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An Introduction To Mafia


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EWB Mafia Resources:

This is a reference thread for mafia players. Are you running a game and looking for inspiration for your roles? Take a look at the 'Roles' section below. Are you playing a game and you've forgotten what the generic name of your character is? Do likewise. Has somebody said 'That's WIFOM, you idiot!' to you? There's an explanation below.

SECTIONS:

  • Introduction
  • Glossary
  • Roles
  • Explanation of WIFOM
  • Common Logical Fallacies in Mafia (by TEOL)
  • External Resources and Links
  • Version Change List


    ***********************************

    INTRODUCTION:

    Mafia is a game of glorious, glorious deceit. In its most basic form, it features a group of ‘town-aligned’ players attempting to determine the mafia amongst them. The town players have no information as to the identities of the other players, but the mafia know who their colleagues are. A vital precept of mafia is that all conversation must take place within the game thread, excepting the mafia.

    The game progresses in two phases. During the ‘Day’ phase, town players have the aim of working out who the mafia are and can each vote for a lynch (or for a No Lynch that will move the game to the next phase.) When one player receives a majority of votes they are removed from the game and the moderator reveals what their character name is. However, the mafia players may be covertly working to manipulate this lynch.

    During the ‘Night’ phase, the mafia will select one player that they wish to kill. They will be removed from the game and their role revealed. Usually, there will be other night abilities that can be used during this period – see the section below.

    The game progresses this way until one side achieves its victory condition. The town players have to remove every remaining mafioso and other anti-town player. The mafia have to arrive at a day period with at least equal numbers to the remaining town players. There may be other, independent characters with specific win conditions.

    This Flash gives a good explanation of the game:

    An Introduction to Mafia....in Flash!


    ***********************************

    GLOSSARY:

    Basics:

    Ability: Your power or ability. If you’re an investigator or a protector, this is an ability.

    Alignment: Your grouping, which usually determines your win condition.

    Role: Your ‘role,’ in themed games, is usually your character name, rather than your ability. It’s ‘Bender’ rather than ‘Bender, Bad-Ass Vigilante, Town-Aligned.’ In un-themed games, you don’t typically have an actual character name, so your role refers to your ability. Be aware: this isn’t a cast-iron definition. Sometimes your character, ability and alignment are collectively referred to as your role.

    Scum: This is a generic term for any anti-town player. Mafia players and individuals are both referred to as ‘scum.’

    Town: This is the term for the friendly majority in the game, the ‘good guys.’

    Others:

    Bandwagon: This is when the players of a game rapidly pile votes onto another player with little discussion or justification. If someone says ‘hey, Player X is pretty bad, let’s vote for him’ and then multiple people reply with ‘Yeah, I agree with that – Vote: X,’ then that’s a bandwagon. Not every rapid lynch is a bandwagon – for example, if an investigator reveals a scum result, then other players will often quickly vote to lynch that player. This isn’t a true bandwagon.

    Endgame: The last day or two of a game when, depending on circumstances, at least one side can achieve victory at any point.

    Fake-claim: A false role-claim, usually attempted by a scum player.

    Gimmick-post: A post in the style of the character your role is based on.

    Hammer-vote: The final vote cast against a player that seals a lynch.

    Meta-gaming: This is any attempt to use facts from outside the game to draw conclusions inside the game. For example, if a moderator is know to favour or dislike a particular role, it may seem likely that that role will be included/omitted. If you know that a certain player has been inactive on the board and a crucial ability goes unused, you might conclude that this is the player that has that ability.

    Modkill: When a player is removed from the game by the mod due to breaking the rules.

    Power Role: Any player/character with an ability (anybody other than a Vanilla townie.)

    Role-claim: When a player claims to have a particular character or ability e.g. ‘I am the investigator' or 'I'm Diamond Dallas Page.'

    Safe-claim: In themed games, the moderator may attempt to protect the scum from a town-induced ‘mass role-claim.’ They may provide the Don with a believable character name that is not present in the game and is thus safe for a scum player to claim.

    Tell: A (subjective) sign that a certain player might be scum. For example, a scum player might attempt to use WIFOM logic (see below) to defend himself. Another common tell is revealing information that only the scum could know in an attempt to ‘help’ the town – ‘I’m pretty sure the mafia will be 5 people, guys.’ The term can also be used for other roles, e.g. Investigator Tells.

    Traditional Mafia: A term coined by TEOL as the name for his series of back-to-basics games. It can be used to describe generally un-themed games with few power roles and lots of vanilla townies.

