and the italicized description usually has a fairly obvious keyword in it matching one of the types also
2 Likes
It’s a Chandler Groover story-- of course it’s going to have unusual / fascinating / frustrating (strike whichever you feel don’t apply) mechanics. If nothing else, it’s variety. And the writing is, as usual, terrific.
I’m not finished-- I inconveniently ran out of actions one step from the end-- but I enjoyed this quite a bit, even the detectoring part, and the glimpse into what appears to be a whole separate realm on-- and off-- the river between life and death. Maybe we’ll be able to explore that more thoroughly eventually.
2 Likes
I started it but was unable to finish it. I want to go back and complete it, if I can. Where do I find it? I tried my Exceptional Library in my Lodgings but found nothing.
It might not be in your library, but just your Lodgings in general? Look for a storylet with gold borders.
1 Like
If you started it it should be wherever you left off. Try Concord Square, that’s where the bulk of the story takes place.
2 Likes
I enjoyed this story a lot. I’ve played all of the Exceptional Stories and this is definitely top-tier. Props to Chandler Groover for another stupendous story and to Toby Cook for such perfectly disgusting art!
What I liked:
- The investigation mechanics were both refreshing and fun – I enjoyed having to use my brain to actually figure out what to do next, rather than simply making choices in the narrative. I hope that FBG will consider doing more of this in the future. I think it was a good idea to require each communication attempt to use an action, since a zero action cost might cause frustrated players to just try random combinations and frustrate them further. Likewise, it was also a good idea to allow players to adjust the difficulty level to avoid this scenario.
- Mr Martin McIntosh was delightfully strange, and I’m glad that in the end he escaped. Perhaps we’ll be seeing more of him at some point, maybe in Flute Street?
- I loved the use of expanded senses when re-visiting the crime scenes! I was intrigued by this potential use of the Shapeling Arts seen previously in Godfall, and this is a major expansion on that theme and one that I hope that we see more of in Firmament, along with other applications such as altering one’s brain and body.
- Lots of intriguing lore on the nature of the River and the Far Shore. The Implacable Detective’s speculation at the end is splendidly chilling, as was finding out the meaning of the word “Slobgollion.”
What I didn’t like:
-
Losing the chunk of Dead Amber at the end. Don’t give me something so cool and then literally have it ripped out of my hands! It would have made a fine reminder of the story, and it would have been doubly cool if equipping it unlocked a new repeatable action on a card somewhere (maybe “Slime and Amber: The Rubbery Men”?) with a minor reward. It’s always a pleasant little surprise for me to see in-game reminders of Exceptional Stories that I’ve completed (e.g., the Sanguine Chateau card, enjoying a feast at Heorot on the urchins faction card, buying a box of moonlight on the Society card, etc).
11 Likes
@James_Sinclair Maybe a purple-bordered card in the river that reduces wounds substantially/revives you, at the cost of nightmares from seeing the people you normally don’t that put you in your body/where you were?
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I really liked this one. I’m prone to reading Slobgollion as Like a neathly version of ultraviolet.
I did get a little frustrated that the icons often short-circuited the mystery solving element. I know there are some I would have missed without them, but I would have liked more of a chance to do so. I did wonder if I’d set the difficulty wrong, but resetting it several times didn’t change it so, I think it might have just been an oversight.
Still massively enjoyable story with a really unique mechanical idea. Definitely in my favourites so far this year.
3 Likes
Just wanted to start my feedback, but it would basically a clone of yours.
Only thing that might be worth adding (since losing that chunck was quite a shock): Too bad I hadn´t had the chance of having heightened sensed and getting into a delighted state from a certain mask.
You know, even in FL you shouldn´t mix too many drugs at once, but this was on my to-do(-and-maybe-die-a-bit)-list…
8 Likes
Add some Spiralling Regrets for extra spice
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Spoken like someone who immediately crammed their ship to the gunwales with explosives
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Interesting story, but it feels deeply unfinished.
It is not a bad thing per se, but I hope to continuation at some point.
1 Like