Town of Salem – Mafia guide & tips

 So, you got tired of always being a goody two-shoes? Well, why help the Town when you can destroy it? How to do it? Well it’s easy! Join the local Mafia and the Godfather will teach you what to do in no time! Don’t worry about the money, because it’s FREE!

How do I win?

 You have to kill all your enemies (Town members, Coven members, Neutral Killings, Vampires and the Plaguebearer/Pestilence) and have at least 1 Mafia member still alive.

Who can help me? Who can I team with?

 When the game starts, there can be up to 4 Mafia members, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find some other people willing to help.

 Here is a list of possible teammates:

• the Witch will usually team with you, unless they can find a stronger team of Neutrals; if you find a Witch (or they find you) and want to team with you, it is a good idea to tell them who else is part of the Mafia, so they won’t accidentally kill them (remember that in Coven games there is no Witch);
• the Jester wants to get lynched; if you find a Jester (either because they posted a will that you know for a fact is wrong, or they just act strange, or maybe the Consigliere/Blackmailer found them), you can ask them to vote with you and promise them they will get lynched; don’t bother killing a Jester, as there are more important targets;
• the Executioner wants their target lynched, so promise them help with that if they vote with you; after they got their target lynched, they can team with whoever they want;
• the Pirate can duel a person each night; the dueled person will be roleblocked and, if the Pirate won the duel, killed; they want to win 2 duels, and after that, just like the Executioner, they can side with whoever they want; you can get rid of them if you don’t want to risk letting them side with the Town;
• the Survivor wants to live; ask them for help or, if it seems necessary, threaten them you will attack them if they don’t cooperate;
• the Guardian Angel has a target they have to keep alive; failing to do so will turn them into a Survivor; if their target dies, they usually still help the team of their target (if they had one); it is really good if their target is a Mafia member or another Neutral that can team with you;
• the Amnesiac can remember the roles of death people, with some restrictions; ask them to remember either Mafia or another Neutral that can help you; if you are scared that the Amnesiac might remember something that would affect your chances of winning (such as Pestilence, Arsonist), you might want to get rid of them before they have the chance;

What do I do? How do I use my role?

 If you are Mafia Killing (Godfather, Mafioso, Ambusher) then you can kill other at night. All Mafia Killing roles are unique, so there can’t be more than one of each in any game.

 The Godfather and the Mafioso can both choose a target at night. The Mafioso will attack the Godfather’s target. If the Godfather is roleblocked, the Mafioso will attack the target they selected. If the Mafioso is roleblocked, the Godfather will attack the target they selected. If there are both a Mafioso and a Godfather and the Godfather dies, the Mafioso will become a Godfather.

 The Ambusher can wait at a house (but not his house or the house of any Mafia member). He will attack a random visitor, but all visitors will learn his name. A Medium or a Retributionist can be a great threat. If there is no Mafioso and no Godfather you will become a Mafioso.

 After all Mafia Killing are dead, a random Mafia member will become Mafioso.

 As Mafia Deception (Disguiser, Forger, Framer, Janitor, Hypnotist) you cause confusion by hiding or changing information.

 The Janitor can clean people. Cleaned people have their will and role hidden after they die and, if they were Town, can’t be revived by a Retributionist. Janitors can see the role and will of whoever they cleaned. They usually clean whoever will get attacked by the Mafia that night, but they can also clean someone else if they wish.

 The Forger can change the will of a person (the fake will will show only after they die). This can be used to give the Town fake information or just to hide it (by erasing the will and not writing anything on the fake).

 The Framer has the ability to frame people, making the Sheriff find them as suspicious and the Investigator to find them as Framer/Vampire/Jester/Hex Master.

 The Disguiser can disguise as a person each night. If an Investigator investigates a disguised Disguiser, they will get the results that correspond to the person the Disguiser disguised as. If a Disguiser dies the night they disguised or the next day, they will show as the role they disguised as. Retributionists can attempt to revive a disguised Disguiser, but they won’t succeed. If an Amnesiac tries to remember a disguised Disguiser, they will remember Disguiser.

