Shady Job Squad Planner

This is a party clipboard, not another essay. Fill a template, read the callouts, run the 60-second briefing, then go to the site. Ranks and reasoning live on Shady Job co-op roles. Social rules live in the co-op guide. If you argue theory in this tab while the bag is on a plank, you are using the tool wrong.

Shady Job is 1–4 player online co-op on Steam. Local split-screen is not listed. Roles are unofficial jobs: Carrier, Builder, Plunger, Flex. They are not classes. Price is unannounced. Launch is September 10, 2026.

Hard rules (pin these)

• One bag owner. The Carrier is the only person whose job is the taped black cargo. Dual-carrying is not a template.
• Gun and bag are different people as soon as you have two players. Plunger prompts in shots: SHOOT, PULL/RELEASE, DROP.
• Builder owns collapse. Unstable blocks, cranes, platforms, break-throughs. Nobody else “helps” by stacking mid-span.
• Flex speaks hazards. Ice freeze, INDUSTRIAL FAN, barrels, toilets, Floor 13. If nobody is Flex, the Plunger says it.
• Gentle unless recovering. Rough handling feeds bag aggression (Punchy Bag). Speed is a pickup, not a personality.

2-player template — Bag and Path

Seat	Player	Holds	Does not
Carrier	P1	Bag	Plunger Gun as a main tool, decorative ramps
Builder / Plunger / Flex	P2	Plunger Gun, blocks, hazard calls	The bag, except to return it to P1

Checklist before ready-up

• P1 named Carrier out loud
• P2 has the gun
• P2 will path-first, then move bag
• Ice or fan = P2 calls stop, bag waits
• If P1 falls, P2 fishes, P1 re-owns cargo — no role swap mid-air

Callouts P2 must use: bag loose, ice, fan, collapse, yank now, Floor 13.

When to abandon this template: you added a third friend. Do not keep P2 as a triple-hat out of habit. Promote to the 3-player row.

3-player template — Triangle

Seat	Player	Holds	Does not
Carrier	P1	Bag	Scout runs, crane seats
Builder	P2	Blocks, cranes, platforms	The gun unless P3 is down
Plunger + Flex	P3	Plunger Gun, ice/fan veto, slot items (SANDWICH, etc.)	Walking in P1’s pocket

Checklist before ready-up

• P3 is ahead of the bag, not beside it
• P2 waits for P3 ice call before committing a span
• P1 does not break windows with the cargo
• Disconnect plan: P2 takes the gun, collapse to Bag and Path
• HUD green bar: P1 or P3 glances; nobody invents a meaning, but someone is watching it

Callouts: bag status every floor (P1), span ready (P2), clear / ice / fan (P3), yank on named target (P3).

4-player template — Full site

Seat	Player	Holds	Does not
Carrier	P1	Bag	Hero yanks, barrel soccer
Builder	P2	Route	Punching the bag “for pace”
Plunger	P3	Gun	Live-span fishing without a call
Flex / Spotter	P4	Eyes, items, veto	A second bag, a second gun for fun

Checklist before ready-up

• Four names mapped to four seats in chat
• P4 has veto on ice, fans, props
• P3 yanks only after a call
• P2 is the only person placing the next stack
• P1 is not “helping” with blocks while holding cargo
• If someone is late: play Triangle, do not leave Flex empty and Plunger empty

4-player failure check: if two people touched the bag in the last minute without a drop recovery, the template already broke. Reset voices, not the floor.

Who holds plunger versus bag

Party size	Bag	Plunger Gun
1 player	You	You, as a swap — never both “main” at once if you can drop and shoot
2	P1	P2
3	P1	P3 (P2 only if P3 is down)
4	P1	P3 (P4 may borrow, then return)

Solo is allowed by the 1–4 listing. Solo does not get a Flex teammate. Path-first still applies: place, then carry, then gun for a climb. Do not sprint cargo onto a live ice sheet because nobody is there to scold you.

Callout card (copy to chat)

• bag loose — cargo is not in Carrier hands
• don’t punch it — someone is feeding aggression
• span ready — Builder signed the path
• ice — freeze hazard, bag waits
• fan — INDUSTRIAL FAN is live
• prop — toilet / barrel on the route
• yank now — named target, Plunger only
• drop — Plunger DROP prompt, not “drop the bag for fun”
• Floor 13 — landmark call, check footing
• collapse — stack is dying, back off

Keep calls short. A paragraph in voice is how Floor 13 gets a barrel.

60-second briefing script

Host reads this once. Nobody workshop it.

1. Party size is N. Template is Bag and Path / Triangle / Full site.
2. P1 is Carrier. P_ is Plunger. Gun and bag are not the same person.
3. Path-first. Gentle carry. Walk the bag. Yank to recover. Ice and fans veto.
4. If we wipe, we do not swap seats unless someone left.
5. Questions now. After ready-up, only callouts.

That is the whole speech. Strategy letters behind it are on strategy tiers. How to actually carry, build, and shoot is body bag, building, and Plunger Gun. Hardware is system requirements. Calendar is release date. Beginners still need Getting Started once.

After-action ticks (two minutes, then close the wiki)

• Bag changed hands without a drop? Name who. Fix it next run.
• Gun used without a call? Name who.
• Ice called late? Flex (or P2 in a duo) owns that.
• Builder got “help” mid-span? Ban it next run.
• Anyone still wants to dual-carry? They have not read the roles list. Send the link, do not debate physics in the elevator.

If the only note is “we need a fifth job,” you do not. You need the four you already have, spoken earlier. Save new theory for the next briefing, not for a live plank.