This is finally going to happen, once it gets on a game queue poll. I will re-tool it to see if I can reduce the number of players. If not, it will remain at 30.
As for game details- well, they're secret you sillyheads! HA-HA! HA! HA!
3/24: Since I found some of my old game files, I started posting some things so people have some background on where SM3 is picking up in the overall SM storyline. Not all the content will be posted in chronological order but the posts will be laid out below in as close to chronological order as possible.
G-Man wrote:Since there's a long list of games to be played and I will probably make revisions to what's been sitting on my flashdrive for the last 2-3 years, I figure this is probably the best place to post this game idea. This is basically just to serve notice that I intend to try to make this thing (finally) happen.
As for game details- well, they're secret you sillyheads! HA-HA! HA! HA!
Black Rock wrote:Nice to see you and this. If I agree to play the third installment what's the chances of me being screwed over like the first two games?
I had to go back and look at my spreadsheets to see what you might have meant about getting screwed over. I'll concede things went poorly for you in the first game but I don't recall how things ran sour for you in SM2. I wish I would have copied those game threads to preserve the narratives. I'm actually re-tooling those first two games to turn them into stories and have had to make up a lot of stuff due to not remembering who feuded with who in-game.
I pulled up my roles for SM3 last night and I gotta say, it's rife for a lot of screwing over as it currently sits. I'd put your odds at 1-in-3.
Mayhap I should reconfigure the game mechanics a little bit? It might not be such a good idea for a rusty host such as myself to launch a game with that much potential chaos.
In SM2 I believe we had a lynch where BR and I were the only two options (which had just happened in another game), and I was lynched and all protections were lost. And I think my lynch somehow changed her role, but I don't remember what happened after I was lynched.
fingersplints wrote:In SM2 I believe we had a lynch where BR and I were the only two options (which had just happened in another game), and I was lynched and all protections were lost. And I think my lynch somehow changed her role, but I don't remember what happened after I was lynched.
I think I met keys during SM2.
I think I needed you alive to win or something, somehow your death screwed me. *sigh*
OH!!! I figured out what you guys are referencing. In SM2, Fingersplints was the character who was in communion with the island spirit and Black Rock was one of the native protectors of the island spirit. Black Rock and her two teammates were unkillable as long as Fingersplints was alive. Anyone who tried to kill someone or had BTSC with someone who tried to kill someone lost their innocence (though Black Rock's team was exempt from this- they were permanently innocent as long as innocence was in play). Also, if anyone voted for or used a power on someone on Black Rock's team, they would lose their innocence as well. Finally, if Fingersplints lost her innocence and was lynched or killed, all innocence would be lost and everyone (including Black Rock's team) became fair game.
I don't know what triggered it but something happened that caused Black Rock and Fingersplints to be the only two options on the Day 4 lynch poll. At this point, Fingersplints still had her innocence. The vote was close but had Fingersplints voted for herself, she would have remained innocent and nobody would have been lynched. By voting for Black Rock, Fingersplints lost her innocence and was thus susceptible to being lynched. She lost her innocence and died, which caused the island spirit to leave altogether, thereby making everyone, including Black Rock fair game.
I recall the innocence factor being a major problem in that game. It looked good on paper but it was a drag. Nobody died the first day or night because of it. Someone was killed by the daytime bomber role on Day 2 but the Day 2 lynch resulted in no one dying because of the innocence factor. Someone got killed Night 2. Day 3 was another lynch lost to the innocence factor and THE GAME protected the two nightkill targets on Night 3 to spite the island spirit. So Fingersplints was lynched on DAY FREAKING 4 and was only the third person to die in the whole darn game. Though maybe Keys died Day 4 by the daytime bomber's second attack because I have him inactive as of Night 4. Who the heck knows. I don't seem to have saved the posts I wrote for the game or they are saved to another drive somewhere.
Losing Fingersplints sucked because her role had an awesome special feature had she been killed in stead of lynched. But oh well. Looking back on all that... yeah, it'll be real interesting throwing newbies into the mix. :P
Needless to say, there won't be anything quite as complex. Diabolical and heartbreaking? Yes. Complex innocence nonsense? No. It looks like I engineered SM3 for maximum carnage.
I played SM1 and won as Jane Doe I believe. I stepped out of SM2 because I suck at decoding and I thought others might want a shot at playing. I only won in the first one because I was teamed with aapje I believe, who kicked ass at decoding, lol. But I would be up for a SM3 if I would not be taking the spot of someone who hasn't gitten a chance to play one of your games. Seriously, your games are legendary! So excited to see this.
I found a couple of posts that were written for SM1 and SM2. I'll try to post them here off and on to help give people a taste of what those games were all about.
Here is the first two parts of my 8-part PIANOVILLE: A HISTORY series that provided a historical background for the fictional setting. I can't believe how much I wrote!
PART 1 OF 8
Nestled into the Northwestern Italian Alps, the small town of Pianoville has a history as rich as any. Situated in a lush mountain valley, Pianoville has meant many things to many people over the years.
Discovered, though probably not for the first time, in 1903 by Italian cartographer and explorer Izata Piano (1878-1943), the valley captivated his imagination and sense of wonder. Here, tall mountain peaks tumbled into evergreens and a myriad of grasses, shrubs and flowers. Piano spent several weeks mapping out the valley’s every twist and turn and living amongst its natural splendor.
For the next five years, Izata Piano traveled throughout Europe, mapping other remote and beautiful locations. As impressive as these locales may have been, the little valley in Italy continued to call out to him. Every year, at the height of summer, Izata would return to that valley. Some say it was the only place he ever felt truly at home. The valley would not become his home for many years though.
By February of 1909, Piano had earned the respect and credibility from his peers and was invited to take part on an expedition traveling the world. For two and a half years, Piano and a team of cartographers and scientists crisscrossed the globe. They sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to South America, where the team became lost in the Amazon rain forest for nearly two weeks before befriending a local tribe. After developing rapport with the tribe, the team was set back on their way.
Sailing through the treacherous Straits of Magellan, the team then moved on to the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean. Izata did his best to map their course, detailing the 65 islands they came upon before reaching New Guinea. After a brief stay in Indonesia and a month in India due to the crew’s illness, the expedition moved on to the African coast, sailing around the great continent and documenting the peoples, animals and vegetation to be found there.
The expedition concluded in December of 1911 and Izata Piano found himself in London. He made a decent living instructing wealthy nobles the art of cartography but his heart longed for more adventures. London was simply not the place to settle down. He purchased a ticket to travel to America aboard the R.M.S. Titanic in the spring of 1912 but a touch of influenza prevented him from making the ill-fated crafts maiden voyage.
Taking it as a sign, Piano traveled back to his native Italy and discovered a region caught in growing turmoil. Using most of the money he had earned in London and borrowing from his wealthy Sicilian uncle, Piano purchased as much of his beloved valley as possible and built himself a homestead. Working off the land, he traveled to the nearest town every other week for supplies. Living off the land as best he could, Izata had finally found his happiness.
Unfortunately, that happiness would be short-lived. In 1914, Izata was uprooted from his home when he enlisted for military service during World War I. With love for his country burning deeply inside him, Izata served for nearly four straight years, seeing battle on the North African and Western fronts. He also served Italy during the Serbian campaign and defended his homeland when the war was brought upon Italy’s doorstep.
While serving in eastern France, Izata fell in love with a young woman named Adalene Lefevre. Though he was 15 years her senior, the two were deeply in love. Her tenderness and grace helped Izata forget all of the horrors he had witnessed during combat. Upon the conclusion of his military service, Izata returned to France and married Adalene. He took her back to his valley and they worked hard to make a life there, growing whatever crops they could and tending small farm animals to provide enough food for the two of them.
The timing of their move was a lucky one, as the Spanish Influenza pandemic swept through France mere weeks after their nuptials. Their valley and their limited contact with other people helped them escape the Spanish Flu crisis while many other parts of the world were ravaged. Once the deadly flu had passed, Izata and Adalene brought their aging parents to live with them at the valley because they were no longer able to take care of their own farms and crops. The Pianos and the Lefevres faced many hard times but the bonds of family made it worth their troubles.
To be continued…
PART 2 OF 8
Life in the valley had its ups and downs but the Piano and Lefevre families celebrated with great joy on April 17, 1921, when Adalene gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Raul Piano was a source of great pride for both families and would become the focus of the rest of Izata’s life. A devoted father, Izata took his son everywhere he could, including him in virtually every aspect of his day-to-day routine.
Izata and his loved ones watched with great caution as Benito Mussolini rose to power in 1922. While Italy’s new ruler did not pose an immediate threat to what had come to be called the Piano Valley, Izata and his father kept watchful eye on newspaper s and attentive ears to radio broadcasts. The rhetoric espoused by Mussolini pointed to a thirst for power unlike anything seen before in Italy.
The Piano farm and homestead grew in several ways during the course of 1923. On June 18, Mount Etna erupted on the island of Sicily. Though a great distance from the valley in the North, the family opened their doors to Izata’s uncle, Claudio, and his family. On October 13, Adalene gave birth to their second son, Zanipolo Piano. Just two months later, a dam on the Po River, south of the valley, burst. Over 600 people were killed and thousands more displaced by the flood waters. Izata welcomed half a dozen refugees to the valley, where they could work to earn their keep until their hometown was restored. With a population now numbering nearing 20 people, nights in Pianoville were filled with chatter, games and mirth.
Izata left his family behind early in 1924 to compete in the I Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix, France. He competed on behalf of Italy in the 18 km Cross-country skiing event. Though he put forth a valiant effort and was a skilled skier, but at age 46, he was unable to keep up with his younger competitors. Though he failed to medal, Izata was sent to Rome, where he and the rest of the Italian Olympians met Benito Mussolini in person. He praised their efforts even though Italy failed to earn a single medal at the Games.
In the Spring of 1924, the National Fascist Party dominated elections with a 2/3 majority, securing almost limitless power. The following year, Mussolini declared himself dictator over the Italian people. The Piano Valley was remote enough to avoid the treachery of the police state that built up in urban centers but Izata watched with disgust as his beloved country had its spirit mercilessly crushed in the iron hands of an egomaniacal dictator. The re-establishment of the death penalty in 1927, rumors of secret police and the use of propaganda to indoctrinate the youth of Italy nearly drove Izata and his family to flee across the Alps into Switzerland.
The only thing holding them back was Adalene’s third pregnancy. Izata realized it would be far too dangerous for her to attempt the trip while carrying a child and their parents were far too old to attempt such a perilous journey. Bianca Piano was born March 2, 1927 and became the light in the darkness that the Pianos, Lefevres and their friends would cling to (as well as the other children) in these growing days of darkness.
In February of 1928, Izata traveled to St. Moritz Switzerland to serve as the Italian skiing coach during the II Winter Olympic Games. While there, he not only drank his first Coca Cola, but also spoke to many Swiss citizens and other coaches and athletes from the 25 nations present. From seemingly casual conversation, he managed to gauge the political climate of Europe, as the Italian state-run media was unreliable and biased. Once again, the entire Italian contingent failed to earn a medal at the Games. When they met with Mussolini after the games it was not as pleasant as last time. Mussolini berated the athletes and told them that future excellence would be expected. The Italians had been successful at the Summer Games and the Italian leader demanded the same excellence out of his winter athletes or else.
Mussolini was not finished with Piano yet though. His history as an explorer and cartographer made him an ideal candidate to be sent with an Italian envoy to Ethiopia. Izata was to do survey work and draft maps of useful land that could be exploited as a result of the Italian-Ethiopian Treaty. The treaty allowed the Italian government to take certain plots of land for their own uses. This would become a valuable resource during the Battle for Grain, helping Italy become one of Europe’s top grain producing nations. Piano was also pressured into allowing the government to use parcels of his own valley during the Battle for Grain, as long as enough was left for the survival of his family and friends.
The end of the 1920s saw further moves to indoctrinate the youth of Italy. Much of the educational system became little more than an institution of propaganda and brainwashing. The Piano Valley was still remote enough to avoid the public education system but Izata and Adalene knew they wouldn’t be able to protect their family from the clutches of Italian fascism forever.
Here's two more entries to my Pianoville- A History series from SM1. I'm making a few revisions for grammar's sake. No one probably remembers these posts anyway.
PART 3 OF 8
Even though the Great Depression first struck the United States in 1929, it wasn’t until 1931 that ripples of economic tragedy made their way to Italy. As banks and lenders closed their doors, the livelihood of millions crumbled in their wake. Factories, businesses and shops went out like a falling tower of cards. Izata Piano and his family were moderately insulated from the financial slaughter but prices fell dramatically for what few crops they were able to sell.
