Since time immemorable, the denizens of Cecil Pond have lived in peace and ecological balance. That’s all changed now, though, with the introduction of a new, fast-reproducing strain of invasive algae. Unless the natives of the Pond can wipe out this Scum, it threatens to outcompete all other life in the Pond.
This is a Mafia game. The game will be divided up into two phases, Summer and Winter (the equivalent of Day and Night in this edition of the game). Every Summer, all players will vote to choose who to kill, and each Winter, the Scum (who know each other, and are unknown to the other players) will choose which players to kill. Each side’s goal is to eliminate the other side first.
Detailed rules:
Spawn:
The Scum reproduce quickly. At the beginning of the game, there will be one Spawn in the game, and at the beginning of every Summer, if there is at least one Scum or Spawn left alive, a new Spawn will appear. Spawn are effectively characters in the game which are not played by any player. A Spawn can do anything an ordinary Scum can do, but makes all decisions randomly and at the last moment. Spawn make no effort to hide themselves, and can be identified effortlessly by anyone.
Voting:
Over the course of each Summer, each player can vote for up to two organisms (other players or Spawn). Please put all votes in bold and blue, on its own line, like so:
Vote Chronos
You can vote for two separate players, for one player and for a Spawn, or for two Spawn (if there are two or more Spawn alive).
You can also unvote at any time before the end of Summer, to change your vote or votes to someone else. Put all unvotes in bold and red, on their own line, like so:
Unvote Chronos
Since players can cast multiple votes, please specify whom you’re unvoting. An unvote without an organism specified will not be counted. If a player has more than two votes in place at the end of Summer, none of those votes will be counted.
At the end of the Summer, the denizens of the Pond will converge on the two organisms with the highest vote totals and Lyse them, breaking down their cell membranes to kill them, at which point an examination of the remains will reveal to everyone what sort of organism each was. Any ties in the final vote will be resolved randomly.
Winters:
During the Winter, resources are scarce, and the Scum will be able to Outcompete one organism, denying that organism resources and killing it. The Scum will meet at an undisclosed location to discuss and make this decision. At the start of Summer, that organism’s starved remains will be found, and an examination of the remains will reveal to everyone what sort of organism it was. Power roles may also be able to take actions during Winter, which should be submitted via private message.
Participation:
Any player who does not post at all for an entire Summer, or any player who specifically requests to stop playing, will be removed from the game by the moderator. Content of posts is not considered, only whether the posts exist. If it is the first or second Summer and there are volunteers waiting, the removed player will be replaced by a substitute, otherwise the non-participating player will simply be mod-killed. There will be no mod-kills for any other reason, including editing of posts or quoting the contents of a private message (though of course players may choose to use such as a criteria for Lysing).
Communication:
All game-related communication is to be done in the main game thread. Communication via private message, e-mail, other message boards, etc., is prohibited, except as otherwise provided in your role PMs.
Denizens of the Pond:
Most denizens of the Pond are Plankton, and have no particular powers. The Plankton PM is as follows:
In addition, there are some other denizens of the Pond who do have special powers, which will not be listed here. Although the other roles are biologically-inspired, keep in mind that I am not a biologist.
Win Conditions:
The denizens of the Pond win (and Scum lose) when all Scum and all Spawn are dead. The Scum win (and Pond loses) when the number of living Scum plus Spawn is strictly greater than the number of living Pond-aligned players. You win with your side, even if you yourself are dead. If there are any third-party players, which there may or may not be, they know what their win conditions are.
Timing:
A full year cycle will last one week. Summers will be five days long, starting on Saturdays at 1:00 PM mountain time (3:00 PM Eastern) and ending at 1:00 PM Thursdays (3:00 Eastern). Winters will be two days long, running from 1:00 PM Thursdays to 1:00 PM Saturdays. The seasons officially change at those times, as determined by the board’s timestamps, even if my post to reveal the outcome is late. Votes or other actions submitted after that time will not be counted. Strategy discussion is not permitted during Winter, though I will not be enforcing this rule in any way. The game will start at the beginning of Summer 1.
