Oil of Vitriol
Notes
An Alchemist-Xaan does not poison & starts knowing how many Outsiders are in play. With inspiration taken from amy's Alchemy 101 and Axios's Adventuring Party, this script provides many different options for a Storyteller to run both Alchemist and Boffin and there are varying levels of spice among the options. Please see below for the custom Alchemist x Xaan Bootlegger Jinx. This script presents the Alchemist as a piece of the solve, rather than a part of the chaos. Similarly, Boffin here is less about confirmation and much more about utility for the evil team. These are both concepts that I feel are dramatically under-represented on custom scripts. Secondary characters highlighted here are the Organ Grinder and Imp. I think the Alchemist Organ Grinder mini-game is interesting over the length of a game for all players involved. Through this confusion, not having to solve for a demon type allows for some approach-ability in the script, without much loss of power for the evil team. (This also reduces potentially poor interactions with other demons) Finally, I want to highlight the effectiveness of the Amnesiac here. An Amne can simply exist as it does and have a powerful Townsfolk ability. Or, the Boffin can provide the Demon with an Amnesiac ability that helps their team in some way, or otherwise hurts the Good team. But crucially, the Alchemist can have the Boffin ability and give the demon a custom Amnesiac ability which hurts their team. This is a space I haven't seen explored yet and I think there are some really great ideas out there to make for some seriously interesting games. Oh, and don't forget that an Alchemist Boffin can instead help out a Recluse! Maybe give them a Townsfolk ability or go extra crazy and give them an Amnesiac ability to puzzle through? Lots of possibilities. Sources of early actionable info: Noble, Village idiot, Fortune Teller Sources of droisoning: Sweetheart, Puzzlemaster, Xaan, Boffin Puzzlemaster, Boffin Village Idiot (conditional, limited), Boffin Amnesiac (?) Additional reasons for misinformation: Village Idiots, Fortune Teller Red Herring, Recluse misregistration, Damsel/Damsel coverage, Marionette Outsider modification: Alchemist Xaan (see custom jinx below), Xaan, Marionette (conditional), Boffin Huntsman Boffin abilities: Sweetheart, Puzzlemaster, Farmer, Amnesiac, Fisherman, Huntsman, Undertaker, Village Idiot, General Alchemist abilities: Marionette (jinx), Xaan (custom jinx), Organ Grinder (jinx), Boffin --- Alchemist Boffin abilities: Farmer, Amnesiac, Soldier, and nearly any Townsfolk ability when given to a Recluse Escape Rope/Balance: Damsel guess, Imp starpass, Xaan paranoia, Organ Grinder confusion This custom jinx fixes the inherent issue with an Alchemist-Xaan crippling the evil team. Without this jinx, the Alchemist-Xaan would likely reduce the Outsider count to 0 (catastrophic with base 2 Outsiders) while also blocking an actual Xaan from being able to do anything. Here, an Alchemist with the Xaan ability does not poison their fellow Townsfolk, but still modifies the Outsider count. What makes this helpful for the Alchemist is that they learn exactly how many Outsiders are in play. How to run: The Alchemist-Xaan still has the Xaan's setup ability. When building a bag with the intent of having a Alchemist-Xaan in play, put a set number of Outsiders in the bag. Be mindful that Alchemist is a Townsfolk. Careful ST discretion is required. The more Outsiders you put in, the more confirmed players they can find, but at the cost of fewer Townsfolk abilities. Also be mindful what outsiders you're adding to the game. Like Xaan, this overrides all other Outsider modification, including an evil Xaan. When the Alchemist-Xaan's night of poisoning arrives, no Townsfolk are poisoned by it (but may still be poisoned by a real Xaan in play). Notes: - A Recluse still cannot misregister to the Alchemist-Xaan. This includes when they learn how many Outsiders are in play. - Since Alchemist goes before Xaan in night order, an Alchemist's learned Outsider count can never be manipulated by a Xaan night. However, an Alchemist who is already droisoned at that point from a different source may receive an incorrect Outsider number. Strategy and Balance: The Alchemist knows how many Outsiders are in play, so they are all confirmed, which is a huge boon to the good team. Where this balances, however, is that now an actual evil Xaan isn't stifled. If town can figure out that there is a Xaan in play, they know when the Xaan night is (if the Alchemist is to be trusted!). But if they believe that there isn't a Xaan when there really is, the minion ability is still activating, causing misinformation for the good team. Note that an Alchemist-Xaan may not want to be immediately public with their info! If there is a real Xaan in play, they may hear the number and immediately know their real Xaan night. What the heck does 'Oil of Vitriol' mean? It's an antiquated name for concentrated sulfuric acid. Vitriol comes from the Latin word vitriolus meaning "small glass", referring to sulfuric crystals. This ties in the theming of both Alchemist and Boffin, while it's relation to Brimstone leans into the solo Imp element of the script. In modern-day English, vitriol also refers to abusive or venomous language used to express blame or bitter deep-seated ill will. Just the thing these evil characters would be doing in their own worlds. Tangentially, "oil" could also be connected to Noble, Fisherman or Recluse on script.