The Madness of King Lear

"You start knowing how many steps from the Demon to its nearest Minion." The Clockmaker learns the distance from the Demon to their nearest Minion. The Clockmaker only learns this on the first night. The distance is the number of seated players, starting from the player next to the Demon and ending at the nearest Minion, either clockwise or counterclockwise.

"You start knowing 1 in-play Townsfolk. If you were mad that you were this character, you gain their ability when they die." The Pixie pretends to be the same character as someone else. On the first night, the Pixie learns an in-play Townsfolk. The Storyteller chooses which Townsfolk this is. The Pixie does not learn which player is this character. If the Pixie player pretends that they are this Townsfolk, they gain the ability of this Townsfolk when the Townsfolk dies. They could have spoken loudly about being the character for one day, or pretended to be the character each day this game, or accused the Townsfolk of being a liar—the Storyteller is the judge of whether or not the player was convincing, by “being mad that they are this character”. When the Townsfolk player dies, the Pixie does not learn this, and is not told that they have gained a new ability. They may learn this has happened if they wake at night and start gaining information, or are prompted to choose players. If the player the Pixie learns about changes character then dies, the Pixie gains the ability of the Townsfolk the Pixie learnt about, not the new character.

"Each night, choose an alive player: either you or they are drunk until dusk. You can't die." The Sailor is either drunk or getting somebody else drunk. While the Sailor is sober, they can't die. Each night, the Sailor chooses a player, who will probably get drunk. If they choose themself, they lose their “cannot die” ability until they become sober. If the Sailor chooses a dead player accidentally, the Storyteller prompts them to choose again. If the Sailor chooses another player, the Storyteller chooses which player is drunk. If they choose a Townsfolk, the Storyteller will usually make the Townsfolk drunk, but if an Outsider, a Minion, or the Demon is chosen, then the Storyteller will usually make the Sailor the drunk one. While sober, the Sailor cannot die, even if they have not yet woken at night to go drinking.

"Each night, choose a player: a Minion, if chosen, learns this. All chosen Minions have no ability." The Preacher removes Minion abilities. If the Preacher chooses a Minion, that Minion is woken to learn that they have been preached, and can no longer act while the Preacher is alive, sober, and healthy. If the Preacher chooses a player who is not a Minion, nothing happens. The Preacher may choose dead players. If the Preacher is drunk or poisoned at the time they choose a player, that player is not affected by the Preacher’s ability. If the Preacher becomes drunk or poisoned, preached Minions regain their abilities until the Preacher is sober and healthy.

"Each night, if the dead equal or outnumber the living, you learn 1 alive character. The Demon knows you are the King." The King learns which characters are still alive. The King gains this ability after a few nights have passed — once the dead players equal or outnumber the living. At the start of the game, the Demon learns who the King is. If a King is created mid-game, the Demon learns who the King is that night. The King may not survive long enough to use their ability. Once the number of dead players is equal to or greater than the number of alive players, the King learns one alive character each night. The King may learn good or evil characters, and may even learn the same character more than once. There may not be a Choirboy in play. But if there is, and they are still alive when the Demon kills the King, the Choirboy learns who the Demon is.

"Each night*, choose 2 players: they can't die tonight, but 1 is drunk until dusk." The Innkeeper protects people from death at night, but somebody gets drunk in the process. The Innkeeper, like the Monk, makes players safe from being killed by the Demon. They are also safe from death caused by Outsiders, Minions, Townsfolk, and Travellers. The Innkeeper only protects players at night, not the day. One of the two players that the Innkeeper chooses becomes drunk for tonight and the next day. This player may be good or evil, but will almost always be good, depending how your game is going. An Innkeeper that chooses themself might become drunk, which means they have no ability and may die tonight—and the other player they chose to protect isn’t safe either.

"Each night*, choose an alive player. If good, they die & the Demon doesn’t kill tonight. One good player registers as evil." The Lycanthrope roams at night, killing the innocent, whilst the Demon cowers indoors. The Lycanthrope must choose an alive player each night. If the Lycanthrope chooses a dead player, the Storyteller shakes their head no and prompts the Lycanthrope to choose a different player. If the player that the Lycanthrope chooses is good, that player dies, and the Demon cannot kill tonight. If the player the Lycanthrope attacks is evil, that player does not die, and the Demon may still kill tonight. If the Lycanthrope attacks a good player but that good player doesn’t die, the Demon may still kill tonight. While the Lycanthrope lives, one good player registers as evil. They cannot be killed by the Lycanthrope. This evil-registration does not effect win conditions. The good player that registers as evil still wins or loses with the good team.

"Each day, you may make a public statement. Tonight, if it was true, a player dies." The Gossip deliberately speaks lies, in the hope of uncovering the truth. Each day, the Gossip may make a public statement. If this statement is true, the Storyteller kills a player that night. If it is false, then no players die due to the Gossip. Mumbled words, whispers, statements the Storyteller doesn’t know are true or false, or statements that someone cannot hear don’t count. Like the Slayer’s ability, the Storyteller and every player must be able to hear and understand the Gossip and be aware that the Gossip is using their ability in order for the Storyteller to judge what happens next. 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.

"Once per game, at night*, choose a dead player: if they are a Townsfolk, they are resurrected." The Professor can bring someone back from the dead. Once per game, the Professor can choose a dead player. If that player is a Townsfolk, they are resurrected, becoming alive again. If the Professor chooses an Outsider, Minion, or Demon, then nothing happens, and the Professor’s ability is gone. The resurrected player regains their ability, even a “once per game” ability they used already. Resurrected Townsfolk may or may not get to act on the night of their resurrection, depending on whether they would act before or after the Professor. If they had a “first night only” or “you start knowing” ability, they immediately wake to use it again, as soon as the Professor goes to sleep.

"On your 1st day, publicly guess up to 5 players' characters. That night, you learn how many you got correct." The Juggler takes the risk of convincing people to reveal their characters on the 1st day, in the hope of guessing as many as possible that are telling the truth. On the first day, they may guess which players are which characters. That night, the Juggler learns how many guesses they got right...if they are not killed beforehand. They must make their guesses publicly, so everyone hears what is guessed. They may guess zero characters, or up to five characters, and these characters and players may be different or the same. If the Juggler made their guesses while drunk or poisoned, but is sober and healthy when their ability triggers that night, then the Storyteller still gives them true information.

"The 1st time you die, you don't." The Fool escapes death... once. The first time the Fool dies for any reason, the Fool remains alive. They don’t learn that their ability saved their life. If another character’s ability protects the Fool from death, the Fool does not use their ability. Only the time that the Fool would actually for realsy bona fide be dead does the Fool’s ability trigger.

"If the Demon kills the King, you learn which player is the Demon. [+the King]" The Choirboy learns who the Demon is when the King is slain. The King can be in play without the Choirboy. During the setup phase, if the Choirboy is in play and the King isn’t, the King is added. If a King is already in play, the Choirboy doesn’t add a second King. If the Demon kills the King using their ability, the Choirboy learns which player is the Demon. The Demon nominating and executing the King doesn’t count. Minions that kill the King, such as the Assassin, don’t count either. If the Demon attacks the King but doesn’t kill the King, the Choirboy doesn’t learn who the Demon is. The Choirboy learns which player the Demon is, but does not learn which character.

"You do not know what your ability is. Each day, privately guess what it is: you learn how accurate you are." The Amnesiac doesn’t know their own ability. The Storyteller decides what the Amnesiac’s ability is. It may be the same ability as another character in Blood On The Clocktower, something similar, or something original. The Amnesiac may wake at any time during the night to learn information or to choose a player, or their ability may be passive—not requiring action from the Amnesiac player. Each day, the Amnesiac talks to the Storyteller in private, and makes a guess as to what their ability is. The Storyteller answers “cold” if the guess is very wrong, “warm” if the guess is on the right track, “hot” if the guess is very close, and “bingo” if the guess is spot on. Their guess may be specific, such as “Am I learning two players each night that are the same alignment?”, or vague, such as “Is my ability something to do with dead players?”