They all work fine now.

I hope the links within the guides work properly too?

Hmm, only Ashrzr's is working again, obviously took a little time for my preferences to be updated.

They all worked when I changed my settings to 50 posts per page.

Herr's links are fine for me, and no one else has linked to posts.

*reads mod guide*

Hmm, mostly in the clear, phew.

Chapter 1: The Writer's Core
Greetings, my son. Pleased to meet you.

So you want to write good mafia flavor? This is gonna be a long guide, man, or woman, or actually, dude, because that's kind of gender neutral.

Well, there's not really a true way to write mafia flavor that's worthy of an entire, fancy-looking guide, so I'm just going to have to tell you how to write in general?

Me? You want to know about me? Awesome. Basically, I'm pretty ****ing cool. I know how to write like Stephen King -- I took an online test and it even said that I write just like him! So then, what does that mean? It means listen to me because I know what the hell I'm talking about. I'm not going to give you any cliche advice, and I'm not going to go on and on about a bunch of nonsense. This is me talking straightup with you, on a personal level. Let me be your friend. Help me help you.

The Show Don't Tell Rule -- Know Your Jargon
First thing's first, I would like you to compare the two drafts:

Mary's heart was beating really fast. Matt was so beautiful. Mary took the flowers. They smelled good.

---

As her heart struggled to burst through her chest, Mary's couldn't cease her gaze on Matt's beautiful blue eyes. Despite what she thought possible, her heart rate rose even further when his hand came outward, grasping a bouquet of roses. They were placed in her extended hand, delicate but firm. The rich odour of flowery and shrubbery filled her nose and remained in her memory forever from that day forward.

Obviously, this is a serious exaggeration, but you'd be surprised how many people are capable of writing something as poor as the first passage. There's just a block, a disconnect between the person's thoughts and the page for most people, and they put in no effort to get rid of this block. You need to learn how to stifle that disconnect and directly put your thoughts, and, if you're a sensitive piece of shit like me, feelings into your writing.

What's the difference between the two? I think, or God forbid hope, you can tell. There's actually a name for this particular scenario -- putting the reader in the action in the action instead of simply telling what's going on. If you want to become a good writer you need to know the fancy jargon. When you're sitting with all of the other soon-to-be-accomplished writers, drinking coffee and chowing on pie in a lowdown New York Cafe, you're going to want to sound like you know what you're talking about.

"Yeah I write mafia flavor."

Most likely, no one there is going to have any idea what the hell you're talking about, so if you can get the jargon down, you'll be a total mystifying badass.

So, what's this whole deal called? Show Don't Tell.

No, not show and tell, it's show don't tell. This means what it says: "show" what happens, don't just say it. No one wants to be told what happens -- that's really boring. Don't write:

"Mike ran across the street and jumped out of the way of a car."

So what? I don't give a rat's ass about Mike. He sounds pretty boring, if you ask me. He doesn't appear scared, nor does he seem totally confident in rushing across the street. In fact, how crowded is the street? I had no idea how to imagine this scene. Writers are supposed to make us feel what's happening. How does Mike handle it internally? Whether the narration is first or third person, you absolutely must give the reader some idea of what's going on internally in the main character(s) at all times or the reader isn't going to care about the characters, and as the plot goes on they will probably eventually put the book down, shut off the TV, whatever. Whether you do this internal stuff subtly or not is up to you. For now, just try to make sure you've got the Show Don't Tell Rule down. Take a look at this:

"The vibration shocked Mike's foot each time it hit the pavement. Adrenaline pumped through him like a rollercoaster rushes through a loop -- his senses were haywire and he was ready to boom like a firecracker. As he took off across 5th Avenue, no less crowded than normal, this adrenaline saved his life: he was nearly run over."

I wrote that in like five seconds, so don't judge. I wasn't trying to write a masterpiece, but simply convey my point. I would hope that the second passage was much more entertaining and intriguing than the first for you. This is perhaps the most fundamental flaw most writers make: they don't show. They simple tell their story. Sometimes they may show, but if they only do it sometimes in the big scenes, it's likely that they're overdoing it and if they can't do it all the time on a basic level, then they don't know what they're doing. When you're first grasping what exactly the Show Don't Tell Rule is, it can be a little confusing because there's no specific meaning behind it. It seems a bit arbitrary, doesn't it? How do you "show" through writing? As you practice, you should slowly start being able to "show" on an intuitive level, and avoid just telling straightup what's happening.


