Gossip

Townsfolk•Bad Moon Rising

The Gossip is an information role that trades lives for knowledge by making public statements that cause a death if true. They are powerful at solving the game state but must manage the risk of thinning the town's numbers too quickly.

Wakes

Never

Causes Death

Yes

Selects

Alignment

Static

Ability

Each day, you may make a public statement. Tonight, if it was true, a player dies.

Night Ritual (Storyteller Instructions)

Other Nights

"If the Gossip's public statement was true: Choose a player not protected from dying tonight. That player dies."

Strategy Guide

Playing As

Make clear, public statements every day, ideally prefacing them with 'I gossip that...' to ensure the Storyteller hears you.
Use verifiable, binary statements (e.g., 'The Demon is a Zombuul') to gain hard information based on whether an extra player dies.
Don't be afraid to cause deaths early in the game; the information gained often outweighs the loss of a player, provided you track the kill sources.
Stop gossiping or deliberately state falsehoods when the player count gets low (e.g., final 4) to avoid accidentally killing your own team and losing the game.
Keep detailed notes of your statements and the night's death toll to distinguish your kills from Demon kills or other causes like the Gambler or Tinker.

Playing Against

Encourage a 'Gossip party' where everyone makes a daily statement to hide the real Gossip and confuse the evil team.
As an evil player, bluff Gossip and coordinate with teammates (like an Assassin or Godfather) to cause extra deaths that 'validate' your false statements.
If you are a Minion, consider claiming Gossip to draw suspicion or force the good team to waste executions on you.
Pay attention to who is taking notes on daily statements and death counts, as this is a strong tell for a real Gossip.

Interactions

Sailor/Fool/Tea Lady

The Storyteller may choose to target these death-immune characters with the Gossip kill, confirming the statement without losing a player.

Shabaloth/Po

High-kill Demons make it difficult to distinguish Gossip kills from Demon attacks, muddying the information.

Assassin/Godfather

These characters can create extra deaths at night, allowing evil players to fake a Gossip confirmation effectively.

Professor

Can resurrect a player killed by the Gossip, mitigating the penalty of using the ability for information.

Zombuul

In games with low death rates (like a Zombuul game), the Gossip's extra kills are highly visible and extremely valuable for solving the puzzle.