#The RavenKeeper

[ravensvalley]

#NorthernRaven

Early morning visit from a friend… maybe too early. Mountainous Parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

@BenAdrienProulx December 12, 2024.

[boneless-mika]

This might be the worst beginner game of botc I’ve ever seen

[cocoisindecisive]

god blood on the clocktower is so fucking fun. as the narrator, i made a drunk librarian think that either the empath or the ravenkeeper was the drunk

[axolator]

Script-A-Day #30: Catfishing 11.1 by Emily

The OG custom script! The Dark Triad and their chaos-causing minions versus a flood of information

Featured characters: Snake Charmer, Amnesiac, Fang Gu

Complexity: Intermediate-Advanced. Recommended for players who can process a ton of info at breakneck speeds and figure out who the evil team is before they change places.

Database link (find the PDF and JSON for running it there!)

Writeup under the cut!

I'm sure some of you saw this coming. For my last daily Script-A-Day, I'm going back to basics and talking about a script so well-known it's often dubbed the fourth base script, Catfishing.

According to Emily herself, Catfishing is information overload. The good team starts with a ton of information, and the evil team doesn't have a lot to discredit it right away. In fact, with Widow, Drunk, and Recluse as the only immediate forms of mechanical misinfo, an evil team unprepared to bluff to the nines can very quickly get caught out! However, if evil can survive that first day, their chaos can come online, thanks to the roughly-arbitrary Outsider count synergizing with their evil suite. The Gambler can kill themselves on the Mutant or Drunk and divert town's attention, the Godfather can snag an important kill, the Pit-Hag can turns someone into the Lunatic and make them think they got Fang Gu jumped, and a Storyteller can wake everyone up to utter pandemonium as someone claims to get a Widow ping in final 5. Players both good and evil will be navigating a complex web of lies backed by social reads to try and figure out who's who and who's evil.

When bag-building Catfishing, be careful with how much confirmation and immediate information you put in. An evil team that gets cornered by information too soon can find themselves hopeless as they get executed one by one. Be especially careful with characters like the Grandmother and Gambler: if their confirmation goes unchallenged by a Cerenovus, Pit-Hag, or Fang Gu, they can very quickly leave the evil team with nobody to frame. Be doubly careful if the starting Demon is the Vigormortis: the Vigormortis's [-1 Outsider] doesn't tend to open up a ton of useful bluffspace for Vigor-killed Minions, so don't be afraid to add Outsiders with the Godfather and Balloonist to offset things.

Some notes:

Consider which version of the Balloonist you want to use, and let your players know beforehand. This script was designed with the old Balloonist ability in mind (not pictured: "Each night, you learn 1 player of each character type, until there are no more types to learn. [+1 Outsider]"). Unlike Harold Holt's Revenge, though, I actually think the current Balloonist ability fits the script better than the old one, and would recommend using the updated one, since it more effectively obfuscates the Outsider count and fits better in smaller games.

The Recluse can cause a ton of misinformation on this script: In addition to the usual TB shenanigans, like misregistering to the Investigator, Chef, Fortune Teller, and Ravenkeeper, it can also misregister for the Dreamer (who can see them as a non-Recluse good character and any evil character), Balloonist, Gambler (who can die after gambling them as the Recluse), and Vigormortis (who can Vigor-kill them to poison a Townsfolk neighbor). Just be careful about how you word Savant information, since it's not fun to have your daily information made worthless because a Recluse could have misregistered for it. (Oh, and I've said this before, but don't proc the Snake Charmer on the Recluse. It's not that fun.)

Quick note about the Godfather: it's backward-looking, so if an Outsider dies and the Pit-Hag makes a Godfather, they can kill that night, even though they weren't the Godfather when the Outsider died.

Make sure you know how the implications of how a Fang Gu jump affects the Fortune Teller and Widow. The Red Herring and Widow ping must be on good players, so if the RH or widow ping recipient gets jumped and turned evil, the reminders have to move to another good player if the FT or Widow lives.

That's it for me! Bonus note: Catfishing is way more fun at larger player counts (13+), but is resilient and battle-tested at any count. See you in a week with the next script. It's been fun!

[deondoneit]

Changing Jimmy from the Virgin to the Ravenkeepeer because how did I not think about that before, except instead of ravens, it's canaries.

