Witch

Basics

 * Witches are immune to bites.
 * Witches cannot be role blocked by an or a.
 * If the is the only faction remaining and there is only one Witch, the game will usually end automatically and the Witch will lose.
 * However, if there is at least one living Vigilante who still has bullets, the game will continue.
 * If only one remains who has shot a Town member the previous night, the game will still end in victory for the Town, even though the Vigilante would commit suicide on the same day. (This may be a bug.)

Controlling a target

 * First target: the player who is controlled. The Witch will visit them.
 * If the Witch's first target is role blocked by a, , or , the control will have no effect.
 * If the Witch's first target has no remaining uses for their ability, the control will have no effect.
 * The Witch will know the role of the first target.
 * The message the Witch will receive is the same message as the.
 * If more than one Witch wants to control a target, the Witch who entered the lobby last will get to take control.
 * The controlled target will be notified if multiple Witches attempt to control them.
 * Second target: the controlled player will use their night ability on the second target, if the control is successful.
 * If the controlled player has a visiting night ability, they will visit the second target. They will be seen by a and may die to the  or the.
 * Witches will not visit the second target. They will not be affected by the, the , or visiting that target.

Controlling a target - effects on different roles
If Visit is yes, then a can see the Witch's first target visit the second target, even if the visit does nothing.

If Vet is yes, then the first target can be controlled and can be attacked by visiting a who is on alert as the second target.

If WW is yes, then the first target can be controlled and can be attacked by a who is the second target during a full moon night. 1 Note: The Godfather will not be detected by a Lookout or forced to visit a Veteran or Werewolf, but his Mafioso can be, assuming the Mafioso is not role blocked. If the Mafioso is role blocked, the Godfather can be detected by a Lookout and die to a Veteran or Werewolf.

2 Note: If the Godfather is not role blocked, the Mafioso will not visit the Witch's target. If the Godfather is role blocked, the Witch will be able to control the Mafioso. The Mafioso can be detected by a Lookout and die to a Veteran or Werewolf.

3 Note: If the youngest Vampire is controlled, the youngest Vampire can be detected by a Lookout and die to the Werewolf. If any of the other alive Vampires are controlled, none of the Vampires will be detected by the Lookout or die to a Veteran or Werewolf.

4 Note: The Werewolf will stay home and attack himself, but he will not die. He will see that he has attacked at least two people which would be the Witch and the Werewolf himself.

5 Example: Witch2 will instead control the Doctor to visit the Jailor.
 * Witch2 wants to control the Vigilante to visit the Jailor.
 * You control Witch2 to visit the Doctor.

6 Note: If Witch2 doesn't select to target anyone that night, then Witch2 cannot be detected by a Lookout or die to a Veteran or Werewolf.

Strategy
The Witch is an odd and possibly devastating role that has the ability to control someone's action. This can cause events such as a making a Serial Killer kill someone that will make them more obvious, or causing a Doctor to heal them instead of somebody else.

Messing with Town roles

 * If someone reveals they are a Veteran, it's a good opportunity for you to control someone you want dead and make them target the Veteran; if the Veteran goes on alert, whoever you controlled will die. If your first target is a killing role. However, they may end up killing the Veteran instead if they did not alert.


 * You can avoid Sheriff, Investigator, and Lookout from investigating you by having them investigating someone else in random or maybe themselves! However, always beware that if you control a Lookout to watch themselves, your identity will be known.


 * If an Investigator calls you out you are forced into two positions, claim you were being transported or are a Survivor (if available). This is why the Investigator is one of your biggest foes, so making sure Investigators aren't targeting you is one of the highest priorities.


 * Abuse a Vigilante. If one is revealed, forcing him to kill another Townie, such as a revealed Mayor, will be sure to anger the Town and may help you win. Make sure you don't visit a sudden Veteran though since claiming Vigilante is one of their tricks.


 * If you know who the Jailor is jailing, you can force them to execute their target by controlling the Jailor to target the person in jail. That can be devastating if the jailed target is an important Town role, particularly the Mayor.
 * This also works the other way around; if you do not want a Jailor to execute someone, such as someone in your friendship, you can force them to target someone else, and they will not be executed.


