Speaking to the recruiting mechanism, if we have an inheritable every night recruit, we are pretty screwed overall. This sort of cult mechanic is what made the cult so powerful in the Matrix game (sorry you youngun's who don't remember that one
). Cults need to have some sort of limit to their recruiting power or at the very least not an inheritable or anyone-in-it can recruit method. The most common thing to do is only the original cult leader can recruit. Assuming this, we are still in big trouble as obviously River was not an original member.
As to the flavour, I read it in order, i.e. River was culted this past (N2) night and killed right after. Basically "heehee we culted river" *bam* "oh shit, well that was a wasted recruit".
There are definitly some interesting mechanics in play over all. If we look at the night kills, N1 alliance was hit, N2 rever was hit. It makes me wonder if there is a seeing role (such as Inara, perhaps) connected with a vig role (I could see perhaps Jayne being cast as a vig with how much he likes guns and shooting).
This is worrysome because what is the mechanic for the scum then? Do we perhaps not have true scum (in the sense of a team that can kill every night) in this game, and only a cult of revers? Revers clearly go mad and I could see a mecahnic balance being kill or recruit every night but not both, I think I have mentioned this before, in which case it makes sense to recruit early-game to get numbers, and then start killing later-game. In the end (movie) the revers were attacking everyone - Serenity crew and Alliance ships alike, so I am starting to wonder, based on the killings so far in the game, if our game mechanic is one of a cult who can recruit and kill, and a vig/see-er, with Alliance people underpowered and a tertiary group. With River dead, their game goal may even be dead too as in the show they wanted to catch River as someone else pointed out.
As a mod, a cult that can kill or recruit (and perhaps maintain that ability so long as there were members, or transferable once, i.e. two initial cult members, either can send a kill/recruit order), along with a team after a certain person (or two, if you count both Simon and River), would balance a town with vig powers nicely as in essence the town would have two kills a day (lynch + vig kill) and then you have one possibly two night kills from other teams. This kind of setup would make sense to me.
"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence." ~ Einstein
