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Day 3, Dusk
Day 3, Morning
Day 2, Dusk
Day 2, 8:30 am - Chapter 4: Success
Day 1, Midnight - Chapter 3: Patience
Day 1, 8:00 pm - Chapter 2: The Weakest Link
Day 1, 9:30 am - Chapter 1: Impostors in Our Midst
Replacement Sign-Up Thread

Note: if you are not playing in this game, do not post!!! I will delete all non-players posts. If you want to sign up look at the Sign Up thread!!! You can watch the game though.

If you don't know how to play, watch this flash tutorial: http://www.sitesled.com/members/mikeburnfire/mafiascum04.swf

Please do not be offended if your favourite pen spinning trick is used by a good/bad guy in this game, it's pure fiction.

The Story:

"Zombo is the president of UCPSB Laboratories, a company whose mandate is the research and development of pen spinning. One day, one of the security guards catches a worker attempting to illegally sneak a mp3 player out of the building. Upon interrogation, Zombo discovers that he is an identity thief who has stolen the identity of the worker he is impersonating. The impostor also confesses that he is part of a group devoted to the ruination of pen spinning, and that they will even kill if necessary to execute their directives. This induces Zombo to call a staff meeting and explain the situation. Now the workers have to expose the frauds before they leak all of UCPSB's information to opposing parties, or worse, before they themselves are killed!"

Narrator: firebird
Moderator: Zombo

Role Theme:

Each researcher of the UCPSB Laboratories ("townie") has invented a FAMOUS PEN TRICK, assigned to him/her at the beginning of the game. Furthermore, each researcher's main project focus on the trick they have invented.

No hybrid have been assigned. No trick variation have been assigned.

Rules:

1) It will be a Day Start.
2) Each day will last roughly 72 hours, each night will last 48 hours. This is at the discretion of the moderator. Extension is possible.
3) 51% of the players will be required to Lynch. When 51% is reached lynching will be automatic so be careful with your vote.
4) Do not quote / screenshot any PM you receive. You may paraphrase any information you receive via PM, though.
5) Do not reveal your teammates.
6) Town people normally may only communicate through the game thread. Mafia may also communicate secretely via PM during the night.
7) If you're eliminated, do not post in the game thread anymore and do not communicate with anybody still playing.
8) If you have any questions please pm the moderator.
9) Have Fun!

10) Only two (2) role claims (aka trick claims) are allowed per day for everybody (not per person!). Role claim refers to the act of one player claiming to have invented a certain mod (can be a lie). This is to prevent all townies revealing their role at the same time and putting pressure on non-Town players to come up with a trick in a short period of time. Counter-claims are always allowed. Counter-claiming is a claim on the same role as somebody else. This rule is flexible and may change if necessary.

11) You cannot edit your post. If you make a mistake, simply double-post your correction. If you vote and decide to cancel your vote right after, simply post another post with your change of vote. Double-post is allowed in this thread.

12) Lynch vote must follow the following format:

If you don't vote in bold, your vote won't count. You may change your vote at any time by "unvoting" and re-voting in a subsequent post (Do not edit your previous post). You only have one vote active per day.

13) Prodding: if you feel a player is inactive, ask publicly for a prod in the following format:

The mod will then respond to you if your request has been granted. The player will then be PM to confirm that he is still participating. Otherwise, he will be replaced. Please don't abuse prodding and note that prodding request is public.




Winners:

Webo Splash - ThumbAround - Researcher [Town] - ALIVE!
Eburt - BackAround - Researcher [Town] - ALIVE!
Flip - Infinity - Researcher [Town] - ALIVE!
ShortAssassin - Leigun - Researcher [Town] - ALIVE!
Eriror - NO TRICK - Security Expert [Town] - ALIVE!
kasra12321 - FingerPass - Researcher [Town] - ALIVE!
Joshua - Charge - Researcher [Town] - ALIVE!
Retro-Spectre - Sonic - Researcher [Town] - ALIVE!

