The Syndicate

General Jarvis and his team sat in the command room, holding their breath with anticipation. Such tension was unnecessary, of course, because they had all seen these types of simulations a few times before. Still though, there was just something about letting THE GAME take control that felt riskier than what should be permitted.

The simulation chamber doors opened and the trainees entered. Their trepidation about being face to face with that maniacal saucer again made their heart rate and blood pressure readings jump. The general got on the intercom to reassure them.

“At ease, soldiers” he said. “This is not like your recruitment. This is strictly a training exercise. No one is going to get disintegrated this time, right?”

“BUT OF COURSE, GENERAL,” came a voice from nowhere and yet everywhere at once. Breathing rates increased, despite the good news. There was just something unnerving about that voice that couldn’t be helped.

“Strap in soldiers,” Sergeant-major Matthew Johnson ordered. “The simulation will begin once all your vitals have stabilized.”

“Once again, soldiers,” Sergeant-major Darren Sharp said, “this is a simulated training exercise. Your physical bodies are not in any danger. Whatever happens inside the simulation is purely artificial. There will not be any sort of reciprocal harm done to your bodies. The worst thing that you’ll do to yourselves is give your heart a workout.”

The trainees strapped in. Colored diodes raced up and down the backs of their seats. After a few minutes, all the red diodes had given way to yellow. In time, the yellows gave way to greens.

“Alright, soldiers,” Johnson said. “Take a few nice deep breaths and we’ll begin.”

Sharp turned a few dials and flipped a few switches and turned to General Jarvis.

“All set to begin, sir. Say the word and we’ll activate the simulation.”

“Tell me, sergeant-major,” the general said, gazing down at the simulation chamber, “do you ever feel like putting our troops’ lives in the metaphorical hands of this thing is a mistake that will haunt you for the rest of your life?”

“Every time, sir.”

“Good. I’m glad I’m not the only one then. Initiate the simulation.”

Sharp pressed a large, inviting, red button. The simulation chamber doors drew shut and locked. A soft hum filled the room. Light flickered across the surface of THE GAME as it prepared for what was about to happen.

“THANK YOU GENERAL,” it said, “NOW LET’S KICK THE TIRES AND LIGHT THE FIRES, BIG DADDY. LET’S GET READY TO RUUMMMMBLLLLLLLLLLLE!”

The humming grew louder and the streaks of light grew brighter. Without warning, the entire simulation chamber was washed out in a flash of bright light.



@Dolby
@Poison
@TonyStarkPrime
@Scotty
@falcon45ca
@sabie12
@NotAnAxehole
@DrWilgy
@Sloonei
@Marmot
@Ruri
@Sonny
@DaughterOfOmega
@Luckbox Inc
@tessepia

@Dolby
@Poison
@TonyStarkPrime
@Scotty
@falcon45ca
@sabie12
@NotAnAxehole
@DrWilgy
@Sloonei
@Marmot
@Ruri
@Sonny
@DaughterOfOmega
@Luckbox Inc
@tessepia

Sorry folks, it's been a long day, and despite working hard on game launch, I am just not in the right headspace to finish it out and start the game tonight.

Day 0 will begin Friday between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. EST.

@Dolby
@Poison
@TonyStarkPrime
@Scotty
@falcon45ca
@sabie12
@NotAnAxehole
@DrWilgy
@Sloonei
@Marmot
@Ruri
@Sonny
@DaughterOfOmega
@Luckbox Inc
@tessepia

This game has filled up. However, seeing as it took nearly two months to do so, I want you all to reconfirm your commitment to this game before I launch. Please restate your intention to play in this thread.

I will get home early from work tomorrow. I will PM anyone who hasn't posted again in this thread. If all goes well, we can start tomorrow nigh with a Day 0.

Rackets have a posting limitation by nature of the game category. I guess I’m confused why you’re asking about a required minimum. Has that been spelled out or asked for in other Racket games, or this an issue that you think is inherent to this specific game’s concept?

I assume people aren’t going to sign up for a game and then just blow it off. That’s not our site’s culture, so the thought never crossed my mind. It’s supposed to be a quirky, low-effort kind of game; something breezy to have fun with.

I wish I had this kind of feedback when I posted the idea years ago rather than mid-sign-ups. Now I can’t help but question if it should have made it this far. Recent feedback suggests I didn’t think it through far enough (or to the nth degree like seems to be the norm now?), just like Good Cop/Bad Cop.

Scotty wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 11:00 pm

Replacements and modkills may be employed if necessary.

I’ve been thinking about this one. In a game where you want your faction dead, I feel like penalties should be reversed. Modkills should be lynch immune if not to a certain post count.
Conversely, what is the penalty for going over the post limit? Just a slight balance question, unless I missed it, that can possibly be exploited

You know that's a good point about modkills. I usually just copy the same boilerplate content each time.

