[Newcomer FM] NFM 5 | So Close (Mafia Wins!)

[RockFire]

Newcomer Forum Mafia

Please read the rules below fully.

General Rules:

1. Be respectful. Should be self-explanatory. No tolerance against racial/homophobic/sexist remarks. If you feel this rule isn't being followed, send the moderator in question a PM.
2. Do not discuss the game outside of the thread unless otherwise stated. If you have a question about this, ask the mod.
3. Do not quote any messages from / conversations with the moderator. If you have a question about this, ask the mod.
4. Do not gamethrow. "Gamethrowing" means actively trying to undermine your, or your faction's, chances of winning.
5. If you are inactive for more than 36 hours, you will receive a prod, and have 18 hours to reply. If you do not reply within 18 hours, you will be removed. However if your posts are found to not actually try to include content to futher the game, they will not count towards resetting the prod timer. Said content is evaluated under the moderator's discretion. You will be told if your post is valid or not.
6. Quoting and then editing another player's post for the purpose of misleading is prohibited. Editing to simply cut down the post content to what is relevant is allowed.
7. Any breaking of the above rules will be treated on a case by case basis - some will receive a warning, while others might result in higher punishment.
8. Be sure to look at ObiWan's Rules for more info, some of the rolecards that will be used and the ECO if you don't know how a situation is handled.
9. Lastly, If you have any questions, feel free to ask the moderator. We'll be glad to answer any doubts you may have.

Joining-specific rules:

• Joining this game is done so through a queue. As the queue is filled up, a new game will begin after the previous one has ended. Each game will have at least 8-9 "newer" players and at least 2-3 "experienced" players.
• Newer vs Experienced players will be decided under the moderator's discretion.
• The Newbie Games do not count against your maximum game count. Any substitutes will be experienced players only, so that newer members can fully experience a game from start to finish.
• A "newbie" classifies someone new to FM who doesn't have quite the hang of the game yet, or just someone new to the "mafia" genre in general. Experience from other forums may carry over.
• You must have played in two (2) games or less to be considered a newcomer, barring a few cases. Any more than that, you will have to be invited by the mod after PM'ing them.

Features:

• A gamemode specifically made as a starting point for new players, with a couple of mod-invited experienced players. They'd still be playing to win, but also to guide the newer players and to keep a ToS FM style flow.
• A queue-based signups.
• D1 FAQ (FM etymology, mechanics explanation, general FM introduction, etc.)
• Player-by-player in-depth reviews post game, aiming towards improving each player's skill level.

Unused roles:
Spoiler: Mayor, Lawyer, Jailor, Retributionist, Transporter
Godfather, Prankster, Agent
Neutral Benigns, Jester, Executioner, Bomber, Neutral Killings

Vigilante and Spy Role Card Change
Spoiler: Vigilante

You are a Vigilante.

Your alignment is Town Killing.

You believe that the law of this town is useless against the evil-doers in your town and have decided to take matters into your own hands.

Each night you may decide to shoot and kill one town member you believe to be evil.
However, if the person you shoot turns out to be Town, you will be overcome with grief and vow never to shoot again.
You only have 3 bullets, allowing you to perform your night action up to 3 times. Make them count.
You may not shoot on the first night.

You win with the Town
You win with Survivors
You must kill the Mafia
You must kill Arsonists
You must kill Witches
You must kill Serial Killers
You must kill Stalkers
You must kill Bombers
You may spare anyone else

Spy

You are a Spy.

Your alignment is Town Investigative.

You were once used in battle with the goal of gaining information about enemy tactics.
You were able to retire young, having gained the support of the military who in turn paid you very handsomely.
However, your stay in the town of Salem does not remain the peaceful retirement you once envisioned due to the Mafia invasion.

You can choose once during the day to sensor all votes on a lynch, you will determine how many town members voted on that lynch.
You may decide to do this within the first 24 hours of the Day Phase. If you do not do this, you listen to no one during the day.
You also have the ability to see who the Mafia visit at night. You will not know what Mafia role visited which player; all you will know is that they were visited by a member of the Mafia.

