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Familiar

The Familiar is a role given to another player when they are recruited by a Vampire. This makes the Familiar role different from all other roles in the game. The Familiar role replaces the player's previous role. The Familiar is permanently aligned with the Vampire and shares their win condition. The characteristics of the Familiar depend on the type of Vampire that recruited them. There are significant differences between the original Vampire, the Vampire Master, and their Familiar(s).

Role Type​

  • The Seer identifies this role as "Familiar".
  • The Familiar is not seen as a user of witchcraft.
  • The Familiar is seen visiting by the Harlot/Stalker (and by another Familiar (Stalker)).
  • The Familiar is not seen as a killer by the Adjudicator if they are a Stalker or Gravedigger.
  • The Familiar is seen as a killer by the Adjudicator if they are Militia.

Ability Type​

The Familiar has a specific village role whose ability they gain. This ability defines the Familiar (ability) type. A specific Familiar type is addressed as: Familiar (\<ability type>).

  • The original Vampire can recruit a single Familiar of type Stalker.
  • The Vampire Master can recruit up to three Familiars, randomly given the type Stalker, Gravedigger, or Militia.

Notes​

  • The Vampire Master can have multiple Familiars of the same type.
  • A player will be informed at dawn that they have been recruited by the Vampire the previous night. The Vampire's identity is also revealed to the player (the identities of a Vampire Master's other Familiars, if applicable, are not given). From the next night onward, the Vampire and the Familiar(s) have a shared private night chat.
  • The player's ability is still carried out on the night of their recruit, but once they have been turned into a Familiar they lose their former abilities.
  • Members of other evil factions cannot be recruited as Familiar and will be killed instead of recruited (this will not count as a recruit attempt).
  • Members of Village sub-factions (Masons, Illuminati, Inquisition) can be recruited. Recruited members lose their access to their previous sub-faction night chat.
  • The Mason/Illuminati/Inquisition Leader's recruit comes before the Vampire's recruit. If a player is successfully recruited by a Village sub-faction and a Vampire then both recruits are successful, but the target will end up as a Familiar (and not be able to access the sub-faction night chat).
  • The Familiar is granted immunity on the night that the Vampire recruits them. This includes all killing abilities from any other faction.
  • If the original Vampire is killed and their Familiar is still alive there is a chance that the Familiar will be able to revive their master. On the Vampire's death, a living player will be marked. If that player is killed for any reason, the Vampire will be reborn in the Familiar's body.
  • If the Vampire Master is lynched, the next morning they will transition into the body of their longest-serving living Familiar.

Vampire​

  • With your ability you can help the Vampire by finding people who visit at night. It is important that you find any intel roles before they may expose the Vampire!
  • As a Familiar (Stalker), it is easy to pretend you are a Stalker - only a Seer will be able to differentiate between these two roles. If the village suspects that there is a Familiar, however, people that have claimed Stalker may become primary suspects.
  • Especially if the Vampire is dead or is being suspected by the village, it may be wise to lay low. Victory for you and the Vampire will depend on your survival once the Vampire is dead, and unlike the Vampire you are vulnerable at night. A Familiar is a prized target for every other faction.
  • If the Vampire is dead and you have been given a target, you have to consider whether it is better to be aggressive or to show restraint when it comes to getting this person lynched. If you are aggressive, people may suspect you are a Familiar, and kill you (instead). On the other hand, you may not have long to live, and thus you would have to lynch this person fast. Your strategy will also depend on the faction your target belongs to, and the factions that are (still) in the game - if your target is a member of the Wolfpack, they will probably not be killed at night, and you need to approach the situation differently. If it is hard to lynch your target, you could still try to get them killed at night - to do this, you could try to frame your target as somebody who is important to kill but will not be protected, watched by Harlot, etc.
  • You have to anticipate the possibility that the Vampire is reborn into your body. Therefore, take care that people do not notice the change of player. This means that you have to be conscious of your typing style ever since you're recruited, and maybe change things so that your typing style matches that of the Vampire. Other things that people notice are activity times and voting patterns. You can discuss with the Vampire how the one can resemble the other as much as possible. You could also go about this the other way around, and choose to adopt very different typing styles. If you and the Vampire are confident they can change their typing style to yours after the revive, it will make it harder for the village to track the change of player.

Vampire Master​

  • As a Familiar, you are vulnerable to the killing mechanisms of other (evil) factions. Therefore, try to not antagonize the other evil factions too much, especially a pack of Werewolves. Let your master deal with them!
  • Already having claimed a role before your recruit may work to your advantage or disadvantage. If you have already proven yourself as that role, people will trust your (fake) results in the future. If you haven't proven yourself yet, and you have a different role now, you may be in a tough spot. Also note all roles of the Familiar type are under more scrutiny if a Vampire Master is (possibly) present in the game.
  • You have the freedom to distance yourself from the Vampire and/or the other Familiar(s) as much as you like, even oppose them actively. It will make it more difficult for the village to discover which players are working together for the Vampire faction. Do note that this play style may not be wise if you're concerned with your (faction's) survival, in case your numbers have dwindled (too) early in the game.
  • You have to anticipate the possibility that the Vampire is reborn into your body. Therefore, take care that people do not notice the change of player. This means that you, along with the other Familiar(s), have to be conscious of your typing style ever since you're recruited, and maybe change things so that your typing styles align. Other things that people notice are activity times and voting patterns. You can discuss with the Vampire and the other Familiar(s) how the one can resemble the other as much as possible. You could also go about this the other way around, and choose to adopt very different typing styles. If you and the Vampire are confident they can change their typing style to yours after the revive, it will make it harder for the village to track the change of player.