Editorial

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

Almanac Perspective

"We recommend you keep the Mayor alive until the final day, since it is most fun for the players that way. On rare occasions, if the group is overwhelmingly convinced early in the game that the Mayor is the Mayor, let the Mayor die so that evil has a chance to win."

Source: TB Almanac, page 12

TPI Perspective from Evin Donahoe 

"It's less about whether the Mayor claimed to be the Mayor and more about whether you believe that everyone on the good team believes the Mayor when they claim to be the Mayor. Basically, if the Mayor is so fully believed/confirmed that the final day is going to be uninteresting, then you should take their protection away. (For examples, if the Mayor was seen by the Washerwoman, was sitting next to an Empath getting 'zero', and was confirmed by the Ravenkeeper, and is taking no pains to hide who they are from the evil team, then yeah you should probably take that protection away. If the Mayor was in an Investigator ping or the drunk/poisoned Empath was getting a 'one' on them, etc, then they'll have more of a struggle to convince people on the final day and you should let them live by redirecting the kill.)

Otherwise, the Mayor's protection exists because they only get to use their main ability on the final day, and the protection ensures that they're more likely to get to the final day without slowing the game down."

Source: Reddit | r/BloodOnTheClocktower | Trouble Brewing stalemate if Demon doesn't kill on 4 & mayor is in play?

Editorial Clarification

If the Mayor is poisoned by the Poisoner (or other means), then the Mayor does not have their ability and cannot be saved by Storyteller discretion.

Editorial

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

The Bad Moon Rising script has the possibility for the drunk or poison status of a good player to change between when they declare their ability during the day and when the ability activates at night.

When running BMR, always record the Gossip & Moonchild's declaration with reminder tokens. Then, determine if their kill activates when you arrive at their position in the night order (after the evil team's kills). 

Drunkenness or Poison will stop a good team kill. 

If a Demon or Minion in BMR kills the Gossip at night, then the Gossip does not kill.

The selection for the Moonchild happens during the day. So, an otherwise unpicked Goon will die from the Moonchild if the Goon selected by the Moonchild during the day phase, the Moonchild is sober at night, and the Goon remains on the good team when it's the Moonchild's turn to kill.

Almanac Perspective

"If the Gossip made a true statement during the day while drunk or poisoned, but is sober and healthy when their ability triggers that night, the Storyteller still kills a player."

Source: BMR Almanac, page 9 

"If the Moonchild is sober and healthy at night but was drunk or poisoned when they chose a player today, that player dies. If the Moonchild is drunk or poisoned at night but was sober and healthy when they chose a player today, that player doesn’t die."

Source: BMR Almanac, page 15

Almanac Perspective

"If the Assassin attacks the Goon, the Goon dies and turns evil." 

Source: BMR Almanac, page 17

Editorial Clarification

This recommendation specifies how to handle Assassin kills when the Assassin is the first player to pick the Goon at night. The Assassin's ability to kill overrides the Goon's ability to make its selecting player drunk.

If the Goon is picked by any other player earlier in the night order, then they do not change alignment on death and their selecting player ceases to be drunk by the Goon once the Goon dies.

TPI Interpretation Source

Steven Medway spoke about the Lunatic's intended design purpose and this interaction specifically on a podcast: Script Notes special w/ Steven Medway by AlejoFBlack - Timestamp 02:21:30 | 2023.05.20

Editorial

Giving the Lunatic their own fake Lunatic is a legal Storyteller option. It should be used with care and reserved for use with seasoned BMR players. 

In BMR, the Lunatic is intended to figure out that they're the Lunatic and come out early as a good player, perhaps getting a good player or two killed. 

In the experimental space, some scripts are designed specifically to preserve the possibility of a Lunatic being fooled for the whole game.

With this in mind, the Greater BotC Community conventional wisdom regarding giving the Lunatic a fake Lunatic is a “Yes, you can do it, but use your judgement” for four reasons:

(1) It requires the Storyteller to expend significant time and effort for a plausibility state that may crumble at any time for the benefit of a single player and minimal benefit to the game as a whole. 

(2) The Storyteller will likely be dictating the Demon’s kills with the fake Lunatic picks given to the real Lunatic and then relayed to the actual Demon. 

(3) When running with newer players, it creates extra opportunities for overwhelming confusion.

(4) Using this tactic too much will cause Demons in your games to doubt that they're the actual Demon and act in ways that unintentionally lose games.

Also, in the experimental space, simulating an action that would affect the Demon is also legal Storyteller option and is within the scope of "The Lunatic thinks they are the Demon." This includes having the Storyteller simulate the Exorcist, Flower Girl "Did You Vote Today?" checks, Storm Catcher, Poppy Grower, Marionette, King, Magician, & Boffin to a Lunatic.

Editorial

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 regurgitation or save per game, maybe two or zero.

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

It's usually best to have Shabaloth regurgitations occur early in the game. 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 doing very poorly or is about to to lose 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 save once early in the game before the Pacifist dies.

Pacifist saves in general have a smaller 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 saves may make sense in a game with a Zombuul because failed executions enable Zombuul to make kills. 

Multiple Pacifist saves timed correctly can simulate the activity of a Devil's Advocate.

Use caution with multiple regurgitations and saves:

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

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

• In BMR, resurrections permanently clear Demon candidates.

• 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 permanently confirms double-saved players as good team members. 

Use caution with later game regurgitations and 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

"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

Editorial

House rule for the Lunatic & Zombuul
written and titled by LivFreeOrPie

There has been no canonical interpretation for this rule from TPI and Greater Blood on the Clocktower Community is not in total agreement with how to handle this interaction. 

