Village Cult, Part Dos

Village Cult, Part Dos is the fourth NuzMafia game posted on the forums and a sequel to Village Cult. It is a part of the Village Cult Series.

## Setup

The game followed the same mechanics as Village Cult, utilizing the same rules and specialized roles. However, two new rules were added to clarify issues from the previous game: screenshots cannot be posted and alt accounts are not banned unless a mod indicates that they are.

Though forgotten in the previous game, Mayor and Judge were roles in this game as well. They could be assigned to either Village or Mafia members and are publicly announced at the beginning of the game. However, since they are not separate roles, they are not considered Third Party roles.

### Roles

#### Village

* Fortune Teller (Cop)
* Nurse
* Veteran (Vigilante)
* Faithfuls (Templars)
* Villager

#### Mafia

* Grandmaster (Godfather + Mafia Judge)
* Informant (Modified Stalker)
* Disguised Cultist (Godfather)
* Sacrifice (Mafia Hunter)
* Cultist (Goon)

#### Independent Roles

* Judge (Modified)
* Mayor

## Players

There is no direct confirmation from the host regarding who had what role, save for a single post about the Veteran and the deaths. Therefore, the role assignments are based off of this post from uberhorse753, as well as other various posts throughout the game

### Village

* uberhorse753 (Fortune Teller)
* RitzsFTW (Nurse)
* Ocean (Veteran)
* Ava, Botherer (Faithtfuls)
* Psyche (Judge)
* Thundertwig, quarkyguy (Villagers)

### Mafia

* Xegek (Grandmaster)
* Baron of Fate (Informant)
* VFlowers (Sacrifice)
* Aop (Disguised Cultist)
* BrowniesMcGee (Cultist/Mayor)

## Gameplay

### Day 1

Immediately, VFlowers throws out a potential joke lynch on quarkyguy, who defends himself by saying that they'd be getting rid of a Villager if the lynch went through. Ritzs jokes that they should be serious and think through things before immediately throwing out a vote for Ocean. VFlowers then rescinds her vote and votes for Ocean as well. Thundertwig questions why quarky would so openly reveal his role. VFlowers says it's less likely that he's lying because he could have easily posted a better defense than "I'm a Villager." Thundertwig presses on, saying that revealing one's role could make them a target for the Mafia kill, but ultimately, he remains on the fence about whether quarky is lying or not.

VFlowers defends her lynch by saying that a D1 death is necessary since they lack any information and can glean some from a lynch. Ocean does not protest being lynched and votes for Baron of Fate. Ritzs encourages everyone to vote for Ocean, but Aop suggests voting for quarky instead, causing Thundertwig to suspect him. uberhorse753 votes for Ritzs and Botherer votes for Ocean, saying that they can afford a mislynch.

Aop reacts with fear to being suspected by Thundertwig, drawing a response from Ocean, who says that she has nothing to fear unless she is hiding something. Aop responds and accidentally reveals that they may be a PR, which Ocean points out. Thundertwig throws suspicion on Botherer, who is being a "big-power-player" again. Ocean votes for Ritzs because he caused everyone to vote for him.

Botherer responds to Thundertwig, saying that he doesn't have a strategy yet. Aop responds to Ocean, saying that Villagers and Cultists are roles as well. uberhorse argues in favor of Ocean, saying that it's unlikely that he would be Mafia twice in a row, but Ritzs responds that the roles are entirely randomized, so it's possible. Arms then reveals that the RNG originally made Thundertwig the Grandmaster again, essentially of absolving him of being the role.

Ocean withdraws his vote for Ritzs and says that the Village should look at the results of the previous and use better logic to determine a lynch. uberhorse withdraws her vote for Ritzs and Ritzs withdraws his vote for Ocean, later saying that it would be unlikely for Ritzs to be Mafia twice in a role before casting a vote for Ava. Brownies then outs himself as Mayor and votes for Thundertwig under Ritzs' logic. uberhorse and BrowniesMcGee change their vote to Ava as well and quarky throws in his vote for Ava as well.

Ava responds to all the votes on her cryptically, which doesn't convince anyone. Annoyed, Botherer outs himself and Ava as the Faithfuls to protect her. Brownies responds, saying that it's wrong to think that Ava wasn't trying to draw attention to herself because of the blue text she uses in her posts, suggesting that she could be the Sacrifice (and indirectly implying that Ava and Botherer are both Mafia). uberhorse, Aop, Ritzs, and quarky all question Botherer's claim. Brownies questions exactly how the Faithfuls would know each other, which uberhorse clarifies by explaining the role. Brownies then abstains from voting due to confusion.

