Ballroom Serial Killers Round 1 (OOC, Open, PG-13)

[The_one_who_is_odd]

I borrowed this from here.

BALLROOM SERIAL KILLERS - Round 1  (Host: Odd)


The lynch voting will close precisely at
10:00 PM Eastern Time (GMT -5 hours)
Any votes marked/kills sent after this time will not be counted.
Updates posted shortly thereafter

Signups, however, close whenever I feel like it, and there is no limit to how many people may sign up.

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How it works

Welcome to Ballroom Serial Killers, a forum-based murder-mystery game where people die on a daily basis and wild theories are tossed around like rag dolls!

The host will secretly select participating players at random to play the role of the killer, sent to them via private message. A killer's job is to craft a written passage (or screenshot, soundclip, artwork, or video, if they're feeling particularly crafty) every day and PM it back to the host. The first of these is what we call the dummy kill - this will give an idea of the killer's writing style. Every day after that, the killer may select one person to die that round, working it into their kill. The host will present the kills to the entire thread at a specified time each day.

The citizens of the thread must then vote for the person they feel is guiltiest. This person will be lynched at the end of the round. If the innocent citizens lynch all the killers, the citizens win! If the killers evade notice and kill off enough people to outnumber the innocents, the killers win! Each round tends to last one week. Use anything from poltergeists to kitchen utensils, from orange juice to acid, and from simple stab wounds to nursery rhymes. And remember, keep your identity a secret! Kills must also contain at least one clue per turn to the killer's identity (this can be as convoluted as you wish, but must be there).

Rules:
* The host is always right. No exceptions.
* The number of killers each round is determined by the number of players, as is the number/inclusion of any additional roles. The more citizens, the more roles!
* All roles are chosen by random selection and given out secretly by PM.
* Roles must be accepted, if someone does not accept their role within 18 hours the role will be given to someone else.
* The citizens must try and work out who the killers are and vote accordingly. The person with the highest number of votes gets lynched at the same time kills are posted. The host then reveals if the person was a killer or not.
* Every day each killer sends in a single kill. The host then updates this post to show who has died and posts the kills and a lynch, if there is one.
* If by the end of the round the killers outnumber the citizens, or there is only one of each left, the killers win.
* The list of players at the top of this post is updated with every murder and lynch to show those who are alive and those who are dead.
* Citizens who sign up to be in the game must actively participate in the game.
* To sign up, post a sign up list with your display name added to it.
* If something comes up suddenly and you no longer wish to participate BEFORE the game has started, simply remove your name from the list. If you change your mind AFTER the game has started, PM the host and she will graciously remove you from the round.
* Citizens who do not post votes for 3 updates will be slaughtered mercilessly. For example, if Lord Cummerbund posts all during the 1st update, but goes mysteriously silent after the 2nd, and stays so during the 3rd and 4th, he will be killed in the 5th update.
* Player may miss no more than 4 votes, this includes abstaining. Players are also required to write at least 3 sentences with each post... Participation helps the citizens.... Really!
* Player may abstain from voting, but this should be limited to less than 50% of the time.
* Players may not vote for themselves as a method of avoiding voting for another player without abstaining. Any player who votes for himself or herself is considered to have abstained.
* Players voting for anything other than a living player are also considered to have abstained.
* There are no Citizen Suicides.
* Don't go making a sock puppet account just for this game. I will only accept kills sent from the account I have down as the killer.
* The host is always right. No exceptions!


(Special Cases can be dealt with, so PM the host if you have any questions.)


The Roles

Killers
The killer's job is to craft a kill every day to murder the innocent citizens and eventually overtake or match them in number. Depending on how many people sign up, there may be more than one killer, and they will work as a team via PM.

