Unkillable Role

[armlx]

How far can unkillability go? I've seen the following show up in games:

Hiding: Either choses someone (if the chosen person dies or is scum hider dies) or just hides (can be RB'ed).

Un-night-killable: More of a GF role, but I have seen it often on town and especially neutral characters.

Now, how far can the mechanic go? Is it too broken for a townie to be unlynchable? Or something else?

[Yosarian2]

Well, I prefer conditional un-nightkillable roles, like "immune to one kill" or "can hide every other night" or "can only be killed in certain ways" kind of roles, becuase there's a little more stratagy there.

I also saw a game where one of the mafia was a "mafia driver"; if another scum made the kill, and the "mafia driver" used his ability and wasn't roleblocked or anything, the kill would go through no matter what, right through docs or unkillable roles. Added an interesting twist.

[Thok]

I've seen activated unkillables-the character needed to do some thematic task each day to be protected from the next nightkill. (Both Hold'em Mafia and Muppet Mafia had such roles). The main problem with such a role is that it leads to draws-one mafia or an SK cannot beat such a role unless it messes up. It's also generally in the interest of such a role to lurk, so as to hide any such power.

I sort of think that an unnightkillable role can be balanced a little bit by making it's vote worth slightly less-say having it's vote be worth .9999995 of a normal vote.

[Yosarian2]

I've seen activated unkillables-the character needed to do some thematic task each day to be protected from the next nightkill. (Both Hold'em Mafia and Muppet Mafia had such roles). The main problem with such a role is that it leads to draws-one mafia or an SK cannot beat such a role unless it messes up. It's also generally in the interest of such a role to lurk, so as to hide any such power.

I sort of think that an unnightkillable role can be balanced a little bit by making it's vote worth slightly less-say having it's vote be worth .9999995 of a normal vote.

Hmm...or perhaps just saying "you are unkillable, so long as there is at least one other good guy left".

[Iammars]

Well, I prefer conditional un-nightkillable roles, like "immune to one kill" or "can hide every other night" or "can only be killed in certain ways" kind of roles, becuase there's a little more stratagy there.

I also saw a game where one of the mafia was a "mafia driver"; if another scum made the kill, and the "mafia driver" used his ability and wasn't roleblocked or anything, the kill would go through no matter what, right through docs or unkillable roles. Added an interesting twist.

On 'tings?

[Yosarian2]

Yeah, that was the one. Forget exactally how it worked, but it was a nice twist that prevented the unkillable roles from making it impossible for smart scum to win. That was in Ves's game, right?

[Norinel]

The balance considerations of a completely unkillable town role have been discussed here, although it's been long enough that it might be worth rehashing the discussion.

The things I've run are an unkillable by scum town role with the explicit exception that it wouldn't work when the town was outnumbered and one that couldn't be killed by certain killers. I don't consider the first case broken.

[Iammars]

Yeah, that was the one. Forget exactally how it worked, but it was a nice twist that prevented the unkillable roles from making it impossible for smart scum to win. That was in Ves's game, right?

Yup. I forget who had the role, but it was the one who had claimed cabbie.

[Astronaut]

Whether you like the role or not, it sure is fun to be given it in a game. I was unkillable by the mafia in Tom Cruise mafia.

The endgame was me, a confirmed townie, SK and one mafia, so I was trying my best to lynch the SK while getting the mafia to target me.

[SSB!]

Interesting topic. There are characters in my Civil War game that can only be killed in certain ways. At fbg's a real common role is some kind of "super wolf". I think it usually gets called a "grey wolf" but i could be remembering wrong. Usually has to be lynched or shot twice to die.


the common game over there is "werewolf" instead of "mafia" for those that are confused by the wolf reference. same game but you've got a seer instead of a doc, angel instead of a medic, and werewolves instead of mafioso.

theme games are so popular now that you rarely see a "standard" game though.

[Yaw]

To be honest, I think bulletproof vest roles are potentially the most unbalancing. I personally avoid putting them in games for this reason.

The problem is that better players have a way of dominating games to begin with. If you remove the ability to kill them, it potentially breaks the game. (Imagine Jeep as bulletproof town -- the scum would have no chance because they couldn't get rid of him at night, while Jeep could just pick them off with lynches during the day.)

If you must have one, consider exactly what might happen if someone like Jeep got the unkillable role to determine if it's balanced.

[Gonzo]

Unkillable roles are only any good if they can save themselves once or something. Like what Yosarian2 said at the begining of the thread.

It's fun to have a role that everyone gets after their death, such as ghost. It's quite simple. The dead person can no longer post, but they can choose one person to haunt. They send them Private Messages to haunt, saying whatever they please. Truth or Lie. Ghosts can only talk to other ghosts and the haunted person. The haunted person can also talk back.

So you see how this could go? The ghosts have a lot of influence on their haunted. They can easily find out who the mafia was, or if they were scum, then they can lie.

Simple really, though you can only do it on forums.

[Mastermind of Sin]

the one completely unkillable role I've seen was one that couldn't vote and was protown with no other abilities

[Dourgrim]

One of the first games I ever modded on here was Asylum Mafia (a mini-theme game) with an unlynchable Townie... and the bad guys won.