Tragedy Looper: Midnight Circle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Midnight Zone
  • Major Rule Changes
    • Removing and Placing Extra Cards
  • Rule Clarification
  • Main Plots
  • Subplots
  • Roles
  • Incidents
• Mystery Circle
  • Major Rule Changes
    • Removing and Placing Extra Cards
    • The Extra Gauge
  • Main Plots
  • Subplots
  • Roles
  • Incidents

Midnight Zone

Major Rule Changes

This set contains characters where you need to setup the Extra Gauge. So to this, we add the rules of the Extra cards.

Removing and Placing Extra Cards

When you remove all counters from cards and board in the "removal and placement of counters" step during Loop start, also remove all Extra cards that have been set on other cards. Then, if the plot rules states that Extra cards should be placed anywhere, place them.

Rule Clarification

Here are a few details regarding the priority of resolution of the Mastermind abilties: Some abilities are Mandatory and others are Optional. If several abilities that should happen at the same time conflict, in this case, the Mandatory abilities happen before Optional abilities. If several Optional abilities that should happen at the same time conflict, the Mastermind chooses freely in which order to apply them.

Main Plots

Main plots are the core of the script, normally containing the loss conditions.

The Sealed Item

• Roles to add: Brain, Cultist
• Plot rule: [Loss conditions: Loop end] If there are at least 2 Intrigue counters on the Shrine, the Protagonists lose.

Secret Record

• Roles to add: Key Person, Brain, Conspiracy Theorist
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If the Brain, Factor, or Magician were revealed during this loop, the protagonists lose.

The Devil's Hand

• Roles to add: Key Person, Cultist, Ninja
• Plot rule: none

Male Confrontation

• Roles to add: Ninja (for this plot, the Ninja must be a man (not a boy))
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If the Ninja (or its corpse) has at least 2 Intrigue counters, the protagonists lose.

Fated Connections

• Roles to add: Friend, Serial Killer, Conspiracy Theorist
• Plot rule: [Loop start] Choose one character that died during the previous loop. Place any Extra card on that character (this does not stack with the "Dice of the Gods" plot effect). Character(s) with an Extra card has their role changed into a Key Person.

Subplots

Plots that work in the script's background. They might add other loss conditions or rules. The subplots are comparatively easy to find out.

Love-Hate Spiral

• Roles to add: Friend, Obstinate
• Plot rule: none

Showtime of Death

• Roles to add: Magician, Immortal
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If there are 6 or less characters alive, the Protagonists lose.

Witches Tea Time

• Roles to add: Friend, Conspiracy Theorist, 2 Witches
• Plot rule: none

Dice of the Gods

• Roles to add: Serial Killer, Obstinate
• Plot rule: [Loop start]: Choose one character that died during the previous loop, and place any Extra card on that character (this does not stack with the "Fated Connections" plot effect).

Unanswered Heart

• Roles to add: Conspiracy Theorist, Magician
• Plot rule: "Forbid Goodwill" also has the effect of "Forbid Movement".

Worshippers of the Apocalypse

• Roles to add: Prophet
• Plot rule: [Script creation] There must be at least one Suicide Incident. [Incident step] When determining whether an Incident triggers, and the culprit is a Person, if the Prophet is alive, the culprit is regarded as having 1 less than its printed Paranoia limit.

Unsafe Trigger

• Roles to add: Factor
• Plot rule: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Intrigue counter on the (living) Factor's location (only once per loop).

Roles

What the characters are hiding.

Cultist

• Max limit: none
• Mandatory Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Optional] [Card resolve] You may ignore all "Forbid Intrigue" effects on this location and on all characters in this location.
• Appears in plots: The Sealed Item (main plot), The Devil's Hand (main plot)

Brain

• Max limit: none
• Optional Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Intrigue counter on this location or on any character in this location.
• Appears in plots: The Sealed Item (main plot), Secret Record (main plot)

Magician

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may move one character with at least one Paranoia counter from this location to an adjacent location (not diagonal). (Only once per loop, for all magicians combined.)
• Ability: [Mandatory] [On character death] When this character dies, remove all paranoia counters from its corpse.
• Appears in plots: Showtime of Death (subplot), Unanswered Heart (subplot)

