The Rules
As with most other WW games, this game is divided into night and day phases. The first phase will be a danger-free, non-mandatory Night Zero, followed by a normal Day One.
Most of the time, the end of the days will come at 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PDT) on weekdays. If there is a change, it will be announced well in advance. The night phase actions will be due by 7 a.m. EST (4 a.m. PDT). This will likely not change except for weekends.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Day One will end at 9 p.m. EST (6 p.m. PDT) due to a prior moderator obligation.
Each day, you will vote for someone who will be lynched by the terrorized mob of Londoners. You will do this by bolding your vote (as in
VOTE CHIEF RUM). If you wish to change your vote, you must first unvote your previous vote (
UNVOTE CHIEF RUM). The person with the most votes at the end of each day phase will be hung from the highest lantern post on Whitechapel Road until dead. This vote is subject to only one rule--the lynch candidate must have at least
one-third of the available voters, rounded down to the next whole number. So if you have 15 voters, at least 5 votes must be placed on the person to be lynched. If you have 14 voters, only 4 votes are needed (14/3= 4 2/3, rounded down to 4). After all, a lynch mob needs some consensus to really get going.
All Day Actions, if you have any, are due by the lynch deadline.
If you have any night actions, you must PM me during the night phase if you choose to use them. Please see your individual PMs for more instructions there. Night actions are due by the end of the night phase.
You may never quote my PMs to you, nor use words in them to identify each other. As in other games, you can paraphrase what you have learned there, but that is all.
You may not edit or delete posts in this thread, even for grammar. Only I may do so.
You are not allowed to self-vote, and the vote will be rejected if you attempt to do so.
I am taking a lighter approach to Anxiety's rules about language and harrassment. I think there is a line that should not be crossed. That said, I will not penalize you for reactions involving most foul language. However, if you include such language in a personal attack or I deem it to be a completely unnecessary use of the word, I may punish you for using it, from a warning to more harsh punishments.
In other words, be yourselves--but take a little care to review your posts before posting.
As for harrassment/treatment of others, I will take that on a case by case basis. Personal attacks outside the scope of the game are not allowed, but accusations and argumentation within the scope of the game are. We should all be having fun here.
IMPORTANT #2: Reaching the moderator
In every WW game, questions will arise, particularly in complex ones. As such, I feel I need to make myself reachable at most reasonable times of the day. Unfortunately, I work all day (likely away from home computer from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PDT) at a place that resricts me from reaching FOFC.
If you have a question about the game or your role that cannot wait until I return, you may email me at
[email protected]. You must state what your FOFC handle is and whether your question is for
private use or
public use. If it is private, this will serve as similar to a PM to me. If it is public (like a question asked publicly in the thread), I expect you to post my response in the thread when you receive it, so that all will know how I responded. If I come home and find that it has been intentionally misconstrued in some manner, I may choose to punish for that.
I would prefer that you be absolutely certain you need to know this before I get home in order to email me. Information that involves clarifying night actions or rules/information that affect lynch votes are good enough reasons to email me at work.
Most nights I will be readily available and when I am not, I will announce it.
I reserve the right to change the rules of the game as needed to ensure the proper flow of the game and of the entertainment of its participants, but I will always try to remain within the spirit of the game and original rules.
Any infractions against these rules will be punished on a case-by-case basis, including removal from the game. The criminal element in the East End is ravenous in its pursuit of wealth and excitement--and I am not afraid to use it.
The Sides
There are three sides in this game, but it will appear to be two. That is because there is the definitively evil and the altruistic good at either end, and then there is the normal destitute populace of the East End--a mass of people who try to be good (for the most part), but usually fail.
For the purposes of this game, you are either evil or you are not. And you will know if you are evil, so if you have any doubt--you are not evil. The evil side wins if they bring the numbers of good down to equal to theirs. Some of the individual evil roles will have their own further conditions to achieve a major victory, but their essential purpose is the minor victory--evil wins.
For good, it is much the same. A few roles will have major victory conditions, but the maing oal is the elimination of evil from the Whitechapel District, including Jack The Ripper aka The Whitechapel Murderer. Most of the members of "good" are Londoners just trying to survive, and they aren't saints. They're just less evil than Jack The Ripper, so they count with the good.
