The Theme
Seafaring on the deserts of Shakuras is a little known secret and the Protoss are actually a bunch of bad-ass pirates and sailors at heart. Well, when they are not under the influence of the Khala which seems to make them land-lubbing, zerg-killing machines.
On board the finest ship in the land the Kal'Phaeron, a conspiracy is born.
The Crew
Members of the crew are as follows:
- The "Good" Guys
- The Captain - Maintain morale of your crew, determine rationing/supplies, hand out tasks to crewmen.
- The Guard/QuarterMaster - Protect the captain at all costs, try to find the conspirators, survive.
- The Spotter - You live in the Crow's Nest, but you have a fancy Psionic Radar which can be used to scan living quarters.
- The Drunk - Too many Khaldarim Kegs have passed through this ones lips...
- The Crewmen - Big, ugly, dirty Protoss Zealots who love nothing more than wenches, ale, looting and plundering.
- The Captain - Maintain morale of your crew, determine rationing/supplies, hand out tasks to crewmen.
- The "Bad" Guys
- The Saboteur - Someone says his mother was raped by a Terran Firebat. All he know's is that he likes blowing stuff up.
- The Assassin - Loves nothing more than sticking his long.. hard... sharp blade into unsuspecting hearts.
- The Spy - Sneaking around, peeping in through your windows, that's this guys 'thing'.
- The Thief - Kinda like the spy, but looking ain't enough, he's gotta snatch!
- The Saboteur - Someone says his mother was raped by a Terran Firebat. All he know's is that he likes blowing stuff up.
- The "Ugly" Guy
- The Ugly Guy - He smells funky... like, really bad... And he turns into Zerg at night-times.
- The Ugly Guy - He smells funky... like, really bad... And he turns into Zerg at night-times.
The Ration System
The Captain can decide on the level of rations to be handed out every day. This effects the abilities and skills which all players can use during that day and the following night. So, it's always a good idea to be friendly with the Captain, so that he sets the Rations to a level which are conducive to your goal for winning.
Just a few examples here:
When rations are high
- When Rations are High
- The Drunk has a higher chance of stumbling/revealing a persons identity if they cross paths at night-time. But he might not always remember.
- The Saboteur automatically wins the game if High rations are left on for 5 days consecutively. He builds a warp-matter bomb and explodes the ship.
- All Crewmembers gain +2.5 activity points for every day that High rations are available.
- The Thief however, gets -2.5 activity points for each day that High rations are available - stealing just ain't so much fun when everything to steal is being given out for free.
- The Drunk has a higher chance of stumbling/revealing a persons identity if they cross paths at night-time. But he might not always remember.
- When Rations are Low
- The Drunk automatically wins the game if Low rations are left on for 5 days consecutively. Turns out he is the best swords fighter in the land and just challenges everyone to duel until the conspirators flee.
- The Thief gains +2.5 activity points for every day that Low rations are available.
- All Crewmembers lose 1.0 activity points for each day that Low rations are available.
- The Drunk automatically wins the game if Low rations are left on for 5 days consecutively. Turns out he is the best swords fighter in the land and just challenges everyone to duel until the conspirators flee.
Gameplay
Role Assignment
Upon map initialisation each player is given a Role (from the above list of Crew Members). Their assigned role is determined by a few factors - have they played the game before? If they have played the game before enough times (more than 10) they get to select their role. In an ideal situation, all players who are new, are assigned Crew Member roles. The more advanced players are then given Captain by default, with another advanced player being assigned to Saboteur/Spy or Thief. I will be using banks to store a hell of a lot of detail about your character in this game.
- In a minimalist game - 4 Players: The following are assigned: (percentage chance of a player to be given that role)
- Captain x1 100%
- Crewmen x2 50%
- Saboteur/Spy/Thief x1 50%
- Captain x1 100%
- In a normal game - between 6 and 8 players: These roles are used:
- Captain x1 100%
- Spotter/Quartermaster x1-2 55%
- Crewmen x4 45%
- Spy/Assassin x1-2 55%
- Saboteur/Thief x1-2 55%
- Ugly Guy x1 25%
- Captain x1 100%
- In a proper, way it's meant to be played game - with 10 players: All roles are used.
Cabin Selection and Initial Diplomacy
The game begins at night-time, in which every player selects their cabin. Certain roles are given their cabins automatically, for example the Captain gets the Captains Quarters, and the Spotter gets the Hawks Nest.