Cybrax2 - NO TRICK - Security Expert [Town] - DEAD

Losers:

strat1227 - NO TRICK - Hacker [Mafia] - MODKILLED
kensai - NO TRICK - Hacker [Mafia] - LYNCHED
spinofdoom - NO TRICK - Hacker [Mafia] - LYNCHED

Chapter 1: Impostors in Our Midst

~ We are only falsehood, duplicity,
contradiction; we both conceal and
disguise ourselves from ourselves. ~
Blaise Pascal

Day 1, 9:30 am
UCPSB Laboratories

Zombo reclined in his chair, gazing pensively out his office window and taking in the beautiful day. The brilliant azure sky was left unblemished by clouds. The blazing sun had cleared the horizon, its bright rays slicing through the foliage of cedar trees in the courtyard and casting a dappled pattern of sunlight on the office wall. The window was slightly cracked to admit the draft that blew through the trees, swaying the smaller branches and stirring the leaves. This susurration was accompanied by the joyful twittering of birds as they assiduously constructed nests in the canopy. This auspicious weather would later seem ill-timed in light of future uncontrollable events. Zombo’s attention shifted to a pair of sparrows spiraling into the sky as he became lost in thought.

Pen spinning had taken enormous strides in the past few years. In its inchoate phase, it was a manipulation practiced by only a handful of devotees. But what was once an esoteric art seemed to blossom into a ubiquitous phenomenon overnight. This meteoric rise to prominence inevitably led to countless opportunities to turn a profit, primarily from stationery companies seeking innovative ways to promote their products.

As the administrator of UCPSB, the online English-speaking pen spinning community, Zombo was contacted regarding numerous such offers. Initially he declined these requests because it felt inappropriate to accept money for an activity undertaken solely for enjoyment. Besides, he had witnessed other hobbies fall prey to the commercialization trap, inveigled by the illusory prospect of long-term success. They effectively became crazes – flourishing only momentarily before plummeting into obscurity – and Zombo was in no great hurry to add pen spinning to the lengthy list of victims.

As far as Zombo was concerned, monetary deals would require exhaustive consideration, and only under the absolute assurance that the identity, integrity, and permanence of pen spinning as an art would remain uncompromised. Many members had placed their unwavering faith in him as a leader and he did not want to betray their trust by making poor decisions. Moderating missteps were easily forgotten with time but errors of judgment on a much larger scale were disproportionately more difficult to swallow. Consequently, pen spinning progressed as a usual hobby, commercially untarnished. Pen spinners were becoming proficient in an art that was constantly gaining positive exposure.

However, after a litany of stale pen modifications, member videos, and collaborations, the dearth of fresh ideas presented a bona fide problem. The once new and exciting concepts had been dulled through mindless repetition. The manipulation starved for urgent change, suffocating in the miasma of stagnation that had enveloped it. Resolutely opposed to the deterioration of pen spinning, Zombo was determined to revitalize the art, elevating it from its current moribund status. As part of his unceasing efforts, he founded the Research & Development Department at UCPSB, a sub-forum dedicated to the advancement of pen spinning.

The first several weeks were spent in introspection, analyzing past ideas and pinpointing those that had unequivocally garnered widespread approval. Determining areas where pen spinning had faltered or outright failed was equally important. The next several months were dedicated to brainstorming, expounding the theory behind various proposals. As brainchildren were finally born, Zombo realized another problem: the forum was an inadequate medium for experimentation. The R&D members were too diffusely scattered across the world to permit necessary vis-à-vis communication and researchers did not have the benefit of testing facilities to fine-tune their prototypes.

Funding was the main issue, and Zombo was forced to reconsider alternative, hitherto shunned avenues of revenue. He contacted stationery corporations that would not commercialize pen spinning but offered to pay generously in exchange for advertising and a guaranteed increase of pen sales. Many similar contracts were signed with different, mutually non-competitive companies despite the lacklustre status of pen spinning.

