Fearmonger: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:46, 5 March 2023

"Beware of gazing long into the Abyss, lest the Abyss also gaze into you."

Information

Type

The Fearmonger creates paranoia about who nominates whom.

Character Text

"Each night, choose a player: if you nominate & execute them, their team loses. All players know if you choose a new player."

Examples

On the first night, the Fearmonger chooses the Butler. All players learn the Fearmonger has chosen a new player. During the day, the Fearmonger nominates the Butler, and the Butler is executed. Evil wins.

At night, the Fearmonger chooses the Juggler. The Flowergirl nominates the Juggler, and the Juggler is executed. The game continues.

The Fearmonger chooses the Empath. The next night, the Fearmonger chooses the Soldier. The Fearmonger nominates and executes the Empath. The game continues because the Fearmonger has selected the Soldier, not the Empath.

The Fearmonger accidentally chooses the Baron, due to the Poppy Grower being in play. The Fearmonger nominates and executes the Baron. Good wins.

Tips & Tricks

On the first night, choose any player. It is unlikely that you will be able to nominate and execute the player that you want on the first day without knowing which characters are in play, so don't get too fussy about who you choose. You can always change your mind on night two.

On the first few days of the game, pay attention to which players are seen as the most suspicious, or are the most likely to be executed. This could be because they are a character that is often killed early in the game, like a Clockmaker or a Slayer, or it could be because the player is acting shifty and staying silent about their character. If you can guess which players are likely to be executed the following day, choose that player tonight. This will drastically increase your chances of winning the game via your ability, since that player is likely to be executed by someone - hopefully you.

If you have chosen a player that is likely to be executed, pay attention to the Storyteller and how they are acting. If you get a good sense of when nominations are about to be called, you should be able to be the first player to make a nomination, which guarantees that it will be you to nominate the player you chose.

If you have chosen a player that is likely to be executed, but you feel it would look too suspicious to be overly-enthusiastic about nominating them, generate discussion that they should definitiely be executed, but let the good team decide on who should nominate them. If you are able to make yourself look like a good player, you might be able to convince them (or let them convince themselves) that it should be you to nominate them.

If you don't think that you are likely to win via your Fearmonger ability, stop choosing new players each night. The fact that the good team will no longer be learning that the Fearmonger has chosen a player will often lead them to believe that the Fearmonger is dead. As they cast their gaze onto the dead players, trying to figure out which one is evil, they will likely interpret a good player that has given true information as an evil player that has given false information. This strategy works best when all dead players are good.

If you don't think that you are likely to win via your Fearmonger ability, choose a new player every night! If the good team is constantly reminded that a Fearmonger is in play, they are much less likely to vote for frivolous-seeming nominations. The more uncertain the good team is, the better for the evil team. Even reminding the good team publicly each day that they should be wary of the Fearmonger can make them reticent to cast their vote on nominated players, even evil nominated players. This strategy works best when there is more than one Minion in play, because if there is only one Minion in play, and the good team knows that the Fearmonger is still alive, they also know that all dead players are good, which is crucial information.

If you are an evil player that isn't the Fearmonger, do everything you can to make the Fearmonger look like a good player. Often, the good team will want to find a single good player to make all the nominations, since that player is the most trusted. If you can imply that the Fearmonger is good by claiming to be a Washerwoman who has learnt their character, or a Juggler who has confirmed who they are, or even an Evil Twin who has died and heavily implied that the Fearmonger is the good twin, or something similar, this will help. If the good team trusts the Fearmonger to be the player most likely to be good, the Fearmonger should be able to nominate each day without suspicion.

If you are evil player, even if you are not the Fearmonger, nominate as much as you can get away with. The good team will often want to keep nominations to a minimum, pay close attention to not only the nominated player but also the nominating play, and not have a chaotic mess of too-many nominations to keep track of. If only a few people are nominating each day, and the majority of those players are evil, then the majority of the voting focus will be on good players (assuming that the evil players are not nominating the Demon).

