So far I’ve dabbled only a little bit in the cryptobotanical cult that is the Tournament of Lilies, but I saw enough of it to appreciate that if your plant loses to another then you’ll be demoted a stage in the tournament, and lose some of your ‘Attending to the needs of a singular plant’ quality. But recently I recieved a challenge (at the second stage), and the text implied that there had been a change in the rules meaning that, in this case, the penalty for lose would instead be losing Whispered Secrets. No longer fearing for my plant’s safety, I didn’t hesitate to accept, and was disappointed upon losing to find out that not only did I forfeit secrets (admittedly not very many), but was also demoted a level in the tournament and lost points in my ‘Attending to the needs’ quality.
I went to my lodgings to see if anything had changed in the Noted Orchid-Grower’s description of the rules, and indeed the text had been changed to imply only a stake was at risk at each stage of the tournament (although probably a progressively bigger one as you climb the ranks), which makes me think there must either have been a mistake somewhere, or that the text surrounding the tournament is a little misleading and possibly in need of cleaning up. I don’t know whether the intended consequence of losing is only the stake, or some combination of that and a level in the tournament and/or the ‘Attending to the needs’ quality.
I also want to make it clear that I don’t blame the gentleman who challenged me in any way, shape or form - he won fair and square - but I can’t help but feel a little cheated. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Or might someone be able to clear this little matter up for me? Apologies if I’m mistaken.