Blood on the Clocktower
Blood on the Clocktower is a social deduction game. If you don't know what it is:
- Read my review.
- Conclude that the game is worth buying.
- Buy the game.
- Obtain some friends to play with.
- Play the game.
- Return to this article to find out about my script.
Alternatively, either:
- Watch some videos / read more about what the game is, and then return to this article.
- Just read this article anyway because you think that it'll make sense even if you have no clude what the game is (it won't).
Overview
Most scripts have a particular theme. For example, Trouble Brewing is designed to be simple. Bad Moon Rising focuses on death & chaos. Sects & Violets is a complex puzzle. My script wasn't designed with any particular goal from the beginning, however it has developed into something that takes the complexity from Sects & Violets and combines it with the chaos of Bad Moon Rising. It's a very complex script, and focuses more on making everyone as confused as possible over being perfectly balanced.
A few observations:
- Surviving execution is not possible.
- Demons generally kill once per night. A few good players can also trigger additional kills in the night or survive executions, but this script is similar to Trouble Brewing in that 95% of times there will be exactly one kill per night.
- 2 out of 5 outsiders want to keep quiet, 2 out of 5 are forced to be very public, and 1 won't know that they are an outsider.
- Athiest is on the script.
The Script
The script is available as a PDF download here. The first two pages should be printed double-sided and handed to players. You should have a copy of the next two pages and another one or two for your players - this contains the night order and any additional details about characters that people might need to know.
The rest of this article will give more details about each character, including how they work and the development process.
Fabled
Fabled characters are storyteller abilities that are always in play. They effectively act as game modifiers.
Spirit of Ivory
There can't be more than 1 evil player.
Affected Characters: Ninky Nonk, Upsy Daisy's Bed
The Spirit of Ivory ensures that evil do not obtain a majority. Further discussion can be found with the Ninky Nonk. Be careful when adding the Ninky Nonk with an evil Upsy Daisy's Bed as it may be too powerful having a Ninky Nonk without the drawback of potentially turning evil.
Extra Abilities
Tombliboos
Characters: Unn, Ooo, Eee
Ability belonging to each Tombliboo: Other Tombliboos are safe from the Demon.
General ability: Tombliboos do not count towards the evil win condition.
Tombliboos protect each other from the Demon (but not themselves). This is affected by droisoning, so be careful! As a drawback, the Demon can ignore the Tombliboos for their win condition.
Examples:
- Unn and Ooo are sober and healthy. The Demon attacks Unn. No-one dies.
- Ooo is sober and healthy but Eee is poisoned. Unn is not in play. The Demon attacks Ooo, and they die.
- There are 6 players alive: Unn, Ooo, Daddy Wottinger, Makka Pakka, Pinky Ponk, Upsy Daisy. The town executes Daddy Wottinger. The demon kills Makka Pakka. Evil wins.
Townsfolk
Unn (Tombliboo)
Minions know you are in play. If you successfully complete the Tombliboo song on your first day & the Minions don’t guess you, learn some true statements, but if they guess who you are, at least one is false. Other players who do any of these actions may die tonight.
Doing the Tombliboo song consists of three parts:
The storyteller doesn’t need to see these, but please let them know (truthfully) if you did it or not. Visit the storyteller in private on day 2 to learn the statements (unless they were written down in the night).
Unn is busy playing their own game trying to discreetly do various actions without the minion(s) noticing. If they can pull it off, they'll receive some powerful information chosen by the Storyteller. Like the puzzlemaster, if they fail then at least one of the statements will be false.
I love characters that have a game-inside-a-game. A bit like the Damsel and Huntsman, Unn and the Minions are playing their own game in the first day while the rest of the town are completely unaware. Pulling off something like this is also really fun - it sounds difficult, but when everyone is distracted by the rest of the game, it becomes easier than you might think. The reward for this got changed a few times, from learning who the Demon is to learning it's 1 of 2 players, before it was eventually left vague so that the Storyteller can have the most control in balancing it.
The wording for this character has gone from being very long to manageable with a reluctant change to move some of the important wording onto the sheet with the Jinx's. This makes the script much easier to follow, but does go against the design philosophy of the game.
The Tombliboo song was ideal for this, giving 3 actions
How to run:
- Don't follow Unn around for the whole day - it'll be too obvious. Instead, wake them up in the night and ask them if they managed to do it.
- Other players who do these actions might die tonight - use this sparingly. It's designed to prevent people deliberately trying to mislead the minions (such as with the gossip), as this was not the intention of the character. If someone accidentally touches their nose, use discretion.
