The Hatter was in a bad mood. Eager to impress the charming young Alice he had idly asked her a riddle: "Why is a raven like a writing desk?". Alice had no answer and sadly nor did he, having never had one in mind in the first place. Unfortunately in the meantime a reporter for the Wonderland Times who had been present at the party had picked up on the riddle and printed it, promising an answer the following week. Since then half of Wonderland had been chasing him round in circles, pestering for an answer.
As he saw it if Alice could go down the rabbit hole there was no reason he couldn't go up it. In this way he escaped to make mischief in the world which you and I inhabit. And what better mad mischief than to swap around everyone's hats? I see that you have no answer. And I am not at all surprised, for indeed there is no finer mischief than a swapping around of hats.
I shall not relate to you what became of the Hatter. But as to the matter of the hats, a most unfortunate chain of events had been set in motion. You have no doubt heard of the notorious Hats Mafia. What better moment to strike than when the hats of the world were separated from their owners? And strike they did. Like all the best villains they chose their first target to send a message to the world.
OK, so their message is more-or-less that they hate mannequins, right? Or maybe they hate Santa Claus. But the rest of us are safe, right? It's not like they're going to hunt down and kill every hat-wearer in the world until they alone control all the hats, right? Right?
Basic Rules
* You should know the basic rules of Mafia by now, right?
* If not, why are you playing in a speciality game?
* We'll just go over some of the stuff that sometimes varies.
* Please post all votes and unvotes in bold.
* If you fail to do so or you fail to unvote before voting it might count or might not. Just don't do it.
* When you die you may make a single "goodbye" post only. It must not contain game-related content.
* You may not edit your posts but may double-post to achieve the same effect if absolutely necessary.
* Do not quote from any PM I have sent you when posting to the game thread. This includes linking to images in PMs.
Activity Rules
* Please read the thread every day if you can.
* If you occasionally can't then that's fine, but please catch up once you can.
* If due to unforeseen circumstances you will be away from the thread for more than 48 hours then let me know before you vanish.
* Do not lurk. You don't have to post every day, but make sure you play the game instead of just watching it.
* Do not ask to be replaced for any reason less serious than being run over by an eighteen-wheeler. "Because I suck," doesn't qualify. Suck less.
Special Rules
* A player may only wear one hat at a time.
* Each night a player may choose one hat in their possession to wear (or none), this happens before all night actions. This is normally the only opportunity to put on a hat.
* During the day any player may drop a hat they possess at any time by writing Drop: <name of hat>.
* During the day any player may pick up a hat on the ground at any time by writing Take: <name of hat>. You will receive the hat's description at the end of the day.
* Dead characters drop their hats on the ground.
* If you wear a hat, you may use its power. (Note that "action" means a night action unless otherwise specified.)
* If you wear your true hat, you may use its superpower. Some superpowers replace the hat's basic power whilst others are in addition to the basic power (you should be able to tell which from the hat description).
Any questions you may have about the setup or the rules of play should be asked to me via private message. If you address questions to me via the game thread they will be ignored.
LJustus will be assisting me in running the game at certain points. He is permitted to post to the thread as co-Moderator where required.
Most Fashionable Hat Wearers
BigTime
Charm_Master3125
Disrupt_Your_Hymn
GrathkisIsAGod
~Tilde~
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<Limited Clan>
A workman in faded blue overalls wandered along, pulling a battered trolley. Eventually he stopped and glanced around. This seemed about right.
The workman tipped some powder into his bucket of water and stirred it thoroughly. Then he took a large brush and applied some of the resulting paste to the very fabric of the universe itself. Once he had covered a sufficient area he unrolled a large poster and brushed it carefully onto the sticky patch.
The workman stood back to admire his work.
The poster read as follows...
Hats Mafia FAQ
(An Indispensable Resource For the Hard of Thinking)
1) There is a difference between a role description and a hat description. Some of you have received PMs containing both - don't confuse them!
2) Just because your PM tells you the name of your true hat, does not mean you already possess it. Check the names of the hats whose descriptions you have. Those are the only ones you are carrying at the start of the game.
3) Some of you start the game with one or more hats which are not your own. This does not stop you from reading the descriptions of the superpowers, but please stop trying to use them. They are not for you.
(More entires may be added to this FAQ later as more questions are asked frequently.)
Apparently satisfied, the workman wandered off again with his trolley.
It is still Night Zero. Do not start posting to the thread yet!
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<Limited Clan>
I love the the crisp, clear morning air. This early there is not a soul awake. The only sound is birdsong. The frost on the grass melts into tiny beads of moisture. But best of all is the skip.
The skip is big and yellow. Not the greenish yellow of a lemon or the glowing yellow of a canary. The skip is reluctantly yellow. It is streaked with rust, caked in mud and splashed with spots of cement. Stencilled on the side - not quite straight - is the word "Bodies". And that's why today is a good day: because the skip is empty.
I wonder how long that will last?
Welcome, gentlemen, to Day One!
There are currently no hats on the ground.
With twenty alive, eleven votes are required to lynch. Democracy is so civilized, don't you think?
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<Limited Clan>
GiaG does require attention due to gimick shenanigans, so I say: Off with his hat!
Knock hat off: GaiG
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GiaG does require attention due to gimick shenanigans, so I say: Off with his hat!