    Vote-hopping: When a player is seen to be frequently voting for different players in the same day period. It’s a common scum tell.

    WIFOM: See separate section below.

    ***********************************

    ROLES:

    Warning: The names attributed to these roles aren’t all commonly used on EWB, even though the roles themselves are. I’ve included the EWB-familiar names where possible, but some roles (e.g. the ‘Senator’ – a player with a double vote) don’t have a recognisable name.

    Usually Town-Aligned Roles:

    Bus Driver - This player has the ability to re-direct whatever powers that target a specific player onto another, and vice versa. For example, if one player is targeted for investigation and another with a night-kill, the abilities will instead be used on the other player. Since it’s often difficult to predict what powers will target a player, this role can often be counter-productive to the town.

    Cop/Investigator – This player has the ability to discover the role of another player. There are quite a few variations. Sometimes, they will only receive the character name, rather than the alignment (or vice versa.) Sometimes the mod will give a clue, rather than explicitly stating anything. Sometimes, the information is not entirely accurate:
    • The Insane Cop will receive results that are the opposite of the truth. Scum players will be described as Town-aligned and Town-aligned players as scum.
    • The Paranoid Cop will always believe anyone investigated to be scum.
    • The Naïve Cop will believe anyone investigated to be Town-aligned.
    • The Tracker will learn who their subject targets (but not with what action.)
    • The Watcher will learn who their subject is targeted by (but, again, not with what action.)
    • The Reporter will learn whether their target is ‘out’ at night (has used a night ability.)


      Doctor/Protector – This player has the ability to protect another player from night-kills. Sometimes, they may also protect that player from other abilities. There are variations:
      • The Quack will not actually protect the targeted player, their role PM is lying.
      • The Insane Doctor has a fixed chance of killing the intended target instead of protecting them.
      • The Paranoid Doctor/Jailkeeper roleblocks the target as well as protecting them.
      • The Weak Doctor will die if he protects a scum player.
      • The Bodyguard will die themselves if the player they protect is attacked.


        Governor/Attorney – This player is able to prevent another player being lynched. Sometimes, this is a one-time ability and requires the Governor to post something in the thread (e.g. Save: Player X) and sometimes it requires the Governor to target a single player each night and protect them from lynching the following day.

        Lie Detector – This player can quote one post each evening and send it to the moderator. They will then be informed whether it is ‘True’ or a ‘Lie.’ Sometimes this can lead to ambiguity if there are multiple statements in the post – this is treated differently by each mod.

        Masons – These are players that are mentioned in each other’s role PMs and are allowed to converse outside the thread. Sometimes, there might be a Mafia Mason – a mafia player included in a group and ostensibly ‘cleared.’ Siblings and Lovers (see below) are sometimes Masons too.

        Mayors - Mayors are occasionally an elected position and occasionally appointed by the moderator pre-game as part of their role. They typically receive some kind of bonus, like a double vote (particularly if elected) and some kind of protection. Usually the intention is to provide a ‘confirmed townie’ to manage discussion, but moderators have been known to include a ‘corrupt mayor’ – either part of the mafia or, more commonly, an individual.

        Miller – This player is Town-aligned, but will be shown as scum when investigated. Sometimes this will involve a new rolename that suits the scum alignment, sometimes it will not. Alternatively, the Miller will appear as Individually-Aligned. Sometimes the player will not be informed of this disability.
        • One variation means that the Miller will appear as Scum, even after death. This is controversial amongst some players as it casts doubt over one of the few pieces of information the Town can traditionally rely upon.


          Paranoid Gun Owner – This player will kill anyone who targets them with a night ability, regardless of alignment. Sometimes this is a one-shot ability and is referred to as an Army Veteran. Obviously, this can be a very damaging role to the town as potentially useful characters like protectors and doctors can be killed.

          Priest – This player cannot cast the final vote in a lynch (a much larger disability at the end of the game than at the beginning where individual votes are more significant.) Alternatively, there is the Actor, who can only cast the final vote on someone.

          Psychiatrist – This player has the objective of seeking out the Serial Killer, so is only included in games that feature one. Each night, they target another player. If that player is the SK, they will be ‘cured’ and converted to the Town (usually as a Vanilla Townie.)

          Senator – This player has a double vote. This usually becomes obvious once a few day periods have elapsed.

