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Rules: The Underground Guidelines & Beginner Guides

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    Underground Guidelines!


    + All threads must be approved by a mod! This means if you wish to create a Mafia game, you must PM a Underground mod with your game idea and any other information we need (all provided in the Game Index). There is a game queue and yours will be added to the end of that list. If there is no queue, you can post when the mod gives you the go ahead. Otherwise, we will let you know when it is time for your game and you may submit your Mafia thread for approval then.

    + You may have up to two games in each queue (one in large, one in small) but they must be at least five games apart.

    + You must follow the standard 48 hour day phase/24 hour night phase changes, unless otherwise discussed with the mods.
    If you are going past this time frame, you will be given a head's up to keep up on the first delay. On the second delay, you will receive a verbal warning to maintain your game within the limits. On the third delay, your thread will be closed and the game will be considered defunct and will be shut down or transferred fully to your back-up GM (who should be indicated in the thread's opening post). A delayed day phase is anything over 96 hours/four days long, while a delayed night phase is anything over 72 hours/three days long.​

    + Frequently cheating or breaking the rules of games can get you in some trouble! Please follow any and all rules the Game Masters list in their threads and be fair to other players! Otherwise you may be banned from the game and, if done repeatedly, banned from any and all mafia games. Whether it is temporary or permanent will be up to the Mods' discretion.

    + While you may have a general discussion of a Mafia game in the Skype chat, do not say anything that hints to your role, anyone else's role, or anything that might break the game. Only discuss the game out of the thread in chats for that game (such as the mafia/cultist chats). Failure to follow this can result in kicking you out of the Skype chat, banning you from the game, or any other means necessary.

    + This place is not just for games! You are welcome to post discussion/meta-game threads about anything pertaining to Mafia. Just remember that you are not allowed to discuss details about any ongoing games in the Hangout or any discussions as per mafia rules.

    + Any quick questions you have about Mafia can be posted in the Hangout.

    + Have fun killing eachother! Just don't try and get too salty remember that nothing here is serious.​

    Behavior & Tact Announcement

    As our regulars know, mafia games can get pretty aggressive and intense and even in the Skype chat, but there needs to be a level of tact and restraint used - especially on the forums. The policy will be to give infractions and remove posts that are overly aggressive, as well as kick people from the Skype chat for similar behavior.

    We know how fun and involved people get into the games and we don't want to restrict that fun in any way, but we also need to ensure the rules of the forum are being followed. A little intensity never hurts a game, but insulting people, specifically targeting individuals to ruin their experience, or outright hostility can't be condoned or tolerated. We will try to be evenhanded in our efforts to make things fair, and as a result, this will be the only warning given.

    Thanks for your time, energy, and enjoyment of the games - we really do appreciate you all because you make the Underground what it is and we want to see it continue to foster an inviting environment and a welcoming of everyone on the forums.

    If you have any questions, you can contact any of the mods listed under the splash.​
     
    Last edited by a moderator:
    The Newbie Snail's Helpful Guide to the Underground!

    the underground
    the newbie snail's helpful guide
    part 1: the underground workings and the basics

    Welcome to the Underground, my dear snail! I'm davepetasprite^2 and I will be helping you get started on what to do in this wonderful section of ours.

    Before you do jump in, you might want to read the Guidelines first! They are really helpful when it comes to what to do and what not to do during your stay here.

    This guide will be separated into three parts, the Underground Workings, the basics of Mafia, and how to make a successful Mafia game! This post will be focused on the first two parts. The last one will be located at the next post.

    Now that's out of the way, let us move on to the first part of the guide, the Underground Workings.​

    THE UNDERGROUND WORKINGS

    So first of all, I once again welcome you to the Underground! If you still haven't noticed it yet, this is the PokeCommunity's own mafia forum, where all of the mafia games are hosted on. First off, you can't just join a game willy nilly, since most of the time, the game has already started. You'll have to wait for a new game to pop up. If you see a green tag that says SIGNUPS, then thats a game that just started and can be joined. Remember that once you joined a game, you must play it until you get killed or the game ends unless you want to be removed because of inactivity.

    If you do want to make your own game, you must reserve for a slot first. Send a banner, which is a little image with the title of your game on it, to the moderators and wait for your game to be placed on the Game Index, which you'll have to wait till it is your turn to host the game. If you are the next host, you then create the game, with the Creation Guide to help you.

    If you want to chat along with us, and join in with all the crazy people, you may do so on our Skype Chat (PM a Moderator to get added). If you don't fancy that sort of thing, we do have the Underground Hangout, which we are mostly talking about phase changes, other UG stuff, and additions.

