Hannah Flynn
Administrator
Posts: 491
2/28/2019
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Delicious friends, the Exceptional Story for March is here!
Accompany a jaded supernatural investigator on his final case. Journey to a remote peninsula and explore a clifftop haunted house. Is this another unscrupulous fake? Or do you need to see things from a different perspective?
Noises from Upstairs is the first story in the Season of Explorations, and was written by Gavin Inglis. In this season you will experience three stories of adventure, mystery and a not inconsiderable amount of peril.
Begin with the Season of Explorations card, available throughout London.
Editing and QA: James Chew
Art by: Tobias Cook
Exceptional Friendship
In addition to a new, substantial, stand-alone story every month, Exceptional Friends enjoy:
- Access to the House of Chimes: an exclusive private members’ club on the Stolen River, packed with content
- An expanded opportunity deck: of ten cards instead of six!
- A second candle: Twice the actions! 40 at once!
Finishing all three stories in the Season of Explorations will make you eligible for an additional opportunity, to follow.
If you want to keep an Exceptional Story beyond its release month, you must complete the related storylet in the current Season’s card. This will save it for you to return to another time.
edited by h4nchan on 2/28/2019
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Wields the news canon, aboard the hype train.
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Azothi
Posts: 586
3/2/2019
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A few more thoughts on the Dashing Debunker, his mother, and the importance of Brinehouse (and an overarching hypothesis connecting certain story elements and inconsistencies) are below the spoiler tag. I've said this earlier, but what I've really enjoyed about the story is the way it leaves things unspoken. It doesn't give catharsis for everything, but its story and mysteries are well thought-out, and I hope to give an example of what makes me love this story:
[spoiler]Lemonadeon's notes on Harry Houdini as the Dashing Debunker are worth a read, and it remains nicely consistent with the developments in Houdini's life. In our history, Houdini's career in magic had begun by this time (March 1898) but hadn't yet taken off, and it's worth noting that his life in the Neath rather than the United States means he never met his wife and stage assistant Bess. Likewise, the accelerated death of his mother to an assassin's bullet (as opposed to 1913 from a stroke) brought forward his debunking career.
Notably, the Debunker drops his flashy facade once the story proceeds to Brinehouse, revealing a more melancholy man. To an extent, this is because he no longer needs to appeal to high society and its expectations, but there are what may be a few story inconsistencies that are worth noting.
Spectres and salty air wrote:
I have exposed many fakers, and have now been asked to investigate a supposedly haunted house at the old docks of Brinehouse.
The first question is "Who asked the Debunker to investigate Brinehouse?" This individual or organization is never revealed to us in the story, not even if we save the Debunker, the only person who would know. The Constables appear to turn a blind eye to every debunking - they allow high society to take its own vigilante justice. There is no hint that the Debunker knew of the moonlight ring. And why would a resident of Brinehouse draw attention to themselves?
East to Brinehouse wrote:
Previously part of the Fifth City, a geological peculiarity has shifted it to the outskirts and rendered it difficult to access. Apparently the residents like it that way.
And at least a few locals are quite aware of the moonlight ring.
Loosened tongues wrote:
"We might be remote," says one drunk local. "But trade of a sort still comes through— ow!
His friend studiously avoids eye contact as the fellow rubs his ankle and changes the subject.
For those who are aware of the moonlight ring, they should be keeping people as far away from Brinehouse as possible. For those who aren't, there's still no reason to bring outsiders into an otherwise insular and self-sufficient community. It doesn't make sense for a Brinehouse resident to ask for the investigation. This becomes additionally suspicious when we consider the odd behavior of the Debunker:
The Dashing Debunker appears to have an ulterior motive to the Brinehouse investigation apart from his distaste for frauds, and it's worth remembering that for all his debunking, Houdini still held out belief in true spiritualism. Consider this response when you give the "rational" response to his question of motivation, saying "The search for truth. You share his hatred for fakes and charlatans."
Welcome to Brinehouse wrote:
The Debunker stares into the blackness. "Yes," he says. But you sense something unspoken.