 * Control a known Escort to role block dangerous Town roles, particularly Investigative or Killing classes.
 * Even better, if you send an Escort after a Serial Killer or (on a full moon night) a Werewolf, they will die and whoever they wrote in their will as their target will come under suspicion (rather than the actual Serial Killer or Werewolf); this can be particularly advantageous if you want to keep a Serial Killer or Werewolf from targeting you or another evil buddy. Be cautious and to not do this to a Consort (unless you're certain you want to side with other evils.) Note that you will survive throwing an Escort to a Werewolf in this manner.
 * If a Mafia Killing role is being repeatedly blocked by an Escort and is unable to kill, you can liberate them by forcing the Escort to target someone else.


 * Using your powers to kill Townies is not the only strategy a Witch can use! If you discover someone is a Doctor or Bodyguard, have them target you. You guarantee yourself protection every night until your unwilling victim is put out of commission. An added advantage of controlling a Bodyguard to protect yourself is that if the Mafia tries to kill you and hits your bodyguard instead, and the Bodyguard indicated (in their Last Will or in chat) that they were being controlled, then the Mafia will learn that you're a Witch and will avoid attacking you in the future.

Controlling evil roles

 * If you find an evil killing role. You have to decide between controlling them continuously or focusing your attention elsewhere. Controlling them continuously has the advantage of ensuring they won't kill you, but it has the disadvantage of mostly wasting your capabilities otherwise (since you're not actually helping them win). If they're Mafia, this can be even worse, since there's a constant risk that you'll make them target their own teammates.
 * Controlling the Werewolf is dangerous, since if they're role blocked, they'll stay home and kill all their visitors, including you.
 * Controlling the Arsonist is dangerous, because if you have been doused without knowing and you force the Arsonist onto itself, it will ignite and kill you.

Revealing yourself to evil roles and teaming up with them

 * If you can find who the Neutral Killing roles, the members of the Mafia or Vampire. It would be best to team up with them because you can win with any non-Town roles. Sometimes it would be best to make friends with both to avoid being killed at night. The best way to find out who anyone is by who you tell your target to kill.
 * Such as if you told person A to target person B. The next day, target B died from the Mafia. Then you can find a quiet way of talking to them, such as a whisper to target A: "I know what you are we can work together." This has its risks, though. The last thing you want to do is let the Spy know who and what you are and who the Mafia is if you want to win. If they don't work along with you, then you can always rat them out in your Last Will.
 * It's generally not to your advantage to kill off the Mafia, since you can win with them; however, remember that unlike actual members of the Mafia, you always lose if you die, and are capable of winning with the Serial Killer. Therefore, you can kill a member of the Mafia if you intend to side with the Serial Killer and the Mafia somehow becomes a threat to you -- it isn't gamethrowing provided you legitimately believe killing them increases your chances of surviving. Similarly, since you have no victory condition after you die, it isn't gamethrowing to name them in your will (doing so can even be a useful threat to keep them from killing you.) Part of playing the Witch is about building trust and cooperation with other evil roles, and having that trust fall apart is a legitimate part of the game. That said, siding with the Mafia is usually your best path to victory, so killing them should be avoided whenever possible.
 * Another strategy is to whisper to the person you controlled that you visited them last night. As your visits leave a notification in chat, they should realize you are the Witch. The good thing is that this doesn't necessarily tip off a Spy. However, if they are Town, they might realize you are the Witch and call you out.
 * One way to identify yourself to an evil killing role the night after controlling them is to announce you were controlled the next morning. Assuming there's only been signs of one Witch up until now, they will ideally realize you're lying, which will hint to them that you're the actual Witch.
 * It is generally a better idea overall to team up with the Mafia or Vampire rather than the Serial Killer, if you have the choice. If it comes down to you, the Serial Killer, and the Godfather, the Serial Killer will likely kill you in order to secure their victory, whereas the Godfather needs you alive in order to lynch the Serial Killer.
 * While you can win with the Werewolf as well, you're often better off siding with someone else and trying to get them hung. This is because the Werewolf is both unique and a visiting role. You're at risk of being killed by the Werewolf even if they know you're on their side (except the Arsonist).
 * Vampires are another possible ally; they can't convert you directly and can have a large team. Be warned that Vampires will often mistake you for an enemy when they discover you're immune to conversion, and may out you as a result. As of 1.5.9, you can now easily identify Vampires, making them probably the best role to team with. Their numbers will help prevent you from being lynched and they have no way of backstabbing you. The only thing you need to be careful about is the Mafia or a Neutral Killing discovering you. They will probably view you as a threat and kill you.
 * The Witch is unique among evil roles in that (unlike the Serial Killer) you generally need to cooperate with someone else to win, yet (unlike the Mafia and Vampire) you lack a reliable way to communicate. You should be careful when whispering; not only does this expose you to a Spy, but the simple fact that you're whispering a large amount can arouse suspicion, especially if anyone you're talking to gets exposed. At the same time, your lack of Night Immunity means you need to alert anyone you intend to cooperate with at some point or you'll likely end up killed by them.
 * If you've decided on one evil role you want to side with, it can often be advantageous to throw other evils at a confirmed Veteran. Either they'll kill the Veteran for you, or they'll die and won't be a problem anymore. This can be a particularly useful way to rid yourself of a Werewolf or Arsonist, who can be dangerous to side with (and beneficial for you to kill) for the reasons outlined above.
 * Publicly claiming Witch is dangerous, since it exposes you to a Vigilantes, the Jailor, and any evil role who fears you'll side with someone else, not to mention the mundane danger of being lynched. However, it's also often necessary when you have failed to identify your allies; waiting too long to claim is equally dangerous, since evil roles will very likely kill you as they wrap up the game.

