BOTF XX - Mathematician Hell
At the break of dawn, a chilling silence blankets the town following the wake of a grim discovery. Jarek was the beloved community storyteller, regaling the people with daring adventures of lives that never were, but now his body lies silently on the cobblestones with an aching hole in his chest where his heart should have been. Many whispers of shock and sorrow ripple through the crowd as the Townsfolk gather around the tragic scene.
But even in the midst of their sorrow, the people find solace in one other. They promise to live for one another, to share their stories and memories of Jarek for he could not, and vow to honour his legacy. As the day carries on, the town begins to buzz with a newfound sense of resolve. Jarek’s life and death have inspired them to grow as people, to fight harder, and to never give up hope. Determined to seek justice and protect their community, they rally together, vowing to uncover the truth behind this gruesome crime.
As the sun sets once again, a dark figure appears on the horizon. The Townsfolk gather in the square as the wanderer approaches, their face obscured by the shadows. A chill runs down their spines as they sense the malevolent energy emanating from the stranger, who kneels down beside Jarek’s coffin and runs their fingers along the wooden frame.
“The road ahead will be long and hard,” the enigmatic figure says, throwing back their hood. A cry is heard in the back of the crowd from recognition, for it is none other than the familiar Magnus, looking weary from travel and demons slain. Although nobody else seems to know it yet, their life is already numbered in hours. “This was no natural murder, and his soul is not yet dead. To all of you, heed my words! Silence his culprit so that Jarek can rest, and so the rest of you can be free as well. Do it before Ravenswood Bluff is nothing more than a ghost town!”
Flavour is not game-indicative.
Gameplay
Phase Lengths
Each day phase will last for 48 hours. During these times, players may freely talk and whisper to one another, or may choose to nominate and vote on each other as well. (For the sake of familiarity and convenience, restrictive day phases have been removed from the game.)
Each night phase will last for 24 hours. During these times, players may not communicate with one another. The game begins on a night phase.
Night actions are locked 2 hours before the start of each day.
Nominations and Voting
During the day, players may cast votes or nominations using the vote tags described in the Voting Guide. Casting the first vote on a player in a day will count as a “nomination”.
Players must be nominated before they may be voted on that day. Each player may only be nominated once per day, and each player may only nominate once per day. If a player tries to cast an illegal nomination or vote, their input will be discounted.
Living players may vote freely on any nominated players. Any votes that are not cast by EoD will be considered votes to pardon. If the count of votes to execute is at least half of the number of living players, and is the highest count of votes against any player that day, the accused will be considered “about to die”. At the end of the day or when all votes on all nominations have been cast, the player who is “about to die” will be executed.
If there is a tie between two or more players for the highest count of votes, the day will end with no execution. The Storyteller may only declare an early end to voting if it is no longer possible to tie or exceed the highest nomination.
Dead players may not nominate and have a single “vote token” for the remainder of the game. They may vote freely until they end the day voting a player. Once this happens, their “vote token” is spent, and they may no longer vote.
When a nomination is opened, starting with the player below the nominee on the list, and working downwards, any votes on that nomination will be locked if they are cast.
Whispers
Players may whisper each other in-game through private messages (including both host accounts). Whispers must be publicly announced and by mutual consent. Use /whisper [Player] to declare a whisper to a player, and the recipient may use /accept to accept the whisper. Once a whisper has been declared and accepted, the two players may whisper via private message until one of them speaks publicly in the game chat, at which point the whisper is considered broken and the players must declare whispers again if they wish to whisper.
In addition, a player may make 1 whisper per day to each neighbor of up to 15 words without announcing this in thread.
Some abilities require you to speak privately to the Storyteller during the day. If you wish to do this, you must declare so publicly using a format such as /whisper [Storyteller]. You may choose to declare this even if you do not have one of these abilities.
Death
This game is flipless. Neither alignment nor role is revealed on death.
Dead players may continue to speak and vote, but may not nominate and have a single “vote token” for the remainder of the game. They may vote freely until they end the day voting a player. Once this happens, their “vote token” is spent, and they may no longer vote.
Dead players have no ability, unless otherwise stated. If a player is killed in the night before they would perform their ability, they will not do so (see “Night Action Resolution”). Any ability with a persistent effect will end upon that player’s death.
Setup
Rolelist
This game is designed for between 7 and 15 players. All players are assigned 1 character of the 4 character types. Players that start as Townsfolk or Outsiders are part of the Good team, the uninformed majority. Players that start as Minions or Demons are part of the Evil team, the informed minority. Players cannot change alignments unless explicitly stated.