          Siblings/Lovers – These are linked characters, typically with the proviso that if one dies, the other will too. Most commonly, one character is town-aligned and one is scum. Sometimes, the death of one character will cause some other kind of change to the survivor – e.g. a change in ability or alignment. There are variations in the information the Siblings have:
          • Sometimes the Siblings aren’t aware that they have a partner at all.
          • Sometimes the Siblings are informed that they have partner, but not what alignment they are (particularly with Town/Mafia Siblings.)
          • Sometimes the Siblings are informed of which player is their partner (Masons.)

          Vanilla Townie – This player has no abilities.

          Vigilante – This player has a killing ability, but is town-aligned. Sometimes this can be done every night, sometimes it’s a one-off power. The killing ability can sometimes be used during the day ('day-vig') – this is usually a one-time only ability and requires posting a prompt in the thread (e.g. Day-Kill: Player X.)

          Individual-Aligned or ‘Either Alignment Equally’ Roles:

          Bomb – This player will also kill the player that kills him. In the case of a night-kill, the person targeting them will die too. In the case of a lynch, the last player to cast a vote against them will also die. Alternatively, a random player who voted for the Bomb will die.

          Bulletproof – This player is immune to night-kills. Sometimes, this may be specified – e.g. immune to mafia kills, but not to SK or vigilante kills. This ability may also be given a fixed number of uses.

          Jester – This player has the sole winning condition of being lynched. Usually, this requires some kind of post restriction so that it isn’t too easy to achieve. When the Jester dies, they are usually proclaimed winner or co-winner and the game progresses as normal to resolve the other winners.

          Politician – This player can determine who another player votes for. Each night, they PM the moderator and they will relay to the target who they must vote for. Usually, the target is forbidden from revealing that their vote has been dictated to them.

          Serial Killer – This player is individually aligned and has a night-kill. Their objective is to be the sole survivor, so it is notoriously difficult to win as a SK.

          Survivor – This player is individually aligned and is able to win with either alignment. Sometimes, there might be limits to this (e.g. can win with the SK/Indy but not Town or Mafia, or can win with Mafia/Cult but not Town.) They may or may not have other abilities to aid this.

          Unlynchable – This player cannot be lynched. Frequently, this is an ability given to the Mafia Godfather with provisions – a limited number of uses, or active so long as at least one Goon is alive.

          Usually Mafia-Aligned Roles:

          Conman - This player has the ability to disguise the role of another played in case they are investigated. There are, as always, variations on this role:

          [*]Sometimes the Conman can specify an entire role name, description and alignment.

          [*]Sometimes they will only force that player to appear as scum if investigated without altering their role.

          [*]Sometimes the target and the Conman will exchange roles, so the Conman is also given investigation protection.

          [*]Sometimes the con will cause the target's alignment to be falsely revealed if they are lynched whilst conned (similar to a Death Miller.)

          Godfather – This player is the leader of the Mafia Group and in charge of dictating the night-kill. They are frequently given some form of protection.

          [*] They may appear as Town-aligned upon investigation

          [*] They may be immune to night kills (indefinitely or in a fixed number of cases.)

          [*] They may be immune to death in any form until a specified one (or all) of their goons are dead.

          [*] They may be given a safe-claim.

          Goon - This player is a henchman of the Mafia Don. Sometimes they may possess individual powers, particularly a Roleblocker or Conman - see below. In some games, the Don is required to specify one of the Goons to perform the night kill. This player will be unable to use any other abilities and is subject to any Tracker/Role-blocker abilities that might be directed at him. Some games also specify an order of seniority that dictates which players will take over as the Don in the event that he dies.

          Roleblocker – This player prevents their target from using any night-abilities they may have. This role can quite often be town-aligned in larger games where the mafia may have more individual powers above and beyond the standard night kill.

          Cults:

          Cults are a group separate from the Town and Mafia that are infrequently included. They involve one or two original members attempting to recruit other players into their group, changing their alignment to their own. Through this mechanism they attempt to outnumber the town and mafia and achieve a victory. Sometimes, they will have the specific requirement to eliminate the mafia before they’ve won the game.

          The recruitment method varies. Sometimes, there is a specific member who is responsible for attempting to recruit other members. If this player dies, the cult is no longer able to recruit players. Alternatively, the cult leader specifies one of the members to perform the attempted recruitment each evening. Sometimes, there are certain players who cannot be recruited – scum players being the most common, individuals and protectors being less common. Usually, attempting to recruit a scum player results in the death of the cultist attempting it.

