Acrobat (Townsfolk, Experimental)
“Each night*, choose a player: if they are or become drunk or poisoned tonight, you die.”

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Classic Synergies

These are pairs you can put on a script and basically know they’ll do something interesting without much extra work.

1. Village Idiot

• Why it works
  Acrobat can deliberately “bounce” between suspected VIs:
  • If Acrobat dies after choosing a VI, that’s a strong signal that this VI was drunk/poisoned that night.
  • Over multiple nights, Acro deaths can help town sort “sober VI vs drunk VI vs some other problem”.
• Impact
  • Huge clarity on which VI’s info is trustworthy.
  • In “Hermit is secretly drunk/damsel” setups (like The Rose Bride), Acrobat can narrow down who isn’t the Hermit by dying for the wrong target.
• Caveat
  • Assassin/Godfather/extra kills can punish “open Acro” lines and muddy the waters, which is good for balance.

2. Innkeeper

• Why it works
  Innkeeper creates good‑aligned drunkenness, which Acrobat explicitly cares about.
  • Acrobat can target Innkeeper targets to see if they were actually made drunk.
  • If Acrobat dies after choosing an Innkeeper-protected player, that suggests:
    • The Innkeeper’s ability really fired, or
    • Something else (Pukka/Vigormortis/Sweetheart etc.) caused poisoning.
• Design use
  • Great in multikill / “lots happening at night” scripts as a soft confirmation engine for Innkeeper and a drunk‑tracking role.

3. Sailor

• Why it works
  • Sailor causes one person (possibly themselves) to be drunk each night.
  • Acrobat can sit on likely Sailor targets; if Acro dies, you’ve hit the drunk.
  • If Acro repeatedly lives when picking the claimed Sailor or their “target”, it undermines that claim.
• Design note
  • Good for scripts where you want town to have a way to probe persistent “I’m drunk” stories without fully hard-confirming anyone.

4. Sweetheart

• Why it works
  • Sweetheart’s death creates ongoing drunkenness somewhere.
  • Acrobat can “sweep” the town over several nights, checking for who’s the Sweetheart‑drunk.
• Rose Bride angle
  • In The Rose Bride, Sweetheart is used as a post‑Hermit source of extra misinformation. Pairing that with Acrobat means the town has some shot at detecting where the chaos landed, at the cost of the Acrobat’s life.

5. Vigormortis / Pukka (clue‑leaving poisons)

• Why it works
  • These demons poison, but also leave structural clues:
    • Vigormortis: minion buff, fixed spots.
    • Pukka: delayed kill.
  • Acrobat adds another layer: if you target someone who “should” be poisoned and you don’t die, maybe they weren’t poisoned after all (Innkeeper? Courtier? wrong assumption?).
• Design insight (from The Rose Bride)
  • Using demons that telegraph poisoning lets Acrobat be useful without drowning the script in ambiguous Poisoner‑style noise.

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Underused Synergies

These tend to be more niche, or require the ST to think carefully about messaging and balance, but they create very rich puzzles.

1. Hermit / Drunk / Damsel (“Hermit‑Drunk‑Damsel” package)

• Why it’s interesting
  • In The Rose Bride, Hermit secretly inherits Drunk and Damsel:
    • They’re unknowingly the Damsel.
    • Their ability is “malfunctioning” (drunk).
  • Acrobat can:
    • Systematically check suspected drunk players and die if they’re right.
    • In particular, help confirm who isn’t the Hermit by dying on non-Hermit drunk/poisoned targets (Innkeeper drinks, Sweetheart drunks, etc.).
• Design consequence
  • Acrobat becomes a Hermit‑finder by exclusion: it doesn’t tell you who the Hermit is, but it can tell you who is demonstrably getting abnormal status, shrinking the candidate pool.

2. Courtier

• Why it works
  • Courtier makes a character drunk for 3 nights.
  • Acrobat can:
    • Choose the Courtier’s claimed target to see if the “three‑night drunk” is real.
    • Or choose the Courtier themselves to see if their ability went off / if they’re lying.
• Interesting pattern
  • You get multi‑night planning puzzles: “If we want Acro to test Courtier’s claim, who drinks first, and when?”

