Town of Salem Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The old west was wild, but it never prepared the Sheriff for what he had to face. On the run from the mafia, the battle-hardened Sheriff knew his only escape was to fly far away from his homeland, and start a new life in the quiet town of Salem. But as he took the long journey by road to this town, the mafia were constantly on his trail. He soon realised that his own business should've stayed his own, because the mafia began to kill an innocent town member each night in an effort to weed him out of hiding. But the Sheriff stood his ground, and knew that surrendering was no option - he had to fight them, and find these evil-doers through the grueling interrogations he performed each night. (credit)

Mechanics

  • You will know if your target is a Werewolf, but only during a Full Moon.
  • You cannot find Detection Immune roles, such as the Godfather, Arsonist, Vampire, all Neutral Evil roles, a coven with the Necronomicon, and the Werewolf during a non-Full Moon night.
  • If your target was framed in the same night, they will show up as a member of the Mafia.
  • An Arsonist's gas will have no effect on your interrogation. You will see Mafia members and Serial Killers no matter what.
  • If your target is a Disguiser, they will show up as a member of the Mafia, no matter which role or person they may have disguised as. The Investigator, however, is fooled by whoever he disguises as.
  • Anyone who is hexed by the Hex Master will show up as a member of the Coven.
  • If you interrogate someone who is jailed, you will be unable to retrieve a result, and be told your target was jailed
  • Coven members will be detection immune while holding the Necronomicon.
Investigation Message Possible Roles
Your target is not suspicious. All Townies
Amnesiac, Survivor, Guardian Angel
Executioner, Jester, Witch
Vampire
Godfather
Plaguebearer
Pestilence
Pirate
Arsonist
Werewolf during odd-numbered nights
Juggernaut

All members of the Coven wielding the Necronomicon

Your target is a member of the Mafia! All members of the Mafia except the Godfather

Anyone who was visited by a Framer

Your target is a Serial Killer! Serial Killer
Your target is a Werewolf. Werewolf during a Full Moon night
Your target is a member of the Coven! All members of the Coven unless they wield the Necronomicon
Any player hexed by the Hex Master

Note: The Coven, Plaguebearer, Pestilence, Pirate and Guardian Angel's results will only be found in the Town of Salem: The Coven expansion.

