Sink Or Swim

"You start knowing if your closest evil player is clockwise or anti-clockwise. If equidistant, this info is arbitrary." The Shugenja trusts players to their left, or to their right. The closest evil player is the player with the smallest number of steps from the Shugenja to the evil player. If the evil players are ‘equidistant’, that means that the closest evil player clockwise is the same number of steps away from the Shugenja as the closest evil player anti-clockwise. If the evil players are equidistant, the storyteller gives ‘arbitrary’ information to the Shugenja. This means that the Storyteller chooses whether to tell the Shugenja that the closest evil player is clockwise or anti-clockwise. The Shugenja doesn’t know whether their information is arbitrary or not. The Shugenja does not learn how many steps away the evil player is. If a Shugenja is created mid-game, the Shugenja wakes that night to receive their information. The Storyteller communicates with the Shugenja by pointing a finger in the appropriate direction, but may use other methods if they wish.

"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, you learn how many of your 2 alive neighbors are evil." The Empath keeps learning if their living neighbours are good or evil. The Empath only learns how many of their neighbours are evil, not which one is evil. The Empath does not detect dead players. So, if the Empath is sitting next to a dead player, they do not get info about that dead player. Instead, they get info about the closest alive player in that direction. The Empath acts after the Demon, so if the Demon kills one of the Empath's alive neighbours, the Empath does not learn about the now-dead player. The Empath's information is accurate at dawn, not at dusk.

"Each night, you learn a player of a different character type than last night. [+0 or +1 Outsider]" The Balloonist learns players of different character types. Each time the Balloonist learns a player, the player must have a different character type to the previously shown player. The Balloonist does not learn the character type of the player they learn. The shown player can be alive or dead. The shown player can be good or evil. If the Balloonist is drunk or poisoned, they may learn a character of the same type as the previously shown player. When the Balloonist becomes sober and healthy, they must learn a player of a different character type to the previously shown player. During setup, the Storyteller may choose to add an Outsider due to the Balloonist’s ability.

"Each night, you learn which alignment the Storyteller believes is winning: good, evil, or neither." The General knows who is winning. If the good team is winning, the Storyteller gives a thumbs up. If the evil team is winning, the Storyteller gives a thumbs down. If neither team is winning, or the Storyteller isn’t sure, the Storyteller gives a thumbs to the side. The Storyteller is the judge on which team is winning. Many factors may be included, such as how many players of each team are still alive, how much information the good team has, how successful the evil team’s bluffs seem to be, which players the group wants to execute next, or how experienced the Demon player is. All of these, and more, will inform the Storyteller’s judgment. The Storyteller decides who is winning at the point that the General wakes. Previous events in the night may affect their decision.

"Each night, choose a player (not yourself or Travellers): you learn 1 good & 1 evil character, 1 of which is correct." The Dreamer learns players' characters, but is not sure if their information is entirely correct. Each night, the Dreamer chooses a player and learns two characters—one that the player is, and one that the player isn’t. The false character token depends on the chosen player’s true character type. If the Dreamer chooses a player who is a Townsfolk or Outsider, the false character token is any Minion or Demon. If they choose a player who is a Minion or Demon, the false character token is a Townsfolk or Outsider. The Dreamer may not choose themself, and may not choose a Traveller.

"Each night, choose 2 players: you learn if either is a Demon. There is a good player that registers as a Demon to you." The Fortune Teller detects who the Demon is, but sometimes thinks good players are Demons. Each night, the Fortune Teller chooses two players and learns if at least one of them is a Demon. They do not learn which of them is a Demon, just that one of them is. If neither is the Demon, they learn this instead. Unfortunately, one player, called the Red Herring, will register as a Demon to the Fortune Teller if chosen. The Red Herring is the same player throughout the entire game. This player may be any good player, even the Fortune Teller themself, and the Fortune Teller does not know which player it is. The Fortune Teller may choose any two players—alive or dead, or even themself. If they choose a dead Demon, then the Fortune Teller still receives a nod.

"Each night*, choose a player (not yourself): they are safe from the Demon tonight." The Monk protects other players from the Demon. Each night except the first, the Monk may choose to protect any player except themself. If the Demon attacks a player who has been protected by the Monk, then that player does not die. The Demon does not get to attack another player—there is simply no death tonight. The Monk does not protect against the Demon nominating and executing someone.

"Each day, you may visit the Storyteller to learn 2 things in private: 1 is true & 1 is false." The Savant gets crazy, amazing information that is different every day and every game, but exactly half of it is completely false. Each day, the Storyteller chooses two pieces of information to give the Savant... so get creative! One must be true, and one must be false, and the Savant won’t know which is which. It is up to the Savant to talk with the Storyteller, not the other way around. This isn’t a public conversation, and the group can’t listen in. It’s private. The Savant can choose to not visit the Storyteller if they wish. A drunk or poisoned Savant might get two pieces of true information or two pieces of false information.

"You are safe from the Demon." The Soldier can not be killed by the Demon. The Soldier cannot die from the Demon's ability. So, if the Imp attacks the Soldier at night, nothing happens. Nobody dies. The Imp does not get to choose another player to attack instead. The Soldier can still die by execution, even if the nominator was the Demon. The Soldier is protected from the Demon's ability to kill, not the actions of the Demon player.

"You have the ability of the recently killed executee. If they are evil, you are poisoned until a good player dies by execution." The Cannibal eats executed characters, gaining their ability. If a good player dies by execution, the Cannibal gains that player’s ability. If an evil player dies by execution, the Cannibal only thinks that they gain an ability, since the Cannibal is poisoned. The Storyteller may be lying to them. Each time a player dies by execution, the Cannibal loses the ability of the previous player. Executing a dead player won’t grant the Cannibal an ability. Executing a living player who doesn’t die won’t grant the Cannibal an ability. A player must be executed and die for the Cannibal to gain their ability. The Cannibal is not told which ability they have gained. They must figure that out for themselves. If the Cannibal has an “even if dead” ability, such as the Recluse, or an ability that implies it works while dead, such as the Ravenkeeper or Sweetheart, the Cannibal keeps that ability when they die, but loses their Cannibal ability.

"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?”

"If the Demon kills you, all players learn this. From now on, you may nominate twice per day and vote twice per nomination.” The Banshee becomes more powerful when dead, nominating and voting twice as much. When alive, the Banshee nominates and votes as normal. When dead, they may nominate twice per day, even though dead players may normally not nominate at all. When dead, they may vote for any nomination they wish and do not need a vote token to do so. They may vote twice for the same nomination. The Banshee only gains these powers if they were killed by the Demon. Dying by execution or to a non-Demon ability does not count. To vote twice, the Banshee player raises both hands when votes are counted. If the player is unable to do this due to a disability, the Storyteller can count their normal vote twice.