Make Me Care About Your Characters PLEASE
The interesting thing about characters is the diversity in how people perceive them. Some think Alex DuLarge of A Clockwork Orange is a complete asshole -- I mean, who goes around and rapes people and beats them up just for fun? What a dick. But some people are totally awed by his character because of how Kubrick wrote him. He is the main character, and despite being a very troubled person, Kubrick, and author of the novel Anthony Burgess, wrote him in a way that made him interesting and the most relatable character in the story. If you've seen or read A Clockwork Orange, and even if you haven't, just try to imagine the story without DuLarge being developed the way he was. The movie immediately starts with him going around killing people. He doesn't talk much, doesn't show much emotion. He just kills people. Then he goes to prison. He comes out and kills people. The End. HORRIBLE story, right? We don't like the guy at all, because we know nothing about him except that he kills people, and he was the same way at the end of the story.

Character development should be the most fundamental priority for you when writing. If you have crappy characters but a good plot, your story's probably just going to be okay. Just look at Gladiator. If you have good characters but not much of a plot, your story will be excellent. Notice 2001: A Space Odyssey -- hardly anything happens, but the characters aren't overdone, and Stanley Kubrick craftily interests you greatly in HAL, who is almost the protagonist and antagonist at the same time. If you have crappy characters and a crappy plot... well, yeah.

The moral here is, if you put most of your effort into developing your characters, it's probably going to be good no matter what. Not only does a strong central character keep your audience engaged when the plot may suffer, but it also helps you write your own story. You should aim to get to the point where the story comes out of your character, and you no longer have to think hard about what has to happen next. This really happens, I promise. If you develop your characters well enough, the story really will begin to write itself. I promise.

Obviously, character development is a little tough in mafia flavor. In mafia, no one wants to be moved to tears because the Scots finally win their freedom in William Wallace's memory, and no one wants to yell with joy because Mr. Smith did indeed go to Washington and he finally puts Congress back on its feet. But if you're an aspiring writer, mafia flavor is great practice. Develop characters as much as you can.
Okay, so I've told you what you need to do, but how do you do it? How do you actually develop your characters?

The slickest advice I can give is to think of it not as developing your character, but letting your character escape from your mind. The subconscious is very powerful -- when you just begin writing and have a very basic idea of your main character, your subconscious likely already has a bunch of information about him or her filled out without you realizing. The subconscious is something that can't be turned off -- if you think about something, the subconscious is going to ponder about it deeply.
Anyway, back on track, like I said, think of it as letting your character escape. Your character is desperate to let him/herself be known to the reader. Even if he is an introvert, he must have qualities that make him interesting on the inside. No offense to you extraverts out there, but introverts are simply more interesting people and they are radically more common in stories as main characters then extraverts. So, if your character is shy, maybe she likes to collect quarters or some shit, I don't know. If your character is an extravert, does he like to take advantage of people, or is he nice, to the point of being really annoying? Don't try to plot out your characters trait in a list. Don't do this:

Jim: really nice, outgoing, likes fish, is gay, eats sardines for breakfast, likes the show Law & Order
Katrina: not very smart, married a rich guy, sleeps naked

Many writing help books you take a look at will likely tell you to do this. But I tell you: DON'T. Don't plot out details of your characters. Why? Because, come writing time, when you start writing your character, you're going to simply be telling about them. Oh, Jim eats sardines for breakfast? Okay, make him eat sardines. It's just not natural. You want the story to come out while you're writing -- you want the characters to define themselves. If you define the characters, then they're simply puppets, doing what you told them and tell them to do. But if you just roll with it, and define your characters as you write, then it will feel like the characters write themselves, and it's a lot more fluid and... natural. I hope that makes sense, because that's very important.

Chapter 2: My Crap Applied to Mafia
Well, if you actually read all that crap, or more sensibly skipped it because you think you're the best writer on Earth just like everybody else -- welcome. Whether you realize it or not, that stuff is pretty important. Reading flavor with undetailed characters, and phrases like, "Matt got out his knife. He slit Mary's throat," are boring and it DOES have an impact on how much people enjoy your mafia. (NOTE: Yes this is the same Matt and Mary. They got married, but alas, the slitting of the throat was inevitable.)

So, let's try for some practical advice, yes?


Writeup Flavor

As I said before, writeup flavor is really important. Honestly, could you really get ingrained in a mafia whose Day 1 writeup says:

"As the rays of sun shimmered over the walls of the stadium, the town found a fellow member dead; Henrz' body lay facedown, decapitated. As they debated what to do, they noticed Peter Fallon was walking around slightly awkwardly and painfully."

Yes, this is a real writeup (it's all good yo, Catabre). It was getting there with the whole sun shimmering and stadium thing, but there are several issues; 1) It's terribly short. 2) Very simple, there's no style. 3) HOW THE HELL DO YOU LIE FACEDOWN WHEN YOU'RE DECAPITATED? Let's go over these.