You win with the Town
You win with Survivors
You must kill the Mafia
You must kill Arsonists
You must kill Witches
You must kill Serial Killers
You must kill Stalkers
You must kill Bombers
You may spare anyone else

Investigation Results:

Spoiler: Your target is very skilled in their line of work. They must be an Sheriff, Investigator, or Consigliere!
Your target is familiar with death. They must be a Medium, Doctor or Janitor!
Your target has a disruptive presence. They must be an Escort, Marshal or Consort!
Your target watches others closely. They must be a Spy, Lookout or Blackmailer!
Your target is very full of themselves. They must be a Bodyguard, Disguiser or Witch!
Your target owns guns. They must be a Vigilante, Veteran or Mafioso!
Your target is involved with deception. They must be a Framer!
Your target is an ordinary townsfolk. They must be a Citizen!

Sheriff Results
Spoiler: Your target is Not Suspicious. (Non-mafia)
Your target is Suspicious! (Mafia member or framed)


Rolelist:
Spoiler: Town Investigative
Town Protective
Town Killing
Random Town
Random Town
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen
Citizen

Mafioso OR Janitor OR Consigliere
Consigliere OR Framer OR Consort
Blackmailer OR Disguiser OR Mafioso

Witch

No whispers. Only one Citizen may roll in Random Town.
Only 1 Mafioso will be allowed to roll, if there is one.


Players:

1. TheForgot3n1
2. James2
3. PolyesterHomes
4. Segaco
5. lucas8411
6. teamalex
7. K1llthestory (replaced parrichithay)
8. alouvre (replaced Hunter394)
9. Shortcutbutton (replaced BladesofSteel)
10. Santa07
11. milte345
12. TheCow
13. Swordsworth

(Bolded names means the player has confirmed their spot.)

Graveyard:
milte345: Killed by the Mafia Night One - Citizen
Santa07: Killed by the Mafia and the Veteran Night Two - Escort
Swordsworth: Lynched by the Town Day Three -Spy
Segaco: Killed by the Mafia Day Three -Citizen
James2: Lynched by the Town Day Four - Consort
K1llthestory: Killed by the Mafia Night Four - Citizen
TheCow: Lynched by the Town Day Five - Mafioso
lucas8411: Killed by the Mafia Night Five - Doctor
Shortcutbutton: Lynched by the Town Day Six - Witch
alouvre: Killed by the Mafia Night Five - Marshal
PolyesterHomes: Lynched by the Town Day Seven - Citizen
teamalex: Killed by the Mafia in WIFOM Hell - Veteran

Timeline of Events

Night One (Apprehension)/Day Two (Another Vitctim)
Night Two (Truest ASG)/Day Three (A Dead Man's Final Service)
Night Three (I Spy A Mislynch)/Day Four (One Last Chance)

[RockFire]

Introduction and mechanics.

First of all, welcome to the fifth NFM game. Some of you have already played before, while others are brand new, so I'll try to keep this simple.
Forum Mafia, or FM in short, is a game about deception between the two main factions: The uninformed majority (town) and the informed minority (mafia), with, most of the time, a third-party (neutrals) trying to fufill their own goals along the way. Logic, mind games, etc. are all part and usual of mafia.

Town and Mafia both have pretty straight-foward win conditions: eliminate the opposite team, and all neutrals with a night killing ability (Neutral Killings*). While the mafia has the opportunity to kill periodically, the town cannot rely on their own killing roles to win the game - for that, they must vote to kill a player by "lynch".
*Note: There are no Neutral Killings in this current game, due to the lower amount of players.

The game is divided in two phases: the Day, and the Night.

• The former is when the players post on the gamethread, discussing about what happened during the night, other players and who should be voted for the lynch. This is also when Whispers* are sent. The first day lasts 24 hours but no lynchs occur during it. The following days last 120 hours (5 real-life days) and lynches are allowed, these which will occur after the majority has been reached. To vote, just post "/vote PlayerNameExample". When a player is lynched, they are killed and removed from the game, with their role and last will (if they have one) being shown to public.
  
• The latter is a 48-hour period where any player who has a night action may use it (unless jailed). **During this phase the Mafia privately talks on their mafia chat. After the 48 hours are over, all actions are carried out, and the personal results of this phase shall be privately messaged (PM'd) to each player.

*Note: There are no whispers present in this game.
**Note: Day chat is currently allowed. Mafia does not have day chat in regular games, unless a role in play specifically states otherwise.

The game will only end once one of the major factions (or a NK) fufills their condition.