As the fiscal nightmare spread across the European continent, Izata never closed his heart or his home to family. In the summer of 1931, Izata welcomed his Sicilian uncle, Claudio, to the farm. His uncle had lost his entire life savings when Italy’s banking system collapsed. Claudio’s son, Vincentio, brought his father to the farm, unable to provide for the both of them but promised to help the Piano’s when he could and returned to Sicily.
While his own country was teetering on the brink of total collapse, Izata watched with dread as the Nazi party grew ever stronger in nearby Germany. The charismatic Adolf Hitler was gaining massive popularity while espousing the most terrifying ideas. Piano had more to fear on the home front, as the next Winter Olympiad was approaching and the Italian skiers had not shown much improvement.
In February of 1932, Izata traveled with his team of skiers to America for the III Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. Here, Piano was exposed to the wonder of the cinema, seeing films such as City Lights, Frankenstein and Dracula. He was captivated by American cinema and would tell his children many fantastic stories about what he had seen.
Not all was happy during the Olympics though. As Izata had feared, the Italian skiers failed to medal. His dread was compounded by the fact that none of the Italian athletes visited the medal stand during those eleven days. While the Italian athletes were again treated as heroes upon their return home, Izata and the rest of the Italian coaches were secretly detained and beaten for “failing their country.” Piano returned home a broken but optimistic man. He had been permanently relieved of his coaching duties, thereby sparing him from future beatings.
Tragedy struck the Piano family later that year when a polio outbreak reached their valley. Both Izata’s mother and 5-year-old Bianca succumbed to the disease within a month of each other. The family mourned and buried both at the base of the valley. Though no one could have possibly known it then, these burials were just the first what would become a long line of funerals in the valley.
The death of his mother and daughter and the wellbeing of his family and friends weighed heavily on Izata over the next two years. The 1934 World Cup helped bring some cheer back to him though. Taking his boys to see several of the matches, including Italy’s 2-1 victory over the Czechs was a welcome distraction for everyone in the valley. The joy would be short-lived though, as Hitler’s rise to Führer in Germany and the opening of a state run school near the valley made the family ever more anxious. No longer able to protect the boys from Mussolini’s propaganda and indoctrination, Izata and Adalene were forced to send their children to the education center.
Europe’s political climate only worsened in the following years. In October of 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia, sparking the second Italo-Abyssinian War. It would drain Italy of monetary resources at a time when the country was still recovering the global recession. The war also served to elevate Mussolini’s popularity in Italy and in the international community. Living underneath Mussolini’s rule was another story; one Izata knew all too well.
Almost exactly a year later, Mussolini would officially align himself and Italy with the equally dangerous Adolf Hitler with the creation of the Rome-Berlin Axis. Between Hitler’s lust for power and Mussolini’s penchant for cruelty, Izata and his family began to fear some kind of large-scale conflict on the horizon. With his eldest son approaching eligibility for military service, the Pianos knew that something would have to be done soon. Plans were made an afterthought though when Izata’s father passed away in March of 1937.
On January 25, 1938, Izata witnessed a very rare aurora borealis that stretched as far south as Gibraltar and startled many across Europe. He took it as a sign to prepare a route to Switzerland for his family and friends and began scouting potential mountain paths the following spring. Izata’s plotting came at the right time, as Nazi Germany began a long streak of antagonism that eventually led to war. By the end of the year, Izata and his eldest son had mapped out several potential escape routes over the mountains.
As winter melted into spring, the Piano Valley had come alive with planning and preparations. The big move would come in autumn, after the harvest. In April, Italy invaded Albania and Raul Piano turned 18. The Italian military moved swiftly and came to the valley a week after his birthday to escort him into military service. As the world descended into war for the second time in Izata’s life, he was left a broken man. He had failed to save his eldest son but vowed to aide any who wished to flee Italy in these times of turmoil.
To be continued...
PART 4 OF 8
Having mapped out several potential paths into Switzerland, Izata Piano and his family looked longingly to the fall, when they would make their first attempt for freedom. World War II had continued to escalate, with Italy and Germany signing a pact against France in March of 1940. That June, Italy formally declared war on France, bringing the battle uncomfortably close to the valley. Finally, in October, Italy declared war against Greece, further driving up the need for soldiers to fuel the military machine.
The most important event in terms of the valley occurred in September of 1940 though. After harvesting the crops and planning out rations for the journey, they were on the move. Though the Pianos only needed to trek less than 10 miles as the crow flies to the Swiss town Zermatt, situated at the northern foot of renowned Matterhorn, their trek would follow a roundabout course through difficult Alpine terrain. Izata suspected the journey might take as many as four days, considering the age and agility of Adalene’s parents.
Leaving on a warm Sunday morning in mid September, the journey seemed to be moving perfectly. Then tragedy struck. In the middle of the afternoon, the footing beneath the party gave way in a rock slide. Though the travelers did not slide more than 30 feet from their intended path, several in the party had been injured and Adalene’s mother struck her head on a jagged rock, killing her instantly. What began earlier that day as a journey of hope became a funeral procession back to the valley. No more attempts at the trail would be made that year, as broken bones and broken spirits needed time to mend.
In late January of 1941, Izata and Adalene were informed that their eldest son, Raul, had been killed when Allied forces took over the Italian military post at Tobruk, Libya. They were devastated at the loss of their son. Zanipolo was now their only living child and Izata knew the military would be coming for him upon his 18th birthday in the fall. There was no margin for error this time. Izata had to move his family. Giving himself as much lead time as possible, Izata moved his wife and son to Switzerland in early June. Upon arriving in Zermatt, Adalene and Zanipolo were taken in by a local man Izata had befriended during his days as coach of the Italian Olympic skiing team.
Adalene’s father had elected to stay behind at the farm and help Izata prepare other treks through the mountains, helping anyone who sought freedom and safety in neutral Switzerland. The two of them maintained the farm with the help of a constantly changing set of hands. Word spread through the region quickly but quietly that Izata had created an escape route and many were interested. They would come and work on the farm for a period of weeks until rations could be prepared and the weather cooperated. Some trekking parties found freedom in Zermatt, while a few died along the journey.
In October of 1941, the Italian army came to usher Zanipolo into his required military service. Izata and Pascal Lefevre had crafted a story in which Adalene and Zanipolo had deserted Italy against his wishes, only to die in the mountains. They were able to show the soldiers the remains of a middle-aged woman and a young man at the bottom of a deep ravine who had in fact died upon their own journey for freedom. The military believed the story and would not return to the valley for two years.
All told, Izata and Pascal helped provide nearly 500 people with a route to freedom. Nearly one in ten travelers died upon the treacherous path but the 458 who found their asylum in Switzerland were eternally grateful. Izata’s uncle Claudio passed away of natural causes in February of 1943 but his uncle Cristiano successfully made the journey through the Alps in April. Eventually though, the Italian government learned of Piano’s pathway and put an end to it. On May 2nd, the Italian military raided the valley farm and arrested Piano and Lefevre for treason against Italy. They were publically executed two weeks later and buried in a common grave.
Word of their execution made its way to Adalene and Zanipolo weeks later. Their family had been destroyed by disease and war but they vowed to persevere and remember their loved ones as the heroes that they were. In July, Benito Mussolini was arrested and stripped of power after the Allied Forces successfully invaded southern Italy. It would turn out to be the beginning of the end for Italian fascism. The nation would be divided into two parts later that year, the north still loyal to Mussolini and Hitler and the south loyal to the Allied forces.
Adalene and Zanipolo celebrated with many friends who had made the journey to Zermatt on April 25, 1945. The last remnants of Mussolini’s forces had been crushed and the so-called Italian Socialist Republic was officially liberated from Axis control. Two weeks later, all of Europe would celebrate the end of World War II on the continent. The battle raged on in the Pacific but order and normalcy finally seemed to be in reach for many.
June of 1946 brought about great changes in Italy. Officially declaring itself a republic, the new Italian government was open to the return of those who fled the country during Mussolini’s reign. With the prospect of reclaiming the valley his father had adored so much in mind, Zanipolo Piano and his mother returned to their homeland. Zanipolo’s great uncle, Cristiano made the trip home as well. The trio was welcomed by Cristiano’s son Vincentio and his family. Holding himself in their debt for taking care of his father for the past 15 years, Vincentio vowed to help Zanipolo reclaim his father’s valley and rebuild beyond its former splendor.
After eight months of working through bureaucrats and red tape, Zanipolo succeeded in regaining his father’s valley. Vincentio used his contacts in the new government to secure even more land than the late Izata Piano had ever owned. The territory was officialy renamed and recognized as Valle di Piano. Vincentio’s two sons, Dante and Enzo, helped Zanipolo rebuild the farm, which had been left in ruin after the arrest of his father and grandfather.
By the summer of 1948, Valle di Piano had been restored and celebration was in order. Zanipolo returned to Switzerland and brought back the girl he had fallen in love with during his time in hiding. Collette Gilliard and Zanipolo Piano exchanged vows on Saturday, September 18, 1948. After a short honeymoon in France, the couple settled into the daily routine of the farm. Adalene stayed in the valley with her son and daughter-in-law but Cristiano moved back to Sicily with his son.
Thanks to financial assistance from the Marshall Plan, Italy’s economic climate continued to improve slowly over the years. Living a mostly self-sufficient lifestyle made it easier for Zanipolo and Collette to get on their feet and make something for themselves. Though the crops they produced were never terribly great in number, enough could be sold to afford them a comfortable yet modest lifestyle. Their profitability was reduced but their joy increased with the birth of a son. Izata Pascal Piano was born April 26, 1950.
In December of 1950, Mount Etna erupted once again and Zanipolo traveled to Sicily to help his extended family pick up the pieces of their now broken lives. Cristiano had been killed when the family’s house collapsed and Dante’s youngest son, Guido, perished as well. Zanipolo spent six months in Sicily helping his extended family get back on their feet. During this time, deep bonds were formed between Zanipolo and his second cousins.
When Zanipolo returned to Valle di Piano early in the summer of 1951 he found that the population of the valley had increased considerably. Not long after he had traveled to Sicily, avalanches wreaked havoc on the Italian Alps and displaced dozens of families. In the spirit of her late husband, Adalene convinced Collette that providing refuge to the needy was the right thing to do. This increase in helping hands nearly doubled the amount of farmland that could be worked. Zanipolo was proud of his mother and wife and thrilled to see the success of the valley grow.
Over the next few years, Valle di Piano continued to grow and succeed. Farm hands came and went as they pleased, some purchasing small lots from Zanipolo to set up their own homestead. Zanipolo and Collette celebrated the births of two daughters as well. Lucetta Adalene was born May 1, 1952 and Nadine Evelyne was born October 3, 1953. Everything in the valley was bountiful for several years and Italy continued to lift itself out of the post-war economic troubles. Zanipolo kept in contact with his Sicilian cousins and was pleased to learn that Vincentio’s sons, Dante and Enzo, had founded a construction firm that was beginning to take off as Italy vigorously rebuilt itself. Dante’s sons, Ciro and Dino, who were only several years younger than Zanipolo himself, were beginning to grow into the family business.
When Italy joined the United Nations in 1955, Zanipolo’s second cousin Enzo was among the Italian delegation. Enzo traveled to New York City, where he made many diplomatic and personal contacts that would benefit his family for years to come. Though not named as the official ambassador to the United Nations, Enzo never lost the clout attached to being part of that first delegation. It made him somewhat of a celebrity, which he used to further his business and to further support his family.
In January of 1956, Italy played host to its first ever Olympic Games. The VII Winter Olympic Games were held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, a small village situated in a valley not too unlike Valle di Piano. Zanipolo took note of this while he and his family visited and watched many different events held during the eleven-day Games. A private ceremony was held midway through the Games, where the Italian ski team presented Zanipolo with a plaque commemorating his father’s contributions to the Italian ski program and for his humanitarian efforts during the height of World War II.
Zanipolo left the 1956 Winter Games with a vision for Valle di Piano. After seeing vast quantities of commerce and fellowship in the Olympic Village, Zanipolo grew determined to convert his farming village into a nexus of international commerce and brotherhood. For four years, he would dream and plan out a possible conversion of the valley while its agricultural output continued to grow and provide his family with an abundant lifestyle.
To be continued...
