'A Turncoat' menace: observation and request

For the devs.[li]

This seems to be the one menace that doesn’t have any way to reduce it until you get it to a certain point, i.e. 4 or more.

I was doing some of the Affair of the Box stuff to accrue some Echoes, rather than go and harass more fidgeting writers - but it had been a very ling time since I used this storylet. I ended up picking an option opposite to before and got dubbed a turncoat. (Guardian of the realm, or conscience of the empire are a bit ambiguous - there’s no mention of which side you favour currently as part of their text, and they allow for the exact same storylet options)

The only way I can see to reduce it, is to spike it further, the either lose a LOT of revolutionary connections, some of the very rare Masters connections, or pay 5 Fate.
No opportunity cards or steps in the storylet, (to my knowledge) help you re-establish your trustworthiness at all…

It would be gratefully received if an option was added. I feel very out of character having this due to a genuine mistake, depite playing as otherwise very loyal and steadfast gentleman.
It’s also out of character with all other menaces, obscure or common - for which there are items, opportunities, or storylets to help reduce even if they’re only at Level 1.

Regards

Id like to add to this a bit:
Turncoat can actuly be gotten from other things than the affair of the box. If you switch sides between the cheery man and the constaple you get it, If you betray the scarred kingpin (Or whatever his name is) you can also gain it.
Both of these storylet are MONTHS earlier into the game than affair of the box meaning you will be stuck with the turncoat penalty and have no way to remove it. Edit: Yes i know it doesnt do anything until level 4 but its ugly and distracting. I dont want a menace constantly in my face on the sidebar that i cant get rid of.

Can turncoat please just be cured with &quotTime the healer&quot or something? I mean that makes perfect sense.[li]
edited by Blackleaf on 11/24/2013

I would also add that it’s pretty easy to misclick while grinding affair of the box. Even after doing it for hundreds of times, I sometimes click the wrong button (the choices don’t follow a set pattern, in some of the storylets supporting Masters is the top option, in others it’s the bottom one).
It does not cost that much Connected Revolutionaries to clear your name, though. Or it least it’s a lot more affordable than Masters/Fate options.

I always found it funny that you can seek forgiveness from the Revolutionaries and then go right back to supporting the Masters (or vice versa) without a single person acknowledging it. More on topic, I think it’d be nice if you could turn in your Empire’s Kingmaker quality to reduce your Turncoat menace.
edited by Sara Hysaro on 11/24/2013

[quote=Sara Hysaro]I always found it funny that you can seek forgiveness from the Revolutionaries and then go right back to supporting the Masters (or vice versa) without a single person acknowledging it. More on topic, I think it’d be nice if you could turn in your Empire’s Kingmaker quality to reduce your Turncoat menace.
edited by Sara Hysaro on 11/24/2013[/quote]

How do you seek forgiveness from the Revolutionaries or the from the Masters? I ended up with the same issue–didn’t remember what I’d clicked before and now I’m considered somewhat untrustworthy.

[li]

Options to redeem yourself will replace normal Affair of the Box options, once your Turncoat becomes high enough.

Being so curious and practical (no real beliefs), my character has got the turncoat quality very early on, and got more during the affair of the box… He would wear this reputation proudly, if weren’t for the problems it causes.

Blackleaf - where does the option to switch between the Cheery Man and the Last Constable appear? I’m assuming it’s prior to the completion of the storylet… a shame, as I have often regretted my initial choice and was not aware there was an opportunity to switch sides…

I also think it would be nice if, once you’ve removed the turncoat quality by paying fate/cashing in connections etc, you could make a free choice to which side you want to join, without one of your options giving you the Turncoat 1 quality again.

I managed to acquire the Turncoat quality in the Last Constable vs. Cheery Man thing, largely due to how frustrating I found it that one generally has to take actions without really getting a chance to hear both NPCs’ sides of the issue. While I understand that a lot of Fallen London’s appeal is the unfolding of mysteries over time, it would be nice to be able to get a sort of bearing on each of the parties you’re being asked to choose between before you launch into a “choose one or the other” sort of storyline, perhaps via a separate option at the beginning allowing you to make Watchful (or, depending on the situation, Shadowy, Persuasive, or Dangerous) checks to figure out a few details that might prevent having to hop back and forth just to try to get the story from both sides. (Unless there’s a way to do that without committing that I’m missing, somehow.)