The New Set-Up Review Thread

[JAMFTW]

Alright, so I would like to (sooner rather than later) run this themed game I've been kicking around: A Castle-themed Mafia game (As in, Castle the TV show).

Anyone with knowledge of the TV show is invited to chime in, as is anyone else. Not only am I looking to capture a bit of the flavor of the TV show, but I'm also looking to get this as balanced as possible. Right now, I'm not sure what roles to assign certain people and still have it all as balanced as possible. Alright, so here's the list for my current ideas:

Richard Castle - Roleblocker, Rolestopper, Paranoid Cop

Kate Beckett - Regular Cop

Captain Roy Montgomery (This is where it would get a bit twisty and weird) - Third Party Roleblocker/Survivor. If he is investigated by Beckett, he is offered the chance to either A) Kill Beckett and join the Mafia or B) Kill one of the mafia members, risk being killed in the process (something like a 50/50 roll of the dice) and join the Town (not sure if he would keep his roleblocking ability. Thoughts?)

Detective Javier Esposito - Some type of Cop (Role? Insane?)?

Detective Kevin Ryan - Another type of Cop (Opposite of Esposito?)?

Lanie Parish - Coroner (One shot? Every night? Every other night?)

Sidney Perlmutter - Backup Coroner (Takes over Coroner role if Lanie Parish is killed/lynched. Same guidelines for Coroner Investigations?)

Alexis Castle - Vanilla Townie or Beloved Princess maybe?

Martha Rodgers - Vanilla Townie or Actor maybe?

3XK - Serial Killer (Can kill one target per night. Wins if he is the last one standing).

Scott Dunn, Beckett's Stalker - Lyncher (Wins if he is on the wagon that lynches Beckett)

Special Agent Jordan Shaw - Investigator (Main purpose is to track down and lynch the Lyncher/get him killed. Investigations come back "Third Party" or "Not third party" so could potentially also track down the SK).

Dick "Rathborne" Coonan - Mafia Assassin - Daykill ability. (One shot?)

Hal Lockwood - Mafia Janitor (One shot? Perhaps should be whatever the Coroner is?)

The Man - Mafia Godfather (This is the name I'm using, as it still isn't known who is pulling the strings in the city/had Beckett's mother killed. Perhaps have one of Beckett's win conditions being lynching the Godfather?)

John Raglan - Mafia member (Goon? Framer?)

Michaela McManus - Mafia Hooker (Roleblocker)

These are the only roles I've been thinking about so far. Any additions/eliminations/modifications you would suggest? How balanced, or at least playable, would this game be?

[JAMFTW]

Well, yeah, it depends on how many people are interested in playing for one. I can always throw in some random vanilla townies if necessary.

I know the "go to" ratio for town to scum is something around 3 to 1 (at least in the games I've played so far), so I was thinking I would start with The Man, Coonan and Lockwood to start as far as Mafia roles go. I wouldn't add in Esposito, Ryan or Perlmutter (or other Mafia members) unless there were enough people to come close to that ratio. The first third party to be included would be Montgomery, followed by the Lyncher and Jordan Shaw. 3XK would be added in only if the numbers justified it.

Also, this is why I'm running the idea through the thread. Input, man, input.

Other possible Town/Mafia roles to toss in? I was thinking perhaps something like a bodyguard role for one of the other cops (Ryan or Esposito) instead of ANOTHER investigative role, but again, this is themed off of the show, and there are usually three or four people doing investigations or running theories by the others.

[JAMFTW]

And I'm getting even more helpful info. That 1/2 number of power roles is news to me, but makes sense from a balance perspective, as well as thoughts on other power roles in general.

I'm aware of some of the requirements for running your own game on the site. I'm currently running my very first game over at myth-weavers, so once that three month requirement is up, hopefully I can start running a game or two, as I'll be getting a few more games under my belt over there. Though they are generally smaller games. The one I'm running now has 10 people.

My godfather's are usually investigation immune.

Perhaps I can make Martha Rodgers the Guard for Alexis Castle.

Once again, I'm trying to just get an idea for power roles here. I'll be adding in VT's to make sure it isn't just power roles vs power roles. I was in a game like that once. It was crazy.

[JAMFTW]

Alright, so the Lyncher or Jester (or any role that has an independent win condition) is heartily disliked? Would it be cheapening the win too much to say something like "You've won along with whoever wins the game (town or scum, depending?)"?

[JAMFTW]

The thing with the Lyncher role is that it totally makes sense given the Castle theme. During Season Two of the show, there are two episodes where this stalker of Kate Beckett is trying to kill her.

I have no problem giving a Jester (Not a role I'm considering for this game) or Lyncher a win condition that lets them win with whatever group winds up winning the game.

Faraday, could you explain further what you mean by "accounted for" ?