Flurry of Blows

This card is generally weak and not worth 5exp, but the combo i see is with Sledgehammer, immidiate 24 damage, so it kills basically any boss immediality. Due to that, the only point of taking those are campaings that require a boss to be killed, like NotZ or PoC.

Pawiu14 · 177
I'm afraid you have misunderstood how it works. It's confirmed that "ignoring its action cost" only ignores 1 action of the cost. So to use this (a 5xp card) with sledgehammer (a 4 xp card), you need to spend 2 actions playing this. Then you can activate 4 fight actions. But the sledge hammer 3 action swing would cost you 2 more actions each time you use it, so you'd need 10 actions to deal the maximum of 32 damage. If you had 4 actions you could to a 6 damage swings and then 3 2 damage swings for 12 damage. If you only have the normal 3 actions, you can only do 10 damage (5 2 damage swings) — NarkasisBroon · 10
Compare it with the FAQ of the card "Hand-Eye Coordination" from Hemlock feast — Tharzax · 1
Hunting Jacket

While this card seems to be intended to eat Pelt Shipment, both flavor-wise and mechanically, some extra ideas I haven't read here so far come to mind:

  • Patrice Hathaway can stash situational cards she cannot play on turns she draws them
  • Quite edge-casey, but it might save a valuable card from treacheries that make you discard cards at random on a failed skill test (player window)
  • Although it has been mentioned that good targets are second copies of cards you only need one of in play, I think the funniest card to stuff into it is just another Hunting Jacket, as you can pop it as soon as the old one runs out of soak
  • Any other body-slot-occupying card also makes sense to stuff into the jacket, since you couldn't play them without sacrificing Hunting Jacket anyway
  • Since the reaction triggered ability is optional, you can use the jacket to place your Improvised Shield or other discard pile heros (Winging It, etc.) where they belong after they get stuck in your hand

Sadly, but not surprisingly, it won't work with Hidden cards, since they cannot normally leave your hand.

AlderSign · 209
Microscope

I'm running this in Vincent Lee, 4 player, Forgotten Age run with Guardians of the Abyss as a side scenario. I went in with modest expectations, and Microscope met those expectations.

Microscope promises to let you spend 2 actions for 3 clues, and only 1 test which you will take at +2 or +3. This is quite a lot for one card to do.

In return, there are hoops. You need to collect evidence by dealing with monsters. You want to spend 2 at a time, but can only gain 1 per round. Overall I hope for about 9 clues for 7 actions and 2 resources, with good bonuses. Even 6 clues for 5 actions isn't terrible, and it comes with the upside that if you do somehow fail the boosted investigate, you at least keep the evidence.

My overall rating of this card is... it's fun! It's fun getting evidence when you or a buddy deals with a monster. It's fun getting a big clue turn on your usually more humble investigator. The card is well balanced and serviceable and I recommend trying it.

The obvious comparison would be Fingerprint Kit, which costs 2 more to play, but can net you 8 clues over 5 actions, with a smaller skill boost. Fingerprint Kit also doesn't require you to keep it out for the entirety of the game to get it's max benefit, or find 2 turns during your turn to get extra clues instead of 1.

Redwardian · 9
Fake Credentials

Notice that you can take this card with Versatile in Daniela Reyes to trigger her investigator ability pretty reliably, since the attacks from the failed Parley are not attacks of opportunity. And who knows, one time you might even discover a clue by accident.

Another interesting synergie presents itself if you take British Bull Dog with another Versatile, which saves you an action and 3 resources after you fail with Fake Credentials. With discard pile shenanigans offered by the Survivor card pool you can even trigger this combo multiple times per game after British Bull Dog runs out of ammo.

Of course, these are not particularly good plays, but we are here to have fun, aren't we?

(Also, this is my least favorite artwork in the game.)

