Front Office Football Central - Werewolf IX: Village of the Damned

Well it's time for me to announce my next werewolf game, and I might as well use my 2000th post to do it! This game will start on August 8th so you have some time to sign up, etc. Next week is way too busy for me to run a game and I'll be gone next weekend anyway.

This game has some unique rules, which I should stress were not invented by me, but by Marshall Phillips at the Boardgamegeek boards. He has done a lot of playtesting with them, and though I modified them some here and there they are still primarily his. They're fairly complicated so feel free to ask questions!

Game Intro

In this game there are no Special Roles assigned to the villagers, instead special powers reside in ITEMS which can be owned and used by the players (villagers or wolves).

For Example: The owner of the Amulet of Seeing is essentially the Seer, he may name one other player and receive a vision during the night revealing that players role (villager or wolf). The twist is this. Items may be PASSED from player to player during the night. Thus the owner of the Amulet, if he is afraid the wolves are on to him, may pass the amulet to another player during the night. That new player essentially becomes the Seer and may use the amulet to receive visions. Players pass Items anonymously. Thus, they notify the Moderator of who they would like to pass which Item to and then the Moderator informs the new owner without revealing the name of who gave him the item. For various reasons players may acquire more than one Item at a time but at dusk they must pass all but one Item to somebody else. They may not intentionally keep more than one Item, and they certainly may not USE more than one Item.

RULES

1) The Game starts on August 8th. (players will be PM’d their roles and Items Sunday night). The wolves will eat the Moderator Sunday night and the Seer will NOT get a vision Sunday night.

2) There will be three wolves, one Sorcerer, and one Apprentice Sorcerer in the game. The Sorcerer wins if the wolves win but loses if the village wins. The Sorcerer does not know the wolves and the wolves do not know the Sorcerer. The Apprentice Sorcerer must choose if he wants to play as a normal Sorcerer (and have PM rights with the other Sorcerer) or as a normal villager (in which case the other Sorcerer will be awarded 3 silver). He must choose at the beginning of the game before he posts and notify the moderator.

2) Players may have more than one item at a time but may only keep one Item at night. They MUST pass all but one Item. If they are passing more than one Item then each Item must be passed to a different player. The tablet MUST be passed.

3) Players may only activate one Item but if they are passed a usable item (Dagger, Mirror) they may enjoy the benefits of that item plus the one they activated.

4) Players who end up with no Item in the morning (because they passed all their Items or their Item was removed after activation) will be given ONE Silver Piece

5) A Silver Piece is not like the other Items, you can hold as many Silver Pieces as you want, you are not forced to Pass them. Also, Silver will not be removed during the pass phase like other items may be.

6) There are two types of items in the game, unlimited use and single use. One copy of each unlimited use item will begin in the game and no more may be purchased. Multiple copies of a single use item may begin in the game and additional copies may be purchased for the appropriate amount of Silver

7) Items are purchased during the activation phase. Purchased Items may not be activated the night they are purchased. Only one copy of each item may be purchased each day. Because of this every player may not get the item the most want to purchase. You should consider submitting a ranked “shopping list” of items you would be willing to accept.

8) No PM’s are allowed with the exception of the wolves

9) Items that get destroyed by the Hammer or Anvil will be revealed to the group.

10) Players may claim to have any Item that they wish, there is no way to PROVE that you have or do not have an Item.

11) A tie lynch vote results in NO LYNCH

12) Votes are cast by placing them in bold in the body of a post. Example VOTE MDP4828. Vote posts must NOT be edited or deleted. If they are edited they will not be counted. At anytime you may withdraw your vote, you do not need to revote if you don’t wish to at that time. Simply type UNVOTE MDP4828

13) Roles will be revealed upon death

Order of Events

1) lynch - 8:00 pm EDT, the lynch is resolved. The player with the most votes is killed (a tie results in no lynch). His items (if any and including Silver) are dropped in public, they are picked up by the owner of the Crown who must pass them that night (because the Crown cannot be passed and each player may only keep one item, the King may keep all the Silver he picks up however).

2) The cutoff for getting your instructions to the Moderator is midnight EDT. I cannot accept conditional instructions. Sorry, you must tell me exactly what you want to do with your item.