After months of accumulating wealth through business and charitable donations, enough funds were raised to fly the older members to Montreal, Quebec - close to Zombo’s home. These spinners, currently living on their own, agreed to meet up in Montreal for a month each year. Coincidentally, Zombo’s parents were renting an apartment building in the area and Zombo kindly offered rooms to these spinners, waiving the rent. The first meeting was fruitful. It sparked a plethora of innovative, inventive and revolutionary ideas. This explosion of productivity sparked the renaissance movement that would not only restore the former panache of pen spinning but elevate it to unprecedented levels.

The rise in the art’s status was paralleled by a greater number of endowments and dramatically increased revenue. In subsequent years, the meetings were extended and more spinners were able to attend. The apartment seemed no longer suitable so the members collectively mortgaged a mansion in Zombo’s neighbourhood. Slowly, renovations took place to transform the mansion into a small business. The vast concert hall was converted into a testing laboratory and Zombo allocated an empty study as his personal office. The kitchen-cum-dining room became a large cafeteria while a living room was turned into a meeting room.

The R&D members were provided individual living quarters on the second floor from which they conducted their research via computers connected to an internal network. Initially, all researchers were afforded modest salaries but wages inflated as UCPSB Laboratories gained renown as the only small business dedicated to pen spinning. The work term spanned from May to September each year with a two-week break allowed for vacation. As the research material became increasingly sensitive – any information leak to a competing third party could easily spell the end of UCPSB Labs – stringent precautions were taken to ensure the protection of these precious secrets.

Firstly, employees were bound under a strict contract of confidentiality. Those who signed the contract were warned, both orally and in writing, that the research data were fragile enough to warrant life-or-death prevention methods. But this fact did not need to be impressed onto their minds. They already knew from previous gatherings that enemies were willing to kill ruthlessly for such information. Nonetheless, they were not permitted under any circumstances to discuss the nature of UCPSB’s delicate research to anyone outside the corporation, even friends and relatives.

Secondly, the contract also stipulated that it was forbidden to carry hard copies of data out of the building. The CDs and diskettes were electronically etched with barcodes that triggered sensors deeply embedded in the door jambs and window frames if the disks were passed through these spaces. The computers were customized to accept these modified disks exclusively. Just the other day Zombo had to reproach a forgetful worker for violating this rule. If anyone attempted to tamper with the sensors, the alarm would be set off and Zombo would immediately know nevertheless.

Those who willingly breached the terms of the contract faced far worse than unemployment. The contract alone, however, could not prevent the spate of break-ins that occurred during the first weeks of operation. Accordingly, a security office was constructed in the courtyard and a closed-circuit network of surveillance cameras were installed around the mansion.

The premises were monitored 24/7 by a cadre of security personnel, and several thieves were caught shortly thereafter. At the edge of the property stood a formidable wrought iron gate. Employees and guests were frisked alike at the entrance, and any device capable of storing data, including cell phones, was confiscated. All staff members entering or exiting the property had to show their identification card to the presiding security guard, who would then mechanically open the gate. Guests, which referred to any non-workers, were required to tell the guard the name of the employee who had invited them, and the officer would call the person to confirm that the guest was, in fact, an expected visitor.

In addition to external supervision, the security office recorded all incoming and outgoing phone calls. If an employee were suspected of treason, the past 72 hours of his or her phone conversations was available for playback and could be checked for incriminating evidence.

Zombo was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of his phone ringing. The caller ID screen indicated the call was from the security office. He picked up the phone on the second ring.

“Hello, Zombo here.”
“Hello, sir. We have a bit of a problem here.” The stern voice of Firebird, the security chief, issued from the speaker.

“Our security cameras just captured a young male running across the courtyard and attempting to scale one of the exterior walls. We arrested the person and brought him into the office for interrogation. Strangely, he obliged without resistance, as if he wanted to get caught. We tried questioning him, but he refuses to speak to anyone except you, requesting your presence. His identification card distinguishes him as Rookee and an
i-Pod was found in his windbreaker. I have synchronized it to my computer so that you may peruse the contents.”

