Mafia Opinions/Changes Thread
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 4:34 am
Hey, Mafia players! With Mafia returning, and us welcoming a third GM to the team, I would like to take an opportunity to gather some information and discussion about the features and rules of Mafia based on player feedback and general opinions. Every once in a while, a poll will be set up in this thread to gather information and opinions on a Mafia-related topic, and the Mafia player-base (and the GMs!) can discuss these opinions and see if we can make any changes or compromises to better appeal to the players.
I would like to make it absolutely clear from the beginning that opinions expressed here, even if they are of a majority vote, will not reflect any definitive changes to the game, they will just be used to gather some otherwise unknown feedback and make it easier for the GMs to communicate with the players on issues, possibly allowing us to make changes that suit everyone perfectly.
-Revision 1: Mandatory Lynching-
To kick things off, I would like to bring up the widely debated hot topic of mandatory lynching. Many players seem opposed to it, while others agree it is a core element to Mafia.
For clarification, mandatory lynching has been a Mafia rule since its induction on this forum, and is one of the most core elements to Mafia. At some point, which is still exactly unknown, the enforcement of mandatory lynching started to become lax, until it was almost nonexistent, and players accustomed themselves to things such as "safety voting" or just not voting at all. From an actual rulings standpoint, "safety" votes do not really exist nor differentiate themselves from not voting at all at the time, whereas not voting at all should create a Knife-in-the-Box against every single living player, essentially giving a completely random death.
Mandatory lynching is, for the most part, a crucial part of Mafia, as it not only encourages activity among the non-special roles (townies), but it also creates the risky atmosphere of Mafia that has seemed to have diminished recently, and it encourages teamwork and interrogations. When mandatory lynching is removed from the game (regardless if it's removed for a single phase or the whole game), it gives the town a significant upper hand as they can forgo lynching people and rely on the town's kill and inspection roles (vigilante and seer/sheriff respectively) to deal with the Mafia. This tactic has been observed many times where mandatory lynching is not around, and it more often than not results in a Town victory because of this advantage.
Just as a general proposition, a rule could possibly be implemented that allows each player a single safety vote that they can use in a game, or the current "safety voting" rules should be looked over again and possibly reworked. Lets hear your opinions on this subject. Remember to remain civil in the thread, and if you have further opinions or questions you would like to add, do not hesitate to post in the thread about them! We are open for discussion.
-Revision 2: Third Parties-
Third parties have been a pretty interesting topic in Mafia as of recently, and it appears most games, if not all of them, feature some form of third party.
The original third party role was the Serial Killer, which had a simple lone-wolf style of gameplay, featured a single killing role, and some variations featured nightkill immunity. The third party's typical goal is to be the last person standing, so that presents a challenge that only the most witty, manipulative, and sneaky players could seem to pull off. Since the Serial Killer, other third party roles have been introduced, such as the famous Arsonist, Voodoo Lady, and Penguin.
The third party opens up an opportunity for especially complex and unique roles to fill its position, expressing a game creator's creativity, but it's always presented with a big question; is a third party always necessary? In most scenarios, specifically in larger games of 18 to 20 players, a third party might seem like a good idea to add a heightened sense of insecurity and a bit of suspense, with multiple kills happening each night, also giving the Mafia a bit of an edge to work against. However, some games appear to have third parties shoehorned in for the sake of having a third party, and this can lead to an over-powered third party, an under-powered third party, or just a generally uninteresting third party.
What are your opinions on third parties? Should there be rule restrictions on third parties, at the risk of limiting creativity? Are third parties fine as they stand now? Lets hear what you have to say about them.
-Revision 3: Special Roles-
Special roles (also known as blues, town specials, utility roles) are the backbone of Mafia. They give the town some strength against the Mafia, which is pretty useful and slightly mandatory in larger games.
In standardized, simple games, these positions exist solely as roles such as the Sheriff (or Seer), the Doctor, and the Vigilante. As Mafia has evolved and players have become more skilled, complex special roles have been introduced into the game, and the cravings for more special roles has started. After some time, people became completely reliant on special roles, and games were seeing a higher ratio of special roles compared to regular townies. Some games featured a Mafia where every member featured a special ability akin to a town's special roles, almost completely eliminating the existence of the basic Mafioso role, and this has introduced an influx and bigger interest towards Faction games.
There are several problems that special roles face or have faced. Some players have treated regular townie roles as inferior because of the number of special roles in the game, and this has resulted in inactivity among townies. Some players think and agree that there are far too many special roles in certain games, with the inclusion of some not even making sense. In the case of some third parties, the special roles can almost seem shoehorned in, just to increase the special role count.