3. Philosopher

• Why it works (in theory)
  • Philo can become a copy of a role; depending on your rules, they can also die or be made drunk by that interaction or others.
  • Acrobat checking the Philo’s claimed target or the Philo themselves can create confirmation chains:
    • “Philo became Innkeeper; Acrobat picked the same players; do we see consistent deaths?”
• Why it’s tricky (Rose Bride lesson)
  • In The Rose Bride, players almost always used Philosopher to become Grandmother on night 2 for raw confirmation, crowding out the more subtle “hide the Hermit / drunk” play.
  • If you include both, be ready for Philo to steal the spotlight from Acrobat as the primary confirmation tool.

4. Boffin

• Why it works
  • Boffin can tinker with abilities such that players get unexpected results, often mimicking poison/drunk without actually poisoning.
  • Acrobat’s “I die if you’re drunk/poisoned” doesn’t trigger on Boffin changes (unless your house rules say so), which:
    • Creates clever fake‑outs: apparent “poisoning” that didn’t set off the Acrobat.
    • Forces players to consider “Is this real poison/drunk or Boffin mischief?”
• Good scripts for this
  • Ones with flexible info characters (Fisherman, Savant, High Priestess, Gossip), exactly like The Rose Bride’s base Townsfolk lineup.

5. Organ Grinder

• Why it works
  • Organ Grinder hides or distorts abilities/communication, making it unclear who actually acted or what the real ability text is.
  • Acrobat hunting for “the person whose ability isn’t behaving right” becomes a meta‑read: if you see no Acrobat deaths despite clear chaos, maybe it’s OG, not real drunk/poison status.

6. Marionette / Spy

• Spy
  • Registering Spy as Drunk to Acrobat can create extremely deceptive confirmations:
    • Acrobat keeps dying on the Spy, and town assumes genuine drunk/poison.
• Marionette
  • The Marionette, believing they’re just drunk, may be outed if Acrobat keeps “failing” to die on them, or vice versa.
  • It makes “I’m just drunk” a dangerous cover if Acro is in play.

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Almost Never Works With…

These combinations tend to collapse puzzles or over‑simplify deductions, unless you have very deliberate counter‑play.

1. No Dashii

• Problem
  • No Dashii has two fixed poisoned Townsfolk linked to their seat.
  • Acrobat’s repeated successes/failures on specific seats can:
    • Rapidly narrow down exactly who is poisoned.
    • And by extension, where the No Dashii must be.
• Net effect
  • Acro acts like a poison detector that undermines No Dashii’s core identity: “We don’t know who’s poisoned”.

2. Lleech

• Problem
  • Lleech has a single host who must stay alive; poison is tied to that host.
  • Acrobat can:
    • Check multiple candidates over nights; consistent deaths on one line can give away the host, or the poisoned Townsfolk pattern.
  • Particularly oppressive in small games: you inadvertently hand town a guided host‑finding tool.

3. Puzzlemaster

• Problem
  • Puzzlemaster already offers a structured “one person is drunk, find them” mini‑game.
  • Adding Acrobat:
    • Risks trivializing the puzzle by letting Acro just sweep people until they die on the correct target.
    • Or forces you as ST to warp poison/drunk application just to preserve difficulty.
• Conclusion
  • Both roles try to give a single, “find the drunk” puzzle. Putting them together often just creates overlap rather than synergy.

4. Heavy, flexible poison (Poisoner, generic Vig/Po/No‑Dashii + Boffin + Sweetheart, etc.)

• Problem
  • If everyone might be drunk or poisoned and it moves constantly, Acrobat’s signal becomes white noise.
  • Or, if you let Acrobat “hard‑scan poisoning” while Poisoner can point at anyone, town gets a too‑reliable nightly poison detector.
• Takeaway
  • Acrobat thrives where poisoning is:
    • Limited in volume, and/or
    • Has visible structure (e.g., only via demons like Vigormortis/Pukka),
      exactly like The Rose Bride does.

