[M][T] The New Personality Mafia - Page 220

I. The Unreadable Persona

The importance of creating an unreadable persona is to protect your character from getting killed early game by people who can see right through you. If you live longer, you have more time to read other players and strategize.

II. Reaction Reading

The school’s primary methods of discovering a player’s role is through reaction reading. The most efficient technique is through private messaging where you can loosen the guard of your victim. You do this in fun. You start to make jokes and troll around to not only prevent the victim from reading you but to also cause their guard to be lowered. If they think you are just having a grand ole time, they will not be working hard to cover their face. That is when you ask strange and seemingly unrelated questions to get a read. There are many factors to consider when analyzing their reaction including their current mood, your relationship, thread events, and their mind. If private messages are not allowed, you will have to cause chaos in the thread in order to read this. This strategy may cause some dislike which will have to be combated by entertainment, which will be discussed in detailed later. Creating a fantasy world that includes the current events of the game is a great way to attract certain players. If you create a world where you hire employees, mafia may apply for jobs to either get inside information or to pose as a resourceful townie. It gives them an opportunity to post something in the thread if they don’t have anything productive to say. Reaction reading is also a great time to scare the mafia through taunts by claiming you know their roles both publically and privately. Let them know, that you know even if you do not. Also, act confident and pretend you are protected by a medic. This fluff will save you.

III. Communicating Reads Unscathed

The best method is to communicate your reads to a player whom you think is town. This way they can convince town to lynch your targets without you talking heat from mafia or town. Plus, they will trust for being selected to receive your reads. If private messages are allowed, you can simply explain your reads clearly to the recipient. If you cannot message them privately, you will have to find alternative means by posting in the thread without alerting other players. Encryption, code words, stories, stereograms, and riddles are of the most useful methods to portray one's reads without bringing too much attention to oneself (just make sure the recipient can understand the content of these messages). The attention these techniques will bring will be focused on your character and personality. Most people will just ignore the content of your posts and call the useless. However, whether one should use these techniques depends on the atmosphere of the game, which brings us to the next point.

IV. Dynamics of the Game

The game is always changing. The same strategy may not work twice. One must be flexible enough to adjust behavior in order to survive the maximum length of days. Studying the behavior of the players both in and out of the game is of utmost importance. You must monitor the atmosphere of the game to make sure your actions do not break the boundaries of the players or the host.

V. Relationships

Building great relationships with other players will further your lifespan. For it is easier to lynch a stranger than those closest to you. Be sure not to come across as a flatter. Bad guys do that. Be honest. If you truly <3 someone, let them know. It is ok to let someone know if they make you sad. Be real. Don’t get angry. Only pretend to be angry if it is funny. Be humorous. If you are entertaining the crowd, they will not want to see you leave. For the sole purpose of playing the game initially for most players is to have fun. Be fun. If successful, not only will you live longer, but the atmosphere of the game will change for the better (see point IV). Forming relationship will also help you enjoy your time during breaks when you are isolated in your room with no one to talk to. If you find yourself bored and lonely, you can create a thread like this (or interact in one) in order to prepare for your next upcoming game. For you know that when you leave, the threads will die and be bored without your entertainment.

VI. Loop-hole Galore

Once the game has started, it is good to read your role or the op at some point. When one does this is up to their own discretion. When looking at roles or the op, try to find loop holes. Strategies the host does not expect. You may find some powers that you can exploit. When in a crisis, always double check your roles and rules of the game to ensure there is a way out. You may find an unexpected role that can bus you out of a situation or find that you have an unlimited amount of ammo. However, the success of this method depends on the host (point IV). If your host is a rule follower, you will get bussed and be saved. If you host is a spirit follower, you may find yourself out of bullets. You must use caution and not let your creative mind bring you too much hope in a deadly hour.

VII. Style before Victory

Winning is not always easy. Winning with style is harder yet. Before you win a game, you must ask yourself. How do I want to win this? You want to be remembered for the fun you bring to the games and the style in which you win them. Winning the game as lurker is no fun at all, especially when you are mafia. Most of town will not remember that it was you who caused their demise, unless you send them the right message such as spelling GOSU with your night kills and sniping all of the blues roles. However, you must not limit your style to secrets. The reward of winning tastes so much better if you fool the town as one of the most active members. Be creative. Create your own theme if appropriate (point IV) or latch on to another’s, they will appreciate the addition to their fantasy (point V).