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Librarian

You start knowing that 1 of 2 players is a particular Outsider. (Or that zero are in play.)

Certainly madam, under normal circumstances, you may borrow the Codex Malificarium from the library vaults. However, you do not seem to be a member.

Storyteller cues

First nightShow the Outsider character token. Point to both the OUTSIDER and WRONG players.

How to run it (Storyteller)

On the first night, show the Librarian the Outsider token and point to two players (one of whom is that Outsider), or show the zero-Outsiders token if applicable. The nastiest edge case is the Recluse: if the Recluse is the only Outsider in play, you may show the Librarian the zero-Outsiders result instead of pointing to the Recluse, which can completely mislead a Librarian who then vouches for the composition count. Watch for Spy registrations — if a Spy is in the game, you may point to the Spy as one of the two players and show any Outsider token, even if no true Outsider is in play.

How to play

  • Share your information publicly and early: the Outsider type and both candidate players are high-value data for cross-referencing with the Investigator, Empath, and character claims, and sitting on it wastes its town-wide utility.
  • Outsider identity as leverage: if you know which of two players is, say, the Drunk, and one of them claims a powerful Townsfolk role, you can quietly flag to that player that their ability may be non-functional — without outing yourself first.
  • Treat a zero-Outsiders result with suspicion: the Recluse interaction means zero-Outsiders can be a deliberate storyteller misdirect, so do not use a clean result to hard-confirm player alignments.
  • Do not anchor on one of your two candidates being innocent: the Librarian only confirms which of the two is the Outsider, not that the other is safe — the other candidate can still be Minion or Demon.
  • Most common mistake: treating both named players as confirmed Townsfolk and Good — your info only identifies one as a specific Outsider, and the other player's alignment remains entirely open.

How to bluff as the Librarian

  • Name a real Outsider type that plausibly fits the script and two players — ideally one player you know is evil (to keep your team's bluffs consistent) and one genuine Townsfolk who cannot immediately deny it.
  • If no Outsider of your claimed type is actually in play, the real Librarian's zero-Outsiders result becomes a conflict — use this to cast doubt on a legitimate Librarian who contradicts you, framing them as the bluffer.
  • Claim zero Outsiders if it's strategically useful to make the town miscount the Outsider seats, which can pressure actual Outsiders into claiming something inconsistent or staying silent.
  • The tell that exposes you: a real Outsider who was not named by you will eventually claim — if their Outsider type matches what you claimed but they aren't one of your two nominated players, your information collapses. Coordinate with your team so no evil player accidentally surfaces a contradicting Outsider claim.

Key interactions

Spy

The Storyteller can have the Spy register as an Outsider to the Librarian, meaning the Librarian's two nominated players could include a Spy shown as any Outsider type — a powerful piece of misinformation that mislabels the Spy as harmless. If you're the Librarian and the 'Outsider' you were shown never surfaces a matching claim, consider that your information may be Spy-tainted.

Drunk

The Librarian can legitimately receive information pointing to one of two players as the Drunk, which is uniquely valuable because the Drunk believes they are a Townsfolk — quietly alerting that player lets them re-evaluate their own information rather than spreading false claims to the group.

Recluse

If the Recluse is the sole Outsider in play, the Storyteller may give the Librarian a zero-Outsiders result, completely hiding the Recluse's presence — a Librarian who confidently declares no Outsiders may simply have been shielded from the Recluse, so treat that result as soft rather than definitive.

Poisoner

A poisoned Librarian receives false first-night information, meaning both the Outsider type and the two nominated players could be entirely fabricated — if your information seems to contradict multiple other confirmed facts at the table, poisoning on night one is a live hypothesis.