maxington
Posts: 8
12/9/2015
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hi nice to meet everyone. i have a bunch of questions. started playing a few days ago. all of my questions revolve around the games interface and basic rules. now while i'm not the sharpest tool in the shed the FAQ doesn't explain the games interface nor does the wiki. or possibly i have yet to find the sections that do.
what's the deal with the cards? are they a renewable resource? are they like gin rummy, after the hand is played they get shuffled back in. or like magic the gathering where you have to compile a deck by purchasing cards?
most RPGs use stats, (pathfinder, World of warcraft, fallout, D&D) these tend to be self explanatory such as strength, intelligence yadayadayada. here there are four, what do they apply to? why should i care about them? are they like skill checks in pathfinder/d&d 3.5? do they affect your chances of success, or are the simply a gate letting the game know when to trigger certain event?
the letters and packages you can send from your room. are they sent to other players or to NPCs? why would i want to send these? if they go to PCs is this some sort of odd facebook thing where you end up being spammed with cute cat pics or political rants?
inventory, quest rewards seem to be a variety of stuff, i get that some of it can be clicked on to trigger quests. others seem to be some sort of token that are up-gradable. why would i upgrade them? they seem to self categorize with no explanation of what they actually do. for instance clues. clicking on them don't seem to do anything except upgrade. what do these clues apply to? do i save them and use them to purchase things or are they vendor trash?
thanks for the help.
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malthaussen
Posts: 1060
12/9/2015
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Read the beginner's guide here: http://community.failbettergames.com/topic436-advice-for-new-players.aspx
-- Mal
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"Of two choices, I always take the third."
Will do all socials except Loitering or Private Evenings (all my Free Evenings are accounted for), and Affluent Photographer Betrayals only, please. I am not currently accepting calling cards.
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/malthaussen
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Lady Eris
Posts: 162
12/9/2015
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A lot of your questions are answered on the 'Help' tab in game - I'd read that through first.
The letters and things in your lodgings are social actions - they are sent to other players and the benefits are stat boosts and menace reductions (among other things). Some players also use them for role-play purposes.
The game is a bit confusing at first, but really, the best thing is to just do things that look interesting and see what happens.
Hope that helps a bit. 
--
Lady Eris Psmith, Society darling, devoted wife. Dangerous when crossed. Accepts most social invitations. Distributor of Parabolan Kittens. Welcomes new acquaintances, especially those who write 'in character'.
William Templeton, Viscount Manningham, newcomer, gentleman, all-round good egg - accepting absolutely all invitations.
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Sara Hysaro
Moderator
Posts: 4514
12/9/2015
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1. Cards are renewable over time. It works like a set of playing cards in that there's only one of each card in the potential pool, so if you keep one in your hand you won't draw a second one. Some cards can only be drawn in certain areas.
2. Stats are used to determine how difficult a challenge of that type is. As you use the 4 main stats they'll increase (quickly at first, but later requiring 70 CP for each level - see more about CP in the link malthaussen provided). If you hover/click the black box you can find exactly how likely you are to succeed.
3. These go to other players, but you shouldn't get spammed with cat pictures or political rants (I'm pretty sure pictures are not allowed). To send most social actions you need to be contacts with another player. To become contacts you can go to their profile link and click the green Add to Contacts button. Other social actions require you to take things one step further and become Acquaintances; to do that you simply send them a Calling Card through Society and Scandal and see if it gets accepted. To see outgoing and incoming social actions (as well as ingame notifications for things dependent on real time) you go to your Messages tab.
4. For the most part you can ignore item upgrades until a story requires you to have an item higher up on a tier that you haven't found directly through gameplay yet. The third tier items are especially useful as you can then convert them into equivalent items within a different category and even get 1 extra for each conversion as you do so. It's a complete loop, so once you have 50 of one type you can easily get 51 of another just by spending some actions.
--
edited by Sara Hysaro on 12/9/2015
--
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Sara%20Hysaro
Please do not send SMEN, cat boxes, or Affluent Reporter requests. All other social actions are welcome.
