Screams from Within - CoC

[fatolaf]

A new syndicate card from the last AP in the cycle...

In July we looked at Tattoo Artist (Murmurs of Evil, F37) – representing the mix/max subtheme found in The Yuggoth Contract cycle. This time Syndicate takes things even further by messing with the combat struggle. Blind Fighting (Screams From Within, F98) is something you can just wander into blindly. Suddenly missing out on a combat struggle can have nasty consequences. But often, wandering into an extra combat struggle is even worse. Especially when something gets a boost from Tattoo Artist, something else a penalty from Clover Club Torch Singer (Core Set,  F66) and a Parallel Universe (The Thing From the Shore, F98) get involved. It's a nice setup for speedy Syndicate to finish what they started.

It's nice to have the option to dish out extra beatings, but in general, The Syndicate isn't very good at struggles, depending more on exhaust effects to avoid any confrontations that may occur. It often happens that a Descendant of Eibon (The Terror of the Tides, F75) slips through and starts messing with your criminals. Minimizing casualties by removing the combat struggle is a good option in that case.

The Syndicate often has a few small utility characters around. Patsy (Core Set, F70) is key in controlling tempo for Syndicate decks. If you're behind on a story, Patsy can be sacrificed to turn the tables on the opposition. Patsy is also very weak at running at stories by himself. But that's OK now. Having small utility guys hanging back means you can get extra activations out of Blind Fighting.

All in all, it's a flexible tool in Syndicate's arsenal adding to their story denial and manipulation tricks and allowing the gang to be extra aggressive in the right situation.

[fatolaf]

Dreaming distressed me. I slept with both of my eyes open, unable to shut. Dreams merged with consciousness like a mad hallucination. I dreamt once of my own body, a face marred by eyeless, bloody sockets, coming into the warehouse with arms outstretched, groping and stumbling blindly towards my field of vision, coming to retrieve the jar. It was at once a nightmare for the terminally insane and the happiest dream of my life.

      -"A Sight for Sore Eyes," a short story by Nate French

For Tyler Scindere, a lowlife thug-for-pay, his most recent unsavory job may be his last. The victim of a double-cross, Tyler has become a living science experiment, caught in a perpetual hell of pain, hallucinations, and despair. But just as time loses its meaning and Tyler begins to lose his mind, a sliver of hope appears... from an unlikely ally.

Also included in this cycle is part five of a gripping new short story by Nate French. In the last installment, Erin Morai was trapped in a supernatural menagerie of horrifying beasts, surviving on revolting scraps and subject to mind-bending psychological experiments. Now, we return to the plight of her kidnapper, Tyler Scindere. With his eyes ripped from their sockets, Scindere is horrified by the fact that he is still able to see.

Shub gets a nice card now: