No, not a dig at Sister Mary , though she could qualify if she gets 2x Wrack.

So yesterday I drew Ashcan Pete as one of the investigators (Mary was also in). I don't mind Pete, he's often done well for me. Sure, he only gets 1 UI and 1 CI, but at least he can check the bottom and then decide where to draw, so he tends to have something useful around. But no always...

Shuffle the UI deck (well, fish out Holy Water for Mary, then shuffle), cut and look at the bottom. Nameless Cults. I think I'll pass. So I draw from the top. Next up the CIs (note I deal out everything first, then look at them). Shuffle that deck (well, after fishing out Cross for Mary, .38 and Bullwhip for Monty), cut and look at bottom. Map of Arkham. Normally I'd be tempted, but Cthugha was the GOO, so using it would mean taking a Stamina hit. And it's only $2 so I figure if I really want it, I can borrow $1 from Jenny and get it. So draw from top. Can't recall what the skill was, but I want to say Dodge.

So after dealing out all the randoms, I fish Pete's Sta and San counters and sliders. Put the counters at their spots. Flip over the items.

Milk of Shub-Niggurath and Food !

Sometimes Pete starts with a Tommy Gun and a Sword of Glory and is the Hobo God of Arkham. This game, not so much.

What's your story?

Dam said:

Two words: "Sedanette" and "Shub-Niggurath".

Jedit said:

I'll rebutt with Plague of Locusts .

Does anyone else think the Bounty Hunter has a really crap set of starting equipment? He gets handcuffs (which admittedly are useful), but no fixed weapon and only one random Common. It always seemed a bit crazy to me, since he has a gun the picture. He's one of those investigators who 'misfires' about half the time, and it seems to me that it would be easy to fix if he started with a .38 or even just a Derringer. I can't believe the Personal Story didn't fix this.

I like the bounty hunter when he works, but if you don't manage to find a gun in about the first three turns, you are majorly screwed.

$6 is enough for probably 2 tries at General Store (hope you draw a Task or another $1 "useless" item) or 1 go at the Curiositie. 3 Clues makes failing his PS doable on the first turn, after which he should be able to get Clues quite nicely. No weapon does suck. But then, Diane Stanley shows Enchanted Knife (or Blade) in her picture and gets 1 Common, 0 UI.

And Pete should have a guitar!

Jenny once got Join the Winning Team, a Knife, Food, and the Mists of Releh. Considering her potential, that was a pretty WEAK draw. I believe shortly after that, JtWT got mothballed forever.

thecorinthian said:

He's leaving the hospital after being almost killed in an underwater combat (if I remember right). So we can assume he just lost his might have lost his gun in that fight.

And as Dam said - his chances on getting some wepaon are quite good

<<l rebutt with Plague of Locusts .>>

There must be hundred of them in my deck. I get one at least every game. I used it once.

<<But then, Diane Stanley shows Enchanted Knife (or Blade) in her picture and gets 1 Common, 0 UI.>>

Jenny has a pair of .45s. I wish I got those too.

mageith said:

I fondly remember the turn Mandy (with +1 Lore) killed two ghosts and a witch with Plague of Locusts, and no other weapons, then continued on her merry way.

jgt7771 said:

When a friend of mine played for the first (and last) time, she chose Sister Mary and drew Join the Winning Team. I had to explain to her that the game really is cooperative and almost all of the items are at least technically usable.

avec said:

Were you guys cheating (since Mary gets 0 UIs to start ) or he drew it from an encounter/shopping. Of course, poor Mary, only investigator unable to complete JtWT .

Dam said:

Good question. I think that was only the second time I played, so I probably just messed up.

thecorinthian said:

YES. The Bounty Hunter has never been anything but a complete failure for me. At least other combat-oriented investigators either start with a reliable weapon or have enough chances to draw one. Heck, most non-combat investigators end up with more weapons than this guy does. Handcuffs are a nice gesture but are rarely useful. At least his personal story is a free bonus for him if you fail.

And as for Plague of Locusts, we used it for the first time last night to kill off some Serpent People.

Michael McGlen + Plague of Locusts + Ancient Language Skill + Seven Books of Hsan (no Stamina loss or Sanity cost, automatic success), good for when you don't want to kill those 1 toughness Cultists (Eihort, Yig, etc.) and the like . I suppose it would work with Vincent as well, but Mike's got extra 2 Speed.

You could also get Earl Sawyer or the like on one of the sanity-free casters. You know, it works for regular fights as well, reducing their toughness by one. It can be sorta nice in concert with other investigators, as well. It's just... expensive.

flamethrower49 said:

Sure, but those Sanity-frees are expected. Gotta love the image of that Michael McGlen combo !