Legion
Legion (Demon): Each night*, a player might die. Executions fail if only evil voted. You register as a Minion too. [Most players are Legion]
During setup, ignore the normal character distribution going into the bag. Instead, make at least 50% of the players Legion - the recommendation is for the number of good and evil players to be reversed from the normal character distribution (so a 10-player game should have around 7 Legion & 3 good players). Bear in mind there must be an absolute minimum of 2 good players. Choose any combination of Townsfolk and Outsiders for the good players (also recommended to have only one Outsider at most, preferably none).
During the Demon info setup, wake all Legion at once, allow them all to make eye contact, then show them all the same three out-of-play characters. (see “Minion/Demon info” below for more advanced options)
Each Legion registers as a Minion as well as a Demon, so they can be shown to an Investigator/Undertaker etc as any specific Minion token instead of Legion (and this is recommended, given the ST typically wants to be helping Legion deceive town as to whether Legion is in play).
Each night going forward, you may choose a player to die, but do not have to. This player should almost always be Legion. You should generally kill every night unless you have a strong reason not to, as this is what Demons ordinarily do.
During nominations, if only Legion vote, the vote tally for that nomination was zero. If at least one good player (dead or alive) votes, all votes count. Bear in mind that in terms of hands up, the successful nomination might have fewer hands up than others (ex. one good player votes with four Legion to achieve the minimum of 5. On a separate vote 7 Legion voted, but this counted as zero, so the player with 5 votes is executed). Make use of the Legion “about to die” reminder token to keep track.
Voting summary:
Generally, if there is ever only one good player left alive, Legion wins (as good can no longer win). If you have a situation with one good player, one Legion, and one evil non-Demon (ex. Evil Townsfolk due to a Bounty Hunter, evil non-Demon created by an Alchemist Pit-Hag, etc.), the game continues as good can win by executing the last remaining Legion.
As soon as the votes are tallied, announce that there were zero votes for that nomination.
This is the easiest option. There is less mental load for the Storyteller. New Storytellers to Legion are advised to do this, at least until they get more familiar with the character. It’s fairly simple and doesn’t require the Storyteller to remember too many things at once.
However, the good team can exploit this option. If the good team finds out that Legion is in play, they can direct certain players to vote and certain players not to, in order to find out who is Legion. For example, if they know Legion is in play, they may say, “We need 4 votes to execute. John, Ben, Sally, and Julie - please vote. If the vote fails, we know you are all Legion. If the vote succeeds, then we know that one of you is good, and we’ll get John, Ben, David, Megan, and Emily to vote. And if the vote succeeds…” etc. This is not fun for the Legion players, or, particularly, for the good players. Even if players don’t believe Legion is in play, this strategy would become a default way to begin games, and be a huge time drag on non-Legion games, too. This is also not fun. I would recommend discussing this with your players before you start a game with Legion on the script, and agree whether it’s acceptable, with a strong emphasis that it’s more fun all around if players agree not to do this.
Only tell the town which nomination succeeds at the point of execution.
Announce each vote’s tally based on how many players have their hands up and claim that a player is “on the block” if they have the most hands in the air regardless of whether this vote tally actually counts as zero or not, using the “about to die” reminder token in the Grimoire to track which nomination is actually successful.
This isn’t really gameable by the good team. They are encouraged to execute the players they genuinely believe to be evil, because they only find out once per day what the result of their actions are. This is much more fun for all players. It is also a “wow” moment when the player you thought was about to die doesn’t, and another player dies instead. However, this method is more difficult to run.
All Legion wake to make eye contact. It sometimes helps to just point out the good players (instead of pointing out who the evil players are). Because there are fewer good players, they are easier for the Legion players to remember.
If Legion is registering as a Demon, give them each 3 bluffs. Generally, these would all be the same bluffs, but it is permissible to register them all as different Demon players and give them different/overlapping bluffs.
You can make Legion register as a Minion too. Not giving any Legion players any bluffs at all means that Legion players really have to work for their meal. They will double up bluffs with other Legion, or even double up with good players. This makes for a very interesting game, more exciting than a group of passive Legion players saying their character and then fading into the background. Not giving Legion bluffs also makes the first night go much quicker, which is nice, but also doesn’t give the good players a clue that Legion is in play, thus helping Legion.
