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As darkness falls, a young boy walks home hand-in-hand with his mother. The Medium gently tucks her son in to bed. The boy drifts off to sleep. The only noises heard that night were a knock at the door and a faint scream.

Awakening the next day, the innocent child stares in anguish at the body of the woman who raised and loved him. As tears fall from his face, he calls out, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. Receiving no relief to this pain, the weeping boy staggers into the town square to share the horrific news. Returning home that night, the broken boy collapses onto his bed. Falling asleep, the boy looks up at the stars and wishes and prays to be with his mother again.

As the sun rises on Salem the next day, a young boy walks into town hand-in-hand with his mother. (credit)


Mechanics[]

  • The Retributionist is a Unique Role; there can never be more than one alive at a time.
  • You may resurrect one dead Town role per Night and use their ability on another player. You will receive the results your resurrected corpse otherwise would have (e.g. using a Sheriff to determine if someone is suspicious or not).
    SpecialLabel Rotten

    The icon that displays next to a player in the graveyard after you have used their body

    • You will visit your first target in the graveyard. A Tracker can see you visiting the target you choose to resurrect. This is able to confirm you as a Retributionist if there is no Necromancer.

Resurrecting a target[]

  • You can resurrect a dead Townie during the Night. There are some restrictions:
  • The corpse performs the second visit, not you. The corpse itself is then subjective to anything a normal player would be. A Lookout can see the dead player visiting their target, and a Bodyguard or Trap from a Trapper will respond against your resurrected player. Likewise, a Werewolf or Pestilence rampage at your second target's location will not harm you.
  • You cannot resurrect a player who has been used by a Necromancer; you will receive a message that the corpse is missing from the graveyard.
    • If both you and a Necromancer target the same player, whoever joined the lobby first will be able to use the corpse, while the other player will fail.
Role Usable? Effects Strategy    
Town Investigative yes(except Psychic) Causes the corpse to perform their ability on the target, which will be noticed by Lookouts, Trappers, or a Veteran on alert. You will get their results. Use these individuals to get investigative results to figure out a player's role or to prove yourself as the Retributionist.
Town Support (excluding Escort) no
Escort yes Will role block the target. You can use to keep evil roles at bay or to prove yourself as the Retributionist.
Jailor no
Vampire Hunter yes Will stake the target if they are a Vampire. If there are Vampires remaining, use it to stake known ones.
Veteran no
Vigilante (with bullets) yes Will shoot the target. The Retributionist is not affected by guilt. Using the Vigilante is recommended as it gives the Town an extra kill; it can also be used to confirm yourself as the Retributionist.
Vigilante (without bullets) yes No effect. You can use it to prove yourself as the Retributionist to a Lookout or Tracker.
Bodyguard yes Will protect the target and counterattack one attacker. The Retributionist will not die from guarding. You can use it to guard a confirmed Town member.
Crusader yes Will protect the target and attack one visitor. You can use it to protect a confirmed Town member.
Doctor yes Will heal the target.
If the second target is a revealed Mayor, they will visit but not heal the second target.
You can use it to heal a confirmed Town member.
Trapper no
Non-Townies no


Strategy[]

A Retributionist somewhat serves as a mirror to the Necromancer, as you work for the Town using your abilities. You are limited with your uses, as you can only control Town roles. This can either be very useful or very useless depending on the Town roles who die.

