UFO Lounge, the Penguin Syndicate discussion thread: http://community.playstarbound.com/threads/114294/ The games have stopped. But nothing stops in space, unless stopped. So all it needs is a little push. Old penguins never die. The Penguin Syndicate is based on the well-known game of Forum Mafia. In this Starbound-themed variation players are divided into Civilians, Penguins and various other groups. Play all the tricks and mind-games you have; scheme and deduct your way into victory. The last team alive wins! The Penguin Syndicate XVII is a strategic roleplay forum game based on the game of Mafia. The rules to the game are explained below. They may seem complicated at first, but in practice the game is fairly simple. At the simplest, there are two teams: the Civilians (majority) and the Penguins (minority). In order to win, a team must get rid of all the other teams. Sites providing a more in-depth introduction into the game: Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_(party_game) MafiaWiki, a wiki for a Mafia-dedicated forum, but still a good resource for learning: http://wiki.mafiascum.net/ Interested in joining, but still doubtful? Just do it! This isn't that serious. Difficulty is not a concern. You learn the game as you play. If you suddenly mid-game don't have the time to participate, don't worry. I'm not kicking anyone out of the game, but activity is encouraged. Also, if you desire to leave the game at any point just note me and I'll take care of it. The game ain't dead-serious. Silliness inbound. There are two main alignments: The Civilians, which consists of the majority of the players. Usually a Civilian knows only their own role. The Penguins, who usually are around 20-30% of the players. They can talk privately at any time and know each others' roles. Along with these there may be special roles that have their own goals. More about them further down. After the signups end, the players will be randomly given a alignment and a role. The game consists of a repeating cycle of Days and Nights. Note that both usually last longer than a real life day. The game starts with a Day. During one, the players vote off (aka Lynch) a single player. Each of the players has one vote. The Civilians discuss and vote on who they believe to be a Penguin. The Penguins' goal is to hide amongst the players and mislead the Penguin hunt. The Day ends when a player has the majority of the votes, or when a set deadline is passed. The player with the most votes will be removed from the game and their role will be publicly announced. After the day ends, the game will enter a Night. During this phase, talking about the game in the game thread is prohibited. In private conversations, the players with a night-action role (e.g. investigating or protecting other players) will inform the GM (aka me) of their target players. Night is also the time when the Penguins perform their Nightkill, and eliminate a single player of their choice from the game. The Night ends when the set deadline is passed, or when all night actions have been reported. The dead players and their roles will be publicly announced and the next Day will begin. This cycle will be repeated until only one winning team remains. Both alive and dead members of that team win. Theirs is the glory. Obey at all times. Any resistance is futile. All game talk happens in the game thread (and related PMs). Do not reveal your role to anyone privately. Don't post any undeniable proof of your role, such as images. Claiming to be a specific role is allowed. After you are eliminated, don't post anything game-related in this thread. When you vote a player, make absolutely clear who you are voting. Example vote: Vote: Zebe When voting for no lynch (nobody dies that day), do it as follows: Vote: No Lynch When resetting your vote to nothing, do it either: Vote: None or Vote: No vote If no player has gotten the majority of the votes before the Day deadline, the player with the most votes will be lynched. If there is a tie, there will be no lynch. You can't choose yourself as a target for your night action, unless specified otherwise in the role description. Stargazer Priests can target themselves, given that there are at least two of them. However, the targetted Stargazer does no action, and the action is performed by other Priests. The game can end in a Victory, Stalemate, or a Total Loss. Victory is when any main faction reaches their objective of being the last surviving one. Stalemate is when two or more factions are incapable of eliminating each other in ideal play. The situation can change, if a faction chooses to surrender. Total Loss is when no faction is able reach a victory. Alpaca's Victory or Loss has no effect on the outcome of the whole game. You are allowed to submit "Wills" to your Role PM conversation. These wills are posted to the game thread after you die. They can contain any game-related information. You can only submit Wills during Days and before your death. Exception: Wills that contain no game-related information are accepted at any time before you die. Have some fun. Boring Human You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Sometimes luck isn't with you. We all know you wanted to be born as