PM Protocols
When sending me the information below, make sure one of the following is in the subject line:
"NFM Last Will" for Last Wills.
"NFM Death Note" for Death Notes.
"NFM Night Action" for Night Actions.

Mafia Tactical is in play: Meaning - Any member of the Mafia may sacrifice their night action to make the factional kill at night.
------

Terminology.

General terms:

Role Card: The PM which contains the player's role, alignment and abilities.
Game Throwing: Playing against your win condition with the intent of making your own faction lose.
Hard Claim: Directly stating one's own role on the game thread.
Soft Claim: Hinting one's role without explicity stating it.
Counter Claim (CC): Making a claim which directly contradicts someone else's. E.g Player A hardclaims Citizen, but Player B is a Lookout who saw them visiting, so they hardclaim and bring up their evidence.
Fake Claim: Claiming a role which is not their own's. E.g When a mafia member is demanded to hardclaim, they almost always fakeclaim instead.
Scum/Scummy: Scum is the name given to any role which doesn't win with town, and needs to be eliminated for town's win condition. Being scummy means adopting a behaviour which doesn't line up with the behaviour expected from a town member.
Confirmed: Being 100% confirmed as a certain [role]/[alignment].
No Lynch: Instead of voting for a player, you may also "/vote No Lynch". If majority reaches on a No Lynch, no player is killed. A No Lynch will also occur when the amount of time for the Day phase is over and majority hasn't been reached. No Lynching is, the majority of the time, benefitial to scum, so aiming towards it is generally scummy.
Reads/Reading: The read you have on a player is the conclusion about their alignment and/or role through their posts or other factors.
WIFOM: WIFOM is the circular reasoning that results from trying to determine the choices of an opponent who acted with full knowledge that their behavior would be subject to scrutiny.
Mislynch: An incorrect lynch on a town member.
Tunneling: Solely focusing on a player and their posts, ignoring others. Often considered scummy.
Last Will: A personal "diary", per see, in which the player may choose to write whatever they consider relevant. Automatically revealed upon death.

Slightly more uncommon terms:

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. [Alt. Hand of Suspicion (HoS)]
LyLo - Lynch or Lose. A stage in the game where town must lynch scum or they lose. See also: MyLo.
MyLo - Mislynch and Lose. A stage in the game where if town mislynches (lynches town) and the Mafia make a kill town loses.
PoE - Process of Elimination.
OMGUS - "oh my god you suck". An acronym used to describe retaliatory actions such as votes. Ex: voting a player because they voted you citing the reason "because they are stupid".
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, in succession.
IC - Inexperienced Challenged. A term used to describe the experienced players who sign up for NFMs as representatives.

For a more complete list, feel free to look here.

------

Playing as Town

While Mafia can talk strategy during the night (and in the case of this game, during the day), the town needs to use the day phase to discuss and figure out who is and isn't town as well. What can you do, then?
Try to progress discussion in a fashion which will be benefitial to the town, try to look for posts that feel scummy, ask and answer questions other players have made, try to see which intentions a player has behind their posts, be active and post reads regularly. Avoid plays which could benefit scum instead (e.g Hardclaiming for no reason, fakeclaiming), and try your best to think for yourself - it's a common mistake to follow blindly whatever other players have to say.

And be sure to read ObiWan's guide about playing as Citizen.

Playing as Mafia

As scum, you should play exactly like you would as town - be active, post reads, try to look productive, etc. The difference here are your goals: Hiding information, misleading the town and stalling out long enough until they no longer outnumber you. This means appearing as scum-hunting, but in actuality pushing for a mislynch by questioning, false reading and trying to depict a player as scum. However, keep in mind that if a teammate is acting undeniably scummy and their lynch looks like the right call, try not to oppose it too obviously - or it could be tracked back to you.
And remember: you are a team, and thus communication is essential. Try to talk over every situation so you can plan in advance.

Playing as Neutral

Witch is the only neutral available to roll. Their goal and play style is a mix between that of the Town and Mafia. They want to be actively hunting scum and trying to figure out who they win with and who they don't, applying one of the best night actions in the game accordingly; either to get into contact or to severely hinder. However they do not want to be getting scum lynched themselves, so they also have to play similar to the Mafia in the regard that they do want the town to be successful. Above all they need to look out for number 1; themselves.


