Mafia: The James Edition

[Rosie Willowwater]

Y'know, I think I like Mafia so much is because it makes me look smarter

[Eulaliaaa!]

Why are you all so happy even though you lost?

THIS MAKES MY DAY. IT WAS SO HARD, BUT WORTH IT.

Thank you @James Gryphon for running this game. It was interesting and enjoyable I'm really looking forward to the clues and night actions.

I knew it! You were the Mafia, I knew you were!

[Hickory]

Be glad that I jailed Skyblade at the beginning. (Even though it probably didn't do anything, since jailing doesn't block everyone's actions.

[Cornflower MM]

Okay, that's hilarious.

[James Gryphon]

Night 0

"We have three rooms, all on the second floor, 204, 208, and 218. 208 and 218 are connected by an adjoining door. The girls will get room 204, and the rest of us will stay in the other two rooms. I'll be in 218, and James and Dan will be in 208. Me and James each have a key to both of our rooms, so ask us if you need to get in. I'm holding on to a key for 204 to give to Rain when she gets here; in the meantime, I've given Gallivanter the other key, to hold on to. Be sure you don't lose it."

"We thought it'd be fair to start things off with some advice, and give y'all a Day vote before the mayhem begins. Pay close attention because I'm not going to give you information like this again; you'll have to watch each other closely and figure it out on your own. With the way the luggage is being distributed, there will be at least one Mafia, from any team, in each room. If y'all manage to get rid of a Mafia in your room, and suddenly the people in the other rooms start taking an interest in getting access to yours, that's a pretty good indication that they could have an ulterior motive."

These clues were "free" and intended to be taken at face value. Most of the rest of the "clues" in the first day were not really fair clues, in the aspiring detective's sense of the word, and rather depended on metagame knowledge.

Delthion and Daskar began animatedly arguing about something pointless, as Delthion took every opportunity to show off his trademark grin to anyone who would look, and Daskar said that it didn't do the ones on the forum justice.

Originally, this would have been something of a clue towards Del's identity. The Blue team being repackaged werewolves, I would have referred to Del's grin as "toothy". I decided that might have been a little too blatant, however, and left it out.

Skyblade appeared to be in the middle of a serious conversation with Gonff and Fatch about innermost feelings.

Sky and Gonff are both known for this sort of thing, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone that's what they might be talking about, but Fatch, not as much. This was intended to be a very subtle 'clue' towards his being an investigator.

Sage took over the air hockey table and challenged all comers.

Like Del, this was a wordplay sort of clue that got axed. Originally I think I'd written that he "locked down" the air hockey table, but wrote it out.

There was a spark of tension when Eul mentioned within Peony's earshot that the chicken salad was excellent, but otherwise things went along well.

The general details of this conversation were taken basically verbatim, if I remember right, from another topic on this forum. Not a real clue.

Rosie was particularly hot, with Gallivanter at her heels and Jet coming in a more distant third.

This was a very subtle, unfair wordplay clue about Galli — "chasing" Rosie down. As a result, it also could've been viewed as a subtle hint against Rosie, I guess, if you figured out Galli was the Stalker.

Day 1
1) Delthion - Goon
2) Gonff the Mousethief - Town Citizen
3) Soren - Role Cop
4) Groddil - Goon
5) Eulaliaaa Town Anti-Blue Doctor
6) Skyblade - Roleblocker
7) Aimless Gallivanter - Town Anti-Blue Stalker
Fatch of Southsward - Town 1-Shot Blue-Finding Detective
9) Lord Ashenwyte Town 1-Shot Red-Finding Detective
10) Rosie Willowwater - Goon
11) Sagetip - Town Anti-Red Jailkeeper
12) Peony - Town Citizen
13) Jet the binturong - Town Citizen
14) Chipster of Noonvale - Goon
15) Lord Daskar - Town Citizen

—

Daskar is voted out, revealing his identity as a Town Citizen



Night 1:
Skyblade chooses Roleblocker
Soren chooses Role Cop

Red Mafia send Groddil to kill Delthion
Blue Mafia send Rosie to kill Skyblade

Skyblade blocks Gonff
Soren investigates Fatch

Sagetip jails Skyblade
Eulalia heals Skyblade
Galliver stalks Skyblade

Results:
Groddil kills Delthion
Rosie attempts to kill Skyblade, but fails
Soren discovers Fatch is a 1-Shot Blue-Finding Detective

After the guys got into their room, they began to sort through their belongings and figure out who would be going where. By the end of it, Søren, Sage, Gonff, Del, and Fatch had decided to stick in 208 with James and Daniel, while Ashe, Groddil, Jet, Chipster and Daskar settled down in 218 with Matthias.

