Tragedy Looper Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• To Begin With
  • Goal for the Protagonists
  • Goal for the Mastermind
  • For newcomers
• Components and Game Overview
  • Game Boards (2 pcs)
  • Anatomy of a character card
  • Action Cards (34 pcs)
• Card List
  • Protagonist Cards
  • Mastermind Cards
• Counters (118 pcs)
• Game Rules
  • I. Victory Conditions
  • II. Preparations
    • How to look at the script card
    • How to create a script
  • III. Preparing the Loop
  • IV. Flow of One Loop
  • V. End of the Loop
  • VI. Final Guess
• What's a Tragedy Set?
  • How to read the plot list
  • How to read the role list
  • How to read the Incident list
• First Steps
  • Major rule changes
  • First Steps — Main Plots
  • First Steps — Subplots
  • First Steps — Roles
  • First Steps — Incidents
• Basic Tragedy
  • Basic Tragedy — Main Plots
  • Basic Tragedy — Subplots
  • Basic Tragedy — Roles
  • General info about the roles
  • Basic Tragedy — Incidents
• Rules for 2 Players
• Rules for 3 Players
• Turn Summary
• Credits

To Begin With

Goal for the Protagonists

Your goal is to break out of the time loop maze and create a happy future. But you don't know who is who, you don't know what is what, and you don't even know how to win! However, you have the ability to travel back in time so you can replay the same script multiple times! The script remains the same; the only thing that changes is how much you've learned. And you only have to be victorious once!

Goal for the Mastermind

Your goal is to trigger tragedies and feast your eyes upon misery. You have all the information, but you have to win every single loop. And that means you have to adapt to the knowledge gained by the Protagonists. Being the Mastermind is more complicated than being a Protagonist: you must have all the plots, all the hidden roles in your mind, in order to play out your plan smoothly. And when the Protagonists lose every loop, the taste of victory is so much sweeter!

For newcomers

Tragedy Looper is a very deep game that you can enjoy on many levels. However, due to the many choices you have, it's a bit hard to know how to play the first couple of times. What follows here is a guide for those who have never played this game before. Specifically, if all four players are new to the game, we strongly advise you to proceed with the following steps.

I. Choose the Mastermind. First, choose who will be the Mastermind. You should choose the one who has experience in game mastering role playing games or something similar. The Mastermind should read through this document and the Mastermind's Handbook document. The Protagonists should also read through this document to grasp the ideas of the game.

II. Teaching the game. It's best if the Mastermind tries to explain the game. The game rules are in this document, but in the Mastermind's Handbook, there is also a "game teaching guide" that one can follow, that will help a Mastermind teach the game to others.

III. Start with the "First Steps" Tragedy Set. A "Tragedy Set" is a number of plots, hidden roles and Incidents. The "First Steps" Set contents are listed later in this document, and in the Mastermind's Handbook, there are 2 pre-written scripts using this set; the first one, called The First Script, even comes with suggestions for the Mastermind on how to play out the script. Use this as your first game.

IV. Continue with the standard "Basic Tragedy" Set. Once you've played a couple of games with the First Steps set, you're ready to take on the standard game, using the Basic Tragedy Set which has a bigger setup of plots, roles and Incidents. The Basic Tragedy Set contents are also listed in this document, and in the Mastermind's Handbook you've got 8 scripts using the Basic Tragedy Set.

Components and Game Overview

First, we'll show you where all this is taking place. In this section, we'll describe the layout of the game, while introducing you to the boards, cards and tokens.

Game Boards (2 pcs)

The location board shows four locations, arranged in a 2×2 grid — Hospital and Shrine on the upper row, City and School on the lower row:

• Hospital — The place where body and soul are mended. Likewise, the place where your worst fears are confirmed. And where darkness can easily capture a weakened heart.
• Shrine — A place for worshiping the supernatural. But who is actually there – or what? Is it something that wishes us good – or ill?
• City — The nightly fortress that never sleeps, bathed in eternal neon lights. It's also the home for countless dark alleys, where evil thoughts germinate and grow.
• School — The place of learning for all young souls. But those untrained souls are often lost, fooled, and at times, open doors that should be left closed.

The data board tracks Day (Day 1 through Day 8), the Incident Loop and Extra values, and includes a turn summary:

Day	Incident Loop	Extra
Day 1	Day 1 — starts here	0
Day 2	Day 2 — starts here	1
Day 3	Day 3 — starts here	2
Day 4	Day 4 — starts here	3
Day 5	Day 5 — starts here	4
Day 6	Day 6 — starts here	5
Day 7	Day 7 — Loop	6
Day 8	Day 8 — Ending	7

Turn summary

• Morning — Start of the day
• Playing cards — Mastermind plays cards; Protagonists play cards; Cards are resolved
• Abilities — Mastermind abilities; Leader (Goodwill) abilities
• Incidents — Incidents happen
• Night — Change Leader; End of round

This game is centered around the Hospital, the Shrine, the City and the School. Each location is represented on the board.

These locations are where everything happens. The Protagonists are walking around in these locations, but do note that the Protagonists are not represented by any cards, pawns or markers.

The second board is just a data board. It keeps track of what day it is, when Incidents happen, and how many times you've looped.

In Tragedy Looper, the tragedy isn't limited to just the Protagonists. There are a lot of other important characters in these stories. Students, a Journalist, a Shrine Maiden, a Pop Idol, an Office Worker; there are a grand total of 18 different individuals that can take part in the scripts.

Each script defines what characters will be in the game and the characters are represented by cards.

These are all Non-Player Characters (NPCs). They have special abilities they'll use to help you (the Protagonists) if you form Goodwill bonds with them. For example, the Informer will reveal secret information to you.