[bonelessenthusiast]

“the ravenkeeper is kinda a silly role” 😭😭😭😭

[best-botc-role-poll]

Round One, Poll 4:

[adak56]

#ravenkeeper

[yourenotreadyforus]

"Ravenkeep is a good city not far from here. Would be easy to get to. Cost of living isn't too high either." He said. Alright now was the time to ask. He'd go whether she agreed or not, but it'd be nice to not go alone." You could come with me there if you like. I have a cart. So you wouldn't have to walk or sneak. "

𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚓𝚞𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚝.   muse a is from a pretty well known supernatural family/clan. on the opposite side of the field is muse b’s group, also well known and respected. both sides have been committing with each other for centuries. it’s gotten to the point that they don’t even know why they’re still at war with one another or fighting. muse a and b finally meet alone one night, barely recognizing each other, and hit it off. then the next morning they realize who the others is and have to decide. is family more important than their heart? 

It's so odd. Ekal isn't really what you call a people person to begin with. Easily annoyed and quick tempered as he is even many in his own clan avoid him. He's a good fighter though, and that always pleases Lucifer. So he does well for the demon clan. His strength and skill mean he's almost always fighting, but not tonight. For once he's allowed to relax and he doesn't really mind. There's something soothing about the moonlit path he now walks along as he hums softly to himself. @the--variant

[wyvernquill]

I am NOT writing a Dreamling Anastasia AU 

  ...but. If I were...

(Edit: I am, find the masterpost here!)

It would not, actually, be a full human AU. The Endless are still Endless, but humanity has risen up against them, to terrible results. Their “domains” are still somewhat intact, so humanity can mostly go on as normal, but the personifications have been torn from them, weakened, have barely any control over them anymore. Their realms have crumbled, their tools are damaged, and they’re in exile...

And Death has offered immortality to whosoever will return her lost brother, Dream of the Endless, to her.

Enter Hob Gadling, vagabond, mercenary, and not very fond of dying as a concept; and Gilbert, a dream who survived the destruction of the Dreaming, and has lived among the humans ever since.

Dream of the Endless has been captured, turned human, and killed. They all know it, everyone does - it would be a pretty story if someone recovered him, a pretty story indeed, finally bringing peace and comfort to his family and the remainder of his subjects, but it won’t ever come true...

...unless someone were to make it true. Of course. Out of pure charitable sentiment, and not for the immortality reward at all.

All Hob and Gil would need is a lookalike they can pass off as “Dream of the Endless forcefully turned human” - and the amnesiac ravenkeeper “Murphy”, misanthropic and eccentric to the utmost, might be just what they’re looking for.

(But the traitor at Dream’s court has not yet given up on destroying him utterly, and is following after them with a razor-sharp knife and three mouths hungry for “Murphy”’s blood...)

---

(A scene I typed out just for funsies, from later in the plot, under the cut - also, tagging @10moonymhrivertam who I believe was interested in this!)

[Context for the scene:

Murphy-pretending-to-be-Dream has already presented himself to Unity, Desire’s Queen Consort, mentioning that he vaguely recalls being saved from captivity by a young guard shattering his glass cage with a sledgehammer. Soon after, he finds out that Hob had ulterior, selfish motives for this plot, and does not take it at all well.]

When Murphy is finally called to stand before the siblings to prove his identity, only Gilbert is accompanying him inside... and he's glad for that. Betrayal rankles in him, the first buds of love trampled brutally underfoot by the man's selfish human cruelty - a lie and a con for immortality! What a low cur! Murphy despises him, and if he does not see him again until 100 years' hence, it will still be too soon.

The Endless siblings await him in a room that seems perfectly cosy, but also painfully small. Beings such as them are made for grand halls, and to see five of them crammed together on a couch and some chairs seems... wrong, almost.

Destiny sits in an armchair hood drawn low, arms curled around the charred and torn remnants of what was once a book. Death sits on the couch, radiating a solemn sort of warmth, while Despair is huddled up next to her, eyes wide and uncertain, with her twin's hand resting protectively on her shoulder from where they are perched on the armrest, the other holding Unity's, who is seated in the second armchair.

("And Despair... oi, Murphy, are you listening?" says Hob's voice in his head, warm with fondness and a broad grin. "Despair was killed but reborn in a new aspect during the uprising. She'll still have all her old memories, though, so remain on your guard even around her."

Oh, those endless lessons. He will never forget a word of them.)

The youngest, Deligh- Delirium is seated on the floor, humming to herself and drawing swirling, colourful patterns onto the carpet. She hasn't as much as looked up at him.

Gilbert steps forward.

"Your Highnesses," he murmurs, politely removing his hat and squishing it in anxious hands. "May I present: Dream of the Endless."

