The Syndicate

Roles pics up now.

Turnip Head wrote:

Long Con wrote:Ok, I have the Roles list filled out in a basic way. I'll probably edit in some pics and a short descriptive sentence for each one, but the bare bones are there for your enjoyment.

Is this a game that sounds fun? I hope so, I think each role has some decent fun opportunities.

Will we still get pictures for the roles? That's always one of my favorite parts of an LC game, the characters are always so iconic I see even John Locke is making an appearance!

I'd better get on that.

G-Man wrote:The Minstrel's Corner: Any time two or more players occupy this space, dead players may compete for a resurrection prize. Each dead player wishing to compete must re-write the lyrics to a popular song so that the song is now a resurrection request. The host or a panel of non-participating forum users will decide which re-written lyrics are the best and the player submitting them shall be resurrected.

The Portraitist's Gallery: Any player occupying this space must spend the duration of their stay communicate in the thread using only pictures.

The Fortuneteller's Den: Any player occupying this space must spend the duration of their stay communicating with the thread via the responses of a standard Magic 8 Ball.

The Jester's Stage: Anyone occupying this space may submit three names to the Mad Jester, who will select one of them to be forced to colorize their posts for a full day.

The Potionmaster's Cove: Any player occupying this space must spend the duration of their stay praising the alluring and masculine scents in the Old Spice line of products.

Never mind, I see now - I missed this post at first!

MovingPictures07 wrote:

Long Con wrote:Maybe, but the baddies are more limited than some baddie teams due to the range restriction on their kills. Also, not all Independents will be so by the game's end.

Interesting.

I just now saw that you have listed powers. They look neat!

I think it will be a fun one for a lot of players. I don't have a role in here that I would not want to play as myself.

Not entirely sure how they impact the balance, but I'm sure you've analyzed that, considering you're LC.

LOL I feel like most of our games have come with the "this game is experimental" disclaimer. The biggest factor that will influence this game, in my opinion, is the map-BTSC that can happen when people are on the same square. It was an important piece of winning the Flash game (also map-based) - BR brought Bass, a known Indy, in to BTSC to discuss an endgame where he votes with us and shares the victory with us and not the Civvies.

Maybe, but the baddies are more limited than some baddie teams due to the range restriction on their kills. Also, not all Independents will be so by the game's end.

This game will have some Quest Win Conditions... Win Conditions that you can acquire and fulfil to guarantee yourself a spot in the Winner's Circle when it's all over. You can also lose your Win Condition.

Civvies vs Mafia. There are 15 Civvie roles, 4 baddie team 1 roles, 4 baddie team 2 roles, and 7 independent roles.

Civvies win when both baddie teams are dead, and the baddies need to kill each other and the Civvies.

Thank you all for your ideas.

Turnip Head wrote:Seat of the Tribunal

If three or more players land on this square, they have the ability to stop the lynch. If all members of the square vote unanimously to stop the lynch, it will be pardoned. Once this ability is used, the square becomes vanilla.

That's very close to one I have already. I'll steal your name though.

Location A1: Seat of the Tribunal
If you wish to take someone off today’s poll, PM the Hosts with that name and the three closest players will be given a vote to approve or deny your request.
At this location is a shrine where three hooded statues stand. A plaque sits attached to a marble pedestal, with the words Tribunal of Judgment upon it. You may ask the Tribunal to remove someone from the lynch poll. The Tribunal will draw upon the judgment of the closest living beings to determine if your request is granted.

Well, this game is coming up soon. It's a map-based game, and if anyone would like to submit an idea for a square on the map, then I'll be happy to name it after you, or whatever you like. What kinds of things would you like to encounter on the map.

Some examples of what I have: a Magnetic Field square, where votes for the player on it are worth 1.5, and there is a 25% chance of a nightkill being deflected from the player. Or a Signal Fire, where three times in the game, a player can send a message to the thread anonymously.

Just want to see what people like, so this game can maximize its fun.

nutella wrote:I cannot contain my excitement.
Y'all better be ready for the return of the vengeful Purple Woman

Oh snap.

Yes, they will be revealed upon lynching.

Turnip Head wrote:I will be voting early and often for this one.

It's a long time coming. There are a lot of games in the poll, many with some very high-profile Hosts, so I figure a game like this won't be played super-early... but we shall see!!