It's Terribly Short

Writeups should be long. Indeed, you WILL be paranoid that no one's reading them, but there are always the dutiful people who do. And writing's fun anyway. If you're terribly afraid it's all for naught, drop some hints in the flavor and players will take notice.


Very Simple, There's No Style

Give people a reason to like your damn thing. If you just say, "Mary opened her mouth and ate Matt's Penis" (yeah, it's getting pretty bad between Matt and Mary now) that's stupid! Add your own flair. It's called Flavor for a reason. Vanilla's awesome, but what if everything in the world had the exact same Vanilla flavor! Wtf! Go for something like, "Mary uncollapsed her jaws, and her mouth descended toward the snake in Matt's pants. Before he could react, she devoured."

If you want to be really fancy, talk according to the theme if you can. If it's set in ye olden days, then writeth like I! If it's about cowboys 'n cowgirls (cowgirls are really sexy, btw, but we'll get to that some other time) then talk with n' ole western draul, ya hear?


HOW THE HELL DO YOU LIE FACEDOWN WHEN YOU'RE DECAPITATED

I've seeked the advice of medical professionals Jim Baker and Sanjay Madina on the subject.

Jim Baker, M.D.: "Technically speaking, face implies direction in this particular instance. For example, facing south does not necessarily mean you [verb] south with your face. This, to a lesser extent, could be applied to lying facedown while decapitated. Despite the loss of his head, my medical knowledge leads me to believe that the rest of his body was facing the ground."

Dr. Sanjay Medina: "HE DIDN'T HAVE A FACE! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

You make up your own mind.


Role Flavor

Excuse my language (I know, this excusing is long over due) but you need to make people interested in your shit. Don't just say, "You're a Serial Killer. You win when everyone is dead." Like wtf? Have you ever gotten a role email like this? I'm sure, if you have, you'll agree that it sucks. I want to know how I relate to the story. Why am I a serial killer?

For example, in my Storyteller's game Stranded (VII), I had a doctor who had yet to come to terms with his sexual urges toward children, a jaded and pissed off football coach, a whiny congressman, a pastor who endorses a "Breasts For Jesus" foundation, etc. You get the point. You don't have to be as sadistic as me, but you need to let your players know why they should enjoy playing the role, and why their character/role is different from everyone else. This is, of course, especially imperitave in Storyteller's games.

Another fundamental reason why role flavor should be emphasized is that players are really reliant on flavor now. When players are asked to claim it's very common that they're also asked about their flavor justifications, too. This is more pronounced in games based on a real life scenario or story -- if your role is Darth Vader, a Faith-Naive Cop Miller, you'd better have some damn good flavor to back up why the host interpreted his character that way.

Chapter 3: To Sum Up
Well, my friend, it's been fun. I know this question is running through your head -- am I completely wacko? Yes. The answer is yes. But it's been fun, right? I hope I've taught you a lot. In case you totally missed everything and were a complete meanie that disregarded everything I said, I'll sum everything up and lay it out for you:

1) Remember the Show don't Tell Rule, primarily for writeup flavor. Writing in a savvy way makes a huge difference.
2) Make characters interesting, primarily for the specific players. It helps make people interested.
3) Long writeups and detailed flavor makes you look badass.
4) Develop your own writing style. This can pertain to the theme, or it can simply be your preferred sentence structure. Whatever you do, don't write, "Jim walked to the store. He looked around. He was scared. The killer leapt out and stabbed him. He died."
5) Dropping a lot of hints isn't a bad idea if you really want to make your players alert.
6) It is possible to lie facedown despite having been decapitated.
7) Don't neglect role emails. Make them interesting.
8) It's not wise to avoid flavor justifcation. Most players expect it now.
9) Be consistent. Don't put up a writeup for Day 1 and then get lazy and neglect the writeup for Night 1, then write a huge writeup for Day 2. Be consistent. Don't make people think you're lazy, or your writing won't hold much merit. If the players get the vibe that you aren't interested in your mafia, why should they be?

Lastly, this may seem to contradict what I've said before: simplicity is key. Yes, it's not bad to write a ton of flavor, you want complex & interesting characters for the players, and you can lie facedown while decapitated, but keep things simple. It is possible to overdo the flavor -- keep things straight to the point, but write this directness with a sense of inspiration and confidence and whatever you do, don't write like Catabre's writeup. Just keep that in mind, work on the things I've told you, and you may just strike up a tear or two in me. Make me proud.

