Zorag
Chieftain
Yes, but if he is a minister there is no reason why he wouldn't reveal himself as such. Only a communist would keep his ability hidden.
Merlot Mafia: Chiang's Last Stand
- Thread starter mgsmuhammad
- Start date
Tboy
Future world ruler
Not necessarily. A tie-breaker, if a minister, could be a powerful tool in our favour. Were he to reveal himself, he would open himself up as a high priority target to our marxist foes.
Tboy
Future world ruler
Also, the communist in our ranks could claim this ability as their's, and that they are a minister, in order to deflect a possible lynch - the risk of losing a valuable asset could deter people from voting for them.
Of course, this all pre-supposes a tie-breaker, and that they are a minister - one or neither may be the case.
Of course, this all pre-supposes a tie-breaker, and that they are a minister - one or neither may be the case.
My fellow ministers, let us review what we know:
First that there appears to be, I hope, only one communist hiding in our ranks. Not only do the instructions left in our care tell us we must "root out the Communist" (singular), but if there were two then we would be in dire trouble as we would have to guess correctly by the second day or lose everything.
Second, remembering the history of our Amazonian forebears, the charismatic villain did not have the stomach for murder -- clearly there cannot be a charismatic non-murderous traitor if there is only one traitor! If any of us here is charismatic (and surely we must judge each minister's eloquence from his words) then that person is not a traitor.
Third, a lone spy would need one or more abilities to help him hide among six honest men. My guess is that the spy, through his espionage, must know which of us is whom. That is, I'd guess the spy already knows which of us have special abilities. Now, if you were a villain, and knew which of your opponents were empowered, whom would you vote to lynch first?
Fourth, slaze is still silent, but so was his innocent ancestor last time. (So his silence conveys no information so far.)
Fifth, Caledorn's actions are dangerous. He intends to engineer a tie. That was how the Amazons were defeated, as the traitor in their midst was empowered to break the tie at the last moment in any direction he chose.
I think I've hinted enough that Tboy is now the most suspicious in my mind*, with Zorag a close second (as dog-piling the first vote would normally be a good strategy for self-preservation whatever he claims about noble intentions). I'm leaving my vote with Zorag this round, both because there is no realistic prospect of gathering enough votes for Tboy and because there is poetic justice if I dog-pile Zorag after he just dogpiled me!
* Also because I believe the best spy to make a good game would be experienced, ie someone who played and participated significantly last time -- but that's second guessing the gamemaster so might be cheeky.
First that there appears to be, I hope, only one communist hiding in our ranks. Not only do the instructions left in our care tell us we must "root out the Communist" (singular), but if there were two then we would be in dire trouble as we would have to guess correctly by the second day or lose everything.
Second, remembering the history of our Amazonian forebears, the charismatic villain did not have the stomach for murder -- clearly there cannot be a charismatic non-murderous traitor if there is only one traitor! If any of us here is charismatic (and surely we must judge each minister's eloquence from his words) then that person is not a traitor.
Third, a lone spy would need one or more abilities to help him hide among six honest men. My guess is that the spy, through his espionage, must know which of us is whom. That is, I'd guess the spy already knows which of us have special abilities. Now, if you were a villain, and knew which of your opponents were empowered, whom would you vote to lynch first?
Fourth, slaze is still silent, but so was his innocent ancestor last time. (So his silence conveys no information so far.)
Fifth, Caledorn's actions are dangerous. He intends to engineer a tie. That was how the Amazons were defeated, as the traitor in their midst was empowered to break the tie at the last moment in any direction he chose.
I think I've hinted enough that Tboy is now the most suspicious in my mind*, with Zorag a close second (as dog-piling the first vote would normally be a good strategy for self-preservation whatever he claims about noble intentions). I'm leaving my vote with Zorag this round, both because there is no realistic prospect of gathering enough votes for Tboy and because there is poetic justice if I dog-pile Zorag after he just dogpiled me!
* Also because I believe the best spy to make a good game would be experienced, ie someone who played and participated significantly last time -- but that's second guessing the gamemaster so might be cheeky.
mgsmuhammad
Resident Stalker
Voting is now closed.
mgsmuhammad
Resident Stalker
Evening 1: Commuting can kill
After much debate and heated discussions involving many theories and little evidence, the assembly found themselves at a deadlock.
(Votes: Zorag 3, whb 3)
Nonetheless, after further discussion involving more than a couple convuluted arguments, they reached the (somewhat) disputed agreement that the most likely candidate was Zorag.
Armed military police escorted the aging Minister of Transport out of the room to be executed by firing squad.
After a brief pause of very awkward silence, gunshots rang out from the courtyard.
