AUGUST’S EXCEPTIONAL STORY: The Last Dog Society

[color=#0099ff]The tides are hungry.

A funeral for a Sunken Admiral winds through the docks. His death was no accident - seek his murderer among the furtive ranks of a secret society at the heart of Her Enduring Majesty’s navy.

Rehearse your handshakes and shibboleths! Choose your side. The soul of the Admiralty is at stake.

Play An Exceptional Story: Invitation to a Mutiny anywhere in Fallen London to begin. Exceptional Friends can continue the story at the House of Chimes.

This month’s Exceptional Story is by Rob Morgan, writer of the Augmented reality game Wonderbook: Book of Spells and The Assembly, a virtual reality title due to be released alongside the Oculus Rift in 2016.

Please remember to be liberal with your use of spoiler tags when discussing this story. If you’re unsure whether something is a spoiler, use the tag! Here’s a reminder of our position on spoilers and guidance.

In addition to a new, substantial, stand-alone story every month, Exceptional Friends enjoy:

•    Access to the House of Chimes: an exclusive private member's club on the Stolen River, packed with content!
•    An expanded opportunity deck: of ten cards instead of six!
•    A second candle: Twice the actions! 40 at once!

(To retain this story for playing at a later date, you must play through the related storylet in the House of Chimes. This will save it from the monthly changeover.)

An additional note for the attention of Exceptional Friends: after this story, Exceptional Story changeover will happen on the last Thursday of the month.[/color]

Oh my! Is it the time already? What a pleasure!

Great story, as always. Chilling ending, if you remain steadfast.

I liked that the rewards were meted out over the course of the story. Less big-ticket items at the end, maybe, but less irritation found in exploring the story and so damaging EPA.

Oh, SPOILER warning. Reading the final journal entries will reveal something important about the story that is best postponed until you make your final decision. By all means ask ‘what if’, but make your decision first.

Additional spoiler: the section below mentions one specific reward that can be found from one path, that is not unique, but may be of interest to players of another game.

There is no unique loot, but if you have a desperate need for a long-box, I’ll be happy to tell you which of the options I chose gave one)

My main stayed true to honesty and decency (http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/RandomWalker)
One of my alts intervened immediately in favour of the people who weren’t insane, brainwashed lunatics (http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Stroller)

and my other alt decided that making the brainwashed lunatics allies would be fine and dandy
(http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Third~Walker)

Of course, they both acted immediately, and didn’t realise that you can wait things out a little… I don’t know, but maybe somone would be more grateful in some circumstances…

Ugh. I hope that this isn’t too spoilery. If I’ve overstepped the mark anywhere, please let me know and I’ll edit/delete.
edited by RandomWalker on 8/1/2015

Greetings, fellow denizens!

As a new player who has not obtained the quality

Held in Esteem by the Crew of the Galatea

at the time of playing through this exceptional story, does lacking this quality materially affect the story?

I was quite upset when i found out that doing the Soul Trade after completing the Loquacious Vicar storyline meant losing out on some delicious stories.

Not having that quality does not impact the story in any major way - some dialogue changes slightly, but the story still ends in the same place.

You didn’t miss out on that quality by taking fate-locked stories in an odd order. You can probably still get it, if you haven’t purchased / played ‘The Gift’ yet. (You should get ‘The Gift’ even if you don’t want that quality).

I see, thank you for your advice. I am very happy to hear this as I can now complete this storyline with my mind at ease. I will probably get ‘The Gift’ in the future, but right now I have other Fate purchase priorities (specifically, I greatly desire the company of a Laconic Prodigy who is just too adorable)

I thought patience was a virtue.

http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Parson~Strange?fromEchoId=6261578

There is no middle ground in a mutiny.

Just to add, I really enjoyed this months story for leaving me in such a quandary with that last segment. I spent about 10-15 mins per storylet agonising over how to proceed.

I have two meta-questions about exceptional stories this months.

  1. It’s been three months since the start of the first Exceptional Story. Will it now become Fate-available again or is it three months after its end?

  2. August is presumably the month for the Fruits of the Zee Festival and the fact that this month’s ES is Zee-flavoured (as far as I can tell) plays into that. I wonder if there might be a reason for holding off playing this story until later in the month and whether there might be any tie-ins with the Festival?

What a delightfully-written story! Though, really, it had me from the Mournpipe. Rob Morgan, shake yourself by the hand on my behalf for that one.

My one regret was that I lost the Acquaintanceship of the Enthusiast despite shielding her. She seemed nice!

I liked this month’s story, though I find July’s a tad better. Still, it was a haunting experience there in the end.

Am I the only one who was reminded of Mr Eaten? A drowned man, coming back for vengeance against his killer?
In the end, there was justice, of a sort. Or perhaps you might call it a Reckoning.

[quote=Sir Frederick Tanah-Chook]What a delightfully-written story! Though, really, it had me from the Mournpipe. Rob Morgan, shake yourself by the hand on my behalf for that one.

(SPOILER)[/quote]

Agreed!

[spoiler]When I saw it pop up as a quality, I hoped that might mean there was a chance she would show up again in the future. I liked her.

I enjoyed this story a lot, but I’m not so sure about my choice. Not assisting the Sequencer seemed like an obvious choice, but I guess neither of them really deserved it. Maybe I should have let them both drown… ![/spoiler]

I’d say this one wasn’t quite up to last month’s standard, but to be fair, that story set a very high bar. I found The Last Dog Society to be very satisfying, and enjoyed meeting the new characters and learning a little more about zailor culture.

EDIT: Thank you to Sir Frederick Tanah-Chook. I got my spoiler tags working!
edited by Trifa on 8/1/2015

You can only have one set of spoiler tags per post - you’ll have to delete mine from the quote if you want to use your own!

I remained steadfast throughout, but could someone pm me the rewards for siding with either of them?

Wonderful story so far, but I’m currently stuck at a certain point.

I’m currently about to enter the Court of Mutineers, but the game is reminding me that I should make sure I’ve finished the meeting before I go on. I’ve met with the Jolly Shamble-man and the Sequencer, but no one else. Is there anything I should do before entering the Court?

edited by Sir Joseph Marlen on 8/1/2015

Any particular Quirk-raising options in this story?

Does anyone know if the Enthusiast quality sticks around if you shield her while you’re A Seasoned Captain?

No, it doesn’t. Sadly.

[quote=Jeremy Avalon]Any particular Quirk-raising options in this story?[/quote]I didn’t find any that go over ten. There are some opportunities to grab Steadfast and probably Ruthless.

[quote=Sir Joseph Marlen]Wonderful story so far, but I’m currently stuck at a certain point.

I’m currently about to enter the Court of Mutineers, but the game is reminding me that I should make sure I’ve finished the meeting before I go on. I’ve met with the Jolly Shamble-man and the Sequencer, but no one else. Is there anything I should do before entering the Court?

Not really. You can get more BI, but all your BI gets converted into fungible assets. The exchange rate isn’t awful, but it certainly isn’t worth your time farming more BI to get it closer to 100. I think the option is there so that people aren’t kicked out before they have a chance to explore the content.