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CF Master Phalla Thread
Thanatos
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
This is Critical Failures' Master Phalla thread. It's for signups, statistics, and general discussion of Phalla and its mechanics. Generally, there will be one main Phalla running (with up to two threads), as well as up to two smaller Phallas. Signups are required for the main game. No dead threads, and the game will be run in the same threads where the signups take place. This is going to be the system until we start having problems, at which point I will probably fix those problems in ways that no one will like, so play nice.
What is Phalla?
Phalla is the Penny-Arcade Forums' version of the party game Mafia.
The Basic Rules
The "village" consists of all players in the game. Included in the village is a small number of bad guys. Normally, the bad guys all know one another at the beginning of the game, but nobody else knows anything about anyone other than themselves.
Each day (normally 24-hour period) the village discusses and publically votes for one person to be executed that night. At the same time, the bad guys choose one person to kill each night and PM the name to the narrator.
The good side wins if all of the bad guys die. The bad side wins if the number of good guys is less than or equal to the number of bad guys (on the assumption that at that point, they control the vote plus get their kill, so it's inevitable).
Usually, there will be one or more "special" roles among the good guys (and occasionally among the bad guys). Exactly who holds each role is only known to that person, although how many of each role exist is most often known.
Each night, the narrator gives the details of who died, and normally whether they were a bad guy. Some games also include clues or outright statements if someone who died is a good special.
Standard Special Roles
Roles will have different names depending on the theme of the game. Listed below are the usual "generic" terms for each role. Normally, specials exercise their power by communicating with the narrator via PM.
Seer -- once per night can "investigate" a particular person and find out from the narrator if they are a bad guy. Variations of seers may be able to determine a good special as well, although they may be unable to distinguish them from a bad guy.
Vigilante -- once per night can kill a person of their choosing.
Guardian -- once per night can protect someone from any death other than execution by the village. Whether they can protect against multiple attacks on one person in the same night is up to the narrator.
Masons -- a group of good guys, usually of similar size to the group of bad guys, who start the game knowing each other, and that they are all good.
Common Variations
Many larger games contain multiple groups of bad guys working at cross-purposes.
At least one game has included a council elected every other night who are able to overturn the popular vote. Normally, this shifts the execution to the person who got the second-most votes.
The typical size for a group of bad guys is 3, although an individual game may have more, particularly if there is only one group of bad guys in a larger game.
Common "House" Rules
You may not communicate regarding the game with someone who is dead, unless there is some specific mechanic in place to do so. In that case, communication normally goes through the narrator.
You may not use any anonymous method of communication to discuss the game. Forum-based PMs, external IMs, and e-mails are allowed as long as the person you are talking to knows who you are.
You may not use screencaps to "prove" anything to anyone.
Normally, everyone gets a "flavor" role in the game. Bad guys and good specials usually get a normal "villager" role in addition to their special role. This keeps people from using their initial PM to verify someone else's role. The two most common ways to do this are to (a) use the exact same message to everyone, or (b) give everyone a unique villager role.
What is Phalla?
Phalla is the Penny-Arcade Forums' version of the party game Mafia.
The Basic Rules
The "village" consists of all players in the game. Included in the village is a small number of bad guys. Normally, the bad guys all know one another at the beginning of the game, but nobody else knows anything about anyone other than themselves.
Each day (normally 24-hour period) the village discusses and publically votes for one person to be executed that night. At the same time, the bad guys choose one person to kill each night and PM the name to the narrator.
The good side wins if all of the bad guys die. The bad side wins if the number of good guys is less than or equal to the number of bad guys (on the assumption that at that point, they control the vote plus get their kill, so it's inevitable).
Usually, there will be one or more "special" roles among the good guys (and occasionally among the bad guys). Exactly who holds each role is only known to that person, although how many of each role exist is most often known.
Each night, the narrator gives the details of who died, and normally whether they were a bad guy. Some games also include clues or outright statements if someone who died is a good special.
Standard Special Roles
Roles will have different names depending on the theme of the game. Listed below are the usual "generic" terms for each role. Normally, specials exercise their power by communicating with the narrator via PM.
