Storyteller notes

Here are some notes I made on my experience of storytelling.

For my grimoire I use pocketgrimoire.co.uk on my phone. YMMV, use whatever you like.

• todo: add screenshots of the grimoire for explanations
• finish this entire page…!

Your goal

You have one goal: run a game of Blood on the Clocktower that everybody enjoys.

Usually, that means a balanced game that can end in three final players that everybody’s on the fence about. Usually, it means that everybody feels like they’re right on the edge of figuring everything out, but everybody’s also tense that they might be missing something.

A good rule of thumb to help with this is that you should consider yourself “on the team” of whichever side is weakest.

It should also be fun for you! Storytelling is an amazing experience and unlike anything else I’ve done personally. You should have a whale of a time. Still: be prepared…!

How to set up a balanced game

Your aim is to pick characters thinking about how the good team will figure things out. You can’t give them LOADS of info (e.g. empath plus undertaker + fortune teller makes it really easy figure out who’s good) but you need to make sure they have enough to go on, ESPECIALLY if their only information-getting role is eliminated early. Two sources of info is useful.

A balance of characters who get info first night, info every night, and others like slayer and virgin means things will be balanced for the good team without being out of control. Ideally include at least one of each.

Once you know your good roles, pick the minion in such a way that the evil team have a chance. Lots of every-night-information-getting roles? A poisoner gives evil a defence and can sow doubt into the group. A broad mix of different types of info? Consider a baron to balance out strong townsfolk with troublesome outsiders.

Consider bluffs too. If the group expects outsiders (or if there’s a baron!) then outsider bluffs can be useful for the evil team. You can’t give pick a mix of bluffs that are info-getting (washerwoman, investigator, fortune teller) and simple ones (mayor, virgin, ravenkeeper) so the evil team can choose whether to actively feed misinformation or quietly lurk as an easy character to bluff.

Some roles are more powerful than you might think. If a virgin’s power is activated, the group will know that two specific people are townsfolk. HUGE. Doesn’t always pay off but when it does is’t significant. So, consider how roles can feed info!

Try to include at least one legitimate role that the demon would bluff easily. A mayor or a slayer or a soldier is an obvious thing to pretend to be! Consider adding one or two so the group find it hard to pin folk down on “obvious bluffs”.

Consider leaving OUT some characters to sow disinformation. For example: a virgin bluff from a demon looks to the good team like the person who nominated the virgin was actually evil!

How to pick “interesting” characters

Don’t pick the butler. It sucks and it’s hard to run without giving away that you’re actually checking to see whether the vote’s been counted correctly, which verifies that a butler is in play (and potentially who the butler is). Any good player verification is useful info. Butler is a poor choice of role in my opinion.

People like stuff to do. Roles like virgin are a bit passive — not bad, but not exciting. Consider alternatives.

Managing your grimoire

Balancing good and evil

Consider how long days & nomination phases should be, particularly for Trouble Brewing (the “default”, usual script). Trouble Brewing is potentially complex but in practice the good team usually have enough information that, left to their own devices, they’ll figure things out eventually. So: a particularly long day or nomination phase is extremely helpful for the good team. At the beginning of the game, it’s usually the evil team that’s in a weak position. So: make sure the days aren’t too long, particularly at the beginning! There’s a rule of thumb that you should have roughly a minute per player for the first day, and for every day to be a little shorter than the last. For games with many players, I have a suspicion that might be a little long for the first day — you don’t want it to last forever — perhaps a cap at 10 mins with a couple of mins for nominations is appropriate.

Relatedly: some conversations might lead the tam in exactly the right direction. That’s the game — so don’t necessarily get in the way — but calling nominations early or guiding conversation in particular directions isn’t against the rules at all. Doing so can shape the game in a way that’s more fun for everybody.

Remember that when the mayor is selected to be killed by the demon, you can choose to “ping” the kill off onto another player (assuming they’re not drunk or poisoned, in which case their ability doesn’t work). You can choose who that player pings off to. Evil team outnumbering the good team with only a few players left? Kill a minion! Or, if the scarlet woman is in play, remember that you could kill the demon instead and activate the scarlet woman’s power. Alternatively, if the good team’s got lots of useful information and you want to give evil a chance, consider killing a useful role: perhaps an empath or a fortune teller. Or: kill the mayor! Their ability doesn’t say they’re safe from the demon, it says somebody else might die instead of them if the demon picks them. You’re in control.

Other roles also give you opportunities. The Spy can register as a good player; the recluse can register as evil. That means you could tell the fortune teller they’ve seen the demon when they pick the recluse (essentially another fortune teller “red herring”!) or the investigator could see the recluse and one other good player as a minion, regardless of whether that minion’s in play. Similarly, the spy can seem like any good player. Maybe the washerwoman sees them as a useful townsfolk or they die when they nominate the virgin. What’s useful for the game you’re crafting?

Pitfalls

• when you’re finished with night roles, don’t immediately wake people up! It means folk KNOW there’s no role after them, eliminating some bluffs. Wait before folk wake up once you’re done.
• Consider not wearing shoes so they can’t hear where you’re walking at night.
• Keep track of private convos as well as public ones so you know if the group might be misdirected (and so you can summarise in a fun way at the end)
• be extremely careful not to confirm anybody’s role when they ask you questions. “IF that role were in play…” even when they are. Remember: they don’t even know if they’re really their role or actually the drunk, so how you phrase your info can matter…!

Complicated interactions

Consider…

• If the monk is poisoned, does anyone get protected? If so, do you choose who? Or is nobody protected at all?
• Can a poisoner poison the demon?
• Can the spy trigger a virgin’s ability?
• Can the recluse trigger a virgin’s ability?
• Can the spy kill the demon by pretending to be the slayer and “guessing” correctly?
• Under what conditions could you change the number given to an Empath without either of their alive neighbours changing?

Take the quizzes at the official website to check your understanding of tricky interactions, travellers, etc.