FAQ

(Information taken directly from the first page of the Traitor Game Discussion Thread.)

How do I sign up? There is currently a game in progress. You must wait for the next set of sign-ups.



How Do I Play The Game?
1) When a game is set to begin, there must first be a Sign-Up Thread. In it, all prospective players post to express interest and choose what character they want to role play as. Some games want characters to fit to a specified theme, so be sure to read carefully before making a character selection.

Unless otherwise stated in the Sign-Up Thread, characters can come from any media, any genre, or even real life.

2) The game thread proper is created, normally with a clever title. "The Traitor Game: Massacre on the Doorstep!" (Not a real title.) There, the rules for the game are reiterated and the characters are gathered.

3) Soon, the Traitor(s) strike(s), killing off one character. Frequently, the first kill is some character that was controlled by the host of the game (commonly referred to as a First Kill NPC). This is done to allow those who signed up more time to play the game. The banished and dead can usually interact with those still alive through means defined in-game.

4) Within the voting phase, the Agent(s) send(s) in their guess for that round.

5) Rinse and repeat steps 2-5 until the Traitor(s) is/are found or all other characters end up dead.

What Are The Different Roles?
The majority of players in the game have no particular role, but there are a few special roles that impact game play. Roles are assigned by the host after the Sign-Up Thread is closed, but before the first kill.

Main roles


 * Traitor- A character working to kill off members of the larger group. When more than one Traitor is included, each one works with the other to determine who dies and by what means.


 * Agent- A person in this role is allowed one guess per round to determine who is a Traitor. This is done by PMing the host of the current game. The results of their guess (whether they guessed correctly or not) are revealed in-thread. If a game has more than one Agent, the Agents act as a team. They confer on the guess and submit that guess to the host.


 * Vigilante- A force for the side of Good, the person in this role works to kill who they think is a Traitor. Every few rounds, the person in this role kills instead of the Traitor(s).


 * Breaker- Sometimes, this role is assigned so that if there is a tie during the voting rounds, this person will get an extra vote to break the tie.


 * Inquisitor- This role has existed since the third game. A non-player appears and has the players he or she suspects plead their innocence.


 * Censor/Secret Role- Only used twice, this role allowed the person assigned this role the ability to quiet or neutralize one vote.

Note: The names provided are the "base" names. For each individual game, they may be given a different name that better suits the theme, setting, etc.

What Are Some Guidelines To Playing?

 * NPCs- Use of Non-player characters (or NPCs) should be limited. An NPC is any character included in the game that is not on the list of players. There are plenty of characters with which to interact, so NPCs aren't really needed for that purpose. NPCs can also be disruptive, depending on what they do. If you want to use an NPC, make sure it's for a good purpose. If you're unsure whether or not to use one, PM the game's host.


 * God-Moding- No god-moding. Can the host really enforce that? Not really. But people will complain and you might be held in contempt. It is definitely not recommended to go against this guideline.


 * Communication- If you suspect you know the identities of Traitors or Agents, do not contact them privately for any reason. If you are an Agent, please do not reveal classified information after death. In general, anyone can talk to other anyone else for purposes of coordinating stories or story elements or even to discuss the game.


 * Quoting- Some people have complained in the past regarding people quoting whole posts when responding to just a portion of it. It unnecessarily clutters up the page and sometimes makes it difficult to follow your train of thought.

What are NPCs?
NPCs are "non-playable characters". In terms of the Traitor Game, they could more adequately described as "non-player characters". Essentially, these are characters that are brought into the game by a participant for some purpose, whether it be to provide some humor, do a brief aside with their character, provide someone new with which others can interact, etc. Some are there from the start, as supporting characters. Examples in the past have included Bluto (supporting Popeye--XIV), Nightmare (supporting Warduke--XII), and Sif (supporting Thorpool--X).

NPCs are not involved with the game itself, at least not in the same sense as the other characters gathered. They cannot vote. They can not have a role.* If associated with someone who has a role (say Robin being the partner to Batman), they can not aid in the function of that role. Therefore, NPCs are not allowed to kill, assist in killing, or reveal any inside information an Agent might possess.


 * Excluding the Inquisitor role--see roles

What characters have been played?
Try looking at the various Traitor Game pages here in the Wiki for more detailed info. For a quick look try checking out these posts, which lay out the Traitor Game casts as sorted by game:


 * Casts of games I-V
 * Casts of games VI - X
 * Casts of games XI - XIV
 * Casts of games XV - XVI

The Purple Skull has also provided short character profiles. They can be viewed via the links in these threads:


 * Profile Database 1.0
 * Profile Database 2.0

How Do I Go About Choosing A Character To Play?
It might be best to choose a character you know a lot about or feel comfortable playing. Some games have themes, however. For example, Game XII was an all-villains game. If there is a theme, just make sure to abide by it.

Do I have to change my avatar when I play?
You don't have to change your avatar. Providing an image of your character somehow is appreciated, but not mandatory in any way.

Why do people include prologues? Do I have to?
Some people like to have prologues to establish where in their character's history they were pulled from. Also, it helps as a practice run for playing the character before the game actually starts, to get the voice down, if you will. But overall, prologues are by no means required.

Are there multiple storylines going on in one game? If so, how do you decide which to participate in?
Normally, there are multiple story lines going on, as various players introduce NPCs, cameos, and their own subplots. Sometimes they cross. Sometimes they don't. But despite all that, the players are still united by the main story, the Traitor Game. You can choose to get yourself involved in any story line you wish aside from the Traitor Game, with a few exceptions, just note that sometimes you might interefere with what a player has in mind for that story.

What's the story behind Batman constantly dying?
Ever since the very first Traitor Game, the character of the Batman has often found himself the first victim of the Traitors' kills. Even when not the very first kill, the character usually does not survive the game (whether as a PC or an NPC- consider yourself warned if you want to play as Batman; he wears a huge target on his back.)

This tendency towards death eventually led the Batmen of many different Earths to run a Traitor Game of their own in an effort to halt these monstrous games. This was the basis of Traitor Game XIV: Legion....

For more specifics on the various deaths of the Batman, you can check out these threads:


 * Games I - VI
 * Games VII - VIII
 * Games IX - XI
 * Games XII - XIII

What was the Traitor Game Award Show?
The First Annual Game Award show was an in-character awards ceremony to reward the various players of the TGs for their roleplaying efforts over the course of the first 12 games. It has a page of its own where you can read more about it (including lists of the awards and winners).

What are some upcoming games?
Try looking here.

What are some future game ideas?
In the Traitor Game Discussion thread, players toss around ideas for possible future Traitor Game scenarios. Some of these actually end up getting developed enough to become games; many do not.

You can have a look at some of the possible scenarios in this thread:


 * Possible future game ideas

FAQ to be updated regularly.