Carolyn Fern Announced (New Novella)

[Duciris 1,347]

New Character.  New Novella.  Announcement:  https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/2/23/to-fight-the-black-wind/

I think she's doing it backwards.  Any successful psychologist would surely be gaining the resources after working with a client. 

[Assussanni 528]

Another Guardian! I did not see that coming.

[KBlumhardt 378]

3 minutes ago, Assussanni said:

Another Guardian! I did not see that coming.

Agreed.  Which means we're going to miss out on either a Mystic or Survivor in this first wave of books.  I suspect there will be more to come, though, so that's not a huge deal.

The big question I have is... are they going to continue the apparent pattern of 'existing investigator'-'new investigator'-'existing'-'new' ?

Regardless, I'm VERY curious to see the back of her card, as they mentioned she can include "either Seeker or Mystic cards in her Investigator deck".

[Assussanni 528]

Just now, KBlumhardt said:

The big question I have is... are they going to continue the apparent pattern of 'existing investigator'-'new investigator'-'existing'-'new' ?

The fact that they've done two Guardians makes me think that they are probably prioritising whomever they have a strong story idea for, and the link with AH:LCG is mostly an afterthought.

[KBlumhardt 378]

13 minutes ago, Assussanni said:

The fact that they've done two Guardians makes me think that they are probably prioritising whomever they have a strong story idea for, and the link with AH:LCG is mostly an afterthought.

I hope you're right.  I've enjoyed the books so far, and I'd rather they maintain a good level of quality rather than "quick... someone pump out a Wendy story!  We need to release it in a month or two to stay on track!".

[CSerpent 520]

This paragraph is weird

Quote

In addition to the story itself, To Fight the Black Wind includes fifteen pages of full color inserts. These primary sources provide you with newspaper clippings and Carolyn Fern’s personal journal, recording her encounters in the Dreamlands and her progress with the case to draw you further into the investigation and immerse you in the Arkham Horror Files universe. Only by closely studying the evidence will you be able to survive the journey through the Dreamlands and guard Josephine against the dangers that reside there.

Is that just flavor, or is there some puzzle aspect to the color inserts in the books?  The Dirge announcement had similar language, but the others didn't until they were talking about the cards.

[Captain Mayhem 215]

For being a guardian, her combat skill seems a little low (for me).

[mwmcintyre 271]

Pretty sure it's just flavor. They have a similar number of glossy color pages at the back of the first two novellas. Although it would be cool if they could incorporate a puzzle aspect with that stuff.

[HolySorcerer 4,105]

I love Fern, but I'm not a fan of her ability. She should be the one getting the resources, especially with how expensive guardian cards are. We'll have to see the rest of her deck building reqs. 

I also love foolishness, but am concerned with how hard it will be to pull off all of that horror with our current card pool. 

Edited February 23, 2018 by HolySorcerer

[Buhallin 4,563]

She's pretty obviously going to be a Guardian who emphasizes the support side of the class, rather than the fighty side.  This hasn't been something people have tended to emphasize, but the cards are certainly there to support the idea.  How well it works remains to be seen.

 

[HolySorcerer 4,105]

1 minute ago, Buhallin said:

She's pretty obviously going to be a Guardian who emphasizes the support side of the class, rather than the fighty side.  This hasn't been something people have tended to emphasize, but the cards are certainly there to support the idea.  How well it works remains to be seen.

 

Hopefully her regular signature gives her some reusable horror healing.  

[KBlumhardt 378]

1 hour ago, HolySorcerer said:

I love Fern, but I'm not a fan of her ability. She should be the one getting the resources, especially with how expensive guardian cards are. We'll have to see the rest of her deck building reqs. 

I also love foolishness, but am concerned with how hard it will be to pull off all of that horror with our current card pool. 

Well... as long as she's healing herself and her own allies she would be the one gaining the resources (which will be most of the time, since even in 4-player games you don't spend a ton of time sharing locations with many other investigators), but I do see your point.  We'll have to wait to see her actual deckbuilding rules to see what other cards she has access to that might help her out there.

[HolySorcerer 4,105]

14 minutes ago, KBlumhardt said:

Well... as long as she's healing herself and her own allies she would be the one gaining the resources (which will be most of the time, since even in 4-player games you don't spend a ton of time sharing locations with many other investigators), but I do see your point.  We'll have to wait to see her actual deckbuilding rules to see what other cards she has access to that might help her out there.

Yeah, that will likely be the most common scenario. I have a feeling she'll be good friends with Xavier. 

Still, I would have preferred that she get the money each time, both for theme and effect. 

Edited February 23, 2018 by HolySorcerer

[Covered in Weasels 587]

The flavor is a bit off, but I think giving resources to other investigators will lead to better gameplay. Carolyn definitely seems like she will be playing a support role, so she may have little need for the expensive weapons favored by most other Guardians. Other combat-focused investigators and Agnes would really appreciate some extra resources and horror healing though.

Also, she can give herself more resources by healing herself. That may come up in some cases, but it's likely she won't need to heal her horror in most situations.

[HolySorcerer 4,105]

1 hour ago, Covered in Weasels said:

The flavor is a bit off, but I think giving resources to other investigators will lead to better gameplay. Carolyn definitely seems like she will be playing a support role, so she may have little need for the expensive weapons favored by most other Guardians. Other combat-focused investigators and Agnes would really appreciate some extra resources and horror healing though.

