Mini 1624: Joss Whedon Mafia: The Musical (Game Over)

[Ms Marangal]

And yes, you blocked our kill that night

[eyestott]

eyestott, don't do that again

Wasnt my fault.
Sorry, though.

Don't tell Skype why you got force-replaced.
Also, don't say "it's an ongoing game but I'm not being specific" when you're not telling Skype why you got force-replaced.

Ah. Yes. That part was my fault. At that time, I didn't know what the correct course of action was, and I believe it was a weekend, so I needed someone's advice on whether I was compromised. I shouldn't have done it, though.

[Ankamius]

Sorry for replacing out. I was already disengaged as it is and the hydra replacing in permanently halted any chance of me being able to.

[Bulbazak]

Postgame will take a little more time. I'll try to have it done by tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

[serrapaladin]

Just had a browse through the PT's and it was interesting to see the amount of thought that went into the scum play. Specifically, the difference after mikuru was dead was pretty visible and has caused me to somewhat re-evaluate my thoughts on the power of an encryptor.

It seems Cabd's gambit somewhat backfired, but mara did very well to push his lynch through that quickly.

As to my vote on jesus: my paranoia on sonic was in part to see who would justify his conf-town status and who would move away from it. The lynchpin was anti flipping town, which caused me to critically look at mara's replace-out again, and it turns out the three of them weren't really active around the site, so the request was legit, but mara didn't consult with skrew/nacho. Once that false town-read was gone, I didn't like the way nacho was standing up for ffery, except when it went down to wire, and MS sounded genuine in our PT.

[Boonskiies]

Sorry for my dumb Night 1 move, Anatole...haha. For some reason I thought I was protecting you.

[Boonskiies]

If I even actually did anything...

[Nachomamma8]

Dude your endgame play was bananas in the most complimentary way possible

[Bulbazak]

Day 1: Antihero replaces BBMolla in pregame.
Serrapaladin is revealed to be an Innocent Child.
LynchMePls requests replacement.
Riddleton requests replacement.
ArcAngel9 requests replacement.
Goblin replaces LynchMePls.
Yoncé replaces Riddleton.
Mikuru replaces ArcAngel9.
Ankamius replaces HypotheticalBassists.
Istott replaces himself with himself (Eyestott). No one really cares...
No one is lynched.

Night 1: Boonskiies gives the lightning rod to Anatole Kuragin. All night actions are redirected to Anatole Kuragin.
Anatole Kuragin role cops Medea the Alien. Lightining Rod redirects the action to himself. Result is 2, which is insane. Would have gotten Vanilla on self. However, he's blocked, so no result.
Egg blocks Murder of Crows. Lightning Rod redirects action to Anatole Kuragin.
Mikuru NKs Yoncé. Lightning Rod redirects the kill to Anatole Kuragin.

Day 2: Ankamius backs up Anatole Kuragin, becoming a Half-Sane Investigative Jack of All Trades, minus the Role Cop ability.
F-16_Fighting_Falcon replaces GreyICE.
Jesusbuddhavrishnathebest replaces Goblin.
Ankamius requests replacement.
Regfan replaces Ankamius.
Town takes advantage of my time extension rule. That's a first...
Time Extension voted for and approved.
Mikuru is lynched. Many a tear is shed in the Scum PT.

Night 2: F-16_Fighting_Falcon NKs Regfan.
Egg blocks Murder of Crows.
Boonskiies gives a 1-shot vig to Medea the Alien to be used on a future night.
Regfan cops F-16_Fighting Falcon. Result is 64, which is sane. F-16 is mafia.

Day 3: Surprise! Yoncé is Marquis and replaces his alt.
Time extension voted for and approved.
Medea the Alien is lynched.

Night 3: Boonskiies gives a 1-shot neighboriser to Eyestott to be used on a future night.
Egg blocks Eyestott.
F-16_Fighting_Falcon NKs Marquis.