However, that's not all they are. It's perfectly possible they have a secret role, and are involved in the script. They might be the key person who triggers the tragedy. Or, they might be the brain behind the tragedy itself. They might be a serial killer, unable to restrain themselves if they are in a situation where murder is possible. But at the start of each script, you, the Protagonists, have no idea which of the characters carries what secret. You have to experience the story, loop after loop, and come to conclusions based on the knowledge gained.

Anatomy of a character card

1. Card name

2. Paranoia limit — If the character has at least this many Paranoia counters, he/she is in a state of panic and will be able to trigger Incidents. Note: A character card can have more Paranoia tokens on it than the actual number printed on the card.

3. Locations — This signifies the starting location for the character (in white). It may also show which locations are forbidden to this character (crossed out).

4. Traits — This character's traits. Some rules and card effects refer to characters with certain traits.

5. Goodwill ability / Passive ability — These are the character's abilities, that (usually) help the Protagonists. If the character has at least as many Goodwill counters as the ability shows, the Protagonist may use that ability. Using an ability does not cause Goodwill to be removed. Abilities that are limited to once per loop can, obviously enough, only be used once per loop.

In the special case that the Mastermind player can use a Goodwill ability, he does so with the same limitations as the Protagonists.

Passive abilities are always in effect and do not need to be activated. These are not "used" by the Protagonists; instead they are resolved by the Mastermind.

A little delve into the details: about characters and corpses

Whether a character is alive or dead is shown by how the card is laid on the board. A living character is placed vertically and a dead character is placed sideways. A dead character is a "corpse" and can not use any abilities, nor has any traits, nor is it even considered a character, but any Goodwill counters they have stay where they are. There is one character in the game who can resurrect corpses.

So, we've taken a look at the board and the characters. Now, we're getting into what you, the players, are to do in the game. We'll explain the action cards that players use to affect the characters in the game.

Action Cards (34 pcs)

What the players, both Protagonists and Mastermind, will actually do in the game is play action cards on the characters or the locations. All players play their cards face down, and when everyone has played a card, they are all revealed and resolved at the same time.

All cards have different backs so you can see who played what card. See to it that each player has the same back on all his/her cards.

• Movement cards — These will move a character in the specified direction.
• Goodwill cards — These are used to increase the characters' Goodwill, so they can use their Goodwill abilities. Protagonists have these; the Mastermind has a forbiddance card.
• Intrigue cards — These symbolize secrecy surrounding characters and locations. Their meaning varies with each plot. Only the Mastermind has these; the Protagonists have forbiddance cards.
• Paranoia cards — These are used to increase the character's Paranoia level, so they will start triggering Incidents.

Card List

This is a list of the action cards that the Protagonists and the Mastermind use, together with some details on exactly how the cards work. Use this if some effects conflict and/or you don't know in what order to resolve things. "Together" here means "played on the same location or character".

Protagonist Cards

Paranoia +1

• Place 1 Paranoia counter on this character.
• If together with a Forbid Paranoia, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.
• If together with a Paranoia –1, the +1 goes first.
• Placed on a location, nothing happens.

Paranoia –1 (only once per loop)

• Remove 1 Paranoia counter from this character.
• If together with a Forbid Paranoia, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.
• If together with a Paranoia +1, the +1 goes first.
• Placed on a location, nothing happens.

Goodwill +1

• Place 1 Goodwill counter on this character.
• If together with a Forbid Goodwill, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.
• Placed on a location, nothing happens.

Goodwill +2 (only once per loop)

• Place 2 Goodwill counters on this character.
• If together with a Forbid Goodwill, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.
• Placed on a location, nothing happens.

Forbid Intrigue

• If on the same spot as an Intrigue +1 or +2, this takes precedence and nothing happens. However, if 2 or more players have played Forbid Intrigue on the same day (no matter where on the playing field), they nullify each other.

Movement - vertical

• This character moves either up or down.
• If together with another vertical movement, it's still a vertical movement (they do not nullify each other).
• If together with a horizontal movement, they combine to form a diagonal movement.
• If together with a diagonal movement, they combine to form a horizontal movement.
• If placed on a location, nothing happens.

Movement - horizontal

• This character moves either left or right.
• If together with another horizontal movement, it's still a horizontal movement (they do not nullify each other).
• If together with a vertical movement, they combine to form a diagonal movement.
• If together with a diagonal movement, they combine to form a vertical movement.
• If placed on a location, nothing happens.

Forbid movement (only once per loop)

• If together with a Movement card, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.

Mastermind Cards

Paranoia +1

• Place 1 Paranoia counter on this character.
• If together with a Paranoia –1, the +1 goes first.
• If placed on a location, nothing happens.
• The Mastermind has 2 of these.

Paranoia –1

• Remove 1 Paranoia counter from this character.
• If together with a Paranoia +1, the +1 goes first.
• If placed on a location, nothing happens.

Forbid Paranoia

• If together with a Paranoia +1 or Paranoia –1, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.
• If placed on a location, nothing happens.

Forbid Goodwill

• If together with a Goodwill +1 or Goodwill +2, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.
• If placed on a location, nothing happens.

Intrigue +1

• Place 1 Intrigue counter on this character or location.
• If together with a Forbid Intrigue card, and only one Forbid Intrigue card is played this day, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.

Intrigue +2 (only once per loop)

• Place 2 Intrigue counters on this character or location.
• If together with a Forbid Intrigue card, and only one Forbid Intrigue card is played this day, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.

Movement - vertical

• This character moves either up or down.
• If together with Forbid Movement, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.
• If together with another vertical movement, it's still a vertical movement (they do not nullify each other).
• If together with a horizontal movement, they combine to form a diagonal movement.
• If placed on a location, nothing happens.

Movement - horizontal

• This character moves either left or right.
• If together with Forbid Movement, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.
• If together with another horizontal movement, it's still a horizontal movement (they do not nullify each other).
• If together with a vertical movement, they combine to form a diagonal movement.
• If placed on a location, nothing happens.