a cool alien with all sorts of special powers. It just wasn't your day. Still, you have your brains with you. Keep them safe. You can still outsmart them all. Become the greatest detective and show those Penguins who is the boring one! Miniknog Interrogator You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can choose one player and find out their side. As a slightly immoral Apex scientist you have the means to catch anyone and persuade them to tell their purpose and alignment. Those years studying finally pay off. That doctorate of Mad Sciences serves you well here. Conspiracist You are unable to perform normal investigations. You can find out if your target has any allies. It's all connected somehow. Has to be. Must be. Needs to be. Will be. With more aggressive interrogation methods, you can find out many different things. Noble Hylotl You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can choose one player to protect from all harm. Everyone knows the Hylotl are peaceful. But somehow you just radiate pure peace and love. Nobody can attack anyone you're protecting. It's not a made up thing. Maybe it has something to do with your diplomacy or those martial arts you have mastered. Of course it might just be because nobody wants to get near your arrogant self. Defender If someone attempts to kill your target, you die instead of them. You are proud, but not arrogant. You have virtuously devoted yourself to your mission. You will finish it, no matter what it takes. Floran Hunter You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can choose one player to trap and cancel all their night actions. This also protects the chosen player. All you've ever known is stab. Stab stab. Stab. Somewhere out there is someone you must stab. The Penguins are loose. Catch 'em, stab 'em, and stab 'em again for good measure. Your hunter skills come useful in building traps which will keep the trapped out of all stabbing for the night. Star Sheriff You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can choose one player and find out what they were doing. You are a lone star. The ranger of the Wild Western Skies. You have saved a million lives and forgotten every single one of them. The sense of justice is rooted deep inside your plasmatic soul. Use your tracker skills to spy on the wrongdoers and find out who the culprit is. And make sure you don't forget it. Ranger You cannot perform normal action investigations. You are able to detect actions other players perform on your target. Your knowledge is far beyond a ordinary lawman. Sentinel You cannot perform normal action investigations. You you are able to detect everyone who does actions on your target, but not what actions they do. As the law of your town, you keep watch. And as you're an adamant officer of the law, every town is your town. Warden You're able to know the latest action and who did it at any moment, but only once per a Day/Night cycle. (Does not reveal who was the target of the action) The years spent on duty have trained your eyes and ears as keen as possible so you can ... hey wait, what eyes and ears!? Role idea by @zeskorion Glitch Knight You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. You survive one murder attempt. Bravest of the brave. Affirmative. Yes, you. They don't call you a knight for no reason. There is exactly one reason and that is your armor. Admiring. It shines. Dissatisfied. It breaks after receiving a one single blow. Hopeful. That one time might be enough to save your life. Regal You are not protected from murder attempts. No other actions have any effect on you. Accidentally, you put on a wrong set of armor. It sure looks fancy, but it's too light to protect you from a killing attempt. Instead, it will block all other actions you're targeted with. Stargazer You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. You can talk with the other Stargazers privately any time. Some bonds cannot be broken. Your lifelong devotion to the gods of the Aether has given you the divine ability to discern a true believer; someone you can trust. Bless the Sunborn. Kluex led you to another Stargazer. Or maybe it was the fact that the other Stargazers present are all Avians like you and are wearing religious charms. Who knows. Priest You are able to protect any player with other Priests every night. If any Stargazer dies, you die with them. You are bound to the spiritual life stronger than a normal believer. USCM Militant You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can choose someone to kill. You've been trained to be the toughest of the tough. You're harder than nails. There are five hidden weapons inside your body. Outside, there's more than you can count. As veteran of countless conflicts, you've fought at the front lines on a hundred alien worlds. And if there's something you've learnt, it is to take action. Debate? Voting!? Bah! These primitive lifeforms wouldn't understand if you'd pull a gun out in the middle of the day. It's better to take no risks and wait for the darkness to fall... Loyalist If you kill a Civilian, you die. You want to make things right, and you have all the equipment to do so. Still, you know that if you make a wrong call and attack a friend, there