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Ease Of Fitting On Scripts: 7/10

Why it’s not a plug‑and‑play 10/10

• Acrobat is night‑death‑generating confirmation. That’s potent:
  • If no other night kills exist, Acrobat’s death almost self‑confirms them and their last target.
  • If there are too many unstructured sources of drunk/poison, Acrobat becomes unreadable noise.
• It needs:
  • Some additional kill pressure (e.g. Godfather, Assassin, multikill demons, Gossip, Gambler) so extra deaths are not trivially “that was Acro”.
  • A limited, structured drunk/poison ecosystem, so players can actually reason from Acro deaths.

Why it’s still relatively easy (and very rewarding) to use

• Acrobat slots very naturally into:
  • Multikill packages: e.g. Grandmother/Gambler/Gossip/Godfather/Assassin/Tinker (minus Tinker if you don’t want random explosions, as in The Rose Bride).
  • Scripts whose central puzzle is “who is drunk or poisoned?”:
    • Hermit/Drunk/Damsel concepts.
    • Sweetheart / Innkeeper / Sailor / Courtier interplay.
• As The Rose Bride shows:
  • You don’t need a Poisoner or No Dashii to make Acrobat shine; in fact, avoiding them help keep its puzzle laser‑focused.
  • It excels when its main job is ruling people out of a special status (e.g. “not the Hermit”, “not the Sweetheart‑drunk”) rather than just “find any drunk”.

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Quick Checklist for Script Writers Tinkering With Acrobat

Use this as a design sanity check:

1. How many deaths per night are possible?
   • 0–1 extra: consider adding Godfather/Assassin/Gossip/Gambler so Acro’s death isn’t uniquely obvious.
   • 3+ extra: will players even notice which death might be Acro?
2. Where does drunk/poison come from?
   • Prefer:
     • Demons with structured poison (Vigormortis, Pukka).
     • Clear good‑side sources (Innkeeper, Sailor, Sweetheart, Courtier, Hermit‑drunk variants).
   • Avoid:
     • Very flexible Poisoner + No Dashii + Sweetheart + Boffin all at once.
3. Do you also have another “find the drunk” role (Puzzlemaster)?
   • If yes, expect Acrobat to either overshadow or be overshadowed. Usually pick one.
4. Is there a danger of it hard‑solving your demon (Lleech/No Dashii)?
   • If yes, plan counter‑play:
     • Assassin, evil‑side extra kills, or ST‑controlled framing kills.
5. Does the script’s main puzzle reward ruling people out?
   • If your core concept is like The Rose Bride’s Hermit puzzle, Acrobat is an excellent fit.

Alchemist – Synergistic Scripting Guide

Ease Of Fitting On Scripts: 3/10
The Alchemist is notoriously difficult to build scripts around. While flexible in theory, its ability to wield a Minion power as a good player creates fundamental balance issues. Many Minion abilities are either uninteresting, broken, or fundamentally opposed to good alignment when given to a Townsfolk. Script-building requires careful curation of which Minions are available.

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Classic Synergies

Alchemist + Goblin: The quintessential pairing. An Alchemist-Goblin creates a public claim dynamic where the good team must decide whether to execute their own powerful Townsfolk. This creates fascinating game theory and forces evil to consider counter-claims. Works best with a death-avoiding Demon like Zombuul or Po.

Alchemist + Cerenovus: Creates controlled madness. The Alchemist can force a player to be mad about being a specific character, which can be used to confirm players (by making them mad about a character they actually are) or to force evil players into difficult positions. Requires careful ST management to prevent abuse.

Alchemist + Devil’s Advocate: Provides strategic protection to key good players. The Alchemist can protect the Virgin, Slayer, or other important Townsfolk from execution. Particularly strong in scripts where good has powerful once-per-game abilities.

Alchemist + Psychopath/Witch (killing Minions): While controversial, these create a “vigilante” role. The Alchemist can kill suspected evil players, but risks hitting good. Creates high-stakes deduction and forces the Alchemist to gather convincing evidence before acting. Works best in high-interaction scripts.