Seer -- once per night can "investigate" a particular person and find out from the narrator if they are a bad guy. Variations of seers may be able to determine a good special as well, although they may be unable to distinguish them from a bad guy.
Vigilante -- once per night can kill a person of their choosing.
Guardian -- once per night can protect someone from any death other than execution by the village. Whether they can protect against multiple attacks on one person in the same night is up to the narrator.
Masons -- a group of good guys, usually of similar size to the group of bad guys, who start the game knowing each other, and that they are all good.
Common Variations
Many larger games contain multiple groups of bad guys working at cross-purposes.
At least one game has included a council elected every other night who are able to overturn the popular vote. Normally, this shifts the execution to the person who got the second-most votes.
The typical size for a group of bad guys is 3, although an individual game may have more, particularly if there is only one group of bad guys in a larger game.
Common "House" Rules
You may not communicate regarding the game with someone who is dead, unless there is some specific mechanic in place to do so. In that case, communication normally goes through the narrator.
You may not use any anonymous method of communication to discuss the game. Forum-based PMs, external IMs, and e-mails are allowed as long as the person you are talking to knows who you are.
You may not use screencaps to "prove" anything to anyone.
Normally, everyone gets a "flavor" role in the game. Bad guys and good specials usually get a normal "villager" role in addition to their special role. This keeps people from using their initial PM to verify someone else's role. The two most common ways to do this are to (a) use the exact same message to everyone, or (b) give everyone a unique villager role.
Thanatos on
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The Shades of Newham (D&D): I was a pretty darn accurate seer, pegging a vigilante and two cultists. Unfortunately, my co-seer an_alt was accurate but misinformed, and therefore a cultist was presented to him as innocent. Cyclopean hijinks ensued.
Red Scare (D&D): I was a miller in this one. I tried to help the FBI by attempting to get in with the Commies and sell them out, but they didn't bite and I was arrested.
New York (D&D): As an NYPD mole working under Don werehippy, my FBI counterpart Elendil and I tore through the good specials thanks to a slightly flawed villager plan. The seer (Dynagrip, of tard-homping fame) managed to get Elendil before falling to the Don's intelligence, and we somehow managed to shimmy and flim-flam our family into a position of wealth and power. TuxCo olive oil is sold in Jersey even today.
Sicily (D&D): My first foray into narrations, helping Shinto by narrating the last few days. Turned a mini-Phalla into a maxi.
Wait, that didn't sound right. Anyway, Mafia won this one too.
Phallaponnesian (D&D): Died, unfortunately (the Phalla, not me). It was going well, too. I think I was a plain ol' village idiot, though.
The Mole (D&D): Hoo boy.
The Phalliad (oDaM): I got III'd.
Soviet Phalla (oDaM): A villager Commie, I was first irritated at Eri's take-my-ball-and-go-home, then got alarmed at how much Jeffe was backing me up. By the time I laid out my theories, the game was more or less shot for us.
Voyage to Phalla (oDaM): I think I was a plain ol'.
V:tM Phalla (oDaM): I was a Brujah in this one. At first I sat on my can for a few days, then got proactive and more or less forced my way into Ardor's confidence. That + getting access to the results of Grundl's plan + Ardor's freaky deal skills = Camarilla victory.
Caves of Phalla (oDaM): Poetry lead to my very, very, very quick death.
Zodiac Phalla (oDaM): Let's see...I was a Goltana brother. I joined forces with my Larg brother, Ardor as Larg ninja, and Buzz Buzz as Larg Time Mage. I think Larg won eventually, so go me? Also threw in a narration for one night.
Phallopolis (oDaM): Agents of B.L.A.S.T., assemble! Our trio of T's (Typhus, Threelemmings, and myself) helped gather the heroes (though, not quite all of them!) for a rousing victory. Also, we had a device.
Les Miserables (D&D): Le miserable.
Witch Trials (D&D): I was a child here, and didn't play very well at all, I must say. Village barely won.
Ad Astra Per Phalla (D&D): My first hosted game. In paperback November 25th.
SS13 (oDaM): Here I was in a 'family' team who lived just long enough to kill a couple of folks before all dying ourselves. We got utterly smoked.
