The .18 Derringer is a great little weapon for a character that wants to fight, -Just a bit-. Or for a character that's got something very expensive they want to play and need something to tide them over until the other thing fnds it's way to your hand.

Here are some unique cases for using this weapon:

• A 1 or 2 fight character can resist the little things that may spawn on them, a clue focused Agnes Baker, Minh Thi Phan, Wendy Adams, Finn Edwards and others. Even if you attack foes at just a +1 over the difficulty the .18 Derringer is uniquely reliable because the ammo-rescue mechanic makes risky situations like "IF I hit these bullets, I wont need help." into "WHEN I hit these bullets, I'm out of trouble." The high +2 to hit bonus also means that these characters can guarantee a 2-damage hit on something nasty if needed (via Skills, Cornered, ETC).

• A 3-4 fight character can use the .18 Derringer to tide them over until they get their actual main weapon and in that role, an early sidearm, it's just brilliant. There is a time in every scenario where a fighter character just hasnt played all the cards he need's to have in play to be effective, a time where a single dangerous foe like Yithian Observer or Agent of the King or Fang of Yig ETC could ruin your day, .18 Derringer is the weapon that stands strong without any support and beats all these things with ease.

The only notable point against using this weapon is the low ammo count for the cost, 2 shots might be all you need for the clue getter but a true fighter might still prefer an Enchanted Blade if it's available. Enchanted Blade and .18 Derringer together are a pretty sweet weapon lineup for a flex character.

Combo note: Live and Learn can actually cause .18 Derringer to regenerate ammo!

Note that the upgrade is fantastic.

After actual play with this weapon, I think it's safe to say that it simply doesn't get enough ammo for main or flex fighters to justify use. Sure, if it misses, it gets another ammo. However, this means that missing only avoids wasting in ammo. In practice, it's rare that weapons are fired with intent to miss. Sure, Live and Learn can effectively give 1 free shot, and sure, Stella Clark gets an extra action. However, there's no guarantee that those particular combats are where a failure will trigger, and with that +2 , dedicated characters are unlikely to miss unless things are going wrong. It's rare to making an attack with the intent or expectation of failure. Most times, when someone attacks, they want to hit.

And that means, most of the time, it costs 3 resources, a card, and a play action, for what's effectively +2 damage. Before XP comes online and resources are often tight, that doesn't feel like it's enough to justify the cost. I think the only time this gives enough is when also using Act of Desperation in order to recoup the costs involved. If a character doesn't have that, they're likely better off with Meat Cleaver, or even Baseball Bat.

Note that this only applies for the 0-XP version. Once upgraded, the 2-cost, 3-shot version of the weapon looks like a much more reliable weapon.