Plague

How to Run

Each night, including the first night, wake the Plague. They choose a living player.

If the chosen player is healthy:

• Make that player poisoned.
• Show the Plague that player's character.

If the chosen player is not healthy:

• That player dies.
• Choose one of their living good neighbours.
• Make that neighbour poisoned.
• Show the Plague the newly poisoned player's character.

While the Plague has this ability, evil players always register as poisoned. This is not a Storyteller choice: every ability that checks whether a player is poisoned or healthy sees every evil player as poisoned.

Whenever another ability causes a player to actually become poisoned, wake the Plague and show them that player's current character.

Examples

The Plague chooses a healthy Doctor. The Doctor becomes poisoned, and the Plague learns that they are the Doctor.

The following night, the Doctor is still poisoned. The Plague chooses them again. The Doctor dies. One of the Doctor's living good neighbours becomes poisoned, and the Plague learns that neighbour's character.

The Doctor cures a poisoned player. The Plague is not informed that the player has become healthy. The Plague may therefore incorrectly believe that the player is still poisoned.

The Plague chooses an evil Minion. Evil players always register as poisoned, so the Minion is not healthy: they die, and one of their living good neighbours becomes poisoned. The Plague learns that neighbour's character.

The Plague chooses the Spreader, who is actually healthy but registers as poisoned. The Spreader dies, and one of their living good neighbours becomes poisoned. The Plague learns that neighbour's character.

The Plague kills a poisoned player. One of the dead player's neighbours is the Spreader, who registers as evil for this contagion: the disease skips them and passes to the next good player beyond, who becomes poisoned instead.

The Spreader registers as poisoned without actually being poisoned. The Plague does not learn their character: registration alone reveals nothing.

The Landsknecht's end-of-first-night effect poisons the Landsknecht and one of their two good neighbours. The Plague is woken and shown both players' characters.

Rules & Clarifications

• A player becomes poisoned only when their actual state changes to poisoned.
• A player who merely registers as poisoned has not actually become poisoned and does not trigger the Plague's character information. However, if chosen by the Plague, they still register as poisoned and are therefore treated as such, causing them to die instead of becoming poisoned.
• Evil players register as poisoned while the Plague has this ability, but they are not actually poisoned and do not become poisoned unless an effect actually poisons them. The same applies to any player who becomes evil during the game, such as the Boatman.
• Spreader may also register as poisoned without actually becoming poisoned.
• The Plague learns a player's character whenever that player actually becomes poisoned, regardless of which character ability caused the poison.
• Poisoned players normally continue to wake at night. Poison causes their ability to malfunction; it does not itself suppress their wake.
• When the Plague kills a player, the secondary poisoned player must be both living and good, and must be that player's neighbour according to the current game topology.
• Registration counts when choosing the contagion victim: a neighbour who registers as evil is not a valid good neighbour, and the disease passes beyond them to the nearest good player in that direction.
• Because the Spreader might register as poisoned or evil, the Storyteller can use it in either direction: a healthy Spreader chosen by the Plague can be made to register poisoned and die, and a Spreader beside a corpse can be made to register evil and dodge the contagion.