Movement - diagonal (only once per loop)

• This character moves diagonally.
• If together with Forbid Movement, the Forbid takes precedence and nothing happens.
• If together with a horizontal movement, they combine to form a vertical movement.
• If together with a vertical movement, they combine to form a horizontal movement.
• If placed on a location, nothing happens.

Counters (118 pcs)

By playing these action cards, you will change the situation on the board. Characters will move around and their Goodwill, Paranoia and Intrigue will change. Let's take a brief look at the counters used to signify this.

The characters can be in different moods. They might be friendly towards the players (Goodwill), or be paranoid enough to panic. In this game, there are three counters used to represent how a character feels mentally. And, there are a few counters used to make the game play a bit smoother.

• Goodwill counters — These represent how friendly the character is towards the Protagonists. Mainly only the Protagonists can place these onto characters, and if a character has enough, his/her Goodwill ability can be used.
• Paranoia counters — These represent how afraid the character is. Both Mastermind and Protagonists can place these on characters, and if they reach a certain level, the character is in panic mode and can start triggering Incidents.
• Intrigue counters — These represent secrecy and conspiracies, on either locations or characters. Only the Mastermind can place these on characters or locations. Exactly what they do depends on the plot, but they lead towards failure for the Protagonists.
• Loop marker — This is used to mark what loop the game is currently on. It's placed on the data board.
• Day marker — This is used to mark which day it is. It's placed on the data board.
• Incident markers — These are used to mark on which days something will happen. They're placed on the data board.
• Extra markers — These are counters to use for whatever strange extra rules some script writers may come up with.
• Boss Turf marker — This counter is used to mark the Boss's turf, as per his ability.

And lastly, we have some final cards to mention:

• Leader card (1 pc) — This is used to mark which Protagonist is the current group Leader. It sits in front of the current Leader, and each turn, it goes to the player on the left.
• Extra cards (4 pcs) — These are here to be used for whatever strange extra rules some script writers may come up with.
• Script cards (20 pcs) — Each script has 2 cards; They have the same number on the back of the card. They present a synopsis of the most important information concerning the chosen script. One of these always concerns the Protagonists and is known by every player. The other one is to be kept secret by the Mastermind.

Game Rules

This section goes through the rules you need to know to play the game. If this is the first time playing, we have recommendations throughout this section.

Once you're feeling a bit comfortable with the rules, you can change scripts, and plots accordingly. Tragedy Looper is in principle a very simple game, but there are a lot of plots, characters and roles to learn, especially at first, so don't introduce too many new aspects at the same time.

I. Victory Conditions

The victory conditions are different for each player:

Victory for the Protagonists

If the Protagonists manage to both:

• Not fulfill the loss conditions of the current plot(s)
• Not die

during even one single loop, they win.

They also win if they succeed in the Final Guess.

Victory for the Mastermind

If the Mastermind makes the Protagonists lose (either by fulfilling any one loss condition or by killing them) in every single loop, he wins, unless the players succeed in the Final Guess.

The "loss conditions" vary depending on what plots are active.

A little delve into the details: about Protagonists kills

There are roles in the game, for example, the Killer, that can actually kill off the Protagonists. If the Protagonists die, the Mastermind just tells them that they're dead (don't tell them who killed them) and the loop ends immediately.

II. Preparations

Here's how you set up before each game.

2-1 Decide script

We strongly recommend that you go by what we lined up under "To Begin With"; that you start with the script entitled "The First Script". It uses the simple plot set First Steps which isn't as massive as the basic one, so there's less to keep track of. Only the Mastermind can look up the script in the Mastermind's Handbook; it's the very first script listed, complete with hints on how to play it out.

Please note that the Protagonists should NOT read the script as it will ruin their enjoyment of figuring out what is going on.

2-2 Reveal the script information

Each script has 2 cards; They have the same number in the top left corner. The Protagonists should be given the "Open" card, marked, "Protagonists card" on the left side. The "Secret" one is just for the Mastermind's eyes, and lists what roles the characters have, who the culprits of Incidents are, and what plots are active.

2-3 Build the stage

First, set up the location board. Put the data board beside the location board, and put the Loop Counter on the number specified by the script, the Incident Counters on the days these events happen; also specified by the script, and the Day Counter on Day 1.

Then decide who'll be first Leader, in any suitable fashion. The player who has played the most Tragedy Looper will do nicely. That player gets the Leader card.

2-4 Set Table Talk

This indicates whether the players may assist each other during the game or not. If set to "off", the players will be limited in what they can say during the game, except in between loops (the "Time Spiral"). Exactly to what extent they're limited is up to the players (all players) to agree on, but a typical limitation is to not allow players to tell (or show) the others what cards they are going to play.

How to look at the script card

1. Script title

2. Main plot and Subplot(s) — Each script contains one main plot and one subplot. When you start using the Basic Tragedy Set, you'll have 2 subplots.

3. Characters and roles (Mastermind card) — A list of what characters are in this script, and what roles they have. A number in parentheses marks their loop number appearance in the script.

4. Incident schedule and culprit (Mastermind card) — A list of what Incidents may happen on what day, and who the culprit behind it is. No character can be the culprit for two Incidents.

5. Tragedy Set — What plot set this script uses, meaning: What possible plots could be running.

6. Number of loops — The maximum number of times the Protagonists may loop (replay). It's usually 3 or 4.

7. Days in one loop — How many days (turns) one loop consists of. It's usually 6–8.

8. Special rules — If the scenario contains special rules, it will be listed here.

The Mastermind card is the secret card — this card is for Masterminds only. The Protagonists card is the open card — this card is given to the Protagonists; it lists the Day/Incident schedule and any special rule.