Day 4: Whoops. Eystott hears things he shouldn't and has to be replaced. Will elaborate in a later post.
Metal Sonic replaces Eyestott.
Does no one else notice both scum complaining about Eyestott's replacement?
Murder of Crows is lynched.

Night 4: Egg blocks Jesusbuddhavrishnathebest.
Boonskiies gives a 1-shot doc to Serrapaladin to be used on a future night.
F-16_Fighting_Falcon NKs Egg.

Day 5: F-16_Fighting_Falcon is lynched.

Night 5: Serrapaladin protects Boonskiies.
Boonskiies gives a 1-shot deflector to Metal Sonic to be used on a future night.
Metal Sonic neighborizes Serrapaladin.
Jesusbuddhavrishnathebest NKs Boonskiies. Kill fails.

Day 6: Antihero is lynched.

Night 6: Jesusbuddhavrishnathebest NKs Boonskiies.
Metal Sonic arms the deflector to deflect the next action targetting him to Jesusbuddhavrishnathebest.

Day 7: Jesusbuddhavrishnathebest is lynched.

Spoiler: Town Role PMs

Lorne

For the last time... not a coward. I just saw both sides of the joust. How are you supposed to joust someone when you partially agree with their point of view?

You are Lorne, Vanilla Townie. You could feel what was happening from the Music of the Spheres, so you created this pocket dimension for the denizens of the multiple universes to sing their troubles away. Sure, you could use your ability to hone in on who the troublemakers in the group are, but that's not why you're here. You're here to help everyone come to their own decision in the upcoming conflict. As such, you will only contribute your voice and your vote.

You win when you have gotten rid of all anti-town factions.

Best of luck.

Hoban "Wash" Washburne

I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.

You are Hoban "Wash" Washburne, Vanilla Townie. You were piloting the Serenity when you noticed the space around you changed, and you were nearing the surface of a planet that hadn't previously existed. Upon investigating, you became separated from the rest of the crew, and found yourself with a group of strange people. If you are to survive, you must throw your lot in with everyone else. Your only tools in this crisis are your voice and your vote. Who knows, maybe you'll find out some useful information and make some new allies.

You win when you have gotten rid of all anti-town factions.

Best of luck.

River Tam

I remember everything. I remember too much. And some of it's made up, and some of it can't be quantified, and there's secrets...

You are River Tam, Half-Sane Investigative Jack of All Trades. You were drawn to this location after the Serenity landed. Something important is about to happen. Something bad, and you can help. You can see into other people. You can see the truth about them and their actions. Unfortunately, you're not exactly in your right mind. As such, there's a 50% chance that your investigation may be inaccurate.

You have the following 1-shot abilities at your disposal:
Cop
Watcher
Tracker
Follower
Voyeur
Role Cop

Your investigations will be in the form of "You investigated X." followed by the result. Cop results will be given as town/mafia. An insane cop investigation would be the opposite result of what would normally be received. An insane Watcher/Voyeur investigation would say that nothing happened. An insane Follower investigation would be "kill" for anything other than a kill, and "nothing" for a kill. An insane Tracker investigation will tell you that X went to the person who was killed, unless they performed the kill, in which case they would go nowhere. An insane Role Cop investigation would result in a Vanilla result.

You win when you have gotten rid of all anti-town factions.

Best of luck.

Willow Rosenberg

I think this line's mostly filler.

You are Willow Rosenberg, Town Roleblocker. You were drawn into this world by a melodious voice that said you would play a pivotal role during the upcoming battle. Each night you can use your magical powers to freeze someone in place, rendering any abilities they have moot.

You win when you have gotten rid of all anti-town factions.

Best of luck.

Dawn Summers

Does anybody even notice? Does anybody even care?

You are Dawn Summers, Innocent Child. You found a portal that transported you to this world, where a mysterious, melodious voice told you that you were the key to the future and that everyone is counting on your purity to lead them forward.

You will be mod confirmed as town during the opening messages of the day. You win when you have gotten rid of all anti-town factions.

Best of luck.

Echo

Did I fall asleep?

