[quote=streetfelineblue][quote=Ember]That was what I meant by "renouncing", yes. It’s my choice, I made it, I may very well make it again. But that doesn’t exactly mean it’s pleasant. edited by Ember on 12/9/2013 edited by Ember on 12/9/2013[/quote]
Well, the main worry of the original poster was a possible end of the world - of which the Liberation of Night in the Neath was but a sort of prototype - and the Liberation of Night Gleam destiny seems to imply that the player character and a good part of the Neath denizens will be able to survive relatively well, though nothing is said of what happens on the Surface. The Parabola Gleam destiny is even more "optimist", with the player character ending up in Parabola… The ultimate fate isn’t clear, all we have is that cryptic "It’s his turn to be there when I need him most" that seems to imply some kind of undisclosed plan. So basically, Gleam destinies seem to imply some degree of altruism and maybe some self-sacrifice, but that doesn’t mean they have it much worse than the others in term of survival and avoiding Armageddon ^^[/quote]
[li]
The Liberation of Night Gleam destiny specifically says that it’s "not a good life". It’s still better than being dead, mind.
The Chill of the Void Destinies all seem to be mutually exclusive with the Liberation of Night ones, which is reassuring in some way. I took the mention of the scarred earth to be referring to the exit wound left when the Bazaar blasts its way out of the Neath to head to the Judgements.
It’s not like the other Destiny alternatives were much better, though. Without the liberation it appears that everyone in FL basically gets consumed by the Bazaar. The Liberation of Night may not be great, but it’s better than a lot of the alternatives. The only really wholly hopeful Destiny seemed to be "Revelation", and it was ambiguous.[/quote]
I don’t think the Liberation of Night is "better" than really any of the alternatives, as the Revolutionaries imply that
the model of the Machine used to eliminate light from the ENTIRE NEATH was basically a test model, and that eventually they basically plan to make one that can do the same pretty much for the entire UNIVERSE.
Can’t really see how that’s better. And the destiny I took does not imply Earth destruction, just that it’s "scarred", which is rather ambiguous.[/quote]
“Nor public flame, nor private, dares to shine;
Nor human spark is left, nor glimpse divine!
Lo! thy dread empire, Chaos! is restored;
Light dies before thy uncreating word:
Thy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall;
And universal darkness buries all.”
― Alexander Pope, The Dunciad
(I hope nobody has publicly made this connection before. If so, I apologise and castigate myself for not doing so earlier.)
The Curator destiny, which has the descriptive text “you will preserve,” made no mention of the destruction of Fallen London. Admittedly, it involved returning a captured Mr. Wines to London, but the player character seemed to be doing this with the explicit intent of keeping things the way they were. There was also an option during Mr Sack’s visit–the Bazaarine poem, if we recall correctly–which resulted in the Mr Sacks suggesting that perhaps there didn’t need to be a sixth or seventh city.
Further to the above, I wonder if December’s mask is an allusion to Shelley’s ‘The Mask of Anarchy’. In which case we definitely shouldn’t trust the blighter.
"Last came Anarchy: he rode
On a white horse, splashed with blood;
He was pale even to the lips,
Like Death in the Apocalypse.
And he wore a kingly crown;
And in his grasp a sceptre shone;
On his brow this mark I saw -
‘I AM GOD, AND KING, AND LAW!’
With a pace stately and fast,
Over English land he passed,
Trampling to a mire of blood
The adoring multitude."
Yes, yes, I know December would appear to be against the concept of gods/kings/law, but if he had his way, chaos would be law, by virtue of being the status quo, as Pope suggests above. And from other parts of the poem, your army in the Mountain destiny does seem to be the type keen on glory, blood, and gold… edited by Cocytus on 1/6/2014
I never paid attention to that, but I just noticed that the corresponding icon on your profile gives an indication on your contribution to the Liberation of Night. So McMillan has contributed (to his regret) “slowly”, while Polarimini “less slowly”. Delicious :)
(I suppose really committed revolutioners have been much more efficient than “less slowly” and perhaps reached a cap on that Circumstance… what’s the top level?)
[quote=Cocytus]“Nor public flame, nor private, dares to shine;
Nor human spark is left, nor glimpse divine!
Lo! thy dread empire, Chaos! is restored;
Light dies before thy uncreating word:
Thy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall;
And universal darkness buries all.”
― Alexander Pope, The Dunciad
(I hope nobody has publicly made this connection before. If so, I apologise and castigate myself for not doing so earlier.)[/quote]
Not that I am aware of.