 The Hypnotist can make a player see a message each night. This can be used to “confirm” a Mafia member as a Town member or to manipulate the Town.

 As a Mafia Support (Consigliere, Consort, Blackmailer) you support your fellow Mafia.

 The Consigliere will check a person and learn their role, being like a better Investigator (but those that are doused will show up as Arsonist and those that are hexed as Hex Master).

 The Consort acts just like an Escort, stopping people from using their night abilities.

 The Blackmailer can read all whispers, gaining a lot of information for the Mafia. He can also blackmail people, stopping them from talking the next day (it is advised not to use this ability, at least not early in the game, as it will alert others about the existence of a Blackmailer).

 How do I stay alive?

 First thing first, you must have a claim and a will ready at any moment. If someone accuses you things like “I’m inno.” or “That’s exe.” will NOT save you. You need a proper claim and will. If you haven’t claimed yet you could even have multiple claims and wills ready. You might be tempted to claim something that would fit in your Investigator results, but you should just claim what you want (especially if there is no Investigator). Investigator is a good claim for a Consigliere, and Escort is a good claim for Consort, since they fit in their Investigator results and their abilities match. Beware if there is a Spy, as they can show that the people that you visited were also visited by the Mafia in the exact same order. If you want to claim Investigator as a Consigliere with a Spy alive you might want to mix the order of the results you got and add some other results. Claiming Survivor (especially if you are Godfather) is also an idea, as most people will leave you alone (it worked for me in most cases; the only time it failed so far was when an Executioner that won the second day and was still believed by the Town randomly accused me the third day and got me killed). Posing as an Executioner (usually one that won) is a dangerous idea, as you’ll most likely get lynched or killed by the Jailor, but it might buy you some time. Acting like a Jester is a terrible idea, since if the Jailor won’t kill you a Vigilante most likely will, especially if they want to confirm themselves. If you plan to claim Spy (which is the best idea for a Blackmailer, but can also be done by other Mafia members too) then you might not want to give the exact Mafia visits (because this might get them killed) as long as there are no real Spies.

 Another thing essential for survival and victory is teamwork. You must communicate at night to make a plan for that night and for the next day. You might want to “confirm” each other, or sacrifice a member so another one will seem “confirmed”. You might also want to discuss as fast as possible about what roles you will claim, because having 4 Veteran claims is not something that will help you.

 Don’t stay too silent. Silent people seem way more suspicious than those that talk.

 Remember to counter claim (or cc for short). If you want to claim a role and someone else claims it (or a role from the same alignment), you either cc them or change your fake claim. Why? Well, if somebody claims Doctor and there are no Doctor/ Town Protective ccs, and after 4 days you come out saying you’re a Doctor you will look really suspicious.

 Other things worth mentioning

 Sometimes, you die. Maybe the Town figured out you were evil, maybe another evil got you, maybe you were randomly killed because sometimes it is like that. Don’t out Mafia members in your will (or death note), don’t out them to a Medium and don’t even mention who they are even if there seems to be no Medium. You never know when a Retributionist decides to bring back a dead person.

 Your main targets are the Town, Coven and Vampires. Ignore Neutral Evils and Neutral Benigns (except for Amnesiacs, which can be a threat if they choose to). If you somehow find a Juggernaut that didn’t got his second kill (and basic defense) yet, strike them down while you still can. Pirates can be a friend or a foe, depending on what they choose to do after winning, but they are a threat while they are alive and seeking targets; you might want to kill them, as they are usually too big of a risk to be kept alive. If you find someone with defense, out them in the death note (as they are usually a Neutral Killing or another evil that’s against you).

 Don’t leave just because you don’t like your role. Your team needs you.

 Don’t be (too) salty. Everyone loses and makes mistakes every now and then. Don’t go raging at your teammates. Please don’t.
                                                                          

 Well, that's about it. Now go and destroy an entire Town! What? Not interested in joining the Mafia? In that case, maybe you will be more interested in the Coven. But we will talk about that in another article. Until then stay safe and have fun!