I’m so happy we have cards like Skarpretter, Renkesmed, Sjarlatan, etc.!
Renkesmed sounds great to German ears too, but it would be a bit more fitting if the primary function would be card drawing. After all, it's a smed (smith, I guess), if only in a figurative sense. To my mind, Diplomat would be a good renkesmed.
I don't know if Skarpretter means the same as German Scharfrichter, but that would be an executioner, whose purpose is beheading, not torturing.
Thanks a lot for your feedback. I like your take on this. I agree that the Scharfrichter’s main purpose was to execute murderers and enemies to the throne (by axe or sword, unlike the Büttel who usually used other methods like hanging), but I had to look it up when I saw the Norwegian card title, as I too disagreed with the translators a bit. I learnt a lot, and I feel that the card name is actually very fitting after all. They’re mostly known for their executions, that’s true, but that was only a part of their job. You can only execute so many, you know. A lot of their work, in Norway at least, included interrogation and/or branding of criminals and cutting off of hands/fingers and the like. I don’t know if German Scharfrichters did the same, but in Norway, I think they could qualify as Torturers. Besides, the name is evocative (and we frankly have few alternative words in Norwegian).
As for Renkesmed: Like you said, the name implies smithing in a figurative sense, as they kind of forge chains of rumors and gossip. As they draw when a lot is going on (3+ actions in the same round), I think it’s kind of appropriate. They need help from other Conspirators to make solid chains, so a single such ‘smith’ shouldn’t draw a lot. I like the fact that with more things going on in your kingdom, the conspiracies thrive.
I guess my main point is that they’ve found old-fashioned words that have actually been used a lot in Norway, and to me at least, they’re dramatic and evocative.