 -

They ask him questions all over again, particularly Death and Desire - hers gentle and probing, theirs sharp and cutting - and Murphy answers as best he can, trying to ignore the longing in those eyes. The hope.

They want, so badly, for him to be something he is not. It is heartbreaking.

And then, finally, Death says "one last test, if you please," and Desire adds, spitefully, "this is the one they all fail," their twin nodding jerkily.

Death calls for Lucienne - ("Lucienne has always been your most faithful servant," Gilbert explains, "a librarian like no other, wise and ever loyal. She remained in the Dreaming, praying for your return, until it crumbled under her very feet...") - and Lucienne strides in.

She freezes, when she locks eyes with Murphy, and there it is again. The flash of hope, quickly tempered, but forever burning.

"The final test." Death instructs her, and with a bow Lucienne sweeps out again, only to return mere moments later with...

 -

...with a raven perched on her arm, white-breasted and fine-boned, dark and keen eyes observing Murphy curiously.

 -

"Jessamy!" He blurts out, and Death nods.

"Jessamy." She confirms, as Lucienne transfers the raven to her. "My brother's trusted companion. Touch her, now, give her a pat - and if she accepts you as her master, we'll know you're really him."

-

(Gilbert feels the tranquil summer day he has in place of a heart sink. This is what it all hinges on, then?

This is something they had no way of preparing Murphy for. No way to influence it. Jessamy will know him for a fraud, that much he is quite certain of, and their game is up, now. Their game is up.)

Murphy rises up, and goes to kneel at Death's feet, on eye level with the raven - and one has to hand it to him, he looks at her so softly, so adoringly, as if she really were part of his mind and soul and heart, the way Matthew is for Murphy, in truth.

He reaches out one trembling hand, all eyes in the room on him.

(Jessamy twitches her wings, gaze fixed on his hand.)

And then he drops it again.

 -

"Jessamy the Raven died as she attempted to rescue me from imprisonment," he says, and his voice echoes, deep and dark as midnight. "Lady Death, you hold an illusion on your arm."

 -

Silence in the room. Nobody dares to as much as breathe.

And then Not-Jessamy squawks, bright and approving - and bursts into hundreds of Delirium's incandescent butterflies, dispersing in the air.

They're all staring at him as Murphy gathers his robes up and returns to his seat.

Death stands. If her gaze was glowing with hope before, it is now like a firebrand on his skin.

"Despair? Bring his tools," she says, too soft to be an order, but with steel underneath it.

Despair scrambles up, and returns in moments with the strange helmet that is the symbol of the Dreamlord's power, and his ruby - cracked, but not broken.

(Gilbert, staring at Murphy as if in a trance, produces the sand pouch, and adds it to Despair's arms. Some thought flickers through his mind that those tools would, all taken together, kill a mere human - but that is not what Murphy is, after all, is he.)

Desire takes the ruby, and drapes the chain over Murphy's neck - and he sees it in their golden eyes, feels it in the tremble of their caress against his neck, that they have never desired anything more than their brother back.

Death takes the sand pouch, and presses it into Murphy's hand, closing his fingers around it with such gentleness - she had thought her beloved brother dead for so many years, dead and gone, and there is relief in every fibre of her being.

And then Destiny sets the scraps of his books aside, and takes the helmet in his hands, bidding Murphy to incline his head so that it might be fitted onto him, and he might recover all his past, present, and future.

 -

Murphy takes a deep breath.

Closes his eyes.

And bows his head.

 -

The helmet slides over his skull as if it was made for him...

And it was.

-

Something changes in the air.

A shifting, like air flowing in to fill up a vacuum.

And something about the-man-who-used-to-name-himself-Murphy changes.

The chapped and broken skin on his hands smooths to the point where his fingertips would not even leave prints; the fabric of his robe sparkles with stars, and floats like mist at nighttime about his form; and when he raises his behelmed head, his spine seems to crack and lengthen, taller now than he was before, too tall and thin to be human.

(Matthew squawks outside the window - and with one beat of his wings he is inside the room, settling on a narrow shoulder.)

 -

Hands that have folded lovingly around so many newly-created dreams and nightmares come up, to lift the helmet off again...

And where Murphy's eyes were a watery blue, Dream of the Endless's eyes are midnight-black, with only a single star each glowing in their depths.

 -

He blinks.

Looks down at his helmet, then up, at the roomful of Endless - his family - all staring at him in something between disbelief and incandescent joy.

