and Mafia
Immune- Target was immune from your attempt to kill them.
Neutral
Controlled- Visited and controlled by a witch which redirected your target onto someone else.
Doused- You were visited by that arsonist and that arsonist may choose to ignite. No matter what, you retain the property of doused even if you are revived.
Stalked - You will commit suicide in two nights.
Fuse Lit- The bomber will win if they are not killed within the next three nights.
Ritual- If the Phantom is killed, they will appear as cleaned, and may choose a target to serve
Spoiler: Episodes
Episodes are the highest level of Mafia games hosted here. These games are played with less variability compared to other games. All changes to the game's formula, mechanics, or roles may be screened in games prior to being played in Episodes. Winning an Episode awards a player a special title beside his or her name. These games are hosted only by FM Game Moderators. Example: Game I, II, III, etc.
Standard
Numbered games are those hosted in between each episode. These games are used to test tweaks in the official FM formula, and integrate in new roles as well as serve as the center of the site's meta. There are three different types of standard games:
Streamlined (SP):
Games that use the Episodic Rolelist in the current meta without any changes and lack whispers and last wills. This is generally meant to create a more competitive atmosphere.
Classic (CL):
Games that use Rolelists modeled after games before more competitive games became more widely sought after. These games will include whispers and last wills and older roles such as the older versions of the Spy and the Agent. These games are meant to create a more casual atmosphere.
Moderator's/Host's Choice (MC/HC):
Games that do not fall into either the SP or CL categories are placed here and may include any number of differences that are up to the host/moderator as the name implies.
Community (CFM)
Community Forum Mafia games (CFM) were older games that were hosted by a chosen player and a FM Game Moderator, they have since been phased out with the new hosting system.
Special (SFM)
These games incorperate mechanics or role lists which differ too far from the standard format to be considered numbered games and are then labeled with an "S".
Tiny (TFM)
Smaller games that can feature a wide variety of mechanics or be simple. This game type has since been merged with SFM.
Vanilla (VFM)
A place for games that contain many citizens and other powered down roles, hence the term vanilla.
Newbie (NFM)
Newbie Forum Mafia games all feature the same rolelist that is being used at the time, they are for new players to accessably dip their toes into forum mafia.
Giant (GFM)
Very large games which are initially split into a few smaller sub-games before these sub-games merge into another game when a certain point is reached. This game type has been phased out.
Game Mechanics Spoiler: Rolecard:
The PM a player receives from a game's Moderator, detailing his or her alignment, abilities, etc. Rolecards are standardized between open games and semi-open games. More information can be found in the opening post of the joined game. Closed games do not have standardized rolecards.
Open Game:
A game where the exact roles in play are known because the rolelist displays them. This is the setup of most VFM games.
Semi-open Game:
A game where the exact alignments and subalignments for each role are known but not the specific roles present. However, certain roles may be set to be in the game such as a Godfather. This is the setup of most standards on this site.
Closed Game:
A game where nothing is known about what roles are present and no rolelist is given in the opening post. SFMs and TFMs tend to be these types of games.
Wire Tap:
When either a Spy or Agent uses their ability to see all whispers sent to or by a player. This made massclaiming through whispers in older games much more dangerous as the Mafia could obtain the claims.
Lynch:
If a player receives a majority vote from all live players during the day, they are lynched. The lynch is an unblockable kill, which will instantly removes a player from the game.
Whisper - A secret message one player may send to another. To send a whisper, players must PM the game's Moderator using the PM protocol: Whisper (to) [RECIPIENT]. Assuming the message conforms to whisper rules (which may be found in the opening post of the joined game) the message is forwarded to the intended recipient. NOTE: Never send a whisper directly to the intended player. This is a violation of the rules and in extreme cases is punishable by blacklisting.
Gamethrowing:
Unjustifiably playing against one's goals, in an attempt to cause one's own faction lose.
Mafia Killing Revamp (AKA Mafia Tactical Kills):
Any member of the Mafia may sacrifice their night action to make the factional kill at night.
Important Terms Spoiler: Hardclaim vs Softclaim:
Hardclaiming is when a player explicitly states their role in the Game Thread or through a whisper to another player. Softclaiming is hinting at one's role either discretely or blatantly. Claiming in general should be avoided, except when a situation demands it.
