Might as well add the roles I've used over the years:

TOWNSPERSON - The average, ordinary townsperson. Their limited powers include the power of persuasion, power of intellect (clue interpretation), and power of the vote.
Option: DODGE! Townies in this game are granted the power of "dodge". To use it, they must PM me at night. They will dodge one hit placed on them that night and escape death. This power may only be used (x times) per game.
Option: DODGE/SAVE! Townies (not special roles) in this game are granted the power of "dodge/save". To use it, they must PM me at night. They will dodge one hit placed on them that night and escape death OR prevent one hit placed on another player. This power may only be used (x times) per game.

THE AVENGER - At the start of the game, the Avenger chooses (x) people that he would - bet you didn't see this coming - would kill for. Whenever one of these people dies (by lynch or by hit) and is NOT in the mafia, the Avenger gains one hit on the following night for use on a target of his choice.
The Avenger has two night lives. If he loses one, he may sacrifice his second night life for an additional hit to avenge himself, killing both himself and his murderer.

BELL RINGER - May end day permaturely at any time by posting so in the topic or PMing me. All votes placed after he rings the bell are discounted. The vote count is left as is and the current leader is lynched. He may only use this power once per game.

BROADCAST -- Broadcasts messages anonymously by PMing the host. He may make one communication per day, which appears with the day post. This communication will be limited to 200 characters, a limit which may not be circumvented via links. (IE, a link to some previous posts in the topic is OK, but linking to a .TXT with more clue interpretations is not.)
Broadcast has two night lives.

BOONDOCK SAINT - Vigilante(s) aligned with the town who gets to kill one person each night based on their own personal suspicions.
Option: The Boondock Saint(s) may not strike until the (X)th night.
Option: For balance, there may be multiple Boondock Saints sharing one hit. In such a case, the Boondock Saints will know who their partner is.

DEATH PACT - Two players that die together. They can only be killed at night if they are BOTH hit in the same night. However, if one of them is lynched, the other one dies automatically.
Option: The Death Pact may or may not know who the other member in the pact is.

DIRECTOR - Each night, the Director may redirect someone's power on to a new target. They select a person who they believe will be using a power and if their power has a target, it becomes redirected towards any player of his choice. He may redirect powers to himself.

DETECTIVE - Each and every night, the detective gets to investigate one player and they learn of that person's alignment and role. The trick is persuading others in their votes when they learn of special role holders.
Option: When a detective is killed, their investigations may be revealed. (This proved to be a bad idea.)

DETECTIVE v2 - Each and every night, the Detective makes an "investigation" of some sort. He may choose either of the following:
1. Learn their target's alignment and role. Their trick is then persuading others to vote the way they should.
2. Ask me how many mafia voted for X on any given day. This power may not be used on a mayoral election.

DOCTOR - Each and every night, the doctor may save one person from death. Should someone attack that person, the doctor will keep them alive. Doctors may protect each other, but may not protect themselves. The mafia may target the same person multiple times to get a kill regardless of a Doctor's protection (ie, kill, save, kill).

ELDER - The Elder wields additional influence on the votes of the town. He is an otherwise normal townie that gets to make a second anonymous vote each day by PMing me. When day ends, the final list of votes will be given with the included Elder votes and the lynching story.

GUILE - The Guile may rig the votes at the end of any one day against a player of his choice. He may only use his power once. If he kills a mafia, he remains unrevealed, is forgiven, and continues as a normal townie. If he kills a townsperson, he is discovered and lynched. If the Pardoner pardons the Guile's target, nothing happens and the Guile may use his power again. He may not use this power for the mayoral election.

ILLUMINATOR - Allows discussion during the night (unlocks the topic.) He may only use this power (x times) per game by PMing me.
Note: Role is only applicable when the mafia topic is closed during the night.

MAD SCIENTIST - During the night, the Mad Scientist switches roles with a player of his choice. If he chooses a mafia, he is killed. That player becomes the new Mad Scientist, who may then reuse the power on anyone but the player who switched with him.

