The 'Shroom:Issue 111/'Shroom Mafia III: An Overview

'Shroom Mafia III: An Overview Written by:



Introduction
'Shroom Mafia III, as everyone who has participated in and read about knows, has been an enormous undertaking. I started production on it in late 2014, and I announced it. The game started in October, and ran through late March, coming to a halt in activity after the news of Walkazo's passing. The time for games was understandably gone.

Since then, I have been trying to think of the proper way to end it. I was given suggestions that I should go forth with writing the text stories as I had been, but this did not feel proper &mdash; I did not want to write another story of friends casually dying in a joke setting, so recently after what happened. I also received the suggestion of simply ending the game with no story whatsoever, just posting the final results and rolecards; however, this did not feel like an adequate closing to something that had been such a big part of our members' lives for half a year. I continued to cycle through various ideas, trying to figure out what would be an appropriate ending, not just to a game that had gone on for so long (and, now, waited so long for its closing), but as something to avoid tarnishing Walkazo's memory or upsetting those deeply affected by her death.

You see, Walkazo was a role in the game. She was one of the final roles left to be revealed. Her character was the one that was set to die at the end of Day 16 &mdash; the very same phase of the game we all found out the news. I just didn't know what to do.

I considered pretending the events of the game were a movie, since such a film was something that I referenced in the opening story. I still couldn't find a way to properly do it, though. So, I went back to the drawing board and tried again, this time coming to the conclusion that I could honor Walkazo's memory in the form of a hand-drawn comic, not unlike the ones she used to make. I had a pretty good plot for this wrote out, and a few rough sketches too, but the more I worked on it, the more I felt that I may have been cheapening the value of Walkazo's works.

Eventually, I realized I was thinking too hard on everything. The ending needed to be something special, but it didn't necessarily need to be something to remind us of Walkazo. We all know what happened. Reminding everyone of that in a game that was fun, lighthearted, and (as far as I've been told) thoroughly enjoyed, seemed like I was forcing a commemoration where it did not belong. There are other, better, more appropriate ways to remember her.

So, one day, I'm sitting around drawing some users in a silly, storybook fashion, when I realize what I could actually do to adequately close off the game after so long. No lame flavor text. No knock-off comics. No absence of content. I decided to &mdash; bear with me here &mdash; draw memes. Memes of some players, in jokes that were relevant to the game. 'Shroom Mafia III itself spawned a small handful of memes, while other situations that occurred in the game simply seemed to mirror well-known memes and fads. In one of her final messages to me, Walkazo told me she was happy that she had created a local meme, so I think the idea still holds some relevance without being completely shoehorned. I hope no one finds this disrespectful.

and have helped me create some user memes for 'Shroom Mafia III's ending. Silly as it may sound over something like this, I am grateful beyond words.

With all that having been said, let's move on to some of the game's countless details! Truth be told, this article does not have even half of what I wanted to cover, but it is a good start, and should answer enough questions for now. Any further details (references to in-jokes, comments on balance, result PMs, rolecards, history of item transactions, minigames that were distributed, the list goes on), will be documented on this upcoming Userpedia page. Thank you for understanding.

Status Effects
To add some diversity to the game beyond what standard roles are capable of, I decided to incorporate a wide array of status effects. Some are based on classic roles (Silencing, Protection, Burns, Motivation), while others are either completely new to this game (Illumination, Rejuvenation, Bleeding, Brainwashing, Sleep), or completely revamped renditions of classic-but-rarely-seen abilities (Poisoning, Endorsing, Diminishing, Fortification). While there were times I wish I had some sort of script to generate HP meter adjustments for some of these, I think they all were implemented pretty easily without confusing too many people. Bleeding seemed to be the most confusing to people, which was understandable, given that was an entirely new gimmick altogether (with blood types and donations included in the package).

Here are all the status effects that were in the game, and what they did.

Positive

 * Augmented  &mdash; Target's vote will be counted two (or sometimes three) times. This stacks with Public Speaker powers.
 * Consecrated  &mdash; Target is purged of and immune to any and all negative status effects. (Yes, this one trumps Bleeding.)
 * Endorsed  &mdash; Target will be able to use their powers without fail, no matter what. (This one trumps items.)
 * Fortified  &mdash; Target will take 50% less damage than usual. Nightkills will do 50 HP damage, Poison will do 10 HP damage, Burns and Bleeding will do 20 HP damage, etc.
 *  Illuminated  &mdash; If the target is nightkilled, the name of the player responsible will be publicly revealed upon the target's death. (Be careful, Mafia!)
 * Motivated  &mdash; Target will be able to perform their power twice. Some passive abilities may be doubled in strength as well.
 * Protected  &mdash; Target is immune to any kills placed on them, while their health is restored to max, and any negative status effects (except for Bleeding) will be removed.
 * Rejuvenated  &mdash; Target's health will gradually increase by 20 HP per phase.

Negative

 * Bleeding  &mdash; Target's health will gradually decrease by 40 HP per phase. Can only be stopped by Consecration or receiving a compatible blood donation.
 * Brainwashed  &mdash; Target will unwittingly act as a bodyguard for another player, taking damage for on that player's behalf in all instances (including lynches).
 * Burned  &mdash; Target's health will gradually decrease by 40 HP per phase.
 * Diminished  &mdash; Target's power output will be reduced randomly. Cops might only get partial checks, Doctors might only restore health, a nightkill might only do partial damage, etc.
 *  Exiled  &mdash; Target will be unable to perform any actions, use any items, donate blood, vote, or post in the thread.
 * Jarated  &mdash; Target will take 50% more damage than usual. Nightkills will do 150 HP damage, Poison will do 30 HP damage, Burns and Bleeding will do 60 HP damage, etc.
 * Paralyzed  &mdash; Target will be unable to use items.
 * Poisoned  &mdash; Target's health will gradually decrease by 20 HP per phase.
 * <font color=#000080>Silenced  &mdash; Target's vote will not be counted.