Claiming a role

 * Publicly claiming to be a Survivor early on can reduce the chance that you'll get killed at night, and neither Investigators nor Sheriffs can falsify that claim. However, if you use your powers, a Lookout might spot you visiting, so if you're going to use this claim it might be best to hold off on controlling anyone early on. Additionally, Survivor is a common claim by Neutral Killers, whom both the Town and the Mafia want dead.
 * Acting like a Jester or Executioner is another way to reduce the risk that the Mafia will target you, since they don't need to kill those roles; however, you face the risk of being killed by a Vigilante or Jailor, or hung by a Town that misreads your signal. Additionally, this clashes with your Investigative results; since a Survivor or Vampire Hunter wouldn't generally pretend to be either, Investigators are likely to assume you're a must-kill evil.
 * A good claim is Investigator, since you know the role of the target you claimed, but remember to write an Investigator's type of Last Will. Your ability gives you a degree of information, which (in an emergency) you can use to try and confirm yourself as an Investigative by outing a night killer you previously controlled. This can be particularly useful for discarding one evil role when you've decided to side with another (eg. getting rid of the Werewolf or Arsonist when you intend to side with the Mafia, Vampire or Serial Killer.) This should be done with caution, however, for a variety of reasons. You ultimately need to side with one evil role or another to win; worse, convincing the evil roles that you're an investigative might get you killed by the people who are supposed to be on your side. Additionally, the target you controlled will know they were controlled and might figure out that that's how you identified them, outing you with their last words or in their Last Will. If you are making an Investigator will, make sure that you put the right results and the roles in the right order. Otherwise, you could be seen as a struggling Consigliere.
 * A way to get around this is to scramble your night visits of whom you controlled. Of course, a smart player could crack the code and you can be busted by a Lookout.
 * If you are going to claim a Town Investigative role, one easy one to choose is Lookout. Not only is a Lookout will easy to make up (much better than Investigator), you can also use who you controlled to write down visits. If you control person A to visit person B, write in your fake Lookout will that you watched person B and that they were visited by A. Any accurate info besides writing "none" in a fake Lookout Last Will will often be the difference between you getting lynched and being pardoned by the Town.
 * You should always declare your true role the moment you think the Town no longer has a majority to protect yourself from being killed or lynched, especially if there's an Arsonist. Even when the Town still has killing roles or still has a majority, it can often be safer to declare your true role than you might think; first, many people will take you for a Jester, and second, you're low-priority from the Town's perspective -- you can't kill directly, and they don't actually have to kill you to win. This doesn't mean it's safe; Vigilantes and the in particular are a huge danger to an exposed Witch. But you have to weigh this against the protection you get from the Mafia and from Neutral Killing roles.
 * This is especially useful in Rainbow mode where the Town has only two members, maximum three counting the "Any" in the role list. However, distrust is especially rampant in Rainbow mode, due to the massive amount of different teams. The killing roles may just kill you because they are afraid you will side with the rest of the evils against them, while the mafia may kill you just because they may think you are lying. The Town has a valid reason to take you out and most importantly, there is nothing you can do to keep yourself safe, since every team is made up of 2 killing roles with the exception of the Mafia. So even if you try to keep a confirmed Serial Killer from killing you, there is always the second member of that team to worry about.

