Balmoral

Some of the storylets at Balmoral have that irritating outfits-locked factor. I think that this is a bug.

To anyone reading this, the main story at Balmoral has a hidden quality that is important for the initiation of the storyline.

I have updated the wiki’s pages on Balmoral to indicate this. They can be quite easy to miss, especially if you go to Balmoral and have the impression that the people there are oddballs. (They are oddballs.)

Also, Persuasive can now be raised to 215. Yaaaaaaay!
Consider checking the wiki on how to power-up Persuasive quickly without using Confident Smiles. You are going to need those - a lot - if you are at this point of the game.
edited by Rostygold on 10/10/2020

What’s the difference between Castellans? Highlander opens the woods, I understand, but what about widow?

[quote=Rostygold]To anyone reading this, the main story at Balmoral has a hidden quality that is important for the initiation of the storyline.

I have updated the wiki’s pages on Balmoral to indicate this. They can be quite easy to miss, especially if you go to Balmoral and have the impression that the people there are oddballs. (They are oddballs.)

Also, Persuasive can now be raised to 215. Yaaaaaaay!
Consider checking the wiki on how to power-up Persuasive quickly without using Confident Smiles. You are going to need those - a lot - if you are at this point of the game.
edited by Rostygold on 10/10/2020[/quote]

Wait, that’s…just a thing that can happen now? I did notice that happening earlier today but I seriously thought there was some storylet I did and forgot about.

After you decide on a Castellan, can you change them with more board meetings? I know that September is a potential Castellan, later on.

*Sorry Harrington. Accidental report to mod re post. They should really put a “are you sure” to that option.

What is September’s goals as leader?

It’s hard to say for certain, but we have some echoes from the Mirrorcatch box visions and certain archives about him

In one vision – in a reality where London never fell and the Calendar Council took over – the Empress apparently fled to Balmoral.
The church is replaced with the cult of the Everyman, and September is noted as his own faction.

In Noises from Upstairs, the visions elaborate that there is some conflict between that version of March and September, though we have no other idea what that entails.

The Calendar Code introduced September as a person overly interested in literature and propaganda – specifically those written by Pages – and works exhaustively to analyze and deconstruct its mannerisms.

At his little coven, September personally explains that his research into Pages’ words is to understand the Masters and how they shape and influence though among Londoners.

I am waiting for Time the Healer to make more progress, but given that he wants to investigate a forest with moonlight, there must be some kind of connection. I’m just glad that there’s a payoff to all of the set up across years for September.

It’s hard to say for certain, but we have some echoes from the Mirrorcatch box visions and certain archives about him

In one vision – in a reality where London never fell and the Calendar Council took over – the Empress apparently fled to Balmoral.
The church is replaced with the cult of the Everyman, and September is noted as his own faction.

In Noises from Upstairs, the visions elaborate that there is some conflict between that version of March and September, though we have no other idea what that entails.

The Calendar Code introduced September as a person overly interested in literature and propaganda – specifically those written by Pages – and works exhaustively to analyze and deconstruct its mannerisms.

At his little coven, September personally explains that his research into Pages’ words is to understand the Masters and how they shape and influence though among Londoners.

I am waiting for Time the Healer to make more progress, but given that he wants to investigate a forest with moonlight, there must be some kind of connection. I’m just glad that there’s a payoff to all of the set up across years for September.[/quote]

I wonder if April and July would vote for him without having to be persuaded.

[quote=The Curious Watcher]After you decide on a Castellan, can you change them with more board meetings? I know that September is a potential Castellan, later on.

*Sorry Harrington. Accidental report to mod re post. They should really put a &quotare you sure&quot to that option.[/quote]

The text when you install the Highlander seems to indicate that you can change Castellans at some point.

They may not have good relations with each other. For example, April doesn’t like &quotAugust&quot.

A word of warning to anyone that may to prop the Fervent Widow up for a Castellan candidate.

I have wrote a cautionary message in the comments of this page, and also another here.

I have also sent Failbetter yet another feedback email about this.
edited by Rostygold on 10/11/2020

The Cabinet Noir activity has some challenges that make use of two stats. This is great; there haven’t been many multi-stat challenges before this.

yeah well handled I thought

You may want to know that part of the selection for the Calendar Council has members being set against specific Masters. September, in his case, is set against Pages.

Of course, there is incomplete information about who is being matched against what. &quotAugust&quot, for one, has no clearly assigned target.

Are you sure? The other candidate - with a seditious bent - is the Fervent Widow.

The player character can’t even know more about September until a Castellan has been propped up and the woods opened for access.

Thus far, it seems to me that:

The Highlander is pro-Empress, anti-Masters/Bazaar
The Widow is anti-Empress, semi-pro-Bazaar (I think she wants to modernize Balmorral and bring in other forms of business)
September is obviously in favor of neither of them.

[quote=Rostygold]
You may want to know that part of the selection for the Calendar Council has members being set against specific Masters. September, in his case, is set against Pages.

Of course, there is incomplete information about who is being matched against what. &quotAugust&quot, for one, has no clearly assigned target.[/quote]

I remember that. Though it only now occured to me: who’s opposing a certain Mr Eaten then?

Has the Council been around that long?
edited by Rostygold on 10/12/2020

This action at the Balmoral Woods at least has a &quotfailure&quot that has commensurate returns.
This is a good design decision, Failbetter. Better than some awful waste of time and resources that some other failures dole, like this one.

Has the Council been around that long?

edited by Rostygold on 10/12/2020[/quote]
No, but their numbers do match.