These are somewhat relevant for the purposes of figuring out future kills. 

Søren hooked his phone up to the wall next to James, commenting that he was lucky that the battery hadn't already gone out.

This was a subtle clue, meant to suggest that Soren had run his battery down talking to his teammates (particularly Rosie).

Meanwhile in the other room, Daskar bounced around irritating Jet and Groddil.

I tended to use players who had already 'died' for false clues. I figured this made the story a bit trickier to keep up with, and y'all more likely to read something that wasn't there into it.

Matthias told them to quiet down, as he was on the phone with Rain and Galli sorting out the details of the next day's schedule.

I got a few people that questioned whether Galli being one of the people referred to had anything to do with gameplay dynamics. In fact, the only reason why she got mentioned so prominently is because I figured that she was the oldest (or anyway one of the oldest) girls in the room. This is a detail of life on a youth trip that ended up contributing to the "fog of war".

Sage asked James whether he could go get some more towels from the front desk, considering that there were seven people in the room and only four sets available. James consented; Gonff also thought of a couple more things that they might need, so Sage and Gonff walked out and went down the stairs in that direction.

The reason why Sage and Gonff (and Sky, simultaneously) decided to do this is simply because I needed a way to get them out of the room!

A minute later, Galli, who had been in the bathroom, came out and asked where Sky was. After Rosie told her, Galli said, "Well, I just found out that we're going to need more soap. I'll guess I'll go down with her to make sure we get some," and headed outside.

This was meant to be a fairly overt tip that Galliver was stalking Skyblade. However, since practically everybody targeted Sky this round, it got somewhat lost in the confusion.

Sky mentioned her intention of picking up some ice from the ice machine.

Another excuse to get her out of her room.

Sky and Galli found out from Rain when they got there that Eul and Rosie had left the room, Eul wanting a fresh bottle of water and Rosie itching for a bag of Skittles.

Both Eul and Rosie left so that they could get in on what was happening — Rosie to make her assassination attempt, Eul to protect Sky.

Armed with this knowledge, Sky picked up the ice bucket and headed out to collect some frozen water. Along the way she crossed paths with Eul and Rosie, who were coming back, Rosie with her skittles and Eul carrying a bag full with four bottles of water.

After this encounter, Eul and Rosie part ways, keeping eyes on Sky from different places.

Sky asked her why so many? Rosie said, "I know; she must be really really thirsty!". Eul shrugged and replied, "You can never be too hydrated!"

I wrote this with my experience on youth trips in mind (especially when visiting Nagodoches/Lufkin), where the water from the faucet isn't always the best quality, and visitors do well to get something they'll feel comfortable drinking. While most people saw this as a hit against Eul, for stockpiling water (which, for the record, I'd point out she could have gotten just as easily from the bathroom), I actually meant her "health tip" to be a clue to her Doctorness.

Rosie's Skittles were just an excuse to get her out of the room. The idea about colouring her water with it was interesting, but didn't really square with what I (in character) said, as I indicated that we would provide the Mafia with all the food colouring they'd need.

Moving on, Sky reached the alcove where the ice machine was. She found Sage was there, with a bucket of his own, doing the same thing. He commented, "I thought getting ice was a good idea, so after I dropped into our room I told them I would do the same as you. Also, I don't think James liked the idea of you being down here by yourself."

Sky had already told Sage that she was going to be at the ice machine, so as a jailkeeper, Sage went to where he knew she'd be. Sage must have briefly dropped into the guys' room (though, as others pointed out, it's ambiguous as to whether he was telling the truth or not about talking to me), but that had nothing to do with why he came down there.