Are you a Scarlet Saint? Send a message my way to be added to the list.
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metasynthie
Posts: 645
12/9/2015
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Sara Hysaro wrote:
1. Cards are renewable over time. It works like a set of playing cards in that there's only one of each card in the potential pool, so if you keep one in your hand you won't draw a second one. Some cards can only be drawn in certain areas.
Might be worth mentioning that although there's only "one of each card" in the pool of cards (which can get very large), it's effectively re-shuffled every time you draw a card. There's no "discard pile" of cards that aren't drawable and aren't in your hand -- so it's possible to say, draw the same card three times in a row if you don't keep it in your hand. This is part of why players keep cards they don't want to keep encountering in their hand, and why it's useful to acquire lodgings that allow larger hand sizes.
--
Positively antique
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/metasynthie
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Grenem
Posts: 2067
12/9/2015
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maxington wrote:
what's the deal with the cards? are they a renewable resource? are they like gin rummy, after the hand is played they get shuffled back in. or like magic the gathering where you have to compile a deck by purchasing cards?
most RPGs use stats, (pathfinder, World of warcraft, fallout, D&D) these tend to be self explanatory such as strength, intelligence yadayadayada. here there are four, what do they apply to? why should i care about them? are they like skill checks in pathfinder/d&d 3.5? do they affect your chances of success, or are the simply a gate letting the game know when to trigger certain event?
the letters and packages you can send from your room. are they sent to other players or to NPCs? why would i want to send these? if they go to PCs is this some sort of odd facebook thing where you end up being spammed with cute cat pics or political rants?
inventory, quest rewards seem to be a variety of stuff, i get that some of it can be clicked on to trigger quests. others seem to be some sort of token that are up-gradable. why would i upgrade them? they seem to self categorize with no explanation of what they actually do. for instance clues. clicking on them don't seem to do anything except upgrade. what do these clues apply to? do i save them and use them to purchase things or are they vendor trash?
thanks for the help.
The cards are renewable. You have a finite deck, which can be expanded or shrunk by doing things. for instance, don't buy too many of the 3-card lodgings, they add cards, which tend to not be worth it later and you can't dispose of them. handsome townhouse, decommisioned steamer and rooftop shack are currently the best, i believe. however, none of them are must haves, and all of them are helpful in getting certain items only currently worthwhile to completionists.
The stats are watchful, dangerous, persuasive and shadowy, and most actions check some stat to determine success. Not always the main ones, but early on, your odds will be improved by boosting stats. Every check's odds are improved by temporarily or permanantly boosting a stat.
The social actions can be a weird gmail where you get spammed with essays about the tyranny of the stars, or how no one should ever sell their souls, but generally, if you don't roleplay, others keep theirs to a minimum. The same is even more true about real-world politics.
generally, the cheap items that can upgrade have two uses- one, they are good vendor trash if you build up a large stockpile, but also two, they are used to do certain storylets in-game. people might want to be paid in secrets, for instance. They can be sold, or paid to people in certain stories, or upcrafted to make something else.
the more expensive the item is, the harder it is to get and the less uses it has. *Note: less uses != no uses. Still, some items are incredibly rarely useful.*
If you're still around, and message me a link to your profile, i can send you a little more funds to help you get started on. (well, items, but they'll sell for 7.5 echoes and are only useful for ~1 person in four for their main other use, so you probably should sell it, unless you're pursuing heart's desire.)
edited by Grenem on 12/9/2015
edited by Grenem on 12/9/2015
--
Married!:http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/takuza
I will accept all social actions that do not consume free evenings- and i will provide patronage to anyone who requests it, though it will be split between all requesters.
On psudeo-hiatus. Will be inactive and active and fluctuate without warning.