    Now that's mostly how the Underground works, now let's get to the good stuff, the basics of Mafia.​

    THE BASICS OF MAFIA

    For those who have no idea of Mafia, the mechanics are simple. Everyone will be split into two teams, the uninformed majority known as the Innocents, and the informed minority known as the Mafia. The roles are randomly assigned to each player, and some of them will get special abilities, called Night Actions. They are basically powers that can help or hinder your team. They may able to inspect your alignment, kill one player, save one player, etc etc.

    The game has two phases, day and night. On the night phase, the thread will be considered "locked" and no one can reply in the thread. The Mafias, however, can talk in PM or Skype to decide who gets killed in that night in which the Mafia Leader then PMs the GM their kill, while on the other hand the other people with night actions PM their actions to said GM.

    On the day phase, the innocents that the mafias chose to kill will be announced, and the innocents try to think who is mafia. Of course that would be too easy, so the mafia can join in and try to sway their judgements. In this phase, everyone votes as to who will be lynched for that day, and after that, their alignment would be revealed and the night phase starts again.

    Most of the games here have varied rules and add twists and turns to their mafia game. If you want to know more of them, you must consult the GM of the said game.

    That's basically the gist of it, but if you have anymore info, you may approach me, or the moderators of the section to help you out.

    That is all for this post but stick around since the next post will tackle about making your own mafia game.​

    css and guide created by arachnidsGrip
    thanks to Netto Azure, Ash, and Klippy for approving the guide
    mentions to the Underground regulars for making this guide possible
     
    Last edited by a moderator:
    the underground
    the newbie snail's helpful guide
    part 2: how to make a successful mafia game

    Now that you know how the Underground works and how to play Mafia, it's the time to make your own mafia game!

    Before you do, make sure to read the Underground Guidelines, and see the Game Index first since it'll be a long wait till your game comes to life.

    Now, I would divide this guide into 2 steps. Planning, and Maintaining. Both of these steps are crucial if you ever wanted to make a successful Mafia game.

    Still interested? Then, let's go to the first step, Planning.​
    [a id]tsr[/a id]
    PLANNING

    Now, before even trying to make your thread, you must have atleast played a single game of Mafia, whether it be a vanilla game, or a game that is has been altered. That would certainly help you in knowing what to do, when you are the boss of your own.

    If you have finished your first mafia game, congratulations my dear snail, you have now the experience you need to make a game. Now, the first step on the road to your own position as boss of the mafia game is that you have got to think up of the story first. I don't know about you, but the people here are very critical when it comes to the storyline. It may not seem much, but the storyline makes or breaks the activity on your game. If you decide to not to add a background to your game, you are just looking for a fast, unsatisfying, boring game, and you don't want that, trust me.

    I would suggest going in a theme, look for something people would be interested in, it could be based on a fandom, mythology, or even something your targeted audience have in common.

    Now that's out of the way, think what mafia mode you would like to play out, a vanilla game, where everything is basic, with your usual roles and no twists, or you can play out a varied game, wherein you aren't constricted with the normal roles, and you can add your own spins and twists in your game.

    I personally suggest you go with the varied gamemode, because playing vanilla over and over again can get a little bit frustrating. Atleast with this gamemode, you can use your creativity, and your personal flair to spice up your game and make it unique.

    After that, if you so choose to use the varied gamemode, think of the roles. There's a lot of potential in making roles other than your typical Detective, Doctor, Roleblocker, and Vigilante. My only opinion is you have to make your roles balanced. This is where you must focus on the most, since the roles might be too overpowered or useless, and that would make your players really upset.

    Now that's done, all you got to do is to make your thread, wait for your potential players, and there you have it. Planning phase is complete. But that doesn't mean your work is done. You have got to work at keeping your game alive until the end. This is where the maintaining phase begins.​
    [a id]tsro[/a id]
    MAINTAINING

    You thought it was over right? Well, there's still some work to be done my dear snail, and this is the most time consuming part.

    First, you have to PM your players their roles. For a newbie snail like you, it shouldn't be a problem, but as for experienced alpha snails like me, it becomes a hassle because you have to PM each and everyone their roles, and if your games are very popular to the masses, well, that's a lot of PMs to sort out. I suggest you also donate to the forums as well, since a small PM box will be a huge problem for a GM.

    After that, you start with Night Zero, most GMs start with this phase so that the game can properly start, and the tension can begin. However, you are not obliged to follow this route. You may start with Day One, if you so choose, but most of the time, players would most probably abstain the first phase because they don't know who to vote for.

    After you receive the night actions from your chosen players, you have to switch the phase to Day One, and this will continue on and on until you have reached the end. It seems simple enough but it's not.

    Now here's the most important part, so listen well. Read all of the posts in your game. This would really help when you have to count the votes, since you would have a slight idea who are they targeting. Sometimes there would be technicalities and some indifferences, and you should take note of that.