Ninja

• Max limit: none
• Optional Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Optional] [When this role is to be revealed] You may, instead of saying the truth, state any other non-Person role that is in this script.
• Ability: [Optional] [Day end] If there is any character with at least 2 Intrigue counters in this location, you may kill that character.
• Appears in plots: Male Confrontation (main plot), The Devil's Hand (main plot)

Friend

• Max limit: 2
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Loop end] If this character is dead, reveal its role, and the Protagonists have lost.
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Loop start] If this character's role has been revealed, it gets one Goodwill counter.
• Appears in plots: Fated Connections (main plot), Love-Hate Spiral (subplot), Witches Tea Time (subplot)

Serial Killer

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Day end] If there is exactly 1 other character in this location, that character dies. (Remember that corpses are not counted as characters.)
• Appears in plots: Fated Connections (main plot), Dice of the Gods (subplot)

Conspiracy Theorist

• Max limit: 1
• Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Paranoia counter on a character in this location.
• Appears in plots: Secret Record (main plot), Fated Connections (main plot), Witches Tea Time (subplot), Unanswered Heart (subplot)

Obstinate

• Max limit: none
• Mandatory Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Mandatory] [Script Creation] This character must be the culprit of at least 1 Incident.
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Incident step] This character always triggers its Incidents, regardless of the amount of paranoia counters on it.
• Appears in plots: Love-Hate Spiral (subplot), Dice of the Gods (subplot)

Key Person

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Always] When this character dies, the Protagonists immediately lose and the loop ends.
• Appears in plots: Secret Record (main plot), The Devil's Hand (main plot), Fated Connections (main, sometimes)

Factor

• Max limit: none
• Optional Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Mandatory] [Always] If the School has at least 2 Intrigue, this character gets the abilities of the Conspiracy Theorist. [Mandatory] [Always] If the City has at least 2 Intrigue, this character gets the abilities of the Key Person.
• Appears in plots: Unsafe Trigger (subplot)

Witch

• Max limit: none
• Mandatory Goodwill Refusal Ability: none
• Appears in plots: Witches Tea Time (subplot, 2 witches)

Prophet

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Mastermind Action step] The Mastermind cannot place cards on this character. [Mandatory] [Incident step] When determining whether an Incident triggers, and the culprit is another character in this location, that Incident does not trigger, regardless of the number of Paranoia counters on the culprit.
• Appears in plots: Worshippers of the Apocalypse (subplot)

Immortal

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Always] This character cannot die.
• Appears in plots: Showtime of Death (subplot)

Incidents

Accidents and horrors during the script. Are they intentional or fated to be?

Serial Murder

• Effect: One other character in the culprit's location dies. The same character may be the culprit of several Serial Murder Incidents in the script.

Suicide

• Effect: The culprit dies.

Increasing Unease

• Effect: Place 2 Paranoia on any character, then 1 Intrigue on any other character.

Uproar

• Effect: If there is at least 1 Intrigue counter on the School, everyone in the School dies. If there is at least 1 Intrigue counter on the City, everyone in the City dies.

Breakthrough

• Effect: The Protagonist Leader chooses one location or character, and removes 2 Intrigue counters from there.

Missing Person

• Effect: Move the culprit to any location. Then place 1 Intrigue on that location.

Conspiracies

• Effect: Resolve either a "Serial Murder" or "Missing Person" Incident. When determining whether this Incident triggers, look at the amount of Intrigue counters instead of Paranoia counters.

Hospital Incident

• Effect: If the Hospital has at least 1 Intrigue, everyone in the Hospital dies. Also, if the Hospital has at least 2 Intrigue, the Protagonists die.

Fake Incident

• Effect: If there are at least 2 Intrigue counters on the culprit's starting location, the Protagonists die. On script creation, on the Open Information card, you may put down the name of a completely different Incident (on the Secret Information card, you must state Fake Incident).

Faked Suicide

• Effect: Set an Extra card on the culprit. During the remainder of the loop, the Protagonists may not play any cards on character(s) with Extra cards.

Confession

• Effect: Reveal the culprit and the culprit's role.

Mystery Circle

There is no such thing as miracles or magic. The sole answer to all riddles, are human.

