Who knew that Fine Clothes would make Exorcisms so much easier?

In the card pool up to and includng Path to Carcosa Deluxe expansion, we've seen only 4 player cards (not counting different XP versions of the same card) that can harm the Poltergeist:

• Blinding Light

• Shrivelling

• Song of the Dead

• Spirit Athame

So unless you're packing very specific Mystic cards, your only option is to exorcise these ghosts via Parleying. The good news is that a decent intellect - or, as above, some Fine Clothes - make this process not excessively onerous, although one you'll almost certainly have to do twice.

As they say, dress for the job you want. In this case, that job is apparently Father Merrin.

A hand driving over a street map, toying with little black and red flags and smoking a cigarette in safety while other investigators do the dirty work... That is exactly the way i imagined Seekers to be like. In the Know emanates Seekers' blatant power, they just KNOW without ever having been on-site.

With the exception of one scenario where locations are revealed automatically, In The Know is a cooperative card for multiplayer games. While other investigators do what they would do anyway, they enable the bearer of In The Know to gather clues from the locations they have visited.

1. One of the plain advantages of this card is the gathering over a distance. Each use saves the card's bearer a lot of precious actions: count the sum of required movements to get over there, include the estimated count of evasion attempts and finally add the potential threats the Mythos Phase generates while being on the way to get the idea.
2. But there is much more to it! Some locations require skill tests on enter (spoiler), with In The Know you omit these.
3. This talent can be used multiple times per round.
4. In addition, if the bearer can squeeze out additional clues, they are all taken from the distant location, as approved by Matthew Newman: (start of quote) In the Know works a little differently from some other investigation cards (like Seeking Answers for example). Instead of just saying that you discover clues at a different location, it reads "Investigate any revealed location in play as if you were at that location” (emphasis mine). That means any clues you would discover “at your location” as part of this investigation are discovered at the location you are investigating with In the Know. So Rex’s bonus clue or any other additional clues from Deduction, etc, would all be taken from the location you chose when you used In the Know. (end of quote)
5. Oh, and the biggest advantage comes as a conclusion. With In The Know Seekers can safely gather clues from the lion's den - any possible Attack of Opportunity fails, because it's target is not present!

There is no real downside with using In The Know. One could wish it had more than 3 uses, one could also demur that it does not change the skill test base to Intellect in locations which have different requirements, as in spoiler. One could also barricade oneself into oblivion, some people are never happy.

Pros

• Big-time click-compression. Investigate crucial or tricky locations without a risk!
• Comboes well with Rex Murphy and Deduction.

Cons

• Rather useless in solo play. Exception see below.
• As it does not boost any test, it is booked by investigators with high Intellect.
• Certain obstacles at the target location prevent In the Know from being used: spoiler.
• Does not circumvent any additional effects at the target location: spoiler's Revelation and Forced effects take place.

Recommendations

• Lost In Time And Space will be a walk in the park with In The Know equipped.

Update after the release of Path To Carcosa:

Dodge is such a great card, why did nobody bother to write a review about it yet? I fancy that stressing it's obvious power must sound moronic, and no one wants to read what he/she already knows.

So i will just put other cards with the same effect from the other factions into advisement, none of them reaching Dodge's potential:

1. Mystics have Hypnotic Gaze in faction - but the play cost is higher.
2. Rogues have Suggestion - which has a steep aquisition cost of 4xp and does not work against Elite threats, neither can you protect other investigators with it.
3. Survivors can buy Infighting - the aquisition cost of 3xp is crazy for an event, which does not at least protect against Elite threats, neither can you protect other investigators with it.
4. Seekers have the Disc of Itzamna - it does not cancel the attack, but the effect is similiar, Seekers can stay at the same location while circumventing the attack. Higher play cost of 3 and 2xp, too.

Pros

• Dodge is a fast action to cancel any single attack (damage and horror) without a skill check.
• It can be used to save other investigators at your location.
• Works against all sizes of attackers (Elite, Massive).
• The investigator stays at the same location, usually saving a lot of actions he would spend if he evaded and returned later.
• Special mention of Yorick, when drawing the elder sign from the bag, he can retrieve Dodge from the discard pile.

Cons

• One-time effect. Make it worthwile!
• Does not combine with I've had worse.

