No time to waste, we are on to The Last King! To recap from Curtain Call, we escaped the theatre and went to the cops; however, we were unable to defeat the Royal Emissary and got unlucky with location draws. As a result, we only got 3 XP, which we are saving up. Our deck still has 0 XP in it. We also have The Man in the Pallid Mask weakness in our deck now. I am hoping to get 3 XP minimum here in order to buy my Stick to the Plan.

As we set up The Last King, here is where all of the guests are.

Ballroom: Constance Dumaine

Dining Room: Sebastien Moreau

Courtyard: Ishimaru Haruko

Gallery: Jordan Perry

Living Room: Ashleigh Clarke

Opening Hand:

The Last King is a unique scenario, so I am hoping my opening hand works well with it.

-Glory

-Practice Makes Perfect

-On the Hunt

-Prepared for the Worst

-Disc of Itzamna

I really want Dr. Elli and a weapon, so I want to attempt to mulligan something. I think I will keep Practice Makes Perfect for sure, and Disc of Itzamna. I’ll drop Glory, On the Hunt, and Prepared for the Worst.

After the mulligan, I have this.

-Practice Makes Perfect

-Disc of Itzamna

-Take the Initiative

-Roland’s .38 Special

-.45 Automatic

This is much better to me. I’m most likely going to try to play Disc and Roland’s .38 Special right away and save the .45 Automatic as a Corrosion buffer.

Round 1

ROLAND:

Damage – 0/9; Horror – 0/5; Resources – 5; Clues – 0

Hand (5): .45 Automatic, Disc of Itzamna, Practice Makes Perfect, Roland’s .38 Special, Take the Initiative

Action 1: Disc of Itzamna will kill most enemies that spawn on me, particularly Roach Swarms and Young Psychopath, so I am playing that first over the gun.

Action 2: I could move and try for either Ashleigh in the Living Room or Constance in the Ballroom. Ishimaru in the Courtyard is out because I’m not going to have 6 cards. I have Take the Initiative and Practice Makes Perfect, so I feel better equipped to go for skill tests right now (although there are 3 -4’s in the bag and TTI will not put me over that). I don’t really care about the clue in the Foyer right now. If anything, I’d probably just leave to empower my signature gun if it comes to that. So I’m going to move to the Ballroom with Constance.

Action 3: I don’t feel good about Parleying right now, because TTI only has 1 icon left. I’ll just draw a card. I draw my Internal Injury which immediately does 1 direct damage to me as my turn is over. Yikes.

Enemy phase: No enemies.

Upkeep: I draw Prepared for the Worst and gain 1 resource.

Round 2

ROLAND:

Damage – 1/9; Horror – 0/5; Resources – 3; Clues – 0

Hand (5): .45 Automatic, Practice Makes Perfect, Prepared for the Worst, Roland’s .38 Special, Take the Initiative

Mythos: 1 doom added, 1 out of 3 doom

Encounter card: Ooze and Filth. This does actually nothing to me.

Action 1: I really want to clear my Internal Injury this time because of how soon I drew it, but I also want to start Parleying. So I will Parley once, and then clear my Internal Injury with my last two actions. I initiate my Parley on Constance and play Practice Makes Perfect. No Astounding Revelation, but I did get a Perception. 5v3, I definitely can get screwed over here, but let’s go for it anyway. I draw an Elder Sign! I gain a clue from Constance, I draw a card from Perception, Perception goes back to my hand, and I gain 2 resources for doing a parley action in the Ballroom. The card I drew from Perception is The Man in the Pallid Mask. Well, whatever. He’s going to go in the Gallery. I have one weakness left in my deck.

Action 2&3: I clear my Internal Injury.

Enemy phase: No enemies.

Upkeep: I draw Take the Initiative and gain 1 resource.

Round 3

ROLAND:

Damage – 1/9; Horror – 0/5; Resources – 5; Clues – 1

Hand (6): .45 Automatic, Perception, Prepared for the Worst, Roland’s .38 Special, Take the Initiative, Take the Initiative

Mythos: 1 doom added, 2 out of 3 doom

Encounter card: Fine Dining. I hate taking horror, but if Elli or Hallowed Mirror come up, I might be okay. I’m not going to give my clue back.

Action 1: So, I really want to finish with Constance. I’m going to commit my Perception again and go from there. 5v3 and I draw an Elder Sign again??? Uh, wow, ok. I get the last clue off Constance Dumaine, draw another card from Perception (Guts!), and I gain 2 resources again. Constance Dumaine has been interviewed.

