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Long ago, when my life was simple and carefree, I was merely a hunter in a small village of a tiny kingdom south of the Ataraxian Empire. My job was good—profitable and stable (there was plenty of all sorts of game in our kingdom's forests to make my work incredibly easy), and I myself was young, tall, strong, handsome, intelligent, and good in bed; thus, my life was (as it seemed to me then) wonderful, for I lived comfortably and had plenty of women. What else could I have desired then? It is hard to count how many of them I robbed of their innocence and how many hearts I broke, yet I never felt the weight of guilt; I liked that life and wanted it to continue forever (at least until I grew old, but back then I thought little of the future and lived for today). But as is known, in life everything depends not only on us. One day, Ataraxian troops entered the kingdom, and the kingdom surrendered without a fight. Perhaps many would accuse our king of cowardice, however, the truth was that he simply did not wish to shed blood in a war where there was no possibility of victory. When he laid down his crown, we simple residents feared the worst, but to our surprise, the Ataraxians showed no hostility toward us; there were no lootings or killings as usually happens after one state invades another, and beyond all this—they allowed us to work and live with dignity. The only thing required of us was adherence to a strict code of rules, mainly centered on ethical and moral themes, which for me then was unacceptable—I wanted to enjoy myself in complete freedom. A long year passed before I gathered my thoughts and left my home in search of a better life. When I reached the nine kingdoms, my skills and experience in the hunting craft proved very useful, only now I hunted not animals, but people. I cannot say that I liked killing, but the process itself undoubtedly brought me a certain amount of pleasure, and they paid very well for this work, so I could afford everything I could then wish for.
Perhaps I would have continued doing this work as long as my body was capable of it, but one day, after completing another contract, my employer named Jonas Schneider offered me to work for him on a permanent basis instead of wandering in search of other clients, among whom someone might eventually put a knife in my back. This seemed like a good chance; I did not think long and accepted his offer. After that, my life became full of events, some pleasant and some not, but what I felt for certain was that my life now somehow influenced the world. After the victory over Vyronis, Schneider called me to him. On his table lay the sword with which Vyronis had fought. I felt slightly uneasy at the sight of it, remembering how many people the steel of this blade had killed in the recent battle. Schneider explained to me that not long ago there were two swords—"Peace" and "Serenity," and when they fell into the hands of Vyronis, he melted them into one sword. The former king of Vyronia apparently lacked great imagination and named it "Serene Peace." Schneider also told me that although the blade was created by a professional and its steel is better than any other weapon, it is just a sword, the only difference being the steel of "Serenity." As he told me then, it was capable of hiding the presence of its owner from outside attention, and this was exactly what we needed. Schneider ordered me to kill the emperor of the Ataraxian Empire. I remembered that Schneider never joked when giving me orders, but on that day I still asked him if he was joking. I will not recall what happened next; it weighs too heavily on my heart even to this day... After the collapse of the empire, Schneider died, and I realized that I had committed the most terrible crime in the last few millennia. With the death of the emperor, people received what is called "freedom" in the nine kingdoms, but I saw something else—people turned into beasts, and what frightened me most was that in their actions and lifestyle, I saw my own desires and inclinations. After this, I set out on long wanderings in search of an answer, and one day I found myself in the middle of the hot and endless deserts of Corania. Then I thought that the scorching sun would kill me and surrendered to inevitable death. It was then that enlightenment came to me, and I realized what I had to do next. I founded a temple and chose a new name for myself—Ataraxian. I decided to atone for my sins and began helping people, praying every day to God so that He might descend to us once more and give us another chance, becoming again the one who would point us toward the right path. Years passed, and my small temple in a Coranian city gained great popularity; more and more people came to it, accepted my faith, and set themselves on the path of enlightenment. On one such day, I remembered that even the emperor did not always solve all problems with words; sometimes it was necessary to apply force as well. Only through great effort were my followers and I able to overthrow the unjust society of Corania; we leveled the elite of the golden cities and simple peasants. Two years later, Corania became part of Vsevolod's kingdom, and a few months later, demons invaded our world. Vsevolod fell, and now I could have only one goal—the destruction of the hellish spawn, from whose cruelty the Emperor had protected humanity for so long...
