Aldrich Hanssen (Third Party): Overview and Strats

 

Aldrich Hanssen is a unique and highly strategic third-party role in Deck Mafia, designed to disrupt the game by eliminating an entire evil faction before joining forces with the remaining evil factions or third-party group. This role adds a layer of complexity to the game, as Aldrich Hanssen has their own agenda, manipulating both sides while ultimately seeking survival and victory through allegiance to an evil group.

Let's break down Aldrich Hanssen's abilities, win conditions, and optimal strategies for both surviving and leveraging their power in the game.

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Primary Objective:

• Goal 1: Aldrich Hanssen’s initial goal is to eliminate one entire evil faction. This could be any of the qualifying factions, including Madmen, Scarlet Sirens, Shamans, Parasites, Shape-shifters, Plunderers, or third-party groups like Navy SEALs and Specters.
• Goal 2: Once one evil faction is annihilated, Aldrich Hanssen will automatically join the remaining evil faction or third-party group and work toward their win condition. Aldrich Hanssen's loyalties shift, making them a flexible but dangerous entity within the game.

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Lose Conditions:

• If Aldrich Hanssen is killed before successfully joining another faction, they lose.
• If the game ends and Aldrich Hanssen remains unaffiliated with any faction (due to not eliminating an evil faction or dying beforehand), they lose.

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Unique Abilities:

1. Factional Kill (Night Action):

   • Mechanic: Aldrich Hanssen can perform a factional kill once per night, but this kill has specific properties:
     • The kill can only target members of evil factions or group third-party factions. If they target a member of the innocent faction or a solo third party, the kill fails.
     • The kill has priority execution, meaning it is processed first in the Order of Operations, ensuring that Aldrich Hanssen strikes before most other actions resolve.
   • Strategic Use: This ability is key to Aldrich Hanssen’s goal of eliminating one evil faction. The priority kill ensures that Hanssen can preempt potential defenses or other actions aimed at the same target, making them a lethal and precise force. Hanssen must carefully decide when and whom to target, as killing the right players is crucial to weakening an evil faction.

2. Deceptive Aura (Passive Ability):

   • Mechanic: Aldrich Hanssen appears innocent-aligned to any alignment investigations. This aura of deception protects Hanssen from being easily identified by investigators or alignment checks.
   • Strategic Use: This passive ability allows Hanssen to operate more freely, especially in the early and mid-game phases. Innocent factions are less likely to suspect Hanssen, allowing them to work behind the scenes while gathering information and targeting evil factions without drawing attention.

3. Parity Check (Once per game):

   • Mechanic: Aldrich Hanssen can perform a Parity Check once per game to compare two players and determine if they are members of the same faction.
     • This action is not a visit, so it cannot be blocked or influenced by standard visiting mechanics.
   • Strategic Use: The Parity Check is a valuable investigative tool that can help Aldrich Hanssen gather critical information about the alignments of other players. It allows them to identify potential targets or confirm which faction to eliminate. The check helps Hanssen decide who to prioritize with their lethal factional kill and could be used to root out key members of an evil faction.

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Special Mechanics:

1. Automatic Alliance (Trigger Event):

   • Mechanic: Once Aldrich Hanssen successfully ensures the complete annihilation of one evil faction, they automatically join the remaining evil faction or third-party group.
     • Upon joining, Aldrich Hanssen gains full access to the new faction’s communication channels and adopts its win conditions.
     • However, Aldrich Hanssen loses all unique abilities (including factional kill and Parity Check) once they join an evil faction.
     • The remaining faction is notified of Aldrich Hanssen’s integration, and they must accept their new ally.
   • Strategic Use: The timing of when to destroy an evil faction is crucial. Aldrich Hanssen’s early game focus should be on weakening and eliminating one evil faction while maintaining their position as an independent player. Once they achieve their goal, they join a new team with new objectives, and they’ll need to adapt to the dynamics of their new faction quickly to achieve the shared win condition.

