Colt Vest Pocket

What a truly fantastic upgrade to the original Colt Vest Pocket! The level zero Colt Vest Pocket was always held back first and foremost by its need to be put into play on the same turn you intended to use it, which relegated its use to being put into play by cards like Joey "The Rat" Vigil, Sleight of Hand, or Fence. If you spent an action to play it, you would typically only have two left to fight with it, not to mention the fact that doing so could trigger an attack of opportunity. For the level two version, you can play the Colt Vest Pocket the same way you do most weapons: on any turn where you have an action to spare to prepare you for future enemy cards. The +2 combat is welcome too for a faction filled with 3 combat investigators who likely want to spend at least some time fighting enemies. However, I remain unconvinced that this gun - even in its upgraded form here - has a place at most Arkham Horror tables.

There is still some difficulty in taking full advantage of the Colt Vest Pocket. You still only have one round in which to use its 5 ammo. Rogues are obviously the class for extending a turn with additional actions (Leo De Luca, Quick Thinking, Haste...) so it is plausible you could play this and spend four or even five actions fighting with it on a future turn, but then there just aren't that many enemies with that much health! One thing you can do if you are playing Leo Anderson, "Skids" O'Toole, Tony Morgan, or Jenny Barnes is play "Eat Lead!" to shore up one of your attacks, and of course the ammunition from the Colt Vest Pocket is much more expendable than that from other guns. "Skids" and Tony get extra actions to shoot the new Colt, and Jenny's Twin .45s can also end up with plenty of ammo, so I think for these three investigators who can also take "Eat Lead!", this is a convincing enough combo to be worth considering. As for other cards that grant additional actions, I think Haste is going to be the most effective card at extending the gun's reach because the Colt highly incentivises taking multiple actions of the same type in a single turn, so they're a natural pair.

So: the level two Colt Vest Pocket is most at home in an investigator with actions to spare who can spend its ammo either taking on something with a large health pool, or for fighting lots of enemies at once in a round where another gun might run dry. The former is going to be campaign or scenario dependent, but you can make the latter more likely by playing with more players. The problem is that this role is traditionally filled by higher level weapons that do more damage per shot than the Colt Vest Pocket, such as the Chicago Typewriter or the new Beretta M1918. This is typically considered better than spending more actions fighting for less damage because you take fewer skill tests, each of which comes with a chance for things to go wrong with a failure. The Colt is half the experience cost of each of those big guns, but then if you are supporting it with other cards with levels highter than zero, such as Haste, you could have just purchased a bigger gun and had fewer pieces to assemble! Now, this isn't necessarily an either/or, as many particularly fighty investigators, such as Tony Morgan, are going to want plenty of weapons, but it bears thinking about how you might spend your experience most efficiently.

I think for now this is going to be a pretty niche pick, but this is certainly a much more broadly playable card than its level 0 variant. Perhaps in future there will be a scenario where a large enough party of investigators are guaranteed to draw multiple two health enemies in a single round, and the Colt Vest Pocket (and the .45 Thompson) will be likely to outperform the higher level Rogue guns. Until then, this is a reasonable if a bit wonky sidearm you might take if you want a particularly high density of weapons.