You are Echo, Town Universal Backup. You are not sure how you got here, but then again, it doesn't really matter. While you are here, you might as well make a difference. As a doll, you may back up the abilities of the first PR to die. You will back up the role in the state it was in at the time of death, so if there were abilities that had already been used, you cannot make a copy of them.

You win when you have gotten rid of all anti-town factions.

Best of luck.

You have backed up River Tam, the Half-Sane Investigative Jack of All Trades. Unfortunately, you're still not in your right mind. As such, there's a 50% chance that your investigation may be inaccurate.

You have the following 1-shot abilities at your disposal:
Cop
Watcher
Tracker
Follower
Voyeur

Your investigations will be in the form of "You investigated X." followed by the result. Cop results will be given as town/mafia. An insane cop investigation would be the opposite result of what would normally be received. An insane Watcher/Voyeur investigation would say that nothing happened. An insane Follower investigation would be "kill" for anything other than a kill, and "nothing" for a kill. An insane Tracker investigation will tell you that X went to the person who was killed, unless they performed the kill, in which case they would go nowhere.

Dr. Horrible

And I won't feel a thing.

You are Dr. Horrible, Town Inventor. The sensors in your evil lair detected a dimensional anomaly. Upon investigating, you found yourself stranded in a different world with a bunch of strangers. To make matters worse, someone is killing people off one by one. It is in your best interest to use your knowledge of villains to find the culprits. Thankfully, you've brought the following tools with you:

Mind Link
Death Ray
Shield
Deflector
Lightning Rod

Once per night, you can give someone other than yourself one of these tools to use. Unfortunately, you don't know when they'll be able to use the inventions or what they do. Also, once you have given an invention away, it is gone, so choose wisely.

You win when you have gotten rid of all anti-town factions.

Best of luck.

Marty Mikalski

We are not who we are.

You are Marty Mikalski, Vanilla Townie. You're not sure exactly how you got here. Actually, you're not exactly sure where here is, but you're kinda high, so who cares. While you're here you might as well help the rest of the group do something useful. Unfortunately, all you have are your voice and your vote.

You win when you have gotten rid of all anti-town factions.

Best of luck.

Steve Berg

Su-su-su-su-sussudio.

You are Steve Berg, Vanilla Townie. As an extra, people tend to have a hard time picking you out of a crowd (Hint: you're the one in the middle.). In a way, I guess that makes you expendable.

Your only tools are your voice and your vote. You win when you have gotten rid of all anti-town factions.

Best of luck.

Spike

Let me rest in peace.

You are Spike, Town Bulletproof. You followed Dawn when she wandered through a mysterious portal. After all, if anything were to happen to her, Buffy would kill you. Thankfully, as a vampire, you're not susceptible to conventional weaponry, meaning that you're essentially bulletproof. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that you can't be killed, so you better be careful.

You win when you have gotten rid of all anti-town factions.

Best of luck.

Spoiler: Scum Role PMs

Angel

Nothing we do matters. There's no grand plan, no big win. If there's no great, glorious end to this, nothing we do matters. All that matters is what we do. 'Cause that's all there is. What we do. Today.

You are Angel, Mafia Bulletproof. You have been to Hell and back, literally. You have seen people you've loved killed and used by the hands of evil. You've been promised redemption and a reward, only to have that hope taken from you at the last minute. And throughout it all, you've kept fighting. But now you're tired. So when Coulson comes to you with a plan to end the suffering of a universe with little collateral damage, you leap at the chance.

As a vampire, you are impossible to kill via conventional weaponry. You cannot be killed by bullets, since you are already dead. However, sunlight can, and will, kill you, so try not to be put in a situation where you can be exposed to the sun, i.e. via rope. Your partners are F-16_Fighting_Falcon, who is Captain Hammer,Mafia Strongman, and Mikuru, who is Phil Coulson, Mafia Encryptor. You may talk to them here.

You win when you make up a majority of the town.

Best of luck.

Captain Hammer

A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do...