Basic Guideline for Killer-Citizen Ratio
(can be altered at will by your Gracious Host)

1 killer: 8-13 citizens
2 killers: 14-19 citizens
3 killers: 20-35 citizens
4 killers : 36-40 citizens


* All kills must be in two hours before voting closes (check top of page for update time). Your Gracious Host will accept kills well in advance of the deadline - in fact he prefers them! But please, while you are encouraged to plan your kills out in advance, only send in ONE KILL PER DAY. Thank you.
* You are required to send a kill in on time, everyday. If you are late, or do not send one in at all, then no kill will be posted. This is bad, as citizens are very quick to figure out who was not online at the time the kill should have arrived. Additionally, if you miss more than one day, your Gracious Host may provide the citizens with a clue to your identity, with one clue every subsequent day you miss a kill.
* Kills must be a MINIMUM of two sentences, with 250 characters total. This is a MINIMUM requirement, and it is encouraged to go above and beyond for your kills. If your kill does not meet the min. requirements, it will count as though you did not send one in. Exceptions to the character count can be made in the event of image manipulation being used as the bulk of the kill, but only at the Host's discretion. Whether a kill qualifies or not is ultimately up to the host; if they do not find it suitable, they will not post it.
* Kills must be original. Using a theme, or drawing inspiration from outside sources is encouraged, as it adds variety and identity to your killer persona, and direct quotes may even be used, but the bulk of the kill must be in your own writing. In addition, any images used in a kill must be wholly original works created by the Killer, unless proof the artist's expressed permission can be provided.
* Clues to the killer's identity must be included in each kill, either by references to another thread, cryptograms, or something else.
* The message to the host with the kill must include an explanation of the clues and a list of all red herrings planted on purpose. The host will then inform the killer whether or not the clues are too vague. Killers will be given a chance to improve clues going forward, but if this becomes an issue the host reserves the right to add another detective or to post minor clues of his own.
* Red herrings should be limited, the host won't tell the killers not to try to frame someone, but if the host believes that the red herrings are out of hand he may add a second bloodhound to help combat them.



Citizens
Every one participating, unless you are chosen for a specific role, is a citizen. You exist as cannon fodder for killers, lynch bait for your fellow citizens, and most importantly, as the only people capable of stopping the killer in their murderous rampage.

After each update, the citizens get to vote for one person whom they believe to be a killer. The player who receives the most votes gets lynched along with the evening's murders.

* If there is a tied vote for lynching, the victim will be chosen by random selection (a d2).
* You can abstain if you do not wish to vote for another player. (Limited to less than 50% of the time.)
* You can change your vote however many times you wish or abstain until the voting is closed.
* When placing your vote, you must also state the overall tally of the rounds votes and list who has voted for who. This makes it easier for the host to lynch the correct person and not miss votes by accident. If you fail to put this information in, your vote will not be counted.
* You may choose to write your own lynch. It is encouraged! Should you do so, it should be PMed to the host before the update, just like the kills.


Ghosts
When players are killed (through murder or lynching), they become ghosts and lose the power to vote. However, they are still allowed to post in the thread and give advice to the living.

* Ghosts must post in a different color to help people keep track of who is still alive.
* If you had a role other than citizen or killer, it will not be revealed upon your death. Once you're dead, however, it is up to you whether or not to reveal yourself.

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Optional Roles


Detective
The detective's role is, like the citizens, to uncover the killers; however, he or she has access to certain information that normal citizens do not.

Following each update the detective can PM the host one yes or no question, with the exception of asking the Killer's identity. The Detective may ask their question any time before the kill is posted - the sooner you ask, the sooner you will get an answer.
* Your Detective identity is to be kept secret at all times, and may not be revealed to anyone publicly or privately. You must convince people you are right like any other citizen would, by coming up with evidence and valid arguments.
* Once dead, the detective can reveal who s/he is, but may not reveal clues received as the detective. The detective's job is to convince the citizens through argument, not to give them information.
* The detective is allowed to ask a question, but the host is not required to answer. Sometimes even Sherlock Holmes might miss a clue.


Bloodhound:
The bloodhound's role is, like the citizens, to uncover the killers; however, he or she has access to certain information that normal citizens do not.

