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Huntsman

Once per game, at night, choose a living player: the Damsel, if chosen, becomes a not-in-play Townsfolk. [+the Damsel]

My cabin is warm and sturdy. My axe by the door, my boots drying by the fire, and elk stew a-simmering… Hark! A scream echoes through the valley! The rain and the mud and the cold, cold wind mask the scent of the wolves, but I know the path and my pace is steady. I am coming.

Storyteller cues

First nightThe Huntsman might choose a player. ◦ If they chose the Damsel: Put the Huntsman to sleep. Wake the target. Show the YOU ARE info token & their new character token.

Other nightsThe Huntsman might choose a player. ◦ If they chose the Damsel: Put the Huntsman to sleep. Wake the target. Show the YOU ARE info token & their new character token.

Jinxes

Marionette

If the Marionette thinks that they are the Huntsman, the Damsel was added during setup.

How to run it (Storyteller)

Add the Damsel to the bag during setup whenever the Huntsman is in play; the Huntsman learns they are the Huntsman on the first night and should be shown the Damsel token so they know the Damsel is alive. When the Huntsman picks a living player, check whether that player is the Damsel — if yes, immediately replace the Damsel's role with any not-in-play Townsfolk and wake them to show their new character; if no, nothing happens and the ability is spent. The nastiest edge case: the Huntsman's ability is still consumed even on a wrong guess, so confirm the pick is deliberate before resolving. Watch for the Marionette scenario — if the Marionette believes it is the Huntsman, the Damsel was still added to setup regardless, so the Damsel is always in play.

How to play

  • Identify the Damsel before guessing: your shot is once per game, and a miss wastes it entirely, so gather strong evidence — behavioral tells, cross-referenced claims, or confirmed mismatch between a player's stated role and the script — before committing.
  • Timing your shot: the Damsel is under pressure to hide from evil, so early-game the Damsel may not have revealed yet; delay your guess until you have a confident read rather than firing on night one to avoid wasting the ability on a wrong player.
  • Coordinate privately with the Damsel if you can identify them: if the Damsel discreetly confirms their identity to you, you can use the ability immediately to protect them from being guessed by Minions and convert them into a safe, contributing Townsfolk.
  • Share your role selectively: announcing you are the Huntsman puts a target on the Damsel because evil will race to guess the Damsel before you act — consider claiming quietly or only to players you trust, and time your public reveal to pressure Minions rather than expose the Damsel.
  • Single most common mistake: spending the ability on a player you only weakly suspect is the Damsel because you feel urgency — a spent ability with no conversion is worse than no ability at all, since the Damsel still sits unprotected and now evil knows you are toothless.

How to bluff as the Huntsman

  • Claim early but vaguely: say you have a once-per-game protective ability you haven't used yet, keeping the Damsel's existence ambiguous — this pressures the real Damsel to stay hidden and makes evil unsure whether the Huntsman is real.
  • Manufacture a fake save: announce that you used your ability on a specific player overnight and 'converted' them to a Townsfolk, then coordinate with that player to back up a fake Townsfolk claim — this sows confusion about who the real Damsel is.
  • As a Minion, use your Huntsman bluff to fish for the Damsel: encourage players to confide their role to you privately under the guise of needing to identify the Damsel so you can 'protect' them — if the real Damsel outs themselves to you, your team wins.
  • Tell to avoid: if pressed on why you haven't used your ability and the game is late, a fake Huntsman struggles to explain the delay — have a prepared answer like 'I'm waiting on one more piece of info' and commit to it before someone calls the bluff.

Key interactions

Damsel

The Huntsman and Damsel are a paired mechanic — the Damsel is always in play when the Huntsman is, and the entire value of the Huntsman's ability depends on correctly identifying them. If the Damsel is guessed correctly by a Minion before the Huntsman acts, evil wins outright, so the Huntsman must balance secrecy against the urgency of protecting the Damsel with a timely conversion.

Marionette

When the Marionette is given the Huntsman bluff by the Demon, the Damsel is still added to setup and enters play normally — evil effectively gets a free Damsel threat while the Marionette wastes no real ability, making this pairing especially dangerous for the good team.

Spy

If the Huntsman accidentally targets the Spy, the Spy could technically be converted into a not-in-play Townsfolk, but this is explicitly not recommended — as Storyteller, refuse or avoid this outcome since it removes an evil player from the Demon's team through a mistake rather than skill.

Poisoner

A poisoned Huntsman who picks the Damsel will not successfully convert them, meaning the Damsel remains exposed and the ability is still spent — the Huntsman should be aware that if their pick feels certain but nothing changes, poison may have been the cause.