You are Captain Hammer, Mafia Strongman. You have been humiliated by a low level villain and have had the love of your life stolen from you. Well, mostly that humiliation part. So when Coulson comes to you with the information that your suffering was because of the will of one entity, you, of course, want revenge. And if you should happen to come across Dr. Horrible along the way, then you will make sure that he faces the full force of your hammer. And by hammer, we mean fist this time.

Your superstrength ensures that your kill always goes through. Your partners are Jesusbuddhavrishnathebest, who is Angel, Mafia Bulletproof, and Mikuru, who is Phil Coulson, Mafia Encryptor. You may talk to them here.

You win when you make up a majority of the town.

Best of luck.

Phil Coulson

I need skilled assets in the field who are willing to step over the line, to do the wrong thing but for the right reason.

You are Phil Coulson, Mafia Encryptor. Your time writing the alien symbols left you with the impression that something wasn't right with the universe. A quick scan proved that assumption correct. The walls of reality were weakening. The universe was breaking down. Several days later you were contacted by another organization, one that had been keeping track of this phenomenon from the beginning and had developed a way to fight it. They told you that an entity by the name of Joss Whedon was messing with the stability of multiple universes and was playing with people's lives. The weakening walls was evidence that he was taking his meddling one step further and creating a pocket dimension that the various universes could bleed into, an action that could result in the destruction of all the various universes. However, this very action would leave him weak enough to be killed. You were given tech to cross the universal threshold and kill Whedon. Unfortunately, your team was busy with the fight against HYDRA, and you didn't want to bother them with this new concern. You, therefore, crossed the various dimensions in search of a new team to do the job.

As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, you have the equipment and experience necessary to ensure that your team is successful. As long as you are around, your team can confer with each other at any time they'd like. The team you've gathered for this mission is Jesusbuddhavrishnathebest, who is Angel, Mafia Bulletproof, and F-16_Fighting_Falcon, who is Captain Hammer, Mafia Strongman. You may talk to them here.

You win when you make up a majority of the town.

Best of luck.

Spoiler: Inventions

Death Ray

You have been given a Death Ray, a weapon that is proficient in killing its target. Once during a night, you may target a player to kill. This ability can only be used once, so choose wisely.

Mind Link

You have been given the Mind Link, an experimental head set that will allow you to communicate telepathically with 1 person. Unfortunately, it looks like it will take some time for you to figure out how it works. On any future night, you may choose 1 person to link up with. At the end of that night, a neighborhood will be created where you both may talk at any time. This ability may only be used once, so choose wisely.

Shield

You have been given a portable force shield. Once on any future night, you may choose someone to protect. That person will be protected from any night kills.

Deflector

You have been given the deflector, a belt that should keep unsavory characters away from you. On the next night, you will arm the belt and choose another player. The next ability that would target you will redirect to that player instead. If that player is dead when the redirection occurs, then the action that targets you will fail instead.

PTs:
Dead PT
Scum PT
Neighborhood PT

Spoiler: Off Screen Flavor

You hit the ground hard. You look at the charred metal across from you. Your fingers are burning. You ignore that and attempt to get up. There’s a sudden shock and pressure and pain. You fall back down on the pavement, and everything goes black.

***

There’s a woman across from you in the blackness. You know her name is Caroline, although you’re not sure how.

“Am I dead?” you ask.

She looks like she is about to say something, but she is distracted and disappears, leaving you alone in the blackness. You think you can barely hear rain, and what sounds like music and somebody talking. A sensation of dread washes over you. You don’t know how, but Caroline is about to die.

You had just finished talking to Paul in your head space when a dark haired girl appeared across from you. Although you knew she wasn't one of your imprints, you could swear she still looked familiar.

"Am I dead?" she asks.

You open your mouth to respond, but you hear something stirring in the real world.

***

You wake to see a man in a shining white suit. The brightness of the suit keeps you from discerning his features.

"Hello Echo." he says. "I have something to ask of you."