"...siblings," Dream breathes, his chest warm and full as it never was when he was human except perhaps when Hob Gadling smiled at him, surrounded now by all of them...

And "BrOTheR!" Delirium squeals in rainbow tones, jumping up from the floor to throw herself into his arms, where she is immediately held.

"Brother," echoes Death, hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes - and then she, too, is folding him in an embrace, and Desire, and Despair, joining... even Destiny rests one wizened hand on Dream's head, tender and brotherly.

Lucienne is crying into a handkerchief from joy, and Gilbert keeps whispering "oh my. oh, goodness. oh my."...

And Dream holds his siblings close to him, home at last.

-

"Robert! Robert!" Gilbert is gasping, having hurried as quickly as he could. "Robert, you will not believe-"

Hob drops his nearly-done cigarette on the ground, grinds it out with his boot.

"And?" He smiles, though it hardly reaches his eyes. "Did they buy it?"

"He's real! Oh, goodness gracious me!" Gilbert rests one hand on his chest, as if to clutch at pearls there. "He is- Robert, he is the true Dream of the Endless! He, he knew that- and when they gave him the tools-"

"Ah!" Now Hob actually laughs. He fiddles for another cigarette, offers the package to Gilbert, who declines with nothing more but a distracted wave. "That. Yes. I knew that."

"You KNEW!?" Gilbert flusters.

"Since the talk with Unity." Hob's lighter takes a few tries to work. Ghastly thing. "It was me, you know."

"I don't follow." Gil blinks.

"It was good work for hired muscle, guarding some prison in a cellar - and they did say that greater rewards were in store. Riches. Fame." Hob grimaces. The cigarette smoke tastes like ash in his mouth, but he takes a drag anyway. "...immortal life. Thought it would be the best work available to me - and it was. But I couldn't stand it, watching him in there."

Hob blows the smoke up into the air, and thinks of a pale, inhuman face behind a glass pane - and then that same face haggard but human, blue eyes twinkling at him with challenge and fondness both.

"I was the guard who took the sledgehammer to Dream's prison. Woke up a few hours later with a splitting headache, and soon enough they were saying they'd killed him when he tried to escape. Quit, ran, and never looked back."

"By Jove!" Gilbert gasps. "Robert! You've saved him twice over, first in the cellar of the Magus - and now! Returning him to his family! Bless you, lad, bless you!"

Hob lets Gilbert grab his hand and shake it enthusiastically, though he can hardly muster up anything more than a weak smile.

"You should- oh, you should come inside! You must tell this story, see Lord Morpheus returned to full form, the siblings shall wish to thank you-" Gilbert babbles joyfully. "And your reward! Of course! Twice earned, my young friend! Twice earned!"

"Hmm. I don't... think I should." Hob carefully ducks out from the arm Gilbert has thrown over his shoulder. "Leave them to their joyful reunion, eh? Give them a little time to breathe before I remind them of... business."

"Ah, but-" Gilbert tries to protest, but Hob is already starting down the street. He should quit smoking - he already nearly has. Only does it when he's stressed, or heartbroken... or both.

 -

He will not bother Dream of the Endless, the man who once was Murphy, with his presence now.

[necrcmance]

"Malcolm, darling... would you like a kiss?" She waits a moment too long before smiling and holding out her hand, a Hershey kiss sitting in the middle of her palm.

confusion blurs Malcolm’s expression, leaving him doe-eyed and soft, but against expectations – not actually reluctant. he blinks ( twice! ), before bending at the waist ( just a touch, for Alice is wonderfully —and conveniently— tall ) to present his forehead, in expectations of a kiss.  instead, he is presented with a minuscule piece of cheap chocolate. Malcolm’s gaze stares at it in condemnation. stares at her. stares back at it.

. . . ..... then straightens and opens his mouth, much akin to a child, to receive it anyway.

[ravensvalley]

#MurmursCreek

Mountainous Part of the Northern Hemisphere.

@BenAdrienProulx January 12, 2025.

[eagletdoesthings]

Blood OT Clocktower x Ace Attorney #2

[concerningwolves]

HOLY SHIT FOLKS THERE US A JOB THAT IS LOTERALLY DEDICATED TO CARING FOR RAVENS AT THE TOWER OF LONDON BC IT'S BELIEVED THAT IF ALL THE RAVENS LEFT THE TOWER WOULD CRUMBLE AND THE COUNTRY WOULD FALL IM ACTUALY SKSKSKSKKK

[axolator]

Script-A-Day #11: Bait and Switch by Jeremy

Shenanigans beget shenanigans beget shenanigans

Featured characters: Lycanthrope, Magician, Goon

Jinxes:

Lunatic/Mathematician: The Mathematician learns if the Lunatic attacks a different player(s) than the real Demon attacked.

