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Kensen
2009-10-22, 05:56 AM
I'm designing a new type of game for the structured games forum, so this thread is chiefly for those who play structured games, but anyone can participate. I'll add bits of information little by little.

The idea of the game

The game is an RPG/guessing game hybrid designed to be played by post on a forum on the internet. There is a GM and a number of players (maybe 10). Each of the players has a character. One of the characters is the Killer.

The Killer tries to eliminate all other players one by one, while everyone else tries deduce who the Killer is before it's too late. The Killer may be a mundane or supernatural, but the players are not told what kind of a killer they're dealing with - they'll have to figure it out themselves. The Killer has to obey a certain set of rules, but on the other hand, he may be able to break some of the rules that everyone else must follow. Example: A Jack the Ripper type of Killer must choose a female target whenever possible. He can open one lock per night even if he doesn't have the key.

The game area consists of several rooms and there are several objects the characters may pick up and give to other characters if they so desire. Some of the items may be just red herrings while other items may have an important role. Example: The character who's carrying a key ring may open and lock doors, possibly preventing the Killer from moving around (or allowing him to do so).

During the day, the characters discuss what should be done to catch the Killer. A vote decides what will be done that day. The following are examples of actions that the characters may decide to take:
* Locking up one or more people in a room (thus limiting the Killer's options).
* Forcing a character to give an item to someone else.
* Lynching a character. (This is a special action.)

At night, the Killer kills a character unless it is impossible to kill someone that night (the Killer is locked up, for example). As a special action, the Killer may choose not to kill, but he may not perform this action very often.

Also, it is possible to steal items at night, or plant evidence.

Creating a scenario

The GM creates the scenario. He determines where and when the events of the game take place, how many rooms/zones the game area has, and all details and special features (like lockable doors or objects) or the rooms/zones.

Sample scenario - Haunted monastery


...................
...+-+.+---+-----+.
...| |.| 4 | 5 /6|.
.+-+ +-+-/---/-+ |.
.| | |/|.
.| o o | o.o.o | |.
.| 2 | ..... |7|.
.| o o | o.3.o | |.
.| / ..... | |.
.+--/--+ o.o.o |/|.
.| 1 | |8|.
.+--/--+--/----+-+.
...................

1 Narthex (entrance)
2 Church
3 Cloister
4 Chapter house (meeting room)
5 Library
6 Calefactory (heated sitting room)
7 Refectory (dining hall)
8 Kitchen

/ Door
o Column


Creating a character

Each player creates a character. The characters (including their names) should be appropriate for the theme of the scenario. Example: No Monty Python characters in a Name of the Rose scenario.

The game is played in-character and all day-time decisions are made through dialog between the characters.

The Killer

The Killer is a character with a compulsion to kill other people. He may be mundane character like Jack the Ripper, or a supernatural character like a werewolf.

Each Killer has a number of characteristics, some of which are beneficial to the Killer and others that limit his options. The beneficial characteristics are called Abilities and the detrimental ones are called Compulsions.

Abilities allow the Killer to bend of break the rules in one way or another. The following are examples of abilities:

Natural weapon: The Killer does not need a weapon to kill his victims. However, if he uses his natural weapon, it is easy to recognize the Killer as a supernatural character.
Patient: Resist Urge costs 2 AP to use.
Amorphous: The Killer's body is elastic, allowing him to squeeze through narrow openings.

Compulsions make the Killer's life more interesting. They either force him to choose a victim of certain sex or age, or prevent him from attacking certain people. Examples:

Allergy: It costs more AP to attack a character who is carrying a certain type of object. Example: Werewolves are allergic to silver.
Lady killer: The Killer must choose a female target if possible. However, if killing a female would cost him 3 AP more than killing a male character, he can ignore the compulsion.

Sample Killer

Jack the Ripper
Abilities:

Straight razor: Jack begins play with a straight razor (small, lethal/cutting)
Lock picks: Jack begins play with lock picks (small; can be used to unlock/lock any door or object, costs 1 AP).
Sleight of hand: Jack can Plant Evidence or Dispose of an object as a private daytime action, even as a response to Strip search. This costs 5 AP.

