I bid you hello, madams and messieurs,
I would like to know - how did you come by your profession? What makes you thinks yours is the most interesting? The most suitable? The most profitable?
On an somewhat unrelated note - do you feel that higher-tier professions are worth the effort of notability, Making Waves, etc.
Indefatigably yours,
Alex "Flipside"
My character began his life at the Neath as an Enquirer and then progressed as an Author. However, I think my character ought to have a more Dangerous trade when I chose the Nemesis ambition for him so I switched his job to Rat-Catcher and then to Stalker.
Roleplay-wise, I think the Rat-Catcher route is the best for my character. It suits his story and his primary stat, which is Dangerous. Pyro’s a married guy now so I think a switch to a more lucrative job hints that he’s getting a bit more mature and experienced. I also imagined that he is quite content to eat rats as a bachelor but would now prefer to serve tastier meals to his growing family and servants.
Gameplay-wise, I think the route doesn’t provide the best weekly rewards or profession item since I can easily grind for those rewards and find decent replacements for the items save perhaps, the Tier-3 Weapon. (I think the Author route provides the best weekly rewards while the Watcher route provides the best Profession Item)
I think high-tier professions provide a rather fine selection of items and a sense of accomplishment for my character.[li]
edited by Pyrodinium on 3/15/2014
Crooked Cross:
"The Crooked-Cross is a tempter. He invites the ignorant to knowledge, and opposes any monopoly on morality. He tests the boundaries between right and wrong. He has parted a priest and his faith, convincing the priest to deface the sign of his God."
How could I be anything but?
(So … most suitable.)
re: effort? I have a vague recollection it felt like work at the time, but that was back when notability was harder to get. Now? Worth it.
edited by babelfishwars on 3/16/2014
I went for the Watcher path hoping that it’d give me an opportunity to become an Agent of the Masters. Naturally it did not, but Midnighters are pretty cool anyway. Favours in High Places are really useful for my Salon, and the Shrine is a weird but helpful addition to my home.
I had a couple characters change their professions. One was an Enforcer, but she was way too nice to be a Murderer so I switched her over to a Monster Hunter. It’d work better if she was a Vake Hunter, but I’m sure the practice will be good for avenging her lost brother. The other switched from the Trickster path to a Glassman primarily because it matched their Destiny a little more. That and the item is more her style.
Good thread idea! :)
I started as a Minor Poet (I think), then progressed to Author and finally to Correspondent.
I have decided that my character’s main struggle is with her religious faith and her relationship with the Church and Hell. So Correspondent seems a fitting career choice, given the Brass Embassy’s interest in unraveling the mysteries of the Correspondence and its implications for Neathy theology.
I just started a second character that I am going to take down a more Dangerous path (he will be closely tied to Revolutionaries) and so I’m excited to explore some different career options.
edited by Asami Sato on 3/16/2014
Profession? Profession! A gentleman does not demean himself with such base and plebeian concerns such as labour.
Now I have many hobbies, as all gentleman must. The most prominent of which is the study of the Correspondence. I, occasionally, dabble in letters to fellow scholars concerning the nature of intangible, non-Newtonian existence to which we true citizen of post-fall London find ourselves. I do this for the Correspondence is the foremost of the true libertine’s calling. Once one has experienced everything, one must experience that which can never again be the same.
But to call such friendly banter between colleagues a profession, like the unwashed hoi-poi must toil in for their gin and rags, is untenable, sir. I shall not stand for it!
i hunt monsters because hunting monsters is cool
Also it lead on from the Rat-catcher profession and, well
fun fact! the entire rat business was started because I had a surplus of rats and the Restitution SMEN card had an option which let you send an awful lot of rats, so I decided to see if I could bribe an ETA for the next bit of SMEN content out of Alexis by sending lots of rats. And, well, now we are where we are, in a world where a 193-storylet game about sending rats exists and you can own a Rat of Glory, which is a candle rat.
Correspondent seems to be the most prestigious profession, since it’s now the hardest to acquire.
I suppose I should contribute, seeing as I have started that thread.
Since I had affinity with the Great Game, mostly due to interest regarding what’s happening on the Surface while the Fifth City languishes under it’s mile-high ceiling. However, I am most confused by the Watcher’s rewards - Dubious Testimonies and Sworn Statements. Anyone found any proper use for them?
As it is, I am now working to get another point of notability in order to advance to a more lucrative position. But what position this may be eludes me. Maybe I should give into my rebellious tendencies and start a new career as a Campaigner?