Ok, I have the Roles list filled out in a basic way. I'll probably edit in some pics and a short descriptive sentence for each one, but the bare bones are there for your enjoyment.

Is this a game that sounds fun? I hope so, I think each role has some decent fun opportunities.

And here's the Roles List as it currently stands:


Beautiful Beast - Can kill someone from one square away if that player is alone. If the Beautiful Beast targets someone who has the Mirror of Truth, that person will not die. Instead, the Beautiful Beast will become Civvie-aligned, and can kill someone within two squares every other night as the Civvie Ninja. Otherwise, the Beautiful Beast must be the Last Man Standing. *secrets*


Blinkman - Can teleport to any square each movement. Can remove himself from the lynch poll twice in the game.


Cataclysm - Begins the game with four subterranean pulse emitters.


Chaos Wizard - The Chaos Wizard has a tower somewhere on the map, and starts on that square. Can do a variety of things from within the Tower:

- can create a Chaos Field around the tower, and anyone approaching will have their direction randomized (within one square of the Tower). Protected from ranged attacks (like kills where the killer isn’t on your square) while the Chaos Field is active
- can choose two players and switch their location, and targeted-ness that night
- can send a message to a player

If the Chaos Wizard leaves the tower, he will automatically randomize the targeting of any role within a two-square radius.


Cursecrafter - Can create items to leave on a location that seem to have a minor positive effect, but may hide a greater negative one.


Deadeye Raptor - High movement rate of 5. Moves by flying high into the air, looking at all possible squares, and then choosing one.


Dr Von Dreszenstein - Sends out his dogs each night from his square to search for experiment subjects or dead bodies. He will know who is within three squares, and choose one of those players to experiment on. *secrets*


Essence Elemental - Chooses a person who they have had BTSC with. If that person dies, they will be resurrected upon the Elemental’s death, and the Essence Elemental will win if the target wins. The Essence Elemental will retain BTSC with their chosen player after death.

Chooses one player each night to bathe with cleansing energy. This will cure poison, expose curses, and free them from The Darkness’ clutches. If the Essence Elemental targets The Darkness, The Darkness will be destroyed.


Feral Pixie - Leaves a message to be found in a square after she leaves the square. The Feral Pixie may not return to that square for the remainder of the game. She can only be seen by targeters on the same square.


Gladius Mechaspark - His battery pack can power one of his inventions each night. Has a shield generator that can protect a square from outside forces for the night. Has a flying machine that can emulate the Deadeye Raptor’s movement rate. Has a locator device that can tell him where an item is. Has a Null Ray that nullifies a player’s powers for the phase, rendering them vanilla. If he’s alive by Night 6, he may invent a new item. An invention must recharge for two phases before being reused.


Grim Shaman - Can use the powers of dead players, one-time use. *secrets*


Infectious Goblin - Targets a player to poison each night. Players who are poisoned get votes for them multiplied by their poison counters. Poison counters increase each night. Can poison an Item and leave it in a square for a player to find.


John Locke - Can tell who was in the square he’s in, when they were there, and what direction they went in. May discover other information.


Karma Chameleon - Can imitate the role of people he’s had BTSC with, once. Can choose whether or not to reveal himself, but cannot imitate without revealing himself and having BTSC. If he doesn’t reveal himself, cannot be night targeted. Must inform the hosts what he plans on doing before the Day is over.


Lich of Khastor Keep - Cannot be nightkilled while his phylactery exists. Each night, the Lich may discover the location of one player. Can stop one lynch.


Living Statue - Cannot move until united with the Star Gem. Immune to nightkills and poison. Will know the role of each person to enter its square.

When the Star Gem is placed in the Living Statue’s chest, it gains a movement rate of 4 and no longer rolechecks. The Living Statue will join the Win Condition of the one who placed the Star Gem, gaining BTSC if it joins a baddie team.


Master Thief - Can steal an item from a player within a two-square radius. If the player does not have an item then he gets to steal knowledge of their role.


Mystic Surveyor - Can find out information about three squares per night. Can stop the lynch twice, once for himself and once for someone else.


Possessing Entity - *secrets*


Psionic Ninja - Lie Detector role. Can evade first nightkill attempt on him. Movement rate of 4. *secrets*


Puppet Master - Can control the night powers of another player in close proximity.