Compulsions:

Lady killer: Jack must choose a female target if possible.
Bragger: Jack must leave a deranged message at the crime scene, at least 10 words.


Narration

The players are required to roleplay their characters. Each player should post at least once during each day phase. If the post includes actions or OOC, write them in the following order:

Narrative and dialog
Actions
OOC

Example:

Roger Dowell

Roger eyes the body in disgust. "My God, what kind of a monster did this?" Once he gets over the initial shock, he inspects the wounds on Laura's body more closely. "The murderer used a small sharp object to cut her throat. Perhaps a scalpel or a straight razor... has anyone seen any such objects around here?"

Roger takes the book found on Laura's body. "The gypsy woman warned us, remember? Maybe the murders are somehow connected to this book..."

Roger picks up the book.

OOC:

Can Roger check if the book has any information that might help to catch the Killer?



Action points

The Killer begins play with 5 action points (APs). He may spend APs to perform special night actions. He gains APs when, for example, somebody dies. The Killer may not have more than 10 APs or less than 0 APs.

Loss of APs represents the Killer's energy and time investment, risk of getting caught and stress. Gaining APs represents the characters' decreasing morale and increasing panic, distrust, discord, anger and frustration.

Action types

There are two main types of actions: daytime actions and night actions. A list of each action type is given in the subsequent sections.

Furthermore, all actions are either private or public, and they are either individual or group actions.

Private and public actions

Private actions are communicated to the GM using Private Messages. Some daytime actions and all night actions are private.

Public actions are announced in the game thread. The actions should be written in the bold typeface.

Individual and group actions

Individual actions can be taken without other characters' consent, while group actions require a majority vote. A group action always overrides any individual actions that involve the same object(s) and person(s). For example, if it is decided that a hammer the characters found should be put in the kitchen, no character may pick up the hammer on that day, unless a new group action voids the previous one.

Daytime actions

Pick up an object (public, individual)

You can pick up an unattended object. If two or more people try to pick up the same object, posting order determines who gets the object.

Roger picks up the old book.


Drop an object (public, individual)

You can drop an object you are carrying in any room. Once dropped, any character can pick up the object.

Roger drops the old book in the library.


Give an object (public/private, individual)

You can give an object you are carrying to another character.

Roger gives the old book to Laura.

The receiving character confirms that she accepts the object.

Laura takes the old book.

A small object can be given to another character secretly. Send a PM to the GM and the receiving character.


Lock/unlock a door/object (public, individual/group)

A character can lock or unlock a door or an lockable object (such as a chest) if he has the right key. As an individual action, you may not lock up other people (only yourself).

Roger unlocks the chest.

If a majority vote is reached, the voters may lock or unlock any doors or objects whose keys they have, and they may force characters to be locked up in any of the lockable rooms.

Roger, Laura and Ben must sleep in the library. The door to the library is locked.


Confiscate an object (public, group)

If a majority vote is reached, a character may be forced to give or drop an object in his possession.

Roger must put the cavalry saber back to the sword rack.


Destroy an object (public, group)

If a majority vote is reached, an object can be destroyed. The destroyed object is removed from game. If a lockable object is destroyed, its contents can be picked up normally.

The syringe is destroyed.

Doors can also be destroyed. Once destroyed, a door can no longer be locked.


Strip search (public, group)

If a majority vote is reached, a character is forced to reveal all hidden objects he's carrying. Because the experience is particularly humiliating, the Killer gains 2 AP whenever a strip search is performed.

Roger is strip searched.


Lynch (public, group)

If a majority vote is reached, a character may be killed. The GM reveals whether he was the Killer or not. If an innocent person is lynched, the Killer gains 3 AP because killing an innocent person is very upsetting. Only one character may be lynched per day.

Roger shall be lynched.


Night actions

All night actions are private and individual actions, usable only by the Killer.

Daytime actions Pick up an object, Drop an object and Lock/unlock a door/object can be used at night if the Killer can access the room where the object or door is. When performed at night, the actions are private, so no-one will know who moved an object or unlocked a door, for example.