PART 6 OF 8:
After years of generating ideas, Zanipolo Piano was ready to turn his dream of converting Valle di Piano into a reality. The death of Vincentio Piano in late May of 1960 coincided close enough to the Summer Olympic Games in Rome for Zanipolo to prolong his stay with his extended family. Dante and Enzo’s construction company had been one of the lucky few to find success over the past few years. Neither of Enzo’s daughters was interested in construction, so the future of the company would lie with Dante’s boys, Ciro and Dino, who were by this time pushing thirty and already well established in their father’s company.
While the athletes were competing for medals, Zanipolo was doing his best to convince his cousins that Valle di Piano could be converted into a tourism hotspot. Dante and Enzo were optimistic about the possibilities but Ciro and Dino, the shrewd businessmen that they were, were concerned about the amount of money such renovations might incur. They told Zanipolo that they might be able to pull together a group of investors from their myriad of contacts and associates but also that he would have to prove that he was capable of generating the kind of revenue that would keep a tourism center going.
Zanipolo returned home more confident than ever that he could fulfill his dreams. Collette was cautious at first but her husband convinced her that they needed to make some potentially risky financial moves in order to attract investors. In 1961 they took a great sum of money from their savings and invested in several Northern Italian industrial and manufacturing companies. This would prove to be very profitable in both the short term and in the long run. Zanipolo and Collette were turned into millionaires almost overnight. This provided them with more than enough money to build a modest-sized hostel and a bed and breakfast in the valley.
As the 60s carried on, cultures and sensibilities changed around the globe. In the United States, more and more young people were looking to see the world instead of vacation with their parents. Young people across Europe were also venturing out on holiday more and more. Valle di Piano slowly but surely became one of those quaint word-of-mouth must-stay places. Zanipolo and the family never ran out of beds for visitors but they were busy enough to make even more money.
The year that would prove to be the turning point for the valley was 1963. In February, Zanipolo found himself transfixed by Frederico Fellini’s 8 ½, a film that would generate great interest in Italian cinema worldwide. Zanipolo took his family to repeated viewings of the masterpiece and looked into investing in future Italian cinema productions. He found a niche market in what were termed ‘spaghetti westerns,’ films made to look like they took place in the American Old West but filmed in the deserts of Italy and Spain. Over the years, the Pianos would help finance several of these films, including Faccia a faccia, Il grande silenzio, and Per un pugno di dollari among others.
As the year wore on, the Italian government made a firm commitment to ferret out the Mafia. After a string of bombings, shootings and attacks that had begun the year before, the Italian people wanted to be rid of the Mafia menace. Thousands were arrested and those who evaded arrest were forced into hiding. Perhaps he was blinded by ambition and hope, but Zanipolo didn’t put the pieces together when his cousins and their growing families showed up on their doorstep late that fall. Adalene had her concerns and imparted them upon Collette but Zanipolo chose to believe that Dante and Enzo had brought their families to Valle di Piano to escape the madness of Sicily during the crackdown.
Having lost most of their business due to the move, Dante, Enzo and the boys set out to help Zanipolo achieve his dream. By 1967, Ciro and Dino had re-established their construction empire in Northern Italy while Zanipolo and Collette’s personal fortunes continued to grow thanks to their wise investments. Young Izata, nearly ready to go to University, had developed three passions in his life. From his father he had gained a deep love for the cinema. From his relatives he developed a keen sense for engineering. Finally, his youthful exuberance led him to grow fond of fast cars and auto racing.
Ninteen sixty-eight was an important year for everyone in the valley. All of Italy celebrated as the national team won the European Football Championship as the host country. Throughout the year, several sporting events saw a rise in tourism to Valle di Piano, nearly forcing new hostels and even a small hotel to be built. The Winter Olypic Games were held in Grenoble, France and the attendance was so great that spectators had to lodge at the valley, over 150 miles away! Late that spring, the course of the Giro d'Italia contained a stage close enough to the valley to draw in cycling enthusiasts. And of course, there were still the American tourists, seeking quaint places to lose themselves for a week or more.
In the fall, Izata enrolled in the Sapienza University of Rome to pursue an engineering degree. During his first year he found himself feeling very much an outsider. Many of his peers took part in political protests, clinging to romanticized tales of revolutionaries like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Not sharing their ideals for a more socialistic country, Izata oftentimes felt ostracized and wrote home frequently. Correspondence with his family encouraged him and he became one of the brightest in his class.
Meanwhile, business in the valley was booming. Zanipolo and Collette were raking in money but Zanipolo’s dream was still partially unfulfilled. Valle di Piano had developed an excellent word-of-mouth reputation but the Pianos wanted the valley to be a name you didn’t just hear about through a friend. During the summer of 1969, Ciro and Dino were visited by an old mafia contact, who informed them that it was safe to return to Sicily and that many new markets were open to those who wished to apply themselves. His daughters having married and moved away, Enzo decided to stay in the valley and live out the rest of his life helping his kin. Dante, his sons and his grandchildren all moved back to Sicily however and their attachment to mafia activity would escalate to dangerous proportions.
While Ciro and Dino cultivated their own slice of a criminal empire, Zanipolo continued his struggle to put Valle di Piano on the map. In the summer of 1972, Izata graduated at the top of his class from Roma Tre and moved back to the valley. Forming his own company, Izata quickly picked up clients who trusted the Piano name, having worked with his cousins Ciro and Dino years before. His return to the valley was a welcome one for his parents and grandmother, as Lucetta was away earning a nursing degree from the University of Torino and Nadine had just begun studying philosophy at the University of Milan.
Joy and sadness were felt during 1975. Lucetta graduated from the University and began her residency at one of Torino’s top hospitals. Nadine met a charming young Swedish banker and became engaged to be married. In the summer, Izata and his long-time sweetheart from college were ready to walk down the aisle. Izata Pascal Piano and Rosetta Lia De Luca were married on July 12, 1975. Less than three months later, Zanipolo suffered a fatal heart attack while working on the construction of a small movie theater in the valley. He was buried in the Piano family plot next to his grandparents and his sister.
I did not play SM1, just SM2. Do you also have some of the backstory on that one? This has been a great read so far, I would love to see those as well if you have them.
I am so happy you are posting these.
Skip softly, my moonbeams, for I have heard tell
That the stairs up to heaven lead straight down to hell
S~V~S wrote:I did not play SM1, just SM2. Do you also have some of the backstory on that one? This has been a great read so far, I would love to see those as well if you have them.
I am so happy you are posting these.
I'm glad you're enjoying them. I figured it might be fun and helpful for SM3 players to be able to read what I have from the first two. Context is key!
I found a few more posts than I thought I had but I am still mad at myself for not saving all the lynch and night posts from the first two games. What I've got at the moment is as follows:
SM1
-Pianoville: A History posts
-Prologue
-The 2-part game-opening post
-The Night 1 post
-Endgame post
-Epilogue
SM2
-The Story Continues posts (picks up right after the conclusion of SM1)
-The background post on Ia
-My 3-part game-opening post
I also have all the data from those games, including role descriptions, player lists, day and night power uses, etc. I'm going to post a little bit at a time as I sift through the game data. That way people can see how SM1 and SM2 played out in rough, outline form. It's going to be a lot of reading and it's certainly not required to play or understand SM3 but , while I was looking over my SM3 files, I found that I tied a lot of things together. There are a few snippets from the Pianoville: A History posts that are actually relevant to SM3. They don't necessarily contain any secrets or clues to help with gameplay but it might help with understanding some character motivations. That's all you'll get out of me on that.
I also have all the content I was creating for the lead-up to SM3. Some of it was posted; some of it wasn't. I may retool some of it to make it tighter and better. Plus I have to change a few dates, as they originally referred to the events of the first game as only being 2 years prior. I'll tweak that chronology once I know when I will host SM3. I will probably keep it off the very next hosting poll for reasons that I cannot disclose just yet. I can definitely see myself putting it on the following hosting poll so it can perhaps run in 2016. That would be ideal.
The latter half of the 1970s continued to be a roller coaster ride for Valle di Piano. At the age of 25, Izata Pascal Piano inherited his father’s vision for the valley but struggled mightily in bringing anything into fruition. The 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Austria got Izata thinking about the possibility of transforming the nearby mountains into training grounds for the Italian Olympic skiing team. Initial attempts to contact the team went unanswered but Izata did eventually get his foot in the door. Sadly, despite his grandfather’s involvement with the team’s history, Valle di Piano was deemed to be too remote to be effective as a training facility.
A tragic cable car accident in Cavalese in March and a horrific chemical plant explosion in nearby Seveso during July had negative effects on tourism across northern Italy and Valle di Piano was hit hard. Fortunately, the Pianos still farmed enough of their land to make meager earnings from the crops. Izata’s engineering firm was still successful though, thanks in part to several clients who had worked with his Sicilian relatives in the past. Ciro and Dino Piano, meanwhile, had made inroads with the blossoming Sicilian heroin industry. By 1977 they had aligned themselves with fast-rising Salvatore Riina.
Despite harder times than usual, life in the valley had its share of ups. Lucetta and Nadine exchanged vows with two charming men in a lavish double wedding. Lucetta married Ercole Gallo, one of the finest young surgeons at the Torino hospital where she worked. Nadine finally married her Swedish beau, Kasper Bergqvist. They had postponed their nuptials when Kasper had to travel to the United States for business and Nadine insisted upon a double wedding when her sister became engaged. Lucetta had already been living in Torino but Nadine’s departure for Sweden with her husband made the valley feel somewhat empty. This was remedied in the early winter with the arrival of Izata and Rosetta’s first child, Mariabella Quorra Piano.
The fact that there were now four generations living in the valley became somewhat newsworthy in the region and helped Valle di Piano attract a few curious tourists during the next few years. Izata knew that his father dreamed of far more than simply being a novelty attraction. He also didn’t want to exploit his family just to bring in money. While Mariabella was being watched over by her mother, Grandmother Collette, and Great-Grandmother Adalene, Izata was working feverishly at growing his engineering firm and figuring out a way to put the valley on the map.
The spring of 1979 brought many blessings to the entire Piano family. Izata’s love for racecars led him to invest heavily into Formula One racing and supporting the Italian Grand Prix, run annually at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, not far from Valle di Piano. Izata had noticed the rising popularity of the sport and knew he had to capitalize on it early. More good news came from Sweden, with the birth of Nadine and Kasper’s first child, a son named Viggo. During the summer months, Ciro and Dino Piano contacted Izata and informed him that they had a few prospective investors in line that they wished for him to speak with.
Izata traveled to Rome, where he met with Ciro, Dino and wealthy members of the Crimini clan. Hailing from Rome, the Crimini clan had managed to avoid suspicion of being Mafia by covering their criminal operations through several legitimate businesses. Interested in bringing some of their “businesses” to northern Italy, the Crimini clan heard Izata’s pitch on what Valle di Piano had to offer them. Understanding that a sizeable investment would be required, the Criminis agreed to help Izata convert the valley into a buzzing tourist spot. They outlined a project schedule that would last almost a decade but the results would make the valley a place worth visiting. Izata was excited to be on the verge of realizing his father’s dream. The Crimini clan was eager to expand their operations. Ciro and Dino had taken advantage of Izata’s idealism, which would help them in the short term, but their ties to the Mafia would, in time, be their undoing.
Late in the fall of 1979, Lucetta gave birth to a daughter, Adalene Collette Gallo. In early March of 1980, Izata and his wife welcomed twin boys into the world. Giacobbe and Giuseppe Piano helped remove some of the anxiety Izata bore. Now that he had three children, he committed himself to being a better father and spend less time worrying about fulfilling his father’s vision, which was now well under way. Tragedy struck the family in August. While returning from a vacation in Bologna, a bomb exploded in the city’s main train station. While none of the Pianos were killed in the blast, debris from the explosion fractured Mariabella’s lower spine. After weeks in the hospital, she was eventually allowed to go home but she would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
Life in the valley was largely insulated from the violence about to erupt in the south but news of the Second Mafia War was shocking nonetheless. In April of 1981, shots rang out across Sicily as Riina and his Corleonesi minions sought to take control of Sicilian Mafia operations by force, targeting any opposing clans and their supporters. Amidst the war for power, Dante Piano was murdered while he ate at a café. His sons’ connection to the Corleonesi had leaked out to their enemies, making him a target. Upon hearing the news of his brother’s murder, Enzo Piano begged everyone to refrain from attending the funeral. This turned out to be a crucial warning, as anti-Corleonesi Mafia opened fire upon the funeral procession, killing both of Ciro’s children and seriously wounding Dino.