Strategy

  • Unlike the Investigator, you can only directly determine whether your target is suspicious or not, and not just their possible roles. Sharing information and discussing with the Investigator will allow you to narrow the pool of suspects:
  • If you're lucky enough to find a member of the Mafia/Coven early in the game, you should almost always reveal it immediately. Some people are afraid to reveal it because they might be called an Executioner, and some people will mistakenly advise you to wait because of this; however, there are numerous reasons why revealing vital information at the first possible opportunity is virtually always the right strategy:
    • If you hide information, you risk being cleaned by a Janitor, forged by a Forger, stoned by a Medusa, or blackmailed forever by a Blackmailer, causing it to be lost forever.
    • Generally speaking, the Town's majority decreases with every passing day. Therefore, it is going to be easier for the Mafia to convince people to ignore you on Day 4 than it would have on Day 2.
    • Even if you fail to convince the Town to lynch someone you found immediately, you can still gain information based on how people react - people who help you try to lynch a Mafia or Coven member are probably not members of the Mafia or Coven, while people who try to aggressively cast doubt on you or push suspicion elsewhere are themselves suspicious. This can be used to guide your investigations on later nights, gathering information that will help the Town trust you.
    • You are unlikely to be attacked by the Mafia or Coven immediately after accusing one of their members, both because it would confirm your accusation and because you're likely to be protected.
    • Even if you fail to convince enough Town members to lynch someone, the information you revealed still helps them behave more intelligently; a Vigilante who takes a potshot, for instance, is more likely to shoot at someone you accused, while Escorts are more likely to role block them and Town Protectives are less likely to protect them.
    • Your accusations will not become more credible simply by waiting. Executioners accuse on Day 3 and Day 4, too. Being called an Executioner might hurt your feelings, but in the long run the Town benefits by having that information out there as soon as possible. On top of this, if you're asked to produce your complete will and reveal you've been sitting on important information for several nights, the Town is likely to treat you even more skeptically.
    • If you wait, there is a risk that the person you found could die to another cause. While that means they're gone, it's generally a wasted opportunity - it means you lost the chance to confirm yourself and to force their fellow Mafia or Coven members to risk going on the record failing to vote up their partner.
    • It is usually a good idea to reveal a Serial Killer as soon as you find them, but here the calculations are slightly different; they don't have allies to pressure with an accusation the way a Mafia accusation puts pressure on the Mafia, and it does slightly less to confirm you because a Consigliere, Potion Master, or anyone who hit their immunity could out the Serial Killer, too.
    • There may be people who can confirm aspects of your accusation; for instance, a Tracker or Lookout who saw you visit will know that you're not an Executioner. They won't know to back you up unless you speak up.
  • When you need to convince the Town that you're a Sheriff and not an Executioner, remember to report your visits every night - after you role has been revealed, there's no reason not to share all information immediately, and even naming people as not suspicious will earn you a bit more trust.
  • If you suspect a player of being the Werewolf, remember to check them on a Full Moon night. Otherwise, they will appear as "not suspicious".
  • A little-used strategy is to coordinate with the Spy, as they can provide confirmed non-members of the Mafia by who the Mafia visits (as the Mafia cannot visit their own members) and therefore, you might want to ignore interrogating these people since they could have Detection Immunity. One example is the Arsonist.
  • Careful, multiple evil roles have Detection Immunity, such as the Arsonist, and will appear as "not suspicious". Beware of whom you trust!
    • At any given time, there can only be one Godfather. Therefore, when a Godfather dies, anyone you investigated up until (and including) that night who came up not suspicious cannot be a member of the Mafia. Note that they could still be an Arsonist, Witch, or Vampire; and people you investigate after the Godfather's death could be a Mafioso who has been promoted to Godfather. They could also be a Coven member with the Necronomicon.
  • Careful, framed players will appear to be a member of the Mafia, so never be too quick to judge who is evil or not. If you aren't sure, check the same person the next night (although this might not be worth it, it is usually better to gain new information that night instead of doing a re-check, unless there is a confirmed Framer). If the Framer does not frame the same target again, your results will change. There are some Framers that will frame the same target for a few nights in a row, so it's very hard to know if your information is true or not. However, in Ranked, if the Random Mafia slot is dead or known to not be a Framer, it is safe to accuse anyone that shows up as a member of the Mafia. The chance of there being a Framer in the Any slot is low enough that the risk is worth it. Keep in mind that it may be a good idea to ask a confirmed Spy who the Mafia visited, as they will usually be able to see who the Mafia might have framed.
  • If a Witch controls you, you will be forced to check a different target without knowing who it is. Hopefully, the Witch will reveal their actions in their Last Will, so then you can find out who you were forced to interrogate the night you were controlled.
  • If a Transporter transports your target, you will interrogate someone else entirely without you knowing! If the Transporter reveals their Last Will, you will know who you interrogated that night! However, if you see that you were controlled or if your target says they were transported the next day, then don't trust the information that you have been given as it is most likely false.
  • Careful, many evil roles tend to claim to be a Sheriff, so if you are pressed to claim a role, you could get lynched regardless of what you say by an aggressive Town. Be sure to have a well-written Last Will to improve your odds, but it is no guarantee.
  • If you are certain the only roles left are Detection Immune roles, such as the Godfather and Arsonist, don't give up! If people trust you, you can direct the Town. It is safe to not visit anyone though (unless there's a Bodyguard or a Doctor protecting you) because you might run into a Veteran who's on alert (if there's any). Alternatively, you could try and bait them into attacking you so that they waste a night going for someone useless. Even if all of the above do not happen, you still count as a vote and possibly save the Town from being the minority.
Advertisement