Crumbing:
Softclaiming discretely to leave a post trail that indicates you are the role you claim to be. This may be done by Town or scum to add credibility to a roleclaim.
Counterclaim (CC):
When a player makes a claim which contradicts another player's claim. In practice, this essentially means that if Claim A is true, then Claim B cannot be true.
Fakeclaim:
When a player claims a role other than their own.
Mass Roleclaim:
A situation where all players must say their role claim in the thread. Non-Town roles must lie about their claim, fakeclaiming instead. Before the advent of SP games, the most common reason for a mass roleclaim was a Mayor revealing or a player becoming confirmed Town, therefore making a mass roleclaim through whispers inevitable. In the current meta, this usually occurs at MyLo or LyLo.
Mislynch:
When a Town member is lynched because they were thought to be scum.
MyLo (Mislynch and Lose):
A situation in which the Town will lose if they mislynch a player.
LyLo (Lynch or Lose):
A situation in which the Town will lose if they do not lynch a scum player.
Confirmed:
A player whose role is 100% proven, without a doubt.
Scum/Scummy:
Scum roles are ones which cannot win with Town, and therefore must be eliminated by the Town. Scummy behavior is behaving in a way which appears anti-town in nature or just not town-like in general. However, such behavior can also come from Town players.
Bandwagon:
When a large number of players begin to vote up a specific player for the lynch although there may or may not be a reason for this. Generally speaking, bandwagons occur when someone is being pressured for a reaction or for a roleclaim due to being scummy. This can also occur if someone is the main contender for that Day's lynch. Sheep are players who participate in bandwagons blindly.
No Lynch:
This also occurs if a majority is not reached on one player by the end of the Day. Players may vote to no lynch as well although many players believe such actions to be scummy without proper reasoning.
Random Lynch:
When a player is lynched without apparent reasons.
Policy Lynch (PL):
When a player is lynched not because they are scummy but for other reasons. Policy lynches are done on players whose alignment is not known but their play may hurt the Town if they are Town.
Play-style Spoiler: Jesting: Acting as a Jester would. This is generally done either by a Jester to get lynched, or someone not wanting to be targeted, by acting just Jestery enough NOT to be lynched.
Sheep: Sheep are players who participate in bandwagons blindly.
Lurker/Lurking (Prodger/Prodging):
Players who are inactive for most of the game and rarely post anything to contribute to or move discussion along. Scum may lurk to not get caught up in what they say, but this may be done by apathetic Town.
Shepherd:
A player who leads a bandwagon. These players can either be Scum gunning for a mislynch, or a Town leader organizing the town.
WIFOM:
Wine in front of me. A situation where a player must decide between a finite number of options with knowledge that their actions and decision will be scrutinized by the second party; the reverse is also true.
Miscellaneous Terms Spoiler: Signup Phase:
The time in which players are freely allowed to join the game before it starts. At this point, players must go to the Sign Up thread in order to join. The Signup Phase ends when a game becomes full.
Confirmation Phase:
The time between the Signup Phase and a game starting. Depending on the host, players may receive their role cards now or only a confirmation PM. Players are expected to respond to the Moderator in charge of the game, so as to inform them that the player will be participating in the game.
Backups
Backups are any player eligible to join a game after it has started. If someone requests replacement, the people more the backups list will be the first ones contacted in the order they joined. This process is largely gone and replaced with simply being the first to PM the Moderator/Host to replace into the game.
Reads:
Used by players to state what alignment they'd place another player in based on their own assumptions regarding that player.
V (Villager) and W (Wolf/Wolfie):
Villager refers to any Town member while Wolf/Wolfy refers to any scum member. This is derived from Werewolf, an offshoot of Mafia.
Townslip:
Anything accidently said by a player that makes them likely to be Town. This can be faked by scum to gain credibility.
Scumslip:
Anything accidently said by a player that makes them likely to be scum.
Alt (Alternate Account):
A different account from a main account used by a player. This is typically done to prevent metagaming or play without bias from others.
FoS:
Finger of Suspicion. Putting the Finger of Suspicion onto a player means that one is calling that player scummy and saying that other players should keep an eye on that player.
PoE (Process of Elimination):
Eliminating alternatives based upon evidence.