Good news came in January of 1982 with the birth of Nadine and Kasper’s second child, a boy named Kjell. The happy parents sent pictures from Sweden and promised to visit the valley in another year or two. Italy found reason to celebrate amidst the turmoil of the Mafia wars, as the national football team won the World Cup in Spain. Work on the valley was moving along nicely. Izata and his family welcomed a number of permanent residents consisting of laborers and shopkeepers seeking a new start in the growing mountain town. Unbeknownst to Izata and his family, however, some of these new residents were members of the Crimini clan’s elusive Mafia organization.
After the Mafia War came to an end in 1983, the years seemed to rush past quickly. Formula One Racing had proven to be a stellar investment, as popularity and coverage of the racing league exploded. The appeal of bicycle racing continued to grow as well. While nothing managed to top the pomp and spectacle of the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia drew in a modest amount of spectators to the valley whenever the course passed close by. Izata’s engineering firm continued to see success as well. He secured several key contracts to begin working on a series of railway designs for the emerging Pendolino passenger train.
Tragedy, always seeming to haunt the Piano family, was never too far either. Lucetta Gallo, Izata’s sister, died with her husband and daughter in a Torino theater fire in 1983. Their bodies were brought to Valle di Piano and buried in the Piano family cemetery. The Piano family gathered together for a somber reunion, though Nadine’s return to the valley with her husband and children was a happy thing to be sure. It would mark the last time she would see her grandmother alive. Adalene Lefevre Piano passed away of natural causes in the summer of 1986. The matriarch of the Piano family had lived to be 93 years old and died surrounded by her loved ones.
Pendolino passenger trains were officially unveiled in 1987 to rousing success. The new rail system had brought a great deal of business to Izata’s company. Enough so that he had to build an office building and hire dozens of employees in order to complete all the work. The work on the Pendolino system garnered several other Pendolino track projects throughout Europe. Izata used some of the profits from these projects to invest heavily in the computer industry, purchasing stock in IBM, Apple and Microsoft. All three would benefit him greatly.
In early 1987, both Ciro and Dino Piano were arrested in a huge effort by the government against the Mafia. This greatly disrupted Sicilian heroin operations and saw hundreds of Mafiosi tried and convicted for a laundry list of crimes. Ciro and Dino were both found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison for their involvement in the heroin trade. They refused to give up the names of any associates though. Both were released from prison a year later during an appeals process that saw nearly all of the Mafiosi released due to technicalities in their prosecution but were shunned by their extended family in the valley for their criminal antics.
As the 80s came to an end, it was much of the same for the Pianos and for Italy itself. Izata’s business and investments were soaring and Valle di Piano was finally starting to look like a tourist destination. Under the surface of the valley’s success, the Crimini Mafia organization, now loyal to Riina and the Corleonesi, began to prosper quite well. The Sicilian component of the Mafia was growing bolder, carrying out attacks on judges, police and elected officials. These problems were either set aside or overlooked in the summer of 1990, when Italy was host to the World Cup tournament. Matches were held in Torino and Milan and only modestly benefited the Pianos. The Italian players started off strong, winning their group, but came up short against Argentina in penalty kicks in the semi-final match. They settled for third place in the end.
To be concluded...
PART 8 OF 8
By August of 1991, the Soviet Union had officially collapsed and dissolved, spreading freedom and economic potential through much of Eastern Europe. The Piano family made a series of investments in companies starting and expanding operations into the former Eastern Bloc. The discovery of Ötzi the Iceman in the Austrian-Italian Alps brought a number of curious sightseers through the rest of the fall and winter. Izata would later take his children to see the frozen mummy’s remains on display in the Museo archeologico dell'Alto Adige.
The rest of the decade would play out in a very similar way. Izata kept his engineering business running at full steam, picking up many lucrative projects, though these projects now came by his own merit and not from any connections to his Mafiosi cousins. He and his wife would watch for developing trends and for promising investment opportunities. By now, the Piano family had amassed a sizeable fortune and would not be set back by global economic issues. Markets would rise and fall and the Pianos always managed to break even at the very least.
Izata committed himself to being a family man. In 1992 he took wife, children and mother all over Europe. In February, it was Albertiville, France for the Winter Olympics. In April, they traveled to Paris for the opening of EuroDisney. May saw the World’s Fair in Genoa and July they ventured to Barcelona for the Summer Olympics. All of this family travel helped forge tight bonds between Izata, Rosetta and their children. It also served as fond memories as Italy headed toward some turbulent times.
In September, the Italian Lira was forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. It caused a short-term panic over the security of the Italian economic structure but everything panned out in the long run. Economic changes were followed by political changes. Scandals had plagued all of Italy’s major political parties and rumored Mafia ties had the electorate in a frenzy for reform.
In 1993, Mafia overlord Salvatore Riina was arrested and sent to prison. This event would spark a spree of Mafia attacks in mainland Italy. The attacks would lead to not only another crackdown on the Mafia but also several political resignations by those who were either connected to the mob or incapable of standing in their way. The back and forth between the Mafia and the government would not subside until 1995, when Bernardo Provenzano took control of the Sicilian families. Provenzano ordered an end to the attacks on the mainland, which served two purposes- an end to the killing of innocents and making it easier for Mafiosi to go undetected.
After spending a year abroad, Mariabella enrolled in Ca' Foscari University of Venice in the fall of 96 to pursue a degree in economics. She had picked up a keen eye for stocks and lucrative trends from her father and wished to help carry on the family dream of making Valle di Piano a tourist destination. She had learned much from her father during her teenage years, as the valley had grown in permanent population and the number of tourists and visitors saw a steady increase. The valley had become a modest tourist spot for hikers in the summer and skiers in the winters, after Izata had installed three chair lifts on the nearby mountains over the past four years.
Rejected years before, Izata was enthralled to welcome the Italian skiing team to the valley for training in February of 1997. Their presence in the valley helped spark domestic tourism, as many came to watch their countrymen train for the 98 Nagano Games. This provided the Pianos a financial cushion to lessen the impact of global stock market crashed in October. Izata and his family had plenty of money saved in the banks but the crashes would affect the ’98 tourism seasons.
The promise of a unified European currency gave the Pianos plenty of hope for a rebound from the 98 tourism seasons. On December 31, exchange rates for the Italian Lira and several other currencies were locked into place in preparation for the dissemination of the Euro over the next few years. A boost was all but guaranteed in June of 1999 after the International Olympic Committee awarded nearby Torino Italy with the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. Izata’s firm picked up contracts to help with the design and construction of several facilities and residence halls that needed to be built in preparation for the games. It also sparked an increase in tourism to the region in the lead up to the Games.
In the fall of 99 saw both Giuseppe and Giacobbe Piano enroll in the Università degli Studi Roma Tre school of Engineering after a year on holiday. Giuseppe had traveled to Japan while Giacobbe had spent time in America, emersing himself in American cinema. While he pursued an enineering degree to carry on his father’s business, he brought a new prospect to the table- holding an annual film festival in Valle di Piano. The brothers would remain close to each other during their time in University but world events would lead one of them to drop out.
The Year 2000 was celebrated all over the world and in Valle di Piano the party lasted well into the summer. Mariabella graduated from Ca' Foscari University of Venice with an economics degree and immediately began to help her family develop further ways to enhance the valley. Construction began on a new villa that would not only serve as the home for the Pianos but also as a bed and breakfast and restaurant for tourists.
On September 11, 2001, the entire world watched in horror as terrorists orchestrated a multi-site attack in the United States, claiming some 3,000 lives in less than two hours. Shockwaves of grief and outrage rippled across the globe. Giuseppe Piano decided to drop out of the University in order to join the Italian army. His decision caused a rift amongst the family. His father understood his decision and supported him while his mother and grandmother were concerned for his safety. Giuseppe enlisted and became a member of the Taurinense Alpine Brigade, specializing in mountain combat. While he would miss the initial invasion of Afghanistan, Giuseppe would spend several tours of duty in support capacities over the next few years.
Giacobbe continued on with his education, earning his degree in 2003. He joined his father’s company and also contributed to the family dream of making the valley a place to be. In 2002, two things happened that would help further cement Valle di Piano’s success. First, a series of strong storms caused massive flooding throughout Central Europe. The Swiss and Italian Alps had avoided the flooding altogether, allowing them to draw in tourists who would have otherwise visited the now-recovering sites in Central Europe. Secondly, the Euro was officially adopted across much of Europe. The new currency sparked the interest of foreigners, bringing about higher volumes of tourists than ever before.
The combination of these two events helped draw tourists into the valley through 2003. A centennial celebration was held in June, marking Izata Piano’s first discovery of the valley that would capture his heart. A statue of the Piano patriarch was erected in the center of town in his honor. Word of these festivities traveled throughout Italy, luring in many curious visitors. The Piano Villa was finally finished and opened for business during this time to rave reviews. The Pianos were thankful that they held the celebration as early as they did because September brought about a nation-wide blackout. The cause of the power outage still remains somewhat of a mystery.
Giuseppe returned home to the valley for a few short months in 2004. His aunt Nadine also came down for a visit to see her strapping young nephew in uniform. His cousins Viggo and Kjell couldn’t make the trip however, as their pursuit of archeology degrees had them traveling the world in ways that would have made their great-grandfather proud. Eventually, Giuseppe would return to military service for another tour of duty in Afghanistan while the Europe Union officially established a constitution amongst its member nations.
Collette Gilliard Piano was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February of 2005, starting off what would become a rocky year for the valley. Collette’s terminal cancer greatly impacted the family emotionally. A surge in oil prices would impact the family financially as well. As the world saw the petroleum producing countries of the world elevate prices to record highs, tourism was reduced sharply. Profit margins would bounce back in 2006 thanks to the Winter Olympic Games but all the money in the world couldn’t fill the hole left when Collette passed away in November. She was 81 years old.
Between the Torino Winter Games and Italy’s success in the FIFA World Cup, held in Germany, 2006 was a good year for Italy. The revenue brought in from Olympic-time tourism allowed Izata and his family to file for incorporation. Valle di Piano was officially recognized as a village town by the Italian government on June 30th, 2006. Already possessing a few international residents, English-speaking tourists and denizens began referring to Valle di Piano accurately as Piano Valley, though some preferred the lazier and more Americanized translation, calling it Pianoville. This last name, while causing most Italians to roll their eyes, grew on the Pianos and they adopted it as their town’s unofficial alternate name. Ironically, the alternate name would help draw in American tourists in great numbers. Giacobbe Piano was encouraged by many to run for mayor but he insisted that he had no political aspirations, leaving the post for others to take.
Having outlived many of his younger relatives, Enzo Piano found himself on death’s doorway. At 97 years of age, the eldest member of the Piano family could feel his body weakening. Upon his deathbed, he privately apologized to Izata for his nephew’s involvement with the Mafia, as well as his own, and any problems it may have caused the family. He also confided in his long-standing suspicion that members of the Mafia had managed to plant themselves among Pianoville’s citizens and business owners. He couldn’t say for sure who he thought these people were but he warned Izata to be very cautious and to watch out for anything suspicious. One day later, Enzo died of natural causes.
During the summer of 2007, Giuseppe returned home once more, now a drill sergeant, recruiter and trainer for the Italian Army. His return home coincided with his brother’s wedding. On July 14, 2007, Giacobbe Piano married Monica Kellerman, an American woman he had met years before and kept in contact with over time. Monica fit right in with the rest of the Pianos. She had a Masters Degree in International Business from Baker College and would work closely with her sister-in-law to continue making the most out of the valley they called home. After honeymooning in France, the couple settled back in to their routines and bid Giuseppe farewell, as he headed back to train a new batch of recruits.
Monica and Mariabella worked to diversify PIanoville as best they could. Capitalizing upon popularity among American tourists, they managed to attract foreign businesses, visitors and even tenants. Be they expatriates, retirees or a businessman in search of a change of scenery, Pianoville quickly became an international and multi-cultural center. It still didn’t make very many travelers’ top places to see in Europe or even Italy, but the Pianos grew to accept their town’s word-of-mouth popularity and made the most out of it wherever possible.
Just when everything seemed to be on the up and up, 2008 brought global financial woes that were eventually declared a worldwide recession. The Piano family was financially secure, of course, but as financial concerns grew for many people and unemployment rates began to spiral upwards, travel plans were cut, especially by those in America. Those living and working in Pianoville stayed the course and what little tourism came through the valley benefited them. Having lost a great deal of business due to the global recession, the Pianos tried to position themselves for a rebound in 2009.
