Serial Killer

Mechanics

 * You do not have Detection Immunity; you can be identified by a as the Serial Killer at night.
 * If an, , or the  visits you, you will be forced to stay at home (visiting nobody and attacking them instead).
 * If multiple role blockers visit you in the same night, you will be forced to attack all of them.
 * If you win a duel against the, the game will display the message: "You attacked the for role blocking you, the scallywag!"
 * You can be killed at night by attacks which ignore Basic Defense, such as being ignited by an or mauled by a . The Arsonis is an Unstoppable attack and the Werewolf delivers a Powerful attack.)
 * If a Serial Killer wins, all other Serial Killers who have not left the game will win as well.

Strategy
The Serial Killer is one of the most independent roles in Town of Salem. You can kill faster than any other role; but you are usually also the first and biggest target of all other players, with the possible exception of the and. Using deception, quick thinking, manipulation and ruthless cunning, the Serial Killer can strategically eliminate anyone that stands in their way.

Dealing with accusations

 * Always try to deflect the blame off yourself onto another person so the fact that someone accused you of being Serial Killer is forgotten. Keep in mind that this does not always work and may even add fuel to the fire, getting you lynched.


 * Also be smart when trying to claim a role if you are . Look at the role list and the graveyard frequently in case someone with the role you're claiming dies.
 * Whispering a confirmed about your roles and suspicions of someone can be in your favor for deception since no one else. The  you whispered will suspect of you as an  trying to hide from threats. If they believed is nothing suspicious about the whisper, eventually they can be your potential ally when it comes to another  accusation which depends on your fake role claim and suspicions. However, this does not always work with experienced players.


 * If somebody other than you is accused of being a, use it as an advantage and keep them alive and kill whoever is accusing them of being the . By doing this the will think they are the , and go for them instead of you. But be aware of a  or , as they could potentially predict the 's victim.


 * If you are suspected, write in your Death Note that you are the, but in the third person, e.g, "Jack is the Serial Killer" if your name is Jack. Point out in the chat that you are being framed; it might work, especially with less experienced players.
 * Another way to deflect suspicion is to say in your Death Note that you will kill yourself but in the third person, e.g, "Jack will die tonight" if your name is Jack. Point it out; you will probably be healed, but if you are jailed, you're doomed if the noted his jailees. The best you can do in this case is to try and convince the  that it just was a coincidence that you were jailed and  was killed. It might seem like a good idea to claim to be a  at first, since the investigator's results say, , or ; however, since this is so common and well-known, combined with the fact that  is a hard role to prove, this will generally make you more suspicious when dealing with experienced players. However, if you don't attack people and there are no Serial Killer kills, this will make people believe you are a  more, since Serial Killer usually attack every single night and kill their role blockers.
 * A good way to deflect suspicion is to pretend to be a . Keep in mind this won't work in Classic Mode if both the and  have been killed, or if in Custom Mode or Rapid Mode, there are certain role settings. Along with these, a  or  may just shoot/execute you instead to lower the majority vote.
 * Another way to deflect suspicion is to act like an and aggressively accuse one person (ideally, someone you think is actually .) This does have drawbacks; the  could decide to hang you or the  could execute you. Accidentally accusing an actual member of the  has some benefits (the  might believe you and protect you), but carries the risk that the  will try to kill you and discover your Basic Defense. Also note that while implying you're an  can help, you should avoid actively claim to be an  in response to an accusation; at that point it's unlikely to help, since the  has no reason not to hang an . You can also claim you are an  after at least one person has died, but it works better when multiple people have died. Simply say your target was already lynched, and so you win either way. Get the Townies to allow you to stay alive by saying you're just an extra vote to help them. The  won't want to waste a kill on you, either. This might not work on experienced players, though.
 * Being called out as having a higher Defense value than an attacker's Attack value is one of the most frequent ways for a Serial Killer to lose, so it helps to have a strategy for it. One advantage you have is that if you were hit by the, you'll have at least one turn to prepare before they can out you in a Death Note. Some important notes:
 * You can pretend to be an ; but, as noted above, this works best if you imply it before you're accused, and carries a risk of being lynched. Be careful who you make your target, though, as you carry the risk of accusing the (who will immediately jail and kill you) or the  (who will interrogate you and find out you are the Serial Killer). Successfully lynching a member of the  or a  will also immediately solidify the fact that you are not an.
 * You can claim to be a and say you used your bulletproof vest; however,  are non-, so you may simply get lynched anyway. Also note that claiming to be a  is commonly used, so the  may not believe you. Beware of, , and , as they will immediately know and there is a high probability of them telling the town. This also helps the  in the case of a , as the  now has one person that the Town trusts.
 * You can claim to be a and say you used your bulletproof vest. However, you can only say this once. Also, since  is a common claim for the  and the, an aggressive  could lynch you.
 * You can claim you were transported by a ; however, since active are very obvious, this works only if other people have been transported, too. If you're going to do it, announce you were transported as soon as the day begins.
 * Some people will claim to have been healed by a . This can work against less experienced players, but note that if it were true, your attacker would not have gotten a message saying you had a higher Defense value than the attacker's Attack value. It can still work (the or other attackers can't immediately speak up to say that they saw said message; and in some cases the  who actually attacked you may have died the same night, so nobody would have actually seen what happened), but it's generally unlikely to help against experienced players.
 * You can claim to have been jailed; however, if the is still alive, they'll probably jail and execute you the next night, since they'll know you were lying (and if they died, they probably had a Last Will that shows you weren't jailed.)
 * Remember, you may not get accused. If you don't, you can just play normally, but don't get too ahead of yourself; doing something like claiming and saying you healed yourself before anyone accuses you is a dead giveaway to most experienced players and can get you lynched unnecessarily. Players might ask you to heal them the following night, so make sure to have some excuse.
 * A strategy used often in many games is to write 2 Last Wills in the 'Last Will' area. Write one for your fake role, and one below for your real one. Then claim the fake role and show the fake Last Will for proof. Make sure you know all roles well, in case the accuser asks what the roles attributes or abilities are.
 * always try to keep the accusation as quiet as possible. If it doesn't come to many townies, you may Be able to last longer. So if someone accuses you, try to do something like you didn't see them ask. This may cause them to start asking more and you may have to give them a claim.

