Starmen.Net

The Basics:
In a nutshell, Mafia is a murder mystery game. The best way of visualizing it is like that episode of that show you saw that one time. You know, where all the characters are invited to a party in a stormy mansion on an island or something, and all the characters are having dinner. Suddenly, the lights go out, when they come back on, someone’s been murdered! Since the only people present are the dinner guests, that means SOMEONE IN THIS ROOM… IS A MURDERER! The Town doesn’t know who the murderers (a.k.a. The Mafia) are, and their goal is to track down the murderers and eliminate them. The murderers (a.k.a. The Mafia) know who each other are, and will do their best to deceive the Town and avoid being eliminated.

In Mafia, the players are generally divided into two opposing factions: the Town and the Mafia. The Town’s goal is to eliminate all threats to the Town, including the Mafia. The Mafia’s goal is to outnumber the Townspeople in order to seize control. There are occasionally other, independent factions, whose motives are known only to themselves. What this game really boils down to is eliminating people who are getting in your way.

Mafia takes place in two repeating cycles: Day and Night.

Day:
During the day, all of the players (mafia included) gather to discuss the current situation. The Townies are trying to figure out who among them are members of the Mafia, and everyone will have the option to vote for one suspicious individual. If a majority of the Townspeople vote for one player, that player is voted out by the Town and eliminated from the game. Players must have a majority vote by the end of the day; however, not enough votes means that nobody dies that day.
During the day cycle, players can discuss and debate, pointing fingers and defending themselves as they see fit, all in an attempt to figure out who to vote for. Meanwhile, the Mafia will be participating as well, attempting to steer the conversation and players’ attention in ways that will benefit their designs.
Each day will last either until a voting decision is reached, or until a specific amount of real time has passed.

Night:
Unless somebody’s role says otherwise, at night, nobody is allowed to speak. Instead, players whose roles have night abilities will take this time to send in their actions, via PM, to the Narrator. The Mafia will also be active, conspiring and deciding on a single player to kill that night.
One a specific amnt of real time has passed, the Night will end and the nest Day will begin.
The game continues in this fashion until one faction wins the game.

How This Works:
After you sign up, and after signups are closed, but before the game starts, you will receive a PM from The Narrator. This PM will contain your Role. In this PM will be your role name, your night ability (which will be explained later in this post), your alignment (alignment describes if you’re Town, Mafia, or Independent), and your win condition.

If you’re Town, your PM marks you as a Townie. You will not know the roles of the other players, only your own role. Make your way to the mafia board, and comment in the Night 0 thread.

If you’re Mafia, your PM marks you as Mafia, and you will have access to the MAfia Den which is where you will go t learn who your fellow Mafioso are and discuss things in private with the other Mafioso.

Terms and functions within mafia to remember:

Elimination: Once the number of votes for a single player has reached majority, that player will be eliminated from the game. This is also commonly known by players as a “yeet,” and was formerly called a “lynch,” although the latter term has fallen out of favor as of late.

Finger of Suspicion: This is a way of publicly declaring your suspicion for another player. Although it is tracked by the Narrator in the same way botes are, it does not have any power and does not count towards a majority for eliminations. Often abbreviated as “FoS.”

Mafia Den/The Den: The Mafia Den is a private board only accessible to members of the Mafia. Mafia members can use it to freely talk to each other at all times during the game.

Night Kill/Factional Kill: A Night kill is any kill that occurs at Night and is distinct from a death by elimination. The factional kill is a kill used by the Mafiato kill every Night. This kill is distinct from a role and can be carried out by any one member of the Mafia. It is called a “factional” kill because it is used by the Mafia faction. Sometimes Town members or Independent players are able to perform a Night kill, but it is most common in the hands of Mafia.

Night Action: A Night action is any action that can be performed during the Night phase. If you are a Townie, Night actions are performed by sending a private message directly to the Narrator with the specifics of your action. If you are a Mafiat, Night actions are performed by sending a message in the Night Action Submission thread, which is located in the Den. Results will be sent to the Mafia as a whole, rather than directly to the player who performed the action.

Roleclaim/Fakeclaim: roleclaiming is publicly claiming your role in the game thread. This can be useful for clearing your name if you are being suspected, or for getting more information on the table; however, doing so also gives information to the Mafia about who has the powerful roles. Fakeclaiming is a tactic employed by Mafia members, which is claiming a role you do not have.

Win condition: The requirements necessary for you to win the game. The Town wins when there are no more Mafia members left in the game, therefore no more Town members are able to die, and the Mafia wins when the number of Town members is equal to or less than the Mafia’s numbers, therefore no elimination on a Mafia member can take place without a Mafia member voting for their own. As this is a team game, it is still possible to win after death as long as your team wins.

