Jenny Mk. 8 (#7: Where Doom Awaits)

Jenny Mk. 8 is very similar to Mk. 7. This far into testing I'm set on the core idea behind the deck and I'm only twiddling with it. So, I'm keeping Delves and Machetes and I'll be relying on dual Adaptable same as earlier. I'm throwing out Double or Nothing. It's an immensely cool card to use, but it's expensive to use well. In exchange I'm slotting in Think on Your Feet for extra risk mitigation and an occassional free move. I'll be also using all five off-color card slots rather than the usual four and I'll be trying out some Exceptional cards. Ace in the Hole and The Gold Pocket Watch both seem very appealing, but Lucky Dice are also tempting and cheaper in terms of XP.

I'm also changing the formatting so that the title actually matches the scenario in which the deck was used.

Extracurricular Activity: R3. Professor Warren Rice was kidnapped! The Experiment was defeated! 6XP (The Experiment, Wizard of Yog-Sothoth, Orne Library, 2x Delve Too Deep)

Highlights: Overall, the scenario went poorly. I got lots of horror from the encounter cards and Wizard of Yog-Sothoth, to the point of needing to accept the Offer of Power. I didn't manage to find "Jazz" Mulligan at all. Fortunatelly, when Searching for Izzie appeared I could put it on the Student Union rather than on one of the closed-off locations. Jenny healed herself at the Union as The Experiment approached. I drew Internal Injury, but ignored it in favour of Jenny going after The Experiment. It turned out that Jenny needed those two extra actions, since the chaos bag wasn't too kind on her. Still, 6XP despite the overall poor performance is satisfying.

The House Always Wins: R3. Naomi has Jenny's back! Dr. Francis Morgan was kidnapped! 5XP (Clover Club Pit Boss, VIP Area, Art Gallery, Back Alley, Delve Too Deep)

Highlights: Textbook run! Think on Your Feet proved to be particularly useful, letting Jenny use the usually-dreaded enemy spawns to her advantage. In this scenario the distances are relatively big and Jenny doesn't really want to fight with criminals (who can be dealt with by monsters) or Conglomeration of Spheres (which can eat melee weapons). Saving Peter Clover is all about Fine Clothes, Elusive and "I'm outta here!". With these three the risk is minimal. BUT! Minimal doesn't mean zero, as Jenny learned to her chagrin. She waited for Conglomeration of Spheres to leave the Clover Club Bar, teleported-in via Elusive and had 3 actions to parley with Peter. Alas, the first two chaos tokens revealed were auto-fail and -4. Since "I'm outta here!" isn't fast Jenny had to wait until the next turn. Or rather the turn after that due to ill-timed Dissonant Voices!

Interlude I: Jenny rescued Dr. Henry Armitage!

The Miskatonic Museum: R1. Jenny destroyed the Necronomicon! 5XP (Exhibit Hall, Exhibit Hall, Exhibit Hall, Exhibit Hall, Exhibit Hall)

Highlights: Perfect! It literally couldn't had been better as Jenny gathered the grand total of 7XP. This scenario is all about knowing when to defeat and when to evade the Hunting Horror... >Blip<... I forgot that thing has Retaliate... I need to replay.

Actual Highlights: Yeah, I drew Crypt Chill as my first encounter with my only asset being Adam Lynch. Mercifully, Switchblade is fast and I had exactly one resource left, so I could sacrifice it to the chill and avoid adding to the chaos bag. This run was much tighter than the first time around, mainly because I was hit with Beyond the Veil and then numerous Passage into the Veil and Visions of Futures Past. Jenny was on the clock and worse the Restricted Hall was at the very bottom of the exhibit deck. Fortunatelly, I had good tokens against these discard effects, never drew Searching for Izzie and was able to bypass the Hunting Horror at the Restricted Hall via Drawn to the Flame.

The Essex County Express: R1. -3 Token added to the chaos bag! 1 Mental Trauma! 4XP (Engine Car, Parlor Car, 2x Delve Too Deep)

Highlights: Everything went well until Jenny reached the Engine Car. The odds cought up with her as the auto-fail token was revealed on Act 1b. I'd say Jenny should be used to dangling from the side of the engine with all the gutsy things she does and her daring escapes from monsters. Alas, mental trauma it shall be. There were around 6 turns in reserve, so I drew more cards to reach Delves and get extra XPs from them, meaning that I can spend 9XP in preparation for the next scenario. Perhaps Jenny should buy herself something pretty to cheer up?