Quantum Key - Tapped into the secrets of the game, the Quantum Key will help to reveal the unknown.


Scrippleskitz - Starts out each lynch with -3 votes. *secrets*


Soul Shade - Influences one player each night. *secrets*


Splinter Twin - In addition to moving, Splinter Twin can choose to send his holographic self out two squares. He will enter BTSC with people on the same square as his holographic self, and only his physical form can suffer from targeted effects. His physical form can only been seen from one square away by ranged targeters.


Tarnished Golem - Chooses a player to watch over before Night Two. Can kill every other night, but only someone who has voted for the player they are watching over. The Tarnished Golem moves frighteningly quickly, with a movement rate of 6. The Tarnished Golem will travel even faster when it kills, moving to the square of its target. If the target survives, the Golem will not gain BTSC during that phase.

The Tarnished Golem wins when its watched-over player wins. If its watched-over player dies, the Tarnished Golem may kill every other night, any target, and wins only by killing the ones it holds responsible, and surviving until the end. Immune to poison.


The Darkness - Infects one player per night with darkness, causing them to lose their win condition. The Darkness can send one message each night to those it infects, and may choose to release a player from the darkness at any time. The Darkness will know where infected players are at all times.

If the Darkness is night-targeted, the targeting will fail as though a roleblock or protection were in play. The Darkness may enter the BTSC of any square it’s on as The Darkness. Otherwise, it is undetectable.

If an infected player is targeted by the Essence Elemental, then they are cleansed of infection. If the Darkness is targeted by the Essence Elemental, it is killed! If The Darkness infects the Essence Elemental, the Essence Elemental will be killed.

The Darkness cannot acquire Items. *secrets*


Trickster - The Trickster can appear as any role to a role check, even after death. Can appear as any player in temp BTSC. The Trickster may leave a message behind in a square twice in the game, and may cast an illusion once in the game, causing a lynched person to seem as though they were the role of his choice.


Yang - If Yang enters the same square as Yin, unexpected results may occur!


Yin - If Yin enters the same square as Yang, unexpected results may occur!

Some roles will be recognizable to players of the original game (though with updates), and some are new creations.

Here is the final game post of Mafia: A World Apart...



Willow stood at the window, gazing across the moonlit landscape, but seeing nothing except her own tormented memories, seething with rage and boundless grief. Her mind-trapped minions, the Illusionist and the Imprisoner, were out with their orders, fulfilling the night's plans of vengeance against the realm, but still Willow had found no peace, just the bottomless, all-consuming vortex within. She could not bear to look upon it, and yet it was all she knew.

There was nothing left in the world that she could look upon without the red-rimmed lens of hatred clouding her vision, and in her despair, she was compelled to make this realm match the emptiness she felt inside.

Her dark thoughts were interrupted when, to her surprise, she felt a great power approaching. Her black eyes widened. This was different.

*****

A warm, dry wind blew dust across the Dark Crag, where Bubbles stood atop the plateau, her hood thrown back. A slight scraping sound of a footstep behind her told her that the time had come. "I thought this might be an appropriate place for it to happen," she said without turning. "I still can't believe that it was you. I feel like such a fool, but you... you're something worse. After all we have done together, for the good of this land!" She turned finally to regard a smirking Turnip Head. "How could you do it? You killed Jason! You're here to kill me!"

"My mistress has a compelling voice, old friend," Turnip Head responded evenly. "We were so proud, so... so unbearably arrogant... Willow opened my eyes, and showed me what true power is."

"And now you have nothing left to be proud of, is that it?" she chided, and Turnip Head shrugged. She pointed a finger at him, "Your convictions were once respected and obeyed throughout the land. That shall never again be, but I ask you - can you still feel it? I can feel it. I have not lost my way, and the imminence of it pounds through my veins with every beat of my heart!"

Turnip Head frowned in annoyance. "Feel what?"

Bubbles' eyes flashed as she took a step forward. "The Judgment!"

He narrowed his eyes and drew his sword. "Willow is the judge now." He started to advance, but realized that she was no longer looking at him, she was looking up to the sky. Following her gaze, Turnip Head's jaw dropped. Above them, the sky was tearing open, and behind the starry curtain of night, he could see a mass of kaleidoscopic hues, shapes, and lights.