Mystery Circle is a tragedy set targeted at players who are fairly experienced with Tragedy Looper. This is a good Tragedy Set to try once you have grasped most of the contents in Basic Tragedy and Midnight Zone.

The concept for this set is "Incidents" and "Culprits". Up until now, Incidents have been but a spice to add to the scripts, but now they take a central part in the tragedies. Finding out the culprits is now more important than ever. Some plots will even force the Protagonists to find out the culprits, or they will lose.

The game is staged in a detective mystery environment: there are no evil spirits, no mysterious viruses, no superhuman powers. They don't exist. This is a world where only logic and deduction prevails.

Major Rule Changes

This set uses the Extra Gauge and the Extra cards. The Extra Gauge marker is also used.

Removing and Placing Extra Cards

When you remove all counters from cards and locations in the "removal and placement of counters" step during Loop start, also remove all Extra cards that have been set on other cards. Then, if the plot rules states that Extra cards should be placed anywhere, place them.

The Extra Gauge

In this set, the Extra Gauge represents the number of Incidents that have occurred. During "removal and placement of counters", set the Extra Gauge to 0. For each Incident that occurs, increase the Extra Gauge by 1. This is done regardless of whether the Event itself has any effect or not.

Main Plots

Main plots are the core of the script, normally containing the loss conditions.

Murder Plan

• Roles to add: Key Person, Brain, Killer
• Plot rule: none

Tightrope Plan

• Roles to add: Brain, Killer
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If the Extra Gauge is at 1 or lower, the Protagonists lose.

A Drop of Strychnine

• Roles to add: Key Person, Poisoner, Fool
• Plot rule: [Always] When determining whether "Serial Murder" or "Suicide" triggers, count Intrigue counters also as Paranoia counters.

A Quilt of Incidents

• Roles to add: Conspiracy Theorist, Fool
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If the Extra Gauge is at 3 or more, the Protagonists lose.

The Black School

• Roles to add: Brain
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If there are at least X Intrigue counters on the School, the Protagonists lose. X is 1 less than the current loop number. (Protagonists will always lose the first loop if there is at least one Intrigue counter on the School.)

Subplots

Plots that work in the script's background. They might add other loss conditions or rules. The subplots are comparatively easy to find out.

The Hidden Freak

• Roles to add: Friend, Serial Killer
• Plot rule: none

Dance of Fools

• Roles to add: Fool, Friend
• Plot rule: none

Isolated Institution Psycho

• Roles to add: Paranoiac, Therapist, Conspiracy Theorist
• Plot rule: [Loop start] If the Extra Gauge was 2 or less at the end of the previous loop, increase it by 1.

An Absolute Will

• Roles to add: Obstinate
• Plot rule: none

Tricky Twins

• Roles to add: Twin, Paranoiac
• Plot rule: none

A Smell of Gunpowder

• Roles to add: Serial Killer
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If there are a total of 12 or more Paranoia counters on the remaining characters, the Protagonists lose.

I Am a Master Detective

• Roles to add: Private Investigator, Conspiracy Theorist, Friend
• Plot rule: none

Roles

What the characters are hiding.

Poisoner

• Max limit: none
• Optional Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Mandatory] [Day end] If the Extra Gauge is at 2 or more, any one character in this location dies (once per loop). [Mandatory] [Day end] If the Extra Gauge is at 4 or more, the Protagonists die.
• Appears in plots: A Drop of Strychnine (main plot)

Killer

• Max limit: none
• Optional Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Optional] [Day end] If the Key Person has at least 2 Intrigue and is in this location, you may kill the Key Person. [Optional] [Day end] If this character has at least 4 Intrigue, you may kill the Protagonists.
• Appears in plots: Murder Plan (main plot), Tightrope Plan (main plot)

Fool

• Max limit: 1
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Script creation] This character must be the culprit of an Incident. [Mandatory] [Incident step] After this character has triggered an Incident, remove all Paranoia counters from its card.
• Appears in plots: A Quilt of Incidents (main plot), A Drop of Strychnine (main plot), Dance of Fools (subplot)