A little delve into the details: what does a script consist of?

A script consists of a couple of pre-written plots, a set of characters and some scripted Incidents. A plot determines what roles will be in the game, and the loss conditions for the Protagonists. What plots (and Incidents) are available to choose from depends on what "Tragedy Set" you use. There are two Tragedy Sets in this base box: "First Steps" which has a limited number of possible plots and roles, and "Basic Tragedy" which has a bigger number. The Protagonists will always know what Tragedy Set is used, so they have full knowledge of what plots and roles might be in the current script.

Main plot: MURDER PLAN — The central plot of the script, mostly defining the loss conditions for the Protagonists.

Subplot: A LOVE AFFAIR / Subplot: AN UNSETTLING RUMOR — Less important plots that mostly set the background for the script.

The selected characters get roles according to the plots. In the example: Boy Student = Loved One; Rich Man's Daughter = Brain; Police Officer = Lover; Girl Student = Killer; Shrine Maiden = Key Person; Doctor and Office Worker have no plot role; Informer and Patient = Conspiracy Theorist.

Determine Incidents and culprits. In the example: the Killer is Culprit Day 2, the Key Person is Culprit Day 5, the Conspiracy Theorist is Culprit Day 7, and another character is Culprit Day 4.

How to create a script

The script writer chooses two "plots" from the list of available ones; it must be one main plot and one subplot. If you use a script that is based on the "Basic Tragedy" Set, you'll actually have TWO subplots. For example, the script writer may select "Murder Plan" as the main plot and "Love Affair" and "Unsettling Rumor" as the subplots.

These plots determine what secret roles will exist in the game. In our example, the main plot, "Murder Plan" states that you need to have a Key Person, a Brain and a Killer among the characters. The subplots "Love Affair" and "An Unsettling Rumor" state that you need the roles, Lover, Loved One and Conspiracy Theorist.

Then the script writer decides what characters will be in the script, and which one will have what role. In the graphic above you can see who was chosen to be what role. Please note that no character may have two roles. The characters that have no roles are simply referred to as "persons".

Lastly, to spice up the script a bit, the script writer adds scheduled Incidents to the script, from the list of possible Incidents determined by the Tragedy Set, and decides day and culprit. Any character (both "persons" and plot roles) can be a culprit behind an Incident, but note that no character can be the culprit of two Incidents.

III. Preparing the Loop

This is what you do before each loop begins. Each script has a set number of loops, which translates to play-throughs of the script. If the set limit of loops is 3, then the Protagonists can only play the script 3 times – which technically means they can rewind it twice. (Some might argue that there is a semantic illogicality in calling the first play-through a "loop". But we can console even them thematically: As the Protagonists actually already know what Incidents will happen, that means they have already looped once.)

If the Protagonists win in any loop, i.e. manage to finish the loop without losing, the remaining loops are not played out; instead the Protagonists win the game.

Before each new loop, you should do the following:

1. Time Spiral
2. Return characters
3. Remove and replace counters
4. Take cards

3-1 Time Spiral

The "Time Spiral" is when the Protagonist agree on a plan of action. If you have decided to set table talk to "off", this is the only point in the game where the Protagonist can talk freely. The more complicated the script, the more time is needed here, but do take care to not over-analyze and cover everything; set a limited time of 5 minutes or 10 minutes.

Here, the players may also agree to skip the remaining loops and go directly to the Final Guess to win the game. However, once they have gone to the Final Guess, they can't loop anymore, so only do this if you're absolutely sure of all facts and just want to win.

3-2 Return characters

Place all participating characters on their respective starting locations. Each character has a defined starting position as shown on their cards.

3-3 Remove and replace counters

Remove all counters from the locations and cards. Then, if there are any counters to place at the start of the loop, do so. Move the Day Counter back to Day 1. Move the Loop counter down one step.

3-4 Take cards

Each player returns all their Action cards back to their hand.

IV. Flow of One Loop

This section describes how a loop goes.

The script determines how many days there are in each loop. A "day" in this game is translated to one round, where every player gets one turn each. When one day (round) has ended, the next day begins and so on.

Simplified, each day is as follows: All players play cards face down on the characters or locations. Then all cards are resolved at the same time. After that, special abilities are activated and then Incidents happen. Then the next day begins.

But the timing is important enough that we get a little 9-step list instead. As the Mastermind is… well, the Mastermind, he controls all the neutral aspects of the game. Like this:

1. Day start – morning [Mastermind]
2. Mastermind plays 3 action cards face down [Mastermind]
3. Protagonists play one card each face down [Protagonists]
4. Cards are resolved [Mastermind]
5. Mastermind abilities [Mastermind]
6. Leader uses Goodwill abilities [Protagonist Leader and Mastermind]
7. Incidents happen [Mastermind]
8. Switch Leader [Protagonists]
9. Day end – night [Mastermind]

It looks like a lot, but it's not; it's only the timing that's important. For the Protagonists it's exceedingly simple: First play a card face down, and then the Leader chooses whether to use a Goodwill ability or not. But let's go into the details of each of these steps.

4-1 Day start – morning [Mastermind handles this]

Some scripts or role abilities (that the Mastermind uses) will happen at "day start." So they happen at this step.

4-2 Mastermind plays 3 action cards face down [Mastermind handles this]

The Mastermind chooses 3 cards from his hand and plays them face down on any location(s) or character(s) he chooses. He cannot play more than one card on each location or character.

Example: An example of a game in progress. It is the 7th day of Loop 2. Mastermind places cards on the Shrine, the School, and the Police Officer.

A little delve into the details: setting action cards on the board

Action cards cannot only be placed on characters, but also on the four locations. Since locations can only receive Intrigue counters, the only cards that have an effect on locations are "Intrigue +1" and "Intrigue +2" for the Mastermind player, and "Forbid Intrigue" for the Protagonists. However, you can still place other cards on locations; they just won't have any effect other than acting as bluffs, which of course might be effective enough.