What the hell is going on?, Zombo thought to himself. “Alright, I’ll be there in a couple of minutes. Thanks.” He hung up and grabbed his set of keys. Locking his office door, he hurried along the hallway and down a flight of stairs to the front door, passing some employees who glanced at him confusedly. He burst into the security office, slightly out of breath.

Zombo addressed Firebird, who was standing beside the door to the interrogation room. “I would like to interrogate the suspect first before checking the i-Pod.”
“Yes, sir.”

Zombo now knew with absolute conviction that Rookee had been attempting to smuggle information out of UCPSB Labs. He had been behaving suspiciously for the past few weeks, keeping to himself most of the time and barely communicating with anyone else. His actions today were the coup de grâce, incontrovertibly exposing him as a traitor. Whatever was on the mp3 player could wait. His attention was drawn towards the one-way window of the interrogation room. Rookee was sitting impassively at the table, gazing absent-mindedly at the opposite wall.

Zombo entered the room and shut the door behind him. He sat down across from Rookee, whose expressionless eyes shifted into focus as he realized he was no longer alone. He met Zombo’s cold stare with one of his own. Zombo broke the silence first, deciding to cut to the chase.

“Why did you do it?”
Rookee’s voice was unusually calm for someone who had just been caught breaching the confidentiality contract. “Let’s just say that I’m not really Rookee. I’ve been tracking his every move since the last work term. It was a painstaking effort, studying his habits, routines and behaviour for months, finding out all that he knows, from the names of friends and relatives to his research material ... Once I felt I was ready, I killed him and assumed his identity. I isolated myself from others to buy time to ease into the role, diligently perfecting it through repetition. The rest was simple after that. I transferred his research to my i-Pod and attempted to sneak it out, which brings us both of us here.”

A malevolent grin began to play across the impostor’s face. Zombo reddened with anger at the sight. He wanted to hurt the man. Badly. It was only with miraculous restraint that he was able to resist reaching across and strangling the impostor. His hands gripped the armrests of his chair so tightly his knuckles were turning white.

“WHO ARE YOU? HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO SNEAK THE I-POD PAST THE FRISK? WHO DO YOU WORK FOR? WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?”
“My name is immaterial. Ah, but what if my i-Pod bypassed the frisk? It was, shall I say, ‘delivered’ to me, and I had no means of sending it back, so I couldn’t leave the premises by conventional means. My loyalty lies with the Pencil Council. You may have foiled us during past gatherings but you will not be so lucky this time, rest assured. Together, with my accomplices here, we will bring fame and reputation to the PC. Once we have all the information we need, we will proceed to destroy UCPSB. My capture was merely a gambit in an intricate game of corporate chess, a way of gaining the upper hand. Though I will die, I will forever be hailed as a martyr by my colleagues, and there is no greater honour. Goodbye, Zombo.”

And with that final farewell, he suddenly slumped onto the table. Zombo jumped to his feet, alarmed. Firebird, who had been keeping an eye on the interrogation through the window, burst into the room and ran to the pseudo-Rookee, checking for respiration – he was not breathing. He probed for his carotid pulse – there was no beat.
“Shit! You better go, Zombo. I can deduce what happened, but you need to go back and warn the others immediately. Take the mp3 player with you. I’ll handle this.”

Zombo didn’t need any further provocation. He shut off the i-Pod and pulled it from the USB cable on his way out, stuffing it into his side pocket. He ran nonstop back to his office, switched on the P.A. and spoke loudly into the microphone.

“We have an emergency situation on our hands. Everyone come to the meeting room right away.”

As Zombo’s office was the closest to the meeting room, he arrived first and sat at the head of the table, waiting for R&D members to file in. Within a few minutes, the room was filled and every employee sat attentively, all looking questioningly at Zombo.