Heroes (SE++): Kind of funny. Working with Ardor, the first version was me as honey-voiced Mohinder (seer) and he as Sylar (nom nom nom). After the reset, I ended up working for Linderman and Ardor was Peter (anti-nom nom nom). We ended up winning by boom.
DFS (oDaM): I was a virus (bad guy) in this, but my power was pretty terrible (a patriot--not the best role for a bad guy).
Phallian Phalla (D&D): I was Ardor! Result: See sig.
Legend of Phalla (D&D): I died early. It was a very low-key game, as I recall...
Phalla Royale (oDaM): I died (twice, if you're in the know).
Phalla Arcade (D&D): Here I was an alt, and did some detective work, but the good guys had this one well in hand.
PhalLOST (oDaM): I guess I was a neutral female vote manipulator.
Death Note (CF): YOU'RE A LOOSE CANNON, MACSPECTRE, AND ONE DAY YOU'RE GOING TO GET WHAT'S COMING TO YOU!
Phalla of the Three Kingdoms -
RISE OF THE DONG EMPIRE
Being on the same team as Thorgot and PrecisionK, B:L caught on early that they were merely faking being rivals, using the age-old tactic of divide and conquer. Utilizing this knowledge, B:L assisted their plan by playing the role of "Jack Thompson", an ineffectual leader of the side decrying those two leaders. With quick work, the two masterminds narrowed down the last remaining enemy down to some obviously opposite player...and B:L. When the sword fell...they made the right choice.
Zodiac Phalla -
The famous last words before the Goltana allegiance fell, due to the actions of the shady Infidel and the traitorous Shamus. Before being revealed as the Goltana Knight, though, B:L was merely a humble chocobo, begging for greens. Ardor (who was later found to be the Larg Assassin) gave B:L some greens, and in return B:L declared his "true allegiance" of Goltana to Ardor. With Ardor quieting down right afterwards, it was clear that he was a member of Larg, and B:L could have used that to his advantage...had Ardor not fell in battle, unluckily. Eventually, B:L was forced to use the power of the Knight to defend Plutonium, an outed Lucavi, because the Goltana were stupidly exposing their network with a last minute "vote-out-B:L-and-kill-Plutonium" plan. Thinking fast, and knowing that the Larg knight has been "unproven" since they haven't blocked any attacks and that the Larg seer was dead, B:L immediately impersonated the Larg knight, sewing confusion in their ranks.
And this...is where things went sour. During negotiations with the Goltana "leader", Infidel, he used very suspicious delay tactics ("What plan do you mean?") to stall talks with B:L. Right afterwards, Shamus came forth with his "reveal" that he was the TRUE Goltana Knight. Now fearing that Infidel had delayed B:L to allow Shamus to set up this plan, it seemed that the Goltana network has been compromised, and the Oracle was in danger. Ripping off the Larg emblem, B:L revealed the TRUE form of the Goltana Knight, and pleaded for the Oracle to listen. The Oracle, Last Son, tried to reach out to B:L through Lignisse, but the paranoid advisor of the Oracle kept the message to herself, and B:L never heard from the Oracle.
And so on that turn, the Goltana Knight B:L, the Goltana traitor Shamus, and the Goltana Oracle Last Son fell, pinning the blame squarely on Infidel and Lignisse. Goltana never recovered, and the Largs finished off the Lucavi to seize victory.
Phalla Royale 1 (Note: Occured after very first Phalla Royale run, which lasted 3 turns and everyone was grenaded) -
http://lonewolfephalla.proboards58.com/index.cgi
Marooned on a desert isle with scared murderous children, that son-of-a-farmer-bitch B:L ain't taking no smack down, and that's the bottom line. Teamed with sensible partners, B:L took his bat and led the team to victory, convincing other teams to vote for certain people (easy due to people willing to vote for anyone not in their team) including diverting the majority vote from his team to the Lone Wolf, Last Son, who was revealed as immune to that death to those who were paying attention. Never mind that B:L never actually killed anyone as a pacifist, he was the lone survivor, and the first person to sign up for the next Phalla Royale...
Ad Astra (ARK) Phalla -
Glory to the PrecisionK Consortium!
http://pkconsortium.proboards92.com/index.cgi?