4-3 Protagonists play one action card each face down [Protagonists handle this]

Starting with the Leader and proceeding clockwise, each Protagonist chooses one of their cards and plays it face down, like the Mastermind, onto any location or character. Each Protagonist will play one card each. You're allowed to play a card on a location or character that the Mastermind played on, but you're not allowed to play a card where another Protagonist has played.

Example: Continuing the action from the example above, the Protagonists play cards on the Shrine Maiden, the Shrine and the Informer.

4-4 Cards are resolved [Mastermind handles this]

At this point there are 6 face down cards on the playing field. The Mastermind reveals them all at the same time. Then, he resolves them all in the following order:

1. Forbid Movement cards.
2. Movement cards.
3. Other Forbid cards.
4. Other remaining action cards.

"Forbid" cards cancel the effects of the Action cards of the same type. These cards do not affect the characters' Goodwill abilities or abilities granted by roles, plots or Incident's effect.

When cards have been resolved, they all return to their respective hands, except the cards that state "once per loop". They are put face up in front of their owners so that all can see the card cannot be used again this loop.

Example: The cards are revealed. State of playing field after cards are resolved. Note the Paranoia +1 on the School and on the Shrine were bluff moves.

4-5 Mastermind abilities [Mastermind handles this]

Here, the Mastermind can use role or plot abilities that have [Mastermind ability] timing. If several can be used, he can use them all. If a character has more than one ability, he can still use them all. However, what's important here is that he only announces the result – not what character(s) triggered it or what actually happened.

Some abilities are Mandatory. This means that the ability must be applied if the conditions are met. If several abilities that should happen at the same time conflict, in this case, the Mandatory abilities happen before Optional abilities.

Some other abilities are Optional. This means that the ability may be applied if the conditions are met. But first, any Mandatory abilities must be resolved. If several optional abilities that should happen at the same time conflict, the Mastermind chooses freely in which order to apply them.

Also note that some abilities or effects that the Mastermind uses do not have this timing, but instead the [Day end], [Loop end] or [Script creation] timing related to different roles or plots. Some characters also have "passive" abilities described directly on their card.

4-6 Leader uses Goodwill abilities [Protagonist Leader and Mastermind handle this]

At this point, the Protagonist Leader can use character Goodwill abilities or any abilities the plot states that he can use here. In order to use a Goodwill ability, that character has to have enough Goodwill counters. The Protagonist Leader announces aloud what ability he uses and also the target (most Goodwill abilities have some sort of target).

However, it's the Mastermind who resolves the effect, because some hidden roles can either freely or forcibly refuse the activation of Goodwill abilities. "Goodwill Refusal" is a restriction that only affect the abilities of the character currently playing that role. However, other characters can still use their own abilities to affect the restricted character.

So if the character the Protagonist Leader chose was of such a role, the Mastermind may (or must) say that "nothing happens". This still counts as if the ability was used, though. Do note that if a Goodwill ability was refused that refusal gives a clue toward identifying the role of the character.

A little delve into the details: what the Mastermind should or should not say

When the Mastermind uses abilities or resolves effects, he should not say why these effects happen, what character or what role triggered the result, or if it's a plot rule or a character effect or whatever. However, if the Protagonists lose because they are killed, they are informed that they are killed, not just that they lost. If they lose because of a plot rule or ability, they are just told that they have lost.

Some examples:

[WRONG]: I use the Doctor's role ability of the Brain to place an Intrigue counter on the Shrine Maiden. [RIGHT]: Something weird happens to the Shrine Maiden, and she gets an Intrigue Counter.

[WRONG]: Too bad, guys, the Rich Man's Daughter was the Loved One so you all die! [RIGHT]: I'm sorry to announce that you are all dead.

If the Leader wants to use several abilities, he may do so, in any order he wishes to. If a character has several powers, he may use all of them. However, each ability can only be used once per day, and for each use, the Mastermind says if it happens or not. Also, some abilities can only be used once per loop.

Also, some abilities are "passive" or will bring extra markers into play. The ruling for those abilities is printed directly on the card.

Finally, remember that Goodwill counters are not removed when a Goodwill ability is used (and/or refused).

4-7 Incidents happen [Mastermind handles this]

At this point, the script's scheduled Incidents might happen. If no Incident is scheduled for this day, then just skip this step.

If an Incident is scheduled to happen, the Mastermind checks if the below conditions are met:

1. The Incident's culprit is still alive AND
2. The culprit has at least reached his/her Paranoia limit (state of panic)

If either condition is unfulfilled, the Mastermind just states that "No incident happens".

If both conditions are met, the Incident happens: the Mastermind declares that the incident happens, and resolves it, again without revealing who did it (though it might be obvious). In case there is some sort of choice on who or what the Incident affects, it's the Mastermind who decides.

Please note that if there are some extra conditions that need to be met in order for an Incident to happen (like the Hospital Horror that requires that the Hospital has Intrigue counters), and they are not fulfilled, the Mastermind must still declare that the Incident occurs, but nothing happens.

For example, the Mastermind can say, "A murder almost took place, but something prevented it."

Note: the Police Officer's first Goodwill ability would work in this case.

4-8 Switch Leader

At this point, the Leader card is handed to the next Protagonist in turn.

4-9 Day end – night [Mastermind handles this]

Same as Day start; some script rules or role abilities activate at "Day end".

Unless this was the last day of the loop, move the Day counter one step down and begin a new day from "Day start". If this was the last day of the loop, obviously the loop ends and what happens then is described next in…

V. End of the Loop

Some things happen each time a loop ends. Most importantly, many loss conditions are checked at loop end. There are three ways for the loop to end:

1. You've reached and played through the final day of the loop.
2. The Protagonists have died.
3. Some other plot rule or effect causes the loop to end prematurely.