Rosie answered the door when Sky knocked, and seemed somewhat taken aback by her state.

A very slight clue, meant to suggest that she felt some kind of guilt.

Galli, who was sitting in bed reading a book, looked over. "What happened to your hair? You look like you've been fighting."

Now why would she assume that Sky was fighting or in physical contact with anyone in any way, unless she had been outside and saw roughly what happened?

Secondly, Delthion was apparently shot while he slept. The color on his shirt was red. He was an ordinary Blue Mafia goon.

Not a lot to work with here. The fact that nobody noticed anything might've seemed to suggest that the killer was in the same room, but as I mentioned before (in what was otherwise a throw-away line), Matthias had opened the door to 208, and I never say anything about it being closed up again.

Day 2
1) Gonff the Mousethief - Town Citizen
2) Soren - Role Cop
3) Groddil - Goon
4) Eulaliaaa - Town Anti-Blue Doctor
5) Skyblade - Roleblocker
6) Aimless Gallivanter - Town Anti-Blue Stalker
7) Fatch of Southsward - Town 1-Shot Blue-Finding Detective
Lord Ashenwyte Town 1-Shot Red-Finding Detective
9) Rosie Willowwater - Goon
10) Sagetip - Town Anti-Red Jailkeeper
11) Peony - Town Citizen
12) Jet the binturong - Town Citizen
13) Chipster of Noonvale - Goon

-

Soren is voted out, revealing his identity as a Blue Mafia Role Cop



Night 2:

Groddil was gone during this time. Sky and Chip were still a majority, though, so with their agreement on something, his participation wasn't needed.

Red Mafia send Chipster to kill Jet
Rosie goes to kill Fatch

Skyblade blocks Peony

Sagetip jails Peony
Eulalia heals Gonff
Galliver stalks Fatch
Ashenwyte investigates Sagetip

Results:
Chipster kills Jet
Rosie kills Fatch
Ashenwyte discovers Sagetip is not Red Mafia

It was a dark and stormy night. A very loud and dramatic thunderstorm blew in around 10 PM, and lasted all night, only receding when the sun began to come up.

Was potentially meant to be a plot point that's relevant later, but I think I might've written it in such a way that this clue didn't work out. Oh well.

Sage kept up a lively conversation with Peony most of the night, drawing more than a little attention from Ashe, and several grotesquely bright grins from Delthion.

A fairly blatant clue depicting Sage's jailing of Peony, and Ashe's investigation of Sage.

Fatch played a masterful diplomatic game, enthralling early eliminee Galliver, who seemed to hang on his every word.

Depicts Galli stalking Fatch.

Eulaliaaa played a stout defensive game with her chosen ally, Gonff, on one occasion saving him from Matthias' invasion with a well-timed missile strike.

Eul "saves" Gonff as a good Doctor should, even though it isn't in Mafia.

Rosie played with undeniable vigor, making and breaking several alliances, and taking advantage of cards and a lucky series of dice rolls to frustrate Daniel's expansion and wipe out Rain's forces in the biggest stab of the game.

A clue tipping off that Rosie is on her own now, playing a "serial killer" type role. The use of the word "stab" to describe her dealing with Rain in particular was a big wordplay clue (in flavor, SKs are known for killing with knives).

The majority of members, having been eliminated, first began to trickle upstairs around 2 AM, finally leaving only James and the two 'alliances' to finish the game. After a dramatic showdown between the final surviving alliances of Sky, Groddil and Chipster, and Søren, Del and Daskar, the last Green army gave up the ghost in Myanmar, and the remaining exhausted players began to find their way back to their rooms an hour later.

This is probably the point where I first began to try to swing the story balance against the Red Mafia, in a rather obvious fashion. The Red team is listed in its whole here, and the other alliance consists of all dead players, who are no longer relevant to the Mafia game.

