The purpose of this dictionary is to provide an inventory of terms, acronyms or roles used in Werewolf on this forum, along with brief descriptions. This will help new players to understand what is being said, and also be a convenient record of roles that have been used (however infrequently).
To add to the dictionary simply give a word, a description of what it means, and if necessary an example (with link, if required) of its usage. I will then add it to the OP.
Could we just use the mafiascum wiki? Yes, sure. I expect there will be overlap in much of the terminology used. But there are some terms/acronyms which may be specific to this place, and other terms/acronym which players from other forums may wish to use here. For example, mafiascum does not know what a Whoopin Masterplan™ is.
A
Alpha
An Alpha Werewolf; usually acts as the leader of the pack, and often has a Roleblocking ability. Not all games utilise an Alpha wolf.
B
Bussing
"To throw one's packmate under the bus" means to sacrifice your packmate to either gain favour with the village, or to throw suspicion off themselves/onto other players. There are different methods of bussing, and whether bussing is ultimately a success depends on the players doing it, how they do it, and how believable the bussing is.
C
Claim
Admitting your alignment or role (known as a role-claim). Usually this is a faux-pas. Some hosts ban the role-claiming to prevent certain unfavourable/unbalanced conditions, such as Follow The Cop. Other hosts allow or even encourage role-claiming, with successful false claims being lauded as cunning ways of enhancing the chances of winning. See also, False Claim.
Converter
A player who can change the alignment of others. Can be a third party with their own win condition, often converting one player each night, or part of the scum team with a one off conversion ability.
Counter Claim
One person makes a claim ("I'm the Seer") and another person makes an identical claim designed to refute the first claim ("No, I'm the Seer!"). Only the claimants (and any affiliates such as packmates) know which of them has the real claim.
F
False Claim
A claim designed to lure players into revealing information about themselves or others. For example, a wolf might claim to be a Seer in an attempt to get the real Seer to counter-claim, so that the wolves can target them at Night for the kill.
Examples: Successful partially false claim : Failed false claim
Follow The Cop
A situation which can occur in a game when it's known that both a Seer (Cop) and a Guardian Angel exists. The way it works is that the Seer makes a role-claim, and unless there is a counter-claim, the Guardian Angel protects the Seer overnight whilst the village follows a No-Lynch policy, to prevent accidentally hitting the GA. The only kill happens at Night, when the wolves try to target the most likely candidate for the Guardian Angel role. If the wolves try to kill the Seer, the kill is wasted because the Seer is protected. The following day, the Seer reports back (either "innocent found" or "<player name> is a wolf"). If a wolf is found, it is lynched. If an innocent is found, the process is repeated the next Night/Day until all of the wolves are found, or until the wolves manage to kill the GA. Such situations can make for a (too) easy win for the village.
G
Guardian Angel
Also known as a Herbalist or Doctor. Can choose one player (usually not themselves) to protect from a Night kill for one night. The Guardian Angel usually tries to identify and protect the Seer (or another powerful special role).
H
Hammer (the vote)
When a player is one vote away from being Lynched, and another player comes along and places the finally vote, this is often described as "hammering." Often the hammer vote has happened quickly or unexpectedly.
Host
Also known as Mod, Moderator or Narrator. The person who hosts the game is in charge of the organisation and narration. This is a non-playing role, as the host has information about every single player and faction within the game. Some hosts like to interact with their players often, whilst other hosts have a more hands-off approach and do not interact very much outside of giving vote-counts and lynch narration. Not to be confused with Forum Moderator; the game host/mod does not need any actual Moderation abilities.
Hunting
The process of trying to find the wolves through post analysis and discussion.
J
Jester
A third party, who will win by getting the village to lynch them.
L
LoS - List of Suspicion / List of Suspects
A list detailing the suspicions of the player doing it. Usually contains the thoughts of the player about everyone in the game, but it's not necessary and can be done about just a few players.
LoL - Lynch or Lose
Asituation where the village must lynch a scum or lose the game. Must be handled carefully by the village, as any vote on an innocent allows the scum to rush vote them.
Lurker(s)
A signed-up player or players who either: 1) read the thread but do not post very often, or 2) are active in other areas of the forum but rarely post in the game. Some players choose to lurk, others get caught up in other events and cannot find time to post. Generally, lurkers are considered detrimental to any game, as those who lurk do often not provide the opportunity for interaction, and if there are too many lurkers (or if the lurkers become Inactive) there is a chance that valuable votes are lost.
