Werewolf roles list: popular extra roles and when to add them

Team

Solo

Wakes

No

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8+ players

The Tanner wins only if they're killed. They're on neither team, so the trick is to look suspicious enough to get voted out without making it obvious they want to be.

It changes every vote. The player acting strangely might be a wolf, or might be begging you to fall for it. Villages that vote on vibes alone get punished. In small games a quick Tanner win can end things before anyone's had fun, and groups differ on whether it ends the game for everyone or counts as a personal win. Agree on that first.

Team

Village

Wakes

Every night

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7+ players

Each night the Bodyguard protects one player, who can't be killed by the wolves that night. In most rules they can't guard the same person two nights running. Whether they can guard themselves depends on the edition.

It's close to the Doctor, and many groups treat them as interchangeable. Running both makes sense in games of 15 or more, where the wolves have more kills to spread around.

Team

Village, or any if elected

Wakes

No

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8+ players

The Mayor's vote counts twice. Editions handle it two ways. In some, the Mayor is a secret role who can reveal to get the double vote. In others, the table elects a mayor (sometimes called sheriff or captain) on day one, and that player keeps their real role on top.

The election version is the more fun of the two. It gives the village an early debate and gives the wolves a prize worth chasing, since a wolf with two votes is dangerous.

Team

Village

Wakes

No

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8+ players

Rules vary by edition. In one common version, the Idiot is revealed and survives the first time the village votes them out, but loses the right to vote. In another, the Idiot must always vote for someone to be eliminated.

Either way it adds chaos and a few laughs. Good for casual groups, less so for a table that takes its deduction seriously.

Team

Village

Wakes

No

Add from

8+ players

A villager who shows up as a werewolf when the Seer checks them. A Seer who reveals a Lycan result can talk the village into voting out one of its own.

Add one when your Seer is winning games on their own. It teaches Seers to treat a single result with care and back it up with voting patterns.

Team

Werewolves

Wakes

Usually night one

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8+ players

A human on the wolf team. The Minion usually learns who the wolves are, while the wolves don't know the Minion. Because they aren't a werewolf, the Seer sees a villager, so they can fake-claim roles with no risk from a check. They win if the wolves win.

Add a Minion when the village keeps winning comfortably. It's an extra wolf vote that the Seer can't catch.

Team

Werewolves

Wakes

With the pack

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12+ players

A stronger werewolf. In the most common version, once per game they can turn the night's victim into a wolf instead of killing them. The converted player switches teams and wakes with the pack from then on.

The name and power change by edition. The Werewolves of Millers Hollow has a similar wolf with a once-per-game infection in its characters expansion, while other versions give the alpha extra information instead. Conversion is a big swing, so pair it with at least two protective roles on the village side.

Team

Werewolves

Wakes

With the pack

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10+ players

A werewolf whose death costs the village. If the Wolf Cub dies, the wolves kill two players the following night.

Catching a wolf is normally pure good news. With a Cub in play, even a correct vote can cost the village two players that night, so confident votes come with a price.

Team

Village, then wolves

Wakes

Only once turned

Add from

10+ players

A villager who becomes a werewolf if the wolves attack them, instead of dying. Until then they play as an ordinary villager.

The wolves gain a member without a death at dawn, so the village has to work out why nobody died. A quiet night with no obvious save becomes a clue.

Many of these appear in Ultimate Werewolf by Bezier Games and in The Werewolves of Millers Hollow expansions, but home groups rename and mix them freely. Mafia has its own equivalents on the Mafia roles page.

The "add from" numbers are rules of thumb, not official limits.

1. 1

   Start from a balanced list for your group, like the 8-player setup. Other sizes are on the setups page.

2. 2

   Swap one Villager for the new role, so the player count stays the same.

3. 3

   If the new role helps the village (Bodyguard, Mayor), consider a Minion or an extra wolf to even it out.

4. 4

   Play two or three games, then keep, tweak or drop it.

5. 5

   Make sure the moderator knows exactly when the role acts. The narrator script shows where each night step fits.