Potato Please Your Own Executioner: What We Know

Your Own Executioner is one of the unresolved Potato Please achievements. Its description is "You taught him well," and the strongest lead is the letter storyline involving Pavel, but no reproducible step-by-step has been confirmed. This page separates what is known from what is still a theory.

The achievement is rare, at 7.6 percent global unlock, but rarity alone does not prove a hidden sequence. It may be tied to a specific letter response, a specific ending, or a combination of both. The community has tested several paths without a definitive answer.

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What is Your Own Executioner?

It is a hidden achievement with the description "You taught him well." The name and description imply that the player's actions teach someone, most likely Pavel, to do something terrible.

The achievement is not part of the three train endings. It can appear alongside an ending or as a separate outcome. That is one reason the theories are hard to test: two players can make the same final choice and get different results because of earlier letter decisions.

What is confirmed?

The confirmed facts are limited:

• The achievement exists and is unlockable.
• Pavel's letters are a recurring story element.
• The player can respond to at least some of Pavel's requests.
• The achievement is not tied to a single train route in any verified report.
• No public step-by-step has been reproduced by multiple players.

Everything else is inference. Be careful with guides that present a specific letter choice as fact; the comments usually show mixed results.

What are the main theories?

The most common theory is that the player's advice to Pavel leads him into the system, and the achievement is the realization that the player taught him to become an executioner. That fits the name, but it is still a reading, not a verified trigger.

A second theory is that the achievement requires a specific combination: help Pavel early, then choose the Ministry route. The problem is that players who report the combination also report failures, so the trigger may include a hidden variable.

How should you approach it?

The practical approach is to treat Your Own Executioner as a completion cleanup, not a story goal. Finish the three main endings first, then use a completed save to test letter choices.

A reasonable test plan:

1. Keep a save before the final letter decision.
2. Record which letters you answered and how.
3. Finish the run and check the achievement.
4. Reload and change one variable at a time.

This is slower than following a claimed guide, but it produces information you can trust. The Steam discussions thread is the best place to compare notes with other players.

Does the ending matter?

Possibly. The achievement's description points to a personal relationship, not a political outcome, but the ending may gate the final scene in which the achievement triggers.

If the trigger is tied to the Ministry route, the earliest you can test it is after the golden key and the train choice. If it is tied to a letter, the trigger may happen earlier, before the quota is complete. No verified report settles this.

Is it missable?

Yes, if it depends on a letter choice you can no longer change. That is another reason to keep a save before the final letter and before the train.

A completed save after 1.0.1 lets you replay the ending choice, but it does not necessarily let you replay earlier letters. If the trigger is in the letters, you may need a new run or an earlier save.

What should a guide say?

A good guide should say three things:

• The achievement exists and is rare.
• The Pavel letters are the strongest lead.
• No confirmed step-by-step exists.

A bad guide invents a sequence, presents it as fact, and blames the reader when it fails. Avoid those. The achievements guide → marks it as unresolved next to the other action-based unlocks.

FAQ

How do you unlock Your Own Executioner?

No confirmed method exists. The Pavel letter storyline is the strongest lead, but the exact trigger is unresolved.

Is it tied to an ending?

Possibly, but not confirmed. Some reports pair it with the Ministry route; others do not.

Can you get it on a completed save?

If the trigger is at the final choice, maybe. If it is in the letters, you may need an earlier save or a new run.

Why is the achievement called Your Own Executioner?

The description "You taught him well" suggests the player's advice turns Pavel into an executioner. That is an interpretation, not a confirmed story beat.

Official source: Steam achievements ↗

Official source: Potato Please on Steam ↗

The Steam discussions hub ↗ has the active Your Own Executioner thread. The 1.0.1 hotfix notes ↗ confirm the ending replay but do not mention this achievement.