If two players select the same cabin, they are revealed to each other only, and can choose whether or not to live together (and therefore work together), or whether they want to still work together, but still live separately. Safety in numbers, yet higher chances of being caught out.
If the Ugly Guy (Zergling) bumps into another player - they have to live together. Otherwise the Ugly Guy will kill him right there and then. In this instance, there are two Ugly Guys on board the ship and other players must realise this quickly and team-up otherwise the Zerg will win.
It is impossible for more than 2 people to share a cabin. If it happens that 3 players select Cabin A. One will randomly be selected and forced to re-pick a cabin. He will then have the knowledge that some shit went down in Cabin A on Night 1 and might want to investigate.
Once everyone is settled in their cabins and the Captain has chosen the rations for the first day. Day 1 can commence.
Day / Night Cycle
Day Time - Duties
During the day, all players with exception of the Captain, the Quartermaster and the Spotter all appear as Zealots (Crew Members).
The Captain gives out duties to his men... These vary from day to day, sometimes the ship will have packages to unload, sometimes the decks will need scrubbing, etc. Sometimes the ship can be boarded by other pirates, in which a little combat ensues. You want to keep your eyes especially pealed at this stage - since even though your fellow team-mates look like Zealots, they still have their special abilities tucked away. For example - the Assassin has a chance to deal 3x damage with each attack. So, if you see someone crumple an invading Zealot in 2 hits, you'll know who the Assassin is.
Day Time - Evening / Time off
During the 'Time-Off', all players can leave 1 'note' at a certain other players door. Whether you want to beg the king for High Rations since you're a Drunkard (and will win the game if these Low Rations continue)... Or if you want to inform your Neighbour that "You know what he did 'last summer' (ie, critical hitting a zealot to the face').
Night Time = Fun Time!
At night-time all units are displayed Cloaked. So that you can see a player moving around (with sharp eyes), but you won't know his allegiance. Walking right next to a player (who happens to be the Drunkard @ High Rations) will reveal yourself for 4 seconds, forcing you to hide in the ample doodads and crates littered around the Deck. The Vision radius at night-time is so little, that you'd literally have to walk right next to someone else for them to see you 'revealed'.
So, night-time begins with everyone in their Cabins. Here you decide on what you want to do. You ultimately have three options available to you each night:
1. Explore
2. Stay in
3. Use a Special Power
Exploring will put you outside of your cabin and allow you to roam about. You can then enter another players Cabin... Or if you're the Assassin, you can just go kill someone out on the decking and throw their body over-board. The Spotter can counter this if he 'stayed in' at his Crow's Nest. The Quartermaster has a 80% chance of evading this attack.
So, how the hell do I win?
Winning all depends on your initial Role, and the actions you performed during the course of a game.
For example, if a game lasts 11 days and 11 nights and the Captain is still alive - then the Captain has won. This is the most difficult way to win the game so will give you the most score.
As mentioned before, the Saboteur and Drunkard can each win the game if a consecutive period of 5 days of High Rations or Low Rations respectively happens.
The Quartermaster can never hope to 'win' the game. But every time he protects the Captain, he gets a nice little score-boost.
The Assassin wins the game if he manages to kill the Captain. He also gains nice score for every Crewmember he kills, but loses a lot of score if he assassinates the Thief, the Spy or the Saboteur.
The Thief also cannot win the game, but has a useful ability of 'stealing' (no shit) from another player. This effectively 'breaks' a chain of consecutive High Rations if the Thief has stolen from the Saboteur, and a consecutive chain of Low Rations is broken if the target for the Thief was the Drunkard. He can also steal the Search-Device from the Spotter.
The Thief and the Spy can win the game if they work together. The Thief must steal the Spotters Search-Device and then leave it at the Spy's door the following day. Then the Spy must stay alive for another night and day before victory is his.
The Ugly-One wins the game if manages to kill everyone else / or if everyone else goes into a killing frenzy without knowing the true location of the Ugly-One's cabin...
You typically lose the game if you die. I am contemplating adding some sort of 'Ghost' characters to the game... Where they only activate at night-time and have minimal impact on the actual game - but can still take part.
NOTE: This is an extremely early, early draft
Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Dec 30 2010, 4:50 am by Cardinal.
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