Since coming across the ‘king’ of social deduction games at a small convention in Bournemouth, I have played countless games of Blood on the Clocktower. Since I started taking on the role of Storyteller, I realised how players’ enjoyment of the game (especially new players) was very dependent on how it was run in terms of both mechanical and social dynamics. For this reason, I have put together 5 key points to keep in mind to make your first game as a storyteller as fun and successful as possible.
1. Keep the game relaxed
The last thing a new player wants is an angry or controlling Storyteller. This is just a game, and, while players interrupting or not returning when you call them can be frustrating, you don’t want to do is lock down the game for players. One of the main rules of the game is ‘You can say whatever you want at any time’, and this freedom is something that makes Blood on the Clocktower special. Players should be able to talk at night if they wish or add a detail to an accusation. That said, you do need some control over the players, otherwise your game night could get messy. For disruptive players you can take them aside and talk about it or use a
Fabled character such as Hell’s Librarian to keep your players from getting to rowdy without causing arguments. Balancing freedom and structure is key to keeping this game enjoyable.
2. Consider your setup
If this is your first game, you should definitely be using the ‘Trouble Brewing’ script. Seriously, moving on to another script for your first time can be disastrous.
The main rulebook has some great recommended setups for your first game, so definitely use one of these tweaked for your player count. For other plays, here are some things to keep in mind:
1. Think about your players. For example, if all your players are new, consider a scarlet woman to prevent an unexpectedly quick game if the demon messes up.
2. Try to keep a balance between first night, every night and passive abilities. No information on the first day creates a frustrating execution phase, and no information throughout can cause the entire game to lock up and become boring.
3. Try to include the right amount of misinformation. A drunk and poisoner can be devastating for the good team, but no misinformation and the good team will have the upper hand.
4. Think about bluffs. While three random roles are perfectly playable, try to think about how the evil team can use them. Is there a spy? Undertaker is great. Scarlet woman? Maybe a saint or mayor to get them to the end. Thinking about giving an outsider role as a bluff? Put in a librarian to ‘confirm’ them. The bluffs are one of your most useful tools to hide the evil team.
3. Help the losing side
One of the main reasons for a storyteller in Blood on the Clocktower is to keep the game balanced and close right up to the very end. It is important to identify which team you need to be helping. ‘Helping’ as the storyteller does not mean breaking the game rules, or taking players aside to give them strategy advice, rather it means using your ‘tools’ to your advantage, such as misinformation and when to end the day. As an example, if the evil team is unlikely to win, showing a poisoned ravenskeeper the role an evil player is pretending to can be a huge help. In a game I ran, the good team were particularly strong, so I made the saint the ‘red herring’ for the fortune teller, and made the nearby empath drunk in the setup to cast suspicion on the saint, balancing out the game. One useful thing to keep in mind is that the evil team is usually who you need to be helping, as they depend on you to carry out their nefarious plans.
4. Read the almanacs
Days before your game night, reading the almanac of the edition you are running can be extremely useful. It contains all the character’s abilities in depth and examples of weird interactions. Having an understanding of how all the characters work, not just the ones in your game, is useful so you can answer difficult questions when they come up in play. To further learn the characters, just reading the text on the tokens in your grimoire can be useful. If you still aren’t 100% sure on a character, visiting the Blood on the Clocktower wiki can help.
5. Take your time, and don’t worry about mistakes
Due to the complicated nature of this game, mistakes can happen. Maybe you didn’t add the right number of outsiders. Maybe you let a poisoned mayor win the game. But remember, you are a new player as much as the other players are. The easiest way to avoid mistakes is to slow down. Plan what you are going to give a drunk empath to avoid giving anything away, think about whether the player that just nominated the virgin should die. An important thing to remember is you should rarely try to fix mistakes (unless it was something like not waking someone, when you would find them privately), as this is difficult to do well. You can help in other ways such as helping the team the mistake effected.