Helen at the moment has Author as her Profession. She got it when she was advised by her friends among the Bohemian to capitalise on her writing skills. (She did publish several popular works in Court before getting banished for her satire against the Church.) She very much enjoys her position and the lucrative deals she gets. If her Appreciation Society is a little… too excitable, their dedication makes up for that. She has no interest in advancing her profession from an Author to a Correspondent since she was warned in the past she’ll be involved with stories at that point and she doesn’t want that.
Andrea is also a Journalist at the moment. It isn’t IC for her because I just got her that because, honestly, it was for profit so I could have her get a 1000 Wedding. With that completed I’ll be switching her to Watcher and then Agent soon if I ever get the darn ard. It fits more with her backstory as a talented if grudging spy for the Great Game and I hope to make her a freelancing and independent Midnighter as one my (many) goals for her after I wreck her connections with the Game completely.
Mari, hilariously, became a Campaigner. While they are Dangerous, they do have connections with the Church and has a soft spot for it due to their past. They’re also a good friend towards the Loquacious Vicar and was recommended by him to join after seeing them at work when clearing trouble away at the church. I just like to imagine Mari hovering during the protests, looming threateningly over anyone who tries to say anything negative about the Temperance Crowd. They’ll be advancing themselves more into the profession because they will become more and more connected with Parabola down the line of their story.
Mr Monday has no job because I can’t think of anything for him. He’s just so dull and there compared to the other three. He is a spy, however, so I think I’ll give him the job of Agent to.
my main is a stalker. it provides a very nice puppy doggie. heh. and fits well with his ambition of finding a way to kill the ma… erm… bat-man. otherwise i sort of preferred the tier 2 jobs since they provide items that were more useful for creating expanded-inventory equipment.
my alt’s trying to get his tier 2 job as an enforcer. because i like to think of him/her as a shadowy assassin/ninja. but the damned revolutionary and criminals card just wouldn’t show up!
my latest new alt, which i probably won’t use much except for exploring the early parts of the nemesis ambition, is still sticking to the training jobs for now.
edited by DamWei on 3/16/2014
Actually, Ed’s an Author in order to grind nights for zir wedding.
But zir real essence is Correspondence.
Love is the law. Love beyond the will.
Sir Frederick followed the Journalist - Author - Correspondent route, because, well… reading. Researching. Writing. Recording. It’s what I do. Pen and ink and notebook and a modest group of appreciative readers - these are what delight me. He probably won’t continue on to the next rank, however, having taking the warnings of his Noman to heart.
Hubris chose the Trickster path because Urchins and Devils seemed like the right sort of acquaintances for him, and because it seemed to offer a greater deal of independence than being someone else’s Enforcer. Oh, and because an otherworldly urchin companion was part of his canon before I ever created him in Fallen London. He’s continued through Conjurer on to Crooked-Cross because the prospect of being rewarded handsomely for undermining what he considers to be the ill-applied, hypocritical and obstructive morality of modern society delights him. He’ll very likely progress on to the next rank when it becomes available.
Juniper started as a Rat-Catcher because, not knowing where that chain might go, I supposed that connections to the Docks might lead to some sort of mechanic position. Stalker was a suitable progression - she is very much a creature of the hidden worlds outside of civilised society. She likely won’t continue on to Monster-Hunting - the mysteries of the shadows are more her line than the actual slaughter of the beasts that lurk there.
Esther was more or less created to be a Campaigner - she is Deputy Secretary General of the Fallen Fabian Society, a professional political organiser, and so I’m quite prepared to have her continue Campaigning well into the end-game. More abstract pursuits into secret knowledge and the world behind mirrors would only distract her from the Cause. Plus, it amuses me to have one character at each tier.
John Vazquez started his career as a Enquirer and later, when he obtained all the training he could out of it, a Minor Poet. [li]
After that, he became a Watcher, because had been a detective on the Surface, and had done a lot of work for the Constables in the Neath. But after he attained POSI status, he reconsidered his career options and decided to become an Author. So, after a brief period as a Journalist, he obtained the necessary Notability to become one. His medium term goal is to return to the University and advance to Correspondent, unless the events force a change of mind.
Mi alt, Black Alice, had a period of going through all the minor training jobs before becoming an Enforcer for the Revolutionaries. But, motivated by certain encounters met during the pursuit of her ambition, she decided to join the respectable side of the struggle, and became a Campaigner and currently a Mystic of the Revolution.
Overall, I find professions one of the most interesting and defining parts of Fallen London.