Blood on the Altar: R3. Jenny banished Silas Bishop! Dr. Francis Morgan was sacrificed to Yog‑Sothoth! 4XP (The Hidden Chamber, 2 Bonus XP)

Highlights: It's as if the game was aware of Jenny's diminished mental health and kept throwing Eager for Death, Sordid and Silent and Rotting Remains at her. Thankfully, Jenny held firm and managed to finish the scenario without more trauma. Lots of time was wasted searching for the hidden chamber, but gathering clues inside went well with the help of copious amount of resources spent on Streetwise, some convenient Servant of Many Mouths and Drawn to the Flame. Seriously, that last card plays way better than it oughts to. I wonder if it really is that good or that the sample size is too small and I'm only seeing the better part of the curve. Sadly, even with that Jenny was too slow to save Dr. Francis Morgan. I'm sure the two of them would get on well and game-wise he'd be the second best ally for combat-focused Jenny. The best ally is of course Leo De Luca, who by the way avoided being Kidnapped! Twice.

Interlude II: Dr. Henry Armitage survived The Dunwich Legacy! Professor Warren Rice survived The Dunwich Legacy! Zebulon Whateley survived The Dunwich Legacy! Earl Sawyer survived The Dunwich Legacy!

Undimensioned and Unseen: R1. Jenny warned the townsfolk! 2 brood escaped into the wild! 1 Mental Trauma! 3XP (3x Brood of Yog-Sothoth)

Highlights: With both Leo De Luca and Ace in the Hole in the opening hand Jenny was able to get the Esoteric Formula on the very first turn. Things looked very promising as Jenny quickly dispatched the first two Broods. Alas Jenny's luck turned against her as she had to waste time fending of scores of Whippoorwill without weapons or attack boosts. I drew four of these pestering creatures coupled with two Frozen in Fear. I slowly begun to stabilize things. By the time it was 1 doom on Agenda 3, 1 Whippoorwill and 1 Frozen in Fear was left and I was able to deal one damage to one of the Broods that spawned on top of Jenny. Then, disaster strikes. Attracting Attention surges into another Frozen in Fear. All three broods converge on Jenny! With an immense 3-action effort she's able to take down the wounded one. There's no way she can do more so Jenny moves to Dunwich Village to resign next turn. That move caused her 4 damage and 4 horror, which she survived due to the noble sacrifice of Leo De Luca. Then, The Creatures' Tracks! There's no more broods left aside, so Jenny has to take 2 horror and is defeated.

Where Doom Awaits: R1. -5 Token added to the chaos bag! Jenny entered the portal! 3XP (Seth Bishop; Sentinel Peak)

Highlights: The encounter deck has been very forgiving for Jenny. I drew weak humanoid Thralls, Lupine Thralls that spawned in unreachable locations and just one Avian Thrall which Jenny couldn't easily reach without her guns, but eventually managed to get rid off. Due to Naomi's assistance Jenny visited only one Diverging Path and two Altered Paths, which left her with ample to reach the top of the hill and plunge her Switchblade into Seth Bishop's vile heart. All in all, this scenario is definitely easier than the last and I'm really tempted to slot in Delve Too Deep during my next playthrough. For now Jenny has 6XP to spend, so she'll likely see her Hot Streak continue and she'll take two O'Bannion Hired Muscle with her into the portal. I'm pretty sure they'll demand triple-hazard pay, but Jenny can afford it.

Oh, but the next time Jenny most definitely will contact The Red-Gloved Man. Have you seen the previews? Here:

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/6/29/the-secrets-of-time-and-space/

He's such an excellent addition for Jenny. He provides two whole-turn +3 bonuses and is the best emergency damage and horror sponge in the game. Jenny Mk. 9 will seek to employ him instead of getting Hot Streaks.

BTW, I'm not entirely sure I'm getting the interaction between Spaces Between and Lupine Thrall right. Suppose I draw Spaces Between first, flip some non-Hill location over and next turn draw Lupine Thrall. He spawns on the farthest location. As I understant it the unrevealed Path location is still in play, but unconnected to anything and thus farthest away from every other location. I put the Lupine Thrall there and unless I return to that location on my own, it'll never be able to reach me. Right?