It's been fun. I hope I haven't totally scared you at some point, because I know what the hell I'm talking about. Intelligence is akin to madness. Don't worry, it's the internet -- I can't do anything to you. Well, that's a bit odd, it makes it sound like if I DID have the opportunity, I'd go at you. That's not what I meant... oh forget it.

Go write some flavor. Become the next Stephen King.

[This message has been edited by Ashrzr (edited 03-28-2011 @ 06:35 PM).]

updated...

If you've seen or read A Clockwork Orange, and even if you haven't, just try to imagine the story without DuLarge being developed the way he was. The movie immediately starts with him going around killing people. He doesn't talk much, doesn't show much emotion. He just kills people. Then he goes to prison. He comes out and kills people. The End. HORRIBLE story, right? We don't like the guy at all, because we know nothing about him except that he kills people, and he was the same way at the end of the story.

The main reason you don't like Alex in the movie is because the euphemisms (Nadsat) covers up the violence. In the movie it's impossible to ignore because of how visual it is. Instead of reading a bunch of euphemisms about some dude raping and beating on people you're watching it, which is considerably more intense.

updated...

Links are still busted.

All links work for me except what is mafia.

Change your post amount to 50 Maffia, why would you have it at 25 anyways

That was the default when I joined HG, and I'm a creature of habit .

Ok, to be a bit constructive, here is what I think the links in the OP should be:

Herr's guide:
http://www.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=st&fn=50&tn=215&st=40#post41

Julius999's guide:
http://www.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=st&fn=50&tn=215&st=49#post50

Thy's guide:
http://www.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=st&fn=50&tn=215&st=65#post66

Ash's guide:
http://www.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=st&fn=50&tn=215&st=104#post105

And how are you getting these?

you click the icon in the top left of the post, just before it says 'posted 03-29-11 01:15 PM EDT (US) 110 / 112'

I had done that before though

Or just take the thread link and add "#post__" with the blank obviously being the post number. Pro tip: adding #______ after a link will bring you to any portion of the page that has an "anchor" in the HTML code. Thats how pages like FAQ's link to specific portions of the same page. HG and most forums have these anchors for most posts.

Oh, I was just asking people to embed anchors in their posts earlier...

All links work for me except what is mafia.

Same here.

Also, excellent guide, Ash. It'll help me a lot whenever I host.

sticklebats! really?

Guide to Making Serial Killers

Most games, no matter how large or small, will have a serial killer in them. Just the concept of one is fun, and it makes for an easy way to balance out the game. However, players won't actually appreciate being a balancing tool. While there is an inevitable "Woo-hoo!" moment when you first read that role email stating SK, there's also a high chance that it will be followed by the feeling of impending doom when you realize it's 1 vs. everyone. This isn't to say that games shouldn't include SKs. They're fun roles to play and most people have accustomed to assuming one will be present (something you don't necessarily have to follow). However, if you are going to put one in, make sure that player is a player with a viable chance of winning, not a balancing tool.

For example, in Silent Dawn Mafia by Xenophone, I played the Silent Dawn killer, an SK. While I enjoyed the game, something that made me feel sour was that I was an uninformed bomb (meaning I would kill whoever hammered me). When I died, it seemed to me that my purpose in that game was not to win, but rather to make it easier for the Mafia to win or in the very least cause panic for everybody else.

Another example, in Bingo Little's Storyteller's Mafia V: Batman: Lockdown game, there was a serial killer on his own pitted against 19 others. I'm not saying it couldn't have been done, but were the poor guy's chances very good? ... not so much.

Note that in both of these examples, the sad SK's situation doesn't ruin the game at all. But if you're going to make the game, give the little pychopath some thought.

---

So when making the SK consider his chances of winning, and give him a fighting shot. It's very hard to give him even odds but he deserves your consideration in the very least.

In a small game of 12 or less, the SK's chances are low, but plausible. In a game of 16, those chances fall lower. By the time a game hits 20 or more, an otherwise normal SK has minimal chances if the setup is also normal. So what can you do? In order of least effective to most effective in terms of evening out the score:

1) Iron Status: Considering the general nature of an SK, an iron status is actually not very helpful. Most of the time their deaths are from lynches, because they tend to be easier to deduce than Mafia members. There are of course exceptions to this with better players, but more often than not an iron attribute will make little difference on an SK's chances.

2) Ghost Status: Otherwise known as turning up innocent to investigations, this status is more helpful than iron status in my opinion. An innocent investigation gives a solid alibi for an SK. In comparing the two options so far, you may think of it this way. If the SK is seemingly town, he will be mafia killed. If the SK is seemingly scummy, he will be investigated. For a player who is actually scum, the latter is more likely to occur. As a quick note here, when someone is "immune" to investigations, meaning they return nothing, that rarely helps at all.