          The policy on whether players retain their abilities after conversion varies as well – usually these are removed and all recruited cultists are ‘vanilla.’ Allowing turned cultists to retain their powers can lead to a massive balancing issue – something already a problem with cults as their influence can be wildly variable and cannot be predicted by the mod when setting up the game.

          Communication between the cult changes from game to game too. Sometimes, particularly when a cult leader and separate recruiter are present, the recruiter’s identity is unknown to the rest of the group – the leader PMs the mod and receives feedback, but he doesn’t know which player is necessary to permit him to recruit. The equivalent when a recruiter is not present is that the cult leader cannot communicate with the cultists outside the thread. This may be enforced with a stated '50% chance of conversion' condition - the cult leader can't risk breaking the rules in case he outs himself to a townie. These are methods of controlling the potential influence of the cult. If the recruiter/leader is known, they can often be protected by the numbers of the cult. Allowing the cultists to inadvertently contribute to the lynch of one of their own is a balancing measure.

          ***********************************

          WIFOM (Wine In Front Of Me)

          "All right: where is the poison? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we both drink, and find out who is right and who is dead."

          "But it's so simple. All I have to do is divine from what I know of you. Are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own goblet, or his enemy's?"

          -The Princess Bride

          This is a scene that’s used to describe a common logical mistake sometimes seen in mafia games – that the mafia will always do the obvious, predictable and most scummy thing; that they will never attempt to use any subtlety or mis-direction. For example, if you’re playing a game where one player strongly accuses another and then ends up dying the following night, is it set in stone that the player he accused is mafia? Similarly, if the accuser doesn’t die, is that proof that the person he accused isn’t mafia? No, because the mafia will sometimes do something that’s not the obvious play to try and give themselves some townie credibility.

          Unfortunately, and for some bizarre reason, the actual wine situation from the film is not a good example of this concept, but it deserves to be explained anyway. The quote describes a situation where there are two people and two goblets and they’re to drink one each. One of the people has poisoned a goblet in secret and the other person will decide which one each of them drinks.

          On the face of this, it’s a simple 50-50 decision and you have nothing to base your decision on. But what happens if the poisoner pushes one goblet forwards and says ‘Drink this one, this is the one that’s unpoisoned, you’re stupid if you pick the other one’? If you know something about the personality of the other person, maybe you can make a decision about what they’d do. Would they physically push the poisoned goblet towards you or not? Would they try and persuade you to take the poisoned goblet or use reverse psychology?

          The reason this isn’t a good example of what’s come to be known as WIFOM logic is that the poisoner/scum player is given a choice between two identical options (left goblet or right goblet, it doesn't really matter which.) Remembering the accused/accuser argument from above, the mafia has a clear incentive to pick one option (killing the accuser) over the other and they rely upon this assumption to ‘clear’ themselves when that supposedly obvious play doesn’t materialise.

          Here’s a practical example of a WIFOM situation:

          Imagine you’re a football/soccer player that takes your team’s penalty kicks. You’re extremely successful at them and are generally known for playing the vast majority of penalties to your favoured side (the left, if you’re right-footed) since they’re almost un-saveable. Do you always direct every single penalty to that side for maximum chances of scoring, or do you occasionally place one in the other direction to stop goalkeepers being able to plan for your strike?

          And another, lifted from Mafia Scum:

          When chasing down a dangerous criminal, a policeman comes to a fork in the road. To the left is a dark alleyway where the criminal would have a moderate chance of escaping (even if the cop correctly follows him that direction). To the right is a well-lit boulevard where the criminal would surely be caught. The policeman doesn't know which way the criminal went. If he guesses wrong, the criminal will easily make a clean getaway.

          ***********************************

          COMMON LOGICAL FALLACIES IN MAFIA:

          by TEOL, with plenty of help from MafiaScum.net

          There are a few reasons why I enjoy (and consider myself good at) Mafia: I enjoy a good argument is the primary one. I do a lot of research into the history and theory of Mafia is another. At my uni I'm a philosophy major, so I'm trained in picking up false arguments and demonstrating why they're wrong. With that in mind, I thought I'd come in here and share my thoughts on some of the most common fallacious arguments associated with Mafia.

          Anyone really interested can go to Wikipedia or something and look through some of the more generic logical fallacies that have been identified, but I plan mostly to stick to Mafia specific ones because I want this to be of immediate use and really don't want it to be a lecture. <_<

          *****

          7for7

          An argument first identified and named on MafiaScum. I think here on EWB it's actually so common we barely notice it, but since a clear example that I was immediately involved in springs to mind, I'll quote it here:

          Vote: TheRossWalker
          Why?
          I doubt TEOL's vote is baseless.

          Vote: Ross

          Well, that's until we hear what's going on.

          (emphasis added)

          A 7for7 argument states that a player's previous track record or believed ability means that their word should not be questioned. It was first named after a player who would vote for people and when asked why would simply state "Hey, I'm 7 for 7 in catching scum, that's SKILL". When the town finally (and reluctantly) went along with the lynch, it turned out the target in question was, in fact, town.

          In the example above, although I did have very good reasons for voting Ross (as I would go into a couple of posts later), I hadn't bothered to explain them yet. MEG's vote actually indicated his scumminess - he knew that Ross was really scum and was using the 7for7 excuse to jump on the bandwagon while avoiding suspicion.

          The problem with 7for7 arguments is that, contrary to the example just given, they are most often made by players who are genuinely Town-aligned. They are also often made by inexperienced players who are happy to go "Well, GoGo's survived more games than anyone, I should just go along with him if I'm not sure what to do". But of course, it's entirely possible that the experienced player is scum.

          No player can use their track record in place of a logical argument - if the player is really as good as all that, they should be able to explain exactly why they find the player in question suspicious. Likewise, a logical argument should not be rejected simply because it comes from a player perceived as inexperienced or unskilled. The argument itself is all that needs to be analysed.

          *****

          Gambler's Fallacy

          One of the all time classics. The Gambler's Fallacy applies to many, many aspects of logic, the best known example of course being "I flipped this coin ten times now and it came up tails every time, it MUST come up heads next time" when, of course, the actual probability of it coming up heads is still fifty-fifty.

          In Mafia, it most commonly comes up in two ways: either a) Player A says "I've been Scum in the last few games I've been in, so you know I'm Town this time around", or b) Player B says "Player A has been Town in the last few games I've seen him in, I think he's Scum this time around".

          It's fairly easy both to see why people fall into the trap of using the Gambler's Fallacy and why it is false. Faced with the information that the probability of getting ten tails in a row is 1/1024, it's easy to see why people might say that it's unlikely for it to come up tails next time. But just imagine if that was so. Cricket captains would use 'loaded' coins, flipped over and over until they came up either heads or tails enough times in a row, then handed to the umpire before the game, knowing which result was more likely...

          All Mafia games should be approached completely independent of all previous events. There is always one factor about a game that you don't know coming in; who has what role. Without this fairly simple piece of information, it is impossible to accurately predict anything that happens within the game. While the instinct is to latch on to apparently useful information, this only decreases your chances of making a rational argument.

          *****

          OMGUS

          One of Mafia's all-time most popular fallacies, the OMGUS (or Oh My God You Suck) argument has been seen in many, many games and can be used by more or less anyone. It gained its name at Grey Labyrinth, the most ancient and venerable original home of internet Mafia, where it was first seen in its most literal form:

          Ryoushi: I am going to Vote: Purgation because I don't like any of the other bandwagons.

          Purgation: OMG, you suck. Vote Ryoushi.

          Ryoushi: I didn't expect that kind of response, though...

          Indeed, no one ever does. An OMGUS vote is one that simply responds to another vote without any other information attached to it and is often the first fallacy that inexperienced players latch on to (not least because of the habit of experienced players to randomly lynch off people they aren't familiar with).

          Why is it a fallacy? Technically speaking, it isn't, because of course it isn't an argument at all. The goal of an OMGUS vote, whether made by a townie or a scummy, is to put the person who made the original vote on the defensive. It gives no reasons as to why the vote is incorrect; it shifts the burden of proof back to the original person, and really just indicates that the accused doesn't have an argument ready to hand, either because they're inexperienced or they're really Scum. More solid forms of this, such as vague "I know my role is important to the town, so anyone trying to lynch me must be Scum" claims, also fall under the heading of OMGUS.

          Fight back against OMGUS by explaining and justifying your reasons for the original vote as clearly as you can; this should expose the lack of argument on the other side. Anyone willing to cast OMGUS votes is probably at the very least a little too trigger happy, and should probably be euthanised even if they're pro-Town.

          *****

          Too Townie

          An evil, despicable little argument that has torn many a solid Town front apart and allowed the Mafia a foothold in games they would have been destroyed in otherwise. The argument gains its name from an instance on MafiaScum, where a player named Atticus stated "I voted PJ, pretty much for being way too townie."