Whether you perceive this as an issue or not, it has been the source of some interesting debate in the past, and is still brought up on the occasion. Do you think specials roles should be limited, or at least encouraged to be limited, based on the number of players? Do you think special roles are fine as they are now? What are your opinions on this topic?
I would like to make it absolutely clear from the beginning that opinions expressed here, even if they are of a majority vote, will not reflect any definitive changes to the game, they will just be used to gather some otherwise unknown feedback and make it easier for the GMs to communicate with the players on issues, possibly allowing us to make changes that suit everyone perfectly.
-Revision 1: Mandatory Lynching-
To kick things off, I would like to bring up the widely debated hot topic of mandatory lynching. Many players seem opposed to it, while others agree it is a core element to Mafia.
For clarification, mandatory lynching has been a Mafia rule since its induction on this forum, and is one of the most core elements to Mafia. At some point, which is still exactly unknown, the enforcement of mandatory lynching started to become lax, until it was almost nonexistent, and players accustomed themselves to things such as "safety voting" or just not voting at all. From an actual rulings standpoint, "safety" votes do not really exist nor differentiate themselves from not voting at all at the time, whereas not voting at all should create a Knife-in-the-Box against every single living player, essentially giving a completely random death.
Mandatory lynching is, for the most part, a crucial part of Mafia, as it not only encourages activity among the non-special roles (townies), but it also creates the risky atmosphere of Mafia that has seemed to have diminished recently, and it encourages teamwork and interrogations. When mandatory lynching is removed from the game (regardless if it's removed for a single phase or the whole game), it gives the town a significant upper hand as they can forgo lynching people and rely on the town's kill and inspection roles (vigilante and seer/sheriff respectively) to deal with the Mafia. This tactic has been observed many times where mandatory lynching is not around, and it more often than not results in a Town victory because of this advantage.
Just as a general proposition, a rule could possibly be implemented that allows each player a single safety vote that they can use in a game, or the current "safety voting" rules should be looked over again and possibly reworked. Lets hear your opinions on this subject. Remember to remain civil in the thread, and if you have further opinions or questions you would like to add, do not hesitate to post in the thread about them! We are open for discussion.
-Revision 2: Third Parties-
Third parties have been a pretty interesting topic in Mafia as of recently, and it appears most games, if not all of them, feature some form of third party.
The original third party role was the Serial Killer, which had a simple lone-wolf style of gameplay, featured a single killing role, and some variations featured nightkill immunity. The third party's typical goal is to be the last person standing, so that presents a challenge that only the most witty, manipulative, and sneaky players could seem to pull off. Since the Serial Killer, other third party roles have been introduced, such as the famous Arsonist, Voodoo Lady, and Penguin.
The third party opens up an opportunity for especially complex and unique roles to fill its position, expressing a game creator's creativity, but it's always presented with a big question; is a third party always necessary? In most scenarios, specifically in larger games of 18 to 20 players, a third party might seem like a good idea to add a heightened sense of insecurity and a bit of suspense, with multiple kills happening each night, also giving the Mafia a bit of an edge to work against. However, some games appear to have third parties shoehorned in for the sake of having a third party, and this can lead to an over-powered third party, an under-powered third party, or just a generally uninteresting third party.
What are your opinions on third parties? Should there be rule restrictions on third parties, at the risk of limiting creativity? Are third parties fine as they stand now? Lets hear what you have to say about them.
-Revision 3: Special Roles-
Special roles (also known as blues, town specials, utility roles) are the backbone of Mafia. They give the town some strength against the Mafia, which is pretty useful and slightly mandatory in larger games.
In standardized, simple games, these positions exist solely as roles such as the Sheriff (or Seer), the Doctor, and the Vigilante. As Mafia has evolved and players have become more skilled, complex special roles have been introduced into the game, and the cravings for more special roles has started. After some time, people became completely reliant on special roles, and games were seeing a higher ratio of special roles compared to regular townies. Some games featured a Mafia where every member featured a special ability akin to a town's special roles, almost completely eliminating the existence of the basic Mafioso role, and this has introduced an influx and bigger interest towards Faction games.
There are several problems that special roles face or have faced. Some players have treated regular townie roles as inferior because of the number of special roles in the game, and this has resulted in inactivity among townies. Some players think and agree that there are far too many special roles in certain games, with the inclusion of some not even making sense. In the case of some third parties, the special roles can almost seem shoehorned in, just to increase the special role count.
Whether you perceive this as an issue or not, it has been the source of some interesting debate in the past, and is still brought up on the occasion. Do you think specials roles should be limited, or at least encouraged to be limited, based on the number of players? Do you think special roles are fine as they are now? What are your opinions on this topic?
