Source
r/BloodOnTheClocktower•
Blockinite

Townsfolk idea: The Showman

Homebrew

The Showman (Townsfolk): Each night, pick a player. If they are an outsider or evil, they learn this. All chosen outsiders have no ability. [+1 Outsider]

The Showman goes around town neutralising negative outsider abilities, and confirming that they're in play as they go. To stop evil from imploding from a coy Showman picking them and waiting for them to claim it, a picked evil player learn that they were picked so they can keep bluffing outsider.

To balance for it being similar to a Nightwatchman (minus the hard conformation of learning which player picked them) who picks multiple people and neutralises outsiders, and to give them something to do in a 0 outsider game, they add an outsider like the Baloonist.

Worth noting that the abilities are restored if the Showman dies or is droisoned, so it's not 100% safe to assume the outsiders are safe to interact with. Klutz would always have to make their pick, for example.

They also go after all of the evil characters. So if a dangerous outsider outs to town, the demon can still do something about it before they lose their ability.

Because you'd know that they're not droisoned the night they send the ping, killing outsiders that trigger on death that day is useful, but it means that you're mostly going to be spending a lot of executions killing non-demons (also discouraging the demon from bluffing Saint!)

How balanced does this seem? What changes would you make?

Posted Dec 10, 2023, 5:38 PM UTC

1312
jrivest•

I think the ability to remove Outsider abilities is powerful enough on its own. I don't think it requires they receive confirmation on top of it. I think it's better if town does not know if the player claiming Showman is legit or an evil bluff (was the Heretic ability REALLY cancelled or not?) "Each night, choose a player. All chosen outsiders have no ability." [+1 Outsider]

I'd add a jinx for the Drunk (If the Showman picks the Drunk, they gain the Townsfolk they think they have).

19
BlockiniteOP•

It depends on the setup tbh, its power scales with outsider count. Base 0 makes it a weaker Nightwatchman, Base 2 with a Baron makes it an incredibly powerful townsfolk who needs to be targeted by evil immediately before they pick too many outsiders. If focused, evil can eliminate them before their confirmation becomes too strong, and double claiming them can work if your cards are played right.

In a 0 outsider game, simply cancelling outsider abilities makes it incredibly weak, so I think I'd have to get rid of the +1. But that makes it useless in a 0 outsider game.

5
FreeKill101•

I think I would agree that the confirmation is not necessary, and I think just making the outsiders drunk is simpler.

"Each night, choose a player. All chosen outsiders are drunk. [+1 Outsider]"

This does make it harder for evil to pick them off - but if the showman doesn't out themselves, it's also difficult for good to make use of the fact that the outsiders are getting disabled. So I don't think it's unbalanced.

I think it's also a cool evil bluff - works fantastically with a fangu.

6
BlockiniteOP•

I think my version is a little too strong, but without confirmation I think it's a little too weak. To have a positive effect on the game without information, they'd need to:

Be alive and sober when more than one outsider abilities trigger

Have picked those outsiders before they trigger

Maybe for this version, the ability should just be "All outsiders are drunk [+1 Outsider]"? You negate outsiders while you're alive, but when you're dead or droisoned then you have the caveat of throwing another outsider into the game.

4
FreeKill101•

The thing is, I think that trying to pick outsiders is the fun part - just having it turn off all outsiders passively feels pretty boring for them and also the outsiders who now have no ability!

To go a little further away, how do you feel about "Each night, choose a player. Chosen good players and minions are drunk, and evil players learn they are chosen."

So no more + outsider, but you still have something to do in a 0 outsider game. It's not too brutal to evil because they learn they're chosen, and the showman can't just fire shots at random lest they hit town.

5
FreeKill101•

The thing is, I think that trying to pick outsiders is the fun part - just having it turn off all outsiders passively feels pretty boring for them and also the outsiders who now have no ability!

To go a little further away, how do you feel about "Each night, choose a player. Chosen good players and minions are drunk, and evil players learn they are chosen."

So no more + outsider, but you still have something to do in a 0 outsider game. It's not too brutal to evil because they learn they're chosen, and the showman can't just fire shots at random lest they hit town.

1
PbPePPer72•

Nice I like this version a lot. Hits the sweet spot of simplicity and a cool and useful mechanic.

1
bungeemanPandemonium Institute•

What's the purpose of the 'they learn this if they haven't before' and how does it differ to the Preacher's 'if chosen, they learn this'?

3
BlockiniteOP•

Specifically so that you can't keep picking the same player to test if you've been poisoned that day. I want the Saint to have to be executed *that day* for it to be 100% safe, and if they're not then they're never 100% certain that they're safe again.

2
bungeemanPandemonium Institute•

So The Showman learns this and not the player they pick? If that's the case, you may want to re-word the ability, as it reads as though the chosen player learns it.

1
BlockiniteOP•

Nono, the other players learn this. But there are a few circumstances I want to avoid with this caveat:

A specific outsider feels safe for the whole game, because the Showman keeps occasionally picking them. For example, the Saint would be happy to be executed at any point in the game if they're picked every night

It makes it much harder to bluff if an already selected outsider can ask you to pick them over and over. "I guess I was poisoned that night" isn't an excuse if it doesn't work for the entire game.

2
bungeemanPandemonium Institute•

Ah, I see now. Thanks for clarifying.

2