          The Too Townie argument is another good example of an 'argument' that, in reality, is no argument at all. "You are so townie you must be scum" does not make sense. Yes, it can be very appealing, and certainly scummies can try to appear townie, but if someone is playing a really strong pro-Town game, the fact is they are most likely to be doing it because they are, in fact, really Town.

          Another good way to fight against the Too Townie argument is simply to point out that if it was true, then its reverse would also be true: one could say of a player "You are so scummy you must be town". But this is more obviously nonsensical. No one should have to defend themselves against playing as a Townie.

          This argument does not apply if you can demonstrate exactly what the ulterior, scummy motive behind their actions could be. It refers to when the 'too townieness' of the player is the ONLY reason given for suspecting them. This just leads to the town lynching players who are helping them and is only really justified by WIFOMing it, i.e. "they clearly are only playing town to make us think they're town".

          ***********************************

          EXTERNAL RESOURCES AND LINKS:

          Mafia Scum Wiki - this is a wiki run by a large mafia community that contains many details about the game.

          Mafia Scum Tools - A tool to allow people running games to randomly assign roles.

          ***********************************

          VERSION CHANGE LIST:

          v1.1:

          [*]Added: TEOL's 'Common Logical Fallacies in Mafia' section

          [*]Alphabetised Role Section

          [*]Added: Bus-Driver (Role)

          [*]Added: Mayor (Role)

          [*]Added: Meta-Gaming (Glossary)

          [*]Added: Penalty Analogy (WIFOM section)

          ***********************************

          -Written by -A-/The Judge and TEOL. Created on 20th October 2008. Updated Last: 9th January 2009.

      [*]If you were the criminal, which way would you go?

      [*]If you were the policeman, which way would you guess the criminal went?

Edited by Rabid Wolverine
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OK, this post is a work in progress. If anybody has any suggestions for characters/terms that I've missed, or if I've made a mistake, let me know and I'll make the changes. If anybody has a suggestion for something that'd be useful to have included, let me know. If you want to write a section of your own, you can be immortalised in Game Cube history with appropriate credit.

I've had a bit of trouble deciding whether to make it any kind of 'newbie guide' or not. I decided to include explanations of even the most basic terms, but not to try and write any kind of 'how to play mafia' guide. If anyone else thinks it's necessary to include, say so.

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http://adv-random-gen.sourceforge.net/rand...mafia/index.php

Forget silly random.org, this is where you want to be for role generation. Passed to me by Zan himself, and from me to...anyone who knew about it and asked me for the link. Slashes role generation time by...wow, heaps.

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I would say that although you get a lot of town roleblockers, it's more traditionally seen as a scum ability because it's so much more useful to the Mafia than to the town. Town roleblockers are overpowered (IF they work against the Mafia, which not all of them do - any role that prevents the Mafia's nightkill needs SERIOUS work to make it balance, which roleblockers usually don't have) and even then, they usually end up spending the game accidentally blocking more useful roles like cops and doctors. Roleblocker is one of the few roles that is of a tangible advantage to the Mafia, since they can use it to work against the town's power roles. You get so many town roleblockers IMO due solely to the EWB tendency to give powers to every damn role in the game, regardless of how many roles there are or whether it would fit (which, surprisingly enough, is why I prefer traditional games <_<).

Ultimately, that's one of the problems with this entire thread - it relies on typical Mafia scenarios, or traditional Mafia games, or the sort of games you'll find on mafiascum, but it isn't much use when you take into account EWB's bastardised approach.

Edited by The Evil Overlord
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Also:

Miller – This player is Town-aligned, but will be shown as scum when investigated. Sometimes this will involve a new rolename that suits the scum alignment, sometimes it will not. Alternatively, the Miller will appear as Individually-Aligned. Sometimes the player will not be informed of this disability.

  • One variation means that the Miller will appear as Scum, even after death. This is shit.

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Yeah, there's always going to be a subjective element to which roles are more likely to go which way. I only really included roleblockers as a Mafia-aligned role because otherwise there wouldn't be that many in there (and because almost every scum group tends to have one.)

Likewise for the names. It's hardly vital that people actually start using the MafiaScum names, but at least we do have defined terms for things like Siblings, which'd otherwise be described in a more general, rambling way. Now we can just say 'Siblings' or 'Death Miller' and people are aware what you're talking about and that it's an accepted role. Similarly for roles like the 'Paranoid Cop' which we'd always end up describing in a roundabout way that makes it seem less common than it is.