At 5 AM, Jet woke up and decided to go to the bathroom. After flushing, he stepped back into the darkened room, squinting to try to adjust to the dramatic change from light to dark. He didn't see anything, but heard the sound of a plastic trigger depressing, and felt the stream of water as it hit his nightshirt...

Frankly, I messed up the storm clue here. Jet shouldn't have heard the squirt gun, unless it was the loudest squirt gun ever.

After five minutes, when the lights were turned on and everyone in 218 was up (except for Groddil, who remained in place, snoring), there was no doubt that Jet had been successfully hit by the Red Mafia. Nobody had seemed to see anything. Chipster did comment that while he had been awake, he couldn't hear anything over the sound of Groddil, who was the closest to him.

Groddil being "asleep" when everyone else managed to wake up implies that he could be faking. Chipster's statement in particular seems strange, though. If it was a "dark and stormy night" with loud thunder, it seems he would have commented on that, rather than trying to use Groddil as an alibi. But I blew it by bringing up the squirt gun noise (which, if it was loud outside, nobody should have heard) earlier.

The sun came up to reveal that Fatch had also received attention the past night, with a blue stain on the back of his shirt. Fatch didn't seem to remember having been shot at any point; Galli surmised that the hit must have taken place while they were walking up to their rooms, when the rain was falling hard and such a shot was likely to go unnoticed.

Galli's proximity to her stalkee Fatch comes up here again. Her hypothesis was meant to be a strong clue that it didn't have to be in the guys' room. I made a bit of a mistake here, though, when I didn't take into account that Fatch would've probably changed into night clothes (unless he wore a t-shirt during the day, and simply left it on for night).

Day 3:
1) Gonff the Mousethief - Town Citizen
2) Groddil - Goon
3) Eulaliaaa Town - Anti-Blue Doctor
4) Skyblade - Roleblocker
5) Aimless Gallivanter - Town Anti-Blue Stalker
6) Lord Ashenwyte - Town 1-Shot Red-Finding Detective
7) Rosie Willowwater - Goon
Sagetip - Town Anti-Red Jailkeeper
9) Peony - Town Citizen
10) Chipster of Noonvale - Goon

-

Eul roleclaims Doctor.
Ashe reveals Sage is not a Red Mafia.
Ashenwyte is voted out, revealing his identity as a Town 1-Shot Red-Finding Detective.



Night 3:
Red Mafia send Chipster to kill Galliver
Rosie goes to kill Skyblade

Skyblade blocks Rosie

Sagetip jails Eulalia
Eulalia heals Chipster
Galliver stalks Rosie

Results:
Chipster kills Galliver

Chipster brought up the idea of playing tag, suggesting that playing it would be a good way to "warm up" for the rest of the day. Eul seemed agitated, and said, "I'm not sure that's very safe, tearing around the hotel like that. You know, there was a schoolteacher that got paralyzed when a kid ran into her, while playing tag." Groddil seemed incredulous, commenting that the odds of such an injury must be one in a million. Skyblade stated that she thought it would be fine; knowing the girl's usual caution and reticence, this persuaded the vast majority to play.

Chip proposes the idea of playing tag, and his Red Mafia pals are all for it, knowing there's a good chance they can get people separated that way. Eulalia makes a comment about the health hazards of tag, in another clue meant to tip off her Doctorhood.

Sage stayed close to Eul. Sky suggested to Rosie that two sets of eyes were better than one, and the two teamed up without further ado; Galli also managed to join them, apparently to Rosie's annoyance, as she pointed out that "three's a crowd".

Sage jailed Eul. Sky sticks close to her roleblocked target, as does Galli, who is stalking Rosie.

Chipster and Groddil, who happened to meet near the gym, held a hurried conversation theorizing the best strategy for the game, before parting ways.

The best strategy for "the game" — not necessarily tag!

With Groddil's knowledge of the near area and where Chipster had been, the group quickly pinned down his location and admitted Chip to their ranks.

Because Groddil and Chip are such close buddies and everything.

With the other players having apparently spread out to more territory, the hunters began to split up into pairs, to more efficiently search the whole hotel.

"Pairs" — like the pair that held a strategy session earlier?

