How do I access the grayed out zones on the map? When? Do I need to increase my stats to 100 or so?
Not all places on the map are actually accessible. A few are just there for flavor, like Hater’s Bridge. The Orphanage in particular is part of Ambition: Light Fingers. As a player you may or may not ever actually encounter it, depending on your Ambition (and if it is your Ambition, I’m not sure you access it from the map).
The places that are locations you can unlock, you generally do so by playing the "Making Your Name" storylines. A Name In Seven Secret Alphabets, A Name Scrawled in Blood, etc.
It’s still bizarre to me that they put the Orphanage on the main map, considering it’s Ambition-specific and canonically it’s in the middle of a massive dark maze.
Can confirm, that’s my alt’s ambition. You go in from Spite. And once you’ve finished your task there you can’t go back, even if you didn’t burn it down.
BTW Ambrose66, send me a calling card if you want social actions. Happy to help out newbs, since I was one not long ago. Beware of getting lost in this forum’s chat of endgame stuff: you are not going there any time soon. I guess I’m sort of mid-game, POSI, but just scratching at the barest start of parabola and the railway.
ETA: if you can’t send a card, just try again later. I’m spending a lot of my time in the lab or at Zee where the mail does not go.
edited by Bluestocking on 9/27/2021
I am not a newbie, I was a person of importance once, but this was many years ago. I have forgotten much. I’ve sent an invitation to you Bluestocking. There is a location called “bone something” that could be accessed from the Department of Menace Eradication. I am not sure…
The Bone Market can be accessed via a storylet from the Department of Menace Eradication, once you’ve unlocked it. To unlock it, progress the lab storyline in the university.
Thank you! I’ll wait for the lab storyline. I haven’t unlocked the university with this profile, yet.
Ah, sorry to presume. Welcome back, then!