Role of the Week

[Maniacal Engineer]

Role of the Week #1: The Flying Pumpkin That Shoots Laser Beams Out Of Its Ass

Well hello there everybody, and welcome to a brand new feature of The War Room!
In addition to the forthcoming Question of the Week, which will feature questions about game mechanics, meta, and other similar stuff, the War Room Staff has decided it would be a fun idea to have a Role of the Week as well, which would allow us to talk about the various roles. I figured a fun place for us to start would be with my favorite role: The Flying Pumpkin That Shoots Laser Beams Out Of Its Ass. Translation: ME just wanted to make this a thing so that he could write an article about TFPTSLBOOIA.

Spoiler

A relatively obscure role, The Flying Pumpkin That Shoots Laser Beams Out Of Its Ass, or TFPTSLBOOIA, is a role based entirely on luck and probability. It's part Vigilante and part Bulletproof, but both rely on percentages and the RNG to determine whether or not they suc-seed.
The bulletproof portion of the role is a passive ability, that requires no action. It activates every night with a 25% chance of success.
The vigilante portion of the role is an active ability. There are two possible actions that can be sent in.
The first is to Shoot: <player>, which fires a standard kill shot at the specified player with a 75% chance of success across the board.
The second is to Take Aim, which allows the user to shoot the following night with a 100% chance of success against mafiosos, a 25% chance of success against townies, and a 75% chance of success against Indeps.
As such, this role can also be used as a pseudo-Cop check that automatically executes scum. That said, it has the same shortcomings as the Cop role, which is to say that, when taking aim, it considers Godfather to be Town, Miller to be scum, and would be effected by a Framer, if the Framer targeted the same person as TFPTSLBOOIA.
Nonetheless, the role has a lot of versatility, but it is somewhat gimmicky and reliant on luck.

List of notable bmgf games this role has been in:

Fruit Bowl Mafia- The role's first recent use on bmgf was in Molten Eevee's Fruit Bowl Mafia game, which was co-hosted by ME. In a rather ironic twist, the role missed on a 75% chance shot to hit the Serial Killer on Night 1, and hit the Bomb on a 25% chance shot on Night 3, causing both the Bomb and TFPTSLBOOIA to perish, in addition to the NK that phase.

It's All About ME Mafia- The role made its return in the infamous It's All About ME Mafia, hosted by ME and co-hosted, reluctantly, by Zexy. As a bit of trivia, I forgot to add the Bulletproof aspect to the role in this game...oops!

Gameshow Mafia- Most recently, the role showed up in Gameshow Mafia, hosted by Jsach and co-hosted by leetic. Unfortunately, the role did not get a chance to shine that game, since Maniacal Engineer was cruel and killed it, completely by accident, during N1.

Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.

• Do you like or dislike this role? Why?
• How is this role in-game?
• Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for with this role?
• How do you feel about this role balance wise?
• Have you enjoyed this role's representation in TWR?
• If given the power to, would you change anything about this role and if so, what would you change?
• What do you think about percentage or chance based roles in general?

 

[Elieson]

• I. Hate. Roles. With. Percentages.
  • There's already Hookers, Redirectors and Ascetics out there that can prevent things from happening, as well as framers and godfathers that can alter action results. If I, as the player, can't determine why my action failed due to the possibility of another player's role or just because I lost a coin flip, it makes it very very difficult for me to utilize my role as an asset to my alignment.
• In game, it's a crapshoot, because if you're Town with the TFPTSLBOOIA role, you can't assure any kind of contribution or even join in plans that might involve verification of others' roles or even your own.
• I'd probably fakeclaim a horrible Doc slip or something, to take use out of the BPV part of the role, and just ##TakeAim in the hopes that scum fucks up so hard that a shot can't screw up
• Balance wise..it's probably not that bad, though it makes things swingy as heck because to prepare for the worst possible outcomes, you need to assume that RNGrolls are horrible, player role usage is horrible and lynch outcomes are horrible
• I represented this role and all of its glory in the best way possible
• I'd remove the %, obviously. Probably make it a Vig with a BPV, that when it loses one, it loses both.
• F*** percentage roles / chance roles