NOTE: It’s a little unclear how to run Mathematician when the Lunatic didn’t wake up on a night the Demon did, and vice versa. Some STs (like myself) will ping the Mathematician only if the Lunatic actually attacked someone (since that’s the malfunctioning ability in question), while others will ping the Mathematician on any discrepancy in the kill selections. Make a decision, and tell your players how you’ll run this jinx before playing.

Fang Gu/Scarlet Woman: If the Fang Gu chooses an Outsider and dies, the Scarlet Woman does not become the Fang Gu.

Complexity: Intermediate-Advanced. Recommended for players who are here for a good time, not a long time, and those who enjoy lying for fun and for glory.

Database link (find the PDF and JSON for running it there!) - Note that the most recent version (v6.0.0) is one that I don't think holds up as well. v5.0.0 is my preferred version of this script to play and run.

Writeup below the cut!

Bait and Switch is a silly, goofy time centering around the Lycanthrope and Evil’s various methods of defusing it. Good has some very strong info and potential to control the night deaths in Lycanthrope, but if evil can take advantage of the misinfo they have access to & can outfox the Lycanthrope through clever Innkeeper, Goon, or Recluse bluffs, it can lead the good team down some very, very wrong tunnels.

A lot of the good team is highly synergistic with each other. Lycan/Ravenkeeper in the same bag can let good proc the latter at the perfect time, and the Mathematician picks up on a surprising amount here, often being the key to solving the game. In exchange, the Witch and Cerenovus can kill and silence the info-gatherers the good team needs, the SW can give the Demon an out, and the Poisoner can make a right mess of everything.

There is no Spirit of Ivory on the script, so be careful when putting Fang Gu and Goon in the same bag. I’d avoid it entirely in smaller games, and would advise you to be very mindful in larger games. With the Goon in general - make sure both Good and Evil can turn them. 3/4 Minions choose a player each night, and there are only so many Fortune Tellers, Innkeepers, Lunatics, and Lycanthropes to go around.

Some notes:

Consider running the General on a 5-star scale (introducing thumb slightly up/down ratings for good/evil slightly winning) to more comprehensively capture the state of the game. There's a lot to pick up on, both socially and mechanically - your General will appreciate the clarity!

Make sure you know how to run the Lycanthrope + Pukka interaction! If the Lycanthrope kills a player, then the Pukka poisons the Lycanthrope, the previously poisoned player will die, resulting in a doublekill that night. This is very powerful for the good team, since it confirms the Demon is a Pukka and hard confirms the Lycanthrope. This will probably happen if you put the two in the bag at the same time, so be prepared for that and build the bag accordingly.

How do we feel mid-way through Mathematician week? A math "ping" is +1 to their number:

If a player gets false information due to Recluse misregistration or external drunkenness or poisoning, it pings the Math.

If a mechanical ability (e.g. Innkeeper, Lycanthrope) fails to function due to misregistration or external drunkenness or poisoning, it pings the Math.

If a killing ability fails to kill someone due to them being unable to die that night (via Innkeeper, Lycanthrope, or Goon), their ability pings the Math.

If the Fang Gu can't jump to an Outsider due to being Innkeeper-protected, the Fang Gu pings the Math.

Oh, yeah, and the Fang Gu / Scarlet Woman jinx does not ping the Math. There's an argument to be made that jinxes count as an abnormality, but it's kind of silly in this case - I wouldn't.

That's kinda it, actually? The Mathematician isn't particularly hard to run here. :P

This writeup was written before the Lycanthrope ability got updated. If you’re using that version of the ability (not pictured but mentioned in the Lunar Eclipse post), here are some quick interaction notes with the Faux Paw (the one good player that globally misregisters as evil):

They cannot misregister meaningfully to the Clockmaker

The Empath sees them as evil

The FT’s red herring cannot be on them

They must misregister to the Savant (so be careful with how you craft your info!)

The Seamstress sees them as evil

If they choose the Goon and become drunk, the Goon turns evil

Important: as written, the Faux Paw must misregister to the Mathematician, meaning that none of these interactions ping them. Strongly consider houseruling this so that the Mathematician can track it.

That's it from me! This script is super fun and very silly - take it for a spin! See you tomorrow!

[best-botc-role-poll]

Round 2, Poll 2: