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Cerenovus

Each night, choose a player & a good character: they are “mad” they are this character tomorrow, or might be executed.

Reality is merely an opinion. Specifically, my opinion.

Storyteller cues

First nightThe Cerenovus chooses a player & a character. ◦ Put the Cerenovus to sleep. Wake the target. Show the THIS CHARACTER SELECTED YOU token, the Cerenovus token, then the madness-character token.

Other nightsThe Cerenovus chooses a player & a character. ◦ Put the Cerenovus to sleep. Wake the target. Show the THIS CHARACTER SELECTED YOU token, the Cerenovus token, then the madness-character token.

Jinxes

Goblin

The Cerenovus may choose to make a player mad that they are the Goblin.

How to run it (Storyteller)

Each night, Cerenovus privately tells you a player and a good character; tomorrow that player must sincerely claim or strongly imply they are that character in conversation, or the Storyteller may execute them at day's end (this is not a guaranteed execution, just an elevated risk — use judgment). The nastiest ruling is that the player does not learn when Cerenovus leaves the game, becomes drunk, or has the madness transferred, so you must silently stop enforcing the madness condition without tipping them off. Watch for mad players who are technically complying but in ways that tip the town to Cerenovus's existence — that is a strategic failure for evil, not a rules problem.

How to play

  • Prioritize forcing a powerful Townsfolk or Outsider to claim they are that role publicly — if they genuinely are that role, they are now confirmed to the town as a liar, which is devastating for good even if they survive.
  • Coordinate with your Demon: if the Demon knows who is, say, the Slayer or the Exorcist, you can target that player and force them into a claim that either outs them or makes them look like a liar.
  • Claim a Townsfolk that wakes regularly, like the Empath or Dreamer, so your night wake pattern is explainable and your 'information' can be faked convincingly.
  • Use the Goblin madness strategically — forcing a player to claim Goblin is deeply confusing for the good team, as killing them proves nothing and ignoring them risks a Goblin win if they comply.
  • The most common mistake is targeting players who will simply refuse madness and tank the execution — save that for late-game when a single execution can swing the game, not early when the town is resource-rich.

How to fight the Cerenovus

  • If a player is earnestly claiming a role that contradicts their night information or seems disconnected from their game behavior, suspect Cerenovus madness — the forced claim often feels 'off' because it is.
  • Cerenovus's existence means you cannot fully trust any player's role claim on a given day, but you can use this: if someone claims madness publicly and you believe them, that is strong evidence Cerenovus is in the game and you should adjust your execution priorities accordingly.
  • Execute players who claim to be mad with suspicion but not reflexive hostility — a genuine good player under madness is incentivized to tell you, so a player loudly claiming madness while providing no other useful information may be evil bluffing.
  • Tracking night wake patterns helps: Cerenovus wakes every night, so a player with a passive role who wakes consistently is a candidate — compare notes with genuine information roles.
  • If you identify Cerenovus, killing it immediately frees all currently-maddened players of their obligation, though those players will not learn this — inform them explicitly after the execution so they can speak freely.

Key interactions

Goblin

Cerenovus can force a good player to claim they are the Goblin, creating a scenario where killing that player either looks safe or triggers what appears to be a Goblin win condition — the town cannot easily distinguish a genuine Goblin from a maddened innocent. Evil should use this to burn an execution or create chaos; good should be extremely wary of executing anyone who credibly explains they were forced into the claim.

Psychopath

If the Psychopath is executed while maddened by Cerenovus into claiming a different good character, the Psychopath's own madness-breaking execution mechanic (roshambo with the Storyteller) still applies — being maddened by Cerenovus does not suppress the Psychopath's innate ability. This means Cerenovus targeting the Psychopath is low-value for evil, since the Psychopath's survival game is already built around defying execution.

Poisoner

If Cerenovus is poisoned, any player they targeted that night is technically maddened by a malfunctioning ability — the madness condition silently drops, but the target player is never told, meaning they may continue performing a false claim needlessly while the town reads them as suspicious. Good players should be alert to the fact that their 'madness' may have already expired without their knowledge.