Ashcan Pete solo run through Path to Carcosa

So far I've only run Pete through NotZ, so I thought I'd try him out in a full campaign. Note that I have a limited card pool of Core + Dunwich + Carcosa + EotE.

Since a several great Survivor cards (Live and Learn, Take Heart, Winging It, etc) were released in Forgotten Age, this isn't probably an optimal deck for Pete. It started as a Dark Horse theme deck, using cards from a time when there were fewer cool Survivor cards.

Based on playing this campaign once before I included Fine Clothes, since I recall there's a bunch of Parley actions at one or to places.

1: Curtain Call

Sailed through this like a breeze! I drew Leo De Luca and Lone Wolf mid-way through and debated whether they were drawn too late to be worthwhile. So I played both and didn't regret it. Didn't get much utility from Madame Labranche but having her out didn't prove to be a major waste.

I absolutely love the ability to instantly pitch a useless card in order to ready Duke, it turns dead cards into gold.

When the act advanced there were three random choices about the nature of the theatre's collapse. I ended up with "unexpected flooding" which adds tokens to the bag. In spite of suddenly drawing many times I was able to use Lucky! to overcome the bag and resign safely.

I opt not to tell the police (Doubt 1 / Conviction 0), earned 7 VP (Plucky (3), Oops! (2), and banked a couple.

2: The Last King

Another cakewalk, certainly a huge boon that Fine Clothes was in my opening hand. In the first couple turns I played down Dark Horse, Madame Labranche, and Fine Clothes then I interviewed Ashleigh in the Living Room. Dianne then spawned but didn't present much of a hassle to me. At this point I got Leo De Luca out and was able to make even more progress.

In the Gallery I interviewed Haruko without much fuss, and by turn 6 I had finished with Sebastien.

Over in the Ballroom I cornered Constance, and just as I'm partway through with her it all starts going crazy when Haruko gets possessed and coming for me! I start piling up money in order to have a chance to talk to Jordan Perry, but the Paranoia strikes and it all disappears :(

Haruko dings me, my hand is empty, and I'm not able to do much damage. So I try my best: I evade her, draw cards, and cross my fingers! By now the deck is getting shorter and I haven't seen any of the three weakness cards yet. And I've done interviewing 4 of the 5 guests... should I just get out while the getting is good?

The combat cards simply don't materialize and then Jordan Perry (the only one I haven't interviewed yet) transforms into some freakish volcanic creature. That seals it! I evade him, race to the door, and resign without defeating a single guest.

Given the options I decide not to return to the party nor burn the place down, this may or may not turn out to be a good thing...

2 VP banked + 4 VP earned = Charisma + Lucky! + 1 XP banked, "Fled the Party"

3: Echoes of the Past

This scenario had a couple hiccups but again felt easy despite playing on standard difficulty. And my previous choice grants me a couple (very marginal) perks: an easy bonus clue on the entryway and a free action on my first turn.

My goal is to investigate a lead that the King in Yellow play had been performed in town many years ago, which leads me to the local historical society,

But I'm not the only one here: the folks behind the play are also here trying to obtain the same information. Possibly to suppress it and/or foil me? In any event the front door is ajar despite the late hour. So I let myself in, make my way to the Historical Museum and start poking around for clues.

I've barely started when I'm assaulted by a Fanatic, and Duke is no help at first! I induce him with promises of Scooby-Snacks (discards) and he helps me subdue the creep, but not before they had already destroyed the evidence in the museum.

Clues on the first floor refer to the Hidden Library as where I must ultimately go, but there's no telling how to find it! As I'm pondering I hear noises in the very museum room I just left, and here I find another Fanatic destroying even more evidence. I make short work of them with a conveniently-located Fire Axe, then make my way to the second floor.

Up here I gather more clues (thanks to Look What I Found) and get startled by Mr. Peabody. He offers to help me in spite of the fact I'm a hobo in the midst of trespassing(!), which is very kind of him! Now I have that aha moment and realize how to get to Hidden Library. So I race to the easy clues... before new cultists materialize and destroy them!

I look out the window to see the Man in the Pallid Mask enter the building and the lights come on in the museum room below me. Why is everyone drawn to that room?!?

Ignoring the top floor and rest of the 2nd floor I return to the Historical Museum, find more clues there, defeat the Man in the Pallid Mask, and then hear Mysterious Chanting. Uh oh. That gives me choices of who to encounter and I figure I might as well get rewarded with VP if I have to fight. So I select the Agent of the King, who I quickly dispatch.

From there it's simple to head to the Hidden Library, fail but again use Look What I Found to scoop up all the clues there for VP, and advance the act successfully. The information confirms the tragic destruction of the old theatre, and mentions another possible lead: a stagehand from that first production was driven mad and may still be institutionalized at the Arkham Asylum!

I choose to "leave the onyx clasp behind", Doubt 2 / Conviction 0, Chasing the Stranger 3.

I had 1 XP banked + 3 VP earned = Aquinnah (3) + 1 VP banked

4: The Unspeakable Oath

Gosh that last one went too long. I'll be more succinct here.

