The Syndicate

First off I wanted to talk about smalltown in general and how the setup was deigned. The game was meant to roughly day 3, and at most day 4, so it ending night 2 is slightly faster than anticipated, but even then it was still very close to the wire. Despite how it might look being a short game, I think it ended up actually achieving the main goal I aim for when making smalltown games and that is having a close finish that leaves the game open for either side to snag victory. Given how things panned out I actually do think that this was the case since Mafia only barely was able to outmaneuver the Town in the end with Serial Killer loosing to a combination of poor night decisions and appearing too townie to the point the Mafia went to kill him. That being said I did try a few things that are a bit different from normal games.

Game mechanics wise I prefer smalltown games to be flipless as I do think it is more interesting given the mechanical significance of smalltown and the fact smalltown does lean quite heavily in favor of Town. Although I do think it would have been too harsh for Town to just be flipless, so I gave the Mafia some drawbacks notably the lack of a daychat which is commonplace, but also the restriction of night actions needing to be sacrificed to kill. In the end I think the lack of daychat may be a little on the harsh side, but I actually think the combination of flipless for the Mafia having to give up an action to attack was a fair tradeoff that ended up working pretty well for the game. The only think I might change is (in hindsight) not allowing Passive roles like Coroner, Doublevoter, or Lawyer (since it is daytime) from working that night or following day. I also decided to not allow these to be roleblocked either, but I actually do think that might be a mistake and allowing passive roles to be blocked would certainly make the Mafia-aligned Jailkeeper to feel less useless.

I decided to try out a Non-Consecutive Poisoner rather than an outright Vigilante since I thought it might end up being a bit better balance-wise in the event there is 2 killing roles. This I think ended up being a good call since I noticed the Mafia night 2 were worried about the Doctor still getting another action and making them a tad more cautious in the night than they would have otherwise been. Overall I would say this version of a Vigilante is actually fairly effective balance-wise. Although maybe allowing the poison to be healable the night it would kill could also be worth testing, though I do think that would make it basically impossible for poisoner to ever get kills.

Delayed Cop was something I was not originally going to use, I was just going to do the standard thing you find in most smalltown games of a Parity Cop, but I wanted to see how the game dynamic might shift if the Cop was only delayed until end of day instead of needing 2 full nights. This might seem like a minor difference, but I put the Neighborizer in the game for this very reason to try and allow for some more interesting plans for scum to go after the Neighborizer or Cop night 1 to avoid getting caught out by a Neighborized Delayed Cop early info. To some extent it could be argued this worked with SK deciding to kill the Delayed Cop early, but the interaction never got fully explored really.

Neighborizer as a whole I also think was kind of interesting. I already mentioned the interaction intended with Delayed Cop, but there was also the Coroner to allow the Neighborizer to potentially get information from them out that might not make it to the next day, ultimately making it unlikely for a flip to go undiscovered. The Encryptor passive I added on was also there so that if it were Mafia, they could argue for neighborizing Mafia to allow for more coordination during the daytime. Of course it did not roll Mafia, but I still think it was a noteworthy design decision. I think 3-shot was possibly unneccissary. The game was not meant to last until day 5 anyways so not really needed I guess.

Bus Driver I do sort of regret adding. I personally do not see it as an extremely chaotic role, but it is clear that most people do see it as too chaotic to allow to live. It was my intent to add the role as a way to allow someone to disrupt the plans of the Mafia or Town by swapping kill targets or protections around. I think maybe if it had some kind of restriction to not be able to mess with Tracker and Cop results it could probably have been a fine addition, but I think the mere idea of Bus Driver being allowed to mess things up badly was possibly a bit too much. I also think it had a rather poor potential interaction with Trapper as it double visits making it very likely to just die.

Speaking of Trapper, it was one of the more experimental roles I came across and decided to add. I was originally considering a Day Vigilante for the slot, but saw this as a potentially good compromise as it offered a less guaranteed kill while also having PGO-esk pressure. I think it ended up working pretty much how I envisioned it would (both for Town Trapper not acting N1 and Mafia Trapper going after a likely protected player). Overall I actually do quite like this role design wise, but might suggest making it unable to act after getting 1 kill since I was still worried going into it that 2 traps might be too much killing power. It's hard to say really since the Town Trapper did not last to the point their ability could begin carrying Town.

Copycat was the other more experimental role on the list. I've seen graverobbing roles that use dead players before, but wanted to try the opposite out. How this role ended up working was that it would target 2 players, copying the first action onto the second. It was a double visit like Bus Driver, so it was also quite susceptible to Trapper/PGO attacks, but I think that is a fair tradeoff for how strong the potential ability was. I initially thought that making it Roaming so it could not target the same player twice would be good balance, but I actually do not think that it might need more restrictions. I'm considering (if I run this again ever) making the role 1-shot or just disallowing certain roles like Killing Roles from being copied. I actually do also think that the aforementioned graverobbing version that takes dead player's instead of living players is also probably just the safer, more balanced role.

