Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

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Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby Metrion » Thu Jan 01, 2015 3:23 pm

In the world of Forum Mafia knowledge is a valuable asset, knowing how a game works and every detail is important since without it you wouldn't even be playing a game! Best to learn now instead of in the middle of a game and you're a counted power role.

What is Forum Mafia?

Forum Mafia (FM) is a game of deception. The informed minority (Mafia) versus the uniformed majority (Town). The Mafia must confuse and misdirect the Town using their superior organization and communication, and the Town must seek out the Mafia by discussing with each other before they are all killed or the Mafia reaches parity (equal numbers) with the Town.

FM is about logic, intuition, persuasiveness, mind games, reading ability, and drive. It's a great game to test and improve these skills or to just to have fun.

How much time does this take?

1-2 full hours a day are required to play FM in a competent manner. Some players will spend much, much more time but if you focus in that amount of time and keep on to of things you should be able to play a decent game.

How The Game Goes

This will focus on Standard-type games.

So, you've snagged a spot in a Forum Mafia game, what happens now? First off the game moderator will be randomizing the roles that are in the rolelist and randomly distributing them among the players. If you get a role you don't like only the universe is to blame.

In the first day, the number of hours you have before the day ends varies from game to game depending on the type of game. There are CL games which are designated as such by hosts, and these games are usually 24 hours long with no lynch on Day 1, and if a game isn't designated as CL by the host or is designated as either SP (Streamlined Play) or HC/MC (Hosts/Moderators Choice) then they will usually range from 72 hours to 120 hours with a Day 1 lynch. Day powers are usable if applicable to the game you're playing (Spy, Agent, Mayor and Jailor).

Once rolecards have been sent and any confirmation phases dealt with, the game begins! In CL games Day 1 is taken light-heartedly and not as seriously as any other day, so take the time to introduce yourself to everyone. However sometimes people like to get to business anyway in CL games. However in non-CL games, the game usually gets going immediately due to the extended amount of hours and the Day 1 lynch. Many successful Towns use a great deal of this time to discuss everything from their opinions on other players roles and goals, night actions and their mechanics, reads and ultimately who should be lynched. Regardless of what game-type you're playing, voting people for a lynch is done like this (minus the asterisk): [b*]/vote [insert playername here][/b]

Note: In CL-designated games you may also use whispers starting Day 1, whispers are short private messages that you send to the game moderator and they will deliver it to whomever you wish. These are almost always limited to 4-5 but the character count varies per host. Remember that it is posted that you are whispering and the intended recipient in the game thread.

After the first day comes the first night. The game thread is locked and no one but the game moderator may post, if the Mafia did not already have daychat then the mafia chat is now unlocked for the first time, here the mafia may privately talk without any worry because only mafia roles are granted access to this chat. During the night phase (usually 24-48 hours) all players with a power role (non-Citizen roles) submit their night actions; who they want to protect/investigate/roleblock/kill depending on their role, these are carried out in the minutes before night ends.

Afterwards, the game will repeat this cycle of night and day until a winning faction is declared.

Posting

Now you find yourself in a game and people are posting all around you. The first thing you should remember is that you should always be respectful and never rude to your fellow players. You should also keep in mind that players also pay much more attention to posts than in ToS.

A good way to start posting is making your thoughts and conclusions known about the situation and about other players. Basic example: "Guzame was roleblocked and we have a Transporter taking the support slot around, making it seem more likely that we have a Consort." A good habit is to be active and aiding to the town, even roles against the town should make an effort as to blend in by posting in a helpful manner.

A very useful thing to post and something that you will see posted are reads, reads are what you think of a person and their alignment, goals, role, etc. With an every changing meta-game and players there is no 100% accurate way to tell someone's role by posts alone. The basics to look for are motivation behind posts, oddities within them, and using logic to help determine their role. Don't be afraid to listen to your gut feelings but also don't forget that making accusations around every corner isn't going to make you seem like you are a friendly town role. Also be weary of jumping to conclusions, many times you'll see what you want to see if you want to pin a guy down as Mafia/Neutral, remember to look at all the angles not just the ones that mean they're Mafia/Neutral.