MASOCHIST - The Masochist cannot be killed by any amount of hits at night. However, after the Masochist is hit once, he develops a taste for pain that he cannot live without. Once that happens, he will commit suicide and die automatically on any following night that he is NOT hit.

MAYOR - The mayor is elected at the start of the game to "lead" the town. Any player may be elected mayor, including mafia and other special roles. He gains the following powers:
- Additional voting weight during the day varying on number of votes alive. (his normal 1 vote +10% of total potential votes, rounded up)
- May declare EITHER two (2) days of "double lynchings" OR one (1) day of "triple lynching".
- Protection of bodyguards (because his role isn't hidden, making him a target). So long as one or more bodyguards are alive, the mayor may not be targetted at night. (However, he can always be lynched.) If not obvious, he gains the benefits of knowing the identities of his bodyguards (less Mafia suspects).
- Powers can vary from game to game.

BODYGUARD - The bodyguard(s) are randomly selected from normal townspersons after a mayor is elected. So long as at least one bodyguard is alive, the mayor may not be targetted at night. They also gain the benefits of knowing who the other bodyguard(s) are (less Mafia suspects).

MEAT SHIELD - The Meat Shield has two lives.
Option: If he is hit and a Doctor is saving him, he has two options: Reveal roles to each other, but lose a life, or the Doctor will save his second life.
Option: If he is attacked by a lynched Psycho during Day, he will survive with one life and be revealed.

PARALYZER - Cancels P mafia hits for one night, where P is equal to the number of night when this power is used. He may only use this power once per game.

PARDONER - The Pardoner can prevent the lynching of one person after votes are tallied. He may only use this power (x times) per game, done so anonymously by PMing me.

PSYCHO - If the Psycho is lynched by the town, he gets to take a player of his choice with him to the grave. If the Psycho is attacked by the mafia, the Psycho dies but the mafia member is "injured", and cannot attack the next night.
Option: If the Psycho is attacked by the mafia, the Psycho dies and kills the mafia member with him. This option is generally considered imbalanced/unfair.

RADIOACTIVE - Has SEVEN (7) night lives.
He may spend one life per night, if he so chooses, to do one of the following:
- Kill another player.
- Inflict two players with radiation sickness. Their powers are cancelled for the night.
He may not spend his last life to use a power.
He also loses one life at the start of each day. (in addition to the lives spent on powers) This loss of a life cannot be prevented by any other roles. This means that he eventually must slip away. Tragic, better work fast!
Option: If he is attacked by a lynched Psycho during Day, he will survive and be revealed.

REAPER - The Reaper may, at night, kill off any person who had (x) or more votes placed on him during the day. He may use this power (x times) per game and may not use his power on a mayoral election.
Option: The number of votes can be a set number, percentage of the vote, or he can pick from the top (x) players with the highest votes.

REGENERATOR - The Regenerator can only by killed by two or more hits. Think of it as him having a Doctor protecting him at all times. If Doctor(s) are protecting him, then three or more hits may be needed to take out the Regenerator.
Option: If he is attacked by a lynched Psycho during Day, he will survive and be revealed.

SAVIOR - When the Savior is still alive, he may sacrifice and kill himself to revive (x) players of his choice, who will return to the town the next day.
Option: The Savior may not use his power until day x.
Option: If the Savior is killed before he can make his sacrifice, he may instead save himself. When he saves himself, he loses his sacrificial powers and otherwise functions as a normal townsperson.

SHAPESHIFTER - At the start of each day, the Shapeshifter is assigned one random role and uses their powers as applicable during that day or during the following night. Restrictions, if any are applicable to the role he accquires still. (ex, he cannot save himself if he gets Doctor.)
Powers that Shapeshifters will be able to obtain this game are: (insert roles)

SPONGE - If the Sponge is killed during the night, he "soaks up" all the hits for that night. Specifically, every hit placed that night is automatically redirected to the Sponge. Does not affect other roles.
Option: Can redirect only Mafia hits or ALL hits, including those of other special roles.

THEORETICAL PHYSICIST - Spends the first (x) day/night cycles constructing a time machine. After this, he may reverse time ONE FULL DAY/NIGHT CYCLE. Everything that happened in this time period is undone, except the time machine itself. Mind erasure is also not performed. This may only be used once per game.
Note: This role is hilarious.