3) pass – Item passing is resolved. Items may not be activated if they are passed (see below for activation). Each item must be passed to a different player.

4) removal – If there are more items than the number of players + 2 then excess items will be randomly removed from the game from among those items that were passed.

5) eat – The wolves meal is resolved, if their victim has the dagger or holy water (even through a pass, those items do not require activation) then the wolves will not get a meal. The dagger will give one random wolf gets a scar. The wolves must have an open slot in order to pick up any items found on their victim (exception when one wolf is left, he will pick up everything no matter what). If the wolves cannot or choose not to pick up the victim’s items then they are given to the owner of the Crown the next morning and are made public.

6) activation - Anyone who chose to activate their item in the night has the effects of that item resolved, if they are still alive and they still own the item. Activations happen in this order: general activation of most items (including sword), items are purchased, items are stolen, players die if they have been wounded/poisoned and not healed.

7) silver – Silver is awarded to players who do not have an item at this point (they may have silver though)

8) The result of the wolves meal is announced. Players are notified if they receive any items and are notified about the results of their activation (if any).

A description of the Items in the game and their uses and restrictions follows.

unlimited use items
One copy of each of the following items will begin in the game, these items are not purchasable.

Amulet of Seeing – [Amulet] Allows the owner to name one other player and to learn whether that player is a Villager or a Wolf during the night phase

Crown of the King – [Crown] It is public knowledge who owns the crown. The owner of the crown cannot be lynched (but may be eaten) and owner may not pass the Crown (who would willingly abdicate the throne?). The owner of the Crown's vote counts double for lynching, their single vote counts as two votes, and may not be split between different players. When another player is lynched or eaten then that player’s items go to the owner of the crown (assuming that the wolves do not keep the items they found on their victim). The owner of the Crown then must pass those items (except for the Silver).

Gloves of the Thief – [Gloves] Whoever owns the gloves may name another player and steal his item during the night. But the Thief leaves his gloves behind with the pilfered player! The Gloves are the final item to be resolved during the night

Guise of the Imposter – [Guise] Whoever owns the Guise will receive at random one of the items that was passed that night. The random item will be diverted from it’s intended recipient and sent to the Imposter instead.

Hammer of the Blacksmith – [Hammer] If the owner of the hammer also owns another item then he can use the hammer to destroy that item. He does not have to destroy the item but he cannot keep both the hammer and another item, he must destroy or pass. The Hammer may not be preactivated in anticipation of being passed an item.

Notebook of the Detective – [Notebook] The owner of the notebook may designate one item to track in the night. The Detective will be notified who ended up with the Item after the pass phase. The detective is not notified if the Thief steals the item, he will still think it is with its old owner. If the tracked item is not in the game he will be notified of that.

Ring of Wisdom – [RoW] The owner of the Ring will get two votes during the lynch. He will get his normal public vote as usual but in addition he will be able to PM the Moderator a secret vote. The Moderator will announce who received the secret vote but not who cast it. Furthermore, once per game, the Ring may be used to call for a special vote to elect a new King. The owner of the Ring will be identified if he calls for such a vote.

Robe of the Priest – [Robe] The owner of the Robe may take one other player into the “confessional” each day and conducted unlimited PM’s with that player. The same player cannot be take into the confessional on back to back days.

Tablet of Tales – [Tablet] The tablet is something on which messages may be written and secretly passed to other players. The Tablet will display the three most recent messages. As soon as a fourth message is added then the oldest message is removed. A player may NOT keep the tablet, they must pass it along but they need not write a message on it.

single use items
The following items may be used once after which they will be removed from the game. Multiple copies of these items may be in the game at the same time. One copy of these items may be purchased each day for the amount of silver listed in parenthesis. Items costing 5 Silver will not begin in the game.

Book of the Damned (6) – A human reading from the Book will be converted to a Sorcerer. A Sorcerer reading from the Book will be converted to a wolf. A wolf reading from the Book may designate which player they wish to convert.

Cloak of Whispers (2) – [Cloak] The owner of the Cloak may designate one other player to have unlimited PM rights with for one day.

