God Emperor

I think the most important thing you have to do is figure out the setting. You need to have it interesting for you. Once you have the setting, plan out what characters you want, then organise them into factions. After that, assigns roles to each character, and you're ready to host.

I've only played Oblivion, but I could see it working.

Settings = how many Mafia/town and what sort of roles? that might be the way to handle it. Thanks :)
How large a game would you recomend for a first time hosting?

It depends. I don't know how experienced you are with playing mafia. Many people have said that hosting a small game (up to 18 people) was critical for them.

I've hosted quite a few large games, its become rather routine, but my write-ups are terrible. Look at what you think your strengths will be, and go from there. Smaller games tend to be more involved here, especially with stories and such.

Setting as in timeline for game, who would be in it, which side they would be on.

If you're doing a character/world driven game, thats the best way to go. From there, decide what everyone should have. The illusion of balance is the key.

Sounds like a nice idea =) glad you're up to the challenge of hosting something; I'd definitely suggest starting out with a small game, at the most. Perhaps you can try some tiny ones first, the setting there doesn't have to be complicated or anything.

@Morrowind setting: I would avoid the main storyline because it tends to force you to a "good guys win" imbalance. What do you do if we lynch Nerevar on day 2?
Then again, that exact game is kind of open-ended. You could base it on the "Nerevar candidates" meaning that there isn't any given Nerevar from the start...

Definitely interesting idea. I might even consider hosting such a game myself at one point. No stealing your ideas though, of course =)

Thanks to the two of you, all the help is more than appreciated.

@pevergreenI have seen this illusion of balance mentioned before, but what is the exact principle behind it? If it is .org/mafia term that is

@ Diamondeye hosting a small mafia game is what intrigues me the most for a first time mafia game. If you yourself feel like hosting a Morrowind themed mafia game, you are more than welcome, I would not like to take claim solely reign over the wideranged universe in which Morrowind takes place.
False incarnets seems like a good thing to work with and I am glad you brought it to my attention. I wouldn't worry too much about "good guys win imbalance", because like you mention yourself the game itself has a rather open ending, but also the game does not really contain good or bad guys and everyone seems to working for their own benefit. The Tribunal temple was mentioned because of this, since it would make a perfect "Neutral/recruitable" role. On one hand the Temple refuses to accept the idea of a nerevar incarnet, because it could lead to the fall of the tribunal, and in the other hand, Dagoth ur, would just as well lead to their destruction.
In the Game Lord Vivec chooses to help the nerevarine defeat Dagoth ur

Originally Posted by God Emperor

Thanks to the two of you, all the help is more than appreciated.

@pevergreenI have seen this illusion of balance mentioned before, but what is the exact principle behind it? If it is .org/mafia term that is

Its a relatively new term, but one that I've used for a while (the idea, not the word).

Many hosts worry to death about if their game is perfectly balanced. Does every side have an equal chance of winning.

What is actually important, is the illusion of balance. As long as a team thinks they can win, they have a chance. Due to the large amount of random behaviour it is impossible to balance a game, but if all players think they have a chance of winning, they will all have fun.

Morrowind has vampires and vampire clans, IIRC. You can make your own story in the Morrowind universe with the vampires as the bad guys. Or you could use one of the assassin guilds as mafia and connect it to the main story. Endless possiblities. I always find making stories for mafia games the most enjoyable part of hosting. Interesting and exciting write-ups are important, as people will keep checking the thread, if only to read the next update; it's one of the elements that keeps participation high, imo.

As for balancing, it all depends on the size of your game; I believe there's an interesting thread somewhere in the GR (or maybe it got moved to the Assemble yard). Don't hesitate to create a thread with a draft version of your rules and ask the opinion of your fellow players; most people will be glad to comment or help you out.

Thanks for explaining pevergreen, I shall bow in your honor

I would agree with you Andres well written and interesting write-ups seem to be super important. I searched around the gameroom and the assemble yard, but I was unable to locate any topic that would fit your description Andres, would you be able to give a link, or a name of the thread you speak of?

I think it was a few posts in an unrelated thread. If you're looking for that info, it was mostly coming from http://mafiascum.net/forum/ anyway. Have a dig around there for complex stuff, the people there with do wonders with math and balancing etc.

You don't have to bow, just don't capatilize the 'p' in my name

All errors earlier commited have been corrected (in this thread and in your europa universalis mafia thread)

Heheh, thanks mate.

Andres... This vampire mania. Next thing you'll be hosting "Twillight Mafia"

Seriously, though, if you want help with hosting your first small game, I'd like to help out once I have the time after my vacation. I can try to help thinking up a setting, too. Heck, we could use screencaps from Morrowind for the roles (even if we have to watch for the players clever enough to mess around with a photobucket URL if we do so!).

Brimming with fragments of ideas for possible settings! I'll bring a notepad and some pens with me to Spain and make sure I record all the good stuff I come up with. Be sure to do the same =)

I shall

I will have a pm send to you, containing the ideas of the game so far.