VILLAGE IDIOT - The Village Idiot is technically town-aligned, but wants to get himself lynched through a vote. Should the village idiot succeed, he is awarded (x) minerals. (if enabled, otherwise he does it for the lulz.)
Option: May have extra night lives to better get himself killed by the town before the mafia.

ZOMBIE - The night after a Zombie dies (by any method), he may rise from the grave to kill one person of his choice. He may ONLY use this power the night immediately after he dies. Use of the power is optional, and the Zombie will be revealed as a normal Townsperson until AFTER he uses (or chooses not to use) his power.

---

There were, of course, more, but all of those saw actual gameplay or at least mention in the stock of roles to be drawn from at some point. There were a bunch of decent ones in the role brainstorm topic on Maplantis and some I've never revealed.

( ... Now I feel like running Mafia again...)

Is there any actual incentive for the meat shield to reveal his role to the doctor?

Just the normal incentive that comes with any two roles knowing each other. Otherwise, the doctor has no idea who he's saving. Remember that confirmed roles from the host are a pretty big deal.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Oct 14 2010, 3:23 am by Mini Moose 2707.

Hmm, with the way that recent mafia games are being run, role claims and knowing the roles of other townies are almost taken for granted. It begs the question of whether or not that type of gameplay is actually considered "ethical". Might be interesting to have more game mechanics that incorporate mutual role-revealing things.

Indeed, I've done my best to make sure that no confirmed roles could come from outside sources other than the host when given by the roles. I haven't seen much public role bluffing by any mafia, but would like it remain a viable option.

Reviving this thread since I need some feedback on these roles, which will most likely be the set used for Mafia #6. Some changes were made since last time, so make sure to read through them again.

CREWMEMBER - Your average seafaring crewmember of the pirate ship; the crewmember, aside from maintaining the functions of the ship, also participate in the political hierarchy of the ship politics, although to a very limited extent.

• Vote - The average crewmember will be able to participate in the ship's daily voting process, and will have say equivalent to one vote. The person who receives the most votes by the end of the day shall walk the plank and plunge into the depths of the sea. This applies to every role listed, unless specified otherwise.
  
• Power: Visit - At night, the crewmember may visit the chamber of one other shipmate, and will know if that person has left his room, as well as the identity of anyone who visits him. This will not prevent the crewmember from night hits, however; if the targeted person is attacked, you shall die along with him, and be unable to identify the aggressor. Counts as a visiting action.
  
• Power: Dodge - The crewmember may slip out of his chamber and hide as nightfall approaches; protecting himself from all hits that night. May be used only once per week, to avoid the captain's punishment for hiding below deck outside his room. Counts as an evasion action.
  
• Power: Sacrifice - The crewmember may indulge in a large ration of rum as a preparation for a last stand; if he is visited that night, he shall clasp the visitor with his last breath in a dead man's vice; choking the attacker as he perishes. If no one visits him, the heavy dose of alcohol will leave the seaman expired in his bunk the next morning, having breathed his last gasp of air while intoxicated in his room.
  

CAPTAIN - The Captain of the ship, responsible for keeping the ship together. As the captain is quite paranoid about security, he orders the Quartermaster to stand guard outside his door at night. As long as at least one quartermaster is alive and shows up to work, the captain cannot be hit.

• Vote - The Captain's apparent policy for running the ship is that of equality, and so he only contributes one vote during the democratic process.
  
• Power: Coercion - However, the Captain still runs the ship, and the crewmembers understand his position as the captain. One subtle stare during the voting process, and he will have instilled enough fear in the mind of any crewmember to sway them into changing their vote to match that of the captain's. May be used once per day.
  
• Power: Slice-'n'-dice - If the captain's vote fails to go through, he may invoke the power to exterminate the infidel whom he voted for anyways, slashing with his pair of broadswords in a brilliant display of authority, reminding the ship members who the boss around here is. May be used only once throughout the course of the voyage, as excessive violence only brews mistrust.
  

