Cthulu mafia: Confirmations

[SnowFire]

Marbury?  Beautiful town, highly recommended, just west of Paugus Mill.  It's a bit small, but they've got that wonderful small-town social fabric.  Everybody knows everybody, and strong community organizations tie everyone together.  The Order of Unseen Wisdom, the Chapel of Divine Contemplation, the Ladies Christian Knitting Circle.  

Beautiful scenery, too.  Right on the edge of the White Mountains, very scenic.  They used to have hikers and tourists visit them, too, though not anymore.  Think it was an archaeologist or something that disappeared first, and then the search party that went after 'em.  Real tragedy.  The feds declared the whole area a National Park 'while back and it's off limits now except to rangers.  Who really knows what's in those mountains, anyway?

Still, the rest of the area is pretty enough even if you can't see much of the mountains anymore.  And it's still known for the salubrious effect on health; plenty of pretty well-preserved elderly folks in the town.  There are some cabins that I hear college professors stay at while on sabbatical to rest, and they've got a special sanitarium for care of the mentally troubled - morons, half-wits, opium fiends, and so on.  It's thought the healthy mountain air will be good for their spirits, and the occasional escapee is usually collared by the townspeople quickly enough.

One of the things that most struck me about the place was its democratic nature, just as George Washington intended.  They never did trust the government, courts and cops and all... they just voted.  Believed in the old way of doing things, and wouldn't let trifles like trials get in the way of upholdin' community values.  Nah, you don't want to break that town's rules, they took care of troublemakers and lawbreakers real good there.

How do I know so much about Marbury?  Ah, my wife grew up there!  She's a bit strange about it, though.  Never wanted to go back herself and refused to say much; every time I visited it was just by meself.  Think it must be some family dispute, because I sure can't see anything wrong with a fine town like that.  No, sirree.
 
----

Welcome to the sign-up thread for Cthulu mafia!  SPOILERS: Everyone will be dead and/or crazy by the end.  Probably.  And dead might be better.

Fun Facts about Marbury, New Hampshire in 1928:
* This game will have a stronger role-playing component than usual, but nothing will be required.  Call it "RP-recommended;" there'll be no post restrictions, but if you get into character, that's cool.
* In that vein, every single character - scum and town alike - will have a DARK SECRET.  This will be largely irrelevant to your in-game role and mostly fodder for the day-to-day writeups.  Your secret could be anything from "You are a gay socialist" to "you are a 200 year-old warlock who must feed on souls."  And both these characters might be townies!
* This will not be an anonymous game.  HOWEVER.  If you want to get into the role-playing more, then you may take one of the anon accounts and rename it to "Milly Blake, lounge singer" or whatever.  People will still know that "Harwood Smith is really SnowFire," of course, but presumably in-game they'll refer to you by your account.  If you want to do this, though, you need to say so at the start and stick with it the whole game so that there's no confusion.
* Role-power.  Right.  Well, there will be madness, so I can't say too much, but I expect a power level slightly lower than Gatewalker's Meme mafia, if that helps at all.  Everyone will have a role, but many roles will be functionally vanilla - very minor or actively harmful.  Flips are 100% reliable about alignment, and townie roles will have a full explanation as well, so you won't just see "Alienist" and wonder what on earth that does.  Scum roles will also have an explanation but may not mention the full details, though what details you do see will be reliable.  There'll be no alignment-switching powers nor any powers based on random chance (50% of X).
* Deadlines will be 72 hours.

Anyway.  Characters are pretty free-form; make up whatever you like so long as there's an excuse for them to be in Marbury, even if it's the equivalent of "my car broke down."  Suggestions include...
* Gentleman farmer of Marbury.
* Town General Store proprietor.
* Retired wealthy man of means.
* Mayor / town council alderman.
* Doctor at the mental hospital.
* Meddling cop from Boston.
* Mountain hermit.
* Professor from Europe on "sabbatical" here, investigating area.
* Rum-runner and smuggler for the Boston mob.

...and for pretty much anyone who is an actual Marbury native, add "and member of one of its illustrious organizations which are in no way cults."