  • Town Investigative roles such as the Sheriff or Investigator can be used at any time to learn the results of other players. Lookouts can be used to watch important Town roles and keep you safe from any possible Ambushers or Werewolves who may target that Townie. Trackers can give you a quick way to determine someone's claim.
  • Using a Spy can be used to confirm a player as an Escort or Transporter, or to catch evils claiming to be roleblocked, or that are seen with incriminating bug information such as having Defense, being immune to role blocks, or in the case of a possible Arsonist, cleaning gasoline from themselves.
    • If using a Spy and your target is jailed, you will not see the Mafia or Coven visits, contrary to what a Spy would normally see.
  • If a Bodyguard dies whilst protecting a revealed Mayor, you might want to protect them again. The chances of a second Bodyguard is unlikely and the Mayor might be attacked again so this can slip up members of the Mafia or Coven by doing this.
  • Using a Bodyguard is usually preferable to a Doctor since the Bodyguard can take down an attacker, but the Doctor can save a player from multiple attacks. If you think a player will be attacked by multiple parties you should use a Doctor over a Bodyguard. A Crusader however can attack a possible attacker and keeps the target safe from all attacks against them (especially if they're a revealed Mayor), so they may be more useful.
  • Always try and save Town Protective corpses until you are confident a player will be attacked. You only have one use on every corpse and shouldn't waste it.
  • Vigilantes are your only reliable killing role and can be used to prove whether someone is evil or not depending on who you shoot. You can also determine if your target has a form of defense, but be careful to not confuse it with another Town Protective role protecting them instead.
  • A Vampire Hunter can be used if you believe that Vampires are still at large. If a player is accused, you can stake them to check, preferably on a Night Vampires can't convert them.
  • Escorts can prevent possible Mafia Killing and especially Neutral Killing roles from killing during the Night. However, a Serial Killer cannot be stopped from killing.
  • Coordinate with a Trapper about who they trapped so you don't accidentally set off any of their traps with your corpses as you will not only screw over the Trapper, players will think you are actually a Necromancer.
  • Medusas and Janitors are trouble, as they prevent you from using certain corpses as they clean out their victim’s roles. Janitors especially can make your Retributionist claim more suspicious due to their presence in your investigative result. Vampires are also a nuisance as you are unable to use the Townies they convert.
  • You will always use the true ability of the dead Townie if they are indeed a Townie. Forgers can be a dangerous threat; they can deny you corpses to use if they forge someone as a non-Town or non-visiting role, make your claim look suspicious by forging someone as a Retributionist since the role is unique, or even trick you into accidentally killing important Town roles (like a Mayor or Jailor) by forging a Vigilante as a Town Protective role.
    • If you try to use a non-town role forged as a Town Investigative, they won't produce any results. Use this to help discover the existence of a Forger.
  • If you are torn about whether or not to vote guilty on a player or are considering abstaining, you might want to vote guilty instead. If the lynched turns out to be a Townie and not evil, you can use their corpse the same Night, but you may be seen as suspicious for guilting a Town member so this is not justification to vote guilty on players who you aren't suspicious of.
  • You are one of the few Town roles that still win or draw in a 1v1 or 2v1 against a solo Mafia or even the Neutral Killing depending on what roles have died.

Retributionist vs. Evil Role[]

Below is a list of possible draws or victories for the Retributionist when alone against a single evil role.

  • Do note that some of these outcomes are only possible with multiple corpses.
Role Corpse(s) Result 
Mafioso Doctors, Escorts, or Vigilante Draw
Bodyguard or Crusader Town wins
Godfather Doctors, Escorts, or Crusaders Draw
Bodyguard Town wins
Arsonist Escorts Draw
Juggernaut Bodyguard or Escorts
(after 3rd kill)
Draw
Escorts, Doctors or Crusaders
(before 3rd kill)
Draw
Bodyguard
(before 3rd kill)
Town wins
Serial Killer Doctors or Crusaders Draw
Bodyguard Town wins
Werewolf Doctors, Escorts, or Crusaders Draw
Bodyguard Town wins
Plaguebearer Escorts Draw
Pestilence Bodyguards, Doctors, or Crusaders Draw
Vampire Escorts, Doctors, or Crusaders Draw
Bodyguard Town wins
Vampire Hunter or Vigilante
(after a conversion)
Town wins
Coven Leader Doctors or Crusaders Draw
Bodyguard Town wins
Hex Master Escorts or Vigilante Draw
Medusa Doctors, Escorts, or Vigilante Draw
Bodyguard or Crusader Town wins
Necromancer Bodyguards, Doctors, or Crusaders (if rival has Powerful Attack or Basic Attack) Draw
Vigilante (if rival has Unstoppable Attack) Draw
Poisoner Escorts Draw
Vigilante (if Retributionist is Poisoned) Draw
Bodyguard, Crusader or Vigilante Town wins
Potion Master Doctors, Escorts, or Vigilante Draw
Bodyguard or Crusader Town wins