Knock hat off: GaiG
Hmmm,
@Bateleur- If this indeed works, I'll take crown
Otherwise, i'll leave the crown on the floor and keep my hat for now.
Vote Charm master....just because you can't see my brilliance doesn't give you an excuse to stalk me. Stalking is not a good thing to do, it's bad for your health
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Quote from god »
Good. Lord.
I am so done with mafia on this site. You people are too stupid to be dealt with. I feel like I am repeatedly ramming my head into a wall.
Quote from god »
Man... you totally nailed me there. I didnt' respond to a vague accusation that had no support, no quotes, no links and absolutly nothing backing it up.
I should try that plan with you. Az, you **** sheep. respond.
I find myself wondering if it wouldn't have been too much trouble to let a chap finish his breakfast first. Ah well.
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<Limited Clan>
As for this 'knocking hat off business', I'm not so sure that Charm was being serious, mostly because GiaG said,
Quote from GiaG »
Otherwise, i'll leave the crown on the floor and keep my hat for now.
Which wouldn't be the case had he really lost his hat due to that. Perhaps taking a hat from the ground caused him to lose the one he had?
Not sure of course, since Bate didn't mention anything like that in the game description.
-Alpha
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Quote from TheFooFish »
Lies! -I'm Buffy Summers, town tracker. I used my ability on you and saw that you didn't use any abilities before the game started. My flavor is I was sucked through a mysterious space-time portal and I'm here to kill all the vampires, and my tracking ability is a combination of my Slayer and Native American skills.
Alright, who's in favor of everyone giving me their hats for today?
*Raises hand*
The town and the mafia both lose their abilities, and I can guarantee that the scum's NKs won't be a problem for me. We immediately know every hat-based ability in the game, most of the town gets their true hats, and conceivably we can police things so that suspect players don't get hats at all.
I can guarantee that the scum's NKs won't be a problem for me. We immediately know every hat-based ability in the game, most of the town gets their true hats, and conceivably we can police things so that suspect players don't get hats at all.
Stop stop stop. STOP dropping hats and picking them up. If there are spare hats on the ground, the mafia have multiple players who can watch the thread and swoop in to pick them up.
Please put the Fez back on the ground and give the Crown back to Ged.
If there's going to be any exchanging of hats, we need to do it democratically. People under heavy suspicion of being scum cannot be allowed to pick up hats.
Quote from Azrael »
I can guarantee that the scum's NKs won't be a problem for me.
Alright, who's in favor of everyone giving me their hats for today?
*Raises hand*
The town and the mafia both lose their abilities, and I can guarantee that the scum's NKs won't be a problem for me. We immediately know every hat-based ability in the game, most of the town gets their true hats, and conceivably we can police things so that suspect players don't get hats at all.
Oh yes, most wise and benevolent, never fake the town out with faked smiley-only PRs Azrael.
We should completely trust you unflinchingly!
What a fantastic notion!
Also, seems somewhat interesting that Ged would drop something that sounds so glorious as a crown unless it was useless or beneficial to him to do so.
Not certain I would have picked it up so quickly.
-Alpha
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Quote from TheFooFish »
Lies! -I'm Buffy Summers, town tracker. I used my ability on you and saw that you didn't use any abilities before the game started. My flavor is I was sucked through a mysterious space-time portal and I'm here to kill all the vampires, and my tracking ability is a combination of my Slayer and Native American skills.
Oh yes, most wise and benevolent, never fake the town out with faked smiley-only PRs Azrael.
We should completely trust you unflinchingly!
What a fantastic notion!
Indeed you should. If the scum kills start tracking power roles with remarkable accuracy, then you'd know whom to lynch.
Beyond that, there's a pure 75% chance that I'm town.
Further, if necessary, there's someone who can vouch for the fact that NKs won't cause me any difficulty.
Alright, who's in favor of everyone giving me their hats for today?
*Raises hand*
The town and the mafia both lose their abilities, and I can guarantee that the scum's NKs won't be a problem for me. We immediately know every hat-based ability in the game, most of the town gets their true hats, and conceivably we can police things so that suspect players don't get hats at all.
Couple problems:
1) How are we supposed to enforce everyone giving you all their hats? We don't know how many hats each player has to begin with.
2) How can most of the town get their true hats without most of the scum getting their true hats as well?
3) Suspect players =/= scum. I wouldn't trust our Day 2 perceptions of players further than I could throw them as a guide for who should get hats and who shouldn't.
4) The "lynch me if things start going badly" argument is potentially flawed. For all we know, the mafia might be able to freely exchange hats among themselves at night or something. There are too many unknowns, here.
If we execute a plan like this, I do not want it to happen on Day 1. We can't make an informed decision as to whether or not it's a good idea, yet.
1) How are we supposed to enforce everyone giving you all their hats? We don't know how many hats each player has to begin with.
We get Charmmaster to knock everyone's hats off.
Also, via our superpowers, we can identify if certain Hats are missing.
Quote from Arimnaes »
2) How can most of the town get their true hats without most of the scum getting their true hats as well?
That's a possibility.
Quote from Azrael »
3) Suspect players =/= scum. I wouldn't trust our Day 2 perceptions of players further than I could throw them as a guide for who should get hats and who shouldn't.
I can identify town-aligned players pretty accurately these days.
Additionally, we can tell simply by reading certain hats which might be scum-aligned hats, and dictate that they shouldn't be picked up.
