Jenny Barnes Does Dunwich (on her own)

The Premise

The idea is to take a solo Jenny through the entire Dunwich cycle. Only using new cards as they would become available by opening each Mythos Pack only as it's scenario would come up (as a challenge, but also to allow me to learn the card pool without being overwhelmed).

So, to start with, I'm only using one core and the Dunwich deluxe set and plan on upgrading or cycling out cards as they become available to me, documenting the xp etc earned.

The basic idea of this starter deck is to get a weapon fast (6 weapons), being able to evade monsters in the meantime (Elusive Think on Your Feet), and have some flexibility in picking up clues (Seeking Answers, Hyperawareness, Dr. Milan Christopher). Leo De Luca won't show up every time, but when he does the efficiency goes way up. So, having more allies doesn't make much sense at this point.

Pickpocketing and Burglaryare both a bit of a filler card, and would likely be early replacements for Contraband and an upgraded Leo De Luca.

The House Always Wins A close shave, but Jenny dragged Dr. Francis Morgan out of the club, no xp, however.

Extracurricular Activity Elusive and Dynamite Blast are a fun combo. 2 Xp, out goes Burglary and in comes the Cat Burglar for even more evasion. Together with Dr. Henry Armitage this is suddenly a lot of allies.

Miskatonic Museum Jenny almost had the book in hand, but ultimately was defeated by the combination of Beyond the Veil and Visions of Futures Past. Nasty. 0XP and mental trauma due to poor Izzy still not being found.

Essex Country Express Pretty punishing for my Jenny, but she made it with 3XP and even saved some passengers. In come the awesome Streetwise and Lone Wolf from Blood on the Altar. Backstab which I think is pretty situational for this deck is out. Finally, I added Adaptable, since cycling level 0 cards would just drain my scarce XP. Since Streetwise makes Hyperawareness redundant, in comes [Working a Hunch].(/card/01037).

Blood on the Altar Jenny was extremely lucky in revealing the key encounter cards right away. Streetwise and Jenny's Twin .45s made quick work of the opposition for 4 XP. This felt almost too easy. Zebulon Whateley and Professor Warren Rice joined the merry band. Tempted to include Charisma but it seems too pricey. I settled on Lucky Dice for Pickpocketing. Since it's 'exceptional' it costs double. The planned upgrade for Switchblade will have to wait.

Undimensioned and Unseen Alright, this was really punishing on my solo Jenny. I managed to advance the act, but ultimately, I spent most of my actions on evading and moving. In the end the creatures ganged up on me and made short work of my poor girl. While I like the idea of this scenario, it seems really harsh, even considering I was doing well in terms of things I accomplished before to make this easier.

Where Doom Awaits Hmm, Jenny made it through reasonably well. I think I was a little lucky on the encounter draws. Once again no XP. This campaign is stingy! No fun. I think I don't like that most XP seems to come from defeating enemies. So, no more upgrades for her until the finale.

Lost in Time and Space Wow! What a finale! Very cool! Jenny made it through, and with a hint of tragedy Searching for Izzie was on the final location, which then got discarded into the void. I really liked that moment. Forever out of reach. 6 XP finally, which I spent on Chicago Typewriter and an upgraded Switchblade. That's a wrap! Campaign won!

Conclusion In retrospect, I really enjoyed Jenny Barnes. That resource flow, especially with Lone Wolf is so satisfying. Everything is possible. I think the deck worked out just fine, even though by today's cardpool standard it must seem very basic and antiquated. But I think it's great for any beginner to learn the initial ropes. I think I will play with taboos next time though, the initial version of Streetwise is seriously game-breaking with Jenny. I just kept pumping resources through it, and it ended up feeling a little cheesy ... but very satisfying. So, if you're new, like me, indulge yourself at least once!

As far as the campaign went, I had a blast. The story had a few branches and some unexpected twists and was really enjoyable and satisfying in the end. I was a little underwhelmed by Undimensioned and Unseen, because I didn't feel I ever really had a chance, but maybe next time. I do think XP is to scarce in The Dunwich Legacy. Especially for my experimental, slowly expanding cardpool. There should always be some base XP, after all, how can you not learn something from those freaky experiences?

Well, onward to Path To Carcosa. I wonder which lonely investigator I will take out to the theater.

Let me know what you think of the deck and my choices in the comments, and I hope I could give my fellow beginners some insight.