User blog:TheRetroPioneer/How to Think of a Role Idea

If you're like me, you love thinking of role ideas. I mean, heck, even if you don't create role ideas that often, it's fun to imagine a custom role that you have made in a game and thinking of how it would interact with everybody else. I know. I've made about twenty role ideas as of posting this. If you are having trouble coming up with role ideas, here are some suggestions:

Use a Thesaurus

If you are creating a role, try searching up a random word like "musician" or "hacker" and finding synonyms, near-synonyms, antonyms or near-anntonyms for that role and using a certain word as the base idea for your role.

Use Historical Examples

Check history for ideas. For Example: You could make a role idea called the "Bombardier" or create a role that works like a Japanese spy during the first Sino–Japanese war.

Use Examples from Pop Culture

You could make a role idea based upon a character that you saw in a movie or a character from a video game.

Using Themes

This was primarily applies to the Mafia and the Coven. Roles for the Mafia should capture the theme of organized crime, and therefore your role ideas should be related to Deception and Shady action.

Role Editing

Role editing is essentially where you take a role and slowly modify its mechanics until it becomes another entirely different role. This can also happen when you try to suggest balance changes for a currently existing role or a role idea, and realise that you've come up with a great role altogether. It's like how the "Jailor" role captures the same idea as the "Vigilante" role, but they are still different enough to be counted as two different roles.

Let Your Mind Wander

Sometimes, you think of a good idea if you let your mind go do its own thing for a little bit.

I will tell you this now: Even if you try every single idea that I suggested above, you aren't guarenteed to think of a role idea. I mean, you probably aren't even gaurenteed to think of many role ideas at all during your time playing Town of Salem. There are probably plenties of other ways for you to think up role ideas out there.

For those of you with inspiration to create a role (whether or not you have folloewd my advice or not), I wish you good luck on creating a successful role.

- TheRetroPioneer