Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-34881179-20191203213202

Today I'm going to be analyzing one of the most hated roles in Town of Salem. Is it as bad as most make it out to be? This is going to be a series, so if you have a role you want me to analyze, feel free to ask. Also, feel free to debate with me. This is all my opinion!

'''Is it fun to play? (10 points) '''I personally find the medium fun to play. Medium is the only role in the game with the ability to communicate with the dead. It's thrilling to know information others don't and to be able to help town with the knowledge of multiple roles. Unfortunately, for the first few nights, you're pretty much useless, and it can be quite boring, especially if players leave the game after they die. (6 points)

'''Is it powerful? (10 points) '''Medium is not one of the roles you typically think of as powerful. They can't visit and they don't have any kills. However, if there is a janitor in the game, medium can be very useful to the town, as they can figure out what cleaned targets were and what information they had. Even in games where there is no janitor, there are usually roles that have some sort of incriminating evidence against the mafia, which medium can use to the aid of the town. (6 points)

'''Is it still useful after your death? (5 points) '''Unlike most roles, medium can be quite useful after their death. Even if medium dies night one or night two, they can gather lots of important information that they can use later in the game with a powerful seance. (5 points)

'''Does it have the potential to carry? (10 points) '''Mediums usually choose to be quiet and unassuming, however, I have played multiple games where a medium has carried the town. I played one game as medium in which the mayor and jailor died night one and night two, so the town figured they were pretty much screwed. I stood up in the absence of the more powerful roles and used the information I had to get two mafia and serial killers lynched, carrying the town to victory- and while the "aggressive medium" tactic isn't common at all, I've seen others use it to great effect. My conclusion: medium can definitely carry- in the absence of a more ideal role such as jailor or investigator. (7 points)

'''Does it have the potential to make things worse for their team? (-10 points) '''Medium doesn't kill, so they don't have to worry about accidentally killing town, like Veteran and Vigilante do. (0 points)

'''Does claiming medium make you a suspect? (-5 points) '''Medium is seen as a very suspicious claim by town. I've seen many mediums get lynched falsely. Unfortunately, evils often choose to imitate this role because of its easiness to fake. (-5 points)

'''Is it seen as valuable by their team? (5 points) '''Medium is often overlooked. It can be very useful in certain situations, but town doesn't tend to realize this until it's too late. (2 points)

'''Is it seen as a threat to opposing factions? (-5 points)''' A perk to being overlooked is that medium is not often seen as a threat to opposing factions. Most mafia don't see mediums as a role that is worth killing, and being killed during the night as medium is surprisingly rare past day one- medium lynchings are much more common. (0 points)

'''How difficult is it to win? (-10 to 10 points)  '''Being a town role, medium is easier to win than most other roles, but not easy enough to be boring. You're working with a team, unlike the Neutral Killing roles, and with competent team members, winning is easy enough. (7 points)

Final score: 27 out of a possible 50

Final rating: objectively average, but fun to play in my opinion. 