2. Identity Concealment:

   • Mechanic: Aldrich Hanssen’s identity is hidden from all factions, including the scum and third-party factions.
     • Aldrich Hanssen does not know the identities of the members of evil factions until they join one.
     • At the start of the game, all players (including evil factions) are informed that Aldrich Hanssen exists in the game, but no one knows who they are.
   • Strategic Use: This mechanic introduces paranoia on all sides. Since Aldrich Hanssen could be working against any evil faction, the scum must remain cautious about their membership and allies. Innocent factions are also aware of Hanssen but don’t have enough information to act against them immediately. This makes Aldrich Hanssen a wildcard that forces all players to tread carefully.

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Growth Over Games Won:

• Mechanic: Every time Aldrich Hanssen wins a game, they gain new abilities. These abilities may enhance their ability to deceive, kill, or manipulate other factions. The progression is tied to the experience of the players who use this role, making Aldrich Hanssen a formidable force in long-term games of Deck Mafia.

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Win Condition:

• Primary Win Condition: Aldrich Hanssen wins by ensuring the complete annihilation of one evil faction. Once this condition is fulfilled, they automatically join the remaining evil faction or third-party group and work toward their new faction’s win condition.
• Secondary Win Condition: Aldrich Hanssen adopts the win condition of their new faction once they join it.

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Optimal Playstyle and Strategy:

1. Early Game: Gather Information and Identify Targets

• Stay Hidden and Operate Independently: In the early game, Aldrich Hanssen should blend into the background, using their Deceptive Aura to appear innocent-aligned. This gives them time to gather information on the players and factions at work without drawing suspicion.
• Use Parity Check Wisely: The Parity Check is an invaluable tool for identifying potential targets. Use it early to compare players and figure out which faction is most vulnerable or which faction needs to be taken down to fulfill your win condition.
• Carefully Plan Your Factional Kill: Since Hanssen’s kill can only target evil factions, they must make calculated choices when using their kill. Use the priority execution to preempt defenses and take out key players in the faction you’re working to eliminate.

2. Mid-Game: Targeting and Eliminating an Evil Faction

• Focus on Weakening a Faction: By the mid-game, you should have gathered enough information to know which evil faction is your primary target. Your goal is to systematically weaken and eliminate this faction while ensuring your own survival.
• Use Deception to Avoid Suspicion: Continue using your Deceptive Aura to appear as an innocent party while sowing discord among the evil factions. Ensure the scum factions are focused on fighting each other and other threats while you work behind the scenes.

3. Late Game: Secure Faction Annihilation and Join Your New Faction

• Eliminate the Targeted Faction: As the game progresses, you need to push toward the complete annihilation of one evil faction. Use your factional kill strategically to take out the remaining members of the faction and fulfill your primary objective.
• Join the Remaining Faction: Once you’ve eliminated the target faction, you will automatically join the remaining faction. From this point, your role shifts as you lose your unique abilities and adopt the win condition of your new faction. Work with your new allies to achieve their goals and secure the final victory.

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Strategic Considerations:

• Use Priority Kill to Control the Game: Aldrich Hanssen’s kill is processed first, giving them immense power over the game’s outcomes. Use this advantage to take out high-priority targets in the evil factions before they can defend themselves or counterattack.

• Stay Hidden and Misinform: Your Deceptive Aura allows you to play the role of an innocent party. Use this to gather information, mislead other players, and manipulate both the innocent and evil factions into working against each other.

• Join the Strongest Faction for Victory: Once you’ve eliminated your target, you’ll automatically join the remaining faction. Make sure you time this shift carefully to ensure that the faction you join has a strong chance of winning.

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Final Thoughts:

Aldrich Hanssen is a powerful and deceptive third-party role that excels in precision killing and manipulation. With a unique win condition that requires the elimination of an evil faction, Aldrich Hanssen can shape the outcome of the game by choosing when and whom to strike. Their Deceptive Aura and priority kill make them a dangerous wildcard in any game of Deck Mafia, forcing both the innocent and evil factions