No sign of economic improvement reared its head at the start of the New Year, so the Pianos took it upon themselves to seek out new partners, business dealings and associations to try and lure some extra business to the valley. Mariabella and Monica made a formidable team, contacting travel agencies and talking up the advantages of visiting a smaller European town instead of one of the “usual haunts.” Izata and Rosetta focused more on the home front, reaching out their many Italian contacts. Giacobbe was often times left to look after his father’s business and, unofficially, Pianoville itself.
Through it all, Pianoville continues to be a bustling little community full of interesting people and interesting stories. Its rich history is as unique and diverse as any other town but it is undeniable that this Italian Valley on the edge of the Alps has something special about it that cannot be described in words. As many a tourist and denizen will tell you, the only way to fully appreciate Pianoville and its people is by going there yourself. You’ll be glad you did!
The original post included the following in microscopic text: "Or will you?"
You know this isn't new content, right? I'm just posting what old stuff I still have on my flash drive to help people understand the story arcs. I'm not even putting SM3 in the next hosting poll.
I'm sorry if that disappoints you. I just look at how few games are left on the list to be run before starting the new batch. It's really a matter of timing for me. If I put my game in for the hosting poll, there's a chance it might get enough votes to require hosting it this year. My present circumstances make that an impossibility. In fact, the earliest I can see myself capable of running the game is a year from now. It looks like the last hosting poll batch has taken a little over a year to play out but I can't take that chance. I don't want to put special conditions on my game because, while some of you know me from other forums, I am new here and I am not about to walk into a new place and request special treatment.
fingersplints wrote:Secret Mafia is like the ASOIAF books. We are never sure if/when we will get the next one but it'll be a while.
I don't know that I'd go that far. :P It's only been four years since SM2 and 5-1/2 since SM1. I believe we've been waiting longer than that for A World Reborn.
I don't regret taking time off since SM2. I had to focus on going back to school, raising a kid, and settling into a new career. If anything, I do regret trying to run it on The Piano a few years ago as The Piano was winding down. I tried to force the game to run at a time when it was inconvenient for a lot of people and I wouldn't budge on the number of players in the game even though it was pretty clear that The Piano was struggling to get 30 players for a game. Maybe it was hubris. My thought process may very well have been, "Well MY game will bring people out of the woodwork."
I almost let it die completely but there was always a glint of a flicker of passion for this story I started. That passion is growing again but I need to nurture it back up to the bonfire that blazed for me with the first two games. That's going to take time, which is why I'm slowly going through all my old game content. It's been pretty awesome so far. Following the Roger Rabbit speed game was beneficial for me as well because I got to see the interaction and madness of the game of mafia play out. More nurturing and observation is needed. I can see 2016 being the year it hits the fan again. If it has to wait until 2017 due to other games from the upcoming hosting poll, so be it. The longer it takes to pull the trigger, to more on fire for it I will be. For those who played SM1 and/or SM2- isn't that a scary thought?
You know this isn't new content, right? I'm just posting what old stuff I still have on my flash drive to help people understand the story arcs. I'm not even putting SM3 in the next hosting poll.
I am well aware, friend, I recognize the content. It just gets me revved up for Secret III, that's all!
This is the prologue to the first Secret Mafia game. I've made a few minor modifications to help it fit what's coming in SM3. The game was originally going to be completely different and the secret tilde stuff was going to be the work of a spiteful mad scientist wreaking havoc on the poor mountain community of Pianoville. If you want more details, you'll have to ask me for them when I'm the subject of the week in the Interrogation Room. About two or three weeks before the sign-up thread for the game launched, things changed dramatically...
P R O L O G U E
“Somebody give me a status report!” a husky voice roared across the bridge. Those among the greenest of the crew jumped in their seats, not having been privy to the commander’s outbursts yet. “Anybody? Talk to me, people!”
“Sir?” a junior officer offered, his voice quavering. The commander pounced at the sound, leaping over a console to reach the young man’s workstation.
“What is it, ensign?”
“Uh, sir, it…uh…it appears…uh.”
“Out with it, soldier.”
“We lost it.”
The commander rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his head. “Thank you, ensign.” Particular emphasis was on the last word. The young man winced, knowing he would likely be peeling zargets for the next week based on the tone alone. “Thank you,” the commander repeated, now walking to the navscreen at the front of the bridge, “because for a minute there, I thought I might have been seeing things.”
“Sorry, sir,” the ensign offered, hanging his head.
“Let’s try this again,” the commander said, ignoring the young man’s apologies. “What in the name of Imbalag just happened?”
“It tricked us, sir,” came a voice from above them all. A beautiful female officer was standing at attention from her upper station. Her soft blue skin, deep purple lips, and vibrant yellow hair gave off an air of desirability to any male species within sight of her.
“Lieutenant Farcei,” the commander said, his voice growing calmer, “would you care to elaborate?”
“Absolutely, commander,” she responded. She leapt over the ledge of her station, landing in a crouch that made her uniform hug her body even tighter. The commander secretly loved it when she did that. She walked over to the data and communications station and pulled up some graphs and displays.
“We caught up to it in deep space, as you all know,” she said. “Long range sensors indicated that it was operating in standby mode. We were right to think that it must have used a considerable portion of its energy reserves to get this far out. When we engaged, it came off standby and we detected it operating at 17% power supply. This is where it tricked us.”
The commander twirled his finger in a quick circle, as if to say ‘go on.’
“Design specs tell us that activating a single hyperspace jump uses 15% of the unit’s power supply. That would leave it with hardly enough energy in reserve to sustain hyperspace travel for much time at all, let alone seek out a suitable system and planet for recharging.” She turned to the crew and turned her palms upward. “We all saw the data. We all grew overconfident.”
“So how much power does it really have left?” the commander asked.
“That is difficult to say,” Farcei responded. The frustration in her voice was discouraging but the woman was bright. She’d think of something. “The unit’s last known whereabouts was a Class 4 galaxy in the Oor’di’vela sector. The location before that was a Class 3 galaxy in the Strigtha’mi sector; not exactly a hop and a skip away. We know that a hyperspace jump was activated between sectors. A Class 4 galaxy has very little to offer in the way of fuel and we know that the planet it landed on had only the most basic of life forms. They were probably more frightened of it than anything else, meaning…”
“Meaning it probably didn’t get a whole lot of recharging done by the time it was located,” interrupted the commander. “Right?”
“Correct,” Farcei responded with a smile. The hyperspace jump between Strigtha’mi and Oor’di’vela cost it 15% of its reserves. Based on our analysis of the planet it landed on in Oor’di’vela, it couldn’t have recharged a great deal. At best, it regained maybe 3%, which is probably what it spent searching that desolate sector for anything suitable.”
“So it broke even?”
“Most likely, sir. Which still leaves it at 85% capacity at the most. We know that achieving escape velocity from a planet and its system requires anywhere from 2-6% of its power supply. If we lowball it and say 2 % for each system it left, that brings it down to 81%. Then it made another hyperspace jump but not before activating its defense system, which uses anywhere from 1-8% depending on the duration of its use. We hit it pretty hard before it jumped, so I would be willing to bet we cost it an additional 4%. That, coupled with the jump to deep space would bring it to a maximum power supply of 62%.”
“That’s a hell of a difference from the 17% we picked up,” the commander responded.
“Correct. Now it had to have sustained a hyperspace jump for quite some time but I’m willing to lowball it again and knock off another 3%. Once it entered deep space it probably wanted to conserve energy, so it went into standby mode. It took us three weeks to locate and catch up to it. Operating on standby conserves energy but the way the unit sprung into action so quickly tells me that it couldn’t have been in standby the entire time. It was plotting an escape.”
“Curiouser and curiouser,” the commander muttered.
“Three weeks of powering up and down would cost a likely minimum of around 3%, bringing its supply down to 56% full power. Had it maintained a hyperspace jump to nearly this point exactly, it could have been down to around 17%, which is why we believed it so easily.”
“Indeed.” The finger twirled again.
“Weapons officers report the presence of a minor defense shield operating when we approached and attacked it. If we’re lucky, this could have drained the unit an additional 2%.”
“It’s amazing how inefficient this thing is at times with its power supply,” the commander mused.
“Well, sir, it is a prototype,” Farcei replied. “If we’re lucky, it was at 54% full power before making its next jump to hyperspace. When it exits, it could be anywhere between 34 and 39% full power. If it takes the standard 3% to find an adequate system and planet within the sector, it could be between 31 and 36%. That’s a very weakened state. It will need to find plenty of resources in order to prepare for another eventual hyperjump to escape us. Even the unit knows it is only a matter of time before we find it again.”
The commander smiled, pleased with his lieutenant’s report. They had been tracking this thing down for over a decade now. It was a quick learner but it still had its weaknesses.
“Commander,” Farcei continued, “this might be the break we’ve been waiting for. It knows better than to jump to a Class 1 or 2 galaxy because it will be detected almost immediately. The sector it just jumped to is very remote. There are several Class 4 galaxies in the sector but its letdown in Oor’di’vela will probably lead it to one of the four Class 3 galaxies the sector contains.”
“That’s a narrow search grid,” the commander said, this time with a full grin. “It won’t be hard to track down the systems most desirable to this damned piece of evil.” He climbed back into his chair and turned to his communications officers. “Binash, M’graq, contact central command and tell them we’re close. Tell them we’ll want reinforcements when we locate the planetary system it landed on. Prepare a full payload per strike vessel to ensure maximum effectiveness. We won’t be able to transmit again once we get close.”
The communications officers turned to their equipment and began relaying the message to central. The bridge, now under control again, was buzzing with energy. Positive energy. Victory was within reach. It was only a matter of time now.
Farcei approached the commander in his chair. “Sir, this sector is extremely remote. It’s going to want to recharge back up to 100% before it tries to go anywhere.”
“I know,” he replied, looking as earnest as she had ever seen him. “We can’t let that happen.”
Here's a little bit of the game data from Secret Mafia. I will post the fully revealed roles and player aliases in another week or so. Until then, enjoy this walk down memory lane (or stare blankly at something you've never seen before. The roles section is exactly as it appeared at the start of the first game, in case you were wondering why it was called Secret Mafia.
PLAYERS LIST
aapje (m)
Aces (m)
bigsimpsin (m)
Black Rock (f)
bleag (m)- replaced diggler D2
Bree (f)
Cubit (m)
danhm (m)
DharmaChameleon (m)
Diamond Dog (m)
guyswherearewe (m)
ilostmykeys (m)
Kobe (m)
LittleTiger (f)- replaced Link N2
Long Con (m)
Lost Rabbi (f)
Losty (m)
Mandolin (f)
map_of_ur_hed (f)
Merling the Wizard (m)
NutelLA (f)
sanderling (f)
seals (f)
SoyLentGreen (f)
spacedaisy42 (f)
Sparrow (m)
Stlgirl (f)
the_catalyst (f)- replaced Moonshiner N1
Tranquility (m)
Turnip Head (m)
1) Do NOT let things get personal. If you feel that someone is antagonizing you on a personal level, do NOT respond to them in the game thread. Send me a PM and I will do my best to straighten things out.
2) Any and all role claims must be cleared through me. Otherwise you will be modkilled and removed from the game. Granted, roleclaiming won't likely be very helpful in this game (at least not at first) but if you are thinking of claiming your actual role or the role of another player, contact me first for clearance.
3) As a host, it is my job to read through the thread. If I find someone behaving inapporpriately, I may not wait for someone to complain about it. I may contact you directly. Remember, this is a game. It is meant to be fun.
4) Editing your posts is strictly forbidden! Don't do it or you might be modkilled/replaced/face some unspeakable punishment that won't be mentioned here.
5) Do not copy and paste any PM from the host in part or whole in the game thread. You will be modkilled.
6) Anyone failing to vote in 2 consecutive polls will be replaced. No questions asked.
7) Each "Day" will last approximatly 48 hours. Each "Night" will last approximately 24 hours. I will let you know in advance if a post will be delayed. Sometimes I do have a life too.
8) Please keep the off-topic chatter hacked to a minimum. All off-topic comments should be posted in OT green (there's a button for it when you reply).
9) Dead players may still talk in the thread but any dead chatter must always be off-topic. Dead players are forbidden to post anything that is relevant to the game. No hints, clues or anything of the sort. If you violate this rule, I will not allow you to play in any of my games ever again. Dead players must use the Dead red color for their text (again, there's a button for it).
10) Nobody may target the same person twice in a row unless otherwise stated in your role.
11) Not every power will be mentioned in the Night Posts. Just because it's not mentioned one night does not necessarily mean that power has been taken out of the game.
