These roles were created to both give plain old villagers something to look forward to if they get eaten and to give the village more clues to who the bad guys are when playing lots of teams that kill. Many also add a whimsical aside to the game, but beware the more powerful ghosts will usually ‘out’ one of the other teams, so you’ll need to play with more Werewolves or Solo roles than usual.
The ghosts give the moderator a lot of leeway; if the Werewolves are making mincemeat of the village you can be liberal or if the village are out in front then limit or delay their power. Whichever, remind the players that the ghosts must never speak or signal outside the method of communication they are given, and players can’t show their cards during play to prove they are a ghost. You may also want to play that ghosts executed by the village lose their power or may choose to side with the Werewolves and purposely misdirect the village.
To make moderation easier, all of the ghost cards have an extra symbol on them. When a player with the symbol on their card discovers they have died in the night (or day if you are allowing it) they can make a creepy ghostly noise to alert the moderator to the fact they will need to deal with the ghost at the beginning of the next night. This means the moderator doesn’t need to call the ghosts or even know who they are.
Artist
At the beginning of the night after the Artist is eaten, they are given a pen and paper and have until the end of that night to draw (no writing!) a single player. The moderator calls the roles in the usual order, so the Artist may not have very long to see who is who and do their drawing, particularly if the Werewolves are sly and choose their victim quickly. The Artist mustn’t react when the villagers try to guess who they drew.
Dressmaker
The night after they die the dressmaker must carefully watch the night time activity. First thing in the morning (or the start of the next evening if the moderator wants to slow things down) the village all agree what question to ask (usually answered by knocking once for yes, twice for no). For instance, are any of the Werewolves wearing glasses? Is the Cannibal wearing jeans?
Herbalist
This role is useful for longer games where the Witch’s potions get used up all too quickly. A clever herbalist might even sacrifice themselves by getting the Werewolves to think s/he is the Seer or Defender. Depending on the run of the game, the moderator can decide whether the potions are immediately replenished or whether the witch has to spend a night collecting the herbs.
Librarian
When some players are too noisy, the Librarian is an excellent role to have in play. The moderator can decide whether the Librarian acts on their preconceptions or can watch a night’s activity before choosing who to silence. They’ll usually silence a Werewolf or other miscreant, but sometimes will pick someone in revenge. Until released by the moderator, the chosen player can’t speak, but can still vote.
Ghost Wolf
Not all Ghosts are good. The Ghost Wolf plays as a normal Werewolf until they die. The first night after they die they get to watch the nocturnal proceedings, and can stalk around the village making everyone nervous. Finally just before daybreak they stand next to a player and let out their blood curdling howl. They may use this to hint at the location of the Seer or simply to scare a particular player.
Potter
Have a couple of colours of some plasticine or similar ready on a plate. During the night after the Potter dies they get to watch the nocturnal activity and try to model one of the Werewolves or other solo teams. In the morning show it around the players and let them try to guess who it is, while the Potter remains silent and stone-faced.
More coming soon…
