path: root/content/nightshroud.md

+++
title = 'Nightshroud Analysis'
date = 2024-08-11T19:23:33-04:00
type = 'analysis'
draft = false
+++

The Nightshroud is a focused killer, able to simply eliminate monsters one at a time with kill cards. Between a medium health pool and a plethora of invisibility options, his health really only becomes a problem if he intentionally takes hits for his allies.

![Nightshroud](gh-nightshroud.png)

You have a small hand size of only 9 cards, meaning that you cannot afford to lose many cards each scenario. That is okay, because over the course of your career you gain access to three reusable kill cards, starting at level 1. As these kill cards are what makes the Nightshroud unique, this guide will assume that you will want to build around them.

## Cards

We start by surveying all of the cards available to the Nightshroud.

### Level 1 and X

![Spirit of the Night](gh-spirit-of-the-night.png)

Your first kill card. Build around it.

**Top:** Kill a normal enemy. At level 1, this is amazing. Even at level 9 this is amazing. All at the low low cost of some dark.

**Bottom:** Due to your small hand size you probably won't be playing this loss all that often. Also, playing it would mean losing the top. If you're in the last room and all of the enemies left are elites, then okay.

**Initiative:** Nicely slow. Play this when coming out of invisibility.

**Verdict:** Build around this card. It's amazing even at level 9.

![Black Knives](gh-black-knives.png)

You'll need some cards to cut, and this one's pretty easy.

**Top:** You'll be attacking from invisible often enough, so that's 8 easy damage for a loss. But you already effectively deal more damage than that via your non-loss kill cards, so I can't see justifying the stamina hit.

**Bottom:** Mobility is an issue for you, especially at early levels. Not moving just to do a measly attack 2? You're not a tank.

**Initiative:** Terrible.

**Verdict:** No.

![Cloak of Shade](gh-cloak-of-shade.png)

Invisibility with decent movement, sweet!

**Top:** You need darkness, and this can get you some in a pinch. Attack base 1 is rather abysmal, though.

**Bottom:** This will earn a spot in your hand at least until level 8. Move 3 is actually quite good for you, and exchanging some night for invisibility is fantastic. Pair this with night creation, position yourself near some normal baddies, then next turn go late with Spirit and snuff one of them out.

**Initiative:** Fast, which pairs nicely with the invisibility.

**Verdict:** Take.

![Dancing Shadows](gh-dancing-shadows.png)

Top movement!

**Top:** Movement on top is rare. The attack base 1 is pretty bad, but that movement will help considerably at lower levels.

**Bottom:** At least you get some night!

**Initiative:** Your fastest at level 1.

**Verdict:** Decent at low levels when mobility is an issue, but becomes lackluster pretty quickly.

![Doomed Breeze](gh-doomed-breeze.png)

Dark creation on top pairs nicely with dark consumption on bottom of Cloak of Shade.

**Top:** Attack at range and make some dark. You're really only taking this card for the dark production, but the flexibility of a ranged attack makes it easier to get the most out of it.

**Bottom:** Decent movement and a curse. I've definitely had moments when I've needed this card more for the movement than the dark in order to get up next to a baddie for Spirit, and tossing a curse in there is a great bonus.

**Initiative:** Fast.

**Verdict:** This card will wane, but don't be surprised if it earns a spot in your hand even into higher levels.

![Empowering Void](gh-empowering-void.png)

A nice move or attack boost.

**Top:** This looks like it could be your answer to poor mobility, but most of the time you need good movement for a specific purpose, and that purpose is to kill a monster. If you use the top of this card to turn your move 3 into a move 6, then you'll have to wait until the next turn to eliminate the baddie. Oh, and good luck finding some night in that case.

**Bottom:** If you take this card, then do so for the bottom. When not straight up killing monsters, you're attacking them base... 3? Not great. This lets you at least get some base 6 swings in.

**Initiative:** Good.

**Verdict:** Take at low levels, but by the time you reach level 6, you'll be spending your night to kill stuff outright rather than just taking potshots.

![Enervating Wound](gh-enervating-wound.png)

A loss to heal, but good movement!

**Top:** A lost card to heal yourself 4. It's a decent attack, but with your superb access to invisibility, the healing shouldn't be necessary.

**Bottom:** A non-loss move 4 is the best you get until level 6. Too bad it isn't enhanceable.

**Initiative:** Usefully slow.

**Verdict:** At low levels it's great movement. If the move had an enhancement dot then you could turn it into a night generator, but alas, Enervating Wound just can't set up your kill card combos like several other cards can.

