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{{role
{{RolePage
|alias= Gunsmith
| Align = Town
|align= Pro-town
| Alias = Gunsmith
|type= Informative
| Type = Investigative
|choice= Night
| Choice = Night
}}
| Normal = Complex
A '''Psychologist''' is an investigative role that determines, in some sense, whether a player has an ability that can kill another player.
 
| Introduction = The '''Psychologist''' is an investigative role that determines a player's [[Killing Roles|ability to kill]]. It does however have a drawback: if a player has already killed, the Psychologist can no longer discern whether this player is capable of doing so.
| Standard = A Psychologist can investigate one player for unused kills each night. Only three results can be obtained from this investigation: Negative, Positive, or [[no result]]. This investigation resolves after any killing abilities in the [[Night|Night phase]].


Psychologists are most useful to the [[Town]]; although the role makes logical sense for other alignments, this is rarely seen.
* A negative result is returned from players that are unable to [[active]]ly kill another player, or on a player that has already killed.
* A positive result is returned from players that can choose to kill, but have not done so.
* The "no result" result is returned as a result of the action failing as a consequence of another role (e.g. a [[Roleblocker]] or [[Ascetic]]) interfering with it.


== Variations ==
Roles like [[Paranoid Gun Owner]], who have [[passive]] kills, give negative results because they have no active kill. Likewise, a [[Mafia Traitor]] has no kill and thus will produce a negative result; a [[Vigilante]] will produce a positive result before it makes its first kill.
The exact behaviour of the role is not completely standardised yet; as such, all versions of the Psychologist can be considered variants.
| Variations = An older version of the Psychologist could discern a player's capability to kill even after that player had killed; this was effectively a stronger variant of the [[Gunsmith]] (because it did not have false positives on, e.g., [[Cop]]s). The two roles thus used to be very similar but have diverged somewhat since; this version of the Psychologist is still called a Gunsmith on occasion.


The simplest possible version of a Psychologist simply determines whether a player has an ''active killing ability''; thus, it would detect [[Vigilantes]], and any [[Mafia]], [[Werewolf]], or [[Serial Killer]] with a standard nightkill. This version of the role is very powerful in town hands; because there are few ways to get false positives or false negatives, it's more similar to a [[Cop]] than to [[Gunsmith]]. However, note that anti-Town roles with no active kill, such as some variants of the [[Traitor]], will appear innocent. Note that although the name '''Gunsmith''' is occasionally seen for this role, on mafiascum.net that name is typically used for a different role.
The now Normal version of the Psychologist was a weakened version originally designed for the [[Hard Boiled]] setup. An alternative way to weaken the role, that's been seen on occasion, is for the Psychologist to detect players who ''have the capability to cause a death at night'' (including indirectly); this is much more prone to false positives, e.g. it could detect a standard [[Miller]] if there's a [[Weak]] player around, a [[Deflector]] if anyone has a kill, etc.


Because the simple version is so powerful, many moderators prefer to limit its power somewhat. In the [[Hard Boiled]] setup, a Psychologist can only detect players who have a kill ''but have not yet successfully used it''. (In most action resolution methods, the Psychologist will also not get a "has an unused kill" result on a player if they successfully perform a kill that night.)
The [[Psychiatrist]] is an unrelated role with a similar name.


A subtler change that's been seen to weaken the Psychologist is for them to detect players who ''have the capability to cause a death at night'' (including indirectly); this is much more prone to false positives, e.g. it could detect a standard [[Miller]] if there's a [[Weak]] player around, a [[Deflector]] if anyone has a kill, etc.
The [[Detective]] is the opposite of the Psychologist, able to sense only players who have killed.
| Use = A Psychologist is normally used as a substitute for a [[Cop]], in cases where the Cop would be too powerful and a weaker variant is desired. In particular, its power tends to fade later in the game (especially if the scum know it exists), and thus can be useful to help balance [[skew]]ed setups in which pro-town swing is more of a danger than pro-scum swing.


== Use and Power ==
If using a variant, it's important to know in advance which roles in the game it will gain Negative and Positive results on. In addition, choosing when the action resolves when the game setup is still being created is crucial to identifying the role's power level.
As a player, you generally want to use your Psychologist ability to find threats to your team (typically the [[Mafia]], although if you're Mafia yourself, you can instead use it to find [[Vigilantes]], and players on opposite teams in a [[multiball]] game). Avoid anyone you think is likely to provide a false negative or false positive (e.g. never scan a claimed Vigilante, as you'll likely get "can kill" whether or not they're telling the truth), and otherwise treat the role like you would a [[Cop]]. Also, try to be absolutely sure on what circumstances will provoke a false positive or false negative; the role is sufficiently non-standardised that it can take a careful reading of your role PM, and perhaps questions to the moderator, to determine what circumstances could cause a pro-Town player to have a kill or an anti-Town player to not have one.