Botherer defends his claim by saying that it would be ridiculous and harmful for the Grandmaster and Informant to draw so much attention to themselves. Ritzs agrees and votes for uberhorse. Brownies points out that the Faithfuls are now known to the Grandmaster and Informant, meaning that they are easy targets. uberhorse encourages people to make a decision and maintains her vote for Ritzs. quarky withdraws his vote for Ava.

Botherer responds to Brownies' post and says that, while it is true that Mafia will likely target one of the faithfuls, Village could have a confirmed clear by investigating one of the Faithfuls, allowing village to send in claim information to the remaining Faithful, which would allow Village to identify counterclaims and ultimately identify the Mafia. Aop then points out that, since the Nurse is alive, they can just protect one of the Faithfuls. Botherer adds that the Fortune Teller should only come forward with results if the Faithfuls remain alive.

quarky casts a vote for the inactive Xegek, and VFlowers follows suit. Xegek responds hostilely, revenge voting for quarky. Ritzs and Botherer also vote for Xegek. Ocean votes for Ava and uberhorse maintains their vote as well. Baron, who has been absent the entire game and is completely confused about the current happenings, votes for Xegek. Psyche, also inactive for most of the game, votes for Xegek as well.

Xegek's lynch is confirmed and he is revealed as the Grandmaster. Though posts were deleted, it appears that Xegek participated in deadposting, which was apparently revealing crucial information that mods felt necessary to delete.

### Day 2

Botherer is the victim of the Mafia kill, confirming Ava as the remaining Faithful. Thundertwig starts off the day by suggesting that they look at who defended Xegek. Aop realizes that they would be targeted by suspicions as a result, so he posts a defense , but Thundertwig clarifies that he understands Aop's apprehension at voting for Xegek the previous phase, implying that he doesn't suspect Aop of being Mafia.

Brownies throws out a vote for quarky, but Psyche fires back that quarky was the first to vote for Xegek, questioning whether it was luck or ulterior motives. Thundertwig believes it was simply luck, and Pysche agrees. He then throws some suspicion at Aop for voting for the same target that Xegek did. Ritzs questions if Thundertwig is Mafia and whether Aop's vote coinciding with Xegek was coincidence or not.

Baron accuses Thundertwig of being Mafia based on his behavior throughout the game. Psyche also feels suspicious of Aop, saying that quarky could be an important PR and Aop could have investigated him. Thundertwig defends himself, saying that Baron incorrectly stated that he was disapproving of Botherer when he actually suspected everyone equally. Ritzs then accuses Aop of being Mafia, citing behavior that would connect Aop and Xegek, and votes for him. Thundertwig questions Ritzs' logic, asking why the Mafia wouldn't kill quarky if he was a PR.

VFlowers suspects Thundertwig as the Informant, saying that he might be trying to draw attention away from himself. He points out that Thundertwig didn't believe that Botherer was a Faithful, and says that the Informant and the Grandmaster might have schemed up a plan to come forward as counterclaims for the Faithful.

Aop defends himself, saying that quarky's behavior was suspicious to him at the time. Though he says that quarky is likely villager due to Xegek being Grandmaster, he also points out that they possibly voted for each other to distract Village. Thundertwig defends himself again, saying that he wasn't present when Botherer outed himself.

uberhorse suspects Thundertwig, Aop, Psyche, and Ritzs of being Mafia, causing Aop to offer a role reveal to clear himself. Baron says that it might not be helpful, but that he is ultimately confused. VFlowers agrees that it might be useful, but uberhorse doesn't. Brownies, in one post, suggests that Aop could be either the Sacrifice or the Informant, based on his behavior and based on metagamed information. Psyche defends herself, saying that, as the Judge, any tie she rules on would indicate her alignment.

Aop becomes suspicious of Brownies for his logic. Thundertwig points out that, if Aop is the Informant and isn't lynched, then the Informant could learn more roles and wreak more havoc on Village, implying that they should lynch Aop as soon as possible. Brownies clarifies his post for Ritzs, who was skeptical of it, but Ritzs decides not to vote for Aop. uberhorse asks who Brownies is suspicious of and Aop expresses confusion for Brownies defense of him after Brownies originally accused him of being Mafia. Brownies posts his suspicion of Thundertwig and Ocean, both based on inactivity, and clarifies that he wasn't defending Aop, but rather saying that he was ultimately harmless in the current situation. VFlowers supports Brownies' suspicion of Thundertwig.

Thundertwig clarifies again that he wasn't suspicious of Botherer's claim as Faithful, but rather, he was suspicious of him *before* the claim. Ava then points out that the number of players don't line up with the claims she's received and suggests a Veteran claim. uberhorse then votes for Thundertwig. Brownies questions Ava's math, posting his own assumption of the remaining roles. Thundertwig points out that either Brownies did not factor in the Mayor and Judge and also points out that there should only be one Villager.

