The Secret Name

Pre-Mulligan Hand: Strange Solution, Daring, Mr. "Rook", Fine Clothes, Detective's Colt 1911s, Magnifying Glass

Opening Hand: Strange Solution, Mr. "Rook", Magnifying Glass, Vicious Blow, Crack the Case, Astounding Revelation

Joe tells the Lodge about the coven and begins the scenario with an extra in the chaos bag.

1-Card Tarot Draw: Ten of Swords

No… The Ten of Swords card indicates a major disaster. At the same time The Secret Name is known for being a grind. Joe can expect a painful end, whether nibbled to death by rats or buried under the multitude of curses. Let’s try to look a bit deeper though. This is not a do-or-die scenario. In fact the penalties for losing are mild and I’ve seen players skip XP opportunities on their way to the scenario objective. Given Joe’s low Willpower and lack of mobility, the Ten of Swords pushes us to let go and accept the inevitable outcome. There’s one more possible interpretation, namely that the Ten of Swords refers to the specific choice of buying Timeworn Brand. Will that card in particular be our undoing in this scenario? Or perhaps it is an indirect reference to wasting 5 XPs and not getting some other crucial card?

#1

• Hunch: Working a Hunch
• PLAY Mr. "Rook"
• Mr. "Rook" (2 secrets left, draw Ever Vigilant)
• Working a Hunch (1 clue from Moldy Halls)
• MOVE to Decrepit Door (Landlord's Quarters, Swarm of Rats at Moldy Halls)
• PLAY Magnifying Glass
• INVESTIGATE (-2, 1 clue from Landlord's Quarters)
• Enemy: Swarm of Rats hunts and attacks (1 damage to Mr. "Rook")
• Upkeep: draw Take the Initiative, 2 resources total.

#2

• Mythos: 1/4 doom, Fate of All Fools
• Hunch: Scene of the Crime
• Mr. "Rook" (1 secret left, Astounding Revelation, 1 secret on Mr. "Rook", draw Ace of Swords)
• FIGHT (commit Vicious Blow, , defeat Swarm of Rats)
• MOVE to Moldy Halls
• MOVE to Decrepit Door (Joe Mazurewicz's Room)
• Upkeep: draw Prepared for the Worst, 3 resources total.

#3

• Mythos: 2/4 doom, Extradimensional Visions (-3, discard Magnifying Glass)
• Hunch: Unsolved Case
• Joe Mazurewicz's Room ( Astounding Revelation, 2 resources, draw Timeworn Brand)
• INVESTIGATE (commit Prepared for the Worst & Astounding Revelation, , × Joe Mazurewicz's Room, 1 horror to Mr. "Rook")
• PLAY Unsolved Case (drop 1 clue on Moldy Halls)
• Upkeep: draw Detective's Colt 1911s, 4 resources total.

It’s the first time we’ve started the game with playing Rook. I haven’t mentioned it in the reading above, but the Ten of Swords card sometimes portrays loss as a result of betrayal. Rook might pull Paranoia! Notice the slow build-up to an Ever Vigilant play? That’s the reason I’ve avoided using Mr. Rook and I’m holding onto Crack the Case. With Unsolved Case and the auto-fail token Joe is a bit behind on his investigation and he’ll be hampered further by only having one hand free for an investigation tool. It turns out that Timeworn Brand doesn’t agree with Joe’s Colts.

#4

• Mythos: 3/4 doom, Evil Past
• Hunch: Working a Hunch
• INVESTIGATE (commit [Detective's Colt 1911s](/card/05009, -1, 1 clue from Joe Mazurewicz's Room, -2, 1 clue from Joe Mazurewicz's Room)
• MOVE to Moldy Halls
• Working a Hunch (1 clue from Moldy Halls)
• Crack the Case (4 resources)
• PLAY Ever Vigilant (Timeworn Brand, Ace of Swords & Strange Solution)
• Mr. "Rook" (1 secret left, Paranoia, lose all resources, draw Mr. "Rook")
• Upkeep: draw Take the Initiative, 1 resource total.