15 players would be ideal for this game.  It can probably run with 13, just the madness will be tamped down somewhat.

1. Pietro Giovanni, mafia bootlegger (EvilTom)
2. William Hellsnake, roaming bounty hunter (Magetastic)
3. Peyton Hadley, former actor (Bobbin Cranbud)
4. Nathan Greaves, journalist (Roukanken)
5. Seamus O'Malley, odd jobs man (Excal)
6. Jack Daniels, town drunk (Makkotah)
7. Ronald Dale, burned-out novelist (Bardiche)
8. Ethan Hayles, local farmer/country bumpkin (Yoshiken)
9. Tyrone Callahan, stablemaster (EternalLurker)
10. Chad Hutchins, football star (Sir Alex)
11. Kyle Handley, traveling salesman (Hunter Sopko)
12. Samuel Hargreaves, veterinarian (lmm)
13. Nikolai Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician / musician (Alice)
14. Martin Andrews, prospective shop owner (Shale)
15. Moses Bike, retired fisherman (Xanth)

(?. metroid composite, schedule permitting, which it looks like it isn't.)

[EvilTom]

In as an actual mafioso!
Pietro Giovanni, made man & provider of the best drinks on the market.

[metroid composite]

As I mentioned elsewhere, I'd like to actually give Mafia a spin.  CAVEAT: I will not be available after April 15.  Period.  And I will understand if, on the basis of this, you feel I shouldn't play.

Role umm...teenage girl whose parents are divorced.  Her mother died, so she's come to live with her father.

I could keep elaborating, but I'm not sure if, for example, the character's "dark secret" is supposed to be actually secret.

[SnowFire]

In general I'll be the one giving your character the Dark Secret (which will start secret, at least).  You are free to suggest one via PM, of course, but that's an aspect you should expect might change.

As a warning..  hrmm.  I would hate to turn you down, but I don't think that this fits well with your schedule.  72 hour days + 24 hour nights = 4 RL days per mafia day, worst case scenario.  Assuming no vigilantes, serial killers, or other untoward deaths, that'd be 6 days for a 13 player game or 7 days for a 15 player game.  Even if the game lasts only 5 days - a pretty common length - that's 20 RL days worst-case, which means we'd have to start on March 26.  This is unlikely to happen with people probably still somewhat frazzled from Meme mafia and wanting at least a short break.

Still, if there's some way we can make this work, then awesome.

[Magetastic]

Won't be available to play until sometime this weekend at the earliest, but I should be fresh enough to be in.

Roaming Bounty Hunter, will probably come up with a name later if I find the time.

[Bobbin Cranbud]

I won't be able to spare more than a few minutes a day until... April at the earliest.  Nonetheless, there's no way I'm skipping a Cthulhu Mafia game.  If we need to start before I can really contribute, well - hopefully I won't be lynched for lurking or nightkilled the first day or two!

Character:

Peyton Hadley, formerly promising stage actor who stopped performing under mysterious circumstances.

[Roukanken]

Eh, what the hell. I play well enough here anonymous - how much worse can I be in public?

Nathan Greaves, a supposedly accomplished journalist who has never even approached any of the nearby papers for employment.

I could keep elaborating, but I'm not sure if, for example, the character's "dark secret" is supposed to be actually secret.

If it's that she meets a pale young man and falls in love with him despite him being borderline abusive...

[Excal]

What the hell.

Seamus O'Malley, young lad in to the city to do odd jobs to help feed the family.

[Cotigo]

Okay, so, I'm in but here's the thing.

April 8th?  AWP conference in Denver.  Already signed up to go and hock the school's magazine-slash-look into MFA programs.  So I'll be gone from the 7th to the 11th.  Now, I MAY have internet during that time (if I get a replacement charger for my laptop), but the conference lasts from 7:30 to 5 each day so I probably won't even want to play then.

Now, if the game starts afterwards?  By all means, count my ass in, up, on, and exploding.  Otherwise, probably not or I'll have to get a replacement for those days.

EDIT:  Oh, yeah, character.

Jack Daniels, town Drunk.