It is quite unlikely that the evil team will win directly via the Fearmonger's ability. In most games, the benefit of having a Fearmonger comes from the paranoia and over-cautiousness of the good team when they vote. If you can use this to your advantage by discouraging the execution of evil players, then the Fearmonger has had a large impact on the game, even if it might not seem like it to you. Sometimes, the Fearmonger can win the game for the evil team by a million tiny decisions that the good team are encouraged to make out of fear of what MIGHT happen, not what did happen.

Fighting the Boomdandy

You start the game knowing that a Fearmonger is in play. This is something. In a one-Minion game, this means that you know three Minions which are not in the game, which is quite useful information to have. In a two Minion game, spending some time to figure out which is the other Minion character can be very helpful, and very achievable.

As long as the Fearmonger chooses a new player each night, you know that the Fearmonger is still alive. In a one-Minion game, this will mean that all the dead players are good (since the Demon must also still be alive). Talk to the dead players, and trust what they say. They are on your side, and not only have valuable information to share, but a vote that you can count on.

If you can convince the group that you are likely good, nominate every day. It doesn't matter who you nominate, or even if your nominations don't get enough votes. You can even ask the group to suggest who you should nominate each day. What matters is that a good player - you - is making a nomination each day. If you are nominating, and you are trusted, then the Fearmonger is much less likely to be nominating and be trusted. Your nomination is 100% confirmed to not grant evil the win via the Fearmonger ability, since you know you are not the Fearmonger. No other nominating player can give that level of certainty to you.

If you are not able to convince the group that you are good and therefore that your nomination can be trusted, work with the group to find to most confirmed good player. Talk to everyone and find out everything you can. Get this player to nominate each day, but discuss which player they should nominate. Of course, the choice is up to them, but having your input and the groups input can go a long way in getting the player that the group thinks is most deserving of execution nominated each day. If the group can decide which player to execute, and the group can decide which player should be the one to make that nomination, and that player is on board with the group's decision, then you can at least focus your attention on who needs to be executed.

Discourage frivolous nominations and voting. Only vote for players that you think are evil, but you are also convinced that the nominator is good.

Pay attention to any players who seem too keen to nominate. They may be the Fearmonger.

Each day, it is usually best to have a number of nominations that exceed the number of evil players. For example, if there are 2 evil players, have at least 3 people nominate. If there are 4 evil players, have at least 5 people nominate. This guarantees that at least one good player is nominating each day. If only evil players are nominating each day, only good players will be dying, and the chance of the good team winning will get smaller and smaller each day.

It is quite unlikely that the evil team will win via the Fearmonger's ability. It does happen, but it happens far less than the standard win conditions. The bigger danger is the good team becoming paralysed and undecided on who to execute. Too much carelessness can certainly make it likely that the Fearmonger will nominate and execute, but too much concern will mean that the good players don't execute at all. Aim for a nice middle-ground.