From the rift descended the most majestic figure that he had ever seen, and gold-skinned god borne on two sets of magnificent wings. Pure and awesome power emanated from the angelic figure as it floated down, stopping above the Dark Crag in midair, and the heavenly being opened its mouth to speak.

"The time has come for your reality to face judgment." Turnip Head's sword fell from a nerveless hand, but he didn't even hear it clatter on the ground. At the sound of the majestic voice, Willow's dark enchantment was swept from him, and guilt and shame swept over him. "I have been watching you during these last days, days in which you were put through trials and turmoil that affected all. I have witnessed great heroism, and I have seen unfathomable betrayals."

"Your interference is not welcome!" Willow's voice thundered across the plateau. Bubbles turned, shocked, to see Willow floating off to the side, arms extended as she blasted the angelic form with a torrent of dark energy, consuming his golden glow in thick blackness. Willow gritted her teeth as she increased the power to the annihilating spell, and Turnip Head and Bubbles grabbed for each other as the Dark Crag seemed set to crumble beneath their feet. Never before had they seen such raw, primal energy, focused into destruction.

After a seemingly endless amount of time, Willow allowed the spell to dissipate. As the darkness cleared, she was astounded to see that the visiting entity still floated there! How could this be?

He put a hand to his head. "That was most impressive. Never before has a creature of this plane been able to harm me, but you - that actually made my head hurt a little!" He floated over to a still-speechless Willow. "You are the one thing in this reality that is worthy of my attention. The power you wield... you have risen beyond anything this realm has ever seen. You are ready to ascend into another plane of existence. Join me now, and you will be reborn as a deity, immortal and unchanging, forever."

"What of my mortal life?" Willow asked, forcing her voice through a throat that threatened to choke all sounds away. "Will it... will I remember it?"

"Your life on this plane will be as a dream from which you have awakened, meaningless and insubstantial."

A single black tear rolled down Willow's pale cheek. "Then I accept your offer." Together, they began to rise toward the extraplanar tear in the sky. As they rose, he spoke to her again.

"And what of this reality? The time of judgment is nigh. Let this be the first real decision you have ever made. What is to become of it? Existence, or oblivion?"

She answered without looking back down.

"Let it die."

My wife is beautiful.

Golden wrote:

Long Con wrote:

Golden wrote:I've been waiting for a world reborn since I first started playing mafia...

Good to see I can go away for nearly three years and it still hasn't happened.

You didn't play in the first one, did you? Why not?

It was played just before I started playing Mafia, everyone was raving about it.

Having this thread up has given us new drive to get the game to completion, and even tonight, we've made some good progress.

Since you get BTSC with random people who you share a square with on the map, we're doing some balancing on that front: the roles will all be known from the start, but not which roles are baddies. Some might be obvious, and some will be deceptive.

There will also be a healthy dose of misdirection in certain roles, which were are hoping will allow for an element of role- or alignment-checking to be introduced in such a way that will make info-dropping more dangerous and prone to error. And of course, the general community rule of "don't info-drop" will be in place.

There's an undeniable trend of baddies winning on The Syndicate, and perhaps some good old-fashioned Civvie alignment-checkers will balance the scales. This game can be a test of each player to deal with information in a respectable way.

Golden wrote:I've been waiting for a world reborn since I first started playing mafia...

Good to see I can go away for nearly three years and it still hasn't happened.

You didn't play in the first one, did you? Why not?

If anyone (especially those who played LOST Island mafia) has any suggestions for this map-based game, we're currently just brainstorming ideas. Creative input is welcome.

There'll be a guy who is two guys on the map, an inventor whose force field can protect a square and anyone in it, a birdman who can fly up and see the map before flying down as his movement...

Metalmarsh89 wrote:Were you two just waiting for someone to ask about a new game?

Did someone ask about a new game? I just wanted to get this up there so that it can be played sometime... looks like there's quite a queue going already, I don't know when we get to be in the rotation, or if there's a yearly poll to vote on game order, but I want to be in it if there is one!

Here's part 2 of the Chaos Wizard lynch post:
Absolute Chaos, pt 2:
Vengeance

"Now, you will taste the choking fruits of Chaos!"