Quote from Arimnaes »
4) The "lynch me if things start going badly" argument is potentially flawed. For all we know, the mafia might be able to freely exchange hats among themselves at night or something. There are too many unknowns, here.
That would be hilarious, but you would still get a free scum lynch out of the bargain, and Charm could still knock their hats off to find them.
Quote from Arimnaes »
If we execute a plan like this, I do not want it to happen on Day 1. We can't make an informed decision as to whether or not it's a good idea, yet.
Today is the best time. We'll never have a good idea of what the scum are capable of, but we now have a golden opportunity to maximize our role power for the remainder of the game.
Azrael, we have no reason to trust you whatsoever. And arim's points about the logistics of a plan like yours make it pretty clear to me that we don't have enough to go on right now to implement it in a beneficial way.
Azrael, we have no reason to trust you whatsoever.
You don't need one.
Quote from DragonDart »
And arim's points about the logistics of a plan like yours make it pretty clear to me that we don't have enough to go on right now to implement it in a beneficial way.
So... you have inside information indicating he can use that ability an unlimited number of times each day, at will?
Today is the best time. We'll never have a good idea of what the scum are capable of, but we now have a golden opportunity to maximize our role power for the remainder of the game.
And then the scum will know EXACTLY what we are capable of, in full, from the beginning of the game. Right? That's what you want? Unvote, Vote Azrael
Also, via our superpowers, we can identify if certain Hats are missing.
I'm not even positive that Charm's ability is even really an ability, first of all, let alone you making the overarching assumption that he can do it as many times as he wants, to whoever he wants. Seems a bit unfair, in all reality.
Quote from Azrael »
That's a possibility.
Then why doesn't it worry you?
Quote from Azrael »
I can identify town-aligned players pretty accurately these days.
This does a fat lot of good if you are indeed scum.
Quote from Azrael »
Additionally, we can tell simply by reading certain hats which might be scum-aligned hats, and dictate that they shouldn't be picked up.
A little bit of an extreme plan without knowledge of your alignment. You claim that the worst that could happen is we get a free scum lynch out of the deal, but far from it. What happens if you are scum? You also have all of the hats, and who knows what happens to them at the point you die. If you are scum, any number of things could potentially be done, and if you were scum, this plan wouldn't be anywhere near your interest if there wasn't some sinister thing behind it.
Risky enough if they're your unfounded, pre-stated probabilities.
Of course, I don't see where 75/25 split comes in at all. To me you start as no different than anyone else at 50/50, but this plan nudges you in the more scummy direction.
Unfortunately the brazen-nature of the plan nudges you roughly back.
So... you have inside information indicating he can use that ability an unlimited number of times each day, at will?
My thoughts exactly.
-Alpha
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Quote from TheFooFish »
Lies! -I'm Buffy Summers, town tracker. I used my ability on you and saw that you didn't use any abilities before the game started. My flavor is I was sucked through a mysterious space-time portal and I'm here to kill all the vampires, and my tracking ability is a combination of my Slayer and Native American skills.
Do you have some reason for knowing (or assuming) that Charm Master's ability is real and unlimited in uses, Az? If so, it would be an utterly ridiculous and broken ability, since he could just use it five or so times on every player, wait until bateleur announces what hats are on the ground, and then just pick them all up.
Well, this is certainly one way to get out of the random phase. Right now, I think it's an interesting plan, but there are better ways to get all the information out in the open... everyone just says what the ability is on their hat. I don't necessarily think this is a good idea, either, but I'm not thinking Azrael is scum at this point.
Oh, and everyone has a 25% chance of being scum, not 50/50, since there are approximately 1 scum for every 3 townies.
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Level 1 Judge
Hey, you! Yeah, you behind the computer screen! You're unconstitutional.
Ah, the ground is nice and tidy again. I love nice, tidy ground.
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<Limited Clan>
Because the town outnumbers the scum three to one.
Quote from Alpha »
This does a fat lot of good if you are indeed scum.
A rather one sided assessment.
Quote from Alpha »
A little bit of an extreme plan without knowledge of your alignment. You claim that the worst that could happen is we get a free scum lynch out of the deal, but far from it. What happens if you are scum? You also have all of the hats, and who knows what happens to them at the point you die. If you are scum, any number of things could potentially be done, and if you were scum, this plan wouldn't be anywhere near your interest if there wasn't some sinister thing behind it.
If I die the hats get dropped. It's in the rules. And as previously stated, all Charm would have to do is knock somebody's hat off to identify them as scum, and there's likely other ways of identifying if folks have hats too.
Yes, clearly, IF I am scum I must have some diabolical plan at work.
....
You're assuming your conclusion.
Quote from Alpha
Risky enough if they"re your unfounded, pre-stated probabilities.
Of course, I don"t see where 75/25 split comes in at all. To me you start as no different than anyone else at 50/50, but this plan nudges you in the more scummy direction.
Unfortunately the brazen-nature of the plan nudges you roughly back.
[/quote »
Around 25% of the makeup of any given town is scum at the beginning of the game. If it were a 50-50 chance that any given person were scum, we would have already lost.
Further, please explain how the "brazen nature" of the plan is a scum tell, especially in the context of the player who proposed it....
[quote=arimnaes;/comments/10562530]Do you have some reason for knowing (or assuming) that Charm Master's ability is real and unlimited in uses, Az? If so, it would be an utterly ridiculous and broken ability, since he could just use it five or so times on every player, wait until bateleur announces what hats are on the ground, and then just pick them all up.
