The Syndicate

Robert’s eyes darted back and forth between the clock on the wall and the back alleyway outside the window. As soon as 30 minutes passed, he dialed the phone again. This time, it only rang once before being picked up.

“Where are you, son?” his father’s voice said on the other side of the call. “Give me the name of the town or city, as well as the country. Nothing more precise than that.”

“I saw a sign that said Puerto Cortes,” he replied. “I don’t know the country.”

“How the hell do you not know what country you are in?”

“Because I jumped into a boat to get away from the Russians that were chasing me.”

“Where in God’s name were you that you would be running away from Russians?”

“It’s a long story, dad,” Robbie sighed.

“Save it for a minute,” the Congressman interjected. “We need to figure out where you are. Puerto Cortes. It’s not a familiar name. Did you see any flags or can you see any now?”

“Yeah, two long blue stripes with a white stripe in between. I think some stars in the middle.”

“Sounds like Honduras. Marcie, hand me that atlas. Alright son, start from the beginning.”

“I went home with a waitress, the way I always do, right? We get to drinking and having fun and she says she wants to go to a casino. So I’m gambling in Havana and-”

“Havana, Cuba?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus Christ, Robbie! Why the hell were you in Cuba?”

“I’m on Spring Break.”

“Have you forgotten that the United States has a long-standing embargo against Cuba? You’re the son of a Congressman for God’s sake!”

“Well President Carter let the travel embargo expire last year. You said it yourself. Besides, all the Senate kids are doing it.”

“Robbie, if all the Senate kids jumped off the edge of the Grand Canyon, would you do it too?”

“No sir.”

“Then why the hell are you making a target of yourself by going to a hostile nation that has cozy relations with the Soviet goddamn Union?!”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time, dad.”

“Well, you know what seems like a good idea at this time, son? Hanging up this damn phone and leaving your irresponsible ass to rot in a third-world country. But I can’t do that, now can I? And you know why?”

“Because I’m your son and you love me.”

“Because it’s a fucking election year and this is the exact kind of bullshit that could cost me my seat.” Robbie’s father let out a deep sigh. “Now then, you’re gambling. Where do the Russians fit into all this?”

“Right. I was gambling in Havana and I took a little risk. I had these two Russian soldiers against the ropes. I mean I was just soaking them. Well one of them got a little too drunk and took a swing at me. I knocked him on his ass, cashed in my chips, and we ran.”

“So why did you jump on a boat heading out of Cuba?”

“Well, we get back to the hotel, and about half an hour later there’s a knock on the door. It’s the Russians from the casino, and this girl just lets them into the room!”

“She was on their side?”

“How was I to know she was with the Russians too?”

“What was her name?”

“Valentina.”

“God dammit, Robbie.”

“It sounded Latin American to me!”

“Alright, here you are- Puerto Cortes, Honduras. Marcie- take this and give it to Senator-” the congressman’s voiced muffled as he leaned away from the receiver. “So how did you get out of that jam? A room full of Reds?”

“I’m pretty good in a fight when I need to be, dad. I knocked the one guy out cold in the room and sent the other one over the balcony outside the room. He looked pretty messed up laying on the ground the way he was, but he was still alive, I swear! By the time I get to the street level, the cops are showing up, so I took off down an alley and just kept running until I reached the docks. I snuck onto a ship that was taking off with a load of cargo, so I knew it was at least leaving town.”

“So let me get this straight,” his father groaned. “You were in a foreign country that’s unfriendly to your own and you proceeded to beat up other foreign nationals from an even less friendly nation, and to top it all off, you ran away from the local police?”

“Well that’s oversimplifying it a little, don’t you think?”

“Son, you are a walking international incident. The Cubans and the Soviets are going to be looking for you. The good news is that we’ve got a head start on tracking you down.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“Honduras is pretty cozy with the Soviet Union right now too. Brezhnev is pumping a lot of investment resources into third-world countries, and Honduras is one of them. It won’t take long for them to figure out that the American they’re looking for stumbled into the friend’s backyard.”

“So what do I do?”

“Get the hell out of wherever you’re calling from and never go back. Stay in Puerto Cortes and lie low. I’ve got connections in the Senate who know people in the CIA. They pull extraction missions more often than Uncle Sam wants John Q. Public to know about. They’ll be on the ground and looking for you in a matter of days. Even with lying low, they’ll find you.”

“How will I know it’s them and not the Russians?”

“I’ll give them our code phrase- lawyers, guns and money. That’s how they operate too, actually.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll find out. Now get the hell out of there before any unfriendlies catch on to you.”