Illyria reveled in the fear-stricken expression on Jimmy's face as she gathered her energy for the killing blow. She was slightly disconcerted, though, when his gaze was distracted from her own awesomeness, and his eyes widened as he looked behind her. Frowning, Illyria turned to see what could be so amazing that it would pull his attention from his own certain death.

Rising from the centre of the swirling green and purple vortex of chaos, a hideously transformed Willow Rosenberg floated, her black eyes focused directly on Illyria with seething rage. She was unaffected by the random shifting of reality all around her - in fact, she seemed only to draw power from it, the dark energies arcing in, around, and under her.

Illyria whipped her arm about, still flaring with fiery energy that she had intended for Jimmy, and fired a blast toward Dark Willow, but Willow was faster - horrifically fast - as she threw an arm out and telekinetically sent Illyria flying toward the stone wall. Unable to stop herself, Illyria hit with a sickening thud, feeling her collarbone break, along with a few ribs. She remained pinned to the wall, unable to even fall to the floor.

Groaning, she lifted her head, and was shocked to come face to face with Dark Willow's face, a hideous mask of hatred, still glaring daggers at her. "Please..." moaned Illyria, realizing from the fresh burst of pain that her jaw was also broken.

"Please?" thundered Willow. "Please?" Her lips curled back with unrestrained fury. "You took the one thing that mattered most to me in this world, and you think PLEASE will save you?! I loved her! She was beautiful, and you snuffed her out like a candle! 'Please'?!" Willow lifted a hand, and Illyria's battered body floated out from the wall a few feet.

"I'm the one saying 'please'! PLEASE.. bring... her... back... to.... ME!!!" With each word, she threw Illyria back into the wall, cracking more bones with each cruel blow, until she hung limp as a rag doll, finally tossing her across the chamber to land in a heap on the cold floor. The chaos vortex had dissipated, and the group of heroes watched in horror from the side as Dark Willow floated across to Illyria's shuddering body.

Dark tears streamed from her black eyes as she jerked Illyria's body back into the air, and, delirious with pain, Illy breathed, "Great Muppety Odin..." and her eyes rolled around, unable to focus.

"Having trouble seeing?" Willow made a tight fist, and Illyria's eyeballs violently exploded from her skull, drawing a pained shriek from the battered wizard. Willow drew close, and spoke into her ear as Illyria's head lolled around. "Your death is nothing but a drop in the bucket. You aren't worth a single breath from her entire life! In fact," She spread Illyria's limbs wide and floated her to the centre of the room. "I'm done with you."

Illyria's skin tore gorily from her body like a wet suit, and splattering blood exploded out, covering everyone in the room with tiny red drops. Willow let her float, broken and dead, for a second more, before releasing her hold. The body dropped once more to the ground with a wet splat.

The group who had come to charge the Chaos Wizard with her crimes sat, horrified, their appetite for justice lost, and Willow regarded them briefly with scorn before turning to go. "Wait!" cried Jimmy. "Come... come back with us."

Willow spoke without turning around. "There is nothing back there for me."

And with a flash of dark energy, she was gone.

Here's a two-parter that I'm going to post here because it's one of my favourite:
Absolute Chaos, pt. 1:
Justice

Jimmy could barely believe the path his life had taken since he started his summer job, helping out at Dr Von Dreszen's Laboratory. All he had wanted was a change from the endless, dreary farmhand days of summers past, and when he had overheard that the eccentric scientist was actually letting someone into his secrecy-cloaked Lab, Jimmy had jumped at the opportunity.

But then the world had turned upside-down. The Emperor's murder, the "experiments"... the seemingly countless deaths. And now, Jimmy stood shoulder-to-shoulder with epic heroes that he had only heard about in legend - the Psionic Ninja, the Spirit Oracle, the Living Statue, and more - and he, Jimmy, had sole control of the invincible Silver Golem! It was like some crazy dream, but it just didn't end. Together they stood, looking up at the twisted, dark tower that was home to the Chaos Wizard, preparing to enter and seek justice against the powerful warlock within.

A sharp wheeze from the Spirit Oracle drew Jimmy's attention, and as he turned, the old seer gave a series of sharp coughs. Jimmy lightly put a hand on the Oracle's shoulder. "Are you sure you're up for this, sir?"

The Spirit Oracle managed a wry grin as he turned his head to regard the worried boy. "Are you sure you are?"

