Unified Experimental BotC Rules Updates

Documentation & Markup of Evolving Experimental Blood on the Clocktower Rules

TPI Apocrypha*

This content goes further and delves deeper than the published resources from The Pandemonium Institute (TPI). Published TPI Canon Rules Texts serve as the foundation of TPI Apocrypha. Experimental content is subject to ascend to "TPI Canon" and/or change as development of the game continues.

BOTC Experimental Characters Comprehensive How to Run w Annotations & Updates

BotC Experimental Characters: Comprehensive How to Run w/ Annotations & Updates

An Annotated Scrape of the Unofficial BOTC Discord Channel #experimental-how-to-run

content by The Pandemonium Institute
markup and administration by LivFreeOrPie

Since April 2020, staff and endorsed volunteers from The Pandemonium Institute have posted accepted rulings on obscure character interactions in a running closed chat on the Unofficial Blood on the Clocktower Discord.

If you've ever dreamed up an obscure interaction between characters occurring during a game, there's a chance that this Discord has discussed your hypothetical scenario and and a sensible and fair way to interpret the rules.

Unfortunately, stale advice is present across this Discord Chat.

Aspiring new players may not know where to locate an esoteric channel buried in a difficult to navigate Discord.

So, with the intention to making the entirety of this important historical channel more accessible and internally consistent, I've put together a living Google Document where I scrape the contents of the channel and apply red text markup to stale and outdated information.

I plan to continue to update this document to keep it current and consistent as new characters and rule changes are released.

Direct link: BotC Experimental Characters: Comprehensive How to Run w/ Annotations & Updates.gdoc

Tandem Document: BotC Medway Updates X /Twitter Scrape.gdoc

TPI Rule Ambiguity Acceptance & Errata Policy

There are many areas of rules nuance and ambiguity throughout the documentation of Blood on the Clocktower. It’s impossible to capture every potential interaction in the game into ink and paper or bits.

The Pandemonium Institute is on record as confirming that ambiguity is a deliberate and intentional game design choice and Storytellers are free to adjudicate the gameplay interactions however they may deem appropriate and fun for the sake of the players:

“If the rulebook doesn’t say you can’t do something, you can do it. Yes, players can nominate or vote for themselves. Yes, the Demon can attack dead players. Yes, good players can lie. Yes, if you get to choose “any player” at night, you can choose yourself or a dead player. Yes, the dead can talk. No, dead players cannot nominate, and may only vote to execute if they have a vote token.

Your word is law. If you are unsure of how to interpret a rule, or the players are unsure of what a character’s ability does, you, the Storyteller, are the final judge. Listen to the players, by all means, but when you’re unsure what the gods of CLOCKTOWER really meant by that strange wording or character combination, make a call and stick by it. Tell your players what your judgment is, and play on.

Character abilities break the core rules in this book. If a character’s ability contradicts a core rule in this book, follow the character’s ability. There is one exception: abilities cannot affect the exiling of Travellers (page 25).”

Source: BASE Almanac, Page 21

“When in doubt, make the decision that makes sense, based on whose team a character ability should be helping (Good if Townsfolk, Evil if Outsider/Minion/Demon).

If something is ambiguous, the Storyteller’s word is law. Storytellers - support your evil players with their bluffs, and do your best to make the game fun and fair, within the rules as you understand them.”

Source: BotC Website | Notes from the Clocktower: Jinx Updates | 2025.10.10

“Tools that directly compete with official resources or attempt to provide definitive rulings on character interactions won’t be approved. Ambiguity is a deliberate design choice in Blood on the Clocktower - it empowers storytellers and creates space for bluffing. Tools that override this philosophy won’t be allowed.”

Source: BotC Website | Community Created Content Policy | 2026.01.14

All Guidance Sources - TPI "Canon" vs "Apocryphal"

TPI Canon Documentation

“Canon” Blood on the Clocktower rules and guidance are “official” resources with direct management or endorsement from The Pandemonium Institute are as follows:

The “Core” 5 Rulebooks & Almanacs (Printed)
- “Base” Rulebook
- Trouble Brewing Almanac
- Bad Boon Rising Almanac
- Sects & Violets Almanac
- Travelers & Fabled Almanac
Explaining the Rules sheet (Printed)
Official BotC Rules Quizzes - https://quiz.bloodontheclocktower.com/
The Carousel Almanac (Living, Completed?) - https://botclinks.page/TCalmanac
BotC Wiki (Living) - https://wiki.bloodontheclocktower.com
- Djinn jinxes: https://wiki.bloodontheclocktower.com/Djinn
- Changelog: https://wiki.bloodontheclocktower.com/Changelog
- Glossary: https://wiki.bloodontheclocktower.com/Glossary

