Storm Catcher

Information

Type	Fabled
Artist	John Grist
Revealed	28/08/2020

"At dawn, the temple’s long shadow creeps to the fountain. At dusk, the obelisk blocks the red glare, cooling warm water under the archway. All lines converge here. A storm is coming, and this, this pebbled and lush and holy place between the apple trees, is the eye."

Summary

"Name a good character. If in play, they can only die by execution, but evil players learn which player it is."

Use the Storm Catcher to focus the game on a particular good character.

• If you want to construct a script based around the actions or information of one particular good character, if you want to have this character in every game (or at least have an evil player bluffing as this character), you can use the Storm Catcher. Your chosen character will play a big part in the game, will be the focus of a lot of group discussion, and will probably live until the final day.
• The Storyteller declares that one character can’t die, unless by execution. This character may be in play, or not in play. If it is in play, this good player lives as long as the good players want them to, since evil players cannot kill them. If it is not in play, all evil players learn this, so any evil player can easily bluff as this character. (They don’t have to, but they can.)

How to Run

At the start of the game, declare that the Storm Catcher is in play. Add the Storm Catcher token to the Grimoire. Declare which good character is favoured by the Storm Catcher. If the favoured character is in play, mark them with the Storm Catcher’s SAFE reminder.

During the first night, wake each evil player in turn. If a good character is marked with the Storm Catcher’s SAFE reminder, show the evil player the THIS PLAYER IS info token, the good character token, point to the good player, then put the evil player to sleep. If no one is marked with the Storm Catcher’s SAFE reminder, show the evil player the THESE CHARACTERS ARE NOT IN PLAY info token and the good character token, then put the evil player to sleep.

If the character marked with the Storm Catcher’s SAFE reminder is executed, they die. If they would die by other means, they remain alive.

Examples

The Storyteller has built a script based on the General, so says that “the Storm Catcher favours the General”. The General is in play. At night, the Imp and the Godfather both attack the General, who does not die. After 5 days of information and discussion, the town decides to execute the General. They die.

The Storyteller wants a game based around the Empath’s information, so declares that “The Storm Catcher favours the Empath”. There is no Empath in play. Because the evil players learn this, the Poisoner chooses to bluff as the Empath.

Explanation

The Storm Catcher is a Fabled that works especially well with custom scripts, allowing you to play a game "based" around a particular character without that character's presence becoming easy to metagame. This good character is protected from death at night by the Storyteller's favour, giving them some survivability. To counter this powerful boon, the evil team will always be aware of who the player is so that they can work to undermine and execute them as soon as possible.

Naming a character with Storm Catcher does not mean you have to put that character in - this will open it up as a free bluff for the evil team instead, since they will know nobody in play has that power.

Use the Storm Catcher to make a character feel special - if you've built your entire game around interesting interactions with the Slayer for example, it can be a bummer to lose your Slayer day 2 to a lucky Demon hit. By giving a character your protection, you not only open up the number of strategies available to that player (good OR evil), but also ensure that the group will give that character special consideration in their deliberations.

Note that Storm Catcher only works for good characters - unfortunately, evil characters will have to carry themselves on charm alone.