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 <div id='character-details'>
-[[File:icon_goblin.png|250px]]
+[[File:icon_fearmonger.png|250px]]
-<p class='flavour'>"You don’t want to insult the goblins. You really, really don’t. On a completely different note… can I have another piece of cake?"</p>
+<p class='flavour'>"Beware of gazing long into the Abyss, lest the Abyss also gaze into you."</p>
 <span style="display: block; color: black; font-size: 20px; text-align: center; margin-top: 10px;">Information</span>
@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 <div class="small-12 large-9 large-pull-3 columns">
-The Goblin takes revenge if the town knowingly executes them.
+The Fearmonger creates paranoia about who nominates whom.
 __TOC__
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 == Character Text ==
-"If you publicly claim to be the Goblin when nominated & are executed that day, your team wins."
+"Each night, choose a player: if you nominate & execute them, their team loses. All players know if you choose a new player."
 <br><br>
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 <div class='example'>
-Abdallah is the {{Evil|Goblin}}. Alex nominates Abdallah, and Abdallah claims to be the {{Evil|Goblin}}. Votes are taken, and Abdallah is about to die. Other nominations occur later today, but Abdallah is executed. Evil wins.
+On the first night, the Fearmonger chooses the {{Good|Butler}}. All players learn the Fearmonger has chosen a new player. During the day, the Fearmonger nominates the {{Good|Butler}}, and the {{Good|Butler}} is executed. Evil wins.
 </div>
 <div class='example'>
-Lewis is the {{Good|Artist}}, and claims to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} when nominated. He is executed, and the game continues
+At night, the Fearmonger chooses the {{Good|Juggler}}. The {{Good|Flowergirl}} nominates the {{Good|Juggler}}, and the {{Good|Juggler}} is executed. The game continues.
 </div>
 <div class='example'>
-Doug is the {{Evil|Goblin}}. He claimed to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} yesterday and the day before, but not today. He is executed. The game continues.
+The Fearmonger chooses the {{Good|Empath}}. The next night, the Fearmonger chooses the {{Good|Soldier}}. The Fearmonger nominates and executes the {{Good|Empath}}. The game continues because the Fearmonger has selected the {{Good|Soldier}}, not the {{Good|Empath}}.
+</div>
+<div class='example'>
+The Fearmonger accidentally chooses the {{Evil|Baron}}, due to the {{Good|Poppy Grower}} being in play. The Fearmonger nominates and executes the {{Evil|Baron}}. Good wins.
 </div>
@@ Line 49: / Line 53: @@
 == Tips & Tricks ==
-* The {{Evil|Goblin}} has one job, and one job only - get the town to call their bluff and execute them! If you can successfully get the town to take you out, the ends justify the means!
+* On the first night, choose any player. It is unlikely that you will be able to nominate and execute the player that you want on the first day without knowing which characters are in play, so don't get too fussy about who you choose. You can always change your mind on night two.
-* Claim to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} ! You’re mostly giving away your alignment and character when you do so, so perhaps best to wait until you’re actually under threat of execution, but afterwards, go for it! You have no ability without doing so and it is sure to throw good off their game.
-* In order to be executed to win, you’ll need to make yourself look like the Demon in spite of your public claim. Try doing Demon-y behaviours at the start of the game to encourage this.
+* On the first few days of the game, pay attention to which players are seen as the most suspicious, or are the most likely to be executed. This could be because they are a character that is often killed early in the game, like a {{Good|Clockmaker}} or a {{Good|Slayer}}, or it could be because the player is acting shifty and staying silent about their character. If you can guess which players are likely to be executed the following day, choose that player tonight. This will drastically increase your chances of winning the game via your ability, since that player is likely to be executed by someone - hopefully you.
-* By the nature of having to claim publicly, the {{Evil|Goblin}} is a noisier Minion than some - lean into that by being as shifty as possible. Spread outright lies about townsfolk ("I've heard of two other {{Good|Fortune Teller}} claims, so I think you're probably just lying!"), make multiple character claims to different people ("What, I never claimed {{Good|Dreamer}} to Alan; I've been the {{Good|Chambermaid}} the whole time!") and just generally cause as much chaos as you possibly can ("Everyone knows there's 3 Outsiders in this game, so we have to have a {{Good|Huntsman}}!"). What are they gonna do about it? Execute you?
+* If you have chosen a player that is likely to be executed, pay attention to the Storyteller and how they are acting. If you get a good sense of when nominations are about to be called, you should be able to be the first player to make a nomination, which guarantees that it will be you to nominate the player you chose.
