THE PHANTOM DETECTIVES
(schnauzer's version)

Synopsis: A script in which the spirits of the dead commune with the living to solve their own murder. One of the Garden of Djinn World Cup top 16!

Djinn's special rule: Dead players (not Demons) keep their abilities. Each Townsfolk loses their ability at the start of night 1, then regains it on death.

Schnauzer's house rule: When only evil players live, the Cult Leader becomes drunk, but a dead Banshee might register as alive to the Cult Leader.

How to run

• At the beginning of the first night phase, all Townsfolk lose their abilities, and do not wake to make choices or learn information.
• Townsfolk setup effects still happen, as they occurred before the game began.
• When players die for any reason, they lose their ability only if they were a Demon: continue to wake Outsiders & Minions like living players.
• When a Townsfolk dies, they immediately regain their ability, and will have it for the rest of the game, acting at their designated spot in the night order if applicable.
• Townsfolk who act on a certain trigger (e.g. "When you die at night") act immediately if they died the correct way.
• "You start knowing" Townsfolk act after the Demon on the first night that they are dead.

How to run: by character

Hatter

Should I use the Hatter's optional rule?

No!

I strongly encourage running the "standard" Hatter when playing this script: i.e. Demons must choose Demon characters and Minions must choose Minion characters. A Demon who is desperate to escape from a tight spot can always choose to become an Imp when the Hatter dies.

Scarlet Woman

Does a dead Scarlet Woman prevent an Imp from star-passing?

No! The Imp's almanac reads "if the Imp kills themself at night, they die and an alive Minion becomes an Imp." This means that if the Scarlet Woman is dead, but the Boffin is alive, the Imp-hood must pass to the Boffin.

I am aware that the Scarlet Woman's almanac says "the Scarlet Woman must become the new Imp." Rules-as-written, this means you should also turn the dead Scarlet Woman into a dead Imp. However, dead Demons do not have an ability on The Phantom Detectives, so this makes no mechanical difference to the game: the Scarlet Woman becomes a dead Imp and does nothing.

Boffin

Do Demons get to use the Boffin ability while they’re alive?

Yes! And if you’re playing online, it might be a good idea to remind the Demon of the Djinn’s special rule before they go telling people that they’re the High Priestess and were told to speak to them. The Boffin lets a Demon secretly gather information while they’re alive, or might give them a fun effect on death: Plague Doctor, Hatter and Farmer are all great Boffin abilities for a Demon who might die at night. The Boffin ability can also (and probably should) change when a new Demon is created.

Do Demons get to use the Boffin ability while they’re dead?

Maybe! Exactly 1 Demon may have a Boffin ability at a time. The dead Demon may keep their ability or the living Demon may gain a new one. Here's how I'd rule it...

• As per the almanac, if the Boffin ability is an effect that only persists while the user is dead, the first Demon must keep its Boffin ability and the new Demon may not gain a new one. (Relevant abilities: Banshee, Sweetheart.)
• If the Boffin ability is an effect that is triggered on death but has an effect that does not require the character to remain in play, that ability triggers, and then the new Demon may gain a new ability. (Relevant abilities: Farmer, Plague Doctor, Hatter.)
• For all other Boffin abilities, I would argue that you should do whatever you think will make the game more fun.

If you think the newly-executed Ojo will struggle to keep up their Dreamer bluff, you can leave the Dreamer ability with the dead Ojo and accept that this means the Scarlet Woman-turned-Ojo gets nothing. If you think it's better for the evil team that the new Demon gets a new Boffin ability, you can do that instead. It's up to you.

How to run: Schnauzer's house rule

When only evil players live, the Cult Leader becomes drunk, but a dead Banshee might register as alive to the Cult Leader.

The Cult Leader, Banshee and Lord of Typhon have really fun synergies with the Phantom Detectives rule, but as a trio they open up some strange interactions that might affect games at low player counts. This house rule allows them to coexist more happily if you really want to run that 7-player Lord of Typhon game.

In any game:

• Rules as written, if three players are alive and all of them are evil, the Cult Leader's ability should kick in and the Cult Leader turns evil, winning with them. This is not an intended interaction.
• By making the Cult Leader drunk when only evil players live, they are locked into their "correct" team. If they were good when the last good player died, the Cult Leader loses with the good team. If evil, nothing changes, they still win with evil.

In a Banshee game:

• The Banshee rule exists to keep the Cult Leader's alignment uncertain in a game if you have an all-evil final 3 but the Banshee is keeping it running (especially a Lord of Typhon game).
• You cannot register the dead Banshee as alive to the Cult Leader before the end of the game. It may only register as alive when only evil players live.
• You should only register the dead Banshee as alive if it died at night, gaining its ability to nominate and vote twice. A Banshee who died by execution should have no interaction with the Cult Leader.

In a Lord of Typhon game:

• Because the evil team are in a line, the Cult Leader will always have at least one good neighbour, so an evil Cult Leader can always turn good again.
• However, if the dead Banshee is the only character keeping a Lord of Typhon game going, this is no longer true, and without the house rule you would be stuck with two additional evils. In this situation, the Banshee should register as alive to the Cult Leader during the night phase so that the Cult Leader becomes sober and may flip back to the good team.
• During the day phase, it is probably best to drunk the Cult Leader again: if the players "know" that you won't allow two extra evils on the last day and they have worked out that it's a Lord of Typhon game, all players know that the cult is safe to join and the good team can easily win.

Watch it played

📺 World cup game 1: The Phantom Detectives vs. One Day More

📺 World cup game 2: Show Me Wonders vs. The Phantom Detectives

📺 World cup game 3: Trained Killer vs. The Phantom Detectives