Lynch
The aim of the innocents is to Lynch the wolves by voting for them. When a simple majority has been reached, the voted player is "lynched."
M
Meta
Knowledge which comes from outside the current game. This comes in two different forms:
1) Game meta: A player's knowledge of general game theory, how various roles work, of how many scum/specials there should be in a setup, and how people generally act in any given role (including any "Tells")
2) Player meta: Comparing how individual players have played in past games in an attempt to analyse their innocent/wolf habits to better identify them (or use meta arguments in cases to try to lynch them) in the current game. This type of meta is particularly dangerous, as a self-aware player can be fully cognizant of their own habits, and can purposely act differently to attempt to deceive those accusing them.
Examples: Game theory which can form the basis of Game meta : Player meta
P
PoE - Process of Elimination
When it’s not always possible to find wolves, it can be just as useful to narrow down your search by identifying innocents, especially if you have some way (through a special role, or host-given knowledge) of confirming which players are innocent. When you have ruled out the innocents, then by the process of elimination you have a clearer picture of which remaining players must be scum.
Example: A player using PoE
Q
Quote war
A discussion between two players that has gone past the point of argument and counter argument and is just two players pointlessly repeating themselves trying to convince the other. Has this name because of the posts filled with quotes from the other player that are refuted point by point.
R
Read
Your "read" on a player is your analysis of how innocent or suspicious you think they currently are. A read on a player can change as the game evolves.
Roleblocker
A player who’s given the ability to “block” another player overnight. This could be an innocent role-blocker blocking a scum’s kill or a scum ability, or it could be a scum ability blocking an innocent role, such as Seer or Guardian Angel. A Roleblocker is often used to help balance the game when several specials/power roles are in play.
S
Scum
Usually any team in opposition to the Innocents. Often takes the form of a Werewolf pack, a Mafia mob, but also solo killers and villains with a team-conversion rather than night-kill function. The goal of the scum is usually to equal or outnumber the innocents in order to win the game.
Serial Killer
A third party, trying to kill both the wolves and the innocents.
Seer
Also known as a Cop. A special role. Every Night, the Seer can ask the host to reveal to them the alignment of one other player. Because of their ability to ID scum, Seers are usually actively hunted and killed by the wolves. Unless a Guardian Angel is known to be present in the same game, it’s usually suicidal for a Seer to openly claim to have their ability.
Special
Also known as Power Role. A player who has a role which has a special ability, for example a Seer, a Tracker, a Guardian Angel or a Vigilanté. Scum teams can also have Special roles, such as Roleblocker or Converter.
T
Tell
A Tell is an action or phrase which "gives away" a player, and is usually proven to be more shown by one group over another. This also means that innocents can accidentally accuse other innocents because of perceived Tells, or wolves can accuse innocents of making wolf Tells knowing full-well that they didn't, but trying to implicate them to lynch them. Whether a player gave a "wolf tell" once sparked a 20-page debate in a TW game.
Examples: The game : Common Tells
Tracker
An innocent role which is a little like a Seer. The only difference is, a Tracker sees who a player targets at night (though not always the purpose of their target). For example, a Tracker might see one player target another, and surmise that because the targeted player is still alive, the player that they tracked targeted them for a beneficial purpose or converted them to their team.
V
Village
Also known as Town. Innocent players (the good guys) are described as Villagers, or Town(ies), or just plain Innocents. There is no requirement for them to actually live in a village or a town. Something that is good for the innocent majority is described as "pro-Town" or "pro-Village" etc.
Vampire
A sometimes-used third-party villain (not wolf) role which often has a conversion ability, to increase the number of players in its team. See Converter for further info.
Vigilanté
An innocent/village-aligned player that can choose another player to kill at Night. A vigilanté tries to target the scum.
Vote Count
The host regularly provides an updated list (or "count") of whom the players have voted for. This is a standard host duty.
Vote Rush
An action whereby an innocent player places a vote, and all of the remaining wolves add their votes in rapid succession to overwhelm the target before the innocent vote can be withdrawn. Usually happens at Lynch or Lose, when the scum have nothing to lose by performing such an obviously scummy move.
W
Werewolf
The game you are hopefully playing now or shortly. Also known as Mafia.
WIFOM - Wine In Front Of Me
Link
WoT - Wall of Text
A post by a player which comprises a large block of text, maybe including quotes from, and replies to, multiple other people, which are often difficult to read through because of their length.
