"I work alone": A Guide to True Solo Roland

This guide was developed specifically for true solo play. While I don't think Roland is the best investigator for true solo, especially in the forgotten age, I believe his card pool and statline are very straightforward and easy to pilot. Mostly, however, I just really like the way his name sounds and his aesthetic.

I mostly play solo or 2 players, so low player counts are what are most familiar to me. Thus, there are almost certainly options that I will fail to mention that are probably very effective in high player counts, but are not so great in solo. First, I'll go over the deck list and the choices I made and other options you can choose based on personal preference or the demands of the scenario. Then, I'll go over some upgrade options that are available to Roland.

1.) An Introduction to True Solo play and general solo deckbuilding tips

Playing true solo is significantly different from even playing with 2 players. If your investigator gets stuck or there's a skill test your character can't cover, then you're on your own. No one will be able to bail you out of a bad spot besides yourself. Because of this, the deck you make can't be too focused on a single aspect. Because your cardpool is so thinly spread to deal with different things, it's natural to experience bad card draws. That's why most of the cards that are on this list are useful even if they aren't being used for their primary purpose. In other words, make sure your deck has enough cards that help you deal with a variety of different situations. Depending on the campaign, these cards will change. (For example, consider taking manual dexterity if playing the forgotten age).

Tempo and speed are also drastically different from true solo and multiplayer. In multiplayer, strategies that let you build up your board while your teammates do the early work are viable because you have a fallback. However, in true solo you simply don't have time to play like this. The clock (or doom) is ticking and you have to move your ass or risk getting overwhelmed by treacheries and enemies. Generally, treacheries and enemies are more mild in solo than they are in multiplayer games. For example, many elite enemies will scale with the total amount of investigators and some scenarios will begin play with more treacheries at the start of the game depending on the player count. This is why, as a general rule, its better to be ok at everything (and consequently, be ready for anything) then it is to excel at a few things and fail at others.

2.) The Decklist

There are two types of cards you want to start with at least one of: A weapon and an investigation tool. Mulligan hard for Flashlight or Hawk-Eye Folding Camera, Beat Cop or Dr. William T. Maleson and .45 Automatic or Enchanted Blade. It's more important to have access to a weapon and an investigation tool than an ally, but if you have all three, then that's even better. With Machete being on the taboo list, the most viable options for Roland are Enchanted Blade and .45 Automatic. The other options that are available like the .32 Colt and Knife are simply too weak to be viable options for Roland. You need a weapon that can consistently deal at least +1 damage to be efficient.

For investigation cards, I believe that Flashlight and Hawk-Eye Folding Camera are the optimal choices for true solo. Solo play usually has very few clues that need to be collected to advance to the next scenario. Most locations only have 1 clue on them, which means that Hawk-eye folding camera gets powered up really quickly. This also means that the fact that flashlight uses charges is not that problematic because it will take a while to run out of uses. These two cards synergize well with each other and flashlight helps the camera reach its full potential. Compared to magnifying glass, the hawk-eye camera is not immediately effective and it costs an action and extra resource. However, I find that the magnifying glass quickly becomes obsolete as the scenario transitions from clue gathering to moving and completing a specific objective. The passive boosts that the camera will give you mitigate Roland's mediocre willpower and bolster his sanity. Not only that, but the intelligence boost actually benefits him outside of investigations as a nice bonus. In higher player counts I believe the magnifying glass may outshine the camera, but true solo is where the camera is easiest to reach its full potential.

The rest of the cards are there to deal with treacheries and baddies. Beat Cop and Vicious Blow are there as a way to increase your hit accuracy and provide a tempo boost when dealing with enemies. The guaranteed 1 damage and the damage buffers on beat cop are also very effective for a tempo boost as well as avoiding the chaos bag.

Steadfast and Take the Initiative are your go-to cards to deal with willpower and the odd agility test that might come up. Take the initative in particular doubles as an Inquiring Mind or Unexpected Courage depending on how many actions you've taken. Shortcut is nice to have and very versatile. You can use it to just take a free move when you're running out of time or to give yourself an extra turn to fight an enemy who is close to you. Perception lets you cycle through your deck and helps with the odd 4 or 5 shroud location that might come up.

Even though Roland's economy is not too great, all he really needs to get going are his core assets. To help him play all of these expensive cards, Emergency Cache and 1 copy of Crack the Case are there to help with that. For Crack the case, aim to use it in locations with 2 shroud or higher.

For damage buffers, Roland has got a good amount of options. Dodge, lets you cancel damage dealt to you by enemies, who often deal high amounts of horror. Dodge is a great card because cards that cancel damage are usually more cost and action efficient than cards that heal damage. Any enemy that deals more than 2 damage is usually worth using dodge for. Maleson is a really cheap and effective damage buffer whose health and sanity to cost ratio is unrivaled amongst allies. Don't hesitate to let him die, especially when you have a beat cop in your hand ready to go. Finally, Hallowed Mirror and logical reasoning are your emergency healing cards that are there in case you are at high risk of dying to an untimely treachery. It takes two turns to play hallowed mirror and use Soothing Melody so you should only play this if you absolutely can't risk taking an odd hit. 2 turns in a multiplayer game might not seem like much, but in true solo that's 2/3 of an entire round. You should avoid playing slow cards like this as much as possible, which is why only two healing options are in the deck. Seriously, I can't emphasize how important it is to just put down your core assets and then move. There will be a lot of scenarios where you'll only just barely have enough time to complete it and every action counts. Use these cards sparingly.