    After careful observation and your tactical skills, you have finished the game and your work is done. If your gameplay style attracts the attention of your players that much, and is very active in the discussion, perhaps you may write up a sequel for your game, with more twists than the last one.​
    [a id]tssu[/a id]
    HELPFUL TIPS

    Finally, for a tl;dr, you only need to take note of the following if you want a successful game!

    Have the experience of playing a single game of Mafia before making your own.

    Write a compelling story that will attract your potential players.

    Think of what gamemode will your game needs. A varied gamemode is suggested rather than a vanilla one.

    Think of your roles, what roles will you add, remove, or make twists.

    It is suggested you start with Night Zero to allow tension to build up.

    Finally, follow your game closely.​

    Also, here are some helpful tips to ensure a successful game.

    Don't allow abstains. It makes the game longer, sure, but it's boring, no one would dare to lynch anyone, and it would ensure a Mafia victory very easily.

    Don't be afraid to mess your planned actions. Sometimes, you can do impromptu events that catch the attention of the players, and that can be either helpful or bad for your game.

    DONT SPILL TOO MUCH INFORMATION. This makes the game more easier to accomplish, and it shows bias as well.

    Don't be afraid to kick out inactive members. They will just make the game longer, and players could easily vote them off as a free kill. Besides, if you gave them a special role, it will greatly affect the game.​

    And that's all you really need to know, my dear snail! Thank you for the time that you spent reading this guide, it means so much to us. We look forward to betraying you in your upcoming games!​

    css and guide created by arachnidsGrip
    thanks to Netto Azure, Ash, and Klippy for approving the guide
    mentions to the Underground regulars for making this guide possible
     

    Behavior & Tact Announcement

    In the recent weeks, there's been an incline in disrespect and bullying on display in some of the games and the official Skype chat. As a result of complaints and reports about aggressive and mean behavior, we have to step in and hand out punishments when we see the problems persisting from this point (November 25, 2015) onward.

    As our regulars know, mafia games can get pretty aggressive and intense and even in the Skype chat, but there needs to be a level of tact and restraint used - especially on the forums. From this point on, the policy will be to give infractions and remove posts that are overly aggressive, as well as kick people from the Skype chat for similar behavior.

    We know how fun and involved people get into the games and we don't want to restrict that fun in any way, but we also need to ensure the rules of the forum are being followed. A little intensity never hurts a game, but insulting people, specifically targeting individuals to ruin their experience, or outright hostility can't be condoned or tolerated. We will try to be evenhanded in our efforts to make things fair, and as a result, this will be the only warning given.

    Thanks for your time, energy, and enjoyment of the games - we really do appreciate you all because you make the Underground what it is and we want to see it continue to foster an inviting environment and a welcoming of everyone on the forums.

    If you have any questions, you can contact any of the mods listed under the splash.​
     
    Introducing Mafia Groups

    Mafia Groups Guide

    [alink id="One"]Guide for Setting Up a Group[/alink id] | [alink id="Two"]Guide for Players in a Group[/alink id] | [alink id="Three"]Other Rules for Groups[/alink id]

    An Introduction

    If you've been frequenting the Underground recently, you may have noticed this just below the splash. What the heck is it? There's been speculation and some of you have gotten it right!




    The UG staff team is proud to introduce Mafia Groups!​

    Mafia Groups are a brand new initiative to make our mafia forum fully inclusive, mechanically intuitive, and enjoyed by all!

    So what are Mafia Groups?
    Mafia Groups are very similar to what you might currently be using to host your mafia chats through Skype. Currently when a Game Master wants to have his mafia (or other groups) chat, he makes a Skype chat group and invites all the members of that group into the chat. From there, the members can discuss gameplay, perform their night actions, and participate further in the metagame.

    What's the problem with this? Many of our members don't have Skype! This excludes a portion of our members from fully enjoying and participating in games, while also limiting the overall experience by taking a chunk of gameplay off the forum. Wouldn't it be neat once a game is over to be able to see how the mafia operated and comment on their activities through the game? Maybe there was a key plot twist and you'd love to know how the mafia reacted.

    All kinds of experiences will be open to you now with Mafia Groups and we're so excited to get every game, current and future, started using this awesome new feature of the forums.​
    [a id]One[/a id]

    Guide for Setting Up a Group

    So you're getting ready to host your new mafia game. You've got the thread ready, but now it's time to add your mafia members to their Mafia Group! First, you'll head into the Groups homepage. From here, as a Game Master, you will have a full view of your groups for your game under the Your Groups tab. All your groups will display here for ease of access to you as a host. You'll have other tools to easily view and interact with your groups, but those will be explained later.

    First step for creating a new group will be to click on the Create a New Group button. This will direct you to the Create Group page.



    Once you reach the Create Group page, you will be prompted with a set of things to fill out. Start with Social Group Category, where you will select "Mafia" from the dropdown menu.



    Once that's done, you can fill out the rest of the form. Group Name, Group Description, Group Type, and Group Options.

