TIC Blind Run #8 (Into the Maelstrom)

The finale! It’s the culmination of our efforts and with three keys I think we are well-prepared for whatever the scenario throws at us. Unless it’s the full-on randomness same as in Before the Black Throne. Hopefully not. We’re rounded out the deck with some final upgrades. Jenny left her fine dress in the boat and donned the Diving Suit instead. With second Charisma Leo de Luca, Delilah O'Rourke and Elina Harper can all be in play at the same time. It’s unlikely to happen, especially as the plan is to rush to resolution, but it would be nice to gather the full team. Do we have a minute for a commemorative photo?

Jenny begins the scenario with Diving Suit and three keys.

Pre-Mulligan Hand: Leo De Luca, Lockpicks, "Watch this!", Lockpicks, Delilah O'Rourke

Opening Hand: 2× Leo De Luca, Lockpicks, Jenny's Twin .45s, Lone Wolf

Into the Maelstrom

Agenda & Act: Under the Surface & Back into the Depths

#1

• PLAY Leo De Luca
• PLAY Lone Wolf
  • Perfect. Let’s add some tools for finding clues and move out in search of the green key. Jenny’s deck leans heavily into non-combat solutions, so it’s no wonder she didn’t get the trophy proving her combat prowess earlier in the campaign. We’ll filch one off an altar somewhere instead.
• PLAY Lockpicks
• MOVE up to Tidal Tunnel (Underground River, partially flooded)
  • We no longer need XP, so I’m going to ignore that.
• Upkeep: draw "I'm outta here!", 2 resources total.

#2

• Mythos: 1/6 doom, Lurking Deep One (1 damage to Leo De Luca)
• Lone Wolf
• EVADE (commit Jenny's Twin .45s, -2, exhaust Lurking Deep One)
  • Yeah, Jenny’s signature is a glorified skill card. I’d play the Green Man Medallion instead, if not for the fact that I like Jenny’s original weakness better.
• MOVE right to Tidal Tunnel (Dark Abyss, facedown key)
• INVESTIGATE with Lockpicks (0, 1 clue, × Dark Abyss, claim the black key)
• MOVE down to Tidal Tunnel (Dark Abyss, facedown key, partially flooded)
  • It’s going to flood the central location, but I don’t mind because our intrepid investigators are wearing their diving suits.
• Enemy: Lurking Deep One readies
• Upkeep: draw Hard Knocks, 5 resources total.

#3

• Mythos: 2/6 doom, Macabre Memento (, 1 horror to Leo De Luca, 1 horror)
  • I remember commenting several months ago that this art is striking. I stand by that comment. It’s my favorite encounter card illustration in the campaign.
• Lone Wolf
• INVESTIGATE with Lockpicks (, 2 supplies left)
• INVESTIGATE ( Streetwise, -1, 1 clue, × Dark Abyss, claim the white key)
• MOVE down to Tidal Tunnel (Tidal Pool, facedown key, partially flooded)
• INVESTIGATE (commit Leo De Luca, Streetwise, -2, 1 clue, claim the green key)
  • Score! With the full set of four keys, plus an additional two, there’s no reason to linger longer. Next round we’re going to Y'ha-nthlei.
• Upkeep: draw Easy Mark, 4 resources total.

Board State Reminder: 8 health, 6 sanity, 4 resources, 3 clues

In Play: Leo De Luca (1 damage & 1 horror), Diving Suit, Lockpicks (2 supplies), Lone Wolf

In Hand: "I'm outta here!", Hard Knocks, Easy Mark

#4

• Mythos: 3/6 doom, Hydra's Brood (at Gateway to Y'ha-nthlei)
  • Hunter with doom-generating capabilities. Nope. If the advancing Act doesn’t wipe it we’re going to invoke Teachings of the Order.
• Lone Wolf
• MOVE left to Tidal Tunnel (Underground River, partially flooded)
• MOVE up to Gateway to Y'ha-nthlei
• advance act 1a→2a (City of the Deep v. I, Dagon at Lair of Dagon, Hydra at Lair of Hydra)
  • Both Ancient Ones are slumbering. Ideally, we’ll keep it that way until the end of the scenario. At first glance it looks like the final map is decently compact and there’s almost no backtracking involved. Assuming I’ve assembled it right.
• Teachings of the Order (defeat Hydra's Brood)
• MOVE down to Y'ha-nthlei (Undersea Corridors, partially flooded)
• Undersea Corridors
• Undersea Corridors (move down to Y'ha-nthlei, Undersea Corridors, partially flooded))
  • That would’ve been a better place to drop the white key. Alas.
• Upkeep: draw Easy Mark, 7 resources total.

#5

• Mythos: 4/6 doom, Treacherous Depths (fully flooded)
  • With six shroud I’d be discarding Leo de Luca, so I’d rather increase the flood level. Thankfully, the corridors weren’t fully flooded to begin with.
• Lone Wolf
• MOVE to Lair of Dagon
  • All seven? Oh… I could’ve gotten the purple key easily, but now it’s out of Jenny’s reach. Shame.
• INVESTIGATE with Lockpicks ( Streetwise, -1, 1 clue)
• City of the Deep v. I
  • There are three remaining floods on non-Sanctum locations and just two clues visible, so I’ve got no choice but to move and look for more clues elsewhere. Jenny shakes off the weird feeling and swims further ahead.
• MOVE right to Y'ha-nthlei Sanctum (Statues in the Deep, fully flooded)
• INVESTIGATE ( Streetwise, , 1 clue)
• Upkeep: draw Daredevil, 6 resources total.

#6

• Mythos: 5/6 doom, Dagon's Brood (at Gateway to Y'ha-nthlei)
  • Same as with Hydra’s Brood, it’s going to be an annoyance.
• Lone Wolf
• Statues in the Deep
• MOVE up to Y'ha-nthlei Sanctum (Submerged Temple, fully flooded)
• INVESTIGATE with Lockpicks ( Streetwise, -1, 1 clue)
• Submerged Temple
  • OK, we’re about half-way done. Which makes me wonder, if we’re in an underwater locale, where does all that excess water go? How is Jenny draining it?
• Enemy: Dagon's Brood hunts down to Undersea Corridors
• Upkeep: draw "Watch this!", 7 resources total.

Board State Reminder: 8 health, 6 sanity, 7 resources, 0 clues

In Play: Leo De Luca (1 damage & 1 horror), Diving Suit, Lockpicks (2 supplies), Lone Wolf

In Hand: "I'm outta here!", Hard Knocks, 2× Easy Mark, Daredevil, "Watch this!"

#7

• Mythos: 6/6 doom, advance agenda 1a→2a (Celestial Alignment), Deep One Assault, Lurking Deep One (1 damage to Diving Suit)
• Lone Wolf
• EVADE (commit 2× "Watch this!" & Daredevil, Streetwise, bid 6 resources, 0, 12 resources, exhaust Lurking Deep One)
  • 12 resources! However, what I counted for here was Nimble. Otherwise there’s not enough actions to get past Dagon's Brood without engaging it.
• MOVE down to Statues in the Deep
• PLAY Easy Mark (draw Nimble)
  • Heh.
• Easy Mark (draw Lone Wolf)
• PLAY Hard Knocks
  • It’s not the first time I’m playing Hard Knocks solely because there’s nothing else to do. It’s there in case I need to pass difficult Combat tests, but modern scenarios hardly ever gate progress behind one specific skill. So, I’ll approach Edge of the Earth without it.
• Enemy: Dagon's Brood hunts down to Undersea Corridors, Lurking Deep One readies
• Upkeep: draw Eureka!, 18 resources total.

#8

• Mythos: 1/8 doom, Macabre Memento (+1)
• Lone Wolf
• MOVE left to Lair of Dagon
• INVESTIGATE with Lockpicks (commit Eureka!, -4, 1 supply left, draw Eureka!, 1 clue)
• City of the Deep v. I
• MOVE up to Y'ha-nthlei (Vault of Riches, partially flooded)
  • It needs purple key, the one I left behind earlier.
• INVESTIGATE ( Streetwise, 0, 1 clue)
• Enemy: Dagon's Brood hunts right to Lair of Dagon
• Upkeep: draw Working a Hunch, 19 resources total.

