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Empath

Each night, you learn how many of your 2 alive neighbors are evil.

My skin prickles. Something is not right here. I can feel it.

Storyteller cues

First nightGive a finger signal.

Other nightsGive a finger signal.

How to run it (Storyteller)

Each night, count the Empath's two nearest alive neighbors (wrapping around the circle, skipping the dead) and tell the Empath how many are evil — 0, 1, or 2. The nastiest edge case is when a neighbor dies mid-game and the Empath's neighbors shift: always recount from scratch each night based on who is currently alive, and make sure you know the seating order cold before the game starts. Watch for the Recluse and Spy sitting adjacent to the Empath — you must decide each night whether they register as evil or good, and your choice should feel consistent with what serves the demon's interests rather than looking arbitrary.

How to play

  • First night read: your opening number anchors everything — a 0 is extremely strong evidence that both neighbors are good, while a 2 almost guarantees evil sits next to you; treat these early readings as high-value data before any deaths scramble your neighbors.
  • Track neighbor shifts: every time a player dies, your neighbor pool changes, so compare each new reading to the previous one and note exactly which neighbors changed — a number jump or drop tells you something specific about the player who entered or left your window.
  • Triangulate with confirmed information: if your number drops from 1 to 0 after a confirmed-evil player dies, that corroborates your surviving neighbor is good; use this to publicly validate or cast suspicion rather than just announcing raw numbers.
  • Decide when to reveal: going public early makes you a demon target but gives the good team an anchor; if you have a strong read and a bodyguard or protective role in play, revealing early is usually correct — but if the game is early and you have a 1 with no way to narrow it down yet, consider holding until you have a second data point.
  • Most common mistake: anchoring on your first reading and ignoring that minion deaths or executions change your neighbors — always re-examine who your current neighbors are before interpreting each new number.

How to bluff as the Empath

  • Claim a 0 early: it is the hardest number for the town to disprove immediately and signals you are 'clean,' buying time and making your neighbors feel safe nominating elsewhere.
  • Mirror real game events: when a neighbor is executed or dies at night, adjust your claimed number accordingly — a fake Empath who never updates their reading is an immediate red flag.
  • Claim a 1 with a specific accusation: point to one of your neighbors as the likely evil, picking someone already under suspicion so your claim feels consistent with the rest of the discussion rather than introducing a random accusation.
  • The tell to avoid: if you are evil and one of your actual neighbors is also evil, never accidentally claim a 0 when the town can later cross-reference seating and realize you were sitting next to a confirmed minion — always cross-check your fake claim against who is actually adjacent to you.

Key interactions

Recluse

The Recluse can register as evil on any given night, so an Empath next to a Recluse may legitimately receive a 1 (or 2) that does not reflect a real evil player — this is one of the hardest false positives in the game to untangle and can permanently misdirect an Empath's analysis if the Recluse never reveals.

Spy

A Spy sitting adjacent to the Empath can register as good, making the Empath see a lower count than reality — a 0 or 1 reading that feels clean may actually be hiding an adjacent Spy, so treat suspiciously comfortable early reads with some skepticism when a Spy is in the game.

Poisoner

A poisoned Empath receives a false number from the Storyteller, potentially a complete inversion of reality — if your numbers feel inconsistent across nights with no change in neighbors, poisoning is the most likely explanation and should be flagged publicly so the town discounts your information.