Mafia: Mission Emaciation

***Mafia: Mission Emaciation*** is the forty-first season of *The Mafia Series*.

As the second Mafia game of the fifth generation, this season defied the common approach of simple seasons directly following All-Stars. This season contained a series of unique twists, as the players travelled to past game locations, accompanied by new renditions of old seasonal twists. While the game was generally a bit underwhelming, a group of particularly entertaining and strategic players became the stars of the cast and made this game exciting all the way to the end. By the endgame, the Mafia looked like they were going to have a come-from-behind win, until the two remaining members of the Mafia fell into a detrimental argument that directly led to their downfall.

This game lasted from October 6, 2023 up to October 21, 2023. Unfortunately, aside from about a fourth of the cast that drove the plot of the game forward, many of the participants were somewhat disconnected from the game, causing a large group of followers who were not involved in this season's engaging twist..

# ***Roles & Twists***

**Twists**
* **4th Party Role:** This game introduced the new 4th party role, the **conqueror**. This 4th party role distributed the **navigator** secondary role! Both of these roles pertain to the main twist of the game, which is described below.
* **Locations:** Starting on day 2, players were tasked to visit a location for every cycle. Every night, the conqueror chose one other player to become the navigator. During the day, the navigator had to select from a list of location names. Each location pertained to a different past game, but they were not told which was correlated to which game. Every location would have an effect on the game if selected, but no one was told about the effects. When a navigator selected a location during the day, the whole town would then venture to that location for the following night-day cycle. During the upcoming night, the process would restart with the conqueror choosing a new navigator for the next day. A player could never become the navigator twice (except the conqueror, who would permanently become the navigator upon winning the game). A location could never be visited more than once, either. As soon as only six players were left in the game, no new locations would be visited. Below is a list of locations that were eligible to be selected, in addition to hints (in parantheses) that would be presented to the navigator if requested. Please note that the navigator did not have to visit the same location that they asked for a hint to.
	+ **The Sandy Fort:** *(Oxmesa)* - Referencing the dominant town win of the second season, the town becomes extremely secure. During the trial round, players are no longer able to speak anywhere but in the town chat. *(They say this settlement is heavily guarded. No evil doers are getting past these guards. The guards may question your intent for visiting, though.)*
	+ **The Desert Plateau:** *(Redgorge)* - Inspired by the first Mafia win in the fourth season of the series, the Mafia refuses to allow the town to have any food for the following cycle. There is a 50% chance that a villager starves on the upcoming night. *(My buddies were sketched out by the people running this location. I don't see them donating to your food supply.)*
	+ **The Sparkling Tower:** *(Witches' Coven)* - The navigator chooses one other player to visit a nearby settlement. Incidentally, the settlement happens to be the same coven of witches present in season nine. This chosen player is transformed into a cat for the rest of the cycle. While they are not punished with the horrors of the cat role, they must speak by only saying "Meow" in public channels for the remainder of the cycle. *(I've seen that tower. It's out in the middle of nowhere. Some weird lookin' pink mist comes out of it every now and again. It creeps me out, personally.)*
	+ **The Lavish Mansion:** *(Broken Mirror)* - Everyone is temporarily paired in a group chat with a partner for the cycle, as inspired by the joint confessionals of the eleventh season. Whoever loses a partner due to the nighttime kill will obtain a crystal ball, which is an advantage allowing any dead player to vote. Whoever loses their partner from the execution will receive a magnifying glass, giving the holder the ability to search the vote of any player following a given trial. *(They say rich folk live 'round here. The lady that owns this particular mansion is said to have killed her husband to receive his lofty life-insurance policy, but that's just gossip.)*
	+ **The Distant Smoke Signal:** *(Paranormal Panic)* - The navigator unleashes either the ghost or the goblin into the game by picking another player to give one of these two secondary roles to. They can either give a player the ghost for the upcoming night or the goblin for the upcoming day. Neither of these roles are passed around to last beyond the cycle. *(Not many go that far back into the woods, but they say some creatures reside there. Whether it's spirits, ghosts, or monsters, I dunno. I don't care to find out either.)*
	+ **The Developing Village:** *(Back to Bonereach)* - All the players in the game vote for a mayor (who would have no added ability aside from the title) during the night. The Head Mafia and the navigator were each given a different target that they have to get elected (or the Head Mafia and a random villager, if the navigator turns out to be a member of the Mafia.) If either of these players successfully have their target elected, then the Mafia or navigator will receive the **escape blueprint**. This advantage allows the holder to exile themself from any one trial, removing their own vote and communication with other players while obtaining safety for that execution. *(They say this village was burnt to a crisp. There are rumbling of a new village being constructed here, though. They may need some help gettin' kicked off.)*
	+ **The Twin Isles:** *(Alpha and Omega)* - The players are all divided into two groups, Alpha and Omega, for the duration of the cycle. Every player with an action - no matter which group they themselves are in - is randomly assigned either Alpha or Omega. They can then only perform their action on someone in that group for the rest of the cycle. *(They say two rivaling factions live here. The evil doers aren't particularly successful here, so you can visit here without much worry.)*
	+ **The Market:** *(Star Cruise)* - During the night, the navigator selects another player to go on an expedition during the day, similar to the twist of season twenty-four. The player sent on the expedition would randomly obtain either a vote blocker, immunity for the next trial which *must* be given to another player, a healing kit that *must* be used on another player on the following night, *or* a free hint to any remaining location. *(I've never enjoyed coming here. All of those salespeople trying to rip you off... not for me. If you want to deal with those sketchballs tryin' to sell you tickets to god-knows where, then go for it.)*
	+ **The Bustling City:** *(Skyrise)* - The technician's abilities finally get the chance to shine. The navigator gains powers similar to the technician for the cycle. The navigator could either boost the power during the night, publicly revealing the killed player's role, *or* turn out the lights during the voting round, meaning the vote tally will not be revealed. *(They say this location is a "sign of the new age." Buildings litter the skyline, and there's no signs of ending construction. Unless you want that city life, or you want to work as a construction worker, there's no reason for coming here.)*
	+ **The Romantic Resort:** *(Mystery Expedition & All-Stars IV)* - As a part of the storyline of the thirty-ninth season, the "key-witness" hijacks the plane and lands it in the abyss. The navigator must face off the reappearing monster of the abyss. The navigator has to either run away or try to beat the monster. If they select the latter, there is a 50% chance that the Mafia's kill is lethal that night, but the navigator also has a 50% chance of receiving an extra heal that they can use for anyone on that night. *(They say this the ideal getaway for newlyweds. Although the airline may be sketchy, you should have an enjoyable time.)*

