Traitor

The following is a tutorial on the basics of treachery -- for the game mode, click here. For information on the Syndicate organization, see The Syndicate.

Alright, you forgot to switch off Be Traitor and now you are stuck as the traitor and have no idea what you're doing. This is a problem because a bad traitor means a bad round for everybody. But!, you plea, I had the option off and I'm still the traitor/syndicate/wizard! For some reason if everyone has the option off or the game just hates you, becoming the traitor is possible. Just adminhelp it, admins hate shit rounds as much as everyone else and you won't get banned for it unless you are an insufferable cunt.

The Basics

After you've familiarized yourself with robusting, it’s time to start sowing discord and chaos. The first thing to note as the traitor are your objectives. They are always kept in the Notes command and it’s a good idea to check that when a round starts because some early game spam can push your objectives off of the chat! There are three objectives that any traitor can be assigned, and you can be given multiple objectives.

Your Objectives

For whatever reason you've decided to sell out the people you live and work with, most likely for personal gain. You will be given an often dangerous goal by your new Syndicate employer which you must complete.

Objective #1

You will be usually assigned two objectives. At least one of them will be given to you by the Syndicate to achieve whatever they want you to do. They usually come in the form of theft or assassination, but once in a blue moon you might end up as somebody's bodyguard or be required to do some odd job.

Grand Theft

Congratulations, you have one of the most varied in difficulty objectives! Time to loot shit! You're going to be asked to steal things like the Medal of Captaincy, Captain's Antique Laser Pistol, an RCD or even the goddamned AI. Generally your best bet is breaking into wherever your target is for it or robusting whoever has the access for his ID. Note that most of these objectives do not take into account your starting job, so you may end up being the Captain who has to steal his own gun.

See the list of High-risk items for things you might be tasked to steal.

Assassination

This isn't as hard as it seems at first glance. Nine times out of ten, if you act like a good little crew member and hide when the carnage inevitably starts, chances are someone in a fit of panic/rage/boredom probably already killed your target for you. That isn't very sporting though, not to mention extremely boring and unreliable.

You don't need to destroy the body after it's dead. Space Station 13 is one of the few stations installed with experimental genetics technology, so as long as the target is dead when the station is evacuated, you've done your job.

See below for tips on how to take our your target.

Objective #2

This one comes in two varieties, escape and escape alone.

Extraction

Good job, you dirty traitor you! Whatever the first objective was, you have now successfully completed it! Now, the difficult part, getting off of the station in either the Escape Shuttle or an Escape pod. There are two main ways to go about this task, dynamic and stealth. Dynamic players are going to want to cause the damage to get the shuttle called and kill everyone that crosses their path to minimize the chances of others reaching the shuttle. Stealthy players are going to want to hang back and seal off the shuttle arm and make sure that they are the only ones getting on the shuttle. Most players will need to combine these two ways to succeed, regardless of the escape alone modifier on the escape objective. The more people on the shuttle, the greater chance some MAD BOMBER will kill you or some dude will robust you for no reason or some horrible admin related fatality will occur. How you do this is up to you, but remember that one emag or 3 different Heads of Staff IDs will reduce the timer to 10 seconds until departure.

Keep in mind that the Shuttle Brig (area of the main shuttle marked with red flooring) is designed to transport prisoners to Centcom security. You will fail this objective if you are inside when the shuttle docks at Centcom.

Hijacking

The Syndicate wants you to hijack the Escape Shuttle by escaping alone. This is going to be much more difficult; Very few people have ever accomplished this objective. This Leads to two common strategies: Robust the shit out of everyone or seal off the escape shuttle and emag the console. Note you may have to combine both of these strategies to escape alone.

If all goes well, give yourself a pat on the back, you did it! If not, try to figure out where it all went wrong and improve on that. Escaping alone can be nearly impossible depending on the crew and station's condition and theft can be just as difficult if you are a lowly assistant going after the Hand Teleporter the Captain is carrying around. Sometimes it was not meant to be, but regardless, the only way to keep better is continue practicing!

NOTE: The Escape pods can be ignored for this objective. To win you have to be the only person alive on the Escape Shuttle when it docks at Centcom.

Your Tools

Alright, you know your objective! Time to accomplish that goal! The Syndicate treats you much better than CENTCOM, you have 10 Telecrystals built into your PDA itching to be spent on traitory goods. Check Syndicate Items, for a more detailed description on the goods. But don't go racing off to order those items ASAP; people are more clustered in the beginning of rounds and the AI is probably wondering how it switches cameras and the Captain is off huffing paint somewhere. Although it can be useful to get items early, holding off until you need the item also has merit, so 3 crystals don't get wasted on an emag when you find the Captains ID on that Assistant you just spaced.

