PLEASE DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD.

May 23, 1720
Aboard the Spanish Treasure Galleon Marquesa

The impact of the Spanish treasure fleet had on its country’s economy could not be overstated. Every year since the 1590s, a flotilla of the largest ships imaginable would make their way around the Caribbean picking up gold, silver, and other riches from all the Spanish colonies and then take them back to Mother Spain. Even though the Spanish Empire had been on the downswing for quite a while now, the amount of riches that the treasure fleet held was incalculable.

Naturally, the men on board the Presence wanted some for themselves.

One ship trying to take down the entire fleet would be folly, of course – only a Dutch admiral and a Category 5 hurricane had ever accomplished that – but it wouldn’t be too much trouble to pick off two or three ships, coming up from the rear. It would be risky and bloody, of course, but that had never stopped the pirates before. And so, it fell to the Marquesa, being the rearmost ship in the fleet, to be especially on the alert for pirate attacks.

Unfortunately for the Marquesa, the pirates quite literally caught the Spaniards napping. At around two in the morning, Diego Sanchez, the sailor who was supposed to be manning the Crow’s Nest, was instead sound asleep, and thus unable to spot the dark silhouette coming up on the horizon. The Presence took the Marquesa in complete surprise.

The ship was taken easily, but the next two closest ships in the treasure fleet had more alert sailors, and pretty soon a sneak attack had turned into an all-out battle on the high seas. The Spanish had the numbers, but the pirates had better men, and at the end of the fighting the men of the Presence triumphed in a very bloody victory.

The survivors of the battle quickly hauled as much treasure as they could off the three Spanish ships and onto the Presence, wanting to make a clean getaway before the rest of the treasure fleet could realize what had happened. And so, a little after four in the morning, the Presence sailed off in the direction of its base at Nassau with an incredible haul. The entire attack, wildly successful, had only taken a little over two hours.

However, the attack had not come without a price. Once the chaos had subsided, the men on board did an impromptu roll call and found out that their Captain and most of the ship’s officers had died in the fighting.

“Right, boys,” said the seniormost sailor on board after the roll call had concluded, “It’s been a long night and there be no sense in dragging it out any longer. Let’s all get some sleep now, and come morning we’ll be electin’ a new Captain. Sound good?”

He was met with a chorus of hearty “ayes”, and everybody went below decks to get some much-needed sleep. The mission had been completed, the attack an unqualified success.

The adventure, however, was just about to begin.

Pirate Ship Mafia II


Overview:
Pirate Ship Mafia II is a mafia game in the mold of its predecessor and the Capo di Tutti Capi series in that it gives every player a lot of freedom to do whatever they want at night. Since you guys are probably most familiar with Capo IV, this game is the result of my work to rebalance some of Capo's imperfections to keep things more fun for everybody, in addition to adding some new elements that add a new element to the game: treasure. Maintaining a perfect balance between team cooperation and individual competition will be the key to obtaining victory.

Setting:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
The North Atlantic Ocean, spring of 1720.

It’s a bit past the Golden Age of Piracy, when buccaneers ruled the seas and king’s ransoms of gold were looted and spent in a matter of weeks, but the window of opportunity for those who sail under no colors but their own is still open. Three years after the Presence sacked Charleston, they're at it again, this time taking a significant portion of the Spanish Treasure Fleet. However, their actions have attracted the attentions of the dreaded Guardacosta, who almost certainly have snuck agents aboard to enact retribution.

*Note: In reality, Nassau, which the Presence uses as a base, stopped being friendly to pirates in 1718, or two years before this game is set. For the purposes of fun, we'll say that the events of the first game set back British naval efforts to stamp out piracy in the area and granted the buccaneers at least a couple more years of leeway.
/obligatory history major disclaimer


Basic Rules:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
At the start of the game, you will randomly be PM’d a role and its description. Once all roles are sent out, the game will begin. Pirate Ship Mafia will begin with a day phase, taking place immediately after the death of the original Captain as per the above story. Instead of voting to lynch someone on Day 1, the only decision made will be who will be the new Captain. Upon conclusion of that phase, the Captain will appoint his two Officers (see below) and Night 1 will begin. In every night phase, players will PM me their night orders which may vary. Starting Day 2, players will vote to lynch and, if applicable, commit mutiny. This night/day pattern will continue until the game concludes.

Night actions:
Players may do a variety of things at night, depending on their roles. There is always the option to rest up, but treasure is awarded for those who take a more active role at night. Many of the actions must be coordinated with other players in order to be successfully executed, similar to Capo.