Ritzs votes for Brownies. Baron points out that, once the Mayor dies, another person is assigned the role, and then he votes for Thundertwig. Psyche points out another math flaw, which Thundertwig addresses by saying that there could possibly be two Villagers. Brownies then casts a vote for VFlowers, arguing that her inactivity is uncharacteristic. Ritzs believes that it's risky to not vote for Brownies because he defended a suspected Mafia.

Brownies defends himself by saying, again, that he wasn't defending Aop, just pointing out that Aop would be harmless as Informant and that there are probably more important people to lynch. Ritzs, however, responds that Brownies was quick to defend Aop and that Aop was likely the Informant because of his vote on quarky. Aop argues that he's just a Villager, but Ritzs doesn't find that defense sufficient. uberhorse, however, supports Brownies and says to keep Aop alive for now. Ritzs doesn't understand why they shouldn't lynch either of them. Thundertwig points out that Aop is in a similar situation that Thundertwig was in during the last game, in which he attempted to defend himself by saying he was useless when exposed. Brownies gives up defending himself, letting Village do whatever they want.

Ritzs votes for Brownies. Baron debates between voting for Thundertwig and Ritzs, drawing suspicion from Ava. Thundertwig votes for Brownies. Aop votes for Thundertwig, pointing out that he only PM'd Xegek once before his death. Ava votes for Brownies. Thundertwig questions why Aop PM'd Xegek, and Aop responds that he was trying figure out if he was a Village PR and if he could save him somehow so that Xegek could save him later on. Thundertwig questions how Aop could've saved Xegek just by PMing him.

Brownies accepts the lynch, saying that, when the next Mayor role is reassigned, either that Mayor or Aop should be lynched. Aop reveals that he wanted to get the Faithfuls on his side to have a group of people who could align their votes, mentioning that his plan was foiled by Xegek and Botherer's deaths.

Suddenly, it is revealed that VFlowers, the Sacrifice, was killed by the Veteran. Ava, the second Faithful, was then killed by the Sacrifice. Ritzs immediately accuses Aop of setting up Ava's death through the Veteran to protect Brownies from the lynch. Thundertwig then shockingly suggests that the Veteran is working with the Mafia to defend Aop and Brownies, which he says cements them as Mafia. However, Psyche suggests that the Veteran simply didn't know that VFlowers was the sacrifice, and that they only chose to kill Ava because her role was publicized. uberhorse and Ritzs agree, saying that it would be illogical for the Veteran to work with Mafia since the Veteran is sided with Village. Thundertwig fires back that it was weird for the Veteran to kill VFlowers when there was no suspicion on her, despite Brownies, Aop, and himself being more suspicious.

Aop posts a PM he received from someone, which says the following:

> Well, seems you fell for my trap. I knew you were the other faithful and that this was a ruse. Thanks to you, I have confirmed all cultists. Thank you and good night.
>
>

Aop is confused by this, and Ritzs suggests that Aop is lying and created the PM to throw Village off, leading others to question whether or not Aop is actually Mafia. Thundertwig then says that he believes he has pinned down everyone's roles and mentions that the Mafia likely has too. He then suggests that the Mafia is targeting both him and Ritzs. Aop gives up trying to defend himself.

Arms clarifies, in a response to PMs he has received regarding whether the Veteran was playing for Mafia, that the Veteran's choice was random and that the Informant had no contact with the Veteran prior to VFlowers' death, also issuing a general warning about playing for the opposite side.

uberhorse asks who to vote for, and Ritzs strongly recommends Brownies, which Ocean agrees to as well. quarky officially votes for Brownie, setting the vote tally at 4 for Brownie and 3 for Thundertwig. Village patiently waits for the rest of the votes to come. Brownies tries one last attempt at clearing his name, but he ultimately ends up confessing that he is Mafia. As uberhorse posts his suspicions about which role is what, the game unofficially comes to an end. Ocean outs himself as the Veteran, which puts VFlower's death into appropriate context. Later, Arms officially declares the game a Village win.

## Reception

Many people commented about the surprise twist ending and about how lucky they were to lynch the Grandmaster D1 and to out the rest of the Mafia. Everyone eagerly requests a sequel, which Arms says will be hosted by Baron, and Thundertwig even debates whether or not to join the next one because he loses so much time from getting so actively involved in the game (which he finds enjoyable).

Baron expressed some displeasure at using the PM system and suggests to Arms that PMing be banned, among other undisclosed suggestions. Thundertwig responds and says that it would ruin the game by making everything public and would give advantages for the Faithfuls and the Informant/Grandmaster. Ultimately, Baron decides to keep PMing for the sequel.