Overlord
In the Abyss, hierarchy is determined by the individual strength of the demon and accordingly, he who is stronger is higher. The title of Overlord goes to the most powerful of all.
Features: vote counts as two, cannot be executed, 100% protection from attacks, can perform an execution at his own discretion (reveals himself after use).
DD: Contract. Chooses a player and that player chooses at their own discretion: either protection from death or killing with armor penetration and ignoring the protector (one-time). After three nights, the Overlord gains the ability to control the actions and votes of this player. Works only on humans.
Guardian of the Lake of Fire
The Lake of Fire is the Overlord's favorite place, filled with the music of human suffering. Naturally, few can enter and leave here of their own free will. If you have entered, you will never leave.
Features: kills his killer.
ND: protects a player and kills the attacker.
Hell Flea
These harmless-looking creatures are the most terrible thing in the underworld. Previously, when the Emperor had not yet driven the spawn of hell into the underground world, these small demons were the cause of death for entire nations.
Features: zero vote.
ND: the chosen player dies from a terrible disease after three days. Anyone who makes contact with this player will be infected. Once every two nights.
Despair
Horror, despair—he has many names, but his role in the demonic world remains constant and unchanging—he awakens when fear is born in the hearts of men.
Features: cannot be blocked.
ND: blocks a chosen player for two nights.
Blocks the actions of a chosen faction (once every four nights).
Shaman
Features. Corruption: the target of his ND becomes a demon.
ND: healing.
Healing all players (once per game).
Gives 25% protection to all demons on the night of use (once every three nights).
Soul-Slayer
ND: killing.
Lust
Are there women among the demons? This question remains a mystery to this day. It is generally believed that hellish creatures kidnap human women and make them mothers of their children, but sometimes such "berries" are encountered—neither demon nor human.
Features: repeated use of ND kills the player and ignores protections (both natural and ND) and healing.
ND: blocks a player.
Hopelessness
At the will of this demon, one only needs to wish and an entire city will cease to exist in an instant, turning into a pile of ash. By right of strength, he is the one who should sit on the throne of the underworld; however, being the very embodiment of laziness and lack of any ambition or desire, he lives underground and rarely leaves.
Features: cannot be killed; night visitors die, but no more than one at a time.
Manipulator
Features: 50% chance to survive an attack, 50% chance to kill the attacker.
ND: checks affiliation (demon or not).
Changes the target of a chosen player.
Changes the targets of two players.
Learns a player's role (once per game).
Prophet
ND: asks a chosen player three questions through the GM, which they must answer. Two answers are truthful, one is false. It is forbidden to ask directly about the role and all associated features, but questions related to images and role descriptions may be asked. The respondent must come up with a pseudonym under which their answers will be published in the newspaper.
Nacht von Helligkeit
Bastard of the penultimate king of Helligkeit. His mother was a woman from the moon clan—an assassin. In her arrogance, she named the boy after herself, albeit in the Helligkeit manner. Nacht grew up in turbulent times when people needed a leader, and he wished to inherit the throne which, as he believed, belonged to him by right.
Features: vote counts as two.
ND: killing
Voice theft.
DD: Execution disruption (has higher priority than the Overlord's feature)
Teohar
Despite all the chaos raging in the world, Teohar believed that soon the demons would be overthrown and sent back to where they came from, and it was during this time that he saw a path for fulfilling his ambitious plans. He did not like the young king, but such an influential ally was simply necessary for him.
ND: kills a player and with 50% probability another random target.
With 50% probability kills a player and all who came to them.
Kills a player and ignores protection.
Ayokest
Former academy student, imprisoned on charges of having ties with Marcus Astallion—a wanted criminal. Left her prison cell when the Silvernight pirates captured the academy. Since then, she has been a servant and friend to his daughter.
ND: affiliation check.