Following a brief investigation, bank records indicated numerous seedy deals to further increase Zorag's financial powerhouse of a transport monopoly.
This made it clear that
Spoiler :
Chiang was greatly displeased by your eagerness to turn upon each other, and spent the next three hours screeching at you.
Thoroughly tired by this berating, the remaining ministers retired to their (not-so) modest homes.
Night has fallen. Day will break in 24 hours.
Úmarth
Megalomaniac
So whb survived a tie? That situation seems awfully familiar...
Tboy
Future world ruler
Or we could be in the situation where there are two communists who don't know who each other are - as our Amazonian ancestors discovered. This would thereby weaken their chances as opposed to if they knew each other.
Not necessarily - while the culture of our Amazonian ancestors may have made charisma and an eye for murder mutually exclusive, I see no reason why this should continue into 20th Century China. Indeed, if there is only one communist in our ranks, he is likely to need all the talents they can have to infiltrate and survive in the cabinet.
Well, I firstly find it very peculiar that you first say the communist cannot be both murderous and charismatic, and then say he must have special abilities - somewhat of a contradiction, methinks. Secondly, (going OOC a bit), from what I know of mafia no-one knows who has which special abilities beforehand apart from the players themselves. Ergo, the marxist scum, while he will endeavour to target those of us he believes has special dangerous abilities,
Agreed.
Ah, but by engineering a tie at this point, we can garner more information about who has tie-breaking abilities. Doing so later would be dangerous, I grant you; but at this point it provides valuable info that can help us pinpoint the communist.
Normally roles are allocated using a RNG of some kind, so I doubt that - though I too will not second guess the gamemaster.
Also, while I'm flattered that you think my experience would make me a good infiltrator, I would nonetheless like to mention that this is my second game of mafia ever - I would hardly call myself a veteran.
Plus, perhaps the reason I seem to you like a communist making a good job of pretending to be a KMT minister, is because I actually am a KMT minister?
Zorag
Chieftain
Uf...
It is unfortunate that I was killed in the first day based on what is perceived as socially negative behaviour (bandwagoning). You would have expected people to focus on using reason and logic to decide their actions in a game such as this.
Do we get any explanation as to why the tie ended so?
It is unfortunate that I was killed in the first day based on what is perceived as socially negative behaviour (bandwagoning). You would have expected people to focus on using reason and logic to decide their actions in a game such as this.
Do we get any explanation as to why the tie ended so?
Tboy
Future world ruler
Methinks not - like the previous game, it is up to us to work out what the tie-break could mean.
mgsmuhammad
Resident Stalker
Day 2: Unhealthy developments
As the ministers returned to Chiang's office, it seemed as if there was less than usual.
A quick headcount revealed that landlubber, the upright, respected Minister of Health, was absent.
Security forces were rushed to his home, but it was too late.
As far as could be made out, he had been killed by a broken neck. The ghastly visage of abject terror indicates that he had not been expecting the murderer.
From the fact he had sent all his personal paramedics off to protect a fellow minister that night, it was obvious that:
Spoiler :
Living ministers:
1) slaze
2) Caledorn
3) Umarth
4) Tboy
5) whb
It is now Day. Night falls in 48 hours.
No, that was the situation in the Amazon where there were three more villagers. But with only 7 villagers, it would go 5-2, 4-2 (first lynching on no information), 3-2 (first murder), and the villagers would have to guess correctly on day 2. Guess incorrectly and it goes 2-2 (wrong lynching), 1-2 (second murder), and the last villager cannot win -- even if he miraculously wins the vote and lynches one mafia member, the other one gets him at sundown. With 7 players, I'd only expect one communist.
That's why I think he has talents, but not that particular talent. History does not repeat itself that closely in these matters. (And in any case I've got that talent -- see next post -- so the villain probably doesn't have it too.)
Unless that is the Marxist's special ability. Why do I think that is your ability? Unless we are very unlucky ministers, I don't think you voted to lynch me first action in the game entirely at random.
Then you are one game more experienced than me! Online, anyway -- many games in person at youth camps (of course the GM wouldn't know that) In person it's a whole different ball game -- listening for rustling movements in the first round!
My dear boy, you misinterpret me -- I think you are a communist making a terrible job of pretending to be a KMT minister!
As I am convinced that the murderer already knows this, it will do no harm to reveal it to my fellow ministers. It is because I am a very persuasive, yet honest, individual. (I role-played the heck out of that one to drop every hint I could give -- yes I can sway tied votes, no I'm not mafia)
Some of you might have noticed that the sadly departed Minister for Health "had sent his paramedics elsewhere". To put it more plainly, I believe he had the capacity to prevent someone from being murdered. And, tellingly, the murderer knew who the Minister for Health was to pick him off.
