Goon

Identity: Goon
Alignment: Good
Category: Outsider
Ability: Each night, the 1st player to choose you with their ability is drunk until dusk. You become their alignment.

Explanation: Each night, the first time a player wakes to use their ability and chooses you, that player becomes drunk immediately (visit the Plague Doctor for more information about being drunk!). Their ability does not work tonight, nor the next day. If the player that targeted you was of a different alignment, you switch to their alignment. You will be told whenever you switch alignments. You will not be told who targeted you.

For example: the Demon tries to kill you. Instead, they become drunk (thus not killing you) and you become evil. On the next night, the Gambler gambles on you as the Sailor. They become drunk (and don’t die due to the Gambler’s ability), and you become good. Later that night, the Demon tries to kill you again. As this is not the first time you are targeted this night, the Demon’s attack succeeds. You die while being good.

Tips for playing as the Goon: You are in an interesting position compared to other players, as you can never be quite sure what team you’ll be playing for until the very end. It is to your advantage to sit quietly, bluff as something else, and see how the game unfolds – your alignment switches will give you a ton of info, and you’ll be in a good position to aid your team near the end of the game… no matter what side you’re on.

Alternatively, and especially if you turn evil early – just come out! Letting both teams know you’re in play can get them to fight for your allegiance, which is always entertaining. This also has the effect of letting players on both sides know that targeting you is a bad option… if that’s something you’d like to get across. Note that this can be risky if you have a bloodthirsty town keen for executions – they could simply kill you for the crime of maybe being evil. You can try to stay their hand though – point out that once you’re dead, your alignment is locked in since you will lose your ability, but if they let you live? Well, they can always turn you good again!

The Goon is one of the few characters where the order of other characters’ abilities matters a lot! To review in which order character abilities resolve, visit the Nightguard.

Tips for bluffing as the Goon: The Goon can be a tricky bluff. You may want to stay silent about being the Goon for the first half of the game, or bluff as something else initially. Most Goons that come out as the Goon early in the game are killed by the good team, because the good team is afraid that a Goon will turn evil and be a liability. The good news is that staying silent about your character for a few days allows you to watch and listen, and pay attention to the things that will make your Goon bluff more believable, such as who is dying at night-time, and which “choose a character at night” characters are in play.