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Post by Pleonast on Jun 22, 2012 15:02:02 GMT -5
So, I've been slowly reworking my Conspiracy rules set, to address some problems in the previous one. Since it's basically an open rules set, I very much appreciate feedback. I can't promise to make any changes, but I'll seriously think about any suggestions made. I've split the rules up. The "basic" rules should be easy to understand and let a player be effective, even if they miss the subtleties. The "detailed" rules should cover all the possibilities (please check that I have). Edit: Try out the new rules on the Giraffe Board.
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Post by Pleonast on Jun 22, 2012 15:02:49 GMT -5
Open Conspiracy Simple Rules
All players need to understand these basic rules. Details and exceptions are found in a later post.
Special moderator note: there are no substitutions in this game, so please do not sign up for the game unless you can give it a fair amount of attention.
Sides
There are always four sides in the game. Every player will be on exactly one side.
Players on the Town side do not known each others' identities. They cannot communicate outside of the main game thread. The Town side has no group powers. The Town side wins when all players not on the Town side are dead or neutralized.
Players on the Cabal side know each others' identities. They can communicate secretly in another forum. The Cabal has the group power to block at Night. The Cabal side wins when all players on the Wolf side are dead, but are neutralized while any player with the Witch role is alive.
Players on the Wolf side know each others' identities. They can communicate secretly in another forum. The Wolves have the group power to kill at Night. The Wolf side wins when they equal or outnumber players on the Town and Cabal sides.
Players on the Undead side do not know each others' identities. They cannot communicate outside of the main game thread. The Undead side has no group powers. The Undead side wins when they equal or outnumber players on the Town side, and can win even when all Undead players are dead.
Roles
Every player will have one of these roles. Before the game starts, players have the option of requesting particular roles and/or sides by sending a PM to the moderator. Each player will receive exactly one of these role PMs. See a later post for details and exceptions for each role.
You are a Coroner on the Town side. You will discover the role of every player lynched or killed at the time of their death.
You are a Detective on the Town side. Each Day, you may discover the killer of one player who died the previous Night.
You are a Freemason on the Town side. Each Day, you may handshake with another player to discover if they are also a Freemason.
You are a Magician on the Town side. Each Night, you may choose another player as your stand-in. All powers directed at you will instead target that player.
You are a Scotsman on the Town side. You will survive the first lynch or attack that would otherwise kill you.
You are a Seer on the Town side. Each Night, you may discover the role of a player.
You are a Vicar on the Town side. Each Day, you may bless a dead player to permanently prevent them from becoming a Zombie. You are also immune to attack from Vampires.
You are a Vigilante on the Town side. Each Night, you may kill a player.
You are a Warlock on the Town side. Each Night, you may enchant a player. If the player is killed that Night, their killer will die by curse the next Night.
You are a Witch on the Town side. The other Witches are (...). You may communicate secretly on another forum. Each Night, you may protect and/or investigate players.
You are a Witchdoctor on the Town side. Each Night, you may enchant a player. If the player is killed that Night, they will come back to life at Dawn after the next Night.
You are a Cabalist on the Cabal side. The other Cabalists are (...). Once per game, you may redirect the targeted power of a player.
You are an Alpha Wolf on the Wolf side. The other Wolves are (...). One Night per game, you may block-kill a player.
You are a Werewolf of rank N on the Wolf side. The other Wolves are (...). You may inherit the role of Alpha Wolf.
You are an Omega Wolf on the Wolf side. The other Wolves are (...). If you are investigated, you will appear to be a Freemason on the Town side.
You are a Necromancer on the Undead side. Each Night, you may zombify a dead player.
You are a Vampire on the Undead side. Each Night, you may kill a player. You are immune to being killed at Night.
Voting
Players should vote for who they wish to lynch. Place a vote like this, vote Player, in bold blue. Remove a vote like this, unvote Player, in bold red. Players may vote for as few or as many players as they like. At the end of the Day, the player with the most votes will be lynched.
Participation
There are no restrictions on posting at any time in any forum that a player has access to. All posts must be in English text. Do not post images or codes or links not to this forum. Do not edit any post or communicate by any other means. Players violating these rules will penalized.
Any player who does not have an active vote on a player at the end of the Day will be penalized.
Schedule
Days will last three weekdays and Nights will last one weekday. All Days and Nights will end at 12 noon Pacific Time (3pm Eastern Time) on a weekday.
