Screwball (Outsider): If a good player dies by execution day 1, the Demon is drunk til dawn. [True players don’t wake night 1.]
EDIT-"Characters," not "players"
**DISCLAIMER** Okay, right off the bat I wanna say that I have introduced a term that is not from TPI just because I didn't know how else to word this character with the intentions behind it. If you can help me better word this to avoid that, it would be helpful.
“True” here means a character that is sober, healthy, and actually the character that they see on the token they received. So a character that is drunk or The Drunk or Lunatic, Marionette, would not be considered “True.”
Screwball (Outsider): If a good player dies by execution day 1, the Demon is drunk til dawn. [True characters don’t wake night 1]
The Screwball shakes up the game by getting rid of the first night. The Demon and Minions do not know each other and cannot start coordinating. The trade off being that good has no information and might have to out their character. If a good player does not die to execution on the first day, the Demon can start killing Night 2. If a Good player dies to execution Day 1, the Demon is drunk until Dawn.
Evil team would not know who else is evil until Night 2 and the Demon would not learn bluffs until Night 2.
Characters that would normally receive information or make a choice, do so on Night 2 but do not start off the game with that knowledge. So a Washerwoman or Investigator would not learn their pings until after the first day is over. A Grandmother would learn their grandchild after Day 1. Fortune Teller and an Assassin may not make a choice until Night 2.
Characters don’t get to use their abilities twice come the second night. Functionally all characters do not have an ability on Night 1 and do not gain info from Night 1. All Characters would operate as if they are a new instance of that character. A Dreamer and Sailor would still only get to choose one player. A Widow would choose that night and their ping would go out that night to a good player.
If the Screwball is on the script, drunk and poisoned characters do not need to be woken up on Night 1 even if The Screwball is not in play. Alternatively, they can be woken up and told to perform their ability as usual as if there is no Screwball in play even if one is currently on the Grim.
A Drunk or Poisoned Demon would still get accurate bluffs.
How to Run: If the Screwball is in the bag pass out tokens and place them on the Grimoire appropriately. Have everyone close their eyes as if Night 1 is occurring. At this point you may decide Demon Bluffs or any Alchemist abilities, Grandchildren, Washerwoman pings etc. or you may hold them off until Night 2 if it’s your preference. In either case you want to mimic that a Night 1 is happening.
Wake everyone and announce that it is Day 1.
If a good player is executed and dies, place the SCREWED reminder token on the Demon. That night wake the evil team and let them know who each other are. Wake the Demon and have them make a choice. Do not wake the player that died and activate their ability because they are no longer alive.
CHARACTER INTENTIONS: The idea of the Screwball is that it disrupts evil and good alike at the start of the game. With a Screwball on the script, Evil can start on the backfoot as they do not have their bluffs. But also can make powerful townsfolk look suspicious if they do not want to be executed because their abilities haven’t gone off yet. Evils double claiming can work by falling back onto their bluff when it is finally revealed to them. If an evil decides to fall on the sword and be executed day one, the demon can simulate a night of no deaths and give that player some social cred.
If a good powerful character is double claiming someone because they are trying to hide their character they may be pushed on by town and could potentially out their role which might prime them for poisoning or death in the night.
CHARACTER SYNERGIES:
Townsfolk:
Many first night roles ironically might be willing to be sacrificed to the screwball to see if there will be a night of no deaths. Drunkbait like the Chef or Librarian might be very willing to fall on the screwball’s sword.
Interesting with the Shugenja if one of their neighbors is sacrificed to the Screwball, it gives them more information Night 2 potentially.
Confirmatory roles like Virgin, Dreamer, Undertaker, Gambler would work well with the Screwball to verify a Townsfolk come night 2.
Alignment checkers like Empath, Village Idiot, Seamstress might also interact really well with the Screwball as you can clear worlds and double check dead players or living neighbors.
Minstrel would work interestingly with Screwball as it can be a good interchangeable bluff for night 2 if a minion is killed day 1.
Gossip can be interesting with Screwball as they can still cause a night death even if the demon is dead which might be good info for the Town.
Abilities that work during the day like Fisherman, Artist, Savant could be interesting as they are largely unaffected but can also use their abilities and be executed. Might also be forced to use their abilities if they are executed despite not being evil.
Gives characters that choose players in the night more time to get a social read and decide who to choose. Preacher, Exorcist, Sailor, Fortune Teller, Dreamer etc. Also might force those roles to waste their ability by choosing The Screwball even though they’d have no other bearing on the rest of the game.
Might be interesting with Town Crier as it might encourage nominations.