Action 2: Between Sebastien and Ishimaru, I’d rather go for Ishimaru because I actually block the tablets with my Take the Initiatives, and my Disc can kill an enemy if it spawns on me. I move in to the Courtyard. I discard Tough Crowd. No enemy!

Action 3: I have 6 cards right now, but I’m going to hold off on the parley here, for two reasons. One is because I want to use my Take the Initiatives. Two is because if I have to commit in mythos, I might no longer have the cards I need to initiate this test. So, I’m just going to draw a card. It’s my Hallowed Mirror! I’m so glad to see this right now.

Enemy phase: No enemies.

Upkeep: I draw Cover Up and gain 1 resource. This is one of the most difficult scenarios to deal with Cover Up, as taking control of clues is not the same as discovering them. There is quite literally 1 clue on this map that can be discovered right now. But I might be able to clear it anyway. I really don’t want this to be giving a mental trauma so early in my campaign. On the bright side, I now have no more weaknesses in my deck!

Round 4:

ROLAND:

Damage – 2/9; Horror – 1/5; Resources – 8; Clues – 2

Hand (7): .45 Automatic, Guts, Hallowed Mirror, Prepared for the Worst, Roland’s .38 Special, Take the Initiative, Take the Initiative

Mythos: 1 doom added, 3 out of 3 doom. Agenda advances. Dianne can go sit with Constance.

Encounter card: Marked by the Sign. This sucks a lot, because 2 horror will really be a solid hit on to my poor Roland. I have to use one of my Take the Initiatives here. This is a 6v4 test. I draw a -2! I’m safe! Yay!

Action 1: I still have 6 cards in hand, thanks to my fantastic planning, so I can begin my parley with Ishimaru committing my second Take the Initiative. This is a 6v2 test. I draw a -3! Another clue for me!

Action 2: I have to draw a card to be able to parley again. I draw On the Hunt. THANK GOD. I can finally kill something and get my Disc gone to make space for my Hallowed Mirror.

Action 3: I parley again committing my Guts. I’m not thrilled about this, because I can still get wrecked by a tablet, but let’s go for it anyway. 5v2 and I draw a Skull. I have to reveal another token, and I draw a -1! Oh thank goodness. Ishimaru Haruko has been interviewed. I gain another clue from Ishimaru and I draw a card from Guts. The card I draw is Glory.

Enemy phase: Dianne will just sit with Constance forever, because this isn’t Return.

Upkeep: I draw Guts and gain another resource.

Round 5:

ROLAND:

Damage – 2/9; Horror – 1/5; Resources – 9; Clues – 4

Hand (7): .45 Automatic, Glory, Guts, Hallowed Mirror, On the Hunt, Prepared for the Worst, Roland’s .38 Special

Mythos: 1 doom added, 1 out of 3 doom.

Encounter card: I know I just talked about this, but I won’t On The Hunt here. Nothing kills me, and I’m not that concerned about freeing up the accessory slot to put out my Mirror right now when I have so much health and sanity remaining. I draw Roach Swarm. Well. Okay then, never mind. I immediately kill the 5 Fight Courtyard Roach Swarm with my Disc of Itzamna and play Glory as they burn away to a disc-flavoured pulp in order to draw 2 more cards. I draw another .45 Automatic and an Astounding Revelation.

Action 1: As one of the most difficult non-Elite enemies in this scenario burns behind me with no actions spent to kill it, I start to wonder… do I prioritize clearing Cover Up over getting to Ashleigh right now? I know a guest is flipping to be an enemy very soon and I still don’t have any weapons. I mean, I could draw Ancient Evils for all I know and the guest flips immediately (but I also could not draw Ancient Evils with On the Hunt). I’m going to play this extremely safe and move the Foyer.

Action 2: I pay 3 resources to put out my Roland’s .38 Special. Now if an enemy spawns on me, I can kill it and pick up this clue for Cover Up.

Action 3: I investigate the Foyer, committing my Astounding Revelation and the Prepared for the Worst I don’t need. This makes it 5v2. I draw the -4. That sucks.

Enemy phase: Dianne and The Man in the Pallid Mask are still just chilling at this party.

Upkeep: I draw Dr. Elli Horowitz and gain 1 resource. She’s fashionably late, of course.

