Title. As of right now there isn’t any issues with the King’s day abilities, but instead of Guards! and Order Execution, I propose a different set of night abilities for the King where the class’ ability will vary depending on the king’s alignment in order to reflect the asymmetrical nature of Throne of Lies. The status quo makes the King’s gameplay nothing more than either the Prince’s attack dog when good, or a yolo executioner when Evil. This ultimately makes for an extremely boring experience that also strongly influences the balance of the game purely on the starting King’s alignment. So here’s my suggestion for the revamped King, while also adding a few changes to the Prince-King interactions as a way to weaken the Prince Meta:
The Blue Dragon King
Loyal Council - The King sets a player as a Loyal Councillor. While the King is alive the set player cannot be converted. Two uses.
Royal Guards - The King can summon a guard to protect a player. The guard will sacrifice himself for that player if an attempt is made on his life. Cannot be used on the Prince. Four uses. Six for the starting Good King.
Reasoning: The King is supposed to begin as a trusted player and only as the game progresses should suspicion be found against him, and if he is considered indeed good then players who trust him should be rewarded. However this is not the case as the current meta ultimately requires the King to be suspected at all times due to their killing potential and does not allow the King to reward confirmed Blue Dragon-aligned players with Guards as the Prince-centric meta requires them to stay at all times on the Prince. The inability for Guards to work on the Prince while also allowing the King to set at most two players conversion immune should shift the meta away from the Prince while also rewarding Blue-Dragon aligned players for playing well alongside the King. Ultimately Loyal Council and Royal Guards had to be made as silent as possible due to the issue of players using them rather than social deduction to figure out the King’s alignment. Finally, a rally-around the councilor is not a fool-proof strategy as unlike the Prince, the councilor may ultimately be an Evil role who managed to trick the court into gaining their trust. Renamed Blue Dragon King for thematic reasons.
The Corrupt King/The Cultist King
Conspiracy - The King checks on a player, giving different results based on their class. Usable an infinite amount of times and will allow private whispers with the target provided they do not fall within the first bracket.
- Any Blue Dragon class/The Possessor/The Reaper/The Mercenary -
“Your efforts to sway PlayerName[n] would be fruitless, as they would not side with your faction willingly.”
- The Alchemist/The Inquisitor -
“PlayerName[n] wishes to be left to their own designs, though they may side with you depending on the circumstances.”
- The Fool/The Scorned -
“There is a sense of insanity emenating from PlayerName[n], though you feel as if their instability can be used to further your agenda.”
- The Sorcerer/Sellsword -
“You sense an immense hatred from PlayerName[n] towards the Blue Dragon. They are willing to help you conspire the Blue Dragon’s demise.”
- Any Unseen/Cult class -
“PlayerName[n] is also a member of the Unseen/the Cult and would gladly further your plans.”
Evidence Tampering - The King will tamper with the targeted player’s investigative results, showing them as Blue Dragon if they are checked by a Sheriff, Paladin, or Observer. Three uses. Four for the starting Evil King.
Reasoning: Again, this rework is supposed to shift the King from an offensive class to a social+support class. Conspiracy is a better version of Allies unique to the Evil King as it not only allows them to find Unseen allies, but also potential Neutrals that can ally with them while also using Fools and Scorneds for their own goals. Finally, being that Possessors and Reapers are lumped with Blue Dragon members, then the Evil King will not be able to use Conspiracy as a means to out them. After establishing a link with their faction, the King will also be able to silently whisper to them without fears of suspicion rising, and then using Evidence Tampering to help hide Unseen or Cult members. Ultimately an Evil King without executions will also help boost the beginning trust as important roles will have no reason to fear being outed by the Evil King, while also keeping it as a strong role. Renamed the Corrupt King for the Unseen or the Cultist King for the Cult due to lore reasons.
The Apathetic King
Royal Guards - The King can summon a guard to protect a player. The guard will sacrifice himself for that player if an attempt is made on his life. Cannot be used on the Prince. Six uses for the Apathetic King.
Reasoning: In short, a buffed Neutral King renamed to fit in with their lore. Since their only goal is surviving, they shouldn’t have any other night abilities than guards.
The Mad King
Psychopathic Guards - The King can summon a guard to kill a player. Unlimited uses.
Adviser to a Madman - The King sets a players as their Adviser. The Adviser can be of any role but their win condition will be changed to having the Mad King win and they will commit suicide if the Mad King dies. Once they become the adviser they will gain both Night Immunity and Conversion Immunity. One usage.
Reasoning: Currently, the Psycho King feels underwhelming. For the NK to have managed to lie and manipulate their way into the throne, the reward feels extremely poor, to be completely honest. The Psycho King needs buffs badly, and Adviser to a Madman should not only fit in with the rework’s overall spirit, but also compensate the NK’s major flaw, which is being the only player on their side during endgame. Renamed the Mad King for thematic purposes, and for the love of all that is holy, could we please have the Psycho King’s portrait changed to the actual Psycho King rather than staying the with Neutral King’s one? Thanks.
The Prince
A slight addendum here, but in order to compensate the change of guards, Unstoppable will give Night Immunity only for the first three nights. This should also lower the early-game influence of the King’s starting faction.
Thoughts and criticisms?