#9

• Mythos: 2/8 doom, Ancient Evils
  • Classic!
• Lone Wolf
• Working a Hunch (1 clue)
• MOVE left to Undersea Corridors
• Undersea Corridors (move left to Y'ha-nthlei, Sunken Halls, partially flooded)
• Sunken Halls
• MOVE left to Y'ha-nthlei Sanctum (Onyx Guardians, fully flooded)
• Onyx Guardians
  • Three down! If nothing unexpected happens I can see myself Working a Hunch and winning next turn.
• Enemy: Dagon's Brood hunts up to Vault of Riches
• Upkeep: draw Working a Hunch, 20 resources total.

Board State Reminder: 8 health, 6 sanity, 20 resources, 1 clue

In Play: Leo De Luca (1 damage & 1 horror), Diving Suit (1 damage), Lockpicks (1 supply), Lone Wolf, Hard Knocks

In Hand: "I'm outta here!", Nimble, Lone Wolf, Eureka!, Working a Hunch

#10

• Mythos: 4/8 doom, Conspiracy of Deep Ones (-3, 1 doom)
  • It’s a bit of a lethargic conspiracy, given that both Ancient Ones are still napping.
• Lone Wolf
• INVESTIGATE with Lockpicks (commit Eureka!, +1, draw Intel Report, 1 clue)
• MOVE down to Y'ha-nthlei Sanctum (Syzygy Chamber, fully flooded)
• Working a Hunch (1 clue)
• Syzygy Chamber
  • Four down!
• MOVE right to Lair of Hydra
  • Good to know that there’s an option to reliably deal damage to the Ancient Ones. I’ll use it next time. This time around, I’m disheartened that I didn’t get to see that last flashback, which I’m pretty sure would’ve held an additional objective.
• City of the Deep v. I
• R1.

It did! I like the twist as well, the overreaching for riches is such a classic trope in these kind of stories I wouldn’t mind it being explored in a separate scenario. Something akin to TFA’s Secret Scenario IX? Anyways, do I like the campaign overall? Yes, but not as much as I would’ve thought based on the earlier scenarios. The further we went in the more difficult was it for me to get over the mental hurdle of Jenny spending XPs in moments that do not match the order of events. It was a half-measure. Either just wave the restrictions off and let everyone spend XPs after each scenario or stick to the theme and have the investigators play flashback scenarios with just their basic decks. Perhaps change the entire structure of the campaign and make it similar to Dream-Eaters, with two mini-campaigns running in parallel? This would work with the more down to earth tone of the campaign, I think. As for the other features. The reuse of Tidal Tunnels to enable larger maps. Awesome. The flooding mechanic. Awesome. Keys. Not so awesome. I think back to the Gathering where one clue represented a bucket. Remember that one? The overuse of Keys makes them appear too similar to Clues.

All in all, I rank this campaign below Carcosa or TFA, but above Dream-Eaters or TCU. An upwards trends. Thanks for sticking with these over-a-year long logs! See you around next time in the Edge of the Earth.

Campaign Log:

Pit of Despair: 5 XP, Memories Recovered: a meeting with Thomas Dowson, a battle with a horrifying devil, a decision to stick together, an encounter with a secret cult.

The Vanishing of Elina Harper: The mission was successful. 3 XP.

In Too Deep: Jenny made it safely to her vehicle. 7 XP, Memories Recovered: a deal with Joe Sargent, a followed lead, an intervention, a jailbreak.

Devil Reef: Terror of Devil Reef is still alive. The idol, mantle, and headdress were brought to the lighthouse. 10 XP, Memories Recovered: a discovery of a strange idol, a discovery of an unholy mantle, a discovery of a mystical relic.

Horror in High Gear: Jenny reached Falcon Point before sunrise. 7XP.

A Light in the Fog: Jenny possesses a diving suit. Jenny possesses a map of Y’ha-nthlei. Jenny possesses the key to Y’ha-nthlei. 5 XP, Memories Recovered: the lifecycle of a “Deep One”.

The Lair of Dagon: 4 XP. Order's ritual was disrupted. Dagon still slumbers. The gatekeeper has been defeated. Y'ha-nthlei recognizes Jenny as its rightful keeper.

Into the Maelstrom: 5 XP. jenny escaped Y'ha-nthlei. The plot of the Deep Ones was thwarted. Agent Harper's mission is complete. 2 Physical Trauma.