# ***Game Summary***

*Written by **Eevee**.*

The game began with one player taking control: Bernkastel. Despite having important roles, the likes of Hades, Sam, and Kae immediately claimed their role to Bernkastel. Although he was excited to assume the town leader position, the lack of caution from these players frustrated him. The healers healed experienced players like Bernkastel and Hades, but one experienced player was vulnerable, being Emmi. Unfortunately for Emmi, the Mafia strategized to eliminate her, making **Emmi** the first death of the game.

Immediately following the execution, Jelk checked Emmi’s role, learning she was the warden. Emmi confirmed this in her final words, making Jelk more trustworthy. To further his domination of town, Bernkastel claimed blacksmith instead of judge. The first vote seemed to be simple, as Chai had been inactive to this point. Chai finally appeared, immediately asking their Mafia teammates what to claim. The Mafia told Chai to claim to be an herbalist, but this claim was not particularly successful. Since there were already two healing roles claimed and a theorized lack of third party, no one believed Chai’s claim. **Chai** was easily voted out, with the little girls and joker being confirmed in the process.

Jelk used his final detective check on Chai, finding them to be the accomplice. Slay, the conqueror, claimed to be the ambassador, but refused to be confirmed town, pretending to use their search ability instead. Ironically, Slay revealed Chloe, the Mafia, to be town. **Jade** was killed next for being an active, confirmed townsperson.

During this round, suspicion was constantly placed on Enrique. The likes of Bernkastel and Sam repeatedly suggested how his mannerisms signaled his Mafia membership. Sam took this to an almost comical extent, replying to almost all of Enrique's messages, saying how suspicious they were. Enrique's unconfirmable claim of guard did him no favors either. Dani and Sam argued about Sam withholding information. This discussion made many weary of Sam’s influence on the game, also noticing his odd public baker claim to ease suspicion, Sam announced that he was actually the jester. This announcement worked, and more suspicion was placed onto Enrique. **Enrique** was executed, with Sam only receiving two votes. This marked the second time a Mafia member had been voted out with little to no pushback. Chloe was the Mafia's final chance.

Around this time, Havoc claimed to know who the conqueror was. Havoc claimed that this conqueror told him that it did not take the conqueror five rounds to win. This was particularly important because Havoc’ claim meant that, due to the sheriff’s facts, the two little girls and the two healers were confirmed as town. Although this was technically the correct fact, Havoc made up this story and only happened to be correct. The Mafia killed **Bernkastel** next because of her strong influence on the town. Bernkastel was not particularly upset to die, knowing they were actually the judge and would fail to confirm as blacksmith the following night round.