The Legion character text is quite squished already. It’s difficult to put everything in there that needs to be. I want storytellers to have the option to not give Legion bluffs or give them all bluffs if they want. You can read the Legion text this way or not, but that is the intent of the character. -Steve
Remember to keep the length of the nights similar to what it would be if Legion is not in play. This way, good players won’t get a clue as to Legion’s existence because the night was impossibly short.
That good player can never win, because when just 3 players live, there will be one good player and two Legion, so it will be impossible for the good team to execute all living Demons before the evil team meets their win condition of just two living players.
Legion vastly outnumber the good players. Your aim as a Storyteller should be to get the game to a final day with 2 good players and 1 Legion player. If there is ever only one good player alive with 2 Legion, good can’t win. And if there are 3 good players alive in final 3, evil can’t win. So, to get the game to 2 good + 1 Legion, you will be killing Legion almost every night. This is fine! The dead Legion players should have a blast saying, “Well, I died at night, so you know I’m good…”
I recommend only killing a good player at night if there are more than 2 good players alive, and good is really stomping Legion. If in doubt, kill an evil player tonight and kill a good player later in the game to bring the final day down to just 2 good players. That final day vote is the most exciting, so it sometimes takes a little engineering to get there.
Of course, feel free to mix this up to keep your players on their toes! If you always follow these rules, then whenever the players find out it is a Legion game, they can say, “Well, you died early in the game, so you must be evil,” and that is pretty boring. If you want, add an extra good player in the game on setup and kill them on the 2nd night, just to throw a group of veteran players off the scent. As a Storyteller, be a good host and help the evil team bluff, but also mix things up and act unpredictably so that your players can’t make assumptions about what “should” happen.
No. This would spoil the fun. Legion is interesting because evil has a huge bonus - numbers. But also a huge penalty - powerlessness. Also, the lack of Minion activity is a clue to the good players that something is off.
Minions or evil non-Legion characters can sometimes enter the game due to character abilities, such as the Bounty Hunter, an Alchemist with the Pit-Hag or Mezepheles abilities, or an evil Traveller. But I recommend getting very familiar with Legion and how it is balanced first, before putting unstable and unusual characters into the mix. As a Storyteller, your responsibility is to make fun games for your players, not unbalanced games to test an idea (unless your players are into that kind of thing).
By a strict, technical reading of the character text, there is nothing preventing you from adding a Minion. But it’s more fun for everyone if you don’t. By the same token (pun intended), you could make a game with 14 Legion players and a Saint, but I don’t recommend it.
Some characters aren’t great with Legion. Blood on the Clocktower was originally designed for 5 to 9 players, with 1 Demon and 1 Minion. With hundreds of characters (and more to come!), any character that really changes those rules is bound to have some weird and sometimes janky interactions. If you find a character that either works poorly with Legion, or is simply boring with Legion (Butler, anyone?), then don’t use it.
However, such characters are sometimes really good to have on the script but not put in play, and instead give as bluffs to Legion players. While being a Lycanthrope in a Legion game might be frustrating (or fantastic!), it's’ a hell of a game to have two Legion players both claiming to be the Lycanthrope. Or, using the Butler example from before: sure, being a Butler in a Legion game might suck, but being a Legion pretending to be a Butler and continually picking the same good player over and over to build trust… that could be pretty interesting.
If something is a bit meh with Legion, find something better. If it is completely broken, we’ll use the Djinn and add a jinx to fix it. Or, even better, have the Djinn make the interaction work in a new and interesting way.
Balloonist: Sees a different character type every night. Since Legion can register as Minions and Demons, you can show Legion players multiple nights in a row by having one player register as a Minion, and then the next player register as a Demon to the Balloonist.
Bounty Hunter: Turns one of your limited Townsfolk evil. Votes still need a good player’s vote to pass - the evil Townsfolk doesn’t count!
Chambermaid: Legion players never wake to their own ability.
Clockmaker: Learns the number of steps between the two closest Legion.
Courtier: If there are multiple copies of the same character in play and the Courtier chooses that character, the Storyteller chooses ONE player with that character to become drunk, not all of them. Therefore, when the Courtier chooses Legion, all the Courtier ability does is allow one of the Legion to not register as a Minion.
Cult Leader: If evil, their votes don’t count if only evil votes.
Dreamer/Juggler/Gambler/Ravenkeeper/Undertaker: If they select or learn about a Legion player, they can see a minion as the evil character - Legion registers as a Minion the same way the Recluse does.