-* If you lean too much into chaos and then claim {{Evil|Goblin}}, people will probably believe that you're the {{Evil|Goblin}}, which is terrible, because they probably won't execute you and they'll stop listening to your helpful tips! It can be prudent to be sneaky and subtle instead, holding a powerful character bluff up as the reason you don't want to be killed by the town - claiming {{Evil|Goblin}} will cause some friction with the town, but it's just words until they follow through on the execution, and lots of characters have a great reason to not want to die. {{Good|Undertaker}}, {{Good|Savant}}, or {{Good|Cannibal}} all are useful examples of characters desiring to prolong their life as long as possible, even if the town finds them dodgy.
+* If you have chosen a player that is likely to be executed, but you feel it would look too suspicious to be overly-enthusiastic about nominating them, generate discussion that they should definitiely be executed, but let the good team decide on who should nominate them. If you are able to make yourself look like a good player, you might be able to convince them (or let them convince themselves) that it should be you to nominate them.
-* Don't forget that for your ability to count, you must make a public claim each time you're nominated! The {{Evil|Goblin}} is not affected by madness like their cousin the {{Evil|Cerenovus}} - you look the Townsfolk right in the eye and dare them to follow through on their threats.
+* If you don't think that you are likely to win via your Fearmonger ability, stop choosing new players each night. The fact that the good team will no longer be learning that the Fearmonger has chosen a player will often lead them to believe that the Fearmonger is dead. As they cast their gaze onto the dead players, trying to figure out which one is evil, they will likely interpret a good player that has given true information as an evil player that has given false information. This strategy works best when all dead players are good.
-* Try to convince the town that you are a Demon! In nearly all cases, Minions are hindrances that don't have to be executed - if a suspected evil Minion claims {{Evil|Goblin}}, the town will probably back off. If they suspect you're the *Demon*, however, they have no choice but to attempt to execute you at some point! Encourage your evil teammates to condemn you with their bluffs, and make your bluff believable... perhaps TOO believable?
+* If you don't think that you are likely to win via your Fearmonger ability, choose a new player every night! If the good team is constantly reminded that a Fearmonger is in play, they are much less likely to vote for frivolous-seeming nominations. The more uncertain the good team is, the better for the evil team. Even reminding the good team publicly each day that they should be wary of the Fearmonger can make them reticent to cast their vote on nominated players, even evil nominated players. This strategy works best when there is more than one Minion in play, because if there is only one Minion in play, and the good team knows that the Fearmonger is still alive, they also know that all dead players are good, which is crucial information.
-* Encourage other players to claim {{Evil|Goblin}}, whether they're good or evil! Other evil Minions like the {{Evil|Poisoner}} can use the claim to extend their life (and anyone can say it, a {{Evil|Goblin}} doesn't have to be in play to make the claim!), while good players can use the {{Evil|Goblin}} to fend off accusations for a day or two in order to ensure they get just a little more information... or even look like a character desperate to live in order to attract a Demon kill! The benefit of this for an actual {{Evil|Goblin}} is that if everyone in town is claiming {{Evil|Goblin}} like it's a fun new fashionable trend, it'll lull the group into a false sense of security when it's finally *your* turn to claim {{Evil|Goblin}} while up on the chopping block!
+* If you are an evil player that isn't the Fearmonger, do everything you can to make the Fearmonger look like a good player. Often, the good team will want to find a single good player to make all the nominations, since that player is the most trusted. If you can imply that the Fearmonger is good by claiming to be a {{Good|Washerwoman}} who has learnt their character, or a {{Good|Juggler}} who has confirmed who they are, or even an {{Evil|Evil Twin}} who has died and heavily implied that the Fearmonger is the good twin, or something similar, this will help. If the good team trusts the Fearmonger to be the player most likely to be good, the Fearmonger should be able to nominate each day without suspicion.
-* Trying to get the town to execute you for benign reasons (e.g. to have your ability checked by an {{Good|Undertaker}}) will clash with you then making a {{Evil|Goblin}} claim. Don't be discouraged though - it can work out if the town thinks you're not on board with their reasoning to kill you, and are just claiming {{Evil|Goblin}} to make it difficult. The looks on their faces when you win that way will be incredibly satisfying!
+* If you are evil player, even if you are not the Fearmonger, nominate as much as you can get away with. The good team will often want to keep nominations to a minimum, pay close attention to not only the nominated player but also the nominating play, and not have a chaotic mess of too-many nominations to keep track of. If only a few people are nominating each day, and the majority of those players are evil, then the majority of the voting focus will be on good players (assuming that the evil players are not nominating the Demon).