After our God-Emperor Captain was unceremoneously targetted by every special and their mother, B:L took the helm and tried to maintain the same sense of order that pk had. Which is to say, madness and chaos. Even though B:L was innocent, the guardian Gnasty had a nasty grudge with him and pushed for his death. B:L tried to decry that Grundlterror's group loyalty plan would only lead to their doom, but they did not listen. Well, one person listened, the PK Consortium traitor Squashua, who was the vigilante. In the end, that same group loyalty allowed the aliens to easily take the Ark and end humanity as we know it.
Zoidphalla -
WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP
http://insertgirder.proboards74.com/index.cgi
As a member of the evil Zoidberg clones, he was Gringo Zoidberg. Attempts to assassinate the heavily self-guarded Ardor and Gnasty failed, and in a strict time-limit mini-zoidphalla, that was doom for the bad guys. They did manage to confuse the remaining villagers with false seerings at the end, but well, ONE good zoidberg survived so it was a loss. Well, a loss considered that all the survivors (all one of them) were exterminated right afterwards by Professor Farnsworth.
Dungeons & Phagons -
http://phagonsrealm.proboards83.com/index.cgi?
As the nefarious Shadow Demon, B:L could impersonate any role he wished. Unfortunately, Gnasty came up with a plan that ensured immediate proof of innocence: she would reflect Hank's arrow into B:L. Knowing he had to act, he told Gnasty that he was Hank, and that he won't go through with that plan if it weren't directed elsewhere. Unfortunately for the bad guys, Lignisse outted herself as Venger in public, and Anaximander outted himself as Darion to Gnasty. Hence, Lignisse was voted off (not bad considering Shadow Demon B:L's secret win condition was to get Venger off'd) and Anax was targetted by the reflect of Hank's arrow.
...or that's how it would work, had the idiot Hank hylianBunny not shot Bobby Funkywaltdogg instead. To add insult to injury, the Dungeon Master Precisionk had seered B:L's Shadow Demon form as...Bobby. Yes. The dead one. Completely throwing off B:L's plans, B:L changed his tune and told Gnasty that he was Presto, and that he seered precisionk as Tiamat. He then told Precisionk to use his Tiamat killing power on hylianBunny, who B:L had thought was Tiamat or Hank (because only an idiot or a beginner (gleve) would make such a huge mistake), and if it was used on a regular person, both that person and the Dungeon Master would die.
Anaximander knew he was going to get voted off, so he just sent in his kill order for gleve and disappeared forever, not giving B:L a chance to plan the attack. B:L's only hope was to survive and get the secondary vote onto someone that'll secure them victory...
But Gnasty was paranoid and after a time, pointed out B:L as evil, hoping he would slip. He did, in "revealing" himself as Tiamat instead of as Dungeon Master, which could have possibly won them the game. He could have also won had he used his Bobby power on Hank, who if blocked could not shoot Anaximander, and by the rules since Anaximander did not vote, he will automatically die by the vote and trump the votes for B:L.
It didn't quite work out that way, and the end game resulted in decades of interspecial lesbian sex.
French Court Phalla -
Le Chevalier D'Eon strikes! As a loyalist to the King, D'Eon (portrayed by B:L) was ready to find and gut the traitors. The guards and spies were easy to bribe, and D'Eon had a large wallet. Unfortunately, the dumb-as-a-rock loyalist jdarksun decided that it was a good idea to tie the vote, and thus D'Eon was wrongfully jailed. Ironically enough, the top bribe for that day was one gold piece above D'Eon's purse. Eventually the traitors were caught and hung.