[Bardiche]

Ronald Dale, burned-out novelist looking for a change of scenery.

 

[Yoshiken]

Alright, I'll bite.

Ethan Hayles, local farmer/country bumpkin trying to make a living.

[EternalLurker]

Ty (Tyrone) Callahan is a twenty-something-year-old who owns a rather large stable at the outer edges of Marbury (about twenty-five horses at any given time). Its main business was in horse rides for the tourists who wanted to head up into the White Mountains, but now that they're closed off, he mainly just runs it locally, $0.50 for an hour-long kid's class and things like that. His prices certainly don't match up to the daily expenditures for his horses; he seems not to be lacking in money, probably due to a sizable inheritance, though he does apparently make some by selling some of his horses, at least two a month.

He's liked enough by people who see him often, but considered a bit of a loner by most of the rest: he's never seen outside past sundown, politely declines all invitations by groups such as the Order of Unseen Wisdom, and always seems to have an excuse when asked to come by for dinner. When he comes into town it's usually right about noon and almost always to the bar; his main purpose in these visits seems to be to make conversation with the bartender and occasionally some specific members of the town that happen to be nearby, though he always makes an effort to befriend any tourists or newcomers he meets there.

Note that I'm also open to such plot points as the local post office renting horses from him when delivering outside the town, or anything else you want him to supply (as long as he gets some money from it it'll often be a token amount, but it'll be something), depending on how much you want Marbury to tolerate the rise of the automobile industry in this version of 1928.

[SnowFire]

On timing: Yeah, sorry metroid, but it looks bad right now.  Since it looks like Bobbin Cranbud can play only in April, and we're not full at the moment, I don't think the schedule fits.  As for Makkotah...  well, that's a little longer than I'd like, but here's how it'll be.  If the game starts in early April, and you are still alive when your vacation hits, then the next night will just be extra-long.  This is similar to how Excal said that if Henchmen mafia lasted into Christmas, the game would just freeze up in a long night.  (If we start in mid-April, of course, then the point is moot.)  Since it's not unheard of for nights to end up 48-72 hours long before due to mod distraction or whatever, it won't be the end of the world to have a 3-4 RL-day night phase.

Also, it'll be Easter break soon, so it's unlikely we'll start then since people are likely to be on vacation.  So tentatively, given enough people, let's call it April 4 (Easter) for game start.  Day 1 will be over April 7, and then there'll be a long night while Makkotah is out (unless he was lynched D1).  If there aren't enough people for an April 4 start then we'll start the 11th or 12th.

Moving on...

I have about 4 "maybes" currently, of which 3 mentioned that they weren't very familiar with the setting.  The best introduction would be the Shadow Hearts series of games, or the Arkham Horror threads here.  These are both modern reinterpretations of Lovecraft with hefty amounts of badassery tossed in, though.  Which is fine!  Especially in that modern interpretations tend to be considerably more enlightened about racism / sexism / etc. than the real 1920s were.

A bit of history: the Cthulu setting started with the short stories and novellas of H. P. Lovecraft written from ~1915-1935 or so.  Lovecraft himself was a shy, weird individual who was probably terrified of going outside, so he made for a good writer of horror.  He died penniless and forgotten in 1937, and was pretty much ignored until the 60s and 70s, when he was rediscovered.  The fact that almost all of his work had fallen out of copyright and into the public domain helped, too, as pretty much anyone else could take the setting and build on it.

The setting in general?  Civilization and rationality are pleasant lies to distract us from the terrible cosmic secrets of how the world really works.  Unknown powers and "gods" offer their followers a bit of power...  for a price.  It's neat because "magic" is really different in Cthulu than your average fantasy setting - would-be sorcerers are dabbling with powers far beyond their grasp, and if not careful can fully fall into madness.  And while rationality might be false, it's still the best weapon humanity has - at least from the stories, actual physical combat tends to be unwise idea.  Lovecraft's heroes tend to be bored dilettantes, academics, students, detectives, etc.  The best way to "win" is to research the unearthly terror, and while the secrets of how it works might drive you insane, you'll at least be able to stop it to save others.  Modern re-interpretations a la Arkham Horror tend to be more open to mafia gangsters blowing away the tentacled horrors with tommy guns, but even in that game, the best way to defeat the Great Old One is to seal him up and stop the cultists from summoning him, and if you opt for the "fight the Great Old One" method you tend to get half your team killed even if you win.  Modern versions are also apt to not take the "soul-crushing pessimism" too seriously and address that with just a nod and a wink.