Trinity_ · 203
I'd take switchblade 2 and never care about ammo or discarding your weapon. — Django · 5108
I think safeguard is maybe another good card for extending the colt's reach. In a scenario with Dark Cult or the Forgotten Age doom-cultists or w/e, someone could escort Skids/Leo round the map and they could gather up little enemies as they went. Then they could kill them all with the colt on their actual turn. It's another way of accumulating lots of health worth of enemies in place, and of course, Safeguard is generally a great card so you're not necessarily buying it just to support the colt... — bee123 · 31
This upgrade wont get played for several reasons. If you’re running the OG colt and upgrading to this, the initial play action hardly mattered- you likely just Sleight of Handed most of your Colt plays anyway, so a deck that runs this likely also has Sleight of Hand. For 2XP you get a very measly combat boost and the ability to play it ahead of time, which is much less nice than just spending a bit more XP on a good Rogue weapon like Lupara, Baretta, or Switch 2 (without taboo it’s the same cost). If I’m taking OG Colt- and I still do sometimes- Id much sooner upgrade it into Lupara for Sleight shenanigans. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
Another good card to combo with this is Borrowed Time. You could play the Colt, then stockpile your other two actions and unleash hell the following turn (or whenever you need to). You have 5 shots, but you'll probably only need to generate 2 extra actions to spend them all, which isn't hard. I think it's probably best to think of this gun as a cheap way to take down pretty much any enemy. 10 damage (maybe a little less if you miss a shot) is nothing to sneeze at. It's the maximum you'd get out of a shotgun for instance (and getting all 10 is dicey). Yes, you can't restock the ammo as easily, but there really shouldn't be much else to fight after this onslaught. Don't forget it's one hand slot so you can bring a backup. — LaRoix · 1645
The problem is all of that is true of the original CVP. The only two things you get here are a slight boost in hit chance and the ability to play it ahead of time. It’s still a weapon specifically designed for a long turn onslaught, and the ability to save the play action (and a possible AoO) by playing this earlier is not really a meaningful difference for the decks that would play the original. For a backup Rogue weapon, just take Switchblade. For a burst weapon, Lupara hits harder in less shots and is easier to play around. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
I generally agree with Styx here: it's neat, but it's in a spot that makes it hard to justify. I'm hoping that if guardians get an XP-cheat card (a la Arcane Research/Shrewd Analysis/Deja Vu), it allows them to upgrade guns more cheaply, making some of the sillier guns more legitimate picks (although this would only matter for Leo). — SGPrometheus · 821
If its low level (a la Arcane Research/Shrewd Analysis) it would also be useful for Skids and Lola (and Jenny if you're willing to use a flex slot on it). — Death by Chocolate · 1485
It combos pretty well with Warning Shot, though you probably shouldn't take it just for that. I also think the idea of a Scavenging/Joey the Rat Vigil/CVP combo deck would be interesting (if probably bad). Free internet points to the first person to build that. Might as well throw Warning Shot and Eat Lead in for extra jank. — Zinjanthropus · 229
I agree that this card is niche, but aren't most of the Return set cards? The +2 boost compared to +1 is huge for 3 combat investigators like Finn and Jenny. If you're Finn and planning to always evade first, it's a really nice solution to the occasional hunter. Comparably, Switchblade 2 is unlikely to give consistent 2 damage for anyone but Tony without a lot of support and Switchblade 0 isn't good for much more than an early campaign placeholder for 3 combat gators. The ability to play it beforehand is just a little insurance in case you don't draw your Fence or already used your Sleights of Hand. It's niche for sure and little good for Tony but I'm glad it exists and would take it over Switchblade 2 for a Fencing Finn or Jenny. — housh · 171
A fencing Finn or Jenny should just take Lupara or Beretta instead to address those concerns. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
Followed

Followed is a weird card because it's good for builds since they can carefully dictate their damage, yet it's also decent for offensive builds like Tony, Mark, and Leo because it doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity. I don't think there's yet an investigator who adores this card since they can probably get by with off-class tech, but the card itself has great theatrics, and does it's job pretty well all things considered.

Compare with a few other cards of similar effect at lvl 0, each granting 2 clues:

, , , :

  • "Look what I found!": 2 cost, Fast but skill value and token have to be in close proximity, 2 icons.
  • Scene of the Crime: 2 cost, 1 action (protected from AOO), test-less but Bold traited.
  • Read the Signs: 2 cost, 1 action (unprotected), + your 's , ignores location hazards (or DttF).
  • Deduction: 0/skill, 1 action (unprotected), +1 . (or WaH but it's no help for the 2nd clue)

:

  • Intel Report: 4 cost (or 2 for 1 clue), 1 action (unprotected), test-less and flexible but expensive.
  • Eavesdrop: 1 cost, 1 action (disengagement needed), uses enemy value which makes for inconsistent difficulty.
  • Followed: 2 cost, 1 action (protected from AOO), +X where X is how much pulp beating you're doing.

I took it in my Sefina deck on a whim because I wanted something to pick up a few spare clues (and naturally I wanted an event), but we already had our cards stretched pretty thin between Akachi and Luke in our Dream Campaign. Eavesdrop wasn't going to fly because of Sefina's piss poor and obviously Preston wanted Intel Report, so you could say I was stuck with Followed. How did it fair?