will be no return... If you kill a Civilian, you die. Aggressor You cannot perform nightkills. You are able to kill during the day. On a second thought, why wait for the night to come? You could shoot someone during the day. Nobody would expect that! However, everyone will see that you did the kill. Role idea by @zeskorion Bomber You cannot perform normal kills. You can use a bomb that will kill both you and your target at any time. You're all out of guns. All you have is an explosive, but if you're going to use it, you're going to go down too. It'll be a sacrifice, but it'll surely be worth it. Role idea by @611 Protectorate Compatriot You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can attempt copy an ability from another player. If succesful, you can use that ability freely. If you copy another ability, you will lose the previous one. Humans are said to be very adaptable. As a official member of the great Terrene Protectorate, you are one of the most adaptable of them all. That ability is useful in the vast, dark universe... especially now, after you've failed to protect the Earth. Fighting cosmic horrors didn't turn out good, and now you're fighting penguins. Which isn't easy either, so better learn a few tricks from others. Role idea by @Arra Rookie Instead of copying abilities, you are able to use the latest ability you've been targetted with You may not be very observant, but you learn fast. You just have to see it yourself first.. Grand Protector You won't lose abilities after copying more. As the highest-ranking member of the Protectorate, you just are better. No question. Just stay away from all graduation ceremonies, okay? Apex Scientist You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can give out a one-use ability to any player, but each type only once during a game. The abilities are nightkill, protection, role investigation and roleblock. As a knowledgeable scientist and researcher, you have developed serums, substances and devices for many purposes. And in a time of crisis, it is your duty to support your comrades with a supply of these handy inventions your have with you at all times. Whether or not they want it. Surely they'll like being injected by dubious chemicals. After all, it is for science! Role idea by @611 Mad Instead of giving the abilities away, you use them yourself. You've got all the toys you could ever need. And everyone around you is undoubtedly incompetent. Why not use them yourself and unleash the full potential or these creations? Simian Doctor You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can turn one Agaran into a Boring Human. If they are a Civilian, they will be roleblocked. The modern medicine is wonderous indeed. The Apex have developed a cure to turn Agarans into Humans... no matter what species they originally were. Unethical, says the rest of the scientific community. But the Miniknog does not care. Nor do you, as long as you get a few more allies this way. Role idea by @Zetlin97 Amphibian Augur You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can ask one question about the setup, to which the GM will answer. The question can only include one named role. Neither the question or the answer can mention or refer to any players. Your heightened senses see the world in a way no-one else can. In your trance-like state the lies disappear and you see the truth with clarity. Obviously, no other race can do this. The nature speaks to you, and you speak to it. Perhaps, if you ask a question, the emptiness will whisper back an answer. Just be careful of how you word it... Role idea by @611 Aquatic Ambassador You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can send an anonymous message to any player. As an excellent diplomat, you understand interracial relations. Languages, traditions, manners, politics... you know it all better then the most. Probably better than anyone else, actually, since you are a Hylotl. You know the other races so well you know they just lack the finesse on a Hylotl can have. Your knowledge is useful here, where communication is limited by inferior species. Killer Plant You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. You will automatically kill anyone that targets you with any action, but only once. You hear voices, whispers and screams. Horrible visions flash in your dreams. It would've been better not to use that drysap, but it's too late for regret now. Paranoid of every movement, you will attack everyone that gets close to you. The rage will disappear at some point... possibly if you get something or someone to vent it on. Role idea by @zeskorion Sly Lily You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can switch two players, so any action performed on one player affects the other one instead. As a Floran, you can track you prey down unlike an other creature in this Universe. Hunting is in your nature. As such, you know how hunting works. By laying false tracks, tricking your opponents and using all your schemes, you can trick people to follow the wrong prey. Role idea by @611 Novakid Bandit You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. Every night, you can steal a vote from someone and use it during the following day. As a expert