Engineer (Jinx): Legion and the Engineer can not both be in play at the start of the game. If the Engineer creates Legion, most players (including all evil players) become evil Legion.
Exorcist: If they select a Legion player, it doesn’t prevent death as Legion players do not wake.
Flowergirl: Any Legion who votes for a nomination counts as a Yes to the Flowergirl, regardless of whether the vote tally ended up being zero.
Fool: Unlike the normal guidance, where a Storyteller shouldn’t generally sink ST-choice kills into the Fool, with Legion this can be a good thing and should be done more often.
Fortune Teller: So many Yeses! All those Legion, plus one Red Herring…
Investigator: Can see a Legion and any other player, and be shown any Minion token.
Lycanthrope: Very dangerous for the good team, but incredibly effective at verifying Legion - if they kill even one good player they’re putting town at risk, but if lots of deaths don’t follow their choices, they have a strong indication of a Legion game or a Poisoner in play.
Minstrel (Jinx): If Legion died by execution today, Legion keeps their ability, but the Minstrel might learn they are Legion.
Preacher (Jinx): If the Preacher chooses Legion, Legion keeps their ability, but the Preacher might learn they are Legion.
Sage: Any Legion player can be one of the two players shown to the Sage.
Sailor/Sweetheart/Innkeeper: Individually drunk Legion simply don’t register as Minions, but the voting requirement is still in effect from the sober Legion.
Slayer: Fish. Barrel.
Snake Charmer: See Slayer - but more suicidal. Incredibly bluffable as a Legion player, though, given Legion generally don’t mind being executed to sell a bluff.
Town Crier: Legion register as Minions too, so expect a lot of Yes!
Barber: If a Barber dies in a Legion game, the Storyteller picks any one Legion player to choose whether to make a swap or not.
Goon: Legion can never flip the Goon as they never choose players with their ability.
Hatter (Jinx): If the Hatter dies and Legion is in play, nothing happens. If the Hatter dies and an evil player chooses Legion, all current evil players become Legion.
Lunatic: Needs the right script. However, since the Lunatic can see a different Demon to the one actually in play, it’s feasible to convince the Lunatic they are the Demon and for Legion to manipulate them into being the good vote they need to pass executions. This needs the Storyteller to play along a bit with kills, but otherwise there’s a massive group of Legion that will happily play along with the Lunatic as “Minions”. All Legion know who the Lunatic is, as they all register as Demon to the Lunatic ability.
Politician: Can vote for every execution to help Legion as the single good vote and turn evil - once the Politician knows it’s a Legion game, this is fairly easy, so probably not the best to put on a script together.
Summoner (Jinx): If the Summoner creates Legion, most players (including all evil players) become evil Legion.
Other evil characters: Unless there is an Alchemist Pit-Hag in play, Legion can only be in play with Minions or other Demons if an evil Pit-Hag created Legion. And I would say to that Pit-Hag: WTF?!
Apprentice: Can also be a Legion!
The only hard rule is that you need at least 2 good players. As soon as there is only 1 good player alive, then the good team cannot win, because as soon as this good player and one Legion player remain alive, evil wins. The good player can never kill the final Legion because evil wins when 2 players are alive.
I recommend putting the same number of good players in the game as you would normally have evil players, i.e. the numbers are reversed. 2 good players and 5 evil for a 7 player game. If you have 15 players, then 4 good players. This is about the best number, but it also means that over time, your players will have more clues when playing a Legion game. If you stick to this rule, then when a good player realises it is Legion, they know how many other good players to find. At least, they have a good guess.
This is all assuming that you are putting Townsfolk in the game, but not Outsiders. Townsfolk work best with Legion.
Sure.
Generally, I recommend adding Outsiders once you have your Townsfolk already decided, and each additional Outsider replaces a Legion. For example, 2 Townsfolk and 1 Outsider and 5 Legion in an 8 player game.
Outsiders are not ideal for Legion games though, as it is more fun if each good player knows something - anything. The fun of being good in a Legion game is having that one piece of information (for example, that both your neighbors are evil) and having pretty much all other players telling you that you are wrong… but sticking by your guts and going against the crowd.
Information characters work best in a Legion game. Or at least, characters with a power-type ability that grants information by alternate means, like the Slayer, Virgin, or Gossip.