Drew Lone Wolf in opening hand and was swimming in cash the entire scenario. Spent over half the scenario with Straitjacket on me but it didn't slow me down; Duke always took care of the baddies.

Grabbed VP in Mess Hall, then kept missing the clue in the West Wing but didn't fixate on it and got it eventually with Duke's free movement/investigate combo. When I ran across the nurse with the keys I had no problems. Daniel Chesterfield was i the second cell I tried and didn't pose much of a threat.

Then I ran across a familiar cell and that's about when all hell broke loose. Constance Dumaine somehow chased me here and was out for blood! Also a Gorger was on the prowl, so I waited for the slow beast to come to my far corner of the map. I evaded it and then made a run for it. With the extra actions from Leo De Luca I was able to defeat the Man in the Pallid Mask again and also grab the VP from the Infirmary.

From there it was a cinch to dash to the middle of the map, attack Constance twice with Duke, and have Aquinnah (3) finish her off with her aikido. Then just scoot out of the asylum in the chaos.

Earned 5 VP, so I added Will to Survive and Peter Sylvestre and kept 1 XP in the bank. Also saddled with a Lost Soul weakness.

Heading into the next scenario with Doubt 3 / Conviction 4 / Chasing the Stranger 4, plus I "escaped the asylum" and "heeded the warning"

5: Phantom of Truth

Finally had a challenge, crashed in flames immediately. Repeated draws of the token (3 of them in the bag in every scenario) on turns 4 and 5 (so the bag was chock full of -4 and -5 tokens) meant that the retaliates from a wimpy Swift Byakhee defeated me via horror. Never advanced act, have no clue whether there was anything story-wise that mattered.

0 XP earned, 1 mental trauma

6: The Pallid Mask

Very cool scenario, loving the campaign so far. I awoke abandoned in a catacombs full of disturbed tour guides and literal ghouls. The rules to expanding the map somehow work out that I hit dead ends but never was out of options. In the end I retraced my path past where I started before finding the room where I could confront the The Man in the Pallid Mask

Thank goodness for Duke, since I had to defeat one Docent and many, many Ghoul Minions . Starting with a 2-damage attack was huge, since I didn't draw a Fire Axe until fairly late in the scenario.

The encounter deck wasn't so bad and having Peter Sylvestre (2) was great for soaking horror. By the end I had run low on health, so Peter was defeated and the rest of us ("Ashcan" Pete, Duke, and Aquinnah) were left with only 1 health apiece!

By the scenario's end it came down to the wire: I advanced to act 3 on turn 16, and had to move quickly in order to win before the clock ran out (start of turn 19). As fortune would have it, the exit I sought was placed one location away from me, so I did manage to defeat The Man in the Pallid Mask and get (what I think?) is a good resolution.

It's not clear to me whether the +2 ticks on the "Chasing the Stranger" track are supplementing or replacing the usual tick, I doubt it matters a lot.

Earned 6 VP, spent 6 XP on Emergency Cache, Devil's Luck, and Eucatastrophe so I still have 1 XP in the bank.

7: Black Stars Rise

Apparently I hit a wall on leads, but visiting an art museum leads to a breakthrough. Very French, I guess?

The scenario setup calls for more (expected) crummy tokens added to the bag AND hamstrings me with Through the Gates yet-another-weakness. So not loving that...

Opening hand had Peter Sylvestre, so sanity was never a problem in this marathon, 17-round scenario. However I also drew 2 of my 4 weaknesses on the first turn, so it was a slow start to be sure.

Duke made quick work of various cultists and Acolytes, and I evaded two Spawns of Hali and just left them behind. It wasn't clear whether I should be running towards or away from the tower/rift, or the seas below.

Eventually I "found a guide" and "found a key", and was able to discern the correct course to take. Then I was able to deliberately draw cards to advance the correct agenda and walk away with 3 more XP going into the finale.

The deck seems to be playing fine, so just for kicks I'll just increase the "velocity" of the deck by upgrading to versions which add "draw a card" to the text. So upgraded to Lucky! (2) and Emergency Cache (2)

8: Dim Carcosa

Since I went into this one with exactly 4 Doubt and 4 Conviction, I got to choose which of the versions of Act 2 I wanted. Unfortunately I have zero recollection as to which resolution I reached in my previous campaign, so I flipped a coin and went with version II / The King In Yellow.

For better or worse (probably better!) I endured 3 weaknesses in by turn 5 and was feeling pretty discouraged! Also had blown through cash and a couple cards defeating a Screeching Byakhee.

But just a couple turns later I had some traction: I had enough horror to utilize the desperate skills but not much more, I had out Leo De Luca and Peter Sylvestre, and had Calling in Favors in hand to pull back Duke in order to reset his health and horror. By chance I drew into a couple locations that healed sanity, and this was looking positively easy.

One wrinkle was when the Palace of the King had both the Beast of Aldebaran and also a Spawn of Hali on it, but Run For Your Life and decent draws helped me evade them both, then I discovered "the secret" and fled before they could ready themselves. A tense moment!

Fun campaign, and great to see how "Ashcan" Pete and his trusty pal Duke are a powerful duo! 10/10, would play them again! :)