![Silent Force](gh-silent-force.png)

Your first invisibility payout (besides the obvious perk of being, you know, invisible).

**Top:** Attack base 3 is quite good for you, and that +2 boost for being invisible makes it all the better. When you're not killing stuff with Spirit, this is what you'll want to be working toward. Note that Empowering Void only boosts the base, not the bonus, so Empowering while invisible only gives you a base 8 attack, not base 10. Still, amazing for level 1.

**Bottom:** A loss for big movement and a loot is perfect for the last turn of the scenario. Cha-ching!

**Initiative:** Usefully slow.

**Verdict:** At low levels this gives you an excellent followup to fill the time when you aren't eliminating enemies with Spirit.

![Smoke Step](gh-smoke-step.png)

Core night production.

**Top:** With night, this is better than Dancing Shadows. Even without, the top move 1 gives some nice flexibility. You won't take this card for the top, though.

**Bottom:** Smoke Step, singular. Moving and producing night is very important for you. As you level up you'll be able to enact some stellar combos in which you generate and consume night every turn. I typically play Smoke Step the same turn as Spirit, using that movement to either catch up to the monster that skirted around my invisible self or to step onto its freshly minted coin, and producing night to replace the one I consumed to make the kill.

**Initiative:** Borderline fast, but you'll be pairing it with Spirit to go slowly most of the time anyway.

**Verdict:** This card does a lot of work. Depending on what you choose to enhance, it could easily stick with you until level 9.

![Concealed Dominance](gh-concealed-dominance.png)

A double loss.

**Top:** That could be a lot of damage, and while it's more worth the loss than the top of Enervating Wound, I'm still not convinced.

**Bottom:** I assume that there exist certain scenarios where this could be worth the loss. If ever one of those come up I'll try to remember to dredge this card up and give it a try.

**Initiative:** Meh.

**Verdict:** Maybe try it out as a one-off thing.

![Dark Cloud](gh-dark-cloud.png)

More night production without moving.

**Top:** Cursing is nice, but as you level up your goals become focused, and this action doesn't accomplish any of them: It isn't an execute, doesn't produce night, doesn't turn you invisible, and isn't a move. At low levels this is tolerable filler, but expect to phase it out soon.

**Bottom:** The night generation is good, but otherwise this is just a harder to use side-grade for Dancing Shadows.

**Initiative:** Slow.

**Verdict:** OK filler at early levels, but leave behind when you can.

![Wings of the Night](gh-wings-of-the-night.png)

Your second invisibility option at level 1.

**Top:** Whereas Cloak costs night to turn invisible, this only costs a top action. This is core until level 4.

**Bottom:** A loss to move 8, but spread out so that it's hard to use. Pass.

**Initiative:** Decent.

**Verdict:** Take until it's upstaged at level 4.

### Level 2

![Prepare for the Kill](gh-prepare-for-the-kill.png)

Your upgraded version of Smoke Step.

**Top:** Dark production and damage, vying with Doomed Breeze to produce night on top during turns when you need to consume it on bottom (e.g., with Cloak of Shade). But even so, the core reason why you need it is for the bottom.

**Bottom:** Dark production and movement, vying with Smoke Step to produce night on bottom during turns when you need to consume it on top (e.g., with Spirit).

**Initiative:** Excellent!

**Verdict:** This card looks boring, and it is. But in all the ways that Smoke Step is important to you, Prepare is even more so. This card is so core to your combos that you'll even want to double-enhance that move.

![Soulfire](gh-soulfire.png)

Your source of stuns.

**Top:** Combining wound and stun is great. This action is a little bit odd, though, in that if you're invisible, you're probably as close to the middle of a cluster of monsters as you can be. But that luxurious range 3 seems geared for cowering behind you party's tank. I dunno.

**Bottom:** No movement? You can already attack 6+ with Empowering Void without a loss. Not worth it.

**Initiative:** Usefully slow.

**Verdict:** Pass.

### Level 3

![Armor of the Night](gh-armor-of-the-night.png)

This card lets you pretend to be a tank.

**Top:** A reusable heal 4. If you are in a position where you have to tank in order to shield your squishy allies, then this can keep you going longer. Oh, and that damage is pretty good for when you aren't killing stuff with Spirit.

