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Barber

If you died today or tonight, the Demon may choose 2 players (not another Demon) to swap characters.

Did you know that barbery and surgery were once the same profession? No? Well, now you do.

Storyteller cues

Other nightsIf the Barber died today or tonight, show the Demon the THIS CHARACTER SELECTED YOU & Barber tokens. If the Demon chose 2 players, wake one at a time. Show the YOU ARE token & their new character token.

How to run it (Storyteller)

When the Barber dies (by execution or night kill), privately wake the Demon that night and offer them a slip of paper to write two player names — they may decline. If they choose two players, swap those characters and their tokens, keeping alignments the same; brief each affected player privately about their new character. If multiple Demons are alive, you choose which one gets the offer. Watch for Evil Twin creation from the swap: if the swap would produce an Evil Twin, you must immediately pair them with an opposing player and give both players the relevant information.

How to play

  • Announce your role publicly and early: the Barber's value to good is maximized when the Demon knows a dangerous swap is on the table, which may deter them from killing you and forces them to account for the ability in their planning.
  • Death timing matters: if you are executed during the day, the Demon still gets their swap that coming night, so coordinate with the group — do not let town execute you carelessly mid-game without a plan for what the Demon might do with the swap.
  • Track which character combinations would be most dangerous if swapped: a Demon swapping a confirmed Empath or Slayer onto an evil player gives them a false-positive informant or a wasted ability, so lobby town to protect those roles from being easily identified.
  • If you survive to late game, your lingering threat is real — the Demon may avoid killing you specifically to prevent activating your ability, which makes you a useful shield or a bargaining chip in endgame discussions.
  • The single most common mistake: assuming your death is always bad for good. Sometimes dying on a quiet night when few dangerous characters are in play minimizes the swap's value, so do not cling to life if your death can be timed strategically.

How to bluff as the Barber

  • Claim Barber early as a low-information Outsider bluff: it asks nothing of you and passively pressures good players to protect you, buying you safety without requiring fabricated night results.
  • Use the swap threat as leverage: hint to good players that if they execute you, the Demon will get a powerful swap, making them reluctant to push on you even when you give inconsistent information.
  • If pressed for proof of your Outsider status, lean into being a 'good outsider who hurts the team if killed' — it naturally explains why you have nothing useful to contribute to the information chain.
  • The key tell that exposes a fake Barber: a real Barber has no night information, so if you slip and claim any night-derived information, it immediately contradicts the role. Stay completely passive on night claims and let the Demon's actual swap (or lack thereof) do the work of appearing consistent.

Key interactions

Evil Twin

If the Barber swap creates a new Evil Twin, the Storyteller must immediately designate an opposing player and inform both parties — this can dramatically reshape the information landscape mid-game, so be alert to swaps that would pair an evil player with a good one in that role.

Fang Gu

If a Fang Gu that already jumped into an Outsider is swapped by the Barber and becomes Fang Gu again, that player still cannot jump a second time — the one-jump restriction survives the character reassignment.

Snake Charmer

A Snake Charmer who self-poisoned via their own ability and then receives a new character through the Barber swap loses the poisoned condition, which can inadvertently restore a good player's reliability or strip a Demon of a useful debuff.

Recluse

A Recluse could theoretically be offered the Barber swap by the Storyteller (registering as Demon), but this is not recommended practice — if it does occur, the resulting swap still follows all normal rules.