Help: Downton Abbey Mafia (conversion opinions sought)
Posted: 26 Jan 2015, 01:02So I've been thinking about a few game ideas that I haven't seen run around here, and was looking for some feedback. I've never designed a game before, so this might be horrendous.
Possible Downton Abbey spoilers follow.
The winds of change are sweeping into Downton Abbey, ancestral home of the Earls of Grantham. The specter of SOCIALISM threatens to upend everything that Lord Grantham didn't work for. The horrible Miss Sarah Bunting has been sniffing about Downton, filling the servants' heads with all sorts of nasty, pernicious thoughts like equality and basic math skills. She's even gotten the ear of some of the fine lords and ladies upstairs, if you can believe that! Should enough inhabitants of Downton Abbey become SOCIALISTS to outnumber the Monarchists, Downton will fall!
There are two factions and two classes in Downton Abbey.
The Monarchists are the uninformed majority. They win when all SOCALISTS have been sent away from Downton. God Save the King!
The SOCIALISTS are the informed minority. They win when every member of the Upstairs class has either been converted to socialism or turned out of Downton, at which point they will burn Downton Abbey to the ground. Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!
The Upstairs class is composed of the elite lords and ladies of high society. They do no work, but have ultimate control over whether servants (the Downstairs class) are to be dismissed from Downton Abbey. If they suspect one of their own number has given in to SOCIALISM, they may agree it is best to send that person to Switzerland for a "rest cure," rather than have them embarrass the family. In game terms, that means the Upstairs class controls the LYNCH.
I'm not exactly sure what form I want this to take yet. The most straight-forward thing to do would be to give only Upstairs people the ability to lynch vote. I reckon I will allow No Lynch as a vote. I suspect I may also make it easier to lynch Downstairs players than Upstairs players, or allow the Upstairs to lynch multiple Downstairs players per turn. I might also give everyone a vote, but the Upstairs players' votes are weighted more heavily. Input very much appreciated.
The Downstairs class are the workers of Downton. Busy, productive people with jobs to do, they nevertheless have no influence over who goes or stays in Downton. Direct influence, that is. By exploiting their jobs and bending the ears of the folks Upstairs, they can be movers and shakers indeed, though little appreciated. The members of the Downstairs class all have roles to play, and may wish to use their abilities during the night, to help or hinder their Upstairs employers as their political leanings dictate.
Every Downstairs player will have a role, they will mostly be fairly standard with some Downtony flavor. I am thinking either the servants get no lynch vote, or may only vote to lynch out a fellow servant.
Before Lord Grantham kicked her out of the house entirely, Miss Sarah Bunting already managed to convert x number, I'm thinking 3/12, but maybe 2/12 as mafia can convert of loyal Downtonians to her dreaded SOCIALISM. Upon becoming a SOCIALIST, a player gains the night abilities to attempt to CONVERT or INCRIMINATE another player Every evening, the Socialist fifth column inside Downton may choose ONE OF THEIR MEMBERS to attempt to CONVERT another player to Socialism, or to INCRIMINATE another player of indiscrete behavior.
Only some players will be susceptible to socialist conversion. If the Socialists successfully target a susceptible, unprotected person for CONVERSION, that person will join the SOCIALIST faction, and participate in their nightly meetings (PM). They retain whatever abilities they had as Monarchists.
(I believe this will be explicitly based on flavor; eg., Lady Isobel Crawley may be susceptible to conversion but the Dowager Countess absolutely will not be, so the town may wish to keep their characters and roles quite secret. However, it is totally GM's call to interpret how a character would respond to a conversion attempt. Tom Branson, for example, might recall his change of heart after seeing an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family turfed out of their home, and refuse to participate in any subversive activities. Feedback appreciated here as well.)
If the Socialists attempt to INCRIMINATE a player, they will put out a nasty rumor that sends the player packing from Downton without another word. Servants are unceremoniously dismissed, while Upstairs society members are blackmailed with evidence of their illicit dalliances, and sent to tour America under threat of social embarrassment.
Every evening, each Upstairs player also submits their lynch votes via PM to the GM, as well as any night actions they may have. Votes may have different weights, and some night actions may effect the outcome of the vote. Weighting will not be made public, only the result of each vote. Still thinking about exactly how I would want this mechanic to work. I don't want it to be mechanically obvious who the Upstairs people are (though towns may wish to out this, of course), but we still need some kind of vote record for people to work with.
Here are some roles I'd consider in the game. This is by no means a final line-up, but if you reckon you might want to play this game without knowing what sorts of roles might be in it, kindly refrain from checking the spoiler.
