The best custom Mafia roles have one clear ability, a one-sentence description, and an effect the moderator can resolve in a few seconds. Below are 20 role ideas grouped by team (town, Mafia and neutral), with a quick balance note for each. Many are community favourites that show up across Mafia variants and online versions. A few are simple twists you can try at your next game.
After the list, you’ll find a way to rate a role’s power and a safe way to test a new one.
Town role ideas #
| Role | Ability | Balance note |
|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Once revealed, their vote counts double | Strong late in the game. Mafia will target a revealed Mayor |
| Veteran | Once per game, goes “on alert”: anyone who visits them that night dies | Punishes the Mafia, but can also kill a Doctor |
| Tracker | Learns who their target visited tonight | Great with a Detective. Needs a moderator who tracks visits |
| Lookout | Learns who visited their target tonight | Catches killers in the act |
| Jailer | Locks one player up for the night; that player can’t act or be killed | Strong. Use only at 12+ players |
| Medium | At night, may ask a dead player one yes/no question | Fun for dead players. Keep answers short |
| Twin | Two town players who know each other; if one dies, the other learns who killed them | A variation on Masons |
| Baker | Each night, gives one player bread; the moderator announces that the player is “well fed” (useless but trusted) | Silly, low-impact. Good for new players |
Tips for town roles #
Information roles (Tracker, Lookout, Medium) are easier to balance than killing roles, because they depend on the town interpreting the result. Add one information role before you add a second killing role like the Veteran.
Mafia role ideas #
| Role | Ability | Balance note |
|---|---|---|
| Framer | Makes one player read as Mafia to investigators tonight | Counters the Detective. A temporary Miller |
| Janitor | Once per game, the role of the night’s victim stays hidden | Strong if roles are normally revealed |
| Silencer | Their target can’t speak during the next day | Use sparingly. Being silenced is no fun |
| Consigliere | Learns one player’s exact role each night | The Mafia’s Detective. Use in 15+ player games |
| Roleblocker | Stops one player from using their ability tonight | Can cancel a Doctor save. Resolve before the kill |
| Informant | A townsperson who secretly works for the Mafia but doesn’t know who they are | Adds paranoia. Mafia win counts them as evil |
The Godfather, the classic Mafia power role, reads innocent to investigators. Our Godfather role guide covers it in full.
Neutral role ideas #
| Role | Ability | Win condition |
|---|---|---|
| Executioner | Knows one assigned town player | Wins if that player is voted out |
| Arsonist | Each night, douses one player. Any night, can ignite all doused players | Is the last player standing |
| Amnesiac | Once per game, picks a dead player’s role and becomes it | Wins with the team of their new role |
| Lovers (Cupid) | Two players are linked. If one dies, both die | Win together, even across teams |
| Bystander | Must survive while voting with the majority every day | Survives to the end |
| Thief | On night one, swaps roles with any player | Wins with their new team |
Neutral roles complicate the win-condition math. Add them only when your group knows the basic game well.
How to balance a custom role #
Give each role a rough power score and keep the teams even.
- Score the ability. Plain townsperson 0, Doctor or Detective 2, Vigilante or Jailer 3, a killing role that acts every night 4.
- Add up each team. Count each Mafia member as 3 on top of any extra power.
- Compare totals. Town should score a little higher, because the Mafia’s shared knowledge counts for a lot that the score doesn’t capture.
- Keep half the town plain. When every townsperson has a power, the day turns into a contest of claims.
The score isn’t science, but it stops you from adding three strong town roles and one weak Mafia role in the same game. How many Mafia for 10 players has baseline setups to build on.
How to test a new role without wrecking the game #
- Write the role card in one sentence. If you can’t, the role is too complicated.
- Add one new role per game, never three.
- Put it on the side you think is weaker. A new town role goes into a game the Mafia have been winning.
- Decide where it wakes in the night before you start. See the Mafia night phase order.
- Ask after the game. Did it change any decisions? Did the player enjoy it? Did the moderator get confused?
If the answers are “no, no, yes,” cut it.
Where custom roles fit in the night #
- Roles that stop other actions (Jailer, Roleblocker) wake first, before the Mafia, since they cancel what happens next.
- Roles that change investigation results (Framer) wake before the Detective.
- Roles that learn about visits (Tracker, Lookout) wake last, after everyone has acted.
Adding custom roles in Mafia Helper #
Mafia Helper has a custom role creator where you set a name, an icon, a team (Evil, Town or Neutral) and a night action. The actions are none, kill, protect or investigate. Custom roles then work like built-in ones: you can deal them, they get a card in the night tracker after the built-in roles, and kills and protections from them count when you tap Resolve Night. Neutral custom roles aren’t counted for either side when the app checks for a winner.
Roles with other effects, like the Framer, Roleblocker or Mayor, need a little help. Create them with no action, or the closest one, and apply the effect yourself. The private notes on each player (“Framed tonight,” “Mayor revealed”) help you remember. For the 17 roles built into the app, see Mafia roles explained.
Frequently asked questions #
What are some fun custom Mafia roles? #
Popular ideas include the Mayor (double vote once revealed), the Veteran (kills anyone who visits on alert), the Executioner (wins if a specific player is voted out), and the Janitor (hides the victim’s role). Start with one information role and one twist for the Mafia.
How do you make a balanced Mafia role? #
Keep it to one ability with a clear limit, like once per game or first night only. Put it on the weaker side, test it in one game, and change it if it decides the outcome. Roles that give information are easier to balance than roles that kill.
How many custom roles should be in one game? #
One or two, especially the first time. Too many new roles confuse players and overload the moderator. Once a custom role has worked in a few games, treat it as a regular role and try the next one.
What’s the best custom role for the Mafia? #
The Framer is a good first choice. It’s simple, it interacts with the Detective, and it makes the town doubt its own information without taking away anyone’s turn.