A Talent for Trouble

This is my Jenny Barnes deck for a two-player Dunwich Legacy campaign. My current partner is Rex Murphy, who is running a dedicated investigation/card-draw style deck. His goal: lots of cards to commit to tests. Mine: protect Rex.

Core At the core of this deck are some familiar, already discussed Jenny tricks and treats: the talents Arcane Studies and Hard Knocks allow Jenny to boost her enviably even stat line for any test. Adding to her already excellent proficiency are the 8 neutral skills. The card draw they afford is a boon to draw into the talents... or weapons.

The other core element is, of course, the Lion. Jenny is better placed than any other investigator to offset the investment in Leo, and with him in play she becomes incredibly versatile, whether that's swinging away with her machete, drawing cards and getting set up, or helping with investigation.

Edge cards .41 Derringer is to add to the weapon density in the deck. Ideally, between Jenny's Twin .45s and the two Machetes, it won't be needed. But it's nice to have another option there. Perhaps Kukri, with the extra action from Leo, could be something to test? I'm not 100% sure there though.

Machete was originally Fire Axe but my test games revealed, perhaps unsurprisingly, that the axe and Jenny's ability don't really combine too well. I was often hoping to save up for Dynamite Blast, Backstab or getting my guns into play with at least 4 or 5 ammo, and going broke hacking up fellows with the axe wasn't worth it. I think it's an incredibly potent card, just not here, in Miss Moneybags.

Liquid Courage is nice to support other players who may be going mad and as a pip. Dropping one for an xp card is a definite option. If you fail to find a trace of Izzie, it's a good way to offset mental trauma. Double or Nothing and Think on Your Feet leverage the tricksiness of the class to Jenny's advantage. With the talents in play and a pool of cash, you can DoN an investigate or fight test to great reward. As I wasn't going heavily into an evasion style of play, Think on Your Feet wins out over Sneak Attack (0 actions for repositioning is stronger to my mind than 2 actions for 2 damage), but I can see the latter arguing for a place in this deck. I'd probably want to think carefully about Jenny's - she isn't as obviously well placed as "Skids" O'Toole or Wendy Adams.

Upgrade path Obviously eyeing up the experienced version of Leo, but Sure Gamble and Hot Streak could both do work here. Hired Muscle might be worth testing out, especially for an already set-up Jenny, perhaps combined with Charisma. Cat Burglar is probably not for this deck, unless Sneak Attack was going to be tested out. Basically, Jenny is incredibly flexible and it's important to keep one's options open!