TIC Blind Run #4 (Devil Reef)

Hello! We’ve got the second flashback scenario ahead of us. In the opening narration Jenny reminded Thomas that the stated mission was already accomplished. I would’ve missed that tidbit if not for Jenny’s comment. It’s comforting to know that our investigator doesn’t settle for baseline solutions. In fact, the last scenario was near-perfect. We’ll see whether we can replicate the feat this time around. I’m not so sure. The initial setup suggests five clusters of locations connected via Churning Waters. Given that Deep Ones tend to be hunters I expect the central hub to be swarmed with them. It’s going to tax Jenny’s actions horrendously. Notice that during the previous scenarios Jenny’s weapon hit the table late or not at all. I don’t think I can afford the delay this time around… Unless there are encounters that target assets in play… Ah, the joys of a blind run. Let’s see how it goes.

Pre-Mulligan Hand: Thomas Dawson, "Watch this!", Fine Clothes, "I'm outta here!", Jenny's Twin .45s, Lone Wolf

Opening Hand: Thomas Dawson, 2× Lone Wolf, Streetwise, Hard Knocks, Mauser C96

Devil Reef

Agenda & Act: Secrets of the Sea (v. I) & Reef of Mysteries

#1

• PLAY Lone Wolf
• PLAY Mauser C96
  • That opening evokes an image of grim faces and determined eyes, doesn’t it? However, in-game this hand is bad. There are two dead cards and Thomas presents us with an uncomfortable decision of whether to save the slot for Leo De Luca or not.
• Fishing Vessel (to Devil Reef, Lonely Isle)
  • Yep. I was afraid of that. It'll take four actions to visit all these branching locations. We’ve used the Tidal Tunnels in the first scenario, so we can be certain at least two keys are there. Somewhere.
• Upkeep: draw Deep Knowledge, 2 resources total.
  • Excellent. I’ll remind that the chaos bag has an extra plus one token and four out of eight potential symbols are gone.

#2

• Mythos: 1/9 doom, Malfunction
  • Jenny should be able to fiddle with the engine or offer some encouragement to the owner of the boat, but imagine some low-Intellect mystic trying to tackle this problem.
• Lone Wolf
• PLAY Deep Knowledge (draw Hard Knocks & 2× Leo De Luca)
  • I must be stacking these decks somehow. Leo is the most important card in the deck and I'm always getting him early. I might well have a distorted view on this campaign’s difficulty.
• MOVE to Tidal Tunnel (Tidal Pool, facedown key)
• INVESTIGATE (commit Streetwise & Leo De Luca, , 1 clue)
  • Jackpot!
• claim the yellow key
• Upkeep: draw Working a Hunch, 5 resources total.

#3

• Mythos: 2/9, Riptide, Deep One Predator (takes 1 clue)
  • Tidal Pool must’ve been this guy’s favourite relaxation spot! He’s gnashing his teeth at Jenny. I don’t see his ability being particularly relevant though. You’ll either deal with him and recover your clues or the clues lose their importance as Deep One Predator pummels your investigator.
• Lone Wolf
• FIGHT with Mauser C96 (commit Hard Knocks & Thomas Dawson, $curse, , defeat Deep One Predator, 1 clue, 1 resource)
  • Well, that’s the last we’re going to see of Thomas Dawson. I think he’d be glad to know his service was punctuated with an Elder Sign overcoming a Curse.
• PLAY Leo De Luca
• MOVE to Lonely Isle
• MOVE to Tidal Tunnel (Bootlegger's Hideaway, facedown key)
  • That’s everything we’d want from a location. Low clue count, extra XP and another facedown key. What bothers me is the lack of Y’ha-nthlei locations. There’s three of them, so it might be that Jenny’ll find each of them near the unrevealed three Devil Reefs, but it’s also possible all three will be clustered around a specific Deep-One-infested isle.
• Upkeep: draw Eureka!, 3 resources total.

Board State Reminder: 8 health, 7 sanity, 3 resources, 1 clue

In Play: Mauser C96 (4 ammo), Leo De Luca, Lone Wolf

In Hand: Lone Wolf, Hard Knocks, Working a Hunch, Eureka!

#4

• Mythos: 3/9 doom, Shapes in the Water (commit Eureka!, , draw Nimble)
  • Jenny and Leo are being a bit jumpy. So am I, because committing Eureka! on an easy test with full sanity was an overreaction. Why draw Nimble? Because I’ve revealed two Nimbles and Dark Pact. BTW, boat-based movement makes Nimble much more restrictive than usual, doesn’t it?
• Lone Wolf
• Working a Hunch (1 clue)
• claim the green key
  • I’m not too keen on the generic descriptions of the keys. What did Jenny actually find that’s green? A potted plant?
• MOVE to Lonely Isle
• Malfunction ( Streetwise, )
  • Ouh. That Tentacle effectively costs me three actions. I can’t progress without the boat and I can’t reliably repeat the test. Jenny rolls her eyes. The fisherman can’t be bothered to maintain his own fishing vessel? Even if it is his main source of income? We’ll say that the problem turned out much more serious that it appeared at first glance and the double resource action represent time spent on jury-rigging the engine without proper tools.
• enter Fishing Vessel
• RESOURCE
• RESOURCE
• Upkeep: draw Jenny's Twin .45s, 4 resources total.

#5

• Mythos: 4/9 doom, Deep One Assault, Lurking Deep One (1 damage to Leo De Luca)
• Lone Wolf
• FIGHT with Mauser C96 (3 ammo left, -4)
• EVADE ( Streetwise, )
  • Hmmm… Jenny holds the Deep One at gunpoint. It’s a bluff. Jenny stakes her life on an assumption that the creature understands that guns are dangerous, but at the same time doesn’t know Mauser C96 exhausts.
• EVADE (commit Jenny's Twin .45s, exhaust Lurking Deep One)
• Malfunction ( Streetwise, discard Malfunction)
• Enemy: Lurking Deep One engages (1 damage)
• Upkeep: draw "Watch this!", 3 resources total.

#6

• Mythos: 5/9 doom, Lurking Deep One (1 damage)
  • More enemies appear! Behind her Jenny hears several mechanical sputters, but the motor won’t run any better than it does at the moment.
• Lone Wolf
• FIGHT with Mauser C96 (2 ammo left, commit "Watch this!", bid 3 resources, -2, defeat Lurking Deep One, 6 resources)
  • Headshot!
• EVADE (commit Lone Wolf, Streetwise, -2, exhaust Lurking Deep One)
• Fishing Vessel (to Churning Waters)
• Fishing Vessel (to Devil Reef, Salt Marshes, partially flooded)
  • We’re off the Lonely Isle. Notice the pentagonal connections between revealed Devil Reefs. Hunter enemies are going to exploit them and that means at least one more attack from the Lurking Deep One.
  • EDIT: Nope. Lurking Deep Ones are not hunters. I’ve kept playing and compounding this mistake and I see no other way than to revert the scenario to the end of round #6.
• leave Fishing Vessel
• Enemy: Lurking Deep One readies
• Upkeep: draw Fine Clothes, 7 resources total.

Board State Reminder: 6 health, 7 sanity, 7 resources, 2 clues

In Play: Mauser C96 (2 ammo), Leo De Luca (1 damage), Lone Wolf

In Hand: Hard Knocks, Nimble, Fine Clothes

#7

• Mythos: 6/9 doom, Aquatic Ambush
  • I don’t the critical mass of enemies for making this encounter card threatening happens too often in solo play.
• Lone Wolf
• MOVE to Tidal Tunnel (Bootlegger's Hideaway, facedown key)
• INVESTIGATE ( Streetwise, , 1 clue)
• claim the red key
  • Great. With that we’ve got three out of four facedown keys, but no locations to utilize them. I’m starting to worry.
• MOVE to Salt Marshes
• enter Fishing Vessel
• Fishing Vessel (to Churning Waters)
• Upkeep: draw Intel Report, 8 resources total, discard Aquatic Ambush.

#8

• Mythos: 7/9 doom, Stowaway (1 horror to Leo De Luca, 1 damage)
  • I’m not going to be tricked into leaving the boat in the middle of Churning Waters. Jenny would be either wasting actions on swimming or outright struggling for air and taking direct damage. Let’s just pull the man inside. I assume that’s one of the bootleggers? An excellent source of information for the Intel Report we’ve just drawn.
• Lone Wolf
• Fishing Vessel (to Devil Reef, Hidden Cove)
  • Insert the classic Scooby Doo scene. The stowaway mutters ominously about the Unfathomable Depths and warns against going there so the group immediately decides to check it out.
• leave Fishing Vessel
• MOVE to Tidal Tunnel (Underwater Cavern, fully flooded)
• MOVE to Unfathomable Depths (Temple of the Union, black key)
  • Three out of four keys and I don’t have the right key! However, it’s good to know my clues are going to be useful.
• MOVE to Underwater Cavern
• MOVE to Hidden Cove
• enter Fishing Vessel
• Upkeep: draw "I'm outta here!", 11 resources total.
  • Hmmm… It’s reassuring at the moment, but notice the Resign ability on Churning Waters. Should Jenny find them "I'm outta here!" would still leave the purple, black and white keys on the map.

#9

• Mythos: 8/9 doom, Rising Tides (partially flooded)
  • Unless the agenda advancing next round involves some sort of flood-level-related tsunami Rising Tides is entirely ignorable. Is that likely? I don’t think so. There’s going to be a massive tentacle creature instead.
• Lone Wolf
• Fishing Vessel (to Churning Waters)
• Fishing Vessel (to Devil Reef, Waveworn Island, partially flooded)
  • Plenty of locations to choose from. Let’s search for the second Tidal Pool first.
• leave Fishing Vessel
• MOVE to Tidal Tunnel (Underground River, partially flooded)
• PLAY Intel Report ( 2 clues)
• Upkeep: draw Mauser C96, 10 resources total.

Board State Reminder: 5 health, 7 sanity, 10 resources, 5 clues

In Play: Mauser C96 (2 ammo), Leo De Luca (1 damage & 1 horror), Lone Wolf

In Hand: Hard Knocks, Nimble, Fine Clothes, "I'm outta here!", Mauser C96

#10

• Mythos: 9/9 doom, agenda advances (The Terror of Devil Reef at Waveworn Island, The Devil of the Depths), Lurking Deep One (1 damage)
  • As expected! BTW, this here is the exact situation Nimble was made for. The evade value on the Lurking Deep One is high, but our investigator has her street smarts and can overpower this test.
  • EDIT: The situation was much more dire in the original run where I played as if the Lurking Deep Ones were hunters. Granted, Jenny drew even more enemies, but even if the same happened here being able to deal with them one by one makes all the difference.
• Lone Wolf
• EVADE ( Streetwise, commit Nimble & Mauser C96, -1, exhaust Lurking Deep One, move to Waveworn Island, move to Tidal Tunnel, Underwater Cavern, fully flooded, move to Waveworn Island)
  • Notice that I could’ve decided to stop moving after revealing the Tidal Tunnel. I would’ve done so if I saw the Tidal Pool there.
• EVADE ( Streetwise, 0, exhaust The Terror of Devil Reef)
• MOVE to Unfathomable Depths (Deep One Grotto, purple key)
• Deep One Grotto (claim the purple key, memory of a discovery of a strange idol, take Waveworn Idol)
• MOVE to Waveworn Island
• enter Fishing Vessel
• Enemy: The Terror of Devil Reef readies, Lurking Deep One readies
• Upkeep: draw Working a Hunch, 9 resources total.

#11

• Mythos: 1/9 doom, Shapes in the Water (, 2 horror)
  • Jenny carries the idol and it seems the Deep Ones are hesitant to approach. Good.
• Lone Wolf
• EVADE ( Streetwise, -1, exhaust The Terror of Devil Reef)
• Fishing Vessel (to Churning Waters)
• Fishing Vessel (to Devil Reef, Black Reef)
• leave Fishing Vessel
• MOVE to Tidal Tunnel (Underground River, partially flooded)
  • Look at the wording. I’m pretty sure I can trigger the Waveworn Idol. It’s better than I thought it would be at first glance.
• Waveworn Idol (INVESTIGATE, Streetwise, -4, 1 clue)
  • Streetwise double-dip!
• Working a Hunch (1 clue)
• Enemy: The Terror of Devil Reef readies
• Upkeep: draw "I'm outta here!", 4 resources total.

