[ACG] [PluTo] Adventure 3-3: In Search of a Sage by Yewstance

Game Master Yewstance

Seems like:
1. khazkhaz // Damiel: Armor 2
2. AAUGHWHY // Darago: Armor 2
3. bigguyinblack // Lini: Blessing 1
4. GM Andrew // Grazzle: Blessing 2
5. Abraham Z. // Valeros: Ally 2

Looks like we can support all that.

Skill Feat: +1 Wisdom

Sorry, not +1 Wisdom. +1 Charisma. Was thinking of the wrong character

Seems like:

1. khazkhaz // Damiel: Armor 2
2. AAUGHWHY // Darago: Armor 2
3. bigguyinblack // Lini: Blessing 1
4. GM Andrew // Grazzle: Blessing 2
5. Abraham Z. // Valeros: Ally 2

Looks like we can support all that.

Thanks for making my end-of-scenario roundup easier, too!

REWARD SUMMARY -- SCENARIO 3-2B: DESERT’S FURY

khazkhaz // Damiel - Armor 2 + Int Feat
AAUGHWHY // Darago - Armor 2 + Int Feat
bigguyinblack // Lini - Blessing 1 + Wis Feat
GM Andrew // Grazzle - Blessing 2 + Cha Feat
Abraham Z. // Valeros - Ally 2 + Str Feat

Pretty sure we are going to win this one so getting this out of the way before I go to bed.

boon?: 1d20 ⇒ 9

Power feat: +1 to my reveal an animal ally ability.

Upgrade preferences.

1. Spell 2: 1d1000 ⇒ 688 Upgrade Locate Object to Holy Javelin.
I just don't think Locate Object is worth the slot.

2. Blessing 0: 1d1000 ⇒ 376 Upgrade Blessing of the Spellbound to Blessing of Gorum.

Wow my upgrade options are so bad.

boon boon boooooon: 1d20 ⇒ 16

Power Feat: Reveal an ally to add 1d6+1

Need to think about upgrade preferences.

1d20 ⇒ 19

Here are my target card upgrades. Awaiting list of acquired cards before rolling.
Item 2 - Liquid Ice
Weapon 2 - Javelin of Lightning
Spell 1 - Stone Skin

Power feat - Hand size 5>6

Card upgrades:

First choice: Weapon 2 for Menacing Backsword +1 from Ultimate Intrigue Weapon 2: 1d1000 ⇒ 639

Valeros can't use any of the Spell upgrades, so if he doesn't get the Weapon 2 he'll probably pass on any upgrades, though I'll look over the Bs and see if there's anything he likes.

Edit: Second Choice: Ally B for Dredge from Ultimate Intrigue Ally B: 1d1000 ⇒ 278

1. Weapon 2 - Javelin of Lightning: 1d1000 ⇒ 457
2. Spell 1 - Stone Skin: 1d1000 ⇒ 838

Boon?: 1d20 ⇒ 1

Card Upgrades:
First Choice Spell 1: Frost Ray/Sphere of Fire:: 1d1000 ⇒ 500
First Choice Spell 2: Dehydrating Touch: 1d1000 ⇒ 842

Power Feat:
Hand Size 6 => 7

Great work all! And thank you for having your card upgrades prepared so promptly and with dice rolls.

--

Darago, by rolling a 1 you win a Gameday VII Adventure Card Game Reward as detailed in this post. You do not have to apply any reward to your characters, but you do need to pick which one you'd like once you're able, so that I can notify the organizers. Congratulations!

Let me know if you have any additional question about those rewards.

--

Speaking of Boons... BR 3-2C Boon Roll: 1d20 ⇒ 9

--

I've posted the conclusion to the scenario, as well as your Loot and Trader rewards. I've also posted the start to the next scenario. As usual, choose your starting locations, Loot and Trades when ready, including who gets to draw the Aspis Ally. (Congratulations on hitting an Ally 2 this time, and one of the best ones at that!)

This scenario is a reasonably strategic one, with some penalties for overkill (expect Curses and Triggers)... but also a very powerful Cohort to assist you, who has randomly started at the Embalming Parlor. She can ensure you leave banes on the bottom of the deck so that overkill doesn't actually cause anything bad to occur, and can also increase or decrease the result of any of your checks to acquire to help you pass and help you avoid overkill.

I would normally take this opportunity to explain the mechanics of the "Cohort" card type to those of you unfamiliar with it (it largely only appears in Wrath of the Righteous)... but this Cohort doesn't actually act like a Cohort at all, it's just displayed next to various locations and gives you bonuses there, so it's pretty self-explanatory.