Space Phalla 13 -
DWARF BOOOOMB! B:L, a regular 'ole station technician, noticed that after Emergency Protocol Alpha was announced, there was a hint from Robohobo that he was looking for others. Thinking fast, he offered to help Robohobo look for these engineers (and the one bio-whatever jdarksun who had already died) to set up EPA. That idiot hylianBunny and one other was brought on board, and it was then that the group realized EPA was a Dwarf Bomb, and that all three engineers had to agree to the list. Fearing the influence of traitors on that list, B:L asked them to be open to them about a test list he sent. It turns out robohobo was a traitor, and B:L would have found out through his defense of Ardor on that list, had that idiot hylianBunny and the other engineer actually listened to B:L and told him those thoughts. Eventually, the whole station was infected by stupidity and they were all brainwashed by Drez's loud empty shouting, despite urging from B:L that Drez was a traitor trying to shout his way to victory. But apparently DevoutlyApathetic and visiblehowl were standing too close to Drez, a little TOO close if you know what I mean, and they became deaf and dumb to the truth, helping the traitors vote B:L out and preventing a vital opportunity to link the seer and vigilante. Eventually their stupidity and the traitor's brilliance led to their Sailor Victory, commanded by precisionk. A strange note...before B:L was jettisoned out of the airlock, he had a vision with the name of almost all the traitors, and the shadow of an engineer...
The Dwarf Bomb went off without a hitch, and death became more bliss than ignorance.
Democratic File System Phalla -
!target: Dethkok
Having the skill of a guardian who can protect himself against his target's group, B:L was in a good position to ferry out any traitors. He played this brilliantly, remaining indiscreet while observing the targetting and reactions. Unfortunately, the good guys, led by Dethkok, Infidel, and Funkywaltdogg, had a brain virus and decided to vote out B:L because he wasn't acting B:L(suspicious) enough. The viral infection was eventually wiped out despite this setback.
Aes Sedai Phalla -
Part of the Green Aes Sedai, B:L kept an eye out for suspicious and/or idiotic behavior. One such idiotic behavior was a special, Tossrocks, outing himself as a special, despite B:L warning against such an action due to unforseeable consequences. Drez was especially vocal for the death of B:L, literally foaming at the mouth with the veins on his face on the verge of bursting. Tossrocks, with the power to save B:L, decided that B:L was not of worth. Unfortunately, B:L's words were worth more than previously thought, as Tossrocks fell victim to the exact consequence that B:L warned of. Fortunately, 'Athan' was no Athan and the Aes Sedai were triumphant.
Pet Shop Phalla -
so i herd u liek mudkipz
With the power of the Hypnotoad, B:L could cancel any power in the game. With hawk-like precision, he targetted Drez the pirahnna and stopped his killing power. Unfortunately, B:L's power was striped that same night by the nefarious weasel. Noticing that the seer outted himself, he worked with the seer to target the last hidden evil pet. Unfortunately again, there were no guardians left and the seer and B:L were eaten.
At the final moment, that idiot pet hylianBunny caught rabies and decided to help the evil pets, resulting in the complete and utter destruction of the pet store.
Phallapolis -
In The Name Of The Moon...
...I Shall Punish You!
http://freedomcoa.proboards76.com/index.cgi
A City Of Heroes against the Confederation of Evil. B:L was merely a pawn in this chess game of superpowers. But he played his part, as he was recruited by the Freedom Coalition to infiltrate the Evil ranks. Unfortunately...his contact gave him faulty intel ("Confederacy" instead of "Confederation", which raised alarms), resulting in the Yokester Precisionk putting out cigarette butts in B:L's corpse. Eventually the Heroes triumped over the Evils, including the neutral faction of Gabriel jdarksun Gates, who the Heroes had used and manipulated all along.
Heroes -
As Noah Bennet, B:L led the Company to victory. That is, had Company Man Kovakistan not revealed his role and everyone on the Company team to the public on the first hour of the first day of the game.
One quick restart later...
As Noah Bennet, B:L led the Company to victory. That is, had Peter Ardor Petrelli not turned traitorous and sided with the Precisionk Linderman Group and Sylar, who all wanted to SET OFF THE BOMB. The Company's goal was to either capture nine powered individuals, or stop the bomb. Bennet's goal was to protect his daughter Claire SaraLynn Bennet at all costs.
Acting early, Bennet managed to capture Dr. Suresh and tie him up in the basement for Claire's birthday surprise. Unfortunately, that idiot hylianBunny wrote Meredith (Claire's real mother) as a one-way family with Claire, and that managed to get Meredith voted out.
The Company eventually managed to capture Drezlar (after Ardor Petrelli and Drezlar couldn't be captured on the second day), but Ted was still running rampant. Ardor Petrelli kept using the network against the Company while keeping his own network in the dark, allowing the Lindermans free reign to set up the bomb.
