I want the Noble back and I think he can work great as a social/investigative class.
Here are my suggestions:
This class can be unique along with the Psychic. I don’t think the Possessor has a chance with two Psychics (but that’s another topic). Because of his potential power, he doesn’t have to be a guaranteed spawn. Players will have to decide if it’s safe to whisper or not each game.
Day Abilities:
Ease-drop:
- Two charges. Allows the Noble to listen up to four whispers during the day. Can bypass hidden whispers.
This ability is fun, it allows the Noble to cross reference claims and information while limiting the evil side from whispering each other. Same goes for the Blue Dragon, if he’s an aristocrat. The Noble will have to decide the appropriate time to use one of his charges. This will also make detecting hidden whispers extremely satisfying in this regard. Think of it as a correct cold steel/poison bomb with two charges.
Royal Influence (renamed from Noble Twin):
- Two charges. Allows the Noble to have one additional vote during the trial.
Like before, the Noble can influence the outcome of a trial. This also proves to the court that there is a Noble; execution hungry players will think twice before executing someone with a Noble claim.
In regards to the Cult:
The Noble might be valuable to have for Kingship and information. But the Noble can be easily discovered if he’s lying during trial. Limited abilities will keep the Unseen from having a huge edge if they can keep him alive.
Night Ability:
Royal Blood:
- Four charges. Allows the Noble to check to see if a player is royalty. It’s uses can prove strategic as it can cross reference who’s who. A Mastermind will think twice before claiming Princess and an Aristocrat can potentially discover the Prince and use that knowledge for an assassination. With limited charges, a Noble will have to be smart when deciding when to use it.
This rework buffs the new King if the first one dies to a Neutral Killer (their number one target). It allows him to be more informed on who is lying and who is not.
Painting a Picture:
Day Three: Noble uses ease-drop. Princess tells the King that 4 is killer/offensive. At night the Noble then checks to see if the Princess claim is legitimate. If correct, carry on. If not - the Noble can accuse the lying Princess of treason if he decides to out himself. Or he can put it in his logs.
Night Four/Five: Noble discovers that 5 is Royal Blood but gets converted. The following night, he can inform the Unseen of who 5 is. The Unseen will take care of that target, and if the Unseen knows that 5 is killer/offensive they can guess that 5 is either the Drunk or the Prince.
Late Game/Day Eight: If the Noble has gathered enough information he will use his Royal Influence ability to help decide the outcome of the trial. Giving the BD/Unseen that one last save at the very end.
The Noble should be an active class. Their goal is to find out what people are whispering, who is who, and assisting the outcome of a trial. The old Noble was fun in that regard. I had an entire journal filled with claims. But there needs to be a strategic element and balance in place. I feel like this will not only make Nobles fun but also valuable.
Balancing Quick Notes:
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Unique: Two Nobles/Aristocrats can prove too challenging for the opposing faction.
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Not Guaranteed: Allows the players to decide whether whispering is worth the risk each game.
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Limited Abilities: Keeps the class in check from having too much power. Players will have to decide on when to use them.
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Royal Influence: Allows the court to know that there is a confirmed Noble. Players will notice if a Noble is still around late game or not based on this ability. Noble can save it to prove his existence if necessary. This will balance the Cult by being a hard claim when voted up for trial. If converted late game, the Noble claim will be much easier to “prove.”
Old Ability Removal:
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Crier: Psychic has two of them.
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Order: Can be misused, giving the Evil players a convert/kill target. Also can prevent Evil players from being voted up because the Noble is using his ability whenever they feel like it. If an Aristocrat uses it on an Unseen player, the Prince or Knight may try to kill him at knight if they have a strong suspicion. Having it as a fourth ability will make the Noble overpowered.