Once the loop ends, what's done first is check the loss conditions; this is done by the Mastermind. If no loss conditions are met, the Protagonists win; you have managed to maintain your happiness. Congratulations.

If even one loss condition is met, the players have lost. Unless this was the final loop, the Protagonists now travel back in time to day one once again: Move the Loop Counter one step down and reset everything.

If this was the final loop, then the Protagonists have lost and the Mastermind has won… but there is one final chance, the Final Guess, described below.

VI. Final Guess

Even if the Protagonists have lost in every loop, this is their final chance to win the game. They use what knowledge they have gained from each loop to figure out the roles of each character.

The Final Guess is done in this way:

1) Reset the gaming field

Reset the gaming field to return it to the "Loop starts" state. The reason this is done is to see that any possible role changes that might have occurred during the final loop are reverted back to their starting state.

• Return all characters to their starting positions, alive.
• Take away all counters from the gaming field.
• If the Extra gauge has been used, return it to 0.

2) Guess every single character's role

The Protagonists can now confer with each other, picking one character at a time and guessing that character's role. For each character, the Mastermind replies right or wrong. If they guess right, they get to guess the next character. But if they guess wrong, the Protagonists have finally and totally lost. If the Protagonists successfully point out the roles of all participating characters, they have outsmarted the Mastermind and win the game!

What's a Tragedy Set?

A "Tragedy Set" contains a set of plots, roles and Incidents that are used to create a script. Put the other way around: What plots, roles and Incidents that the script writer can pick from is limited by the Tragedy Set being used. The Protagonists need to know what Tragedy Set is used in order to try to figure out what plots are active and what roles belong to which characters.

This base box contains two Tragedy Sets: "First Steps" and "Basic Tragedy". First Steps contains 3 main plots, 3 subplots, 8 roles and 7 Incidents. The Basic Tragedy Set contains 5 main plots, 7 subplots, 12 roles and 9 Incidents.

How to read the plot list

1. Plot type — Denotes if it is a Main plot (M) or Subplot (S).

2. Plot name — The name of the plot.

3. Roles to add — This is a list of what roles should be in the game if you use this plot.

4. Plot rule — List of rules that are added to the game if you use this plot.

Example: M — LIGHT OF THE AVENGER. Roles to add: Brain. Plot rule: At loop end, if there are at least 2 Intrigue counters on the Brain's starting location, the Protagonists lose.

How to read the role list

1. Role name — The name of the role.

2. Max Limit — The maximum allowed number of characters that can have this role.

3. Goodwill reaction — Whether the role can or must nullify this character's Goodwill abilities.

4. Abilities — Extra abilities that are given to the character that has this role.

5. Appears in plots — For reference, which plots this role appears in.

Example: KILLER. Max limit: none. Optional Goodwill Refusal. Abilities: [Optional] [Day end] If the Key Person has at least 2 Intrigue and is in this character's location, you may kill the Key Person. [Optional] [Day end] If this character has at least 4 Intrigue, you may kill the Protagonists. Appears in plot: Murder Plan (main plot).

How to read the Incident list

1. Incident name — Name of the Incident.

2. Incident effect — What happens when this Incident is triggered.

Example: MURDER. Effect: One character in the same location as the culprit dies.

First Steps

First Steps is basically a stripped down Basic Tragedy Set, designed to work as an introductory set for new players. In the Mastermind's Handbook there are two scripts using this set, and then you can experiment yourself with creating own scripts. It's designed to work with about 6–7 characters, each loop being about 4–6 days; to reduce the amount of possible combinations in order to facilitate deduction, but also to cut down on game time and run the game smoothly.

Major rule changes

1: No Final Guess — There is no Final Guess in the First Steps Set. If the Protagonists fail in every loop, they've lost.

2: Just one subplot — The basic idea is to have two subplots, but in the First Steps Set you just have one.

First Steps — Main Plots

Main plots are the core of the script, normally containing the loss conditions.

M — MURDER PLAN

• Roles to add: Key Person, Brain, Killer
• Plot rule: none

M — LIGHT OF THE AVENGER

• Roles to add: Brain
• Plot rule: At loop end, if there are at least 2 Intrigue counters on the Brain's starting location, the Protagonists lose.

M — A PLACE TO PROTECT

• Roles to add: Key Person, Cultist
• Plot rule: At loop end, if there are 2 or more Intrigue counters on the School, the Protagonists lose.

First Steps — Subplots

Plots that work in the script's background. They might add other loss conditions or rules.

S — SHADOW OF THE RIPPER

• Roles to add: Conspiracy Theorist, Serial Killer
• Plot rule: none

S — AN UNSETTLING RUMOR

• Roles to add: Conspiracy Theorist
• Plot rule: [Optional] The Mastermind may add an Intrigue counter to a location of his choice.

