Event

Item. Relic. Upgrade.

Cost: 3.

Seeker

Customizable. When you purchase The Raven Quill, name a Tome or Spell asset and record that name on its upgrade sheet.

Attach to a named asset you control.

When you resign or the game ends: Either mark a checkbox on The Raven Quill's upgrade sheet, or reduce the experience cost to upgrade the attached asset before the next scenario by 1.

Ethan Patrick Harris
The Scarlet Keys Investigator Expansion #42.

Customizations

Named Tome or Spell asset:

Living Quill. Using attached asset's abilities does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Spectral Binding. Attached asset does not take up any slots.

□□ Mystic Vane. You get +2 skill value while performing skill tests on attached asset.

□□ Endless Inkwell. Name two more Tome or Spell assets:

□□ Energy Sap. The Raven Quill gains: " Exhaust The Raven Quill: Move 1 secret or charge from an asset you control to attached asset."

□□□ Interwoven Ink. After you resolve an ability on attached asset, you may exhaust The Raven Quill to ready another asset you control.

□□□□ Supernatural Record. When you play The Raven Quill, instead of attaching it to a named asset you control, you may search your deck, discard pile, and hand for a copy of a named asset and play it (paying its cost). Then, attach The Raven Quill to it.

The Raven Quill

FAQs

(from the official FAQ or responses to the official rules question form)
  • Q: I have a question about The Raven Quill If I have Spectral Binding (no slot) and Supernatural Record (fetch the Tome and play it), can I do this even if I have no free hand slot at that time? And will I keep all my current assets and the new tome (which does not require a slot once The Raven Quill is attached)? The main question here is, whether I have to discard one between playing and (then) attaching The Raven Quill. A: With Spectral Binding and Supernatural Record, you may play the named Tome asset without having it take up any hand slots.

  • Q: With The Raven Quill's ability: "When you resign or the game ends: Either mark a checkbox on The Raven Quill's upgrade sheet, or reduce the experience cost to upgrade the attached asset before the next scenario by 1." If I have two copies of Dream Diary in my deck: Dream Diary: Untranslated, and Dream Diary: Dreams of a Child; and the Quill is attached to the Dreams of a Child at the end of the game... Can I use the 1xp discount to upgrade the Untranslated diary? A: No. The Raven Quill specifically allows you to reduce the experience cost to upgrade “the attached asset”, which would mean the one The Raven Quill is physically attached to when you resign or end the game. Though the two Dream Diary cards technically have the same title, you could not upgrade the Untranslated version with The Raven Quill if it was attached to Dreams of a Child.

  • Q: I've got a knotty question about The Raven Quill - specifically when it has the Supernatural Record upgrade. Normally, with a level 0 Raven Quill, you can only play one copy; it's a unique card, so the second copy can't enter play. However, Supernatural Record reads: "When you play The Raven Quill, instead of attaching it to a named asset you control, you may search your deck, discard pile, and hand for a copy of a named asset and play it (paying its cost). Then, attach The Raven Quill to it." Which sounds like it replaces (using "instead") the attach-on-play effect with a procedure that first performs a tutor, then attaches Raven Quill to the tutored asset. Thus, is it possible that with Supernatural Record, a second Raven Quill can be played so as to resolve the tutoring effect, after which the attachment fails? After all, the rules only prohibit a second copy of a unique card from being brought "into play", so in theory a Raven Quill with Supernatural Record avoids being brought "into play" until after the tutoring effect is resolved and it attempts to attach to an asset. On the other hand, even with Supernatural Record the original text of Raven Quill that states "Attach to a named asset you control." still exists. In some sense, then, it's still an attach-on-play event, and it's possible that the rules for Play Restrictions (which state you must check for legality before playing the card) prevent a second Raven Quill from coming in at all because it's still a unique card that attempts to come into play through attachment. A: No, you cannot attempt to play a second The Raven Quill if there is already one The Raven Quill in play, even if you have the Supernatural Record upgrade.

Last updated

Reviews

This is my favourite card for this expansion.

About the card itself, it has a lot of text but doesn't seem to do much: decrease the amount of XP to upgrade the card or check one of its own boxes. Sure, m'kay...

So what is there to unpack in level 0?

  1. I love the idea of using a powerful feather to write tomes and spell parchments and give them magical traits.
  2. The art is sick, and they know it: it was selected to be on some of the playmats of Arkham Nights 2022.
  3. It is the 2nd event typed item in the game (the first being the Telescopic Sight) and so opens the door for all types of recursion
  4. On top of being a Scavengeable item, it is the first level 0 item that commits for 2 . The only options after are level 2 and more. To emphasize how sick this is, there is no other level 0 item that offers 2 of the same icons (including ) in the game as of the Scarlet Keys release, except for Signatures and Campaign specific cards.
    • Note: since it is not an asset, Schoffner's Catalogue cannot pay for it, despite the ravens on the art...