Zeel was originally an enquirer, seeking to learn more. Eventually, he became a Rat-Catcher because he wanted a few labourers to owe him some favours. However, his true loyalties lie with Hell, and for them he became a Trickster. It wasn’t so much a case of desiring to play with people as wanting to keep his friends close. He then upgraded to a conjurer. He had no reason to want to, he just was using that as a stepping stone. However, dancing between the real and unreal wasn’t too bad either. Eventually, he became a Crooked-Cross. Despite having no moral centre for his own dealings, being paid to make others question their morals and become better people is no issue for him. He prefers to deal with the monsters in the world, leaving himself the only one.[li]
Jass, on the other hand, went through all the training professions for at least sometime (starting with Pickpocket). She then went on to become an Enforcer for the Revolution, believing in it whole-heartedly. However, she was asked to become a Campaigner instead, which she did because she wanted to help the Cause as best as the Cause needed her to. Then, after learning a lot about the Neath, she became a Mystic. That didn’t last very long however, as she learned how to enter mirrors, and became a Glassman. She currently searches Parabola in order to learn. She may wish the downfall of the Bazaar and the Masters, but that’s small scale compared to what she can find.
Necroing this thread because it’s an interesting and always-relevant topic.
I went with Monster-hunter for roleplaying reasons. Research and academia to help with the murder of massive monsters, and more or less transcending the human body by eating greater things? Sign me up! It also seems like a good profession to have in order to survive certain… revolutionary end goals. If that doesn’t work out, well, I suppose I’ll be heading into space to hunt masters one day.
However. Glassman is far superior mechanically if you want to be dangerous, since that item is actually far better for the slot. The harpoon only equals the best dangerous item for the slot, at 12 (or 8 less if you count Knife & Candle items) whereas the glasses are 7 points higher than the closest equivalent. Even the payment items are more useful. I have a bad habit of minmaxing in games so I might switch eventually if I need the extra points.
edited by Ruddertail on 12/13/2015
I don’t have a profession. It’s too much like work.
Bit since I write the odd bit here and there, might as well get paid for it. My character is interested in ferreting out the secrets of How Things Work, so there are several top-tier "professions" that would match such curiosity. But since knowledge exists to be shared (in his philosophy, your mileage may vary), disseminating it by the written word follows as a natural consequence. Thus, author now, Correspondent later. But this does not preclude changing at some point, Mal has no problems with MW because he has a wide circle of acquaintance, and it is especially easy to raise Notability in this season, thanks to the Sacksmas cards. Some of that Notability will go bye-byes when and if I upgrade my Room at the Beth to a Suite this Sacksmas. Which also makes the Correspondence attractive, since the 10 SotC will make it easy to get the requisite Taste of Lacre.
As for cost, I haven’t noticed any. The MW is a natural by-product of social actions, and the professional rewards all sell, if they have no other use, which most of them do.
– Mal
I did something unique- I’m a doctor.
My goals, after all, are to seek lacre and drown a certain individual in it. If you think the vake, well, you think wrongly.
I have little interest in prolonged exposure to the games of the masters, and whille my work is tedious, it’s quite convenient for poisonings and other assassinations.
Perhaps some day that’ll change, and i’ll find a career that offers what i need to find what would be enough airaig to get the entire fourth city drunk for a week.
(it’s also got the most echoes per week. 70 vs. 60. Even if they are in a useless form.)
edited by Grenem on 12/13/2015
Eddy is a Crooked Cross, which suits them entirely - they were a burglar when they arrived in the Neath, fell into company with the Devils and Urchins early, and they honestly are very well suited to the theft of another’s faith. It feels, character-wise, like it was something they were born to do, even though I sort of picked the track for them on a whim.
It was a bit of a climb, mechanic-wise, but the weekly reward comes with free booze (because sober religion is dull), and that’s wonderful.
As her name suggests, Sestina began as a poet, then advanced to Author after she started publishing anthologies and longer satirical works. She is now a Correspondent who seeks to address pertinent literary, linguistic and metafictive questions such as:
What happens when one reads a satire written in violant ink? Better still, what about one written in Correspondence sigils?
Is there a sigil that translates to "the burning sensation coupled with slight stirrings of pleasure in one’s heart upon observing scandal?"
Is the gaping void that finds itself between celestial bodies able to laugh?
Fei Xue is an assassin, so choosing Enforcer on the way to Licentate was an obvious RP choice. ((Spoilers: Don’t click if you might be RPing with FX in the future.)) Actually, they are a performance artist/method actor who is assassinating so that they may play an assassin to the best of their ability. Also for revenge. Death of the Playwright. It’s complicated.
The Baron is a man of rather bare means. But he is a bit of an elitist cloaca. He refuses to expose himself to any plebian professions, so I might make him take up something silly and inane, like Notary, but for now he shall alternate between the beginner professions for the stat boosts. Might even end up giving him no job, reason being that he is a spoilt heir who refuses to go to work etc. etc. (in case you haven’t realised, I love playing with stereotypes). I’m still trying to flesh out his backstory…
edited by Sestina Valdis on 12/13/2015