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Nightwatchman

Once per game, at night, choose a player: they learn you are the Nightwatchman.

The night is cold and lonely, but I have the moon, the stars, the crisp wind and the soft thud of leather boots on cobbled stone for company. Yonder, candlelight flickers behind a murky window...

Storyteller cues

First nightThe Nightwatchman might choose a player. Put the Nightwatchman to sleep. Wake the target. Show the THIS PLAYER IS & Nightwatchman tokens, then point to the Nightwatchman. ◦

Other nightsThe Nightwatchman might choose a player. Put the Nightwatchman to sleep. Wake the target. Show the THIS PLAYER IS & Nightwatchman tokens, then point to the Nightwatchman. ◦

How to run it (Storyteller)

When the Nightwatchman uses their ability, wake the chosen player, show the Nightwatchman token, then point to the Nightwatchman player so the recipient clearly learns who they are. Track the ability use carefully — it is once per game, so mark it spent after use. The nastiest edge case: if the Nightwatchman is drunk or poisoned when they use the ability, the chosen player still wakes and receives information, but that information may be false — you may point to a different player as the Nightwatchman. Watch for the Nightwatchman delaying their ability use until a high-stakes night, as that timing choice is central to their value.

How to play

  • Timing your reveal: do not use the ability on night one unless you have a strong read, because you learn nothing new yourself — the value is entirely in who you trust and when that trust matters most.
  • Target selection: choose a player you strongly suspect is good but whom the town currently doubts, giving them a hard confirmed anchor and maximising the ability's defensive value.
  • After use: once you have fired your ability, publicly claim Nightwatchman and name who you told — this creates a two-player mutual confirmation that is extremely hard for evil to fake without a coordinated bluff.
  • Hold the ability as a deliberate threat: evil players who know you have Nightwatchman but haven't used it must account for the possibility you will confirm a key good player at a critical moment, which constrains their targeting.
  • Most common mistake: waiting so long to use the ability that you die before firing it, wasting the confirmation entirely — if you feel threatened or the game is close, use it rather than lose it.

How to bluff as the Nightwatchman

  • Claim Nightwatchman early but say you are saving your ability, which buys time without requiring you to produce a fake recipient immediately.
  • When you do 'use' the ability, coordinate with your evil partner: choose them as your fake recipient so they can corroborate that they received a Nightwatchman ping, creating a false mutual confirmation that mimics the real mechanic perfectly.
  • Alternatively, target a genuine good player who is already trusted — they will truthfully say they received no Nightwatchman message, which exposes your bluff, so avoid this; only claim to have targeted players who are dead or who you can pressure into silence.
  • The main tell that exposes a fake Nightwatchman: the supposed recipient denies receiving any information that night. Coordinate your story before claiming, or bluff that you targeted a player who died before they could publicly confirm or deny.

Key interactions

Poisoner

If the Nightwatchman is poisoned on the night they use their ability, the chosen player still wakes but may receive incorrect information about who the Nightwatchman is, silently corrupting the confirmation. Both players should be aware that a poisoner in the game makes the mutual-confirmation value significantly less airtight.

Drunk

A Nightwatchman who is the Drunk believes they have a real ability but the chosen player either receives no information or false information, meaning the confident two-player confirmation the Nightwatchman creates can be entirely fabricated without either party knowing.