Examples: here
To add to the dictionary simply give a word, a description of what it means, and if necessary an example (with link, if required) of its usage. I will then add it to the OP.
Could we just use the mafiascum wiki? Yes, sure. I expect there will be overlap in much of the terminology used. But there are some terms/acronyms which may be specific to this place, and other terms/acronym which players from other forums may wish to use here. For example, mafiascum does not know what a Whoopin Masterplan™ is.
To preempt what will probably be the first suggestion, no, "Adaham - A player who spews pure awesome" is not a valid entry
The Taleworlds Werewolf Dictionary
A
Alpha
An Alpha Werewolf; usually acts as the leader of the pack, and often has a Roleblocking ability. Not all games utilise an Alpha wolf.
B
Bussing
"To throw one's packmate under the bus" means to sacrifice your packmate to either gain favour with the village, or to throw suspicion off themselves/onto other players. There are different methods of bussing, and whether bussing is ultimately a success depends on the players doing it, how they do it, and how believable the bussing is.
C
Claim
Admitting your alignment or role (known as a role-claim). Usually this is a faux-pas. Some hosts ban the role-claiming to prevent certain unfavourable/unbalanced conditions, such as Follow The Cop. Other hosts allow or even encourage role-claiming, with successful false claims being lauded as cunning ways of enhancing the chances of winning. See also, False Claim.
Converter
A player who can change the alignment of others. Can be a third party with their own win condition, often converting one player each night, or part of the scum team with a one off conversion ability.
Counter Claim
One person makes a claim ("I'm the Seer") and another person makes an identical claim designed to refute the first claim ("No, I'm the Seer!"). Only the claimants (and any affiliates such as packmates) know which of them has the real claim.
F
False Claim
A claim designed to lure players into revealing information about themselves or others. For example, a wolf might claim to be a Seer in an attempt to get the real Seer to counter-claim, so that the wolves can target them at Night for the kill.
Examples: Successful partially false claim : Failed false claim
Follow The Cop
A situation which can occur in a game when it's known that both a Seer (Cop) and a Guardian Angel exists. The way it works is that the Seer makes a role-claim, and unless there is a counter-claim, the Guardian Angel protects the Seer overnight whilst the village follows a No-Lynch policy, to prevent accidentally hitting the GA. The only kill happens at Night, when the wolves try to target the most likely candidate for the Guardian Angel role. If the wolves try to kill the Seer, the kill is wasted because the Seer is protected. The following day, the Seer reports back (either "innocent found" or "<player name> is a wolf"). If a wolf is found, it is lynched. If an innocent is found, the process is repeated the next Night/Day until all of the wolves are found, or until the wolves manage to kill the GA. Such situations can make for a (too) easy win for the village.
G
Guardian Angel
Also known as a Herbalist or Doctor. Can choose one player (usually not themselves) to protect from a Night kill for one night. The Guardian Angel usually tries to identify and protect the Seer (or another powerful special role).
H
Hammer (the vote)
When a player is one vote away from being Lynched, and another player comes along and places the finally vote, this is often described as "hammering." Often the hammer vote has happened quickly or unexpectedly.
Host
Also known as Mod, Moderator or Narrator. The person who hosts the game is in charge of the organisation and narration. This is a non-playing role, as the host has information about every single player and faction within the game. Some hosts like to interact with their players often, whilst other hosts have a more hands-off approach and do not interact very much outside of giving vote-counts and lynch narration. Not to be confused with Forum Moderator; the game host/mod does not need any actual Moderation abilities.
Hunting
The process of trying to find the wolves through post analysis and discussion.
J
Jester
A third party, who will win by getting the village to lynch them.
L
LoS - List of Suspicion / List of Suspects
A list detailing the suspicions of the player doing it. Usually contains the thoughts of the player about everyone in the game, but it's not necessary and can be done about just a few players.
LoL - Lynch or Lose
Asituation where the village must lynch a scum or lose the game. Must be handled carefully by the village, as any vote on an innocent allows the scum to rush vote them.
Lurker(s)
A signed-up player or players who either: 1) read the thread but do not post very often, or 2) are active in other areas of the forum but rarely post in the game. Some players choose to lurk, others get caught up in other events and cannot find time to post. Generally, lurkers are considered detrimental to any game, as those who lurk do often not provide the opportunity for interaction, and if there are too many lurkers (or if the lurkers become Inactive) there is a chance that valuable votes are lost.