Grinding Favors without cards: http://community.failbettergames.com/topic22266-storylet-favors-grinding.aspx
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malthaussen
Posts: 1060
12/9/2015
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"Items" in this context meaning the stuff you get like Romantic Notions or Foxfire Candle stubs. There are also items that are articles of apparel or living creatures, or weapons -- like "equipment" in traditional RPGs. These are not, for the most part, upgradeable, although some exceptions apply. Mostly, they are bought through the Bazaar, some can be secured by other means. But it is unusual to receive equipment as a result of a story, mostly you'll get items as defined above. These items may be upgraded as Sara says, or can in some instances be required to make something in combination with other items. When the time comes to do that, the requirements will be clearly given.
-- Mal
edited by malthaussen on 12/9/2015
--
"Of two choices, I always take the third."
Will do all socials except Loitering or Private Evenings (all my Free Evenings are accounted for), and Affluent Photographer Betrayals only, please. I am not currently accepting calling cards.
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/malthaussen
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maxington
Posts: 8
12/9/2015
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thanks for the responses. i have already been through the help tab. other then explaining the color coding almost everything else is about social media. i have yet to find anything on the interface. for instance the first tab is called "story". on top there are some cards and below that are a list of what i can only assume are quest. i don't know what to call these as i have yet to find an explanation of the interface.
well there is this bit:
No, I mean, literally, what do I do first? Where do I click?
Click on buttons to make choices.
Click on the Opportunity deck to choose cards, and make more choices.
Click on the Myself tab to see what you’ve found and learned.
Click on the Bazaar tab to sell things and to buy better equipment.
on the myself tab at the very top there is a drop down menu which lists:
evening, hard wearing, incognito and morning. what is this menu, what is it called what function does it serve if any?
what are Mantelpiece Items?
i am reading the thread Advice for new players. while full of good advice it seems to be pretty vague. what i am looking for is how to play the game, how to use the interface to play the game. the different parts of the interface most likely have names. what are they? how do i use the components of the interface to interact with the game?
anyway thanks for the advice.
edited by maxington on 12/9/2015
edited by maxington on 12/9/2015
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maxington
Posts: 8
12/9/2015
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wow that was fast. while writing a response three more appear.
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suinicide
Posts: 2409
12/9/2015
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Evening, hard wearing, incognito and mornings are different outfits. They save whatever you last wore when you had them selected. If you use equipment while the "Morning" is showing, then select "Hardworking", it will switch your items, and selecting "Morning" will autoequip those items again. There are four, one for each stat. (This was just implemented, so it's not as clear as it could be)
Mantelpiece items are just what you want to show on your profile. They don't have an impact on your game.
edited by suinicide on 12/9/2015
edited by suinicide on 12/9/2015
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/profile/sunnytime
A gentleman seeking the liberation of knowledge, with a penchant for violence.
RIP suinicide, stuck in a well. Still has it under control.
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Grenem
Posts: 2067
12/9/2015
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maxington wrote:
thanks for the responses. i have already been through the help tab. other then explaining the color coding almost everything else is about social media. i have yet to find anything on the interface. the first tab is called story. on top there are some cards and below that are a list of what i can only assume are quest. i don't know what to call these as there is no explanation on the interface.
well there is this bit:
No, I mean, literally, what do I do first? Where do I click?
Click on buttons to make choices.
Click on the Opportunity deck to choose cards, and make more choices.
Click on the Myself tab to see what you’ve found and learned.
Click on the Bazaar tab to sell things and to buy better equipment.
on the myself tab at the very top there is a drop down menu which lists:
evening, hard wearing, incognito and morning. what is this menu, what is it called what function does it do if any? is it a relic of a game mechanic that no longer applies or has yet to be fleshed out.
what are Mantelpiece Items?
i am reading the thread Advice for new players. it seems to be pretty vague. what i am looking for is how to play the game, how to use the interface to play the game. the different parts of the interface most likely have names. what are they? how do i use the components of the interface to interact with the game?
anyway thanks for the advice.
Well, in order.