3) Immunity to all actions: A simple idea that doesn't get as much use. It works quite well, and perhaps too well in a smaller game.

4) A Safe Claim: in a themed game, I heavily advocate giving the SK's a safe claim. It can justify their tough chances and put the majority of their work in their hands. For original games these tend not to work as well, but offering a name and quick patch of flavor to use can be a nice thing to have.

5) Win Conditions: In very large games its excessively daunting to try and be the last man standing. So instead, you may want to consider offering an alternate way to win. My three favorites are killing a certain group of individuals, staying alive to a certain point, and winning with the scum. Killing a group of invidividuals works because it offers the SK a constant goal, and makes it more entertaining. Killing a single individual is too easy. Staying alive to a certain point in the game (day number/number of people alive) is a bit iffy. Some people may consider it too simplistic so use it at your own risk. If you're going to do so, make that time very conservative. As in perhaps 4 players left alive. The justification for this is that by that point in the game there are most likely going to be a few confirmed players, so it may not be possible for the SK to win. Lastly, having the SK win with the scum is a perfectly conceivable mechanic that offers different mindsets to mix up the game.

So go get stabbing! The world needs more apathetic bloodlusters .

(PS: As one general rule of thumb, before submitting your game, compare for a brief moment the SK and the Mafia Godfather/most powerful mafia member. If the Serial Killer is less powerful than the leader of the faction own his own, you've probably got a problem)

[This message has been edited by THYMOLE (edited 03-31-2011 @ 05:50 PM).]

I have a slightly different take. Protection from night-kills is vitally important for the SK, as it's an element of the game they can't hope to control and one arbitrary decision by the mafia makes it impossible for them to win. Investigation immunity is less vital as to some extent by appearing pro-town it can be avoided, but I would still recommend it in most cases.

Safe claims are a must for all scum in my opinion, except possibly in games with the broadest themes.

I wouldn't alter the win condition. Being the last man standing is probably the best part. Surviving all your opponents is integral to the fun and challenge of the role in my opinion. It's perfectly possible to achieve this while still having the game be balanced.

On the whole I see SK as a role which should need a lot of skill to win as you can't rely on other people, but not really luck. This is why I prefer to give them immunity from killers and Cops, who might select them basically randomly. If their behaviour is never suspicious enough to get them lynched, even when only a handful of players remain, they deserve to win.

SKs are also inherently hard to balance, in terms of the rets of the game. Lynch the SK on Day 1 rather than Day 3 and that's two fewer kills.

I have a slightly different take. Protection from night-kills is vitally important for the SK, as it's an element of the game they can't hope to control and one arbitrary decision by the mafia makes it impossible for them to win. Investigation immunity is less vital as to some extent by appearing pro-town it can be avoided, but I would still recommend it in most cases.

That's a fair point. I suppose ideally you would want protection from night kills to take a priority, however over the course of my games the cause of death is almost always either an investigation or a bad claim in order to avoid investigation (survivor/miller).

Safe claims are a must for all scum in my opinion, except possibly in games with the broadest themes.

If a mafia is large i might leave them to create one or two roles of their own but otherwise yes.

I wouldn't alter the win condition. Being the last man standing is probably the best part. Surviving all your opponents is integral to the fun and challenge of the role in my opinion. It's perfectly possible to achieve this while still having the game be balanced.

In a game of 20 or less I'd agree with you. When it starts exceeding that I have a harder time accepting that. Because you essentially need to have no clear winner otherwise if the SK is to have a chance. By the endgame, there will be at least two confirmed townies (most likely). So if the town is winning, the SK is screwed. If the mafia is winning, he's screwed as well. A nice one shot politican/noble role gives a bit of elbow room for this though, perhaps i should add that.

On the whole I see SK as a role which should need a lot of skill to win as you can't rely on other people, but not really luck. This is why I prefer to give them immunity from killers and Cops, who might select them basically randomly. If their behaviour is never suspicious enough to get them lynched, even when only a handful of players remain, they deserve to win.

Pretty much. Yup

staying alive to a certain point

This works for survivor-type roles, too. In Monty Python I was the French, a role blocker, and just about managed to survive right to my victory conditions, the last 5 players.

Roles To Think Twice About

Too often people add in roles to their games without thinking carefully about what effect they will have. Some of the following roles should never be included, and some have their place but shouldn't be included as an after-thought. According to me anyway.

