Mafia Skills

[Cadmium]

What's the most important skill to have under control when playing mafia? The ability to scan the game thread and pick out the scum? Or the ability to convince the other players to lynch someone? Maybe something else?

You probably think: "How would convincing others work if you can't find the scum in the first place?". True, but some lynches are lucky guesses. And what if you're mafia, wouldn't you want to convince others more than looking for other scum?

Or what if you're a vigilante. What vigilante would want to convince others? He'll simply decide on his own who seems scummy and whether or not he'll kill that player for it.

In short, there are different kind of skills and different kind of roles. Some skills are more important to one role, other skills are more important to another. But what could we consider the most important skill of them all?

[Cadmium]

As scum (and keep in mind, I've only actually played as scum maybe once or twice in the past year ), I tend to dissociate myself from the family as much as possible. I let them make decisions on who to kill, etc. Then I treat day as though I was just my usually sparkling innocent self. I pick out scum, generally without regard for the fact that I actually know who the scum are. Or, more often, someone attacks me and I defend myself and counter attack (it's easy to get away with an innocent lynch if they attacked you first). I am confident in my ability to be a very difficult lynch.

Same, or at least similar. I am

sort of

confident in my ability to play the exact same regardless of my alignment.

That's just one way of playing scum. You don't have to play the exact same all the time. I can't say I always play the same in games, regardless my affiliation. It is easier to detect a difference in someone's play if they tend to play the same all the time. When playing differently more often, a slight slip has more chance of staying undiscovered.