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Xaan

On night X, all Townsfolk are poisoned until dusk. [X Outsiders]

Down they fall. One by one. By two, by three, by five.

Storyteller cues

First nightIf X is 1, mark the Xaan with the X reminder token. ◦ ◦

Other nightsChange the Xaan reminder token to the relevant night. If it is night X, mark the Xaan with the X reminder token. ◦ ◦

How to run it (Storyteller)

Count the Outsiders in the game to determine X, then on night X poison every Townsfolk simultaneously — this lasts until the following dusk, meaning any Townsfolk ability used that night or during the following day phase is poisoned. The nastiest edge case is the Alchemist: as a documented Townsfolk, the Alchemist is poisoned on night X, so whatever minion ability the Alchemist holds is also poisoned that night. Watch for Townsfolk whose abilities resolve during the day (e.g. abilities that trigger at dawn or via nomination) — these are still poisoned until dusk and must be adjudicated accordingly.

How to play

  • Know your X from the moment you wake on night one — count the Outsiders that were added to setup and mark that night as your detonation window; everything you do before that night should position the evil team to capitalise on a mass poison.
  • Coordinate with your Demon before night X so they know to act aggressively that night — any Townsfolk using a protective or information ability that night gets a poisoned result, so the Demon should target players who would otherwise be safe or informative.
  • Claim a Townsfolk role that plausibly has no night ability or one whose result is hard to verify, so you are never asked to produce information that can be cross-checked; a role like Fisherman or Farmer is low-scrutiny.
  • Do not telegraph night X by behaving nervously or pushing hard for a kill on that specific night — let the evil team play normally and treat the poison burst as a silent structural advantage rather than an event you visibly anticipate.
  • The most common mistake is forgetting that your poison only lasts until dusk — do not overclaim that a Townsfolk ability failed the following night, because by then they are clean and any discrepancy will out you.

How to fight the Xaan

  • If the Outsider count feels inflated relative to the script's baseline, suspect a Xaan — every extra Outsider is a day closer to a mass-poison night, so treat an unusual Outsider cluster as a red flag even before night X arrives.
  • Track which night X falls on by publicly counting confirmed Outsiders early in the game; once good players know the detonation night, they can discount all Townsfolk information gathered that night and avoid making irreversible decisions based on it.
  • Information Townsfolk should share what they learn on night X openly but flag it as potentially poisoned — do not execute on night-X information alone; wait for corroboration from a subsequent clean night before acting on it.
  • If you have a Townsfolk ability that can be used at a chosen time, delay using it past night X where possible to guarantee a clean result, removing the Xaan's structural advantage over your ability.
  • Nominating and executing a suspected Xaan before night X arrives entirely neutralises the ability — prioritise minion-hunting in the early days if the Outsider count suggests a late detonation night is imminent.

Key interactions

Alchemist

The Alchemist is a Townsfolk and is therefore caught in the mass poison on night X, meaning whatever minion power the Alchemist holds is also poisoned that night. This is especially punishing if the Alchemist holds a powerful information or protective ability, since both the Alchemist and the good team may not realise the result is invalid.