Lynch
The aim of the innocents is to Lynch the wolves by voting for them. When a simple majority has been reached, the voted player is "lynched."
M
Meta
Knowledge which comes from outside the current game. This comes in two different forms:
1) Game meta: A player's knowledge of general game theory, how various roles work, of how many scum/specials there should be in a setup, and how people generally act in any given role (including any "Tells")
2) Player meta: Comparing how individual players have played in past games in an attempt to analyse their innocent/wolf habits to better identify them (or use meta arguments in cases to try to lynch them) in the current game. This type of meta is particularly dangerous, as a self-aware player can be fully cognizant of their own habits, and can purposely act differently to attempt to deceive those accusing them.
Examples: Game theory which can form the basis of Game meta : Player meta
P
PoE - Process of Elimination
When it’s not always possible to find wolves, it can be just as useful to narrow down your search by identifying innocents, especially if you have some way (through a special role, or host-given knowledge) of confirming which players are innocent. When you have ruled out the innocents, then by the process of elimination you have a clearer picture of which remaining players must be scum.
Example: A player using PoE
Q
Quote war
A discussion between two players that has gone past the point of argument and counter argument and is just two players pointlessly repeating themselves trying to convince the other. Has this name because of the posts filled with quotes from the other player that are refuted point by point.
R
Read
Your "read" on a player is your analysis of how innocent or suspicious you think they currently are. A read on a player can change as the game evolves.
Roleblocker
A player who’s given the ability to “block” another player overnight. This could be an innocent role-blocker blocking a scum’s kill or a scum ability, or it could be a scum ability blocking an innocent role, such as Seer or Guardian Angel. A Roleblocker is often used to help balance the game when several specials/power roles are in play.
S
Scum
Usually any team in opposition to the Innocents. Often takes the form of a Werewolf pack, a Mafia mob, but also solo killers and villains with a team-conversion rather than night-kill function. The goal of the scum is usually to equal or outnumber the innocents in order to win the game.
Serial Killer
A third party, trying to kill both the wolves and the innocents.
Seer
Also known as a Cop. A special role. Every Night, the Seer can ask the host to reveal to them the alignment of one other player. Because of their ability to ID scum, Seers are usually actively hunted and killed by the wolves. Unless a Guardian Angel is known to be present in the same game, it’s usually suicidal for a Seer to openly claim to have their ability.
Special
Also known as Power Role. A player who has a role which has a special ability, for example a Seer, a Tracker, a Guardian Angel or a Vigilanté. Scum teams can also have Special roles, such as Roleblocker or Converter.
T
Tell
A Tell is an action or phrase which "gives away" a player, and is usually proven to be more shown by one group over another. This also means that innocents can accidentally accuse other innocents because of perceived Tells, or wolves can accuse innocents of making wolf Tells knowing full-well that they didn't, but trying to implicate them to lynch them. Whether a player gave a "wolf tell" once sparked a 20-page debate in a TW game.
Examples: The game : Common Tells
Tracker
An innocent role which is a little like a Seer. The only difference is, a Tracker sees who a player targets at night (though not always the purpose of their target). For example, a Tracker might see one player target another, and surmise that because the targeted player is still alive, the player that they tracked targeted them for a beneficial purpose or converted them to their team.
V
Village
Also known as Town. Innocent players (the good guys) are described as Villagers, or Town(ies), or just plain Innocents. There is no requirement for them to actually live in a village or a town. Something that is good for the innocent majority is described as "pro-Town" or "pro-Village" etc.
Vampire
A sometimes-used third-party villain (not wolf) role which often has a conversion ability, to increase the number of players in its team. See Converter for further info.
Vigilanté
An innocent/village-aligned player that can choose another player to kill at Night. A vigilanté tries to target the scum.
Vote Count
The host regularly provides an updated list (or "count") of whom the players have voted for. This is a standard host duty.
Vote Rush
An action whereby an innocent player places a vote, and all of the remaining wolves add their votes in rapid succession to overwhelm the target before the innocent vote can be withdrawn. Usually happens at Lynch or Lose, when the scum have nothing to lose by performing such an obviously scummy move.
W
Werewolf
The game you are hopefully playing now or shortly. Also known as Mafia.
WIFOM - Wine In Front Of Me
Link
WoT - Wall of Text
A post by a player which comprises a large block of text, maybe including quotes from, and replies to, multiple other people, which are often difficult to read through because of their length.
Examples: here