And then his continual staring out into the darkness of Brinehouse. In nearly every interaction with him at the Pip and Pickle, he's brooding or staring out into the blackness, a remarkable shift from his flashy demeanor in London or even his more conversational demeanor during the hansom ride. At the end of the night, though, we receive a very intriguing piece of information:
A drunken vision wrote:
"I saw her, you know. After some Society party to celebrate my work. They gave me a box of sunlight to open. Afterwards, I looked out the window and there she was. My mother. Alive and fighting with pistol and sword. Fighting under the moon."
This is foreshadowing, but in fairness, it's pretty forced foreshadowing. It doesn't follow naturally from conversation in the Pip and Pickle - rather, it follows from one point of conversation from the hansom ride there. The Dashing Debunker is slightly drunk, but here, he remembers that party and the vision of his mother.
This brings us to the other unresolved mystery of the story, "What happened in the Brinehouse mansion?" After the Fall, it was abandoned, but we can try to find information from the visions of the Upstairs.
Out of time wrote:
The men and women on the wall have been captured with the spare strokes of a court artist, attention given to distinguishing or unattractive features. You can only assume the crossed-out people have been eliminated or captured, and the remainder are targets. They are divided between two headings: MARCH and SEPTEMBER.
The Debunker freezes in front of one drawing in the latter group. He looks directly at you and taps it. "This— this is my mother." We get the revelation that Cecile Weisz was, in moonlit London, a Septemberist. The artist was likely once a courtier, and the residents of the mansion appear to be killing revolutionaries as part of the reactionary movement. As a note, this is also behavior that the Coldstream rebels conducted in "Cut with Moonlight". Observe the newspapers, and we see more clues.
A city divided wrote:
it reserves its condemnation for Coldstream counter-revolutionaries, with horrifying stories of civilians maimed in explosions or trampled in riots.
Nearby, a map of London is peppered with green pins corresponding to older explosions. There are also several red pins which do not seem to match any reported incident. The lore of this Sunless universe almost always associates revolutionaries and anarchists with explosions, but moonlit London is a world turned upside down. While the veracity of those condemnations is called into question by the Council's implied suppression of freedom of the press, it becomes clear through further investigation that this mansion was a base of operations of the Coldstream counter-revolutionaries.
The attic wrote:
Camp beds are arranged along its length in military rows. Each has a small pack and a red uniform jacked tucked beneath the canvas. On the wall, a tattered flag shows a red cross inside a blue circle, inside a white star.
So, what we've seen so far:
1. There is little credible cause for someone to have hired the Dashing Debunker to investigate the mansion at Brinehouse.
2. The Debunker has an ulterior motive travelling to Brinehouse, and his personality changes as he melancholically appears to be searching for something.
3. In moonlit London, the Debunker's mother was a Septemberist revolutionary. In the Neath, the Debunker's mother was permanently murdered by an assassin's bullet.
4. The abandoned mansion was a stronghold of the Coldstream Guard in moonlit London, assassinating Marchists and Septemberists.
We are at the climax of the story, about to confront the moonlight smugglers. One problem with this climax is that the moonlight ring is beside the point - there's no real emotional stake for your character. This, I think, is intentional. The smuggles don't matter. The fight is meaningful insofar as it advances the Debunker's character.
A world away wrote:
"Where is she?" The Debunker gives a blood-curdling yell. "What have done with her?" This, I believe, encapsulates the whole point of the story.
Assassins in Fallen London tend to be for people of prominence, but we have no reason to believe Cecile Weicz was one such person. What we do know is that she is a Septemberist in moonlit London - such a political position is grounds for assassination in both worlds. We know that in the Upstairs, the mansion is a stronghold of the Coldstream Guards, indicating that its former owner was a dedicated royalist with connections in high places willing to get their hands dirty. The Fall separated Brinehouse from the rest of London, leaving little reason to stay, leading to the state of ruin seen today, but we don't get a timeline for that. Taking into account some of the Debunker's behavior in Brinehouse, I'd argue the following:
No one hired the Dashing Debunker to investigate Brinehouse. He was there to learn more about his mother's assassination by investigating the abandoned home of its instigators, seeking personal catharsis and the chance that he might see his mother's spirit again.
That's what he's looking for in the dark. It's why he brings up his mother time and time again, even when unprompted: she is at the forefront of his investigative mind. It's why even in the one ending that the Debunker returns to London, we hear nothing about payment or compensation. This story thread ties together every chapter of the story, from the hansom ride to Brinehouse to the Pip and Pickle to the mansion and the Upstairs to the fight with the smugglers. This is the story of investigating the paranormal and unmasking criminals, but the heart of the story is a man facing and coming to terms with his mother's death.[/spoiler]
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Azoth I, the Emissary of Cardinals - A Paramount Presence (not currently accepting new Proteges)
Away to where the Chain cannot bind us.
 Hesperidean.
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Lemonadeon
Posts: 14
3/1/2019
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A bit of history about the real world counterpart of the Debunker, which I felt added more to the story:
[spoiler]"This was the period when Houdini began hanging upside down from skyscrapers in straightjackets and nearly drowning himself in his “Chinese water torture” box. Audiences who admired Houdini’s daring little suspected the sadness that underlay his performances. In letters to his brother, Houdini wrote that “I can’t seem to get over it…my heart will always ache for our darling mother…my heart of hearts went with her.” "
"At night, he would sometimes wake up calling for her. He had all of the letters his mother had sent him over the years retyped and bound in a book that he would pore over incessantly, crying. (He saved the original letters, directing his relatives to use them as stuffing for the pillow in his own coffin when he died.) Houdini also found himself unable to dwell in the Harlem house he had shared with his wife and mother. The memories of his mother in the house were too overwhelming."
"Still, Houdini craved contact with his mother, so he continued to seek out mediums that offered the possibility of allowing him to talk to her once again. However, the quest to find an honest medium inevitably turned Houdini into an anti-fraud crusader, and he went public with several books condemning the practices of charlatans."
Of course, in this timeline, Houdini grew up in the Neath and not the US. Here's one last anecdote:
"He bought a dress that had been made for the Queen of England, had it tailored to his mother, and asked her to wear it. At the dinner party, “Queen Cecilia” received her guests while perched on a throne obtained for the occasion."
Quotes from His Lost Sweetheart: Harry Houdini and His Mother.[/spoiler]
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Azothi
Posts: 586
2/28/2019
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Finished the story. This may be a difficult story to find all four ending texts, for reasons that will become apparent upon reaching the final choice, but we'll see. I thought it was an engaging and well-written story. My thoughts on the story will be below the spoiler.
"Noises from Upstairs" is one of the more effective uses of Qualities as integrated into the story that I've seen in a while. Hidden qualities during conversations improve the flow by making these actions feel more natural, but displayed quality locks still communicate that progress is occurring. For those with certain knowledge of the lore, one of these qualities helps create subtextual narrative through the Storynexus mechanics - the last time I remember this occurring was in "The Stone Guest", which was one of my favorite stories.
[spoiler]The title is a pun. I appreciate that. There's an excellent moment where the Debunker describes his past experience with sunlight cut with moonlight before entering the house. What makes it excellent is seeing the quality of "Silver Sight" with the moonlit London art in the house - your characters don't know it yet, but that's when you realize the true meaning of "Noises from Upstairs" and that the Upstairs is about to enter the story.
The Calendar Council was well-integrated into the story, which is to say that they were almost a non-presence. While I appreciate lore about the Revolutionaries, their mystery is receding. We know the identities of all but four (March, June, September, and October), and even then we know about June's creation and have a reasonable guess for October now that we know the identity of May. March and September are the most unknown, and fittingly, it's the Marchists and the Septemberists that matter most in moonlit London. I'm glad that all we've learned are snippets of information - Marchists are potentially corrupt, while Septemberists "posture". Because Gavin Inglis also wrote "The Calendar Code", and because the last known March (John Cassell) died in 1865 in real life (on the Surface), Cassell is almost certainly not this March. We may draw a connection between the purple the Debunker's mother liked with September, since it's very likely she was still a Septemberist in the Neath.[/spoiler]
Lastly, Brinehouse is described as a peninsula, historically "a major dock ... Not so much trade. Shipbuilding and supply ... several warehouses." We know the Isle of Dogs became Wolfstack Docks, and Greenwich became Watchmaker's Hill and remained Bugsby's Marshes, which would seem to imply that Brinehouse is the displaced remains of Rotherhithe. In Victorian times, Rotherhithe also had shipyards, docks, and warehouses (for timber, notably, which may be referenced in the Pip and Pickle - "Its bar is inlaid with rosewoods, relics of long-forgotten sea trade"). I'm not so sure about historical parallels for the Pip and Pickle or for the mansion, but there does appear to a preponderance of evidence pointing towards Rotherhithe.
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Azoth I, the Emissary of Cardinals - A Paramount Presence (not currently accepting new Proteges)
Away to where the Chain cannot bind us.
Hesperidean.
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Azothi
Posts: 586
2/28/2019
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The text in one part changes if you've played "Cut with Moonlight." It's nothing meaningful, but it's a nice piece of intertextuality that makes me very happy.
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Azoth I, the Emissary of Cardinals - A Paramount Presence (not currently accepting new Proteges)
Away to where the Chain cannot bind us.
Hesperidean.
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+5
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Lemonadeon
Posts: 14
3/2/2019
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It may also interest, the aster is the birth flower for September. It represents emotional love, elegance, remembrance, and faith.
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+4
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Lemonadeon
Posts: 14
3/2/2019
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I enjoyed this story for the most part, but I think one of its bigger flaws was the lack of a reflection choice at the ending. There's no opportunity or breathing space for the player to consider their major choice, and no follow-up on the culprit. Thus, a feeling that things cut off without catharsis. One more action at the end might have smoothed it out much more.
There were also a few areas where the game assumed that you would read certain storylets in the order they were presented to you. So you'd go to one location, then another, and the story would say 'hey your should check out this place you've just been'. So there was a bit of a break in agency there.
Thirdly, I thought there was a strange shift in the Debunker's character after you leave the prologue. Before, he'd been showy. But then later he's lonely and morose. Perhaps that first change in setting really got to him? There’s also a forced binary choice at the start, supposedly because of a lack of time to be thorough. However, the player doesn’t feel that rush, since they can literally take all the time and actions they like before moving the story forward. More in a moment on what I thought the game did nicely.
edited by Lemonadeon on 3/2/2019
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+3
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Harjavaldar
Posts: 30
3/9/2019
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This is puzzling - I very definitely remember posting a reply to this thread a few days ago, but it is not here.
Very strange. Anyway, to sum up what I wrote then is that this was an enjoyable story, but not as much as last month.
However, I feel the lack of the third option, which Echo Bazaar had so very many of in the start.
Here you can choose "rational" or "faith" - but you cannot accept the scientific method and at the same time also maybe want contact with the other side, or have faith and also wish to find proof. Mechanically, it doesn't seem to matter, but I dislike when I have to choose an option where it says "You share his hatred for charlatans."
Where is the room for doubt?
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Harjavaldar - A gentleman of many interests - most social actions welcome (no Affluent Photographer).
Would you like a sip of cider? Send an in-game request. See an_ocelot's guide here, for how to easiest do so.
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/John_Wax - Found what they sought, down a Well.
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Azothi
Posts: 586
2/28/2019
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MidnightVoyager wrote:
Extremely important question: Is there anything I need to do/not do to get this?
Not as far as I know. The story will be very clear when the choice presents itself. You will sacrifice some monetary reward.
The stats are
[spoiler]+7 Watchful, +4 Persuasive, +1 Respectable[/spoiler]
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Azoth I, the Emissary of Cardinals - A Paramount Presence (not currently accepting new Proteges)
Away to where the Chain cannot bind us.
Hesperidean.
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+3
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Jolanda Swan
Posts: 1789
2/28/2019
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I am finished with the story, which was well-written but seemed really short. Probably because the last one was really, weally long though!
The story goes to some really unexpected places, and I am very curious to see where speculation on certain calendar months will take us.
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Lover of all things beautiful, secret admirer of ugly truths, fond of the Parabola Sun... and always delighted to role play.
http://fallenlondon.com/profile/Jolanda%20Swan
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+2
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kimeekat
Posts: 7
3/1/2019
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MeingroessterFan wrote:
However, the ending felt very hollow to me. I opted to .... Maybe I inadvertently picked the worst ending option possible and the other paths would've been more satisfying, but as things are, the story ended on a bit of a flat note.