“Somebody please close the door. Thanks. Now, I summoned you here because our worst fears have resurfaced. The Pencil Council has once again infiltrated UCPSB.”

There were uneasy murmurs and several members shifted restlessly in their seats. Zombo continued on.

“They have bypassed our security system through identity theft. A handful of Pencil Council members have stolen the identities of our employees, impersonating their ‘hosts’. You were warned in your contracts that the highly confidential nature of the research material had the potential for life-and-death circumstances. I fear that this is the situation now thrust upon us, as we have no other choice but to expose the impostors in our midst and terminate them. Even their imprisonment would not suffice, because after their jail term expired they would return to their faction and relate their procured information to the council.

“I want you, as loyal employees, to uncover these impostors before they escape with too much information. Too great a leak would be fatal to our corporation, destroying years and years of hard work. I am not trying to scare you. I’m merely attempting to properly convey the immediacy, urgency, and seriousness of the breach. Remember, we have the advantage of numbers.

“Here’s how it will work: every day, we can collectively arrive at a decision on a person to terminate, using our intuition and logic to guide us to correct choices. If a majority rule cannot be reached, then the day will elapse without bloodshed. Since you know each other far better than I know you all, I feel it would be inappropriate for me to participate, as I would definitely be uncertain of my convictions.

“I will be in my office if anyone needs me. I want you all to remain here after I’ve left and discuss your initial suspicions amongst yourselves. If we all make clear-headed decisions, we will thwart the Pencil Council and avert this crisis.

“Good luck. The meeting is now adjourned.”

And with that, Zombo rose and left the room, leaving the hushed group of employees in his wake.


GAME ON!

7 votes required to lynch (or no lynch). 2 role claims possible this day.

Please read the rules.

Active Players:

Webo Splash
Eburt
Flip
strat1227
spinofdoom
ShortAssassin
kensai
Eriror
Cybrax2
kasra12321
AlmightyMalachi
Retro-Spectre

Eliminated Players:

Sweet narrative Firebird.

thx for posting first, I just won 50$ in a bet. :banana:

Lmao, better pay me $10 :)

Seriously... no wonder that took so long... though I think perhaps it could be shortened a bit in the future. :P

So, any volunteers for today's lynch? (sarcasm there, btw... I hope no one actually does...)

Alright, let's get this started.

I must say also; I was impressed by the narrative.

Wow my eyes started to burn due to teh hugeness. :clap: WOOOO

Awesome narrative. ^_^

great narrative :vcool:

I'd like to ask something of all the vanilla townies, because there is a very easy way to test someone claiming to be a townie. DO NOT reveal WHAT you are called OR what you can DO. This way if someone claims to me a townie, we can simply ask what they are called and what they can do, and if they can't come up with the answer then we know they aren't town. Eventually, we will need to discuss these things because I'm not entirely sure how this game works yet. My guess is that if you do the first action and die, the mafia wins because they have your information. However, I also imagine that the mafia has a Hacker that can get the info if you do the second option. I imagine this Hacker can target one person at a time. This puts us townies is an interesting predicament. It seems that it's almost too easy for the mafia to win if my predictions are correct.

Oh another thing for vanilla townies, do not reveal what you possess either, it can be used as another way to test someone.

Awkward silence.

HOLY SHIT AND I THOUGHT SOME OF MY NARRATIVES WERE LONG :pullhair:

Nah seriously, I really enjoyed the narrative, very detailed. Now on to the game.

...

Hmm SA care to elaborate on what those 'predictions' are? Heh I'm guessing not, at least not now, but first we need something to work with.

The predictions are the couple of sentences above the sentence with predictions in it. The ones about my ideas of how the mafia can win and about the hacker role.

Decent ideas SA, but you may have already revealed too much... oh well, a good early claim to innocence I suppose.

So are people besides SA gonna like post stuff?