Ideally, there won't be a need for a modkill. I could prohibit them altogether. If you abandon your slot, then it means you likely won't get eliminated and that will cost your team the game.

As for post limit violations, the first offense is listed above- the player will lose their vote the next day. I was thinking of a possible tiered list for offenses:

1st Offense: Loss of next vote
2nd Offense: Loss of next vote + Removed from next chop poll
3rd Offense: Loss of next vote + Removed from next chop poll + Silenced for the next day phase

I dunno. The more I think about it, I kind of like making any offense result in a player being unable to be eliminated for the next day and night phase. That way, if you break the rules, you can't die, which hurts your team.

Thoughts?

Scotty wrote: ↑Fri Sep 24, 2021 10:05 pm

Sloonei wrote: ↑Fri Sep 24, 2021 9:02 pmNi

Ahhhhhhhh nooooo not that word

I can’t quite wrap my head around this game, but a 50 post limit sounds doable

It's easy...

1) Everybody wants to die.

2) If you are a civvie, chop the people you townread.

3) If you are a baddie, try to get townread and chopped.

GGhana wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 8:53 pm How does this setup handle modkills?

Will a compensation be given to a team that is put on the disadvantage by the modkill?

Modkills aren't usually much of a concern on this site. If a baddie were to need to be modkilled, then it would cut into their ability to use the NK on their own team. I could see a civvie modkill possibly taking the place of a NK, if it were to occur on a night when the mafia cannot kill themselves.

Nothing to see here folks! Just a quirky, breezy, low-commitment game with 6 spots left after one month's time.

Move along, people. Move along.

fingersplints wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 3:03 pm I can’t play, but trying to read the backwards text reminded me of all the decoding in Secret Mafia like 10 years ago haha

juliets wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 10:37 pm

fingersplints wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 3:03 pm I can’t play, but trying to read the backwards text reminded me of all the decoding in Secret Mafia like 10 years ago haha

Shhhhhh!!! Lol, we should never bring that back!!!

Funny you should bring this up, because...



General Jarvis stared down the elevator doors as he descended to the subterranean test site. He was older and grayer since the last round of exercises, but he knew, as any military man would, that preparation was the only way to stay one step ahead of his enemies.

When the elevator doors opened, he scanned the room. They weren't expecting him for another two hours. He could tell who was taken by surprise and who was at the ready. Mental notes taken.

"At ease, soldiers," he grunted. "Johnson, Sharp- how soon until we begin?"

"Not too much longer, sir," a near-middle-aged man replied. Darren Sharp had been in Eagle Talon for 15 years now. Even he was showing signs of salt-and-pepper, but he was fit as ever and commanded the room with ease. "We're pulling the last few recruits into pre-training briefings now."

"Good," the general said. "Sergeant-major Johnson, is the training program finalized?"

"Yes, sir," Johnson responded. He too was showing signs of just how long he had been in the ranks of this black ops outfit, but he wore it with pride. "All specifications have been laid out and agreed to."

"And our- ahem- training specialist understands its role this time around?"

"Yes, sir."

"And it's going to take orders and stay in its lane this time?"

"Yes, sir. The training parameters are simple, direct, and clear. No room for interpretation this time."

"Good," the general said. "Our time to mobilize may finally be on the horizon. We can't afford to have any more of our recruits get eaten by that damn saucer."

TonyStarkPrime wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:54 pm so town can only win in f3 with a successful town elim?

If the day-phase Final 3 is two civvies and a baddie, then one of the civvies must be eliminated. That makes it 1v1, and the mafia player HAS to kill the civvie player, so it's an automatic civvie win. If a 2v1 F3 ends up with the mafia player being eliminated, then mafia win because that's the point.

A day-phase F3 can't be two mafia against 1 civvie, because it's an auto-win for the civvies due to the required night kill. That's why I added the potential ability for the mafia to kill one of their own on Night 3 and Night 5. It all but guarantees the game will maneuver its way toward an F3 unless the civvies fail to vote out fellow civvies.

Make sense?

Number of Players: 15

1. Poison
2. TonyStarkPrime
3. Dolby
4. falcon45ca
5. sabie12
6. NotAnAxehole
7. DrWilgy
8. Sloonei
9. Scotty
10. Marmot
11. Ruri
12. Sonny
13. DaughterofOmega
14. Lunchbox Inc
15. tessepia


Power Roles: 0

Factions: 12 civvies against a 3-player mafia team

Day Phases: 48 hours

Night Phases: 24 hours, locked thread (no posting)

Day Phase Post Limit: 50*

Mafia Kills: Required- if the mafia tries to abstain from killing or somehow misses the submission deadline, a civvie will be selected randomly for the kill by the host.

