Rex, the Roving Reporter

The Story

He clearly remembered the days when he used to roam the streets without companions, struggling to find the one scoop that would mark the end of his cursed luck. That one story to finally break his curse he did not find, but he found something more valuable indeed: Three friends on his side as they searched the world for the truth. The truth behind the ever-mounting oddities and mysteries channeled by servants of those who call themselves the Old Ones.

Rex was a brooding character and not one for much words. In his mind the game was always over before anyone had even begun to play. The only question that remained was if he could reach all the locations and find what he knew would be hidden there before time ran out on him. Fortunately, Rex had mastered what he referred to as 'creative funding' over the course of his fruitless career as a reporter. Money, he had learned, can't buy many things that the ominous creatures from beyond would fear, but it can pay for the fastest taxi or catch the earliest train. Sometimes his friends would joke that he was the master of running away, and surely he had only killed beasts after taking more painkillers than even the greatest of beasts could’ve handled. He really wasn't much of a fighter or leader. He was a rover and thinker, an active mind in an active body. 'Maybe that's the source of reciprocity in our friendship', he often thought, 'that we all excel at different tasks.'

Once, and only once, Rex had given firearms a shot. However, he had soon realized that hitting the scoop of the century was probably easier than hitting the broadside of a barn with that darned thing. From that point on he liked to think of himself as a double-wielder of magnifying glasses instead. That sounded at least somewhat menacing and always gave his old acquaintance Dr. Christopher a good chuckle. One time it had even elicited a giggle from one of Christopher's various laboratory assistants, who seemed to take turns accompanying him to their less than frequent reunions. Apart from his involvement in the recruitment of faculty staff, Christopher was also in charge of the enrollment fees, and so Rex had managed to get his higher education basically for low. Even though he had begun his studies in his early thirties, one might add. Back when he was a middle-aged student he would spend his time honing his skills of deduction and exploring Arkham, finding paths hidden to everyone but him, which was of tremendous help in his continuous endeavor to miss every top story by an inch. But now these days were over and all that remained was an even more middle-aged man with an acquaintance at Miskatonic University.

But he was satisfied, for he had found a place where his skills were needed and his relentlessness of help. A place where his terrible luck didn't matter so terribly much. A place for his sharp mind and his fast legs. And when his song would play on the radio, the crew would chime in and sing in his honor:

I've been a wild rover for many a year

And I've spent all me money on whiskey and beer

But now I've returned with gold in great store

And I never shall play the wild rover no more!

Short Strategy guide:

Rex is a Dunwich Legacy investigator who really only does one thing: Investigate the sh*t out of clue-laden locations. That means he's at his best in 3-4 (but preferably 4) player games because (a) those are the games with the most clues and (b) your team must be able to fight the relevant threats without Rex. Agnes plus a guardian usually suffice, but make sure your 4th member isn't dependent on help as well.

In your opening hand you are mainly looking for Burglary, Dr. Milan Christopher and Magnifying Glasses. I will keep Laboratory Assistants though because they're good value. Burglary is the nuts in this deck. If there's a low-shroud location early on, you can easily get to 10-15 resources, which will carry you through the rest of the game with the occasional emergency cache.

Rex is also pretty fast and can get a lot of movement done without using (m)any actions, which comes in handy when your group is under time pressure. Generally however, your modus operandi is to use your events to stay clear of enemies. Or occasionally to clear enemies, if you have a good plan. Speaking of events, Preposterous Sketches are much better than usual when you can more or less ignore the 2 in the upper left corner.

As for upgrades, Rex does as Rex is wont to do. With all those resources and cards at your disposal, Higher Education buffs your investigation power beyond all limits. Don't hesitate to use it in conjunction with Burglary, even though it looks like bad value at first glance! Next, I usually go for a copy of Pathfinder, so I can spend even more actions on investigation. Beyond that, customization is up to personal preference and what your group / the campaign requires you to do. I like replacing both copies of Working A Hunch with LVL2 Deductions, and cutting Painkillers for a Bulletproof Vest might be advisable if the campaign is trying to kill you the old-fashioned way. If your party has experience points en masse, then you can start buying Cryptic Researches and upgrading Emergency Caches to make the deck run more smoothly. Alright, here's a summary in order of importance:

Grocery list

Buy:

• Higher Education
• Pathfinder
• 2x Deduction (LVL2)
• Bulletproof Vest
• 2x Cryptic Research
• 2x Emergency Cache (LVL2)

Sell:

• Seeking Answers
• 2x Working a Hunch
• Painkillers
• Preposterous Sketches
• 2x Emergency Cache

Of course, other options might be viable too depending on the circumstances. But I'm sure you and Rex will figure it out. You always do.

Fthagen!