Who to Kill
Being a Serial Killer, you have to be careful who you decide to kill each night, since you don't know who a or  might be protecting; you also want to avoid targeting the same person as the  or other killers, which would waste your kill. Don't use any sort of order or predictable system to pick your targets, and avoid picking 'obvious' targets unless it's absolutely necessary. You could also not kill until near the end of the game to catch the off-guard. Using that strategy is risky, however, since the could figure you out.


 * Names that seem rather normal or have a very low chance on getting picked on are the best targets.

The next couple of nights you could use the same strategy to kill, and also be patient if you choose to. Being patient and unsuspecting can be extremely hard to do, as you can be suspected at any given moment when someone realizes you aren't talking, and so on. Being patient rewards you with some information about different roles, as listed below in the "How to find a role" guide. Sometimes, people would flat out say their roles or give hints which reveal who they are. You should also try to figure out how good the players are, which is a skill that will come with experience. If someone shows signs of being an unskilled townie (like pushing for a random lynch), keep them around. They can confuse the Town. On the other hand, be on the lookout for skilled players. One way to do this is by reading votes. If someone is put on the stand and lynched with very little evidence and they turn out to be innocent, target people who vote innocent or abstain.
 * Picking victims from the middle is a good choice, as, , and , sometimes go from bottom to top or top to bottom. It might depend on whether the player is good or not, but you'll hardly know that early game.
 * and tend to open the day by saying things like "any leads?" Killing them first is a good strategy. However, they might be a  trying to lure you in.
 * Going off of the above, assuming you don't know any more roles, killing the first person to talk every day is surprisingly effective, but might stay quiet until they have found a member of the  or a.
 * However, the most important strategy is to try to balance the and  ratios. You should be making decisions under the assumption that the  too wants to take care of core  roles. If one faction becomes too powerful, the other will fall quickly, and so will you.

Priority Targets
Keep your priorities in mind. You have to think about the possibilities of which any of the threatening roles may find you. If the has been narrowed to a handful of people, it's good to keep track of which one has a bigger chance at discovering your motive. After killing the one with the bigger chance, you could continue on killing until you are met with another role that could discover you.


 * : They can execute you when you are jailed, bypassing your Basic Defense. Even if they don't, you will automatically attack them, which will make you very suspicious if they put your name in their Last Will as the last person to be jailed. Additionally, anyone who was previously jailed is not a Serial Killer, allowing you fewer players to blame. However, you may be able to convince the  that the Serial Killer coincidentally targeted the . You can boost your chances by putting something along the lines of, "I think you're the !" in your Death Note.