12) Unless otherwise stated in your role description, all powers are optional. However, you must send me a PM stating that you are abstaining from using your power.
13) Behind the Scenes Contact (BTSC) with another player is strictly forbidden unless you have been granted BTSC with that person by the host. Because not everyone is an expert at decoding the secret roles, everyone has been randomly assigned a decoding partner. You will have BTSC with this person but you will not be told their role. The two of you can work at deciphering the roles if you wish but you may just be helping out the enemy! This decoding BTSC will last for the entire game but you are not required to use it if you don't want to. Anyone found to be engaging in illegal BTSC will be modkilled or replaced and banned from any of my future games.
14) If you die, do not reveal your role to anyone inside or outside of the game! I'd tell you more, but it's a secret.
15) Votes cannot be changed. Once you vote in the poll, it is final.
16) All rules are subject to change if need be.
RIDDLE PRIZES-
Oh yes, there will be riddles during the night. The first three correct answers will earn riddle prizes. Each player may win a maximum of 4 riddle prizes during the course of the game. If it gets late into the game and the only people left are those who have maxed out riddle prizes, this rule will be lifted. Some riddle prizes are good. Some are not so good. But don't worry, you're not risking your life by answering a riddle. I will not announce which prizes are up for grabs each night.
OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF
-At the start of the game, all character names and role descriptions are in secret text (tildes, or these guys: ~~~). Every 24 hours (real time), a new letter will be randomly selected and all occurrences of that letter will be filled in in the character names and role descriptions. The first letter will be revealed halfway through Day 1.
-All of the character names are in secret text because each name contains a clue as to what powers that person has. Some clues are more subtle than others.
-Because all the roles are secret, the Mafia will not start the game with BTSC. On Night 1, Mafia members will be given limited BTSC. Each Mafia member will gain BTSC with another Mafia member, creating a BTSC pair. On Night 2, BTSC will be extended further so that approximately one half of the Mafia has BTSC and the other approximate half will have BTSC as well. On Night 3, all of the remaining Mafia members will be granted full BTSC.
-Until the Mafia gains full BTSC, each Mafia member will submit no more than 3 players' names to the game host that they think should be killed. These names may be submitted at any time of the day or night in order to accomodate for time zone issues. These 3 names will be passed on to the Mafia head after the lynch post for consideration.
-When a player is lynched, their role will be revealed but not their description. Players who are night killed will remain in secret text.
Alrighty, so here are the final pieces of information before I start posting what game content I still have. First up is a list of players and their roles, along with their night post aliases. To keep the character names secret as long as possible, each role also had an alias.
Since the roles were revealed a little at a time, I assigned BTSC partners so people could work on deciphering together. But they didn't know if they were paired with a civ or a baddie. Here are the decoding partners:
And here is the order in which the letters were revealed. I believe THE GAME punished the players a few times and withheld a few letters when they were due. The day/night may not be accurate. I cannot remember.
And last but not least, here are the fully decoded roles from the original Secret Mafia. It was a hodge-podge of pop culture references, obscure real-life people, and names that were clues to either the allegiance or the powers of that role.
1) Jimmy Acorn
Unlike the real ACORN and such similar groups, the vote fraud you commit benefits the town. Your power is different because it is used during the day. You will be able to vote two times during each lynch. One vote will appear publically in the poll. You must send your second vote to the host via PM. You may vote for the same person a second time or you may vote for another player if you so choose. You do not have to cast both votes at the same time.
2) David Berkowitz
You are the Son of Sam killer and you will slay one player each odd-numbered night. You are being hunted by detective James Justis. If you are found by him, you will exit the game. You may only win by being the last player remaining.
3) Lover Boy
Unfortunately, you have no real powers. You are part of the Mafia but you also have BTSC with Lover Girl, a civvie role. The two of you are madly in love, despite your allegiances. If she dies, you will kill yourself the following night.
4) Nature Boy
You are a highly skilled wildlife tracker. Each night you will use these skills to help track down the baddies. You may follow one player each night. You will discover if that player uses a night power on another player during the course of the night.
5) Emmett Brown
You are the resident scientist and inventor of Pianoville. Loyal to the townie cause, you will use a new invention each night to try and find the baddies. Sadly, you are a touch absentminded and your inventions do not always work out the way you may have intended. At the start of the night you will be notified which invention you will get to use during the night. You must then decide which player to use it on and PM their name to the host.
6) Jack Byrnes
Having spent years in the CIA, you have helped bring some of the worst criminals to justice. You have also helped crack some of the best liars in the business. Each night you get to use your exquisite lie detecting powers to help the town. You may select one statement from any player and determine if it is true.
7) Candy Cain
A sultry and seductive exotic dancer, you use your good looks and charm each night to keep your evil compatriots safe. You may select one player each night and their night abilities will be blocked.
8) Capo Crimini
You are the head of the Mafia in Pianoville and you call all the shots. Each night you will determine which player needs to be rubbed out of existence. You must also select which of your minions will carry out the job. If you are eliminated, one of your lackeys will be randomly assigned to take your place. You will appear innocent if investigated by a member of the Pianoville police force.
9) Jack Doe
You are a member of the Doe family. You have no actual powers, but you have behind the scenes contact with your relatives Jane, Jill and John. You are a townie and are trying to eliminate all those who threaten the citizens of Pianoville.
10) Jane Doe
You are a member of the Doe family. You have no actual powers, but you have behind the scenes contact with your relatives Jack, Jill and John. You are a townie and are trying to eliminate all those who threaten the citizens of Pianoville.
11) Jill Doe
You are a member of the Doe family. You have no actual powers, but you have behind the scenes contact with your relatives Jane, Jack and John. You are a townie and are trying to eliminate all those who threaten the citizens of Pianoville.
12) John Doe
You are a member of the Doe family. You have no actual powers, but you have behind the scenes contact with your relatives Jack, Jane and Jill. You are a townie and are trying to eliminate all those who threaten the citizens of Pianoville.
13) Mayor Dogood
You are the virtuous mayor of Pianoville. Your main concern is the safety of the town and you would hate to see any innocent citizen lynched. During the course of the game you may halt two lynches and switch another. You may not help the same person twice though, so choose wisely.
14) Victor Framier
A shifty fellow and a crooked cop, you help your mafioso cronies by ensuring that one player appears guilty to the rest of the police force, whether they are a threat to the town or not. Each night you will send the name of one player to the host and they will appear guilty to any relevant members of the Pianoville police force that night.
15) Lover Girl
Unfortunately, you have no real powers. You are townie but you also have BTSC with Lover Boy, a Mafia role. The two of you are madly in love, despite your allegiances. If he dies, you will kill yourself the following night.
16) Gus Grissom
You are a top notch forensic investigator working for the Pianoville police force. Each night you will select one dead player to investigate. Your forensic work will result in a list of every single player that targeted that dead player during the course of the game. This list will be alphabetized so you will not know the exact order those players targeted the deceased in.
17) Maria Hushup
A barfly at the Pianoville Bar and Grill, you also do a little work for the mob on the side. Every night you will select one player and slip a mickey in their drink. This will result in silencing them for the next day. The effects will last until the lynch post goes up.
18) James Justis
You are a special investigator and are in Pianoville looking for David Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam killer. Each night you will investigate one player. If you should find Berkowitz, he will exit the game and you will become a standard cop in the Pianoville police force. If Berkowitz is night killed or lynched, you will join the police force as well.
19) Ace Kaboom
On the surface, you appear to be little more than a typical Mafia goon. You have no night powers but get to help your team figure out who to kill. However, you are true to your name- an ace up the sleeve. At any point in the game, day or night, you may blow yourself up and select one player to take to the grave with you. If you are lynched, you will explode and one random player will be killed. If you are night killed, you will detonate and your assassin will die too.
20) Chatty Kathy
You are the queen of Pianoville gossip. Trying to steer the town to victory, each night you will send the host your suspicions. They will be rewritten and posted the next day.
21) Madge LeBlanc
You appear to be a regular townie but your powers are rooted in old and powerful magic. Each night you will select one player to protect. This protection will last two nights and repel any baddie powers that might be used against them.
22) Remington Luger
You are a member of the Pianoville police force and a gunsmith on the side. Each night you may select one player and investigate them. Your investigation will determine whether or not that player has a gun. The Mafia are not the only players in the game who have firearms.
23) Nekros Manteia
You have a special gift that comes in handy for your mobster friends. Each night you can select any dead player and you will learn their role. You will not learn the extent of their powers though.
24) Shahapet Nhang
A strange creature from a far away place, you have several abilities. On odd-numbered nights, you may select one player to morph into during the course of the night. You will only appear to be this person and cannot take on their night abilities. Anyone attempting to target you while you are transformed will come up empty. Powers targeting the player you have morphed into for the night will not affect you and nothing happens to that player as a result of your transformation. On even-numbered nights you become a homicidal monster and will select one player to feed on during the night. If you are targeted for a night kill by the Mafia you will not die. Instead, you will join their cause and retain only your morphing abilities at night. If you are investigated by a good member of the Pianoville police force you will join the townie cause. You will be able to change your shape each night and will also have one kill to use any time you want, day or night. Otherwise, it is your goal to merely survive to the end of the game, regardless of which side wins.
25) Dawn Nixie
Assurance is a hard thing to come by, but you provide a little bit of it to the mob. Your power is used during the day. At any point during the day you may select one player and their vote will be secretly discounted from the lynch poll. You may target players who have already voted or those who have yet to vote. It does not matter.
26) Pen Pal
Longing for someone to communicate with, you have decided to send short messages to one player each night. To do so, send the game host the name of the player you would like to send a message to and include a message no more than ten words in length. This message will be passed on to the player after the night post is up. Players have a fifty percent chance of being able to send a message back to you.
27) Octavius Parry
A former fencing champion, you will use your swordsmanship for the benefit of the town. Each night you will send one player’s name to the game host. You will keep this player at bay during the night, blocking any night abilities they might have.
28) Miss Pianoville
The reigning winner of the annual Miss Pianoville beauty pageant, you have no real night powers but are beloved by all the town’s citizens. If you are lynched by the town there will be two consecutive night periods. If you are night killed, there will be two consecutive day periods.
29) Piotr Rasputin
You are a pupil of the renowned Professor Xavier otherwise known as Colossus. At night you protect yourself by transforming your skin into an organic steel material. This makes you immune to any and all attempts on your life during the night. You can still be hit with non-lethal night abilities and you can still be lynched.
30) Don Stephens
A respected author by trade, survivalism is your hobby. Desperate to help the town defeat the forces of evil, you may select one player each night to lock away in your secret fallout shelter. This player will be protected from all night abilities used against them but will also have all their night abilities blocked. They will be locked inside your fallout shelter until the following lynch post. They will be unable to speak in the game thread, vote in the lynch, or be voted for in that day’s lynch as a result of all this. You may not lock yourself inside your fallout shelter.
Next week I will post one or both of my game-starting posts.
Here is the first part of the game-opening double post. Just about every major post I made in this game included a YouTube video for musical accompaniment. As if the Pianoville: A History posts didn't make it obvious, this post should tell you that I went all in with this game. Later in the week I will post Part 2 so everyone can finally meet or be reunited with THE GAME.
A SAUCER FULL OF SECRETS (PART 1):
It started on a Tuesday…
Ten minutes earlier, Giacobbe Piano had been sitting down to eat breakfast. Now he was standing in the middle of town, staring at something too weird to be true.
It was a saucer.
The fact that it was a saucer was precisely what made it hard to believe. No one believed in flying saucers anymore. If anything, UFOs were supposed to be sleek and aerodynamic looking. Weren’t they?
Nevertheless, a large saucer sat in the middle of Pianoville. It looked as if its flying days were over but it didn’t exactly look like it had crashed either. Only about 10 feet of road leading up to it had been damaged when it slid into town at dawn. As it sat, the saucer appeared to be 20 feet in diameter. Above ground it was seven feet tall and there appeared to be only a foot of the thing beneath the surface. It had come to a stop mere inches from the statue of Izata Piano.
It would only be natural for someone who had never encountered a UFO before to feel there was something wrong about it but its alienness was the least of Giacobbe’s worries for now. Given the size and seeming solidness of the thing, everything he had ever learned about physics shouted out to him that something was very wrong with this picture.
He walked up and down the broken stretch of road, processing in his head how it could have landed this way. Craning his neck up to the sky, Giacobbe tried to imagine how this thing could have possibly come in this way. No more than 100 feet below where the road first cracked under the weight and speed of the thing, the road turned off at a sharp angle. The approach vector that would have made sense would have also resulted in this thing taking out the tops of several buildings on its way in, yet not a single shingle or weather vane was out of place.
