Lone Investigator vs Lost in Time and Space

Roland's going in at Dunwich Legacy.

The idea is to investigate as few times as possible, and discover all my clues via enemies, Working a Hunch, and Art Student. The student also gives me some sanity buffer, and by being expendable she and the Guard Dogs can cycle in and out as needed. It might be a little tight on resources but that's likely to only be relevant in the Clover Club quest.

Prepared for the Worst seems best in a Roland deck because it can help you get his epic pistol, but usually I think it's best as an Int/Str wild card. Shortcut and Dodge are vital to get around enemies, but frankly most of the deck is focused on winning skill tests, fighting, and discovering clues without investigating. For the Int checks that are required for non-clue purposes, Perception and Working a Hunch are there.

If you're wondering why the best allies aren't in this deck (Milan or L2 Beat Cop), it's because I wanted to be able to have access to the slot for Art Student, which required that I use only expendable allies (Guard Dog does a similar function). If you want to get either of those epic allies, go get a Charisma and go for it (I might get Charisma anyway if I can save any professors).

Upgrades to be determined by the events of the campaign...

============ Dunwich Legacy 1 Report - Roland poked around the campus looking for Dr. Rice, but found only students and birds. Eventually he got wind that the Janitor could get him into some of the more valuable rooms, but after searching the Administration, Student Union, and Science Building, he hadn't found the janitor... but he did find a horrible alchemical monstrosity! Roland tried his best to take the beast on head-on, but when it was clear he would lose his mind before he could bring it down, he fled back to the Student Union, where he found Jazz. With a horrible experiment between him and the Admin building, Roland opted to clear out the Dormitories and whisk the students to safety.

Then he went looking for Dr. Morgan. Not one for gambling, he wandered around trying to find answers at the bar while avoiding the gaze of the Pit Boss, but eventually it was no use. The Pit Boss ran out of patience and went after Roland, who casually murdered him. However, just as he spotted a friendly face in the crowd who might get him the information he needed, a conglomoration of spheres burst into the club and dissolved the club's lookout. With nowhere to run, Roland grappled with the beast and with his machete dissolved, it took him ages to finally bring the thing down. He got the info he needed and stumbled his way to the back of the club, but the building was in cinders and he needed a way out. Unfortunately, what he thought was the back door led only to an art gallery (an interesting art gallery, to be sure, but not a means of escaping the blaze). He went down with the house and had to be pulled from the ashes.

With all three professors kidnapped, Roland has only one thing left to do... travel to Dunwich and save them!

=============== To find out what the lost Prof Armitage knew, Roland went to the Miskatonic Museum to find the Necronomicon. The tone of this investigation was set immediately, when he blindly kicked the door and (+1) managed to bring it down in one blow. After that, it was a race to equip himself with his trusty pistol and a machete and plunge into the museum. It took him five exhibits to finally find the curator and the Necronomicon, but he was also forced to face down a Shadow-Spawned Hunting Horror three times, which he defeated handily with his weaponry. With only 3 cards left in his deck and a Beyond the Veil (which he could... technically survive thanks to the curator), Roland found what he needed and pocketed the evil tome to read on the train to Dunwich.

================ After his investigation at the museum went so well, Roland's train ride was... much more problematic. When the vortex hit, the detective was off to an incredible start, pushing past patrons and unlocking the door just as an abomination began to emerge in the car ahead of him. But before it could orient itself, he grabbed a student in the next train car and the two bolted past the creature, leaving it to devour the car. After battling a few grappling horrors, he made his way to the final passenger car, where he was recognized. After spending 3 or 4 rounds convincing the passengers not to tell anyone he'd been there, he finally made it to the engine car with only one health remaining.

Unfortunately a monstrosity had emerged, a smaller horror had grabbed his ankles, his mind had gone blank at the terror, and even as he shot to free himself his shots went wide and he was overtaken by the eldritch shoggoths.

Roland now advances to Dunwich with 3 Physical Trauma.

================ Before Roland reached Dunwich, he made sure his personalized revolver was cleaned, loaded, and held tight. It was the only thing that had gotten him this far against such horrible monsters, and it was the only thing that would get him through. After waking up in Zebulon's empty house, he drew his weapon (and a second pistol for good measure) and headed into town, knowing what to expect. In the general store, he discovered a secret room that had been securely locked. At Bishop's Brook and the burned ruins, he faced down cultists and vengeful gangsters, and eventually he found the key in the Dunwich Congregational Church. Racing back to the hidden chamber, Roland discovered a mutated monster. It lunged at him, but he knew the missing villagers would be sacrificed at any moment. With no fear, he fired two quick shots into what he assumed to be Silas's head and the beast collapsed, dead.

Thanks to his badge of authority, Roland was able to save the second victim from being sacrificed. He was too late for Zebulon, but the professors were rescued and he knew now that he would have to lead them into the ultimate terror that stalked Dunwich.

================== Despite their knowledge, the professors did not believe that they, even together, had all the knowledge they needed now that the Necronomicon was in evil hands. So Professor Morgan made an unexpected suggestion: they recruit the help of a Voodoo sorcerer he knew by the name of Lady Espirit. When they finally found her outside New Orleans, she informed them that she needed them to help find and quell an evil spirit that was stalking the bayou, and so Roland and the professors pursued a Rougaroux, or werewolf, through the wilderness outside the city. Every time they drew close, the monster would flee, but finally after hours of slogging through the muck and shooting or cutting down gugs and gators, they cornered it and put a bullet in its head. With the monster's curse fulfilled, the group returned to Dunwich, now with the sorcerer in tow.

=================== The professors returned to Dunwich to battle against the beast that had begun to stalk the town. Warning the villagers to evacuate, he, the professors, and their students from the academy went out into the wilderness outside town to hunt it down. Where they thought there was one beast... there was five. They managed to bring one down, but the others stomped through the underbrush and mangled everything in their path, and just when Roland had started to formulate a plan, an avian monstrosity descended upon him alongside an invisible beast, driving him away in a mindless panic.

Eventually he got his wits back around him, but being battered and bruised, no longer believed he could stop the Dunwich Legacy. Nevertheless, he had to try...

==================== It took a great deal of luck (and many attempts) for Roland to fight his way past the base of the hill, enter the Altered paths, and push his way up to the summit, but he finally confronted Seth Bishop at the peak. Having slaughtered the Conglomeration of Spheres and Servant of the Lurker on his way up, Roland knew he was living on borrowed time--especially as a Lupine Thrall and ritual-completing Devotee were chasing him up from the base. So when he accosted Seth, he chose to simply ignore the twisted sorcerer and go for the book, his students falling to the Dunwich summoner's magicks as he grasped for a way to breach the portal. Once he had the tools he needed, he pushed Seth aside and recklessly dove into the nothingness.