OMGUS (Oh My God You Suck):
An acronym used to describe retaliatory actions such as votes. Ex: voting a player because they voted you and citing the fact that they are not good at the game or dumb.
PbPA:
Post by Post Analysis. Analyzing a player's posts in succession, typically associated with ISO.
ISO:
Isolation. Looking at a player's total posts in a game without the context of when they were said in order.
AtE (Appeal to Emotion): Anything done to create pity to persuade others.
CFD: Chinese Fire Drill. Quickly switching the lynch to another player with a small amount of time left in the day.
Role Abbreviations Spoiler: TOWN ROLES
- Town Power
Mayor- Mayor
Jailor- Jailor
Retributionist- Ret
Lawyer- Lawyer
Town Protective
Bodyguard- BG
Doctor- Doc
Marshal- Marshal
Bodydouble - BD
Jailkeeper - JK
Botanist - Bot
Town Support
Escort- Escort
Medium- Med
Transporter- Trans, TP (commonly confused with TurdPile or Town Power)
Town Killing
Veteran- Vet
Vigilante- Vig
Firebrand - FB
Town Investigative
Investigator- Invest
Sheriff- Sheriff
Lookout- Lookout
Spy- Spy
Parity Cop - PC
Tracker - Tracker
Town Citizen
Citizen - Cit
Neighbour - Neighbour
Bulletproof - BP
MAFIA ROLES
- Mafia Head
Godfather- GF
Underboss- Underboss
Caporegime- Capo
Enforcer - Enforcer
Mafia Tactical
Mafioso- Mafioso
Blackmailer- BMer
Mafia Support
Consort- Consort
Consigliere- Consig
Agent- Agent
Strongman - Strongman
Mafia Deception
Framer - Framer
Disguiser - Disguiser
Janitor - Janitor
Prankster - Prankster
Ninja - Ninja
Mafia Espionage
Traitor - Traitor
Mafia Goon
Goon - Goon
Neighbour - Neighbour
NEUTRAL ROLES
- Neutral Killing
Serial Killer - SK
Arsonist - Arso
Detonator - Det
Stalker - Stalker
Neutral Benign
Amnesiac- Amne
Survivor- Survivor
Phantom- Phantom
Shade - Shade
Double - Double
Neutral Evil
Executioner - Exe
Jester - Jester
Witch - Witch
Bomber - Bomber
Warlock - Warlock
Kleptomaniac - Klepto
ROLES FACTION AND CATEGORY Spoiler: Town
Town Power - TPw, TPow
Town Support - TS
Town Killing - TK
Town Protective - TP, TPro
Town Investigative - TI
Town Citizen - TC/Cit
Mafia
Mafia Head - MH
Mafia Tactical - MT
Mafia Support - MS
Mafia Deception - MD
Mafia Espionage - ME
Mafia Goon - MG/Goon
Neutral
Neutral Killing - NK
Neutral Evil - NE
Neutral Benign - NB
Miscellaneous
Suspicious - Sus
Innocent - Inno
Last will - LW
Death note - DN
ACTIONS
Town
Transported - Transported by the transporter with another player.
Jailed - Jailed by the jailor.
Interrogated - Interrogated by a sheriff.
Executed - The jailor has decided to kill you in jail.
Healed - You were attacked by a killing role and visited by a doctor.
Guarded- You were attacked by a killing role and visited by a bodyguard.
Scared away- Your action was stopped by a Marshal.
Town & Mafia
Escorted, RBed- Role-blocked by a consort or escort.
Invested- Investigated by a investigator or a consigliere.
Tapped- The Spy or Agent may see all whispers sent to and sent by you.
Mafia
Framed- Made to appear as a Mafia member to Sheriffs or as a Mafia Framer by an actual Framer.
Neutral and Mafia
Immune- Target was immune from your attempt to kill them.
Neutral
Controlled- Visited and controlled by a witch which redirected your target onto someone else.
Doused- You were visited by that arsonist and that arsonist may choose to ignite. No matter what, you retain the property of doused even if you are revived.
Stalked - You will commit suicide in two nights.
Fuse Lit- The bomber will win if they are not killed within the next three nights.
Ritual- If the Phantom is killed, they will appear as cleaned, and may choose a target to serve