**Bottom:** Standing still and shielding is for tanks. Which if that's your lot in life, then I'm sorry. But hey, at least you get to make dark!

**Initiative:** Decent.

**Verdict:** If you are the tankiest of a party of squishies, then this may be your duty. In that case, camp out invisibly in doorways as much as you can, and pull this out when you need to draw archer fire. But if this doesn't describe your party, then you don't need this card.

![Terror Blade](gh-terror-blade.png)

Good movement and trap utilization.

**Top:** Pushing monsters into traps is good, wholesome fun. That hefty push 3 should do the trick most of the time.

**Bottom:** This is a straight upgrade to Enervating Wound.

**Initiative:** Fast.

**Verdict:** Terror Blade probably won't make the cut all the way to level 9, but it provides solid movement for a mid-level Nightshroud.

### Level 4

![Grim Sustenance](gh-grim-sustenance.png)

An upgrade over Wings of the Night.

**Top:** This combines the free top invisibility of Wings of the Night with the invisibility payout of Silent Force. Whether as an opener or a means of extending an invisibility combo, this ability will be useful to level 9.

**Bottom:** Looting on bottom in rather niche, but it has its moments. Compared to the bottom of Wings it's an upgrade.

**Initiative:** Decent.

**Verdict:** Take.

![Nightfall](gh-nightfall.png)

Some oddly expensive dark production.

**Top:** A loss to produce night thrice. If you struggle to plan ahead then maybe this can lend the boost you need. Otherwise it's just worth 3 experience.

**Bottom:** Move and attack, with the gimmick that you can convert light to night. If the Sunkeeper is in your party then you and she might be able to amuse yourselves by trading elements back and forth (Sunkeeper's level X Daybreak mirrors your Nightfall in converting night to light). Otherwise Nightfall is more trouble than it's worth.

**Initiative:** Usefully slow.

**Verdict:** Pass.

### Level 5

![Black Arrow](gh-black-arrow.png)

A source of free invisibility on bottom.

**Top:** Solid damage at the best range for this class.

**Bottom:** Free invisibility with an attack at range if you have a dark to spare. Typically you'll use this rather than Cloak because you don't have a spare dark, but if you had budgeted a dark yet find yourself already in the perfect position, then why not attack at range?

**Initiative:** Fast.

**Verdict:** Take.

![Claws of the Night](gh-claws-of-the-night.png)

Your first reusable AOE attack. Not a good one, and barely AOE, but it _is_ AOE.

**Top:** Base 2, maybe 3, poison, and maybe make dark. That stray element could be a dark that you bubble along, or it could be something that the monsters would have used to hurt your allies, so the choice in what to consume can occasionally come in handy. I doubt it's better than the ranged damage of Black Arrow, though.

**Bottom:** This triggers on every move while invisible, so it's easy to waste charges. Also, base 2 isn't enough to make this worth it.

**Initiative:** Okay.

**Verdict:** Skip.

### Level 6

![Swallowed by Fear](gh-swallowed-by-fear.png)

Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha!

**Top:** To this point you've been building around Spirit. Now you get to build around Swallowed, straight-up killing an elite every rest cycle (or more often with stamina potions). Your element generating allies should be more than happy to part with an element if it means that you'll just disappear their biggest problem. There are also element-generating items unlocked by prosperity or as random item unlocks that can make you more self-sufficient in this regard.

**Bottom:** Decent movement and trap utilization, but you probably won't be playing that part regularly.

**Initiative:** Usefully slow.

**Verdict:** Yes, yes, yes!

![Unseen Dread](gh-unseen-dread.png)

The answer to all your mobility problems.

**Top:** Some top dark generation. Useful, but nothing special.

**Bottom:** Move 6 jump is the best you'll get with this class. Consider dumping your retirement cash on a dark enhancement.

**Initiative:** The fastest for the class.

**Verdict:** Come back for this one.

### Level 7

![Eyes of the Night](gh-eyes-of-the-night.png)

Lackluster utility.

**Top:** Advantage makes no impact on your kill cards, which by this level is most of what you do, and monsters turning invisible is a very rare (though very annoying) situation.

**Bottom:** Great movement, but not quite as good as Unseen Dread.

**Initiative:** Poor.

**Verdict:** Go back for Unseen Dread.

![Quiet Frenzy](gh-quiet-frenzy.png)

Another payout for invisibility.