- You can write down the statements and give them during the night, or wait for the player to visit you tomorrow so you can give them verbally.
Examples:
- Unn does all these steps correctly. The Storyteller wakes up the minions and they guess a different player. The next day, Unn visits the Storyteller to learn that the Demon is male, there is a Ninky Nonk in play, the minions do not neighbour each other and that exactly one of three players is evil (these statements are all true).
- Unn does all these steps correctly. The Storyteller wakes up the minions and they guess who Unn is. The Storyteller writes on a piece of paper that the Demon is male (true), the minions neighbour each other (false) and that exactly one of three players is evil (true).
- Unn does all of these steps correctly, but is drunk. The Storyteller does not wake the Minions. The Storyteller tells Unn some arbitrary statements (which could all be true, but probably shouldn't).
- Unn does all of these steps correctly, but the Demon kills them that night (Ooo and Eee are not in play). Unn does not learn any statements.
- Unn does all of these steps correctly, but deliberately very obviously. The minions guess correctly and Unn receives 2 statements, of which at most 1 is true.
- Unn is in play, but Iggle Piggle deliberately knocks on the door to obscure who Unn is. That night, Iggle Piggle dies.
- Unn is in play, but Makke Pakka accidentally touches his nose during the nominations phase. The Storyteller uses discretion and chooses not to kill Makka Pakka.
- Unn is not in play. There aren't enough seats, so Ninky Nonk has to sit on the floor during nominations. The Storyteller publicly states that this does not count, and the Ninky Nonk will not die for sitting on the floor during the nominations phase.
- Unn is not in play, and Daddy Wottinger deliberately does the full Tombliboo song. Daddy Wottinger does not die.
Ooo (Tombliboo)
You start knowing Oliver’s character. If Oliver is evil, learn a good character (Oliver learns which). If you are Oliver, choose a player: learn their character.
If Oliver is not playing, or if there are multiple Olivers, a player will be decided to be Oliver for this game.
This was very much made for our group in particular. It's designed so that Oliver has an advantage!
How to run:
- If there are no Olivers or multiple Olivers, you must pick an Oliver before starting the game. It doesn't matter if Ooo is in play or not.
- If Oliver is evil, you should probably pick one of the bluffs. Pick the one you think they're most likely to bluff as, or try to challenge them by giving them something they might not choose - they'll probably stick with it for the rest of the game. Wake Oliver up to tell him which character you showed Ooo.
- If Oliver is Ooo, let them choose any player. Keep your fingers crossed that they don't choose the Demon or it might be a quick rerack!
Examples:
- Oliver is Makka Pakka's Rock. Ooo is woken up and shown "Makka Pakka's Rock".
- Oliver is the Script Writer. Ooo is woken up and shown "Tittifers". Oliver is woken up and shown "Ooo" then "Tittifers".
- Oliver is an evil Upsy Daisy's Bed. Ooo is woken up and shown A Wottinger. Oliver is told this too, and he then realises he is evil (note: another way Oliver has an advantage!).
- Oliver is Ooo. Ooo chooses the Pinky Ponk, and learns their character.
Makka Pakka & Co.
Makka Pakka: Each night, choose a player: you learn their alignment. If you publicly clean a rock or make a funny noise, you lose your ability.
Makka Pakka's Rock: You think you’re Makka Pakka. If you publicly clean a rock, all players learn which team the Storyteller thinks is winning. If you make a funny noise, you lose your ability.
Makka Pakka's Rock: You think you’re Makka Pakka. If you publicly make a funny noise, Upsy Daisy is drunk for 2 days (inflating skirt is optional). If you clean a rock, lose this ability. [+ Upsy Daisy].
I made this before the Village Idiot! I promise...
Following a similar premise to the Village Idiot, if you receive the "Makka Pakka" token, you may be one of three characters and it's your job to figure out which one. If you're the real Makka Pakka, you get incredibly powerful information about player alignments. If you're the rock, you can get yourself hard-confirmed along with some General information thrown in. If you're the trumpet, you know the Demon type and can drunk them for 2 days, buying the good team some more time! But there's a tradeoff - once you have a guess at who you are, you stop receiving the alignment information, which could potentially be very powerful.
For maximum fun, you should get a rock from outside at the beginning of the game. Funny noises can be anything, but they should be funny. However, the only thing that actually matters for gameplay is that the Storyteller notices and announces this to the group - it is mechanically equivalent to standing up and saying "I think that I'm Makka Pakka's Trumpet".
