Editorial - Use Storyteller Discretion for Grimoire Photos and Unexpected Strategies 

Storytellers may say "no" to Grimoire pictures. This idea existed in a widely circulated draft rulebook and was subsequently struck from the rules before the retail release of the game. 

Sharing or showing photos between players should be discouraged. Many Storytellers allow photos of the Grimoire and stipulate that pictures must remain as memory aides only and not be shown to anyone else, including their Demon. 

In Trouble Brewing, having a Spy take and share photos of the Grim on Day 1 will not completely break the game. It's no different than having an extremely efficient conversation between the Spy and Imp. The game still has to play out. The good team will still get multiple clues and opportunities to execute the Demon.

However, having the entire Grimoire accessible at all times will significantly enhance the Spy's potential benefit to the evil team. It will also lower the possibility of the evil team getting caught exchanging detailed information.

When using the Spy or grim-viewers with experimental scripts and characters, sharing photos may spoil intended gameplay ambiguity:

• Showing the actual Demon the Grimoire will remove any doubt that the Demon might be a Lunatic.

• Showing the Marionette the Grimoire will remove any doubt that they might not be a Marionette.

• At the risk of leaking the evil team to the good team, showing the actual Demon the Grimoire will remove any doubt that the Magician is one of the Minions.

TPI Perspective from Evin Donahoe

"An early draft of the rules mentions the Spy taking a photo of the Grimoire as a creative strategy, implying that it's fine, but this reference was removed from the final version of the rules. Steven (designer of BOTC) is actually fine with Spies taking photos of the Grimoire, but a number of the rules lawyers around the game (myself included, ugh) think it brings up a whole bunch of issues around sharing the photo, looking at it after they die, breaking rule 2 ('no peeking'), etc.

Opinion is split enough that we removed the reference from the rulebook so that there's no definitive 'official' ruling one way or the other. It gives us space to come to some other official decision in future if we choose, via the Wiki, or just leave it as something that each gaming group can determine for themselves how they feel about it, which seems to be working so far. Currently, in the groups I play with, Spy photos are pretty subjective and everyone seems fine with this. Some Storytellers don't allow Spy photos at all. Some are fine for it at all times. For others it's dependent on the player - like, a Storyteller might let a Spy take a photo if it's a newer player or someone who's not great at memory stuff (the intent of the Spy isn't really meant to be a memory-game thing), but if it's an experienced player the Storyteller will shake their head when the phone comes out..."

Source: Reddit | r/BloodOnTheClocktower | Question about the Spy

Editorial - Study Pukka Procedure to Properly Prepare for Your Game

Credit to Tan for the original chart
Credit to u/Not_Quite_Vertical / Ali C. for clean up and enhancements to the flowchart.
Pukka-majig created by LivFreeOrPie

Running the Pukka is a common pain point for new Storytellers. A common BotC joke for Storytellers: "The Pukka ability is: You pick a player and the Storyteller pauses the game to check the interaction in the Almanac."

The Pukka has multiple complicated interactions with the roles on Bad Moon Rising. Careful reading of the almanac is required to fully prepare to run the Pukka.

Independently, I created an in-Grimoire cheat sheet based off of my reading of the rule that is straightforward and portable. My version is condensed and crated into a token so that it fits inside of the BMR token box.

• Bakery by the Clocktower | Pukka-Majig by LivFreeOrPie

Before I made the Pukka-Majig, TPI endorsed a flowchart in a Reddit FAQ which explains how to handle interactions in the Almanac. The chart was later updated to be more helpful comprehensive. I compared my tool to the chart and found that both concur with each other.

• imgur | Direct link to the latest Pukka Flowchart by u/Not_Quite_Vertical / Ali C.

• Reddit | r/BloodOnTheClocktower | Updated Pukka Flowchart

• Reddit | r/BloodOnTheClocktower | Original Pukka Flowchart by Tan on Discord

Source: BMR Almanac, page 18 

Editorial - Use Your Storyteller Judgement Carefully

Triggering the Shabaloth and Pacifist abilities to regurgitate or save players is always a judgement call by the Storyteller. Typically, Storytellers want to bring the game to an exciting conclusion with the final 3 players. Storytellers must make careful decisions to regurgitate or save players based on the state of the game an potential trajectories the game may take.

