Zombie Wars
Things are about to get crazy…. Vampires, Zombies, Liches… it's a regular armageddon and every power-craving lich for himself!
The basic theme is that there is this eternal war between the undead and the living.
The Undead will be trying to slay all the Living
The Living will be trying to … live.
The longer you maintain a role in the game, the more powerful your role becomes.
Game play concludes when there is only the living or only the undead (not counting ghosts or players destroyed).
Basic Game Play:
Spoiler
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48 hour days
48 hour nights
Stake and Burn votes are conducted in thread and anyone (even non-villagers) can post a vote. However, only Villager votes count towards Staking and Burning.
vote in red
strike through your previous vote when changing it
Zombie votes are conducted by PM.
Ghost votes are conducted by PM.
Living players may self-vote. Zombies lack the brains to self-vote (self-votes are rendered void). Other "intelligent" undead are free to self-vote, but the outcome of a self-vote is usually of no consequence anyways. Ghosts are free to be depressed, self-vote, and "haunt" themselves.
The outcome target of voting is the player with the most votes (no percentage is necessary to secure a vote there only needs to be at least a single vote). In the case of a tie vote, the outcome target is the player in the tie who was the last one to hold the most votes. If none of the tie votes ever held the most votes, the vote is void.
Example: Player A receives five votes. Then Player B receives four votes. Then Player C receives four votes. Then two votes for Player A are retracted leaving him with three votes. Players B and C are tied for most votes, but neither Player B nor Player C ever held the most votes (Player A's holding of the most votes prevented Players B or C from ever holding the most votes). The result of this vote is void.
Two game days of inactivity (no post in thread) will result in your promotion (demotion?) to a Thread Zombie (Ghosts and Wraiths are excepted from this rule). No warning will be given. Real Life excuses will not be accepted. PM activity does not count.
The Game ends when there are only Undead surviving (not counting ghosts) or only the Living surviving (not counting ghosts).
All players on the surviving team win. Ghosts win if the Living win (Wraiths win if the Undead win). The Destroyed lose. The Apathetic lose.
In Thread Announcements:
Player deaths are announced.
Player destructions are announced.
The identities of killers are not announced.
Raising from the Dead is not announced.
Undead Creation is not announced.
Protections are not announced.
Ghosts are free to speak in thread.
Thread Zombie status will not be announced.
The Order in which actions are resolved:
Day actions:
1. Villager Stake and Burn
2. Woodcutter Axe attack
3. Arch-Mage Phylactery locating
Night Actions:
1. Ghost Hauntings
2. Ghast attack, Ghoul attack
3. Vampire Hunter scry, Rogue stealing/scrying
4. Vampire Enthrallment, Master Vampire control attack
5. Arch-Lich Wraith Creation, Lich Zombie Creation
6. Mage Kill
7. Zombie attack, Wraith attack
8. Apprentice scry
9. Cleric Raise Dead
Miscellaneous actions:
Passing the Phylactery: Please allow one full phase for delivery.
Phylactery destruction: Takes place immediately.
Rogue Emulation: Takes place immediately
Role Upgrades: Always resolve last
Power conflicts:
More than one rogue submits the same target for stealing.
The first rogue to send the action target has his power applied first.
Vampire Enthrallment/Control:
If the target is already Enthralled/Controlled by a Vampire, that Vampire gains first dibs
Otherwise, the first vampire to submit the target has his power applied.
Multiple Attacks Slaying the same target that resolve on the same step:
The kill is a awarded to all who chose the kill target
Multiple Scries on the same target:
Helgraf's Interference applies only to conflicting Apprentice powers. Other powers that gain identity information are commonly referred to using the term "scry" but do not apply Helgraf's Interference.
The Living:Spoiler
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Villager: Ordinary in every respect. Villagers may vote each day to stake and burn one player. Any villager who survives for three days may choose to become a Rogue, an Apprentice, or an Accolyte.
Woodcutter: a living player and current owner of the axe. if attacked by zombies, those zombies that voted for the attack are slain and the woodcutter survives. Each day he selects a kill target for his axe. Only the living, Zombies, Ghouls, and Ghasts can be slain with the day attack. A woodcutter who both remains alive and in possession of the axe for three days becomes a Heroic Slayer. If his axe is stolen, he loses the Woodcutter abilities. If a Woodcutter is slain, his slayer gains possession of the axe.
