Politician

Politician
Alignment
Third party
Night Visiting Role
65
Abilities
Vote counts twice during the day. Every 2 days, randomly becomes village or mafia. Each change is independent, so politicians have an equal chance of remaining sided with their current alignment and of changing sides

Abilities

The Politician's vote counts twice, making his vote very decisive in determining who wins, especially later on in the game. The Politician changes sides randomly every two days (except in [day start], where it will change after the first night). A message will appear telling you which side the game has randomly chosen to put you on. It is very possible to stay with one side the entire game, so don't expect a switch to occur.

System Messages

Politician's alignment changes over the course of the game.

If a politician is town-sided, they will get at night the following message:

You feel particularly aligned with the village.

If a politician is mafia-sided, they will get this message at night instead:

You feel particularly aligned with the mafia.

Strategies and Tactics

Playing as Politician

• Plan ahead. Your side could change on Night 3, so be prepared for that possibility.
• If you think your side will win, you may want to consider finding a way to get killed before your alignment changes. When mafia sided, fake claiming and leading a mislynch day one is particularly effective, as your lynch/death by vig is probable...and if you survive, the mafia has probably contacted you by then, allowing you to out them. Or as an (initially) town-sided politician, you can also get night killed by subtly claiming a power role.
• Work with other politicians, even if you start on different sides. Tell the side you both plan on winning with about the idea, and have the appropriate politicians killed before they switch. Together, you control a sizable voting block.
• To confirm that a player is, indeed, the politician and not a mafia hiding behind a claim wall, vote in such a way that a normal vote would lynch that player. A politician's vote would force an nl, whereas the scum would die.
• If you are mafia-sided, do not claim to be aligned with the village. This will only get you killed to prevent you from changing sides, probably by the vig, and will not let you use your powers to their full potential...though on the other hand, if you can confuse the town enough that the mafia will probably win, you've little to lose from death.

Bugs

Discuss Politician bugs

Is viewed as a member of the mafia if aligned with mafia, and will end game if the number of mafia-sided votes (mafia plus twice the number of living mafia-sided politicians) is greater or equal to the number of villagers. (Incorrect. I was politician sided with mafia on 3-way lylo, and it still went to day and we had a vote) Not told alignment if there is a day start, until the end of Day 2.

• Although it is reported that the politician changes role after Day 1 in a day start, this also seems to happen on a night start too. Could possibly be because more than one politician was in the setup.