Nope, none at all. But even if it's only one-time use, it would be a cop investigation in the purely speculative nightmare scenario you described.
Well, this is certainly one way to get out of the random phase. Right now, I think it's an interesting plan, but there are better ways to get all the information out in the open... everyone just says what the ability is on their hat. I don't necessarily think this is a good idea, either, but I'm not thinking Azrael is scum at this point.
Oh, and everyone has a 25% chance of being scum, not 50/50, since there are approximately 1 scum for every 3 townies.
I considered that, but that lets the scum know what our superpowers are.
I didn't say that the brazen nature of the plan was a scum tell, I said it pushes you back in the area of "more likely town". Trust me, we agree on that point at least, I never said it was a scum tell, quite the opposite. Doesn't mean I agree with it.
And the 75/25 thing was just a mistake. Doesn't change the fact that I think the plan is very flawed.
Your entire basis for the plan being an ok idea is based on Charm's ability to knock everyone's hats off. If he doesn't have that, the plan is bunk indisputably.
-Alpha
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Quote from TheFooFish »
Lies! -I'm Buffy Summers, town tracker. I used my ability on you and saw that you didn't use any abilities before the game started. My flavor is I was sucked through a mysterious space-time portal and I'm here to kill all the vampires, and my tracking ability is a combination of my Slayer and Native American skills.
First: Tilde, do you have an account on Misetings? Same applies for Grak-tan over there.
Second: Democracy is for the weak.
Third: Azrael's win con is likely something along the lines of: "You win if you possess all the hats in the game". At which point it'll literally be a free-for-all for all the hats. not good.
Fourth: There's no need for anyone to have multiple hats. Everyone should be equal in headwear. That said...
Knock Hat Off: DYH
Pick up your hat!
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If the information is public, then we don't know all the hat abilities. Only you do, and only you get to use any hats tomorrow night... and then you give back hats to people you think are town, at your own discretion? Scum are certainly very good at determining who is town.
EBWODP: For the Record, I do have a Maximum quota on how many hats I can knock off before it gets boring. But that's also the point where the State doesn't want me knocking off more hats, so it all works out. At least in theory anyway. There's always that pesky thing called human greed that gets in the way of everything...I mena, that's why we're here, isn't it? the evils want all our hats so they'll kill us all to get them? Why not just petition to increase hat production? Actually, never mind that, the hat makers would then work more, and they'd demand more money, then they'd flaunt it and then everyone would want to make hats and there'd be no one to tend to the farms...
Why didn't you tell me about the fine print?
tl;dr: there is a limit to how many hats I can tip per day.
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And no sooner do I turn my back than hats are flying again. Fly, hats, fly!
Hats on the Ground
Beret
Oh. It didn't fly very far.
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<Limited Clan>
Knowing every ability on day one is "immediate" enough for me.
The problem here is that you're the only one who knows every ability on day one. Unless you plan on just listing all the hats and their abilities, which would appear to benefit the scum much more than the town, and could be done without everyone giving you their hats, then I don't see how we gain from this. We're putting our complete trust in you with absolutely no indication of your alignment. If you are scum, and even if we do lynch you over it, we have no way of knowing how much benefit this maneuver gives the scum. Knowing every hat and their abilities seems to be pretty important, more for the scum than the town.
The problem here is that you're the only one who knows every ability on day one. Unless you plan on just listing all the hats and their abilities, which would appear to benefit the scum much more than the town, and could be done without everyone giving you their hats, then I don't see how we gain from this. We're putting our complete trust in you with absolutely no indication of your alignment. If you are scum, and even if we do lynch you over it, we have no way of knowing how much benefit this maneuver gives the scum. Knowing every hat and their abilities seems to be pretty important, more for the scum than the town.
What I'm thinking is that I make a list of hat identities, not revealing their names. The town knows what abilities it can expect to see, and can help deliberate on which hats should be released back to the public.
That way, we work it out so no one can false claim an ability which doesn't exist, and we can still figure out a good deal about the scum's alignments when it comes down to them to claim their hats: we'll know what hats they gave up at the beginning of the game, and we'll be able to track whether their claims match up with the list and cross-reference everything so nothing gets screwed up.
There is one other possible advantage that I shouldn't discuss at the moment, but it would mean that all doubts about the information falling into enemy hands could be alleviated by tomorrow. You wouldn't have to trust my word on it, you could trust the word of a guaranteed townie to corroborate everything I tell you.
CM: if used in twilight, could be a very useful ability. Tip the hats off of 5 players, and poof, 5 players lose their abilities. Quite mean.
Azrael: Again, seems like his suggestion in 24 mafia. He was townie there, and im inclined to believe its another plan im opposed to, but isnt based off scum motives. He seems to make these plans alot day 1 as town.
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[19:59] greymon90210: Hey StormBlind how tall are you? "I'm six money *****, don't forget it"
"The Critics always said that we'd only have a black president when pigs flu"...
I didn't say that the brazen nature of the plan was a scum tell, I said it pushes you back in the area of "more likely town". Trust me, we agree on that point at least, I never said it was a scum tell, quite the opposite. Doesn't mean I agree with it.
...
Your entire basis for the plan being an ok idea is based on Charm's ability to knock everyone's hats off. If he doesn't have that, the plan is bunk indisputably.
tl;dr: there is a limit to how many hats I can tip per day.