Heroic Slayer: In addition to the abilities of the Woodcutter, the Heroic Slayer's axe attack now kills Vampires (but not Master Vampires) and destroys unprotected Liches. If his axe is stolen he loses both the Heroic Slayer and Woodcutter abilities.
Thrall: still technically counted among the living, although on his way to becoming undead. He may not reveal the vampire who is turning him. If a Thrall is not attacked and enthralled again, he becomes normal after as many nights as he was a Thrall before the last attack that was made. After three consecutive days of being attacked and enthralled, a thrall becomes a Vampire. A thrall enthralled to multiple vampires simultaneously dies from blood loss but will rise again as a vampire after three day cycles.
Example: Player A is attacked by Player B and enthralled on Night 1. On Night 2, Player A would break free, but is attacked and enthralled again by Player B. On Night 3, no attack is made, however, Player A is still enthralled. On Night 4, Player A would break free, but he is attacked and enthralled again this time by Player C. On Night 5, no attack comes and Player A will remain enthralled even without being attacked until the end of Night 8, when, if no player has further enthralled him, he breaks free after Day 9 dawns.
Vampire Hunter: Each night a Vampire Hunter may target a player and determine whether he is living or undead. The Vampire Hunter also learns if the target is a Thrall, Ghoul, Ghast, Vampire, or Master Vampire.
Accolyte: Turns away Zombie attacks. If he survives for three days, he becomes a Cleric.
Cleric: Turns away Zombie attacks, Ghoul attacks, and Vampire attacks (but not Master Vampire attacks). A Vampire who targets a Cleric has its identity revealed to the Cleric. Each night, a Cleric may raise one of the slain from the dead. That player, should he accept, becomes an ordinary Villager. (The Cleric must reveal his identity to the player to use this ability.) A cleric is able to destroy a Lich's Phylactery. After three days, a Cleric becomes a High-Cleric..
High-Cleric: In addition to the abilities of a cleric, a High-Cleric turns away Ghast attacks, Master Vampire attacks, Wraith attacks and Lich attacks. Moreover, any attack from an undead creature the High-cleric turns away slays the undead creature (except for the Master Vampire and Lich). A High-Cleric can raise an additional player from the dead each day.
Rogue: each night a rogue steals the possessions of one target. If he steals the axe, he gains the abilities of the Woodcutter in addition to being a Rogue. If he steals the Phylactery, he knows it; this is referred to as 'finding the phylactery'. He may give the Phylactery to another player. After three days, a rogue becomes a Master Rogue.
Master Rogue: In addition to the abilities of the Rogue, the Master Rogue gains the ability to learn the current role of his selected night target. The Master Rogue may also conceal his identity. He selects a target player to emulate. Whenever information would be revealed about his role or powers, the information revealed is that of the player he has chosen to emulate.
Apprentice: Each day, the apprentice may select a target to scry. The apprentice learns the role and powers of the target. Helgraf's Interference applies to scrying. After three days an Apprentice becomes a Mage.
Mage: In addition to the abilities of an Apprentice, a Mage gains a night kill attack. A mage is able to destroy a Lich's Phylactery. After nine days, a Mage may become an Arch-Mage. After slaying three targets, a Mage may become a Lich. When becoming a Lich, a Mage loses his night kill attack but the gains the night attack of the Lich. A Mage that qualifies for both Lich and Arch-Mage may become an Arch-Lich.
Arch-Mage: In addition to the abilities of a Mage, an Arch-Mage may locate a Lich's Phylactery each day. To do so, he targets the player whose Phylactery he wishes to locate. Locating the Phylactery does not enable him to destroy the Phylactery until he gains possession of it...
The Undead:
Spoiler
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Zombie: Each night the Zombies vote to assault and devour one player. If that player is among the living, he becomes a zombie. If that player is undead, he is slain. Master Vampires and Wraiths are immune to this attack (as are Liches with their Phylacteries intact), but other undead may be slain including other zombies.
Ghoul: Each night a ghoul may attack a target. If the target is living, the target becomes paralyzed and unable to take actions until the end of the next. If the target in undead, he learns the type and this information is automatically given to the vampire that created him. After three nights, a ghoul becomes a ghast.
Ghast: In addition to the abilities of a ghoul, a ghast's target is not just paralyzed, but the entire Day cycle the target is paralyzed is not counted as time passed for the purposes of upgrading his role or losing his enthrallment.
Vampire: Each night a vampire may target one player. If the target is living, he becomes a Thrall under the control of the vampire for one day/night phase. If the target is undead, the vampire learns the type of undead creature. If the undead creature is a zombie, the vampire may choose to transform it into a ghoul during the next day cycle. A vampire who successfully turns a Thrall into a Vampire becomes a Master Vampire.