Sabiplz wrote: ↑Wed Nov 23, 2022 10:29 pm Is role pms tonight? @G-Man

Sorry, tonight. We’ll get it all back on schedule tonight.

bea wrote: ↑Mon Nov 21, 2022 7:25 am

Roxy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 16, 2022 6:54 pm

jack shepherd wrote: ↑Tue Nov 15, 2022 10:33 pmno

So you will better fit in, it's "no u"

fingersplints wrote: ↑Wed Nov 16, 2022 3:52 pm Alright Kate has convinced me

Me too. We are suckers for 4ew's.

I have to sign up now don't I?

Juliets has to be in too

Actually, Heists are capped at 17, so we’re already full. I can mark you down as a replacement option though.

Also, sorry for no flavor yet. I’m fighting through the middle stage of an upper respiratory infection at the moment, and all my body wants to do in the evening is sleep.

Okay, so here is the player list for the game. We are at maximum capacity.

@Dennis
@DrWilgy
@falcon45ca
@fingersplints
@Golden
@jack shepherd
@Kate
@lucy
@Marmot
@Matahari
@Roxy
@S~V~S
@Sabiplz
@Scotty
@Seanzie
@Soneji
@TheFloyd73


I still owe you all a flavor post to keep the flavor moving. Here is my plan for the start of the game:

-Tuesday 11/22/22 I will randomize the roles.
-Wednesday evening 11/23/22 I will send out the role PMs.
-Saturday evening 11/26/22 a 24-hour Night 0 will begin.
-Sunday evening 11/27/22 Day 1 will begin.


Sorry to keep you all waiting for another full week before the game can start. Black Friday is cookie-making day on my mother-in-law's side of the family and it is pretty much sacrosanct. I can't guarantee I'll be home at any decent hour to star the game on Friday, hence the Saturday start.

I'll post a little something for you all tomorrow evening.

Just a reminder that this game isn't going to start until after Thanksgiving. Holidays are just too disruptive.

Kate wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 4:43 pm @Matahari

How close are we to starting?

This game is for 15-17 players, so we need 4-6 more before I can randomize the roles. I will work up another flavor post sometime this weekend. Even if we fill up next week, I’m torn over whether to start the game prior to Thanksgiving. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

I was inspired by conditionality and have made the following adjustments. See how these strike your fancy:

4) Role-claiming and info-dumping are prohibited in this game unless otherwise specified in the roles..

-1 Town Cop: Each night, they may alignment check one other player. You may roleclaim and infodump only once during the game. When you infodump, you may reveal the alignment of no more than two other players. Once you infodump, you will become vanilla for the remainder of the game. You must infodump before the mafia is down to their last living player.

-1 Town Deputy: Each night, they may alignment check one other player. They only receive information if the Town Cop is blocked, protected, or killed during the night phase. If the Town Cop is chopped or killed, the Deputy becomes a regular Town Cop and will receive their alignment check results each night. Because you are a deputy and still learning your craft, you may never roleclaim or infodump during the game, even if the Town Cop is eliminated. Any and all information that you receive must be worked into cases built for or against other players.

I figured these sign-ups would be slow to gain traction because of the anniversary games, and that’s ok. We’ve got five signed up, so I owe you all another flavor post in the next few days.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Sun Oct 09, 2022 6:50 pm

G-Man wrote: ↑Sun Oct 09, 2022 5:40 pm Does prohibiting info-dumping and role-claiming do anything to aid the balancing calculus. The way you all are talking makes me inclined to prohibit both.

I can see your points from a pure theory perspective, but the practice of mafia always differs from theory because people make irrational decisions.

I would suggest caution with that rule pending your player list. That kind of thing can be very difficult for players who aren't used to the rule (like Syndicate players were five years ago), and it tends to get very messy (it happened to Sloonei and I as hosts in somewhat recent memory in separate games).

I think that a couple of small adjustments could square away the game well enough. Perhaps instead of having an infinite-shot cop and doctor, change each to a 2-shot cop and 2-shot doctor. Then likewise you could reduce the vote manipulation role to voiding just one player at most (because voiding two is immensely powerful).

That reduces the overall townsiding and probably the huge swing too. The problem of doctor guiding (a doctor that can automatically protect any cop that claims) is also alleviated if the shots are reduced.

Meh, I think I’ll just roll the dice and keep things as they are. I think the combo of baddie powers has enough potential to keep things interesting. If it’s a mess, it’s my mess. It would feel lame to make such dramatic tweaks at this point. I’ll be sure to run my future games through the balance-savvy folks to avoid this awkward talk.

Does prohibiting info-dumping and role-claiming do anything to aid the balancing calculus. The way you all are talking makes me inclined to prohibit both.

I can see your points from a pure theory perspective, but the practice of mafia always differs from theory because people make irrational decisions.