The BMR Almanac recommends an average of one discretionary Shabaloth regurgitation and/or one discretionary Pacifist save per game, maybe two or zero.

Full discretion is left to the Storyteller to arbitrate regurgitations & execution saves to create a fun and interesting game.

Inside of the Base 3, the Shabaloth has the fastest kill velocity in the game and regurgitations are a Storyteller-powered tool to manage the competitiveness of the game.

It's usually best to have Shabaloth regurgitations occur early in the game. This can help support a Professor bluff by an member of the evil team. A Professor would likely use their ability within the first few days of the game, lest they be killed by evil and loose the opportunity to act. 

However, there are some instances where late game regurgitations make sense:

• Regurgitating a good player late in the game may make sense if the good team is outnumbered, doing very poorly, or is about to lose the next night by total team annihilation.

• Regurgitating an evil player late in the game may make sense if evil is getting crushed by the good team. 

• If a Shabaloth selects a dead player, this may signal to the Storyteller to consider a particular regurgitation the next night, usually to bring back a Minion.

It's usually best to make a Pacifist execution save once early in the game before the Pacifist dies.

Pacifist execution saves in general have a less drastic impact than the Shabaloth's regurgitations because the evil team has the opportunity to either frame Pacifist-saved players as Devil's Advocate-saved players eligible for a repeat execution, or simply use their toolset to kill Pacifist-saved players at night.

Multiple Pacifist execution saves may make sense in a game with a Zombuul because failed enable the Zombuul to make kills and progress the game.

Multiple Pacifist saves timed correctly may also be used to simulate the activity of a Devil's Advocate.

Multiple Regurgitations & Saves

• Multiple saves and resurrections prolong the game and add execution opportunities for the town, usually to the good team's advantage.

  • • Generally, every two no-death outcomes at dusk or dawn adds one more day to the game and the Demon must survive that extra execution opportunity afforded to the town to win the game. (e.g., Demon-sunk kill, failed execution, protection from night death, regurgitation/revive)

• In BMR, two resurrections in the same game confirm the presence of a Shabaloth. 

• In BMR, any resurrections permanently clear players as Demons. 

• In BMR, multiple resurrections solve the game if two resurrected players survive to the final three players.  

• In BMR, two consecutive execution saves on two consecutive days confirms double-saved players as good team members with near certainty because the Devil's Advocate cannot select the same evil player on consecutive nights. 

  • (Having a double-saved player end up evil at the end of the game in BMR would require an exceptionally timed Goon turn, thanks to A.B. for pointing out this possibility.)

Late Game Regurgitations & Saves

• Late regurgitations and saves have the potential to wildly swing game momentum depending on who gets saved or resurrected. 

• Resurrected players add nomination sources and repeating votes back into the game.

• In BMR, allowing the Shabaloth to regurgitate a player after the town sleeps at four alive is mechanically possible, since the regurgitation happens before the kill. Be advised that this will result in final 3 player game with a 50-50 town decision between the two surviving non-resurrected living players.

• If you decide to present a 50-50 dilemma to players with a regurgitation into the final 3 players, you must ensure that the non-Demon survivor is suspicious enough to be frameable to give the evil team a path to victory.

Almanac Perspective - Saving Frequency

"Triggering the Pacifist ability once per game is usually about right. You can trigger it more if you feel it is appropriate. On rare occasions, to make the Pacifist look suspicious, you can never trigger it."

Source: BMR Almanac, page 11

"Since the Shabaloth cannot regurgitate themself—they have no ability when dead—it is best to only rarely make the Shabaloth regurgitate. Once per game, maybe twice, is usually sufficient."

Source: BMR Almanac, page 19

Almanac Perspective - Madness

Carefully read and re-read the Base Almanac, pages 22-23 and the entire SNV Almanac, to get an idea of how the "Madness" mechanic is intended to be run.

"MAD: A player who is “mad” about something is trying to convince the group that something is true. Some players are instructed to be mad about something—if the Storyteller thinks that a player has not tried to convince the group of the thing they were instructed to be mad about, then a penalty may apply. Some players are instructed to not be mad about something—if the Storyteller thinks that a player has tried to convince the group of that thing, then a penalty may apply."

