HowToPlay

## **Game Objective**

The objective *(Tip: Mouse over lime green text to get more information!)* of *Throne of Lies* is simple: eliminate the opposing faction. If you are a neutral class and have no faction, you will have a unique objective such as surviving until the end of the game or eliminating everyone.

While members of the Cult and Unseen factions will know their allies, members of the Blue Dragon must be suspicious of every other player to ensure that they don’t fall to an evil plot. Even the King is suspect in *Throne of Lies*, as he could be working for the enemy.

## **How to Play (Quickstart)**

Traitors, also known as the Unseen/Cult, are rumored to be plotting against Castle Adiart. The loyal members of The Blue Dragon faction must discover who is committing Treason by using their abilities, social deduction and various clues.

The first step of any *Throne of Lies* (ToL) game is to look at your player card (located in the top left corner of the screen) to determine what class you are and what faction you are a part of. Clicking on the card will reveal further information about your abilities and the abilities of the other classes.

Each day within the game is broken into two phases: Day and Night.

During the night phase, members of the evil faction will congregate in secret to discuss their findings and plot their next moves. This may include killing members of the Blue Dragon or converting them to their faction. They could also use their night abilities to disrupt the abilities of other players and leave them with false information.

Members of the Blue Dragon will return to their own rooms at night. Here they can use their night abilities to investigate, protect or occupy other players in an effort to determine their allegiance. Some classes, such as The Mystic, will be able to talk to others at night.

At the start of the day phase, you will learn which players died the previous night. All players will then return to the roundtable where they can discuss their investigation, use their day abilities and accuse others of treason. At the end of the day, one player may be put up for execution and the entire court will decide their fate.

It is very important to write all of this information, including how you use your own abilities, in your logbook. This will allow you to keep track of what’s going on and who is claiming which class. The logbook is also extremely important to other players. If you meet an unfortunate demise, the logbook will be revealed to all players and used to corroborate other information they’ve learned.

## **The Four Factions**

In every game of *Throne of Lies*, one player is assigned to the class of The King. The King can be a member of any of the four factions and only he will know which faction he is a part of.

1) Blue Dragon: The good and noble leaders of Castle Adiart represent the Blue Dragon faction. Their goal is to defeat the Unseen or Cult members and any neutral players that attempt to eliminate them. Social deduction skills are most important to the Blue Dragon because they do not know which other players are their allies. At the start of every game, one player will be assigned the class of the Prince. In games featuring the Unseen, players may be assigned the class of Sheriff. In games featuring the Cult, players may be assigned the class of Paladin.

Only a select few members of the Blue Dragon have the ability to kill other players. Because of this, it is important to use the ability to execute players during the day and prevent their enemies from growing in power and numbers.

2) Unseen: The goal of the mysterious Unseen faction is to eliminate the members of the Blue Dragon and any neutral players that attempt to eliminate them. At the start of an Unseen game, two players will be assigned to the classes of the Mastermind and the Assassin. The Mastermind can convert players and turn them into evil versions of their original class. The Assassin can kill or bleed other players to eliminate them from the game.

There can only be three members of the Unseen at any one time.

3) Cult: Like the Unseen, the goal of the evil Cult faction is to eliminate the members of the Blue Dragon and any neutral players that attempt to eliminate them. At the start of a Cult game, one player will be assigned the class of Cult Leader and a second player will be a random Cult member. The Cult Leader can brainwash other players to join the Cult, turning them into a new class based on their original class type.

There can only be four members of the Cult at any one time, but the Cult Leader can sacrifice members of his own faction to replenish his abilities and open up space for another convert.

4) Neutral: There are twelve different neutral classes in *Throne of Lies* each with their own unique objective. While classes such as the Reaper, Possessor, Sorcerer, Inquisitor and Scorned must eliminate other players; the Fool, Mercenary, Sellsword, and Alchemist have different aims like dying in an execution, winning with another faction or simply surviving.

## **What's Special?**

***Throne of Lies* attempts to further evolve the social deduction genre with two new dynamics.**

* The King

 At the start of every game, one player is assigned the class of King. The King can be a member of either the Blue Dragon or the Unseen/Cult, and only he knows where his loyalties stand. His highness can radically alter the game with an additional vote during executions and the ability to completely veto the results. He will always be player number 1, and have a gold name when he sends messages.

Because the King wields so much power, he is constantly under threat of assassination. He can also be poisoned by the Butler or voted up for treason. If the King is killed, players of the court can nominate themselves to take his place.

Blue Dragon Killers and Investigative classes mostly cannot target the King, and neither the Cult nor Unseen is aware of his allegiance. The only way to ensure the King’s loyalty is to use your social deduction skills or kill him and seat a loyal member of your faction onto the throne.

* Two distinct enemy factions, each with a leader that has the ability to convert

In *Throne of Lies*, there are two distinct enemy factions: the Cult and the Unseen, but only one faction will appear in any game. Before members of the Blue Dragon can eliminate the opposition, they must determine which faction they are up against.

Both the Unseen and Cult factions have the power to convert their enemies into allies. Even a trusted friend that has already been vetted by your abilities can become an enemy. The Blue Dragon must always be suspicious.

The Unseen will always start the game with an Assassin and The Mastermind. The Cult will always have a Cult Leader and a second loyal subject. The makeup of the faction will rapidly shift and evolve from there. Different evil classes have their own day and night abilities that can empower and protect their leader, alter and negate the Blue Dragon’s abilities or stifle their investigation.

Just as you can never trust your allies, you often cannot trust the information you receive.