Octopus Overlords

Welcome to The Resistance: Avalon! This post will provide an overview of roles, rules, and gameplay protocols.



Avalon is a game of social deception in the spirit of Werewolf. The game includes 5 - 10 players, and the rules vary slightly according to how many are playing:

Order of Battle

• 5: 3 good, 2 evil
• 6: 4 good, 2 evil
• 7: 4 good, 3 evil
• 8: 5 good, 3 evil
• 9: 6 good, 3 evil
• 10: 6 good, 4 evil

Goal:

• Good: Three successful quests AND keep Merlin hidden
• Bad: Three failed quests OR five failed votes in a row OR find Merlin to thwart Good victory

Start:

• Players start in a random order.
• The first player on the list is the first Leader. The role of Leader moves from person to person in a cycle with no variation.
• Players receive randomly-assigned roles.
• The last player on the list is the first Lady of the Lake. The role of Lady of the Lake moves twice according to rules explained below.

Roles may include (bold always included):

• Normals: Loyal Servant (Good); Minion of Mordred (Evil)
• Specials (Good): Merlin, Percival
• Specials (Evil): Assassin, Morgana, Mordred, Oberon

The game is a loop that includes two phases. The first one always happens, and the second happens only if the first is successful.

The Loop
A: The Team-Building Phase

A.1. The current Leader nominates a certain number of people to form a questing party. The number required for the quest is shown on the progress placard:

For example, when the 10 player placard (shown) is used, the first quest requires a party of 3, the second and third quests require 4, and the fourth and fifth quests require 5.

The Leader nominates party members by using the [accuse tag on the username of every nominee. The Leader need not include himself in the party.

A.2. All players vote on whether to ACCEPT or REJECT the party the Leader has nominated. Voting is by PM to the Moderator. When all votes have been received, or when a suitable time has passed, the Moderator announces the results of the vote by posting each player's name and vote. The questing party is ACCEPTED only on a majority vote; the people REJECT the party on a tie or less.

A.3. If the questing party vote fails, the failed vote count (which starts at 0) increases by 1 and The Loop starts over with a new Team-Building Phase. Five vote failures in a row result in an immediate Evil victory. If the question vote succeeds, the failed vote count is set to 0 and the phase B of The Loop ensues.

B: The Quest Phase

B.1. The members of the Quest vote secretly on whether the Quest succeeds or fails. A single FAILURE vote sabotages the quest. Since members of the Good team must always vote for SUCCESS, the Good players do not have to take action at this point. If the quest party includes a member of the Evil team, the Evil player(s) may either do nothing (resulting in an automatic FAILURE vote after 24 hours) or (preferably!) PM the Moderator to register a SUCCESS or FAILURE vote sooner than that.

B.2. After a designated time (24 hours from the moment the questing party is finalized) has passed, the Moderator will announce how many SUCCESS votes and how many FAILURE votes occurred. (If all quest party members passively accept the defaults, then the vote count will match their alignments). The Moderator will not reveal who voted which way. A Quest fails if the FAILURE count is greater than 0 (except on the 4th Quest, which fails only if the FAILURE count is greater than 1).

B.3. If the quest FAILS, then a RED marker is placed on the progress placard; if the quest SUCCEEDS, then a BLUE marker is placed on the progress placard. If 3 RED markers are achieved, Evil wins. If 3 BLUE markers are achieved, then the ASSASSIN may (after consultation with teammates) attempt to kill (i.e., guess which player is) Merlin. A correct guess results in Evil victory; an incorrect guess results in Good victory.

B.4. If the game does not end in step B.3, then The Loop starts over for the next Leader and Quest.

ROLES


Loyal Servant of Arthur
You're knights of the Round Table. You vote whene'er you're able.


Minions of Mordred
Your basic evil grunt


Merlin
Merlin knows the identity of the Evil players (except Mordred) from the beginning.


The Assassin
The Assassin must try to figure out which player is Merlin. If the Good team is about to win (having succeeded at 3 quests), the Assassin will have a chance to kill Merlin and thereby turn the tide in favor of the Evil team.

Optional Characters

Benefit to the Good Team:


Oberon
Aligned with Evil (but a net help to Good), Oberon is not a Minion of Mordred. They don't know him and he doesn't know them. Merlin does see Oberon.