 

[Zexy]

Do you like or dislike this role? Why?
I like it. It having a funny name is enough
How is this role in-game?
Can be really awesome for town when it works.
Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for with this role?
I never got this role. But since it is just a vigilante variant I'd only try to use it on people that would be good lynches anyway. Taking aim or not is another question, I probably would take aim Night 1 if there weren't any good scumreads so I could definitely hit someone Night 2. well not really in my case since I die n1 a lot
How do you feel about this role balance wise?
It actually is more powerful than it seems (being a funrole) for the town side.
Have you enjoyed this role's representation in TWR?
Of course!
If given the power to, would you change anything about this role and if so, what would you change?
Nope. No one should change TFPTSLBOOIA
What do you think about percentage or chance based roles in general?
They are fun roles that make the game more fun. If a game is stated to be a bit too serious and competitive by the host they should be avoided, though.

 

[Midorikawa]

• Do you like or dislike this role? Why? I think it's cool. It's a unique twist on vig with the possibility of being less harmful than a normal vig.
  
• How is this role in-game? I haven't seen it used in game yet.
  
• Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for with this role? If I got it I would probably use the take aim on scum reads since if they are scum then I'm assured of their death. And if it fails I know that they are most likely town or godfather. Assuming I didn't run into any other issues.
  
• How do you feel about this role balance wise? It depends on the other roles in the game.
  
• Have you enjoyed this role's representation in TWR? Haven't seen it yet really.
  
• If given the power to, would you change anything about this role and if so, what would you change? The amount of shots maybe. It would depend on the other roles and the theme.
  
• What do you think about percentage or chance based roles in general? I think they're a good balancing method so I at times I like them.

 

[TheCapsFan]

• Do you like or dislike this role? Why? TFPTSLBOOIA is a fun role just because of the chaotic nature of the role. TBH I'm surprised it didn't make an appearance in Chaos Mafia II. That being said, a percentage role can be kind of bastard, in a way.
• How is this role in-game? Pretty fun to watch/use, especially when it doesn't go your way
• Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for with this role? Not really. I've never played with the role.
• How do you feel about this role balance wise? A town TFPTSLBOOIA can be very OP, especially when combined with another vigilante-like role. Never seen a mafia TFPTSLBOOIA, there's an idea for ya @Maniacal Engineer
• Have you enjoyed this role's representation in TWR? Absolutely.
• If given the power to, would you change anything about this role and if so, what would you change? I'm not sure that the bulletproof ability does anything...I think it'd be more fun to replace it with a granny, but that's even more bastard.
• What do you think about percentage or chance based roles in general? I mean, it's definitely an interesting mechanic. Not something used in every mafia game.

 

[Maniacal Engineer]

@TheCapsFan how would you suggest a mafia TFPTSLBOOIA work?
Part of the function of TFPTSLBOOIA is a pseudo cop check. Mafia already knows who mafia is, and doesn't want to kill mafia.
Mafia also knows who isn't mafia. Granted, there might be indeps afoot, but still...

I don't think giving mafia TFPTSLBOOIA would work very well, but I'm always opun for suggestions.

 

[TheCapsFan]

@TheCapsFan how would you suggest a mafia TFPTSLBOOIA work?
Part of the function of TFPTSLBOOIA is a pseudo cop check. Mafia already knows who mafia is, and doesn't want to kill mafia.
Mafia also knows who isn't mafia. Granted, there might be indeps afoot, but still...

I don't think giving mafia TFPTSLBOOIA would work very well, but I'm always opun for suggestions.

Well, I suppose you're right. But there's always EiMM. Imagine a TFPTSLBOOIA Lyncher.

 

[Zexy]

@TheCapsFan how would you suggest a mafia TFPTSLBOOIA work?
Part of the function of TFPTSLBOOIA is a pseudo cop check. Mafia already knows who mafia is, and doesn't want to kill mafia.
Mafia also knows who isn't mafia. Granted, there might be indeps afoot, but still...