MASTER - The Master-at-arms is the chief enforcer of discipline on the rough seas. He has four non-regenerating night lives, and cannot be lynched. If he receives plurality vote for lynching, his role is revealed instead, and he is spared the lynching rope the first round. If he is again lynched, he shall walk the plank anyways. He has a variety of night powers, one of which may be used every night.

• Power: Execution - The Master-at-arms of the ship may take matters into his own hands, and lurk at night to track one crewmember. If the crewmember is seen leaving his room or post (evasion/visiting action), the master eliminates the offending individual with his rapier, finding their alignment and role in the process. If said member does not leave his room, the master will leave the member alone. Counts as a visiting action.
  
• Power: Protect - The Master-at-arms of the ship may take matters into his own hands, and lurk at night to defend one crewmember. If the crewmember is attacked by another, the master shall intervene and take the hit for the crewmember whom he chose to defend. The face of the aggressor will become imbued in the mind of the master as he takes the hit. Counts as a visiting action.
  
• Power: Ambush - The Master-at-arms of the ship may remain in his room and meditate as he concentrates on self-preservation. If anyone visits the master at night, his attack will succeed, but the master will execute the intruder with his blade on the spot, even if he perishes from the attack.
  

QUARTERMASTER - The quartermaster of the ship is responsible for navigation amongst other duties, but most importantly guard the captain from traitors who may have their minds on the captain's life. He has only one night life, but through usage of his powers, he may extend his livelihood further.

• Power: Guard - The quartermaster shall absorb one hit during the night that this power is used. This power will no longer be usable after it successfully absorbs one hit.
  
• Power: Evade - The quartermaster shall dodge one hit during the night that this power is used, by failing to show up to his post. The captain, however, will be left in a vulnerable position for that night. Counts as an evasion action.
  
• Power: Protect - The quartermaster shall intervene and prevent one hit placed on another crewmember during the night that this power is used, if his target is attacked. This will, however, cause the quartermaster to fail to show up to his post. The captain will be left in a vulnerable position for that night. Counts as a visiting action.
  

BUCCANEER - The gun-wielding pirate of the high seas, the buccaneer is loyal to the captain, but his bloodlust fuels his urge to kill at night, ally or foe.

• Power: Shadow - Visiting another chamber of the ship, the buccaneer will use his rifle to dispose of one crewmember at night. Counts as a visiting action.
  
• Power: Snipe - Waiting in his own room, the buccaneer watches the ship deck for activity, and disposes of any member who decides to visit the buccaneer that night.
  

SWASHBUCKLER - The elegant sword-wielding member of the ship, the swashbuckler carries a reputation of self-righteousness.

• Passive: Swordsmanship Mastery - Every night, the swashbuckler is able to deflect a hit placed on him with his rapier and cutlass, nullifying the damage and stunning and disorienting the attacker, causing him to fail all night actions for the subsequent night. If he is attacked by multiple opponents at night, he will be slain if two successful hits are placed, but the debuff will still apply to every person who targets him.
  
• Power: Vengeance - If the swashbuckler is lynched, he shall draw his dual blades in a fit of rage and eliminate the first person who voted for him during that very same day.
  
• Power: Ghost Hath No Fury - Commits one person to memory during the night. If said person votes to lynch the swashbuckler during the day at any point, he becomes the nemesis of the swashbuckler, even if he changes his vote later. If he eventually dies of lynching, any person marked through this method shall be slain by the ghost of the swashbuckler the following night.
  

DOCTOR - The doctor of the pirate navy, they are essential members who provide medication to crewmembers, but most importantly, provide first-aid in case of an emergency. Without a doctor, the crew can only survive one additional week, after which the traitors may declare mutiny with ease.

• Power: Aid - Protects one other crewmember from a night hit of any nature, including damage inflicted by self-defense powers of another character. Counts as a visiting action, but does not trigger self-defense.
  
• Power: Reinforcement - Adds one temporary night life to a target of the doctor's choice, but will not protect him from a night hit if it occurs on the same day. This night life will protect the doctor's target from one night hit on the following day. Counts as a visiting action, but does not trigger self-defense.
  

BOATSWAIN - The night watchman for the ship's deck, the boatswain will be able to passively observe the actions of one crewmember every night and know whom he visits.

• Power: Surveillance - Tracks one target of his choice and gains knowledge about whom that person visits during that night.
  
• Power: Supervision - Tracks one target of his choice and gains knowledge about who visits that person during that night.
  

CHAPLAIN - The purveyor of faith on the ship, the chaplain provides religious nourishment for those in need, but also has the reputation of providing long and repetitive religious speeches. Out of respect for the scriptures, no one dares interrupt or leave his oratory sessions once they start.

• Power: Preach - By visiting the room of one crewmember, the chaplain provides an overnight religious rejuvenation speech to the shipmate, rendering him bored out of his mind and unable to perform any night actions scheduled for the night. Counts as a visiting action.
  
• Power: Sermon - By visiting the room of one crewmember, the chaplain provides an overnight slow and epic reading of religious text to the targeted shipmate, causing him to fall asleep immediately. The targeted member will be unable to show up to the day meeting the following day, and cannot vote to lynch or be lynched. Counts as a visiting action.
  *Attempting to read a sermon to the agnostic captain of the ship will result in a cruel and painful death that very same night.
  

TRAITOR - Tired of the captain's command of the ship, the traitors have secretly armed themselves with plundered weaponry and plan for an eventual mutiny, but they are far too outnumbered for such a bold revolt to work as of the moment.

• Power: Assassination - Visiting another chamber of the ship, the traitor inflicts judgment on that crewmember. Counts as a visiting action.
  
• Power: Elimination - Visiting another chamber of the ship, the traitor inflicts guaranteed judgment on that crewmember, dealing a strike thrice as deadly as normal. This traitor will be unable to use any night actions for the following two nights, however. Counts as a visiting action.
  
• Power: Interception - Anticipating the escape of one crew member, the traitor lies in wait and successfully ambush him, if and only if the target used an evasion action for that turn.
  Power: Mutiny - Is invoked during the day when traitors outnumber other crewsmen. A revolt occurs, and the traitors take control of the ship, leading to traitor victory.
  

SABOTEUR - An explosives expert sided with the traitors, the saboteur can use his knowledge of demolition to wreck havoc aboard the ship.

• Passive: Mutual Assured Destruction - The saboteur carries explosives with him constantly, and any attempts to kill him at night will result in an unfortunate and deadly blast that takes the lives of both the saboteur and his visitors.
  
• Power: Sabotage - The saboteur visits another chamber of the ship, and sets off a light explosive in that room. The room will need to be repaired the following night, and the person who is targeted by this will be unable to use night actions the following night. Counts as a visiting action, but does not trigger self-defense.
  
• Power: Mutiny - Is invoked during the day when traitors outnumber other crewsmen. A revolt occurs, and the traitors take control of the ship, leading to traitor victory.
  

SPY - An ordinary seaman working for the traitors, the spy has extraordinary perceptive powers inherited from his espionage aboard merchant ships. By spending a night investigating another crew member, he gains sufficient information to deduce their role aboard the ship.

• Power: Investigation - Visiting another chamber of the ship discreetly, the spy will investivate the member in question and find out his exact role. Counts as a visiting action, but does not trigger self-defense.
  
• Power: Follow - Shadows a member of the crew and gains complete knowledge about the nature and targets of his night actions. Counts as a visiting action, but does not trigger self-defense.
  
• Power: Mutiny - Is invoked during the day when traitors outnumber other crewsmen. A revolt occurs, and the traitors take control of the ship, leading to traitor victory.
  

I aimed for having as few bad roles as possible, so that every person gets his fair share at influencing the game in a manner other than voting, but I am unsure of the balance that this will have (since someone who predicts the actions of his enemies perfectly cannot die). Any thoughts on how I could tweak the powers or add additional roles?

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Oct 30 2010, 1:45 pm by Aristocrat.

Keep it simple

It's a crap load of power roles, but if you have the balance figured out, there's no need to modify it.

I hate to burst any bubbles, but over-complication is the sign of a bad designer. I wouldn't sign up for that mafia game due to the insane amount of complicated roles. Why do you think it was so hard for people to make good SC1 RPG maps? New(bie) developers tend to think that tons of content equals fun, when in actuality simple design can be much, much more fun than complication. In short, fun stems from good design -that of which is independent from content quantity for the most part.

I prefer about 3-5 different roles, as the turnout of people seems to be about 25. More than that and roles start losing significance, balance becomes a major issue, and design flaws creep into and ruin the game.

It's not over-complicated, the function of every role is straightforward. I wouldn't want to play Mafia if every game only had 3 to 5 roles, it'd be boring and monotonous. Leeroy's Mafia was a good change of pace from the more complicated scenarios, but having every game be simplified would be as tiring as if every game was complex, if not more so. Diversity is something that is beneficial to gameplay.

I think the best Mafia game so far was Roy's, which not only had 18 roles, but would have been even better if enough people had signed up for him to incorporate all 22 intended roles. The opinion you've presented could easily be used to argue that StarCraft is an over-complicated game from bad designers. I mean the only units you really need are marines, zerglings, and zealots, any unit after that is unnecessary and makes every unit lose significance.

Quantity does not necessitate a reduction in quality, and a "complex" scenario can easily be fun and engaging.

Edit: @Aristo, I would suggest giving the Swashbuckler two non-regenerating night lives instead of one, since there's both Mafia and Vig to worry about, plus he's only useful if lynched, and his power seems to be designed to make him more of a long-term role. It would be unfortunate for that to go to waste on the first night because of a stray Vig hit.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Oct 29 2010, 3:53 pm by Azrael.Wrath.

I've given the Swashbuckler a peculiar night power. I wonder if that will be buffing the role too much.

The regenerating night life is a nice touch. That debuff makes him a wicked badass though Will the person that attempted to hit him be aware that their next night action will fail (thus informing them who they attacked)?

_{Because Ninja'd is so simple, does that mean it's the best kind of mafia?}

No, they will not be informed; the subsequent night action will simply whiff.

That could result in some pretty epic situations

Mafia #1: "Damn guys, I've been trying to kill this guy all game! He must be protected!"
Mafia #2: "Alright, I'll help you out this time."

Mafia #2: "Damn, what the hell? He still didn't die?"
Mafia #3: "Screw him, this time I'll help too!"
Mafia #1: "Yeah! We got him this time!"

Mafia #1:
Mafia #2:
Mafia #3:
Mafia #1: Okay, let's try again.

Question: Would Sabotage interfere with this passive? Also, would it stop you from committing someone to memory?

Passives cannot be disabled, but since committing someone to memory is a night action, it would be prevented through Sabotage, since the swashbuckler will be preoccupied.

Quote from name:Azrael.Wrath

Mafia #1: "Damn guys, I've been trying to kill this guy all game! He must be protected!"
Mafia #2: "Alright, I'll help you out this time."

Mafia #2: "Damn, what the hell? He still didn't die?"
Mafia #3: "Screw him, this time I'll help too!"
Mafia #1: "Yeah! We got him this time!"

Mafia #1:
Mafia #2:
Mafia #3:
Mafia #1: Okay, let's try again.

I laughed so hard at this that you have no idea...

JEDI - (INSERT description here)
Power (Passive): Force Push - Once each night, a random visitor intending to go to this Jedi will not visit said Jedi, nor will any powers used by that person will work on this Jedi. (I.e., If I am Mafia and I try to kill Player 1, the Jedi, his Force Push will prevent me from doing so.)
Power (Active): Deflect - If used, Force Push becomes nullified for the night. Deflects one hit that would kill the Jedi towards another person of his choosing. Deflect can only be used once.

Overlord- He is mafia aligned. He has the power to manipulate people's actions against their will.
Power: Geass - The Overlord may visit one person and order them to do any of the following against their will: Hit, Save, Suicide(+Other actions that may be included) . This power may only be used one per person.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Nov 4 2010, 11:48 pm by ImagoDeo.

More of a gameplay than a role creation, but:



And other role variations can also go there, but the general gist is two different games that are connected by the Traveler/Visitors.