There's a melodic quality to his voice.

"There's a woman in my head." you say. "She doesn't belong there."

"It looks like the chair won't be necessary then." he says. "It seems she's reached out to you."

He steps forward, putting his thumbs close to your temples.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to make room for her abilities and give her control."

"Will I fall asleep?"

"Yes."

"For a little while?"

"I'm afraid it's going to be much longer than that, and for that, I am so sorry."

***

Caroline reappeared in the head space. River was curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth.

"I thought I was dead," River said. "But all I did was pass the death along."

Caroline walked up and placed her hand on River's shoulder.

"Don't worry. It'll be alright. I've done this plenty of times."

"No." River stopped rocking and looked at her. "You're going to die."

Caroline felt cold. She looked down at her hands. They were starting to fade.

"I'm scared." she said.

River rocked back and forth.

"We are not who we are. We are not who we are. We are not who we are..."

***

River opened her eyes. It was dark, and it was cold, and it had stopped raining. The voices were so loud.

I guess I do kinda get props for killing River Tam twice this game...

You close your eyes and feel the rope constrict. You're expecting a drop, but there's nothing. Slowly you open your eyes. You are in a large white room.

"I really expected more from you."

You turn around. Fury is walking toward you.

"Sir?"

"Don't 'Sir' me, Coulson." Fury says. "I don't know what you think you're seeing, but you need to realize that it's not the truth."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Think of this as a dream state, induced by me so that we can talk before you die. You see whatever you want here, and your perception of me is dependent on what your subconscious is trying to tell you."

"So I'm supposed to believe that I'm seeing you as Fury because I would think he'd be disappointed in me."

"Makes sense. I thought you were here to rally the troops, so to speak. I could see your potential as soon as you entered into my world."

"So I take it you're Joss Whedon?"

"Who? I don't know what you've been told, but it's a lie. A convenient fiction to make you more pliable." Fury stops just inches from you and looks you in the eyes. "There's a storm coming, Coulson. It was my hope that you'd be the key to stopping it, but turns out that I'm wrong. However, I don't think that you being here is a waste."

"Hence our discussion?"

"Hence our discussion. I think you might just have an idea who can turn the tide."

"How much time do we have here?"

"As much as we need. I'll even toss in some dream time for good measure and let you sail into that good night in peace."

"And what do I dream of?"

"How about Tahiti? I hear it's a magical place."

You opened your eyes. Coulson had given you the information you wanted, and you were sure that it would be put to good use. Things were not going the way you had foreseen, and that was troubling. You move your hand and feel it bump into something that wasn’t there before. You look down and see a gun.

Maybe it’s time you even the odds a bit.

River walked along the outside of the warehouse trying to hone in on her target. This body was so new that she wasn’t even sure she could focus her ability. Then she felt the vision flooding over her. A man standing over a young girl’s body, his hands dripping blood. She recognized the girl. She had seen her wandering aimlessly in her previous life. She was the girl in the white room, the one whose body River was inhabiting.

River heard footsteps behind her. She turned and briefly saw the man in question before being thrown into the air and against the wall. She could feel the life ebbing from her. Her second life had ended just like the first: broken and silent.

You were back in the Music of the Spheres. You had hoped everyone could reconcile their differences, but that was not to be. On the way back, you had dumped the Death Ray. You probably shouldn't be making those decisions anyway. It was up to them now.

Silently, you watched.

You’re not sure when, but you passed out at some point in the night. When you awoke, you found a weird sort of helmet. It looks incomplete, but still functional. You take another hit from your bong. This could be far out, man.

You were keeping an eye on Dawn, just like you had been doing since you got here. After all, Buffy would never forgive you if anything happened to her. You barely registered the hands on the side of your head before it was pulled clean off, leaving only darkness. Being damned, it’s a one way trip to Hell for you. At least you did your best.

The attack was sudden, and you quickly found yourself on the ground. Then the first fist hit you with the force of a sledgehammer. Over and over again he hit you, but really, you were dead after the first blow.