 * and the : A can directly identify you as a Serial Killer and an  will put your name into their Last Will as /Serial Killer/. A  may witness you killing another important . A  will gladly reveal you to the, directly or through a 's Death Note, as it will allow them to be protected by the , believing them to be an . And a  could find out that the  visited you and you didn't die, which might hint that you had a higher Defense value than the attacker's Attack value.


 * Other : They have a higher Defense value than your Attack value, so just try to be subtle when accusing them of being that role. That means not just flat out saying "This person is a !". Instead, try asking for their role. For an 's case, if know who the is, wait a day after attacking to ask their role. They might be able to kill some people for you unless they want to go solo, then they might flat out reveal you.


 * and : If any roles are revealed, they will often protect them, making you either waste an attack or possibly get killed. As long as a  is alive, any Investigative can safely call you out during the day without fear of being immediately killed the next night.


 * and : Similar to the, if they put your name into their Last Wills when visiting you, the will often lynch you immediately on suspicion of being the Serial Killer. Even if they don't, any investigative roles will most likely investigate you the following night.


 * : Near the end of the game, if too many members of the are left alive and know your identity, they will lynch you with higher priority than the remaining . But, since the Townies almost always outnumber you and the, it is better not to take them down quickly, in order to double the deaths of  and raise your chances of killing the , the  and the . Try to force the game into 1v1v1 position where the last  will likely team up with you to kill the . Remember: you win in a stalemate against a.


 * : If they attack you, they will often tell the immediately to lynch you, knowing you have a higher Defense value than their Attack value. If this happens, see above on how to deal with accusations of having a higher Defense value than an attacker's Attack value; however, the fact that they can accuse you to your face complicates things. Claiming to have been healed by a  is even less likely to work against a, since they can accuse you to your face and immediately point out that they got a message stating that you had a higher Defense value than their Attack value. If the  isn't confirmed, you can also couple your defense with a counter-accusation that they're  (which may even be true); for instance, claim you're a  or  who vested, then ask why they attacked you and suggest that they may actually be a member of the.


 * : Though they are weak at the start of a game, their ability to multiply and spread undetected can make them a dangerous foe later on. If you know there are multiple, make sure to kill them off as soon as possible, as they will surely lynch you as soon as they discover your Basic Defense. It is often in your best interest to keep any known alive, since they can kill s for you.


 * Other, while not nearly as dangerous as other roles, can be dangerous if they receive information (e.g. the or ) from more important targets. Also, their numbers contribute to lynching you once you are accused.

Finding Townies

 * They will often ask something along the lines of, "Has anyone been transported?" to see if their results will be compromised or not.
 * They tend to send a lot of whispers (either to people who came up in a mainly result, or demanding that people with suspicious results claim a role.)
 * The most obvious sign is when they flat out accuse someone of being a combination of any or 3 possible roles; however, note that when someone is obviously an, they're very likely to be protected.
 * The most obvious sign is when they flat out accuse someone of being a combination of any or 3 possible roles; however, note that when someone is obviously an, they're very likely to be protected.


 * Your main way of dealing with is to try and avoid choosing people they're likely to heal. If you need to kill one, though, look for quiet people. Doctors normally do their best not to reveal their role to anyone except proven or provable, such as the ,  and.
 * If you know a proven, watch for them whispering to the requesting for a heal that night. Do not attempt to kill them the following night, as you will waste a night going to kill someone when there's a  planning to visit.
 * If you know a proven, watch for them whispering to the requesting for a heal that night. Do not attempt to kill them the following night, as you will waste a night going to kill someone when there's a  planning to visit.


 * will often ask questions about the less obvious visiting roles, such as whether anyone witched or role blocked, since this helps judge who their visits are and what role they are.
 * At most times, as they would outright say that you went to a victim's house. The would usually believe them, and you have no complete route of escape through this. However, you can kill them first once they reveal hints.
 * After the first night or so, would give away information to the  or to /. The usual are "Person D visited Person A." or "Person B was visited by Person G."  can be eliminated first, as they have a bigger chance at discovering who you killed through watching. If they have not revealed themselves, then continue to figure the rest of the investigative roles or stick with the strategy.
 * After the first night or so, would give away information to the  or to /. The usual are "Person D visited Person A." or "Person B was visited by Person G."  can be eliminated first, as they have a bigger chance at discovering who you killed through watching. If they have not revealed themselves, then continue to figure the rest of the investigative roles or stick with the strategy.