**Top:** An upgrade over Silent Force, and a side-grade for Grim Sustenance.

**Bottom:** Attack then move. I suppose it can be useful in that order sometimes.

**Initiative:** Fast.

**Verdict:** Go back for Unseen Dread.

### Level 8

![Gloom Darts](gh-gloom-darts.png)

Your capstone dark producer.

**Top:** This can deal some fantastic AOE damage.

**Bottom:** As Prepare for the Kill is Smoke Step's big brother, so Gloom Darts is Prepare for the Kill's big brother. Unfortunately enhancements are cost prohibitive at this level.

**Initiative:** Usefully slow.

**Verdict:** Take if dark production is an issue for you.

![Lurking Ruin](gh-lurking-ruin.png)

Your capstone invisibility card.

**Top:** Heavy single-target damage with a decent invisibility payout.

**Bottom:** Before now, moving while turning invisible required consuming night with Cloak, which meant that you couldn't do so the same turn that you utilize a kill card. Movement with free invisibility opens up this new combo. Unfortunately it isn't enhanceable to become a night producer too, not that such a thing would have been affordable.

**Initiative:** Fast.

**Verdict:** Take if invisibility is an issue for you.

### Level 9

![Angel of Death](gh-angel-of-death.png)

Your capstone kill card.

**Top:** A loss to kill all adjacent normies. Hop into the middle of a cluster of them with Unseen Dread, then wipe them out!

**Bottom:** Oh, just a casual kill on bottom, with excellent movement and jump. No big deal.

**Initiative:** Mediocre.

**Verdict:** Take it!

![Voice of the Night](gh-voice-of-the-night.png)

Your capstone... I'm not even sure what.

**Top:** Stun a bunch of stuff when attacking from invisible. At least this doesn't trigger for your kill cards. If you are good about utilizing your invisibility payouts, then you'll hopefully be killing stuff with those attacks often enough anyway.

**Bottom:** Bad movement, low attack, consume an element to become invisible and make night... While this offers the unique ability to move, turn invisible, and make night all in one action (conditional on having an element to consume), this still isn't enough better than your other bottom invisibility options to justify this card over Angel of Death.

**Initiative:** Fast.

**Verdict:** Pass.

## Build

We'll focus on a build centered around the three kill cards, supplementing them with dark and invisibility.

<img src="gh-spirit-of-the-night.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-smoke-step.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-prepare-for-the-kill.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-grim-sustenance.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-black-arrow.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-swallowed-by-fear.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-unseen-dread.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-lurking-ruin.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-angel-of-death.png" width=200 height=300>

Depending on whether you can dark enhance Unseen Dread, you may want to take Gloom Darts in the place of Lurking Ruin.

### Strategy

Your primary goal as the Nightshroud is simple: Maximize your kill card output. But this implies a secondary goal: Survive. Accordingly, your ideal turn will contain the following elements:

 * Get into position to play your (melee) kill card.
 * Execute an enemy (consuming dark).
 * Generate dark to set yourself up for the next turn.
    * If you intend to Swallow an Elite, then use an item to generate another element or beg and cajole an ally into generating one for you.
 * Survive by:
    * Turning invisible (if your initiative is fast), or
    * Already being invisible (if your initiative is slow).

Achieving this turn once is fairly straightforward:

 1. In preparation, move and make night with the bottom of Smoke Step or Prepare, and turn invisible with the top of Grim Sustenance.
    * Alternatively, turn invisible with the bottom of Black Arrow or Lurking Ruin, and make night with the top of Prepare or Unseen Dread.
 2. Go slowly with Spirit or Swallowed. Move and make night with Smoke Step or Prepare, execute an enemy, profit.

You can even extend this combo so that you play 2 kill cards in a row:

 3. You're painfully visible and in melee range of the entire monster horde, so go fast! Turn invisible with the bottom of Black Arrow or Lurking Ruin (depending on proximity to execution targets), and execute with Smoke Step or Swallowed.
    * Alternatively, move and execute with the bottom of Angel of Death, and turn invisible with the top of Grim Sustenance.

Alas, one thing you now lack: Dark! If you're level 9 and have Angel of Death (or you have stamina potions), then what you really want to do is play 3 kill cards in a row (or 4, or 5...). But until level 9 you cannot achieve what you truly need in order to keep the combo going, which is to generate night, turn invisible, and execute all on the same turn. And even at level 9 the options (without considering items) are somewhat poor:

 * Voice of the Night can turn you invisible and generate night, but you need an element to consume, and for it to achieve our goals of extending a kill combo that element cannot be night, meaning that you will be reliant on the cooperation of an ally.
 * Angel of Death accepts a dark enhancement on bottom for 300 gp. Ouch.

