Checking my phone, I noticed what the text said. "Your role is the Arsonist. Each night, the Arsonist douses one player. Anyone that player visits is also doused.
Once per game, the Arsonist may wipe all dousing effects.
If the Arsonist visits who the custodian is protecting they will lose their ability.
Once all Town players have been doused, the Arsonist may ignite, killing all doused players simultaneously.
Ignition fails if any Evil player has been doused."
Looking at the role, I was given, I smiled, then forced it down.
"Old habits never die, huh" I joked to myself. "Why was I so afraid of being vulnerable?"
Either way, I contradicted my thoughts, forcing them to the back of my brain.
I needed to focus on the game, so I decided to check out my teammates roles.
"Lena: The Trainer
Once per night, the Trainer selects an evil player and converts them into any Evil role of their choice.
Only one Killer may exist at a time.
If the Trainer converts themselves, they permanently lose the ability to train others.
The trainer can only train twice."
"That's decided" I thought to myself. The role is pretty simple, but it can be complex and vital if used properly.
"Emily: The Faker
The faker can change one person's role for when they die. They have two charges. This will not affect abilities, only the announcements after death.
Felix: The Jester
The Jester has no abilities while alive.
Upon death, the Jester immediately chooses:
one Town member to receive an unavoidable guaranteed kill
one Evil member to receive protection for the next two nights. That member will also secretly receive an extra vote—permanently."
Felix being the Jester was perfect. He became the least trustworthy after his ploy last round, so him getting eliminated is probably an inevitability.
Sven: The Reporter (Traitor).
Our traitor being the reporter was also massive. Being one of the most present roles, he will be less suspicious. If he played his cards right, he would go completely undetected.
My role, however, was what interested me.
I was given the role of the Arsonist. This role had the potential to solely win the game.
Felix's ploy with his fake role gave me a bit of inspiration for how to succeed. I would need to completely lie about what role I had if I wished to win. I would also need to pay insane detail to what everyone's roles are, whether they are explicitly explained or not.
Despite being given time to think, I couldn't actually message my teammates since the night hadn't begun.
I wondered if Felix would share this fake claiming strategy. If so, it would bring less attention to me. I silently hoped so.
With the remaining free time I had, I decided on my fake-claiming strategy. I was going to pretend to be a Comparator. Because I was evil, this felt like the easiest one to pretend to be.
Also, in a best-case scenario, I will have only one other Comparator, meaning I can swiftly get them eliminated (hopefully). If I do that, I could be confirmed if our Faker changes their role.
After deciding on what role to fake, I realized that the first night was just beginning.
I instantly checked my phone and noticed the group chat.
"What's up" Felix said.
"You have any tips? Because you've been an evil before." Emily texted.
"Nah, not really." Felix replied. "Just act normal and you'll be fine."
"Mind if I suggest an idea?" I texted the group chat. "I think that we should all pretend to have town roles. That way we more swiftly get away with things."
"That's actually a pretty good idea" Felix texted. "I didn't really expect you to think of that."
"I didn't really. I was inspired by you." I texted back.
"You flatter me. Anyways, what role are you going to fake?" Felix asked.
"Comparator. It should be relatively easy, and if we can manage to get the Comparator eliminated with a fake role, I could be basically confirmed."
"That's a good idea. But what if you get caught?" Sven added. "It seems very risky."
"That's definitely true." Lena texted in agreement.
"True, if you don't want to; don't do it." Felix replied. "Ill claim to be something that will get me voted out. Maybe the Crown?"
"Yeah that's smart" I agreed. "There can only one power role, so if we force them to reveal themselves, we can know who to target."
"What about me?" Emily asked.
"Choose something. There's not enough time." I replied. "Me and Sven need to use our abilities. I'm gambling and dousing Michael."
"Good luck. I'm sending a report to Emily." Sven explained. "Make sure to be honest about it—unless its about us. Then use our fake ones."
With that, I got a notification about what my actions where. Michael visited Alice. I got lucky. They hadn't visited an evil, and it also meant he had some role that could visit others. Maybe he was the Custodian?
The alarm blared. I stopped rambling and made my way out of the tent.
I decided to explain that Alice and Michael were allies, that way, I could get them to subconsciously trust me further.
"What's up!" Felix started the conversation. "Unfortunately, I don't have any info. My role doesn't help with that."
"Huh. Is that so?" Dylan replied. "After your shenanigans you pulled last game, I don't know if I believe you."
"Well, lets focus on collecting information. Anyone got anything?" Felix asked.
A few people looked like they were about to speak, but I beat them to it.
"I'm the Comparator," I said. "Last night, I checked Alice and Michael. They're aligned."
Michael blinked. "Seriously?"