Following each update the bloodhound can PM the host and ask one question about a perceived red herring. They may only ask whether or not something in the kill is an intentional red herring (if they ask about something and it is a legitimate clue they will receive the same answer they would have if it had been an unintentional red herring). The Bloodhound may ask their question any time before the kill is posted - the sooner you ask, the sooner you will get an answer.
* Your Bloodhound identity is to be kept secret at all times, and may not be revealed to anyone publicly or privately. You must convince people you are right like any other citizen would, by coming up with evidence and valid arguments.
* Once dead, the bloodhound can reveal who s/he is, but may not reveal clues received as the detective. The bloodhound's job is to convince the citizens through argument, not to give them information.
* The bloodhound is allowed to ask a question, but the host is not required to answer. Sometimes even Sherlock Holmes might miss a clue.


Hench Ducky
The Hench Ducky's job is to help the killer survive at all costs, and ensure a killer victory. They will be notified of the killer's identity, but will not submit kills themselves. How you do this is up to you, but remember, any good lackie would throw themselves in the way of danger for their glorious leader.

Rabid Mousecat
The Rabid Mousecat eats votes. After biting someone, they temporarily invalidate their target's vote through clever use of rabies


Example:

Current lynch score
Bobby: 5 (Theo, Roxanne, Miles, Lucifer, Giorgio)
Susie Q: 4 (Sexy T-Rex, Robot Rob, Tomas, Archibald von Archibald)
Archibald von Archibald: 4 (John Paul II, Bobby, Susie Q, Leslie)

Tomas is the Rabid Mousecat. He sends a PM to the host before the votes are counted.
"Rrrrah! I wants to bite Theo." -nibble nibble!- Thanks to the Rabid Mousecat, the score becomes a three-way tie. How dirty!

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Special Items

Trowel of Wonder
The Trowel of Wonder activates upon its holder's death. A random event from the list below occurs upon activation.

1.Crazy Veteran Effect: You strap on a bomb vest before anyone can get you. If lynched, you have a 1/3 chance to take each voter with you, individually. If you are targeted by a killer, you have a 1/2 chance of taking the killer with you.

2.Russian Reversal: In Soviet Russia, victim kills YOU!! If lynched, the first voter for the intended victim dies instead. If killed, killer dies instead.

3.Decoy: Kill or lynch converted to dummy kill or lynch

4.Ackbar: The killer or leading lynch voter is disabled for a turn.

5.Victim Scramble: Next Turn, the targets of the killers get shuffled around.

6. Meat Shield: One player is randomly killed instead of the intended victim.

7. Final Destination: You may cause one player of your choice to be culled next turn.

8.Organ Donor: One victim from the same update survives.

9. I got better: You die. Next update, you make a full recovery. You cannot vote in that update, however, and must still post in color until then.

10. Rocks fall everyone ducks: The host will roll a d20 for each living player. Anyone who rolls a 1 gets crushed to death.

11.Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse appear! Change places! - All living players are shuffled. Random chance of lynch or kill this round.

12.Rewind- (aka Pancea 2) : Everyone is brought back to life, for every role that was cut during the round (killer, ducky, hound, and detective) one more shall be rolled randomly from those resurrected.

13.Wha ? : The trowel refuses to activate. You are on your own.

14.Ghostly rights : Next turn, the ghosts get a vote. Popular vote gets added to the lynch vote for the day.

15.Hat Trick : Three random effects occur
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+1 Trowel of Ballot Stuffing
The player with this trowel may PM the host 1 time to magically add 1 extra vote of his/her choice.

Pointy Stick
The player with the Pointy Stick may PM the host 1 time to magically cancel any 1 vote of his/her choice.

Body Armor
One time protection from a kill 55% chance of saving you. If targeted by a killer this keeps you from being killed that turn.
*note*: after talking with the owner of this item I have decided to decrease it's effectiveness because it is incredibly overpowered. This item will be further weakened next round, where it will only provide a 25% chance of saving the person wearing it.