3.) Upgrades

Roland's cardpool lends itself to a ton of great options. When considering which cards to take it really depends on the scenario and the campaign. Also, some cards become significantly better depending on how far into the scenario you've gotten and the exp you've accumulated. The order you upgrade is ultimately up to you and it really depends on the scenario.

Early Upgrade Options:

• Beat Cop -> Beat Cop (A straight upgrade, let's you reuse his ability more than once and gives you an extra health buffer)
• Shortcut -> Pathfinder (While it is a bit more expensive, the card is extremely efficient and helps with movement, which is one of the reasons why true solo is so difficult)
• Charisma (Let's you have two beat cops or 1 maleson and beat cop, which gives you an amazing damage buffer combo)
• Perception -> Death • XIII (A constant +1 intelligence is really nice to have over a situational +2 and even if you don't draw it in your opening hand it is still a good card to play later)
• Vicious Blow -> Vicious Blow (A straight upgrade. Vicious blow level 0 is already a great card. This just makes it even more efficient)
• Logical Reasoning and/or Hallowed Mirror -> + Elder Sign Amulet (Only takes one turn to play and has double the immediate horror soak of either options. Definitely worth the upgrade) Alternatively
• Logical Reasoning and/or Hallowed Mirror -> "I've had worse..." (Way more cost and action efficient than elder sign amulet at the cost of less overall soak. Which one you choose depends on whether you think you need the extra protection from elder sign amulet or the action efficiency of I've had worse. I also think generally the level 4 version of this card isn't worth the exp because its rare to take more than 4 in a single hit and the little extra resource you get from it is not that important.)

Late Upgrades:

• Enchanted Blade -> Enchanted Blade - Really great card for true solo. The way the card is written means that you'll only spend a charge if you succeed at the test. Furthermore, the card draw and horror heal is super efficient. Good efficiency + insurance against failure = good card for solo play. If you don't have enough exp for flamethrower or you don't feel you need the extra damage, then this is a good alternative.

Alternatively:

• .45 Automatic -> Flamethrower (In a lot of cases, this weapon will actually outperform the lightning gun. +4 combat compared to +5 combat is pretty negligible and this deck doesn't use any body slots anyways. It's also way cheaper to play, has one extra ammo, and has better icons (if it comes down to that). It also deals 1 extra damage compared to the gun. However, the biggest issue with the flamethrower is that it uses both of your handslots. That means no flashlight and no camera. Not only that, but most of the time the extra damage is superfluous especially in solo where elite enemies tend to have way lower health than in multiplayer. Only take this if you know what's coming up and need a lot of firepower.)

• Stick to the Plan (A core piece of setting up flamethrower and an amazing boost to consistency. It lets you have extra ammunition, ever vigilant and emergency cache ready)

• Emergency Cache -> Ever Vigilant (You only need one copy of this. To be used with Stick to the plan. Amazing tempo boost that lets you play 3 assets in one turn at a reduced cost. Hard to use without stick to the plan, but this card becomes amazing once you have it.)

• Unexpected Courage -> Extra Ammunition (To be used with Stick to the plan. Use when you need extra ammo. Only take this if you took flamethrower.)

• Keen Eye -> If you have nothing else to get, then this is a pretty good option. Roland's economy isn't exactly great, but you aren't losing anything by taking this permanent. Situationally, its quite useful.

4.) Other Options (0 EXP):

• Deduction - I know it seems crazy that such an efficient card isn't on the list, but like I mentioned earlier, its very rare to see 2 clues on the same location so you'll hardly ever benefit from the effect. What's more is that there really isn't enough space to put such a specialized card in the deck. You really need as many tech cards as possible to be ready for anything.

• Dr. Milan Christopher - This guy in multiplayer is insane. He gives you a +1 boost to intelligence, pays for himself and then some. However, there are a few big issues with using Milan for Roland

1.) This uses the taboo list, which makes Milan even less efficient (Although it is pretty rare to investigate more than once or twice per round in solo play)

2.) He's really expensive and its usually better to have beat cop in play than Milan. This means that you often have to choose between one or the other rather than being able to play both. (If you have charisma, then it is very doable to play both Maleson and beat cop compared to Milan)

3.) There aren't enough clues to make use of his ability - Most scenarios require you to gather anywhere from 6-12 clues, roughly. While that might still sound like a decent amount, you're going to be getting those resources slowly over time and will have to have milan in play the entire time. This means that Milan becomes significantly less efficient if you decide to use him as a horror soak because he'll no longer pay for himself.