"Looks that way," Alice replied calmly. "For what it's worth, that tracks with what I've seen."
Dylan leaned back, arms crossed. "That either means we're getting lucky… or someone wants us to feel safe."
I kept my expression neutral. Let them decide which one they preferred.
"I don't have any info, but I can reveal my role. That way it will trust me and Michael more." Alice continued. "My role is the revealer."
"Maybe you should use your ability on Michael." I bargained. "That way, it could confirm both of you, as well as the accuracy of my readings. It could confirm if there's a magician in this game."
"That's true." Dylan added. "But I also feel like we should use it on someone else. It's a powerful ability."
"That's fair." I agreed. "I had this role last time, so I can understand where you're coming from. After I used my ability, there wasn't much I could do."
"Mind if I add something" Sven interrupted. "I'm the reporter. "I sent my report to Emily. I'm hoping she'll share what she learned."
"Totally." Emily replied. "I learned that Dylans role was the Judge."
"Wait. Should you have said that?" I asked quizzically. "Revealing the power role could make things dangerous for us."
The judge was a role that can initiate a trial that must happen. Their will be no chance for the voted player to defend themselves. Once a player has been voted up, the decision cannot be changed. They will be eliminated.
They were a pretty powerful role, meaning revealing who they were was very dangerous.
"Your right." She replied. "I didn't think that one through" She added in a quitter tone.
"It's all good" Dylan replied. "I can confirm that the info is correct."
"I have an idea. Whoever the Custodian is; they should go on Dylan. That way, at least he may survive." I added. I needed to seem as convincing and friendly as possible.
"I've got something to add." Nathan interrupted. "I'm also a Comparator. My info told me that Iris and Felix are enemies."
"Wait, who's Iris?" I asked. There were two girls who hadn't participated in the conversation yet, so I figured it had to be one of them. I just didn't know which one.
"That's me" someone said in a quite tone. They had black hair, brown eyes, and glasses. "My role is the Custodian." I guess this meant my assumption about Michael being the Custodian was wrong. Either way, things were looking good for us.
"Last night, I protected Sven."
"I don't really know how we can confirm that, but I think we should learn Felix's role before we make any hasty accusations." I replied.
"Uh…" Felix stuttered. "My role is the executioner. I can execute a player every night! Let me know who we should get!" Felix added boldly, having quickly regained his composure. What he did was smart. He claimed a role that was a blatant contradiction. Only one person could be a power at once, and Dylan was already said to be the judge. He was setting things up perfectly for him to get eliminated.
I decided to take initiative and call him out.
"That doesn't make any sense Felix." I argued. "The rules said that we could only have one power at a time."
Alice hesitated, then lowered her phone. "If you're right… using it now would just be a waste."
A few other voices mumbled in agreement.
"Wait a second." Felix desperately explained. "How do you know that Dylan is the Judge? I don't believe him."
"Well, then this is the perfect time to vote you out" Violet, who hadn't said anything today, replied.
"Yeah absolutely." Dylan agreed. "I'm using my ability right now."
"Sounds good." Charles, who had been eliminated so early last game he hadn't even got to say anything, spoke.
"A judge has used their ability" An Observer announced. "A mandatory trial will now take place. Whoever is voted up will be eliminated."
With that, I cast my vote for Felix. I watched as multiple other votes were cast until the majority was reached.
"Well, that was fun." Felix laughed arrogantly. "You guys are below me."
"Felix's role was the Jester. This night, someone will be killed by an unstoppable attack." The Observer announced."
"Well this is grim" I said gloomily. "Felix outplayed us again."
"Geez." Lena complained. "I seriously thought we were actually doing something well."
"I'm honestly suspicious of Nathan. I don't think that he's a comparator." I spoke with confidence, hoping to convince the town. "They could have intentionally sold out their teammate so they could activate the Jesters ability."
"Wh-What?" Nathan sputtered. "I would not do that!"
"I disagree." I spoke harshly, looking to exploit any weaknesses. "Is it really a coincidence that you miraculously found out that the Jester was enemies with a town member!? I disagree. You also took a long time to come speak about your results, which makes me even more suspicious of you."
"That was because I hadn't found the right time to speak!" He argued. "There's no way you seriously think I'm evil!"
"I do. I'm casting my vote for you. Now. With that, I decided to vote for him. Looking at my phone, there was only 15 seconds left. Not nearly enough time to get him eliminated. But that was what I wanted. I wanted him to stay alive this round.
"I agree." Lena said. "I find Nathans actions insanely suspicious. Also, since we was evil last game, that's probably why he was able to think up the strategy of a fake role. He had way more time to prepare!"
She also casted a vote for Nathan. A few other town members did the same. A total of 5 votes were cast when the alarm screamed, signaling the end of the day.