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So, this topic is created specifically for discussing various game variations. Here you can post your ideas for game themes, role descriptions, and other related things. Please refrain from flooding and going off-topic here, and stick to the subject. There is a separate topic for general discussion. Best of luck to all diligent game masters!

I think we could try a version with two Mafia factions. There are enough players.

I'm for a simple mafia game without any cyberpunk or aliens (since you don't want fantasy:p). But I agree with Ama about having 2 mafia groups, say 3-4 people in each! In short: I'm "in"!:) If someone is going to be the GM, I can help with the clues (we've had boring clues, like "look at the avatar with a magnifying glass" or just translate a phrase:D, I want something like "Iron Maiden":cool: ...)

Here is a rough draft:

Setting: Las Vegas.

Town:

Millionaire - 2 votes.
Status: good

Policeman - No action - checks statuses or protects against an attack.
Status: good

Doctor - No action - revives or deprives a character of their ability for the next night (malicious healing).
Status: good

Casino Owner - No action - blocks a character's ability (a blocked character cannot be killed). Turns an ordinary townsman, doctor, or policeman into a drunkard (loses previous abilities).
Status: bad

Drunkard - No action - observes a character. Does not have a home. Sees the killer of the observed victim.
Status: bad

Private Detective - No action - checks statuses, can hack the police database to find out the statuses of players checked by the policeman (once every two nights).
Status: good

Townsman - no special abilities
Status: good

Russian Mafia:

Boss - No action - kill.
Status: good

Gangster - No action - kill.
Status: bad

Corrupt Policeman - No action - kill or hack the police database (once every two nights, starting from the second night).
Status: bad

Triad:

Dragon Head (or Triad Boss) - has a 50% chance of avoiding death.
Status: good

Triad Member - No action - kill.
Status: bad

Raider - No action - blocks the Casino Owner (both remain unknown to each other) or kill (can block once every two nights, starting from the second night).
Status: bad

Comment:
I think the bosses need something added to their abilities, but I haven't decided what yet.

Added 1 minute ago
But in general, this is for 20 people...

Hmm, I think it'll work, but there need to be more abilities for the Russian faction... like, summoning bear paratroopers and stuff like that:)
And also, something seems off with the casino owner – is it that he can get innocent citizens drunk every night? That's not good for the city, though 0:-

I just want to create a wider range of options in the endgame. So that players can better plan their actions. And the casino owner, firstly, doesn't encourage them to drink, but simply "robs" them (the citizen leaves all their possessions in the establishment), and secondly, he still saves them.

I support the Las Vegas idea; maybe we can also get some local poker players involved. The abilities are a bit vague, even though they're original... I still don't understand the idea about the 50% chance of defense from the previous Mafia game. If it were played in real life, it could be determined publicly with a coin toss, but how can such a chance be calculated online so that both sides believe in its impartiality? I just don't get it:confused:. I'm for canceling it (it would be better to replace it with 100% protection from one attack, and then – that's it, they're dead). And still, I don't want a herd of passive voting roles; we need to come up with small roles for everyone:rolleyes:!

I really don't understand, no matter how hard I try.

It is necessary to fully trust the Game Master. Just like when assigning roles.

It's essential to come up with minor roles for everyone.

Then, please give me this role:
Poker Player.
ND: has a 50% chance to win $1 million.
The next night, after winning, he leaves the country. He votes via SMS. Therefore, he cannot be killed. :D
The role of an ordinary citizen is probably the most frustrating, especially when you get hanged :D

Two Mafia +
Las Vegas +

I still don't understand the idea of a 50% chance of protection from the previous Mafia game. It would be okay if everything was played in real life; then, this could be determined publicly by flipping a coin. But how can such a chance be calculated in an online game so that both sides believe in its impartiality? I really don't understand.

reply

You need to fully trust the Game Master, just as you do when assigning roles.

Exactly. After all, it's just a game.

Still, I don't want a herd of passive voting roles; it's necessary to come up with small roles for everyone.

There's a catch here. In Mafia, you need to decipher not only the clues but also, in general, reconstruct the sequence of events that occurred during the night. Moreover, the difficulty of the first depends directly on the number of non-detectable roles (ND). Therefore, the more ND there are (and it doesn't make sense to make each one unique), the greater the chance that players will simply get confused.
Example: Let's say that 2 murders and 3 other ND actions occurred during the night.
1) You need to determine who killed (which group) and who was killed (who they were).
2) Determine blocks, resurrections, protection, and other actions.
3) Decipher the clues and hang someone.
And, judging by my observations, in most cases, players rush to decipher the clues (point 3), partially or completely ignoring point 1. And they leave point 2 more or less untouched, although, in my opinion, it is the most important.
Let's say there are 2 options for each case. And there are 4-5 cases. Calculate the number of combinations yourself. ;)
Therefore, you need to be careful with ND roles; any small detail can create a major mess

Yes, I meant not additional non-player characters, but something like special daytime rights for these residents. For example, after winning at the casino at night (and bankrupting it:D), such an ordinary citizen could officially buy it during the day - then the previous owner becomes either an ordinary resident or a drunkard... Or something else along those lines.
Another idea: if two bosses meet at night (let's say, one goes to kill the other: accidentally, of course), they unite, like in a monopoly:D. The one who went to kill should remain the main one, and the second, in exchange for his life, agrees to cooperate:rolleyes:...
But the downside of such "cooperation" is that only one murder is possible per night for the two mafias (now effectively one). Although, in return, you could add the right to recruit (give it to the former boss).

