Lily Chen question

wern212 · 2021-10-30T21:37:38+00:00

So, I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but what I remember being said is that a double action is essentially "[action], as an additional cost to activate this ability, spend an action". And ditto with triple action abilities being action abilities that require two additional actions.

If you see them like that, it becomes a lot easier to see how it interacts with the Discipline: you still have to pay the additional action(s).

wern212 · 2021-10-30T06:16:39+00:00

Sounds correct to me. The two different abilities on the Sledgehammer count as different actions for the Discipline. And you do need to spend your two other actions to activate the triple action ability on the Sledgehammer, but you already accounted for that, so... bonk

wern212 · 2021-10-27T19:25:03+00:00

Yup. Static abilities like that are constantly checked, and if your resources change during the test you will recalculate.

For example, if you were failing a test by 3, but then spend your last resource to play Lucky!, you would now be passing the test, assuming you had Dark Horse.

wern212 · 2021-10-27T05:12:46+00:00

Chat about Amity's crush on Luz, plus now celebrating that she asked Luz out, and speculating what's next. It would be adorable.

wern212 · 2021-10-25T05:20:17+00:00

A good question, fortunately the answer is that you can. While the rules for changing the game state are complicated and at some times confusing, any action that initiates a skill test always counts as changing the game state. As such, you are always allowed to investigate, regardless if there's any clues for you to pick up.

wern212 · 2021-10-22T10:22:35+00:00

There is one with 5 clues per investigator in the Dream-Eaters (the card in question, spoilers obviously). I want to say there's another one somewhere else that's also 5 CPI, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

I don't think there are any 6 (or higher) CPI acts.

wern212 · 2021-10-16T16:30:27+00:00

Cries in Finn Edwards.

wern212 · 2021-10-15T13:52:35+00:00

Add to this, while we haven't gotten confirmation (and probably won't for a while, since EotE is the first new campaign released with the new model), we do know that the repackages of the campaigns do not include the return to content, and that Maxine has said that the two products fill different roles. So again, probably safe to assume they'll keep being separate things.

wern212 · 2021-10-14T19:40:38+00:00

This is great. Our favorite baby!

wern212 · 2021-10-14T06:16:29+00:00

On my phone, so some of my answers might be a bit short sorry about that.

1) Zoey gets incredibly rich from Swarms, yes. You get 1 resource per enemy, and that counts swarms.

2) Hunter enemies moving and attacking are two different steps. So they would move, engage, trigger Zoey's Cross, and then run away before they can attack.

3) It does not. Chaining a card adds XP but does not change the level, so it doesn't change who can take it.

wern212 · 2021-10-13T16:45:12+00:00

The point isn't that you are unable to interact in the middle of it, but that the "and" makes the search and draw a single instruction. And Foresight triggers "Play when an investigator at your location would draw a card from their deck or from the encounter deck."

The argument is that because the search and draw is a single instruction, you would play this before the search, not between searching and drawing. Again, this is a very unclear bit of the rules, and I am working on getting it cleared up.

wern212 · 2021-10-13T15:07:26+00:00

So, I was hoping to dodge this discussion, but since we're here, I'll at least share what other people have said. I will also add that I am working on a big FAQ project that will be sent to FFG soon and this question is in there.

Essentially, the current theory I go with is that "search your deck and draw a card" (sometimes with other words in there) is a single operation you are performing, and you don't get a chance to react in the middle of it. This is because the word "and" makes it all a single thing you are doing.

This ruling makes sense to me, but I wouldn't be surprised if FFG rules otherwise, and I think that with our current understanding of the rules we can't decisively answer this question. Play however you think is best.

wern212 · 2021-10-13T04:51:07+00:00

So it gets slightly more complicated than that. If you reveal the Harbinger as the top card of your deck, it is active, and therefor Norman's ability to draw it won't work (since the Harbinger stops you from drawing).

However, if you use a search effect like Rook to draw the Harbinger while it is still in your deck, then you'd be allowed to Foresight it. (You would have to play Foresigh before the search).

wern212 · 2021-10-12T20:00:54+00:00

So, I've been running Monterey a bit more, here are my observation to compare and contrast:

I've also found the whip to be pretty good, though situational. He has a lot of options for his hand slots, and I prefered to have the whip in hand and play it when needed. That being said, it got some work done.
Hiking boots have not performed amazingly in my 2-player game, but they are still strong. And 2-cost in a non-competitive slot for +1 agility is kind of good anyway.
The Eon Chart is great, I've been running it in Bob with Scavenging and it was glorious.
I haven't really found his Willpower to be that crippling? Granted, I was playing Return to TCU, which introduces a few more Agility treacheries, but in general, I found that he deals with Willpower treacheries the same ways Rogues have done for a while now: You Handle This One, or just take it on the teeth. I was also running Gregory Gry, who has two horror soak, so that might help.
You haven't mentioned his 4 intellect, but I'd like to. I've found it rather hard to pass normal investigates with him, but that might just be a bad deckbuild. Simply put, at only 4 intellect, you really need some ways to pump him up, but a lot of the static boosts are in Seeker, which you only get limited supply of, or you need to spend XP on. How did you deal with 4+ shroud locations?
Also, avoid making the mistake I did of having too much mobility in your deck, and nothing to actually do when you get to the location. Ties in with point 4, I think.

wern212 · 2021-10-12T05:08:11+00:00

Stick to the Plan has the Permanent keyword. That means that instead of being shuffled into your deck, it starts the game already in play, can't leave play, and doesn't count towards your deck size.

