Okay, so since there was some question about rules and such, figured this was a good idea. Compiled a list of what I think are some basic rules and concepts. Not all of this applies to the game Dom365 is currently running, as he has already made some game-specific rulings that contradict what I'm throwing in here.
Quick note: If something is listed here and you think it's 'cause you did something, nope. Not calling anyone out, just these are the rules I've seen on a few other sites.
Please feel free to discuss the stuff I list, comment, question, whatever, or add your own ideas for rules to the discussion. I will edit this post to reflect what people have kind of agreed upon.
FIRST AND FOREMOST- In all cases, a game's specific rules override the general rules.
- When in doubt (for questions/concerns/vote count mistakes/whatever), ask the mod. It's generally nice to bold anything directed toward the mod so they can pick it out more easily.
- MOD IS GOD - the mod has final say on everything.
GENERAL BEHAVIOR- No harassment. The game is, by nature, antagonistic -- you're fighting wolves/town for your life, after all -- but keep it in the spirit of the game.
- No alts. Only one of you per game, please -- none of the roles suffer from multiple personality disorder.
- Do not try to game the system.
- Do not quote your role PM or messages from the mod.
- No meta comparisons or cryptography allowed (you can't ask someone what the 4th word of their role PM is, or create any sort of code that you will "solve" on a future day to prove something).
- Paraphrasing of messages from the mod IS allowed.
GAMEPLAY- Basic town win condition: You are Town, and win when all threats against Town are eliminated from the game.
- Basic scum win condition: You are Mafia, and win when all threats against Mafia are eliminated, or this is inevitable.
- Basically, that "inevitable" clause means that Mafia generally win when their numbers equal town's numbers (barring any special circumstances), because town can no longer control the lynch.
- The mafia has two factional abilities:
- You can chat at night with members of your faction.
- You can submit one kill as a faction every night. You must select one member of the mafia to commit the night kill. (That second sentence is generally there in case there's a Tracker [someone who sees who a selected person "visits" during the night] or a Roleblocker [who could block the kill, or any other power that occurs at night] type role.)
- Always play to your win condition as written in your role PM from the mod. Don't sabotage your team's chances because you are angry or bored.
- Activity
- If you are dead, no more chatting. You can post something along the lines of "Oh darn, I've been murdered" or "*death gurgles*," but no posting anything that might give away information, or that might help or hurt either side still playing.
- Lurking
- As much as possible, DON'T DO IT. It is useful as a valid strategy scum use to stay under the radar sometimes, but don't abuse it.
- If you know you're not going to be around for a while, let the mod know.
- If you notice that someone has not talked for a while, feel free to ask the mod to prod them and see if they are still around.
- If you lurk too long, and do not respond to modprods, you risk being summarily executed by the mod.
Voting
- All votes should be posted on a separate line, in bold (ex. VOTE: kalira)
- You may unvote by typing it on a separate line, in bold (ex. UNVOTE) (Some mods require you to unvote before you vote for a different person, others just go with the "your most recent vote is the one that counts" strategy.)
- Some groups allow you to VOTE: No lynch. If this receives the most votes, there is no lynch at the end of the day.
- Ways to end the day
- All voting -- (I haven't seen this one much) Once every player has laid down a vote, day ends. Lynchee is the one with the most votes.
- Deadline -- If the mod sets a deadline, day ends when that deadline is reached, and the lynchee is the person with the most votes on them at that point.
- Hammer -- Once a person has half the total number of votes possible on them, day is ended and they are lynched. (Note: some groups go all the way to deadline regardless of whether a hammer vote is reached, and people can continue to change their vote. Others end immediately upon hammer.)
Tie at end of day -- this doesn't need to be a set rule, but mods need to clarify which they are using at the beginning of their game. If the votes are tied at the end of the day, there are several ways to deal with it (in no particular order):
- No lynch
- Players get a 24 hour extension to discuss more, and if it is still tied at the end of that, there is no lynch
- A random person from amongst the tied votes is lynched
- All of those tied for the most votes die (multi-lynch)
- The tied person with the longest held final vote against them is lynched
Inside the game thread
- DO NOT EDIT YOUR POSTS (the logic here is that, if you edit, some people are getting different information than others... you might have confessed something, and then 10 minutes later you want to change your story. Anyone who read it within that time frame is going on different information than anyone who read it afterward.)
- If you are not a player in the game, DO NOT POST IN THE GAME THREAD.
- Do not post after the mod has called night (this one is different from group to group. Some allow it, some don't.)
Outside the game thread
- Do not talk about the game outside the thread.
- DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE GAME OUTSIDE THE THREAD. (No, seriously, the group I'm in actually says it twice, the second time all caps. LOL.)
- You may only communicate with other players privately (or in small groups, in the case of the mafia, for example), if you have been specifically told so by the mod.
- Copy the mod on all private communications with other players.