You woke up to find a weird device sitting nearby. It looked like a remote with a single button, and attached to it was a half torn tag with "rce shield" written on it. You have no idea what was originally written on it, but it says shield, so it must be good.

You press a button, and the beam projects a field outward. It looks like it will only protect someone else. That's okay. It's still pretty cool.

You didn't want to believe it, but you could only conclude that Angel was involved in the killings. You deviate from your normal patrol route, searching for him. You plan on casting a spell to keep him immobilized, that way you can be absolutely sure. You finally see Angel rapidly approaching another man. You cast your immobilization spell, locking Angel into place. The other man looks up and sees you. He aims a gun at you, and the last thing you see and hear is a blinding light and the sound of thunder.

It wasn't them trying to hang you that was surprising, or the fact that they used chains instead of rope. They were scared. You had expected that, knowing that you could take whatever they threw at you. No, what surprised you was the way Angel turned on you, leaping at you and dragging you down, the igniting spark that resulted in the town you had wanted to fear you to be able to make good on their threats. I guess you weren't invincible after all...

You tracked down Dawn during the night. She seemed to be concentrating very hard on something and didn't notice you, but that's okay. You attach the connected pads to her head and put on the headset. Whatever has her attention keeps her from noticing this, but the transfer is enough to make her start to buckle. You feel it as well, as thought and emotion fly into your head. They coalesce into a bright light that seems to cleanse and clear you, renewing you and giving you purpose.

"Well that was unexpected." you say, and the thought echoes in your head as you hear a far off sigh and feel another drift off to sleep.

*snip*

After the rush that was the mind link, you take off the helmet. You can still hear Dawn rattling around in there. Her dreams of unicorns and centaurs are very distracting. You glance beside you and see a belt that wasn't there before. It seems to be of a similar aesthetic as the mind link.

"This could be handy." you think, as you pick it up.

You take up a position within sight of Boonskiies and ready your shield. The force field projects out and remains steady. You notice minor fluctuations here or there, but by adjusting the settings on the shield emitter, you are able to keep the field stable. Suddenly you feel hazy and drained. You seem to be unable to keep your mind clear and are unable to focus on the calibrations needed to keep the field up. Your eyes grow heavy as you feel your legs collapsing from underneath you.

As you hit the ground, you can hear a strange voice in your head say, "Well that was unexpected."

In the Music of the Spheres, Lorne shook his head. In another reality Wash would die uttering the exact same words after landing the Serenity safely on the surface of Mr. Galaxy's planet. It just seemed like some people were destined to die.

There was going to be one more bit of death flavor, the one for Dr. Horrible, but I wanted that one to be a little more thought out than the last few had been. Unfortunately, the game ended before I could craft the message, leaving Boonskiies outside of the Dead PT. Sorry about that Boon... Anyway, I decided to continue working on it for completion's sake, and here it is for your reading pleasure. Oh, and please imagine your own musical score. It will make things more impressive.

Spoiler: Dr. Horrible Death Scene - Good Night

You wander aimlessly tonight. There are no more inventions left to give, and as such, you're not sure what to do with yourself. Besides, you're not really sure how effective your gadgets have been in the grand scheme of this conflict. You feel uncertain of the future as you begin to question all your actions up to this point.

You're so lost in thought that you don't notice the figure approaching you until it's too late. With startling speed, he plunges a stake through your heart. You fall to the ground as he yanks it back out. The shock makes you gasp. You try to focus on his face, making out his handsome features, recognizing him as the one who had pulled down Hammer. Your mouth tries to form words, but nothing comes out. You notice that everything's starting to lose it's color. You always imagined that you would die relishing the memories of your evil deeds, but now that you're in this situation, none of that comes to mind. Instead, there is only regret.

And then She's there. She's radiant, more beautiful than you can remember. Her incandescent glow is the only thing keeping the fading world at bay. You try to force your lips to form syllables. "P-p-p" is all you manage.

She smiles at you.

