Tips and Tricks for Traitors in Salem – Official Traitors in Salem Guidebook

This document is tailored towards players who already understand the basic principles of the game but wish to take their experience further by applying new rules that take the game to another level. Although you will likely face resistance at first, with each game played using these strategies you will gain more ground until all other players will be forced into your game and must play your way!

Chapter 1: Saints Don’t Claim the Saint

When saints are killed, the killer’s cooldowns on abilities are doubled for the rest of the game. When playing the saint, the primary goal and dominant approach is to be slain by the traitors. Saint is an unconfirmable role, which means they have no manner of proving themselves as a town member, unlike townies or medium. A traitor can easily claim sainthood because they don’t have to do anything to prove their innocence. In comparison, a mayor or king can readily exploit their position to defend their innocence.

So, if you are a saint, why would you want any surviving town member or traitor to know that? If killing a saint doubles a traitor’s cooldown, why would a traitor ever kill someone who has claimed sainthood? When you claim saint, you completely demolish your position in the game and are no longer useful to anyone in the lobby. You’ve painted such a large target on your back that no rational lobby would let you live and just do your tasks, as it’s a huge burden keeping you in the game if you’re a traitor. The only exception is if you were revealed by a medium or Madam Martha. However, if you obtain the madam martha duty as saint, I believe you should not divulge because you will be more important to the village if you die to a traitor. If you’re a saint and you’ve been elected to the stand, simply lie about your function. In this circumstance, I’ve found that investigator is an excellent claim because your knowledge isn’t as valuable as a sheriff’s and is easier to falsify without producing false proof that may have you or a fellow townie lynched. After all, it’s a social deception game, and both townies and traitors should be lying if it boosts their chances of winning and avoiding being lynched.

There is also statistically significant data proving the validity of this rule. In a recent study, 154 out of 156 times a player who claimed saint while in the discussion/voting phase ended up not being saint (the abstract is linked below).

For significance tests including tests of fit, there is a hypothesized condition (called null hypothesis or H0) that one is testing to see if it is true. For a test of fit the hypothesized condition is that the selected distribution generated the data. For a test that the means are equal, the hypothesized condition is equal means. The p-value is then the probability that the data or one more extreme than it would have been generated under the hypothesized condition. A p-value of 0.05 would indicate that the chance of the observed data is low, 1 in 20, due to variation alone. This is good evidence that the data was not generated under the hypothesized condition. The hypothesized condition is rejected if the p-value is 0.05 or below. This provides 95% confidence the hypothesized condition is not true, i.e., the data does not fit the selected distribution or the means are not the equal.

The smaller the p-value, the greater the evidence that the data did not come from the selected distribution. For tests of fit and other tests, the confidence level is calculated from the p-value as 100*(1 – p-value). Therefore:

Confidence Level p-value

99% 0.01

95% 0.05

90% 0.1

The p-value is also known as alpha level or significance level.

Taking this all into account, we can reject the null hypothesis and conclude that saints in fact, do not claim saint on a 99% confidence interval where our p-score is smaller than our alpha level of .01.

Chapter 2: Only evil people do tasks

If anyone in the game ever comments or complains that tasks aren’t being done, they’re most likely evil. It’s optimal for traitors if they can convince the town to perform tasks that fill up the bar, as it leads to more isolation and makes getting away with kills easier. As a town member, it’s much more effective to have an extended discussion section where people continue to claim and confirm themselves. For roles where the main objective is to not die, it doesn’t make sense to go off on your own and get killed, especially when you have a conformable role. Town members should be having social hour in town center as opposed to doing another candy crush, where they’re left out in the open to die. If anyone on the stand ever presents “doing their tasks” as evidence of their innocence, then it’s because they have nothing else to fall back on, and they’re most likely evil.

Chapter 3: That’s a nice role you claimed

When a player on the stand is being voted on, the best play is to claim a role and communicate how you’ve used it during the game. If a player on the stand is being voted on, and all they talk about is their pathing and how they can’t be the killer, then they’re probably evil. If at the end of their uninterrupted soliloquy, they still haven’t said anything about their role, then they’re probably evil.