Finding members of the

 * The has a higher Defense value than your Attack value, making them easily identifiable at night, but the rest of the  may not be so obvious.
 * Watch the conversations during Discussion Time, and see who is talking to who the most.
 * If a person is accused, and suddenly 2 or 3 people that hadn't been talking suddenly step up to his defense, that could indicate to you who the are, as they are usually silent during discussion time.
 * If someone initiates a random lynch, keep an eye on supporters. Usually the shows up after 3 or 4 votes to make sure the person will be put on trial. However, if voting flows slowly, it's a good sign the voted person is a member of the.
 * Guilty and Innocent votes can tell a lot. sometimes tend to vote guilty on everyone except their own. If a known  is about to be hung, watch to see who votes innocent or abstains; they could be . However, smart  players will vote guilty to not seem suspicious.
 * Sometimes, you may not want to write in your Death Note that the had a higher Defense value than your Attack value until the  is dead. If the  dies, the  will take their place, making them have a higher Defense value than your Attack value as well, which can further delay your kills.
 * People who talk a lot and seem to be trying too hard to act like a could be a member of the  or another rival evil, but they could be a  or a talkative person in general.
 * Anyone who did not vote against a confirmed might be a member of the.

Dealing with other roles

 * : When the Serial Killer is jailed and not executed, they will kill the at the end of the night; this will often get you lynched if the  kept accurate records of who they jailed in their Last Will. Your only hope in that case is to convince the Town that the  was coincidentally killed by the real Serial Killer. Therefore, you should never claim  to a  unless you have absolutely no other choice (ie. if you know for a fact you've been investigated by a confirmed, or if you've claimed  previously); if the  writes down the  claim, you are almost certain to get lynched when they're found dead to an SK the next morning, since s and Serial Killers share the same Investigative result. It might occasionally help to delay answering the 's questions in hopes that they don't have enough time to write your name in their Last Will; but a smart  would have written your name in before the night even began.


 * : Once you've been investigated, you have little choice but to claim (you could also claim to have been transported, but this is unlikely to hold up for long.) It might also help to instead of telling  directly that you are a  instead whisper it to the  so it seems that you are trying to conceal your identity and of course, that you are really a . Producing a fake Last Will of people you've healed can sometimes help convince people, but ultimately, anyone who claims  has to face constant suspicion of being a Serial Killer, so it's best to avoid publicly claiming the role for as long as possible.


 * : Many will claim their target to be a Serial Killer. You can therefore accuse the  of being an ; an  will not be able to differentiate between the two roles. If a  finds you then your best bet would be to drag out the conversation so that the day ends. Then at night your strategy may be to either take a big risk and attack them, if the  and/or the  are dead, or you can attack someone else that was supporting the 's argument against you, to try and weaken their defense, and hope that the  attempts to kill the . Do not claim  when facing a ; it serves no purpose (a, unlike an , can't confuse the two) and only makes you look like a panicking Serial Killer. Note, however, that killing the  or their supporters may incriminate you, since they will be known as a  when they die.


 * and : If these roles role block you, you will attack them automatically instead of your intended target. This can be a problem if they name you in their Last Will; usually will, however  may not (but you may still get revealed in the 's Death Note the next night.) The basic strategies beyond that are similar to the ; you need to convince the  that they were attacked coincidentally. Note that they, like the, will receive a special message saying that they were killed by the person they visited; if they're revived, or if word can get back from the dead via a , you have no real recourse.
 * : If a dies and they put your name down as the Serial Killer, you could be in trouble. You could claim the  would be lying to get  lynched, but if a  role is lynched due to the 's Last Will, you might be highly suspected. Do not claim  after claiming the  lied, as you will be put under pressure by others as they attempt to coax you to reveal.


 * The easiest way to deal with, , and the , is to avoid coming to their attention in the first place. Try to act like Town; vote in reasonable ways, talk a bit but not too much, and so on. Most , ,  and the  will be focusing more on finding the  than on you, and will be guiding their actions based on who seems the most suspicious in that regard. You want to aggressively hunt the  in a way that averts their suspicion, without being so aggressive that you get attacked by the  yourself (and outed as having a higher Defense value than their Attack value.)


