Revised Classic Rita, Swing Position in RTTFA

Here Comes The Track Star

Our friend Rita Young is back and ready for the flex/swing position in RTTFA. She did very well indeed, and ultimately I think this is a slight update on a classic-type build.

Since you don't want to be defeating every monster out there in Forgotten Age land, Rita's high evasion and set of tricks makes for a nice fit in the group. Keeping it low on assets and generally cost-efficient means she's able to do what she does best - run around and distract anyone coming after your team - and in this case also pick up some bulk clues when you have a chance.

This build includes a couple of extra clue-getting cards that you might want to ditch if you're playing 4-player. I find Belly of the Beast to be pretty underwhelming in high player counts unless you're nabbing it back with Resourceful or Scrounge for Supplies, but then that means you're not pulling back Lucky! or a broken Baseball Bat.

So let's go through the lineup...

ASSETS

Again keeping it as light as possible here. She might not need a weapon early on but nice to have the swing from the Baseball Bat to take care of a monster if needed. Add Stunning Blow to the test and you're doing up to 3 damage and evading (if the monster's still there) in one hit.

I did fine with only one Cherished Keepsake, especially when you've upgraded good ol' Peter Sylvestre with your first xp. That allows you to take a Leather Coat, which I found surprisingly useful since she's dealing with monsters all the time.

And finally, Track Shoes...the map is yours to explore.

EVENTS

The heart and soul of the build IMO - like I say if you're running high player counts, you might want to ditch Belly of the Beast at least - some ideas for replacements are below in that case. Otherwise Breaking and Entering and Pilfer are too good for Rita to pass up, and "Look what I found!" and its upgraded copy are good for 2-clue finds, so they're just as useful in 4 player.

Sneak By is a fabulous income generator and Slip Away is great for leaving that Boa Constrictor out of the way for good chunks of time.

Lucky!, yeah, it's a staple, hey?

SKILLS

Going with the classics - Resourceful to pull back Lucky! or a card of your choice, Stunning Blow for a fist or Bat attack that will evade and give you +1 damage or a free move, Take Heart for resources but more importantly card draw. I always used that on an investigation test when I had a spare action and it paid off. Survival Instinct is great for Rita even at 0-level. Would be nice to have two but didn't in this starting build, 2 upgraded copies come later. Finally a Guts, at least until you've upgraded Peter Sylvestre. That was a flex spot for me, and found that the extra Will on a Voice of the Jungle or Curse of Yig came in handy.

ALTERNATIVES

Ditching Belly of the Beast for another Survival Instinct, Guts, Manual Dexterity, Bait and Switch or Scrounge for Supplies are all candidates... Scrounge for Supplies in particular, and I wish I had a copy to recur the green Event cards for the first scenario.

UPGRADES

Lots of xp in RTTFA, so assuming you're saving some to clear a Trauma or two and maybe a Poison (although Rita does well on those tests) , you'll still have boatloads to spend.

(side note: tempting to get a Charisma for Veda Whitsley or Aquinnah if you can get them, but I like to keep things lean on the asset front so IMO that's 3xp saved)

Here's the path I took, keeping her use in that flex role...primarily a monster-dealer, but hoping to scoop some bulk clues when you have a moment. Happy to hear suggestions that worked for you in your run-throughs...

2x Peter Sylvestre for 2x Peter Sylvestre. No-brainer first move.

3x Easy Mark for 1 Take Heart, 1 Guts, and 1 Pilfer, only 'cos the last one is expensive.

1x Pilfer for the upgraded Pilfer. One copy to hopefully pull back frequently. You could also consider some Sharp Vision copies, but Pilfer grabs 3 clues more reliably - as expensive as it is.

1x Slip Away for the upgraded Slip Away, again to hopefully hang onto.

1x Survival Instinct and 1x Slip Away for 2x Survival Instinct. Great card for Rita in RTFA.

2x "Look what I found!" for 2x upgraded "Look what I found!" - super useful in multiplayer.

2x Lucky! for 2x Lucky!, card draw improvement helps, If you can afford the level 3 version down the road, even better.

1x Baseball Bat for 1x Old Hunting Rifle. Hilarious in Rita and I liked going with two copies, but for me the Rifle should always come with a copy of Swift Reload, and we're running out of space...no Versatile for me!

1x Stunning Blow for 1x Swift Reload - see above.

finally you've got to get Ace in the Hole in there - it's a Rita deck! I guess you could ditch whatever you like, probably the other Stunning Blow since you have other options now, but I took out a Belly of the Beast.

Closing Notes

There's something to be said for loading her up on tricks like the excellent upgrade Bait and Switch, Cheap Shot, Think on Your Feet, the Expeditious Retreat skill and stuff...in that case I'd forget about clue cards altogether and do that. But this build was meant to be a flex, so flexing away here.

BTW, I find Drawing Thin to be a boring card these days, so even though it helps Rita with draw and resources on easy evade tests, I much prefer leaving it off the table - somehow makes for a more 'pure' experience for me...

Here's to the other Rita fans...what a fun investigator to play, especially in RTTFA.