For the standard able seaman of the Presence (this game’s version of the townie), the following actions may be performed at night:

Sleep (no treasure awarded)
Kill an individual (treasure awarded) – must form a group of at least 4 to kill any individual
Protect an individual (treasure awarded) – must form a group of at least 3 to protect any individual
Abandon ship - Depart the Presence with all the treasure you have collected, a useful option if you think you're about to die or you think your team is going to lose and want to improve your own victory standing. Note: this option not available to some players.
Steal treasure - A new feature to Pirate Ship Mafia II, you can use this option to make up some financial ground by eschewing group activities for a night in order to directly take money from a crew member.
Guard your treasure stash - Another new feature which allows the paranoid to counteract the above action, at the expense of doing anything else for the night.

Other roles may do more or complete the same tasks with less people. You may only perform ONE action per night, unless otherwise noted in your role PM.

When actively performing at night, in your orders PM you must send me the exact specifics: What you are doing, the name of every person who is doing it with you, and who you are doing it to. If there is miscommunication and the orders do not match up, they will not be executed. Not only will this deprive you of treasure, but it may also put you at risk of dying! Beware!

Example orders PM:

Quote Originally Posted by GeneralHankerchief
GH – night 3 orders

GeneralHankerchief, Sasaki Kojiro, Kommodus, and Kagemusha will kill Seamus Fermanagh.
At the end of every night I will send feedback PMs detailing how successful you were at night. If the group failed, I will not reveal what exactly what went wrong. I will also let you know your current treasure count at the end of every night.


PMs and orders:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
It is in your best interests to PM me every night with your orders. Active participation not only helps your team out, it also helps you individually. Not to mention the fact that it makes for a more exciting game! You will get two types of PMs from me: Role PM and feedback.

The Presence Able Seaman (townie) PM has already been provided in the GAH thread and will be posted in the main thread shortly after the game begins, as will the skeleton feedback PM.

In addition, at any time, you may PM me with your Will. Wills, to be explained more later, dictate who some of your treasure goes to should you die.


Voting:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
Voting is your primary action in the day phases. Every day, aside from Day 1, you will be voting to lynch the person you think is guilty. Voting will be done in the usual style, like so:

Vote: GeneralHankerchief

Should you wish to change your vote, please do the following IN A NEW POST:

Unvote: GeneralHankerchief
Vote: Andres

You may also Vote: Abstain should you have no preference as to who is lynched. You may NOT vote “No Lynch”. All votes must be bolded and votes may not be edited. Should you edit your vote and not change it in a new post, you are faced with a loss of treasure and potentially, removal from play. The person with the most votes at the end of the day phase is lynched. Should there be a tie, the Captain and his two Officers will vote to determine who is lynched. Should there still be a tie (say, if there are three players with the most votes and each Officer votes somebody different), the Captain’s vote takes priority.

There will be at least one occasion in which you will vote to elect a Captain. The format for choosing a Captain is as follows:

Elect: GeneralHankerchief

Unelect: GeneralHankerchief
Elect: Andres

In addition, at any point in the day phase you may vote to mutiny. You may do this by adding in a Vote: Mutiny in with your normal vote. If over 50% of living players vote to mutiny, the Captain is lynched along with whoever has the most votes, and instead of proceeding to night, a new Captain selection process follows. If the vote is tied, the status quo remains.

Should you decide you don’t want to mutiny, you may simply write in Unvote: Mutiny at any time in the day phase. There are no official consequences for participating in a failed mutiny, but the Captain will almost surely remember those who were not loyal to him. A successful mutiny results in large amounts of treasure gained for all those who voted for the mutiny.

***New for Pirate Ship Mafia II:*** The treasure bonus for a successful mutiny has been significantly ramped up. For the exact specifics, see the publicly-available Able Seaman (townie) PM.


The Factions:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
Unlike in the first game, there is only a two-way fight for control of the Presence going on. However, there may be additional threats lurking on board, waiting for their chance to strike...

The crew of the Presence: The main faction of Pirate Ship Mafia. Having just engineered a wildly successful (if not a little bloody) raid on the Spanish Treasure Fleet, they are on their way back to Nassau to spend their riches as irresponsibly as they possibly can. However, the Guardacosta is not an enemy so likely to be defeated so easily, and many sailors are predicting the need for further swordwork before the ship makes dock. In addition, even the small fortunes that all of the pirates have collected may not be enough for some sailors, who will be looking to increase their own treasure counts at the expense of others aboard...