Round 6:

ROLAND:

Damage – 2/9; Horror – 1/5; Resources – 5; Clues – 4

Hand (6): .45 Automatic, .45 Automatic, Dr. Elli Horowitz, Guts, Hallowed Mirror, On the Hunt

Mythos: 1 doom added, 2 out of 3 doom.

Encounter card: I will play On the Hunt here, to find an enemy I can kill with my gun to pick up this clue. Well, my worst case scenario happened as the only enemy I could find was a Maniac. The reason this is bad for me is because I have to do two tests to kill it instead of one. Anyway,  as it spawns and engages me, it does a damage to me and I do a damage to it.

Action 1: I’m going to shoot the Maniac twice. Shotting it twice will be overkill, but I need it dead. The first shot is 7v3, and I draw a -1, so that’s 2 damage to it.

Action 2: Again, I shoot the maniac at 7v3. I draw a -3. The Maniac is dead and I remove 1 clue from Cover Up. Two to go.

Action 3: Now, I’m going to play my Mirror. The reason is because I know Dr. Elli will mostly just find a weapon, and I already have the best possible weapon right now in the best possible place. Having Soothing Melodies will help me heal up for what I expect to be a bit of a longer scenario.

Enemy phase: Dianne has had too many drinks from loafing around with Constance and is about to be cut off. The Man in the Pallid Mask is asleep on a couch. Nothing happens.

Upkeep: I draw Soothing Melody and gain 1 resource.

Round 7:

ROLAND:

Damage – 3/9; Horror – 1/5; Resources – 3; Clues – 4

Hand (6): .45 Automatic, .45 Automatic, Dr. Elli Horowitz, Guts, Soothing Melody, Soothing Melody

Mythos: 1 doom added, 3 out of 3 doom. Agenda advances. We draw a Sickening Reality and we get Constance! Not bad. She only does damage, and 3 successful fight actions will knock her out.

Encounter card: Ancient Evils. Honestly, I don’t think this is the worst draw I could get right now, since my goals are within sight of the time limit anyway.

Action 1: The first thing I’m going to do is play Soothing Melody, to heal 1 damage and 1 horror. I also draw 1 card. This gives me an Enchanted Blade.

Action 2: I play the Enchanted Blade for all my remaining resources.

Action 3: I investigate 3v2. This is such a long shot for me, but I feel like I have to try to get this Cover Up gone. I draw a -1! Hooray! Only one clue left on Cover Up!

Enemy phase: Dianne moves to Ishimaru. Constance moves to the Foyer and hits me for 2 damage.

Upkeep: I draw another Elli and gain 1 resource.

Round 8:

ROLAND:

Damage – 4/9; Horror – 0/5; Resources – 1; Clues – 4

Hand (6): .45 Automatic, .45 Automatic, Dr. Elli Horowitz, Dr. Elli Horowitz, Guts, Soothing Melody

Mythos: 1 doom added, 2 out of 3 doom.

Encounter card: Dance of the Yellow King.Well, if I fail this, Constance attacks me again, and I’d rather she didn’t, so I will commit Guts. I will also commit one of my two Dr. Elli’s, because I don’t need both. This is 6v3. I draw a -1 and I pass! So I draw a card. The card is Astounding Revelation. At this point, I don’t mind seeing these in my hand, because I can use them towards the investigation test on the Foyer.

Action 1: I’m just going to fight Constance 3 times and see if I can kill her. I’m still nervous about Tablet draws, but we have to kill her now. First, 7v4 with my gun. I draw a 0!

Action 2: Next, we do it again, 7v4, and we draw a -3. What a nice gun! That +3 Combat bonus is really something else sometimes.

Action 3: Gun is empty, so now we have to use the Enchanted Blade we so thoughtfully played for this exact reason. This empowered test is only 6v4, but we have no choice, we got to swing… and we draw a 0! Constance is defeated! And my Cover Up is gone!

Enemy phase: All is quiet.

Upkeep: I draw another Enchanted Blade and gain 1 resource.

Round 9:

ROLAND:

Damage – 4/9; Horror – 0/5; Resources – 2; Clues – 4

Hand (6): .45 Automatic, .45 Automatic, Astounding Revelation, Dr. Elli Horowitz, Enchanted Blade, Soothing Melody

Mythos: 1 doom added, 3 out of 3 doom. Agenda advances. We draw Sebastien. This is honestly the best case scenario, because he is so far away from us and we can almost certainly sneak in Ashleigh before we get out of here.