S — A HIDEOUS SCRIPT

• Roles to add: Conspiracy Theorist, Friend, 0–2 Curmudgeons
• Plot rule: none

First Steps — Roles

What the characters are hiding

KEY PERSON — Max limit: none

• Ability: [Mandatory] [Always] When this character dies, the Protagonists immediately lose and the loop ends.
• Appears in plots: Murder Plan (main plot), A Place to Protect (main plot)

KILLER — Max limit: none

• Optional Goodwill Refusal
• Abilities: [Optional] [Day end] If the Key Person has at least 2 Intrigue and is in this character's location, you may kill the Key Person. [Optional] [Day end] If this character has at least 4 Intrigue, you may kill the Protagonists.
• Appears in plot: Murder Plan (main plot)

BRAIN — Max limit: none

• Optional Goodwill Refusal
• Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Intrigue counter on this location or on any character in this location.
• Appears in plots: Murder Plan (main plot), Light of the Avenger (main plot)

CULTIST — Max limit: none

• Mandatory Goodwill Refusal
• Ability: [Optional] [Card resolve] You may ignore all "Forbid Intrigue" effects on this location and on all characters in this location.
• Appears in plot: A Place to Protect (main plot)

FRIEND — Max limit: 2

• Abilities: [Mandatory] [Loop end] If this character is dead, reveal its role, and the Protagonists have lost. [Mandatory] [Loop start] If this character's role has been revealed, it gets one Goodwill counter.
• Appears in plot: A Hideous Script (subplot)

CONSPIRACY THEORIST — Max limit: 1

• Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Paranoia counter on a character in this location.
• Appears in plots: A Hideous Script (main plot), An Unsettling Rumor (subplot), Shadow of the Ripper (subplot)

SERIAL KILLER — Max limit: none

• Ability: [Mandatory] [Day end] If there is exactly 1 other character in this location, that character dies. If a Serial Killer is in a location with one character and one or more corpses, the Serial Killer will still be able to kill the character.
• Appears in plot: Shadow of the Ripper (subplot)

CURMUDGEON — Max limit: none

• Optional Goodwill Refusal
• Ability: None
• Appears in plot: A Hideous Script (subplot)

First Steps — Incidents

Accidents and horrors during the script. Are they intentional or fated to be?

MURDER — Effect: One character in the same location as the culprit dies.

INCREASING UNEASE — Effect: Place 2 Paranoia on any character, then 1 Intrigue on any other character.

SUICIDE — Effect: The culprit dies.

HOSPITAL INCIDENT — Effect: If the Hospital has at least 1 Intrigue, everyone in the Hospital dies. Also, if the Hospital has at least 2 Intrigue, the Protagonists die.

FARAWAY MURDER — Effect: One character with at least 2 Intrigue dies.

MISSING PERSON — Effect: Move the culprit to any location. Then place 1 Intrigue on that location.

SPREADING — Effect: Remove 2 Goodwill from any character, then place 2 Goodwill on any other character.

Basic Tragedy

Basic Tragedy is the base set for this game. It's rich in content but be sure that you have fully memorized all roles, Incidents and plots from the First Steps Set before you go here.

Basic Tragedy — Main Plots

Main plots are the core of the script, normally containing the loss conditions.

M — THE SEALED ITEM

• Roles to add: Brain, Cultist
• Plot rule: At loop end, if there are at least 2 Intrigue counters on the Shrine, the Protagonists lose.

M — SIGN WITH ME!

• Roles to add: Key Person (must be a girl)
• Plot rule: At loop end, if there are 2 or more Intrigue counters on the Key Person, the Protagonists lose.

M — CHANGE OF FUTURE

• Roles to add: Cultist, Time Traveler
• Plot rule: At loop end, if the Butterfly Effect Incident has happened this loop, the Protagonists lose.

M — GIANT TIME BOMB

• Roles to add: Witch
• Plot rule: At loop end, if there are at least 2 Intrigue counters on the Witch's starting location, the Protagonists lose.

M — MURDER PLAN

• Roles to add: Key Person, Brain, Killer
• Plot rule: none

Basic Tragedy — Subplots

Plots that work in the script's background. They might add other loss conditions or rules. The subplots are comparatively easy to find out. The Mastermind should try to bluff his way through in order to gain a loop count.

S — CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

• Roles to add: 2 Friends, Conspiracy Theorist
• Plot rule: none

S — AN UNSETTLING RUMOR

• Roles to add: Conspiracy Theorist
• Plot rule: [Optional] The Mastermind may add an Intrigue counter to a location of his choice.

S — A LOVE AFFAIR

• Roles to add: Lover, Loved One
• Plot rule: none

S — PARANOIA VIRUS

• Roles to add: Conspiracy Theorist
• Plot rule: All Persons with more than 3 Paranoia on them turn into Serial Killers.

S — THE HIDDEN FREAK

• Roles to add: Friend, Serial Killer
• Plot rule: none

S — THREADS OF FATE

• Roles to add: none
• Plot rule: At loop start, place 2 Paranoia counters on each character who or whose corpse had Goodwill counter(s) at the end of the previous loop.

S — UNKNOWN FACTOR X

• Roles to add: Factor
• Plot rule: none

Basic Tragedy — Roles

What the characters are hiding

KEY PERSON — Max limit: none

• Ability: [Mandatory] [Always] When this character dies, the Protagonists immediately lose and the loop ends.
• Appears in plots: Murder Plan (main plot), Sign with Me! (main plot)

KILLER — Max limit: none

• Optional Goodwill Refusal
• Abilities: [Optional] [Day end] If the Key Person has at least 2 Intrigue and is in this character's location, you may kill the Key Person. [Optional] [Day end] If this character has at least 4 Intrigue, you may kill the Protagonists.
• Appears in plot: Murder Plan (main plot)

BRAIN — Max limit: none

• Optional Goodwill Refusal
• Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Intrigue counter on this location or on any character in this location.
• Appears in plots: Murder Plan (main plot), The Sealed Item (main plot)

CULTIST — Max limit: none

• Mandatory Goodwill Refusal
• Ability: [Optional] [Card resolve] You may ignore all "Forbid Intrigue" effects on this location and on all characters in this location.
• Appears in plots: The Sealed Item (main plot), Changing the Future (main plot)

TIME TRAVELER — Max limit: none

• Abilities: [Mandatory] [Always] This character cannot die. [Mandatory] [Card resolve] "Forbid Goodwill" on this character is ignored. [Optional] [End of last day] If this character has 2 or less Goodwill, you may declare a loss for the Protagonists. If you do, the loop ends.
• Appears in plot: Changing the Future (main plot)