Takes a target under control and gains the ability to dispose of their vote and actions; however, she cannot act herself, her vote does not count.
Catalina
Catalina Silvernight. Daughter of the legendary pirate—not just a captain of a lucky vessel, but a kind of pirate admiral under whose command were several dozen ships. When he died, everyone was sure that the gang would fall apart, but Catalina managed to keep everyone under her leadership. Or under her heel, as many like to joke. Strangely enough, demons are as much a threat to criminals as they are to ordinary people; that is why she agreed to help the new king. Nacht promised her lands and riches in return.
ND: killing
Deprivation of vote
Block.
Protection of target and killing of attacker.
Alexian
Swindler, illusionist, womanizer, greedy, brawler. The prospect of being eaten by a terrible demon is not the most pleasant even for such a person and forces him to help other people in their destruction.
ND: killing
Illusion. Receives 100% protection from attacks on the night of use.
Deception. Chooses a role and a player. On the night of use, the description of the chosen player's action will correspond to the chosen role.
Torvar
Mental activity was never Torvar's strong suit, but even he understands that when a strange creature rips out your insides with clawed paws—it is bad and something must be done about it. And as for what he was good at—that was killing all sorts of creatures.
Features: kills from a distance, and therefore cannot suffer due to his own action.
ND: killing.
Target guard. Sets an ambush and waits for the victim—kills the first person who comes to the target. In case of success, it cannot be used on the following night. If not required—it is not described in the newspaper.
Stavros
People used to say that man is the most terrible animal of all. Now, with the appearance of demons, they have stopped saying so. All except this young man. There are people who inspire fear even in demons.
Stavros was born in Vyronia and his grandfather told him that his mother had been raped by a powerful and strong man, handsome in appearance but hideous in soul, and he was born from his seed. As a boy, he hated himself and his father. According to the grandfather, this man died during Jonas Schneider's emergence on the political arena, and Stavros lived with this unpleasant thought—he would have preferred to kill him with his own hands. And so when the demons overthrew Vsevolod and reached Vyronia, Stavros, while on the run, witnessed a terrible battle: one man fought against an entire horde of demons. Then Stavros felt horror, but not because he feared death, but because this man not only prevailed in such a situation but also looked like the man from his grandfather's stories: tall, muscular, with long black hair and blue eyes. The steel of his two-handed sword acquired a crimson hue. With one swing after another, he split enemies in two or cut off their limbs, and when one of the demons fell at his feet, still alive, the man stepped on him and pressed him to the ground, dug into his flesh with his free hand and ripped out his spine. The demons, who usually inspired horror in people, backed away from him, but no one left alive. Stavros felt that this man was his father, but could not bring himself even to show himself to him. The next day he decided to forget about his past and dedicate himself to a good cause—helping others.
ND: Heals a person, blocks a demon. If he becomes a demon, he loses this ND, receiving instead a double kill that ignores protection and features—75% chance to survive an attack.
Mira
This woman is an excellent example of why the Order of Black Ice and its associated academy of magic were so necessary.
ND: Kills a player; they cannot be healed or resurrected, ignores protection.
Kills a player. If the target had a protector—kills them plus a third random target.
All guests of the chosen player lose the ability to use ND the following night.
Tai
An innocent maiden and a brave warrior in one person. Her faith serves her as both sword and shield. She is the fire that points the way for the lost and burns the unholy.
Features: cannot be killed by a demon, human votes against her do not count.
ND: killing
Gives a player a 50% chance to survive an attack or the ability to perform two NDs this night.
Joseph Octavian
Once Joseph was an ordinary member of the Order of Black Ice, and when the organization collapsed he faced a difficult choice; Schneider gave him no options. Only Joseph himself knows what he chose on that fateful day, but he remembers exactly what he did not do then—he did not point his blade into the chest of the first overseer of the order. Perhaps if he had killed him then, none of this would have happened and the demons would have remained rotting in their underground world. Now he is not just obligated to defeat this evil for his own survival; he must do it at least for the salvation of his soul and the cleansing of his conscience.