Jester: Never use this role.
Hated Townie: Don't use it. It messes with the core mechanic of the game for no reason.
Voteless Townie: Ditto.
Unlynchable X: Ditto.
Informed Townie: Don't use it. Why even have a game when you're going to partially defeat the object in the role emails?
Cop: Don't have too many. These have a disproportionate effect on the game. If you have more than one in a game of fewer than 20 players they probably shouldn't all be Sane.
Role Cop: Be very careful. It's like a Cop but without sanity issues.
Iron Townie: Don't over-use this, as if there are too many it can make the game much harder for the scum than you might realise.
Post-Restricted X: Avoid it in normal games. Any post-restricted role is asking for frustration and mod-kills. If you're going to include it you must say that it's a possibility in the sign-up thread, in my opinion.
Cult Leader: Be very careful, as cults are usually a nightmare to balance and play with. They absolutely must be limited in power to quite a large extent. Probably the best way is to allow them to make only a few conversion attempts throughout the entire game, and have them fail if they try to recruit scum.
Serial Killer: Use advisedly. Can make balancing very difficult. Lynch them on Day 1 and you've got one fewer kill per Night than you were expecting. Use sparingly, and ensure that they have a legitimate shot at winning.

I'd throw in millers, who are naturally lynch fodder. Very rarely will they survive.

updated

I actually quite like Millers, in moderation. Keeps people from getting too reliant on Cops, although probably my favoured method now is to simply alter the Cop role. I've used and thought of a few decent variations of investigative roles that I might as well share.

Forensic Cop:
I used this in Bartimaeus Mafia. Each player is assigned a unique code that is unknown to them. Each night the Forensic Cop can investigate a living player and get their code, or a dead player and get the code of the person who killed them.

Connection Cop:
Each night the Connection Cop submits two names of living players to the mod to ask whether they share win conditions, and receives either an affirmative or negative result. Works well in games with multiple factions.

Strange Cop:
For want of a better name. I used this in Bartimaeus Mafia. A normal Cop but instead of Guilty or Innocent they get Fish and Not Fish (or some other word). Whether Fish is scum or town should vary between games but obviously be kept consistent within a single game. The result is that it takes a while for the Cop to be any use, which prevents them getting lucky on Night 0.

Overt Cop:
A normal Cop, but each night his target is informed that they were investigated. This means the scum won't be taken by surprise. However it will be very easily confirmable unless it is established as a mafia role as well.

Aggressive Cop:
This is a Cop who dies if he targets scum. Weaker because he cannot use his night action to catch lots of scum, and because he will be more hesitant to use it. A particularly good aspect is that it's an investigative role who doesn't always benefit from blindfiring, as sometimes not acting at all may be sensible. Requires skill to use beneficially, as it involves figuring out who looks town enough that an investigation is unlikely to be fatal, but not so much that investigating them is pointless given the risk that you're wrong.

Some of these are really rather weak, like the last one, but I think weak power roles are under-rated and under-used.

[This message has been edited by Julius999 (edited 04-13-2011 @ 06:06 PM).]

Strange cop sounds like an excellent idea. I prefer to use the overt cop as more of a attribute for particular scum roles. If they get investigated they get an alert.

That's a better idea, yes.

The "Strange Cop" was hilarious when I used it by the way; when Gruesy claimed he had received a result of 'Fish' it caused quite a stir.

A "Flavour" Cop could fall into the same category as "Strange" cop- eg, someone who, for example's sake, investigated religion in a predominantly pro-Catholic town, with a couple of mafia groups having different religions each, while a couple of townies also have different religions to the norm- including perhaps having the same religion as one of the scum groups.

Role Cop: Be very careful. It's like a Cop but without sanity issues.

Someone tell Abhaas.

Probably the best way is to allow them to make only a few conversion attempts throughout the entire game, and have them fail if they try to recruit scum.

I think it would be pretty awesome to have a traitor playing for the cult from within the mafia. Would bring a whole new dimension to the game.

The traitor just tells another cultist who is mafia, and that person suddenly acts like a cop.

That happened somewhere... i think it was YOGATS mafia at aomh.... but i dont remember what YOGATS stood for...

YGOTAS. Yu Gi Oh something something.

I think it was The Advanced Series

but a capitalized T doesnt seem liek it would stand for The

I happen to quite like role cops; in that you can learn what someone's night action is but not what their alignment is. Useful for both scum and town and not as definitive as true cops.

Something I encourage is to avoid using the term cop... I prefer investigator. Investigator covers a broader range of options IMO, and doesn't have the preconceived notions of what it should and shouldn't be surrounding it.

The Abridged Series. It's a parody series on Youtube, I think.