I don't think giving mafia TFPTSLBOOIA would work very well, but I'm always opun for suggestions.

The only thing I would change is the Take Aim from 100% on mafia 0% on town to the exact opposite.
Mafia wouldn't use it as a pseudo cop check, but rather as extra kills. Extra kills are OP but with an OP town the game can still be balanced.
In that sense, I think it can actually work well as a mafia role. It can also work well as a Serial Killer-like indep role, down to having a partial Bulletproof, just like you said in Discord right now.
yeah we actually talked about this in Discord too I'm only posting it here so that everyone can chime in

 

[ReturnofMCH]

Where's role 2?
I demand an examination of paranoid cop or saulus!

 

[Maniacal Engineer]

Where's role 2?
I demand an examination of paranoid cop or saulus!

Patience, MCH. I posted this when I had time last week, but we haven't quite finalized a schedule or a specific update time yet.

 

[Maniacal Engineer]

Role of the Week #2: Clockmaker

This week, I decided to focus on another obscure role, namely the Clockmaker.

Spoiler

The Clockmaker is a quirky role that is Independent by necessity. Much like a Serial Killer, the Clockmaker gets a factional kill. Unlike the standard Serial Killer, the Clockmaker is a role based on numbers.
The Clockmaker's watch starts at 9. Depending on who the Clockmaker kills, the hour on his watch will go up or down by a fixed amount. The Clockmaker automatically wins when his clock strikes 12, but also automatically loses if his clock strikes 6.
In addition, the Clockmaker gets a form of Deathproof (sometimes just a BPV) if his clock strikes 11.

List of notable bmgf games this role has been in:

Doctor Floptopus's Totally Bastard UK Politics Mafia-Style Game - In this game, I received the role, which had been modified a bit by Flop. I did not have a standard factional kill, but rather had the option to kill using one of the items I was holding. Much like the standard Clockmaker, the faction of the person I killed dictated how much my clock changed by, but unlike a standard Clockmaker, I had other actions I could use that increased or decreased my clock, as well. I ended up striking 12, and blowing up the entire thread. Good times!
Overall, I would say that I really liked this role, and I want to see it more often. Don't be surprised if the Clockmaker appears in a future ME game!

Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.

• Do you like or dislike this role? Why?
• How is this role in-game?
• Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for with this role?
• How do you feel about this role balance wise?
• Have you enjoyed this role's representation in TWR?
• If given the power to, would you change anything about this role and if so, what would you change?
• Would you like to see this role more often on bmgf?
• What do you think of Independent roles in mafia games?

 

[ReturnofMCH]

oh boy, two bastard roles in a row!

 

[Doctor Floptopus]

Oh boy oh boy oh boy
I love the clockmaker. It's really cool to work with.
It's very much like an SK, but requiring extra thought.
As a clockmaker, you actually have to scumhunt. If you kill the wrong person, it can be game over. That means that the clockmaker makes a genuine contribution to the thread.
I think it's a little harder to balance than an SK, but by no means impossible.
I loved the representation in TWR, as it was in what was objectively the best game of the season I'd like to see it more.
I wouldn't know what to change, though I liked my Maniacal variant.
I like indeps, they shake up the game a little.

 

[Maniacal Engineer]

I actually think that Clockmaker is preferable to a Serial Killer because his win con is achievable under most circumstances.
I have yet to see a SK emerge victorious in any of the games I've participated in, hosted, or read through.
That's not to say that it's impossible, mind you, I'm sure if has happened before and I just didn't read that game.
Still, it's very difficult to be the last person standing, and town and mafia win cons have to be worded correctly to avoid no win situations for the Serial Killer. This is entirely avoidable with Clockmaker, because he doesn't have to be the last person standing, though that is one of his possible wincons. More often than not, Clockmaker will win by making his clock strike 12 which, as Flop says, requires actual scumhunting/participation in the thread.
The only possible downside I can see is that maybe Clockmaker's wincon is too easy, but I have only seen one performance by a Clockmaker, and that was ME.

