The Syndicate

I'm locking this thread. The game will begin on the hour in about 50 minutes.

Zexy wrote:Understood. Hope you have fun with family.

This may be a good way to tune this game's schedule with MU. I understand that Syndicate does things differently, but for it to be a true scrimmage it might be a better idea to follow MU's day-night schedule in order to simulate the Championship enviroment as much as possible, and this delay can be yet another reason to attempt that.

I'm okay with this if it works for the players. It'd mean starting the game tomorrow morning. How does everyone feel about that?

Hey guys, actually the start is probably going to have to wait until this evening at the earliest. I've just returned home to Ohio after 3.5 years overseas, and people are pulling at me in all directions to Do Things.

Someone in the family just showed up actually and I have to go now. I am sorry for the delay and I appreciate your patience. I'll adjust the deadline as necessary to accommodate whatever start time we end up with. We'll get started soon, I promise.

Frog wrote:Awesome! In the OP, can you tell us how to:
1) Vote
2) Check vote counts
3) Check post counts

Sorry, I'm a newbie here :-)

Would also appreciate a message with respect to start times.

I can do all of the above. The game will start today, and probably rather soon, once I have everything ready to go.

Frog wrote:I'm assuming we're going with tournament rules and times?

e.g. weekends are 1 day

Days are 36/12?

Day phases will be 36 hours long, 60 on weekends. Night phases will always be 12 hours long. However, because we're starting today and not tomorrow, those lengthened weekend days might be a bit different from what will be seen on Mafia Universe. I believe those weekend phases end on Sunday Night, but ours will instead end on Saturday Night. That's just the way it has shaken out here. All the champions should heed that and be prepared to check the proper schedule when their official games get underway.

I'll get it started as soon as I'm able, y'all. Just sorting out the technical business first.

Frog wrote:Hey Ika, Silverwolf, Zexy, Inawordyes!

Question for the mod - are we playing this true semi-open style for the C12? Or are you picking and announcing the vertical/horizontal setup before hand?

Welcome Frog.

It is my understanding that the randomized selection is meant to remain unrevealed, and that is my intention. I'll select the setup before the game, but never openly state what it is -- players will be left to figure that out on their own if they so desire. Is this what you anticipate happening in the MU tournament?

Just two more, one more with Sloonei. If we can fill this sucker up then I should be able to start it tomorrow. I'm back in the US eastern time zone, so I might even be able to offer an agreeable deadline.

Sloonei wrote:Is multi-quoting just being able to quote a bunch of posts at once without leaving the original page? I never knew that was an option until people started mentioning it here. Unless I'm miaunderstanding something.

Yeah. Some sites have a little button you can click in each post to just throw a pile of quotes into the reply box all at once. I never even used it when it was available because I was so used to doing it manually.

Yes I am a serial snipper. I'd rather get accused of taking something out of context than post an octuple-quote pyramid. :P

Only three more slots to fill, two if Sloonei meant to change his "maybe" to a "yes".

And welcome, Dyslexicon! It's great to have you on The Syndicate and in our scrimmage. I hope you enjoy your time here.

Dyslexicon wrote:Also, I want to ask if there is any way to multiquote on this site? I may be blind, dumb or both, but I can't immediately find one.

There isn't yet a multi-quote button on the site, though the admins have hinted at it being something they hope to add soon. You can still multi-quote manually though by having a couple tabs open and copy/pasting from the thread or an ISO.

Dyslexicon wrote:Also also, are you allowed to delete content from a quote you are replying to (as a way of making it clearer exactly what you are replying to)?

You can snip quotes however you like. It's also common to use a "highlighter" within a quote to focus upon something specific (my personal preference is to color the selected text yellow and bold it). There is the possibility that people might complain about lost context due to quote snipping, so it's up to you to decide how you want to do it.

Votes should be changeable now.

Welcome aboard Marco. If you have any questions about the site just ask.

sig wrote:Soooo are we allowing role claiming in this game? I'm unsure of the tournaments rules for this, but I know on MU they do allow it.

Yes. Claims and information revealing are all fair game.

MovingPictures07 wrote:Hey JJJ, nice new signature addition; when/where'd you get that?

I just threw it together in Paint a few minutes ago. Top of the line quality banners from JayCorp.

I'm quite pleased by the diversity of communities in this player roster.

Oh right, super cool beans.

Zexy wrote:Actually, I have one more. Will the Mod on Duty for this be JJJ himself? Or will it be someone else since he's the host?

It will be someone else. I don't believe it has been determined yet who it'll be though.

Zexy wrote:Is multiple posting allowed?

I'm not sure what you mean exactly. Just posting more than once in succession? If so, that's allowed. I probably do that myself more than anyone alive.