Might be interesting with Acrobat as if there are players who say they woke up the night before it the town is broadly saying that most people didn’t. The acrobat might have a good target.
Good with the Juggler as people might be more open with their character.
Interesting with characters that want to stay hidden like Sage, Ravenkeeper, Banshee etc because there might be more double claims as they try to hide their roles.
Interesting with Fool /Sailor because these characters might not die and renders the Screwball’s ability moot to drunk the demon. Or also could reveal Location of No Dashii too early. Interesting with Pacifist and Tea Lady for similar reasons.
Interesting with Magician as if a Magician dies Day 1 their ability does not activate because they are dead. Might have to Jinx this.
Cannibal might benefit from Screwball Sacrifice providing a snack, but the Screwball itself is terrible Cannibal food.
Bad with Poppygrower as they might have to either out themself as Poppygrower or die by execution. Renders their ability moot.
Redundant with Princess unless they nominate themself while a cannibal or Philosopher is on the script.
Interesting with Philosopher as they’d have to go first in the first night order. If they chose to Philo-Screwball no other character would wake that night. Would also be interesting with Boffin-Philo-Screwball or Alch-Boffin Screwball.
Bad weird with Professor because the professor might just immediately revive a character who was sacrificed to the Screwball.
OUTSIDERS.
Butler can just vote normally Day 1 because they were never prompted to choose a player.
Goon Moonchild, and potentially Klutz are bad/ interesting with Screwball as they can die early and choose the screwball. Goon can potentially die good.
Recluse of course can be executed and either cause the demon to be or not be woken up.
Ogre gets a day to better decide who to be friends with.
Lunatic would work absolutely so well with Screwball. Also the Demon would know you are in play but not necessarily what Demon you are or who they are as that info is revealed after token pull.
Drunk works well because they can be woken up Night 1
Mutant is weird in that they might intentionally try to break madness to die.
Puzzle master might be given more social info to sus out the Demon.
MINIONS:
Minions who make a choice first night probably aren't great with this outsider. Poisoner, Devil’s Advocate, Witch, Cerenovus, Harpy, Fearmonger, Widow, etc. They functionally don't have an ability until Night 2.
Mezepheles is not ideal just because they won't have an ability to work with until day 2. So they'd be without a bluff and effect on the game until after they've already been suspicious.
Pit-hag, Assassin, Boffin, work fine with Screwball as their ability is largely unaffected. Godfather is the same except learns the Outsiders in play Night 2.
Baron works great as they can potentially sacrifice themself.
Wraith chooses when to wake at night so their ability is largely unchanged.
Psychopath and Vizier might work well considering they can't die. They can bait an execution, although it outs them. A Vizier can just punt an execution through on themself.
Similarly the Organ Grinder would be outed immediately unless town chooses not to nom at all because the Organ Grinder cannot wake night 1 to drunk themself.
Xaan 2 would be very powerful with an in play Screwball. No info night 1, incorrect info Night 2.
Wizard, Goblin, Boomdandy, Scarlet Woman, and Mastermind would all work great with this outsider.
Evil Twin is interesting in that it would be wise not to assign a twin until night 2 but, also based on the Day 1 conversation the Evil Twin could essentially pick their twin if the ST supports their bluff and gives them the character that mirrors what they said during day 1.
Marionette can be woken or not woken depending on the ST if a Screwball is on the script.
DEMONS:
Pukka might be weird with this as it can potentially lead to several days without a kill. Might be good with a Summoner on the same Script.
Yaggababble probably needs a jinx where the Demon does not learn a phrase until after they are no longer drunk. Also would be good with a Summoner.
A No Dashii with a drunk or puzzle drunk on the script can hide a no dashii world and frame it as being in another location. Wake one of the No Dashii’s poisoned neighbors and not the other night one. And then Wake the other Drunk ping(s).
A night without kills could also be disguised as a Po Charge.
Zombuul works fantastically with this if the town chooses not to kill or chooses to try and execute someone who cannot die.
Fang Gu on the script encourages the Screwball not to say anything first day.
Legion is wonderful with this if there are a lot of ways for characters to be Poisoned or drunk or be a Lunatic or Marionette as there can be several reasons for multiple people to have not woken up night one or potentially some of the evil team is just lying.
Probably needs a Lleech jinx in which the Lleech still gets to choose their host.
Not great with Leviathan or Riot.
Lord of Typhon might be interesting depending on player count and if there is a Marionette/recluse/Lunatic on the script.. The LoT could be certain that at least one of their neighbors knows that they're evil, but not necessarily no which one could be a Mario.
Thoughts?