What you do first, now that you've escaped newgate is... well, one thing i could say is whatever you want, but that's not useful: what you do is under the story tab, there are storylets- little snippets of text. some are important, and actual, as you call them, quests. others are just an interesting bit of flavor text, with rewards, but are repeatable. robbing a drunk in spite, for instance can be done repeatedly, and is less a quest and more a single action.
Generally, the ones in gold are the most important ones- if you want to look at early game content with a bit of hand-holding, that's where you go and what you should do to progress. usually, these are good at communicating, though not aways.
silver are often interesting, but there're 4 silver ones called ambitions. these are exceptionally long stories that have not been finished yet. in order, you can:
stake your soul- in a more meaningful way than selling it to devils- to win your heart's desire, but first you have to arrange for a game.
Hunt this horrible abomination that is literally the worst. It's called the vake, and it is not a good thing.
Pursue your nemesis, who apparently killed a sweetheart of yours on the surface? yeah, idk.
and, well, #4, light fingers: it claims you'll steal a huge diamond. let's just say that while the others are basically doing what they said they'd do, this one is a lot more complex than that, and the diamond is not, in fact, a diamond. or at least, this one isn't.
Generally, you'll always want to draw from the opp-deck, even if you don't play every card you draw. Play most interesting cards at least once.
You should probably play most stories once, since they're all kinda interesting.
The Myself tab is occasionally good to see what you've learned, but another, more common use is to just change equips and look at inventory.
you seem to understand what the buttons all do, except the item setup- the drop down menu lists four names, and clicking a tab will swap to whatever you had equipped last under that tab. most use this to set up one set of gear per stat for optimal efficiency in swapping gear and gaining useful benefits.
Mantlepeice items show off your prized possesion to others. if you clicked the link in my signature, you'd see tears of the bazaar on my mantlepeice, near the top of the page. the only other visible items are your equips, which anyone can see. In addition, certain qualities can be displayed the same way with scrapbook status.
Other than that, they're useless.
edited by Grenem on 12/9/2015
--
Married!:http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/takuza
I will accept all social actions that do not consume free evenings- and i will provide patronage to anyone who requests it, though it will be split between all requesters.
On psudeo-hiatus. Will be inactive and active and fluctuate without warning.
Grinding Favors without cards: http://community.failbettergames.com/topic22266-storylet-favors-grinding.aspx
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maxington
Posts: 8
12/9/2015
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wow, this an active and helpful forum. thanks for the assistance.
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lady ciel
Posts: 2548
12/9/2015
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You play the game by progressing through stories. Some are more important than others and the things you see in each area change as you gain stats and progress through the Making Your Name Trackers. So just click on a storylet; see what the choices are and, if you play it, the results of your action. You can back out by clicking "perhaps not" so you can look and see what the chance of success is and maybe the text will give you some idea of what will happen.
As you are right at the start you can travel to 4 main areas - Watchmaker's Hill where you find dangerous stories; Spite for Shadowy; Veilgarden for Persuasive and Ladybones Road for watchful. You can also do things in your lodgings or have fun at the Carnival.
Cards are a sort of bonus area - you might get resources; gain or lose connections; reduce menaces or many other things. The only real way to fond out is by playing them.
When you get gear you can create outfits Evening, hard wearing, incognito and morning are a short cut so that you don't have to switch each item every time you want to change.
General advice is just explore the map, see what you can do and have fun. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need help. We are pretty helpful and friendly.
--
ciel
Sorry RL means I am not a very active player at the moment. No social actions unless you are prepared to wait and definitely no sparring or other mult-action things.
No Calling Cards or boxed cats please. Will take dupes on the affluent photographers. Other social invitations welcome. Parabolan Kittens usually available, send me an in-game social action saying you want one and I will get one to you as soon as possible.
storynexus name - reveurciel
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Grenem
Posts: 2067
12/9/2015
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maxington wrote:
wow, this an active and helpful forum. thanks for the assistance.
slow in comparison to the ones i used to frequent, but then, that was a MMO and a social one at that, and most people used the forums like a chatroom. Still, if you post, you can generally rely on a reply in 24 hours.
