It is the year 1693, in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. You have been informed there is a Witch amongst you. Find out who the Witch is and burn them before the sixth night to save the town from an eternal curse!
In my hidden role game, players will work together to figure out who amongst them secretly possesses Satanic power. The Witch will have allies too–a familiar or two who will protect and aid her on her quest for vengeance. Witches have been oppressed for far too long! She now wishes to give the townsfolk of Salem a taste of their own medicine by casting the Curse of Loss. However, she has been suspected, and must first pass tests in the five day witch trial to avoid being burned. Among the witch-hunting townsfolk, there is a Fool, who attempts to convince the others that he practices witchcraft; a Sheriff, who may conduct investigations throughout the night to discover who has been casting curses; and of course the Reverend Samuel Parris, who can use his priestly powers to save one civilian from a curse in the night. Additionally, there will be a rotating Judge role (kinda like jury duty), who will decide which suspected townsfolk will be tested in the trials of daybreak. Townsfolk can voice their accusations and even burn suspected witches if they gather four sticks to build a pyre. However, each witch hunter only has three sticks with which to vote, and must use them wisely. This game is for any hidden-role fanatic who wishes to relive the glorious year of 1692. Some of the test categories work best with friends, so it’s best to play with a group you know some details about. Because of the complex structure of the game, and some of the content matter, it would probably not be suitable for children, so I recommend ages 15+.
RULES:
First, the game will be divided into night sections and day sections, mediated by the Game Master. The night sections will come first, allowing players to act in their secret roles.
Night
Every role who works at night will be instructed when to awake by the Game Master. After the actions of each role has been carried out, the Judge will instruct them to fall back to sleep before the next character awakens. The first player to awake will be the Sheriff, and will be given an opportunity to accuse one player of being the witch; the Game Master will then either confirm or deny the Sheriff’s suspicions with a head nod or shake. The second player to wake will be the Reverend. The Reverend will point at a player they wish to save from a curse. The next role to awake is the Witch. When the Witch wakes up, the Game Master will turn over a curse and test card. However, if the Witch suspects a Sheriff, she can signal to the GM with a thumbs down to forgo the curse, then point to whom she thinks the Sheriff is. If she is correct the Sheriff will be dead upon the next morning. If the Witch chooses to cast the curse, she will then point at 1-2 players to curse, based on the ramifications of the curse. The final player to wake will be the Judge, who can see the new test card and then will point to the players whom they want to test. Once everyone has fallen back to sleep, the GM will pass out the appropriate prompt cards to all sleeping players. The nights will go on like this until the final night when the Witch curses the whole town.
***In the very first night, the Witch will keep her hand up after falling back to sleep so that the Familiar(s) can briefly wake up to identify the Witch and their fellow Familiars.
Day
When the procession of the night has played out, the GM will instruct all players to wake up. First, the GM will reveal what curse, if any, has been cast, and if warranted, who has fallen subject to the curse. Then the GM will reveal whom the Judge has decided to test. There are 5 different types of tests, for each player will receive a prompt and the witch a different but similar prompt. Draw Something gives players prompts to draw a specific object. Name Someone requires everyone in the room to point at an individual after 5 seconds pass. Number games require everyone in the room to put up a number of fingers based on the prompt. True or False requires players to raise their hand if the statement is true, or if it is false keep their hands down. The final test is Fill in the Blank in which players will complete a phrase or answer a question. The GM will instruct all players to turn over their prompt cards. For Name Someone and Number Games, the GM will simply count down from 3 to prompt all players to either point or hold up numbers at the same time. For all other prompts, the GM will start a timer for 15 seconds, at the end of which all players will reveal what they have written or drawn in their notebooks. Once all answers have been revealed, players are free to discuss their suspicions or argue their cases. At the end of the day, the Judge card is passed to the next player.
Voting
After the daily testing players can accuse anyone they want. Players are allowed to defend themselves. However, if players are able to get four sticks together they will burn that player. After being burned the player can no longer speak or participate in tests. Players can use all their sticks, but if they run out of sticks they can no longer vote, but may continue regular gameplay otherwise. If everyone runs out of sticks, the Witch wins. So be careful who you burn! There is no limit on the number of burnings that can be carried out in one day, except on the final day in which only one burning can take place. Players can forgo a vote if they do not feel confident in burning anyone. If players succeed in burning the Witch, the Witch loses and the community prevails. If all players fail to burn the Witch before the end of the fifth day, the Witch prevails and casts the eternal Curse of Loss on the whole town.
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