The actions described below are only usable at night. Most night actions have an AP cost which is given in parentheses.

Kill (0 AP)

The Killer can kill one person per night. If the victim is the only person in the room (excluding the Killer), it costs no AP to kill her. For a successful kill, the Killer gains 3 AP when the day phase begins.

Roger kills Laura.


Ghost Kill (3 AP)

If the victim is not alone in the room, ghost kill must be used. Apart from the action point expenditure, Ghost Kill is exactly the same as Kill.

Roger kills Sam.


Sneak Past (1 AP)

The Killer must pay 1 AP to move into a room where there are people. If the Killer moves through the same room several times the same night, he does not have to spend more APs. If the Killer moves into a room where there is only one person and he kills that person, he does not have to use Sneak Past.


Resist Urge (3 AP)

Any night the Killer has a chance to kill somebody but he chooses not to do so, he must spend 3 AP. If the Killer does not have that many APs left, he must kill someone.

The Killer can also use Resist Urge to ignore a compulsion.


Dispose of a body (2 AP)

If the Killer kills someone at night, the characters discover the body in the morning. They will also find out what kind of weapon was used. Sometimes it is useful to get rid of this sort of evidence. The Killer can ditch the body someplace where it cannot be found (or even eat it if he is some kind of supernatural monster).


Steal an object (2 AP)

If the Killer is in the same room with another character, he can steal an object from the character.


Plant evidence (2 AP)

The Killer can give another character an object. In the morning the character wakes up with the object in his possession, but he won't know who gave it to him.


Dispose of an object (2 AP)

The Killer can get rid of an object he is carrying. The object is removed from game.


Object classes

protective: The object makes it harder for the Killer to kill a character carrying the object. Each protective object has a protection value that determines how many extra APs the Killer must spend to attack the character.
small: The object is invisible to other characters when carried.
large: The object is too large to be picked up. It can only be moved to another room as a group action (majority vote).
lethal: The Killer can use the object to kill characters. Each lethal object also has a subtype like cutting or blunt. When the body of a victim is discovered, the GM describes the wounds of bruises on the body so that it is possible to guess what object was used to kill the person.
lockable: The object can be locked and unlocked with a key just like a door. Other objects can be placed inside the lockable object.

Lysander
2009-10-22, 10:50 AM
This sounds a bit like the game Werewolf (also known as Mafia) except this has locations and items while Werewolf just has different types of players.

The purpose of the game is for the werewolves to kill all the villagers or the villagers to kill all the werewolves. Villagers outnumber the werewolves 3:1 or 4:1. The werewolves know who the other werewolves are, but the villagers don't know anyone else's identity and can't trust anybody.

Every "day" all the players debate who they suspect as a werewolf and vote on one person to kill. Once they kill a person the DM reveals whether they were a villager or a werewolf. There's no actual evidence early on, later you base your accusations on whether a person voted against killing a werewolf or accused one of them etc. Of course the werewolves can accuse each other to throw off suspicion.

Once a person has been executed, whether the villagers voted right or wrong, the night turn begins and the werewolves secretly confer and pick one villager to kill.

So every day/night turn the number of players is reduced by 2, and their true nature revealed. Unless the villagers can kill the last werewolf before they tie in number, the werewolves win.

Then there are some variant villagers you can throw in to mix things up, like the seer who can scan one person each night to determine their true nature. But nobody else knows they're the seer, so they have to act subtly or else be killed by the werewolves that night.

Lapak
2009-10-22, 10:58 AM
This sounds a bit like the game Werewolf (also known as Mafia) except this has locations and items while Werewolf just has different types of players.Yep. We've been playing a lot of variations of this lately on another forum I frequent, though never with locations and items. Sounds interesting!

Places you may want to draw on for ideas:
The Wikipedia entry for Mafia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_(party_game)) has an extensive list of roles and powers you may want to consider. One thing you should probably think about off the top is that a lone killer in a group of 10 is almost never going to win - the killing faction needs to be a larger percentage of the overall group even if there are no special detective-style roles, and an even larger percentage if there are such roles in play. A lone gunman has to survive not just the deductive capabilities of other players but also sheer random chance, and the odds are stacked against him.