Therefore, the plan as it is is bunk.
-Alpha
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Quote from TheFooFish »
Lies! -I'm Buffy Summers, town tracker. I used my ability on you and saw that you didn't use any abilities before the game started. My flavor is I was sucked through a mysterious space-time portal and I'm here to kill all the vampires, and my tracking ability is a combination of my Slayer and Native American skills.
What I'm thinking is that I make a list of hat identities, not revealing their names. The town knows what abilities it can expect to see, and can help deliberate on which hats should be released back to the public.
That way, we work it out so no one can false claim an ability which doesn't exist, and we can still figure out a good deal about the scum's alignments when it comes down to them to claim their hats: we'll know what hats they gave up at the beginning of the game, and we'll be able to track whether their claims match up with the list and cross-reference everything so nothing gets screwed up.
How are we going to figure out the scum alignments when they claim their hats? Do you think the scum are going to be easily distinguishable by their true hats?
There is one other possible advantage that I shouldn't discuss at the moment, but it would mean that all doubts about the information falling into enemy hands could be alleviated by tomorrow. You wouldn't have to trust my word on it, you could trust the word of a guaranteed townie to corroborate everything I tell you.
If we're going to have a guaranteed townie confirmed tomorrow, then I'd suggest that we wait until tomorrow and give all the hats to that player. I'm very hesitant about putting every ability in the game in someone's hands right now.
Nope, none at all. But even if it's only one-time use, it would be a cop investigation in the purely speculative nightmare scenario you described.
If Charm Master's ability is to knock people's hats off, then it likely only works on the hat they chose to wear. We would still have no way of verifying if someone was sandbagging extra hats without wearing them.
My nightmare scenario is speculative, true, but it's really not particularly far-fetched to speculate that the mafia can exchange hats amongst themselves. It's a possibility, and one that would make this plan work out terribly for the town if you're scum. Even if we lynched you, the scum would have traded a single player to render the entire town vanilla from the word go.
One thing I wonder is if the hats give the kill powers, or simply enhance them. What if we choose to destroy the hats instead of the players? Just a thought I had.
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Underrated, Overlooked
Thanks to THEY DID WHAT!? For the sweet banner!
Games played:3, 1 ongoing Times Town: 1, with 1 win Times Scum: 1, with 1 loss
How are we going to figure out the scum alignments when they claim their hats? Do you think the scum are going to be easily distinguishable by their true hats?
I think it will give us some inklings of who is, and who is not.
Quote from Goatrevolt »
If we're going to have a guaranteed townie confirmed tomorrow, then I'd suggest that we wait until tomorrow and give all the hats to that player. I'm very hesitant about putting every ability in the game in someone's hands right now.
Problem is, that player probably isn't going to have any method of nullifying the scum kills. I will.
If Charm Master's ability is to knock people's hats off, then it likely only works on the hat they chose to wear. We would still have no way of verifying if someone was sandbagging extra hats without wearing them.
Hmm, possibly. But I suspect we have roles that could punish them for that subterfuge.
Quote from Arimnaes »
My nightmare scenario is speculative, true, but it's really not particularly far-fetched to speculate that the mafia can exchange hats amongst themselves. It's a possibility, and one that would make this plan work out terribly for the town if you're scum. Even if we lynched you, the scum would have traded a single player to render the entire town vanilla from the word go.
*shakes head* I don't see any reason to believe that the mafia exchange hats differently than anyone else. Even if they could, Charm_master would be a multiple investigator versus them.
The plan still seems to have too many problems. Az is saying that we can just rely on CM's ability, but I don't see how we're guaranteeing that CM stays alive (even if Az is guaranteeing his own survival) or why we're assuming that CM's ability isn't granted by the hat he's wearing (which by Az's plan would go to Az).
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The Hatter was in a bad mood. Eager to impress the charming young Alice he had idly asked her a riddle: "Why is a raven like a writing desk?". Alice had no answer and sadly nor did he, having never had one in mind in the first place. Unfortunately in the meantime a reporter for the Wonderland Times who had been present at the party had picked up on the riddle and printed it, promising an answer the following week. Since then half of Wonderland had been chasing him round in circles, pestering for an answer.
As he saw it if Alice could go down the rabbit hole there was no reason he couldn't go up it. In this way he escaped to make mischief in the world which you and I inhabit. And what better mad mischief than to swap around everyone's hats? I see that you have no answer. And I am not at all surprised, for indeed there is no finer mischief than a swapping around of hats.
I shall not relate to you what became of the Hatter. But as to the matter of the hats, a most unfortunate chain of events had been set in motion. You have no doubt heard of the notorious Hats Mafia. What better moment to strike than when the hats of the world were separated from their owners? And strike they did. Like all the best villains they chose their first target to send a message to the world.
OK, so their message is more-or-less that they hate mannequins, right? Or maybe they hate Santa Claus. But the rest of us are safe, right? It's not like they're going to hunt down and kill every hat-wearer in the world until they alone control all the hats, right? Right?
Basic Rules
* You should know the basic rules of Mafia by now, right?
* If not, why are you playing in a speciality game?
* We'll just go over some of the stuff that sometimes varies.
* Please post all votes and unvotes in bold.
* If you fail to do so or you fail to unvote before voting it might count or might not. Just don't do it.