Private Investigator

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Script creation] This character can never be a culprit. [Mandatory] [Always] This character cannot die. [Mandatory] [Incident step] If the Extra Gauge is 0, and the culprit is in this location, the Incident triggers regardless of the number of Paranoia counters on the culprit.
• Appears in plots: I Am a Master Detective (subplot)

Conspiracy Theorist

• Max limit: 1
• Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Paranoia counter on a character in this location.
• Appears in plots: A Quilt of Incidents (main plot), Isolated Institution Psycho (subplot), I Am a Master Detective (subplot)

Serial Killer

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Day end] If there is exactly 1 other character in this location, that character dies. (Remember that corpses are not counted as characters.)
• Appears in plots: The Hidden Freak (subplot), A Smell of Gunpowder (subplot)

Friend

• Max limit: 2
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Loop end] If this character is dead, reveal its role, and the Protagonists lose. [Mandatory] [Loop start] If this character's role has been revealed, it gets one Goodwill counter.
• Appears in plots: The Hidden Freak (subplot), Dance of Fools (subplot), I Am a Master Detective (subplot)

Brain

• Max limit: none
• Optional Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Intrigue counter on this location or on any character in this location.
• Appears in plots: Murder Plan (main plot), The Black School (main plot), Tightrope Plan (main plot)

Key Person

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Always] When this character dies, the Protagonists immediately lose and the loop ends.
• Appears in plots: Murder Plan (main plot), A Drop of Strychnine (main plot)

Paranoiac

• Max limit: none
• Mandatory Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place an Intrigue or Paranoia counter on this character.
• Appears in plots: Isolated Institution Psycho (subplot), Tricky Twins (subplot)

Twin

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Script creation] This character must be the culprit of an Incident. [Mandatory] [Incident trigger] When this character triggers an Incident, it is considered as being on the diagonally opposite location.
• Appears in plots: Tricky Twins (subplot)

Obstinate

• Max limit: none
• Mandatory Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Mandatory] [Script creation] This character must be the culprit of an Incident. [Mandatory] [Incident step] This character always triggers its Incidents (if alive), regardless of the amount of Paranoia counters on it.
• Appears in plots: An Absolute Will (subplot)

Therapist

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Mastermind ability] If the Extra Gauge is at 1 or above, remove 1 Paranoia counter from any other character in this location.
• Appears in plots: Isolated Institution Psycho (subplot)

Incidents

Accidents and horrors during the script. Are they intentional or fated to be?

Serial Murder

• Effect: One other character in the culprit's location dies. The same character may be the culprit of several Serial Murder Incidents in the same script.

Hospital Incident

• Effect: If the Hospital has at least 1 Intrigue, everyone in the Hospital dies. Also, if the Hospital has at least 2 Intrigue, the Protagonists die.

Portent

• Trigger: When determining whether this Incident triggers or not, treat the culprit's Paranoia limit as 1 less than its printed limit.
• Effect: Put 1 Paranoia counter on any character in the culprit's location.

Increasing Unease

• Effect: Place 2 Paranoia on any character, then 1 Intrigue on any other character.

Terrorism

• Effect: If the City has at least 1 Intrigue, everyone in the City dies. Also, if the City has at least 2 Intrigue, the Protagonists die.

Bestial Murder

• Trigger: When determining whether this Incident triggers or not, treat the culprit's Paranoia limit as 1 more than its printed limit.
• Effect: Resolve "Serial Murder" and "Increasing Unease" in that order. Then increase the Extra Gauge by 1 more step (as a result, this Incident will cause the Extra Gauge to rise 2 steps in total).

Suicide

• Effect: The culprit dies.

Faked Suicide

• Effect: Set an Extra card on the culprit. During the remainder of the loop, the Protagonists may not play any cards on character(s) with Extra cards.

A Suspicious Letter

• Effect: Move any character in the culprit's location to any location. If the character actually changed location, that character cannot be moved the next day.

Closed Circle

• Effect: Reveal the culprit's location. For 3 days, including the day the Incident occurred, any movement to or from that location is nullified.

The Silver Bullet

• Effect: The loop ends after this Incident step (resulting in a Protagonist victory unless any loss condition is fulfilled). This Incident does not increase the Extra Gauge.