Also, you may want to talk to the folks at mafiascum (http://mafiascum.net/forum/index.php), which is (as far as I can tell) an entire forum dedicated to specifically this type of game. I'd bet they have some useful input for you!

Croverus
2009-10-22, 11:01 AM
I'm currently playing in both a mafia and a werewolf game. This idea of Killer also sounds pretty cool. Kinda like the Murder in the Mansion custom map I play on Warcraft 3. In it everyone has a peasent with three lives and one of them also controls a killer. The killer has many powers and is invisible and knows where everyone is. The players try running aorund, searching for hiding places or secret passages to outrun the killer and survive for a certain time limit. If any player's live once the time is up the survivors vote on who they think the kille ris. If they are right they win and the tables turn, the survivors try to take down the killer before he can escape.

The game is pretty much abotu avoiding losing all your lives and throwing accusations at people who don't lose lives (the killer has a peasent as well so if he doesn't move it or never kills it it can look suspiscious).

CarpeGuitarrem
2009-10-22, 12:46 PM
Sounds really cool. I would say that you need to implement the Killer as follows.

The Killer has a Compulsion and an Ability. The ability lets him bypass the rules of the game in some way. The Compulsion limits his killing and also by default forces him to make a kill every night. The Compulsion has a rating, which is the strength of the compulsion. When the Killer wants to bypass the Compulsion, such as not killing anyone or killing someone outside of the stated limits, his player rolls a d6, and tries to beat the Compulsion rating. If there is no target within the limits of the Compulsion, the player gets a +1 on the attempt to beat the Compulsion.

There should also be some way to restrict Lynching, so as to give a lone serial killer (which is just more fun thematically) more of a shot. If you're going to write up characters, you could give each player something like a Compulsion, basically a statement of what type of character they don't want to take action against.

Kensen
2009-10-22, 02:31 PM
Thanks guys! Actually, I've borrowed some ideas from Werewolf. I don't want the game to be too much like WW though. In WW you have to lynch somebody every round, but I was thinking that it should be up to the characters to decide whether to lynch somebody or not. That way it's not something you're going to have to do anyway, and you really want to be sure you're accusing the Killer if you're trying to get the group to lynch somebody. That should improve the Killer's chances of staying alive a bit.

The Killer also has a number of abilities that the other players don't know about when the game begins. To be able to find out who the Killer is (instead of just blindly lynching people) they need to find out how he kills, whether he's able to get past locked doors somehow, etc.


The Killer has a Compulsion and an Ability. The ability lets him bypass the rules of the game in some way. The Compulsion limits his killing and also by default forces him to make a kill every night.

Yes, this is pretty much what I had in mind. In my draft rules I used the terms Strengths and Weaknesses but yeah they're pretty much the same as your Ability and Compulsion. I thought that the Killer should have several of these to add some complexity (maybe one Weakness for each Strength he has). I'll post a sample character later so you can see what I had in mind.


The Compulsion has a rating, which is the strength of the compulsion. When the Killer wants to bypass the Compulsion, such as not killing anyone or killing someone outside of the stated limits, his player rolls a d6, and tries to beat the Compulsion rating. If there is no target within the limits of the Compulsion, the player gets a +1 on the attempt to beat the Compulsion.

No dice. That's one of my design principles. :smalltongue: And no probably no ratings either. You either have an Ability or Compulsion (or whatever I'm going to call them :smallbiggrin:) or you don't. There probably will be Action Points that the Killer can use to do things he otherwise would not be able to do.