Features: 75% chance to survive an attack.
ND: killing.
Counterattack. If someone tries to kill him, he performs a counter-attack with higher action priority.
Takes the target's ND upon himself.
Ataraxian
Features: if killed at night—resurrects after dawn. Cannot be blocked.
ND:
Prayer. If a player is a demon—removes them from the game regardless of everything else.
Purification. Player loses all NDs and features. Gives 1 creation point.
Resurrection. A previously killed player returns to the game. Gives 2 creation points.
Divine Weapon. Chooses five players; those among them who are demons—die. Requires 5 creation points, once per game.
Flame of Retribution: kills a chosen player ignoring any protection if they have previously committed killings.
DD. Steadfastness. Disrupts his own execution. Requires 5 creation points, once per game.
Perhaps I would have continued doing this work as long as my body was capable of it, but one day, after completing another contract, my employer named Jonas Schneider offered me to work for him on a permanent basis instead of wandering in search of other clients, among whom someone might eventually put a knife in my back. This seemed like a good chance; I did not think long and accepted his offer. After that, my life became full of events, some pleasant and some not, but what I felt for certain was that my life now somehow influenced the world. After the victory over Vyronis, Schneider called me to him. On his table lay the sword with which Vyronis had fought. I felt slightly uneasy at the sight of it, remembering how many people the steel of this blade had killed in the recent battle. Schneider explained to me that not long ago there were two swords—"Peace" and "Serenity," and when they fell into the hands of Vyronis, he melted them into one sword. The former king of Vyronia apparently lacked great imagination and named it "Serene Peace." Schneider also told me that although the blade was created by a professional and its steel is better than any other weapon, it is just a sword, the only difference being the steel of "Serenity." As he told me then, it was capable of hiding the presence of its owner from outside attention, and this was exactly what we needed. Schneider ordered me to kill the emperor of the Ataraxian Empire. I remembered that Schneider never joked when giving me orders, but on that day I still asked him if he was joking. I will not recall what happened next; it weighs too heavily on my heart even to this day... After the collapse of the empire, Schneider died, and I realized that I had committed the most terrible crime in the last few millennia. With the death of the emperor, people received what is called "freedom" in the nine kingdoms, but I saw something else—people turned into beasts, and what frightened me most was that in their actions and lifestyle, I saw my own desires and inclinations. After this, I set out on long wanderings in search of an answer, and one day I found myself in the middle of the hot and endless deserts of Corania. Then I thought that the scorching sun would kill me and surrendered to inevitable death. It was then that enlightenment came to me, and I realized what I had to do next. I founded a temple and chose a new name for myself—Ataraxian. I decided to atone for my sins and began helping people, praying every day to God so that He might descend to us once more and give us another chance, becoming again the one who would point us toward the right path. Years passed, and my small temple in a Coranian city gained great popularity; more and more people came to it, accepted my faith, and set themselves on the path of enlightenment. On one such day, I remembered that even the emperor did not always solve all problems with words; sometimes it was necessary to apply force as well. Only through great effort were my followers and I able to overthrow the unjust society of Corania; we leveled the elite of the golden cities and simple peasants. Two years later, Corania became part of Vsevolod's kingdom, and a few months later, demons invaded our world. Vsevolod fell, and now I could have only one goal—the destruction of the hellish spawn, from whose cruelty the Emperor had protected humanity for so long...
Overlord
In the Abyss, hierarchy is determined by the individual strength of the demon and accordingly, he who is stronger is higher. The title of Overlord goes to the most powerful of all.
Features: vote counts as two, cannot be executed, 100% protection from attacks, can perform an execution at his own discretion (reveals himself after use).
DD: Contract. Chooses a player and that player chooses at their own discretion: either protection from death or killing with armor penetration and ignoring the protector (one-time). After three nights, the Overlord gains the ability to control the actions and votes of this player. Works only on humans.