Making a funny noise and Upsy Daisy inflating her skirt is a reference to Series 1 episode 5: "Makka Pakka's Trumpet Makes a Funny Noise".
Examples:
- Makka Pakka receives 2 days of information before thinking that they are Makka Pakka's Trumpet, and making a funny noise. Upsy Daisy is not the Demon, so do not become drunk. Makka Pakka then realises that his information was correct.
- Makka Pakka's Trumpet thinks he is Makka Pakka and spends the whole game misleading the town with his arbitrary information.
- Makka Pakka's Trumpet cleans a rock. Nothing happens, and he stops being woken up to receive arbitrary information.
Ninky Nonk
Each night*, you may choose a player: swap characters with them. If they are evil, you become evil too. Haahoos might register as good & as a Townsfolk or Outsider to you.
I've put this character in the bag twice, and both times I've been terrified of what it'll do. Both times it got swapped out by the Pinky Ponk early on and I was very relieved. This means I haven't fully tested the character but it's possibly the most exciting character I've made that can certainly spice up any game. It's probably a terrible idea, but it's certainly not boring...
The Ninky Nonk swaps characters amongst the good team every single night. Whatttt??? If it's not immediately apparent how strong this is - this essentially confirms two players to each other every night. They can keep the chain going forever, unless killed by the Demon. But this does have a significant drawback in that the first time an evil player is chosen, another player will turn evil too! The Ninky Nonk power will now be contained within the evil team, maybe to be used but maybe not. This is similar to how the Bounty Hunter has a very strong ability with a significant drawback.
The Haahoos (legion) would provide a boring interaction with this character, so this was changed to make the Haahoos blend in by registering as good! This was written into the ability rather than left as a jinx as it is a core rule in the character and not just fixing an interaction.
It's really important that this character is run with the Spirit of Ivory fabled. You don't want to create too many extra evils!
Examples:
- The Teletubbies chooses to become the Savant. The Ninky Nonk chooses the Teletubbies. The Ninky Nonk becomes the Teletubbies (who has not yet used their ability) and the Teletubbies becomes the Ninky Nonk.
- The Ninky Nonk chooses the Pinky Ponk. The Ninky Nonk becomes the evil Pinky Ponk and the Pinky Ponk becomes the Ninky Nonk (remaining evil). The following night, the new evil Ninky Nonk chooses the good Daddy Wottinger. The Daddy Wottinger becomes the Ninky Nonk (remaining good) and the Ninky Nonk becomes the Daddy Wottinger (remaining evil). The next night, the new Ninky Nonk (started as Daddy Wottinger) chooses Upsy Daisy. The Ninky Nonk becomes Upsy Daisy, and remains good due to the Spirit of Ivory. Upsy Daisy becomes the Ninky Nonk (and remains evil). Upsy Daisy executes themselves the next day, and grabs a pint to celebrate.
- The Ninky Nonk chooses a Haahoo who is bluffing as The Gazebo. The Haahoo becomes the Ninky Nonk (remaining evil) and the Ninky Nonk becomes The Gazebo (remaining good).
Pontipines
You start knowing a Pontipine. The demon knows how many Pontipines are in play & if they guess who you all are at night (once), you all die. You have the Amnesiac’s ability. If you choose a Tombliboo, you are drunk from now on (you are stuck in their trousers).
Amnesiac's Ability: "You do not know what your ability is. Each day, privately guess what it is: you learn how accurate you are."
The Pontipines combine the Grandmother and Amnesiac with a twist. They build up trust amongst themselves but if they give this away, the Demon can easily get rid of them! In addition, they have a wacky, usually not super helpful, ability to give a bit of extra entertainment.
This character has changed a lot throughout development. It started with the Pontipines all knowing each other, but this didn't interact well with drunkeness. If you only know one Pontipine, then a drunk Pontipine could learn an evil player, meaning they can't quite trust each other! Also, it was important that evil Pontipines didn't learn all the Pontpines on the good team as well, as they could just tell this to their Demon. At one point, the Pontipines weren't allowed to ask a question about their ability, but this felt boring and made the abilities useless, so this was re-added.
The interaction with the Tombliboos is just for fun, and a reference to Series 1 Episode 21: "Pontipine Children in the Tombliboos Trousers"
Examples:
- The Pontipine announces to the town who they are and who they saw. That night, the Demon guesses who they are and they both die, in addition to the Demon's normal kill.
- The Drugged, who thinks they are the Pontipine, learns the Pinky Ponk. The Pinky Ponk pretends to be a Pontipine, and claims to have seen Upsy Daisy as their Pontipine. The Drugged now trusts these players, despite being drunk.