The Killer begins play with 10 Action Points (APs). Here are some basic night actions he can spend points on:

Night actions (the Killer)

* Drop Object (0 AP)
* Pick up Object (0 AP)
* Kill (0 AP)
* Sneak Past (1 AP) - You can move through a room where there are people.
* Ghost Kill (3 AP) - This is needed when there are several people in the same room.
* Resist Urge (3 AP) - Normally, the Killer must kill every time there is at least one eligible target. By using Resist Urge, the Killer can choose not to kill even if there are one or more eligible targets.
* Dispose of the body (2 AP) - This way the murder weapon is not revealed. The victim is not declared dead, he's just disappeared.
* Steal (2 AP) - You can steal an object. If the object is no longer in the character's possession, the APs are wasted.
* Dispose of an object (2 AP) - An object you're carrying is removed from game.

In addition to these, each Killer has a special set of night actions that the other players don't know about.

Deathslayer7
2009-10-22, 02:36 PM
what happens if every night, everyone rooms together? Then you have the killer by night 3 running out of your so called AP since he'll have to night kill some people. And if the villagers refuse to lynch someone, and then the killer has to kill someone again the next night, hes going to have problems hiding himself.

then you know whos doing the killing and lynch the killer.

i hope this post makes sense.

Kensen
2009-10-22, 02:57 PM
Ah yeah, I didn't mention it. You get AP for killing people. :smallwink:

The Bookworm
2009-10-25, 02:38 PM
I like this idea! Are you starting one soon? If so, would it be in Structured Games or somewhere else? Also, can non-Killers have Abilities and Compulsions?

Dienekes
2009-10-25, 04:06 PM
Unfortunately this game requires everyone to act like real people as opposed to the hyper aware plot noticing folk they want to be.

In this situation, people would probably be making stupid decisions sometimes. Eventually someone would argue and the stress would build up and someone would mess up leaving an opening. They'd all be so afraid or paranoid they wouldn't (at times) do the rational thing of staying together.

In a game, no one would get the same fear and isolation. They'd come up with some really workable plan that would involve everyone being safe for all time and that'd be the end of the game.

If you can avoid that, it sounds interesting. And by the way, great book.

Kensen
2009-10-25, 04:20 PM
I was thinking I might recruit players in Finding Players and the game would be played either in Structured games or in the forum for D&D and other RPGs. The players will also function as playtesters, hopefully providing me with valuable feedback on balance and suggesting new rules and such.

I think I'll run a game once CoA II is finished. I'll start looking for players next week. The game will be decidedly more RPG-like than CoA or most structured games. Not a true RPG because you cannot do whatever you want, but maybe a quasi-RPG heh. :smallsmile: Therefore, I'm primarily looking for players who like writing dialog and interacting with other players.

In the first version only the Killer has Abilities and Compulsions (I'll try to keep it simple). If the playtesters like the idea of everyone having these characteristics, I'll consider adding them.

Heh any ideas for a good term for the non-Killers? :smallbiggrin:

Kensen
2009-10-25, 04:39 PM
Unfortunately this game requires everyone to act like real people as opposed to the hyper aware plot noticing folk they want to be.

In this situation, people would probably be making stupid decisions sometimes. Eventually someone would argue and the stress would build up and someone would mess up leaving an opening. They'd all be so afraid or paranoid they wouldn't (at times) do the rational thing of staying together.

In a game, no one would get the same fear and isolation. They'd come up with some really workable plan that would involve everyone being safe for all time and that'd be the end of the game.

If you can avoid that, it sounds interesting. And by the way, great book.

You make good points there. The rules allow for the Killer to Ghost kill every round if necessary, so staying together is not a good solution in the long run. Ghost kill costs 3 AP but the Killer gains 3 AP for a successfull kill, so he can kill everyone that way if the non-Killers don't change their approach.

I realize it's not terribly realistic that a person could kill people that way without nobody noticing - even in a completely dark room, but it forces the non-Killers to make it harder for the Killer to kill anyone. Like locking a number of people up in a room and seeing if it changes anything.

The Bookworm
2009-10-25, 05:46 PM
Heh any ideas for a good term for the non-Killers? :smallbiggrin:
Moderately-Innocents?
Edit: Also, I am 'expressing interest.'

Krazddndfreek
2009-10-25, 06:27 PM
This looks like lots of fun. A complicated version of Mafia/werewolf were exactly my thoughts upon reading the first post. :smallwink:

As for the 'non-killers' it would be easiest just to call them 'civilians' or 'innocents' wouldn't it?