TEOL: Death millers are shit. Let me have my fun, I gave you and TradMaf a shout-out!

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Yeah, there's always going to be a subjective element to which roles are more likely to go which way. I only really included roleblockers as a Mafia-aligned role because otherwise there wouldn't be that many in there (and because almost every scum group tends to have one.)

Likewise for the names. It's hardly vital that people actually start using the MafiaScum names, but at least we do have defined terms for things like Siblings, which'd otherwise be described in a more general, rambling way. Now we can just say 'Siblings' or 'Death Miller' and people are aware what you're talking about and that it's an accepted role. Similarly for roles like the 'Paranoid Cop' which we'd always end up describing in a roundabout way that makes it seem less common than it is.

TEOL: Death millers are shit. Let me have my fun, I gave you and TradMaf a shout-out!

I'm not really disputing the point, I just think something that's intended to teach new players should be a little more neutral (hence the Wikipedia reference).

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That's probably fair enough. I've edited it to include a bit more information about why it's criticised:#

... This is controversial amongst some players as it casts doubt over one of the few pieces of information the Town can traditionally rely upon.
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See, if this was Wikipedia, I'd put that little [who?] tag by "some players". I don't like Death Millers, but I don't hate them either.

In fact, like Pesci says, I think they can be useful for balancing out games that would otherwise be "k im cop x is scum".

Edited by The Evil Overlord
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I somewhat agree with Pesci and TEOL. But of course, this only applies if the town has lots of power. More often than not around here, they do, but in those rare games where they do not? Fuck death millers.

All that said, I have included a death miller in a game I have run (Mafia: The Drinking Game), but that game did have a very high-powered town AND that Death Miller was immune to night kills (when sober.) So I felt like it was ultimately balanced out.

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  • 2 months later...

Common Logical Fallacies in Mafia

by TEOL, with plenty of help from MafiaScum.net

There are a few reasons why I enjoy (and consider myself good at) Mafia: I enjoy a good argument is the primary one. I do a lot of research into the history and theory of Mafia is another. At my uni I'm a philosophy major, so I'm trained in picking up false arguments and demonstrating why they're wrong. With that in mind, I thought I'd come in here and share my thoughts on some of the most common fallacious arguments associated with Mafia.

Anyone really interested can go to Wikipedia or something and look through some of the more generic logical fallacies that have been identified, but I plan mostly to stick to Mafia specific ones because I want this to be of immediate use and really don't want it to be a lecture. <_<

*****

7for7

An argument first identified and named on MafiaScum. I think here on EWB it's actually so common we barely notice it, but since a clear example that I was immediately involved in springs to mind, I'll quote it here:

Vote: TheRossWalker
Why?
I doubt TEOL's vote is baseless.

Vote: Ross

Well, that's until we hear what's going on.

(emphasis added)

A 7for7 argument states that a player's previous track record or believed ability means that their word should not be questioned. It was first named after a player who would vote for people and when asked why would simply state "Hey, I'm 7 for 7 in catching scum, that's SKILL". When the town finally (and reluctantly) went along with the lynch, it turned out the target in question was, in fact, town.

In the example above, although I did have very good reasons for voting Ross (as I would go into a couple of posts later), I hadn't bothered to explain them yet. MEG's vote actually indicated his scumminess - he knew that Ross was really scum and was using the 7for7 excuse to jump on the bandwagon while avoiding suspicion.

The problem with 7for7 arguments is that, contrary to the example just given, they are most often made by players who are genuinely Town-aligned. They are also often made by inexperienced players who are happy to go "Well, GoGo's survived more games than anyone, I should just go along with him if I'm not sure what to do". But of course, it's entirely possible that the experienced player is scum.

No player can use their track record in place of a logical argument - if the player is really as good as all that, they should be able to explain exactly why they find the player in question suspicious. Likewise, a logical argument should not be rejected simply because it comes from a player perceived as inexperienced or unskilled. The argument itself is all that needs to be analysed.

*****

Gambler's Fallacy

One of the all time classics. The Gambler's Fallacy applies to many, many aspects of logic, the best known example of course being "I flipped this coin ten times now and it came up tails every time, it MUST come up heads next time" when, of course, the actual probability of it coming up heads is still fifty-fifty.

In Mafia, it most commonly comes up in two ways: either a) Player A says "I've been Scum in the last few games I've been in, so you know I'm Town this time around", or b) Player B says "Player A has been Town in the last few games I've seen him in, I think he's Scum this time around".