So what do you all reckon? Could some version of this be workable, and if workable, could it be fun?
Possible Downton Abbey spoilers follow.
The winds of change are sweeping into Downton Abbey, ancestral home of the Earls of Grantham. The specter of SOCIALISM threatens to upend everything that Lord Grantham didn't work for. The horrible Miss Sarah Bunting has been sniffing about Downton, filling the servants' heads with all sorts of nasty, pernicious thoughts like equality and basic math skills. She's even gotten the ear of some of the fine lords and ladies upstairs, if you can believe that! Should enough inhabitants of Downton Abbey become SOCIALISTS to outnumber the Monarchists, Downton will fall!
There are two factions and two classes in Downton Abbey.
The Monarchists are the uninformed majority. They win when all SOCALISTS have been sent away from Downton. God Save the King!
The SOCIALISTS are the informed minority. They win when every member of the Upstairs class has either been converted to socialism or turned out of Downton, at which point they will burn Downton Abbey to the ground. Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!
The Upstairs class is composed of the elite lords and ladies of high society. They do no work, but have ultimate control over whether servants (the Downstairs class) are to be dismissed from Downton Abbey. If they suspect one of their own number has given in to SOCIALISM, they may agree it is best to send that person to Switzerland for a "rest cure," rather than have them embarrass the family. In game terms, that means the Upstairs class controls the LYNCH.
I'm not exactly sure what form I want this to take yet. The most straight-forward thing to do would be to give only Upstairs people the ability to lynch vote. I reckon I will allow No Lynch as a vote. I suspect I may also make it easier to lynch Downstairs players than Upstairs players, or allow the Upstairs to lynch multiple Downstairs players per turn. I might also give everyone a vote, but the Upstairs players' votes are weighted more heavily. Input very much appreciated.
The Downstairs class are the workers of Downton. Busy, productive people with jobs to do, they nevertheless have no influence over who goes or stays in Downton. Direct influence, that is. By exploiting their jobs and bending the ears of the folks Upstairs, they can be movers and shakers indeed, though little appreciated. The members of the Downstairs class all have roles to play, and may wish to use their abilities during the night, to help or hinder their Upstairs employers as their political leanings dictate.
Every Downstairs player will have a role, they will mostly be fairly standard with some Downtony flavor. I am thinking either the servants get no lynch vote, or may only vote to lynch out a fellow servant.
Before Lord Grantham kicked her out of the house entirely, Miss Sarah Bunting already managed to convert x number, I'm thinking 3/12, but maybe 2/12 as mafia can convert of loyal Downtonians to her dreaded SOCIALISM. Upon becoming a SOCIALIST, a player gains the night abilities to attempt to CONVERT or INCRIMINATE another player Every evening, the Socialist fifth column inside Downton may choose ONE OF THEIR MEMBERS to attempt to CONVERT another player to Socialism, or to INCRIMINATE another player of indiscrete behavior.
Only some players will be susceptible to socialist conversion. If the Socialists successfully target a susceptible, unprotected person for CONVERSION, that person will join the SOCIALIST faction, and participate in their nightly meetings (PM). They retain whatever abilities they had as Monarchists.
(I believe this will be explicitly based on flavor; eg., Lady Isobel Crawley may be susceptible to conversion but the Dowager Countess absolutely will not be, so the town may wish to keep their characters and roles quite secret. However, it is totally GM's call to interpret how a character would respond to a conversion attempt. Tom Branson, for example, might recall his change of heart after seeing an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family turfed out of their home, and refuse to participate in any subversive activities. Feedback appreciated here as well.)
If the Socialists attempt to INCRIMINATE a player, they will put out a nasty rumor that sends the player packing from Downton without another word. Servants are unceremoniously dismissed, while Upstairs society members are blackmailed with evidence of their illicit dalliances, and sent to tour America under threat of social embarrassment.
Every evening, each Upstairs player also submits their lynch votes via PM to the GM, as well as any night actions they may have. Votes may have different weights, and some night actions may effect the outcome of the vote. Weighting will not be made public, only the result of each vote. Still thinking about exactly how I would want this mechanic to work. I don't want it to be mechanically obvious who the Upstairs people are (though towns may wish to out this, of course), but we still need some kind of vote record for people to work with.
Here are some roles I'd consider in the game. This is by no means a final line-up, but if you reckon you might want to play this game without knowing what sorts of roles might be in it, kindly refrain from checking the spoiler.
So what do you all reckon? Could some version of this be workable, and if workable, could it be fun?