Istari
2009-10-25, 07:46 PM
The idea is really complicated but it would be fun, I'd be up for a game when you start it.

Kensen
2009-10-26, 09:56 AM
I posted a recruitment thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129562)...

I hope I'll get ten players to play and playtest.

Kensen
2009-11-13, 05:47 AM
A minor rules update! Also, the first game to use the rules is about to begin. :smallsmile: (link in my sig)

Kensen
2009-12-04, 06:52 AM
The first game has been running for some time now, and I've got some fresh ideas. I'm listing them here for the time being. If they're later incorporated in the actual game rules, I'll probably do that after the first game is over.

* There's no way for the Killer to hide objects in the rooms. Maybe I'll add an action that allows you to hide objects. And a search action for the Ordinaries.

* There's really no reason not to destroy lethal objects. The protective quality does help a little, but I'm not going to give it to all lethal objects.

* Perhaps the Killer should not get AP when he is strip searched.

* It would be cool to have some sort of point-buy system for creating a Killer. For example, you can choose up to three useful abilities. Each of the abilities has a point value. You also choose up to three compulsions, each of which has a negative point value. Examples:

3 points - Accomplice. One of the Ordinaries knows you're the Killer. He or she can win the scenario only if the Killer wins.

2 points - Amorphous body. You can crawl through narrow openings (anywhere your head would fit but not your shoulders). A use of the ability costs 1 AP.

3 points - Amorphous body, improved. You can pass through holes as small as a keyhole. Each use costs 1 AP. (Too powerful?)

1 point - Sleight of hand. Steal an object and Plant evidence cost only 1 AP to use.

2 points - Sleight of hand, improved. You can Plant Evidence or Dispose of an object as a private daytime action, even as a response to Strip search. This costs 5 AP.

2 points - Stealth. You can use Sneak Past without cost.

3 points - Stealth, improved. As Stealth, but you can also use Ghost Kill without cost. (too powerful?)

1 point - Natural weapon. You can kill without a weapon. (strangling, neck breaking, etc.) The use of this ability 3 AP.

2 points - Natural weapon, improved. Choose one of the following: bite, claws, tentacles... If you use your natural weapon, it is easy for the characters to recognize it as such. No AP cost.

1 point - Equipment. You begin play with one of the following objects: Lock picks, knife...

1 point - Strong. Dispose of a body costs 1 AP less than normally. Also, you can break locks, costs 1 AP.

1 point - Invulnerable. Sort of. Immune to the protective property that some objects have.

1 point - Magic pockets. You can make any normal-sized objects you're carrying invisible to other characters, as though they were small objects.

1 point - Hide. As a private night action (1 AP), you can hide an object in a room. A hidden object is invisible to the characters. It costs 1 AP to retrieve the object.

1 point - Patient. Resist urge costs only 2 AP to use.

1 point - Devourer. You can dispose of a body even if you don't have access to an area that allows it. (<-- that's a new rule, btw. Currently you can make bodies disappear just like that if you have the APs to spend.)

-1 point - Impatient. Resist urge costs 5 AP to use.

-1 point - Signature weapon. Choose one type of weapon (or natural weapon). You get no AP for killing with other weapon types (too much of a penalty?)

-1 point - Lady killer / man killer. Whenever it is possible to kill a person of the specified sex, you must do so. You can avoid this by using Resist Urge.

-1 point - Deranged messages. You must leave a deranged message at the crime scene, at least 10 words.

-1 point - Weak. Killing with normal-sized objects and disposing of a body cost 1 AP more than normally.

-1 point - Vulnerable. The Killer has a special vulnerability. When a character is carrying a certain type of object, it costs the Killer 3 AP more to attack that character. Example: silver objects and werewolves.

-1 point - Age obsession. The Killer must murder the Ordinaries in the order of age, starting with either the oldest or youngest character. (Problematic - everyone will be middle-aged because they want to stay alive?)

