Mafiascum.net

Civilization Mafia is a large theme game for 21 players.
No restrictions on hydrae.
Requires at least 1 completed game on site.
Non-bastard.

There are no power roles inherent to any slot in Civilization Mafia.
Instead, roles are distributed through a draft system which takes place over the course of the entire game.
Each day, a new era of history is entered, and with it a list of buildable "Wonders".
Wonders are great buildings which impart a power role to whoever is successful in constructing it first.

Each day begins with a 7 day max resolution phase, in which a public resolution is put on the table with its full mechanics explained for players to vote on.
These resolutions have a variety of possible public effects which will alter the game in some way.
Resolutions must be voted on before votes to lynch are cast.

Long ago, before the lands of Ivalice were united under one banner, a king sought power beyond his control. The demon he conjured immediately killed him and went on threaten the entire country with death or servitude. Before calamity was wrought upon the land, twelve heroes arose to do battle with the fiend. Legend speaks of the magical stones they carried, each bearing a sign of the zodiac. For centuries, these 'Zodiac Braves' have been revered has saviors of the kingdom. Some scriptures, however, tell a different story--that those who held the Zodiac stones were followers of the demon and usurpers of the throne. These particular tales depict the stones harboring a corrupting power, turning men into demons themselves. While these accounts are largely dismissed as heretical, there may be some truth to them after all...

Final Fantasy Tactics is a 1997 Japanese video game wherein the player must form a small army of various characters to stand against the forces that would throw the kingdom of Ivalice into chaos. One of the main features of the game is a 'Job Class' system, allowing characters to learn skills from several different fantasy skillsets, providing a diverse and unique approach to typical RPG team-building and levelling up. The plot of the game is notable for blending various low fantasy elements and intrigue with high fantasy conceits. One of the core aspects of the plot is that history has been written by the victors--while you discover the perilous truths as Ramza Beoulve, you begin to realize that your proud country has been founded on and mired in political and religious deceit.

The goal of this game is to provide a flavorful rendition of Final Fantasy Tactics' core mechanics while featuring flavor that is tangential to the game's plotline. Rather than focusing on the events that unfold in the narrative of Final Fantasy Tactics, this game of Mafia will be set in the past, depicting the historical 'Zodiac Brave' story, a point of revisionist history wherein demons did battle with men. My hope is to present the job class system from the game in a form that is fun and easy to engage with as a mafia player, allowing each player to build their own character and do battle with their foes. Will the Lucavi deceive mankind, casting down their heroes and glorifying themselves as saints, or will the Zodiac Braves truly rise to defeat the corrupting influence of these demons and be sung as heroes for time immemorial? Your own actions will decide who is put to the sword and who survives--only one truth will remain; history is written by the victors.

Final Fantasy Tactics Mafia will be an anonymous 12 player Theme Game featuring a handful of unique public mechanics that focus heavily in player choices and rhetorical intrigue. My previous games have been large, overbearing setups, so I was hoping that I could create something small, accessible, and fun, while still upholding my standard hallmarks of design--a role-madness, flavor-oriented, high quality game that does the source material justice while providing a fair playing space for newcomers and veterans of mafia alike.

As a moderator with a deep passion for rhetoric, expect a game with mechanics that will always supplement the rhetoric of the game rather than the usual sort of roles that are supplemented by rhetoric. My games are typically Role Madness games--I like to give every player some sort of unique 'something' to play with in tandem with the actual game.

'Varsoon Games' are typically characterized by heavy flavor, high quality moderation, and unpredictable yet satisfying mechanics. I am very cognizant of my moderator meta and I constantly keep even seasoned fans on their toes. I have achieved a Master's Degree in writing Fiction; I enjoy writing involved flavor that reflects the sensibilities of players and the game state while not revealing anything that would give a mechanical advantage. I also take Mafia very seriously; I spend over 8 hours a day with access to the site, always with a tab open, refreshing my games, re-reading them, and so on--even when I worked full time and went to college, I accomplished this endeavor. For me, Mafia is a labor of love and a full-time job. I want to deliver the quality experience that I came to love on this site. My games, hopefully, represent that.

As far as moderation goes, I see online Mafia moderation the same way I do moderating a face-to-face game with my friends. I am here to ensure all of my friends and guests have a fun time playing a game we all enjoy. That said, Mafia does get intense. Mafia is psychological. Mafia can feature very aggressive rhetoric. We lynch people here. I love those aspects of the game, and I want them to be in a game, although they will always run risk of ruining the experience for some players. I am far less draconic in my moderation than other moderators. I will always err on the side of the player. That said, I have no patience for players who do break the rules. Do not play my game if you are habitually in trouble with moderators and other players. I'll do everything I can to keep you in-game and having a fun time, but if you cross the line and it's clear you intentionally broke a rule, I will have no mercy in my judgment.