TPI interpretation: Rules as written are ambiguous and there is no canon interpretation for this conflict.

Majority interpretation: Do not wake the dead Lunatic Zombuul - A dead Lunatic Zombuul loses their "You think are the Demon..." ability after death and does not inherit the Zombuul’s “the 1st time you die, you live but register as dead” ability.

Minority interpretation: OK to wake the dead Lunatic Zombuul - Run Lunatic Zombuul like a Ravenkeeper who dies, mechanically loses their ability, and is woken to see a token.

Counter argument to the minority interpretation: The Ravenkeeper's ability activates in the specific space between when Ravenkeeper dies in the night and when their death mechanically takes away their ability. Therefore, a drunk or poisoned Ravenkeeper can have their ability simulated by a Storyteller in that space. There is no comparable space for the Lunatic-Zombuul because their simulated wakeup must happen at least one day after the death removes the Lunatic ability.

When discussing giving the Lunatic a fake Lunatic, Steven Medway clarified the design intention of the Lunatic as a good team Outsider who will figure out that they're the Lunatic after "a day or two." The Lunatic is not intended to spend the whole game thinking that they're the Demon. It might happen, but it's not the intention of the character.

Otherwise, it may be best for the Storyteller to pick a consistent interpretation and clarify their preference in a hypothetical if they're asked.

This is also covered in House Rules / Bootlegger

Almanac Perspective

Carefully read and re-read the Base Almanac, pages 22-23 and all of the included examples to get an idea of how the mechanic is intended to be run.

"You, the Storyteller, are the final judge about who is and who is not behaving madly. There are no rules about what must or must not be said. What matters is what you think the player is trying to do."

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."

Editorial Perspective by LivFreeOrPie

by LivFreeOrPie

This is strictly my personal, non-TPI endorsed, perspective on things to watch out for and consider as a Storyteller:

• Make an affirmative effort to spread misinformation

• Total silence discouraged, will likely result in a penalty

• Appear sincere while lying

• Make specific claims if contested

  • Support character claims with information if challenged

  • Explain or dismiss any past claims if challenged

  • Contest any double-claims of your character

  • Contest the group consensus if the group consensus believes that you are currently acting “mad.”

•  New players get leeway for a sincere performance.

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.

It's not meant as a rigid set of criteria to fulfill, simply a list of things to consider.

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.

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

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.

Almanac Perspective

"Some abilities may happen at a different time than what is listed on the night sheet. The night sheet lists which characters act in what order, but some abilities may take effect earlier or later, such as when an ability triggers immediately when a character dies. The night sheet order is a guide to remind you to wake players and to place reminder tokens and shrouds, so that no character is forgotten. The ability text on the character token is more important than the order of resolution on the night sheet."

Source: BASE Almanac, page 20 [Emphasis added]

Editorial

The SNV night order sheet as written may give an incorrect impressions about the timing of the activation "If you died today or tonight" & "When you die" roles.

TPI has clarified in community resources that these roles activate immediately on death.

• If a Barber is executed by the town or dies during the day by the Witch (or by other non-execution means), then the swap opportunity will happen first in the night order, immediately after the town goes to sleep.

• If a Barber is killed later in the night, the swap opportunity happens immediately after the night kill.

• By extension, this applies to the Sweetheart. Sweetheart-drunkeness is applied immediately by the Storyteller. 

• Sweetheart-drunkeness must be applied immediately if the Sweetheart dies during the day by the Witch (or by other non-execution means).

• These principles apply to other experimental characters with "If you die" and "when you die" abilities.

Night order sheets generated by TPI resources list roles that activate "If you died today or tonight..." after the killing Demons & Minions. 

According to TPI, the Barber and Sweetheart placement in the night order list is only a reminder for the Storyteller in the event that these Outsiders are killed at night. Their abilities actually activate as soon as possible.

Editorial

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

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. 

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.

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

Key exceptions to this recommendation to "always notify and clarify alignments" involve "you think you are" or "you don't learn" characters in experimental scripts: 

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

• The same applies to the Marionette, except the new Marionette may be told that they're a Townsfolk or Outsider. Don't forget to notify the Demon immediately.

• If an experimental script includes character changing and at least one character that is supposed to think that they are the opposite alignment, you have two options:

  • • Globally skip alignment reminders after character changes

    • If prompted, tell players: "your alignment has not changed"  

• If the Lunatic or Marionette has their character changed, disclosing their actual obscured alignment will break the intended function of their character.

• The Ogre changes alignment to match their "Friend" but does not learn their own actual alignment from this selection as an intended function of the role (absent specific jinxes).

• Fang Gu Exception: If a Lunatic or Ogre gets jumped into by a Fang Gu, strongly consider notifying the new Fang Gu that they are both evil and the Fang Gu. Having a Lunatic-turned-Fang Gu execute themselves because they think that they're expendable may be an anticlimactic way to end the game.

Almanac Perspective

"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

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 wins immediately. Unless there is an Evil Twin pair alive preventing good from winning.

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. 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. (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

"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

"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

Editorial

If the are 3 players alive and those players are EXACTLY the following:

• The Demon

• The Evil Twin

• The Evil Twin's good pair.

Good cannot win. You can immediately end the game. 

TPI Ruling

"While both twins are alive, the good team cannot win. If the only living players are the two twins, the game ends and evil wins. For this reason, the good team must deal with the twins earlier in the game - a final 3 consisting of only the twins and the Demon is an automatic loss for the good team."

Source: TPI Rules Quiz | Sects & Violets | Intermediate