"Will you lend a helping hand to shelter those who need it?"

She smiles at you, but you feel so distant from her. You do not want to die alone.

"Don't leave me." you stammer.

She smiles at you as she bends down and holds out her hand. A tear rolls down your face. You feel lighter now as you stand up and join her. You don't care that the world is fading away.

"Keep your head up Billy Buddy..."

[Bulbazak]

Okay, about Eyestott. He ended up being in a post-Skype Mafia call when I gave Tammy access to the Dead PT. It was mentioned that scum was likely to win the game before anyone noticed that he was there. It was my fault for not enforcing the Ongoing Games rule sooner and keeping the discussion from commencing. However, I felt that there was nothing said at the time to warrant an immediate force replace (causing me to feel really bad). However, the next game day Eyestott sent me a message saying that the comment caused him to reconsider his view of the game. While his thoughts on the matter probably wouldn't have influenced the game too much (he reconsidered F-16 and thought that Murder might now be scum, both opinion which might have been influenced by play), the very fact of him reconsidering meant that he was compromised as a player. As such, I was forced to replace him (Again, so so sorry.). I was hoping that would be enough to minimize the damage, although I was not aware of his asking advice on Skype (For someone who just finished playing a game of Skype mafia with him and has the Skype mafia thread bookmarked, I surprisingly don't have access to the chat he posted in. And although he says he deleted it immediately upon knowing it was a no-no, I can't really confirm what happened.). Suffice to say that I tried to get a replacement in that slot immediately to minimize damage to the game (the conf. town read), and I was particularly looking for a player who could bring confusion into the slot, either via lurking or knee jerk play (Metal Sonic was my second choice, but was the first to get back to me.). Metal Sonic ended up making the slot even more obv. town, which kinda defeated the purpose. It also didn't help that the only ones complaining about it were the scum team, who up to that point had the game in the bag. They kinda slit their own throats on that one...

And that's the game. Admittedly, non-musical flavor was not as strong as it could have been, which is mainly due to me winging it most of the time. Also, there were several holdovers from the original version of the game setup, which I feel kept the game from being stronger overall. However, I think things turned out quite well. What do you think? What suggestions do you have both in terms of flavor, story, and setup/gameplay for the sequel? I'm still in the design phase, so I'll definitely take everything into account.

[F-16_Fighting_Falcon]

Thanks for modding Bulb. The only thing I disagree with is specifically choosing a replacement based on how the mod thinks they would play. Overall, I had fun. Would pre-in for the next one.

[Bulbazak]

Oh, that wasn't the deciding factor. I was trying to get a replacement into that slot as quickly as possible. I went with my Skype contact list first, which only left ProHawk, but once he didn't get back to me, I looked at who was online in the Site Chat. I saw MS, knew he would respond, and the idea that he might temper the obv. town reads on the slot crossed my mind. I viewed that slot as time sensitive, and my first priority was to diminish the damage.

[Bulbazak]

I like role-heavy games as long as they're not too swingy, and this seemed somewhat balanced. The strongman dying, and the potential of redirecting a kill onto scum are potentially swingy, but otherwise I really like the setup. Maybe the third scum PR could be rolecop/blocker rather than BP?

The BPs were actually a remnant of my original design. Buffy was originally in the game as a Strongman Vigilante. The reasoning was that by means of being vampires, Spike and Angel were essentially bulletproof, while Buffy, the Slayer, was able to slay such vampires. Unfortunately, my not wanting to scale her back any, along with finding any attempts to modify the role to result in an incredibly unbalanced game, led to my scrapping Buffy. Angel was in as a remnant of what the plot was originally going to be (I changed this at the last moment when I decided for sure I was going to do a sequel.), and Spike was to create a red herring (and someone for Buffy to stab in the original.). Granted, both were probably not needed, but by that point, I was kinda stuck on the idea of the two of them being in together. Also, I had designed the scum team as Coulson/Hammer/Angel from the beginning, and I was loath to come up with a replacement for Angel.