* When you die you may make a single "goodbye" post only. It must not contain game-related content.
* You may not edit your posts but may double-post to achieve the same effect if absolutely necessary.
* Do not quote from any PM I have sent you when posting to the game thread. This includes linking to images in PMs.
Activity Rules
* Please read the thread every day if you can.
* If you occasionally can't then that's fine, but please catch up once you can.
* If due to unforeseen circumstances you will be away from the thread for more than 48 hours then let me know before you vanish.
* Do not lurk. You don't have to post every day, but make sure you play the game instead of just watching it.
* Do not ask to be replaced for any reason less serious than being run over by an eighteen-wheeler. "Because I suck," doesn't qualify. Suck less.
Special Rules
* A player may only wear one hat at a time.
* Each night a player may choose one hat in their possession to wear (or none), this happens before all night actions. This is normally the only opportunity to put on a hat.
* During the day any player may drop a hat they possess at any time by writing Drop: <name of hat>.
* During the day any player may pick up a hat on the ground at any time by writing Take: <name of hat>. You will receive the hat's description at the end of the day.
* Dead characters drop their hats on the ground.
* If you wear a hat, you may use its power. (Note that "action" means a night action unless otherwise specified.)
* If you wear your true hat, you may use its superpower. Some superpowers replace the hat's basic power whilst others are in addition to the basic power (you should be able to tell which from the hat description).
Any questions you may have about the setup or the rules of play should be asked to me via private message. If you address questions to me via the game thread they will be ignored.
LJustus will be assisting me in running the game at certain points. He is permitted to post to the thread as co-Moderator where required.
Most Fashionable Hat Wearers
BigTime
Charm_Master3125
Disrupt_Your_Hymn
GrathkisIsAGod
~Tilde~
Notable Hat Wearers of History
A Mannequin - Shot with an arrow during the introduction. At least its hat won't fall off now.
Azrael - The Cisco Kid (Town) - Lynched quite suddenly, Day One
jerubbaal - Vincent Van Gogh (Mafia) - Died in a blaze of light, Day One
arimnaes - Dick Tracy (Town) - Lynched, but not at all suddenly, Day Two
DragonDart - Lucky Luke (Town) - Turned out not to be quite as lucky as his name implied, Night Two
Orange Flower - Harry Potter (Mafia) - Lynched for reasons too numerous to fit in the margin, Day Three
fadeblue - Godzilla (Town) - Met a hatless end, Night Three
Dagger - Hagar the Horrible (Neutral) - Chopped into bite-sized chunks, Night Three
goatrevolt - Elvis Presley (Mafia) - Cleaned and gently disinfected, Day Four
Ged - Silent Bob (Town) - Missing, presumed dead, Night Four
Sutherlands - Indiana Jones (Town) - Was involved in a road traffic incident, Day Five
AlphaInsidious - Fred Astaire (Town) - Broken like an egg, Night Five
Xyre - Krusty the Clown (Town) - Impaled on a toast soldier, Night Five.
aurorasparrow - Tommy Cooper (Town) - Took on a new role as a cameraman, Day Six.
Cyan - Steven Seagal (Town) - Crushed by the replacement skip, Night Six.
StormBlind - Winston Churchill (Mafia) - Surrendered to the inevitable, Day Seven
GAME OVER - Town Wins
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
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<Limited Clan>
The workman tipped some powder into his bucket of water and stirred it thoroughly. Then he took a large brush and applied some of the resulting paste to the very fabric of the universe itself. Once he had covered a sufficient area he unrolled a large poster and brushed it carefully onto the sticky patch.
The workman stood back to admire his work.
The poster read as follows...
Hats Mafia FAQ
(An Indispensable Resource For the Hard of Thinking)
1) There is a difference between a role description and a hat description. Some of you have received PMs containing both - don't confuse them!
2) Just because your PM tells you the name of your true hat, does not mean you already possess it. Check the names of the hats whose descriptions you have. Those are the only ones you are carrying at the start of the game.
3) Some of you start the game with one or more hats which are not your own. This does not stop you from reading the descriptions of the superpowers, but please stop trying to use them. They are not for you.
(More entires may be added to this FAQ later as more questions are asked frequently.)
Apparently satisfied, the workman wandered off again with his trolley.
It is still Night Zero. Do not start posting to the thread yet!
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
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MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
The skip is big and yellow. Not the greenish yellow of a lemon or the glowing yellow of a canary. The skip is reluctantly yellow. It is streaked with rust, caked in mud and splashed with spots of cement. Stencilled on the side - not quite straight - is the word "Bodies". And that's why today is a good day: because the skip is empty.
I wonder how long that will last?
Welcome, gentlemen, to Day One!
There are currently no hats on the ground.
With twenty alive, eleven votes are required to lynch. Democracy is so civilized, don't you think?
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
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MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
I guess I'll start off the obligatory random vote on a gimmick account shenanigans.
Do you feel the overwhelming pressure of my vote?
Heh.
We'll make you an offer you can't refuse.
Hosting: Vista Mafia
Hosted: Intrigue Mafia (Mini), Seance #43 (Basic), Conflux Mafia (Normal), Goo Mafia (FTQ), Experiment #26 (Basic)
Ongoing/Completed - 0/41
Town/Mafia/SK/Survivor - 30/6/4/1
NKed/Lynched/Survived - 15/11/15
GiaG does require attention due to gimick shenanigans, so I say:
Off with his hat!
