Just to close this off, I'll post my final comments and update the links and OP.
In post 786, Eggman wrote:I think we eliminated the entire prospect of psych-scanning when we all claimed. The only use we would have had for it was to see if Dunnstral was lying, but we possession-scanned him instead, which had the same effect that we needed right then and there.
Also how did that Cakez lynch happen so fast. I mean, that was lightning speed.
Well, from my perspective, I was surprised at almost everyone of you claiming, that said, from your perspective you still don't know if everyone is telling the truth, there was still merit to psych checking pure claims. Plus, again, I believe Snarky never claimed anything. I was less usefull yes, but I don't think it should be dismissed all together. Also from a possessed perspective, as they have every reason to manipulate the scans.
In post 787, Realeo wrote:@Eggman: We all settled on Postie, so it doesn't really matter to us.
One of my concern of the setup was if the game went to second possessed and there are odd number of players(like we did with 7 players), the town don't really need to scumhunt. We only need to settle a player that we all townread (in this case Postie) and scan lynch the other player.
And the trouble is, the possessed must kill the scanned player instead the townread we settle at--or getting guaranteed loss.
If you want to run this game again, when the second possessed is chosen--ditch away the scan. This way, the scum is not at huge disadvantage and actually gives an incentive for us to psych scan because we can use that info at the second possessed.
You do need to scumhunt.. "settle on a town player that we all townread" is easier said than done.
What's in the best interest of the possessed actually depends on the ratio of tempted / pure players. Killing the scanned player is not always the best option in my opinion. The best option is what leaves the possessed with the best mixture of players. Personally I'd try to make it to the end of game with either only confimed pure or only confirmed tempted, because that's when a scan won't be any help.
"Ditching away the scan"is not an option. Look at this very game as an extreme case: if I'd follow your advice, town would have no abilities at all after a lucky day 1 lynch, making the rest of the game a mountainous set-up. I'm going to guess that's not what you want.
In post 789, SirCakez wrote:I think the reason town steamrolled was due to ZZZX getting taken out so early
If the possession had transferred later on it would have been much more difficult for town.
I think that's the case, though I'm not sure to which extent ZZZX's effort is to blame.. Regardless, it made RC's position very difficult, then again, he signed up for that possibility by choosing to be tempted and then claiming.
In post 790, Infinity 324 wrote:I thought this was a really cool idea! Massclaim tempted/pure kinda broke psych scan (though it could still have been useful in LyLo) .
The reason I think the setup was townsided, is because there aren't 2 scum alive at the same time to communicate and manipulate the town. I think that's a pretty big disadvantage.
I think there should be a maximum of 3 tempted so they have less of an incentive to claim tempted.
Thanks!
Regarding scum communication: this also has an advantage. There are no associative tells for town to detect, since there are none. Then there's the fact that after the first possessed dies, it may continue to talk to its successor, so dieing actually results in gaining the ability to communicate.
Having a "maximum" of tempted defeats the whole purpose of the mechanic "choose your inclination for possession", and the variation in the tempted / pure ratio. Having a maximum of 3 will always result in the best strategy for the possessed to kill the other tempted (in my opinion).
Not sure if I should draw any conclusion about balance from this game, though
if
it is town-sided, I've had a few ideas to balance it. Easiest way is to have a total of 3 possessed, which actually crossed my mind when I had the idea for this game, but decided against it, as I didn't think it was necessary. I also prefer more elegant solutions.. As some people think scans are too powerful, I was considering giving the scanner a battery charge. I was thinking of making possession scans costing 2 charges, and psych scans 1 charge, with the battery containing 4 charges. Was initially thinking of 5, then 3, then decided 4 was the sweet spot. This will enable 2 possession scans, 4 psych scans, or 1 possession scan and 2 psych scans. That would be my preferred solution, though I'm not sure if I'll end up implementing it right away in the next game.
I was also thinking of giving the possessed some extra powers that would fit the theme. I was thinking of the ability to send messages to other players, but to me this seems like an ability that's only useful in the hands of the right player, and therefore probably won't see much use in the hands of the average player, so I don't think I'll bother with that, though maybe I'm mistaken. I was also thinking of vote manipulation, but like adding another possession, it just seemed to easy to me. Maybe I'll think of something else, but I'm not sure if anything else is necessary.
