Osie's Rules for Mafia 451 Games
#0: I am the host and I reserve the rights to change these rules.
I am the final arbiter of role interactions and game rule infringements. I will never lie or intentionally mislead you. If you have a problem with a ruling I make, please shelve it until after the game. To the best of my and my reviewers’ knowledge, this is not a bastard game.
#1 : Follow the spirit of these rules in addition to the letter.
These rules direct the actions of human beings and are enforced by human beings. I am lenient in many a case, as I know that human beings are fallible and that players often don’t read the rules. That said, I do not like to have to warn the same player for the same rule multiple times.
If you try to cheat the game or the game rules in any manner, usually it will be discovered. As of the writing of this rule, I only have one offense for which I would blacklist a player. That offense is intentionally and knowingly cheating. If I catch you intentionally and knowingly cheating, not only will you be immediately modkilled, not only will I be extremely likely to not allow you in any games I run in the future, but I will be inclined to do everything in my power to ensure that you do not participate in any other games on this site or in any other community in which I play Mafia as a publicly-broadcasted cheater.
If you believe that you have found a mistake or loophole in these rules, please discuss it with me before posting.
#2: Have fun, be respectful towards the other people involved in the game, and follow the normal forum rules. This is a game, which we’re playing for fun. Expect a low tolerance for toxicity.
You are responsible for following all forum and subforum rules and guidelines. Forum-wide rules and Mafia Game Rules are available here .
Mafia is a game, we’re here to have fun. Please be respectful of the other people involved in the game. Sometimes emotions run high and we get caught up in the moment. That is not an excuse for flaming or poor sportsmanship.
I won’t be moderating profanity, though if you are asked politely and reasonably to not use a word or phrase, then you are expected to follow the site rules and do not use that word or phrase.
While I don’t care about cursing, I will report, replace, and/or modkill you for derogatory content, in particular, slurs, in relation to or targeted towards another user or person, at my own reasonable discretion.
#3: Keep the out-of-game separate from the in-game. This is a modkillable/reportable offense.
DO NOT talk about this game outside of this thread and outside communication given to you in your role PM or approved by me. Please attempt to copy me in as appropriate on out-of-game messages sent to other players. It is a good idea to ask permission before discussing the game with anyone outside the game, because they can no longer replace into the game once any meaningful discussion takes place.
DO NOT directly quote or screenshot your role PM or any private communications when posting in the main game thread. This includes mason chats and scum chats. Pretending to break this rule is the same as actually breaking it. Putting words or phrases in quotation marks when discussing private communications in-thread is also a violation of this rule. Please paraphrase - if you are in doubt, ask me before posting!
DO NOT bring up rule-breaking in thread. If you feel that someone is breaking the rules, bring it up with myself directly. Accusing someone of rulebreaking in thread or in game-related communications that involve multiple people other than the host will be grounds for a modkill.
When posting in a mafia game, please do not use angleshooting or out-of-game knowledge, to the best of your ability. This means do not discuss the timing, reasons, or order of substitutions and modkills, do not discuss the timing or phrasing of role PMs, do not make alignment bets with out of game consequences, and do not use “trust tells” or similar. This list is not exhaustive. Providing direct proof (e.g. picture of yourself at an out-of-game activity, screenshot of out-of-game notes) of an out-of-game context in thread is another form of angleshooting.
#4: By confirming that you have received your Role PM, you also confirm that you have read it.
Not reading your Role PM is a form of cheating. I consider there to only be one warning for this, for life. If I know that a player knows that they must read their role PM but has chosen not to do so, this rule and related consequences will be enforced with great prejudice.
#5: DO NOT make more than a small edit to posts unless discussed with the mod. Even if it’s an accidental double post. In particular, DO NOT delete posts. This is a modkillable/reportable offense.
#6: No funny business. If you no longer wish to participate in a game for any reason, contact the host. DO NOT attempt to force the host to modkill you. DO NOT use invisible text, cryptography, tiny writing, hidden messages, trust tells, lynching for reasons outside of perceived alignment, or similar. DO NOT post after you are dead. DO NOT post if you are not a player. This is a modkillable/reportable offense.
#7: Post game-related content as required by the game-specific inactivity rules. LET’S MAKE THIS A REPLACEMENT-FREE GAME, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
If you have not maintained minimum posting requirements, you will be prodded. Failing to respond to the prod within 24 hours will lead to your replacement or modkill. Content is, of course, subjective, but “Posting to avoid prod,” “catching up,” or similar short not-really-game-related posts are obviously not content. If you need to be absent for an extended period of time please post “V/LA until [Date] ” in bold on its own line in the thread or contact me directly so that I and the other players know when you’ll be back. You do not need to explain your reasons for being absent in thread. If you will be gone for more than a full round, you should consider requesting replacement.
#8: Do not spam the thread.
While I will not enforce a strict posting maximum, if I feel that you’re posting too much in a row (more than five posts in a row is generally excessive), action may be taken ranging from a warning to eventual replacement/modkill. That said, I do not usually consider simple edits by way of double posting in this context, unless it is egregious.
#9: I make no promises about public answers to any question. If you have a question about your role or a rules interaction, please communicate with me privately. If you do choose to tag a host in the thread, that host may ignore you.
I will be particularly unlikely to answer questions posed to me in the game thread other than questions about vote counts or deadlines. If you raise a question in a private message that needs addressing to the entire game (regarding a special rule or similar), I will respond as I feel is appropriate.
#10: Once a lynch is reached, votes are considered locked in. Votes and unvotes made after that will not be counted. (This is known as the Twilight phase.)
#11: If deadline is reached and no player fulfills the requirements to be lynched, the day ends with no lynch.
#12: Make your votes clear to all people reading your posts. Please place your votes on a separate line and utilize the proper formatting:
[vote]osieorb18[/vote]If your vote is not counted, please contact the host(s).
#13: Mafia team players may submit actions for other Mafia team players if the other Mafia team player has not submitted an action. However, if the other Mafia team player ever submits an action, their fellow Mafia team players cannot change what that Mafia team player submitted.
#14: DO NOT POST IN THE THREAD DURING THE NIGHT PHASE, UNLESS YOUR ROLE SAYS OTHERWISE.
#15: If there is no lynch for a Day, followed by no kill for a Night, followed by no lynch once more for a second Day, then at host discretion, a random town player may become the lynch for the second Day. This rule exists to prevent perpetual MyLO.
TL;DR: Be excellent to each other, don’t be inactive, ask me questions in private when possible, don’t edit or delete posts, no funny business involving cryptography, etc. and… have fun, that’s the whole point.
