I'm playing through The Forgotten Age with Ursula at the moment, with some XP to spend, and was casting my eyes over the selection of cards with the Relic keyword, given Ursula's deck-building options.

I started the campaign with both Tooth of Eztil (which has been really handy, especially with two copies in play thanks to Elli) and The Cthonian Stone in my deck, but when I look at the rest of the Relic options, there aren't that many that look like they'll actually benefit me - Skeleton Key looks useful to take, but helps the rest of the group more, and Hemispheric Map might have value, but depends quite a lot on the layout of the scenario.

Ursula is definitely a character who will get better over time, as Relic seems to be one of the better-supported keywords (even if I'm sure some of the Charm cards should be Relics instead) - for those of you who have run Ursula in the past, did you bother much with Relic cards or not?

I've definitely taken a Chthonian stone, and it's been quite good.

There are good Relics, but it's not really something with a lot of "synergy" - basically, support for the keyword consists of Dr Elli Horowitz and Unearth the Ancients , the latter of which is not a great card.

But I don't think it's useful to think of Relics as something that is Ursula's big strength. It's like Akachi with Uses (Charges) or Mateo with Blessed, just gives you a few extra options as a bit of extra flavour (and not like Mark, whose access to Tactics is a pretty big boon). Half the Relics you mention are Seeker/Neutral cards anyway so it's not like her Relic allowance is helping with regards to Tooth of Eztli .

Anyway to answer your question, Chthonian Stone is indeed great, particularly on early TFA to get that Elder Thing sealed away, Charon's Obol is a relic if you like that sort of thing, and Gold Pocket Watch and Lucky Dice are also both Relics, and work really well on Ursula as she has the search tools to get them online ( Dr Elli, Unearth the Ancients, Cryptic Research etc.) and if she runs with Dr Milan Christopher she can more than afford them. Gold Pocket Watch is just incredible, particularly on multiplayer.

Don't overlook Ornate Bow. Two hands, yes, but if you can get Elli to do the shooting, that's not a problem. Might be best for solo, when being able to fight is more important for Ursula.

Yeah, I haven't played Ursula yet, but I am using a Lola that usese Dr. Elli to search for both the timeworn brand and Ornate bow. They hit pretty hard and are great weapon options. The problem is that Ursula should not really be running as a monster slayer. But Skeleton Key and the Pocket watch are quite good. Note that the skeleton key sets the shroud at the location TO 1, which overrides things like obscuring fog and assists with the odd occasions where you have to test against the shroud of your location (or tokens that are - the shroud of your location). Also setting the shroud to 1 means that you are more likely to get bonus clues from upgraded deductions.

2 minutes ago, Soakman said:

Note that the skeleton key sets the shroud at the location TO 1, which overrides things like obscuring fog and assists with the odd occasions where you have to test against the shroud of your location (or tokens that are - the shroud of your location). Also setting the shroud to 1 means that you are more likely to get bonus clues from ungraded deductions.

Yes, and on the flip side, it also ignores Flashlight and other shroud reducers. Shroud is 1, period.

Jewel of Aureolus is really handy. Higher Education is expensive to keep viable (enough cards in hand or resources to utilize). She is the first character I've had that invested in Relic Hunter .

For consideration, this is what we used for the Arkham Nights half of The Guardians of the Abyss.

• 29XP Ursula Downs - Arkham Nights 2018
• 29XP Leo Anderson - Arkham Nights 2018

We got destroyed, but it is what we used.

Pretty much every off-class Relic except Spirit Athame and Skeleton Key is handy for her. Nothing gameplay-defining, but she's got a lot of worthwhile options.

I don't think they are traps, but many of the non-Seeker, non-Neutral options are sub par. Considering only those options:

Charon's Obol , Grotesque Statue, and The Gold Pocket Watch can be quite good. Early Charon's can actually help her afford the Watch.

The various necklaces from Mystic and Rogue each have their uses in specific decks, but are they better than the Seeker/Neutral options? Like what was said previously, Relic Hunter is actually pretty interesting to try in Ursula. I could see a Jewel of Aurelius/Lucky Dice redraw combo or something. Get 2 resources from the Jewel and spend them to redraw with Dice. Not certain how useful that would be though.

I'm not sure Spirit Athame finds a place in Ursula unless you're all-in on an Ancient Glyphs clue vacuum strategy. The extra fight probably won't help her, but 1 exp to boost a fairly powerful spell might be worth it depending on her hand slots. On the other hand, having a dagger but no spell is a feel bad moment.