If I had to give an example character from geeky stuff like games / anime...  uh, maybe Akiha from Tsukihime?  An eccentric woman of wealth from an ancient yet cursed bloodline which made a dark deal for power.  Lovecraft was a big fan of Edgar Allan Poe, so if you know "The Fall of the House of Usher" that works as well.

So, yeah.  Mostly "play the Shadow Hearts series" hype.  If you want to read some original Lovecraft, this site has a fairly complete list: http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/fiction/  .  I'd recommend...
* "The Music of Erich Zann" ( http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/mez.asp ).  It's short, it'll only take 10 minutes to read.  A student hears a mute violin player's odd music, things go downhill from there.
* "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" ( http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/soi.asp ) - In which the dangers of miscegenation and race-mixing are explored.  And by race-mixing I mean "Humans and undersea horror servants of Cthulu."  Town drunk Jack Daniels Zadok Allen is the one who knows the town's dark secrets.  Mentioned mostly for the "creepy town" angle and including some of the more famous elements of Lovecraft.

[Ranmilia]

Marbury?  Marbury.  Yeh it's a nice place, great to grow course I like it.  In gen'ral that is.  But I guess, well, not that many kids my age leave.  Mostly everyone grows up and kinda fades out after high school.  Sometimes in high school, a couple'a guys just up'n skipped senior year to work with their parents.  Fam'ly business, y'know. 

Pop wants me to do that too, take over the store when it comes time.  He's kinda upset that I never have much time to work on it, with practice and all, but he never says a word about it on account of Ma.  Fore she took ill and passed on, bless her heart, the one thing she said before we din't see her no more was "Chad Hutchins, you hear me, you are gonna keep playing that football game and get that scholarship and leave this town!"  So Pop puts up with it, and well that's mighty fine by me cause shucks I love me some football and Coach says I'm the best at it he ever did see in his eight years at Marbury High. 

He's prob'ly right too, I'll be the first to admit I'm a big guy, heh heh.  And shucks I tain't the smartest either.  Ain't no way I'd ever get out of Marbury without football.  And truth be told I kinda want to leave.  Feels kinda trapped here sometimes, you know what I mean?  But then a'the same time I kinda don't?  Ma said this nice strong body was my ticket outta here, but Pop always just said he was proud o' me and God had answered his prayers for his son.  Lil weird to say that since he don't ever go to church and I ain't ever seen him read a Bible, cept this one time but it was in Latin or somethin I couldn't read, but that's Pop for ya. 

Well anyway, it was nice talkin to you, mister, but I gotta get back to practice a bit more b'fore sundown now, we got a scrimmage vs Rhenford comin up and they're mighty tough on the field.  I'll catch you later about this, uh, meeting thang you want to do, okay?  You take care now!

[Hunter Sopko]

Goddamnit. Alex just got me to play again with that gem. Reinstating Kyle Handley, travelling salesman/flim flam artist extraordinaire.

[lmm]

Sure, the scalpel's sharp, but it's the man who's got to be sharper. My ol' man was the finest surgeon in Boston, never mind that that other feller could amputate twice as fast; Pa got it right, and there weren't nobody died on his table 'fore 'is time was due.

Me? Well, they say I got his hand, but I could never stand t'be cuttin' on folk. Think Pa was a little 'shamed of that, t'tell the truth, though he tried not to show it. Horses, though, I never had no problem with horses. They understands what I'm doin', y'see, better than folks do, crazy as that might sound. 'Course, city folks don't know one horse from another, even without them fancy motor cars they's makin' a fuss about nowadays. But, place like this, folks really appreciate a good horse, so after Pa died I sold up and headed for the country. Wound up here in Marbury, last town before the mountains. I like it here, it's... real peaceful like, and the folks're friendly without needin' t'... y'know, pry, the way city folks would.