If I'm able, I'll post the reward summary when I wake up in the morning. Happy gaming!

Boon: 1d20 ⇒ 12

Power Feat: At the start of your turn, you may discard any number of cards from the top of your deck. Each other character may shuffle random cards from his discard pile into his deck; the total number of cards shuffled must not exceed ([X] 1 plus) twice the number of cards you discarded.

Upgrade: Blessing B (Blessing of Gods -> Blessing of Pharasma)
(I'll let Lini take this Spell 2, but I'll be gunning for them after this ;) )

I actually only have the 1 good option for spell 2 so I won't be rolling for more after this.

Mask of the Forgotten Pharaoh looks cool. Add 1 to Wisdom or Intelligence checks. That helps 3 of us.
Recharge to banish a curse next to your deck also great.
Recharge this card to add a die to your check that invokes the Undead trait. I'm guessing this helps Darago the most.

I'll take it if neither of you want it but I'm fine trading my aomf in for a Remove Curse otherwise.

(Non-Sunburst Market) TRADER RECAP

Since there were some questions regarding non-Sunburst Market Traders, I thought I'd give an example here in Discussion. I've listed these rules before, but a visual demonstration can't hurt.

For this scenario, let's say, hypothetically, that...

REWARD SUMMARY -- SCENARIO 3-2C: ELEMENTAL EXCAVATION

khazkhaz // Damiel - Spell 1 + Power Feat (Handsize 6)
AAUGHWHY // Darago - Spell 1 + Power Feat (Handsize 7)
bigguyinblack // Lini - Spell 2 + Power Feat (+1 to animal reveal)
GM Andrew // Grazzle - Blessing B + Power Feat (Stronger Heal)
Abraham Z. // Valeros - Weapon 2 + Power Feat (+1 to ally reveal)

Darago, by rolling a 1 you win a Gameday VII Adventure Card Game Reward as detailed in this post. You do not have to apply any reward to your characters, but you do need to pick which one you'd like once you're able, so that I can notify the organizers. Congratulations!

Let me know if you have any additional question about those rewards.

Cool! I posted this stuff right before I went to bed and didn't even notice!

I think I'll go with Reward #1: Unconventional Firepower

I remembered that my Dark Archive Reward boon has goals I can achieve to use it more then once and I completed one without noticing.

Acquire a boon with the Book trait. Osirion History Guide in this case.

I remembered that my Dark Archive Reward boon has goals I can achieve to use it more then once and I completed one without noticing.

Acquire a boon with the Book trait. Osirion History Guide in this case.

And now I completed the other goal of defeating a bane using knowledge.

Taking blessing B. Upgrading a Blessing of the Spellbound to a Blessing of Pharasma.

Adding Ultimate Equipment to my deck.

Blessing B upgrade
Blessing of the Elements > Wadjet

Good Job everyone!

Do we still get a boon roll?: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Adding Ultimate Magic to my deck.

Card Upgrades:
Weapon B: 1d1000 ⇒ 699
Weapon 2: 1d1000 ⇒ 514
Armor 2: 1d1000 ⇒ 616

Well done y'all!

I don't think we get a boon roll this time, but just in case: 1d20 ⇒ 9

Card Upgrades in order of preference:
Weapon 2: 1d1000 ⇒ 430
Armor 2: 1d1000 ⇒ 577
Ally 2: 1d1000 ⇒ 180

edit: can you use an Ally 2 upgrade to instead select an Ally B or Ally 1 card? If so, I'd like to move the Ally to the top of my request list.

Would like one of the Armor 2.
Seems like we have no competition for anything this time. :)

Valeros yes. You can use a lower version of an upgrade.

boon just in case: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Boon: 1d20 ⇒ 14

Neferekhu! I remember her from the AP! That encounter is downright hilarious.

That loot seems like it would be pretty good for Valeros honestly. Can use it as a weapon and as an ally to help other people. Plus diplomacy is tied to the second ability which he has.

1d20 ⇒ 18

Weird! Sorry for not responding over Discussion; for some reason my campaign tab didn't update me that there were posts here, which is exceptionally odd. I wonder if I somehow accidentally turned them off? I may need to fix that.

Do we still get a boon roll?

Yep!

In fact, here's mine: 1d20 ⇒ 19

edit: can you use an Ally 2 upgrade to instead select an Ally B or Ally 1 card? If so, I'd like to move the Ally to the top of my request list.