-* Beware of the {{Good|Chef}} and the {{Good|Clockmaker}}, and others of their ilk! If the town believes you are a {{Evil|Goblin}}, they can use your presence to track down your Demon! (Alternatively in larger games, you can deliberately invoke this if you are far from the other evil team members, making the town waste time executing your neighbours instead of your Demon!)
+* It is quite unlikely that the evil team will win directly via the Fearmonger's ability. In most games, the benefit of having a Fearmonger comes from the paranoia and over-cautiousness of the good team when they vote. If you can use this to your advantage by discouraging the execution of evil players, then the Fearmonger has had a large impact on the game, even if it might not seem like it to you. Sometimes, the Fearmonger can win the game for the evil team by a million tiny decisions that the good team are encouraged to make out of fear of what MIGHT happen, not what did happen.
-* The {{Evil|Goblin}} is ultimately a very social minion, so keeping your finger on the pulse of the town is essential - in nearly all cases, you want to sway them to think differently about you than they are. If town thinks you're good, they have very little reason to execute you - try to "slip up" a couple of times and give them reason to be suspicious! Similarly if they think you're evil and you don't deny it, the town might write you off as a {{Evil|Goblin}} completely - starting putting extra effort into convincing them you're good! It's all about getting yourself to that sweet spot of "claimed {{Evil|Goblin}}, but we don't believe it and we're going to execute anyway". All the chaos caused along the way is just a fun bonus!
-* If you’re a different evil character, especially the Demon, claim to be the {{Evil|Goblin}}! When left with no other recourse it is an excellent backup plan to hopefully scare the good team off of executing you, at least for a day or two.
 <br>
 == Fighting the Boomdandy ==
-* Your main issue isn’t the {{Evil|Goblin}}, it’s the Demon that’s claiming {{Evil|Goblin}}. A fantastic cover to stay an execution, the {{Evil|Goblin}} forces your team to interrogate their conclusion on who the Demon is with double the scrutiny, because if you’re wrong that’s the end.
+* You start the game knowing that a Fearmonger is in play. This is something. In a one-Minion game, this means that you know three Minions which are not in the game, which is quite useful information to have. In a two Minion game, spending some time to figure out which is the other Minion character can be very helpful, and very achievable.
-* If a player is claiming to be the {{Evil|Goblin}}, and you are not sure if they are the {{Evil|Goblin}} or not, don't execute them! It's too risky. At least for now...
-* Use whatever information you can to distinguish between honest {{Evil|Goblin}} claims and false: the {{Good|Fortune Teller}}, the {{Good|Slayer}}, the {{Good|Snake Charmer}}, or the {{Good|Exorcist}} can all greatly help you decide whether to actually pull the trigger on the {{Evil|Goblin}}.
-* Remember the Goblin’s ability only works if they publicly claim to be so before they are executed. If your nominatee doesn’t claim to be a {{Evil|Goblin}} then, there is no need to concern yourself with a {{Evil|Goblin}} win risk.
-* If a player has claimed to be the {{Evil|Goblin}}, take your time and co-ordinate among the good team to use Townsfolk abilities on them to find out their real character. Characters that learn alignment or character, such as the {{Good|Ravenkeeper}}, {{Good|Fortune Teller}}, {{Good|Dreamer}}, {{Good|Investigator}}, or {{Good|Town Crier}} can be very useful. Even gaining some secondary information about who is who, such as via the {{Good|Chambermaid}} or the {{Good|Sage}} can be helpful. When you have enough information to determine whether or not the player really is the {{Evil|Goblin}}, then you can execute them accordingly.
-* You can claim to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} as good… but you’ll need a pretty good reason to do so. Perhaps if you really must live to complete your set of information as a Townsfolk, this is a worthwhile claim, but you’ll have a tough road ahead of you building your trust back after giving evil such a strong cover.
-* Throw nominations about willy nilly early in the game, to reveal the {{Evil|Goblin}} as soon as possible. The {{Evil|Goblin}} player may not have had time to fully think out their strategy by that point, and find themselves claiming to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} before they know if it is wise or not.
+* As long as the Fearmonger chooses a new player each night, you know that the Fearmonger is still alive. In a one-Minion game, this will mean that all the dead players are good (since the Demon must also still be alive). Talk to the dead players, and trust what they say. They are on your side, and not only have valuable information to share, but a vote that you can count on.