Roles

Town Investigative - Investigator, Lookout, Sheriff, Spy, Parity Cop, Tracker
Town Protective - Bodyguard, Doctor, Marshal, Jailkeeper, Bodydouble, Botanist
Town Support - Escort, Medium, Transporter
Town Killing - Veteran, Vigilante, Firebrand
Town Power - Jailor, Lawyer, Mayor, Retributionist
Town Citizen - Citizen, Bulletproof, Neighbour

Mafia Head - Godfather, Caporegime, Underboss, Enforcer
Mafia Tactical - Mafioso, Blackmailer
Mafia Support - Agent, Consort, Consigliere, Strongman
Mafia Deception - Disguiser, Framer, Janitor, Prankster, Ninja
Mafia Goon - Neighbour, Goon

Neutral Benign - Amnesiac, Phantom, Survivor, Shade, Double
Neutral Evil - Bomber, Executioner, Jester, Witch, Warlock, Kleptomaniac
Neutral Killing - Arsonist, Serial Killer, Detonator

Unique - Transporter, Veteran, Jailor, Lawyer, Mayor, Retributionist, Godfather, Mafioso, Phantom, Witch

For all the rolecards in their current form go here.

Playing Town

Town, it's just as daunting if not more than Mafia and Neutrals. You make up the group that owns the majority at the beginning of the game and it is each and every members job to keep it that way. As a power role you have to use your ability to the fullest. Making sure to make the most of every night as the more information a town has, the stronger it is, and things like a successful heal or roleblocking the Godfather can be brutal to the Mafia or Neutrals.

Never fake-claim neutral, ever.

As Town, Neutrals are just as important to you as they are to the Mafia. You want the Benigns to be siding with you, any of them are invaluable. Neutral Evils can be bargained with other than the Witch, but do so with extreme caution since they can easily backstab town as they have done in the past. Neutral Killings are a different story, they can be extremely helpful in killing the mafia, but any NK worth their salt is going to secure a situation of a near town loss before intentionally targeting mafia. Killers cannot win with you and should rarely ever be bargained with unless the situation is dire.

Note: If you can spare the lynch and still win, be an awesome town and share the win with a Jester or Executioner.

Remember to keep the discussion on point and productive during the day, this is when the town is the strongest. Also never, and I can't stress this enough, let people make decisions for you it's your job to question their intentions/agenda/reads and not follow others blindly. On a final note, also never put a lot of stock into people acting "pro-town", it's Mafia's job to look like that and generally most Mafia will have someone on PR.

If you got a Citizen rolecard and are wondering how to effectively play as it, check out this guide from ObiWan looking at the Citizen.

Playing Mafia

Mafia have to keep one thing in mind, communication. With out it a Mafia team will fail or trip themselves up. Make sure to always talk at day and night until all areas are exhausted, it can't hurt to be prepared. Signalling is also a way to keep janitors and consiglieres info open to the other members, a common technique that's virtually impossible to detect, make sure to change it up from previous games though.

Remember that the goal is not for every mafia member to survive but to stall the town out until you can win, losing a member or two is fine so long as the town is losing many more in turn and are confused. Don't take this as a reason to not try and overt a lynch on a teammate, but if it cracks the cover of another member, saving a Mafia role may not be worth it. Subtle aversions and counter arguments should be given a shot as any town would question a lynch for a mislynch, right? But full blown shouting matches will hurt credibility when they flip Mafia, and you know they will.

Mafia can't just sit around and wait for the Town to lynch themselves during the day. Playing Mafia requires you to actively mis-lead and distract the thread in a manner that either looks innocent or is hard to track back and blame you for it. This can range from focusing on topics that have little meaning and get town no closer to hunting scum, trying to burry or skip over any posts that could be harmful or lead to harm for Mafia, and finally posting your own mis-leading analysis against other players and maybe pushing for the almighty mis-lynch.

Neutrals should be always be preserved or recruited (be weary of direct contact) if possible. Benigns and Evils relatively straight forward, killings are when things get dicey Neutral Killings, with the exception of Bomber have an interesting relationship with Mafia. They both need the extra kills and another threat to relieve pressure, using each other just until they are more trouble then they are worth. The key to dealing with Neutral Killings as Mafia is to keep them around long enough so when they are lynched you will have a majority vote the next day. Be careful however, smart killers will cut the mafia down and keep you in check if possible!

Playing Neutrals

Benign:

One of the most laid back factions. Most Survivors will hard claim day 1 to avoid conflict. After this all you should do is make clear your rules (ie don't transport, roleblock, witch, etc me) and pressure the Town, Mafia and Neutrals so they don't mess with you. Amnesiacs will usual either reveal under the guise of Survivor or stick to an incognito aproach, both have their pros and cons. Finally Phantoms have a mixed bag to deal with reveal and hope someone kills you or Town passes up a lynch, or try your best and act like a good target for scum, or maybe even for a Vigilante!