*****

Illyria sat waiting upon a grand and ornately carved throne in the Audience Chamber atop her tower, a round stone room ringed with twisting, sculpted pillars that swept up into grand arches in the darkness of the high ceiling, and curved towards the large room's center at the bottom, so that one couldn't tell where the floor ended, and the pillars began.

The stones that made up the floor seemed at first glance to be set in a large spiral pattern, but, as one's eyes almost focused on it, one could see that it was made up of countless smaller spirals, and those were themselves formed from spirals, and those that stared long enough realized that there was truly no pattern at all to the elaborate floor.

She watched derisively as the small band of fools made their way through the confusing tower. Time and again, they thought that they had at last found the way through, only to discover a door that led nowhere, a staircase that shrank away to nothing, or an archway through which they found themselves once again in the tower's entry hall.

Eventually, Yang grew impatient with the Chaos Wizard's insanely designed home, and turned, frustrated, to descend a small staircase and leave. He stopped halfway down, realizing that he was actually walking down into the tower's highest room, the Audience Chamber. "Uh, guys?" he called out to the rest of the team, who quickly joined him across the room from the waiting Illyria.

"It's about time," she said mockingly, rising from her throne. As fun as it was to watch you fumble around, I was beginning to nod off for a bit there!"

The Psionic Ninja stepped forward. "It doesn't have to be like this, Illyria! You were once an ally to us, it's not too late to reconsider-"

"Reconsider?" she spat, cutting him off. "Do you think I'm a fool?" She pointed a finger at him. "You hypocrite, even now, as you speak of alliances, and what could be, you are feebly attempting to enter my mind! As if I wouldn't be ready for that!" Her eyes flashed, and the ninja cried out, grabbing his head and dropping to his knees, unable to make sense of the chaotic visions that were flooding his brain.

Yang spoke up as Jimmy rushed to the Psionic Ninja's side. "You are the one who made this choice, sorcerer! You have turned your back on all that is righteous, and sided with the foul things that fuel the nightmares of this realm!" His fist clenched tightly as he spat the words at her in fury.

She approached him, acting demure, "Did I do that?" Her full lips protruded in an exaggerated pout. "I guess that I deserve whatever judgement I receive then, don't I? Of course," her face twisted once again in disgust, "It means little from one who killed his own brother to get... where he is today!" Yang's mouth snapped shut, and his eyes smoldered as he glared at her.

She produced a glass globe from within her robes, filled with swirling green and purple energies. "The only true judge is Chaos! Anything else - good, evil, love, hate - is a lie! A temporary ripple in the entropy of existence! You live the lie every day of your meaningless lives, as though you have all the answers!" She flattened her palm, and began to roll the sphere around on it. "It's time you found out the truth!"

Sensing what she was about to do, Jimmy cried out, "No! Stop, please!"

At that point, the glass globe, rolled to the end of Illyria's fingertips, and teetered for a second, before falling toward the floor. "Oops!" she quipped with a smirk. Time seemed to slow as they all watched the delicate sphere plummet toward the hard stone below.

Illyria leapt backward as the sphere shattered, releasing a deep vortex of energy that immediately filled the room. The heroes scattered as chunks of floor began to fall away beneath their feet into nothingness, or float weightlessly in midair.

The Silver Golem reacted first, leaping forward with fluid precision across pieces of dislodged floor toward the cackling Illyria. As it neared her, though, a random beam of energy flashed up, and, passing through it, the golem grew gills along each side of its neck, and instantly fell to the ground, choking for air, though it had never breathed a day of its artificial life.

Jimmy turned and ducked through a small archway, coming out on the other side of the same room, but standing on the ceiling! He felt a dizzying vertigo at the inverted gravity, and leapt through another portal close by, only to re-enter the room at another angle, in another place.

Springing up and running along a wall that was suddenly writhing with life, the Psionic Ninja threw a quick succession of small daggers toward Illyria, but their flight grew erratic, and they veered off in random directions, some slowing, some picking up speed. Rocky tentacles burst from the wall and wrapped the ninja's legs tightly, and began to pull him in.