Percival
Knows the identity of Merlin

Benefit to the Evil Team:


Mordred
Invisible to Merlin


Morgana
If Percival is in the game, Morgana will look like Merlin to him. (Percival will be given two players' names instead of one).

Combinations:
If Morgana is in the game, then Percival is in the game.
If Percival is in the game, then at least one of { Mordred, Morgana } is in the game.

The Lady of the Lake

• The lowest player on the Leader roster starts the game as the Lady of the Lake. The Lady of the Lake exercises her scanning power immediately after Quests #2, #3, and #4.
• Immediately after a relevant quest, the Lady of the Lake asks the Moderator for the true alignment of exactly one other player who has never been the Lady of the Lake.
• The scanned player becomes the next Lady of the Lake.
• The moderator will announce that "The Lady of the Lake, scanner name, knows the alignment of target name. Target name is now the Lady of the Lake."

Special roles actually included will depend on the number of players and whim of the moderator.

Questions Answered

Q: Can Merlin see Oberon, or not? Are you broken in the head?
A: Merlin can see Oberon. No, but my typing hand is tetchy.

Q: Morgana is an evil who looks like a good to Percival. If the Lady of the Lake scans Morgana, what will the result be?
A: Evil.

Q: Exactly how is Random.org used in this game?
A: I make a list of players' names, in sign-up order, and randomize it with a click at https://www.random.org/lists/ to determine Leader Rotation Order. Then I make a list of the ten distinct roles and randomize that with a click at the same location. Then I set the lists side by side, et voilà! Those are the assignments.

Q: The Evils know one another (when Oberon is excluded). Do they also know who is in which evil role?
A: No. Each only knows his/her own role.

Q: What is "Mordrassin"?
A: It's a mashup of Mordred and Assassin. The Assassin's power is sort of lame-- final say on the Merlin guess-- so I've folded into Mordred. He is, after all, the leader of the Evils.

Q: What exactly do we do in the Team-Building phase?
A: The Leader proposes a team, and then every player sends a PM to the moderator to either ACCEPT or REJECT that team as a whole.

Q: What exactly do we do in the Quest phase?
A: If you're not on the chosen team, you do nothing. If you're on the chosen team and you're good, you do nothing. If you're on the chosen team and you're evil and you want the quest to FAIL, you do nothing. If you're on the chosen team and you're evil and you want the quest to SUCCEED, then you must PM the Moderator to say so before the deadline!

Q: How long is the timeout on an Evil quester's opportunity to vote "SUCCEED"?
A: 24 hours from the moment the party is finalized (via the accuse tag).

Oberon
Aligned with Evil (but a net help to Good), Oberon is not a Minion of Mordred. They don't know him and he doesn't know them. Merlin does see Oberon.

Merlin
Merlin knows the identity of the Evil players (except Oberon, if present) from the beginning.

This seems contradictory to me. Does Merlin know Oberon or not? Also, Oberon says he is aligned with Evil but net help to Good, so does he count as an evil player or a good player? And if he is aligned with Evil, does that mean he wins with Good or Evil?

Are we playing with all the personalities or are you planning to limit them the first game?

bb2112 wrote:Oberon
Aligned with Evil (but a net help to Good), Oberon is not a Minion of Mordred. They don't know him and he doesn't know them. Merlin does see Oberon.

Merlin
Merlin knows the identity of the Evil players from the beginning.

Does Merlin know Oberon or not?

Merlin knows Oberon. Sorry for the misstatement.

Also, Oberon says he aligned with Evil but net help to Good, so does he count as an evil player or a good player? And if he aligned with Evil, does that mean he wins with Good or Evil?

Oberon is aligned with Evil and wins with Evil, but Evil does not know who he is. To understand why confusion among the evils is a net benefit to Good, think about Hitler in Secret Hitler. Plus, Merlin knows Oberon.

If it ever comes to a point where the Assassin has a shot at Merlin, the Evil players discuss the options. This group may include multiple claimants to Oberonicity, since he cannot be proven. This also helps Good.

Are we playing with all the personalities or are you planning to limit them the first game?

