Rita's RttDL Solo Run #5: Blood on the Altar

Congregational Church removed during setup.

Opening Hand: Peter Sylvestre, "Look what I found!", Cornered, 2x Plucky

The most advantageous solution to Blood on the Altar is to pick all the clues from the Hidden Chamber. In solo this tends to be harder than defeating the boss. Alas, with Rita’s deck she’s all but locked into the investigation route. Our opening hand contains Cornered and two Pluckies, so we’ll try to make the best use out of them. Hopefully we’ll be fast enough.

#1

• MOVE to Schoolhouse
• PLAY Cornered
• PLAY Plucky
• MOVE to House in the Reeds (spawn Hunting Nightgaunt at the Village Commons)
• Enemy: Hunting Nightgaunt moves to Schoolhouse
• Upkeep: draw Lucky!, 3 resources total.

#2

• Mythos: 2/6, Resurgent Evils, Unhallowed Country, Kidnapped! ()
• INVESTIGATE (-1, 1 clue)
• House in the Reeds (Servant of Many Mouths at Village Commons)
• MOVE to Schoolhouse
• EVADE (-1, exhaust & 1 damage to Hunting Nightgaunt)
• Unhallowed Country ()
• Enemy: Hunting Nightgaunt readies
• Upkeep: draw "I'm outta here!", 4 resources total.

#3

• Mythos: 3/6, Whippoorwill
• EVADE (0, exhaust & 1 damage to Hunting Nightgaunt)
• INVESTIGATE (+3 , Cornered, discard "I'm outta here!", 0, 1 clue)
• Schoolhouse (Servant of Many Mouths on Burned Ruins)
• MOVE to Osborn's General Store
• Unhallowed Country ()
• Enemy: Hunting Nightgaunt readies, Whippoorwill moves to Osborn's General Store
• Upkeep: draw Flashlight, 2 resources total.

#4

• Mythos: 4/6, Rotting Remains (Cornered, discard Plucky, )
• ENGAGE Whippoorwill
• EVADE ()
• EVADE (0, defeat Whippoorwill)
• Unhallowed Country (0, discard Unhallowed Country)
• Enemy: Hunting Nightgaunt hunts and attacks (1 damage. defeat Plucky)
• Upkeep: draw Waylay, 3 resources total.

#5

• Mythos: 5/6, Servant of Many Mouths (at Schoolhouse)
• EVADE (-2, exhaust & 1 damage to Hunting Nightgaunt)
• PLAY Flashlight
• INVESTIGATE with Flashlight (2 supplies left, -2, Lucky!, 1 clue)
• Enemy: Hunting Nightgaunt readies
• Upkeep: draw "I'm done runnin'!", 2 resources total.

Rita's Boardstate: 8 health, 4 sanity, 2 resources, 3 clues

In Play: Flashlight (2 supplies), Cornered

In Hand: Peter Sylvestre, "Look what I found!", Waylay, "I'm done runnin'!"

Threat: Hunting Nightgaunt (3 damage)

We’re progressing very slowly, but on the plus side Rita remains healthy and sane. We’ve got 3 clues and there are at least 5 to go, and then at least 8 more in the Chamber itself. I think it’s still doable. Still, since the map is quite cramped enemies are proved to be taxing. Getting this many Servants of Many Mouths would is normally a good thing, but Rita simply doesn’t have the firepower to benefit from them.

#6

• Mythos: 6/6 doom, Strange Disappearances, advance to The Old Ones Hunger, Hunting Nightgaunt
• EVADE (, defeat Hunting Nightgaunt)
• Osborn's General Store (The Hidden Chamber)
• EVADE ()
• EVADE(-2, exhaust Hunting Nightgaunt & move to Bishop's Brook, -4, 2 damage)
• Enemy: Hunting Nightgaunt readies
• Upkeep: draw "Look what I found!", 3 resources total.

#7

• Mythos: 1/6 doom, Psychopomp's Song, Strange Signs ( Cornered, discard "I'm done runnin'!", commit "Look what I found!", -1)
• INVESTIGATE (, 1 clue)
• INVESTIGATE with Flashlight (1 supply left, , 1 clue to Bishop's Brook, "Look what I found!", 2 clues)
• Enemy: Hunting Nightgaunt hunts and attacks (3 damage & 1 horror, discard Psychopomp's Song)
• Upkeep: draw Last Chance, 2 resources total.

#8

• Mythos: 2/6 doom, Unhallowed Country
• Bishop's Brook On Wings of Darkness (-1)
• MOVE to Village Commons (Hunting Nightgaunt attacks, 1 damage & 1 horror)
• RESIGN.

Dammable Nightgaunts! The situation didn’t improve much, but it wasn’t hopeless. If so, why resign so early? There’s one, in all likelihood unintentional, quirk to this scenario. If the Hidden Chamber is revealed but wasn’t entered then there aren’t any clues there yet, so it ends up in the victory display. In essence the choice is to wager 2 XPs on the chance to save Dr. Armitage and the others. The short-term payoff wasn’t worth it. Especially since the next scenario is going to be much less intense.

Campaign Log:

Extracurricular Activity: The students were rescued. Professor Warren Rice was kidnapped. 3 XP (Vassal of the Lurker, Orne Library, Dormitories).

The House Always Wins: Naomi has Rita’s back. Dr. Francis Morgan was kidnapped. Rita rescued Dr. Henry Armitage. 4 XP (Servant of the Lurker, Art Gallery, VIP Area, Back Alley).

The Miskatonic Museum: Rita destroyed the Necronomicon. 4 XP (Nature Exhibit, Hall of the Dead, Restricted Hall, Medieval Exhibit).

The Essex County Express: Dr. Henry Armitage was kidnapped. Rita was delayed on her way to Dunwich. 1 XP (1 bonus XP).

Blood on the Altar: The ritual was completed. Dr. Henry Armitage, Zebulon Whateley, Professor Warren Rice, Dr. Francis Morgan & Earl Sawyer were sacrificed to Yog-Sothoth. 4 XP (The Hidden Chamber, 2 bonus XP).