gunslinger and a feared rogue you have formed a worldview of your own. Everyone has a right to an opinion? Not a chance as long as you hold that revolver. They will surely agree with you on every matter when the barrel is pointed right at them. Use their utterly selfless desire to help you in your mission to show the penguins who's the biggest outlaw around. Role idea by @The Squid Cosmic Court You are sided with the Civilians. You have two votes. You're a gas-bag judge that has read the book of law. Too bad you don't remember any of it. But that can't stop you from serving justice! Your word holds twice the power compared to everyone else. You're the law, and everybody knows it. Condemner You have one vote. Once in a game, you can choose the lynch victim and end the day. Your is the law. If you see someone is guilty, they will face their final judgement. Glitch Glitch You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. All investigative role results will see you as a Penguin, or that you have killed someone. ERROR. You do not function correctly. SYSTEM FAILURE. You are a Glitch with good intentions. RECORDS 101-200 MISSING. However, your behaviour is off. FUNCTION COULD NOT BE RESOLVED. You seem very, very guilty. UNABLE TO REBOOT. How unfortunate. Occultist-Bot You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. You can talk with the dead privately any time. Pull out the cards, the crystal balls and the ouija boards, because you're a spirit specialist! Everything you've learned of the ghastly ghosts is now being put into a test because you're reaching far to the Beyond in hopes of invaluable clues. How's it possible? Nanomachines! Not even death can stop you! Well, unless you're dead yourself. Avian Scholar You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. At any time, you can anonymously write a report that will be posted at the beginning of the next day. As a well-read intellectual, you know one way to foil the plans of the wrongful forces that threaten you; share your insights. Put your thoughts into words, and share them. Role idea by @zeskorion The Dove You are sided with the Civilians. You have one vote. You can ask the GM to reveal your innocence at any given moment. You're a white Avian. That appearance is... convincing. If you ever scream "I'm innocent!", everyone will believe you. In fact, you truly are as pure as your feathers. Stand for life against death; stand for peace against war. Whisperer Every night, you can choose a player to tell your role to. You are not able to declare your role publicly to everyone. Even while you are the epitome of peace, it may not be wise to announce your total innocence to everyone. Role idea by @611 Divine If you die, you will be granted a second life. On the next morning after your death, you will be resurrected. Not only are you innocent and pure, but you are the Chosen One as well. Role idea by @zeskorion Penguin You are a Penguin. You have one vote. You can talk with the other Penguins privately any time. During the Night you choose a victim with your Penguin confederates. There are the nice penguins. There are the mean penguins. And then there is you. A black-hearted creature fallen to the Dark Side. For you there is no thing called redemption. You either win or... no, there is no other option than to win for you. You are a Penguin. Tabloid At any time, you can anonymously write a report that will be posted at the beginning of the next day. Sometimes you need to tell the unsuspecting fools your version of the events. The good version. The correct version. A newspaper might do the job just right. Role idea by @zeskorion Spy You're able to know the latest action and who did it at any moment, but only once per a Day/Night cycle. (Does not reveal who was the target of the action) From the shadows you watch the events taking place, steepling your flippers. Anything there is, you'll be able to know it. Role idea by @zeskorion Persuader Every night, you can steal a vote from someone and use it during the following day. You crook. Nothing is evil enough for you. Your influence even extends to the day as you convince a victim to give their support to you, so you can use their vote to your own goals. Role idea by @The Squid Messenger Every night, you can send an anonymous message to any player. Silently, you send notes to the enemy. Spread rumors and suspicions. Lies and half-truths. Lead them to a wild goose chase when they should be chasing penguins. Protector Every night, you can choose another penguin to protect from all harm. Not all black-hearted creatures of the Dark Side are here to bring death and destruction. You support your Syndicate-associates via other means. Trooper You survive one murder attempt. As an armored servant of the Syndicate, you have enough armor to survive a single murder attempt. Confounder You can switch around the roles and actions of the players in all of the investigative role results. You can only use this ability twice. You are here to make a mess. Your special talent of darkness is to confuse the enemy investigators. Role idea by @The Squid Penguin Illusionist You are a Penguin. You have one vote. You can talk with the other Penguins privately any time. During the