# MAFIA: The Road to Canterbury - Game Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 21, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807 "2012-06-21T01:57:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 24
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/461 "2012-07-06T00:54:17Z")
> [@fubbleskag](#): > > Can someone with more mafia-sense than myself explain what the upside is to the Miller role? I’m just not seeing it… Upside from a game creator kind of way? Not much; I avoid them entirely. ---
**Author:** ![MentalGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@MentalGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MentalGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/462 "2012-07-06T05:14:34Z")
> [@fubbleskag](#): > > Can someone with more mafia-sense than myself explain what the upside is to the Miller role? I’m just not seeing it… I think it would be difficult to pull off anything too useful, but if a player’s role was known, the Miller could allow them to act and prevent the scum from doing anything that Night. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Upside from a game creator kind of way? Not much; I avoid them entirely. You seem to be referring to the standard mafia miller role. But if that was what TexCat was, she would have revealed as scum. If you look at the Town roles for this game, you will see one called The Miller, which is different than a standard miller. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/463 "2012-07-06T10:15:51Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Upside from a game creator kind of way? Not much; I avoid them entirely. If this is some kind of gambit, then stop it please. Have you even read the roles or **TexCat** ’s claim post? **KellyCriterion** ’s “wake me if anything interesting happens” post also makes me want to tear my hair out. I couldn’t see much practical use for _The Miller_ role. If they were about to be lynched anyway, they could have perhaps claimed to allow _The Canon_ to use the restorative without interference on a claimed investigator. Can’t see town agreeing to that though, with the alignments of both Canon and investigator unknown. Not sure if I’m missing something. Who wants to tell us what the implications are for _The Miller_’s death are? ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/464 "2012-07-06T11:49:37Z")
The first point is that TexCat was the first to die. So if the Parson is Town, we still have a Miller. It’s arguably not the strongest role to recover, but we may well not have lost it. Other than that, it seems to exchange a Town death for a guaranteed Town action (inc. being alive to report results, if applicable.) Given the problems we have with trusting anyone who claims to be a given role, I’m not sure the benefits outweigh the cost. One thought is that it could have given us a no-kill Night. Block everyone but \*\*visorslash \*\*and we all wake up in the morning. Potentially useful if we’re sure that there are other roles at risk that we value more than the Miller. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/465 "2012-07-06T11:50:01Z")
I can sort of see it being useful in the endgame, if, say, there’s only one scum left, the Shipman hadn’t done his thing, and the Miller suspects he knows who the Shipman is and that the Shipman has a good suspicion of who that last Scum is (presumably the last two had been identified and one Lynched during the Day), they could block the Mafia’s night kill and let the Shipman kill them. … But that’s a LOT of ifs, AND it really only allows the game to end one Day earlier, so even that’s kind of iffy utility. The self-sacrifice part really, really takes a huge bite out of the usefulness. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/466 "2012-07-06T11:55:27Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > One thought is that it could have given us a no-kill Night. Block everyone but \*\*visorslash \*\*and we all wake up in the morning. At which point, the Miller has to leave town, so we haven’t really gained anything. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/467 "2012-07-06T12:40:15Z")
Well, we’ve lost a Townie. But there may be situations where we judge it better to definitely lose the Miller rather than probably lose some other role. (Last, unused investigator with no protectors left, say.) But yeah, the big cost of using the Miller makes it difficult to see how to make the role work for us. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/468 "2012-07-06T12:43:59Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > At which point, the Miller has to leave town, so we haven’t really gained anything. There are a few scenarios close to the endgame where it might be useful. It’s not quite the same as no-lynch, as a specific player dies instead of the scum getting to choose a victim. Bear in mind, this power could still be in the game. The good news for town is that we’ve lost a weak role. The downside is that if _The Parson_ is town, they have inherited a weak power, and if _The Parson_ is scum they have a fairly easy role to fake, as I don’t think there are many cases where it would be pro-town to use _The Miller_’s power. (Please check my thinking here, as this could be important later in the game). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/469 "2012-07-06T12:50:56Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > Well, we’ve lost a Townie. But there may be situations where we judge it better to definitely lose the Miller rather than probably lose some other role. > [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > It’s not quite the same as no-lynch, as a specific player dies instead of the scum getting to choose a victim. Point. Still, as you both admit it’s kind of a weak advantage, so it’s not the worst loss we could have had. Still a pain in the arse to lose a Townie at all, though. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/470 "2012-07-06T13:06:32Z")
I could also see the Miller being very useful in case our Seraph (or perhaps some other relatively more powerful role, such as the Physician or Carpenter, maybe the Squire) is revealed. The Miller could then buy that role an extra night and day to town’s benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/471 "2012-07-06T14:12:48Z")
Let’s just hope that when the random assignment was made, the Miller wasn’t chosen to be the Seraph. Don’t know _how_ the hell that one would be handled. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/472 "2012-07-06T21:21:41Z")