As Lini/bigguyinblack correctly pointed out; Yep!

Adding Ultimate Magic to my deck.

Congratulations! I'm sure you'll find it invaluable.

REWARD SUMMARY -- SCENARIO 3-2D: INTO THE SKY PYRAMID

khazkhaz // Damiel - Blessing B
AAUGHWHY // Darago - Weapon 2
bigguyinblack // Lini - Blessing B
GM Andrew // Grazzle - Armor 2
Abraham Z. // Valeros - Ally 2

----

Let me know if anyone would like to change their Deck Upgrades from those listed above.

It's been a pleasure playing with you, and I'll keep checking in if there's any posts here; but formally a hiatus has begun until November the 12th as a result of Gameday Part 2. This is an ideal time for players to consider if they want to make any strategy changes or consider future decisions, such as Role cards or the like, or if they'd like to change the turn order.

Otherwise, I'll be creating the next scenario as soon as Gameday Part 2 is over and I've got access to the characters in the database as needed!

Are there any plans to go back to 3-2A, the siege scenario that we lost?

Neferekhu! I remember her from the AP! That encounter is downright hilarious.

That loot seems like it would be pretty good for Valeros honestly. Can use it as a weapon and as an ally to help other people. Plus diplomacy is tied to the second ability which he has.

Yep, agreed, and I'll take it if no one else wants it. I do feel a bit guilty because I feel like I've been taking more than my fair share of the loot, so I hope other people will speak up if they want any of these cards.

A few general questions:

1. I'm thinking of using my card upgrade to take Ult Intrigue Ally 1 "Sharper" - "When you acquire a boon, reveal this card to banish that boon and draw a boon of that type from the box." - the downside is it doesn't let me explore. The upside is that it gives me a chance to upgrade "for free" from lower level cards to higher ones. So, my question is: what are the proportions of the different types of cards if you draw one at random? For example, if I acquire a Weapon B that I don't think will be much use to us, and I use this Ally to exchange it for another weapon, are the odds: 1/3 another weapon B, 1/3 a weapon 1, and 1/3 a weapon 2? Or something else entirely?

2. Aside from the usual card upgrade, are there any other changes that I need to make now at the end of the scenario (like feats, etc)?

3. When do we start using the Role cards?

4. While playing the Special (with Valeros), I should disregard the loot cards and the Sunburst Market cards, as if they don't exist, right?

5. Since I'll be playing the special with a different party, what's the usual strategy for healing when you don't have Grazzle? In our games I've been freely discarding cards left and right, confident that Grazzle or someone else would heal me pretty soon. But on my own I have one meager staff of minor healing. Not sure how to approach a typical turn in light of this...

6. During the Special, I should accept scenario rewards and card upgrades, but refuse tier upgrades or feats, in order to still be able to play Valeros with this group after the special, correct?

Thanks for any advice and it's been a lot of fun - look forward to continuing with this group in November.

EDIT: I'm reading through the intro to the special and seeing that some of my questions have already been answered, hence the strike-throughs.

Darago wrote:

Adding Ultimate Magic to my deck.

Congratulations! I'm sure you'll find it invaluable.

The early-class-deck struggle is real! I'm thinking of ways to banish some of my cards to replace them with better basics...

Are there any plans to go back to 3-2A, the siege scenario that we lost?

I think the plan was to do the rest of the adventure first, then go back to it.

Regarding Valeros's Questions:

1) My perception is that there's more Bs... Though that might just be confirmation bias or some other psychology term. That said, Sharper seems like they would work really well with Valeros; since the power is a reveal, you'd basically always have an ally to reveal to help other people out.

2) Just card upgrades and the loot rewards. It would be card feat time if we won 3-2A, but instead that'll have to wait until next time.

3) Tier 4

5) Just be more careful in general. Valeros is a little hardier cuz he can recharge his weapons. Remember you don't have to explore; so if you're ahead of the blessings deck, you can take a break and wait for healing. Remember non-divine casters can still cast Cure if they need to, it just gets banished afterwards. Voluntary discards get riskier: try to find a way to recharge them instead (Magic Armor, your Weapon-recharge power, using an item even if you're confident in the check). I've also used the card-hand-off step as emergency healing before.

Hope this helps!

And I've also been having a blast playing with all of you! I can't wait to get back into this in November! Good luck defending Abasalom (I'm not sure my table has a healer... So I'm terrified)!