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Post by Pleonast on Jun 22, 2012 15:03:49 GMT -5
Open Conspiracy Detailed Rules
This post has the extra details and exceptions to the open rules. Players don't need to know them to play, but knowing them will confer an advantage.
Sides
The game ends when any team meets their victory conditions, even if the conditions might change in the future.
The Town wins at any time when all four conditions are met: 1. At least one player on the Town side is alive. 2. There are no living players on the Wolf side. 3. There are no living players on the Undead side. 4. At least one player with the Witch role is alive, or there are no living players on Cabal side.
The Cabal wins at any time when all three conditions are met: 1. At least one player on the Cabal side is alive. 2. There are no living players on the Wolf side. 3. There are no living players with the Witch role.
The Wolves win when all three conditions are met: 1. At least one player on the Wolf side is alive. 2. The number of living players on the Wolf side is greater than or equal to the total number of living players on the Town and Cabal sides. 3. It is Day, either anytime before or immediately after the lynch and any Day actions.
The Undead win when both conditions are met: 1. The number of living players on the Undead side plus the number of Zombies is greater than or equal to the number of living players on the Town side. 2. It is Night, either anytime before or immediately after any Night actions.
Roles
Each role will always start on the particular side as described by the role PM. However, recruitment can potentially change the side or the role of a player separately. There are no restrictions on how many of each role will appear in the game, but there will be at least one player on each side.
Powers are generally resolved simultaneously. That is, the effects of one power will not affect another power. The exceptions are blocks and redirects. Dead players will still receive the results of their actions, if applicable, but may not activate any powers. Targeted powers that are used on or redirected to invalid targets will fail. If multiple kills are attempted on a target, the attacker from the first role on this list will be used: Alpha Wolf, Werewolf, Vigilante, Vampire, Omega Wolf. The others will fail, even if the attempted one fails for another reason.
Because this is not a real-time game, players may give the moderator orders for their powers in advance or conditional on public or personal knowledge, subject to approval from moderator.
The exceptions and interactions of each role is detailed below. Although sample messages are given below, actual messages will sometimes vary due to carelessness or whimsy.
Coroner: You will discover the role of every player lynched or killed at the time of their death. Only the role, not the side is discovered. A Magician will appear to be the role of the player they targeted. An Omega wolf will appear to be a Freemason. If the dead player is object-blocked, your power fail on that target. If you are subject-blocked, all your investigations will fail that Night. This power cannot be redirected. Message on success, "The role of Player was Role."; message on failure, "You failed to discover the role of Player.".
Detective: Each Day, you may discover the killer of one player who died the previous Night. Only the name of the killing player, not the role or side, is discovered. If the killing player is a Vampire or a Warlock's curse, the investigation will fail. A redirect will return the appropriate result for the redirected target (probably a failure unless the redirect is to another player killed the previous Night), with no indication of the change of target. Message on success, "The killer of Player was Player."; message on failure, "You failed to discover the killer of Player.".
Freemason: Each Day, you may handshake with another living player to discover if they are also a Freemason. If the handshake is successful, the target will receive a success message as well. Only whether or not the target is a Freemason is discovered. No information about the side is revealed. An Omega Wolf will fail the handshake. A redirect will return the appropriate result for the redirected target, with no indication of the change of target; although if the redirected target is a Freemason, they will receive the correct message. Messages on success, "Player successfully returned your Freemason handshake." and "Player successfully gave you a Freemason handshake."; message on failure, "Player failed to return your Freemason handshake.".
Magician: Each Night, you may choose another living player as your stand-in. All powers directed at you will instead target that player. This power cannot be redirected, but will fail if you are subject-blocked or your target is object-blocked. All attack attempts on you will be redirected to your target. Your redirection will fail if attacked by an Alpha-Wolf block-kill. Investigations of you by a Coroner, Seer or Witch will return the result appropriate for your target. No messages.
Scotsman: You will survive the first lynch or attack that would otherwise kill you, unless you are subject-blocked or object-blocked or attacked by an Alpha-Wolf block-kill. You cannot be redirected. If you survive an attack, you will learn the name, but not the role or side, of the player whose attack you survived. If you survive a lynch, you will learn the side of the last player to vote for you. If the last player is an Omega Wolf, you will get a Town result. Messages on success, "You survive an attack from Player." or "You survive a lynch from Side."; no messages on failure.