[quote=Master Polarimini]I never paid attention to that, but I just noticed that the corresponding icon on your profile gives an indication on your contribution to the Liberation of Night. So McMillan has contributed (to his regret) "slowly", while Polarimini "less slowly". Delicious :)
(I suppose really committed revolutioners have been much more efficient than "less slowly" and perhaps reached a cap on that Circumstance… what’s the top level?)[/quote]
I was just re-reading the ‘Gunpowder and Zeal’ card, and I really think ‘Thwart a Revolutionary operation from the inside’ should decrease your LoN value just a little (perhaps through an extra option with an increased cost for leaving the Revolutionaries?) Perhaps there could also be an option to sell the location of the Cave of the Nadir to the Constables to give you a large decrease in LoN.
Obviously as we don’t yet know what the value does in practical terms (if ever it will do anything) decreasing it may be totally pointless, but it would be good if it was possible to help thwart LoN just a little (for some no doubt other terrible price - eg. You have ‘Marginally helped to complete the Dawn Machine’, or you have ‘Have lowered Paris by 1 cm’ - that kind of thing :) )
I’ve suggested long ago that as a balance to increasing the Liberation of Night which comes from converting Luminosity items, there should be a message of a small setback to the LoN when converting Nostalgia items.
Liberation would never have picked up its sinister cachet if it were easy to reverse. You are all stained and criminal; there is only one path that frees you from sin.
I agree! And certainly with the more expensive options on the ‘A libraryette for Mr Pages’ card :) [/quote]
While it would be nice to have a way of sabotaging the LoN, I’m not sure that Nostalgia/MrPages is the most thematically accurate way of doing it. Helping our friendly local space crab find love with something totally out of its league isn’t directly opposing the plans of those who seek the Liberation of Night, after all. :-)
I suppose not, although removing dangerously seditious literature from circulating the streets might help a little? There’s not really another category I can see geared towards helping out the authorities.
I rather like the idea that to properly set back LoN you would have to make the sacrifice of compromising some more liberal sensibilities. Cracking down on all anti-authoritarian forces, even the wonderful hedonistic bohemian ones, and so becoming as much an unwitting pawn of the Ministry/Constables as you may have been for the Revolutionaries. To save London from LoN you would have to let it become entwined even deeper and more helplessly into the schemes of Masters, and live with the consequences… In any case it should never be an easy choice to make. Where would be the fun in that? :)
[quote=Kittenpox]
While it would be nice to have a way of sabotaging the LoN, I’m not sure that Nostalgia/MrPages is the most thematically accurate way of doing it. Helping our friendly local space crab find love with something totally out of its league isn’t directly opposing the plans of those who seek the Liberation of Night, after all. :-)[/quote] edited by Charlotte_de_Witte on 1/13/2016
[quote=Charlotte_de_Witte]I suppose not, although removing dangerously seditious literature from circulating the streets might help a little? There’s not really another category I can see geared towards helping out the authorities.
I rather like the idea that to properly set back LoN you would have to make the sacrifice of compromising some more liberal sensibilities. Cracking down on all anti-authoritarian forces, even the wonderful hedonistic bohemian ones, and so becoming as much an unwitting pawn of the Ministry/Constables as you may have been for the Revolutionaries. To save London from LoN you would have to let it become entwined even deeper and more helplessly into the schemes of Masters, and live with the consequences… In any case it should never be an easy choice to make. Where would be the fun in that? :) [/quote]
This sounds an awful lot like a good idea for a (repeatable!) Fate-locked storyline. :-D
Plus if they make it so the entry storylet doesn’t appear unless you already have LoN over a certain threshold, it means that by the time you’re able to access it you’ve already aided in its progress. Maybe make it show up as a rare Opportunity card with a high-ish LoN prerequisite?
(As I’m writing this, I keep thinking - but what if the story branches, and you have the option to shut down the revolutionaries with your trusty Neddy stick, or further their cause by doing something more direct than just handing over shiny bugs? :-D It would probably need a separate LoN tracker for that storyline, but yeah.)
In hindsight, it would be a lot of work for something few players would get to access, so this is probably not gonna happen - certainly not before SMEN. But if they decide to explore the LoN stuff in Fallen London more thoroughly, it’s an idea. :-) edited by Kittenpox on 1/13/2016
I think everyone would be best pleased if a new storylet appeared titled Halt the Liberation of Night, and then increased the quality tenfold when you clicked it.
…and then just as the lights blink out all over London, Mr Eaten jumps from a well, punches you on the nose and steals away all you items and stats… he rides away triumphant on the back of your Heptagoat, quaffing your firkin of Hesperidean Cider in one thirsty gulp. As you lie there in the pitch dark a hundred starveling cats descend on your prone body. After the screams finally fade all that could then be heard echoing through the Neath was sound of a great laughing Tiger…
:Shudder: :shocked:
(Dear Heavens! Nooooooo!!! - A Destiny just for you :greenp: )