Townsfolk have abilities that are beneficial to the Good team.
Outsiders have abilities that are harmful to the Good team.
Demons are the members of the Evil team who carry almost all the killpower for their team, and must stay alive at all costs. Except in extenuating circumstances, there will always be one living Demon while the game is in progress.
Minions are the other members of the Evil team whose abilities support the Demon.
The number of characters of each type dealt out are as follows:
Total Players Townsfolk Outsiders Minions Demons 7 5 0 1 1 8 5 1 1 1 9 5 2 1 1 10 7 0 2 1 11 7 1 2 1 12 7 2 2 1 13 9 0 3 1 14 9 1 3 1 15 9 2 3 1
Starting Evils know each others’ identities and character types, but not characters. They have no method of private communication besides whispers, as described above.
Starting Demons know three not-in-play Good characters.
The abilities of certain characters modify the game setup, by adding or subtracting certain characters or character types. These are denoted in [square brackets], and only have an effect if the character is present at the beginning of the game. Unless otherwise stated, the amount of Townsfolk is modified so that the total number of characters given out matches the total player count.
Characters
All players start with exactly one of the chosen abilities, depending on their character type. Townsfolk and Outsiders are Good characters, while Minions and Demons are Evil characters.
Night* (with an asterisk) in all contexts means “Night, except the first.”
Possible Townsfolk Characters Pixie You start knowing 1 in-play Townsfolk. If you were mad that you were this character, you gain their ability when they die. Noble You start knowing 3 players, 1 and only 1 of which is evil. Steward You start knowing 1 good player. High Priestess Each night, learn which player the Storyteller believes you should talk to most. Mathematician Each night, you learn how many players’ abilities worked abnormally (since dawn) due to another character’s ability. Balloonist Each night, you learn 1 player of each character type, until there are no more types to learn. [+1 Outsider] Monk Each night*, choose a player (not yourself): they are safe from the Demon tonight. Savant Each day, you may visit the Storyteller to learn 2 things in private: 1 is true & 1 is false. Amnesiac You do not know what your ability is. Each day, privately guess what it is: you learn how accurate you are. Seamstress Once per game, at night, choose 2 players (not yourself): you learn if they are the same alignment. Fisherman Once per game, during the day, visit the Storyteller for some advice to help your team win. Cannibal You have the ability of the recently killed executee. If they are evil, you are poisoned until a good player dies by execution. Atheist The Storyteller can break the game rules, and if executed, good wins, even if you are dead. [No evil characters]
Possible Outsider Characters Puzzlemaster 1 player is drunk, even if you die. If you guess (once) who it is, learn the Demon player, but guess wrong & get false info. Lunatic You think you are a Demon, but you are not. The Demon knows who you are & who you choose at night. Recluse You might register as evil & as a Minion or Demon, even if dead. Politician If you were the player most responsible for your team losing, you change alignment & win, even if dead. Drunk You do not know you are the Drunk. You think you are a Townsfolk character, but you are not.
Possible Minion Characters Mezepheles You start knowing a secret word. The 1st good player to say this word becomes evil that night. Spy Each night, you see the Grimoire. You might register as good & as a Townsfolk or Outsider, even if dead. Scarlet Woman If there are 5 or more players alive & the Demon dies, you become the Demon. (Travellers don’t count) Marionette You think you are a good character, but you are not. The Demon knows who you are. [You neighbor the Demon]
Possible Demon Characters Vigormortis Each night*, choose a player: they die. Minions you kill keep their ability & poison 1 Townsfolk neighbor. [-1 Outsider] Vortox Each night*, choose a player; they die. Townsfolk abilities yield false info. Each day, if no-one is executed, evil wins. Legion Each night*, a player might die. Executions fail if only evil voted. You register as a Minion too. [Most players are Legion]
Example rolecards of any character may be requested at any time. Keep in mind that quoting one’s rolecard is explicitly against the forum game rules.
Night Action Resolution
All actions are processed in a specific order each night. Natural Action Resolution does not apply. Dead players have no abilities (unless stated otherwise), and if a player is dead during their turn in action resolution, they do not act (unless stated otherwise).
| First Night | Other Nights |
|---|
| First Night | Other Nights |
|---|---|
| Travellers | Travellers |
| Minion info | Monk |
| Demon info & bluffs | Mezepheles |
| Lunatic | Scarlet Woman |
| Marionette | Lunatic |
| Mezepheles | Legion |
| Pixie | Vortox |
| Amnesiac | Vigormortis |
| Steward | Amnesiac |
| Seamstress | Seamstress |
| Noble | Balloonist |
| Balloonist | High Priestess |
| High Priestess | Spy |
| Spy | Mathematician |
| Mathematician |
Storyteller
The Storyteller is a term used to refer to us, the hosts of this game.