Seer: Each Night, you may discover the role of a living player. If you are redirected you will get a result appropriate for the redirected target with no indication. If you are subject-blocked or your target is object-blocked, your investigation will fail. You will get a Freemason result from an Omega Wolf. Message on success, "Player is a Role."; message on failure, "You fail to investigate Player.".
Vicar: Each Day, you may bless a dead player to permanently prevent them from becoming a Zombie. You are also immune to attack from Vampires. You cannot bless a living player, including the player about to be lynched, but if you bless a dead player who is under the enchantment of a Witchdoctor, your blessing will continue. There is no indication if you are redirected. No messages.
Vigilante: Each Night, you may kill a player. If the target is object-blocked or protected, or if you are subject-blocked, the kill will fail. There is no indication if you are redirected. Message on success, "Player was killed."; message on failure, "You failed to kill Player.".
Warlock: Each Night, you may enchant a player. If the player is killed that Night, their killer will die by curse the next Night. If the target is object-blocked, or if you are subject-blocked, the enchantment will fail. There is no indication if you are redirected. Protections and blocks will not stop the curse once it is activated. Nor can it be redirected. No messages.
Witch: You may communicate secretly on another forum, even when dead. Each Night, you may protect and/or investigate living players. Each Night the Witches, living and dead, may choose without dissent which powers to use and which living Witch to use them. If there are at least three living Witches, you may choose to both investigate and protect. If there are two living, you may choose either one, but not both. If there are one or fewer living, no powers may be used. You will learn the side of an investigated player. An Omega Wolf will appear to be Town. Protecting a player will cause all killing attacks (including by an Alpha-Wolf block-kill, unless it is a self protection, but not a Warlock's curse) targeting them to fail. A redirect on a Witch using a power will change the target with no indication. If a target is object-blocked or if the Witch using the power is subject-blocked, that power will fail. Message on investigation success, "Player is Side."; message on investigation failure "You fail to investigate Player." No message on protection.
Witchdoctor: Each Night, you may enchant a player. If the player is killed that Night, they will come back to life at Dawn after the next Night. If the target is object-blocked, or if you are subject-blocked, the enchantment will fail. There is no indication if you are redirected. Blocks will not stop the revival once it is activated. Nor can it be redirected. No messages.
Cabal: Cabalists may continue to communicate on their forum even when dead. Each Night the Cabal, living and dead, may choose without dissent a living player to subject-block and/or a living or dead player to object-block and which living Cabalists to do the blocks (one Cabalist cannot do both). The subject-block causes all of the target's powers to fail, including both targeted and passive. The object-block causes all powers targeting the target to fail, including both targeted and passive, except for previously activated powers like a Warlock's curse or a Witchdoctor's revival. If a block is targeted at the player using the block, the block will fail. No messages.
Cabalist: Once per game, Day or Night, you may redirect the targeted power of a living player. You may use not either of the Cabalist group blocks the same Night. Your redirect power will change the target of the targeted player's power. The targeted player will receive no indication that their power was redirected. This redirection power cannot be redirected, but may be blocked. No messages.
Wolf: Each Night the Alpha Wolf may order any Wolf to kill any living player. If there is more than one Alpha Wolf, they must decide without dissent. If there are no Alpha Wolves, then all living Wolves must decide without dissent. A redirect of the killing Wolf will change the target with no indication. If the target is object-blocked or protected, or if the killing Wolf is subject-blocked, the kill will fail. Message on success, "Player was killed."; message on failure, "You failed to kill Player.".
Alpha Wolf: One Night per game, you may block-kill a living player. All of the target's powers are blocked, including both targeted and passive. You may not use this power the same Night you also use the Wolf kill. A redirect will change the target with no indication. If the target is object-blocked, protected (except for self protection) or a Vampire, or if you are subject-blocked, the kill will fail. Your block-kill provides no protection against a Warlock's curse, unless the enchantment is a self protection. Message on success, "Player was killed."; message on failure, "You failed to kill Player.". If you die, the seniormost living Werewolf will become an Alpha Wolf. They will also inherit the Alpha Wolf power, if it has not been used. No Omega Wolf may inherit the role or power.
Werewolf: If an Alpha Wolf dies, the seniormost living Werewolf will inherit the role and power if it has not been used. Message on inheritance, "You are now an Alpha Wolf, with(out) the single-use block-kill power.".
