I already gathered that dear mss. Hathaway's PS condition does not trigger on the two UI's she draws during the character set-up, unlike the 'scrounge' set of character abilities. However, the card does say 'Whenever X draws an UI etc.'

Now, our favourite violinista starts at the Curiosity Shop, which claims you may draw three items, buying one if you can, instead of the normal encounter.

Theoretically, that would mean she can sit out her first turn there, draw the three items, resolve her PS, and most likely walk away without even having to spend her meagre two dollars next turn.

Somehow, i don't think this is supposed to be happening that way.

I think "draw 2 unique items" means after setup, you actually have to pick them (in your case: buy), and getting them by trading doesn't count.

The idea is Patrice is supposed to wander around and FIND two Unique Items. But FFG couldn't print "drawn during Encounters" because there are other ways of acquiring Unique Items (like Rumors, Allies, and Tasks) and they didn't want to limit that. But they couldn't say "acquire" because then everyone would just trade to her. And anything that would cover EVERY possibility that us tricksters could come up with wasn't gonna fit on the card (and still look nice).

I don't think Patrice (or any other Investigator with a similarly worded PS) should be allowed to "shop" for any of it. She's supposed to be on a quest like everyone else. And this:

"You must find the Golden Frock of Gasperdrok, forged in the fires of Xxyyzz and quenched in the pools of Glox!"
".......................................I think they sell those down at the Gap..."

...just sounds silly. Well, I guess it does anyway, but the point is in there.

Somewhere deep down, you all know that.

jgt7771 said:

But FFG probably considered her shopping since they only gave her $2 meaning there is very little she can actually hope to buy at the Curiosity Shoppe until she comes into some money.

jgt7771 said:

Yet on the flipside, Trish's PS does state specifically that it only applies to only Clues from encounters.

HëllRÆZØR said:

Exactly how I play. Usually I send her to locations that promise Unique Items so that she can get her first (maybe) until she can meet up with someone to give her money to buy them. With the exception of a hilariously poor turn of events, we've never failed her story; only passed it.

Tibs said:

I've passed once, Unnamable, double your Clues encounter, Cursed if you get more than 3 (she had 4, it was the first turn), second time she didn't manage to pass before Quachil Uttaus dusted her (I was happy when I drew Trish, not so happy when I drew QU and Trish had been the first investigator drawn). Only spots that I can realistically causing her to fail are Devil's Reef, Y'ha (I'll take my chances with this location ) and often Gardner's Place for me. Anything else is usually within reach of 1 investigator and 2 Clues is better than 1 Clue, even if you have to flip a Visage token against Ghatanothoa.

I would really love a ruling on this. For Patrice, it doesn't make sense that she should be able to pass just by "drawing" (and not purchasing) items at the shop, since her PS would then be an auto-pass as long as you were willing to give up your first turn (not really a sacrifice when you think about it). However, when trying to apply precedent, we've ruled it this way in the past. For example, Dexter's PS requires him to draw tomes -- does he actually have to draw and keep them as well?

Actually, "draw and keep" is probably the best interpretation, since it forbids trading and requires more work than just seeing items pop up at the store. I don't think there should be a restriction on where the items come from, as long as they come from a deck and end up in your possession.

mattherobot said:

This is how we've been playing. You're free to buy the items or get them from encounters, just not through trade.