-1 point - Name obsession. The Killer must murder the Ordinaries in alphabetical order. (Same problem as above?)

-2 points - Monstrous transformation. During the night phase, you cannot use objects, or steal objects or plant evidence. You can pick up, drop and carry objects normally, though. You can use Resist urge to avoid that.

-3 points - Split personality. For the first two night phases, the Killer is controlled by the GM, and you're not aware of your character being the Killer.

Maybe 20 positive and 20 negative traits to choose from would be enough.

The Rose Dragon
2009-12-04, 07:49 AM
Instead of "Man Killer", I suggest "Black Widow".

Kensen
2009-12-04, 09:37 AM
That would work too, but I prefer descriptive names to metaphorical ones.

mikeejimbo
2009-12-05, 06:59 PM
Improved Stealth is perhaps too powerful for 3 points, but not too powerful to remove as an option entirely.

Also I'd suggest something like this:

High Stamina 3 Points - Your Max AP is 15, rather than 10

Opportunistic 3 Points - You gain 1 extra AP for each innocent death and strip search.

Kensen
2009-12-08, 02:14 AM
Interesting ideas, thanks. =) I was thinking of adding something similar, maybe "Fast recovery" that allows the Killer to regain lost AP.

Kensen
2009-12-09, 04:55 AM
A new trait, similar to what mikeejimbo suggested but opposite:

Pathetic(-1 point): Starts with 4 AP, can never have more than 8 AP.

Kensen
2009-12-11, 06:09 AM
The first game is nearing its end, and I've got a handful of rules changes in mind for a second game, hopefully making the game more balanced and fun.

Here's a summary of upcoming changes:

* The Killer gains no AP when he is strip searched, only when other people are searched.
* A new Search action is needed; with it the characters can find objects the Killer has hidden in rooms. The Killer can use Hide only if he has the relevant trait, though. The Killer gains 1 AP whenever a room is searched. Only small objects can be hidden, and only in rooms where it's specifically allowed.
* There's a point-buy system for creating a Killer. You can choose up to 5 traits from a list.
* Dispose of a body and Dispose of an object are possible only in areas that specifically allow it. An area with a well, for example might be used for getting rid of objects.
* The Killer gains 1 AP every time an object is destroyed. Otherwise, there's really no reason to keep deadly items around for the Killer to use them.

Also, more new traits:

Dependency (-1 point): If the Killer is separated from an object that has sentimental value to him at the end of a day phase, the Killer loses 1 AP when the night phase begins.

Fated (-2 points): The Killer must choose one of the characters during every night phase. During the next night phase, he won't gain AP if he kills any other character.

(-3 points): Same as above, but the chosen character also receives a warning in a dream. (I.e. the GM sends the player a PM.)

onthetown
2009-12-19, 05:40 PM
Are you going to start another game of this anytime soon? I had so much fun reading and following the IC thread, I would love to see another one!

Kensen
2009-12-20, 12:29 AM
Thank you! Glad you liked reading it. I suppose it's not a good idea to start a game now the holidays are near and people are really busy, but maybe I'll start a new game in January with the updated rules (which still need some fixes). I'll contact you when/if I run another game. :smallsmile:

Just curious, was it easy to guess who the Killer was? :smallbiggrin:

The Bookworm
2009-12-20, 03:54 PM
Not for me, I was initially suspicious of her but then I thought that it was too obvious to be true. I guess sometimes the obvious solution is the right one. I'd like to play next time, too!

Kensen
2009-12-20, 04:33 PM
Sure, I'll reserve spots for the five players who remained active until the end. And Riyoukaze, you're also guaranteed a spot in the next game. =)

onthetown
2009-12-22, 02:03 PM
Sure, I'll reserve spots for the five players who remained active until the end. And Riyoukaze, you're also guaranteed a spot in the next game. =)

Aww, thanks but I'll have to sit it out. I find it more fun to just watch and see how things turn out rather than play. :smallsmile:

Duke of URL
2009-12-22, 02:18 PM
There needs to be a victory condition for the killer -- at a certain point, (s)he has whittled down the opposition to the extent that (s)he can kill everyone left. Either that, or there's a victim list selected at random who all need to be eliminated for the "win".