Knock hat off: GaiG
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V/LA: 3/21-3/24 & 3/27-3/29
Hmmm,
@Bateleur- If this indeed works, I'll take crown
Otherwise, i'll leave the crown on the floor and keep my hat for now.
Vote Charm master....just because you can't see my brilliance doesn't give you an excuse to stalk me. Stalking is not a good thing to do, it's bad for your health
V/LA: 3/21-3/24 & 3/27-3/29
Vote Count
1 - GrathkisIsAGod (goatrevolt)
1 - Azrael (Dagger)
1 - Charm_Master3125 (GrathkisIsAGod)
Hats on the Ground
Fez
I find myself wondering if it wouldn't have been too much trouble to let a chap finish his breakfast first. Ah well.
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
take fez
Vote: Ged for randomness' sake.
There. That should get us started.
@Charm: Why did you do that?
Charm_Master actually just knocked that hat off? Why would you do that during the random vote stage?
Unvote, Vote Charm_Master
As for this 'knocking hat off business', I'm not so sure that Charm was being serious, mostly because GiaG said,
Which wouldn't be the case had he really lost his hat due to that. Perhaps taking a hat from the ground caused him to lose the one he had?
Not sure of course, since Bate didn't mention anything like that in the game description.
-Alpha
*Raises hand*
The town and the mafia both lose their abilities, and I can guarantee that the scum's NKs won't be a problem for me. We immediately know every hat-based ability in the game, most of the town gets their true hats, and conceivably we can police things so that suspect players don't get hats at all.
You're not serious are you?
Note to self: Your mafia theories are usually wrong, so don't act on them.
Stop stop stop. STOP dropping hats and picking them up. If there are spare hats on the ground, the mafia have multiple players who can watch the thread and swoop in to pick them up.
Please put the Fez back on the ground and give the Crown back to Ged.
If there's going to be any exchanging of hats, we need to do it democratically. People under heavy suspicion of being scum cannot be allowed to pick up hats.
Oh yes, most wise and benevolent, never fake the town out with faked smiley-only PRs Azrael.
We should completely trust you unflinchingly!
What a fantastic notion!
Also, seems somewhat interesting that Ged would drop something that sounds so glorious as a crown unless it was useless or beneficial to him to do so.
Not certain I would have picked it up so quickly.
-Alpha
Note to self: Your mafia theories are usually wrong, so don't act on them.
I am deadly serious.
Indeed you should. If the scum kills start tracking power roles with remarkable accuracy, then you'd know whom to lynch.
Beyond that, there's a pure 75% chance that I'm town.
Further, if necessary, there's someone who can vouch for the fact that NKs won't cause me any difficulty.
1) How are we supposed to enforce everyone giving you all their hats? We don't know how many hats each player has to begin with.
2) How can most of the town get their true hats without most of the scum getting their true hats as well?
3) Suspect players =/= scum. I wouldn't trust our Day 2 perceptions of players further than I could throw them as a guide for who should get hats and who shouldn't.
4) The "lynch me if things start going badly" argument is potentially flawed. For all we know, the mafia might be able to freely exchange hats among themselves at night or something. There are too many unknowns, here.
If we execute a plan like this, I do not want it to happen on Day 1. We can't make an informed decision as to whether or not it's a good idea, yet.
and a 25% chance you're pure scum.
One more thing:
which doesn't jive with your statement here.
So either you can tell what every hat does as soon as you get it, or you have some other reason to have all the hats. (like crippling the town?)
non-random Vote Azrael
Note to self: Your mafia theories are usually wrong, so don't act on them.
We get Charmmaster to knock everyone's hats off.
Also, via our superpowers, we can identify if certain Hats are missing.
That's a possibility.
I can identify town-aligned players pretty accurately these days.
Additionally, we can tell simply by reading certain hats which might be scum-aligned hats, and dictate that they shouldn't be picked up.
That would be hilarious, but you would still get a free scum lynch out of the bargain, and Charm could still knock their hats off to find them.
Today is the best time. We'll never have a good idea of what the scum are capable of, but we now have a golden opportunity to maximize our role power for the remainder of the game.
Terribly risky odds, aren't they?
Knowing every ability on day one is "immediate" enough for me.
You don't need one.
See above.
So... you have inside information indicating he can use that ability an unlimited number of times each day, at will?
And then the scum will know EXACTLY what we are capable of, in full, from the beginning of the game. Right? That's what you want?
Unvote, Vote Azrael
V/LA: 3/21-3/24 & 3/27-3/29
I'm not even positive that Charm's ability is even really an ability, first of all, let alone you making the overarching assumption that he can do it as many times as he wants, to whoever he wants. Seems a bit unfair, in all reality.
Then why doesn't it worry you?
This does a fat lot of good if you are indeed scum.
A little bit of an extreme plan without knowledge of your alignment. You claim that the worst that could happen is we get a free scum lynch out of the deal, but far from it. What happens if you are scum? You also have all of the hats, and who knows what happens to them at the point you die. If you are scum, any number of things could potentially be done, and if you were scum, this plan wouldn't be anywhere near your interest if there wasn't some sinister thing behind it.
Risky enough if they're your unfounded, pre-stated probabilities.
Of course, I don't see where 75/25 split comes in at all. To me you start as no different than anyone else at 50/50, but this plan nudges you in the more scummy direction.