I love the strange cop role

Another role not used as much as I feel it could or should be is a thief, though I suppose its essentially the same as a flavor cop. Steal an item that can give a hint as to that person's character and/or role and/or alignment. The only thing with it is you have to be pretty careful in what sort of hint you give as obvious hints can eliminate most uncertainty.

I happen to quite like role cops; in that you can learn what someone's night action is but not what their alignment is. Useful for both scum and town and not as definitive as true cops.

I'm more familiar with them returning results like 'Mafia Roleblocker' and 'Godfather'. The latter especially illustrates why I'm not a big fan. Maybe there's a better version however.

A "Flavour" Cop could fall into the same category as "Strange" cop- eg, someone who, for example's sake, investigated religion in a predominantly pro-Catholic town, with a couple of mafia groups having different religions each, while a couple of townies also have different religions to the norm- including perhaps having the same religion as one of the scum groups.

They're similar but there is a difference. People will try to read inferences into the results of a Flavour Cop or Thief, and you often end up in a situation where someone gets lynched for stupid reasons unrelated to how the game is played. I wanted a variation where the results did not in themselves mean anything at all. In retrospect I should have chosen an even more neutral word, as one or two people suggested Fish meant 'fishy' as in suspicious. Happily they realised this was overly tenuous and it didn't distract from the rest of the game too much by causing people to spend all their time analysing it. If someone investigates as Carrot however there is surely no risk of the players trying to draw conclusions.

As you might notice, I despise 'analysing' things said by the mod. Maybe I just want to write flavour text in the hope that you'll like reading it? Maybe I don't want to get lynched because you think characters called Colonel Smithers sound scummy?

See, IMO a role cop would reveal those as just a roleblocker and as either a killer or no role, depending on if the godfather is immune.

Killer is still damning, but it allows the vig argument

If someone investigates as Carrot however there is surely no risk of the players trying to draw conclusions

Carrot is a homophone of Karat

Karat is a measurement of gold quality

Those with an association to gold are likely to be rich

Those who are rich are likely to be greedy

Those who are greedy are likely to be scum

Obvious scum requires policy lynch.

Fakeclaiming

Fakeclaiming is the act of making up a fake claim to use when you are scum, and is usually the downfall of a new scum player. There is inevitable risk but there a few things you can do to boost your odds at being believed.

The Role Part
The first, and most important thing to do is you have to grow a pair. For example, if you are asked to claim and there is no apparent cop result on you, do not claim a role to protect yourself cop investigations! Most scum claims that are instantly shot down are either millers or survivors, both of which typically recieve guilty results. Why? Because instead of waiting for the cop to investigate you, you're giving them a guilty result in advance, which is generally a bad idea. If you do a good job, you won't need protection from guilty results. So unless you see a valid need for why you would turn up guilty (which very clearly exist!), don't put one out there. In the very least, claiming a survivor or a miller instantly brings down your credibility to a lower level.

Continuing on this line of thought, is the role you choose. If you're making up your first fakeclaim, odds are pretty high you went with either VT, one-shot iron, or one-shot vig. Now why are these roles risky to claim as? For the same reason you chose them. They're harder to prove. Other people realize this as well. Now, if there are a lot of VT roles, it can quickly become a rather safe identity to use. But otherwise, go back to the first line of wisdom: grow a pair. Claiming an investigative role like a tracker is a GOOD idea (although claiming a plain cop can be doomed to counterclaims). It gives you importance, its risky to lynch, and if you can correctly deduce the identity of another scum you'll have a huge plus in your favor as far as gaining the town's trust goes.

At the same time, you should also avoid claiming over powered roles/obscure roles. Off the top of my head, Full-Iron, Faith Roles, Suicidal Roles, and Flavor cops always set off alarms in my head.

The Flavor Part

For non flavor intensive games, this is not so much of challenge. For the more involved games, this part is probably more difficult than the role part. HOPEFULLY, the mod will give you a flavor safeclaim if the theme is specific to a particular subject (like a videogame or TV show). Of course this isn't true, so more often than not you're on your own.

There are a few steps you should always follow.

First, if it isn't glaringly obvious, ask the mod if it would be safe to claim as the role you were given. Sometimes flavor will not specifically prove someone to be scum, and there is no need to make up flavor. If he says don't. Ask him for a flavor safeclaim. What's the worst that could happen?

Second, if you can, delay claiming for obvious reasons, but don't wait for the end. You can not wait until the end, otherwise your claim loses all flavor credibility (as you were free to choose any role that wasn't claimed yet). Mind you, if you do find yourself in a position like this, go ahead and pick the strongest claim you can find for yourself.