Now, Tboy's first vote was for someone who has a special ability*. The first murder was of someone who has (now sadly "had") a very important special ability. Either we all have equally vital special abilities, and you can answer that for yourselves, or the murderer knows who does.
So, this leaves the information in your own hands. Are we all empowered with abilities as significant as swaying the vote or saving a life, or is there an order to the villain's scheme?
To test this, we could all say "aye" or "nay" as to whether we have significant special abilities. If it's all "aye"s then maybe I am mistaken; if there are many "nay"s then that points to a pattern.
* He then also started speculating about whether there might be a charismatic individual on the honest team (suspiciously prescient given he just voted to lynch me) and then that the charismatic individual might "falsely claim" to be on the good team (perhaps so I couldn't then reveal myself?). That's what made me reckon the villain knows who we all are before the good doctor was murdered.
Tboy
Future world ruler
Egad, perhaps I should not speak so freely as to what I think, if it is only to be interpreted as the actions of a communist.
(The quotes are in no particular order, I should mention - apologies if this seems confusing)
I can assure you whb, that my initial vote was entirely cast at random in order to get the ball rolling - on the entirely spurious grounds of you having the shortest username. As a MINISTER (hate to go on about it, but you don't appear to believe me), I had no clue who, if anyone, has special abilities.
Also, you presume that the communist in our ranks a). knows who has special abilities and b). knew who our dear departed minister for health was liable to protect. While this is certainly a possibility, sheer chance could well be responsible for such things - especially since, as looks increasingly likely, a number among us posess special abilities; someone with an ability was therefore quite likely to be hit.
I can assure you that this was naught but speculation on my part - I have no definite knowledge about this. I'm still not entirely certain that your tie-breaking abilities absolve you of guilt, though.
Is there not the danger here that those who say "aye" will become targets in the eyes of our communist infiltrator? Besides which, the infiltrator himself may claim to have valuable special abilities, whether he has them or not, to prevent his own demise.
I am not quite ready to cast my vote yet. whb seems rather too eager to pin the blame on others, and rather too concerned with myself to the almost total absence of analysing others - suspicious stuff if I ever saw it. Still, he could simply be doing so to force me to give information that helps him better judge my guilt. I shall await further discussion
I would also like to encourage contributions from our fellow ministers - more voices and opinions on these matters would be appreciated. Besides which, a confrontation between whb and I only sheds light upon ourselves, not upon anyone else.
(The quotes are in no particular order, I should mention - apologies if this seems confusing)
I can assure you whb, that my initial vote was entirely cast at random in order to get the ball rolling - on the entirely spurious grounds of you having the shortest username. As a MINISTER (hate to go on about it, but you don't appear to believe me), I had no clue who, if anyone, has special abilities.
Also, you presume that the communist in our ranks a). knows who has special abilities and b). knew who our dear departed minister for health was liable to protect. While this is certainly a possibility, sheer chance could well be responsible for such things - especially since, as looks increasingly likely, a number among us posess special abilities; someone with an ability was therefore quite likely to be hit.
I can assure you that this was naught but speculation on my part - I have no definite knowledge about this. I'm still not entirely certain that your tie-breaking abilities absolve you of guilt, though.
Is there not the danger here that those who say "aye" will become targets in the eyes of our communist infiltrator? Besides which, the infiltrator himself may claim to have valuable special abilities, whether he has them or not, to prevent his own demise.
I am not quite ready to cast my vote yet. whb seems rather too eager to pin the blame on others, and rather too concerned with myself to the almost total absence of analysing others - suspicious stuff if I ever saw it. Still, he could simply be doing so to force me to give information that helps him better judge my guilt. I shall await further discussion
I would also like to encourage contributions from our fellow ministers - more voices and opinions on these matters would be appreciated. Besides which, a confrontation between whb and I only sheds light upon ourselves, not upon anyone else.
Tboy
Future world ruler
Don't worry, I know you're only playing the game as it should be played - accusations and questioning and the suchlike. 'Tis all part of the fun, as you say.
Zorag
Chieftain
I believe everyone was endowed with a special ability. As said I was the minister of transport and could decide to move and protect myself every day from the harm of one individual's ability. Obviously this did not really matter much.
landlubber
Scottish Nationalist
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2010
- Messages
- 1,534
I feel wanted!
Úmarth
Megalomaniac
I at least only voted for you because other people had, and I didn't want to split the vote. The reason and logic was that somebody had to die, but we really had no evidence to go on. Don't take it personally.