Unfortunately the brazen-nature of the plan nudges you roughly back.
My thoughts exactly.
-Alpha
Oh, and everyone has a 25% chance of being scum, not 50/50, since there are approximately 1 scum for every 3 townies.
Hey, you! Yeah, you behind the computer screen! You're unconstitutional.
America == Velociraptor
Play IRC mafia. (/join #mafia)
Vote Count
3 - Azrael (Dagger, ~Tilde~, DragonDart)
1 - GrathkisIsAGod (goatrevolt)
1 - Charm_Master3125 (GrathkisIsAGod)
1 - Ged (Orange Flower)
1 - DYH (AlphaInsidious)
Hats on the Ground
(none)
Ah, the ground is nice and tidy again. I love nice, tidy ground.
(I'm on on this site much anymore. If you want to get in touch it's probably best to email me: dom@heffalumps.org)
Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
5CB PotM - June 2005, November 2005, February 2006, April 2008, May 2008, Feb 2009
MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
Who said anything about making the knowledge fully available to the public?
Because the town outnumbers the scum three to one.
A rather one sided assessment.
If I die the hats get dropped. It's in the rules. And as previously stated, all Charm would have to do is knock somebody's hat off to identify them as scum, and there's likely other ways of identifying if folks have hats too.
Yes, clearly, IF I am scum I must have some diabolical plan at work.
....
You're assuming your conclusion.
Nope, none at all. But even if it's only one-time use, it would be a cop investigation in the purely speculative nightmare scenario you described.
I considered that, but that lets the scum know what our superpowers are.
And the 75/25 thing was just a mistake. Doesn't change the fact that I think the plan is very flawed.
Your entire basis for the plan being an ok idea is based on Charm's ability to knock everyone's hats off. If he doesn't have that, the plan is bunk indisputably.
-Alpha
Second: Democracy is for the weak.
Third: Azrael's win con is likely something along the lines of: "You win if you possess all the hats in the game". At which point it'll literally be a free-for-all for all the hats. not good.
Fourth: There's no need for anyone to have multiple hats. Everyone should be equal in headwear. That said...
Knock Hat Off: DYH
Pick up your hat!
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Why didn't you tell me about the fine print?
tl;dr: there is a limit to how many hats I can tip per day.
Currently Playing:
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Hats on the Ground
Beret
Oh. It didn't fly very far.
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Forum Awards: Best Writer 2005, Best Limited Strategist 2005-2012
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MTGSalvation Articles: 1-20, plus guest appearance on MTGCast #86!
<Limited Clan>
The problem here is that you're the only one who knows every ability on day one. Unless you plan on just listing all the hats and their abilities, which would appear to benefit the scum much more than the town, and could be done without everyone giving you their hats, then I don't see how we gain from this. We're putting our complete trust in you with absolutely no indication of your alignment. If you are scum, and even if we do lynch you over it, we have no way of knowing how much benefit this maneuver gives the scum. Knowing every hat and their abilities seems to be pretty important, more for the scum than the town.
What I'm thinking is that I make a list of hat identities, not revealing their names. The town knows what abilities it can expect to see, and can help deliberate on which hats should be released back to the public.
That way, we work it out so no one can false claim an ability which doesn't exist, and we can still figure out a good deal about the scum's alignments when it comes down to them to claim their hats: we'll know what hats they gave up at the beginning of the game, and we'll be able to track whether their claims match up with the list and cross-reference everything so nothing gets screwed up.
There is one other possible advantage that I shouldn't discuss at the moment, but it would mean that all doubts about the information falling into enemy hands could be alleviated by tomorrow. You wouldn't have to trust my word on it, you could trust the word of a guaranteed townie to corroborate everything I tell you.
Here is Stormblind checking in on page 2.
My thoughts this far:
CM: if used in twilight, could be a very useful ability. Tip the hats off of 5 players, and poof, 5 players lose their abilities. Quite mean.
Azrael: Again, seems like his suggestion in 24 mafia. He was townie there, and im inclined to believe its another plan im opposed to, but isnt based off scum motives. He seems to make these plans alot day 1 as town.
Therefore, the plan as it is is bunk.
-Alpha
Gotcha. Sounds reasonable.
How are we going to figure out the scum alignments when they claim their hats? Do you think the scum are going to be easily distinguishable by their true hats?
If we're going to have a guaranteed townie confirmed tomorrow, then I'd suggest that we wait until tomorrow and give all the hats to that player. I'm very hesitant about putting every ability in the game in someone's hands right now.
My nightmare scenario is speculative, true, but it's really not particularly far-fetched to speculate that the mafia can exchange hats amongst themselves. It's a possibility, and one that would make this plan work out terribly for the town if you're scum. Even if we lynched you, the scum would have traded a single player to render the entire town vanilla from the word go.
*eyebrow*
If he can ONLY investigate five players a day, the plan is bunk, huh?
I think it will give us some inklings of who is, and who is not.
Problem is, that player probably isn't going to have any method of nullifying the scum kills. I will.
Hmm, possibly. But I suspect we have roles that could punish them for that subterfuge.
*shakes head* I don't see any reason to believe that the mafia exchange hats differently than anyone else. Even if they could, Charm_master would be a multiple investigator versus them.
I would strongly advise against any townie picking up the beret unless it's their true hat. Scum, you're welcome to it.
V/LA: 3/21-3/24 & 3/27-3/29