MMMh.... a shovel. Uh, it is owned by someone, a Gravedigger. Uh oh, this new handsome's job is burying the dead. Following this logical chain William Yorick's favorite assets are Gravedigger's Shovel and Lantern.

I daresay that this beautiful picture is only skin-deep. Imagine Mr. Yorick carrying both, shovel and lantern. He fights with the shovel and uses the lantern to gather clues. Each time he defeats an enemy, he just forfeits his reaction ability? Or is he meant to throw the lantern into the enemy's face at first sight, then charge with his shovel, hack away and lastly retrieve the lantern for 2 resources? Does it sound better if William Yorick had both his shovels to his disposal? He would be well advised to discard the first shovel to discover a clue, then equip the second shovel. With it, he could easily beat an enemy, trigger his special ability... oh, dang! The lantern blocks his other hand! To get this combo running, Yorick would have to keep his second hand free all the time or draw his Bandolier early. Even then, it still seems costly to me: 2 resources for each 1 clue gained! Let us face the truth, Mr. Yorick is a dumbass. He did not pass as an actor, nor does he have a detective's training. He is really good at tanking/fighting and recycling assets. But this review is not about William Yorick, it is meant to demonstrate how intricate Gravedigger's shovel's second ability works under the best of circumstances (continuous, action-free retrieval).

As a conclusion, use the shovel mainly as a weapon. The +2 is a strong bonus for fighters (hard/expert mode) and weaklings (easy/normal mode) alike. As a one-handed weapon, you can pack complementary assets. And, if a treachery raises the shroud value of your location into the sky, you can trigger the emergency button and discard the shovel to auto-access a clue nonetheless.

I should stress that the auto-success is invaluable if you play in expert mode, where tempo is more important than anything else!

Pros

• Unconditional +2 Combat for each attack.
• One-handed weapon.
• Decent install cost.
• The second ability works as an auto-success on clue finding.
• Can be retrieved with Scavenging or Yorick's ability.

Cons

• The second ability can not be combined with any other card's effect at the time of this writing.
• Don't waste it to boost skill tests.

Recommendations

• A spoiler can be completely bypassed with the shovel's second ability.
• spoiler is not discarded after discarding the shovel, because there was no prior investigation.

Technology decides wars. In Arkham's scope, technology decides which cards are being played and which stay in the binder. There are circumstances in which the old-fashioned Lantern beats the Flashlight. Every character that can include Lantern without spending xp should have a look at the following passages, all other character classes can adhere to the neutral Flashlight.

Let me start to evaluate Lantern's worth on the background of it's main use, as a clue finder tool. Reducing shroud can either have a very powerful effect or a mediocre effect - depending of the final shroud value.

Reducing a location's shroud to zero is the ultimate chance for success, because any result will match the test difficulty of zero. Only the auto-fail token lets the test fail (1 out of 16). Currently (with Path to Carcosa just released) there are 23 shroud-1 locations across all campaigns, 6 of which do not have any clues on them. 17 of 147 locations can be reduced to shroud-0 with the Lantern. As a result, it can not be recommended for the powerful effect.

The mediocre effect kicks in if the shroud is still 1 or more after applying the modificator. Investigating at that location gives you a bonus of 1 on the skill test, comparable with having a +1 Intellect boost on your investigation attempt. While on Hard/Expert mode failure is unforgiving, this marginal bonus is absolutely neglectable, it can make all the difference in Easy/Normal gameplay. Even better, Lantern does have unlimited uses! So, if you play a Survivor in Easy/Normal mode, add Lantern to your deck!

The Lantern also serves as a throw-away combat tool. For one action you can once inflict 1 damage to one target at your location. Not overly powerful, but a decent weapon against Whippoorwills: Lantern absolves you from spending one additional action and executing the skill test.

Pros

• Unlimited uses to boost investigation tests by 1.
• With the lantern, shroud-3 locations can be conveniently cleared with the help of Look what I found! or Lucky!
• Decent install cost.
• Has an alternate one-time usage as weapon, either as coffin nail for bigger foes or against nerve-janglers: list
• Combo with any skill commitment card.
• Works best on Easy/Normal mode.

Cons

• Almost never sparks the really powerful effect that Flashlight can ignite.
• Can not be combined with Flashlight, because both require an action.

Recommendations

• In Extracurricular Activity there are two shroud-1 locations, spoiler and spoiler.