Zexy wrote:Is editing posts when the game is ongoing allowed?

Nope. That is standard policy on The Syndicate, and I know it wasn't allowed when I played in the Season 2 tournament either. It's the same deal -- there won't even be an edit button.

Zexy wrote:Hello, everyone! I'm Zexy, most probably the representative of the Bulbagarden mafia community in the Championship. It's not set in stone yet, we'll know for sure by Friday.

Nice to meet you all, I would like to play. I picked Yes in the poll, is that enough for me to be considered signed up?

Welcome, Zexy! We're very glad to have you, and yes that's all you need to do to sign up.

Zexy wrote:Also, the OP says that you only vote through a poll when playing mafia here, so I'd like to ask if it is possible to retract your vote and place it to someone else mid-phase.

Yes, votes will be changeable as much as you want. The poll is here for ease of viewing the tally, but since this is a hammer game it will be required by rule for players to also place their votes in the game thread. I'll explain how I want that formatted when we get started.

Ricochet wrote:Sometimes I misread Town Tracker as Town Cracker.

Town Cracker - Each night phase, this player may target another player. That player will nibble upon the town cracker, and it will make him/her extremely thirsty. This will make it difficult for them to speak, restricting them to no more than 5 posts in each following day phase until visited by the town water carrier. The town cracker may only visit five players in this manner safely. A sixth visit is permitted, but it will be the final bite and the cracker will be killed.

Also, I don't promise all of these matrix possibilities are adequately balanced. I didn't design them. :P

I'm glad to see a nice influx of sign-ups already. In the event that this fills up quite soon, the start date might be held until the 13th or later. I'm flying to a different continent on Tuesday.

Here's a breakdown in Syndicate language for what all of these roles are. You've likely seen many or all of them before under different names.

Town Jailkeeper - Each night, the jailkeeper targets another player. That player cannot be targeted with any other night actions, and that player cannot use his/her own night action. It's a combination of roleblocker and doctor.

2-Shot Town Jailkeeper - This is the same as a Jailkeeper, except the player is only permitted to use the ability twice instead of every night.

1-Shot Bulletproof Town - This townie is immune to the first attempted night kill on him/her, whether from a Mafia player or a town vigilante.

Town Innocent Child - This player can choose any day phase to be revealed by the moderator as a confirmed townie in the game thread.

Town Cop w/ n0 town check - This is your standard alignment checker. The cop identifies a player every night to learn their alignment (not their role). The n0 check means the cop begins the game with a free check on another townie (in this setup it can be any townie, power role or not).

Town Masons (2) - These are two townies who begin the game knowing each other to be town, and they have BTSC.

Town Bodyguard - Each night the bodyguard selects another player to protect. If that player is targeted with a night kill, the bodyguard dies in his/her place.

Town Tracker - Each night the tracker targets another player. The tracker is told who that player targeted with a night action, if anyone.

Town Even Night Vigilante - Each even-numbered night phase, this player gets to night kill someone.

Vanilla Townie - This is a standard townie with no special abilities.

~~~

Mafia Roleblocker - Each night, this player gets to target another player. That player's role will not function that night.

1-Shot Mafia Vigilante - Just like the town vigilante, but for the mafia side instead. It's essentially one extra night kill.

1-Shot Mafia Role Cop - Each night, this player gets to target another player. He/she will be told what the targeted player's role is.

1-Shot Mafia Bulletproof - Just like the town bulletproof, but for the mafia side instead. This is meant to grant immunity against a town vigilante for one shot.

Mafia Ninja - This player cannot be tracked when attempting a night kill. The tracker will receive an incorrect result upon the attempt, that the ninja targeted nobody.

Mafia Jack of All Trades - This player, in this specific setup, gets three 1-shot abilities. One is a save (doctor's protection to save a team mate from a vigilante shot). Another is a check (role cop check). The last is a shot (vigilante shot).

Mafia Goon - This is a standard mafioso with no special abilities.

~~~

Anyone please let me know if you have any questions.

I should also state that for this game to make sense, it needs to take place before Golden plays in his first official tournament game. If we can't garner the necessary sign-ups quickly enough, the game may be cancelled. That's not a threat or anything, just letting y'all know before anyone gets too amped.

Clarification for Syndicateers who might be confused:

The Mafia "Ninja" does not have extra kills. I know the term "ninja" here usually refers to civilians who kill at night (what most sites call a "vigilante"). In this case, "Ninja" refers to a Mafia player who is immune to tracking and watching.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote:I'd be happy to answer, unless it's about the Mafia Jack-of-all-trades role. I don't know what "shot" or "save" specifically refer to either. Don't worry, I'm looking into it.