Encounter card: Ancient Evils. Okay, well, that makes my timings a lot worse, but regardless, I think our turn is pretty much mapped out for us.

Action 1: Move to the Living Room.

Action 2&3: Parley Ashleigh Clarke. I draw a card from the action on the Living Room, which gives me Crack the Case. This makes me laugh, because this must be the worst scenario for Crack the Case.

Enemy phase: Sebastien huffs and puffs his way into the Courtyard.

Upkeep: I draw Perception and gain a resource.

Round 10:

ROLAND:

Damage – 4/9; Horror – 0/5; Resources – 3; Clues – 5

Hand (8): .45 Automatic, .45 Automatic, Astounding Revelation, Crack the Case, Dr. Elli Horowitz, Enchanted Blade, Perception, Soothing Melody.

I should comment here that it’s been 10 rounds, and not once have I started a round with less than 5 cards in my hand. And, as you can see from my write up, I have been playing my cards! So much card draw all over in this deck.

Mythos: 1 doom added. 1 out of 3 doom.

Encounter card: Hopefully, not Ancient Evils or something that will eat my actions. It’s The Pale Mask Beckons. Oh. Okay. That does one horror to me. That’s pretty much nothing right now.

Action 1&2: I parley Ashleigh. Ashleigh Clarke has been interviewed. I draw a card from the Living Room. It’s Vicious Blow.

Action 3: I move to the Foyer so I can resign soon.

Enemy phase: Sebastien runs to the Foyer and hits me for a lot! 2 damage and 2 horror. I’m fine with this, because I’m going to resign at the top of Round 11. I got my XP to buy my Stick to the Plan, so as long as I don’t take 2 more horror, we are going to be fine.

Upkeep: I draw another Astounding Revelation and gain 1 resource. I discard both Astounding Revelations because I have too many cards now.

Round 11:

ROLAND:

Damage – 6/9; Horror – 3/5; Resources – 4; Clues – 6

Hand (8): .45 Automatic, .45 Automatic, Crack the Case, Dr. Elli Horowitz, Enchanted Blade, Perception, Soothing Melody, Vicious Blow

Mythos: 1 doom added. 2 out of 3 doom.

Encounter card: Tough Crowd. HAH. I’m going to win.

Action 1: So before you send me any hate mail, I do know that I probably can kill Sebastien here in 2 actions and then try for the last 4 clues, but I’m not going to bother. The only person left who can be interviewed is Jordan Perry, and I no longer have money. I could push for more clues, but I know another big monster is going to spawn next Mythos which will make that plan really difficult. So, I’m okay just leaving now. I got what I came for, which is 3 more XP for my Stick to the Plan and dodging any mental trauma. So, I resign with 6 clues.

The Last King is complete! We interviewed 3 guests, killed 1 of them, and managed to clear Cover Up while the map had ONLY ONE CLUE on a location. I’d say that’s pretty successful! I somehow never drew that Tablet, which is crazy. I did check and I did have two tablets in there. I also never autofailed. Well, guess I just got super lucky today.

Campaign log:

-you tried to warn the police

-the Stranger is on to you

-VIPs interviewed: Constance Dumaine, Ishimaru Haruko, Ashleigh Clarke

-VIPs slain: Constance Dumaine

-Chasing the Stranger: 2

-Conviction: 1, Doubt: 0

-Total Experience Earned: 6

INTERLUDE 1: Lunacy’s Reward

Roland just spent so much time covering things up that I think we all know where he stands on setting “evidence” on fire. I’m sure he would no problem covering up even more. So we are going for Lunacy’s Reward 3 and killing everyone! Hooray! (I know this will give me a mental trauma later, but between Hallowed Mirror and my eventual Enchanted Blade 3, I do have horror healing in this deck.)

Campaign log:

-you tried to warn the police

-the Stranger is on to you

-VIPs interviewed: Constance Dumaine, Ishimaru Haruko, Ashleigh Clarke

-VIPs slain: ~*~all of them~*~

-Chasing the Stranger: 2

-Conviction: 2, Doubt: 0

-Total Experience Earned: 6

 Upgrades

I use my experience to buy 6 Esoteric Atlases, I mean, Stick to the Plan of course! Up next, we are going to be playing Echoes from the Past. See you next time!