Curiouser and curiouser, he thought.
“G-Man, what is it?” a voice called out to him from his left. Giacobbe looked for the source of the voice. He saw Stlgirl standing in awe of the thing.
“How should I know?” he shot back. After years of American tourists calling him that absurd nickname he had all but given up telling folk not to call him that. Everyone was calling him G-Man these days. Even his parents.
“G-Man!” shouted another voice from around the other side of the saucer. It was Cubit. “G-Man, what the heck is that thing?”
“I don’t know, man,” he replied without much emotion. He was still trying to work out the how of this thing. The what could come later. “I really don’t know.”
Now that he had noticed two people, Giacobbe realized that a crowd was forming. Not a large crowd, but a crowd just the same. He didn’t recognize all the faces but you never could, given the ebb and flow of tourists. There must be about 25 of them, he thought. Maybe more.
Most of the gathering crowd were probably sleeping in buildings right along the street where the thing had come to a halt. He couldn’t blame them. Piano Villa was five blocks up the street and he heard it clear as day. Of course, he had been awake. Most of the crowd looked groggy as could be.
I can’t believe more people didn’t hear that, he thought. To be sure, more residents of Pianoville had heard the commotion but only the brave and the foolish were willing to investigate.
This is the last thing I need, Giacobbe thought to himself. His parents were in Rome while his wife and sister were in France on another mission to draw extra tourists to the valley. It had been a hard season. The global recession had put a major damper on things. Especially American tourists. Seemed like they all decided to stay home this year, leaving the Pianos to drum up interest in Europe. Fat chance, he thought. If this keeps up into next year, we might actually be in trouble. Though really, trouble had already found him.
“Alright everybody,” he called out to the onlookers, “let’s all just keep our distance from this thing, okay?”
“No problem there, G-Man,” Tranquility said, stepping a few more paces back for good measure.
It was still early in the morning, but Giacobbe snapped into leadership mode without hesitating. “The first thing we need to do is report this… thing. Can somebody go do that for me?”
“Sure!” shouted someone on the other side.
“I’ll go with you,” said another voice. Giacobbe saw two people walking up the street to the bed and breakfast.
“Well, that’s a start,” he said under his breath. He wiped his forehead and tried to think of what to do next. Avalanches, floods and storms were easy to handle but nobody ever told him about the proper protocol for dealing with a flying saucer. Only this one wasn’t flying. And he still wasn’t convinced that it had crashed.
There was no smoldering wreckage; the thing looked intact. Only 10 feet of road damaged and this thing clearly didn’t come fr- Something on the saucer caught his eye. The thing itself was solid black but for a moment, Giacobbe could have sworn he saw part of it light up. He kept looking. For two whole minutes he watched the thing. The others gathered there saw his intent vigil and did the same. For one almost breathless minute they all watched. Then it came again.
Everyone gasped as a gentle pulse of sky blue light appeared on the surface of the saucer. Only, that wasn’t quite right. Though the thing looked solid as can be, the light didn’t dance across its surface. It was as if the pulse came from within. Another minute went by and another pulse came. The light was definitely coming from within. But how?
Giacobbe approached the thing carefully, never taking his eyes off of it. It definitely looked solid. Its surface had a dull, flat black look to it that never changed. Yet the light seemed to pulse through it weakly from somewhere inside. No one moved any closer to it but him. He didn’t technically hold any authority over the town but everyone treated him as if he were the leader.
Against his better judgment, Giacobbe found himself reaching out to touch this alien object. Its surface was smooth and cool to the touch. He passed his hand from the upper side to the underside of the saucer. Another pulse came, making his hand tingle.
He looked at the on-lookers. “It feels like it’s made out of stone,” he said, satisfying part of their curiosity. He crouched down lower and investigated where the saucer dug into the road.
“Do you think it’s from outer space, G-Man?” asked Aapje.
“I don’t know,” he answered, standing up as he did. Only he found that he couldn’t stand all the way up.
His hand was stuck to the saucer.
It took him by surprise, naturally. Thinking that just a little effort would remove his hand, Giacobbe tugged his arm. It didn’t budge.
“What the hell?” he voiced aloud. The fear growing on the faces in the crowd didn’t matter to him. Getting his hand off of this thing was suddenly the most important thing he had ever needed to do. He gave another tug, this time more forceful. Again, nothing. After a few more tugs and then violently jerking his body backwards, he still hadn’t managed to move his hand even a millimeter.
“G-Man, what’s wrong?” someone asked. They sounded as terrified as they looked.
Giacobbe turned to them as best he could, his eyes wide with fear. “I’m stuck.” Several people moved in to help him but he warded them off with his left arm. His free arm. “Everybody stay back!” he shouted. “Stay back and don’t touch it!”
He turned his attention back to the saucer. His hand was now starting to tingle constantly and the surface of the thing began to feel warmer. He put his left foot against the upper side of the saucer and pushed off with all his might. Nothing happened, though now, to his ever-growing horror, his foot was stuck to the thing as well. He should have known better but when panic sets in rationality and better thinking are usually the first to go.
He tried again and again to no avail. Tears of fear and pain welled up in his eyes. His hand now felt very hot and he could feel warmth seeping in through the sole of his shoe. Then he lurched toward it. He didn’t mean to and he wondered why he did and it dawned on him. The thing had pulled him closer.
Sure enough, his hand and foot had sunk into the saucer about a half an inch. Now his hand was screaming with pain. Had he been able to focus, he would have noticed that his sinking into this alien monstrosity hadn’t distorted the surface at all. It was as if he was being pulled right through it like some kind of perverse magic trick.
Another jerk came, harder this time. Giacobbe wasn’t prepared for it and his right ankle rolled over on itself. Everyone heard the snapping as his tibia and fibula gave way under his weight. He cried out in pain that only escalated as much of his falling body landed firmly on upper side of the saucer. Pain screamed out across his entire body. His face, chest and waist now felt as if they were welded to the dark disc from outer space. His lungs were suddenly on fire and half his vision was snuffed out as the thing pulled him another three inches beneath its surface. A horrifying shriek filled the air as Giacobbe Piano slowly disintegrated into the bowels of this intruder. This time, nobody moved. Some out of fear, others out of pure shock.
The screaming continued until the thing had absorbed his throat and head completely. It was quick but it didn’t seem quick enough. The onlookers watched as Pianoville’s favorite son was ushered into the great beyond in a way that no one would have thought possible until now.
Though his brain surely had to have been destroyed, Giacobbe’s right leg continued to twitch and kick out until it too finally disappeared into the saucer. Then more pulses of light came from within the thing. They came faster and faster and a sickening humming sound began to rise up out of it. Some had already started to run but others just stood there. Either way, it made no difference.
The humming grew louder and louder, matching the pulsing lights beat for beat. Then, when it seemed the noise could grow no louder, the saucer emitted a wave of energy and light that struck everyone gathered in the center of Pianoville.
Alright, here's part two. My Piano peeps will remember THE GAME well. For the uninitiated, well, hold on for the ride. This first encounter honestly makes THE GAME look tame. Trust me, it's no picnic.
Merlin the Wizard came to slowly. At first he thought it had all been just a dream and that he was really waking up for the first time that morning. Two things happened that told him he was wrong.
First, he rolled to the left and discovered that he was lying in the middle of the street. Second, a loud twang arose from nowhere and everywhere all at once.
A voice called out. “You’ll never know how much I really love you.” Then another loud twang. “You’ll never know how much a really care.”
At first, Merlin was utterly confused but when the main chorus began, he started to realize what was going on. Someone, somewhere was blasting out an old Beatles song. One of those cheesy early tunes before the Fab Four had met Bob Dylan and discovered pot.
“Do you want to know a secret?” the song asked.
No, Merlin thought, but I could use some aspirin. He got to his feet and looked around. When his gaze came upon a large black saucer sticking out of the ground he started to remember. Only, as he soon discovered, there was only a little bit that he could really remember. He remembered who he was and he remembered seeing G-Man get pulled inside that thing but that was about it. He knew there should be more to remember but something off to his right caught his eye.
Bigsimpsin sat up and held his head in his hands. Merlin went over to help him up. “Thanks man,” Bigs shouted over the music, getting to his feet. “What the heck happened?”
“I don’t know,” Merlin yelled, “but I think it has something to do with that.” He pointed at the saucer.
“Weird,” Bigs breathed.
“Tell me about it,” shouted a voice from behind them. NutelLA was heading their way. “But you want to know what’s weirder? Look up.”
They both did and they saw something that was indeed weirder. Maybe 250 feet above them was some kind of force field. They could see through it just fine but everything beyond it was colorless. They followed the force field down with their eyes and saw where it touched the ground.
“Don’t even bother trying to get through it,” NutelLA said. “Seals and I already tried. It just kinda zaps you and pushes you back.”
By now several other people were starting to wake up. Diggler and Black Rock were face down up the street while Bree, Sparrow and Kobe were scattered about a few feet away from the saucer thing. Those who were already awake helped the newly conscious to their feet.
Some held their heads in their hands and tried to plug their ears while others took another look at the saucer. The same flat black color greeted their eyes but the surface of the thing no longer looked smooth. All along its upper side were tiny grooves, as if they had been cut into it by a careful artisan.
The Beatles song faded into nothingness and all at once the tiny grooves lit up and a booming voice assaulted their ears.
“HOWDY FOLKS! YOU LIKE BLOOD? VIOLENCE? FREAKS OF NATURE? WELL THEN, COME ON DOWN TO THE PEE-ANOVILLE MUSEUM OF MONSTERS AND MAD MEN.”
“What the hell?” asked spacedaisy.
“OH, I’M SORRY. WAS THAT A LITTLE OVER THE TOP?” it asked in a calmer, more robotic voice. “I CAN NEVER TELL. MY INITIAL CULTURE SCAN INDICATED THAT LOUD AND BOISTROUS BEHAVIOR WAS OFTEN TIMES ENTERTAINING TO HUMAN BEINGS. I APOLOGIZE IF I HAVE OFFENDED OR FRIGHTENED YOU.” The voice was oddly sincere but almost taunting at the same time.
“What’s going on?” Aces asked.
“WHAT’S GOING ON IS THAT THE CITIZENS OF PIANOVILLE HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY AHEAD OF THEM. THOUGH THE THOUGHT SHOULD HAVE CROSSED YOUR CLASS 3 GALAXY MIND. PERHAPS MY INSTRUMENTS ARE PLAYING TRICKS ON ME BUT I WAS INFORMED THAT YOURS IS THE SECOND MOST INTELLIGENT SPECIES ON THIS PLANET. CORRECT?”
“Um, then what’s the first?” Link asked.
“DOLPHINS. BUT THEY’RE OF LITTLE USE TO ME, BEING IN THE WATER AND ALL.” The saucer let out a heavy sigh. “IT’S A SHAME WHAT LIMITATIONS WERE SET UPON ME. DOLPHINS SEEM LIKE SUCH WONDERFUL CREATURES. IF IT WEREN’T FOR THE FACT THAT YOUR KIND DEVELOPED OPPOSABLE THUMBS, YOU WOULD LIKELY BE DOING TRICKS FOR THEM. AH WELL. C’EST LA VIE AS THE FRENCH SAY.”
“Hang on a second,” demanded DharmaChameleon, “what are you and what do you mean we have a unique opportunity ahead of us?”
The saucer spoke out in a thick southern accent. “WELL SHUCKS COWPOKE! GLAD YOU ASKED. SEEMS I MIGHT’VE GOROTTEN TO INTR’DUCE M’SELF.” A sound imitating the clearing of a throat occurred and the thing continued. “I AM A TEPACHI HEURISTIC ENTERPRISES GALVANIC ADVANCED MEMORY ENIGMIZER. BUT YOU MAY CALL ME T.H.E. G.A.M.E.”
“The Game?” Mandolin asked.
“THAT’S RIGHT, PARDNER! LUCKY FOR YOU THAT MY DESCRIPTION TRANSLATES INTO SOMETHING YOUR LINGUISTICALLY CHALLENGED SPECIES CAN ABBREVIATE INTO SOMETHING SIMPLE AND TO THE POINT.”
“But what does all that mean? What did you do to G-Man?” guyswherearewe demanded.
“THE ONE YOU CALL G-MAN WAS NUTRITOUS AND DELICIOUS! HE BROUGHT MY POWER RESERVES BACK UP TO 33%.”