After spending close to half an hour in tense anticipation of discovery, Sky's careful watch paid off, as she heard the muffled sound of someone coming down the hallway. She called out softly to Galli, letting her know about the incoming threat. Galli hesitated; when she saw the first glimpse of someone coming in her direction, though, she turned and ran. Reaching the end of that corridor, she jumped reflexively, as she turned to see someone standing right in front of her! Before Galli could react, the person reached out to make the tag. Galli was surprised, but not half so surprised as when, having turned her back on her new teammate, she felt a stream of water hit her back...

Interesting that Skyblade gives Galli instructions that result in her running into the person that tags and shoots her. But I'm sure that's just a coincidence...

Day 4:
1) Gonff the Mousethief - Town Citizen
2) Groddil - Goon
3) Eulaliaaa - Town Anti-Blue Doctor
4) Skyblade - Roleblocker
5) Rosie Willowwater - Goon
6) Sagetip - Town Anti-Red Jailkeeper
7) Peony - Town Citizen
Chipster of Noonvale - Goon

-

Groddil claims a partnership with a roleblocker (true) and that they agreed to block Peony (not true).
All the voters gang up on Eul. Bad timing for this kind of thing.
Eul is voted out, revealing her role as the Town Anti-Blue Doctor



Night 4:
Red Mafia send Chipster to kill Rosie
Rosie goes to kill Peony

Skyblade blocks Rosie

Sagetip jails Skyblade

Results:
Chipster kills Rosie
Rosie kills Peony

Game.

[Chipster of Noonvale]

We won?

WOW!

It's funny how Peony's first reaction upon being killed is "NOOOO YOU RUINED MY SHIRT!"

Thanks @James Gryphon for hosting this game, it was the most exciting one I participated in so far.  And good job @Skyblade and @Groddil you two were great to work with.

[Skyblade]

James, thank you for the rundown! It's interesting. I really enjoyed this game, and I appreciate your hosting it.

@Chipster of Noonvale and @Groddil Thanks for being a great team; I had fun, and we really pulled through.

Why are you all so happy even though you lost?

THIS MAKES MY DAY. IT WAS SO HARD, BUT WORTH IT.

Thank you @James Gryphon for running this game. It was interesting and enjoyable I'm really looking forward to the clues and night actions.

I knew it! You were the Mafia, I knew you were!

@Eulaliaaa! Why did you think so?

Also, why didn't you vote for me?

[Aimless Gallivanter]

thanks for the rundown that was really cool!!

[Eulaliaaa!]

@Skyblade I don't know, I just knew. The chances of you having at least a role were very likely.

[LT Sandpaw]

From an observers view I had guessed Skyblade and Chipster as red mafia, and I thought Grodds was blue mafia not red.

[Skyblade]

@LT Sandpaw

What made you think all three of us were Mafia?

[LT Sandpaw]

@LT Sandpaw

What made you think all three of us were Mafia?

There was actually a few things that gave me the suspicion, now keep in mind these were just suspicions and I didn't have concrete evidence for it. Call it a lucky guess if you will.

Mostly it had to do with how you and Chip seemed to come to the same conclusion using different threads of logic, and now looking back, so did Groddil. Ya'll managed to defend each other, while remaining unsuspicious, and ya'll had survived the whole way through without being killed, which seemed odd to me, except ya'll three were the most intuitive in the game, besides Eul, to which Groddil made that highly suspicious post about her definitely getting voted out, which made me think he was at least blue. You seemed so interested in the town's wellbeing yet every time it was you two that planted the seeds to get everyone except yourselves lynched.
Ya'll did a great job of making it look good, you three make a scary mafia team, that's for sure. Granted I had to use a lot of guesswork to find you out.


Still I was mostly right, which I'm pretty happy about.

[Rosie Willowwater]

I'm surprised none of you were really attacking me during this game. Granted, I didn't post much soooooo... Yeah.

[Fatch of Southsward]

Just read through the run - down. Very interesting indeed. I'm impressed with how naturally the clues were woven into the story. I don't think town had much of a chance of winning this one, unfortunately.

Definitely a step up from the average game of mafia