Roland through Dunwich, play and analysis - Episode 3: 2

Continued from Roland through Dunwich, play and analysis - Episode 2: 1-A.

The Miskatonic Museum. Scenario 2.

Introduction

I had played this scenario only once before, so I was less prepared than I had been for the previous 2 scenarios, but I remembered the scenario as being fairly straightforward clue-centric so I still felt like I had a significant advantage compared to going in blind.

Starting hand initial draw (mulliganed the italicized):

Guts, Vicious Blow, Dr. Francis Morgan, Emergency Cache, Preposterous Sketches

Redraw: Machete, Pathfinder, Beat Cop, Beat Cop ••

Thoughts:

No investigate bonus and no weapon. The only card that helps with moving away from Museum Entrance is Dr. Francis Morgan. None of the rest are worth considering without the basics covered.

Turn 1:

1. Play Dr. Francis Morgan
2. Museum Halls Commit Beat Cop (draw '-2' fail by 1)
3. Draw Emergency Cache

Upkeep: Draw: Calling in Favors

Thoughts:

I considered 3 paths, drawing first for another to pitch, committing both Beat Cops and the path I chose, sort of middle of the road, gambling on a 2 out of 3, and at worst, 2x 2 out of 3 at the loss of 1 action total over 2 turns.

Turn 2:

Mythos: Doom +1 (1 in play). Draw: Obscuring Fog

1. Museum Halls Commit Beat Cop •• (draw '-2' fail by 1)
2. Draw Pathfinder
3. Museum Halls (draw '-2' fail by 2)

Upkeep: Draw: Guts

Thoughts:

Circumstances are rapidly turning dire. Drawing Obscuring Fog convinced me that breaking down the door was my only option. I considered committing Machete in addition to the Beat Cop •• but without any cards to help my clue gathering I was very hesitant about giving up my only weapon as well. When my first action failed I could have committed the Machete but I decided then not to commit more until it would get me +2. When the draw did not yield I decided to just try my luck instead of drawing again, which was undoubtedly incororect, but probably due to me tilting a bit.

Turn 3:

Mythos: Doom +1 (2 in play). Draw: Cursed Luck

1. Draw Magnifying Glass
2. Draw Unexpected Courage
3. Museum Halls Commit Machete, Unexpected Courage (draw -1 succeed by 1) Discard Cursed Luck Act advances.

Upkeep: Draw: Vicious Blow

Thoughts:

Finally! I was a bit flustered at the start of this turn, but drawing Unexpected Courage was exactly what I needed. The start had been very slow, but with Dr. Francis Morgan in play and Pathfinder in hand I felt optimistic as long as I could speed up the pace.

Turn 4:

Mythos: Doom +1 (3 in play). Draw: Locked Door

1. Move to Museum Halls
2. Play Emergency Cache (5 Resources)
3. Play Pathfinder (2 Resources) Pathfinder move to Administration Office

Upkeep: Gain 1 resource (3 Resources). Draw Dr. Henry Armitage

Turn 5:

Mythos: Doom +1 (4 in play). Draw Pushed into the Beyond, chose Pathfinder. Discard Evidence!, Machete, .45 Automatic

1. Gain 1 Resource (4 Resources)
2. Investigate (draw '' succeed by 1). Gain 1 clue (1 Clue)
3. Play Pathfinder (1 Resource) Pathfinder move to Museum Halls

Upkeep: Gain 1 Resource (2 Resources). Draw Haunted

Turn 6:

Mythos: Doom +1 (5 in play) Agenda advances. Hunting Horror engages. Draw Arcane Barrier

1. Fight Hunting Horror. Commit Vicious Blow (draw '-2' succeed by 1). 2 damage on Hunting Horror (2 damage)
2. Fight Hunting Horror (draw -1 succeed by 1) 1 damage on Hunting Horror (3 damage). Hunting Horror is defeated, goes to The Void.
3. Museum Halls (0 Clues)

Upkeep: Gain 1 resource (3 Resources). Draw Roland's .38 Special

Turn 7:

Mythos: Doom +1 (1 in play). Draw Terror from Beyond Event. Discard Calling in Favors

1. Haunted
2. Haunted. Discard Haunted
3. Play Roland's .38 Special (0 Resources) Pathfinder attempt move to Athabaskan Exhibit. Commit Guts (draw '' fail by 4). Move to Athabaskan Exhibit. Discard Laboratory Assistant, Cover Up, Pathefinder, Art Student, Guts

Upkeep: Gain 1 resource (1 Resource). Draw Art Student

Thoughts:

Progress was slow and steady, not as fast as I could have wanted, but discarding Cover Up more than made up for it. At this point I was primarily worried about drawing Beyond the Veil.