Drezlar eventually escaped, and a gravely injured Noah:Bennet tried to find help. He found Ardor Petrelli, and his warnings about the bomb were silenced by a single pistol shot.
Without their head, the Company fell apart, with Company man Jester even going so far to try and capture Claire, despite the Company already knowing that Claire couldn't be captured unless targetted twice, and Drezlar acts first and was already equipped with the Haitian's power.
Ardor Petrelli and the Lindermans did what they set out to do. Ted was "voted out" by Ardor's plan, and Drezlar easily ate the subdued Ted.
BOOM.
Phallacian Complex -
How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Stop The Bomb
http://purityofessents.proboards81.com/index.cgi?
A comedy of errors phalla. One of the task force members assigned to stop the bomb tests, B:L did stuff. The opposing anti-bomb side did stuff. Hilarity ensued, but in the end...
BOOM.
More BOOMS to come!
1. The text that you have entered is too long (42467 characters). Please shorten it to 35000 characters long.
Damn it, B:L.
I am B:L
Also Lady Eri
I think I'll need to wait/step back a slot.
I just wouldn't close them until Friday at the earliest.
We didn't take a break for the Canadian Thanksgiving, I really don't see how this should be any different.
Calm down there Zot, the mini phallas will still go on ;p
If we're just going to wait until after Thanksgiving, then I'd rather be first up. I'd like to get mine out of the way before December.
You're out of order
Dammit, this whole damn place is out of order
Well, the game would probably be ready to start on Thanksgiving, if not sooner, but I figure it wouldn't be good to start it until afterwards, just in case.
Besides, it provides extra time for planning and such.
And yeah, I wouldn't be extending signups for a 'break', it's to give players time to return from the holiday/whatever.
Or if it starts earlier, it could be with the addendum that inactivity won't be as punishable(though day-to-day events will be very important).
Maybe an extended first day, either/or.
(Though for this theme, activity won't be too crucial on the very first day, regardless.)
And inactivity... is... so... annoying... >.>
(Can I use that moniker?)
I guess I'll just go with the starting of signups now, maybe starting the first day on Wednesday but closing it on Friday. Or probably just starting the first day on Friday.
That seems like a decent option. That way people at least have their roles and they can chatter in the game thread, rather than stare at a motionless signup thread for two more days.
I am making a Phalla, and one of the peoples abilities is to force people to vote for someone as if it is a form of mind control. The mind control will leave subtle hints about the person's name and faction after time. However, obviously, the person cannot message the target to tell him to vote for. Now, would that person be able to use an alt to message the person, or would it have to be done through the Narrator (me)
Oh, and Signing up for a Phalla.
An ability like that sounds easily abused, unless you have some way to enforce it. The majority of people wouldn't actually go along with it, if someone just messaged them telling them that they had to vote for someone. Everyone would be sending messages like that to everyone else, and I can see it getting out of hand easily. Either that or everyone would think the person claiming the power was full of shit, and the power became obsolete.
Borderlands 2 PA Xbox Metatag - Bazillion Guns
Considering you're current place and an average of about 10 days per phalla, It'll probably be sometime next October you'll be going
You've got a long wait
Theoretically Evil
I don't know if this was to me or FreeAgent but be aware the issues with conversion have little to do with balance.
Borderlands 2 PA Xbox Metatag - Bazillion Guns
For one guy, I got the ability to control the vote, but at the cost of giving away his name and being able to be destroyed by the victim, assuming he has a kill spell on him. And trust me, there are quite a few killspells.
The other guy is able to control the target's spells, but also at the cost of giving away his name. So if neccessary, he can be voted out.
And to make sure the killspells arent overpowered and make the game end in three days, I also made it so a guardian spell reflects any spell casted at them which causes harm *Sorry Mr. Mind Controller dude, I guess you are going to have to vote for yourself today!*
What I'm trying to make is an atmosphere for the game that even if you are able to kill someone, you have to be very careful or else you could end up as a pile of ash. The game's storyline calls for extremely high tension, and that the one reason you havent killed one another is the fear of death yourself.
Good. :twisted: