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Assorted Keyword Statistics

I wanted to see what the most common keywords in abilities were. Here's what I found:

by concavz · updated 7 November 2026

Notice: This data is very jank and unprofessional, and I am in no means an expert in data collection. There are some very clear issues in the way I've collected this data, so everything should be taken with a grain of salt.
This data doesn't factor in punctuation. (ergo, night* and night are treated as the same keyword)
(This is up to date as of November 3rd, 2026.)

Common keywords

Top 100 Most common keywords used on the Homebrew Wiki

All keywords within the top 100 have at least 100 uses.

youtheaifnightplayereachchoosetheyaredie
1playerslearneviltoisgooddemonoryourof
charactermayattheirmightnotdayanoncegameability
that2townsfolkdeadminionperonandoutsiderinall
untiltonightthisaliveasexecutedstartwho1stevendrunk
duskplayitknowingbecomecharactersdiesbewinsstorytellerminions
poisonedwhenteamknow3todaybyforonethemalignment
livinghavepubliclywithregisterwhichonlyvotefromothertime
outsidersnominatemadbutchoseninfotomorrowyourselfnoanylive
nominatedexecutionguessfirstlosesfalsebecomesmanyyou're0don't

"You", the most common word, with 4027 uses, so common that out of 3774 characters, only 1010 don't have it!
It has an incredibly commanding lead, with a thousand more uses than "the" (2737), and "a" (2667), and "if" (2460) respectively.
"Night", the most common word not to be found within the English Top 100, only has 2357 uses.
The highest placing word in the English Top 100 not found in the Homebrew Wiki Top 100 is "I" (3 uses, 10th place in English Top 100).

Top 100 Most common keywords used on Official characters

youaplayertheifnightchooseeacharetheydie
playersis1todemonlearnorevilgooddaymay
notonceperyourgametheir2atmightofcharacter
allthatminionwhichabilityexecutedinstarttonightaliveknowing
whendead1st3alignmentdrunkplaythisbutknowstoryteller
townsfolkvoteanaspoisonedbeitononlyoutsiderpublicly
winscharactersdiesforminionsteamtodayuntilwhoduskeven
executionhowtheretomorrowyourselfbecomebymanyandbecomesdied
guessinfolivelosesmorenominateonedon'thavekillmust
nominatedotheroutsidersthemtime

"Time" is in a tie with "don't", "kill", "must", "nominated", "other", "outsiders", "them", at 6 uses.
The most common keywords of the TPI Top 100 not found within the HBWiki Top 100 are...
...sorting via TPI's usage, "execution" (127, 9 TPI), "how" (135, 9 TPI), and "there" (75, 9 TPI)
...sorting via the HBWiki's usage, "abilities" (144, 3 TPI), "kill" (141, 6 TPI), and "how" (135, 9 TPI)

Top 25 Most common keywords NOT within the Official Top 100

SymbolCountSymbolCountSymbolCountSymbolCountSymbolCount
living210with201register200from191instead185
mad167chosen160no151any148another147
abilities144first123false120you're1150113
neighbors111next110in-play108last108learns108
think107gain106about105both105after104

Top 25 Most common keywords NOT within the Official Top 100 nor the HBWiki Top 100

SymbolCountSymbolCountSymbolCountSymbolCountSymbolCount
another147abilities144first123false120you're115
0113neighbors111next110in-play108last108
learns108think107gain106about105both105
after104can104during103dawn100get100
different95then95type93would93cannot92

Top 100 Most common keywords NOT used on ANY Official characters

you'renextwouldwhilenumbertwoneighboursthey'rereceivepotionyesterday
turnwhetherdirectionuniquehappensneighbourdidelseactunlessanswer
doesgivenoneotherstokenslivesoutsetupexactlyotherwiseend
story≥jailedmarkedfollowingnoterightspelltellertypesbluff
endsexecutesoppositespells≤orderreversedstartseveryoneevilsinto
can’tchoiceslearnednon-demonprevioustravellerbetweencorrectlydon’teffectshalf
someonetimesadditionalanythingcyclepicktargettargetsthosevicewithout
alwaystaskthreeversaallyaren'texecuteeslesssurviveturnswhose
–6activeaffectedchangeddecidedeclaredrawnnamesnon-travellerpoint
potionsrecenttargetedunlisted

"You're" is the most common keyword on here, with 115 uses. I imagine, because it's a commonly used term in normal English, but is rather improper when referring to Clocktower syntax. (Or just a copout to cut down on character count)
"Next" is the first keyword to be entirely unique to homebrew design, and has 110 uses.
I think some of my favorite ones in this list are the keywords that are just really funny variations of existing terms that aren't just an example of bad syntax, such as the British spelling of "neighbor" and "traveler".
This list is even so sparse that we even have a lot of examples of "wack syntax", with punctuation so niche it's not even defined as punctuation by ASCII. This refers to symbols like "≥" and "–"– I mean who the hell even uses an en dash for crying out loud?? (The answer: christoph-ehm. God bless their German souls.) Punctuation officially recognized by ASCII wasn't counted for this list-- we have a dedicated list for those!
"Potion" is the most common script-exclusive keyword, with 43 uses! It's from Festival of Fears, which has a lot of "Potion" characters that get designated as Loric here (probably because it was added before the "Other" character type was a thing)
The entire bottom 2 rows (aside from the en dash) are in a 13-way tie, with 12 uses each.

Top 25 Most common non-alphanumeric symbols

SymbolCountSymbolCountSymbolCountSymbolCountSymbolCount
.6137,6020:1372*1178&1074
)716(678-621]619[619
+527"160’125;80?63
/57”30≤30“28≥27
【16】16–14!9#6

A lot of the odder and more uncommon symbols are a direct result of

  • Nonstandard and sometimes incorrect syntax, usually unique to 1 creator: Lenticular Bracket, En Dash, Pound Sign (cough)
  • Gimmick Usage: Exclamation Mark, Question Mark, most other symbols

Top 25 Most common Capitalized words

Usually this just means "the starting word", but there are some proper nouns in here, too.

WordCountWordCountWordCountWordCountWordCount
Each1707If1164You912Demon661Townsfolk433
The407Minion382Once378Outsider366Storyteller242
On230Minions227Outsiders168When144Players106
They90All85Demons82Evil81A70
Good58Your52After51X46At43
Grimoire43Night43Travellers43

It might also be interesting to see the first two words of the start to an ability, but I don't have the heart in me to finnaggle Google Sheets to be able to do that.

Top 25 Most common Looooong words

Keywords longer than 7 characters.

WordCountWordCountWordCountWordCountWordCount
storyteller258information58nominations51immediately28resurrected26
non-traveller12non-travellers10neighboring9equidistant8non-townsfolk8
responsible8anticlockwise7communicate7storytellers7character’s6
successfully6counterclockwise5game-related5malfunction5differently4
examination4incorrectly4registration4unconscious4additionally3
additionally3assassinated3character+alignment3independently3misregister3
modifications3nonsensical3permanently3predecessor3repercussions3
townsfolk/minion3townsfolk/outsider3townsfolk’s3

Top 25 Most commonly used Unique Official Words

Of the words that are really used only once within base Clocktower, which ones are utilized the most?

WordCountWordCountWordCountWordCountWordCount
in-play108about105dawn100type93before68
votes60information58change52final52nominations51
count46will45again44chose44secretly42
poison41statement41death40killed40way40
being39see39ask37script37clockwise36

Top 25 Most commonly used Unique Curata Words

Of words used only once within all Curata collections, what are utilized the most?

WordCountWordCountWordCountWordCountWordCount
whether37act31out27effects16due15
pick15always14acts11didnt11open11
second11matter10sees10used10current9
go9away8like7longest7private7
received7talk7appear6boon6longer6

Comparing the Top 10 Most Common Words for Character Type & Curata / Official / Untagged

OverallTownsfolkOutsiderMinionDemonTravellerFabledLoricOtherCurataOfficialUntagged
youyouyouyounightyouthethetheyouyouyou
thetheififaaplayersaatheaa
anighttheaplayerthetoplayersmayifplayerthe
ifaarethechooseifayouminionathenight
nightifaplayereachchoosemayplayeryounightifplayer
playerplayerplayernightdieplayerplayerto1playernightif
eachlearndietheytheyeachmightareareeachchooseeach
chooseeachnightchooseyounightififgameschooseeachchoose
theychooseevilarethetheyorisittheyarethey
arearemighteachiftonightornomaddietheydie

How Common Are The HBWiki Top 20 In Each Character Type + Curata + Official + Untagged?

These are the placements of each keyword within each respective list. (1 means 1st, 2 means 2nd)

TownsfolkOutsiderMinionDemonTravellerFabledLoricOtherCurataOfficialUntagged
you111818245111
the23493111243
a45322422422
if52210488N/A356
night386181015N/A564
player665366511635
each81910571214N/A787
choose921845204622878
they11167792211N/A9109
are10491416167711911
die12712634392225101110
1131811112619126151413
players162713121223N/A121212
learn7263047205134N/A131715
evil1791513581819N/A141914
to19241715103658161516
is141116183217935171317
good27251416404020N/A202018
demon18131858812732N/A191622
or2517192718910N/A241819

Top 100 keywords used in characters without "You"

Since "You", the definitively overall highest used keyword ever, is so broad with how many characters use it, characters who don't use it fit into a rather odd niche-- what keywords tend to show up?

athenightplayereachchoosetheyifplayersdie
1areeviltoislearngoodgameortheir
mightatonceofpercharacter2demondaythat
analluntilandoutsiderindiesduskexecutedmay
beminionnotthistownsfolkcharactersstorytellertonightasplay
deadabilitypoisonedwhoaliveonwinsminionsit1st
3foroutsiderslivingchosenonebecometomorrowbytoday
drunkvotetimenothemwithanyonlypubliclywhen
duringinsteadotherwhichinfocanmadabilitiesbecomesbut
fromafternextdifferentlivenominateregisterteamalignmentdied

Top 25 Mentioned Characters

A lot of the keywords that are only mentioned once or twice are just mentions of specific characters.

WordCountWordCountWordCountWordCountWordCount
drunk302marked23vice15exiled10nobody10
hand9hydra8odd8prophecy8lost7
queen7spartacus7beast6cabal6frodo6
king6lunatic6sheep6damsel5double5
l5lord5plague5rest5samurai5
unknown5

The meta here is basically to steal an already existing keyword so you bank off of those sweet sweet mentions. You can see this done with Drunk, Marked, Vice, Exiled, and Nobody. And L, which steals all of the L's.
Characters like Hydra are so common mainly because there are already so many "Hydra" characters to begin with, and almost all of them end up being self-referential.

Top 25 Words Found In Character Names

Words within character names.

WordCountWordCountWordCountWordCountWordCount
the52of40potion15hunter13prophet13
doctor12man12lady10agent8guardian8
hydra8king8priest8rat8spirit8
warden8warlock8captain7cat7cultist7
medium7vampire7beast6carpenter6disciple6
executioner6jester6master6occultist6old6
phantom6prince6role6scout6witch6
witness6worker6

Most of the other more commonly used words here can be attributed to epithets (Doctor X, Lady X, King X), and most other ones are found in...

Top 25 Duplicate Character Names

WordCountWordCountWordCountWordCountWordCount
prophet10warlock8medium7warden7captain6
carpenter6cultist6disciple6executioner6jester6
architect5bard5cleric5conductor5constable5
druid5guardian5hunter5hydra5hypnotist5
lookout5martyr5navigator5occultist5phantom5
prosecutor5siren5vampire5witness5

There are a surprising amount of duplicates here! Most of these seem to be very common fantasy or occupational tropes, which makes sense for a lot of the theming many Townsfolk and Outsiders tend to have. The only outlier here is "Hydra", which is a very common Demon name!

Top 25 Highest Scrabble Scoring keywords

WORDSCORECOUNTWORDSCORECOUNTWORDSCORECOUNTWORDSCORECOUNTWORDSCORECOUNT
EXCEPTIONALLY271LUMBERJACK271ALPHABETICALLY261CONFIRMABILITY261EQUALIZE261
ANTICLOCKWISE247PARALYZED243SUBJECTIVE243CONSEQUENCE242PHILANTHROPIST242
PRIORITIZING242COUNTERATTACKED241EXPERIENCING241MECHANICALLY241SEQUENTIALLY241
ACCOUNTABILITY231CONSECUTIVELY231KNUCKLEBONE231PRIORITIZED231REQUIREMENTS231
SUCCESSFULLY226MASQUERADE223COMMUNICATING221NIGHTWALKER221PROGRESSIVELY221
SUCCESSIVELY221UNKNOWINGLY221

These all tend to be the longest words utilized on the wiki, but the Scrabble Score filters out a lot of the keywords that are portmanteaus due to a bad use of punctuation and formatting, or ones that aren't found in common usage, and are much more likely to be character names. A lot of these are unique words, too!

Top 100 Most commonly used English words not present in ANY ability on the Wiki

Note: This is a ranking of English words used within Project Gutenberg, so there is a notable level of bias towards academic work and old books.

hishimweourverylittleusgreatMrmen
shallcamehimselfdefherewentthoughtyoungthoughgod
yearsfacehouseworldtookloveMrsheartfewfar
seemedlookeddecountryphomeknewfatherwomanmother
fullalmostthouwaterlightquitebroughtdoormorningmyself
Gutenbergfeltratherbeganmoneypoorstoodformthylarge
kindoftenherselfyearfriendroundwifepassedfeetson
hundredthushopedeartheehighcitygonegirlhear
perhapssureindeedenglishbodyalonglandairlayfire
criedwomenthereforehourfriendsheldfreewarseveralbusiness

I'd say you could totally use this for inspiration on keywords you could introduce to your ability, but I'm not exactly sure how much mileage you'd get out of "girl", "god", and "Gutenberg".

Uncommon keywords

Top 100 Seldom Used Words (that are used >10 times)

Keywords which are used between 10 ~ 8 times. Not enough to be considered truly unique or niche, but used little enough that, at least on the wiki itself, there doesn't seem to be much of a presence of it.

addedannouncedcluedrawexiledhiddenhuggedincludingisn'tmatter
nobodynon-listednon-travellersoutnumberpersonphaseseesstillusedworth
actualadviceconditioncurrentdeclareddreamexilefaunaflorago
handleftmemberneighboringnominatorsnomineesplacequestreasonreceives
requiredseatsecretsendsharethingstradewherewokewords
≤1amountawayclaimedcompletecovertlycursedoesn’tequidistanteye
failsfollowgivenhaven'thintholdinghydraknownlifenon-townsfolk
normaloccuroccursoddpossibleprophecyresponsiblesaidsilentlythird
wakesyes/noalteramonganticlockwiseattacksbagbasedbombbreaks
closercomescommunicatecurrentlydeadlyduplicateguessedimportantjoinlater
likelongestlooklostmultipleout-of-playpairsprivatequeenreceived
recentlyspartacusstorytellerstalkthemselfthemselvesthesetradedwellwhy
withinworks

166 Obscure Keywords (used 3 times)

Keywords used only 3 times.
I'd include the keywords used only once or twice, but there are far too many to interestingly include onto an already absurdly long article.

acceptactedact/wakeaddadditionallyalliedand/oransweredanytimeapostle
aroundarrestassassinatedassignattemptbabysitterballotbanebelongbroken
cancelcarollercastingcellschaincharacter+alignmentchildclocktowercoinscome
containcontrolcostcouldn'tcyclesdeadsdecideddecisiondiscipledmntxt
ejectedexceedextrasfatefootnoteforbiddengardenergoesgoodsgot
handshauntedhelpshighestholderhydrasiindependentlyinteractedinvoke
involvedjinxeskillerleaveslikelyloricsmasquerademaximummerryminute
misregistermodificationsmonarchmutednnatureneededneedsnonnon-demons
nonsensicalnotesnumbersoffogreoriginaloverparalyzedpermanentlypermission
phonepilgrimspixieplayedplayingpointingpositionpredecessorpresentsprotect
protectedquitrabbitratreceivingremoverepercussionsreplacesrequestreveal
reverseriddlerisesromeosakesauronsayssecondsselectseparately
setshankaarsheriffshownsignalssitsmallststalkedsubjective
succeedsuccessfulsuggestiontallyteammatetellthey’rethricetotaltowards
townsfolk/miniontownsfolk/outsidertownsfolk’stragedytriestriggerstrusttruthturnedtwin
unaffectedunchosenuponusingvalueveiledvictimwantwhisperwinners
wishesworkeryangyesyou'd‘mad’

Unique Keywords

I won't include the list of all of them here, but I'll list out the general categories they tend to appear in:

  • References to character names, almost all of which are unique
  • Silly flavor text usage (usually self demonstrating characters, but sometimes just a weird keyword where there shouldn't be one, meow, sing, poop, fiefcommand)
  • Misspellings of certain words (arbitary, allignement, assasinated, charactors, charater, negitive, dunk)
  • really Niche mechanics or thing being searched, this tends to be the most interesting one (animals, suit, gender, accountability, roleplayed, interact, dropped, quit, torus, this will often be a script-specific mechanic)
  • Efforts made to shorten ability text, often using a "+" or a "/" to conjoin two different ideas (townsfolk+outsider, vip+character, you/the, 3rd,…)
  • Keywords that are just really weird ways to say existing Clocktower terms (resuscitated, rps, declared, ability texts, non-script, unmet, well-functioning, equaldistant, assimilated)
  • Unique keywords that turn out to be really specific and kind of cumbersome to use (alchemist-constrained, pronouns, queried, besot, pings)
  • Keywords that are so absurdly nonsensical I genuinely have no idea what they could even be referring to (AND-like, 0submit, predicates, exactions)
  • Keywords generated by generative AI (transaction, power, opportunities)
  • Keywords from now-deleted characters (most likely just housekeeping from the wiki's end, though they could also be efforts to rework the ability)

Keywords Unique To One Character

These keywords are used on the Wiki multiple times, but only within the span of one character.

Used 4 times

KeywordCharacter
zAncientTEXT

AncientTEXT is on here a lot, and it's because AncientTEXT spams a lot of spaces.

Used 3 times

KeywordCharacter
arrestInspector (Role)
predecessorImposter
sakeYamata-no-Orochi
stalkedHachishakusama

Used 2 times

KeywordCharacterKeywordCharacterKeywordCharacterKeywordCharacterKeywordCharacter
attackerBaron (Traveller)babysittingCurio DealerbesottedBesotterbleedBloodmancerchangingForbidden Spells
character/abilityCarnival RevellercomplimentMermaidcookiesGinger BreaddealDiplomatdoctorsApothecary
eDissociativeentTreebeardfemaleHairdressergendersAtriarch ⊕gobbleFowl Hunter
highfiveCheerleader ∇initiatesMouthpiecekneeThe Big ImpaclelycanthropesAlphamorgulwoundedArwen
npcsCookienumberedHerbalistoptionChimaerapossiblySchizoprojectionVoodoo Master
promisePresidentscorcherRed SunkneeThe Big ImpaclesightHeimdallskipTime Eater
kneeThe Big ImpacletreasuresTreasure HuntervatsYamata-no-OrochivipBodyguardyAncientTEXT
yAncientTEXT☼Abscract🙒Pollyanna ⊕

Uniqueish Official Keywords

Official TPI keywords which appear only once within Official characters, and are rarely used by characters on the Wiki.

WordCountWordCountWordCountWordCountWordCount
abnormally5agrees5granted5line5players’5
prompt5roshambo5sets5switch5theirs5
asked4differently4funny4need4price4
special4tallied4worked4zero4extras3
got3nature3pointing3tally3truth3
using3achieved2assigns2closed2goal2
homebrew2minutes2mistake2negatively2regurgitated2
silence2tells2admit1countdown1cult1
force1lies1middle1reincarnated1sound1
talks1veteran1visitor1visitors1wear1

Character Type Exclusive Keywords

Keywords used exclusively within a given character type, but are not exclusive to a single character.

Townsfolk

faunalongestwhyskippingdream】learntminimumrelatedworkedanytime
chaincomeextrasgotlikelytriggersunchosenableabnormalbees
belongsbetterconsecutivecreatecuredemonkilleddemon’sdiscussejectionexists
foundgainedgamestatehelpedhelpfulhelpinghigherignoringimpactfulincl
knightslengthlowermisregistersnevernumericalpersistentpointspredictprophecies
seatedsittingsolvestatessurroundedundervia

Outsiders

independentlyantiattemptsself-nominatesplit

Minions

additionallydyseffectivejinxednon-minionnothingsteaduntill

Demons

dmntxtoverexecutee’sinfo/signalsprioritizingregurgitated

Travellers

quit50blessringsviolate

Fabled/Loric

groupsessionloricstotal

Unique Non-Alphanumeric Symbols

CharacterSymbol(s)
Færie ⊕æ, þ, ī, ſ
AncientTEXTø
Abscract☼
Øcc!rr✓nc³{, }, ä, ç, ê, î, ö, đ, ē, ẽ
Sleepwalker±
Folie à Deuxà
Álfará
Gollumé
Libertineа
Kindergardener…
Spellcasting II⅓

Unique Valid Wordle Words

This one's just for fun. These are all unique words that appear on the official NYT Wordle list.

abideadmitavoidawakebeginbelowbesotbirthblackboons
boundcardscheckcolorcoverdancedawnsdealsdreaddrink
duelsearlyearnsenemyexactfactsfakesfavorfeedsfeign
femurferalfindsfolieforceforgefusedgiftsgoonsgrant
graspguardharmsheadsheardhideshintshoursidiotitems
jellyjoinsleadsleverlibellimitlyricmeantminusmoths
northobeysochrepingspowerpriorprovepupasreachrefer
replyresetrhymerisenroyalsavedsevenshowssingsskips
soulssoundsouthsuitstailstakentakestalkstarottasks
termstextsthingthumbtimertoothtopictorustrainunmet
vitalvoicevoterwatchwhole

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