Iron Neck Brace
This item is supposed to make you harder to lynch, essentially the crowd tries to lynch you... but gives up after a little while when it doesn't work and lynches the next person in line. It only works if you are within one vote of the next person in line. So if there are 4 votes for you and 2 for the next person in line, you die. If there are 3 votes for you and 2 for the next person in line, it is then a tie, and you might survive. If there is an actual tie, then you simply get lynched. Think of it as a passive pointy stick, it automatically knocks one vote off of you, but only when you are about to be lynched..
Increases the number of votes required to lynch you by one.
Example:
Bob has 3 votes and a neck brace, Maria has 3 votes, Maria dies
Bob has 4 votes and a neck brace, Maria has 3 votes, tie vote roll d2

Mysterious Gift Box
The Mysterious Gift Box can appear at any time in the game. The first player to PM the host will receive a random item or ability. However, one must be careful when opening the box as not all gifts a good and some are down right deadly.

1. Magnifying Glass - The player becomes a detective for the remainder of the round and may PM the host one Yes/No question per turn. Note: A Magnifying Glass has a chance of being cracked. A Cracked Magnifying Glass functions exactly the same as a Magnifying Glass, except that there is a 10% cumulative chance of it breaking each turn it is used. If the player skips using it for one or more rounds, it doesn't increase the chance of breaking. Example: 1st round used = 10% chance of breaking. 2nd round used = 20% chance of breaking. 3 round skipped = nothing happens. 4th round used = 30% chance of breaking.

2. Warped Magnifying Glass - A Warped Magnifying Glass looks exactly the same as a Magnifying Glass and will only be identified as a Magnifying Glass. The Warped Magnifying Glass is cursed and will almost always give the wrong answer to the Detective when questions are PMed to the host. There is also a chance of it being "Cracked" as well. Players will be informed if the Magnifying Glass is "Cracked" or not, but will not be informed that it is "Warped".

3. Iron Neck Brace - See above

4. Body Armor - See above

5. +1 Trowel of Ballot Stuffing - see above.

6. Pointy Stick - see above.

7. Rabid MouseCat - The player who reaches his hand into the box is bitten by the Rabid MouseCat. His or her vote is invalidated for the current turn.

8. Were-Rabid MouseCat - The player who reaches his hand into the box it bitten by the Were-Rabid MouseCat and become a Rabid MouseCat for the remainder of the round. However their first vote is nullified by the bite and they cannot eat a vote during their first turn after being bitten (the transformation is not immediate) After the transformation is complete (aka the next turn) he or she may PM the host it invalidate one vote per round. See rules for Rabid MouseCat above.

9. Rubber Hench Ducky - The player become a Hench Ducky for the remainder of the round.

10. Empty Box - You can use it as a hat! Or it can be a... a... a rocketship! Or a race car! Anything your mind can imagine really

11. Bomb - The mysterious gift box explodes and kills whomever opened it in 1d4 rounds.

12. Kaboomerang - Simply throw the Kaboomerang at the beginning of the day, and just like a regular boomerang, it comes back to you that night. What's so special about that? Well if you've already been killed and can't catch the Kaboomerang, it will automatically follow the trail of your blood back to the person directly responsible and will explode upon reaching that person, thus allowing you to rest easy knowing that your family (or nearest living relative) need not worry about seeking out revenge. The Kaboomerang does it for you!
What if you throw the Kaboomerang and you aren't killed that day? Simply catch it in your hand when if comes back to you that evening and it is ready to go again the next day! Warning: The Kaboomerang has a 30% chance of blowing upon returning if the thrower is still alive at the end of the day. This product may contain peanuts. This product will be hot after heating. Not recommended for use in a microwave. Not dishwasher safe.

The player must inform the host of his/her intent to use the Kaboomerang prior to the close of voting. If the player dies during the kill updates then the Kaboomerang will explode and kill the killer or the lead lynch voter depending on how the player was killed.