Who is the Murderer?
For any of you who have been on RP forums for a while - and definitely anyone who was part of the ones I've created - you'll recognize this game. It's also something that people play offline, so you might have encountered it that way too. I've actually had an idea recently for a potential RP thread I might GM (despite really not having an interest in role-playing outside of my project's setting most of the time -- so I'd potentially connect this idea to my project somehow), but for the time being I'm going to keep this possible GM idea to myself (you're free to PM me about it or ask here though, if you're curious) and contribute to the site in the form of this old gem. It's something of a social experiment -- I enjoy those since psychology is one of the fields I specialize in/obsess over.
Anyway, the idea is you're all a group of travellers, friends, or whatever suits the setting (we usually used my project's setting, but since this is such a public site I figured just a conventional murderer would be more fitting). After some time has passed, one of your members (prior to the game beginning, and therefore not a player) has been murdered and it's completely clear to you all that the murderer is one of the people in your group remaining.
The objective of the game is for the members of the party to vote for who they think the killer is, before this murderer manages to kill them all off. He/She will kill one member of the group after each unsuccessful attempt to vote him/her off. If the murderer is the last one at the end, he/she wins. If at any point the murderer is voted off, everyone else who has managed to survive wins.
Hosting the game will be my job, but if someone else eventually wants to give it a go then they can either post here asking to do so once a game ends or they can PM me about it. If no one else decides to host, then I'll continue to do so unless something prevents me from remaining active. The host will PM the murderer (given the way this PM system works, it will be too troublesome to PM every member to tell them what they are, so assume if you get no PM - and the game starts - that you're not the murderer). Once the host says that the murderer knows who they are, everyone can start voting.
I'm undecided about whether or not I'll make it a default to use the [ @Mention ] feature on the site anytime you give someone's name as your vote, but I'd prefer it. Also, if someone eventually holds the game up for an ungodly amount of time by disappearing from the site, they'll simply be killed off by default without needing to be voted out. This includes the murderer, just for the record.
Since a couple of confusions have come up, I'm going to edit in a little FAQ about the rules (this will be updated):
- Votes can't be changed after they've been placed. You can discuss all you like, but once you place the vote you're done.
- Anytime there are equal votes at the end, an elimination round occurs where everyone votes for just those people.
- If for some reason every single member gets voted for - resulting in everyone having one vote - the murderer kills two people off.
- You can't vote for yourself.
- Those eliminated no longer continue voting after they are out, obviously. They should avoid posting in general - since they're dead and can't voice opinions - but they can comment in ways that don't spoil the game or give hints to the players.
- Anyone not part of the game that currently is in play should avoid posting anything that could help people or hinder people who are participating, but otherwise outsiders are allowed to comment. I'm also allowing people who want in the follow-up game to post during the current one and reserve a spot. Registering in advance probably only works for the next follow-up game going on at any given time, not following ones after it. Actually ask to be in the game by posting into this thread, so everyone knows you reserved a spot.
- Those participating in the current game are not allowed to ask to be a part of the follow-up game until after they are eliminated in the current one.
- Voting operates on a weekly deadline -- once a round begins you have seven days for someone to place a vote, otherwise the murderer eliminates two people. If at least one person votes before then, the seven day counter starts up again for the remaining people to vote and this pattern repeats itself until everyone votes or a majority is found.
- Should the murderer remain inactive for some reason - such as failing to PM me concerning their next target within a period of seven days after me requesting for the victim, or failing to place a vote when it is currently needed for a majority to be found (assuming they are the last to vote) - they will be eliminated and the game will end.
- If someone's inactive for seven days during the recruitment phase of the game, their spot will be opened up to someone else who wants in; however, I'll reserve them a spot in the next game as a courtesy.
Originally, I didn't plan to allow an entry about the meta of this game to be included (which is why I never posted it up with my explanation and rules), but it's time to mix things up a bit -- from this point onwards, the meta will be edited into this post for people new to the game to use. Let's see how it changes future games. Since @BrokenPromise did a good job writing it up - and making it entertaining - I don't see any reason to change the wording, so I'll be quoting their post rather than making my own meta entry. You'll find it in the following hider:
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The first 7 members to sign up will be in this initial game (I may increase this number in later games if this topic is popular).
Spaces Left: 0
~THIS GAME ENDED. CHECK RECENT POSTS FOR THE CURRENT GAME TO FIND OUT IF WE HAVE OPEN SLOTS.~