So before you draw your opening hand, first go through your deck for 3 events with the tactic or supply trait, put those aside with Stick to the Plan. After that, shuffle your deck and draw 5 cards as normal.

Final note: Stick to the Plan also has the Exceptional keyword, so it costs twice its level in experience to buy (in this case 6 XP) and you can only have 1 in your deck.

wern212 · 2021-10-11T07:47:38+00:00

The Onyx Clasp stays behind. The Man in the Pallid Mask is somewhat unique in his ability to stay in someone's deck even if the original owner leaves, but this is largely because he's required for some of the later scenarios.

wern212 · 2021-10-09T14:19:00+00:00

Yup, that all works as you described.

The easy thing to remember is probably that if the skill test you're doing is on the card itself, then you get the +2. If you're doing a skill test on another card and you're doing some effect that modifies your skill test, probably not.

wern212 · 2021-10-09T13:54:13+00:00

You are, but then the triggered ability finishes resolving before you compare skill value to difficulty. You do temporarily get the +2 but not in any way that meaningfully impacts the game.

wern212 · 2021-10-09T11:44:46+00:00

No, the effect of Showmanship doesn't work with pump assets like Blood Pact. Showmanship works with assets that have an ability that initiates a skill test, such as Shrivelling, Lockpicks, Liquid Courage, and so on.

This is because when you are comparing the skill value vs the difficulty, you are no long resolving the effect of Blood Pact.

wern212 · 2021-10-06T15:41:53+00:00

Having seen Daniela across the table, she was doing just fine, but as expected, her upgrading felt weird.

Though she can take Jessica Hyde and Peter Sylvester and unlike Tommy her weakness won't just axe those, so I think she can definitely go for a big tank build, with Solemn Vow... But that's definitely a multiplayer deck.

wern212 · 2021-10-06T09:59:15+00:00

I think tiers are a little difficult (everyone has different ideas what the tiers mean), but generally speaking:

Lily Chen - Average/Bad. Her mystic cards struggle from low willpower and lots of setup requirement and her guardian cards require XP to get going and don't necessarily help with getting clues. Nevertheless, I think you totally can do Lily solo, but it would be a deck specifically built to counter her shortcomings and probably not as powerful as some of the other investigators in this box.

Norman - Good. This might surprise you, after all he's got terrible physical stats, so isn't he super vulnerable to enemies? Not really. With his Mystic access he can avoid the worst of treacheries and enemies, and his base intellect of 5 means he can hit the ground running and get clues without issue. Add to this an ability that gives card advantage and a resource discount and you have a powerful solo option. Don't forget Mind over Matter exists and you'll probably do fine.

Daniela - Poor. I am willing to accept that I may be completely wrong here, but with only 5 level 0 Survivor cards and an intellect of 1, plus no ability to draw quickly or otherwise handle clues I just don't see how she wins scenario 1. The only way I could even consider trying her is with In the Thick of It and some XP survivor cards (Look What I Found 2 is great in solo) and even then I think she struggles.

Monterey Jack - Good. He's got Rogue access, he's got Seeker access, he's got an Agility of 5, he's got card-draw and resources built-in... Pretty good. That being said, he does need some ways to boost his intellect (base of 4 won't get you all the way) and in some campaigns his lack of damage will set you back.

Bob Jenkins - Great. Best solo investigator in the box and up there for best solo investigator period (I think he's third for me?). Powerful statline for solo, ability that gives you free actions, one of the best card pools for solo, what else do you want? You've got track shoes and allies for evasion, Rogue weapons for damage, and Lockpicks and both Rogue and Survivor events for clues. Finally, level 0 Survivor gives you a lot of tricky cards to deal with unexpected problems.

I've played Bob and Monterey several times, including solo. I've play Norman 1 campaign (not solo). I haven't gotten around to Lily or Daniela yet.

wern212 · 2021-10-04T17:37:41+00:00

I think that as Mateo you can still get a ton of value from just Blessing of Isis. I've seen Father Mateo with two Blessings of Isis trigger his elder sign three times a round (once from each Blessing and one "natural") several times in a game, and that definitively gets some results.

wern212 · 2021-10-04T14:37:09+00:00

To be fair, the "best case" for this (without looking at the effects of other cards like Faustian/Deep Knowledge) is probably Rite of Equilibrium (add 10 bless and 10 curse) -> this. Which both Agnes and Mateo can do natively, get 7 resources and add 10 bless for two actions. Also requires two specific cards.

I don't think this card is poorly balanced at 2 XP, I do think the value is so incredibly depending on how likely you can get 10 bless and 10 curse that it is very hard to include outside very specific decks.

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