The last role I think is worth talking about was the Doublevoter. I think I might have gave it a little too much power in hindsight with it both breaking ties and not going away in the endgame. My initial thought was that the role would be way to weak and wanted to give it some more power to make it an actual legitimate threat that players would fear allowing to live to long (like the Cop or Doctor). I worry after seeing the amount of pressure 112 got day 2 that the power might actually have been a little too high since the mere idea of a non-Town Doublevoter nearly got them executed outright when there was a 1 for 1 between Nanook and Doki that mechanically guaranteed at least one was non-Town.

The final setup thoughts I had was on the Serial Killer. First I added the SK because I saw most 12 player smalltown games had 3 Mafia and 1 SK. I think this was fine, players were a bit paranoid of the SK day 1, but the SK is pretty much the only real counter to Mafia rolling all the Killing roles in the event that happens. In a lot of ways I think it is more of a necessary evil for smalltown's above 10 players. The only real issue I had with the SK this game was that passive choice they were given. I saw in the SK smalltown games the SK just had 1-2 passives with no choice. I thought it might be better to give the SK a choice since Innocent Cop didn't sound too useful nor did Ninja Tracker. Going forward though I think I would either make all passives 1-shot so the SK can only Strongman or Ninja 1 kill instead of all. That or I might give the SK 1 passive, but it lasts forever (since Bulletproof was 1-shot).

Lime Coke did a pretty good job with their role, although they got very unlucky with the Serial Killer both poisoning them and bypassing their otherwise successful night 1 protection. Otherwise LC did their job as Doctor and just drew the short straw when it came to luck. They did also correctly call out falcon for that questionable poison target, but with doki and Nanook counter claiming eachother it basically drowned out any hope of LC's intuition being followed up on.

nutella also got really unlucky night 1. It was a good call to watch the Coroner, but a Mafia Trapper already thought of that. Ironically if nutella did not die, the Mafia's plan of fake claiming they Jailkept lilypetal would have blown up in their face and nutella could have caught both Mafia red handed. Its a lot of whatifs, but not playing around the scum-aligned trap was nuterlla's only real mistake.

Nanook I do think correctly identified trapping night 1 as Town was a bad move. Unfortunately most disagreed despite the Lawyer chat coming to the consensus that doki was probably Mafia for avoiding voting Martin end of day 1. I think if Nanook was not as busy during day 2 they could have probably gotten the Town to realize that a PGO-like role not acting N1 is almost always Town and that doki's copied Tracker claim was a bit suspicious (especially since doki never actually claimed who Wilgy visited before Wilgy publicly claimed it).

Martin did unfortunately have a bit of a rough day 1 with people already wanting to mechanically out the Bus Driver, but also the fact that the town found him a bit on the suspicious side. Doki did try their best to save Martin, but it was not quite enough since falcon was not going to be executed uncontested as SK.

Seanzie checking 112 was pretty huge for Town if that went through. They also played well enough day 1 for SK to decide that Seanzie needed to die at risk of solving the game even though SK had Innocent. Sadly SK considered Seanzie too good to let live and chose Strongman to ensure Seanzie died.

Lilypetal was given an inch with the neighborhood chat invite day 1 and took it to run a mile. She very nearly solved the game with Abigail night 1 and even going into night 2 had solid scum reads. Wilgy was more or less the only one to slip under the radar of the gamesolving neighborhood duo and even then I suspect Lily would have been able to realize Wilgy was last Mafia if 112 and doki both died. Sadly the game ended a bit too quickly to see them put everything together. I think if lily's push to get 112 day 2 instead of Nanook succeeded this was quite possibly just a Town win.

Porscha was another player with amazing night 1 role usage but died too quickly. Doki was spotted by yet another tracking role night 1 meaning Doki could easily have accidentally lost it for both them and Wilgy if it wasn't for the incredible fortune of both tracking roles who saw Doki's visit didn't die the same night. Even if Wilgy was not implicated, going into N2 with just 1 Mafia is a rough position.

falcon45ca had an interesting SK strategy. Innocent never came into play since they talked themselves into killing Seanzie despite being Innocent, but their real tragedy was failing to hit a Mafia with any of their 3 kills. I can't say for certain, but it seemed to me that falcon though LC was Mafia and went against Mafia hunting night 2 because of it and instead went for the power player of Abigail. In the end only hitting town is ultimately what cost them the win. Players did not suspect falcon of being the SK all that much and the Mafia even attacked falcon thinking it was a Town hit. I don't think poisoning Doctor as Strongman is as outlandish as the Neighborhood chat night 2 thought it was. Even if the SK bypasses the Doctor, it still threw off the scent of the SK being Poisoner and took a fairly trusted player off the board.