- 2 Pontipines learn each other, and 1 Pontipine learns one of these players. The 2 Pontipines feel that they can trust each other, but struggle to trust the third.
- There are 3 Pontipines in play, and a Minion bluffs as a Pontipine. One of them must be lying, as there are only 3 copies of the Pontipine token.
Daddy Wottinger
Once per game, at night*, choose a player: if they are on the opposite team, they die. If they are the Demon, they do not die and you learn this.
Daddy Wottinger's inspiration from the Slayer is obvious - a Slayer that acts at night. In return for having to wait for night time, it's buffed slightly - killing minions as well as demons. This is very powerful but can only be used once, giving the classic dilemma of "how long do I wait".
The last section of the ability was only added recently after what should've been a triumphant ending for the good team felt mostly disappointing. It's simply more fun for the game to end during the day, so this gives Daddy Wottinger one day to try and convince the good team to execute who they know is the Demon! It also makes it more bluffable, and means a drunk player can be told that they hit the demon, which sounds fun...
- Daddy Wottinger chooses the Ninky Nonk. Nothing happens.
- Daddy Wottinger chooses the Pinky Ponk. They die immediately.
- Daddy Wottinger chooses Andrew Davenport. The Storyteller informs Daddy Wottinger that Andrew Davenport is the Demon.
- The Drugged, who thinks they are Daddy Wottinger, chooses the Ninky Nonk. The Storyteller lies and says that they are the Demon, because it will be fun.
Teletubbies
Once per game, at night, choose a Townsfolk from a base script: gain their ability.
A base script means Trouble Brewing, Bad Moon Rising or Sects & Violets.
Jinx: The Philosopher may choose any Townsfolk on a base script, but may not choose a character from this script.
Why are the Teletubbies on this script? Exactly! They're on the wrong script. Choose a character on the wrong script to become. This works like the Philosopher, but a bit more interesting as it opens up the game to way more abilities that I certainly haven't considered when balancing the script! The script naturally invites players to try and break the game, something which I think is very fun.
The Jinx was added as the Philosopher allows a player to turn into Makka Pakka, which is overpowered. It's also not the intention behind this character, the intention is to get an ability from a different script, not from this script.
- The Teletubbies choose the Tea Lady. Both of their neighbours are good. The town executes one of their neighbours, and they do not die by execution.
- Iggle Piggle chooses Iggle Piggle's Blanket, who becomes a Savant. The Teletubbies chooses the Savant. There are two sober and healthy players with the Savant ability (good luck, Storyteller!)
Iggle Piggle
Once per game, you may visit the Storyteller in private to ask a silly yes/no question. Once per game, at night, choose a player: if you choose Iggle Piggle’s Blanket, they become a Savant. [+ Iggle Piggle’s Blanket].
A silly question is one of the following: "Would I find [player]'s character attractive?", "Would I enjoy being stuck in the Ninky Nonk with [player]?", "Would I win a fight against [player]?". Answers must be yes/no.
The Huntsman, but with a little extra thing because I think that the Huntsman is too weak generally. What this extra thing is has changed significantly - many ideas were iterated on involving staying awake, because Iggle Piggle is always the last person to go to sleep in the episodes. However, all ideas of having eyes open in the night did not work. The final idea is fun and gives some light information while not being that useful. The game is often the most fun when people ask silly questions, so this is a character that forces you to do that. Also, the arguments following the Grim Reveal as the Storyteller has to defend their choices will be funny.
My opinions for all the answers, as of writing this article, can be found here [todo]. However, do not use this in your games. The spirit of the character is to give vague information, not to precisely narrow things down.
- Iggle Piggle asks if he would enjoy being stuck in the Ninky Nonk with the Ninky Nonk. The Storyteller avoids laughing, and rules that it would be a bit cramped to be stuck in the Ninky Nonk with the Ninky Nonk, so replies with no.
- Iggle Piggle asks if he would enjoy being stuck in the Ninky Nonk with the Ninky Nonk. The Storyteller notices that the Ninky Nonk appears to change size significantly in the episodes, so decides that if a small Ninky Nonk was inside a large Ninky Nonk then it could be quite fun, as Iggle Piggle could ride around the big Ninky Nonk in the small Ninky Nonk. The Storyteller replies with yes.
- Iggle Piggle asks if he would find Upsy Daisy attractive. The only correct answer here is yes.
Article Incomplete!
This article is still being written! I've still got to write up the rest of the characters, and add in some better images.