#5

• Mythos: 4/4 doom, advance act (Brown Jenkin, The Familiar), Fate of All Fools (2 damage)
• Hunch: Scene of the Crime
• ENGAGE
• FIGHT with Strange Solution (2 supplies left, -2, defeat Brown Jenkin, The Familiar, 1 clue)
• MOVE to Walter Gilman's Room (spend 1 clue)
• Mr. "Rook" (no secrets left, draw Eureka!)
• advance act (take The Black Book, Beyond the Witch House)
• Upkeep: draw Enchanted Blade, 2 resources total.

#6

• Mythos: 1/6 doom, Disquieting Dreams (-2, threat)
• Hunch: Logical Reasoning
• INVESTIGATE (0, Keziah's Room, move to Twilight Abyss, commit Enchanted Blade, 0)
• INVESTIGATE (-1, 1 clue from Twilight Abyss)
• INVESTIGATE (, 1 clue from Twilight Abyss)
• × Disquieting Dreams
• Upkeep: draw Emergency Cache, 3 resources total.

The Black Book has the same passive bonuses as Joe's camera, but has one significant downside. It's not a tool and as such cannot be wielded alongside Joe's guns. But it matches Joe's sword well. In the meantime our detective gathers more and more treacheries in his threat area, but none of them are significant for the moment. I imagine Joe himself feels uneasy, but I'll rather wait for an opportunity to use Logical Reasoning on Realm of Torment if it appears.

#7

• Mythos: 2/6 doom, Realm of Torment
• Hunch: No Stone Unturned
• MOVE to Keziah's Room
• INVESTIGATE (, × Keziah's Room, Wracked)
• INVESTIGATE (, Keziah's Room, move to Salem Gaol, 1692)
• × Realm of Torment (-4)
• × Disquieting Dreams
• Upkeep: draw Strange Solution, 4 resources total.

#8

• Mythos: 3/6 doom, Meddlesome Familiar (defeat Mr. "Rook", Brown Jenkin)
• Hunch: Scene of the Crime
• × Realm of Torment (× Salem Gaol, 1692, move to Keziah's Room)
• PLAY Scene of the Crime (1 clue from Keziah's Room)
• INVESTIGATE (commit Take the Initiative, , Keziah's Room, move to Moldy Halls)
• PLAY Mr. "Rook"
• × Realm of Torment (, , Brown Jenkin hunts to Keziah's Room)
• × Disquieting Dreams
• Enemy: Brown Jenkin hunts to Moldy Halls, (discard all cards, draw Crack the Case, Daring, Daring, Prepared for the Worst)
• Upkeep: draw Eureka!, 2 resources total.

#9

• Mythos: 4/6 doom, Fate of All Fools (2 damage)
• Hunch: Scene of the Crime
• Mr. "Rook" (2 secrets left, draw Vicious Blow)
• ENGAGE
• FIGHT with Timeworn Brand (commit Vicious Blow, -4, defeat Brown Jenkin, The Familiar, 1 clue)
• MOVE to Keziah's Room
• × Realm of Torment (commit Eureka!, , -1, draw Magnifying Glass, discard Realm of Torment)
• × Disquieting Dreams
• Upkeep: draw Hawk-Eye Folding Camera, 3 resources total.

Well, Realm of Torment did appear, but Logical Reasoning didn't. Such are the perils of playing with a hunch deck. Or rather, since it's my first experience with Joe I'm not playing it too well. Notice that in this and the two previous logs Joe's hunches are hardly ever used. On the plus side I'm satisfied with my playing around Realm of Torment. Joe is keeping his head above the water and evidently enjoys swinging Timeworn Brand around. That last blow bisected the familiar outright. It'll be back, of course.

#10

• Mythos: 5/6 doom, Pulled by the Stars
• Hunch: Scene of the Crime
• INVESTIGATE (commit Magnifying Glass & Prepared for the Worst, +1, Keziah's Room, move to Physics Classroom)
• INVESTIGATE (commit Crack the Case, )
• INVESTIGATE (-2)
• × Disquieting Dreams
• Upkeep: draw Hawk-Eye Folding Camera, 4 resources total.

