JAMFTW wrote: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?
Emphasis mine. Just in case you don't know this, at MS you're required to have been a member here for at least three months, then mod either an Open or a Mini Normal game to completion, then mod either a Open/Mini Normal/Large Normal/Mini Theme to completion before you will be allowed to mod a Large Theme. If this is a setup you want to mod here, you are looking at a considerably long wait to do so. Just so you're aware.
I think Faraday's right, for a 17-player game, 4 scum is plenty and 5 is too much; scum win more than enough as it is. I would add that I think one third-party role is enough as well-functionally, this a 9:5:3 setup (9 town, 5 scum, 3 third-party), which is really really bad for the town. I would hate to draw town in this setup.
Other thoughts about the roles in the game:
-I'm not a fan of lynchers (much for the same reason I'm not a fan of jesters--a single player could theoretically win the game D1)
-See above re: survivors. Here, survivors are considered a bastard role by a number of players.
-Be aware that having multiple roleblockers in the game can create some controversy over how to resolve night actions.
-Mafia Framers are extremely swingy roles.
-Re: the Mafia Godfather--would s/he be bulletproof or investigation immune? Whichever trait you don't give to them should be given to the Serial Killer--a Serial Killer with no other PRs is almost surely going to lose.
-Actor is an extremely obsolete role, at least on this site. (Edit: I don't think I've ever seen it used.)
-If you include a Beloved Princess in the setup, include a role (call it a "Guard" if you want) that knows the BP's identity and alignment and works to prevent their lynch.
-Mafia Janitors are extremely powerful roles. I would limit a janitor to being one- or two-shot.
An often good rule of thumb, imo, for assigning Mafia and Town PRs (other players may beg to differ, this is just something I use):
Town should have however many PRs as there are non-town players (so if there are 4 maf + SK in a 17-player setup), five town PRs is reasonable, depending on the strength of those PRs (which you can limit by being one/two-shot if need be).
Mafia, in turn, should have 1/2 of the number of PRs the Town has, rounded down. I.E., in a typical 13-player, 10:3 setup, town would have 3 PRs (because three non-town players), and Mafia would have 1 PR (1/2 of 3 rounded down = 1). So for this 17 player setup, town should have 5 PRs, and Mafia should have 2 PRs.
On hiatus from any new mafia commitments.
Jesus loves you. But that doesn't mean you're town.
James 2:13