You can put Outsiders in, but be aware that your good players will be flying blind, so will need something to help them get a handle on what is happening, like a Librarian. Otherwise, all they have is body language to go on.
No. But unless there is a good reason not to, do so.
Your role as the Storyteller is to make a Legion game look like a normal game. Demons usually kill one player per night, so keep up the pretence! If there is a character in play such as a Monk or Soldier, then I would definitely have at least one night where you don’t kill a player. Even though their ability had no real effect, the player thinks that it did, and that gives them information to use. If there are no characters like the Monk or Soldier in play, but the Legion players are bluffing as the Monk or Soldier, then having a night with no deaths really helps the evil team bluff! If evil is losing badly, then doing this can really give them a fighting chance.
If there is some other reason that a Demon would choose to attack a dead player, then by all means have a night with no death. That will at least get the players talking about why. Another reason to have a night with no death is if the good team are losing badly. A completely nonsensical no-death night might prompt them to ask, “Wait a minute, why did that happen? Do you think it is Legion?” Also, if you do this every so often, then in games where Legion is not in play, Demon players may attack dead players to make it look like Legion is in play.
It really depends on your group, and what they expect.
Yes.
This makes dead good players extremely powerful. Encourage your good players to use their vote VERY wisely when Legion is on the script! They may hold the fate of the game in their hands without even knowing it!
If one or more good players vote, the vote tally is normal. For example, if 2 good players and 8 Legion vote, the vote tally is 10.
If no good players vote, then the vote tally is zero. For example, if no good players and 7 Legion vote, the vote tally is 0. But remember, the Storyteller can pretend that the vote tally is 7, and won’t tell the group that this vote tally is bogus.
You tell me!
The best advice I’ll give is to have some other characters on the script that hide Legion’s existence. Single-kill Demons such as the Imp or Pukka work well. You don’t need all four Demons to be this way. Just enough for the good players to be asking, “Do you think it is Legion?”
For the good players, the first big fun moment of a Legion game lies first of all in that “aha!” moment when they find out it is Legion. It’s great. The second big fun moment is the final day vote, when the isolated good player has spent all their time and energy trying to find the single other good player that they trust.
It’s also really fun when the good team never finds out that it is Legion. This will usually mean that good loses, but the surprise afterwards is worth it!
In rare circumstances, it can be fun to have a game where the good team knows that Legion is in play from day one, by not having characters like the Imp on the script. Each lonely good player wakes, looks around, and knows that 90% or more of the people around them are lying, right off the bat. And all the Legion players are pretending to be good players that know that Legion is in play. This is a really unique and fascinating game. But not every time.
As for good characters to combine with Legion, there are so many. I recommend very powerful good characters, particularly those that get information every day or night or act every day or night. This way, the good team gets to constantly update their information as the game progresses. They get better or worse information based on what happens in the game. The Empath or Savant are more interesting than the Investigator or the Chef, for example. With Legion, encourage your good players to be as active as possible - and the best way to do this is with characters that have something important to do each day.
Information Townsfolk work well. If their information is about evil players, then keep those evil players alive, so that the good team has an interesting final day. The same goes for information about good characters. If the Fortune Teller knows that Joe is not the Demon, and you kill Joe on the first night, then the Fortune Teller doesn’t really know anything of use for the final day. It’s much more interesting to have the Fortune Teller know that Joe is not the Demon, and have Joe decide whether this is a lie or not.
I also like putting Townsfolk in that have some way to figure out that Legion is in play. Add a Slayer and a Recluse to your Legion game for a weird game. Maybe not a great game. Add a Ravenkeeper and kill them early in the game, and you’ll guarantee that the good players learn that it is a Legion game, if that’s what you want. Add an Artist or a Savant and see what happens.
I’ve found the best characters for a Legion game to be those that have “something to go on”. Some one piece of information that will seem wrong for the whole game, because all the other players are telling them it is wrong. Either this player believes what the others are telling them, and that they are wrong, and evil wins, or they stick to their guns and believe what the Storyteller is telling them and disbelieve the group, and good wins. That’s the idea, anyway. Since each Legion game only has a few good characters, we really haven’t scratched the surface of what works and what doesn’t yet. Experiment, and find what works for you.
Often, the most important question is what characters go well with each other, when it is a Legion game?
Having a Saint sucks. But a Saint and a Librarian? That could work.
Having an Investigator doesn’t give much information by itself. But an Investigator and an Undertaker? Their information starts to combine.