Anyways, I gotta head up to Percy's farm. Feller wants me t' see about 'is cow.


Count me in, though I'll be away over Easter until the 5th or possibly 6th of April. Samuel Hargreaves, Veterinarian.

[Bobbin Cranbud]

If we're short on players, I could ask around on other forums/locally to see if anyone's interested.  I know a fair few people who are interested in matters Mythos, though not necessarily their views on forum mafia.

[SnowFire]

Sure, if you think they'd enjoy the game.  My only worry is that the role setup is obviously a bit non-standard which means it's probably not the best "New to Mafia!" game...  but if they're willing to at least read through an old mafia game and familiarize themselves with how standard Mafia works, then great.

As an administrative note, we're obviously not starting on Sunday after all, so it looks like we're starting around when Makkotah's vacation is over (playership permitting), so April 10-13 range.  I will say that playership is theoretically not too dire...  I have one person who says he's definitely interested, another who said he'd be willing to join as a 14th/15th player to make the game go, and several "possible"s.  So.  You, there, reading this!  The one who didn't sign up already!  Sign up now, win a free Cthulu plushie!  (Gifts of the Elder Gods may have significant side effects including dizziness, shortness of breath, flashbacks, amnesia, madness, and death.  Shipping and handling fee of 9.99 required.)

[Alice]

/in, Apr 15th is a nice time to begin as the 14th's the date of my last important/difficult exam. Nikolai Kolmogorov, immigrant mathematician turned musical satirist.

No, this character is not in any way influenced by Tom Lehrer. Really. I swear.

[Shale]

Martin Andrews, new immigrant to Arkham and prospective shop owner.

[Taishyr]

NIKOLAI IVANOVICH GORBCHEVSKY WAS HIS NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME

*clearthroat*

Not in, classes are going "hi, pressure mode engage, lol". Will be watching with great interest, however.

[Xanth]

Sure, let me make it up to the 15 that were initially sought after.

There's a rather large decision coming up in my life this week, the result of which means that I'll either have a lot of time to spare for this or probably have very little. If it's the latter then I'll make sure that I do make the effort to keep up, but I definitely won't have the time for anything fancy like role playing. I hope that won't jar with the rest of you too much if it is the case.

Moses Bike, retired fisherman.

[SnowFire]

....aaaand that's 15.

Signups will stay open for a day or so in case anyone wants to make it 16.  This is also the time to speak up if you've gotten cold feet and don't want to join after all.  Otherwise, expect role PMs to go out in a day or two.

[SnowFire]

Right.  Sending out role PMs now, game will start once everyone has confirmed.

This is where I remind everyone again that they should pick if they want to use an alternate account for the game or not.  It's kind of handy because then I (and others) can refer to you in-game just by your fake name, so there's less risk of confusion, but it's optional.

----

October 23, 1928.  Around 6:00 PM.

At the Callahan stables

"So yeh don't need any help?"  Seamus O'Malley (Excal) looked around the muddy and not particularly well-maintained pasture.

"I could always use help," Ty Callahan (Eternal Lurker) replied.  "I just don't think I'll be able to pay you for any help.  Jeb Cress, Alderman Jones, and even the widow Avil all got automobiles this year.  Henry Ford is putting me out of the business just as I got into it.  Oh, and looks like Sam's back."

Indeed, town veterinarian Samuel Hargreaves (lmm) returned, slowly walking a horse with him.  "Wizard here should be just fine.  Was just a splinter in his shoe, nothing too serious.  I'd recommend letting him take it easy for a few days, though."  Sam paused.  "You do sure seem to go through horses fast, though.  You should be careful about whatever hazards they're getting into."

Ty shrugged.  "I've got a friend in Maine.  Big horse-trader.  The old horses are fine, I've just sold 'em to others.  Hey...  you know any odd jobs that need doin' around town for my new friend Seamus here?  He arrived just today."