Princess Abigail has a solid gameplan going in to invite Coroner D1 and Delayed Cop D2. Obvious the Cop died early, so they invited Wilgy which while a mistake did not end up costing them really. In fact Wilgy seemed to very nearly convince them that doki was SK and not Mafia. Abigails night 1 chat was Lily was extremely productive and just having the Coroner in chat meant that it would be hard to scum to ever make the game truely flipless.

112 is a bit hard to say really. Their role never actually came into play, but if night 2 went even slightly differently 112's ability had the potential to carry Town across the finish line. Doublevoter living that long ended up becoming a legitimate threat, unfortunately the hood came to the conclusion 112 was Mafia and Wilgy being invited over anyone else meant that 112's chances of ever convincing Abigail and Lily otherwise became near 0. In the end it seems self voting day 2 might have been the only real play 112 could have made to avoid being pushed up and executed day 3, but I don't think 112 had any reasonable way of knowing just how little the rest of the Town trusted them. And a Doublevoter with no trust from others is pretty much unable to do anything even if they try their best and solve the game.

doki's hail Mary play day 2 was something the Mafia really needed. 1 for 1ing themselves with Nanook was very risky, but getting the Town Trapper out of the picture drastically reduced the chance of Mafia randomly dying. They managed to convince the Town of their case for being legitimate, and somehow pulled through. They also did their best to save Martin, and managed to get away with it without many people overly suspecting the intent to keep things tied end of day 1. Doki also narrowly dodging so many checks night 1 was also nerve racking to watch (especially how late Mafia submitted that night kill on Porscha) I was certain doki's plan was not going to work with them being tracked N1.

DrWilgy did phenomenal as Mafia this game. They really managed to turn 1 Mafia outed day 1 and their other member being basically doomed in a 1 for 1 into getting themselves a position trusted enough to join the tight-knit neighborhood. The only thing that I think which could stop Wilgy's inevitable Mafia win was 112 or Wilgy dying to SK night 2. Despite what Wilgy said about the Jailkeeper being Mafia, I do think had anyone else had Jailkeepr Doki being permablocked by them would have been a strong possibility, just not having a protective role in play was more of a boon than I think Wilgy gave it credit.

Overall I think everyone actually did play a pretty good game and it was enjoyable to watch and host.

Game Spreadsheet w/actions:
Dead/Spec Chat: https://discord.gg/CBQJgXGhJ
Mafia Chat: https://discord.gg/YGwjkUgAzf
Lawyer Chat: https://discord.gg/PYV3axJBG

Princess Abigail (Lawyer) invites lilypetal (Psychic) to chat.
falcon45ca (Serial Killer Passive) choose to become an Innocent Strongman.

MartinGG99 (Trapezist) was executed by a tied vote.

Lime Coke (Medic) healed Seanzie (Security). Action failed due to Strongman Serial Killer.
nutella (Juggler) watched lilypetal's (Psychic) house. Action failed due to dokidoki (Beast Tamer Action). Would have seen dokidoki (Beast Tamer Action).
NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME (Beast Tamer) chose to not act night 1.
Seanzie (Security) checked 112 (Ringleader). Would recieve Town at the end of Day 2.
Porscha (Clown) tracked dokidoki (Mime). Saw them visit NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME (Beast Tamer) and lilypetal's (Psychic).
falcon45ca (Makeup Artist) poisoned Lime Coke (Medic).
falcon45ca (Serial Killer Action) attacked Seanzie (Security).
dokidoki (Mime) copied NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME (Beast Tamer) onto lilypetal's (Psychic)
DrWilgy (Mafia Factional) attacked Porscha (Clown)

nutella (Juggler) was killed by dokidoki (Beast Tamer Action).
Seanzie (Security) was killed by falcon45ca (Serial Killer Action).
Porscha (Clown) was killed by DrWilgy (Mafia Factional).

Princess Abigail (Lawyer) invites DrWilgy (Singer) to chat.

NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOMe (Beast Tamer) was executed by a majority vote.

Lime Coke (Medic) healed lilypetal (Psychic).
falcon45ca (Serial Killer Action) attacked Princess Abigail (Lawyer).
dokidoki (Mime) copied 112(Ringleader).
DrWilgy (Mafia Factional) attacked falcon45ca (Makeup Artist)

Lime Coke (Medic) was killed by falcon45ca (Makeup Artist).
Princess Abigail (Lawyer) was killed by falcon45ca (Serial Killer Action).
falcon45ca (Makeup Artist) was killed by DrWilgy (Mafia Factional).