Night you choose a victim with your Penguin confederates. Every night, you can switch two players, so any action performed on one player affects the other one instead. You might know what you're doing, but your foes certainly won't. Is your heart black and cold or white and warm? Are they investigating an Avian or an Alpaca? Are they trying to kill a foe or a friend? It's almost like magic... They fall into your tricks so easily... Penguin Gun You are a Penguin. You have one vote. You can talk with the other Penguins privately any time. During the Night you choose a victim with your Penguin confederates. At any time during a Day, you can kill a player. Your name is announced as you make a kill. As a hired gun serving the Syndicate, you don't need to oblige by their rules. Day does not limit you. Your black, cold heart isn't afraid of being seen. You do your dirty work in broad daylight, in front of everyone. Bomber You are unable to perform normal kills. You can use a bomb that will kill both you and your target at any time. No guns? No problem! You have a bomb, and you can set it off at any moment. However, the explosion will blow you up with your target. So better make that kill count. Role idea by @611 Penguin Investigator You are a Penguin. You have one vote. You can talk with the other Penguins privately any time. During the Night you choose a victim with your Penguin confederates. Every night, you can choose one player and find out their role. As a practised investigator you know the dark side of the galaxy like your pockets. Now, the notorious Penguin Syndicate has hired you as their PI. Luckily, since nobody else hires you anyway - and that's for a good reason. That P in your title abbreviation does not stand for "private". That's right, you know the dark side perfectly well because you're one with it. Obscurantist You are able to hide the role of your target, if they die. If successful, you will learn their role. If unsuccessful, you can try again. You specialize in finding out the identities of people - dead people, to be exact. Being a hardy investigator yourself, you also know how to hide all evidence from others. Penguin Engineer You are a Penguin. You have one vote. You can talk with the other Penguins privately any time. During the Night you choose a victim with your Penguin confederates. Every night, you can give out a one-use ability to any player, but each type only once during a game. The abilities are suicide (appears as nightkill), protection (doesn't work, and nullifies any protection the user may have for the night they use the ability), role investigation (result is a random role from another alignment) and roleblock (does not block Penguin actions). Building the same mech suits from day to day? Are flamethrowers getting boring? Is your job simply uninteresting? Do you want to work in front lines of the Syndicate? Well now you can! Get your tools, because now your job is to provide your waddling companions high-quality tools... and give your worst failures to the enemy. Role idea by @611 Dreadwing You are a Penguin. You have one vote. You can talk with the other Penguins privately any time. During the Night you choose a victim with your Penguin confederates. Every night, you can choose one player to trap and cancel all their night actions. There are the nice penguins. There are the mean penguins. There are the black-hearted creatures fallen to the Dark Side. All three shudder when your name is mentioned. There is no other like you. On the outside you might look black and white, but inside, you're pure darkness. The King Penguin You are a Penguin. You have one vote. You can talk with the other Penguins privately any time. During the Night you choose a victim with your Penguin confederates. Any investigative roles have no effect on you; the results are the same as if you were a Boring Human. You have a crown. And a comfy throne somewhere safe, where you can lead your evil Syndicate from. But sometimes lousy black-hearted goons and a poor Dreadwing aren't enough to finish a job. Those are the times you must step on the playing field yourself. Disguiser If you are investigated or killed during the night, your role will be shown as the same as your target. As the King, you do have skills that earned you that position. With the trusty old disguise kit of yours, you can assume the role of your target. Role idea by @Apathy Applied Master of Disguise If you are investigated or killed at any point of the game, your role will be shown as the same as your previous target. By default, you are disguised as a Boring Human. Your prowess as a Disguiser has earned you the title of a master. Therefore, you have become the king of the kings. Cultist You are a Cultist. You work alone. You have one vote. Every night, you can choose someone to kill. You win when you're the only one left. They're all heretics. All the fools you see cannot comprehend the true nature of this Universe. You serve powers higher and mightier than anyone has ever seen. Your lords must be satisfied. All must either bow or perish. Preferably perish. Enforcer You survive one murder attempt. As a soldier serving the true order of this universe you must make the heathens believe, one way