Are there any plans to go back to 3-2A, the siege scenario that we lost?

Absolutely; whenever the party wants to!

If you want to do it as soon as you we return, we will. Otherwise we'll do it after the next scenario. I have a light recommendation we do it as soon as November the 12th hits, so you can truly 'finish' the Adventure on the note it's supposed to end on, as it were.

A few general questions:

1. I'm thinking of using my card upgrade to take Ult Intrigue Ally 1 "Sharper" - "When you acquire a boon, reveal this card to banish that boon and draw a boon of that type from the box." - the downside is it doesn't let me explore. The upside is that it gives me a chance to upgrade "for free" from lower level cards to higher ones. So, my question is: what are the proportions of the different types of cards if you draw one at random? For example, if I acquire a Weapon B that I don't think will be much use to us, and I use this Ally to exchange it for another weapon, are the odds: 1/3 another weapon B, 1/3 a weapon 1, and 1/3 a weapon 2? Or something else entirely?

That is a fantastic question! The ratios change around a little depending on the card type and the set, and I don't have perfect knowledge of them, but there's a lot more B and C cards until Adventure 3, where you start getting rid of Basics, and Adventure 5, where you start getting rid of Elites.

In general, though, before removing Basics/Elits, there's usually about 4 times the number of B/C cards than there are of any other single AD#. For example, in Wrath of the Righteous there were 30 deck B items, an additional 9 deck C items, and about 10 items in each AD#.

So in Tier 2, you can expect about 2/3 to 3/4 of the cards to be AD0, depending on whether you're playing with Deck C or not. Furthermore, it varies on Card Type (there's a LOT of AD0 blessings, for example).

After removing Basics and Elites, it tends to even out so there's roughly the same number of cards of any given AD# for most card types. Very, very roughly, at least.

2. Aside from the usual card upgrade, are there any other changes that I need to make now at the end of the scenario (like feats, etc)?

Nope, and I'll always mention when any have been earned. You earn feats of some description on your first, second and fourth successful scenarios of a Tier, generally.

3. When do we start using the Role cards?

As soon as you enter Tier 4.

5. Since I'll be playing the special with a different party, what's the usual strategy for healing when you don't have Grazzle? In our games I've been freely discarding cards left and right, confident that Grazzle or someone else would heal me pretty soon. But on my own I have one meager staff of minor healing. Not sure how to approach a typical turn in light of this...

Healing is not that important in PACG, you just have to be more cautious about discarding cards - in particular, don't push yourself to explore as often as possible all the time. You'll be playing in a 4 player team, not a 5 player team, so you have 1 less location to go through in the same 30 turns as usual.

Having at least one player with a Cure spell is desirable, but I've never seen a party need anymore than that. That said, having a super-healer like Grazzle allows you to burn through your cards much more aggressively and opens up new strategies as a result, but it's not necessary. Just try not to let your deck size drop below your hand size if you don't have any armor on hand, because then an unlucky chunk of damage might kill you.

And last but not least; Assault on Absalom provides Reinforcements, a special card that allows any table to heal, and by passing it back and forth between tables you allow more people to re-use it faster.

-------------------

The early-class-deck struggle is real! I'm thinking of ways to banish some of my cards to replace them with better basics...

Indeed. My personal recommendation is to use the Sunburst Market to trade any cards you don't want for Cure spells, then banishing the Cure spells mid-game to heal (hey, it's a strictly-better Potion of Healing!). When you banish a card that you traded for, it's treated post-game as if you banished the card you traded away, so there's an opportunity to 'upgrade' to a better basic.

Damiel wrote:

Are there any plans to go back to 3-2A, the siege scenario that we lost?

I think the plan was to do the rest of the adventure first, then go back to it.

We can certainly do that if that's still the preference!

Thanks for the guidance! Valeros will use his card upgrade (Ally 2) to remove Standard Bearer from his deck and add Sharper (Ally 1 from Ultimate Intrigue).

Since we have awhile before we start up again I thought I would mention Lini's upcoming upgrades.

For tier 2 I can wait for a bit on spell 2 but want to add Marionette to my deck at some point.

Marionette (spell 2) - Divine +1d6 If the bane has the Construct, Elemental, or Undead trait, add another 2d6 and you may ignore its immunities. Recharge 9.

For my card feat I'm going to add a weapon in preparation for

Seaborne Trident +1 (Weapon 3) - For your combat check, reveal this card to use your Strength or Melee skill + 1d8+1; you may additionally discard this card to add another 1d8.