#11

• Mythos: 6/6 doom, advance agenda (Nahab at Keziah's Room, Brown Jenkin at Keziah's Room, The Witch Light), Extradimensional Visions (commit both Hawk-Eye Folding Cameras, , , discard Ace of Swords)
• Hunch: Logical Reasoning
• INVESTIGATE (+1, Physics Classroom, 1 clue from Physics Classroom & Salem Gaol, 1692)
• MOVE to Keziah's Room
• FIGHT with Timeworn Brand (commit Daring, , 2 damage to Nahab, draw Fine Clothes)
• × Disquieting Dreams
• Enemy: Nahab attacks (1 damage & 1 horror to Mr. "Rook", 1 horror), Brown Jenkin (discard all cards, draw Fine Clothes, reshuffle deck, 1 horror, draw Vicious Blow)
• Upkeep: draw Mr. "Rook", 5 resources total.

#12

• Mythos: 2/8 doom, Ghostly Presence (Nahab attacks, 1 damage & 2 horror)
• Hunch: Delay the Inevitable
• Delay the Inevitable
• Mr. "Rook" (1 secret left, Paranoia, lose all resources, draw Take the Initiative)
• FIGHT with Timeworn Brand (commit Take the Initiative, , defeat Nahab, The Witch Light, 1 clue)
• INVESTIGATE (+1, Keziah's Room, move to Witch House Ruins)
• RESOURCE
• × Disquieting Dreams
• Enemy: Brown Jenkin (discard all cards, draw Scene of the Crime, Daring & Vicious Blow)
• Upkeep: draw Emergency Cache, 2 resources total.

Somehow, Joe has found the Witch House Ruins and has 2 extra clues over the 5 needed to advance the act. This means the scenario can be completed next round. But, remember the Ten of Swords? No way it'll be so straightforward! In any case, take a look at round #11, as it's definitely the decisive round of this scenario. I was so pleased to see the continued Physics Classroom investigation pay off that I forgot the Timeworn Brand has an alternative attack mode! This mistake was worth 2 damage and 4 horror dealt to Joe. In-game we'll say that the brave investigator does not yet know all the secrets of the sword found in Joe Mazurewicz's Room.

#13

• Mythos: 2/8 doom, Swarm of Rats, × Delay the Inevitable (spend 2 resources)
• Hunch: Delay the Inevitable
• advance act (Nahab at Site of the Sacrifice with 2 doom, Brown Jenkin moves to Site of the Sacrifice, Stopping the Ritual)
• MOVE to Site of the Sacrifice (Swarm of Rats attacks, Delay the Inevitable)
• Delay the Inevitable
• Site of the Sacrifice (Swarm of Rats attacks, Delay the Inevitable, 1 doom left on Nahab)
• Site of the Sacrifice (Swarm of Rats attacks, 1 damage, no doom left on Nahab)
• R2.

Ahahaha! Destiny REJECTED! More to the point, the finishing round involved two Delay the Inevitables overturning a tarot reading about finality. YES! Still, putting the poetics aside, I'm not sure including these Delays was a good choice in the first place. Granted, in Joe's hunch deck these cards are fast and free, but I suspect that I would've gotten more use out of Shortcuts. I've learned that hunches need to be general rather than specific. What has Joe learned? Well... He's going to consider whether the Black Book is worth delving into. What do you think Joe would do narrative-wise? With hindsight we know that there's no downside.

Campaign Log:

Disappearance at the Twilight Estate: Jerome was taken by the Watcher. 6 pieces of evidence were left behind.

The Witching Hour: Joe has rejected his fate. Joe identified the solution. The witches’ spell was broken. 8 XP (Anette Mason, Abandoned Mine, Cairn Stones, The Lonely Tree, Tainted Well, Hermit’s House, 1 bonus XP), Mementos: Mesmerizing Flute & Ritual Components.

At Death’s Doorstep: Joe is on Jerome’s trail. Joe escaped the spectral realm. Joe rescued Josef. Joe is a member of the Lodge. Joe is deceiving the Lodge. 6 XP (Office, Billiards Room, Master Bedroom, 2 bonus XP).

The Secret Name: Joe told the Lodge about the coven. 4 XP (Twilight Abyss, Physics Classroom, 2 bonus XP), Mementos: Gilman’s Journal, Keziah’s Formulae & Worn Crucifix.