Flavor: Flavor is anything related specifically to the story/characters of this game. It is separated from role mechanics and has no bearing on the game itself; it is only for fun. The characters included in the story and in your role PMs are classified as flavr, and the short blurb at the beginning of this post as well as any Day and Night posts is also considered flavor. Flavor is not to be analyzed or used to solve the game, and the story revolving around deaths is not to be used to try and deduce who the mafia are. (I assure you, you will find nothing of value by analyzing the write-ups.) Flavor claiming, or claiming your character, is permitted in this game.

This game is designed specifically for those new to mafia. As such, only those classified as newbies may sign up. Newbies are defined as either those who have not played a mafia game before or those who have played 1-3 mafia games and feel that their experience is limited and could use a more introductory approach to this game.

UPDATE: Signups are now open to players of all experience; however, newbies will still take priority in the event of surplus signups.

There are 12 available slots in this game. It may not be possible to fill every slot with a newbie, so some more experienced players may have to come on in this case. (Your p@s$w0rd is any object starting with the last letter of your username.) If you are a player with more experience, you may sign up as a replacement, and in the event that there are available slots in the game proper, you may be able to play when the game starts. All players should state their experience with mafia (or lack thereof) when signing up.

This game has an estimated 1.5 on the patented Dandee Meter^™. The setup will be basic and easy to understand from a new player’s point of view.

4 veteran players have been chosen prior to signups being opened. 3 of these players will function as Treestumps in this game: having no vote, not counting towards number of players or majority for eliminations, having no role, and unable to be targeted by any role in the game; but they will be aligned with a faction and be able to speak in the game threads. These players will be able to provide opinions, give advice and make suggestions, and generally be available to the newbies in the game. They cannot influence the outcome of the game, but they can help you make good decisions. The fourth player acts as an advisor. They are fully aware of the setup but are not directly involved in the game. They are available for you to privately PM with questions on your role, ask for advice on how to handle situations in the game, and be there for you if you need to vent about the game. The identities of these players will be revealed after signups close.

You may need a Discord account in order to participate in this game, so make sure you have one prepared.

Flavor claims and roleclaims are 100% permitted in this game.

1) Do not edit your posts for any reason.
Everything you say can and will be used against you in a trial by your peers. All posts are evidence, and tampering with evidence will get you ejected from the game on sight, no exceptions. If you make a spelling mistake, don’t worry about it, nobody cares.

2) Double-posting is okay.

This is really just a result of the previous rule, but it bears mentioning. Obviously don’t spam the board, but feel free to add another post if more comes to mind once you’ve already replied.

3) Remain active in the game.

This game can, and probably will, take a long time. At least a month. Probably longer. By signing up, you’re promising to keep up with the game until it’s over. (Note: There’s a difference between lying low and neglecting the game, and the difference is obvious.) If something comes up, please PM The Narrator about getting a replacement switched in. Unaccounted-for inactivity will result in removal or replacement. If you have something coming up that will undoubtedly make you inactive for a short time (you’re moving, are going on vacation, have final exams coming up, etc), you will post in the gamethread V/LA: Exams through 2/29 (or whatever your reason is) with when you expect to return or have regular availability.

4) Do not talk about Mafia outside of the dedicated official Mafia channels.

The mafia channels include the Mafia board and PMs to The Narrator. If your role involves other communications, you will be made aware of this fact. Otherwise, talking outside of the Mafia board is considered cheating and is grounds for ejection from the game, depending on severity. This includes sending unsanctioned PMs to people in the game and sharing info with people in real life who are or could become players. Please do not do this. Note: games in the past have included a spectator chat and graveyard chat for people to discuss the events of these games. Inclusion in any such chats is a privilege, and abuse of information included in these chats counts as cheating of the highest order. Punishment for such an action will be harsh and could include a permanent blacklisting from Starmen mafia games. Please use discretion and good judgment if you join such a chat, because abuse of these chats could lead to them being discontinued. Nobody wants that.

5) Days do not begin or end until The Narrator says so.

This is pretty self explanatory: unless the Narrator calls it, days will not begin nor end.
However, there is one exception. Due to the asynchronous nature of the boards, it is not always possible for us to be around. In the event that a player reaches enough votes to be eliminated, and neither of us are able to write up an End of Day post, we will switch the current cycle from day to twilight. When it is twilight, players are not allowed to talk about the game in ANY CAPACITY. They are allowed to talk about current events, video games, etc. Bear in mind that when it is twilight, an EoD post is coming soon, so don’t think twilight will last very long.

6) Send all night actions via PM, personally, to The Narrator only.