Like I said, don't be surprised if I throw this role into my games in the future.

 

[Zexy]

oh boy, two bastard roles in a row!

Neither of the two is generally considered bastard. No info hidden, no alignment conversions and so on... Percentages and strange third-party win conditions aren't considered bastard by most people.

Anyways, onwards to the actual questions about the Clockmaker.

Do you like or dislike this role? Why?
Yes. Interesting third-party roles are always cool.
How is this role in-game?
I think it is balanced and interesting to play as.
Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for with this role?
I'd just try to scumhunt normally and pick kills accordingly to make that clock hit 12.
How do you feel about this role balance wise?
I think it is good as the player who gets it tries to keep balance up so they can win.
Have you enjoyed this role's representation in TWR?
It didn't have much of a representation (the game it was used was non-mafia) so I am neutral towards this.
If given the power to, would you change anything about this role and if so, what would you change?
Perhaps a variant that makes it a bit harder to win.
Would you like to see this role more often on bmgf?
Definitely.
What do you think of Independent roles in mafia games?
They are spicing things up so I like them.

 

[Elieson]

Role of the Week #2: Clockmaker

This week, I decided to focus on another obscure role, namely the Clockmaker.

• Do you like or dislike this role? Why?
• How is this role in-game?
• Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for with this role?
• How do you feel about this role balance wise?
• Have you enjoyed this role's representation in TWR?
• If given the power to, would you change anything about this role and if so, what would you change?
• Would you like to see this role more often on bmgf?
• What do you think of Independent roles in mafia games?

Conceptually speaking, the Clockmaker is unique because of it's varied wincon, and I absolutely love Third-Party wincons that are not standard "Survive" or "Wolf" wincons.
In a game, this role requires careful play, as it's a secondary killing role that forces you to be exceptionally aware of who you're killing and why. I've only ever seen clockmakers that come with a secondary role of "Time Scanner", which allows them to kill one person and see if killing another person will be beneficial/detrimental to their Wincon.
Sadly, I haven't read the game here that it was included in, so I can't comment, but of the times I have seen it involved, it usually performed rather decently. It craves weaker setups, as the role itself gives little to work with the rest of the game in. With a 2nd kill, town automatically needs to be more powerful to accomodate, so most Clockmakers get role variants (usually self-protection) to skate through. Otherwise, they're basically a Survivor that desperately needs to Vig correctly, rather than an SK that can just kill on their own.

 

[Zexy]

Role of the Week #3: Cop

Hello, everyone, this is Zexy! This week we should focus on a role so common and simple yet one whose strategies have been discussed heavily over the years, just because it appears so much and is very important for the success of the town:

Spoiler

The Cop is a town role which picks a target each night phase and learns the target’s alignment (town, mafia or independent) at the end of the night phase. There exist variations of this such as Cop which can only act on odd/even nights, a limited amount of times, or the infamous sanities, in which the Cop may receive a wrong result depending on their sanity, which they have to figure out. A Backup Cop (also called Deputy) appears from time to time as well, so that town doesn’t lose this power quickly, even if the original player with the role dies.

List of notable games this role has been in: I believe we should pass this part because almost all games have it.

A standard strategy revolving the Cop, which is especially used on games with few power roles and no outside chat which are thus extremely cop-centric, is called “seer cover” (because of the role’s name as Seer in Werewolf communities) or “hypo claiming” (hypothetical claiming). In this strategy, every player in the game claims cop alongside their targets and results. This serves two purposes: letting the cop out their checks freely in the thread without standing out, and confusing the mafia into killing someone who is not the cop just because their checks looked accurate. In some cases, getting someone killed because they hypo claimed correctly is enough to clear players the killed person has fake checked as town even if they never were really checked. This is commonly known as “seer hunt clear” (SHC).

Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.