General notes

 * Take note on how those whom you've controlled acts. If they are not alarmed by being controlled, or even go out of their way to feign ignorance of your existence, it is very likely that they are on your side. In particular, when someone asks if anyone else has been controlled the night after you controlled them, they're signalling to you that they're evil.
 * When using your power to try and sound out who people are, remember that your primary goal is to impede the Town and to support evil roles; above all else, you want to avoid harming the evil roles you need to win. Therefore, try to make sure your second target is Town, or at least non-evil, and try to avoid deliberately controlling evil roles unless you're certain you can benefit from it or if you're worried they'll attack you if you don't. If someone has previously signaled to you that they're evil (by, for instance, ignoring the fact that you controlled them), don't target people at them unless you know what you're doing, since you probably don't want to kill them by accident.
 * When you're experimenting, never make your victim self-target (unless for achievement purpose or if you're absolutely certain you know what you're doing). There are several ways it can go wrong:
 * If they're a Mafioso, you'll kill an ally.
 * If they're a Werewolf on Full Moon, you'll kill yourself.
 * If they're a Lookout, you'll be outing yourself.
 * Most Townies won't have any special effect when self-targeting; you'll waste their turn, but you generally do that by targeting them anywhere else, too.
 * The only Townie who will really benefit you to self-target (the Vigilante) is even more effective when they target another Town.
 * Additionally, making someone self-target generally gives you less information, since they're unlikely to announce something that would reveal their role whereas if you make a role blocker, Blackmailer, or Arsonist target someone else you can usually figure it out based on their victim's reactions; and of course if you make a Godfather or Serial Killer target someone else, it's usually immediately obvious, whereas nothing will happen if you make them target themselves.
 * You can make a known or suspected Arsonist self-target in order to make them ignite, which can be useful if you think they've mainly doused Town members and not the Mafia. However, if you have been doused yourself, you should make Arsonist target someone else every night to prevent him from igniting his victims, including you. If you feel like the Arsonist is the last obstacle to other evil roles' victory, rat the Arsonist out as an Investigator, Lookout or Vigilante or even like a Witch yourself.
 * Investigators, Lookouts, Doctors, Bodyguards, and Sheriffs will not know who they are looking at if you tell them to look at a certain person. For example, if Sheriff A looks at target B, who is Mafia, and Sheriff A is controlled by witch to look at target C (Doctor), the result would be the same as if they were originally looking at target C. For Town Investigative roles, however, because the user knows they are controlled, they will usually end up scrapping the data for that night, regardless of the outcome, since there is no way of finding out who they ended up actually looking at.

Friendships
For example: If you found the Godfather or Serial Killer and wanted to make sure they do not attack you if you stop controlling them, you would probably whisper ( /w (name or number) (message) ) them not to attack you. However if there is a Spy lurking around, then you would have to be a lot more careful in what you whisper, especially if someone is a proven Spy.

This is because if Spy discovers you whispering to someone suspiciously, then they may record it in their will, thus when they die you will be under suspicion. If the Spy is proven, and you control the Serial Killer or Godfather attack them, then they may be protected and not die (Doctor protection), wasting a night or you would lose your killer (Bodyguard protection). Additionally, if the Spy is proven, they will probably have no qualms in just telling the town what you whispered. If what you whispered is even slightly suspicious, most smart Townies will simply jump the gun and attempt to have you lynched, which is quite annoying to deal with.

However, most of the time if you can see that there are only 2 Town Investigatives and none of them are Spy then you may want to whisper, as it will help guarantee your friendship with a killing role, leaving you time to create havoc among the rest of the Town. If you are checking the role list for spies then make sure to also check Random Towns and Anys. However factor in that most of the time taking the risk is important and very beneficial to you.

Whispering to a killing role that you have found is incredibly beneficial and most of the time they will accept your help. After all, you both have basically the same goals in mind and killing roles are usually alone, with the exception of Godfather unless all of the Mafia have died, thus partnering with you ensures them your support and another vote, which can be devastating.

However in the unlikely event that the killing role that you have found decides, "Lets kill the witch!", then you may want to "inform" them that their names will be in your will, along with their roles and also the reason why you believed they were bad. This will most probably either enrage them and make them kill you out of spite, in which case you may as well screw them over, or make them cooperate, a bit of a dodgy unwanted friendship but needed.

Who to control and when
You want to ensure as many Town members die as possible and that your killing friend is not suspected. As a Witch more attention to the roles is needed as you need to ensure that your friends survive. Towns are always first killing priority because if worst comes to worst, they are the only group you cannot win with.