As a moderator, bear in mind that the role is a fairly powerful investigative, but that players are typically inclined to overestimate its power. Most setups with a Psychologist have also included some convoluted way for it to produce misleading results, based on the exact wording of the role (this is part of the reason why the role tends to be nonstandardised – so that moderators can tweak the wording to produce creative false positives and false negatives). In general, players tend to miss this when it happens (this has happened at least twice by now), and the incorrect conclusions that they draw can end up hurting their faction more than their valid results help. As such, it's wise not to be too clever with it.
Psychologist is almost (but not quite) useless for anti-town players, except in [[multiball]].
| Advice = As a player, the Psychologist should opt to play much like a Cop would. This means that investigating either players you find difficult to [[read]] or scummy players you would find it difficult to leverage an elimination upon take top priority.  


The variant that cannot detect players who have already killed is substantially weaker, but is useful if you want multiple investigative roles in a game when you already have a [[Jailkeeper]], [[Tracker]], or similar role that gets more powerful as the game goes long; because its strength is mostly in the early game, it tends to cause less late-game swing than usual for an investigative role.
There is not much purpose in trying to catch anyone other than [[groupscum]] with the Normal version of this role; a [[Serial Killer]] or [[Vigilante]] has no reason not to kill Night 1, in which case the role will be unable to detect them. On the flip side of this, a positive result nearly always means that you've caught a member of a scumteam.
}}

Latest revision as of 10:52, 1 November 2023

Psychologist
Alias:
  • Gunsmith
Alignment:
Role type:
  • Investigative
Choice:
  • Night
Status: Complex Normal

The Psychologist is an investigative role that determines a player's ability to kill. It does however have a drawback: if a player has already killed, the Psychologist can no longer discern whether this player is capable of doing so.

Normal version

This role is allowed in Complex Normal games.

A Psychologist can investigate one player for unused kills each night. Only three results can be obtained from this investigation: Negative, Positive, or no result. This investigation resolves after any killing abilities in the Night phase.

  • A negative result is returned from players that are unable to actively kill another player, or on a player that has already killed.
  • A positive result is returned from players that can choose to kill, but have not done so.
  • The "no result" result is returned as a result of the action failing as a consequence of another role (e.g. a Roleblocker or Ascetic) interfering with it.

Roles like Paranoid Gun Owner, who have passive kills, give negative results because they have no active kill. Likewise, a Mafia Traitor has no kill and thus will produce a negative result; a Vigilante will produce a positive result before it makes its first kill.

Variations

An older version of the Psychologist could discern a player's capability to kill even after that player had killed; this was effectively a stronger variant of the Gunsmith (because it did not have false positives on, e.g., Cops). The two roles thus used to be very similar but have diverged somewhat since; this version of the Psychologist is still called a Gunsmith on occasion.

The now Normal version of the Psychologist was a weakened version originally designed for the Hard Boiled setup. An alternative way to weaken the role, that's been seen on occasion, is for the Psychologist to detect players who have the capability to cause a death at night (including indirectly); this is much more prone to false positives, e.g. it could detect a standard Miller if there's a Weak player around, a Deflector if anyone has a kill, etc.

The Psychiatrist is an unrelated role with a similar name.

The Detective is the opposite of the Psychologist, able to sense only players who have killed.

Use & Balance

A Psychologist is normally used as a substitute for a Cop, in cases where the Cop would be too powerful and a weaker variant is desired. In particular, its power tends to fade later in the game (especially if the scum know it exists), and thus can be useful to help balance skewed setups in which pro-town swing is more of a danger than pro-scum swing.

If using a variant, it's important to know in advance which roles in the game it will gain Negative and Positive results on. In addition, choosing when the action resolves when the game setup is still being created is crucial to identifying the role's power level.

Psychologist is almost (but not quite) useless for anti-town players, except in multiball.

Play Advice

As a player, the Psychologist should opt to play much like a Cop would. This means that investigating either players you find difficult to read or scummy players you would find it difficult to leverage an elimination upon take top priority.

There is not much purpose in trying to catch anyone other than groupscum with the Normal version of this role; a Serial Killer or Vigilante has no reason not to kill Night 1, in which case the role will be unable to detect them. On the flip side of this, a positive result nearly always means that you've caught a member of a scumteam.

Sample Role PMs

The standardized Role PM for "Psychologist" describes the action as follows:

  • As a targeted action: you will learn whether or not that player has an unused active killing ability (which gives a "positive" result), as opposed to having no kill or a kill that has already been used (both of which give a "negative" result). (edit)

Example (simplest form)

Welcome to game! You are a Town Psychologist.

You have the following active ability:

  • Each Night, you may target a player. Assuming no interference with your action, you will learn whether or not that player has an unused active killing ability (which gives a "positive" result), as opposed to having no kill or a kill that has already been used (both of which give a "negative" result).

You win if all threats to the town are eliminated and at least one town-aligned player is alive.

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

Example (with modifiers)

Welcome to game! You are a Town 1-shot Loud Psychologist.

You have the following active ability:

  • Once in the game at Night, you may target a player. Assuming no interference with your action, you will learn whether or not that player has an unused active killing ability (which gives a "positive" result), as opposed to having no kill or a kill that has already been used (both of which give a "negative" result). Your target will learn that you targeted them (but not what action you targeted them with).

You win if all threats to the town are eliminated and at least one town-aligned player is alive.

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

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