Dreams of the Deep

This has been updated to match my "Signature Weakness Project." I have done my best to make sure that the original content isn't altered too much, out of respect for any comments.

A fairly unusual skill weakness. Looking at the two elements, the effect and the discard condition, we get:

The effect: If you commit this to a test, you get -2 icons. If you can't discard it by the end of your turn, take 2 damage. Lather, rinse, repeat. A bit like, less annoying, and more manageable than Rex's Curse, this is a middling sort of signature weakness. possibly punishing if drawn at the wrong moment or because of an ill-timed but mostly handleable through overcommitting on a test, which Silas is kind of master of, especially on and tests, where he has good base stats. Cards that might help include Manual Dexterity (2), Defiance (2) (to kill those pesky special tokens), Stroke of Luck, and any amount of shenanigans to pass that crucial test. It's not like they won't be useful in other tests. Beware of last action draws, and you will likely be fine. Also beware of The Tower • XVI; that thing is like Kryptonite to Silas, and will probably cost you a turn to watch this thing go off anyway. I mean, Silas is a Man of the Sea, and he laughs at 2 damage at the end of his turn... once, twice, maybe three times, but, then it's into the Deep with him.

The discard condition: Pass a test with this card committed.

All in all, this is a below average signature weakness maybe as high as average at very low XP.

Box vs book It's paired with a signature asset that's pretty good, so it's up to personal preference whether you want to go with the "box," "book," or both signature sets.

note that you can use Dreams of the Deep to intentionally fail a test (for Take Heart, for example), though it will return to your hand. I expect there's some combo potential there with the Survivor fail-to-win suite. — Zinjanthropus · 229
Sea Change Harpoon

A decent weapon if you are committing skills to the Fight test, and, being Silas, why wouldn't you? The extra ability is nice, although, in my experience, Silas runs pretty lean on resources, so getting his committed cards back at the cost of 3 resources (and an action) might be a tough trick to pull off frequently, especially with his other signature asset doing more or less the same thing. If only we could have a Moneybags Silas....

With two pretty good signature assets and a hard but manageable signature weakness, it's up to personal preference whether you want to go with the "box," "book," or both signature sets. Those sailors, they are versatile.

Just wanted to double check that I have this rule correct. For the sea change harpoon you do an extra damage if you commit a skill card to it. If you commit a skill card and then use his ability to pull the card back, you still do the extra damage correct (as long as you succeed on the skill check without the skill icons on the skill card you pulled back.) The way I see it a card WAS committed to the test, it was just pulled back into my hand before the skill icons or any abilities of the skill card took effect. — Kickface · 18
We thought it played this way as well where even if you pull the card back, it's still committed. Any official answer? I can't find one myself — coreyjson · 1
I think that's correct - commit cards is a step 2 of skill test - so you've committed card, reveal chaos token is step 3 and Silas' ability works after you reveal a chaos token - so also after committed a card. — Joannes · 1
Silas's Net

The Evade mirror to Sea Change Harpoon, this has all the advantages and disadvantages of its mate. Given that evading multiple enemies at once generally comes up less often than wanting +1 damage, this may get less play than the harpoon, especially since survivor has a bunch of ways to statically boost for single-enemy Evade attempts. Using the second part of the ability often racks up the resource and action count pretty fast, so it's going to be a sometimes treat, unless you really want those particular cards more than resources. Like pretty much everything Silas does The Tower • XVI will shut it right down, and Silas seems to have a magnetic attraction to that damnable card.

With two pretty good signature assets and a hard but manageable signature weakness, it's up to personal preference whether you want to go with the "box," "book," or both signature sets. Silas has one of the better sets of options to choose from.

Siren Call

This has been updated to match my "Signature Weakness Project." I have done my best to make sure that the original content isn't altered too much, out of respect for any comments.

Everyone seems to think that this is a really bad weakness, and everyone is right. Looking at the two elements, the effect and the discard condition, we get:

The effect: You pay a resource for every matching icon you commit. Silas, who generally runs resource-lite, does not like this card at all and will want to clear it PDQ. There is no mitigation besides having a bunch of resources or the free space to take a .

The discard condition: Take two actions, which is a pain in solo, but less so in multiplayer. Watch out for those AoOs!

All in all, this is an average signature weakness.

Box vs book Since it's a set with two pretty good signature assets and not in the "worst signature weaknesses of all time" gallery, it's up to personal preference whether you want to go with the "box," "book," or both signature sets. Pick your pleasure and your poison.

Question: Does the wording of this card mean: — HanoverFist · 742
... (dang enter-key, sorry for double comment) ... So does it mean 1. Single cards with N matching icons (e.g. Overpower) cost 1 resource or N resources? 2. (?) pips count towards matches? 3. If the answer to 2 is Yes, how does this calculate on cards with 2 different icons + 1 or more (?) icons? (e.g. Beloved) 4. Does this card affect matching pips across multiple cards? (e.g. Commit Test Of Will & Cherished Keepsake, both having only 1 Will pip each) 5. Do skill which add pips after commitment dodge the price? (e.g. Able Bodied or "Not Without A Fight") — HanoverFist · 742
NVM, I just learned I was misunderstanding the card almost entirely; I thought "matching" meant against other pips, but what was intended was "matching the skill being tested", which answers or renders-moot my first 4 questions. — HanoverFist · 742
Something I just realized is that wild icons are not "matching icons". So committing a card like Last Chance doesn't cost Silas extra resources to play with Siren Call in his threat area. — GADave · 1
Wild icons still count. According to the FAQ, "Wild icons committed to a skill test are considered "matching" icons for the purposes of card abilities." — koaexe · 30
Preston Fairmont

“My money, my legacy, my problem. Let me handle it in my own way."

Me and a buddy did a Diana/Preston run of the TCU. I must’ve read that quote a dozen times on his player card. And it’s absolutely true.

You can’t play Preston like other investigators, that’s clear from his stat line. Decades of indolence have left the millionaire dumber, slower, weaker and less willful than almost anyone else investigating the mythos. He doesn’t even use guns, finding most of the rogue illicit weapons too distasteful to consider.

But the years have left him far better at accounting. And whether you’re on the university campus or somewhere in space and time, being rich is all the power you need. Well Connected and Money Talks came with his set. Recent additions like dark ritual and faustian bargain mean that he can pay off his teammates and take care of the fallout indefinitely.

Once you get XP, you can use Lola and Delilah to buy your way to victory. Don’t forget an old key ring or other tools that let you lower the shroud of locations, those give you discounts.

But even with those bonuses, you’re gonna be facing tests you have no business passing. You might go with the Dark Horse route, convincing everyone you're an underdog while still taking family money. But that gets your stats to two, you’re still not gonna pass those willpower tests... But as a rogue, you don’t have to. Let the mystics play their upgraded wards of protection. First Watch and "I’ll handle this" are helpful from guardians. And you can always kick your feet up and say "You handle this one!". (Ironically, when I was playing with my buddy, Diana had a mob enforcer weakness. The easiest solution was always to have Preston pay him off for a single action.)

When you play as the millionaire, everything that you need can be bought. Cards that were once useless extravagances, like hard knocks or dig deep, let you pay to win.

So should you go rich or play dark horse? Take Ally cards with let me see that and Chance Encounter? Will you slot haste, grab the skeleton key?

It’s your legacy, your money, your problem. Go handle it your own way.

MrGoldbee · 1477
Only thing I would add is that Preston is super card dependent, so I recommend strongly that you run some sort of card draw engine. Drawing Thin, Rabbit's Foot, probably both. — StyxTBeuford · 13036
True! — MrGoldbee · 1477