I'm the (unofficial) Vamp ambassador for this cycle of cards! Here’s my thoughts on Vamp:

Methodology: I played five builds that included Vamp through a full campaign. I kept the card in the decks throughout the entire campaign.

A. Trick focused Alessandra (with Vamp) through Innsmouth (paired with Mark) 

 B. Rita and Mandy (each taking vamp) through TFA C. Leo and Gloria (each taking vamp) through Edge of the Earth


In my estimation, Vamp is a strong and versatile card. It has four possible options with two minor prerequisites a) an enemy needs to be at your location and b) you’ll need to be able to pass a difficulty three test in the skill you are testing. The fact that it uses Parley means that playing it does not provoke an attack of opportunity. This is not as relevant for the fight or evade option (as those actions do not provoke AoO) but it comes in handy for the Will or Intellect based option. It only costs 1 resource and has a wild icon for the times when you can’t use it.

This card basically lets you do what you were planning to do on occasion when an enemy happens to be at your location without provoking an attack of opportunity for 1 cost.

The fight and evade options in Vamp are more useful with high Fight or Evade enemies (i.e. higher than the 3 difficulty test on the card) or in multiplayer if the enemy is engaged with another investigator or are aloof. The three difficulty test can be a limiting factor; it leads to situations where someone with a high fight is more likely to use this card for its fight action above the others, and so forth. But I don’t hate that. It’s not that it lets your fighter evade better, it lets them fight better/smarter etc.

The investigate option is nice when your clue gatherer is indisposed. The will option is even more highly situational but it is useful in the right circumstances.

I think with Alessandra - this card is a no-brainer particularly in combination with Chuck Fergus, Fine Clothes, Eldricht Tongue, other Trick treated cards, etc. (NO DON’T TELL ME THERE’S AN UPGRADED VERSION//LEVEL 0 IS MY CARD!!!) In multiplayer, I would seriously consider this card in anyone else as a splash, bearing in mind that three difficulty test. 

Like other parley cards, this one relies on enemies being present and thus is less useful in smaller player counts (less likely to be enough targets to get it to fire) or when enemy management is clearing the board often.


Here are some odd edge case things that happened in my play that made me like this card more:



This card lets you do two damage to enemy via a parley test if you’re Frozen in Fear!



This card can have you evade an enemy you’re not engaged with (including aloof ones); that can be useful in situations where ready enemies do nasty business with doom or other bad effects. 



Overall, I rate this card a 4/5. I love it’s flexibility!

List of all practiced skills

And here as scans

And here you can find a beatiful drawing of a creature that I need to add so this review gets to 200 characters because otherwise a popup appears saying "Your review must at least 200 characters long."

DIANA: "Mr. Meiger, we're not your enemy."

JOSEF MEIGER: "I don't believe you. Not after you allowed my brethren to do their work without interference, and protected them from flesh-eating zombie dogs."

DIANA: "... k brb"

(Move)

(Play: Dynamite Blast)

• Lodge Neophyte, Lodge Neophyte, and Keeper Of Secrets are now basically wallpaper stains

(Move)

DIANA: "Mr. Meiger, we're not your enemy. Also I turned your bedroom into a gazebo."

JOSEF MEIGER: "Perhaps you are telling the truth..."

With the latest Taboo(Put a level 0-3 Item asset), I think the card is still usable. Do note that you should bring sleight of hand only when the combo is really great / there's multiple potential combos.

Combo well

• Dexter Drake
  • also try Enchanted Blade (also 3exp). Works at 0exp and can be further upgraded
• Police Badge 1cost, 2cards for two free actions, and an temporary aura? great
  • Leo Anderson. Both cards work well in his deck separately(when you didn't managed to draw the combo).
  • You should probably consider bringing the latest Cleaning Kit as well.
• Lupara, also from the rogue class.
• .45 Thomson. works at 0exp as well
• Ornate Bow. Rita might also be interested.

Some Combo

• Lola Hayes
  • adds flexibility to her
• Old Hunting Rifle. Wendy, Also Rita.
• Schoffner's Catalogue
  • a frequent occurence in Bob Jenkins decks. Not really that much profitable, but might encourage Bob to take those two cards.
• Lockpicks

0exp combo

• Subject 5U-21 eat it after you use it
• Flash Light
  • Grim Memoir in Trish
• Thermos
• .45 Thomson

Reference

Quick search for remaining potential combo:

• k:item p<4 o>1 x:discard
• k:item p<4 o>1 x:Uses

This card is, I think, deceptively good. Much like Inquiring Mind its effectively a conditional 3 wild icons with a hoop to jump through- if you want better than Unexpected Courage, you need to earn it. Having three science or tool assets is theoretically a meaningful condition, but lets dig into it.

For starters, Darrell Simmons and Kate Winthrop will probably always be taking this over Unexpected Courage. They start with tool/science assets in play, so its a no-brainer. But for everyone else we need to start asking: what is the cost of getting Science or Tool assets on the board? Even just with Hemlock Vale and a Revised Core, this isn't going to be tough. Magnifying Glass or its upgrade stand out most here as cheap, highly effective Tool assets. Chemistry Set, Ravenous Myconid and Steady-Handed provide good options too.

Those with a bigger collection though will want to look to Scarlet Keys: Empirical Hypothesis is the standout here, but an upgraded Fingerprint Kit or more niche cards like Alchemical Distillation, Lab Coat or Surgical Kit are also worth considering as options.

Tool and Science aren't traits with a terribly deep card pool, and that might make Well-Funded seem limited in its usage. It is fortunate, then, that the traits it covers contain some of the cheapest, most effective assets in the Seeker arsenal, even from level 0. So don't worry about it! Go down to Miskatonic University, ask them to give you a research grant to study the local fishmen population, and show them your hypothesis under a couple of magnifying glasses. When you run into trouble, comfort yourself with the knowledge you have so, so much grant money.