Let me start by emphasizing that I really enjoyed the premise, the potential for rationalism and mysticism outlooks to color the story, the Debunker (the game gave me a great reason to help him), and learning about the new areas.
I picked the same option and have the same feelings of abrupt incompletion. I've echoed it here. I didn't feel like I needed to base my decision off of gaining him as a companion (stats unimportant for me and still mourning The Intrepid Deacon), and I'd warned him off the stuff earlier (I am Cut With Moonlight). He still wanted it, despite all logic and despite all warning. It struck something in me about self determination of one's fate (related to irl goings on with end of life elder care). So I helped him try what he wanted, a contrast to last month where I Did What I Felt Was Best for the Whole of the City to the Dismay of a Master.
[spoiler]I got a Searing Enigma and some text that he has a revelation - when it said "help him with the ritual", which is what I seem to recall the option saying though it's very possible I'm misremembering already, I thought there might be a bit more to it than opening boxes.
The text says it concludes the story - I assume there is no follow up card to pull from the deck, then? I'm confused. Did we stop the trade or is that what I gave up in favor of "the ritual"? Did we just leave the Debunker in that tunnel down there, vulnerable for a stabbing from whoever was in that boat? I would not have done what I did just to leave him to die (I quite liked him!).[/spoiler]
Did we learn any further lore about the Upstairs that we didn't know before (honestly can't remember and there's no ability to search my journal for the Cut with Moonlight stories)? Did the rationalism/mysticism come into play for anyone except at the very end (where it seemed to make no difference, at least for my Rational option)? I feel like there was another moment but I can't remember it and looking over my journal isn't helping me recall.
I'm very curious about the other options, if anyone's journaled them.
edited by kimeekat on 3/1/2019
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Kim E.E. Kat
Buy me last pape, mistah? -coughs pathetically-
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Lady Karnstein
Posts: 278
3/1/2019
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Re: Cut With Moonlight: To me, I think it is worth playing first, but you won't be missing out on anything but some knowledge about sunlight cut with moonlight and what that does. It will be more meaningful, and may color your characters choices at the end, but it is not essential for understanding this story. This is in no way a sequel, any more than Steeped in Honey is a part of he Nemesis Ambition.
My report: I absolutely loved it. I have a soft spot for this sort of ghost story, and the fallen london twists just made it better. Caroline intervened to save a man, and one she just met; I think she is growing as a person.
[spoiler]
She is rethinking her...oh addiction is such an ugly word...indulgence of moonlight. But she is rather a hedonist, and reluctant to give up an indulgence.[/spoiler]
But this is absolutely a good story and I sorta was sad when it was over.
edited by Lady Karnstein on 3/1/2019
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Lady Caroline Karnstein, The Moral Hedonist (Description)
Infamous writer, artist, and courtesan. Unrepentant Invert. Hesperidean.
Paramount Presence, Correspondent, Nocturnal. Poet Laureate of the Neath, Ambassador to Arbor
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Rubbered Ginny
Posts: 6
3/1/2019
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I really liked this story up to the very end. The ghost story framing with the little dash of a Fallen London twist where, I'll remind you, you can often find the Dead hanging out at the harbour, was a very engaging framing device, and I enjoyed the build-up and the little clues you could gather in the pub and throughout the house. I have to admit that I found the Debunker's constant referral to particular family affairs of his to be a bit heavy-handed; less foreshadowing, more forebludgeoning. Nevertheless, I found him an engaging character, and I enjoyed the whole investigation and the twist at the end.
However, the ending felt very hollow to me. I opted to (insert SPOILER tag here because I can't for the life of me remember how you put the spoiler box in) help the Debunker devour all the moonlight, and it concluded pretty anticlimactically with him getting affected by the overdose, though in ways that weren't particularly clear, I gained a single enigma, and then the story was over. I'm not so much hung up about the material reward, it's just that it felt really rushed and anticlimactic near the end. Maybe I inadvertently picked the worst ending option possible and the other paths would've been more satisfying, but as things are, the story ended on a bit of a flat note.
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silurica
Posts: 210
3/1/2019
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Although I found the mechanic of "repeat these same options several times" kind of annoying, I enjoyed the first half of the story; interacting with the locals, exploring the haunted house, learning about the Debunker... there was an exciting sense of mystery! But the moment I got into the mystery itself, I felt everything fell flat.
