At first glance, it is a modest castle, suitable for a duke or perhaps a large lord. But upon entering the double doors, vaulted ceilings soar high into the air, held by the pillars that dot the massive hall. If a king were to enter, he would likely fall to his knees and weep at the splendor impossible for earthly royalty to achieve. The Palace is no earthly building.
This night, lit only by the speechless full moon, the double doors groan open as a silent procession of fourteen marches through. Each of the masked figures knows that only one will exit alive, and each intends to be that one. The grandeur of the Palace has been stripped away, leaving the vibrant robes of the twelve at odds with the solemn, gray stones.
It began many years ago. A passing mention in a musty tome. A whispered conversation overheard in a tavern. A note left by a missing friend. Each of the fourteen heard about a mystery, a puzzle, a dream: the Palace. For the owner of the Palace was nearing the end of his life, and a palace always needs an owner. The new master needed to be skilled, intelligent, and most importantly, cunning.
Across continents, over seas, through cities they traveled, searching for a hint, just one clue, to location of the Palace. Now, they stand in the belly of the building they sought, staring with covered eyes at the wrinkled old man breathing his last. He inhales, and exhales for the final time.
Behind the fourteen, the double doors groan shut. Not one looks back.
The Game has begun.
This night, lit only by the speechless full moon, the double doors groan open as a silent procession of fourteen marches through. Each of the masked figures knows that only one will exit alive, and each intends to be that one. The grandeur of the Palace has been stripped away, leaving the vibrant robes of the twelve at odds with the solemn, gray stones.
It began many years ago. A passing mention in a musty tome. A whispered conversation overheard in a tavern. A note left by a missing friend. Each of the fourteen heard about a mystery, a puzzle, a dream: the Palace. For the owner of the Palace was nearing the end of his life, and a palace always needs an owner. The new master needed to be skilled, intelligent, and most importantly, cunning.
Across continents, over seas, through cities they traveled, searching for a hint, just one clue, to location of the Palace. Now, they stand in the belly of the building they sought, staring with covered eyes at the wrinkled old man breathing his last. He inhales, and exhales for the final time.
Behind the fourteen, the double doors groan shut. Not one looks back.
The Game has begun.
Hello, I'm Lokiben, and I'm very new to this forum. I thought I could introduce myself by hosting a little game that I'm sure you'll love.
Behind the Masks is a great game with similar roles and flavor to Mafia, but with very different mechanics. It was developed by a user at another forum that gave me permission to introduce it to here; I claim no credit for creating it.
Basics
-The last player standing is the victor.
-A player’s role is not revealed when they die (of course, if their role was guessed you will know it).
-Players may PM other players during the game as long as the moderator is included. They may not PM during the voting phase.
-Dead players cannot post, but moderator discretion may permit a final post or a pre submitted last will.
-Actions, gifts, and guesses are sent to the moderator.
Phases
-The game itself has four phases.
-Discussion is permitted and encouraged throughout all phases.
Challenge Phase
-The Challenge Phase lasts 72 hours, or until all players have challenged or nochallenged and all pending challenges are resolved.
-The game begins on this phase.
-Players may “
/challenge
” other players to dances or duels.-Once issued, the challenged player must choose whether to “
/accept
” the challenge or use a “/deny
” (all players begin the game with a deny).-If the challenged player does not respond by the end of the Challenge Phase, the challenge is automatically accepted.
-Each player may only challenge once per Challenge Phase (even if the challenge is denied), but can be challenged multiple times.
-If a player does not wish to challenge, they may instead “
/nochallenge
”. This allows the phase to end earlier. Players must still choose whether to accept or deny challenges.-The results of the challenges will be posted at the end of the Action Phase (see Action Phase).
-The victors of duels and dances are determined by which player’s roles are higher on the respective list (see below), plus any interfering abilities.
Duel
Barbarian
Soldier
Man-At-Arms
Blacksmith
Magician
Peasant
Blackmailer
Poisoner
Actor
Student
Thief
Musician
Royal
Monk (alternates)
Dance
Royal
Thief
Musician
Blackmailer
Peasant
Magician
Poisoner
Soldier
Man-At-Arms
Actor
Student
Blacksmith
Barbarian
Monk (alternates)
Action Phase
-The Action Phase lasts 24 hours, or until all actions have been received.
-Roles with abilities that are used during the Action Phase can PM the moderator to use them. Currently, this is the Blacksmith and Musician.
-At the moderator’s discretion, players may begin selected gifts (see Voting Phase).
-The results for duels and dances will be posted at the end of the Action Phase.
Voting Phase
-The Voting Phase lasts 48 hours, or until a 90% majority has been reached or until all players have voted.