• Magnifying Glass - I mentioned this card earlier, and it's definitely a good option. The immediate +1 boost lets you get going much earlier than the camera at virtually no tempo loss. However, the camera gives such an amazing boost to 2 important stats, willpower and intelligence, and more importantly, its so easy to power up because of how many low clue locations there are. That being said, if you want your deck to be more consistent, then magnifying glass is a great option that also works well with flashlight.

• Art Student - Pretty underrated card for Roland. Gives him a nice horror soak and lets you discover a clue. You can use a 1x Maleson, 1x Art student split or completely replace Maleson with art student if you're not feeling Maleson. She's best used for high shroud locations that you don't want to waste time failing on, which will help with tempo indirectly.

• Machete - If you decide that true solo is hard enough as it is and you just want to play without the taboo list, then this is absolutely superior to the .45 automatic. Unlike the enchanted blade, which gives a potential +2 combat boost, the .45 automatic is usually outclassed by the machete. Replace the 45 automatics with machetes if you aren't using the taboo list.

• Fine Clothes - Mainly for Carcosa. The -2 difficulty to parley is really nice for select scenarios and it takes a slot that's completely unused in this deck. You can replace unexpected courage with this card.

• Delay the Inevitable - Amazing card to deal with Beyond the Veil. Outside of that, it's a bit too expensive for Roland to use, so only take this for Dunwich.

• Working a Hunch - Not a bad card, but the problem is that its hard to fit in Roland's deck and art student is a bit better for him. The tempo boost is great and the ability to bypass high shroud locations is nice, but its a bit of a squeeze to fit in with so many other great options.

• Handcuffs - Most of the time this card is pretty bad, but damn is it thematic. Combine this with Interrogate and you've got yourself the real Fed experience. Only use for scenarios with lots of humanoid enemies or if you want a challenge

• Alice Luxley - Really cool and thematic card. Unfortunately, it doesn't work so well with Roland in solo play. Alice's ability triggers attacks of opportunities unless you use cards like Scene of the Crime or Working a Hunch, which are too expensive to fit in Roland's decks. Even if you wanted the intelligence boost, you'd be better off with Milan because of his economy boost. The most common way Roland will ever activate her ability is through his investigator ability, but the problem with that is that when the enemy is dead, there won't be anyone to deal that 1 damage to. Still, if you want to try her then she'll still be useful if only for that +1 intelligence boost.

• On the Hunt - Not bad if you want to turn encounters into boons. The only reason why I haven't put this in my deck is because I haven't tried it myself. However, the 1 resource cost makes the card a bit off-putting at first glance. Definitely going to give this a try still.

• Warning Shot - Admittedly, this card is really situational. However Roland's low agility means that this card can really come in clutch in certain scenarios, especially in the forgotten age, where evasion is so important. Worth considering.

• Prepared for the Worst - In my opinion, its usually better to just have 4 weapons early on then have 3 + this. You have to spend a turn and a resource just to play this card and on top of that there's always the chance that you'll whiff a weapon. In other words, the biggest issue is that this card is just too slow for solo play. However, there is an argument to keep this early because of how great it is with stick to the plan + flamethrower later. Early on, however, it's almost always a card I never have time to play because its just too slow.

5.) Signature cards and weaknesses

Thanks to the Dirge of Reason, Roland has a replacement weakness to compensate for one of the more brutal signature weaknesses, Cover Up. The The Dirge of Reason and Mysteries Remain are usually better than cover up and Roland's .38 Special, but if you don't own these cards then you should replace one of the .45 automatics with an Unexpected Courage or any of the other options that I've mentioned. This is because using cover up/.38 special will end up having 5 weapons in the deck, which is overkill.

6.) Tips for Playing Roland and True Solo

• If you're in a situation where its your last turn and you have to choose between investigating a location with 1 clue or putting an asset down/performing a scenario specific action, then you should pick the latter. This way, if an enemy spawns then you'll have placed your asset down and gathered a clue with the same amount of actions. Also, just in general, its good to end turns in locations with clues on them.
• Use Maleson's ability on bad encounter tests. This one is sort of a given, but if you come across a treachery that has an immediately bad effect, or a treachery that is difficult for Roland to handle such as Ancient Evils or Snake Bite, then you shouldn't hesitate to use Maleson's ability. Ideally you'll draw a weak enemy instead so that you only have to spend one turn dealing with a treachery.
• Don't waste time. Things like healing and having a huge board are secondary to your goal. Move as fast as you can and make sure you know what cards to prioritize. Try not to use turns to gain resources in particular unless you really need to have a card in play.
• If playing on standard difficulty, aim to be around +2 on skill tests. In games where the lowest token is -4, the chances of succeeding are optimal when you have a 2 skill advantage over the test. Unless the test is really important, make sure you don't waste resources.

That's about it. I noticed that there weren't too many true solo guides around so I hope this guide fulfilled its purpose. Thanks for reading.