    You must have "Invite Only" selected as the Group Type!
    You must check the "Users must join to view the content" box ticked!

    These two options are the MOST important to have done when creating your group. Don't forget them!



    Once you hit Save, you will be prompted to upload a Group Icon. This is not necessary, so you may Skip it if you wish.



    Your group page should be ready now! From here, you can see your Manage Group options, as well as view your Group Info.

    Your Members List will always be blank! This is not an error.
    This is to protect your players if someone were to stumble upon the group. If you try to click "View All Members", you will be greeted by an Access Denied page!





    As the owner of the group, you will be able to manage your groups - including inviting and removing members who are part of it.



    Clicking on Pending & Invited Members will take you to the "Invite User" page.



    From there, you can invite members to the group. You can also revoke invitations from this page - so long as they have not already accepted the invitation.



    Once your invited members have accepted the invitation, you can manage their access via the Manage Members tab in your Manage Group dropdown menu.



    From the Manage Members page, you can remove members from the group. This could be necessary if you want to keep dead players from continuing to communicate with the living ones.



    You're all set with your group at this point! If your invited members can't seem to get the notification for the invitation, you can directly link them to the group via the URL.

    From there, they will be able to Accept the Invite.

    There are some other convenient tools and abilities you can also utilize in your Groups that you will definitely want to use. Those can be seen below.​
    [a id]Two[/a id]

    Guide for Players in a Group

    Now that you're in a group, you have a few options for getting started on discussion and strategy! These options can be accessed from this area of the group.




    By clicking on the New Thread button, you can create a thread for discussion among the group. If the Game Master set the group up correctly ("Invite Only" & "Users must join to view the content"), your threads will not be visible to anyone who discovers the group.

    Remember to follow all of the PokéCommunity global rules and Underground-specific rules regardless. Contents can still be viewed by members of higher staff and the rules still apply.



    If you want to have ease of access to your group(s) and ensure you stay up-to-date on the happenings, it is highly recommended you Pin Group to Home! This will give you a shortcut directly to your groups through the Pinned Groups menu on the Underground forum page. You can also Unpin Group from Home in this same location.




    Once you click that option, you will be directed to the Pin This Group page. Select "Pin to Home". Or, if unpinning, the same prompt to unpin it.



    Presto! Your groups are now on the Underground main page and you can see them much like you could view regular threads, as well as member counts. Happy snailing!

    [a id]Three[/a id]

    Other Rules for Groups

    Some other general rules regarding groups:

    • Do not create a group unless you are hosting a game. Only games currently in progress or in a sign-up phase may create groups. If your game is in the queue, you must wait until it has reached sign-ups.
    • When hosting a game, only create as many groups as necessary.
    • When you finish hosting a game, you may make your groups public and viewable to the public. They do not need to remain hidden.
    • Any other questions or issues can be directly sent to Klippy via Private Message.
     

    What Makes a Mafia Game?

    Here in the Underground we have pushed the limits of mafia well beyond most other mafia sections/sites and created many unique plots, roles, setups and variants of the game than just about anywhere else. However it's important to remain true to what this section is all about (mafia) which means we need to be clear about what constitutes a mafia game and what is another type of complex forum game. Below are a few simple points to make sure your game fits here in the Underground.

    1. The number of people in the game must progressively decrease through the elimination of players.

    2. There must be two or more competing factions.

    3. There needs to be a day/night cycle or similar.

    4. Work under the assumption that someone visiting from Epic Mafia (or similar) needs to be able to recognise your game as at least being related to/derived from traditional mafia.
     
    Underground Guidelines Update

    Inactive Players

    In the past players who have become inactive during games have had their roles killed by the GM or have been replaced by an eager player looking to join or rejoin the game. However, guidelines regarding players who repeatedly become inactive have never been very clear.

    GM's have the ability to deny other members entry into their games. This means that if there is a valid reason, such as a recent history of inactivity ("vegging") or of cheating/game-throwing, the GM of a game has the right to refuse you entry into their game. Please be aware that personal issues with a member do not count as a valid reason to bar someone from a game. If you feel a GM has wrongly denied you, you can contact a moderator and if they agree that you have been wrongly barred, they will overturn the GM's decision.

    Snail Game Masters

    Whilst we affectionately refer to denizens of the Underground as "Snails", GMs who frequently lag behind on posting phase changes can become a problem and cause dead patches in activity as well as stagnate the queue. We already have a thee-strike policy in place according to which, GMs who fail to update their game on time three times (or for an exceptionally lengthy period of time) will have their game closed by a member of staff. In addition to this, snail GMs will also have all other games removed from the queue and will be banned from queuing new games for a period of time at the moderator's discretion. GMs who willingly close their own games will not be subject to the same consequences.

    If you have any questions or concerns regarding these changes, please contact one of the Underground's moderators.​

     
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