• Do you like or dislike this role? Why?
• How is this role in-game?
• Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for with this role?
• How do you feel about this role balance wise?
• Have you enjoyed this role's representation in TWR?
• If given the power to, would you change anything about this role and if so, what would you change?
• Would you like to see this role more/less often on bmgf?
• Do you think this role goes against the notion that town should figure mafia out through their own scumhunting?
• Do you believe this role has been in the spotlight so much that most mafia games are over-centralized around it?
• What do you think of sanities and hypo claiming?

 

[Elieson]

• It's so...standard! BORING! Necessary!
• It's decent and typical..most players expect it, because it's usually there somehow
• Totally claim miller as a cop, just to get reactions, then scan to your heart's content
• Balance wise...one cop for every four Non-Town in a game seems fair to me.
• NO! It totally got me to lose in the only game I was ever mafia in! jk yea it's totally fine
• Uhh change nothing. It's so standard, that variants are bound to occur naturally out of Dev curiosity. Limited uses, post restrictions and the like make being a cop more interesting though IMO.
• It already exists in most games, so I guess it JUST BELONGS IN MAFIA
• It totally helps the players feel out the game. Based on what roles are claimed/flipped, a cop and other townies can dissect the general balance of the game and feel out scum for what it might have
• Simply put, newer players may feel this way but I and others should play as if the cop is gonna just die before it outs any relevant information anyway
• BOO NORMAL YAY SANITY FLUXUATION....Just, indicate that sanities *MAY VARY* and that's the only disclaimer you need!~!

 

[Elieson]

Well it's about time we gave this a shot!

Role of the Week #4: Housekeeper

Conceptualized role by Elieson

Spoiler

The Housekeeper is a multipurpose role, adding slightly more value to a standard doctor by giving it a simple investigative modifier. A Housekeeper can visit their target and function as a traditional doctor, but also includes the ability to determine if their target is "home" or not. It's effectively a doc with a weakened follower applied to it. This gives the Housekeeper multiple uses, as their information can help verify bits of information that would lead to confirm claims. This of course, demands that the game's setup and balance be built to accommodate this combined protection w/ info role.

It's not yet been run on Bulbagarden, so there is little to read into through on-paper results.

This role's powers lie in its dual functionality, obviously. While they have the ability to protect, they can also learn if their target is visiting another player, letting the doc have a bit of info to share in the event that a Tracker, Watcher, Follower or Cop (or Jack) is incapacitated or unable to share results through other means. Including this role probably means that a Ninja might exist, and vice versa; a Ninja could assume that this type of role could exist in the game. It's helpful to match claims with claims, and allows the doctor to announce that they're an information-type role as long as they remain ambiguous about it, and leaves them to be susceptible to the dangers of being a PR; being roleblocked or flat-out KO'd with fear priority by anti-town.

Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.

• Do you like or dislike this role? Why?
• How would you see this role in-game?
• Are there any interesting strategies you would use for with this role?
• How do you feel about this role balance wise?
• Would you consider adding this role to one of your games?
• If given the power to, would you change anything about this role and if so, what would you change?
• Would you like to see this role on bmgf?
• Do you think this role is too powerful on paper?
• A Variant of this role would be to have the housekeeper function as a doc if their target is not acting, or an investigative role if their target is acting (acting as in, visiting somebody). Would you prefer seeing this?

 

[Maniacal Engineer]

Announcement: As demonstrated by Elieson, above, anybody who wishes to write an RotW blurb may do so.
We only ask that you observe the following two rules regarding this.
1. Please let TWR mods know that you are interested and which role you would like to write about. This allows us to develop a schedule and prevents people from posting willy nilly, as well as allows us to avoid repeats.
2. Before posting the blurb in the thread, please send a draft to me for proofreading. It's always good to have another pair of eyes look something over before publishing it, and I have OCD.

Now, to actually get to the topic at hand. I actually find the concept of the Housekeeper role to be interesting. I would definitely like to see this role on bmgf in practice, as opposed to just looking at the concept "on paper."
I see the potential for this to be a ridiculously OP role for town to have, but it is interesting for the protective role to actually gain an informational result, and I laugh at the mental image of the Housekeeper fending off the mafia or SK with a broom or mop.