Coat of Arms (3) – [Coat] The Coat will prevent the player who holds it from being lynched if he or she should get the most votes. If the owner of the Coat does get the most votes then there will be no lynch that day and the Coat will be removed from the game.

Dagger of the Hunter (4) – [Dagger] The owner of a Dagger can not be eaten by the wolves. Instead he defends himself with the dagger leaving a scar on the hand of one of the wolves (determined randomly). The next day the village learns that one of the wolves had been wounded. Wolves heal fast, however, and the scar is not visible to the naked eye.

Dart of the Assassin (3) – [Dart] The owner of the Dart may target one player during the night for assassination. The targeted player will become “poisoned” and will have 24 hours to live unless cured by the Ointment or Potion. The poisoned player may participate in the discussion and vote the next day but will die the following night if not healed.

Holy Water (3) – [Water] The owner of the Holy Water may not be eaten by the wolves. The wolves will not get a meal if they target the owner of the Water. The wolves will not be scarred however.

Hood of the Spy (2) – [Hood] The owner of the Hood may designate one other player and learn one of the items that that player holds after the pass phase that night.

Lance of the Crusader (6) – [Lance] The owner of the Lance may designate one player (including himself) to protect from the wolves during the night. If the wolves choose to eat that player then the Crusader will protect him. In addition, the Crusader will kill one of the wolves during the fight.

Ledger of the Accountant (5) – [Ledger] The owner of the Ledger may designate one other player and learn how many wolves and sorcerors voted for that player the previous day. They will learn the total number, not how many of each type there were.

Lockpick of the Thief (2) – [Lockpick] The owner of the Lockpick may steal one item from another player. He designates the player he wants to rob and will receive one of the items that player has. The victimized player will receive one Silver Piece in compensation.

Mask of Lies (2) – [Mask] The owner of the Mask will appear to the Amulet or Pendant as the opposite of their true role. A villager will appear as a wolf and a wolf as a villager.

Ointment of the Doctor (2) – [Ointment] The owner of the Ointment may treat one other player. If that player is wounded/poisoned/scarred they will be healed and their role (villager or wolf) will be revealed to the Doctor.

Pendant of Seeing (3) – [Pendant] Allows the owner to view the role of one other player.

Potion of Healing (1) – [Potion] The owner of the Potion may use it on one other player. If that player is wounded/poisoned/scarred he will be healed but his role will not be revealed.

Ring of Vision (2) – [RoV] The owner of the Ring will get two votes during the lynch. He will get his normal public vote as usual but in addition he will be able to PM the Moderator a secret vote. The Moderator will announce who received the secret vote but not who cast it. The RoV may not call for a special election

Saber of Duels (2) – [Saber] The owner of the Saber may publicly declare that he is engaging another player in a duel during the day before the lynch. The victim will die that night unless healed.

Scroll of Identity (2) – [Scroll] the Scroll is not usable by a villager it is only usable by a Sorcerer or Wolf. If the Sorcerer uses the Scroll he will learn the identity of one living wolf. If a wolf uses the scroll he will learn the identity of the Sorcerer

Staff of the Wizard (4) – [Staff] The owner of the Staff may designate one player to be wounded by lightning during the day phase (before the lynch). The village will not know the identity of the individual who used the Staff. There will be no lynch on a day when the Staff was used. The wounded player will die the next night if not healed.

Sword of the Pirate (2) – [Sword] The owner of the Sword may take the Crown from the King by force at night. The new king is announced the next day.

ACTIVATIONS

The following Items require ACTIVATION in order to be used. An activation means the owner of the item must PM the moderator that he wants to use the item and who he wants to use it on if that is required.

Activated at night
Amulet
Gloves
Hammer
Notebook
Robe
Sword
Book
Cloak
Dart
Hood
Lance
Ledger
Lockpick
Ointment
Pendant
Potion
Scroll

Activated during the day
Ring of Wisdom
Ring of Vision
Saber
Staff

Activated by passing
Tablet

The following Items do NOT require activation. Their powers are activated automatically when the situation is appropriate.

Automatically activated when appropriate
Crown
Coat
Dagger
Water
Mask
Guise