Maybe I'm just missing a mechanic, but there's no way to currently kill more than one person a night, is there?

Also, in the spirit of the book from which this is named, an (expensive) ability might be feign death, for the killer to stage his or her own "demise" to throw off suspicion.

Kensen
2009-12-23, 06:23 AM
There needs to be a victory condition for the killer -- at a certain point, (s)he has whittled down the opposition to the extent that (s)he can kill everyone left. Either that, or there's a victim list selected at random who all need to be eliminated for the "win".

Maybe I'm just missing a mechanic, but there's no way to currently kill more than one person a night, is there?

Also, in the spirit of the book from which this is named, an (expensive) ability might be feign death, for the killer to stage his or her own "demise" to throw off suspicion.

True, I forgot to add victory conditions to the rules. :smalleek: But basically, when there's no-one left to kill, the Killer has won. Of course, when there's only one innocent character left, he automatically knows who the Killer is. But since he's alone, there's no way to lynch the Killer because a majority vote is required. In some scenarios there may be other victory conditions such as a time limit.

You're right, it's only possible to kill one person a night. Otherwise the characters would die too quickly.

Feign death would be very cool indeed, but I'm not sure how it could be implemented without messing up the way the game works. Any ideas?

Also, different methods of killing such as poisoning a drink would be cool, but would probably require some major changes in how the game is played.

Duke of URL
2009-12-23, 10:46 AM
True, I forgot to add victory conditions to the rules. :smalleek: But basically, when there's no-one left to kill, the Killer has won. Of course, when there's only one innocent character left, he automatically knows who the Killer is. But since he's alone, there's no way to lynch the Killer because a majority vote is required. In some scenarios there may be other victory conditions such as a time limit.

Time limit might be better. Once you get down to only a handful, it'll be too easy for the innocents to win by sheer luck.


You're right, it's only possible to kill one person a night. Otherwise the characters would die too quickly.

Yeah, that's what I guessed, just making sure.


Feign death would be very cool indeed, but I'm not sure how it could be implemented without messing up the way the game works. Any ideas?

I'd think it would require one or more "secret rooms", whose existence is known initially only to the killer (and can be used to dispose of items/bodies). I'd place the initial cost as Ghost Kill + Resist Urge + Dispose of a Body, with possibly an upkeep cost each night thereafter to remain undetected (maybe 2 AP?), but can switch to a different secret room that night, if multiple ones exist. This would require providing the innocents with some way of detecting the secret room(s), likely as part of searching a known room.

Finding a killer inside the secret room (s)he is currently hiding in would be an automatic win for the innocents. Any other secret room that is found can no longer be used as a secret room, and any bodies/items found there are found.

Edit: Refining a little... the existence of secret rooms would allow for easier hiding of bodies/objects (1 AP each, maybe even free it the object/body was already in the room that the secret room is attached to) as opposed to disposing of them. If the secret room is found, then the bodies/items hidden there are also found. The killer can retrieve any item hidden from a secret room (s)he is hiding in (free) or another secret room (1 AP) a a nighttime activity.

Edit additional: This also means that the existence of secret rooms allows for a strategic decision by the killer as to whether or not to feign his/her own death -- the rooms could be used solely as a distraction, to hide bodies/items, and/or to feign the killer's own death.

The Bookworm
2009-12-26, 03:39 PM
So can you link to the new game thread when there is one?

Kensen
2009-12-27, 04:22 PM
The idea of possible secret rooms sounds fun. :smallsmile: I'll think about it. The Haunted Monastery did have a room that the characters initially had no access to, but they bashed down the door on day 1 so it didn't work as well as I had hoped. :smallbiggrin:

Oh and I'll be sure to post a link here when I start recruiting. The second version of the rules still needs a few finishing touches for which I haven't had time, unfortunately. Once I'm finished, I'll PM the players who remained active until the end in the Haunted Monastery and also anyone who's expressed interest in this thread. No idea how soon that will be, however.