I find Chthonian Stone immensely overrated since it can leave play as early as your next skill test (making it unreliable) and only locks special tokens instead of, say, a -5 token, which can actually make planning skill tests harder in many scenarios. Sure, sometimes it takes out a big minus, but mostly I felt like playing it actually increased the odds for failure and it sat in my hand most of the time. I can see in used in combination with Protective Incantation and Sign of the Seventh Seal, but I'm not a fan of it by itself.

I feel Decorated Skull is more for goofy Akachi combos that never really worked well for me, although I Spiritspeaker-ed 9 resources off of it once in Carnevale after mind-nuking some baddies and letting all my allies kick the bucket. It's a tough card to make action efficient. YMMV.

I don't think relics are a trap. Just like any cards, you can't just throw them in your deck without fore-thought.

I am running Ursula now and my current list of relics I would like are: Ancient Stone, Grotesque Statue, Skeleton Key, Otherworldly Compass, Hemispheric Map and the Jewel. Although as I step through that may decrease based on hand/accessory slots. Half of them are "get clues better" cards and the other are a mix of resources, combat/healing and general success.

If I was in a different group, ornate bow would be of interest to me as well. Plus if I was up for Charon's Obol (which I smartly did not get as I have already been defeated), I would have added the Pocket Watch.

I think the Skull is really for Leo. It charges when enemies or allies go down.

I've got the Skull in my new gruesome Akachi deck. I didn't draw it in our first play, but I'm thinking it's got real potential.

I did consider picking up the Obol - but given I'm playing her in TFA, it seems too risky a play

@Jobu - Have you tried the map yet? If so, how is it doing for you? (Same question to anyone else who has tried it, I guess).

9 hours ago, dysartes said:

I did consider picking up the Obol - but given I'm playing her in TFA, it seems too risky a play

You could always just forgo the the blankets, meds, and binoculars. At that point, any extra trauma will send you into a death spiral anyway , so why not get some extra experience out of the deal? 😉

Relics that matter for her deckbuilding restrictions: Charon's Obol, Grotesque Statue, and Gold Pocket Watch are all amazing, and taking the first will allow you to afford the 2nd and 3rd.

The Obol is a trap for anyone in TFA.

4 hours ago, CSerpent said:

The Obol is a trap for anyone in TFA.

I'd agree with that - scenarios 2 & 3 have been OK, but we got destroyed in scenario 1, which was more than enough to put me off running it.

I'd've tried it if we were doing Dunwich or Carcosa, though.

You can't take the Obol into the first scenario, anyway. That said, over half the scenarios in the campaign block resignation, so it's not a small risk.

11 hours ago, rsdockery said:

You can't take the Obol into the first scenario, anyway. That said, over half the scenarios in the campaign block resignation, so it's not a small risk.

It was more a reaction to how dangerous the first scenario is - and with three trauma on Ursula after that scenario and the first interlude, I can't really risk the auto-kill.

Mind you, I also have Doomed as my basic weakness, so I'm probably screwed in the long term. Fortunately, it only made its first appearance in scenario #3.

On 12/17/2018 at 10:30 AM, Duciris said:

For consideration, this is what we used for the Arkham Nights half of The Guardians of the Abyss.

• 29XP Ursula Downs - Arkham Nights 2018
• 29XP Leo Anderson - Arkham Nights 2018

We got destroyed, but it is what we used.

Your decks are not shared.

32 minutes ago, ddbrown30 said:

Your decks are not shared.

Huh. I can't even log in right now...

On ‎1‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 2:12 PM, ddbrown30 said:

Your decks are not shared.

Should be back up. I forgot to look into this.

0xp relics are a trap for her, unless you play 3-4 player in TFA where you can seal the **** Elder token.

XP relics however rock and you'll be glad for her.

On 1/18/2019 at 10:38 AM, Duciris said:

Should be back up. I forgot to look into this.

Still not.

Edit: In case it's helpful, the error message is, " You are not allowed to view this deck. To get access, you can ask the deck owner to enable "Share your decks" on their account."

On 1/20/2019 at 7:25 PM, tsuruki said:

0xp relics are a trap for her, unless you play 3-4 player in TFA where you can seal the **** Elder token.

XP relics however rock and you'll be glad for her.

I know it is a Seeker card anyway, but I have found being able to use both copies of Tooth of Etzli (or whatever it is called) can be quite handy, especially when making checks to clear some Treachery cards off locations.