Turn 8:

Mythos: Doom +1 (2 in play). Draw Visions of Futures Past (draw '0' fail by 2). Discard Vicious Blow, Preposterous Sketches.

1. Attempt to move to Museum Halls. Commit Dr. Henry Armitage (draw '-1' succeed by 0). Discard Arcane Barrier Pathfinder move to Security Office. Play Fast Magnifying Glass (0 Resources)
2. Investigate (draw '0' succeed by 2). Gain 1 clue (1 Clue)
3. Move to Museum Halls

Upkeep: Gain 1 resource (1 Resource). Draw Working a Hunch

Turn 9:

Mythos: Doom +1 (3 in play). Draw Passage into the Veil (draw '' fail by 1) (1 damage on Roland Banks and Dr. Francis Morgan)

1. Museum Halls Pathfinder move to Hall of the Dead
2. Gain 1 Resource (2 Resources)
3. Play Art Student (0 Resources). Gain 1 clue (1 Clue)

Upkeep: Gain 1 resource (1 Resource). Draw: Working a Hunch

Turn 10:

Mythos: Doom +1 (4 in play). Draw Cursed Luck

1. Gain 1 resource (2 Resources). Play Fast Working a Hunch (0 Resources). Gain 1 clue (2 Clues) Pathfinder move to Museum Halls
2. Museum Halls (1 Clue)
3. Museum Halls (0 Clues)

Upkeep: Gain 1 resource (1 Resource). Draw Magnifying Glass

Thoughts:

Pathfinder and the automatic clue gathering of Art Student and Working a Hunch were instrumental in smoothing out the scenario progression after the rocky start. At this point my only concern was drawing Beyond the Veil which would be catastrophic.

Turn 11:

Mythos: Doom +1 (5 in play). Draw Cursed Luck

1. Pathfinder move to Medusa Exhibit. Gain 1 resource (2 Resources). Play Fast Working a Hunch (0 Resources). Gain 1 clue (1 Clue) 2.Move to move to Museum Halls
2. Museum Halls (0 Clues)

Upkeep: Gain 1 resource (1 Resource). Draw Preposterous Sketches

Thoughts:

At this point I felt confident that I would win, provided that I dodge one last draw of the encounter deck.

Turn 12:

Mythos: Doom +1 (6 in play). Draw Visions of Futures Past (draw '-4' fail by 5). Laboratory Assistant, Calling in Favors, Evidence!, Emergency Cache, .45 Automatic

Pathfinder move to Restricted Hall. Act Advances. Spawn Hunting Horror, attach Shadow-spawned

1. Draw Unexpected Courage (1 damage on Dr. Francis Morgan 1 horror on Art Student)
2. Roland's .38 Special (3 Ammo) (draw '0' succeed by 4) 2 damage on Hunting Horror (2 damage). Discard Cursed Luck x2
3. Roland's .38 Special (2 Ammo) (draw '-1' succeed by 4) 2 damage on Hunting Horror. Hunting Horror is defeated, goes to The Void. Gain 1 clue (1 Clue)

Upkeep: Gain 1 resource (2 Resources). Draw (0 cards in deck, shuffle in discard pile and take 1 horror) Dr. Henry Armitage

Thoughts:

Dodged the draw, the rest was cleanup.

Turn 13:

Mythos: Doom +1 (7 in play) Agenda advances. Hunting Horror spawns in Museum Halls. Draw Pushed into the Beyond. Chose Art Student. Discard Art Student , Pathfinder , Machete 2 horror on Roland (3 Horror)

1. Play Fast Magnifying Glass (1 Resource) . Investigate (draw '' succeed by 3). Gain 1 clue (2 Clues). Advance!

Thoughts:

This turned out to be fairly straightforward. During the first few turns I was a bit frustrated, but looking back at the scenario I think the encounter deck treated me rather gently. There were a lot of small hindrances and annoyances but none of the really terrible draws.

Resolution.

the investigators destroyed the Necronomicon. 3 victory points (Hall of the Dead, Medusa Exhibit, Restricted Hall)

To be continued ...