 * : Normally this isn't a problem. and Serial Killers can win together and can be an excellent team if they work together. Normally, a  will discover you are Serial Killer before you know who they are, so don't be alarmed if a stranger suddenly whispers to you asking you about your role. If there is a, however, a  sending you blindly after a target isn't the best way to stay alive. Do your best to convince the  to be on your side, before the  convinces them.


 * : Another way you can be found out is by the . The, while seemingly not a threat to the Serial Killer, can be if you are attacked by the , as will see that you were visited, and when he notices there were no  kills and that you are not dead, he will suspect you of having a higher Defense value than the  role's Attack value. A good way to get around this is to pretend to be blackmailed, if you say nothing and the  thinks that you're blackmailed, you may buy yourself some time before the  reveals their findings to the  and you are lynched. Pretending to be blackmailed when attacked by the  may also help find who the  is, as often they will often ask you (via whispering) to you something along the lines of, "What happened to you?".


 * : A major threat to Serial Killers is the who ignores Basic Defense if they choose to go on alert. They should be left alone if possible.
 * If you and a are the only two players left alive, or you suspect the other is a, then it is often wise to wait until the last possible night to kill them. They will likely waste any alerts they have left immediately after it is just you two. By waiting, you increase your chances of the  having no alerts left. Some s may be aware of this tactic and wait, but it is unlikely.


 * : The will be your major contenders in the battle for supremacy over the . The best strategy for Serial Killers is to remove them as quickly as possible after identifying them using the strategies above.
 * Taking out the roles that don't have a higher Defense value than your Attack value is easy enough but the  is the most difficult.
 * Lynching is the most efficient means, but also killers that ignore Basic Defense such as the, , , and the can effectively kill them.
 * If only a and a Serial Killer remain alive, the Serial Killer will win; so keeping to the shadows and deception is your best bet when dealing with the.


 * : The is able to kill targets with Basic Defense. This makes Serial Killer and  natural enemies, despite their similar neutral views on the  and .  should be taken out using ruthless cunning by calling them out and having them killed by roles who ignore Powerful killers.


 * : Although it can be risky, if you can ally yourself with a or a  (as above), they can give you the support of a regular team of . The  can throw the  off, and the  can do as they please, then near the end of the game vote for you only, giving you the win. However, some  want to win with the  or the, and when you whisper them to help you, they might flat out reveal you to gain trust and not be killed.
 * : Like the, the is able to ignore Basic Defense. On non-Full Moon nights, you are safe from them, but on a Full Moon night, you are in danger. Either the  could attack you directly or you could visit someone who was attacked directly, so you are in trouble no matter what you do. If you find a target with a higher Defense value than your Attack value when there is an active , mention about it in your Death Note and accuse them. However, they could have been jailed, or was just a different role with Basic Defense. (ie. , / who used their bulletproof vest, etc.)

Death Note
The Serial Killer is a role that has enormous power in shaping how the game is played. Your Death Note can be an important way to communicate with other players anonymously, because the Serial Killer's Death Note is never taken lightly. After finding the, you can put their name in your Death Note.


 * A simple usage of your Death Note is to tell the that you're going to kill a certain player, so if any  roles are alive, they will target them instead of your target. However, experienced players might see the double bluff, and leave them alone and go for someone else instead. Saying things that can relate to your "target" in your Death Note however can bring the 's to actually go for that person.
 * Write the names of the people who you found to have a higher Defense value than your Attack value, so the suspects them. More advanced players can write down names of random  and claim that they have a higher Defense value than their Attack value, but this needs to be done carefully.
 * Also, if you suspect one of your targets to be healed, you could write in your Death Note that they had a higher Defense value than your Attack value. Then, claiming that they were healed by a could get them lynched by more experienced players, realizing that heals do not create a message stating they had a higher Defense value than your Attack value. However, if the  speaks up and says they healed said target that "had a higher Defense value than your Attack value" will most likely be acquitted and give the  another person to trust.

Concerning claims
As the game becomes more advanced along with the players, it is harder to get away with claiming as a Serial Killer. If you do plan on claiming and you are attacked at night (especially Night 1) claiming to have been transported might work well for you. Also, try to let the live for a little while, especially if there is too much  for you to kill alone. In general, you may talk a lot and distract people's attention to finding or other  roles. Above all else, avoid claiming to be a unnecessarily. Real are reluctant to reveal, both because they're such high-priority targets and because they know they have no way to confirm even if they wanted to; if you seem unduly eager to tell the  that you're a, it will likely get you lynched.