Pretty well honestly. Fighting in an evasion deck usually means dishing out incremental damage. Hatchet Man, Sneak Attack, Delilah O'Rourke, Coup de Grâce, and even Backstab deal a specific amount of damage that is test-less (you typically need to evade but that's easily handled with Suggestion or Stealth - Blinding Light in my case) and easy to control (as opposed to erratic damage like .41 Derringer, or overkill, ala Shotguns). This is useful because for one, I'm already planning on evading the enemies anyway, and for two, I can get their damage right up until that last HP before I play Followed. Typically I get +3 for the check for two resources. This is preferable over something like Streetwise because with Followed, you get an extra clue. Eavesdrop gives you no bonus and as others have pointed out, an unknowable difficulty test (though evade values seem generally lower on the whole but I could be wrong).

It's not like you aren't planning on fighting enemies or getting clues, and any worth their salt should have an ample cash flow to pay a measly 2 resources. Eavesdrop might be cheap but it's only good for characters with high , while Followed is good for any or build. Jenny, Preston, and Sefina can easily afford it, and Finn is the king at evading. Tony Morgan likes it because he does get a free engage/attack, and let's not forget that Followed does NOT provoke attacks of opportunity so he doesn't need to bother with an evasion. Skids is the only one I can see not wanting this because the man's always broke. If he's going to pay for something, it better be test-less like Scene of the Crime. As for off-class s who might like it, I could see Wendy, Leo, Mark, and maybe a jank Rex who could use it to grab 3 clues and then play "I've got a plan!" to deal the full 3 damage. It's not like he needs the bonus so it's really the extra clue and the protection from attacks of opportunity he's looking for.

But I digress. The question remains, why not just get the clues with your off class faction? You're correct, just do that. But Jenny, Preston, and Finn all either have a limited number of off class support, or they have more than enough cash to play this. Why bother with taking up Jenny's precious 5 off class cards or Streetwise when you're going to have to make the skill test anyways? Intel Report is great, but if you really want to maximize it, you're going to need an obscene amount of resources. That's fine, but it will hurt the bank eventually. Lockpicks are good, but this way you can carry a two handed weapon around and nab clues while you're mowing down enemies. Like I said, it's doing lots of good work for Sefina. If you're goal is to be a passivist, then this card isn't going to help you. To me, it's about equal with most of the other 2 cluing cards, most of which cost you 2 resources and/or require a skill test. Plus, I gotta say, it is pretty satisfying to beat these eldritch monsters into turning tail.

LaRoix · 1645
Hopefully trish, with an evasion-investigation focused statline and a rumored enemy-on-the-board-sideeffect ability will make this card shine — niklas1meyer · 1
Any time you're looking at the family of 2-clue events, I think you also need to consider Working a Hunch. It only grabs one, but its fast, so you can just spend the action on investigating if need be. Compared to Followed, it is only worth it if you A) need to grab 2 clues without provoking AoOs or B) need the int boost it provides. But the simple Working a Hunch also has basically no conditional elements unlike many of the other options. Rogue doesn't really lack for skill boost, so the 'not provoking AoOs' might be the most stand-out part of Followed. — Death by Chocolate · 1485
Nice evaluation and consideration of what this card can bring vs. off-class alternatives for Rogues... I find it easy to forget that evaluation sometimes of "how is this better than what I already have available". It seems like it would pull some good weight on an offensive Finn & Jenny who have other plans for their shoestring-budget of off-class cards, or an Ornate Bow Wendy.. — HanoverFist · 739
I suspect Trish to like it, but the one thing about the card that makes it lean into a combat build rather than evasion is that protection from AoO. Good point on Working a Hunch, I added it back in because you're right, I forget it saves you the action so you could just take a basic investigate for your second. And thanks, glad you liked the write up! — LaRoix · 1645
Ancient Stone

Drawing encounter cards does not trigger this effect, also see FAQ from Dr. Henry Armitage.

  • Filler for 200 characters
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Django · 5108
Ancient Stone

Drawing encounter cards does not trigger this effect, also see FAQ from Dr. Henry Armitage.

  • Filler for 200 characters
  • Filler for 200 characters
    • Filler for 200 characters
    • Filler for 200 characters
Django · 5108
Oppressive Mists

Drawing encounter cards does not trigger this effect, also see FAQ from Dr. Henry Armitage.

Filler for 200 characters. Filler for 200 characters. Filler for 200 characters. Filler for 200 characters.

Django · 5108