Alright, that is already something for the base card, but I'm not 100% sold yet.

So what are the hidden secrets in the customizable options of The Raven Quill?

Let's review each option and see all the doors it opens.


□ Living Quill. Using attached asset's abilities does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

  • Since the Prophesiae Profana and its immediate taboo, we all understand now the power of not having AoO. It is not always super important, but in some cases, it can really make a difference. Think about Trish Scarborough attaching this to Grim Memoir or Divination, for instance, and you can now use it with an enemy at your location and evade that enemy while getting a clue.
  • Another good use is on Encyclopedia to boost your or and have a better chance to evade.
  • Finally, the Forbidden Tome, Gray's Anatomy, and De Vermis Mysteriis (used on combat spells) are all tomes that you would like to use with an enemy at your location and therefore could appreciate it.

□ Spectral Binding. Attached asset does not take up any slots.

  • Some tomes and spells happen to use more than an arcane slot, and this can then become very interesting. The first to come to mind is Enchanted Bow, which uses both hands and an arcane slot. With 1xp, you then save 3 slots. True Magick doesn't take both hands but is also hard to manage because of the heavy slot usage. No more for Luke Robinson. Finally, Mind's Eye though I wouldn't see which investigator would benefit from it yet.
  • I personally use it as a replacement for Arcane Enlightenment simply to have a 3rd Hand Slot when holding a tome, which is great for 1xp.

□□ Mystic Vane. You get +2 skill value while performing skill tests on attached asset.


□□ Endless Inkwell. Name two more Tome or Spell assets

This gives more flexibility. I personally never use it because I know exactly what I want the Quill to do in my deck, so I build around it.

Note: the The Raven Quill is unique so you cannot name multiple assets and have 2 on the board at the same time.


□□ Energy Sap. The Raven Quill gains: " Exhaust The Raven Quill: Move 1 secret or charge from an asset you control to attached asset."

The best users of this upgrade seem to be Daisy Walker, Luke Robinson, Minh Thi Phan and Darrell Simmons because of their interesting synergies. Here's an example of a Minh deck that abuses this secret refill on [Arcane Insight](/card/03266) to bring the shroud to 0 every turn.


□□□ Interwoven Ink. After you resolve an ability on attached asset, you may exhaust The Raven Quill to ready another asset you control.

My favourite part of the Quill. This brings so many options. There are about 300 player cards that exhaust, so I couldn't possibly list them all. Here are just a few of my favourites, sorted by class:

I am sure that while reading this list, there are at least a couple of cards that made you think, "wow, this would be sick in a [insert_investigator_name]!"

My experience so far is: 90% of the decks that could use The Raven Quill have an asset that exhausts and would benefit from Interwoven Ink.

I am currently working on a deck that uses this Interwoven Ink and the Eldritch Sophist for double use of one asset each turn. Stay tuned ;)

□□□□ Supernatural Record. When you play The Raven Quill, instead of attaching it to a named asset you control, you may search your deck, discard pile, and hand for a copy of a named asset and play it (paying its cost). Then, attach The Raven Quill to it.

This last upgrade is more straightforward than the 2 previous ones.

A few things to point out:

  • you have a full tutor for 2xp per copy (Research Librarian feels betrayed)
  • you gain 1 play action since the librarian just adds it to your hand (upgraded librarian, when?)
  • very importantly, you can also search your discard pile. Use all the charges of a tome or spell, discard it and then get it back with the Quill attached for even more uses!

If you are main , this is a no brainer. The downside is that it costs a lot of resources: the price of your asset + 3.



Conclusion: while the first 3 upgrades are gravy, Endless Sap and Interwoven Ink are jank factories making this card one of the most complex but also the most fun of the game IMO. Every new release will come with a new set of jank made available by the Quill, and I love that idea.

The best of this all is that if you do not plan on upgrading your Asset, the The Raven Quill checks its mark by itself, so it doesn't even cost you experience!! So let's all thank the ravens and start creating the craziest decks!

Valentin1331 · 64974
Supernatural Record can search your discard, but searching your deck will trigger astounding revelation and mitigate the cost of the quill ! — aurchen · 1
If you have the following upgrades — GrueneLupenAufheben · 126
If you have the following upgrades (Supernatural Record. When you play The Raven Quill, instead of attaching it to a named asset you control, you may search your deck, discard pile, and hand for a copy of a named asset and play it (paying its cost). Then, attach The Raven Quill to it. // Spectral Binding. Attached asset does not take up any slots. // Endless Inkwell. Name two more Tome or Spell assets) you can with Mandy Thompson play two slotless assets. — GrueneLupenAufheben · 126
From FAQ 1.25: "If an attachment ... attaches to a game element while already attached to a game element, it detaches from its original game element and attaches to the new one."; so while Mandy would be able to use The Raven Quill to find two assets and put them into play, the Quill itself will only remain attached to one of them (whichever one Mandy attaches it to last). — Thatwasademo · 56
Question: Please remind me, for the quill's reaction to activate the card needs to be active at the end of the game, correct? — jobib · 1
The quill needs to be in play for you to trigger its reaction -- either when the scenario ends with a (->R#) ability or when you resign. If you're defeated or the quill leaves play before either of those two things happen it doesn't work. — Thatwasademo · 56
The observation that the quill has double icons is interesting. I'd not noticed. One minor issue, by the way (sorry) - Mind's Eye is only a Ritual, so can't be a target for the Quill. (Please correct me if I'm mistaken.) — Prinny_wizzard · 251
Damn, sapping The Red Clock so it stays at 3 can keep Blur 4 at arbitrary charge levels. And save you 4 experience on the upgrade to the clock, since you won't need to. — Lailah · 1
Pendant of the Queen is neither a tome or a spell, so Raven Quill can't add charges to it. — Rob Watkins · 1