It's fairly easy both to see why people fall into the trap of using the Gambler's Fallacy and why it is false. Faced with the information that the probability of getting ten tails in a row is 1/1024, it's easy to see why people might say that it's unlikely for it to come up tails next time. But just imagine if that was so. Cricket captains would use 'loaded' coins, flipped over and over until they came up either heads or tails enough times in a row, then handed to the umpire before the game, knowing which result was more likely...

All Mafia games should be approached completely independent of all previous events. There is always one factor about a game that you don't know coming in; who has what role. Without this fairly simple piece of information, it is impossible to accurately predict anything that happens within the game. While the instinct is to latch on to apparently useful information, this only decreases your chances of making a rational argument.

*****

OMGUS

One of Mafia's all-time most popular fallacies, the OMGUS (or Oh My God You Suck) argument has been seen in many, many games and can be used by more or less anyone. It gained its name at Grey Labyrinth, the most ancient and venerable original home of internet Mafia, where it was first seen in its most literal form:

Ryoushi: I am going to Vote: Purgation because I don't like any of the other bandwagons.

Purgation: OMG, you suck. Vote Ryoushi.

Ryoushi: I didn't expect that kind of response, though...

Indeed, no one ever does. An OMGUS vote is one that simply responds to another vote without any other information attached to it and is often the first fallacy that inexperienced players latch on to (not least because of the habit of experienced players to randomly lynch off people they aren't familiar with).

Why is it a fallacy? Technically speaking, it isn't, because of course it isn't an argument at all. The goal of an OMGUS vote, whether made by a townie or a scummy, is to put the person who made the original vote on the defensive. It gives no reasons as to why the vote is incorrect; it shifts the burden of proof back to the original person, and really just indicates that the accused doesn't have an argument ready to hand, either because they're inexperienced or they're really Scum. More solid forms of this, such as vague "I know my role is important to the town, so anyone trying to lynch me must be Scum" claims, also fall under the heading of OMGUS.

Fight back against OMGUS by explaining and justifying your reasons for the original vote as clearly as you can; this should expose the lack of argument on the other side. Anyone willing to cast OMGUS votes is probably at the very least a little too trigger happy, and should probably be euthanised even if they're pro-Town.

*****

Too Townie

An evil, despicable little argument that has torn many a solid Town front apart and allowed the Mafia a foothold in games they would have been destroyed in otherwise. The argument gains its name from an instance on MafiaScum, where a player named Atticus stated "I voted PJ, pretty much for being way too townie."

The Too Townie argument is another good example of an 'argument' that, in reality, is no argument at all. "You are so townie you must be scum" does not make sense. Yes, it can be very appealing, and certainly scummies can try to appear townie, but if someone is playing a really strong pro-Town game, the fact is they are most likely to be doing it because they are, in fact, really Town.

Another good way to fight against the Too Townie argument is simply to point out that if it was true, then its reverse would also be true: one could say of a player "You are so scummy you must be town". But this is more obviously nonsensical. No one should have to defend themselves against playing as a Townie.

This argument does not apply if you can demonstrate exactly what the ulterior, scummy motive behind their actions could be. It refers to when the 'too townieness' of the player is the ONLY reason given for suspecting them. This just leads to the town lynching players who are helping them and is only really justified by WIFOMing it, i.e. "they clearly are only playing town to make us think they're town".

Speaking of which... wait, -A- already did it. Maybe some other time. <_<

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Excellent, that looks perfect. I've got a couple of random things I've been meaning to add (the Bus Driver role as well as a couple of definitions, like meta-gaming) so I'll write that up shortly and add it all in at the same time.

How about adding a description of Straw Man arguments? I've most often come across them when one player is trying to defend themselves from accusations over voting. For example:

I can buy that logic, I think [Another Player] is on to something.

Vote: Somebody

That screams 'scum' to me. You didn't want to drop in with just a vote so you used defensive justification that 'someone else voted for him.'

So if I came in here and voted with no reason, I'm scum, but if I do have a reason, I'm scum as well?

Obviously whether Player 1 is scummy with his vote depends on the circumstances, but he's is trying to paint it as if Player 2 is accusing him simply because he provided a reason, which isn't true. He's relying on the fact that people often DO suspect someone when they try to be non-committal, but that isn't the accusation here. What Player 2 is actually saying is that the instinct of a scum player who knows they can't vote without justification is to hide behind what another player says. They're two different tells and Player 2 is only accusing Player 1 of the second.

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