Illicit Access

Main article: Illicit Access

Gaining entry to areas above your clearance is an important skill. Sometimes you're a traitor looking to loot stuff. Sometimes the traitor is chasing you and you don't have time to ask for clearance to loot guns. Sometimes the station spawned without an engineer and someone needs to get the power working. Sometimes the AI has gone mad and has locked you in a room filling with deadly neurotoxin. Sometimes you just want a damn burger and nobody has kitchen access. In any case, a collection of ways to break into places can be found here

Murder 101

Most traitors have to kill someone, regardless of objectives, and knowing the right and wrong ways to do it will make or break your mission.

General Tips & Advice

• Always finish the job.
• Aiming for the head generally causes more stuns and knock-downs than the torso.
• Armor can be circumvented by aiming for areas not covered by the armor. If somebody is wearing a helmet, aim for the torso. For body armor, aim for the legs.
• Know your enemy. If your target is part of the Security team or one of the Heads, expect to be fighting a heavily armed and armored opponent. If you know the target is a good fighter, it might be a good idea to use one of the less physical methods.
• If you think you can kill somebody with an item, chances are you can. Even when you're sure there's no way this will kill anyone, it still might manage to. Experiment with different items and tools so that you're always a threat.
• When push comes to shove, push back. Fighting in SS13 is a lot like bull fighting; a lot of running and dodging and then direct physical confrontation. Never be afraid to back off for a second and get ready for a charge.
• Keep in mind that the best methods of killing are combinations of the ones listed below. The classic beating-to-strangulation method is one of the most widely used because it's simple and effective.
• Blood on your weapons, hands, and on floor are dead (get it dead) giveaways that you have beat somebody up. Dispose of the weapon, or clean them if you have the supplies or can get to the sink. Always try to wear gloves when you kill someone. Not only does it leave your hands clean, it prevents fingerprint evidence from giving you away.

Beating

Typically the most readily available murder option. It involves a blunt object such as your fists, tools, guns, stun batons or almost any other item in the game.

Pros: Easy to do, weapons are readily available across the station.

Cons: Leaves a bloody mess, armor exists, sometimes gives them time to cry for help.

Notes: Unless you're a robust fighter, beating is not always a viable option because it's somewhat easy to defend against.

Strangulation

Another simple option. Anybody who's not handcuffed can strangle somebody.

Pros: Always available option, after you have it locked in it's GAME OVER, doesn't leave any blood

Cons: Unless they're stunned or handcuffed, it's very easy to avoid and it leaves you in a vulnerable position, unless you quick choke.

Notes: Strangulation is most useful against downed opponents.

Advanced Methods of Murder

This section covers special weapon kills and environmental circumstances that may only be available in certain parts of the station.

Suffocation

Simple enough; while wearing internal gear, release toxic gasses into a room with your opponent.

Pros; Leaves no physical evidence, reasonably fast!

Cons: Internal gear may be difficult to obtain later on in the round, the area becomes contaminated until somebody comes to clean it up, the AI will also receive an atmospheric alarm for the area and can immediately jump to a camera there making escape difficult unless you can hide in a locker or something

Notes: Suffocation is not a good option for many parts of the station, but it's feasible to use in areas like the Engine, Toxins and the Atmos lab.

Intoxication/Overdose

Killing aided by medical supplies such as toxins, sleep toxins and rejuvenators and medication like epilepsy pills. Generally, these options will only incapacitate the enemy, but in the case of the toxins and rejuvenators, enough of them can be deadly.

Pros: Readily available in the Medbay, leaves little physical evidence

Cons: Takes some time to work, is most likely not deadly (sans the items mentioned above) unless extreme doses are administered

Notes: This method is effective to incapacitate people you've already caught if you don't have any means of handcuffing them, but it's not effective enough to kill outright.

Weapons

Simple to use and are most effective when you're directly attacking the enemy. This includes swords, axes and revolvers.

Pros: Almost a one-hit-kill, can be concealed

Cons: Only available to the traitor, make a bloody mess, anybody who sees you with them will assume you are the traitor, revolvers can be heard from adjacent rooms

Notes: Very effective and efficient means to kill, but these weapons are not available to the general public so if you're caught with them it's usually a game over for you.

Spacing

The act of forcing somebody out of an external airlock. Note that the ones in the Escape Shuttle Hallway and Arrivals are all-access, meaning anyone can open these.

Pros: Airlocks are available across the station, guaranteed kill, leaves no physical evidence

Cons: External airlock access isn't granted to everybody, smart opponents might be able to dodge out of the way or pull you out with them, they will probably be able to scream for help, you'll need internal equipment

Notes: Spacing can be a plausible option for people with the proper equipment, but it can also be dangerous.

