Saulus

Saulus Alias: none Alignment: Mafia Role type: Alignment-Changing Choice: None Status: Historical

A Saulus is originally an anti-town role, but when it should die (either by elimination or other kill), it stays alive and converts to the Town's side instead. The Town is told nothing except that the elimination failed.

Saulus is, of course, anti-Town... at first. See also Judas. Saulus is generally considered a bastard role.

Both roles are named after people from the New Testament of the Bible. The name 'Judas' derives from Judas Iscariot while 'Saulus' comes from the Latin for Saul of Tarsus a.k.a. Paul the Apostle.

Saulus is an alignment-changing role, and thus requires declaring a game mechanically bastard.

Standard version

A Saulus is an initially scum-aligned player who, when they would die, if they are not aligned with the Town, instead survives and has their alignment changed to pro-Town.

Implementation

Saulus is more difficult to implement than Judas because simply taking the above as the only things different about Saulus, the Saulus role can simply tell everyone their ex-scumpartners as soon as it converts. The only really feasible way to do this is to not tell the Saulus role who their partners are, essentially making them a Mafia Traitor prior to their first death.

The other way to implement Saulus is tell them who their scumpartners are, but forcibly replace them upon death. If the Saulus role is eliminated, the forced replacement is a dead giveaway that their alignment changed. If the Saulus role is killed overNight... it may still be a giveaway, but more to the scum than anyone else. The advantage of this approach is that Saulus can be told who their partners are but still perform in good faith as a Townie later.

A Saulus who converts on elimination should lose if the main Mafia group is dead, to avoid giving them a potentially automatic win in such a scenario.

Variations

With the above implementation in mind, it is not a far step to say that the Saulus aspect can be Hidden until they convert. The Saulus role receives a Mafia Traitor Role PM in this case, using the Traitor variant that does not know who the scum are.

Saulus may also appear in games with Judas, muddying what kind of role caused the elimination to stop.

In Greater Idea Mafia and variants, Saulus only turns to town on elimination, not if it is nightkilled or dayvigged.

Play Advice

Without any knowledge of who the scum are, Saulus is more likely to win by acting like a one-shot Deathproof Townie - it is more likely to die somehow before the scum attain a majority than to win before conversion. With that in mind, that's basically what it amounts to.

With knowledge of who the scum are, the Saulus role's optimal play becomes much hazier, as it may still be better for them to play like a Townie from the beginning - but this time the Saulus knows who the scum are.

Sample Role PMs

The standardized Role PM for "Saulus" describes the passive ability as follows:

• As an unmodified passive ability: If you would die, if you are not aligned with the Town, instead you survive and become aligned with the Town. (edit)

• As a passive ability with a modifier: the nth time you would die OR If you would die on day n, if you are not aligned with the Town, instead you survive and become aligned with the Town. (edit)

Example (unmodified)

Welcome to game! You are a Mafia Saulus.

Your team-mates are names. You may talk to them here during night phases and confirmations only.

If you would die, if you are not aligned with the Town, instead you survive and become aligned with the Town.

You have the following active ability:

• Each Night, if no other member of your faction is performing this action, you may target a player. Assuming no interference with your action, that player will die.

You win if at least one mafia member is alive and all other players are dead (or if nothing can prevent the same).

Confirm by replying to this PM with a summary of your role.

Example (modified)

Welcome to game! You are a Mafia Even Night Saulus.

Your team-mates are names. You may talk to them here during night phases and confirmations only.

If you would die during even-numbered Nights, if you are not aligned with the Town, instead you survive and become aligned with the Town.

You have the following active ability:

• Each Night, if no other member of your faction is performing this action, you may target a player. Assuming no interference with your action, that player will die.

You win if at least one mafia member is alive and all other players are dead (or if nothing can prevent the same).

Confirm by replying to this PM with a summary of your role.