Also, I love the flavour! Once more with feeling and Dr. Horrible are two of my favourite things. Can I pre-in for your next Joss Whedon game, bulb?

Absolutely! I already have a pre-in from Eyestott as well. If there were any other pre-ins I forgot, just let me know. I'm actually starting design work on the sequel right now, and I can tell you to expect more flavor in comparison to the end. In fact, the first day is probably going to be heavily plotted out ahead of time.

Also, if you liked music as a substitute for flavor, than I'd suggest you check out my next large theme, which should be in signups soon.

@Cabd: So now that the game is over, you made a comment earlier about game design and it depending on what kind of mod I am:

That depends if you see bulbazak being a more cabd style game designer or a more jasont style game designer

So what kind of game designer to you think I am? Please be specific. I think this could be an interesting post-game discussion.

[SleepyKrew]

I was particularly looking for a player who could bring confusion into the slot, either via lurking or knee jerk play

That's... really not okay.

[Metal Sonic]

finding a competent player to replace into this elite game seems okay though

The issue is looking for a specific playstyle, which happens not to be the case I don't think

[Metal Sonic]

How many pre in slots do you have

[Metal Sonic]

Is f 16 available to pre in as f22?

[eyestott]

Only thing i can think of: I cant really see an optimal play for your inventor, as they have no idea of knowing whether their invention will be given to the target, or used on the target, forcing them to generally give it to null reads.

[Bulbazak]

finding a competent player to replace into this elite game seems okay though

Timeliness was also an important factor. I wanted that slot filled pronto, which is why I looked for a replacement personally, instead of putting the name in the replacement queue.

How many pre in slots do you have

Given that it's a 25 player game, I'd say 7, 3 of which are now filled up (I'm counting yours). That being said, there are some people who have free pre-ins that could be used as a golden ticket if the slots fill up.

Which reminds me, I forgot to announce... The things I know now:

Joss Whedon Epic Mafia

will be a 25 player game with bastard mechanics. These mechanics are in place to make sure that the setup as a whole will work, so don't expect a game where the mod is purposely trying to mess with you. Also, as Ikaruga Mafia and this game have shown, expect a certain amount of swing. I'll try to reduce it, but no promises on it not being swingy. I thought you might want to know...

Only thing i can think of: I cant really see an optimal play for your inventor, as they have no idea of knowing whether their invention will be given to the target, or used on the target, forcing them to generally give it to null reads.

That's the general danger with inventors, especially in theme games that emphasize flavor. I really thought "Lightning Rod" would have been a good indicator of what the invention did, though.

[eyestott]

What I mean is, because the inventor was a mixture of one shot givers and one shot abilities, there's no way to pick the correct target for a death ray, as you have no idea if you'll give a kill to the target, in which case it should go to your top townread, or or if you'll kill the target, in which case the complete opposite applies. It's fine if you're not told at the start whether your inventions are gifts or actions, as long as they all work that way. Generally, a jack of all trades has all one shots, and an inventor has all gifts. I mean, surely an inventor would know if he's gonna shoot his target or give a gun to them. Having it be a mixture makes it closer to a dreaming God, in a way. Even If I knew what each inventor worked but not if it was a gift or an action, I would have no idea who to use the death ray on, etc.

[Bulbazak]

I see what you mean. My justification for the lightning rod was that the inventor was physically giving the invention, and the lightning rod was what attracted the lightning (it's ability), rather than the giftee receiving it and pointing it elsewhere.

[Bulbazak]

It's like if one of the invention was a bulletproof vest. The giftee wouldn't receive a vest to use on someone else, but rather, they'd be the one wearing it from the moment the inventor targeted them.

[serrapaladin]

Doesn't a shield protect the bearer?

[Bulbazak]

The Shield was the 1-shot doc (I didn't want another BP.). Actually, if you look at the associated flavor and work backwards, the tag on the invention would have read "force shield", hinting that it was a force field emitter. This was consistent in all flavor featuring the device.

[Equinox]

Mine?