If I get Interwoven Ink on The Raven Quill, and attach The Raven Quill to Old Tome of Lore, and that Old Tome of Lore is on Abigail Foreman, can I use Old Tome of Lore myself, then use Abigail's reaction ability to use Old Tome of Lore again, and then use Interwoven Ink (reacting to the second Old Tome of Lore activation) to ready Abigail and then use's Abigail's reaction ability to react to the 2nd usage of Old Tome of Lore to use it again, in order to use Old Tome of Lore 3 times per turn for only 1 action?

belphagor · 8
@belphagor I don’t see why you could not. The rules state clearly: « Using a ability in response to a triggering condition does not prevent other abilities from being used in response to that same triggering condition. » So you can use Abigail reaction first, and then use the Raven Quill’s reaction in the same opportunity window. — Portinou · 1762
Can you attach 2 raven quill to the same tome to do this 4 times instead? — Django · 5032
Combine this with forbidden tome secrets revealed to get 4 testless clues and move each time — Django · 5032
I'm afraid the quill is unique. — olahren · 3312
I don't think that should work, because (quoting the 'Reaction'-rules): — Sers · 601
"Each [reaction] ability may be triggered only once each time the specified condition on the ability is met." — Sers · 601
So as far as I understand it, Abigail can't trigger a secod time because the triggering condition would have to be met again for that — Sers · 601
In a similar notion, could I use two old books and ready the first book with a quill, that is attached to the second book? — Pianeko · 1

Assume I attach The Raven Quill to e.g. Archaic Glyphs.

When I identify Archaic Glyphs by placing the third secret onto it, I have to discard it. The Raven Quill is attached and gets discarded with it. What happens with the reaction effect on The Raven Quill at the end of the game?

It says "When you resign or the game ends: Either mark a checkbox on The Raven Quill's upgrade sheet, or reduce the experience cost to upgrade the attached asset before the next scenario by 1.".

For this effect to work, The Raven Quill needs to be in play, am I right?

Same goes with other "unidentified" and "untranslated" assets like:

If it wouldn't be the case that The Raven Quill needs to be in play to have it's effect working once played, you should be able to trigger it twice.

  1. Play named asset
  2. Attach The Raven Quill
  3. Identify / Translate the asset -> Discard Asset + The Raven Quill
  4. Play 2nd Copy of named asset
  5. Attach 2nd copy of The Raven Quill

That should be enough to trigger both instances.

Some might even argue if you could repeat that multiple times with Scavenging and discard recycling e.g. with Minh Thi Phan.

It's strange ... If discarding The Raven Quill and disabling the reaction effect seems kinda dumb. The other way seems dumb too ... Help me.

Since you can only upgrade an unidentified card max twice per campaign (once per copy, unless there a multi-level card I'm not thinking of) seems like this isn't the greatest use of Raven Quill either way. But it definitely doesn't trigger if it's not in okay at the end of the scenario. — Pseudo Nymh · 48
*if it's not in PLAY at the end — Pseudo Nymh · 48
Just to be sure, there are two copies of Raven Quill in the expabsion pack, right? It being unique doesn't mean it is exeptional? I only have one copy in my investigator expansion :( — founchopf · 2
Can you upgrade this card parking boxes with his hability in a investigator Who only have acces to lvl 0 cards? — Ponso · 2

Rules Question.

I’ve I’m playing, say, Ursula Downs and I run this and “The Eyes of Valusia” and I name both “Eyes of Valusia” and “The Blade of Yoth,” will the Raven Quill stay attached when I “Swap” them?

aleanjir · 152
According to the rules for attachments the conditions are checked when you play the quill and then never again. So you need the correct name. But if it's attached it should stay attached. — Tharzax · 1
I think that’s a fair interpretation. The problem is that we don’t have a rule for “swap.” In scenarios when locations or enemies change, there is usually an instruction to “leave all cards, tokens, and attachments.” We have to read that into this interaction though, if we want to make a ruling. — Eudaimonea · 5