Proving your role[]

  • Due to the changes in the Retributionist role, it is now much harder to confirm yourself, and it is a much easier claim for evils. There are, however, a few strategies you can use.
  • Using a Vigilante is one way to do this since you will create an obvious result, however, this is risky and can cost a valuable Townie, so only do this if you know that your target is evil.
    • If a player tries to claim your role, use a dead Vigilante to shoot them. Your role is unique, so there cannot be a second one.
      • Announce that you counterclaim Retributionist and that you will use a dead Vigilante to shoot them if they do not show proof of another role, as you risk accidentally shooting an unrevealed Mayor that is trying to lay low.
      • Additionally, in the Coven Expansion, your counterclaim might be a Necromancer. If they reanimate the same Vigilante to shoot you, there is a very high chance that not only you will be killed, but you also will not be able to shoot them. Once your role is revealed the Town should piece together that the player you said you were going to shoot is a Necromancer, but it will still cost your life.
  • Using an Escort to roleblock a player can confirm you as a Retributionist, since this leaves a clear message behind. You should whisper in advance to make sure your target knows you will roleblock them, so they can confirm you later.
    • You should only do this to a confirmed Townie who will not act that Night (such as a Medium) or a role that is no longer useful (such as a Sheriff in a Vampire game) or a role that is Roleblock Immune.
    • Do note that if you roleblock an evil role, they can accuse you and you could get lynched.
    • You could still be accused of being Consort or Hypnotist, so this isn't foolproof.
      • One strategy is to roleblock a confirmed Veteran who will alert that night, as this will trigger their alert message and confirm you aren't lying.
  • Resurrecting an Investigator or Lookout to see find information that is confirmed by other players can help you become confirmed, or if you use a Sheriff and find someone as suspicious.
  • Successfully using a Bodyguard and protecting someone can confirm you, but a Necromancer could easily put your claim under suspicion.
  • If a Lookout sees a dead player visit another player, this will confirm your existence unless you are playing in a gamemode with a possible Necromancer.
  • If a Tracker sees you visit, they can confirm you as a Retributionist or Necromancer.
  • A Spy can help clear any suspicions of being a Necromancer by noting that no Coven members visited the corpses you used.

Trivia[]

  • Prior to Version 3.2.4, the Retributionist was able to revive a dead Townie, bringing them back to life permanently. This was most likely changed since some players felt the role was too powerful (especially in the Town Traitor gamemode and Ranked) and wasn't fun to play as or against.
  • Some players have reported a bug with the Crusader and Coven Leader in 1v1s, where the Coven Leader constantly controls the Retributionist while the Retributionist attempts to raise the Crusader and use it on themselves. In this situation, the Crusader protects the Retributionist, yet the corpse is not made "Rotten", allowing the Retributionist to infinitely spam the crusader until the game draws. There isn't much evidence about this bug, however, and testing might be required.
  • Resurrecting a Lookout will result in the dead Lookout seeing themselves visiting the target, this is due to the game treating the results as if you are the one using the ability, so you as a Lookout would see the dead player visiting the target. The same thing happens doing this as a Necromancer.

History[]

  • 3.2.4
    • The Retributionist can no longer revive players.
    • The Retributionist can now resurrect certain Town roles once per game to use their ability on a living player.
    • Retributionist uses in-place secondary targeting rather than a slide-out secondary menu.
    • Retributionist can now be a Town Traitor in Town Traitor and Coven Town Traitor.
    • Removed sound effect for when a player is revived.
    • Removed message "You have 1 resurrection left.".
    • Removed message "You have 0 resurrections left.".
    • Removed message "You have been resurrected by a Retributionist!".
    • Removed message "(Player) has been resurrected!".
    • Removed message "(Player) was brought back to life!" (seen in the middle of the screen).
  • 2.5.5.12200
    • The Retributionist's role icon has been changed. Old one was Achievement Retributionist.
    • Added Retributionist's circled role icon (RoleIcon Retributionist Circled).
  • 1.5.10.4972
    • Added a sound effect for when a player is revived.
  • Town of Salem Release
    • Introduced.
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