Day 0: 24 hours with a 25-post limit

The Game Itself: This idea came to me after seeing civvies all but hand a few games in a row to the baddies by voting each other out day after day after day. It's almost standard practice around here at times. Why not make a game where that is the point? Unlike regular Mafia, the civvies and baddies are each trying to get eliminated. If all three members of the Mafia team get eliminated, they win. If the Mafia team achieves parity and/or outnumbers the total number of civvies remaining, the civvies win.

Each day phase, someone will be voted out of the game through the poll. I have devised a system for breaking ties. This system shall remain a secret until the game has ended.

Each night, the Mafia team selects one player in the game to kill. If none of the Mafia members are eliminated via the poll through Day 3, the Mafia may opt to kill one of their own on Night 3. If they make it to Night 5 without having a remaining member of the team voted out, they may opt to kill one of their own again that night. If a member of the Mafia is eliminated via the day poll on Day 1, Day 2, or Day 3, then the remaining two members of the Mafia team have to wait until Night 5 to opt to kill one of the two remaining teammates. The final Mafia team member is prohibited from committing suicide to win the game.

*Rollover Posts:
Each player is initially limited to 50 posts per day phase. I was going to cap it at 30, but I felt more posts were necessary given the 48-hour day phase length. If a player uses their full 50 posts on Day 1, nothing happens. If a player doesn't use up their post limit on Day 1, then their remaining posts are rolled over into Day 2, but they will be allocated to the other remaining players. For example: If Player A only posts 10 times during Day 1, 40 posts will be rolled over and distributed to the other players for Day 2.

Rollover posts are use-it-or-lose-it the following day. They cannot keep rolling forward. Everyone has a base of 50 posts each day, plus whatever quantity of rollover posts they received on top of that 50-post base. Rollover posts are used first the following day phase. This way, each day phase has the potential to generate additional rollover posts for subsequent days. This is an attempt to counterbalance quieter players from grinding the game to a halt. There will be no rollover posts from Day 0.



RULES AND WHATNOT


Sitewide Standards
Remember that the premier rules in any Syndicate Mafia game come straight from the site rules. Review those rules below, and direct any concerns you may have to the host or moderator(s) on duty.

[Link] Rules and Guidelines on The Syndicate

Also always be mindful of the culture of respect that must be maintained in all Syndicate spaces at all times, to include this game thread and any external communication spaces relating to the game. Players must be respectful to one another, to the game host, to the members of the staff overseeing the game, to the game itself by way of its rules and spirit, to the Syndicate community in general, and ideally also to themselves. Respect is never optional. See our full manifesto on our culture of respect below.

[Link] A Syndicate Mafia Culture of Respect


Gameplay
1. All players are limited to 50 posts per day phase.
1A. At the end of each phase, the thread will be locked so the host can screenshot post counts.
1B. At the beginning of each day the host will announce the total number of posts that each player may make during that day phase. All players are responsible for monitoring their post limit for each phase. Exceeding the post limit will result in the nullification of your vote the next day.
2. Days are 48 hours long.
3. Nights are 24 hours long and are closed. The thread will remain locked during night phases.
4. Only those players who have BTSC may communicate with each other outside of the game thread but ONLY in designated BTSC threads or chat rooms. For everyone else, no game-related discussion is permitted outside the game thread.
5. Votes in the poll are the only votes that count. It's helpful but not mandatory that you declare your vote in the thread in a way that stands out to the host.
6. All votes are changeable all the way up to the deadline.
7. A tied day poll will be broken by the host's tie-breaking system.
8. There is no hammer vote element in this game.
9. Dead is dead; you don't get to come back from that. Dead players will have their BTSC rights removed.
10. Alignments will be revealed upon death.
11. Additional gameplay elements will be added/revealed on an as-needed basis.
12. I will probably end phases between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. EST for this game. Any earlier is a challenge for me with getting the kids to bed.



Rules
1) Be kind to everyone.
2) If you feel like another player is out of line or making/taking things personal/ly, contact the Facilitator, ?????.
3) No BTSC regarding the game outside of the game thread(s). Players are told in their rolecard if they have BTSC. If you don't have it, don't engage in it. Violating this rule will result in a modkill.
4) No editing or deleting posts.
5) Self-voting is prohibited.
6) Alignment-claiming is legal. You may not, however, post your rolecard or any other host communication verbatim.
7) Off-topic posts should be in OT Green.
8) Dead players are to post in Dead Red.
9) Non-Players should post in Non-Player Blue.
10) This is the host's color. Do not post in this color.
11) Participation is polite to everyone involved. If I feel you may not be paying attention to the game, I will reach out to you. Replacements may be employed if necessary. If you sign up, please play. If you can't play, request replacement.
12) No modkills in this game for inactivity. If you abandon your slot, then your slot will remain empty, which hurts your team. If you cannot play, request a replacement.
13) Additional rules will be added/revealed on an as-needed basis.


Let me know if you think I missed anything!