Weather and location
do matter greatly in this game. A traditional London fog can shroud activities at night. A good rain can scare everyone back inside. But a strangely clear night with a bright moon also can bring its own dangers.. At the end of every day, there will be a forecast of the night's weather. It will be a good indicator, but as with any weather forecast, it can be wrong. Keep that in mind when choosing your night actions.
The district of Whitechapel is a large and filthy one with many nooks and corners and alleyways you wouldn't want to go into. For purposes of this game, there are four main areas within the district. They are Whitechapel Road itself (the main thoroughfare and the largest commercial area--it includes a hotel, a constabulary and an opium den), Bishopsgate to the west, Cavell Street to the east, and Commercial to the south. It may be necessary to focus your night actions on any of these areas individually. If you need to do so, you may refer to them as Whitechapel, Bishopsgate, Cavell and Commercial. Different spots in the district are homes to different people in the game.
The Roles
THE SIDE OF GOOD
Here are some of the roles that you may see on the side of good, although none are guaranteed to be in the game.
Sherlock Holmes: The reknowned detective comes alive here in Whitechapel as he tackles his biggest case yet. Can he solve the murders of Jack The Ripper?
Dr. John H. Watson: What would Holmes be without his trusty sidekick, Watson?
Chief of Inspectors, Scotland Yard: The chief has been charged by his superiors to find Jack The Ripper, and he is in the district to do just that.
Inspector Lestrade: The chief is a bureaucrat, so he has brought his most successful inspector. Lestrade may have gone undercover in Whitechapel to track down the evil terrorizing the district.
Night Watchman: The night watchman is charged by the local constabulary to keep an eye on things when the sun sets. He patrols the district and tries to keep the few good souls there from harm.
The night watchman is an occupation, not an identity, and there are possibly a few more jobs of import here.
Prostitutes: You can't have the East End without the ladies of the night--and the targets of Jack The Ripper himself. Evil wants to bring all good down. Jack The Ripper is only after the whores. Hopefully the benefits are worth that huge downside.
Urchins: Orphans aplenty roam the streets of Whitechapel. They have their uses--they are particularly sneaky and get their ears around all sorts of things--but be careful, that waif may have just stolen your wallet.
Opium Den Dealer: He runs the opium den on Whitechapel Road, and you can pass a time or two there if you like. It's not very reputable, but then, just being seen in Whitechapel will get you off of Queen Victoria's guest list to the Royal Ball.
Bordello Mum: Pimps are a twentieth century invention. Mum can't turn tricks anymore, but she is a survivor, and she helps the girls as much as she can.
Londoner: This is your common villager. You may work in a foundry, a slaughterhouse, a tannery, perhaps down at the fishmarket. Who knows? It's hard work for cheap wages. But you are your basic common London townfolk in this game, likely collateral for the powers that be.
THE SIDE OF EVIL
Jack The Ripper: This is the notorious Jack The Ripper, and he
is in the game. After all, it's named after him. Jack gets a minor victory if he kills all the prostitutes or if evil wins. If both happen, he gets a major victory.
Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde: Victims gruesomely torn apart as if by some powerful creature have begun to show up in Whitechapel. Jack The Ripper may not be the only monster in town.
Dr. James Moriarty: Moriarty, Holmes' longtime nemesis, is also the head of London's crime syndicate, many activities of which is carried out in Whitechapel. He is here to see to his interests--and attempt to foil Holmes, of course. If Moriarty evades Holmes or evil wins, he gets a minor victory. If he combines the two, he gets a major victory.
Fagin: The urchins move about with more urgency than one would expect from the abandoned and hungry. There is an evil powerbroker keeping them fed--and under his control. Fagin, the infamous child exploiter, is no longer just a Dickensian nightmare.
The American Werewolf: He once was a fearless lad who decided to leave his homeland in America to travel the world--until he got bitten by a mysterious furred beast outside of London. He has settled into Whitechapel, and he has the taste for human blood.
THE WILDCARD
Beware, there may be freemasons afoot. They control everything, or so it is thought. Their power goes right up to the throne itself. They do work for either side--sometimes at the same time. But are there masons in Whitechapel? If they are around, they have the victory condition most of the rest of Whitechapel has--simple survival, whomever wins.