Luckily, there are several cost effective options to solve this quandary:

 1. You can purchase a Cloak of Invisibility. While this seems rather silly for a character with so many invisibility options already, for the reasons outlined above, it'll enable you to bridge the gap in your execute combo.
 2. There are several items for element generation, e.g., mana potions. You may ideally want to use these for the elements that you can't already generate on your own for consumption in Swallowed, but depending on your party, this may not be a serious issue anyway.
 3. I know I might take some flack for saying this, but with your moderate health pool, you don't actually _need_ to stay invisible all the time. Take a few hits from time to time. It builds character.

## Enhancements

A few enhancements can go a long way to smooth out the pain points in this class.

<img src="gh-smoke-step.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-prepare-for-the-kill.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-unseen-dread.png" width=200 height=300>
<img src="gh-angel-of-death.png" width=200 height=300>

 * **Smoke Step +1 move** (30 gp, or 105 gp if 2nd enhancement): Making this a move 2 or 3 goes a long way to adding much needed flexibility.
 * **Prepare for the Kill +1 move** (55 gp, or 130 gp if 2nd enhancement): Making this a move 3 places it on par with Gloom Darts, a level 8 card. That's a pretty sweet upgrade.
 * **Prepare for the Kill +any element** (175 gp, or 250 gp if 2nd enhancement): This allows you to be self-sufficient with Swallowed by Fear.
 * **Unseen Dread +dark** (225 gp): You may now use this in conjunction with a kill card while continuing to keep your kill combo going.
 * **Angel of Death +dark** (300 gp): Not cheap, but if Unseen Dread's upgrade is worth it, then this is even more so.

## Perks

![Perks Sheet](gh-nightshroud-perks.png)

You have perhaps the worst perks in the game. Which is fine since you'll be executing most of the time anyway.

 1. Ignore negative scenario effects and add two +1 cards.
 2. Add one -1 dark card, then replace one -1 dark card with one +1 dark card, twice.
 3. Remove two -1 cards twice.
 4. Add two rolling curse cards.
 5. Add the rest in any order.

## Items

Here we cover the most noteworthy items for the Nightshroud. Be ye warned: spoilers await.

### Prosperity 1

<img src="gh-001-boots-of-striding.png" width=200 height=300>

You have terrible movement, and any added flexibility is more than welcome. Your easy access to invisibility means that you won't have much trouble surviving a long rest (though your allies might), so you'll be able to shore up your poor mobility every rest cycle.

<img src="gh-005-cloak-of-invisibility.png" width=200 height=300>

At low levels when you have to choose between spending a dark to turn invisible or to kill a monster, then you'll feel really guilty every time you watch your allies get the snot beat out of them while invisibly standing in the enemy horde. But with the cloak, you can have it both ways, culling one of the monsters while still safely sheltering under a shroud of secrecy.

<img src="gh-013-minor-stamina-potion.png" width=200 height=300>

The only thing better than executing a monster is doing so again the very next turn.

### Prosperity 2

<img src="gh-020-minor-mana-potion.png" width=200 height=300>

You need dark, and come level 6, you need another arbitrary element too. A mana potion gives you flexibility and some level of self-sufficiency.

### Prosperity 4

<img src="gh-034-major-stamina-potion.png" width=200 height=300>

Upgrade to the minor stamina potion.

### Prosperity 7

<img src="gh-051-shadow-armor.png" width=200 height=300>

Besides being thematic, this one is good for PR: your allies may come to resent your perpetual invisibility and accuse you of never taking one for the team. And they're right, of course. But with this armor you can intentionally come out of invisibility to take a big hit instead of the tank, thus appeasing them and ensuring their continued enthusiasm to let you keep consuming their elements. All without seriously hazarding your own well-being.

### Other Items

<img src="gh-088b-wand-of-darkness.png" width=200 height=300>

Your ideal turn is to move, execute, turn invisible, and make night. Without items, this is only possible if you take Voice of the Night or dark enhance Angel of Death. A refreshable wand of darkness helps to make this ideal move a reality once per rest cycle. There exist additional wands for other elements, permitting you to set up Swallowed by Fear without having to beg an element from your allies.