TPI Apocryphal Documentation

“Apocryphal” Blood on the Clocktower guidance is sourced from “unofficial” resources which are attributable to the the creator of the game, Steven Medway, other TPI-endorsed community managers, or TPI-endorsed productions. However, some of the guidance in these documents have been changed or overruled by later "apocryphal” and sometimes “canon” documents. Often, but not always, change announcements which originate here are later moved into a “canon” document. Sometimes, changes originate directly in “canon” documents. “Apocryphal” resources are as follows:

Unofficial Blood on the Clocktower Discord Server
- #experimental-how-to-run channel
  - Only posts from TPI community managers are permitted in this channel
  - Text from this long running Discord channel is the foundation of this document.
Supplemental Documentation linked from the #experimental-how-to-run channel
- Lil’ Monsta Supplement / Some Clarifications - 2021.01.16
- Laissez un Faire Supplement - 2021.02.20
  - MIRROR - Laissez un Faire Supplement document annotated 2024.06.27
- Madness Supplement - 2021.02.20 - revised by TPI 2024.08.06
  - MIRROR - Madness Supplement document
- Legion Supplement - 2021.02.04 - revised by TPI 2024.08.06
  - MIRROR - Legion Supplement document annotated 2025.10.09
- Marionette Supplement - 2021.04.15
  - MIRROR - Marionette Supplement document
- Lleech Supplement / Immortality - 2021.06.21 - made obsolete 2024.07.26
- Boomdandy Supplement / Who to Kill - 2021.07.01
- Al-Hadhikhia Supplement / Naming Notes - 2021.08.21
- Atheist Supplement - 2021.12.04 - revised by TPI 2024.08.06
  - MIRROR - Atheist Supplement document
- Yagababble Supplement - 2024.03.01
  - MIRROR - Yagababble Supplement document
BotC Kickstarter Updates - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pandemoniuminstitute/blood-on-the-clocktower
- Kickstarter Update #29 - Some Teensyville Scripts - 2020.04.25
Open Web Blog Posts Steven Medway or TPI Community Managers
- MIRROR - BotC Behind the Curtain Blog Post Series | tumblr - concluded 2022.02.01
- Explaining the Rules to New Players - 2023.06.13
- Including New Players - 2023.06.13
- Blood on the Clocktower is a Strategy Game - 2022.02.21
- On Spinning a Good Yarn - 2022.05.23
  - (Five above links were first shared in the Kickstarter & tumblr, and later duplicated to the Blood on the Clocktower Website & Blog on 2024.08.15)
- Alchemist v2 Supplement & Game Design Process - 2024.11.18
  - MIRROR - Alchemist v2 Supplement & Game Design Process
- Multi-Subject Storyteller advice from Ben Burns | Google Documents - concluded 2025.12.28
Publication from a Credited TPI Contributor
- Drive Thru RPG | Baron's Storyteller Roundtable - 2022.02.08
Blood on the Clocktower Website & Blog (Living) - https://bloodontheclocktower.com/blogs/news
- Sort Order (SAO) Update - 2024.10.03
- TPI Comprehensive Jinx Updates - October 2025 - 2025.10.09
Videos Produced with Steven Medway or TPI Community Managers
Steven Medway’s X/Twitter Account (Living) - https://x.com/Steve_Medway
- ARCHIVE - BotC Medway Updates X/Twitter Scrape

Experimental Rules Interpretation Guidance - RAW, RAF, & RAI

definitions sourced from Edd Gabriel (TPI)
editorial by LivFreeOrPie

It's impossible to foresee every potential interaction between characters in every conceivable game state. Sometimes, as a Storyteller, you need to make a determination that seems fair and roll with it. Here are some ways of thinking about rules what may be helpful with those considerations:

"RAW - Rules as Written. When someone talks about justifying something RAW, they mean this is based entirely on a strict logical understanding of the rules as they are laid out in the rulebook and almanacs, no other considerations.

RAF - Rules as Fun. This is the way of the roleplaying Games Master - what can I do that makes it most fun for all concerned. Usually used as one of two tiebreakers when RAW isn't entirely clear or when RAW justifies multiple options.

RAI - Rules as Intended. A slightly more nebulous tiebreaker, but used in attempts to discern what a character is supposed to do, rather than what a strict and draconian adherence to the exact wording of the character text might technically allow."

Source: Unofficial BotC Discord | #rules-discussion | 2022.02.01 | Edd Gabriel

*apocrypha

/ʌˈpɑk.ɹə.fə/
noun
Borrowed from Medieval Latin, neuter plural (for scripta apocrypha "uncanonical writings") of Late Latin apocryphus "obscure, of doubtful authenticity, uncanonical," borrowed from Greek apókryphos "concealed, secret, obscure," verbal adjective of apokrýptein "to hide (from), keep hidden (from)," from apo- apo- + krýptein "to conceal, hide"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apocrypha

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