Guardian of the Lake of Fire
The Lake of Fire is the Overlord's favorite place, filled with the music of human suffering. Naturally, few can enter and leave here of their own free will. If you have entered, you will never leave.
Features: kills his killer.
ND: protects a player and kills the attacker.
Hell Flea
These harmless-looking creatures are the most terrible thing in the underworld. Previously, when the Emperor had not yet driven the spawn of hell into the underground world, these small demons were the cause of death for entire nations.
Features: zero vote.
ND: the chosen player dies from a terrible disease after three days. Anyone who makes contact with this player will be infected. Once every two nights.
Despair
Horror, despair—he has many names, but his role in the demonic world remains constant and unchanging—he awakens when fear is born in the hearts of men.
Features: cannot be blocked.
ND: blocks a chosen player for two nights.
Blocks the actions of a chosen faction (once every four nights).
Shaman
Features. Corruption: the target of his ND becomes a demon.
ND: healing.
Healing all players (once per game).
Gives 25% protection to all demons on the night of use (once every three nights).
Soul-Slayer
ND: killing.
Lust
Are there women among the demons? This question remains a mystery to this day. It is generally believed that hellish creatures kidnap human women and make them mothers of their children, but sometimes such "berries" are encountered—neither demon nor human.
Features: repeated use of ND kills the player and ignores protections (both natural and ND) and healing.
ND: blocks a player.
Hopelessness
At the will of this demon, one only needs to wish and an entire city will cease to exist in an instant, turning into a pile of ash. By right of strength, he is the one who should sit on the throne of the underworld; however, being the very embodiment of laziness and lack of any ambition or desire, he lives underground and rarely leaves.
Features: cannot be killed; night visitors die, but no more than one at a time.
Manipulator
Features: 50% chance to survive an attack, 50% chance to kill the attacker.
ND: checks affiliation (demon or not).
Changes the target of a chosen player.
Changes the targets of two players.
Learns a player's role (once per game).
Prophet
ND: asks a chosen player three questions through the GM, which they must answer. Two answers are truthful, one is false. It is forbidden to ask directly about the role and all associated features, but questions related to images and role descriptions may be asked. The respondent must come up with a pseudonym under which their answers will be published in the newspaper.
Nacht von Helligkeit
Bastard of the penultimate king of Helligkeit. His mother was a woman from the moon clan—an assassin. In her arrogance, she named the boy after herself, albeit in the Helligkeit manner. Nacht grew up in turbulent times when people needed a leader, and he wished to inherit the throne which, as he believed, belonged to him by right.
Features: vote counts as two.
ND: killing
Voice theft.
DD: Execution disruption (has higher priority than the Overlord's feature)
Teohar
Despite all the chaos raging in the world, Teohar believed that soon the demons would be overthrown and sent back to where they came from, and it was during this time that he saw a path for fulfilling his ambitious plans. He did not like the young king, but such an influential ally was simply necessary for him.
ND: kills a player and with 50% probability another random target.
With 50% probability kills a player and all who came to them.
Kills a player and ignores protection.
Ayokest
Former academy student, imprisoned on charges of having ties with Marcus Astallion—a wanted criminal. Left her prison cell when the Silvernight pirates captured the academy. Since then, she has been a servant and friend to his daughter.
ND: affiliation check.
Takes a target under control and gains the ability to dispose of their vote and actions; however, she cannot act herself, her vote does not count.
Catalina
Catalina Silvernight. Daughter of the legendary pirate—not just a captain of a lucky vessel, but a kind of pirate admiral under whose command were several dozen ships. When he died, everyone was sure that the gang would fall apart, but Catalina managed to keep everyone under her leadership. Or under her heel, as many like to joke. Strangely enough, demons are as much a threat to criminals as they are to ordinary people; that is why she agreed to help the new king. Nacht promised her lands and riches in return.
ND: killing
Deprivation of vote
Block.
Protection of target and killing of attacker.
Alexian
Swindler, illusionist, womanizer, greedy, brawler. The prospect of being eaten by a terrible demon is not the most pleasant even for such a person and forces him to help other people in their destruction.
