1- Be workable
2- Cater for more people than are interested in assassins
The Premiss
Basically, all players play, are given targets, are hunted. They all carry weapons, but each player (or group of player) gets to pick which style of fighting they'd go for.
There are two styles (easily manageable and suitably different):
Professional Mercenary These are groups of three players (sign up as a group, or we can try'n find some folks to help). Each team hunts two other teams (they'll know you're coming for them, as you will of them!), and are slightly restricted in what weapons are at their disposal (no poisons, amongst others!), and where they can use them (no projectile weapons indoors). They may, however, be allowed slightly more leniency in terms of 'collateral damage'(this is an idea). Possibiltiy for 'legal' alliances/truces and such, but teams are also vulnerable to the assasins looking for them....maybe...
Merc Teams are also allowed to go bounty hunting after any wanted players/teams, as are Assassins.
Assassins Works pretty much as they do now. Each assassins will recieve two other assassins, and one team as a target. The team won't know which assassin it is they have to look out for, but will know the assassins pseudonym.
Anyhow, how I see it working.
Each team and assassin gets a number x and y respectively (at the start). As teams/assassins are removed, the numbers are lowered (ie numbers used only for 'officials' and targetting, not by the players)
Team y targets team y+1 and y-1.
- This means each team knows who is hunting them, and who they are hunting. (given the increased knowledge/decreased secrecy associated with Mercs, this should encourage more ambushes/gunfights/battles etc)
Assassin x targets assassin x+1 and assassin x+2.
- Thus each assassin will have two more assassins after each other, and be hunting two seperate ones. By carefully orchestrating this we can ensure that once you kill someone, you pick up their 'top priorty' target (ie the oldest one that was issued to them). This should happen via Umpire allocation (ie once you hear from the Umpire, you're good to hunt them), but a dead player can tell you so that you can begin some researching.
Assassin x also hunts team x/
Not that when initially sorting the database/spreadsheet/programme/website recording the appropriate data, numbers will be allocated on a basis such as to keep a 3-number gap (if possible) between 'large' locations. Thus if we had thirty assassins, and say five groups of six people from roughly five broad locations, we'd be fine to ensure that assassins don't need to be hunting their next-door-neighbour on their very first outing (wait until one or two kills are made first!)
Anyhow, the benefit of this system would clearly be that:
1- It is a formalised system of how targets are allocated and how it all works: so everyone can, at least try, if not actually, understand how it all works.
Other modifications
Well, as noted before, the Umpiring system could do with a bit of a formalisation as well (by the end of this game we'll have had three games played, so plenty of experience).
Simply put, I'd propose divying up the 'leadership' into four broad categories:
The Umpire
The officiate and preside over rules queries, dole out solutions to 'conflicted' reports and such. They oversee the ruling of the game. I'd also be tempted to call them a Lawyer
The Scribe
In testimony to Rosie's wonderful efforts on the anecdotes going with every incident, I'd heartily recommend that if we're formalising the system we keep this position open (Rosie won't be here forever...well, maybe she will, but just in case, it'd be a neat tradition to keep going should this idea outlive any of us [no doubt it'll be dead before any of this is even debated, not implemented, now that there's talking of traditions...but anyhow...])
They simply write-up the stories, and are used as a consultant/advisor to the other organisers.
Hit Squad Captain
They preside over the running of the hitsquad. An ideal position for folks interested in the game, but without enough time (or energy) to dedicate! Or, for folks who enjoy doing a (good) job!
Targeter
This is a new one, but it'd essentially be a very useful one, if not absolutely crucial in terms of 'formalising' the game and updating it (as and when required), not in the context of the actual rules: but how the targets are distributed/allocated. What information is sent out.
This person would essentially be the one 'running' the game. Ideally we'd be able to have a computer programmer or website designer who could get this done automatically, but failing that we could have 'em do it by hand.
An additional useful asset here would be in formalising how targets are allocated. You may have noticed the 'x+1, x+2' etc thing above, but generally that is simply to have it written down so that we pick one system and stick with it.
(More significantly here, as I suspect James and Janelle both done this, but it'd prevent idiots like me running the game and jumbling all the data up...if I'd only written down a concise way of organising it...[I did it consistently in the end, but there was always a chance I'd bugger up royally...so what I'm saying is: "I'd like to save Assassins from myself(and others like me)!" :p] )
Anyhow, that's the gist of it for now anyway! Hope it was in part comprehensible.
Certainly this sort of style would be useful if James and Rosie (and any others) are still interested in seeing the game accomodated by the Union as a society (this'd have to be done either way).
Also, having this setup would allow the organisers plenty of time to even begin printing out posters and harrassing the entire University into playing! (And by allocating via numbers, we'd be fine to have over 6000 players...)
[hr]
"There is only ever one truth. Things are always black or white, there's no such thing as a shade of grey. If you think that something is a shade of grey it simply means that you don't fully understand the situation. The truth is narrow and the path of the pursuit of truth is similarly narrow."
I'd be okay with the story-writing (assuming people can stand my artistic stylings for another round) but even that can be quite time-consuming - I average about 30 minutes per write-up, easily going up to or beyond an hour if it's been particularly complicated or the kill was disputed.
I had considered originally that it might actually go both ways - a sort of 'ew, GameSoc' reaction from people generally and then, within GameSoc, 'ew, LARPers'. I have no idea how fair that is, it was just something that it occurred to me MIGHT happen. My bigger concern was that it once again brings in the issue of payment.