Golden Rules:
Don't claim Neutral.
Don't be inactive.
Remember what your goals are at all times.
Don't panic if you commit a mistake, but try to work your way around it.
Have fun. It's a game, after all.

------

For anything else, feel free to ask me, the experienced players and/or take a look at the FM Main Hub.

[RockFire]

All players have confirmed and rolecards have been sent out. The Game will begin shortly.

[RockFire]

The quiet stillness of the Town is so serene as most residents have only just begun to wake up. This tranquil morning is shattered by a loud gunshot and all the residents rush out to investigate the source of the noise, but alas, they are too late. A body lies in the Town square, with the calling card of the local Mafia resting before them. A quick glance at the victim reveals them to be none other than the Mayor of this once peaceful town. The people's eyes shift uncomfortably from side to side, glancing at neighbors and friends alike. The thought that some used the confusion of the shot to melt into the crowd is nauseating to many, but promising to a few.


One thought crosses everyone's mind: This once sleepy Town's peaceful days are over, for better or for worse.


Day 1 begins! Day 1 will end on December 7th at 7:40 P.M. [UTC -7]

(Note to new players, all other day phases will last 5 days)

[TheCow]

ayy

[Santa07]

Hello everyone, I'm Santa and I'm looking forward to playing with you all. I've seen a few of you around, and some of you I've never met before (especially those other experienced players, no idea who they are ), but I hope that by the end of this game I know you pretty well.

Remember, the experienced players are here to help you, not to thrash you. If have any questions, I'm sure one of us will be there to answer them, or you could always ask Rock too.

The final golden rule is a big one. Forum Mafia is heaps of fun, but it can easily be taken away too. Put in as much effort as you can, but make sure you're having fun 100% of the time.

This game is meant to phase you into forum mafia, and hopefully by the end of it you'll be ready to play in some bigger games.

Good luck to you all, and of course, good luck to Rock with your first solo game

[PolyesterHomes]

I should have known moving to this town was a terrible plan.
At any rate, you will know me as Polyester, and I am looking forward to my first Forum Mafia game.

I walk up to the body and crouch down on my left knee, taking note of the calling card and the mayor. I sigh and drift back to my spot in the town,

[Swordsworth]

Alright everybody, here's to a good game! If you have any questions at all about anything, don't hesitate to ask. It's important to have a good grasp of everythig before moving forward.

[James2]

Alright everyone:

If you're healed or guarded, do not say so, we don't want to alert the mafia to the existence of these roles.
If you're role blocked, do speak up. While it could be an escort, it could also be a consort and that's important information for the town to have.
If you're witched, speak up.
Do not softclaim.
Do not hardclaim unless you have pertinent information. Pertinent information means that you know for a fact someone is lying, you investigated someone and they showed up as mafia, or you investigated someone and they showed up as framer. Also if your role name was in purple or red when RockFire sent you your role card, this is pertinent information and you should reveal it immediately. Also if your role card says anything about certain people being your allies, it would be very helpful if you said who they were.
If you receive an anonymous message, this is from the blackmailer and you should post it immediately.

[teamalex]

glhf everyone!

first fm game for me, i have played tos for quite a long time so i have some experience with mafia games

before i start asking any questions: is there a general guide or sth like that, currently on phone and im too lazy to search

[Santa07]

glhf everyone!

first fm game for me, i have played tos for quite a long time so i have some experience with mafia games

before i start asking any questions: is there a general guide or sth like that, currently on phone and im too lazy to search

The introduction to FM in the second post is a good guide. At the bottom of it there's a link to the main hub which has a lot of helpful guides and links. You've also got the rules, rolecards, and ECO which are linked to in the OP.

[TheForgot3n1]

I should have known moving to this town was a terrible plan.
At any rate, you will know me as Polyester, and I am looking forward to my first Forum Mafia game.

I walk up to the body and crouch down on my left knee, taking note of the calling card and the mayor. I sigh and drift back to my spot in the town,

Anyone else found out Polyester's role?

very sneaky softclaim my friend!

And hello everyone!