[spoiler]The Upstairs world felt heavily underused. There were glimpses of the world, but as we didn't explore it beyond what we happened to land our eyes on in the house, there really wasn't much. The final confrontation didn't give much insight into that world or the Debunker's conflict either.[/spoiler]
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 Meika Osborne, the Reckless Researcher
 Leonard West, the Scarlet Informant
 Chizuru Nishiooji, the Rueful Ex-Diplomat
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Socotra
Posts: 33
4/4/2019
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phryne wrote:
I thought this was a nice bit of storytelling. I had all but forgotten about Cut with Moonlight (which was released three and a half years ago!). Nice to see the sunlight/moonlight trade is still alive and kicking :P
Many thanks to Azothi and Lemonadeon for their very enlightening posts! 
Would someone be so kind and post the endings for "Assisting the Debunker's moonlight ritual" and "Taking off with the boat (and the smugglers' haul)"?
I've found echoes for three of the four options. Did anyone take off with the boat?
Assist the Debunker
End the Smuggling Operation
Drag the Debunker Away
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https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Socotra
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Fadewalker
Posts: 136
3/8/2019
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kimeekat wrote:
I'm very curious about the other options, if anyone's journaled them.
edited by kimeekat on 3/1/2019
Departed, giving a Night-Whisper
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A fervent supporter of the Council and the Masters.
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Lady Karnstein
Posts: 278
3/2/2019
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That, Azothi, was amazing. Thank you. The +1 did not seem enough. It all makes more sense to me now.
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Lady Caroline Karnstein, The Moral Hedonist (Description)
Infamous writer, artist, and courtesan. Unrepentant Invert. Hesperidean.
Paramount Presence, Correspondent, Nocturnal. Poet Laureate of the Neath, Ambassador to Arbor
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Jolanda Swan
Posts: 1789
3/9/2019
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Huh. It ate my answer too, which was, essentially, exactly the same as yours: we needed a third option.
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Lover of all things beautiful, secret admirer of ugly truths, fond of the Parabola Sun... and always delighted to role play.
http://fallenlondon.com/profile/Jolanda%20Swan
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MidnightVoyager
Posts: 858
3/13/2019
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Tsar Koschei wrote:
Not a bad story. The Debunker struck me as a decent sort, though his evidently severe mommy issues did somewhat erode my respect for him (I didn't realize the Houdini connection while I was playing as I'm not very familiar with his personal history, that certainly does make it more interesting so thanks for that Lemonadeon). I did opt to save him in the end even though he's mechanically useless to me at this point.
I was a little confused though, since having previously played through the Cheery Man / Last Constable content, I'd come away with the impression that even a small amount of sunlight is pretty much instantly and permanently fatal to Neath residents? How exactly does this work again?
Most of this is from Cut with Moonlight, so spoilers if you want to play that one and learn more youself. Just know it's in there. And some of it is from Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, inferences from other stories, etc.
[spoiler]For people who have lived too long in the Neath or even died down here, sunlight is a gamble. Small amounts can be survived, especially small enough to fit in a box. It's not an exact science how much it takes to kill someone, so it's always a risk. Consistent exposure to sunlight, like that crypt full of it, will absolutely kill you. A box of it? You will probably be fine... unless you drop dead, which does happen!
But there's also moonlight, which is mostly what's in this story. Moonlight's risk is madness. The story "Cut with Moonlight" (or was it BY moonlight? I forget) was named such because the sunlight was being sold "cut" with moonlight to... well, it's the same principle behind any drug being cut with something else to make it weaker. Same way it ends up with very variable side effects, too. Sunless Skies has more about moonlight. I'll be vaguer about that one for reasons, but moonlight might be showing you an alternate world or an alternate history that is not our own.[/spoiler]
edited by MidnightVoyager on 3/13/2019
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Midnight Voyager - A blood-cousin to predators. Collector of beasts. Affably mad.
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Azothi
Posts: 586
3/26/2019
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Arcengal wrote:
Did the rational/spiritual choices do anything to the story? I loved it overall but these inputs didn't have obvious effects
They affected your options when battling the smugglers. For instance, my playthrough had only "rational" choices, and so I was unable to play every option in the final confrontation.