Alchemist + Fearmonger: An advanced pairing where the Alchemist can create win conditions for evil, forcing careful selection of targets. Creates intense mind games and requires deep game understanding.

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Underused Synergies

Alchemist + Godfather: An excellent information tool. The Alchemist learns which Outsiders are in play at the start, directly confirming outsider count and sometimes specific characters. This is often better than Alchemist-Baron, which only confirms count via setup adjustment.

Alchemist + Evil Twin + Recluse: The Alchemist can be set as the Recluse’s “Evil Twin” at setup. This creates immediate mechanical confusion – the Alchemist appears as evil to the Twin, but is actually good. Advanced setup manipulation that rewards careful play.

Alchemist + Boffin + Poppy Grower: A devastating combo for evil. If the Demon is a Poppy Grower, the Alchemist-Boffin can give the Demon a Minion ability without revealing the Demon’s teammates. Exceptionally punishing for evil and should be used sparingly.

Alchemist + Harpy + Leviathan: Creates confirmation mechanics. The Alchemist can “Harpy-madden” players about being specific characters, and in a Leviathan game, players willing to die to confirm their role become powerful information sources.

Alchemist + Scarlet Woman: A subtle pairing where the Alchemist knows the Demon can’t die unless there are fewer than 5 players alive. This becomes strategic late-game information that can guide execution decisions.

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Almost Never Works With ____

Grimoire Peekers (Spy/Widow/Wraith): Even with official jinxes, these interactions are problematic. A good player seeing the grim fundamentally breaks the social deduction aspect. The jinxes that make the information unreliable don’t fully solve the core issue. Most scriptbuilders avoid these pairings entirely.

Pit-Hag: Creates game-breaking potential. An Alchemist could theoretically turn players into Demons, ending the game instantly. While the “choose differently” clause prevents this, it feels arbitrary and unsatisfying. The transformative power is simply too volatile for good alignment.

Poisoner: Fundamentally contradictory. A good player poisoning others undermines their own team. The “choose differently” patch makes the ability essentially non-functional in practice.

Mezepheles/Summoner: Recruitment abilities don’t make sense for a good player. What does an Alchemist-Meze even do? Convert someone to… good? These require too much narrative bending.

Organ Grinder: The official jinx creates an interesting “game of chicken” but consumes excessive game bandwidth. Most players find it more frustrating than fun.

Mastermind: What does an Alchemist-Mastermind accomplish? Delaying the game after a Demon execution helps evil, not good. The ability is alignment-contradictory.

Baron (in some contexts): While Alchemist-Baron confirms outsider count, it can be redundant with other outsider-manipulators. In scripts with lots of outsider manipulation (Godfather, Balloonist, etc.), it becomes noisy rather than helpful.

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Design Philosophy & Tips

1. Curate Your Minion List: When including Alchemist, limit Minions to those with abilities that make narrative sense for a good player to wield. Goblin, Cerenovus, Devil’s Advocate, and Godfather are generally safe.
2. Consider the Demon: The Demon choice matters immensely. With an Alchemist-Goblin, a Zombuul or Po creates tension about when to execute. With an Alchemist-Cerenovus, a Vortox creates madness layers.
3. Provide Counterplay: Evil needs tools against a known Alchemist. Include poisoning, drunkenness, and misinformation characters to keep the Alchemist’s information/power in check.
4. Beware Confirmation Chains: Alchemist can create circular confirms with other characters. An Alchemist-Godfather confirming outsiders combined with a Clockmaker or Chef can solve the game too quickly.
5. Embrace the “Choose Differently”: This ST discretion is essential for balancing problematic Minions. Don’t shy from using it to prevent game-breaking plays, but be consistent in your application.

Final Thought: The Alchemist is a high-risk, high-reward character for scriptbuilding. When it works (as in Sects & Violets), it creates unforgettable games. When mismatched, it breaks scripts entirely. Always ask: “Does this Minion ability tell an interesting story when wielded by a good player?” If yes, include it. If no, leave it out.