We will decide what happens with any open-ended ability behaviours, and will try to keep the game fun and balanced.
The extent of our ability to effect on the game is outlined above. We cannot break any existing rules, only decide what happens within the bounds of the characters’ abilities and base game rules.
The Fabled
The Fabled are special modifiers that the Storyteller can put in play to tweak the game.
Fabled will always be announced when they are in play, along with their effect upon gamestate. The most likely fabled to be included are below.
| Fabled | Ability |
|---|---|
| Hell’s Librarian | Something bad might happen to whomever speaks when the Storyteller calls for silence. |
| Fiddler | Once per game, at night, the Demon secretly chooses a player of an opposing alignment; All players then vote which of these two wins the game. |
| Sentinel | There might be 1 extra or 1 fewer Outsider in play. |
| Djinn | Use the Djinn’s special rule. All players know what it is. |
Malfunctions
Malfunctions are the primary source of interference and misinformation in this game. It is stronger than what you will find in most mafia games, and exists to counterbalance Good’s arsenal of amazingly powerful characters.
A malfunctioning character cannot affect the gamestate in any way using their ability. They cannot kill anybody, they cannot protect anyone from death, they cannot poison anybody, they cannot cause any other player to receive information.
If a malfunctioning character would receive information themselves, the information they receive is arbitrary (Storytellers decide).
The malfunctioning status lasts indefinitely, unless stated otherwise.
Victory
Good wins if all Demons are dead.
Evil wins if only 2 players live.
In the event of a tie (both teams win at the same time), Good wins.
Alternate routes to victory or defeat may exist as detailed by characters’ abilities. The list of all possible characters is above.
Travellers
A Traveller is a player character that can enter or exit a game at any point. Their identity and ability are known to all players, but their alignment may be either good or evil (which is decided by the Storyteller upon their entry to the game).
Traveller characters will be selected from this wiki page, in regards to factoring balance and entertainment for both the player in question, and everyone else in the game.
Unlike standard players, Travellers exist under some special circumstances. They may be exiled by majority vote at any time, instead of executed. This vote is independent of the nomination/execution system. Nor do they count as “players” for any rules or win conditions.
If a Traveller is evil-aligned, they learn who the Demon is.
Possible Traveller Characters Scapegoat If a player of your alignment is executed, you might be executed instead. Barista Each night, until dusk, 1) a player becomes sober, healthy & gets true info, or 2) their ability works twice. They learn which.
Djinn’s special rules
| Djinn’s Jinxes | |
|---|---|
| Lunatic and Mathematician | The Lunatic attacking a different player than the Demon will register as an abnormality to the Mathematician. |
| Marionette and Balloonist | If the Marionette thinks that they are the Balloonist, +1 Outsider was added. |
Changelog
Updated the rules of majority voting from >50%, to at least 50%.
Mathematician Hell is credited to Voidstarr on the BOTC scripts website.
Players
- [Noble] @CRichardFortressLies - Executed Day 2
- [Politician] @Litten
- [Scapegoat] @Leafia - Departed Day 3
-
[Cannibal]
@Thepigeonnyc- Killed Night 3 - [Barista] @Silviu200530 - Exiled Day 3
-
[Savant]
@Marluna- Killed Night 2 -
[Spy]
@Kiiruma- Executed Day 1 -
[Pixie]
@Hazardwaste- Executed Day 3 - [Marionette] @Nightingale
- [Vortox] @May
-
[Fisherman]
@Crazynuto- Killed Night 3 -
[Mathematician]
@Amelia- Killed Night 4
Replacements
Threadmarks
| Night 1 | 10 + 2 living players. |
| Day 1 | Kiiruma is executed, 9 + 2 living players. |
| Night 2 | Marluna is killed, 8 + 2 living players. |
| Day 2 | CRichard is executed, 7 + 2 living players. |
| Night 3 | Pigeon + Nuto are killed, 5 + 2 living players. |
| Day 3 | Hazard is executed, the Travellers are exiled, 4 living players. |
| Night 4 | Amelia is killed, 3 living players. |