I do not enforce Blacklists, Wisdom of the Crowds, Wisdom of the One, or any similar requests to prohibit players from playing. The only players not welcome in my games are banned players. Do not ask me to prohibit a player from joining for personal reasons; I will never do so unless they currently have a ban or restriction. Everyone is welcome at my table. If you have a personal problem with a player, come to a happy agreement with them before creating drama in my signup thread or in my game. If you absolutely can't play with someone else, do not sign up for a game of mine if they are in the player list. If you do, I will allow you in, but don't think I'm going to shunt the other player because of your personal issues. I want everyone to get together and have fun here. I fully support even bitter rivals playing at the same table and learning to overcome their own differences in order to have fun with something we all enjoy. While this should be far less of an issue due to the anonymous nature of this game, I want players going in focused on the game rather than any bad blood that may be between them.

This game will be a bastard game.

What this means is that I will, as a part of the setup, intentionally obscure information in order to run the game as intended.
However, this game is not bastard in any other way. Votecounts, action resolution, and roles will all function exactly as they would in any other game. Your role will not change mid-game, nor will there be any changes in alignment after role cards are finalized. I will not lie to you in any of my moderator posts or private responses to your questions, either.

Furthermore, this game is balanced for all players--there will be no sudden or 'bastard' win conditions featured. The win conditions in this game are guaranteed to be non-bastard.

As far as any player should be concerned, this game should be played as if it were a regular game. In short, only the initial setup of the game features bastard elements--none of the moderation will. If I could run this setup as a non-bastard setup, I would, but there are specific design elements that many would qualify as bastard, which is why I am making this clear.

This game is an anonymous game. What this means is that signups will be held privately.
Each player will be given an account that I have created, prior to the game start.

Due to the nature of this game, I am only allowing hydras on a highly selective basis--I would prefer that each slot is filled by a singular player.
No player may alter these accounts in any way. Changing the password, user image, pronoun, or signature are forbidden. You may change the display of the site, but that's it. Altering the account in any way that presents more information that is there as of the start of the game can result in a mod kill.
You may NOT reveal your identity in any way to any player while the game is running. If you try to do so via PM, PT, etc., I will mod-kill your slot. The game is intended to be fully anonymous--guessing at other players identities is fine, but that should NOT be the focus of the game. Do not try to come up with any tricks to confirm a player's identity, either.
At the start of the game, all players will be dealt a 'Zodiac Brave' rolecard that corresponds to their anonymous account.
This Zodiac Brave rolecard will contain your alignment and a single, unique ability that may be used throughout the game.

Outside of each player's unique Zodiac Brave rolecard, players will draft from a large number of semi-public roles known as 'Job Classes.'
Players will be able to decide on up to two job classes that will comprise the rest of their role.
One Job Class will be selected as the player's Primary Job Class, and a second may be selected as a Secondary Job Class.
Each Job Class has 3 abilities:
1 Public ability gained upon Day 1.
1 Private passive ability, which will be gained by Primary classes on Day 1, and secondary classes on Day 2.
1 Private ability, which will be gained by Primary classes on Day 3, and secondary classes on Day 4.
If the same job class is picked twice, all abilities are gained from it at Day 1.

At the start of the game, all players will be dealt a 'Zodiac Brave' rolecard and account that corresponds with their Zodiac identity.
This Zodiac Brave rolecard will contain your alignment as well as a singular, unique ability that will help you along in the game.

The game will begin with a 'Job Class Drafting' phase, which is comprised of two parts.
During the first part of this phase, the game thread will be locked and every player will be assigned a drafting order that will only be revealed in the post-game.
Each player will submit the full list of 'Job Classes', numbered in order of preference.
Once I have received this list, all players will be assigned their primary job class and will be able to view its hidden abilities.
In this way, no two players will have the same primary Job Class
Furthermore, every player will be publicly confirmed as having their assigned Job Classes at this point in time, concluding part 1 of the Job Class Drafting phase.
During the second part of the Job Class Drafting phase, players will be given a week to chat in the game thread and any private threads they may have access to.
During this week, no player may be voted for or lynched and no actions may be taken--Day 1 of the game still hasn't begun.
For this second phase, the drafting order will be reversed.
Before the phase ends, all players must submit an ordered list of 'Job Classes', numbered in order of preference.
Once I have received these lists, all players will be assigned their secondary job class and will be able to view its hidden abilities.
In this way, no two players will have the same secondary job class, but they may have share a primary job class with another player's secondary job class and vice-versa. Furthermore, some players may end up with their secondary job class being the same as their primary job class, which will allow them access to all of their job class' abilities on Day 1.

Once the Job Class Draft phase has fully concluded, players will be asked to confirm their full roles and Day 1 will begin upon majority confirmation.