--
Married!:http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/takuza
I will accept all social actions that do not consume free evenings- and i will provide patronage to anyone who requests it, though it will be split between all requesters.
On psudeo-hiatus. Will be inactive and active and fluctuate without warning.
Grinding Favors without cards: http://community.failbettergames.com/topic22266-storylet-favors-grinding.aspx
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malthaussen
Posts: 1060
12/9/2015
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To clarify equipment: hats, clothes, weapons, etc, all give a bonus to one or more stats (Well, most do, anyway). If you are wearing these when you attempt a challenge, the bonus will be added to your raw score, so most players set up four different outfits to maximize each trait, and switch among them as necessary to succeed at challenges.
However, as a new player you are 1) Poor, and 2) Your stats are low (they can go up over 200). But the challenges you can do are also mostly without a penalty for failure (this will change as they get higher, be advised, but it's not something to worry about right now). So, paradoxically, what you want to do at this point in your career is to attempt the most difficult chances, because the harder they are, the more positive change they will give to your stats. As you attempt stories, you will succeed or fail, and your stats will shoot up. And you'll pick up stuff along the way.
The cards in the deck contain challenges which may give stuff or connections to various factions within the city (there are many). Each location (Spite, Ladybones, etc) also has challenges which can be repeated as often as you like by clicking on them (trying to rob the drunk rat in Spite is a favorite. You probably won't succeed, but you'll make a good profit anyway). There will be more stories added as you climb in ability. Your job at the start is to begin Making Your Name in the four areas, the challenges to do so are clearly labelled.
Don't forget to access the Advent Calendar that is being featured during the holiday season. It has nice presents for you that can help you get equipment and improve your character.
-- Mal
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"Of two choices, I always take the third."
Will do all socials except Loitering or Private Evenings (all my Free Evenings are accounted for), and Affluent Photographer Betrayals only, please. I am not currently accepting calling cards.
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/malthaussen
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Grenem
Posts: 2067
12/9/2015
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/advent
A link to the advent calendar. todays window can be opened, the other colored window's rewards can be claimed, the greyed-out windows rewards cannot. too late they're gone they won't be back. (not until next year, that is)
also, i sent you a surprise package. these often have valuable rewards within, and almost always have more than 2 echoes worth of stuff in there. on the other hand, they only rarely have the ten echoes they cost to send.
of especial note is the rat of glory. turn it in for a skuttering squad, an end game equip, with "turn your rat in to the skuttering company."
these cost 500 echoes at any other time, so recieving them for an item isn't a bad deal at all.
--
Married!:http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/takuza
I will accept all social actions that do not consume free evenings- and i will provide patronage to anyone who requests it, though it will be split between all requesters.
On psudeo-hiatus. Will be inactive and active and fluctuate without warning.
Grinding Favors without cards: http://community.failbettergames.com/topic22266-storylet-favors-grinding.aspx
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maxington
Posts: 8
12/9/2015
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thank you for the package
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genesis
Posts: 924
12/9/2015
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This is the closest thing I know to a manual/interface guide.
http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/vajo/fallenlondon/Chapters.html
It's slightly out of date as the game is currently undergoing several major revamps but it hits all the main points
--
http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/mikey_thinkin
Keeping track of incomplete content and loose ends in Fallen London
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maxington
Posts: 8
12/9/2015
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now that is what i am talking about. thanks
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Guest
12/9/2015
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First off, Welcome to fallen London and Failbetter Games' community! I don't see anybody welcoming you, so I thought I'd do that! New players are awesome, as they can enjoy the wonder of the novelty (while muttering something that likely sounds like WTF when reading the descriptions  ....)
Unlike some of the links I've seen allow me to offer you a beginner's guide that actually looks like a guide (and works,) color coded text relating to the game and everything. A second bonus is it's the link to the Fallen London Wikka (there is another, but unlike that one, this one is kept current and updated frequently.) Should you have questions in the future about something specific, you can always use it to look up your answer. (Of course, it's best to not do so for spoiler reasons.)