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Azoth I, the Emissary of Cardinals - A Paramount Presence (not currently accepting new Proteges)
Away to where the Chain cannot bind us.
Hesperidean.
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Ragnar Degenhand
Posts: 197
3/1/2019
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re: Pip and Pickle,
If it's Deptford rather than Rotherhithe, Pip may well be a reference to Philip (Pip) Marlow, who got into a famous pickle in a tavern there and ended up with a dagger to the eye.
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https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Ragnar%20Degenhand
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Skinnyman
Posts: 2133
3/1/2019
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Azothi wrote:
The text in one part changes if you've played "Cut with Moonlight." It's nothing meaningful, but it's a nice piece of intertextuality that makes me very happy. Yay, thanks for the insight, mate! I'll just do another thread to gather all this info; at least I'll be able to edit the original post every time.
--
ESs items and quality requirements sheet. Please check if there are errors or if something is missing
Achievement list if you're feeling bored!
I am accepting Plant battles, Neath's Mysteries card, Starveling Cats and boxed cats.
No suppers, no second chances gain and no need to cure my menaces!
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JaggedMallard
Posts: 15
3/1/2019
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That was really good! I'm always glad to see an Exceptional Story that experiments with structure instead of the usual go to three locations and then finish up. My only problem was that it felt like there were two places where it was just padding for actions, I'd rather have the story come to its natural conclusion than have to do the same action a few more times as in the ending of this even if it does make it a little bit shorter.
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+1
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silurica
Posts: 210
3/1/2019
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I chose to save the Debunker, first profile in my signature. It felt lowkey on the surface, but there's a struggle in there. I thought it was a nice ending overall with a sweet final note.
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Meika Osborne, the Reckless Researcher
Leonard West, the Scarlet Informant
Chizuru Nishiooji, the Rueful Ex-Diplomat
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+1
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jennnjennjen
Posts: 3
3/2/2019
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Hmm...I didn't love it. It's a bit of an action-sink (ate up about a day's worth of actions) with a limited amount of story involved. There also didn't seem to be any meaningful decisions to be made, apart from the very last card where you choose a reward -- so far as I can tell, my decisions leading up to the final card didn't didn't seem to have much of an impact on the story or the ending.
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+1
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Tyrconnell
Posts: 271
3/2/2019
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I enjoyed it. I've realized that one of the things I like in these stories is stories that about London, and Fallen London's weirdness, but not deep lore. Visiting Parabola gets old, but I'm always interested in honey-dens. In this case, the fact that the light has to do with Judgements isn't what I want to read about all the time, and in this case it doesn't come up. It's about the fact that in Fallen London, sunlight and moonlight are weird, imported drugs, and that living underground turns out to be psychologically hard.
I don't love the mechanics of stories that involve being stuck somewhere and wandering around, although this wasn't as bad as some. But the story told in the area is nice, even if it is linear, and I found it worthwhile.
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Tyrconnell, a gentleman and doctor of diverse interests and multifarious proclivities
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+1
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lolahighwind
Posts: 27
2/28/2019
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Does anyone have the stats for the [spoiler]companion you can acquire at the end?[/spoiler] (I'll gush about how good this story was in a minute, lol)
edited by lolahighwind on 2/28/2019
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Aquila Highwind, the Adamant Monster-Hunter
Dionysus Highwind, the Lost Wastrel (Gone NORTH)
Ruby Valdez, the Opulent Operative
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+1
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TeaFiend5
Posts: 21
2/28/2019
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Is it worth it to play Cut with Moonlight before this/in general? It's 20 out of 61 in the survey from reddit, and about 50% of people say it's worth it for the rewards alone, but I've never actually heard anyone talk about it.
edited by TeaFiend5 on 2/28/2019
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+1
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MidnightVoyager
Posts: 858
2/28/2019
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lolahighwind wrote:
Does anyone have the stats for the [spoiler]companion you can acquire at the end?[/spoiler] (I'll gush about how good this story was in a minute, lol)
edited by lolahighwind on 2/28/2019
Extremely important question: Is there anything I need to do/not do to get this?
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Midnight Voyager - A blood-cousin to predators. Collector of beasts. Affably mad.
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+1
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