Fire

Very dangerous and should only be used if a dramatic death is desired.

Pros: Very intimidating and dramatic, high chance of death, destroys the station (if that's a good thing), and leaves no physical evidence except a charred body and burnt floors.

Cons: The equipment required to start a fire is only available in certain rooms such as the atmospheric lab, toxins lab and the engine. It's also very dangerous to the attacker.

Notes: Fire has high style points but it can be permanently damaging to the station and may interfere with your objective.

The engine can also be used as an effective murder weapon and shares many of the pros and cons stated above, but the danger is increased ten-fold.

Genetic Murder

Makes up the smallest fraction of murders on SS13, but it has its advantages.

Pros: You can change the person's identity completely, you can mask your murder as an attempt to help give them powers or do research or backup DNA, and once they're in the pod you can lock it where they have no chance to call for help or fight back.

Cons: It's hard and generally suspicious to access the genetics lab unless you're cleared to enter.

Notes: This method can be risky and it is generally not easy to accomplish unless you're the researcher.

Polytrinic Acid

Can be made using the chemistry system and is deadly if used correctly.

Pros: Like medicine, acid can be injected into a person using a syringe or shot out of a gun. It can also be splashed from a beaker. If it's splashed it has a chance of removing the person's identity, which can only be restored in the genetics lab under unlikely circumstances. Poly acid smoke grenades are extremely deadly.

Cons: Hard to make unless you're the chemist. Acids are not very effective when injected.

Notes: This method suffers the same fate as the genetics option and is not plausible to the people who are not researchers.

Baiting

A fairly advanced tactic, if only because it doesn't always work and is difficult to pull off correctly. Basically, you talk Security into attacking somebody for committing some kind of crime. The crime ostensibly committed can range from breaking windows to breaking faces - it doesn't matter, they'll die for it. This can be especially useful when the Security team have proven themselves incompetent and are unlikely to challenge your accusations.

Pros: Relieves suspicion of you (if it exists), a very good way of getting the station's legitimate members to do your dirty work, distracts Security, makes for nice RP

Cons: Unpredictable, occasionally backfires, not always easy to pull off.

Notes: It is great when it works, but it is also hard to pull off and risky. Make sure you always wear gloves, and try to use people's ignorance to your advantage; asking some random Assistant to hold something like a fire extinguisher for you at the start of the round, then leave it near the victim's body, for example.

Another tip-Have a good weapon on you, DONT MAKE THINGS UP ON THE GO, have something your target can get knocked out by.

Gibbing

Using the chef's gibber for killing personnel. Probably the best if you're the chef, but if the corpse is knocked out, the chef won't give a shit about killing them.

Pros: Leaves no evidence, and you can eat him to get your health back.

Cons: Target has to be nonresponsive to gib them. Access to the kitchen is needed, or you will end up having at least one person who knows that you killed someone. Body has to be dragged to the kitchen.

Notes: This is probably the best as chef, as it doesn't appear as traitorous.

Cremation

Using the crematorium is a must as a Chaplain traitor. You can also mass drive people if you don't want to cook them (obvious to anyone going to derelict).

Pros: No chance to survive, leaves literally zero evidence if you pick up the ashes, no need to strip them down.

Cons: You can get spotted, need to make sure the person is out cold / dead. Crematorium destroys items completely, and doesn't leave anything behind if you don't strip them. Obvious if you mass drived them (and people going to the derelict will notice this). Careful of blood trails! Finally, only people with the crematorium's access can use the crematory devices. Remember, the crematorium also destroys items! Nothing is worse than broiling the Captain and realizing that all that remains of your objective is now a scorched piece of jumpsuit.

Notes: The mini-crossbow helps here, as does the sleepy pen and paralytic pen. You can knock people out constantly, and pelt them with arrows until they pass out and are at your mercy.

Where to Commit Murder

Now that you've picked your method of slaying, you will need to pick somewhere to do this. Several obvious factors play into this decision;

• Are the facilities available in this area? You obviously won't be able to push somebody into the engine from the Chapel.

• How frequently does the subject access this area? Waiting in the Medbay for your target won't result to anything if he never leaves his office.

• How heavily populated is the area? You won't want to kill somebody in an area like the Medbay because there is almost always somebody there.

After looking over these, you can tell where you should commit the crime. Several more specific factors play into this;

• How hard is the area to access?
• How secluded is the area?
• Is the area your primary post?

It would be unwise to kill somebody in the Toxins Lab if you're the only toxins researcher. On the other hand, it would be incredibly wise to kill somebody in the Toxins Lab if you're not the toxins researcher.