Source: BASE Almanac, page 43

TPI Perspective from Steven Medway

The creator of the game goes into a little more depth in this article:

Madness (as explained by Steven): https://botclinks.page/MadnessGuide 

"The purpose of the madness mechanic is to encourage good players to knowingly spread misinformation. If they do this, they get a reward (or avoid a penalty).

This simple way of looking at things can be very helpful, and avoids the trap of thinking that madness has, or needs to have, a precise set of criteria that the player "needs to meet". Either the player is on board with acting mad, or they are not. Either is fine. Trouble arises when a player is not on board with acting mad and is looking for loopholes to technically qualify as "on board" so that they can get the benefits without the downsides, or when they believe that acting mad is about fulfilling a specific set of criteria that is written in the rules."

Madness Perspective by LivFreeOrPie

 "Madness Performance Notes" for Storyteller Monitoring

• Madness performance is always optional and up to the player

  • Opting out accepts the penalty / forfeits the boon 

• If opting in, players must "get on board" and perform as instructed

  • Any departure from instructions may be penalized

  • Total silence or “de minimis” performance may be penalized

  • “Angle shooting” or loophole seeking may be penalized

• Make affirmative effort to spread misinformation as instructed

• Appear sincere while knowingly lying

• Support your character claims if possible:

  • Fabricate or explain your character’s expected data if challenged 

  • Dismiss or explain any past claims if challenged

  • Dispute or explain any public double-claims if challenged

  • If your claim is typically a low profile role, give a reason why you’re claiming 

  • Contest the group consensus if everyone else thinks that you are “mad”

• New players get leeway for a sincere performance

• Experienced players are expected to perform well

• The Storyteller is the final judge of madness, no appeals

I printed this on an index card for my personal reference as a list of personal talking points. I made this list as an exercise to prepare how to explain why I made a Storyteller decision to enforce Madness to player who is new to the concept of "madness" after the game concludes. I never show this index card or bullet list to players. It's a personal reminder. It's not meant as a rigid set of criteria to fulfill, simply a list of things to consider when adjudicating "madness."

The best way I heard this explained back to me was from a newcomer who replied to my rules explanation with "OK, it's blackmail." That was the perfect crystallization of the mechanic. It's ability-based blackmail that a Storyteller adjudicates.

"Madness Simplified" instructions for players

• You may say anything you want at any time.

•  EITHER knowingly spread misinformation, OR accept the penalty / forfeit the boon.

• Make a sincere effort to follow the "madness" instructions and persuade the group that something is true. 

• If your “madness” instructions are unclear, privately ask the Storyteller for clarification. 

• The Storyteller is the final judge of who is and who is not behaving “madly.”

"Madness" Tools by LivFreeOrPie

• For player instruction: XL Floor Reminders | Madness Explained Helper

• For Storyteller recognizance: ST Helper Index Cards | Madness Performance Notes (Confidential from Players)

TPI Interpretation Source

"When making a Juggler guess, the Juggler may not guess the same player and character more than once."

"The Juggler MAY guess the same player as different characters, or different players as the same character." 

Rule source: SNV Almanac, page 11
Interpretation source: Steven Medway X Post | 2024.06.20

Editorial - Disallow Over-Optimized 2+3 Juggler Picks

The intention of this rule clarification is to prevent an over-optimized Juggler selection pattern that gives the Juggler enhanced information if the Juggler is sober, healthy, and survives through the second night:

Hypothetical illegal juggle:

• Alice juggles Bob as the Sage

• Alice juggles Bob as the Sage

• Alice juggles Charlie as the Witch

• Alice juggles Charlie as the Witch

• Alice juggles Charlie as the Witch

Hypothetical sober & healthy outcomes from the illegal juggle:

• 0 = Both Bob & Charlie incorrect

• 1 = N/A - not mechanically possible

• 2 = Bob correct, Charlie incorrect

• 3 = Charlie correct, Bob incorrect

• 4 = N/A - not mechanically possible

• 5 = Both Bob & Charlie correct

This subverts the intended design and function of the role per the the SNV Almanac.

Editorial - Consider Alignment Reminders Within SNV to Help Inexperienced Players Understand Their Position

Every character ability that causes a character change in SNV includes an option recommendation in the Almanac to remind players of their alignment before they wake up. The reminder is framed as optional to accommodate specific interactions with experimental scripts and characters.