Omega Wolf: If you are investigated, you will appear to have the Freemason role and be on the Town side. You will appear as a Freemason to a Coroner or Seer. You will appear as Town to a Witch or Scotsman. You will fail to return a Freemason's handshake. A redirect has no effect. If you are subject-blocked or object-blocked, you will appear as your true role and side. You may not inherit the role of Alpha Wolf.
Vampire: Each Night, you may kill a living player. A redirect will change the target with no indication. If the target is object-blocked or protected or a Vicar, or if you are subject-blocked, the kill will fail. Message on success, "Player was killed."; message on failure, "You failed to kill Player.". You are automatically protected from being killed at Night, including by an Alpha Wolf block-kill and a Warlock curse. If you are subject-blocked or object-blocked or you are attacked by a Vigilante, you will not be protected. No messages about your protection.
Necromancer: Each Night, you may zombify a dead player. If the dead player has blessed by a Vicar on any previous Day or is object-blocked or under the enchantment of a Witchdoctor, or if you are subject-blocked, the zombification will fail. It does not matter how long the player has been dead, or if the player has been made a Zombie by another Necromancer. Message on success, "Player is your Zombie."; message on failure, "You failed to make Player your Zombie.". If the player you just successfully zombified was not already a Zombie, there will be a public message, "Player is now a Zombie.". If a Zombie is ever destroyed, there will be a public message, "Zombie Player has been destroyed.". Each Day, the oldest Zombie without a living Necromancer master will decay and be destroyed.
Voting
A vote may also be placed for No Lynch to prevent a lynch from occurring. If No Lynch has strictly greater votes than any individual player, then no lynch will occur. In all other cases, there will be a lynch.
The following rules are used to determine which player is lynched. 1. Whoever has the most votes (player plus penalty). 2. Whoever has the most penalty votes. 3. Whoever gained the most penalty votes during the current Day. 4. Whoever most recently gained a penalty vote. 5. Whoever comes earliest on the official player list.
All player votes are removed at the end of each Day. Penalty votes are permanent.
Participation
A player who doesn't post in English, edits a post, or posts an image, code, or link to outside this forum will receive a permanent penalty vote for each post that has a violation.
A living player who does not have an active vote at the end of the Day on either a player or on No Lynch will receive these penalties: 1. All of their powers (both targeted and passive) for that Day and the following Night will be blocked and fail. 2. A permanent penalty vote will be given to the player, effective immediately on that Day's final vote count.
Whenever a player gains a penalty vote, if they also have more penalty votes than the number of living players, they will be mod-killed at that time. Their role and side will be revealed on the regular schedule. Any mod-killed player will be moved to the Loser side once their side is reveal, and will automatically lose the game. Don't let this happen to you!
Schedule
Players may adjust the length of the Day and Night.
Players may vote for Hammer. If at least half the living players are voting for Hammer on any weekday at 12 noon PT (3pm ET), the Day will end at that point.
Players may vote for Filibuster. If at least half the living players are voting for Filibuster at the end of the Day, the Day will continue for one more weekday. The Day can be extended this way only once per Day. Hammer takes precedence over Filibuster. If the Day is extended, then the Night will also be extended by one weekday.
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Post by Pleonast on Jun 22, 2012 15:04:34 GMT -5
Secret Conspiracy Rules
Each side will have a secret power (or information or rule) that will give it an advantage. These powers will not do any of the following: 1. Affect the length of the Day or Night. 2. Affect votes or the vote count. 3. Affect the public revelation of the side or role of a dead player. 4. Affect the victory conditions of a side. 5. Allow a player to read secret communications. 6. Require a random roll by the moderator. 7. Allow a player to use a power despite receiving the penalty for not voting.
These powers might do any of the following (not a comprehensive list): 1. Change the behavior or results of another power, including public revelations by the moderator about a living player. 2. Change the role of a player temporarily or permanently. 3. Change the side of a player (but always with an option to refuse). 4. Activate a power when dead.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Designer Notes
Goals in this game's design: 1. No randomness from the moderator besides the initial role assignment. 2. No absolutely certain confirmations of living players by the moderator. 3. No stalled game states.