Also, she can give herself more resources by healing herself. That may come up in some cases, but it's likely she won't need to heal her horror in most situations.

The big issue is how many times do you actually need to heal horror during a scenario?  Sure, you can spend all of your time keeping everybody at zero horror, but that is a waste of time and resources, as the only horror that really matters is the last. Without an amazing signature I don't see her ability triggering all that often without over commitment. 

Im excited for Carolyn, but I think the back of her card is what will make or break her, as the front is not overly impressive. 

[Buhallin 4,563]

2 hours ago, HolySorcerer said:

The big issue is how many times do you actually need to heal horror during a scenario?  Sure, you can spend all of your time keeping everybody at zero horror, but that is a waste of time and resources, as the only horror that really matters is the last. Without an amazing signature I don't see her ability triggering all that often without over commitment. 

I disagree with this, at least a little.  The last horror may be the only one that puts you out, but I at least find that my playstyle has to change long before that.  As a simple example, you're going to commit far more to a Rotting Remains with 2 remaining sanity than you will if you have 6 or 7.

I think she's going to open up alternate playstyles more than anything else.  Right now, people have a very locked-in idea of "best", and she really isn't going to fit with that very narrow definition.  I do think there's a lot of room for different approaches which will open up with a consistent support healer along.  Maybe investigators don't need to put XP and card slots into Elder Sign Amulets or Bulletproof Vests any more.  Emergency Cache becomes less critical if you have someone handing out resources consistently.  Assets that people often use as damage sponges can stay on the table longer and provide more of their primary use.

With access to both Seeker and Mystic cards she's going to be pretty flexible.  A base 4 Intellect will make her respectable at gathering clues, although she'll probably need some help to make spells reliable.  So she won't be exactly useless on her own, and I see good potential for her support abilities to turn in to a greather-than-the-sum benefit.

[ReyD 2]

I'm not against some promotional cards ... but I hope the main/"official released" signatures and weaknesses card will be as inspired as these ones.

Because if they make some crazy cards for promos and after 2 years once the gator will finally come out, he has bland cards ... .____.

I mean Replacement sounds like "Second choice" "optionnal" "secondary". For Norman for example I hope they'll do better for the real release (Yeah the monster who nullify your ability start to become boring)  and his cards feels like "replacements"

 

But here ... I want these to be the official stuff for her, hard to do better ...

 

 

Edited February 24, 2018 by ReyD

[awp832 447]

She's a twist, that's for certain.   A guardian with a 2 combat...    I mean, that immediately removes the usefulness of a large chunk of guardian cards.    I mean, maybe she can splash seeker or mystic but still....  they made her guardian.  So her XP is going to be spent probably mostly on guardian, and right now that makes her very limited.   Maybe it's a good thing she's not out as a main line investigator yet.
 

[CSerpent 520]

18 hours ago, awp832 said:

...they made her guardian.  So her XP is going to be spent probably mostly on guardian, and right now that makes her very limited
 

It could be that she's a very similar model to Norman.  Norman is a Seeker, and he can't spend XP on Seeker cards, other than swapping level 0s.

Edited February 26, 2018 by CSerpent

[awp832 447]

I thought about that.  It would be sort of a shame to deny her L-3 First Aid though.

[Starbreaker1 75]

I feel its important to note, there are a tremendous amount of cards that just guardian has access to that are support exclusively, and a rather large number of cards that provide test less damage.  I think she will fill a role in guardian in multiplayer games easily, will she be useful in solo maybe.  as long as she has access to level 3 guardian cards, which I think she will, she maybe the first investigator to actually want to take keen eye, and be capable of using it without depleting their already hard to get resources.  I for one can not wait to try her.

[ReyD 2]

Mystic or Seeker ? You have to choose then ?

Hmm could be interesting but I think she really needs both class to work well :/

[HolySorcerer 4,105]

2 hours ago, ReyD said:

Mystic or Seeker ? You have to choose then ?

Hmm could be interesting but I think she really needs both class to work well :/

It could also be the mandatory FFG article error and she has access to both.

[Freeman 58]

"Let me borrow your Peter Sylvester with my Teamwork, and I'll become Jenny Barnes". That, and painkillers could be fun. Lots of shenanigans and Timmy plays (crazy 3 card combos) are expected. I like her. At first, I loved the cat, too. Then, the more and more I think about Foolishness, the less I like it: +1 to every stat is bonkers, but... 4 resources is not trivial, then it depends on your ability to heal him, so it's still circumstantial at best. The biggest drawback, however, is that he's occupying the ally slot  (unlike certain doggy we all love). That makes charisma a must anyway, cause you want Brother Xavier (if Peter is too Timmy play for you). And overall, at the end of the day, +1 to combat and agility will not make a big difference, so essentially the cat is giving you +1 to willpower and intellect, and considered that way, is not that impressive. 

Anyway, I'm very excited to try her, as I'm a fan of guardians and she opens up very interesting paths. My guess is shell have access to every level of guardian healing cards, and then either mystic or seeker up to some level. 

Oh, and I don't find her weakness particularly punishing, so that's a big bonus for me. 

Really excited to try her and to see her definitive version...

Edited February 26, 2018 by Freeman

[Soakman 987]

The part I DO like about Foolishness is that he is a double wild committable card. So there's that.