THE BALLAD OF SEAT 7
Who is Seat 7?
Seat 7’s story begins like any other. It’s a Sunday night on the Strings server. Numbers are low and no one is in the mood for a teensy. On a whim a player suggests opening an empty seat. “We can just let the storyteller decide what the seat does until someone else joins to take over.” we agree. The ST passes out tokens. Everyone spends the day joking about the seat’s awful vibes “Seat 7 must be the demon!” they cry “Seat 7 ignored my request for a private chat! Clearly they’re waiting to talk to their evil team!” Nominations open and in mere moments someone nominates Seat 7…… and dies. Seat 7 was the virgin. Laughs are had, the game goes on, and eventually a demon is killed. At the end of the game a player finally joins and everyone agrees to open another empty seat to continue the fun. A tradition is born.
The Djinn Rule: Seat 7 remains empty. Its choices are arbitrary. Once per game the storyteller may speak on its behalf.
Take a look at the most updated version of the script HERE
How to Run
Seat 7 runs for the most part like any other Clocktower game. One seat remains open and tokens are passed out as usual. Each night the storyteller determines what actions the seat takes following its role in night order. Once per game the storyteller may choose to speak for the seat. This can be public, private, does not need to be the truth, and can be used to nominate and accuse a player (even itself!) A storyteller may also choose to not use this ability if they think it will benefit the seat’s team to stay silent. There is no limit to what you can say or how long you speak. The only limit is that you can only have one instance of speaking per game.
Advice on Speaking for the Seat
A storyteller only has one opportunity to influence the game using the seat’s voice so it is advised to be very careful when you speak and what you say. A seat who speaks on day 1 may have game solving info later. It is also encouraged to get creative with how you choose to use the seat’s voice. The goal is not to save the seat but to win the game for the seat’s team.
Encouraging Seat Interaction
Seat 7 can quickly become a set piece in town if not used properly. A storyteller wishing to encourage more interaction with the seat may start the first day by letting players know that the seat will remain in town square but at any time they may request to chat with the storyteller to attempt to speak to the seat or influence its actions. Much like wizard wishes, the seat may follow direction if the storyteller desires. Players can give info to the seat to influence normally arbitrary decisions, they can ask the seat to vote or nominate a certain way, and may even attempt to gain favor with the seat to learn its info. Much like a player, the seat can build alliances, work with, and even betray others.
Using Flavor to Respond
Speaking once per game can seem quite limiting depending on the seat’s role. However, there is nothing stopping a storyteller from adding narration or flavor to give players an idea of what the seat’s intentions are. Doing so may also encourage your players to reach out to the seat more often.
“You feel that Seat 7 is not quite ready to speak but you do feel a warm breeze in the air. A positive response”
“You hear a distant roll of thunder. The seat is not pleased”
“You strain your ears in the silence, desperate to hear anything. Almost imperceptibly you hear a ticking noise. Surely it must be your imagination”
FAQ
If Seat 7 gets the demon token, do they have to use their once per game ability if they want to give the minions bluffs?
If the seat draws the demon token and wants to give bluffs to a minion they still must use their once per game speaking ability to do so. The minion is then free to claim whatever they like to justify the private conversation with the seat. I.e. washerwoman, librarian, dreamer info.
Can the seat vote?
Though voting was not considered in the initial creation of the Djinn rule, it can be ruled as an “arbitrary choice” if the ST feels it is necessary. I still would caution against doing so regularly, as a storyteller should minimize their impact on the outcome of the game as much as possible. I would advise no more than one vote per day to maintain balance. I would also advise storytellers to announce the Seat’s intention to vote before players cast their own. This will allow your players to adjust their votes accordingly and help ease confusion around when the Seat is voting.
Why only once per game? Wouldn’t it be more fun for the seat to speak every day?
Every group is different and some may desire for the seat to have a more active role in the game. Any modification that makes the game more enjoyable for its players is valid. The djinn was made, as limited as it is, to keep the game as player driven as possible and add gravity to the words that the storyteller ultimately chooses. An earlier iteration only allowed the seat to share its info if it made it to the final three. Still unsure? Consider this, a storyteller has more access to the grim and game state than anyone else. The more they speak or lie about what is happening in the game the more they direct the outcome of it and take away the agency of their players. Ultimately the choice is yours. Seat 7, after all, was merely a meme that saved us from a teensy.
Optional Rules
These rules were created separately to the djinn rule and may be used to spice up your Seat 7 games should you dare.
Seats Rise Up: Voting has been unlocked! Once per day, if the seat still has a vote, the storyteller may choose one nomination and a vote to it’s total. This must be done before another nomination is made.
Amnesiac at Home: If a new player sits in seat 7 during the game the storyteller can choose to let them stay and speak for the seat. However they are not told the role nor any of it’s prior information.
The Grandmother Principle: At the start of night 1, one player is woken to learn that they have been chose to protect the seat. If seat 7 is executed they might die as well.
A Terrifying Whisper: The Seat may speak twice per game. Once privately and once publicly.
Seat 7 Quotes
“Oh shit” – Seat 7 upon the execution of a Boomdandy
“I’m just the Mayor, leave me alone!” – Seat 7 as the Demon
“Seat 7 killed my parents.” – Spleen
“I nominate Seat 7, because there’s nothing that they can do about it.” – Nicky
“Thank God I don’t have to add any special app features for this script” – Bra1n
Credits
A big shout out to TPI for giving us all an outlet for our crazy ideas. Beardy for doing the most to get our scripts out there and giving us a space to talk about them. My fellow finalists for being the most chill and supportive adversaries I could ask for. Frdmn for the dope accents for this page. But the biggest thank you of all goes to the Strings server for pushing me to make this submission in the first place. Our little seat is all grown up now!