The Spanish Guardacosta (starts with 3 players): King Philip's forces in the New World is not all just about galleons and patrol ships that have been making life miserable for pirates used to formerly easy pickings. There is a branch that deals with more covert activities, such as infiltrating a pirate ship that just made off with a significant portion of the country's budget. Guardacosta agents can work to determine which members of the crew are susceptible to their influence, and eventually, offer them a Letter of Marque. Letters of Marque allow Presence crewmen to switch over and let the Spanish numbers grow. Agents can, of course, kill as well. Their ultimate goal is the elimination or subordination of every non-Guardacosta agent on board. At least one original agent must survive.


Once you are dead:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
Standard stuff here. If there are any questions, PM me.
The dead may post, but not vote/select nor carry out any night actions. Dead players may not reveal their roles publicly or privately and may not reveal their faction or role particulars either. Dead players may not quote from a PM unless that PM has been posted in the public thread by a living player. Dead players may not reveal, recount or allude to their previous night actions (or results thereof in the case of investigations) publicly or privately – even to confirm a previously made public or private reveal. Remember, even if dead not all of your treasure goes away – pirates do have *some* honor. Your participation must be circumspect, but your continued participation IS encouraged.

No screenshots may be used, from or to anyone, for ANY purpose – this includes during PMs. Feel free to quote from my Role PM’s to you or to fabricate as you see fit. Chatlog conversations may be referenced/quoted, but may not be copied via screenshot. Note: it can be difficult to maintain role secrecy during chat conversations.

"Suicide" will not be allowed in this game (it is possible to create an unplayable game with nothing but suicide pact challenges going on. This is not the intended mode of play for this game).
Players who must remove themselves from play for schedule reasons should send me a PM. I will then write them out of play.


Clarity to balance the ambiguity:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
Again, if you played the first Pirate Ship Mafia or Capo-like games, nothing new here.
Upon death, the captain will launch a full investigation of that individual to try to determine the reason they were killed. Though slow (results reported on the 3rd morning after death), their then-current role will be revealed. Unfortunately, the specific actions of that individual -- what they did with their role -- will remain a mystery (until the post-game!).


The Roles:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
Crew of the Presence:

Able Seaman
The standard Townie of Pirate Ship Mafia. Able Seamen have no special powers but may form groups of 4 and 3 to kill or protect a target, respectively, in addition to trying to steal or protect treasure. Their goals are to rid of the Presence of its many threats and get more treasure than anybody else (pirates are a very competitive bunch, you see). Some Able Seamen may be susceptible to offers of Letters of Marque, however, they will not know how susceptible they are.

Elected/Appointed Roles:

Neither the Captain nor his Officers can switch sides for as long as they hold their offices.

Captain
The Captain is elected by the crew on Day 1 and will remain Captain unless he is removed by a mutiny. This is a position of extreme power in that the Captain gets a set salary of treasure every turn he is Captain without having to actively do anything. Most importantly, the Captain gets to appoint his two Officers, the First Mate and Quartermaster, who, if loyal, can represent the greatest threat to the enemies of the Presence. The Captain cannot be killed at night but may take part in nighttime activities. The Captain has no vote unless there is a tie (see above), however, activity treasure is still given to him for posting in the day phase.

First Mate
The Captain names his First Mate to me privately before the Day 1 voting phase is over when it appears that he has a legitimate chance of becoming Captain. The First Mate can be replaced at will at anytime either by PM (preferred) or posting in the thread. Changes in officer position will take effect at the end of the phase, day or night. The First Mate is the Captain’s right-hand man on the ship and may individually kill one person or investigate two persons per night. Attempts on his life at night have a 50% chance of failure, regardless of numbers used against him. The First Mate also collects a salary for his efforts.

Quartermaster
The Captain names his Quartermaster to me privately before the Day 1 voting phase is over when it appears that he has a legitimate chance of becoming Captain. The Quartermaster can be replaced at will at anytime either by PM (preferred) or posting in the thread. Changes in officer position will take effect at the end of the phase, day or night. The Quartermaster is in charge of discipline on the ship and may individually protect or block one person from committing an action per night. Attempts on his life at night have a 50% chance of failure, regardless of numbers used against him. The Quartermaster also collects a salary for his efforts.

