Okay, I've been thinking about what I'd do in Capo IV for a while. Since the last game a couple years ago, in fact.
In that game I was involved in the pro-town effort, and eventually became the focal point of the town's efforts. A lot of the legwork, such as contacting people, organizing groups, re-organizing groups, bugging people to send orders, questioning suspects, and so forth, was done by myself. There were many others involved in independent efforts, most of whom got absorbed by the centralized effort at some point; many folks doing fine detective, defender, or vigilante work on their own; again most of those got absorbed by the network by the end. The success of the group was evident to some degree; Reenk would argue that it was actually bad luck and division that brought the mafia down, not particularly the efforts of the town. So there's some room for discussion there.
But, as was evident the game after and in related games since, once you've pushed pro-town organizing to that level, folks will expect you to do it again. Part of the difficulties I had with Pirate Ship Mafia was that many folks expected me to do a repeat; folks revealed to me and expected me to save them. I was an
unscanned, corruptible townie. I could easily have been mafia, and I had the names of the pro-town effort all under my belt.
I had to request to become an officer to prevent being converted, or request to be lynched; the other option was to shut up and hope to be converted and then bring the town to its knees. Trouble with the third one is I don't feel I would have been winning based on guile or my own efforts, sort of being handed the win instead. So of course, they made me an officer and then I was part of the pro-town organizing. I started taking over more and more duties, and lo and behold, I was repeating Capo III.
I didn't even want to. Diana Abnoba and myself made the choice early on to just have fun, not care, and roleplay. Then I was sucked back in due to circumstances beyond my control.
This same stuff keeps happening; in Midgard III I learned the names of almost all the Kings and their champions. That was completely reckless. Again, I could have been scum but I was not. I didn't even need to do all that much digging, but once I started getting info I decided to try to take the ball and run with it. You folks expect me to anyway. Well we didn't do so well. But it would have been worse if I had been able to be converted or was Jotun.
This history forms the basis of my thinking; I am a familiar go-to guy for networking, and if it should happen to be the case I'm scum, it ends in disaster (See: Shadow Fort)
Thing is I'm not really given a choice; if there is a pro-town network they usually try to get me not only involved, but overly informed. Soon I learn all the sensitive info and have more control over the game than anyone really should. It gets boring on repeat viewings as I said. And I've done it. I've done it to death.... Buffy Mafia, Capo III, Pirate Ship, Midgard, Rubicon, you name it, I've done it to death.
I don't wanna. I am clearly not the only person in a group of 110 who could perform this task. Someone else can be your star quarterback, easily! LOTS of talented folks here. Lots of highly experienced, highly motivated, friendly, communicative, active, cunning people. They really deserve a shot at that role, and if I am competing for such a role, people will likely go for me again based on old patterns. I have to decline.
I put a lot of effort into signing up other folks because at the heart of this game, I want to see others succeed in the big game. I have my superbowl trophy and thensome by now, and you're overlooking a lot of talent if you don't look elsewhere first. As talkative as I am and as much effort as I put into the game, I do recognize this is not a game all about Askthepizzaguy.
I do not want Capo IV to be all about Askthepizzaguy. So I must request that folks not expect me to fill in the same familiar roles.
That's the first point. It's not fun, and it's time for others to shine. Let's do something different.
Second point: If I am not Captain America, what am I? Well obviously I'm a scumbag, obvious scum is obvious.
So, that leads to lynch or vig right away. How splendid!
Well that's not fun for me either. But I know certain folks expect nothing less: Either I must be Askthepizzaguy the Town Director with his squads of protective goons and pro-town vigilante squads of death, or I'm the nemesis of the town and everbody gotta kill me. Somehow I've gotten it to the point where I can only ever be one of the two extremes.
So I decline. If contacted I will not join. If threatened I will not join. That goes for the town network efforts, as well as for the mafia family recruitment thingamajobbers.
Since I won't be leading the efforts I'll be scanned six ways from sunday and then lynched just to make sure. As such, I'm not throwing my lot in with some weak family to lose with them, as being scanned as a Made or whatever will end my mafia career real quick. I'm just a bad choice for recruit. I'll also have been scanned by a couple different families so when one gets me the other will just kill me off. Easy way to handicap your rivals.
Well, this is starting to look a lot like Wargames. I am damned if I do my usual pro-town thing which I am loath to do over and over, and I am damned if I don't do it and I join the scumbags. The only winning move is not to play.... but that's something I can't do either. Everyone knows me and I know me. I can't sit still and do nothing even if I were tied up, impaled, and roasted rotisserie-style. I gotta do stuff or else I go insane.
So, if I'm not
Captain America, and I'm not
Doctor Evil, and I'm not
Lurky McLurkingsworth or
Signup Notplayington, what in the blue skeezix am I?
I thought about it long and hard, and I'm unveiling my choice now, pre-game.
I'm going to pull a Twilightblade. That is to say, do something that proves I'm not scum and not trying to become scum. I'll also do nothing specifically pro-town or anti-town with my vote or night actions, so as not to threaten the scums and get them to murder me.
Except, I'm also not a copycat, I have my own twist to bring to the table. I'm going to be roleplaying as a
radio personality: playing music, reading the news, interviewing citizens of Fatlington, and taking your calls and answering your requests.
Kagemusha did something similar in Daggers in the Night, except he was hiding his scum with it, and not very well. Not from me anyway. I'll be doing it because that is what I'm going to be doing to occupy myself.
What else?
Well, as you've noticed, I've posted my thoughts regarding what town should be doing to win, and what the scums should. I'll be on hand to answer questions from our new players, post messages from anonymous sources, or if folks are trying to find others to work with in a group, I'll be able to connect people to each other.
What I won't do is anything overtly pro- or anti-town. I will not speak for the detectives and reveal detective results anonymously. I will not reveal scumbags to the town, or detectives and doctors to the scumbags. I won't tell folks who they should be investigating, vig-killing, or protecting. But I will talk to anyone and everyone.
I'll also keep their identities to myself. I won't be bullied or threatened into giving up the names, and I'll refuse to join the mafia, so that info dies with me. You'll be blabbing your identities to me ANYWAY, I can't stop you, I've asked enough times and you never listen.
So, in order to ensure I actually have some fun, and on my own terms, those are my terms. You don't like it, organize a vig-hit on me night one. I won't be doing the paranoid Capo III thing and getting myself protection every night. That's right, anytime you want me dead it's just one bullet away.
But that's that. I'm going rogue neutral and FOR THE LULS. That's Pizza's plan for Capo IV. Feel free to cut my fun short or leave me alone. Your option. But I'm not budging from this position,
unless I feel like it. 
If I get some power role, whatever. I'll still do this, it will just be harder. Random.org is a merciless mistress sometimes.
So that's that. You decide what you wanna do with it.
Oh, and after I'm inevitably deep scanned and found not to be mafia, I'd love to be Director for a couple nights so I can do some writeups. That's about as ambitious as I'm getting. Enjoy the performance.
Capo Off-topic discussion
Originally Posted by GeneralHankerchief
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks