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This is a list of roles that are commonly used in our mafia games, and thus considered standard. Please note that this is deliberately not a complete list, and many roles not in this document or variants of these roles can be included in some games.
Also note that the power level for a role is a general indicator for how powerful it tends to be, though specific game mechanics or other roles in the design can change their usefulness. Finally, many of these roles can also appear in different factions.
Town roles
Bodyguard
Description: A bodyguard can target a player during the night to protect them from a kill attempt. If the targeted player is supposed to be killed, the bodyguard dies instead.
Power level: 2
Bulletproof
Description: A bulletproof player cannot be killed, and is only removed from the game by being voted out.
Power level: 3
Remarks: Bulletproof players often have a limited amount of uses before they run out of protection.
Celebrity
Description: A celebrity can post a command in the thread once per game which will make the moderator publicly announce their Town alignment.
Power level: 2
Remarks: A variant of this role, called Innocent Child, is announced as Town from the beginning of the game.
Commuter
Description: A commuter can choose to become untargetable during the night.
Power level: 4
Remarks: Since a commuter is a very powerful role, a popular variant is the even/odd-night commuter, who only becomes untargetable every other night.
Cop
Description: A cop can target a player during the night to learn their alignment.
Power level: 4
Remarks: Cops are very powerful and its advisable to give limited uses to their power.
Doctor
Description: A doctor can target one player during the night and protect them from a kill attempt.
Power level: 3
Remarks: Beware of the “follow the cop” problem. This arises when Town has a strong investigative power and Mafia no longer has a way to circumvent the doctor’s protection. In this situation the investigative power can out themselves fully, and Mafia has no way to kill them except for killing the unknown doctor first. To prevent this, it is often advisable to add the restriction that a doctor can’t target the same player twice in a row.
Gossip
Description: A gossip can target a player during the night, and invite them to a private chat.
Power level: 2
Remarks: Players invited into a gossip chat often cannot read previous messages sent by other players.
Governor
Description: A governor can stop the current voting in a day phase and choose which player will be voted out instead, automatically ending the day.
Power level: 3
Remarks: This power should only have one use.
Hider
Description: A hider can target a player during the night to hide behind them. While hiding, they cannot be targeted by any role, but if the player they’re hiding behind dies, they die as well.
Power level: 3
Remarks: Since a hider is untargetable, not even killing powers that bypass protections are effective against it.
Jack of All Trades
Description: A jack of all trades has a variety of powers, all with limited uses.
Power level: Varies
Jailer
Description: A jailer is a mixture of roleblocker and doctor, targeting a player during the night, protecting them from kill attempts and stopping them from performing any night actions.
Lightning Rod
Description: A lightning rod can choose to activate his power during the night and attract every night action to them.
Power level: 2
Lovers
Description: Lovers too come in sets of 2. These two players know that each other belongs to Town, and both share a private chat. Additionally, if a lover is killed their partner also dies.
Power level: 2
Remarks: While knowing each other’s alignment and sharing a private chat can be useful, the fact that they die together often means the role ends up being a negative utility role for Town.
Masons
Description: Masons always come in sets of 2. These two players know that each other belongs to Town, and both share a private chat.
Power level: 3
Miller
Description: A miller will return the alignment “Mafia” when investigated by a cop.
Power level: Negative utility
Remarks: While useful for balancing, a miller tends to not be very fun for the player.
Motion Detector
Description: A motion detector can target a player during the night and learn if they targeted or were targeted by another player.
Power level: 3
Roleblocker
Description: A roleblocker can target a player during the night, and stop them from performing any night actions.
Power level: 3
Remarks: Roleblockers are also often Mafia roles.
Switcher/Troublemaker/Bus Driver
Description: A switcher can target 2 players during the night. Every power targeted at player A will move to player B, and every power targeted at player B will move to player A
Power level: 3 as Town, 5 as Mafia
Remarks: While a switcher can also be a Mafia role, this is generally not advisable since it is VERY powerful for Mafia. It enables them to circumvent almost all other powers by doing a “switch kill” every time (If Mafia wants to kill A, they will target the kill at B, but switch A and B. That way any power on A would be circumvented).
Tracker
Description: A tracker can target a player during the night to learn who they visited during the same night.
Power level: 3
Vanilla Townie
Description: A vanilla townie has no specific powers except being able to vote during the day.
Power level: 1
Vengeful
Description: A vengeful, when voted out, chooses another player to die with them.
Power level: 3
Veteran/Paranoid Gun Owner
Description: A veteran will passively kill any player that targets them during the night.
Power level: 4
Remarks: Veterans can greatly increase the kill count in a game.
Vigilante
Description: A vigilante can target a player during the night to kill them.
Power level: 4
Remarks: A vigilante can greatly increase the average kills per night, thus strongly impacting the length of a game. A common variant is the Day Vigilante, which kills a player during the day.
Watcher
Description: Similar to the tracker, a watcher can target a player during the night and learn who visited them during the same night.
Power level: 5
Remarks: A watcher is one of the most powerful town investigative roles. It’s considered even more powerful than a cop since it is generally easier to predict who Mafia will target than who is Mafia.
Mafia roles
Godfather
Description: A godfather will return the alignment “Town” when investigated by roles that return alignment.
Power level: 4
Goon
Description: The Mafia-aligned equivalent of the Vanilla Townie, a goon can only perform the factional night kill.
Power level: 2
Ninja
Description: If a ninja performs the factional night kill, it will be undetectable by informative roles (like Watchers, Trackers. etc.)
Power level: 3
Role Cop
Description: A role cop can target a player during the night and learn their role name.
Power level: 3
Remarks: They are primarily used in the Mafia to hunt for any power role in the game to be killed on following nights.
Strongman
Description: If a strongman performs the factional night kill, it will bypass any protection on the targeted player.
Power level: 3
Neutral roles
Arsonist
Description: An arsonist can douse a player during the night. They can also ignite during the night, killing all doused players. An arsonist wins when they kill a set number of players.
Remarks: Sometimes an arsonist only wins if they are the last person alive like a serial killer.
Marker
Description: A marker can leave a certain mark on a player during the night. They win when a set number of marked players are alive at any moment.
Remarks: Marks can give additional effects for the marked players or do nothing. Sometimes there is a counter role that can remove the marks.
Serial Killer
Description: A serial killer can target a player during the night and kill them. They win if they are the last person alive in the game.
Remarks: Serial killer is one of the hardest roles to win with, and usually not fun for the player.
Survivor
Description: A survivor wins if they are still alive when the game ends, regardless of which team also wins
Remarks: Since a survivor tends to side with the team that is already winning to end the game quickly, these neutrals often make games more one sided.
Also note that the power level for a role is a general indicator for how powerful it tends to be, though specific game mechanics or other roles in the design can change their usefulness. Finally, many of these roles can also appear in different factions.
Town roles
Bodyguard
Description: A bodyguard can target a player during the night to protect them from a kill attempt. If the targeted player is supposed to be killed, the bodyguard dies instead.
Power level: 2
Bulletproof
Description: A bulletproof player cannot be killed, and is only removed from the game by being voted out.
Power level: 3
Remarks: Bulletproof players often have a limited amount of uses before they run out of protection.
Celebrity
Description: A celebrity can post a command in the thread once per game which will make the moderator publicly announce their Town alignment.
Power level: 2
Remarks: A variant of this role, called Innocent Child, is announced as Town from the beginning of the game.
Commuter
Description: A commuter can choose to become untargetable during the night.
Power level: 4
Remarks: Since a commuter is a very powerful role, a popular variant is the even/odd-night commuter, who only becomes untargetable every other night.
Cop
Description: A cop can target a player during the night to learn their alignment.
Power level: 4
Remarks: Cops are very powerful and its advisable to give limited uses to their power.
Doctor
Description: A doctor can target one player during the night and protect them from a kill attempt.
Power level: 3
Remarks: Beware of the “follow the cop” problem. This arises when Town has a strong investigative power and Mafia no longer has a way to circumvent the doctor’s protection. In this situation the investigative power can out themselves fully, and Mafia has no way to kill them except for killing the unknown doctor first. To prevent this, it is often advisable to add the restriction that a doctor can’t target the same player twice in a row.
Gossip
Description: A gossip can target a player during the night, and invite them to a private chat.
Power level: 2
Remarks: Players invited into a gossip chat often cannot read previous messages sent by other players.
Governor
Description: A governor can stop the current voting in a day phase and choose which player will be voted out instead, automatically ending the day.
Power level: 3
Remarks: This power should only have one use.
Hider
Description: A hider can target a player during the night to hide behind them. While hiding, they cannot be targeted by any role, but if the player they’re hiding behind dies, they die as well.
Power level: 3
Remarks: Since a hider is untargetable, not even killing powers that bypass protections are effective against it.
Jack of All Trades
Description: A jack of all trades has a variety of powers, all with limited uses.
Power level: Varies
Jailer
Description: A jailer is a mixture of roleblocker and doctor, targeting a player during the night, protecting them from kill attempts and stopping them from performing any night actions.
Lightning Rod
Description: A lightning rod can choose to activate his power during the night and attract every night action to them.
Power level: 2
Lovers
Description: Lovers too come in sets of 2. These two players know that each other belongs to Town, and both share a private chat. Additionally, if a lover is killed their partner also dies.
Power level: 2
Remarks: While knowing each other’s alignment and sharing a private chat can be useful, the fact that they die together often means the role ends up being a negative utility role for Town.
Masons
Description: Masons always come in sets of 2. These two players know that each other belongs to Town, and both share a private chat.
Power level: 3
Miller
Description: A miller will return the alignment “Mafia” when investigated by a cop.
Power level: Negative utility
Remarks: While useful for balancing, a miller tends to not be very fun for the player.
Motion Detector
Description: A motion detector can target a player during the night and learn if they targeted or were targeted by another player.
Power level: 3
Roleblocker
Description: A roleblocker can target a player during the night, and stop them from performing any night actions.
Power level: 3
Remarks: Roleblockers are also often Mafia roles.
Switcher/Troublemaker/Bus Driver
Description: A switcher can target 2 players during the night. Every power targeted at player A will move to player B, and every power targeted at player B will move to player A
Power level: 3 as Town, 5 as Mafia
Remarks: While a switcher can also be a Mafia role, this is generally not advisable since it is VERY powerful for Mafia. It enables them to circumvent almost all other powers by doing a “switch kill” every time (If Mafia wants to kill A, they will target the kill at B, but switch A and B. That way any power on A would be circumvented).
Tracker
Description: A tracker can target a player during the night to learn who they visited during the same night.
Power level: 3
Vanilla Townie
Description: A vanilla townie has no specific powers except being able to vote during the day.
Power level: 1
Vengeful
Description: A vengeful, when voted out, chooses another player to die with them.
Power level: 3
Veteran/Paranoid Gun Owner
Description: A veteran will passively kill any player that targets them during the night.
Power level: 4
Remarks: Veterans can greatly increase the kill count in a game.
Vigilante
Description: A vigilante can target a player during the night to kill them.
Power level: 4
Remarks: A vigilante can greatly increase the average kills per night, thus strongly impacting the length of a game. A common variant is the Day Vigilante, which kills a player during the day.
Watcher
Description: Similar to the tracker, a watcher can target a player during the night and learn who visited them during the same night.
Power level: 5
Remarks: A watcher is one of the most powerful town investigative roles. It’s considered even more powerful than a cop since it is generally easier to predict who Mafia will target than who is Mafia.
Mafia roles
Godfather
Description: A godfather will return the alignment “Town” when investigated by roles that return alignment.
Power level: 4
Goon
Description: The Mafia-aligned equivalent of the Vanilla Townie, a goon can only perform the factional night kill.
Power level: 2
Ninja
Description: If a ninja performs the factional night kill, it will be undetectable by informative roles (like Watchers, Trackers. etc.)
Power level: 3
Role Cop
Description: A role cop can target a player during the night and learn their role name.
Power level: 3
Remarks: They are primarily used in the Mafia to hunt for any power role in the game to be killed on following nights.
Strongman
Description: If a strongman performs the factional night kill, it will bypass any protection on the targeted player.
Power level: 3
Neutral roles
Arsonist
Description: An arsonist can douse a player during the night. They can also ignite during the night, killing all doused players. An arsonist wins when they kill a set number of players.
Remarks: Sometimes an arsonist only wins if they are the last person alive like a serial killer.
Marker
Description: A marker can leave a certain mark on a player during the night. They win when a set number of marked players are alive at any moment.
Remarks: Marks can give additional effects for the marked players or do nothing. Sometimes there is a counter role that can remove the marks.
Serial Killer
Description: A serial killer can target a player during the night and kill them. They win if they are the last person alive in the game.
Remarks: Serial killer is one of the hardest roles to win with, and usually not fun for the player.
Survivor
Description: A survivor wins if they are still alive when the game ends, regardless of which team also wins
Remarks: Since a survivor tends to side with the team that is already winning to end the game quickly, these neutrals often make games more one sided.
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