Kate Winthrop
The Scientist

Investigator

Miskatonic. Scholar.

Seeker
  • 2
  • 4
  • 2
  • 4
Health: 6. Sanity: 8.

You begin the game with Flux Stabilizer (Inactive) side faceup.

: Move 1 clue from Kate Winthrop to a Science or Tool asset you control with no clues on it.

Forced - When an asset you control with a clue on it leaves play: Place its clue on your location.

effect: +0. You may move I clue from an asset you control back to Kate Winthrop.

Cristi Balanescu
The Feast of Hemlock Vale Investigator Expansion #4.

Kate Winthrop - Back

Investigator

Deck Size: 30.

Deckbuilding Options: Seeker cards () level 0-5, Science cards level 0-4, Insight cards level 0-1, Neutral cards level 0-5.

Deckbuilding Requirements (do not count toward deck size): Flux Stabilizer, Failed Experiment, 1 random basic weakness.

Kate Winthrop has spent years researching in the basement of Miskatonic University's science building, passing up funding and academic prestige in pursuit of progress. Her single-minded focus finally paid off with the invention of the Flux Stabilizer: a powerful device capable of channeling a new form of energy. However, the price of progress is steep. The first successful test of this groundbreaking invention took the life of her friend and mentor Professor Young. Since then, Kate has worked tirelessly to understand these alien currents, in hopes that she find a way to reverse their effects.
Kate Winthrop
Kate Winthrop
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FAQs

(from the official FAQ or responses to the official rules question form)
  • Q: As Kate Winthrop, can I spend clues that I place on my assets? A: Yes. Kate Winthrop controls all clues placed on assets she controls, and may spend or remove those clues just like any other investigator. For example, she can spend clues on her assets to advance the Act deck, or place clues from those assets on her location when she reveals he signature weakness, Failed Experiment. Keep in mind that due to Kate's Forced ability, when an asset you control with clues on it leaves play, you must place those clues on your location. (Feast of Hemlock Vale FAQ, February 2024)
Last updated

Reviews

FoHV has been out for a month and still no reviews, so here's my description from my "One for All" series of decks that has a similar breakdown for each investigator:

At first glance Kate looks pretty complex, and she kind of is! If you boil her ability down it looks like this: put your clues on your tool and science cards for a +2 boost to any skill. One clue per card. You can still spend the clues, but if you find your other signature card, you can put the used clues back on your investigator for more boosts. This make her quite flexible, especially by Seeker standards, and she performs well with or without teammates around. If you want a clue focused investigator that has an answer for most situations and loves playing assets, Kate is your girl!

Her reliance on assets can also be a liability, as she needs some setup time before she really gets going. Scenarios that require you to hit the ground running, or even some bad early draws can really put the hurt on poor Kate. It's not a bad idea to have a few tricks up your sleeve that might prevent an overwhelming start. Her signature weakness also has some major potential to cause trouble, so be ready to give yourself a little willpower boost at a moment's notice.

Some archetypes that work well for this template:

The Scientist - Here's a formula for you: Tool / Science cards + tutoring / card draw + funding for both = Progress! Dedicating majority of your deck space to the aforementioned items should result in a fairly self-sustaining investigative engine, and not only does bonus card draw help you find your assets faster, it also helps dig for your Aetheric Current! Huzzah!

Precision Success - "Succeed by" cards aren't just for Rogues any more! Kate comes included with a number of cards that grant bonuses if you manage to over-succeed by a specific amount, and this pairs well with her ability to grant on-demand skill boosts if you're paying attention to what the likeliest token modifiers are. Seekers don't have a lot of options for token manipulation, but if you have a Mystic friend, there is a tonne of potential here!

Full Flex - Once Kate gets her gear set up, she can be remarkably self-sufficient. Static foot boosts, evasion bonuses, and cards that allow Kate to get out of trouble if she gets overwhelmed early on will help her get fully online without needing a babysitter for the first half of the scenario.

Clue Drop - I don't personally have the card sets to pull this off, but this is a great archetype for Kate if you have most of the newer investigator cards. Dropping clues from your assets allows you to use your powerful ability even more often, so grab cards that enable drops, and that grant benefits for doing so.

EzieBaikUben · 580
I houserule that "Scientific Theory" is Science. — MrGoldbee · 1443
Right?! We need a taboo list for traits — EzieBaikUben · 580
I believe that may be one of the "big changes" that they are teasing at after drowned city is released — Benjamitis · 7

Here's a gist of Kate's usage of clues :

Get your 1st clue and put it on Flux Stabilizer to flip it active. This one won't get you the +2 yet, just the flip. Don't forget to put version of Aetheric Current you like into the deck.

Play some Science or Tool assets in different slots. (e.g. Flashlight/Magnifying Glass on Hand, Dr. Charles West III on Ally, Chemistry Set on Accessory, or even First Aid on no slot?) Each one let you get +2 on demand when putting a clue on them. It means she can get 4 or 4 from time to time too, or even more if you place 2+ clues on different assets at once.

Try to make the asset clue-less again, so you can do more +2 :

  • Spend clues as a part of scenario progress, and choose the clues on assets rather than on the investigator card. So turns out, if scenario allows multiple investigators to contribute the clues to advance, Kate want to spend exactly clues on her assets and not clues on her investigator card, so she is ready to do +2 for whatever coming up. You can do that more if other players can flex to get some clues.
  • Find the jackpot Aetheric Current in the deck and an unlucky enemy to unleash the current on. This makes all assets clue-less, provided that you have 1 clue to flip back Flux Stabilizer.
  • Get to make one asset available.
  • Failing Failed Experiment and choose the clue drop option. You can drop clues placed on your assets, and use some left over clues on investigator card for the +2. (Not necessarily for picking the clues back up.)
  • Other creative plays, like picking Magnifying Glass (1) up and immediately play it back to make use of your leftover clues. (If dropping the clue that was on it is not a problem.)

If you put a clue on limited use assets like Flashlight, beware if you spent all the supplies then you want to switch to other Hand asset wanting to replacing it, the clue on the empty Flashlight would drop. Same for clue on Chemistry Set then it get discarded due to its own effect.

On testing Failed Experiment, placing a clue to get +2 would be effectively just +1 because test difficulty also increases. For this reason it might help to pack other boosting solution into the deck like Inquiring Mind, Esoteric Method, etc. Or simply heal the horror back with Steady-Handed, Logical Reasoning, etc.

5argon · 9426