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Engineer

Once per game, at night, choose which Minions or which Demon is in play.

If it bends, great. If it breaks, well, it probably needed fixing anyway.

Storyteller cues

First nightThe Engineer might choose Minions or Demons. Put the Engineer to sleep. Wake the target(s) one at a time. Show the YOU ARE info token & their new character token. ◦

Other nightsThe Engineer might choose Minions or Demons. Put the Engineer to sleep. Wake the target(s) one at a time. Show the YOU ARE info token & their new character token. ◦

Jinxes

Legion

If Legion is created, all evil players become Legion. If Legion is in play, the Engineer starts knowing this but has no ability.

Summoner

If the living Summoner is removed from play, the Storyteller has the Summoner ability.

How to run it (Storyteller)

When the Engineer uses their ability, immediately swap out the relevant Minion token(s) or the Demon token and replace them with the Engineer's chosen alternatives, waking the affected evil players to show them their new character token. The nastiest edge case: if Engineer chooses a new Demon and the current Demon was the Summoner, the Storyteller inherits the Summoner ability — track this carefully so the game doesn't silently break. Watch for Legion: if Legion is in play, Engineer starts knowing this but their ability is locked off entirely, so confirm this at setup before first night.

How to play

  • Timing your ability: hold it until you have a strong read on the game state — using it day 1 blind wastes your one shot, but waiting too long means evil may already have won through a powerful Demon.
  • Choosing Minions vs Demon: switching the Demon is higher variance and higher reward; switching Minions is lower risk and can neutralise a known threat like a Witch or Assassin when the Demon identity is murky.
  • When you act: announce your ability use publicly as soon as possible after it resolves — the town needs to update their reads based on which Demon or Minions are now live, and your testimony anchors that recalibration.
  • What to share vs hold back: revealing you have the ability early makes you a target for evil (assassination, poisoning) but forces evil to play around you; consider revealing only after you've used it so the threat is already spent.
  • Most common mistake: choosing a 'nicer' Demon or weaker Minions without considering that evil players now know their new characters and can immediately leverage them — pick replacements that confuse evil as much as they help good.
  • If you suspect Legion is in play, know that your ability is already gone — do not burn a night trying to use it; instead, contribute as a confirmed-clean townsfolk by sharing your Legion information with the group.

How to bluff as the Engineer

  • Claim early and loudly: Engineer is one of the strongest townsfolk abilities, so establishing your bluff on day 1 discourages town from hunting for the real Engineer and buys you credibility as a proactive good player.
  • Fake a past ability use: claim you already fired your ability and switched the Demon to something 'weaker' — this explains why you have no future action and makes it harder for town to test your claim, while seeding false assumptions about which Demon is live.
  • Coordinate with your team: as evil, you know the real Demon and Minions; use that to make your 'chose Minions' claim sound plausible by naming Minion types that are actually in play as if you switched them out for something else.
  • Tell to watch for: the real Engineer will eventually claim or use their ability, directly contradicting you — stay alert and be ready to call them the fake first, accusing them of bluffing your role before they can expose you.
  • Avoid over-claiming precision: if you claim you switched the Demon, town will scrutinise Demon behaviour looking for evidence of the change; vaguer claims about switching Minions are harder to disprove and safer long-term.

Key interactions

Legion

If Legion is in play at game start, the Engineer learns this on the first night but their ability is completely nullified — they cannot swap anything out. This is the single hardest counter to Engineer and means a Legion game should be played by the Engineer as a pure information-sharing role, not an action role.

Summoner

If the Engineer removes the Summoner from play by switching the Demon, the Storyteller inherits the Summoner's ability to place a Demon later — so eliminating a living Summoner does not simply end the Summoner threat, it hands it to the Storyteller and can create a surprise late-game Demon.

Recluse

After the Engineer has chosen which Minions or Demon are in play, the Storyteller may register the Recluse as one of those roles for other character interactions — but it is explicitly not recommended, so in practice the Engineer's choice should be treated as reliable without Recluse distorting the result.

Poisoner

If the Engineer is poisoned on the night they use their ability, the swap either does not happen or happens incorrectly at Storyteller discretion — evil has a strong incentive to Poison the Engineer before they can act, so timing your ability use to outrace a suspected Poisoner is a real strategic consideration.