Well Eburt, I was considering that perhaps I revealed to much, but I figured that we would have to discuss it in the future anyway. As for claiming innocence early, yes this does do that somewhat, but I'm also afraid I'll be tonight's target. Anyway, the true purpose is to provide an easy way for the town to question a suspicious person claiming to be town. The beauty is, if someone can't answer the question(s), then we can re-use it on the next suspicious person :), and rinse and repeat until we ourselves have to discuss our "options."

Stuff

Damn I wish I could edit my post. I feel dumb posting that. Don't click on it.

You seem a little nervous Kensai <_<

Aww, putting the pressure on already?

Heh that post was a sarcastic reply to Eburt's 'So are people besides SA gonna like post stuff?' You weren't supposed to post before I did...

Lol I know, that shifty eyes smiley face shoulda been a smiley smiley face. But yeah, I do like to put pressure on people

So Webo is around but not posting here, and Eriror is around as well, but he's got his battle thread and maybe some moderating things to do. Got my eyes on you Webo <_<

Hey, sorry. I was indeed busy with my battle thread. Interesting ideas, but I'm afraid I can't really help at this moment.

This is the worst time of the game, no one can really do anything. Just gotta wait for someone to screw up somehow.

I have a new strategy though, we pay off firebird to tell us whose mafia. Whose with me? :banana:

I really can't say anything at the moment. I have a few suspicions myself. SA you did say quite a few information. Is that a cover up I smell?

Damnit Webo you got me, I know all about the vanilla townies without being one :rolleyes:. So I can safely assume you're not a vanilla townie, perhaps a special townie though. Anyway, because I believe pressure is extremely effective in this game, defend yourself fool!

Vote: Webo Splash

12/27 (28 now) posts are SA... you post too much man... and yeah, Webo hasn't really done anything suspicious, but I suppose its as good a place as any to start... except that he may end up using your oh-so-clever defence mechanism and making it obsolete for finding mafia...

Webo, feel free to defend yourself, but it would be nice if you didn't reveal much... ya know... following SA's advice. Is it just moe, or is there a certain irony here?

What can I say, I love my mafia game. Didn't really understand the rest of your post, with the irony and my name in bold, so if you could explain that would be sweet.

Oh, and I'm not saying that Webo is definately mafia or anything, voting is just the easiest way to put pressure on someone, and as I already stated, I think putting pressure on someone is a very effective way to get them to talk more, and potentially screw up.

A ) Sometimes do honestly screw up and are still innocent... though it does give a starting place.

B ) If in his defence he mentions some of the things you said not to mention then they become useless for finding mafia. Basically its stupid to attack someone harshly without proper reasoning, because their defence will be wasted and in turn help out the mafia.

see, like right there, that should have been:

"Sometimes people do honestly screw up..."

lol, I just owned myself :lol:

Do you feel tension or something? ;)

The beginning part is the irritating part.. The only thing you can do it screw up.

Well Eburt, you are forgetting that we have 3 things to test on, so if Webo does indeed choose to name one then we still have 2 other. I however, do not expect him to name one. Why would he accuse me of covering something up if he knew exactly what I was talking about?

It is possible that other people could be privey to that information. I mean hell, you could be the Mafia "hacker" for all we know. It would make about as much sense. But I don't really think you are... I also don't really think Webo is guilty... he seemed to know what you were talking about.

Well, Webo shouldn't reveal any of the info (if he knows it) without trying to explain himself in other ways first.

Agreed, I'm rather just trying to stir shit up and get everyone thinking. I'd say it worked... so yeah... I guess we're back to webo.

Yeah unfortunately all we can do right now is try to get something going. Webo, I'm sorry you are the target but you made the first semi-suspicious post.

I don't like how SA revealed as much as he did, so early in the game.

This makes me think that he maybe he was given a clue of some sort about a hacker, or that he actually IS the hacker. I think its very possible that this "hacker" role has been given information about the Town.

I understand where you're coming from Flip, but I'm just trying to figure this game out, because it's got more to it than the first two.