Scotty wrote: ↑Sat Oct 08, 2022 7:17 pm

Yeah, it’s a bit townsided. Though I feel like town has been slacking in the win column of late in general the past few years

This, the plus baddies have won roughly 2/3 of my games historically despite what I thought were civvie friendly setups. Town has found ways to pull defeat from the jaws of victory enough times in my games that I’m experimenting with the mix. Also, this is my first Heist with five power roles, so I have to dabble a little to find that proper mix. It’s also a simpler setup, which accommodates RL right now.

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

[Link] Rules and Guidelines on The Syndicate

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

[Link] A Syndicate Mafia Culture of Respect

GAMEPLAY:
1. Days are 48 hours long. I will do everything in my power to keep poll deadlines consistent.
2. Nights are 24 hours long.
3. Only those players who have BTSC may communicate with each other outside of the game thread but ONLY in designated BTSC threads or chat rooms. For everyone else, no game-related discussion is permitted outside the game thread.
4. Votes in the poll are the only votes that count. It's helpful but not mandatory that you declare your vote in the thread in a way that stands out to the host.
5. All votes are changeable all the way up to the deadline.
6. A tied day poll will result in no death. Votes matter. There will be no coin flips to determine poll results.
7. Standard alignment wincons are in effect.
8. Dead is dead; you don't get to come back from that. Dead players will have their BTSC rights removed.
9. Alignments will be revealed upon death.
10. I will probably end phases between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. EST for this game. Any earlier is a challenge for me with getting the kids to bed.
11. The game thread will be locked during night phases.


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


ROLES:
1) This game is a 15-player Heist, featuring 12 town and 3 mafia.
2) Ten roles (nine town and one mafia) are vanilla.
3) Five roles (three town and two mafia) have powers:

-1 Town Doctor: Each night, they may protect one player of their choice. This will protect that player from all powers as well as the kill during the night phase. Self-protection is limited to once all game.

-1 Town Cop: Each night, they may alignment check one other player. You may roleclaim and infodump only once during the game. When you infodump, you may reveal the alignment of no more than two other players. Once you infodump, you will become vanilla for the remainder of the game. You must infodump before the mafia is down to their last living player or you will not be allowed to reveal their alignment if you know it.

-1 Town Deputy: Each night, they may alignment check one other player. They only receive information if the Town Cop is blocked, protected, or killed during the night phase. If the Town Cop is chopped or killed, the Deputy becomes a regular Town Cop and will receive their alignment check results each night. Because you are a deputy and still learning your craft, you may never roleclaim or infodump during the game, even if the Town Cop is eliminated. Any and all information that you receive must be worked into cases built for or against other players.

-1 Mafia Night Power Blocker: Each night they may block any player of their choice from using a night power. This blocking power is trumped by the Town Doctor's protection power.

-1 Mafia Conditional Vote Blocker: If both mafia teammates are still alive, this player can select two players each night and their votes will be secretly voided the following day phase. If only one of their mafia teammates are still alive, this player can select only one player each night and their vote will be secretly voided the following day. If both of their teammates are dead, this role becomes vanilla.

Robert bolted across the room. He tried his best to express gratitude to the shopkeeper for allowing him to use the telephone. He picked up the receiver and massaged his temples with his left hand. He had to remember that number. What was it again?

In a flash, it came to him.

He spun the dial frantically and tried to steady himself as it rang. He peeked out the window, both up and down the alley, to make sure no one was there.

Come on, he thought to himself. Dad said this number would get through no matter what.

It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Finally, success.

“Congressman Smith’s office, this is Marcie speaking. How can I help you?”

“Marcie,” Robert cheered. “It’s Robbie.”

“I’m sorry, there’s a lot of static on your line. Who is speaking?”

“Robbie. Rob. Robert. Congressman Smith’s son.”

“Oh hello, Robert,” she said. “This line never hardly ever rings, so I-”

“Look, Marcie, I need to talk to dad. Right now. Is he in his office?”

“Well, I’m sorry Robert, he’s in the middle of a business lunch with a few members of that new Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. It’s been a bumpy two years for them, you know, and your father is trying to help them smooth out a few things.”

“I need you to interrupt him, Marcie. It’s urgent.” He looked out the window again.

The voice on the other end of the line got more serious.

“Now Robert, you know your father. You’re going to have to give me a pretty high-level passcode if I interrupt him in front of senators.”

“I understand, Marcie.”

“And what is your passcode, dear?”

“Lawyers, guns and money.”

“Oh my,” Marcie gasped. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Robert replied. “Lawyers, guns and money.”

“Alright. I’ll go find your father. Sit tight and call this line back in 30 minutes.”