A group of roles, not an exact identity
- Investigator results identify a group of possible roles rather than a single guaranteed role.
- Framing and disguise mechanics can make an investigative result misleading.
- Result groups are most valuable when combined with the current role list and the target’s public claim.
Use each check to separate competing claims
Early game
Use early checks on players whose claims would become meaningfully narrower after a result. A random check is less valuable than a check that can resolve a counterclaim or protect Town from wasting a trial.
Mid game
Build a table of result group, public claim, graveyard roles and open slots. The Investigator becomes strongest when each new result closes multiple possible worlds rather than merely adding another line to the will.
Endgame
Revisit old groups when confirmed information closes actual role-list slots. A dead Doctor does not exclude another living Doctor if the setup still permits one. Narrow a group only when its alternatives have no legal slot left, not merely because you have seen those role names in the graveyard.
Preserve the original result group
Post the exact result group and the target, not a rewritten interpretation such as “this person is probably Town.” Keeping raw results separate from your read lets other players recalculate after new information.
Test the group, timing and interpretation
A real Investigator claim should preserve result wording and timing. Check whether the claimant’s groups match the mode and whether the claimed conclusion was available at the time rather than invented after a flip.
Important interactions
- Framer can deliberately distort investigative information, so one suspicious-looking group should not override all other evidence.
- Consigliere receives exact-role information for Mafia, which can help an evil player manufacture unusually precise fake reads.
- Transporter can change who was actually investigated and must be resolved before treating a contradictory result as impossible.
Decision example: a Doctor-compatible result
A Doctor claim fits the Doctor / Disguiser / Serial Killer group in the base game. That fit alone does not choose between them. If the selected setup and confirmed records leave no legal Disguiser or Serial Killer, Doctor becomes the surviving explanation, subject to altered results. An All Any death with one of those roles does not establish that every copy is gone.
Common mistakes
- Treating a result group as an exact role.
- Forgetting that the graveyard changes which roles in a result group are still plausible.
- Publishing a conclusion while omitting the raw result that Town needs for later cross-checking.