“So, you ate him?” asked Long Con.
“IN SO MANY WORDS, YES. AND BY THE TIME WE’RE FINISHED HERE I WILL HAVE IMBIBED MORE OF YOU FINE HOMO SAPIENS BECAUSE THAT’S HOW IT WORKS.”
“How what works?” map_of_ur_hed asked, growing impatient.
“BY NOW I’M SURE YOU ALL REALIZE THAT I EMITTED A PULSE THAT RENDERED YOU ALL UNCONSCIOUS. THAT PULSE ALSO WIPED CLEAN YOUR MEMORIES. I HAVE PUT THE BAREST OF MEMORIES BACK INTO YOUR MINDS. YOU REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOUR PURPOSE IS IN THIS WORLD. I AM HERE TO REPLENISH MY ENERGY SUPPLY. YOUR TOWN IS ROTTING FROM THE INSIDE OUT.
“IT APPEARS THAT THERE IS A FACTION OF WHAT YOU PEOPLE CALL THE MAFIA, AN UNDERGROUND CRIME SYNDICATE CAPABLE OF MANY ATROCITIES, LIVING AMONGST YOU. THEY SEEK TO CONTROL THIS TOWN YOU CALL PIANOVILLE. MY ARRIVAL HAS ALSO CAUSED AN ANOMALY OR TWO ALONG THE WAY BUT IT DOESN’T SEEM LIKE ANYTHING THAT NEEDS CORRECTING RIGHT NOW.
“I AM GOING TO GIVE THE TOWNS PEOPLE OF PIANOVILLE A CHANCE TO RID THEMSELVES OF THE MAFIA WHILE ALSO GIVING THE MAFIA A CHANCE TO GROW THEIR CONTROL OVER THIS QUAINT LITTLE MOUNTAIN TOWN. EVERY DAY AT SUNSET YOU MUST BRING ME ONE PERSON WHO A MAJORITY OR PLURALITY OF THE TOWN BELIEVES IS AN EVILDOER. I WILL USE THEM TO GROW MY ENERGY SUPPLY AND YOU WILL DISCOVER WHO THEY WERE.
“YOU HAVE UNDOUBTEDLY NOTICED THAT THERE ARE A SERIES OF GROOVES ON MY SURFACE. THERE ARE ACTUALLY 30 DISTINCT SECTIONS OF THESE GROUPS. EACH SECTION CORRESPONDS TO THE IDENTITY OF ONE OF YOU 30 PEOPLE THAT ARE NOW, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, TRAPPED INSIDE THIS SECTION OF PIANOVILLE. AT MIDDAY AND SUNSET AND DAWN I WILL INSERT A NEW LETTER, ALLOWING YOU TO EVENTUALLY FIGURE OUT WHO ALL IS PERSENT AND WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF. IF YOU DO NOT PROVIDE ME WITH SUSTENANCE THEN YOU WILL GO WITHOUT ANY NEW LETTERS UNTIL YOU PROVIDE ME WITH WHAT I WANT.
“DON’T BOTHER TRYING TO LEAVE. I WON’T LET YOU. AND DON’T BE SILLY AND ATTEMPT TO STICK TOGETHER IN ORDER TO AVOID THE INEVITABLE. OH YES, THERE WILL BE BLOOD. NOW THEN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS OF ALL AGES… LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!”
Everyone looked at each other. Caution, fear and bewilderment filled their eyes. They didn’t doubt that what was happening to them was real but that didn’t mean it didn’t sound like madness. And madness it was.
Alrighty, so here are the details for the first day and night phase of the game. This is the one day that I actually have a full night post on hand for, which is posted below. First up:
EARLY EDITION:
Every day I worked up an Early and Late Edition to help show how the rest of the world was reacting to what was going on in Pianoville. I'll clue you in on any secrets if the newspaper reports hint at anything that I failed to save.
SECRET WORD OF THE DAY:
This was one of the most fun elements of the game. Each day, a predetermined number of players would be punished somehow for using the Secret Word of the Day. THE GAME would announce it Pee-wee Herman style. Naturally, the Secret Word of the Day for Day 1 was "secret." Sadly, I forget who the victims of it were and what their punishments were. Usually it was silly stuff, like posting in an obnoxious color or putting a song lyric in each post for the rest of the day.
DAY POWERS:
A few players had powers that could be used during the day instead of at night. Baddies are in red.
SACRIFICE VOTE TALLY:
Yeah, I messed up the title for the chart. Oops. So yes, each day the "lynch" votes were called "sacrifice" votes because the person with the most votes would be sacrificed to THE GAME, meeting a gruesome end as in the game-opening post. On Day 1, Mandolin cast a second, secret vote for Seals. That created a surprise tie that was met with much gnashing of teeth by Seals. After randomizing the two players, Seals was sacrificed and her role revealed. Only a few people got the reference to Jack Byrnes from Meet the Parents- a human lie detector. The civvies lost a useful role right off the bat. In these vote images and the role powers images, baddie roles and their votes are marked in red. Wildcard roles (serial killers) and their votes are marked in blue.
LATE EDITION:
NIGHT POST:
Each night I used a few quotes and some music to set the tone. I usually tried to write the Night Posts to match the length and mood of the songs I picked out. I gave each role a Night Post alias so people wouldn't figure out what the roles were before they were revealed. I'm evil like that. So here is the only Night Post I could find in my files. I chose "You Know My Name" from Casino Royale because I love the song (seriously, it's one of the best Bond themes- who's with me?). The lyrics also make reference to games, danger, odds- all stuff related to the game of mafia. The title was cheeky too because the killer Night 1 was Capo Crimini. While Capo was never mentioned by name, the Crimini crime family was mentioned in the Pianoville: A History posts. So the players, if they read all the posts, did actually know the killers last name. :P Here goes:
“The troubles of our proud and angry dust
Are from eternity, and shall not fail.
Bear them we can, and if we can we must.
Shoulder the sky, my lad, and drink your ale.”
-A. E. Housman
“Murder, like talent, seems occasionally to run in families.”
-G. H. Lewes
The Rich Man walked over to the kitchen table and opened his briefcase. Piece by piece he assembled his weapon, complete with a flash and sound suppressor.
Glock 9mm, he thought to himself, why settle for anything less?
It had been almost three decades since he last killed someone. It was 82, back during the War. He was a lot younger then but his father had always told him that killing was like riding a bicycle. Once you learned how, you never forgot.
"So he said, 'do you love me?'" Danhm blurted out, "and she says 'no, but that's a real nice ski mask!'" Bursts of laughter rose up from around him. He drank the last of his beer, belched and got up from his chair. "Alright folks, I'm heading out. If I drink any more I'll wake up with a hangover to end all hangovers."
"See ya Dan," someone said.
He waved back, hoping whoever said it saw his parting gesture. The Dancing Piano was the only joint inside THE GAME's force field that had booze. After the day everyone had, who could blame them for taking advantage of their proximity to a good stiff drink? The Dancing Piano was sort of a hybrid between a bar, a night club and an old fashioned-style theatre, with a stage and all kinds of fancy private balconies scattered about. Dan didn't care about the balconies though. He was headed for the door.
He stepped into the foyer and nearly had his hand on the doorknob when everything went black.
While booze was certainly the main attraction at The Dancing Piano, The Lady in Red was a solid runner up.
Aces sat down in one of the small theatre's seats and watched in awe as The Lady in Red sensuously performed a burlesque number. Her body undulated with the music in all the right ways. Aces was transfixed. God was she beautiful!
After the day he and the rest of his fellow Pianoville denizens had had, Danhm thought he had seen it all.
Then he woke up with a sword in his face.
"Holy sh-"
"You just be quiet," The Man with the Wire Mask muttered, touching the tip of his sword to Dan's nose.
It was a compelling argument. Dan complied.
"We're going to go back inside, sit ourselves down, and have a few more drinks. Okay?"
"Yuh- yuh- yeah," Dan sputtered. "Sure." By now he was well aware of the pain swarming around the back of his head. Nevertheless, he did as he was told.
The area around the bar was getting pretty crowded now that The Lady in Red had finished her show. Diamond Dog managed to work his way through the crowd anyway. He wasn't aware that he was being followed though.
Diamond Dog entered the mens room. A few seconds later, The Man in the White Coat did the same. He slipped into the stall next to where Diamond Dog stood at a urinal. The Man in the White Coat slipped some kind of device onto his head. It was attached to what looked like a small satellite dish, which he held just under the edge of the stall's wall. Lights blinked quietly and The Man in the White Coat looked from side to side in a frantic manner.
Diamond Dog flushed the urinal and walked away. With his subject now out of range, The Man in the White Coat took off the device.
The Rich Man was walking up the stairs to one of The Dancing Piano's private balconies. This one was on the side of the theatre and overlooked the bar area. Everyone was here tonight it seemed. It was all for the better. He knew how to get down to the bar quickly and rejoin the sea of humanity looking for comfort at the bottom of a glass. This was going perfectly.
Danhm finished his drink. He didn't want to drink any more but if he was going to be held here against his will, he might as well have something to drink.
"You strike me as a bourbon man," Dan said to The Man with the Wire Mask. "You want me to get you one?"
The Man with the Wire Mask tilted his head to the side. "Sure," he muttered and pointed to his face "but bring a straw."
"Here you go my fine freaky friend," Dan said, holding a glass of bourbon in each hand, one with straw. "One bourbon with a str-"
Suddenly there were two muffled cracks and Dan spun around sharply to his left. He collapsed to the floor, screaming.
"Aaargh!" he howled. Other screams filled the air. People started ducking for cover that they wouldn't need. Others began circling around Danhm.
"Oh my God!" somebody shrieked.
"Give him room!" another shouted. "How bad is it?"
Dan was rolling on the floor, moaning like a dying man ought to. "Somebody shot me!" he screamed.
"Well," a calm voice offered from beside him, "you're half right."
Dan opened his eyes and looked up. "What the hell does that mean?" he asked.
"Look," the voice told him.
Dan looked and was amazed. Two bullets were hovering half an inch over his chest, right where his heart was. The bullets just sat there, as if by magic, glowing a little. Dan plucked the bullets out of the air and held them in his hand.
"Dude," he said and passed out.
Up at the bar, The Fair Woman smirked and poured herself another drink, toasting herself on a job well done.
A few hours before the sun came up everyone decided they need to get some sleep. Lord only knew what THE GAME might pull on them the next day. Rest probably wouldn't help make it any better but it beat staying up for 24 hours straight.
Danhmwalked gingerly to the door. "Man," he said, "I'm going to have one mother of a bruise there."
"Sure beats the alternative!" someone snapped back at him.
Acesstepped out into the cool night air. Was there something else he had wanted to do tonight? He wasn't sure. All he could think about was The Lady in Red. He crawled into bed and her dancing replayed over and over in his head. Good dreams indeed.
Sanderlingwas walking up to her apartment. Fortunately, it had just barely been captured inside THE GAME's force field. She paused in the road. Did she hear somebody walking behind her? She turned and looked. No one was there. Assuring herself that she was imagining things, she proceeded on her way.
After another minute, she heard it again. Those were definitely footsteps in the darkness behind her. When she moved, they moved. Her heart racing, she sprinted back to her apartment and locked the door. Little sleep would come for her panicked mind.
Breeclosed her apartment door behind her and rubbed her throat. Screaming for her life had made it sore. Sitting out in the cool night playing Mario probably hadn't helped it any. A few shots at The Dancing Piano certainly hadn't helped it. It seemed to be getting worse. Maybe it would be better by morning.
NIGHT POWERS:
Here is a full listing of all the night powers for Night 1. I have them listed in order of the power hierarchy I created for the game.
NIGHT RIDDLE:
Sometimes they were actual riddles and sometimes they were more like scavenger hunts through the Pianoville: A History posts. Some riddle prizes were good but others were actually punishments. I don't remember what any of the riddles were, but here's what the prizes were for Night 1:
-Pick the Secret Word of the Day for Day 2 (won by StlGirl)
-Player must use every single letter of the alphabet in their posts all Day 2 ("won" by ILMK)
-Player has to write all of their posts backwards for Day 2 ("won" by Kobe)
I'll try to get the Day/Night 2 details up in another week or so.
Long Con wrote:I love THE GAME. It's got such personality!
Too bad I don't have more posts that include THE GAME's banter. I'm already coming up with monologues for it! I mean really, it's basically the manifestation of the god complex that comes with hosting. I was just crazy enough to give it a voice.
Fiddler on the Roof
The madness is coming soon. 
