"Hidden" or "retired" roles

[LJustus]

I am modding a game on another site and a problem arose when I was typing up role PMs. I have decided to include "hidden roles" like the Retired Cop that trigger upon certain conditions happening.

The question is - should I include the nature of the role in the original PM to the player? Or should I just let it be a big secret and only reveal the power upon the triggering of the certain condition?

[Axelrod]

I'd say that's your choice. I've seen it both ways. Sometimes you want the Role to know that he/she is the Deputy/Nurse--that's probably most common. Sometimes, you can keep it a secret even from the Role. In my LoTR mafia, which you played, my back-up Cop/Doc were not specifically told they had those roles, but there were a few "hints" in the role PM. The main reason for that was so they would blend in with the other "generic" roles in the game.

It may just depend on the nature of the role. If the role is unusual, and has some very special trigger condition, you might keep it secret from them. On 'tings, I saw a game or two where there was a hidden SK role that didn't "activate" unless something specific occurred. I would say obviously a role like that you keep the nature of the role hidden.

But if it's just Deputy/Nurse, I think you can usually tell them, unless you have a specific reason not to. Or just like surprising people. I might still give them a "hint" in that case.

[Mastermind of Sin]

my vote went to yes.

[Dourgrim]

I voted "yes" to the poll, but only for basic Nurse or Retired Cop roles. I'd say it depends entirely on what you're looking for... I think creating roles where abilities secretly change and/or trigger upon the death of other roles is an interesting twist.

[LJustus]

Okay, Axelrod. . . I'll send the game setup to you if you don't mind. That way you can review it. Vecna has already seen it but hasn't seen the role PMs.

I really appreciate everyone's input. More would be greatly appreciated as well.

[Mr Stoofer]

My view: ditto Axelrod. I don't believe that there is a "right" or "wrong" answer to this, just what you think is right in terms of game balance, flavour, etc.

One thing to bear in mind, though: back-up doc (and to a lesser extent, back-up cop) is a classic "scum claim" and more likely to be disbelieved than not -- especially if made by someone who is the victim of a bandwagon. For example, in both mathcam's Time Travel Mafia games, the back-up doc was speedlynched the moment they claimed.

[Pie_is_good]

I, too, have seen it both ways, but as a player I prefer knowing my abilities. Some "hidden" parts of a game can only make the game more random, and in a logic based game like this, that's bad IMHO.

Voted yes.

[Phoebus]

Pff. Do it the other way as well.
My Inspector in minvi5 was actually a townie and someone else was a cop.
It's all fun and good, depending on how the game is set up.

[halo freak]

I voted no, i think it would be more exciting to get a role saying i had a power i didn't know about, you just need to have some kind of reasoning for giving them this extra power if you know what i mean not just "hey you have become the cop, congratulations!"

[Yosarian2]

(shrug) With normal roles, I think it's better to give them that information at the start, because I personally like anything that adds a little stratagy to the game. Do you act diferent if you're a townie or a backup cop? Do you feel and act a little more "expendable" as a tonwnie then as a backup cop, or do you just play the exact same way so as to not give any tells? (shrug) I think what really makes the game interesting is the subtle ways that people with different roles will act differently, so I think it'd be better if the person actually knows what his role is, so he can choose to change his behavior based on his role, or choose to try to not change his behavior.

[Mgm]

You could say there's more to a player's role than they know, but not go in specifics. That would make them know they're not simply townies, but not blatantly say what they are.