or another. The one way they die in is definitely the right one. The equipment your lords have given to you protect you from one murder attempt. Hidden Any investigative roles have no effect on you; the results are the same as if you were a Boring Human. Your dark views and eldritch overlords aren't widely accepted. Why make noise about the beliefs you'd get killed for? Your devotion remains a secret. Assassin Nothing can stop your kills. You serve your masters by eliminating high-profile heretics who oppose your faith. Thus, your proficiency in killing is unheard of. Nothing can stop you from killing your targets with one attempt. Arsonist You're unable to perform normal kills. Every night you can either douse one player or ignite, which will kill all doused players at once. Burn the heathens! Dip them in gasoline, oil, erchius, or some other volatile liquid and let the flames consume them in the name of your lords. Role idea by @611 Agaran You are sided with other Agarans. You have one vote. Every night, you can choose someone to infect. The infected have a 50% chance to become Agarans. You win when all remaining players are Agarans. Halhoom? Huh hoom. Nab plesta mesti, nab weepa. Shroomy chop chop! Hairthing, kissface, hoommeat, sillypeck, clankbeast, squishfish, shinybrand, waddlebeak; shroomy smashroom! Smashroom! Hal, hal, halhalhoom! Chieftain During Night, you can protect any Agaran from investigative roles. <Universal Translation error. Language not recognized. Attempting to parse.> Role idea by @Zetlin97 Shadow You are a Shadow. You work alone. Every night, you can either find out the role of a player (unlimited use), roleblock (unlimited use), protect yourself from all harm (two time use), or hide the roles of all players that die that night (one time use). You win when you're one of the two last players alive. Far from the worlds of eternal night, survival is a struggle. Your true form is impossible to comprehend and your motivations are shrouded by darkness. Despite the many secrets, one thing is obvious: you can't fight them all. Patience is the key in your way to the victory. When there is only one left, nothing can stop your shadows. Role idea by @Zetlin97 Poptop You are a Poptop. You know all alignments in the game, and you must choose one to ally with before the second day begins. Your allies will be informed that you have sided with them. You cannot communicate privately with any of your allies. Every night, you can choose one player and find out their role. You win if your allies win or you're the last player alive. You aren't sided with anyone. You're just a Poptop, hopping across the wilderness, singing songs, and eating more or less unsuspecting travellers. However, you could pick a side in this conflict of strange species. You could achieve great things with your newfound friends. But choose wisely, since you can choose only once... Adult You cannot die. You're unable to investigate. If your allies die, you lose and are unable to affect the outcome of the game. You are tough, but not exactly the most subtle of creatures. Better forget the investigating. Alpaca You are an ...Alpaca? You work alone. You have one vote. You win when you are lynched. Your win does not effect the rest of the game. You lose if you're nightkilled or alive when the game ends. You... you? What even are you? A llama? Where did this come from? Some error in the Universe, most likely. You should probably eradicate yourself. Maybe in the next life you'll be something worthwhile. Syndicate You have an ally, and both of you aim to be lynched. If one of you is nightkilled, the other has the following day to be lynched or both of you lose. If one is lynched, the other will be able to survive one nightkill attempt. The Alpaca Syndicate is something that shouldn't ever exist. Yet here it is. You better fix that quick. Role idea by @Zetlin97 ⋙ ✱ ⋘ Activity Rules: Days last 24 hours, and Nights 12 hours. Days end early if a majority is reached in the votes. Nights end early if every player with a Night ability submits their actions before the end of the Night. You must vote at least once every Day. If you have a Night ability, you must tell the GM what you're doing with it in your Role PM conversation, even if you choose to not use it. If you miss votes/night abilities three times, you will be removed from the game. You can submit Night actions in advance during the Day, if you want to. ⋙Player List ⋘ Ryast Jake9039 Witch Cat YOU YOU THERE CMERE AND PLAY AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS ALONG Possible roles: Not yet! May Placey Holda the Penguin keep you company for now.
I'm entirely aware of the shock, and sadness that we all feel from the loss of 611. He was a valuable member of these games, but in the way his message was sent, it sounded like he would want us to continue the penguin syndicate, and the penguin games. So, let us continue with the games, so that we may enjoy those we have, rather than perpetually lose who we lost. I'm trying my best not to sound too cliche, but I hope my message has come across as it was put out there.
Thought of posting about this here too. Mafia Championships are back again! Nominate yourself, I guess? More info here.