Third, research the theme. Just do it. It takes like 30 minutes and then, ta-dah, you can also call yourself an amatuer expert on the subject. Look for wiki sites dedicated to the theme. They're best.

Fourth, choose a claim that has a reasonable chance of being counterclaimed. Is that risky? Yes it is. But if you choose a role that has a 0% chance of being counterclaimed you have a 0% chance of being believed for the duration of the game. (Think! you don't want your claim to last one day. It has to hold out through the entire game). If the mod has put you in a situation where all of the main characters are town and has left none for you, you're screwed. Not your fault.

Fifth and finally, model your fake role email after your role email and those of the other players who have already claimed. If it helps, literally write yourself a new email, copying the style and number of sentences that you recieved for yourself. Justify your role with flavor only to the extent that others recieved as well (which in some cases is not at all!). When people ask for more information, give them what you wrote, and never offer any more. Inconsistencies are instant death.

Makes sense to me, and should do that to others, even if it was their first time claiming, although I admit daring to claim something big is pretty damn hard when you're always thinking "I'll be caught out".

How Not To Be Terrible
The Ten Step Plan

1. Pay attention to what's going on. This is really quite easy. Read things properly, especially your role email. It is important not to take everything at face value because you'll miss stuff and end up trusting scum just because they seem 'natural' to you. Heed good arguments and don't gloss over them.

2. Remember what went on earlier. Don't get caught out because you claim more night actions than there have been Nights, or claim something that you previously indicated you weren't. Don't let others get away with doing these things.

3. Be careful. Don't say anything that will cast suspicion on you without clearly advancing your goals. Read through your posts before you make them to check this. Also don't do idiot things like, ahem, emailing everyone in the game with your night action.

4. Question why people did what they did and said what they said. A player can say something weird and stupid, but if it couldn't advance a scummy objective then it isn't scummy. A good player who is trying to lynch that player despite that fact, is scummy.

5. If you're town, don't say or do anything that harms the town. This means no claiming for no reason. Think things through to see whether they advance the town's goals.

6. If you're mafia, do exactly the same thing. Or rather, appear that way in the thread. If a townie is being attacked and you see an argument in their favour you'll probably want to turn a blind eye. People get lynched for being scummy, not failing to see the optimal play. So be ostensibly pro-town while not being all that great at it.

7. If you're town, don't let the best players get away with number 6.

8. Don't be slow on the uptake. If someone is clearly scum only an idiot would waste time waiting for additional investigations or accumulating useless information or allowing them to prove their role. You can consistently lynch scum just by using number 4. If you can do the same with just number 7, you are hardcore and I am impressed.

9. Crowds are stupid. If you're town, don't go along with something just because it seems that the majority of players support it. Think about whether they're right. This is true even if something appears to be the orthodox way of playing the game.

10. Don't rely on flavour, role claims or night actions. You do not need them. How good would you be at detecting lies and bad people in real life if you needed these things? If you genuinely can't ever spot scum without a night action then I know a friendly Nigerian prince who would be glad to make your acquaintance.

[This message has been edited by Julius999 (edited 05-02-2011 @ 10:50 PM).]

9. Crowds are stupid. If you're town, don't go along with something just because it seems that the majority of players support it. Think about whether they're right. This is true even if something appears to be the orthodox way of playing the game.

Oh this. I'm sick of seeing people voting and saying they don't like it. Even if it advances the game, it doesn't bring it to a natural conclusion and these games shouldn't have been played out to begin with.

If you want to play, don't do this. Scum can do this if they don't have any idea of what their objectives should be, if day is already long gone and they can't put the focus somewhere, any town kill would be good for them. This is permissible if they actually contribute intelligently of course.

As I said in Catabre's mafia, where I was lynched for participating in a bad lynch by the very same people who participated in that lynch: If you don't want to fricking lynch, don't fricking vote.

[This message has been edited by Herr Elessar (edited 05-02-2011 @ 11:05 PM).]

To be fair though i'm pretty sure half or more of those votes were from scum, herr.

That was on my herr lynching streak. I think i got three in a row

On that point, what do you do then, if you don't want to vote for someone who has votes on him and the game is simply not going anywhere?

Crowds are stupid. If you're town, don't go along with something just because it seems that the majority of players support it. Think about whether they're right. This is true even if something appears to be the orthodox way of playing the game.

The issue there is you then get branded scum for being 'anti-town' .

On that point, what do you do then, if you don't want to vote for someone who has votes on him and the game is simply not going anywhere?

If you are not convinced, then look for other leads yourself and then place your votes.

Say "**** the game, I don't want this lynch and I will not have it". Then do what Abhaas says.