-The Voting Phase will still occur during the first round, but no players will be voted and no execution will occur.
-Any player who lost a duel or dance during the past Challenge Phase is a valid vote target.
-The player with the most votes at the end of the phase will be executed.
-If there is a tie, there is a revote. If the votes are still tied, no player is executed.
-The Man-at-arms, Royal, and Poisoner act during this phase. The Royal may also PM an extra vote.
-Players may also select gifts during this phase (see below).
-For each challenge participated in (no matter if won or lost) the player earns one gift. Gifts are revealed at the end of the Voting Phase.
Gifts
Extra Deny- grants an extra deny to deny a challenge (see Challenge Phase) (each player starts with one deny)
Extra Switch- grants an extra plate switch to swap plates (see Dinner Phase) (each player starts with one switch)
Free Guess- during the upcoming Dinner Phase, you may make a guess as to a player’s role. If you are correct, they will be executed. You may only choose one of this gift per round.
Guess Immunity- you are not a valid guess target during the next Dinner Phase.
Premium Food- you are not a valid Poisoner target during the Voting Phase (you can still be poisoned if your plate is switched)
Dinner Phase
-The Dinner Phase ends after 24 hours, or after all players have switched or noswitched.
-Each player is given a plate of food.
-You may “
/switch
” your food with any of the other players, consuming a plate switch (each player begins with one plate switch).-You may also secretly switch your plate with another player, agreed to through PMs. Both players must PM me for the secret switch to take place.
-At the end of the phase, each player eats the food in front of them.
-Players who eat poison food will die (excluding the Soldier).
-The Barbarian, Blackmailer, and Monk act during this phase. The Thief may secretly switch plates during this phase.
-In addition, if you received a free guess as a gift, you must use it during the Dinner Phase. If you are correct, that player will be executed at the end of the Dinner Phase. All attempted guesses are revealed at the end of the Dinner Phase.
-If you do not have a free guess, you may still make a guess as to another player’s role as normal. However, if you are incorrect, you will be executed. This is called guessing at the Stake of your Life.
Role Cards
Actor
You are anActor!
A noble in one kingdom. A wanted criminal in another. A celebrated playwright in a faraway land. Your mastery of the art of disguise allows you to be anything to anyone. It is this mastery that led you to take the place of a contestant and enter the Castle.
You may guess at the role of the dead players once each. PM the moderator to use this power. You will be told if your guess is correct or incorrect. If your guess is correct, you may add that role to your repertoire.
Once per game, you may select a role from your repertoire, and become that role. You will inherit all of that role's abilities and List rankings. However, you will still only be guessable as the Actor.
Once you have become that role, you can no longer guess at the roles of dead players.
All players will be notified when the Actor has chosen a role, but they will not be told what that role may be.
You may not become the Poisoner.
Barbarian
You are a!Barbarian
Across the land, your name is whispered in fearful corners and shouted from the peaks of mountains. Mighty conquerors seek mighty trophies, and the Palace is certainly a worthy trophy.
Three times per game, during the Dinner Phase, you may intimidate one player, preventing them from challenging, and forcing them to accept all offers for challenges. PM the Moderator to use this power.
If you intimidate a player, the intimidated player will be announced at the beginning of the Challenge Phase.
Blackmailer
You are aBlackmailer!
Your hobby is certainly dirty- in that you dig up dirt. Research and preparation are the keys to success. Before you entered the Palace, you were already familiar with every tidbit and secret embedded in the past of the other players- secrets that will make them cringe in fear and do your bidding.
During the Dinner Phase, you may blackmail one player. PM the Moderator to use this power.
Blackmailed players must challenge during the Challenge Phase, or will die. Only the blackmailed player will know that they are blackmailed.
Blacksmith
You are a!Blacksmith
Steel flows like water under your steady gaze and steady flame. The pounding of your hammer crafts works of art and workers of war. One of your weapons in a hand guarantees victory.
At the beginning of the Action Phase, you will be notified of the intended winner(s) of the accepted duel(s).
Three times per game, during the Action Phase, you may change the winner of a duel. PM the Moderator to use this power. You may use this ability once on yourself.
Magician
You are a!Magician
Why must the magical elite linger among the unpowered civilians? No matter. Your victory is near certain, as you are obvious the the most cunning and clever person here. The other contestants must be grateful that your powers are too flashy .
Once per game, you may choose a player to magically kill. PM the Moderator to use this power.
When you use your power, you will be revealed as the Magician. There are no restrictions on when you may use this power, only that you cannot use it if you are one of the losers in a voting phase.
Man-At-Arms
You are aMan-At-Arms!