-* If there is only one Minion in the game, wait until the final day to kill a {{Evil|Goblin}}. At this stage, the alive players should be the Demon, the {{Evil|Goblin}}, and a good player. This still gives you the chance to kill the Demon, or kill the player claiming to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} if you think that they are the Demon.
+* If you can convince the group that you are likely good, nominate every day. It doesn't matter who you nominate, or even if your nominations don't get enough votes. You can even ask the group to suggest who you should nominate each day. What matters is that a good player - you - is making a nomination each day. If you are nominating, and you are trusted, then the Fearmonger is much less likely to be nominating and be trusted. Your nomination is 100% confirmed to not grant evil the win via the Fearmonger ability, since you know you are not the Fearmonger. No other nominating player can give that level of certainty to you.
-* If there is more than one Minion in play, kill the player claiming {{Evil|Goblin}} long before the final day arrives. Or if you don't, at least make sure that all other Minion players are dead. If the game gets to the point where the three living players are the Demon, {{Evil|Goblin}}, and one other Minion, evil will win.
+* If you are not able to convince the group that you are good and therefore that your nomination can be trusted, work with the group to find to most confirmed good player. Talk to everyone and find out everything you can. Get this player to nominate each day, but discuss which player they should nominate. Of course, the choice is up to them, but having your input and the groups input can go a long way in getting the player that the group thinks is most deserving of execution nominated each day. If the group can decide which player to execute, and the group can decide which player should be the one to make that nomination, and that player is on board with the group's decision, then you can at least focus your attention on who needs to be executed.
-* If you 100% believe that the player claiming {{Evil|Goblin}} actually is the {{Evil|Goblin}}, that's good news for the good team. Assume that the {{Evil|Goblin}} player is telling the truth, and use this information to find the Demon. Pay attention to what other information the {{Evil|Goblin}} is saying, who they talk to. Pay attention to the information of characters that gain information about Minions, such as the {{Good|Investigator}}, {{Good|Chef}}, {{Good|Clockmaker}}, or {{Good|Undertaker}}, both to confirm which players are getting good information, and which player this points to as the Demon.
+* Discourage frivolous nominations and voting. Only vote for players that you think are evil, but you are also convinced that the nominator is good.
-* If you think that a player claiming to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} is actually good and just doesn't want to be executed, claim to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} as well. If you do this convincingly when nominated, saying that the other {{Evil|Goblin}} claim is bogus, the good player may admit to actually being a different character - their real, good character - and not claim to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} again. Since the real {{Evil|Goblin}} is unlikely to do this, you have found out another good player.
+* Pay attention to any players who seem too keen to nominate. They may be the Fearmonger.
-* Use the {{Evil|Goblin}} name to get out of being executed yourself. If you really don't want to be executed, claim to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} when you are nominated. You can tell the group that you are only claiming to be the {{Evil|Goblin}} so that they do not execute you, then go straight back to claiming to be your real character. Sometimes, it is worth deceiving the good team for a short period, just so you can survive for a few more days. This works best if you get great information each day, such as the {{Good|Savant}} or the {{Good|Flowergirl}}, but also works well if you have an ability still to be used, such as the {{Good|Slayer}} or the {{Good|Mayor}}.
+* Each day, it is usually best to have a number of nominations that exceed the number of evil players. For example, if there are 2 evil players, have at least 3 people nominate. If there are 4 evil players, have at least 5 people nominate. This guarantees that at least one good player is nominating each day. If only evil players are nominating each day, only good players will be dying, and the chance of the good team winning will get smaller and smaller each day.
-* If all else fails, just execute the player claiming to be the {{Evil|Goblin}}. They are probably lying. Hopefully. Maybe. Perhaps. If you execute someone claiming {{Evil|Goblin}}, and the game continues, they can't be the {{Evil|Goblin}}! The whole group now knows something useful! Hooray!
+* It is quite unlikely that the evil team will win via the Fearmonger's ability. It does happen, but it happens far less than the standard win conditions. The bigger danger is the good team becoming paralysed and undecided on who to execute. Too much carelessness can certainly make it likely that the Fearmonger will nominate and execute, but too much concern will mean that the good players don't execute at all. Aim for a nice middle-ground.
 </div>