Reveal this card to add 1d4 to your Constitution, Fortitude, Wisdom, or Survival non-combat check.

For tier 3 the only upgrades worth taking are spells. But there are many good options and I'm not sure what order I want to add these in.

Divine Blaze (Spell 3) - Divine +3d8 add another 1d8 vs undead. Recharge 14.

Restorative Touch (Spell 3) - Reveal this card and choose a character at your location to banish up to 2 cards displayed next to her that are scourges and/or have the Curse trait, then shuffle 1d4+1 random cards from her discard pile into her deck. Recharge 11.

Create Mindscape (Spell 3) - Display this card next to a location. While displayed, add 1d4 to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma checks by characters at this location. Recharge 9 once the location is closed.

Divine Blaze would replace one of my Divine +2d4 spells.

Restorative Touch would replace a Cure and would free up our Remove Curses to be used on Laws more often.

Create Mindscape would replace Fire Snake for now. 1d4 isn't a big bonus but it would be added to many of our combat checks. And now that Valeros has added a lot of UE cards to his deck and can use Diplomacy in place of some checks it would help him as well.

On reflection I can always use more good attacks so Divine Blaze first.

Also the RPG part of the special ended so we should be starting up again soon. I know we put off the siege, Including that how many scenarios before we finish adventure 2?

Including the missed scenario, 2 more scenarios remain of Tier 2.

Everyone please check in when you're all ready to continue; I know some games have been extended in the Assault on Absalom specials. Also please put your vote for 3-2A (the previously-skipped Siege Scenario) or 3-2E (the "ending" of the adventure).

Do note that I'm unable to modify the header of the campaign in any way for the time being, on account of a site-wide bug; so I'll have to be working around that.

I'm ready to start again whenever everyone else is.

I vote to go back to 3-2A. That way, we can end with the scenario that was specifically designed to be the finale.

I also vote to start with the one we failed and save the conclusion for the conclusion. I can start back up any time but the next 10 days or so will be pretty hectic for me (family visiting, thanksgiving, daughter's birthday, etc.) so my posting will be irregular.

Also, as Edward already noted, Valeros got some pretty great card upgrades through playing the special - he's hardly got any cards that are the same as before - it will be interesting to see how differently he plays now.

Hi all. It's gonna be a crazy month. I'll drop from this table for the meantime. Hopefully when things aren't crazy anymore I can come back.

As I expressed on our shared Season of the Runelords table; I'm truly sorry to see you go, khazkhaz, but you're always welcome back when you're able!

It looks like we'll be playing 3-2A, but I still need to wait for Andrew to check in, and I'll need an admin's assistance to re-add AAUGHWHY and Abraham's characters back into the game in the database (they were removed to participate in Assault on Absalom). I anticipate that we'll be kicking things off within the next 48 hours, if Andrew's ready to rejoin and everyone else is ready to begin (and wants to continue).

If the party consensus is to wait, that's fine too; I'll be here to BR when you need me to!

I can keep playing. I am traveling for work today and tomorrow so only checking in once/day, but that ends after tomorrow so it's fine.

No preference on scenario.

Approximate planned upgrades for Lini in order.

Tier 2
Cure out - Marionette in.
I think Grazzle is doing fine on healing 4 players. Me and Damiel can go down to 1 Cure each. If that changes I can add a Cure from Sunburst. Marionette gives me a better option against Golems then melee and it is good vs undead which there are many of.

Tier 3
FireBlade out - Divine Blaze in.
Cure out - Restorative Touch in.
Some random basic weapon out - Seaborne Trident +1 in.
Blessing of Pharasma out - Blessing of the Starsong in.

Tier 4
Frigid Blast out - Channel the Gift in.
Pyrotechnic Blast out - Cloudburst in.
Blessing of the Spellbound out - Blessing of the Seventh Veil in.
Basic ally out - Pteranodon in.

Tier 5
??? out - Breath of Life in.
Crow out - Velociraptor in.
??? out - Death's Touch in.
??? out - Blessing of the Starsong in.

Tier 6
??? out - Rejuvenation in.

Come to think of it, Lini and Grazzle both have access to a lot of good healing cards. And while we want to be sure Grazzle stays healthy even if he has to use his ability a lot, We are both casters and every healing spell we have in our deck is taking the spot of an attack or utility spell.

I'll list our available healing options so everyone can chime in without looking them up.

We are both using UM and here are the options in that deck.