Guardacosta:

Spanish Special Officer (1)
The agent in charge of the operation on board the Presence, the Spanish Special Officer is probably the single most dangerous threat the ship's crewmen will go up against. He is the only one out of the three starting agents that can determine susceptibility to Letters of Marque among the crew of the Presence. He may investigate two persons per night to find out how susceptible they are in addition to sharing the same powers as the Guardacosta Lieutenants, described below. The Spanish Special Officer is extremely important to his team's cause, as without him, the Guardacosta agents take a huge risk whenever they offer Letters of Marque to uninvestigated targets.

Guardacosta Lieutenant (2)
The Guardacosta Lieutenant, working in pairs, may kill any one target at night. In addition, a Lieutenant acting alone may offer a Letter of Marque to any one target at night. Should that person be susceptible to Letters of Marque, he immediately joins the crew as a Guardacosta Convert (below). Should he not be susceptible, the Guardacosta agent who offered the Letter of Marque has a chance of being discovered (percentages vary from player to player, power roles have a better chance of discovering who offered Letters of Marque to them). If only one Guardacosta Lieutenant remains and there are no Converts, the Lieutenant may kill on his own. The Spanish pride themselves on being better at subtlety than their British counterparts, and as such will be able to hide flawlessly in protection groups.

Guardacosta Convert
Individuals who have accepted offers of Letters of Marque become Guardacosta Converts, who immediately obtain the same powers as Guardacosta Lieutenants. However, at least one original Guardacosta Lieutenant or the Spanish Special Officer is required to survive the game – should all three original agents be killed, all Guardacosta Converts will immediately commit suicide out of shame for abandoning their original comrades.

Secret role(s):

Well, you'll just have to wait and see.


Treasure and Wills:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
Treasure
The primary standout feature of Pirate Ship Mafia, the pursuit of treasure will significantly motivate you and guide your actions. Everyone starts out with 100 treasure and can accumulate more through various means. For the most part, the more treasure you have at the end of the game, the better off you’ll be. Treasure is disclosed privately to each individual at the beginning of every day phase.

The list of actions you can take and the amount of treasure accumulated for each is below:

100: Base amount
10: For each person you recruit to play Pirate Ship Mafia
3: For each round in which you lodge a legitimate vote (for Captain, you get the three if you make a post in the day phase)
2: For each round in which you submit a night order, whether it is successful or not (can even be simply “sleep”)
10: Amount awarded for successfully killing an individual with the minimum group size of 4.
8: Amount awarded for successfully killing an individual with anything larger than the minimum group size.
10: Amount awarded for successfully protecting an individual (even if he wasn't attacked) with the minimum group size of 3.
7: Amount awarded for successfully protecting and individual (even if he wasn't attacked) with anything larger than the minimum group size.
5-20: Amount awarded for successfully stealing someone else's gold.
15: Captain's nightly salary
12: Nightly salary of First Mate/Quartermaster (kill/protection awards do not apply)
Mutiny: Every mutineer gets 10 gold; captain’s entire gold supply is then divided evenly among mutineers.
Furthermore, you are allowed to transfer small amounts of treasure between crew members. The caveats to this are that is a maximum 10 treasure per person per day, the transfer must be for services rendered, and the services must be publicly available (in other words, no breaking the game by pooling all of your gold into one source).

Finally, at any point in the game you may receive a special "random event" PM from me giving you a one-time choice between two options, usually involving treasure. The exact specifics of this will be detailed in the PM.

Wills
Players may privately message me at any time, saying, in the event of their death, who their treasure goes to. Players may not donate more than 50 of their treasure total – the remainder stays to their name (the only exception to this is if the Captain dies in a mutiny, in which case he loses all of his treasure to the mutineers). Players may divide up their 50 to multiple persons if they wish or choose not to have a Will at all. A Will may be changed at any time and must be sent to me (or updated) at least 3 hours prior to the individual’s death to be considered valid.

Legalese regarding wills:
A player is considered “dead” at the exact minute I first post his death in a public thread, either the main game thread or the game’s story/reference thread.

For example, let’s say Player X’s original will was as follows:

Give GeneralHankerchief all 50 of my treasure.
...but then at 13:00 he changed it to:

Give Andres all 50 of my treasure; GeneralHankerchief has been written out of my will.
Let’s say that I first posted Player X’s death at 15:59 that day. If this was the case, GeneralHankerchief would get the 50 treasure. If I waited one minute later and posted the death at 16:00, 3 hours would have passed and Andres would have gotten the treasure.