Gunslinger

Information

Type	Traveller
Artist	Aidan Roberts

"It's time someone took matters into their own hands. That someone... is me."

Appears in

Cult of the Clocktower Episode by Andrew Nathenson

You need to enable JavaScript to play this audio

Summary

"Each day, after the 1st vote has been tallied, you may choose a player that voted: they die."

The Gunslinger kills players who vote.

• Each day, after the first vote for execution has been tallied, the Gunslinger may publicly choose a player that just voted to die immediately. The Gunslinger does not have to kill a player—it is entirely up to them. Whether they use their ability or not, the Gunslinger cannot kill any further players that day.
• It is the Gunslinger’s responsibility to speak up and let the Storyteller know that they wish to use their ability.
• Since exiles are not affected by character abilities in any way, the Gunslinger cannot use their ability to kill a player that supports an exile.

How to Run

Each day, immediately after the first vote for execution is tallied, the Gunslinger can declare that they wish to use their ability. If so, the Gunslinger points at any player who voted for this execution. The chosen player dies.

If the Gunslinger is a new player, you may wish to remind them that they can use their ability.

---

When the Gunslinger wants to use their ability, you may need to ask all players who voted to raise their hand again, so the Gunslinger doesn’t accidentally choose a player that didn’t vote.

Examples

The Imp has been nominated. There are 10 players alive, and five votes for the Imp, so the Imp is about to die. The Gunslinger chooses a voting player to die. They die, and the nomination continues, with the Imp still about to die.

The players exile the Thief. Then, the Butler is nominated for execution and gets one vote. This is the first nomination for execution, since the Thief’s exile does not count. The Gunslinger chooses to kill the single voting player. Later that day, the Saint is nominated and six players vote. The Gunslinger cannot use their ability now because this is not the first vote for execution today.

Tips & Tricks (if you are good)

• Hot diggity, you're the Gunslinger ! Enjoy it while you can!

• Deaths caused by your ability are not executions, and as such, they don't cause the day to end, and nor does the character you shot get seen by the Undertaker.

• You get the opportunity to kill a player each day. Make the most of it, and remember to let the Storyteller know that you wish to use your ability. Doing so every day practically doubles the good team's chance of killing the Demon. Normally, each day / night, 2 players die - one due to the Demon attack, and one due to the daily execution. If you use your ability each day, two thirds of all deaths are chosen by the good team. These are great odds.

• Pay attention to the vibe of the group. Sometimes, the good players will not want you to kill a player each day. If you go against their desires, they may Exile you as soon as they can. Pay attention and get your fingers off the trigger if you want to stay alive.

• Pay attention to who isn't voting on the first nomination each day. Minions may be a bit laissez faire, but Demon players quickly learn how dangerous it can be to vote when you are in play. Demons will usually not vote if they think there is even a small chance that you will shoot them. Use this information to your advantage! By executing those players that seem fearful of voting, you may luck upon the Demon. Or, you may startle the Demon into voting, which gives you a chance of killing them single-handedly.

• It's ok if a few innocent bystanders die. Don't be afraid to take out a supposed Undertaker or a suspicious looking Recluse. As long as you kill a Minion or two as well, it was probably worth it.

• You are the perfect way to deal with the Saint. They can't be executed? You don't execute!

• If you live until just 3 players are left alive, be very wary of who you kill. The Demon may try to psyche you out and get you to kill a Minion (or a good player), which will reduce the player count to just 2 players... and evil wins. Beware.

• Ignore all of the above advice, and never use your ability. Sit. Wait. Watch. Be passive and silent and unassuming. Watch people's body language and listen to what arguments they are making. When you think that you know who the Demon is, say nothing, and wait until that player votes on the first nomination of the day - then BOOM. Either you've won the game and have one very surprised dead Demon, or you blew it and killed a nobody.

• If there are 3 or more other Travellers in the game, you know that 1 of them is probably evil. It may be worth taking out an evil Traveller before they can do too much harm.

Tips & Tricks (if you are evil)

• Just like a good Gunslinger, it is best if you kill each day. After all, you have insider information on who you should be killing and who you shouldn't, so go nuts. The more destruction you cause, the quicker that the game will get to the final day, and the more evil players will be alive compared to good, which gives your team greater voting power. Just like a good gunslinger though, listen to the group's opinion on what your actions should be, and don't go kill crazy unless they want you to.

• Obviously, shooting the Demon is a bad idea, unless you know you have a Scarlet Woman, or you're not playing Trouble Brewing and there's a Zombuul in the game. Luckily, you know who the Demon is, so that won't be a problem. But should you kill Minions? That depends. If Minions are looking suspicious, and you think that they may get executed soon anyway, putting a cap in that Minion's arse may be the best option. Each Minion that you kill reduces the living players by one - and that means that an evil victory is one step closer. Killing a Minion that has already used their ability, such as a Baron or a Spy, is probably more helpful than keeping them alive. Killing a Minion that still has trouble to cause, such as a Poisoner or Scarlet Woman is probably a mistake.
  • Of course, if you want to avoid shooting Minions, you'll have to learn who they are - be sure to coordinate with your Demon!

• Encourage the Demon to vote. Since you'll not be killing them, they can vote freely. Tell the group that the players that are not voting are probably the Demon.

• You can play it safe, if you want to stay alive longer. Each day, kill the player that looks the most suspicious, regardless of what character they are claiming to be. This will ingratiate you with the good team, because it looks like you are trying to kill evil players. You can even ask the other players who they think you should kill. If the good players see you repeatedly killing the players that they want to kill, you'll live a long time.

• You can throw caution to the wind, and kill the most dangerous, powerful good player to remove their ability from the game. If a Fortune Teller keeps getting fantastic information, and is believed to be trustworthy by the good team, you can quickly and easily neutralize that threat. The downside is that the good team will quickly vote to exile you afterwards. But there are situations where it is worth it. Another example is if a Soldier is in the game, and the good players overwhelmingly believe them, then you may foresee a troublesome final day where the Soldier is one of three living players. To avoid this situation, sacrificing yourself to remove the Soldier would be well worth it.

• Use fear as a weapon. Nominate evil players, or bluff nominating evil players, and dare the good team to vote for it. You'll probably get exiled, but you can have some control over the execution for a day or two.

• If the good players are foolish enough to keep you alive until just 3 players are left alive (not including Travellers), you've basically won. As soon as the first vote happens, kill a non-Demon player and seize victory.