FACTOR — Max limit: none

• Optional Goodwill Refusal
• Ability: [Mandatory] If the School has at least 2 Intrigue, this character gets the abilities of the Conspiracy Theorist. [Mandatory] If the City has at least 2 Intrigue, this character gets the abilities of the Key Person.
• Appears in plot: Unknown Factor X

FRIEND — Max limit: 2

• Abilities: [Mandatory] [Loop end] If this character is dead, reveal its role, and the Protagonists have lost. [Mandatory] [Loop start] If this character's role has been revealed, it gets one Goodwill counter.
• Appears in plots: Circle of Friends (2 friends), The Hidden Freak (subplot)

CONSPIRACY THEORIST — Max limit: 1

• Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Paranoia counter on a character in this location.
• Appears in plots: Circle of Friends (subplot), An Unsettling Rumor (subplot), Paranoia Virus (subplot)

SERIAL KILLER — Max limit: none

• Ability: [Mandatory] [Day end] If there is exactly 1 other character in this location, that character dies. If a Serial Killer is in a location with one character and one or more corpses, the Serial Killer will still be able to kill the character.
• Appears in plots: The Hidden Freak (subplot), Paranoia Virus (subplot)

LOVED ONE — Max limit: none

• Abilities: [Mandatory] [Always] If the Lover dies, this character gets 6 Paranoia. [Optional] [Day end] If this character has at least 3 Paranoia and 1 Intrigue, you may kill the Protagonists.
• Appears in plot: A Love Affair (subplot)

WITCH — Max limit: none

• Mandatory Goodwill Refusal
• Ability: none
• Appears in plot: Giant Time Bomb (main plot)

LOVER — Max limit: none

• Ability: [Mandatory] [Always] If the Loved One dies, this character gets 6 Paranoia.
• Appears in plot: A Love Affair (subplot)

General info about the roles

Some comments on what both Protagonists and Mastermind should pay attention to:

1. How many characters are there that affect something when they die (Key Person, Friend, Factor, Lover, Loved One)
2. From where will you get Paranoia counters (Conspiracy Theorist, Factor)
3. Did they die or not when alone with another character (Serial Killer, Time Traveler)
4. Could they use the Goodwill ability or not (Cultist, Witch)
5. What roles can you keep secret for the Final Guess (Killer, Brain, Conspiracy Theorist).

Basic Tragedy — Incidents

Accidents and horrors during the script. Are they intentional or fated to be?

MURDER — Effect: One character in the same location as the culprit dies.

HOSPITAL INCIDENT — Effect: If the Hospital has at least 1 Intrigue, everyone in the Hospital dies. Also, if the Hospital has at least 2 Intrigue, the Protagonists die.

INCREASING UNEASE — Effect: Place 2 Paranoia on any character, then 1 Intrigue on any other character.

MISSING PERSON — Effect: Move the culprit to any location. Then place 1 Intrigue on that location.

FOUL EVIL — Effect: Place 2 Intrigue on the Shrine.

SPREADING — Effect: Remove 2 Goodwill from any character, then place 2 Goodwill on any other character.

SUICIDE — Effect: The culprit dies.

BUTTERFLY EFFECT — Effect: Place a counter of your choice (Goodwill, Paranoia, Intrigue) on any character in the culprit's location.

FARAWAY MURDER — Effect: One character with at least 2 Intrigue dies.

Rules for 2 Players

One player plays the Mastermind and the other, the Protagonist. The Protagonist will have all three decks of cards, and he will play one card from each deck. Note that this version gives the Protagonist a slight advantage over the Mastermind. For example, the Protagonist will not end up playing two Forbid Intrigue cards on the same day, which would nullify each other.

Rules for 3 Players

In this version, there will be one Mastermind and two Protagonists. However, the Protagonist Leader of each day will play one card each from two Protagonist decks. And when the Leader card is passed, he will also pass one deck of Protagonist cards over to the next person.

Turn Summary

Day start – morning — Day start effects happen here.

Mastermind action — Plays 3 cards face down on characters/locations (not more than one on same spot).

Protagonists action — Play one card each face down on characters/locations (not more than one on same spot as another Protagonist card).

Cards are resolved — Reveal all cards and resolve them. After that, return all cards to their respective owners, except "once per loop" cards that are put to the side for this loop.

Mastermind abilities — Uses whatever abilities are applicable.

Leader uses Goodwill abilities — Leader declares which abilities he uses, and any targets. Mastermind resolves the effects. May refuse to resolve the effects if the character using the ability has Goodwill Refusal.

Incidents happen — If there is an Incident for this day, announce if it happens or not (culprit is alive and has enough Paranoia), and then resolve if possible.

Switch Leader — Leader gives Leader card to next player in turn.

Day end – night — Day end effects happen here. If this was not the last day: Go back to Day start of next day. If this was the last day: Go to Loop end resolve.

Credits

• Game design: BakaFire
• Graphic design (of the Japanese manual): BakaFire
• Character design: Rei Konno
• Illustrations: Rei Konno
• Rulebook text: BakaFire
• Test players: Izayoi, Irie, Iwasawa, Gaijin, Kanepi, Kabo, Gayusu, gleipnil, Satoshi Sawamura, BakaFire, Mizuha, Radio head, Ripper, re_ne, retlet, Rerasiu, Rokirusu
• Special thanks: Makoto Akiyama, option, Masahiro Sakudo, sugech, Makoto Tanaka, Jun Tsuchiya, Yusuke Tokita, hibo(RooP), Madame Zaza, Hiroaki Watanabe (General Bubble).
• Graphic design (English version): Marie-Eve Joly, Olivier Lamontagne

© 2016 F2Z Entertainment Inc. — 31 rue de la Coopérative, Rigaud QC J0P 1P0, Canada

www.zmangames.com | [email protected]