The Spirit Oracle calmly stood and called upon the spirit world to aid him, when he realized that he felt more vital than he had in years. Looking at his hands, he blinked in amazement as he saw the wrinkles fade, and the strong musculature of youth return to them! Unfortunately, to his horror, the regression continued, eventually leaving him a mewling toddler on the rapidly decaying floor.

Illyria stood in front of her throne, staff held high as she directed the chaos that swirled before her. There were none here that could match her power, and she reveled in the opportunity to show them all their ultimate folly in challenging her. She laughed as she watched the Living Statue floating high above, trying futilely to grab for some purchase with arms that had turned to floppy rubber. She watched with interest as Yang tried to hack through the jungle of thick vines that had grown around him.

Jimmy dove through one last portal, hoping to find some stability somewhere, and he realized that he had come out from behind the Chaos Wizard's throne, and was looking at her back as she enjoyed the unfolding realities before her. Steeling himself, he grabbed a large and heavy stone, and lifted it high above her head, bringing it down with all his might... only to have it dissolve into hundreds of pink bubbles, and float away.

Illyria turned in anger. "You... child, you should have had the sense to stay at home on your farm, instead of chasing adventure with the greatest idiots of the land!" She pointed a finger at his chest, the tip glowing a fierce and fiery orange, and Jimmy backed up, tripping and falling into the large throne.

"Now," said Illyria mercilessly, as the glow from her fingertip grew brighter and hotter, "You will taste the choking fruits of Chaos!"

To be continued...

Speaking of Dark Willow, here's where she went dark. A secret part of her role stated that if the Voluptuous Siren (bigsimpsin) made her fall in love, Willow would turn dark and become independent, recruiting two players to her side as new roles.
Dark Transformation

bigsimpsin knew that there was a war going on, and he had done what he could, using his own unique talents to help the forces of Good fight the war, since Day 1. He understood, of course, that he couldn't match the raw power of the Silver Golem, and the Psionic Ninja possessed skills that he couldn't possibly understand, but he firmly believed that every little bit helped. That's why he was here, now. Maybe he could have some influence over things.

"You were foolish to meet me here," came the Chaos Wizard's voice from the shadows. "Surely you've heard... the rumours about me."

bigs hesitated. "Yes... I have heard what they're saying. I just... I just don't want to believe that there's no hope left. You haven't always walked this path."

The Chaos Wizard sneered as he stepped out. "This was the only way! You think those hypocrites would accept me, once they wipe all that they deem 'evil' from this realm? Where do you think they would turn to next?" He grabbed bigsimpsin by the collar, and pulled him close. "They don't understand that they need balance! That good can't exist without evil! That they will end up turning on themselves to feed a hunger that they can never satisfy!"

"No!" cried bigs. "The realm will know peace!"

"This realm will never know peace. All will eventually descend into Chaos..." The Chaos Wizard's staff began to crackle with purple energy, and bigsimpsin, too late, realized his folly in coming here.

The Chaos Wizard continued. "Your death will be a message to them. Many shall mourn, and the true nature of your pathetic concept of 'goodness' will be exposed. Perhaps then, they will understand..." bigs turned to run. "...that from Chaos we came, and to Chaos, we shall return!"

A blinding blast shot forth from the staff, striking bigsimpsin squarely in the back, and scorching a huge chunk of flesh and bone into ash. bigs dropped to the ground, instantly dead, and the Chaos Wizard grimly returned to the shadows.

*****

Willow couldn't see beyond the gathered crowd the next morning, but she could sense that something bad had happened the night before. It was a shame, after a few nights with no murders, the people had been starting to feel relieved.

Pushing her way through, she saw the body that still lay on the rocky ground, and her blood ran cold when she recognized its face.

"No..." her knees gave out, and she didn't feel the concerned hands catch her. Her mind was reeling. This couldn't be happening.

Her head hung low, and the two men supporting her arms wondered if she had fainted at the bloody sight of bigs' torn body, until one of them noticed her hands, curled into tight fists. About the same time, the other looked up above their heads, to see ominous black storm clouds swirling and converging. He started to speak, but didn't know what to say. "Uhhh..."

"No!" The sound ripped forth from Willow's mouth, sounding deep and otherworldly, startling the people around her, and causing them to take a cautious step back - all but the two men still dumbfoundedly holding her arms.