Because I’m at work right now and bored as shit waiting for the weekend, I had time for some extra curricular research. KellyCriterion ? Oh, sorry. Kelly just skims. HEY **KellyCriterion!** Awesome. OK, so my first interaction with you was in the signup thread where you said > [@MAFIA: The Road to Canterbury (Open Game; Sign-Ups)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-open-game-sign-ups/624906/136): > > Checking in, PM received. Game on. > > Is **Enderw24** joking about his/her power role? I can’t tell, I’m pretty new to Mafia. But my research shows this isn’t the case. This is now the \*fourth \*Mafia game you’ve participated in. **Mahaloth** even posted in one that it was good to see you back in a mafia game so you clearly made a mark. Plus this whole “new to mafia thing” doesn’t really mesh with one of the few comments you made in this thread: > [@KellyCriterion](#): > > Game thread seems a bit quiet compared to other Mafia games I have seen. So what’s your participation been like in others? In the first one you turned in a respectable showing and played the game as long as you could. Second game, in week two, you said you didn’t have time for it any more and quit the game. Someone else filled in. Third game you tried to play the newbie gambit, asking a bunch of questions and got yourself lynched for the effort in week 1. Won’t make that mistake again! Instead, in this game, it seems you’ve got with a combination #2 and #3. Play the newbie card, again, but also shut the hell up because you don’t have time for the game. Which explains your 3 posts. I mean, we can’t lynch what we can’t see, right? I don’t know what the deal is here. It’s nighttime so I guess I’m not really in full scum-hunting mode. But still…what’s up? ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/473 "2012-07-07T01:06:00Z")
to be fair, this is like my fourth or fifth mafia game, and I still consider myself new. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/474 "2012-07-07T17:53:22Z")
**Dawn, Day Three** Quiet night followed quiet day. A few of the bolder among them had already begun to whisper among themselves that the Brotherhood and their knives were themselves a fairy story, designed and crafted to sow discord and leave the pilgrims to approach Canterbury in the proper state of terrified awe. Late at night, a few sat apart, hiding their association in plain sight. Their words were casual, idle, mundane - talk of horses and weather and gruel. Their hands, moving rapidly and inconspicuously in the firelight, sang a different tune. _Canterbury is not far, and you know the consequences if we fail,_ said one without words. _Now let us choose, Brother._ Another signal, curt, and a third conspirator nodded. This third rose from the fire, and turned toward a particular tent. None noticed the white petals that drifted down from his sleeve. Inside her tent, the Canon looked along her row of bottles. These were mostly useless - though one particularly unpleasant concoction would give the drinker a bad case of diarrhea in short order - but she had a sense she could sell them to the rubes on this journey. One bottle had _not_ been for sale, but that one was empty now, tucked away carefully in her robes. She poured herself a draught of sleeping potion - actually just water and basil leaves, but it calmed her nerves - and settled down to rest. By the time the potion had cleared her system, her heart had been removed from its resting place. The blade used to do the deed was found, along with the Canon herself, in the morning. **sinjin** , THE CANON, who was Town, and whose power has been used, has been killed via Sacrificial Knife. * * * Day Three begins here, and will end between 1 and 5 PM Eastern on Thursday, July 12. Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/475 "2012-07-07T21:15:42Z")
Sorry to see you go, **sinjin** – glad you got your power off in time, though. So, here’s the possibilities: > [@](#): > > (1) The Elixir of True Sight: Dose a player with this concoction and any investigation of this player will invariably return true results, even if that investigation would otherwise be confounded by the Cloak of Lies (see Scum tools). The effects of the Elixir last for three Nights, including the Night on which it is administered (so, if you administer it Night One, investigations of the targeted player are guaranteed to be accurate for Night One, Two, or Three). > > (2) The Restorative: Dose a player who has already used his or her power and (s)he will be given one additional use of it. Fair warning: if you dose a Scum player, (s)he will gain access to his/her original power. I’m going to assume a target of the Restorative would be told they’ve been dosed, but would an investigation of someone under the Elixir’s influence know that was the case? ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/476 "2012-07-07T22:29:44Z")
Booya booya, go go town, take those badboy Brothers down. _shakes pom-poms_ ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/477 "2012-07-08T07:29:11Z")
I’m going to guess that the potion used was The Restorative, simply because no one claimed to be an Investigator before using their power. I assume **sinjin** didn’t waste his potion on someone without knowing if they were Investigators. Ideally, our Pardoner has an extra save. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/478 "2012-07-08T09:22:30Z")
It’s good that _The Canon_ used their power before dying, but bad that we’ve lost a potentially confirm-able role, which would have narrowed the pool to look for scum in. ---
**Author:** ![gnarlycharlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5f9b8f/32.png) [@gnarlycharlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarlycharlie)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/479 "2012-07-08T11:53:48Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > It’s good that _The Canon_ used their power before dying, but bad that we’ve lost a potentially confirm-able role, which would have narrowed the pool to look for scum in. agreed. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807/480 "2012-07-08T14:36:35Z")
advanced notice: family vacation starts in a couple of days, so I’ll be extremely limited in my posting for two weeks. if you guys prefer I sub out and there’s one available, I’m fine with that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807.md?page=23) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-road-to-canterbury-game-thread/625807.md?page=25)