Neutral

 * <font color=#550050>Sleeping  &mdash; Target will be unable to perform any actions, use any items, or donate blood, but will passively regenerate health and temporarily negate any negative status ailments. Target will awaken automatically once they return to 100 HP. However, if they are visited by any player prior to then, the status effect will immediately end. If the target awakens from an undisturbed slumber, they will remember a dream that contains a clue about the game. Target can still post and vote during this time.

Alignments
Usually my games are known for having multiple scum alignments, but I decided to dial things back this time, and instead have (as far as I know) the largest Mafia team in any standardized game: 10 Mafia, plus 1 convert. To keep things from getting too repetitive, though, I did include Masons (an Innocent-aligned third-party) and Phantoms (a post-death third-party that functioned as a balancing tool and could play how they saw fit); the goal of the Phantoms was to whittle the number of living players down to exactly the same number of players they had on their team &mdash; no more, no less. Innocents-turned-Phantoms would not be considered losers if the Phantoms lost but the Innocents still won. These were the alignments:


 *  Innocent  &mdash; main good guys.
 *  Mafia  &mdash; main bad guys.
 * <font color=#00b000>Mason  &mdash; additional good guys.
 *  Phantom  &mdash; wild card party.
 * <font color=#ff7e00>Independent (Arsonist)  &mdash; additional bad guy.
 * <font color=#ff44c4>Independent (Clown)  &mdash; additional bad guy.
 * <font color=#7c00bc>Independent (Fool)  &mdash; wild card player.
 * <font color=#a40000>Independent (Serial Killer)  &mdash; additional bad guy.
 *  Ghost (Temporarily-revived, initial alignment unchanged)  &mdash; incorporated as a way to increase the value of a permanent revival without making the game seem hopeless once powerful players were gone; these temporary revivals were able to be used by both the Innocents and the Mafia.

Players and their ratings
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! Here, I will be assigning ratings, while giving a brief overview of each player's role, accomplishments, flubs, or anything else I feel is relevant. Each player will be rated based on 10 characteristics. These are:


 * Analyzation &mdash; How well one understood or how frequently one studied the game mechanics and their role.
 * Communication &mdash; How well or how frequently one communicated with allies, the host, or other inquiring minds.
 * Disposition &mdash; How well one behaves towards his teammates, enemy players, and the host.
 * Helpfulness &mdash; How well one aids his teammates' goals or plans, or how well one obstructs his enemies' goals or plans.
 * Interpretation &mdash; How well one townreads or scumreads, and how well one deduces roles/actions/items another player may have or may be a part of.
 * Originality &mdash; How creative a player is with his own role and inventory, and how creative a player is in conjunction with at least one other player's resources.
 * Participation &mdash; How active a player is in the game thread and behind the scenes.
 * Responsiveness &mdash; How quick to respond or how accurate in reply one is.
 * Sneakiness &mdash; How well one deceives their enemies.
 * Vigilance &mdash; How careful one is or how much foresight one has.

Each participant who surpassed a certain level of activity will receive a minimum of 2 'Shroom Tokens for their efforts. The first, second, and third MVPs will receive a bonus of 10, 6, and 4 'Shroom Tokens, respectively. Living players who reached endgame will receive a bonus of 1 'Shroom Token. Co-Winners will receive a bonus of 1 'Shroom Token. Any other bonuses (up to a maximum of 3 'Shroom Tokens) applied will be based on a player's activity, lifespan, or impact. I was given a budget of 100 'Shroom Tokens to divvy up among participants, but I exceeded that limit and am divvying up 130 'Shroom Tokens instead &mdash; the boss can just take it out of my paycheck if need be.

If you received 0 'Shroom Tokens, please do not feel discouraged from playing in the future! It just wasn't a good game for you, is all.

Prizes
With ratings now over, I can finally discuss prize distribution. If you recall from one year ago (I don't blame you if you don't, haha), First Place would receive $50, Second Place would receive $20, and Third Place would receive $10. I am altering this very slightly to include the Top 5 Participants and the lone co-winner of the game, and this will bring the combined prize total up to $100.

Before I announce who gets what (although you probably already know unless you skipped all the way to this section), here are the ways in which your prize winnings can be redeemed:


 * Nintendo eShop Points Card
 * PlayStation Store Gift Card
 * Microsoft Xbox Gift Card
 * Steam Wallet Gift Card
 * iTunes Gift Card
 * Amazon Gift Card

If you wish, you can have your prize winnings divided between any of these sources. For example, if you won $20, you are free to redeem that as a $10 Nintendo eShop Points Card and a $10 Steam Wallet Gift Card.

With all that having been said, these are the prize winners for 'Shroom Mafia III:


 * $50 Prize, First Place MVP &mdash;
 * $20 Prize, Second Place MVP &mdash;
 * $10 Prize, Third Place MVP &mdash;
 * $5 Prize, Fourth Place &mdash;
 * $5 Prize, Fifth Place &mdash;
 * $10 Prize, Game Co-Winner &mdash;

Congratulations to the six of you! Your playing was exemplary and you've certainly earned these winnings. I hope you are able to enjoy them! When you wish to redeem your winnings, please contact me on the forum, and I will get you your winnings as soon as possible. If, for whatever reason, you wish to bestow your winnings upon someone else, you are more than free to do that &mdash; they are your prizes, and you may do as you see fit with them.

My sincerest thanks to every player who participated in 'Shroom Mafia III! It was an incredible experience and I couldn't have done it without you.