Master Vampire: whenever a player becomes a Master Vampire, a random living Villager becomes a Vampire Hunter (if a Villager is available, otherwise no Vampire Hunter). In addition to the abilities of a Vampire, a Master Vampire's night attack invades his target's living mind (if the target has one that is). This not only reveals the targets current role and powers, but allows the Vampire to dictate how his target will use those powers for the next day/night cycle.
Lich: When becoming a Lich, the Lich must choose a player to carry his phylactery. The player selected need not know that he carries the phylactery. A Lich cannot be destroyed as long as his phylactery is intact. Each night, the Lich may target one player. If the target is living, he becomes a Zombie. If the target is undead, he learns the type of undead. After nine days a Lich becomes a Demi-Lich.
Demi-Lich: In addition to the abilities of a Lich, a Demi-Lich cannot be destroyed except by the consecutive vote of the Woodcutter's axe attack and a Cleric's raise ability; or by the combined vote of the Woodcutter's axe attack and the Mage's night attack; or by the night attack of an Arch-Mage.
Arch-Lich: In addition to the abilities of a Lich and an Apprentice, if an Arch-Lich's night target is a ghost, the ghost becomes a Wraith.
Wraith: a wraith has a night attack. A living target of a wraith's night attack becomes a wraith! A wraith can be raised from the dead. However, when a wraith is raised from the dead, his hunger for the living is not yet quenched: he becomes a Vampire.
The Slain:
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Ghosts: dead people lose all the roles and abilities they had in life and become ghosts, each night the ghosts may vote to haunt one target. The haunted target is unable to take actions during the night he is haunted. They are not alive, but death has purified them of corrupting negative energy. They are neutral and can't achieve a win. They must be raised from the dead or corrupted into wraiths in order to acquire an alignment and win conditions. As the most probable means for them to re-enter the game is a cleric, they are slightly pro-town.
The Destroyed:
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Liches that are slain are destroyed and removed from the game. They do not have souls to return as ghosts!
The Apathethic:
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Thread Zombie: a Thread Zombie is subject to all the rules governing Zombies except that a Thread Zombie makes his zombie attack independently of other zombies and does not win if the undead win. After a Thread Zombie successfully devours two targets, he loses Thread Zombie status and regains the role he had previous to becoming a Thread Zombie. When a Thread Zombie is slain he loses Thread Zombie status.
Initial Setup:Spoiler
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{TABLE]#|Role|Starting Score
?|Villagers|5
1|Woodcutter|2
1|Cleric|1
1|Rogue|5
1|Mage|1
?|Zombies|5
2|Vampires|2
1|Lich|0
[/TABLE]
Scoring:
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I will be experimenting with a scoring system, so players can also compete for the highest score. Scores will be announced at the end of the game.
{TABLE]Action|Value
Create Zombie|+1
Slay a Player|+1
Raise a Player|+2
Create Vampire|+2
Find Phylactery|+3
Destroy Phylactery|+1
Role Upgraded|+1
Vampire Hunter Finds a Vampire|+1
Vampire Hunter Finds a Master Vampire|+3
Master Rogue Successfully Conceals Identity When Examined|+1
Create a Ghast|+1
Wraith Turns a Player into a Wraith|+1
Staked and Burned|-1
Devoured by Zombies|-1
Paralyzed|-1
Haunted|-1
Become a Wraith|-2
[/TABLE]
RP Score:
For RP score, I am implementing a simple post counting system.
The first role play post a player makes in a given Day/Night Cycle is worth 100 points.
The second role play post a player makes in a given Day/Night Cycle is worth 10 points.
All subsequent role play posts a player makes in a given Day/Night Cycle is worth 1 point.
To qualify as a role play post, the post must have non-duplicate role play in it. Double Posting is, of course, disallowed by forums rules... but if you do accidentally double post, then the double posts will cancel each other and be worth 0 points.
If you give in character role play hints at your character's current role, you earn 50 points (this is awarded no more than once per Day/Night cycle). Declaring your role outright does not award these points. I will be the judge of what constitutes a hint and this portion of your role play score will not be revealed until the game ends!
Play began August 31.
edit: added power resolution order
edit: added optional role play points
edit: revised role play points to reward those who drop hints about their role (subjectively judged by the narrator)
edit: ghost and wraiths cannot be Thread Zombies