Personal

Personal Alias: none Alignment: Town Role type: Negative Utility Choice: none

The Personal role modifier prevents a player's actions from affecting or perceiving factional abilities, such as the factional kill.

Normal version

An action affected by the Personal modifier has no interactions with factional abilities. Factional abilities include (most commonly) the Mafia's factional kill, but also include the Mafia's factional communication, the Mafia's knowledge of other Mafia members, and the equivalents for other anti-town factions; they also include a Serial Killer's kill (but not any additional powers that the Serial Killer might have), and any factional abilities unique to the setup.

The "lack of interaction" means that manipulative night actions with this modifier cannot block or redirect factional actions; protective night actions with this modifier cannot protect against them; investigative night actions with this modifier will return results as though they did not occur. For example, a Personal Doctor would prevent nightkills from Vigilantes but not the Mafia's factional nightkill, and a Personal Watcher wouldn't reveal Mafia members who killed their target, but would be able to see other actions.

Variations

The Loyal modifier, when used on a townie's action, prevents the action affecting scum at all (as opposed to merely preventing it affecting the scum's kill).

This modifier is rarely seen on scum, who already know about their own usage of factional abilities and are unlikely to want to interfere with it, but could be usable on a Strengthener or Rolestopper or in multiball.

Use & Balance

Many roles are by far at their strongest when affecting the Mafia nightkill, as opposed to something else. For example, in a small game, a Town Roleblocker who stops the nightkill is much more helpful to town than they would be if they merely, e.g., stopped a Mafia Rolecop from investigating. So the Personal modifier allows roles to be used for their minor uses, while cutting out the use that has the most impact on the game. This considerably weakens the role, while at the same time making it less swingy.

Play Advice

With an investigative role, try to investigate players who you think have lied about or will lie about their night actions. Manipulative roles should generally attempt to neutralise claimed power roles which have potential for being used in an anti-town way (e.g. a Doctor can rarely hurt town, but a claimed Vote Thief may be worth neutralising in ELo).

Sample Role PMs

The standardized Role PM for "Personal" describes the modifier as follows:

• As a modifier on a single ability: This does not affect factional actions (such as the Mafia's factional kill). (edit)

• As a modifier that affects all abilities: Your night actions cannot affect factional actions, such as the Mafia's factional kill. (edit)

Example (modifying a single ability)

Welcome to game! You are a Town Personal Jailkeeper.

You have the following active ability:

• Each Night, you may target a player. Assuming no interference with your action, that player will be protected from kills that night, but all their actions will be blocked that night. This does not affect factional actions (such as the Mafia's factional kill).

You win if all threats to the town are eliminated and at least one town-aligned player is alive.

Confirm by replying to this PM with a summary of your role.

Example (affecting all abilities)

Welcome to game! You are a Town Personal Jack of All Trades Tracker Doctor.

Your night actions cannot affect factional actions, such as the Mafia's factional kill.

You have the following active abilities, but may use only one per Night:

• Once in the game at night, you may target a player. Assuming no interference with your action, you will learn who that player targeted that night. (You will get "no result" if this action is blocked.)
• Once in the game at night, you may target a player. Assuming no interference with your action, that player will be protected from one kill that night.

You win if all threats to the town are eliminated and at least one town-aligned player is alive.

Confirm by replying to this PM with a summary of your role.