Merlin Role

Merlin in Avalon: abilities at a glance

Team

Good — help three missions succeed and survive the assassination.

Who Merlin sees

In the classic role set, Merlin sees the evil players, including Morgana and Oberon, but not Mordred. Merlin learns their evil loyalty, not their exact role names.

Who Merlin cannot identify

Mordred is hidden from Merlin. A player who is not revealed as evil is therefore not guaranteed to be good.

Merlin and Percival

Percival sees Merlin and Morgana as two candidates, without knowing which is which. Merlin does not learn who Percival is.

How Merlin loses

Three failed missions give evil the win. After three successful missions, a correct assassination of Merlin also gives evil the win.

General Information:

Playing Merlin means helping good choose safe teams without making your private information obvious. Explain your votes using the discussion and mission history. The Assassin can use your certainty to identify you, so a winning mission record is only part of your goal.

General Tips:

• Be cautious with your knowledge: While Merlin knows who the evil players are, revealing this directly can risk being assassinated. Your goal is to aid the Arthurian side subtly.
• Use hints wisely: Mastering the art of dropping subtle hints to your team without being too obvious is crucial for Merlin.
• Be careful with accusations: Accusing minions of evil too accurately or quickly can reveal your role. Balance is key.
• Maintain balance in your gameplay: Keep your explanations grounded in evidence everyone can discuss. You do not need to deliberately sabotage good decisions to hide your role.
• Pay attention to the assassin: Remember, an assassin will try to identify Merlin at the end of the game if good prevails. Being too obvious with your hints could lead to your downfall.

Merlin strategy: common situations

• A known evil player is proposed: Question the proposed team using public evidence, such as a failed mission or an inconsistent explanation. Naming every evil player immediately can expose your role.
• A mission succeeds with an evil player: Do not treat that team as confirmed good. Evil can play Success to earn trust; compare later teams and votes before endorsing the same lineup.
• Mordred is in the game: Remember that a player you did not see as evil may still be Mordred. Use mission results to evaluate those players instead of assuming they are safe.
• Percival is looking for Merlin: Keep your explanations consistent with your votes. Do not openly identify yourself to win an argument: that also gives the Assassin information.
• Good is close to its third success: Support a safe team without claiming credit for every correct decision. The assassination still matters after the mission succeeds.

Playing as Merlin is challenging yet highly rewarding. With careful strategy and tactful communication, you can lead the forces of good to victory while staying hidden from the dark clutches of the assassin. Good luck!