[TheForgot3n1]

Love the ending of your post James2. ;D
[quote ="james2"]If you're healed or guarded, do not say so, we don't want to alert the mafia to the existence of these roles.[/quote]
Is this necessarily always the best play? I feel like if you say you were healed by a doctor, then you can essentially become a confirmed Town. And if anyone dares to counterclaim that heal then a lynch into a vigilante shot is a 100% correct kill, assuming the lynch is wrong. Otherwise you can let the lie (someone is lying) pass and then you have an invincible town (mafia can't dare kill them).

It's not like you can pretend to be a witch, since the target is notified if it hit someone immune, which it won't against any TP. So what's the point of hiding that?

[James2]

Love the ending of your post James2. ;D
[quote ="james2"]If you're healed or guarded, do not say so, we don't want to alert the mafia to the existence of these roles.

Is this necessarily always the best play? I feel like if you say you were healed by a doctor, then you can essentially become a confirmed Town. And if anyone dares to counterclaim that heal then a lynch into a vigilante shot is a 100% correct kill, assuming the lynch is wrong. Otherwise you can let the lie (someone is lying) pass and then you have an invincible town (mafia can't dare kill them).

It's not like you can pretend to be a witch, since the target is notified if it hit someone immune, which it won't against any TP. So what's the point of hiding that?[/quote]

Being healed doesn't make you a confirmed town, for a number of reasons:

A witch could make a mafia member get attacked.
A witch could claim healed. The mafia would know they were witch (because they'd be immune), and they'd get towncred.
The mafia can attack each other if they all agree and they have a good reason.
The mafia can choose not to attack.

And counterclaiming a doc wouldn't work, because there could be multiple docs.

[milte345]

Ah, I was unaware this started
Hello everyone, got any questions come to me, yadda yadda, i'll be going for now.

[TheCow]

Short D1. I'll start throwing shit around D2, assuming things don't pick up. Not enough activity to make preliminary d1 game-related posts.

[Swordsworth]

Some quality of life tips:

Discussion seems slow, and that can be okay on day 1. However, on Day 2 all of us will have to step it up. We will need to use all of the day available to us for scrutinizing and discussion.

Try to be as active as possible, and always try to bring insight to the table.

[TheForgot3n1]

Being healed doesn't make you a confirmed town, for a number of reasons:

A witch could make a mafia member get attacked.
A witch could claim healed. The mafia would know they were witch (because they'd be immune), and they'd get towncred.
The mafia can attack each other if they all agree and they have a good reason.
The mafia can choose not to attack.

And counterclaiming a doc wouldn't work, because there could be multiple docs.

All of those scenarios are less likely then simply a town being attacked. And if evils try to do some odd play of faking being attacked by a doctor then that is going to turn into some serious problems when the actual town protective starts drawing conclusions (rolling an extra town protective isn't THAT likely, especially if you have information).

I am not an experienced player, but this point I really think benefits mafia in many ways. Do argue against me!

Basically I think withholding information of being healed almost only keeps information from Town, not mafia. Mafia will understand exactly what happened when their target doesn't die (and no immune shows), meaning they receive more information than town does when you don't tell them of this fact.

Like what do you actually gain by hiding being healed? I don't see anything...

[Swordsworth]

As a killer, you are told if your target is immune for any reason(healing, vests, immune).

[Santa07]

A very quiet day one. Remember guys, the more you put down the more information we have to gather. And don't try to lurk, that's a massive scum-sign. I'm looking forward to getting into the game tomorrow.

[RockFire]

As the sun set, the residents agreed to retreat into their homes and make an attempt to apprehend the culprits the following day. Many thought of how to best make use of their night, but not all of these people had the best interests of the Town in mind.

The last light of day fades, the last door locks, and a feeling of apprehension settles upon the residents. No one was safe. Not anymore.

Night One Begins! Night One will end on December 9th at 7:40 P.M. [UTC -7]

[RockFire]

Night actions are locked and Day Two will begin when I've sent out all night results.

[RockFire]

As the sun rose, the Town exited their homes to find another body in the center if the square with the same insignia ad before.

Milte345 died last night.
They were killed by the Mafia.
They were a Citizen.

No last will could be found.

The unease shifted throughout the Town once again as they knew the killings would continue unless they found the culprits or the Mafia eliminated all of them. It was time to figure out exactly who'd done this.

Day Two Begins! It will end on December 14th, 8:00 P.M. (UTC -7) or when a majority has been reached.

[TheCow]

Slept peacefully.

[PolyesterHomes]

My night went well, nothing eventful happened.