Next, allow me to highly suggest another thread for new players, called The Young Turks Club. Go there, read up, and introduce yourself! They are an excellent bunch of people and you've been talking to several in this thread here! (Waves to malthaussen)
I'll skip the very specific details of most stuff that has been mentioned before and try to give you a really brief summary (as the guide and former posts do the rest.)
Over thirty years ago, the city of London in the mid to late 19th century was abducted by bats and taken miles underground to a multi-continent-sized hole under the earth. (Apparently, this is the fifth city to have done this over history.) The time when you enter is currently 1893, the same month and day as real life. Every real life day/week/month/year now pretty much progresses the same in sync. As another year here progresses, it (in the past still of course) progresses another year. So, as you can see, we are observing Advent and will celebrate "Christmas" the way the (be) 'Neath does things. The creatures that controlled the bats are called the Masters (and are very affiliated with them for some reason you can learn about) work for a squid/crab like creature called the Bazaar which is huge. A lot of weird energy exists underground and things from Devils to Talking Rats, Cats, other Squid-like-rubbery things and even living clay "men" abound here. The rest you can piece out from your experiences with stories. Speaking of...
As you can see, this is a browser game that uses literary prose and occasional pictures to tell stories. or mini-stories. These are known as "storyettes." You get up to 20 "turns" to explore what is going on with exploring stories (and some things that allow management or buying/selling cost zero turns.) Turns are renewed at 1 per ten minutes for free, as well as there being pay options and occasional free stuff rarely won. The card deck is random stuff drawn held up to six cards and also renewed one every ten minutes. Different areas draw different cards and some areas have a chance for "rare" cards to draw, as all was mentioned before. Again, you can pay for renewing cards, but there are (almost) no free refresh options, but (most) people only have to wait an hour to refresh their deck. (There is a subscription service called "Exceptional Friendship" that doubles your turns up to forty and increases your deck to ten, as well as giving you exclusively first-run monthly stories, but you don't have to do that at this time if you do not wish so.)
Again, that guide I linked will explain this.
What you do after "escaping" from prison, is choose where you wish to end up "landed" and that sets your "interest" in pursuing which of the four attributes. or you can travel to another zone and work on that instead. doing successful and failed storyettes in those areas as well as drawn cards in those areas is what advances your attributes as well as possessions. Items you can buy you can wear as clothes/companions in slots, consume to advance stats, or buy/sell for better items later in exchanges. Checks also have things called "second chances' for each of the four attributes to allow another chance for a more risky check you don't want to fail. In the beginning, failing only gets you less advancement and often no rewards, but later, you get "menaces" for failing which "move" you to a menace zone should it get too high. (Don't worry about that for now.)
If you haven't done so already, your first goal is to get that two-card holding lodgings. The in-game options listed show you ways you can do so, and you pursue the way you'd like to try it and eventually get it.
Then, you should start building up stuff to buy a three-card holding residence (under the Bazaar tab, Penstock's Land Agency.) As noted before, you can hold onto cards to use later or "bank" them or hold onto cards you do not want re-drawn again. The more slots you have, the more cards you can hold onto at once and draw others. Your immediate goal is to get a two card , then a three card residence as soon as possible (and sell all your prison clothes and that diamond if you haven't yet done so.)
Finally, you can make contacts and bond with them further to acquaintances for special help in events. This is a social game as much as it's a solo game, or you can focus on one more than the other. But we're here to help.
Pretty much, you should be able to figure out the rest, although the character may be frequently confused and lost (but this is to be expected.)
if you have any questions, the links should help with answers, or you can post here or PM us if you need help. While a lot of people in this thread here have been on several months to a couple of years (I'm a little over one year personally,) there are those who have been playing even longer, up to over six years still active and they are a treasure trove of wisdom and support.
No matter what, again, it's great to have you here maxington! Have fun!
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