Damsel

Information

Type	Outsider
Artist	John Grist
Revealed	15/07/2021

"Don't touch the hair, honey."

Character Showcase

Related Jinxes (Open)

	Marionette The Marionette does not learn that a Damsel is in play.
	Pit-Hag If a Pit-Hag creates a Damsel, the Storyteller chooses which player it is.
	Spy If the Spy is (or has been) in play, the Damsel is poisoned.
	Widow If the Widow is (or has been) in play, the Damsel is poisoned.

Summary

"All Minions know a Damsel is in play. If a Minion publicly guesses you (once), your team loses."

The Damsel absolutely, positively cannot be found out by the evil team.

If a Minion guesses that you are the Damsel, and does so publicly (so that all players know that they are a Minion), evil wins.
No matter how many Minions are in play, they only get one guess, total. If a Minion makes a guess and is wrong, future guesses by this Minion or by other Minions don’t count.
If the Demon pretends to be a Minion making a guess, that doesn’t count as a guess. Minions may still make a guess and win.
Minions may make a guess at any time.
If the Damsel dies, they are no longer at risk of being guessed by a Minion, since the Damsel loses their ability when dead.
There may not be a Huntsman in play. But if there is, and the Huntsman chooses the Damsel at night, the Damsel becomes a not-in-play Townsfolk, and is no longer the Damsel. The Damsel learns which Townsfolk and has that Townsfolk ability from then on.

How to Run

During the first night, wake each Minion. Show the Damsel token. Put each Minion to sleep.

At any time during the game, if a Minion publicly guesses which player is the Damsel and is incorrect, mark the Damsel with the GUESS USED reminder. Future guesses by Minion players have no effect.

At any time during the game, if a Minion publicly guesses which player is the Damsel and is correct, the game ends. Declare that the evil team wins.

Examples

Marianna is the Damsel. She is bluffing as the Lycanthrope. The Witch guesses that Marianna is the Damsel. Evil wins.

Doug is the Damsel. The Poisoner guesses that Julian is the Damsel. The game continues. The Goblin guesses that Doug is the Damsel. The game continues because the Poisoner has used up the one guess the Minions share.

Tips & Tricks

Don't tell anyone that you are the Damsel! Don't even hint that you might be! If an evil player believes that you are the Damsel, then correctly guesses that you are the Damsel, the evil team wins.

Tell one or two trusted players that you are the Damsel, so that the group doesn't put too much pressure on you to reveal who you are. You'll want to make very sure that these one or two players are good before telling them though. Characters that can confirm that they are good, such as the Virgin or Slayer are particularly useful, since you can sometimes trust them completely. Even characters that can almost prove that they are good, such as the Undertaker, Washerwoman, or Juggler are worth talking to, trusting, and telling who you are.

Bluff as a Townsfolk, not an Outsider. All players know how many Outsiders are in play. All Minions know that a Damsel is in play. Minions will tend to be more suspicious of players claiming to be Outsiders if the number of claimed Outsiders equals the numbers of Outsiders in play. For example, if there is only meant to be one Outsider in play, and they know that there is a Damsel, and there is one player claiming to be the Sweetheart, then the Sweetheart is probably the Damsel.

The Minions know you're in play. Be attentive to which players are watching and listening more than usual.

Avoid bluffing at all if the town is also fairly silent about their characters. If most other players have not revealed who they are, being silent means that you'll look like just another Townsfolk. Minions will need to choose randomly to guess correctly, and that's probably far too risky for them.

If you are a good character that isn't the Damsel, but the Damsel is on the script, be aware that is a great reason for good players to lie and act suspicious. Treat other players with less suspicion, put less pressure on them to reveal who they are (even when they have been nominated), and generally cut the good team some slack. Assuming that a Damsel is in play, even when nobody has claimed to be the Damsel, means that the real Damsel has some cover.

If you are a good character that isn't the Damsel, pretend to be the Damsel and see if you can bait the Minion players into guessing that you are the Damsel. You'll probably only be convincing by spreading a rumour, not publicly claiming to be the Damsel, but you never know. If a Minion guesses that you are the Damsel, then the good team has found out who a Minion is, which is fantastic information. This strategy works even if there is a real Damsel in play too - in which case, the real Damsel can safely come out as the Damsel, since the Minions are only allowed one Damsel-guess per game.

Boldly claim to be the Damsel who has already been chosen by the Huntsman and changed into a different character! If this were true, you would no longer be the Damsel, and therefore the Minions guessing that you are the Damsel will have no effect. Minions may not want to reveal who they are to risk a guess on a Damsel claiming to no longer be the Damsel. Be aware though... this strategy is very risky. Since you will really still be the Damsel, evil can still win by guessing that you are the Damsel, and they know who you are now.