"No!" she cried again, and jerked her head up suddenly, her eyes completely jet black. The clouds above began to funnel down, as furious cyclonic winds whipped around the clearing, making everyone around her shield their eyes from the flying dust. Her auburn hair bled black from root to tip, and purplish veins could be seen standing out at the sides of her face.

"NO!!!" she bellowed a third time, and black lightning plunged down the growing tornado, ripping through the bodies of those who were huddled in fear around her. Faster and faster the dark magics swirled, until Willow was all that could be seen in the eye of the maelstrom of dust, flying rocks, and fierce magical energy, standing over the dead body of the one that she had fallen in love with.

Suddenly, the storm dissipated, and the bodies of the villagers who had been unlucky enough to remain in the clearing were completely disintegrated. Willow stood alone, tears streaming down her face from unblinking, jet black eyes. She gazed down at bigs' body with gritted teeth and a crazed expression, and vowed that this cruel world would pay dearly for the pain it had caused her...

Dark Willow ascended into godhood at the end of the last one, and will be present, though not a role.

Roles <-- click this link to see the current Roles list!

This will be a sequel to my 2009 game on Lostpedia, Mafia: A World Apart. You can check out the game here. I'll start by posting a few of the game posts from that game in order to lay out the flavour and storyline so far.

This is the Prologue post from A World Apart:

The Nexus Point

The Spirit Oracle awoke at dawn, inhaling deeply as he lifted his head from the straw mat that served as his bed. Rising, he shuffled across his small hut to pour some water from the clay jug, and he winced at the stiffness and pain in his knees. It was definitely more mornings than not, now, that his joints felt this way.

As he sipped the water, he wondered offhandedly if there would be any visitors today. These days, it was mostly would-be adventurers in search of themselves that would come to him for wisdom. He would usually tell them something inspirational, some self-confidence-boosting rhetoric - if they took the time to climb the mountain, they deserved a little something. Besides, it was nice to have guests for dinner.

He yawned once more as he pushed aside the soft curtain door of the hut, but the yawn was cut off halfway, his jaw left hanging open in disbelief. Above the mountain, the sky was a shifting and swirling vortex of colours, intense, beautiful hues never before seen by the human eye! In the maelstrom's centre, the sky seemed to fracture and peel away, layer by shimmering layer, revealing a shape, which began to descend.

The Spirit Oracle squinted against the light shining from behind the shape - no, the light was coming from the shape! - and he began to make out the being's features. It was a man, tall, muscular, and broad-shouldered. His lean and toned body was draped with a gleaming white loincloth, and his eyes glowed blue beneath a smooth, hairless head. Four wings sprouted from his broad back, splayed out resplendently as he floated down, and his skin was like smooth metallic gold. As his sandaled feet touched down on the mountaintop, a deep and gentle boom echoed out, like a great door closing in a shadowed and empty hall, sending ripples across the lake below.

The being spoke, and its voice, deep, soft, and commanding, could be heard more in the mind than in the ears, and it suffused the Spirit Oracle with peace and contentment.

"Your realm is at a nexus point. Great and terrible things shall happen, events which will decide the future of every being within it!"

It was like hearing distant thunder rolling away.

"I will be watching closely, for the time has come for you to be judged! The culmination of the coming events will decide for me whether this reality will be allowed to continue to exist.

"You have been chosen, Oracle, to carry forth the message to your people, should your mind be strong enough to bear it..."

The angelic creature reached a smooth hand forward and touched the Spirit Oracle's forehead, and he was immediately overwhelmed with a barrage of voices, music, flashing lights and scenes, a resounding orchestra of chaos. His mouth locked open with awe, and tears flowed freely from his unblinking eyes.

"The first event is already taking place. Emperor Cerberus is being found murdered in his royal quarters as we speak, and the people will demand justice. Your realm has started down a dark path, Oracle. This is your greatest test."

The Spirit Oracle worked his throat, finally unlocking it enough to rasp forth rapturously, "Who.... who are you?"

The being's blue eyes regarded him steadily. "To some, I am an Angel of Vengeance, and to some I am a god. I am That Which Lies Beyond, the Shaper of Realities, the Eternal Essence.

"I am Long Con."

“esdrghfik” - Can find out information about three squares per night. Can stop the lynch twice once for himself and once for someone else. Hates Commas.
Infrared of the Robotic Angels - *Secrets*