Evil:

Perhaps one of the most fun genre of role. Jesters should refrain from being obvious and aggravating generally you will just be ignored and shot, instead finesse is best used here. Try using the mass claim against the Town by picking a role, also try to adapt to the situation such as claim Doctor if a Serial Killer is present. All successful Executioners in the past all save a few have revealed as such and either Town had a nice majority or it was an awkward split endgame lynch. This method is sketchy at best and does not guarantee victory at all, in fact it may just make you get policy lynched!

A more methodical approach can be successful with a slow building argument against them to be released at a later date, that or claim an investigative role with dirt on them. Although the later may not be possible because of the rolelist. Finally the Witch, a powerful loner who can roleblock and force them to do her bidding. What you should be doing is messing with the town roles rather than finding that elusive NK or a member of the Mafia. You can tend to mess up their plans too, and you'd rather have the Mafia be doing exactly what they want. Also getting a Vigilante is a huge victory, as is finding the Veteran so try your best to always be targeting two different people.

Killling:

The dreaded NK. A both beloved and despised alignment among the community. Your main goal is to survive, nothing fancy. What you need to do as an NK is figure out the rolelist as fast as possible. Knowing when to kill town and when to kill Mafia is key. You want to keep their numbers relatively even, making sure a clear majority is no where in sight paving your way to victory. Neutral benigns and evils are very crucial to you, with only one vote yourself it's going to be hard for you end game, that's where they come in. So make friends with Neutrals if you want a good shot at winning.

Terminology

A comprehensive collection terminology made by TheCow and kept by RockFire, click this link to read up.

FAQ

Another more detailed FAQ by Santa07, click here for it.

Suggested Games To Read

Episode II And Cerilium's Role is - ! - Town Wins
2C Never Trust Rick - Serial Killer Wins
4B Herp, Derps and Fails - Full Time! - Mafia Wins
CFM 2 Electrowned - Bomber Wins

More Links
FM Main Hub
Questions, Answers & Suggestions
FM Moderators Announcements
FM Discord Chat
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby LeScraf » Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:04 pm

Metrion, might I suggest 3A being a game to read?
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby Santa07 » Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:41 pm

^ agreed

Also, suggest looking up how to spell 'terminology' terminalogy? :lol:
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby chitownmvp01 » Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:47 pm

This is great, Metrion! I highly recommend that everybody reads this before playing! It was very helpful! :D
Spoiler: Image


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Favorite Roles: Mayor, Jailor, Investigator, Lookout, Sheriff, Godfather, Consigliere
Least Favorite Roles: Transporter, Jester, Survivor, Disguiser, Mafioso (original, not promoted)
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby Nellyfox » Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:49 pm

Santa07 wrote:Also, suggest looking up how to spell 'terminology' terminalogy? :lol:

Don't be rude about typos, please. that's my job Some people don't like that. >,>
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby Metrion » Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:51 pm

I can see your reasoning what with the first Arsonist win, but the town as a whole in that game played terribly (with a few exceptions), the Mafia was fine up until they were wiped out, the Serial Killer had abysmal luck and Duck himself owed his win to luck over strategy.
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby Metrion » Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:54 pm

chitownmvp01 wrote:This is great, Metrion! I highly recommend that everybody reads this before playing! It was very helpful! :D


Thanks, I'm planning on expanding this too.

Also I hope that this thread helps solve the crowding of the stickies and that in the future people may have their guides instead linked in here.
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby Santa07 » Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:55 pm

btw ticky?
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby chitownmvp01 » Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:56 pm

Santa07 wrote:btw ticky?


I was going to suggest that too.
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Favorite Roles: Mayor, Jailor, Investigator, Lookout, Sheriff, Godfather, Consigliere
Least Favorite Roles: Transporter, Jester, Survivor, Disguiser, Mafioso (original, not promoted)
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby iggyvolz » Thu Jan 01, 2015 10:54 pm

Please add a section of "games not to read" and list every game I have ever moderated. Because my games usually go south pretty quickly :D #stillbettervampriesthantwilight
Greatest failures/shitshows:
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby Metrion » Mon Jan 19, 2015 6:40 am

Updated some stuff. How's it looking?
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby chitownmvp01 » Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:14 am

Metrion wrote:Updated some stuff. How's it looking?