AlderSign · 209
You can also parley with aloof enemies. So with her ability and the credentials enemies like whippoorwills are easily taken care of. — Tharzax · 1
I did actually miss that - genious! — AlderSign · 209
While this is a fun interaction, I would not call it a good one. Daniela has her signature, which does the same, but fast instead of for an action. Increasing the odds of drawing at least a "worse wrench" by adding 5 cards to your deck seems inferior to simle item-tutors like "Backpack" for me. — Susumu · 340
Microscope

After some play, Microscope is quite an interesting card. It's a level 0 seeker card, meaning there are a number of characters who have access to it. For those who can consistently hit high-difficulty investigate attempts, Microscope isn't necessary - after all, it takes a while before it can compare to the efficiency of Fingerprint Kit, or the less conditional nature of Magnifying Glass. However, for those who want to assist with an investigation once in a while and who can spare a hand slot, or those who are filling a more flexible role, it's an inexpensive tool to fill that niche.

To start with the obvious, this probably isn't the go-to tool for those who already have high . Rather than risk a single draw that can go haywire, most primary cluevers will be able to boost their with more reliable tools including a stat-boosting ally and Magnifying Glass. This is probably overkill for those with 5 , though it can help bridge a gap for those who have 4 and don't want to dedicate themselves towards boosting it.

If you are taking this, you want to get it out early if possible. However, the condition for evidence isn't too bad - it's still reasonable when you draw this later game, and can bring this out during your turn before someone else fights on their turn. And one fight or evasion alone is enough for Microscope to break even on investigation attempts. It only needs 1 evidence to do its job - and two evidence is enough to push it to getting, scoring 3 clues with 2 actions. That means you only have to be near a few enemies when they're evaded or go down for this to be efficient. If you're the fighter, you'll likely get enough evidence on this to sweep a location every few rounds. If you're not the fighter, if an enemy spawns on you, chances are, the fighter is coming in and there'll be a dead enemy at your location soon. And if your fighter isn't there not, you might be buying time by evading the enemy - in which case, you'll still get the evidence.

And once that evidence is built up, it's potentially giving a +3 bonus on the test. That raises the investigation reliability to numbers that would normally require concerted effort. Even an off-investigator with 3 in a stat is able to make a check with 6 - that's enough to cover most common locations, and handle higher shroud locations with a minimal boost. With those numbers, even Roland Banks, Jim Culver, and Jenny Barnes can hit investigation checks with limited other support. Since this doesn't have a cap on the evidence it can gain, it can go wild for a number of turns, then be useful through a number of slow turns.

I think the ones who are most interested in this are characters with 3-4 int who don't want to dedicate more than one item for investigation. In addition, there are a few characters with particularly interesting synergy, Joe Diamond can slap these on along with the Detective's Colt 1911s to nail some difficult investigations between shooting things. Wilson Richards can use these as a source of a strong investigation, a bonus from his innate boost, and will likely use Tinker to reduce the overall slot concerns. Trish Scarborough is scoring future bonus clues off of those moments where she's helping through an evade. And, while it's hardly necessary for investigation purposes, Darrell Simmons can use this as one of the easiest sources of evidence this side of Empirical Hypothesis.

This isn't a tool that slots neatly into every cluever. However, for those who only want to grab clues once in a while, or for those who can only spare a few cards in their deck for investigations, this is worth a second look.

Ruduen · 914
I played it with Kate as her main investigation tool. It is ok, and it gets bonkers when you upgrade it, but depending on the campaign and scenario, I feel Fingerprint Kit would have been more useful. In Hemlock Valley, because of the sheer amount of monsters you'll encounter, this can get fueled ASAP because of evasion checks or because a fellow Guardian goes full Rambo, but in TSK, for example, there are scenarios where there aren't that many enemies and half of them are out of reach, in the shadows. It is a Science/Tool card, so it will be instantly useful in Kate because of Flux Stabilizer (Active). — rodro · 72
Other potential users for this card would be Marie Lambeau and Luke Robinson, who could use their arcane slots for fighting / evading and can easily spare a hand slot for the microscope. — DrOGM · 22
Microscope (4) is a fairly different beast, because it's high enough level that only those with dedicated access can get it. That being said, pretty much anybody can use it as their only investigation tool and do well with it. — Ruduen · 914
Yes, Marie and Luke definitely fall into that "3-4 Int and spare hand" space that make them very solid options for it! It's actually a fairly wide list to include everybody - when looking at non-Seekers, I noted Carolyn, Roland using a smaller weapon/Brand of Cthuga, and Trish as well. (Not counting Monterey as well, due to him being a Seeker in disguise.) — Ruduen · 914