When playing on SNV specifically, especially with new and intermediate level players, strongly consider making a habit to remind players of their alignment whenever their character changes. It's especially important when a the alignment and character token are fundamentally changed or mismatched from their usual states.

Having a player lose a game of SNV because they didn't understand the Storyteller or the nuance of alignment-changing rules on a script full of information is a devastating way to fumble a game. On more than one occasion, I've seen Storytellers forget the thumb signal and players receive the thumb signal, forget what team that they were playing for, and botch the game.

The standard way to handle this is to give a "thumbs up" or a "thumbs down," but this signal may not be clear to new SNV players. When I am using thumbs, I typically add two gestures to this signal: (1) point to the player with an index finger and silently mouth "you are" (2) give the thumb signal and and silently mouth "good team" and " evil team" with exaggerated mouth movements. 

I've also created PocketMods that explicitly tell players their alignment to use in place of thumb signals to mitigate confusion.

Editorial - Give Alignment Reminders in Experimental Games Only After Alignment Changes

Character and alignment changes become more complicated when character changers and "you think you are" or "you don't learn" characters are mixed into  experimental scripts. 

If an experimental script includes character changing and at least one character that is supposed to think that they are a character or alignment that they are not, then consider using this approach: Unless a player's alignment has changed, character change notifications receive no alignment reminders. Tell players "your alignment has not changed" if clarification is requested.

• If a player is changed into the Drunk, you may pass on notifying them of the character change altogether if they were previously a Townsfolk, or wake them and show them any other Townsfolk token. 

• If a player is changed into the Marionette, you may pass on notifying them of the character change altogether if they were previously a Townsfolk or Outsider, or wake and show them any other Townsfolk or Outsider token.  Don't forget to notify the Demon immediately.

• If a player is changed into the Lunatic, you can show them any Demon. Don't forget to notify the real Demon immediately.

• If the Lunatic or Marionette has their character changed, disclosing their actual alignment will break the intended function of their character in the game by giving unearned information to players. 

• The Ogre changes alignment to match their picked "Friend" but does not learn their own actual alignment from this selection as an intended function of the role (absent specific jinxes). Disclosing their actual alignment on a character change gives unearned information to players.

When playing on experimental scripts with the Fang Gu, it's especially important to always telegraph the character change and give an alignment reminder:

• Fang Gu/Lunatic: If a Lunatic gets jumped into by a Fang Gu, you must notify the new Fang Gu that they are both evil and the Fang Gu. Their character and alignment have changed. Having a Lunatic-turned-Fang Gu execute themselves because they think that they're on the good team and expendable may be an anticlimactic way to end the game.

• Fang Gu/Ogre: If an Ogre gets jumped into by the Fang Gu, notify the Ogre, even if the Ogre started as an evil player.

Almanac Perspective - Notification Nuances for Alignment and Character Changes

"The player learns of changes... If a player’s alignment or character changes, they learn this at the earliest opportunity, in secret. You will usually show the YOU ARE info token and then their new character or alignment. The night sheet or character almanac will tell you when an alignment or character changes, prompting you to wake the changed player and inform them.

Learning a new character or alignment isn’t information in the normal sense. It is not affected by drunkenness or poisoning, or by characters such as the Vortox. This is so that players know their own alignment and character.

...with a few exceptions. Sometimes, a player thinks they are a character or alignment that is different from their true character or alignment. For example, the Drunk and the Lunatic are designed to not know who they really are."

Source: BASE Almanac, page 21

"If that player is the Demon, the old Snake Charmer changes into the new (evil) Demon, and the old Demon changes into the new (good) Snake Charmer—swap the Snake Charmer token and the Demon’s token. The new Snake Charmer is poisoned—mark them with the POISONED reminder. Wake the new Demon and show them the YOU ARE info token, a thumbs-down, the YOU ARE token, then the Demon’s token. (This shows they are now evil and the Demon.) Put the new Demon to sleep. Wake the new Snake Charmer and show them the YOU ARE info token, a thumbs-up, the YOU ARE info token, then the Snake Charmer token. (This shows they are now good and the Snake Charmer.) Put the new Snake Charmer to sleep.."

Source: SNV Almanac, page 7

"If a good player becomes a Minion or Demon, or an evil player becomes a Townsfolk or Outsider, you may wish to remind them that their alignment has not changed."