Looks like we'll have ten, so I'd like to include Specials. I'm open to discussion about interesting combinations!

Reading.

According to Random.org/lists, the order of leadership is:

1. stessier
2. RMC
3. Holman
4. Chaosraven
5. Isgrimnur
6. Moliere
7. Scoop20906
8. bb2112
9. Remus West
10. El Guapo

Note: stessier is the first Quest Leader, and El Guapo is the first Lady of the Lake. Congratulations, both!

By eerie coincidence, we'll be using the very placard with which I illustrated the instructional post:

Note well: each Quest (the big circles) is marked with the number of party members. The 4th Quest includes a note that it fails only if 2 FAILURE votes are cast to scuttle it.

Note also: We will have 6 Good (including Merlin) and 4 Evil (including the Assassin). Let's discuss what would be a good mix.

The Assassin doesn't really do much-- especially since he cannot be killed and since the whole Evil Team discusses the identity of Merlin if that circumstance arises. So one sensible House Rule is to merge one of the Special roles for Team Evil into the Assassin.

For example, this might be an interesting mix:
Good: Merlin, Percival, Loyal Servant, Loyal Servant, Loyal Servant, Loyal Servant
Evil: Assassin/Mordred, Morgana, Minion, Minion

This dispenses with the Oberon wildcard, which might be too corrupting an influence if people are hoping to get a feel for Orthodox Avalon™.

Thoughts?

I like it.

Grundbegriff wrote:
Note: stessier is the first Quest Leader, and El Guapo is the first Lady of the Lake. Congratulations, both!

I'm so pretty.

El Guapo wrote:

Grundbegriff wrote:
Note: stessier is the first Quest Leader, and El Guapo is the first Lady of the Lake. Congratulations, both!

I'm so pretty.

Just to be clear, the Lady of the Lake can be good or evil, so we have to take her scans with a grain of salt, right?

Grundbegriff wrote: If Percival is in the game, Morgana will look like Merlin to him.

I have a solution! I think our first quest should be to find prescription lenses for Percival.

Merlin
Merlin knows the identity of the Evil players (except Modred) from the beginning.

This is a correct summary of Merlin, right? He sees every evil player other than Modred?

bb2112 wrote:

El Guapo wrote:

Grundbegriff wrote:
Note: stessier is the first Quest Leader, and El Guapo is the first Lady of the Lake. Congratulations, both!

I'm so pretty.

Just to be clear, the Lady of the Lake can be good or evil, so we have to take her scans with a grain of salt, right?

Correct.

El Guapo wrote:

Merlin
Merlin knows the identity of the Evil players (except Mordred) from the beginning.

This is a correct summary of Merlin, right? He sees every evil player other than Mordred?

Correct. Merlin learns about Morgana, Oberon, and all Minions of Mordred. He does not learn about Mordred, which is the sum of Mordred's power.

I have to put together a safety presentation and then I'll come read all the cool rules. Stupid question - why are the faces half messed up? (Possible answer - so people don't print them out to play the game on their own?)

Busy day at work, but a great day to start a new game as well.

Does the evil team get to PM in this game? Do they get to coordinate in this game outside of the assassination decision?

El Guapo wrote:Does the evil team get to PM in this game? Do they get to coordinate in this game outside of the assassination decision?

Just send your PM's to Remus West. He will coordinate.

Moliere wrote:

El Guapo wrote:Does the evil team get to PM in this game? Do they get to coordinate in this game outside of the assassination decision?

Just send your PM's to Remus West. He will coordinate.

The way I'm evil so often is almost like magic......Merlinish?

stessier wrote:Why are the faces half messed up? (Possible answer - so people don't print them out to play the game on their own?)

Correct. I wanted to respect the IP. For the same reason, the picture of the box cover is also an Amazon link for purchasing the game.

I'm fine with the merging of the Assassin power.

El Guapo is Lady of the Lake until he uses his power after Quest 2, right?

El Guapo wrote:Does the evil team get to PM in this game? Do they get to coordinate in this game outside of the assassination decision?

No PMs; no secret coordination. This is a game designed to be played in person.

stessier wrote:El Guapo is Lady of the Lake until he uses his power after Quest 2, right?

