This theme idea was inspired by Warcraft III, and in particular by the first scenario of the Undead campaign,
Trudging Through the Ashes. Basically, my goal with this idea was to nerf the baddies some...in my experience they win the majority of games because they know who all the other baddies (and by extension, the villagers) are from the start of the game, meaning they can team together immediately. In the version I've come up with, the baddies have to be discovered before they can collaborate, meaning that at least initially they're rudderless and could even inadvertently target each other...but do become more powerful as they find each other and collaborate as the game goes on.
The idea is mostly complete, but I wouldn't be opposed to adding to it as well.
The Story
Once the last bastion of humanity against the Orcs and the most prosperous kingdom in Azeroth, the Kingdom of Lordaeron has been ground into dust in matter of days by the might of the Undead Scourge. King Terenas, who ruled wisely for over seventy years, has been murdered by his own son, who has fallen to the corruption of the blade he carries and serves as the Lich King's Champion. It's armies have been decimated, the remaining resistance led by the Paladin brotherhood is being crushed, and the remaining villages that have not fallen to the undead are in a state of panic as death itself marches ever-closer.
Your village is one such village...thus far spared the worst, but living in fear. A rumour is spreading that the living servants of the Scourge, the Acolytes of the Cult of the Damned, have gone into hiding in your village, and that Prince Arthas himself, who has not been seen since he killed his father, is sneaking about the area to find and rally them. There's nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide against death itself. The only option is to fight back...find the acolytes and kill them before they can be rallied into a force that will rage through your village. Arthas must be slain as well...merely killing the acolytes will only delay the inevitable if he is allowed to build his forces elsewhere.Player Roles
The Scourge:
Acolytes: The cultists of the Cult of the Damned, the acolytes are humans who have pledge to serve the Scourge and earn the right to be reborn into undeath, making them reviled by their fellow humans. The Cult scattered after their leader, Kel'Thuzad, was slain, but is now ready to be rallied and reassembled to serve the Scourge. Each night in the cover of darkness, the acolytes will use their magics to cast a vote on who to kill, but will not be able to collaborate with any other acolytes until they're discovered by Prince Arthas.
Prince Arthas: Once the noble Prince of Lordaeron, Arthas has fallen into darkness and now serves the Lich King of the Scourge as his champion and as a Death Knight. In addition to also voting on a villager to kill each night, he will have the following abilities:
Death Coil - Once during the game, Arthas may use this ability to slay one person in addition to the person that gets voted off, for a total of two kills in one night.
Death Pact - In the event that Arthas is attacked, he will draw life from all acolytes in the area to prevent his demise. This means that Arthas may not be killed until the acolytes have been cleared, although attacking him to invoke this ability will prevent him from using any other abilities that night (besides voting).
Investigate - This ability may be used once a night, if no other abilities are invoked, to determine if a player is an acolyte. If they are, they will be put in touch with Arthas and any other discovered acolytes and will be able to collaborate on who to vote for.
The Villagers:
Villagers: All the villagers wanted was peaceful days and jubilant evenings at the local tavern, but instead they got these undead wanting their bodies, and not in a good way! Having had the fear of death properly put in them, they want vengeance, and are ready to take it out on the Scourge...or anyone they think are the Scourge.
The Town Guard: With the Kingdom in shambles and most meaningful resistance destroyed, all that's left to defend small villages are the locals in the town guard. These footmen can use their
defend ability to protect any player of their choosing, which will nullify
any action from the Scourge they've been targeted with that night. Because their services are in
very high demand, no villager may be defended on two consecutive nights. They may also choose to defend each other, but may not defend themselves...else the villagers start to believe them to be cowards.
The Paladin: Defenders of the weak and unfaltering enemies of the undead, the Brotherhood dispatched one of their own to investigate rumors of Cultists in the village and to help protect the villagers if there are. The Paladin has three abilities, and can choose to perform one action each night.
Holy Light: This ability can be used once during the game, and will protect all villagers from Scourge attacks during that night phase.
Divine Shield: This ability is available once, and will automatically be used if attacked by the Scourge during the night phase. If used, the Paladin will be unable to perform an action that night.
Investigate: "Investigate" (aka stalk) a player to determine whether they are a member of the Scourge.
