The Assassin

The day wears on…

The morning is fresh and clear. But as afternoon draws in, black clouds blot the sky. Soon, we push through a vicious rainstorm.

At last, we sight a cabin among the trees. As we burst inside, we are struck briefly by the impression that we are not alone — that a cloaked figure stands in the far corner of the room, watching us. But when we blink, the figure is gone; there is no one there.

We shelter in the cabin, waiting for the storm to abate. Hours pass… and more hours… and more. Though it seems that days have passed, the sun does not set, nor the rain subside.

As we grow restless, a sudden longing comes over one of us. It is an urge to destroy. An urge to kill.


The Challenge

The Assassin has possessed one of the party; one of you is consumed by the urge to kill their companions. Travellers must compete to find the Killer first, while the Killer attempts to complete their killing spree. If either party takes too long, all will fail.

  • Deal out a number of cards from the deck equal to one less than the number of travellers. Add the Assassin card to the new pile.

  • Shuffle the new pile of cards and deal one facedown to each traveller. The traveller who receives the Assassin is now the Killer. They should not reveal this fact.

  • Play begins.

  • The Killer tries to ‘murder’ other travellers by subtly winking at them. When a victim is winked at, they must count to five in their heads, then pretend to be ‘murdered’. The victim is now eliminated.

  • Meanwhile, the other travellers must attempt to spot who is doing the winking, and so catch the Killer.

  • If a non-eliminated traveller believes that they know who the Killer is, they can accuse them by saying, “I accuse [traveller’s name].” You cannot make an accusation if you have been winked at.

    • If the accusation is correct, the game ends.

    • If the accusation is incorrect, the accusing traveller is eliminated, and the game continues.

  • The game ends when the Assassin is correctly accused or all players but two have been eliminated.

HELP FROM AN ITEM

If any traveller carries a KNIFE and is eliminated, they may re-enter the game once.

If the Killer carries a KNIFE and is accused, they may instantly choose to eliminate one more traveller before the game ends.

Success. If the Killer is found, the Challenge is passed.

Failure. If only two travellers remain, the Challenge is failed. The Killer reveals themselves and ‘murders’ the final traveller.

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If the Challenge is passed and the Assassin was identified, the traveller who identified them wins the Bargain of the Assassin. If the Challenge ends because only two travellers remain, the Assassin reveals themself and wins the Bargain of the Assassin.

If the Challenge is failed, the party suffers the Curse of the Assassin. If this is the party's third Curse, click here. 

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  • When a spirit is displeased by the party, it will lay its Curse upon them. Curses have dire consequences. The more Curses a party gathers, the more lives will be claimed in the Heart of the Wood. Furthermore, if a party incurs three Curses, the Wood's spirits will reject them and they will be forced to flee for their lives, ending the game.

    When you incur a Curse, place it in a designated area of the table so that all travellers are aware of it.

Suddenly, we hear a cry behind us. Turning, we see that one traveller has their hands around the throat of another.

Wrestling our maddened comrade to the floor, we watch their crazed eyes clear, the possession lifting. They cannot say what came over them; for a moment, they felt like another person. A person who longed to kill.

As we help our companion to their feet, we see that the rain has stopped. We move on quickly, eager to leave the cursed cabin behind.

  • Re-form the deck before continuing.