Getting Caught

Things never go that smoothly. Getting caught is a way of life on Space Station 13 and knowing how to get out of it is very important. And the best way to do that is to lie so much you believe yourself. Lie to everyone and everything that talks to you. Agree to any searches that won't get you busted for corpses or traitor items. Do anything to deflect the blame on to others. If you run around not saying anything dragging a locker of corpses around, you will end up dead. If you drag around that locker of corpses saying you were cleaning up maintenance and you are going to give the chef some meat, you may have a chance of not getting killed. Note that your chances of this bluff being a success is shot to nothing if you get caught with any traitor items on you. As soon as that first emag or revolver is spotted, you're getting a face-full of a harm baton and then the embrace of hard vacuum.

Additional Notes

Tip 1: GET CREATIVE

Alright, here's the situation. Let's say that your objectives are to kill someone, and to escape alive. Very simple, and they give you a lot of leeway in terms of the method of assassination. Now, uninteresting traitors could chose the simple method: Paralysis pen, C4, good bye target. However, that's not fun for anyone involved. The person you're killing is not having fun, due to them being removed from the round. The other crewmembers are not having fun, because they're not involved. And finally, you are (probably) not having fun, due to parapen+C4 being an boring, overused, but reliable method of killing someone. This is where creativity comes in.

You could kill your target in a multitude of interesting and different ways! Here's a few examples:

• Challenge your target to a duel.
• Kill them in an incredibly silly way, or using unlikely objects.
• Be like Jigsaw, and give them a challenge in which failure ends in death.
• Frame them as a traitor, by putting traitor items in plain sight and switching your fingerprints for theirs in the security database.

And many more! Those literally took me 2 minutes to think of, and I'm sure you can think of more than me. Please note that even if you have things like steal or escape alone objectives, you can still make things fun! Try holding a hostage, or buying the escape shuttle.

Tip 1-A: Use a gimmick

Gimmicks can be the most fun you will have as an antagonist. Everything from tying your victims to a conveyor belt leading into the crusher and donning a Snidely Whiplash costume, to putting on a suit and tie, getting the admins to turn you into a skeleton, and building a disposals coaster into space (THE RIDE NEVER ENDS), to playing a murderer who hatches murder plots based on the victim's job (roboticist killed by a rogue cyborg, engineer thrown into the singularity, assistant toolboxed to death, etc.) can be fun for all parties involved.

Tip 2: Try to avoid murderboners

WARNING! WARNING! OPINION AND RANT AHEAD!

Murderboning is no fun. I'm serious here. No matter how great it might seem gunning down everyone you see, you've got to remember something. Every human you see walking around is being controlled by a real person. They probably sat down after a hard day doing whatever it is they do and said to themselves “Huh, I want to play Space Station 13. It's a fun game!”. You probably did the exact same thing before you logged on. For each little pixel character you shoot in this game of 2D spessmens, you are removing a person – just like you – from doing something they find enjoyable. This is what makes SS13 different from other games. If you die in an FPS, you pop back into existence no different from before you died. In SS13, you die permanently. If your body is not found, you are out of the game for an hour or more. So please, think of who you're killing before you go on a thermal/noslip/esword frenzy.

Tip 3: Ask the admins, they're here to help you

Despite popular opinion, the admins are not just here to ban people and press buttons. They're here to help make the round interesting – just like you! Therefore, if you want to do a gimmick that you cannot pull off with the tools available, feel free to ask the admins if you can buy something using leftover TC. I've personally bought Centcom announcements, identity changes, surgery tools, and building materials. Another thing – if your objectives are boring, easy, or you've already completed them, you can ask for more. It's a good alternative to simply killing everything in sight if you can't think of something to do.

More Tips

• Having a spare ID always helps. Assistants are a dime a dozen so its not a bad idea to pin one on your shirt before you go about any dirty business so your real identity is not compromised. Throw some acid on your face and acquire a voice changer from your uplink, and no one will ever be able to discover who you are! That is, unless they take your DNA or fingerprint. If you don't have that, then just wear a mask and run around as unknown, using your ID to access the doors that you need. Knowing the access each job has makes certain IDs more valuable than others and should be a priority.
• Emagging welded doors causes them to close permanently, they cannot be opened and can only be destroyed, use this to your advantage when 'reserving' an escape shuttle for yourself or indeed when hiding a powersink.
• There may be other traitors on the shuttle and you may be their objective to kill. Trust nobody. Also, if the round is uneventful, the admins may create new traitors with custom objectives, some of which can be a lot of fun to do.
• As a traitor, unless you haven't engaged in any traitorous deeds, you lack Rule 1 protection. However, you are not under the jurisdiction of Rule 1 either. Short of rape, or intentionally crashing the server, you can do whatever you please.