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Puzzlemaster

1 player is drunk, even if you die. If you guess (once) who it is, learn the Demon player, but guess wrong & get false info.

When one begins to think that some thing is merely some other thing, one is usually on the brink of an error. Patience, patience. Don’t confuse just and should with is and isn’t.

How to run it (Storyteller)

Track which player you've made drunk due to Puzzlemaster and maintain that drunk status even if Puzzlemaster dies — it only ends if the Puzzlemaster character is fully removed from the game or transferred to another player. When Puzzlemaster makes their guess, if correct, give them the true Demon player; if wrong, give them any false information you choose (a non-Demon player's name works cleanly). Be cautious about pointing the Recluse at the Puzzlemaster as the drunk target, since if they then guess the Recluse as their Demon, you may technically confirm it but the rules advise against this to avoid misleading town badly.

How to play

  • Identify your drunk before guessing: the drunk player will be getting subtly wrong information or behaving inconsistently — cross-reference their claims against other confirmed sources before committing your one guess.
  • Your guess is permanent and irreversible, so delay it until you have strong corroborating evidence; a wasted guess gives evil a free false-info token pointed at you.
  • Share your role publicly early: knowing a drunk exists is town-critical information, and other info-roles can help you triangulate who is receiving corrupted data.
  • If you die, remind the Storyteller and town that the drunk effect persists — a dead Puzzlemaster still has a drunk player running around, and that player's information remains unreliable.
  • Most common mistake: guessing too early based on one misfire from a player. A single piece of bad info could be a Demon bluff, a lie, or just a mistake — wait for a pattern before burning your guess.
  • Do not assume you are the drunk yourself; the rules specify one other player is drunk, so your own information channels are clean.

How to bluff as the Puzzlemaster

  • Claim Puzzlemaster early in the game to immediately give yourself a reason to be gathering information and asking pointed questions — it's a naturally inquisitive role that justifies social fishing.
  • Name a confirmed good player as your 'drunk suspect' to create soft suspicion on them without hard-accusing; it makes your bluff look active and considered without costing you much.
  • Never actually make your guess unless you're forced to or it serves your team — if you 'guess wrong' as evil, you can claim you received false info, muddying the information pool further.
  • The tell that exposes a fake: a real Puzzlemaster has no night information to reveal, so if you're inventing elaborate night interactions, you'll contradict the character's mechanics — keep your claims strictly to drunk-identification logic.
  • If town pressure mounts, you can claim you already guessed and got false info, using that as cover to cast doubt on any true information source you want to discredit.

Key interactions

Recluse

The Recluse can register as a Demon when Puzzlemaster guesses them, meaning a correct-feeling guess could actually confirm a non-Demon — the rules flag this as undesirable behavior to avoid. Storytellers should steer away from it; Puzzlemaster players should be wary if their 'confirmed Demon' is the Recluse.

Drunk

If Puzzlemaster is the Drunk, they don't actually create a drunk player in the game since they have no real ability — town loses the drunk-hunting signal entirely and any guess Puzzlemaster makes produces unreliable results they can't trust.

Poisoner

A poisoned Puzzlemaster still creates a drunk player (the outsider ability persists even if Puzzlemaster dies, and poisoning doesn't remove the character), but when Puzzlemaster makes their guess while poisoned, even a correct guess will yield false information — timing the guess outside a poison window matters.