For example: You have found the Godfather early in the game (this rarely happens) and you know who the rest of the Mafia are. If one of the Mafia eg. Blackmailer and Consigliere are found out by an Investigator then you may want to attempt to destroy their plan or ensure that town forgets about it.

You can do this by telling the Godfather to attack someone who was supporting the Investigator/Sheriff's accusation and you, yourself can control a Doctor to heal the accused, this ensures that a) the Investigator/Sheriff's accusation is weakened and you can simply brush it aside without too much suspicion and b) The accused is not shot by a Vigilante.

The reason why you should not be attacking an Investigator or Sheriff themselves is that this generally enrages Town more and most people will make the connection that whom they have accused has killed them to try and get rid of any suspicion. The Investigator or Sheriff may become a matter and in most likelihood, the accused will get lynched.

Dangers
The Witch can be incredibly powerful and incredibly damaging; however, it is up to you to use your mind and figure out what to do. But be aware of potential dangers.

Spy: Does it really need to be said? A Spy can quickly and easily take you out if you're not careful. One suspicious whisper towards a potential ally and Spy will call both of you out, if not directly, then in their Last Will, unless you side with Mafia and a Janitor/Forger does their ability on the Spy. Even if you avoid getting lynched by claiming Survivor, if there's a good Vigilante in that game, they will shoot you, and you will die. Since your only way of getting in contact with an evil role is whispering, the Spy is potentially the biggest threat to a Witch's success, as well as a Lookout being able to be discredited as an Executioner if you're lucky, and an Investigator may be fooled by a Survivor claim if there is no Vigilante in game, a Spy is quickly and easily proven through the "Spy-test", leaving you and your potential ally up the creek without a paddle.

Lookout: If you have been consistently controlling a Town Protective role to heal yourself then a smart Lookout might visit the Town Protective to see who has been visiting them. Ignore this danger if the Town Protective role has not been saying they are getting repeatedly controlled or if you desperately need protection that night. Also, if you control a Lookout into themselves, a smart Lookout could notice this and call you out.

Veteran: Pay attention to who this role has killed and guess/estimate how many alerts they have left. If they have used all 3 then do not bother kill them as they cannot do anything anymore and are not worth your time. However, if they have confirmed their role as Veteran, they do not have any alerts left and Town will trust them. Then, it will be best to kill them off and ensure a Town Protective role does not guard them. This way, you will have more leverage and a better chance to convince town that you are good.

Investigators: An Investigator will read you as Survivor, Witch or Vampire Hunter; since this has one Town option, many of them will likely call you out. Witches are low-priority from the Town's perspective (since you don't kill directly), but you could still be killed. Claiming Survivor after an Investigator has accused you is dangerous, since the Town loses little by hanging a Survivor. Sometimes, the appropriate thing to do is admit to being a Witch; this may get the evil roles on your side, and late in the game (when they're at risk of losing the majority if they don't hang a killer), the Town might not be able to spare the time to hang you. If it's early in the game, you can accuse the Investigator of being an Executioner, but this is dangerous, since they can often prove themselves by posting their will.

Others: Sheriffs are not a huge danger to you, since you show up as not suspicious; if you are accused by one, either you were framed, or it's a Jester or other evil roles trying to stir up suspicion. React the way an innocent Townie would; ask for their will or other details to prove their role, suggest you may have been framed (which a Spy may be able to confirm), call them out as an Executioner when they fail to provide corroborating information and so on.

Early game: You are most vulnerable early game because you do not know any roles and you will be discovered immediately if someone simply points out that there is a Witch. In early game pay attention to how people act and what that may mean their role is. Discovering an important role early is your precious key to winning the game, so use whatever you can to protect it (without getting yourself lynched, obviously). However, if there seems to be solid evidence that your potential ally has been discovered...It would be smarter to add to the prosecution and completely ignore them. Early game is when most Witches will fall short.

Last Will: In your Last Will, you can keep a record of who you control and what. This is useful for your own records, and the knowledge that your will likely incriminates them will keep smarter night killers from killing you if they've identified you. If you wish, you can blank or edit your will if you expect to be hung in order to avoid incriminating evil roles; however, note that you're not required to do so. Witches have to be alive to win and always lose the game when killed, so (unlike actual Mafia members and Vampire) it's not gamethrowing for you to incriminate your fellow evil roles when you die.

Sorcière