I got clarification on this, and it's what you'd probably figure. "Save" refers to a night phase protection (like a doctor) and not a lynch prevention (thank God I hate those ). "Shot" refers to a vigilante shot.

The following is taken directly from Thingyman on Mafia Universe:

Link
The host randomizes a letter or a number, deciding which setup is used. I.e. if the host rands C, then the setup will consist of the roles in the C column. The host then adds 2 Mafia Goons to the setup and fills up the rest with Vanilla Townies.

I.e. setup C would give you this:
General notes:

• The mafia's factional kill must be assigned to a single member of their team each night. This means that the mafia's factional kill can be blocked by a Town Jailkeeper or tracked by a Town Tracker.
• For those wondering, some of the roles in the matrix (Mafia Ninja and 1-Shot Mafia Bulletproof) will indeed only have value for either the row or the column setup in which it is used and not the other. This is not a mistake, it is done on purpose to only boost the mafia side in one of the two setups.

Notable restrictions/clarifications:

• The Mafia Ninja may not perform the factional kill on consecutive nights.
• The Bulletproof roles are passively protected from the first shot fired at them during night. They will not be informed if they lose their vest.
• None of the included roles can self-target, including the protective roles.
• Doctors, Jailkeepers and Roleblockers are not allowed to target the same players on consecutive nights.
• The Innocent Child may choose himself when he wishes to be publicly confirmed in the thread as town.
• The Even Night Vigilante may only shoot on even nights (i.e. Night 2, Night 4, etc.).
• The Town Cop gets an automated check on Night 0, i.e. when the game begins he will already know the alignment of one town player (this player can be a power role or a Vanilla Townie, the Cop will not know). The reason that the Town Cop can't potentially check a mafia-aligned player on Night 0 is to prevent an unfortunate situation of a representative being outed as mafia before they've had a chance to showcase their skills.
• There are no restrictions on info-dumping or roleclaiming.
• The thread will be locked during night phases.
• It hasn't been decided yet on Mafia Universe whether the mafia team will be allowed to communicate during the day phase. If they don't decide before this game starts, I will flip a coin to make that decision.
• This game will be conducted without a theme, or at least from the perspective of the players and spectators it will have no theme. There will be no "characters" or roleplaying. However, when players are eliminated, they will be revealed as some sort of character -- this has no purpose within the game other than to add flavor for viewers.

Days/Nights and lynch mechanics

• There will be a deadline each day phase, and the person with the most votes at the end of the day is lynched, unless a majority has already been reached before then, in which case the day ends prematurely.
• Days will last 36 hours and nights 12 hours, meaning 48 hours (2 days) per game day. With one exception: The weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) will be one game day (so day will be 60 hours and night 12 hours on weekends). This has the potential to change if I am unable to maintain the proper schedule as the host. I will try to hold to it though.

~~~

Differences from what will be seen on Mafia Universe:

• We'll still use the poll for voting, as usual on The Syndicate games. On Mafia Universe voting is conducted entirely in the thread, and an automated program keeps a tally.
• The same automated program will likely end day phases immediately when a hammer vote is reached (a majority of >50% the number of living players). On The Syndicate we won't have this. Hammer votes will still apply the same way, but I will have to end the day phase manually. This means that if I am not present at the time a hammer is delivered, there will be some delay before I can finalize the end of the day phase.

Purpose:
I've volunteered to host this game here for one primary reason. A lot of the standards and concepts being employed in this setup are quite foreign to The Syndicate culture. Turnip Head had to adjust on the fly last year to a very different type of game (and he did a great job of that). This time we're trying to give Golden and any other champs representatives from our friendly Mafia neighbors an opportunity to get some exposure to this stuff before being thrown into the fire. I'm mimicking the proposed Matrix12 setup in as many ways as I reasonably can. Obviously anyone else here is welcome to take part beyond just champs representatives, because we have 17 slots to fill.

Come on out and get a taste of the madness Golden will be dealing with soon.

This is at least a start. There are likely more details to come as the flow out on Mafia Universe. If anyone has any questions about anything here, whether it be about rules, mechanics, or what a certain role is -- please ask. I'd be happy to answer, unless it's about the Mafia Jack-of-all-trades role. I don't know what "shot" or "save" specifically refer to either. Don't worry, I'm looking into it.

There's no poll option yet, but you can still sign up by simply saying you'd like to play in the thread.

Players signed up:
1. Silverwolf
2. ika
3. Metalmarsh89
4. MovingPictures07
5. Soneji
6. Long Con
7. sig
8. DrWilgy
9. Zexy
10. Psittaciform
11. Inawordyes
12. Marco
13. Dyslexicon
14. a2thezebra
15. Frog
16. Sloonei
17. Golden