ND: killing
Illusion. Receives 100% protection from attacks on the night of use.
Deception. Chooses a role and a player. On the night of use, the description of the chosen player's action will correspond to the chosen role.
Torvar
Mental activity was never Torvar's strong suit, but even he understands that when a strange creature rips out your insides with clawed paws—it is bad and something must be done about it. And as for what he was good at—that was killing all sorts of creatures.
Features: kills from a distance, and therefore cannot suffer due to his own action.
ND: killing.
Target guard. Sets an ambush and waits for the victim—kills the first person who comes to the target. In case of success, it cannot be used on the following night. If not required—it is not described in the newspaper.
Stavros
People used to say that man is the most terrible animal of all. Now, with the appearance of demons, they have stopped saying so. All except this young man. There are people who inspire fear even in demons.
Stavros was born in Vyronia and his grandfather told him that his mother had been raped by a powerful and strong man, handsome in appearance but hideous in soul, and he was born from his seed. As a boy, he hated himself and his father. According to the grandfather, this man died during Jonas Schneider's emergence on the political arena, and Stavros lived with this unpleasant thought—he would have preferred to kill him with his own hands. And so when the demons overthrew Vsevolod and reached Vyronia, Stavros, while on the run, witnessed a terrible battle: one man fought against an entire horde of demons. Then Stavros felt horror, but not because he feared death, but because this man not only prevailed in such a situation but also looked like the man from his grandfather's stories: tall, muscular, with long black hair and blue eyes. The steel of his two-handed sword acquired a crimson hue. With one swing after another, he split enemies in two or cut off their limbs, and when one of the demons fell at his feet, still alive, the man stepped on him and pressed him to the ground, dug into his flesh with his free hand and ripped out his spine. The demons, who usually inspired horror in people, backed away from him, but no one left alive. Stavros felt that this man was his father, but could not bring himself even to show himself to him. The next day he decided to forget about his past and dedicate himself to a good cause—helping others.
ND: Heals a person, blocks a demon. If he becomes a demon, he loses this ND, receiving instead a double kill that ignores protection and features—75% chance to survive an attack.
Mira
This woman is an excellent example of why the Order of Black Ice and its associated academy of magic were so necessary.
ND: Kills a player; they cannot be healed or resurrected, ignores protection.
Kills a player. If the target had a protector—kills them plus a third random target.
All guests of the chosen player lose the ability to use ND the following night.
Tai
An innocent maiden and a brave warrior in one person. Her faith serves her as both sword and shield. She is the fire that points the way for the lost and burns the unholy.
Features: cannot be killed by a demon, human votes against her do not count.
ND: killing
Gives a player a 50% chance to survive an attack or the ability to perform two NDs this night.
Joseph Octavian
Once Joseph was an ordinary member of the Order of Black Ice, and when the organization collapsed he faced a difficult choice; Schneider gave him no options. Only Joseph himself knows what he chose on that fateful day, but he remembers exactly what he did not do then—he did not point his blade into the chest of the first overseer of the order. Perhaps if he had killed him then, none of this would have happened and the demons would have remained rotting in their underground world. Now he is not just obligated to defeat this evil for his own survival; he must do it at least for the salvation of his soul and the cleansing of his conscience.
Features: 75% chance to survive an attack.
ND: killing.
Counterattack. If someone tries to kill him, he performs a counter-attack with higher action priority.
Takes the target's ND upon himself.
Ataraxian
Features: if killed at night—resurrects after dawn. Cannot be blocked.
ND:
Prayer. If a player is a demon—removes them from the game regardless of everything else.
Purification. Player loses all NDs and features. Gives 1 creation point.
Resurrection. A previously killed player returns to the game. Gives 2 creation points.
Divine Weapon. Chooses five players; those among them who are demons—die. Requires 5 creation points, once per game.
Flame of Retribution: kills a chosen player ignoring any protection if they have previously committed killings.
DD. Steadfastness. Disrupts his own execution. Requires 5 creation points, once per game.