Source: SNV Almanac, page 14

"(You may need to turn character tokens upside-down to remind you that a player’s alignment is opposite to the color of the token. You may need to remind the player that their alignment is unchanged, by giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.)"

Source: SNV Almanac, page 17

Editorial - New Demons Require Careful Nuance from the Storyteller. Study the Almanacs. 

When a Demon assigned to a specific player leaves play or changes places due to death or swap, sweep all of Demon-associated reminder tokens from the Grimoire. All persistent effects from the Demon cease immediately after the player dies or changes characters. This includes instances in experimental games where the Demon dies and a Scarlet Woman becomes the same new Demon.

Fang-Gu Exception: The Fang Gu's "ONCE" reminder persists for the rest of the current game. The SNV Almanac specifically clarifies that the Fang Gu's jump and turn is a global "ONCE" in every game to prevent the good team from getting outnumbered by evil players.

Good must kill all Demons to win the game, so be very careful if you elect to let two Demons persist after the Pit Hag creates a second living Demon on the board. The opportunity window to arbitrarily kill players closes after the players wake up and will likely not return. 

If there are no Demons on the board, good usually wins immediately. In SNV, an Evil Twin pair alive prevents the good from winning immediately when no Demons are on the board.

In SNV, if a Pit Hag changes the existing Demon into a different Demon, it's recommended that the Storyteller have no deaths at night. This recommendation serves two purposes: (1) it signals to the good team that the Demon has changed and (2) it imposes a cost on the evil team for the benefit of having an unknown new Demon type in play.

In SNV, if a Pit Hag changes another player into a new Demon, it's recommended that the prior Demon die, plus one other player on the good team decided by the Storyteller. You can have the new Demon point to their selection and consider accepting their choice, or override it with another kill. This recommendation allows the evil team to sacrifice one of its own players at night to move the Demon without giving up its nightly kill. It's "1-for-1" exchange to balance the game.

• Final 3 Exception: If a Pit Hag makes a new Demon with 4 alive at night, it's best to arbitrate only one death at night and bring the game to the final 3 with one Demon. This lets the players decide the outcome of the game.

Almanac Perspective - New & Swapped Character Management

"If a player becomes a new character, they gain the new character’s ability immediately. They lose their old ability immediately and any of its persistent effects end. If the new ability is a “once per game” ability and has already been used, they may use it again. If the new ability normally only functions on the first night, it functions tonight. Players that are brought back from the dead, or players that become a new character via a character swap, gain their ability in this way too..."

Source: BASE Almanac, page 17

"DOES THE GAME ALWAYS END WHEN THE DEMON DIES? Nope! Some characters, such as the Scarlet Woman, keep the game going after the Demon dies, without the good team knowing what has happened.

In some intermediate and advanced editions, multiple Demons can be alive at once. All Demons must die for good to win. Also, some Demons might be good rather than evil. The good team still only wins when all the Demons are dead, regardless of whether they are good or evil."

Source: BASE Almanac, page 16

"If the Pit-Hag changes a Demon into a new Demon, it is best to make no death occur tonight, so the good team gets a clue that the Demon has changed. You can even wake the Demon, see who they choose to attack, and decide that no one dies. If the Pit-Hag creates a new evil Demon, it is best to kill the old Demon and some other player, to signal to the good team that the Demon has changed. If the Pit-Hag creates a good Demon, it is best to kill either Demon (if it is the final night), or to just let two Demons run amok (if it is not the final night)—but since all Demons must die for good to win, use caution."

Source: SNV Almanac, page 17

"If the chosen player is an Outsider and the ONCE reminder is not in the centre of the Grimoire, the Fang Gu dies—mark them with the DEAD reminder. Wake the chosen Outsider. Show them the YOU ARE info token, then the Fang Gu token, then the YOU ARE info token, then a thumbs-down. Change their character to a Fang Gu—swap their character token with the spare Fang Gu token. They become evil. Put the new Fang Gu to sleep. Put the ONCE reminder in the center of the Grimoire. (Unlike “Once per game” abilities, this reminder stays there for the rest of the game. Don’t remove it, even if the Fang Gu dies or changes character.)"

Source: SNV Almanac, page 18