Correct. El Guapo's target will (publicly) then become the Lakelady for post Quest 3.

And wow, does Good ever win this game? We have 5 tries to figure out 5 of the 6 Good Guys. And Merlin can't out himself. This is going to be rough.

Grundbegriff wrote:

stessier wrote:El Guapo is Lady of the Lake until he uses his power after Quest 2, right?

Correct. El Guapo's target will (publicly) then become the Lakelady for post Quest 3.

Ok, so then at the "Merlin assassination phase" (if the game comes to that) the villains would all presumably out themselves at this point and openly discuss who to kill. At that point one or more of the villagers would likely join the discussion by claiming to be Oberon, Spartacus-style.

El Guapo wrote:

Grundbegriff wrote:

stessier wrote:El Guapo is Lady of the Lake until he uses his power after Quest 2, right?

Correct. El Guapo's target will (publicly) then become the Lakelady for post Quest 3.

Ok, so then at the "Merlin assassination phase" (if the game comes to that) the villains would all presumably out themselves at this point and openly discuss who to kill. At that point one or more of the villagers would likely join the discussion by claiming to be Oberon, Spartacus-style.

Correct, except that I'm disinclined to include Oberon in our first game. Unless most think I should....

Grundbegriff wrote:

El Guapo wrote:

Grundbegriff wrote:

stessier wrote:El Guapo is Lady of the Lake until he uses his power after Quest 2, right?

Correct. El Guapo's target will (publicly) then become the Lakelady for post Quest 3.

Ok, so then at the "Merlin assassination phase" (if the game comes to that) the villains would all presumably out themselves at this point and openly discuss who to kill. At that point one or more of the villagers would likely join the discussion by claiming to be Oberon, Spartacus-style.

Correct, except that I'm disinclined to include Oberon in our first game. Unless most think I should....

I would be inclined to play the game as it comes out of the box. So include Oberon unless he's some kind of optional rule or from an expansion set or something.

The boxed game includes optional components: Percival, Morgana, Mordred, Oberon, and the Lady of the Lake.

Core Avalon is only Merlin, Assassin, and grunts.

Grundbegriff wrote:

El Guapo wrote:

Grundbegriff wrote:

stessier wrote:El Guapo is Lady of the Lake until he uses his power after Quest 2, right?

Correct. El Guapo's target will (publicly) then become the Lakelady for post Quest 3.

Ok, so then at the "Merlin assassination phase" (if the game comes to that) the villains would all presumably out themselves at this point and openly discuss who to kill. At that point one or more of the villagers would likely join the discussion by claiming to be Oberon, Spartacus-style.

Correct, except that I'm disinclined to include Oberon in our first game. Unless most think I should....

Could we include Spartacus? that would be fun.

Insofar as Merlin is as likely as anyone to claim "I'm Oberon" that mechanism's already available!

Grundbegriff wrote: For example, this might be an interesting mix:

Good: Merlin, Percival, Loyal Servant, Loyal Servant, Loyal Servant, Loyal Servant

Evil: Mordrassin, Morgana, Minion, Minion

Any strong objections to this arrangement? If so, speak. If not, I'll send out roles.

Let your will be known!

Grundbegriff wrote:

Grundbegriff wrote: For example, this might be an interesting mix:

Good: Merlin, Percival, Loyal Servant, Loyal Servant, Loyal Servant, Loyal Servant

Evil: Mordrassin, Morgana, Minion, Minion

Any strong objections to this arrangement? If so, speak. If not, I'll send out roles.

It's fine with me. I would defer to anyone who has actually played the game before. Though thinking about it some more I am inclined to throw everything in and let God sort it out.

But I'm easy like Sunday morning, so whatever's fine with me.

I am good with everything. As long as I can be Spartacus!

My legs are just that good..

Reading them rules...

I'm good with it or any variation people think would be fun.

If no objections arise, I'll send roles and kick off the game around 5pm EST, or shortly thereafter.

RMC wrote:I am good with everything. As long as I can be Spartacus!

My legs are just that good..

I don't think VP's get pissed off at Spartacus.

Ok, let's get this Camelot decayin'.

Let's hear it for the forces of [TBD]!