Sam turned toward O'Malley.  "Well...  there's always Rosie's.  It's the, uh, inn around here.  A lot of visitors around lately, so Jeb, the proprietor, could probably use some extra help...  though then again there's that Russian fellow Jeb's already got.  It still might be worth a shot."

Ty looked at both impatiently.  "Well, it's getting toward sundown.  I better close up shop.  See you around, Doc."  Seamus tipped his cap with a "Much obliged, sirs," and set off for Rosie's Country Inn.

---

Seamus looked around.  Cute tables, a sofa, empty ashtrays.  It was all very nice...  too nice for an out-of-the-way inn & diner.  And was that...  music, coming from what sounded like below?

The clerk leaned over.  "Another stranger?  Well, if you want a room, we're full up on beds now.  Lucky you arrived when you did; if anyone else comes, they're getting turned away."

"What's the racket downstairs?"

"You don't know?  You here for the sasparilla, then?  I don't think you are.  Stairs are over the way, behind the curtain, on the left."

Downstairs, it was obvious that the Prohibition laws didn't seem to be in effect.  Why, the Sheriff was even there, drinking rum with Pietro Giovanni (EvilTom).  An Eastern-European looking fellow, Nikolai Kolmogorov (Alice), sat in the corner playing the piano.  A shifty looking fellow, Kyle Handley (Hunter Sopko), seemed to be trying to convince Ethan Hayles (Yoshiken) to buy some amazing device that'd save work on his farm.  Another person had clearly gotten an early start on his liquor, Jack Daniels (Makkotah), as he'd already assumed the slouch of someone who'd had far too much.  At a table toward the back, three other travelers were trading stories about Marbury - Peyton Hadley (Bobbin Cranbud), Nathan Greaves (Roukanken), and Bill Hellsnake (Magetastic).  What were they looking for in this town?

The music stopped, and the pianist seemed to talk with the drunk in the corner.  Something about communism?  The pianist's response was louder and carried across the room.  "Ah, you should meet my old Patriarch some day!  He knows something about the *real* old-time religion, as they say.  Heh heh.  A real shame what those communists are up to, decrying the Holy Faith and all.  They won't get away with it for long.  No, I'm no communist, I'll tell you that."

The bounty hunter-looking, fellow, meanwhile, had drained his glass.  "GET ME MORE" he barked at the barkeep.  Seamus wasn't sure if he had ever seen faster service.  This Hellsnake guy meant business.

Seamus settled in for a long night.

---

October 24, 1928.  Around 8:00 AM.

"I'm telling you, kid, it's probably nothing.  Your dad overslept at the lodge or something.  I have no idea why you want to check," Sheriff Hutchison said as he drove.

"Call it intuition," Chad Hutchins (Sir Alex) said.

The Sheriff was right that Chad's father, Jon Hutchison, was at the lodge of the Order of Unseen Wisdom.  There with a pool of his own dried blood at his feet and a ceremonial dagger in his back.

More interestingly, looking outside showed another set of tire tracks heading back to town.  An easily followed set, which ended right near Rosie's Country Inn and Abraham's Sundries.  Where, as chance would have it, the Sheriff himself had just been last night to see who'd stopped by.

"Well, looks like we'll have an easy time rounding up the suspects, at least, Chad.  We'll get to the bottom of this in no time.  Although...  where's that shopkeeper at Abe's Sundries, the one who's going to take over soon when Abe retires?  Martin Andrews (Shale), right?  Could have been his shop, too.  And that lodge is accessible by horse, too.  We'll have to look into people at the stables.  After that...  didn't Moses Bike (Xanth) say he was going to go fishing in that area?  And I think that novelist feller, Ronald Dale (Bardiche), has his cabin right in the area, too.  Haven't seen him in awhile, what's he been up to?

Let's get all the suspects together, then solve this crime the Marbury way... democratically."

[Tanaka]

* Jack Daniels takes a swig of moonshine, and pinches the bridge of his nose. 

"Yeah, I got your subpoena all right.  Now what's this all about?"

EDIT:  Can anybody see my avatar?  I tried changing it, and it shows up in the profile information thingamajigger, but won't display for me in my posts.