#12

• Mythos: 2/9 doom, Aquatic Ambush
• Lone Wolf
• MOVE to Unfathomable Depths (Cyclopean Ruins, white key)
  • Blue! Jenny doesn’t have it, but there’s only one unrevealed location and it’s right next to her.
• MOVE to Tidal Tunnel (Tidal Pool, facedown key)
• INVESTIGATE ( Streetwise, 0, 1 clue)
• claim the blue key
  • What might it be? It’s blue and it’s valued underwater and it might involves some ritualistic undertones. A bit elusive as well. Hmmm… I want to say… gas fire?
• MOVE to Cyclopean Ruins
• Cyclopean Ruins (claim the white key, memory of a discovery of an unholy mantle, take Awakened Mantle)
• Enemy: The Terror of Devil Reef hunts to Black Reef
• Upkeep: draw Faustian Bargain, 5 resources total, discard Aquatic Ambush.

Board State Reminder: 4 health, 5 sanity, 5 resources, 2 clues

In Play: Leo De Luca (1 damage & 1 horror), Mauser C96 (2 ammo), Lone Wolf, Waveworn Idol, Awakened Mantle

In Hand: Hard Knocks, 2× "I'm outta here!", Fine Clothes, Faustian Bargain

#13

• Mythos: 3/9 doom, Hunting Deep One (lose 2 resources, Waveworn Idol, EVADE, commit Hard Knocks & "I'm outta here!", )
  • Ooops.
• EVADE (commit Fine Clothes & "I'm outta here!", -1, exhaust Hunting Deep One)
• INVESTIGATE ()
  • Jenny’s being delayed, but at this point there’s not too much the scenario can throw at her to outright stop her. Unless she suddenly decides to take the long way around and double check whether her sister somewhere in these caves.
• MOVE to Underground River
• MOVE to Black Reef
• enter Fishing Vessel
• Enemy: Hunting Deep One readies, The Terror of Devil Reef attacks (1 damage to Awakened Mantle, 1 horror to Waveworn Idol, 1 damage & 1 horror)
• Upkeep: draw Nimble, 5 resources total.

#14

• Mythos: 4/9 doom, Stowaway (1 damage & 1 horror)
• Lone Wolf
• EVADE ( Streetwise, , exhaust The Terror of Devil Reef)
• Fishing Vessel (to Churning Waters)
• Fishing Vessel (to Hidden Cove)
• leave Fishing Vessel
• MOVE to Underwater Cavern
• Enemy: Hunting Deep One hunts to Underground River, The Terror of Devil Reef readies
• Upkeep: draw Lockpicks, 6 resources total.
  • Safe!

#15

• Mythos: 5/9 doom, Psychic Pull (discard Lockpicks, -1, lose 1 action)
• Lone Wolf
• MOVE to Temple of the Union
• INVESTIGATE ( Streetwise, , 1 clue)
• Temple of the Union (claim the purple key, memory of a discovery of mystical relic, take Headdress of Y'ha-nthlei)
  • Done!
• R1.

Jenny continues her winning streak! We’ve got all three pieces of the Deep One regalia. Or to be more precise, we had them, but someone took them from us! Jenny’s fortunate that the regalia were stored in the lighthouse and not returned underwater, isn’t she? I’m curious to see if reclaiming all three Y’ha-nthlei items won’t lead to an earlier non-standard campaign end. It might, especially given that Jenny’s run was markedly less difficult that it could had been with this map layout. The new vessel mechanics turned out fine and likewise vessel-denial treacheries were relevant. Look at Malfunction during round #4. Boarding and disembarking the Fishing Vessel was tedious to write in the log yet caused no delays at the table. Plus, the interactions with "I'm outta here!" and Nimble were kinda endearing. Until next time!

Campaign Log:

Pit of Despair: 5 XP, Memories Recovered: a meeting with Thomas Dowson, a battle with a horrifying devil, a decision to stick together, an encounter with a secret cult.

The Vanishing of Elina Harper: The mission was successful. 3 XP.

In Too Deep: Jenny made it safely to her vehicle. 7 XP, Memories Recovered: a deal with Joe Sargent, a followed lead, an intervention, a jailbreak.

Devil Reef: Terror of Devil Reef is still alive. The idol, mantle, and headdress were brought to the lighthouse. 10 XP, Memories Recovered: a discovery of a strange idol, a discovery of an unholy mantle, a discovery of a mystical relic.