Bernkastel’s death marked a turning point in the season. Working with Enrique and Chloe, the previous navigators, Slay was one guess away from winning as fourth party. However, this point would be harder to achieve than expected. Slay was looked at as the most suspicious person because of their refusal to be confirmed. In order to gain some favor, Slay announced that he was not the Mafia, but the conqueror. Slay lied about his win condition, changing the perceived correct sheriff fact. This revelation immediately brought Havoc under fire, with people believing Havoc lied about the correct sheriff fact to confirm himself as town. Havoc tried to pass his lies as jokes, but no one believed him. To add salt in the wound, Adam told everyone that he and Havoc did not have a healer-nurse chat, although they did. After this discussion, chaos ensued, with people not sure whether voting for Havoc or Slay was the right decision. Ultimately, the town decided that Slay was the better vote because he was confirmed as a non-town, and **Slay** was executed.

Despite being rivals early in the season, Dani and Sam quickly became Bernkastel’s replacement as the town leaders. These two held the most information, and dictated many of the upcoming decisions. Like Jade, **Kira** was the next kill for being a confirmed little girl. The next vote was simple, as, in the previous round, town had decided that Havoc and his nurse partner, Adam, were the most likely Mafia candidates. Although there were some suspicions toward other unconfirmables like Sam and Chloe, **Adam** was overwhelmingly voted out.

After this vote, Sam persisted to air his suspicions of Chloe. Chloe privately messaged Sam, calling his way of leading town arrogant and erratic. This message shut Sam up completely. Not only did this take heat off of Chloe, but it also eased suspicion on Sam, as some, like Hades, viewed him as suspicious for constantly calling people out in the town chat. **Jelk** was killed next, as he was someone who didn’t trust Chloe.

Havoc was once again viewed as the easy vote; however, Dani proposed a new target. Dani wanted Parrot to be voted out because Parrot was a joker following Havoc, linking the two together. Also, Chloe claimed to hunt Parrot during the previous night, and Dani believed Jelk to be a random kill. Parrot proposed a Nia or Chloe vote, but this plan was immediately shot down, and **Parrot** was executed.

The location twist played a large role during this round. As the navigator, Zheema had the option to heal someone using the ghost secondary role. Although he was previously borderline inactive, Zheema majorly stepped up his game, determined to use this heal successfully. The Mafia killed **Dani**, but immediately regretted their decision, as Zheema had healed her. With Dani’s heal, yet another person was confirmed as a townsperson.

For the third time, Havoc seemed like the easy vote. This time, though, Sam and Hades suggested Nia to be voted out instead! Sam and Hades realized that Havoc was easier to confirm than Nia, so keeping Havoc another round made sense. Aside from Dani wanting Havoc out, there wasn’t any pushback for this vote, and **Nia** was executed.

Chloe decided to kill **Hades** next. No one in town minded this kill, as many believed Hades to be the corrupted. The next vote was incredibly simple. After escaping elimination over and over, it was finally Havoc’s time to go. **Havoc** was voted out in a 6-1 vote. To the surprise of many, the game did not end.

Dani and Sam viewed Tommy as the basically confirmed corrupted role because of the process of elimination. Tommy’s partner was confirmed to be either Chloe or Sam, as Dani, Luna, Zheema, and Kae were confirmed townspeople. For this reason, both Sam and Dani wanted Tommy to be voted out next. Because of the limited amount of potential Mafia members, Dani and Zheema began to take control of town, rather than Dani and Sam. Chloe killed **Zheema** next because he was a confirmed town member with a low chance of being healed.

The town chat turned into a ghost town for the next cycle, as all the scheming was taking place in private messages and chats. Sam, knowing Tommy was the likely corrupted role, pushed Tommy to admit his identity. Tommy told Sam he was the corrupted, but not without a plan. Tommy promised Sam that, since Sam was the jester, he could join the Mafia team. Sam agreed to this strategy, and created a private chat with Chloe and Tommy. Chloe was not a fan of this plan, as Tommy told an untrustworthy jester of the Mafia team without even consulting her. A fight between Tommy and Chloe ensued in this private chat with Sam, with Chloe airing her grievances of this plan and claiming to have carried the mafia team, while Tommy argued he created a plan that would win the Mafia the game.

Sam was not as loyal to this trio as Tommy believed, though. Sam hinted to Dani that Chloe was the Mafia, which led Dani to turn Luna and Kae against Chloe. With the vote currently 4-3 because of Tommy’s potter votes, both sides needed Sam’s vote to win the game. With some convincing of Dani, Sam swapped his vote to Chloe minutes before the voting results. Sam believed this to be the safest option for his game because the mafia could’ve betrayed him during the endgame. The vote was tied, and Zheema broke the tie in the town's favor. **Chloe** was executed, and town won the game! The winning survivors were **Dani**, **Kae**, **Luna**, and **Sam**.

# ***Awards***

Because this season had more than ten players and three rounds of executions, awards were handed out at the end of the game. They were given to the following recipients.

# ***Trivia***

* The logo for this season uses a background that is a direct continuation from the background of the logo of *Mafia: Oxmesa*.
* December won the viewing lounge prediction game for this season.