Awesome! Keep up the great work! :D
Spoiler: Image


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Favorite Roles: Mayor, Jailor, Investigator, Lookout, Sheriff, Godfather, Consigliere
Least Favorite Roles: Transporter, Jester, Survivor, Disguiser, Mafioso (original, not promoted)
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby chitownmvp01 » Wed Jul 27, 2016 9:58 pm

@Met Firebrand and Marshal are missing in the OP under roles. Shade also isn't listed. Unless you were intending not to list roles still in experimental stages.
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Favorite Roles: Mayor, Jailor, Investigator, Lookout, Sheriff, Godfather, Consigliere
Least Favorite Roles: Transporter, Jester, Survivor, Disguiser, Mafioso (original, not promoted)
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby Santa07 » Thu Jul 28, 2016 4:41 pm

I'd say all these threads will probably get a revamp after the change.
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby chitownmvp01 » Thu Jul 28, 2016 5:11 pm

Santa07 wrote:I'd say all these threads will probably get a revamp after the change.


Good
Spoiler: Image


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Favorite Roles: Mayor, Jailor, Investigator, Lookout, Sheriff, Godfather, Consigliere
Least Favorite Roles: Transporter, Jester, Survivor, Disguiser, Mafioso (original, not promoted)
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby SirCakez » Thu Jul 28, 2016 8:00 pm

talk about a necrobump
Image

Image

Gobln wrote:FurCakez isn't so great? Are you kidding? When was the last time you saw a player with such an ability in Forum Mafia? Cakez takes the game in another level, and we will be blessed if we ever see a player with his skill and passion for the game again. gobln breaks records. FurCakez breaks the rules.
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby chitownmvp01 » Thu Jul 28, 2016 8:15 pm

SirCakez wrote:talk about a necrobump


Forum Rules wrote:If you post on a thread and have something to discuss related to the thread, you may bring it back.


I revived this dead thread to mention that the roles weren't updated in the OP.
Spoiler: Image


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Chitsticks INC.


Favorite Roles: Mayor, Jailor, Investigator, Lookout, Sheriff, Godfather, Consigliere
Least Favorite Roles: Transporter, Jester, Survivor, Disguiser, Mafioso (original, not promoted)
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby TrueGent » Thu Jul 28, 2016 8:17 pm

Just PM a mod.
she/her
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby chitownmvp01 » Thu Jul 28, 2016 9:36 pm

TrueGent wrote:Just PM a mod.


Well I already posted here. A mod will hopefully see the posts here and update it when they get a chance to. I don't want to pester them.
Spoiler: Image


Thanks Achro!: Spoiler:
Chitsticks INC.


Favorite Roles: Mayor, Jailor, Investigator, Lookout, Sheriff, Godfather, Consigliere
Least Favorite Roles: Transporter, Jester, Survivor, Disguiser, Mafioso (original, not promoted)
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby DotStar » Sat Jan 14, 2017 1:00 pm

But VH is tk....
Don't worry. It's perfectly fine to be lynched as jailor on D3. Yep. Perfectly normal. Even if you claim. Yep, on ranked practice too.
Hahaha..haha..ha.

Help me.
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby Arcthurus » Sat Jan 14, 2017 1:03 pm

Image


Spoiler: Image

Art Count: 3
Spoiler: Cyrus & Horane

---
Aeolus & Phoenix

---
Xero & (Priest)
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby chitownmvp01 » Sat Jan 14, 2017 1:07 pm

DotStar wrote:But VH is tk....


VH doesn't exist in FM. FM and TOS have their differences.

Also, the terminology thread is ran by Rock now. It still says Cow in the OP.
Spoiler: Image


Thanks Achro!: Spoiler:
Chitsticks INC.


Favorite Roles: Mayor, Jailor, Investigator, Lookout, Sheriff, Godfather, Consigliere
Least Favorite Roles: Transporter, Jester, Survivor, Disguiser, Mafioso (original, not promoted)
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Re: Forum Mafia Beginner's Hub

Postby JazzMusicStops » Sat Jan 14, 2017 3:39 pm

DotStar wrote:But VH is tk....

The door is there
I suggest you leave through it
Image


Spoiler: I'm probably just going to lurk forever, posting occasionally
But if there ever comes a point where my account speaks its last
Know that it was a pleasure to be here, especially in Forum Games
During my teenage years, this place was my first real community
Thank you all so much for playing silly games with me
I'll never forget you
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