Chicago Typewriter

Здобуток. Hand x2

Item. Weapon. Firearm. Illicit.

Cost: 5. XP: 4.

Спритник

Uses (4 ammo).

Spend 1 ammo: Fight. You may spend any number of additional actions when you perform this attack. You get +2 for this attack for each action being spent (including this ability's cost). This attack deals +2 damage.

Tommy Arnold

Загублені у часі і просторі #304.

FAQs

(from the official FAQ or responses to the official rules question form)

Q: If activating Chicago Typewriter costs an additional action (for example, due to Frozen in Fear), does that additional action give the attack +2? A: Yes, any and all actions spent to activate the fight ability on Chicago Typewriter count for its bonus, regardless of whether those additional actions are spent from its ability, or from some other condition (like Frozen in Fear). (May 2021)

Last updated 4/30/24

Reviews

This thing is the big gun of doom. The big bang.

For Reference, the historically most powerful weapon in the game until the latter packs of Forgotten age was the Lightning Gun, it still remains on the short list of most powerful weapons in the game.

Compared to Lightning Gun Chicago Typewriter deals the same amount of damage, has one extra ammo and costs one less XP and Resource. The only disadvantage is the drastically lower attack bonus of +2 instead of +5, this is a big issue because most characters start from 4, so the combined attack is +9, a will land all of its's Lightning bolts straight up with no help from anything else. The usually starts from 3 and the +2 puts them at +5, an unimpressive number to say the least, the extra action pump can remedy that partially. Other sources of raw boosts are required to reach proper accuracy.

Some simple upsides to Chicago Typewriter:

Deals 3 points of damage per shot, mediocre in some campaigns (Core, Dunwick) great elsewhere (Forgotten age). Abilities to bump that damage to 4 are important but they are somewhat hard to find, Vicious Blow and Beat Cop are options for some, others will cost you separate actions, for example Hatchet Man or Coup de Grâce.
Contraband is a natural combo, so is Extra Ammunition. "Skids" O'Toole can use Well Prepared to get a +2 boost from Chicago Typewriter's 2 icons. If the damage tick from Coup de Grâce isnt helpful then you can use it's 2 to land hits.
The Taboo lists shut this combo down, but if you dont care about that then Sleight of Hand + Chicago Typewriter is ridiculous.

"Skids" O'Toole can make full use of Chicago Typewriter, he's not the best character ever but if anybody has the cards for Chicago Typewriter, its him.

Jenny Barnes has the money to pay for it, she can emergency tech in some of those cards from to make the hits land. Jenny Barnes is probably the top character for utilizing the big gun right now. Until the next deluxe that is.

All in all, Chicago Typewriter is a great card, it's just in a weird spot where there aren't (good)characters around for whom it's a natural 1st priority upgrade. Thankfully this problem will be remedied in the Dreamlands deluxe where a 5 will be unleashed.

8/4/19

Tsuruki23 · 2527

Nailed my thoughts on the Typewriter. This weapon is great but who wants to use it. Tony, who you mention, obviously likes it but I think The Ornate Bow is a better match for Skids and Jenny since you can invest totally in Agility upgrades and skill icons. This just seems to be a case where the cardset and investigator strengths and weaknesses work against what would otherwise be a great card. — The Lynx · 967 12/29/19

Q: If activating a Chicago Typewriter costs an additional action (for example, due to Frozen in Fear), does that additional action give the attack +2 combat?

A: Yes, any and all actions spent to activate the fight ability on Chicago Typewriter count for its bonus, regardless of whether those additional actions are spent from its ability, or from some other condition (like Frozen in Fear). Hope that helps! Cheers, MJ Newman

5/6/21

anaphysik · 95

"Old Painless Is Waiting"... ahhhhhhhh yes, bring it on Arkham! — Quantallar · 7 4/25/24

Hmm... I wonder what happens if I combine this with Haste. If you use the trigger ability, it counts as activate action or Fight action? That means, I activate Chicago Typewriter -> Fight and then I spend one action to get +2. Now I can use the free action from Haste or I have to activate it again (2 times) and THEN exhaust it to get the free action. Can anyone answer me because I think this sounds like a sweet combo!

5/14/20

Sotosprotos · 86

I think it doesnt work because the action type for the additional action(s) isn't defined on this card. Haste didnt exist when this card was released so the develper couldnt take this into account. — Django · 5072 5/14/20

Can't find a decent reference to back this up, I thought it was in the faq, but I guess its just in a designer tweet somewhere and I can't find it..... Anyway. Haste is based on the number of Actions you perform, not the number you expend. When you expend multiple actions to perform a single action I am pretty sure it only counts as 1 action for the purposes of haste. So no matter how many actions you expend on the chicago typewriter you have still only performed one fight action — NarkasisBroon · 10 5/14/20

Agreed with @NarkasisBroon; "spending" actions is not the same as "taking" them, and Haste only cares about actions you actually take. — SGPrometheus · 809 5/14/20

So spending 2 actions to resolve a treachery or weakness also counts only as 1 for haste? — Django · 5072 5/14/20

@Django Correct. Searching for Izzy, for instance, costs two actions, but is still one investigate action. — SGPrometheus · 809 5/14/20

Oh, I see. Shame :( — Sotosprotos · 86 5/15/20

Conversely, this means that triggering Haste to trigger this card doesn't actually spend an action, so you wouldn't get the basic +2 (unless you spend additional actions, which negates the benefit of using Haste) — Yenreb · 15 5/19/20

@Yenreb: No that is not true. When you trigger the reaction ability of Haste, it does grant you an additional action; it's just that you must use that action right away. The official FAQ notes this, it states that "if an ability allows you to 'take an action,' it is as though you are gaining an action and immediately spending it to perform that action." — iceysnowman · 164 5/19/20

To be clear, this means that you would get the basic +2 from the action spent (if you're using Haste to trigger Chicago Typewriter). — iceysnowman · 164 5/19/20

With the typewriter that combo only works if you have Leo De Luca which grants you an extra action you get to use haste. 2 actions +4 fight and other 2 actions +4 fight and then you could activate the haste, but niw with only +2 of fight. — Tpedrosa · 1 10/25/20

Most rogues are going to need to use hard Knocks to hit with this weapon. The damage is good, but it's quickly going to become an expensive weapon either from action uses, resource uses to buy success, or both.

Then along came sawed off shotgun. You'll have to boost that just as much as you would this gun, but succeed and you get a big pay out.

All In all, this is the ideal gun build for rogues that don't want to risk a lot... which is the opposite of how I typically play rogues. The rogues that want to go all in on a test to one shot a boss though probably want to stick with sawed off instead.

4/27/22

drjones87 · 191

Without other boosts this grants +2 attack, that’s what most rogue weapons grant at this level? succeed by x Decks almost always need other ways to achieve that. Exceptions being lockpicks and that rogue evade spell — Django · 5072 4/28/22

I recommend well connected and knight over hard knocks — Django · 5072 4/28/22

Q: I am really confused with ammo spend quantity. Which option is correct?: 1- Spend X action and X ammo 2- Spend X action and only 1 ammo. No matter actions quantity.

Example: 1- Spend 2 actions: 2 ammo. +4 Force, +2 Damage 2- Spend 2 actions: 1 ammo. +4 Force, +2 Damage

8/28/22

Emisario · 4

You always spend only 1 ammo, and then you choose the actions you want to spend, so the second option that you mentioned. — Typhen · 31 8/28/22