Mafia FAQ

Mafia FAQ

What is Mafia?
Mafia is a forum based game played over the course of several days. The object of the game is to kill your opposition and be the last team standing.

What are the teams?
Players are divided into two groups; the townies and the mafia. The mafia is a small group of people, led by the Godfather. The townies are the rest of the players and include a Doctor and a Sheriff. The townies have no idea who among them are mafia, but the mafia knows who is a townie and who is mafia. The roles are assigned by the moderator and kept secret unless you choose to reveal your role.

Awesome! How do I kill people?
There are three ways in which player death can occur. The first is the mafia hit, which happens in the morning of each day. The Godfather PMs the mod with the mafia hit. The second is the lynching. Each evening the town comes together and lynches one of its members. This is done by a majority vote, and all players have one vote, including the mafia. In the instance of a tie, the mod will decide randomly whether both or none of the parties in question die.

The third way a character can die is via natural causes. If a player does not vote for two consecutive lynches and does not post on the game threads for two game days with no notice to the mod of their status, that player will die quietly in their sleep. Or through a freak, horrible, bloody accident.

What happens if I die?
Even after you die, it is generally not in the best interest of the game to reveal which role you played. You are permitted to continue posting on the game threads as a “ghost”, but you will not be allowed a vote or to reveal your role after death.

So what do the Doctor, Sheriff, and Godfather do?
The Doctor is a townie with the ability to save a life from a mafia hit. At the end of each day, after the lynching, the doctor may submit one name in secret to the mod. At the same time, the mafia will tell the mod who they would like to hit the following morning. If the doctor has selected the person who is meant to be hit by the mafia, the mafia will still attempt the hit, but the player will survive.

*note* The Doctor is permitted to save the same person (including him/herself) no more than twice in one game. We feel this will make games more exciting and dynamic for everyone!

The Sheriff is also a townie. At the end of the day, after the lynching, the Sheriff submits one name to the mod for identification. The mod will then send back a PM to the sheriff that will simply say “mafia” or “not mafia”. The mod will not reveal if a person is the doctor, and in the case of the Godfather the mod will outright lie!

The Godfather enjoys a special status among the mafia. The Godfather’s key responsibility is to submit a name for the mafia hit each night after the lynching. Also, the Godfather has an in with the mod; the mod will send back an ID of “not mafia” should the sheriff ask.

Okay, got it. Now how do I get started?”
The Mod will post a thread that outlines the basic scenario of the game. This is where the mod will state the date the game will start. Additionally, the mod will post a character/signup thread. In this thread, each player will post both their interest in playing and a character outline. The exact information required for your character will vary according to the scenario; the mod will post the requirements. Creativity in developing your character is encouraged.

When everyone is signed up, with characters created, the mod will begin the game with a mafia hit. The first mafia hit will be a throw away character created by the mod. That evening the town will come together to do their first lynching, which will begin the cycle of lynch, SKID, hit.

Huh? What’s SKID?
SKID is short for Save, Kill, Identify. That is the point of the game where the Sheriff, Doctor, and Godfather submit their names.

So how are we supposed to figure out people’s roles so we can kill the right person?

1. Read the death scenes carefully. The mod will sometimes (but not always) include clues that lead to the identity of different characters.
2. Talk. Call people out. Send PMs. Watch who’s voting for who. Lie your ass off, or tell the truth. Post your suspicions, get a discussion going. This game is about being sneaky. That said, don’t cheat. The following things are cheating:
Using any sort of hacking or whatever to get dishonest access to PMs or parts of the board you’re not supposed to have.
Making anon IDs to point fingers or otherwise behave stupidly.
Forwarding any message from a mod to prove your status. This is easy enough to fake anyway, so perhaps this rule is antiquated *shrugs*. Don’t drag the mod into your dirty little head games!
Private communication is fair game, but please do not spam or harass your fellow players.

I’m dead, but I’m dying to know who was who! Will you tell me?
No. Everyone will find out who was who at the very end of the game, when all of one side is dead.

Post any questions here, or PM me and I’ll post the question and answer for you (with a great deal of discretion).