Chapter 4: Only evils use the Hedge maze teleporter

As a prosecutor or vigilante, a safe way to kill an evil is to camp near the hedge maze teleporter. Even though killers have increased vision during the night, they still won’t be able to see you in the hedge maze if you’re all the way in the bottom right. This makes it a perfect place for town-killing roles to post up and wait for a traitor to pop up. In very rare circumstances you may kill a legitimate transporter, but it’s uncommon enough that the risk is absolutely worth it. There isn’t really much of a reason for a real transporter to be down there anyway, so killing based on circumstance is definitely justified. In the event that you’re right or wrong, make sure to reference to this rule, as it will diffuse any tension if you killed a townie, or grant you high praise for successfully following The Guidebook.

Chapter 5: Evils go to the graveyard first

This one is self-explanatory and largely relies on circumstantial evidence, however, data collected over the last 11 months has shown statistical significance and a positive correlation between people going to graveyard first, and them ending up being a traitor. It’s absolutely possible that they have a task in a graveyard, but just to be sure, take a mental note and announce to everyone who went to graveyard off rip, so that in the event that you’re right, everyone will suck you off.

Chapter 6: Hit that Hezi

Hitting a “hezi” is slang for a hesitant move or doubling back on someone. If a player double-backs on you or hesitates as they approach you, then they’re most likely evil.

Chapter 7: Quiet Quentins

This is a simple one, just pay attention to who’s speaking when and take note of whether they were evil. Carry over the knowledge to the next game and you have a better chance of deducing who’s evil based on their speech patterns and how much they talk when they’re town or traitor.

Chapter 8: Jesters don’t claim jester and always vote out the jester

Same as rule 1, it goes against the purpose of their role to be honest in their claim. If you suspect an evil of being a jester, they probably aren’t and they just made a blunder that exposed themselves. In the event you discover an actual jester, just vote them out. The revealed jester is just going to hide in a teleporter, and the vigilante will never be able to kill them. Just vote them out.

Chapter 9: Press the big yellow button

Just pay attention to who wants to skip discussion, sometimes you can catch an evil that way. If anyone says the phrase “Let’s just press the big yellow button” they’re probably evil.

Chapter 10: I’m a victim

Players who blame them for getting voted up on sexism or some other form of discrimination are probably evil. They’re just grasping at straws and trying to gain sympathy to not get voted out.

Chapter 11: Simple chapter

This chapter stands apart from others in that there is no way of protecting yourself from Simple. Once on his radar, there will be no escape if he gets you lynched – whether through fake dogs barking or using an Eagle eye he has you under his control and will get rid of you no matter the method used to kill. He has become adept at deception by pretending to be sheriff and calling out people directly before his eyes in order for them to kill each other right in front of his own face.

This character stands out because they tend to be right most of the time. He might make assumptions without evidence, such as just going off of gut feelings; yet they often end up correct. He doesn’t perform tasks, and when town doesn’t use his role’s abilities. Instead he relies solely on estimation. His superpower lies within this field. As inquisitor he will bring Tangible up before him for questioning; when inquisitoring him will call out their role – although this might cause some insult; don’t take personal offense at being called out as it all personal! Most importantly however is whenever this character says, “Hey guys I’m going to vote out evil!” they become evil – making “Him”.

 

Chapter 12: “I’m so confused”

“I’m so confused”, “I don’t even know what’s happening”, and “Tell me who to vote”

Unless you’re a new player you’re not probably not confused, but in the event that you are generally confused, don’t vocalize it to the lobby until the game ends or you’re dead. The collected data shows that players who use the aforementioned language are most likely evil, and attempting to draw dissension within the town.

Side Notes

Canman is from Uruguay

Phoenix has diabetes

Tangible claims coroner when he’s evil

Moo is shadow banned

If you were born before the year 2000, you’re a boomer

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