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Post by Pollux Oil on Jun 22, 2012 17:54:51 GMT -5
Read through it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like the role-specific changes are:
-Scotsman receives alignment info upon a lynch -Vigilante no longer commits suicide after a wrong kill -Cabalists have two blocks instead of one, one subject-block and one object-block -Cabalists also have a one-shot redirect of powers -Wolves (specifically Alpha Wolves) get a kill that neutralizes powers -Zombies turn to dust at one per Day if their Necromancer is dead, instead of all at once, also destruction of zombies is publicly confirmed
I think all the scum side balances help make all sides have a better possibility of winning if strategy is applied. The Cabal's weakness was they couldn't directly get rid of Witches, with the redirect it gives them a viable option for succeeding at their win condition. The Alpha Wolf block-kill is also a good Witch deterrent and gives them at least one kill they won't have to fear Warlock/Scotsman abilities. And having the zombies last longer than the Necromancer will help change the predictable order of Town lynches, namely Wolves early game, Undead mid-game, Cabal late game, because if they leave the Necromancer alive long enough the zombies won't deteriorate fast enough for Town to stay ahead in numbers. Also, the block-kill and subject/object-blocks will make the Witches play harder at trying to stay secretive. A Witch in the open now has less of a chance of lasting a long time under the protection of the other two Witches.
The other changes (penalties for inactiveness, hammer/filibuster) are good as well.
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Post by Pleonast on Jun 25, 2012 11:17:35 GMT -5
Thanks for reading through it! Do you think the split between "basic" and "detailed" rules is useful? Yes, there's lots of minor changes to roles. The big changes are to win conditions. For Town, the Cabal is not a threat until all the Witches are dead; plus lynching a Wolf or an Undead does not help the Undead or Wolves, respectively. For Cabal, they must eliminate all the Witches, but not the Undead. For Wolves, the Undead no longer count against them. And for the Undead, they only need to wipe out Town (and win by default if all the Town is dead). So the sides are more differentiated about who they need to eliminate. It's easier for everyone to win (which it makes harder, top. ). I've also made having a no lynch much much harder. Even if no one votes, someone will be lynched.
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Post by CatInASuit on Jun 26, 2012 9:43:19 GMT -5
Hmm, I'll take a look when I get a chance.
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Post by Pleonast on Jul 30, 2012 10:14:57 GMT -5
Last call for comments before I start balancing new set ups.
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Post by CatInASuit on Aug 9, 2012 7:19:10 GMT -5
Hmm, had a look trough the changes and I like them, I think it adds a little more complexity to the game, but that's no bad thing.
Couple of things
1. I think giving the Cabal both and object and subject block could be pretty powerful when you include the redirects as well. What about using one or the other, but not both at Night
2. The condition that a player must have a vote down at Lynch time could be nasty, especially if you get the last minute unvote of a Witch or equivalent to try and save them. Are you sure that you want it to be all players MUST have a vote down at EOD or face a penalty?
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Post by Pleonast on Aug 9, 2012 9:44:56 GMT -5
1. I think giving the Cabal both and object and subject block could be pretty powerful when you include the redirects as well. What about using one or the other, but not both at Night Yes, it is powerful, but my feeling is that the Cabal is generally the most underpowered of the factions. I've been compensating via secret powers, but I'd rather make them more powerful by default, to give more flexibility with secret powers. That said, a player can only take one non-secret action per time period. So as there become fewer Cabalists left, they will be forced to not use all their available powers each Night. Also note that Cabalists now need to eliminate all the Witches. This both hurts and helps them. They're less a threat to Town, so should be less likely lynched. But it's a harder goal to reach. And their powers don't directly advance their goals. So I don't think it's unfair. I'll reevaluate after the next game. It's a multi-vote game. Any player who doesn't place a vote on all the players they think should be lynched is taking a risk. And voting No Lynch is always an option. And last-minute vote shenanigans is a part of the game. Players have the means to prevent them and to punish others for them. And, frankly, I'm fed up with players who do not participate. There's now a big incentive for players to take a meaningful, accountable action. The penalty is entirely avoidable by any reasonable player. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ By the way, I'm setting up my next Conspiracy game now. It's likely to run on Giraffe board. If you don't want to play, you can take a look at the set up. Send me a PM.
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Post by CatInASuit on Aug 9, 2012 10:18:24 GMT -5
Ok, that makes a certain amount of sense.
It will be interesting to see how they play out.
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