If you suspect there's a Huntsman, make them your number one priority - if you transform into a townsfolk, you gain a cool ability, and you can't be named by the Minions anymore. The good team will be working to reunite you, while the evil team will be working to intercept, so tread carefully while you make the hunter the hunted!

If a Minion has come out and guessed who the Damsel is but it wasn't you, congratulations! The evil team only gets one chance for a Minion to name you, and that part of your ability is now inert. Feel free to come out and gloat a little bit!

If a Minion has come out and guessed who the Damsel is but it wasn't you, congratulations! However, maybe it's worth being wary - it could have been an evil Townsfolk or a Demon pretending to make the guess, exactly so you'll come out and gloat and then an actual Minion can use the guess on you and win the game through your own hubris...

If you are killed (at night or by execution), you will no longer have an ability and can come out. Be wary about being too eager to get executed, though - Minions will be on the watch for that!

You hold the fate of the game in your hands. Very few characters have this power. Remember how important you are. Much like the Heretic, your ability can lose your team the game if the wrong people learn who you are at the wrong time. While you are alive, you are the most dangerous good player in the game (to your own team!).

Bluffing as the Damsel

When bluffing as the Damsel, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

The Damsel is a pretty dangerous character to be, since coming out to the wrong person at the wrong time could cost their entire team the game. If you're going to bluff as a Damsel, you need to embody that mindset - no Damsel would publicly come out to the group, for example. Play as if your ability will lose you the game (cautious, cagey, and openly lying), or the good team might smell that you are not as helpless as you seem!

The Damsel is an advanced bluff compared to some due to its win/lose nature - both the good team and evil team are very incentivized to figure out who and where a Damsel is. Don't be discouraged though - while the good team will be paying extra attention to you, they can't easily call you out (because if they're wrong, they lose!) and if you manage to convince them? You're golden. A lot of risk for a lot of reward!

Damsels will typically try to pick out a good player they trust to bring into the fold, and you can do the same. Find a good player you want to spend a lot of time worrying about you and a potential Huntsman, and not your Demon and the rest of the evil team. By sharing your secret, you can easily create a bond of trust that will last at least for a few days, and hopefully keep that player working on you and your problem as opposed to the more pressure issue of who the Demon is!

Coordinating with your evil team can lead to very effective Damsel bluffs. The most obvious option is to have one of you as the Huntsman and one of you as the Damsel. Once they 'find' you and successfully turn you, you both come out and both look good! If you're going to try this, make sure to let the good team do the hard work of reuniting you - if you come together without any real reason to do so, players may find you suspicious instead. Also be ready to abandon the bluff if your fellow evil player comes under fire - the Damsel can exist without a Huntsman, and if you look like the victim of a devious Minion trap, all the better!

If you can convince an evil teammate to fall on their sword, a triumphant Damsel coming out after the Minion has been tricked into guessing the wrong person is a great look. Not only will the good team be incredibly relieved that the Damsel's lose condition is off the table, but they'll be satisfied that an evil player has been outed! Be careful to time this well - a Minion making a Damsel guess will usually do so when they're either very certain or very desperate. Pull it off though, and you'll be believed good for the rest of the game!

If you're going to pretend to have transformed, make sure to pick your new character carefully - doubling up with a good player will undo all your hard work so far since the Huntsman always transforms the Damsel into something not-in-play.

If you're going to pretend to have transformed, deliberately double up with another good player and accuse them of lying about their ability! The Damsel cannot become an in-play character, so if the town believes you, the other person must be lying. :)

If your first good bluff is falling apart, use the Damsel as a fallback - similar to the Mutant, good players will probably back off if they think the reason you lied was to cover up your Outsider identity, rather than the fact you are evil. Everyone knows the Damsel is a potential problem, so some pointed eye contact and whispers should hopefully get your point across!

Try to get an evil player who's not a Minion to publicly guess someone as the Damsel. This may convince the Damsel that the Minions have used their one guess for the game and so they may reveal themselves publicly - allowing a real Minion to then guess the real Damsel and win. Be very careful here - in most games, the only evil players who aren't Minions will be the demon, so it's a risky strategy to pull off as it will often require the demon claiming to be an evil role. But if you have a good player who's turned Evil - perhaps the Goon, or a player turned evil by the Mezepheles or Bounty Hunter - they can serve this role admirably. Just make sure the evil player bluffing as the Minion doesn't pick the *actual* Damsel, as the Damsel will then be wise to their ruse when the game doesn't end.