Unless otherwise stated, you cannot send a message to another player to forward to The Narrator, nor can you send a message to The Narrator on behalf of another player. That’s just not how it works.

7) Do not screenshot or quote any messages from The Narrator.

Unless otherwise stated, any information you receive in a PM is confidential and may not be posted verbatim in the public mafia board. (Mafia dens are fair game, though.) When posting in the public mafia board, you may paraphrase what was said in any such PMs, and you may reveal any and all information you choose to reveal. However, you may not provide or ask for hard proof of what was sent to you by The Narrator. If everyone did this, the Mafia would lose almost immediately.

8) Do not roleplay as your character.

While revealing your character is permissible in this game, roleplaying tends to clutter up the game thread and make it difficult for legitimate discussion to take place.

9) Pay attention to real time.

Day cycles will start at five real days, and will decrease in length as the total number of players drops (to avoid excessive stagnation). Night cycles will last two real days. Be sure to send in your night actions within the first 24 hours of the Night cycle. This allows The Narrator to tabulate and resolve all of the actions before the end of the cycle.

10) No unsportsmanlike behavior.

Mafia is a game of lies and deception, so people aren’t going to trust you. You’re going to be asked to defend yourself, and you’re going to be called a liar. This kind of thing can get under people’s skin sometimes, especially when your fellow comrades seem to be stabbing you in the back. While this can sometimes be upsetting, it’s a big part of the game. This does NOT mean you should be a bad sport and take these things personally.
Name calling and insults, no matter how minor, counts as unsportsmanlike behavior and will not be tolerated. For example, calling someone a liar because their claim doesn’t match up with their past behavior is okay. Calling someone an idiot for bandwagoning on a vote is unsportsmanlike.
Playing against your own team’s win condition to get revenge or otherwise throw the game for any reason is also unsportsmanlike. For example, if you’re a townie, and you deliberately try to get someone eliminated for trivial reasons such as “being a jerk”, that’s not allowed. Similarly, getting upset that one of your fellow Mafia buddies is voting for you to make themselves look innocent and then revealing the identities of one or more mafia members is also not acceptable.
This last one is especially problematic as once that intel has been outed, it can never truly be taken back.
Basically, unsportsmanlike behavior is any conduct that deliberately hurts others. Those who participate in unsportsmanlike conduct can be subject, but not limited to, ejection from the game, all the way up to blacklisting.

The rules on unsportsmanlike behavior are especially important in this game. We want this game to be a calm and enjoyable entry into the game of mafia, and unsportsmanlike behavior increases tensions within the thread and tends to make the game not fun for anyone. As such, punishment will be stricter and instances of behavior classified as unsportsmanlike will be dealt with more swiftly than usual. Please do not force us to punish you.

If you have any questions regarding the rules or your character role, please PM The Narrator, or, after the game starts, the advisor.

Blacklist Removal Policy
Removal from the blacklist will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
If you have been placed on the blacklist due to inactivity, you will be removed after one full game has passed.
If you are swapped out for inactivity more than once, you will have to make an appeal via PM to The Narrator before you can be removed.
If you are blacklisted for any reason other than inactivity (Unsportsmanlike behavior, screenshotting Mafia PMs, etc.), you will have to make an appeal before you can be removed from the blacklist.
Appeals will be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
If an appeal is approved and you are once again blacklisted, you can submit another appeal; however, the chances of getting the appeal accepted will be much slimmer.

The Narrator’s word is final.

Any decision that The Narrator makes its ultimately final. If you believe a decision made by The Narrator was unfair, you may send them a PM stating your case and The Narrator may or may not make any changes they deem appropriate. Ultimately, The Narrator has the last word.

Sign up details

In order to sign up, read through ALL the rules VERY carefully, and simply post in this thread with the password. When you read the rules very carefully, the answer will become clear. If you cannot correctly post the code, you will not be allowed to play. Sorry.
This is a 12 player game. Only players classified as newbies according to the criteria outlined in the “Rules specifically for this game” section may sign up for the game proper. However, due to the limitations of this system, gaining replacements may be more difficult, so we will accept players who do not fall under this criteria if they sign up as a replacement. If you would like to sign up as a replacement for this game, please specify your experience with mafia and state that you would like to be added to the replacement list. If there is a surplus of newbies, the signup list will be randomized and the extra players will be added to the replacement list. Newbies will take priority over players with more experience on the replacement list.

Because a surplus of names will lead to a lesser chance of being selected for the game, please only sign up if you know for sure that you’ll have enough time and commitment to actively participate in this round of Mafia. If you can’t, it would be polite to leave your slot available to someone who can.