@Lime Coke
@nutella
@NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME
@MartinGG99
@Seanzie
@Lilypetal
@Porscha
@falcon45ca
@☆Princess Abigail☆
@112
@dokidoki
@DrWilgy

@Lime Coke
@nutella
@NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME
@Seanzie
@Lilypetal
@Porscha
@falcon45ca
@☆Princess Abigail☆
@112
@dokidoki
@DrWilgy

@Lime Coke
@nutella
@NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME
@MartinGG99
@Seanzie
@Lilypetal
@Porscha
@falcon45ca
@☆Princess Abigail☆
@112
@dokidoki
@DrWilgy

@Lime Coke
@nutella
@NANOOKTHEGREATANDFEARSOME
@MartinGG99
@Seanzie
@Lilypetal
@Porscha
@falcon45ca
@☆Princess Abigail☆
@112
@dokidoki
@DrWilgy

You are the Beast Tamer, a skilled master of controlling even the most ferocious beasts. While there are quite a few differences between a lion and human, a trap works all the same.

Twice at night you may trap a player's room.
A random player who visits them that night will trigger the trap and be killed.
The player who is attacked by your trap is also roleblocked.

You are the Clown, a joke of a circus member. Even still you are great at following someone without them noticing and keeping track of their movements.

Each night you may track a player.
You will know who they visit that night, if anyone.

You are the Juggler, always on the move and really bad at keeping to yourself. Being nosy is just one of your qualities however, skillful note taking also helps significantly.

Each night you may watch a player
You will know who visits them that night, if anyone.
You cannot watch the same player two nights in a row.

You are the Lawyer, cold and cunning you just want to ensure nobody gets sued around here. Still you have a private communication network you maintain that could be helpful.

Thrice during the day you may invite a player to your neighborhood.
While you are alive, all of your neighborhood can talk during the day. If you die the remaining neighbors can still talk, but only at night.
If you are in the Mafia, you do not give the Mafia daychat.

You are the Makeup Artist, in charge of all the makeup products in the circus. Luckily you keep a few special once just in case situations like these appear.

Each night you may poison a player.
Your target will be publicly announced at the start of the next day if they were not healed.
You cannot act the phase after choosing a target even if your poison failed.

You are the Medic, making sure everyone is healthy and in peak physical conditions for the show.

Each night you may heal a player
Your will save them from a single night attack, trap, or poison.
You will prioritize healing them from night attacks and traps before poisonings.

You are the Mime, capable of mimicking just about anyone regardless of how much it annoys them.

Each night you may chose two targets. You will copy the first player's ability on the second player.
You can only copy each player's role once.
If you copy the Lawyer or Ringleader you will be able to use their role for the next day. Additionally, your neighborhood is separate from the Lawyer's and is not encrypted even if you target the Lawyer with it.
Psychic will give you the alignments of whoever dies that night as well as lynched or poisoned the next day.
You cannot chose to copy the action of the Trapezist.

You are the Psychic, using your crystal ball to glimpse at the intentions of the afterlife.

Whenever a player is killed or lynched you will know their alignment.

You are the Ringleader, in charge of keeping everyone in line. So far perhaps that is not going as planned, but at least they still look up to you for now.

Your vote counts for two.
In the event votes are tied between two players, your vote is given priority for who is lynched.

You are the Secruity, while you may not be allowed to carry a gun you can still pretend to be a real cop and snoop on everyone figuring out lose threads connecting them in your mind.

Each night you may check a player.
You will know their alignment. however, your results are delayed until the end of the following day.

You are the Singer, entertaining the masses with your unrivaled charm. You should be able to keep anyone busy and distracted all night long.

Thrice at night you may roleblock and heal a player.
They will be prevented from using their action or killing that night.
Your will also save them from a single night attack or poison.
You will prioritize healing them from night attacks before poisonings.

You are the Trapezist, swinging through the air in breathtaking acrobatics. You also know that the nameplates above everyone's door can easily be switched and fool just about anyone. Though you got to keep your secrets to yourself right?

Twice at night you may swap two players.
Anyone targeting player A will target player B and everyone targeting player B will target player A instead.

You are Town. You win when the Mafia and Serial Killer have been killed.

You are Mafia. You win when the Mafia has equal numbers with the Town and the Serial Killer has been killed.

Your allies are [X] the [X-Role] and [Y] the [Y-Role].

You are the Serial Killer. You win if you are alive when there is fewer than 3 living players.

You may chose before the start of night 1 two of the following modifiers.
Bulletproof - You are shielded from the first attack or poison against you.
Ninja - Tracker and Watcher will not see your kills.
Strongman - Your kills cannot be stopped or changed by any other roles.
Innocent - You appear as Town to the Cop and Coroner.