Cure (Basic) We all know this one. Heals someone at our location for 1d4 +1 and recharge 8. So good that even some arcane casters run it. And we can all get one from the Sunburst Market if we think we'll need it.

Remove Curse (Basic) Not exactly healing but the curses will get nastier as we tier up and this can also remove laws. Available at the Sunburst Market and as loot.

Restorative Touch (Tier 3) Cure but also banishes up to 2 curses effecting that player. Of course it can't get rid of Laws. Recharge 11.

The recharge costs are actually meaningless. Grazzle doesn't roll to recharge and if Lini fails the roll it is just an extra card for Grazzle to heal.

Channel the Gift (Tier 4) Not a healing card but you cast it to let any player search their deck for a spell and put it into their hand. It is also Arcane so once both of us and Darago get it things will get interesting. Recharge 14.

Rejuvenation (Tier 6) Heal a character at your location for 2d4 and banish all curses on them. Recharge 16.

But wait, There's more!

The druid class deck actually has a couple of decent healing options in addition to an extra Cure.

Breath of Life (Tier 5) Heal anyone anywhere for 1d4 +1 if they are alive, Or bring a dead character back to life with a 10 card deck. Recharge 15.
I like this spell because it doesn't care about location so I can get it out of my hand quickly. Also if a disaster happens Grazzle can keep someone alive even with a 10 card deck if they are careful.

Ring of Regeneration (Item Tier 5) Reveal to recharge a card from your discard pile at the beginning and end of your turn. Recharge 15. At it's most basic it means Grazzle will rarely have to heal Lini but she can always pass it to Grazzle for a steady source of self healing.

And of course, The Oracle deck has yet more healing beyond an extra Cure.

Major Cure Cure then heal yourself for 1. Recharge 10.

And Breath of Life but at Tier 6.

That is a lot of healing.

Channel_the_Gift combined with some loot we will be seeing later will let the casters see a lot of new cards every turn.
So on the one hand we shouldn't need many healing cards at all. On the other hand what if a scenario takes one or more of our spells somehow?

Also, With Channel the Gift being so good, I will probably use my boon that let's acquire more spells once we hit tier 4.

I think this is my 4th scenario at tier 2. Not sure. If yes then I'm taking spell for my card feat. We acquired no spells.

I want to switch my blessing of Pharasma to a Blessing of the Spellbound. I think taking one of the blessing 1s lets me do that but it isn't a big deal if I don't get one of them. No interest in the other upgrades.

I think this is my 4th scenario at tier 2. Not sure. If yes then I'm taking spell for my card feat. We acquired no spells.

Yep, I've amended that. Assuming nobody did any scenarios for Tier Progression in our hiatus, this should be the fourth scenario for everyone in the party.

I want to switch my blessing of Pharasma to a Blessing of the Spellbound. I think taking one of the blessing 1s lets me do that but it isn't a big deal if I don't get one of them. No interest in the other upgrades.

Just confirming that you're correct; when you take a Deck Upgrade you can use it to replcae a card in your deck with a new card of the same type and the same Adventure Deck Number or lower.

After playing Valeros through Assault on Absalom, he's had a lot of deck upgrades so I'm happy to defer to anyone else when it comes to card upgrades for this scenario (and I'm not quite sure what cards we even got).

So does Valeros get a card feat too? I just got one from Assault in Absalom but I guess that was a special bonus? Right now (prior to receiving a new card feat) Valeros has 17 cards in his deck - does that sound right?

So does Valeros get a card feat too? I just got one from Assault in Absalom but I guess that was a special bonus? Right now (prior to receiving a new card feat) Valeros has 17 cards in his deck - does that sound right?

Yep, he gets a card feat. He was playing for no Tier Progression, so the Card Feat reward from the special was a complete bonus on top of your normal progression. You'll have 18 cards in your deck for the next scenario.

I'll take Item 2 as my upgrade to replace my Codex with Staff of Minor Healing.

It's not super crucial right now because we have Grazzle, but I was struggling during Assault on Absalom without a reliable healing source.

I'll also take Spell as my card feat and fill it in with one of my basics.

So what are the choices of cards that can be taken with the card feat? Up to tier 2? Or does it still have to be basic? Or something in between? And can the card feat slot be used to take an upgrade (since Valeros' other slots are basically already pretty much set)?

Apparently things are technically more complicated then this but in a nutshell you add a card type you want more of. And it is either Basic or if it matches one of the upgrades you get then it can be that.