All these poor people attempting to fool their way to riches, you have, and always has, been an excellent murderer. By detecting weakness in the group, you can spread fear with one simple line - Who done it?
Once per voting phase, you may shoot one person. They will not survive the shot unless they are the Soldier. If you shoot the Soldier, the Soldier will kill you instead and you will be revealed as the Man-At-Arms.
You can only shoot losers of duels/dances.
Additionally, you also gain an additional shot every time you defeat a player in a duel or dance.
The Shooting is silent, meaning it does not reveal your role.
You cannot store more than 1 shot at a time.
Monk
You are a!Monk
Some claim that the gods do not exist, but how can you deny their existence when they whisper in your ears? A lifetime of physical and mental discipline has brought you to the peak of aptitude. May the gods forgive you when you unleash your force.
You alternate between the top of the Duel List and bottom of the Dance list, and top of the Dance List and bottom of the Duel List. It is randomized which list you start on top of.
Once per game, during the Dinner Phase, you may pray. PM the Moderator to use this power.
After you pray, you will move to the top of both the dance and duel lists until the next Dinner Phase.
Musician
You are a!Musician
Perfect pitch, perfect playing... perfect music. Hands dance across strings and keys as the notes rise and fall. No matter the tune, no matter the tempo, every song ascends to perfection in your grasp. Yet with a single twist, that song becomes an instrument of death.
At the beginning of the Action Phase, you will be notified of the intended winner(s) of the accepted dance(s).
Three times per game, during the Action Phase, you may change the winner of a dance. PM the Moderator to use this power. You may use this ability once on yourself.
Peasant
You are a!Peasant
Every day, you go out onto your simple plot of land and farm. But those who look past your grubby face will find a mind as sharp as a tack. The world is an open book to you, as darting eyes pick out nuances in every scenario.
You will be notified whenever the Blacksmith or the Musician interferes in a challenge.
You will be notified of any secret plate switches.
You will be notified of the original target for the poisoner. (Not post-switch)
Poisoner
You are a!Poisoner
There is no better color than the pale blue of asphyxiation. Or perhaps a simple white pallor. Hmm, but the rich re- No matter. Your art is that of death, slipped unnoticed into a vein, on the rim of a cup, among familiar foods...
You may poison a player's food during the Voting Phase. If they eat it, they will die during the dinner phase. PM the Moderator to use this power.
Royal
You are a!Royal
The blood running through your veins is undeniably royal. An aura of command encircles and influences those who behold you. Combined with a forceful and assertive personality, you can direct others without their knowledge.
Your vote counts as two during the Voting Phase. PM the moderators to cast your second vote secretly.
Once per game, during the Voting Phase, you may force a vote. PM the Moderator to use this power.
Soldier
You are a!Soldier
You went off to war a simple peasant boy, unsure of the world. You returned not a man, but a soldier. With guns, war is hell. With magic, war is worse. Your mind was nearly shattered, and your body forever changed.
You are immune to poison. You will know when someone has attempted to poison you.
If you are attacked by the Man-At-Arms, you will kill them instead.
Student
You are a!Student
During your college years, you could never confine yourself to a single field of study. Thankfully, a natural knack for learning led to the collection of a wide variety of skills. In the Palace, this ability will serve you well, as duelling and dancing are simply other skills.
Each time you participate in a duel or dance, you move up two slots on the corresponding list. Dead players count as being on the lists.
Thief
You are a!Thief
The perfect crime remains unknown. It is a mark of your prowess as a thief that no one had heard your name or seen your exploits. You have stolen from the richest kings, scammed the brightest scholars... Switching plates is like taking candy from a baby.
You may switch player's plates up to five times without their knowledge, every dinner. PM the Moderator to use this power. If the Poisoner dies, you will become the new poisoner. You will inherit the Poisoner's abilities and positions on the Duel and Dance lists, however you will still only be guessable as the Thief.
If you want to sign up, please type /join and give yourself an animal mask. There are 14 spots. This will be my first time moderating a game of this complexity, so bear with me. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the thread. Also, if anyone want to help me write the flavor (All of the flavor in the rolecards was taken from the original game), hit me up. Otherwise, I think we can do without it.
Titles Used:
Let the Games Begin!
Let the Meddling Begin!
Nine Lives for Naught
Deep Fried Fish
Guessing Games
Eighteen Lives for Naught
Deep Fried Chicken
Guessing Games Redux
Red Dragon This Game Down
Final Fourplay
Long Spine Versus No Spine
Bolt From the Blue
Player list
Pink
represents the number of Denies each player has, and orange
represents how many Plate Switches each player has.
Not a real guess.![:]](./images/smilies/icon_smiling.png "Cheerful Smile"){kind=icon}