For example, after winning at the casino at night (and going bankrupt), an ordinary citizen can officially buy it during the day – then the previous owner becomes either an ordinary resident or a drunkard... Or something else along those lines.

And then try to figure out who is who. For example, getting rid of the casino owner is very beneficial for the Mafia. And just when they were about to identify him based on clues, he went bankrupt and became an ordinary resident.

Another idea: if two Mafia bosses meet at night (let's say, one goes to kill the other – accidentally, of course), they merge, like in a monopoly. The one who went to kill should remain the leader, and the second, in exchange for his life, agrees to cooperate...
But the downside of this "cooperation" is that only one assassination is possible per night for the two Mafia groups (now effectively one). However, in return, you could add the right to recruit (give it to the former boss).

Where are the downsides here? Let's say each Mafia group has 2 members. That is, a total of 4 people. And then they merge, and there are 8 of them (!), 8 players who know each other, and with a total number of players, say, 20, they get a majority of the votes already on the 2nd day. That is, as soon as one boss finds another, the Mafia wins automatically.

I think your system has a significant flaw that really spoils the game. There are even several of them. Firstly, Mafia is much more interesting to play if it involves negotiation. What's the point of finding out the role of someone on your side if you can't cooperate with them in any way? Also, I would change the ratio between in-game and real-world days. The fact that several in-game days are played in one real-world day makes it difficult to follow the game (unless you're at the computer all day, of course ^^), and it also starts to generate too much chatter. Although, of course, it's a matter of personal preference. Communication between players would add more variety to the game, but it would become quite cumbersome, as not everyone will add all the players to their instant messenger, and there's no private tag, so only direct messages are a reliable option, but it's very cumbersome.

First of all, it's much more interesting to play Mafia if the game involves negotiation. What's the point of finding out the role of someone who is on your side if you can't cooperate with them in any way?

The number of Town members is at least twice the number of Mafia members. In this case, what kind of agreement can we even talk about?

Also, I would change the ratio of in-game day to real-world day. The fact that several in-game days pass in one real day makes it difficult to follow the game (if you're not spending the whole day at the computer, of course ^^), and it also leads to too much chatter. Although, of course, everyone has their own preferences.

Well, this is a rather ambiguous point. On the one hand, I agree that you need to follow the game very often, but on the other hand, I really don't want to wait for 1-2 players if their votes, for example, won't change anything anymore.

Communication between players would add more variety to the game, but it would also be quite cumbersome, as not everyone will add all the players to their ICQ, and there is no private tag, so only PMs are a reliable option, but it's very cumbersome.

Metagaming? Like, I know for sure that you're a good guy, and I'm a good guy too - let's vote and play together? Or what? The Mafia members communicate with each other anyway, as do the sheriff and sergeant in the second Mafia game, and the blood brothers in the third. By the way, PMs are not the most reliable way (hello, moderators;)).

Added 13 minutes ago
Setting - Las Vegas.

Town:

Millionaire - 2 votes.
Status: good

Policeman - ND - checks statuses or protects from attack. Knows the prosecutor.
Status: good

Prosecutor - 50% protection from attacks, checks statuses. Knows the policeman.

Doctor - ND - revives or deprives of ND for the next night (malicious healing).
Status: good

Casino Owner - ND - blocks the ND of a character (the blocked character cannot be killed). Turns an ordinary town member, doctor, or policeman into a drunkard (loses previous abilities).
Status: bad

Drunkard - ND - observes a character. Does not have his own house. Sees the killer of the observed victim.
Status: bad

Private Detective - ND - checks statuses, can hack the police database to find out the statuses of players checked by the policeman (once every two nights).
Status: good

Town Member - no special abilities.
Status: good

Russian Mafia:

Boss - ND - kill.
Status: good

Henchman - ND - kill.
Status: bad

Corrupt Policeman - ND - kill or hack the police database (once every two nights, starting from the second).
Status: bad

Mad Ivan - ND - kill. Ignores protection, but dies along with its owner.

Triad:

Dragon Head (or Triad Boss) - has a 50% chance of avoiding death.
Status: good

Triad Member - ND - kill.
Status: bad

Raider - ND - blocks the Casino Owner (both remain unknown to each other) or kill (can block once every two nights, starting from the second).
Status: bad

Drug Dealer - ND - tries to get the victim hooked on drugs. Affects drunkards. As a result, the drunkard loses ND, and the player's nickname becomes known to the Mafia. The drunkard learns the nickname of the drug dealer.

Only 1 check is allowed, as well as one kill for any of the Mafia.

Basically, a slightly expanded setting, although I don't really like it, because it's easy to get confused:rolleyes:

They are superior. So what? The Mafia players initially know each other. And among the rest, only Serge and Kom know each other. This is the Mafia's advantage. I don't understand what scares you so much about players being able to negotiate. I really don't understand, explain it to me like I'm an idiot.
And what does the metagame have to do with it? You find out a player's status, you contact them. If you're not sure and you contact them, then you're just stupid, you might end up contacting a Mafia player, blabbing too much, and getting punished. What's the problem?

It's all quite simple: by agreement, they will execute this person once, and secondly, the Mafia will no longer be able to pin the night kill on someone else.
The main point of the game is the confrontation between an organized minority and an unorganized majority.