I think I’m becoming a gentleman of some importance (if I can may so myself).[li]
Is there anything I’d better know before I actually become one?
Not much, the investment was necessary if you were ever going to progress into many parts of the game. It’s a beginning of sorts because now you can do more difficult missions that will lead to greater rewards. A very important part of being a POSI is that you have access to "Unfinished Business" storylets based out of the starting area. You can basically acquire almost any base resources needed from these Unfinished Business ventures provided you are patient. This is a far cry from before when you had to scramble all over the place to get simple ingredients.
You will also have access to the Bazaar Sidestreets, a place where you can acquire complex items using simpler things acquired from the Unfinished Business storylets.
What does this ultimately mean for you? Well, the game should get easier and you have more stuff to do of course. Lots more…
edited by Owen Wulf on 10/13/2014
Do I have to get every quality up to 100? The well-dressed lady started a tour with Watchmaker’s Hill, and I didn’t do any Dangerous quests.
It seems that way, yes. A Dangerous Patron could help you level up faster but I myself am currently presiding over two other proteges. Try posting in the Protege Forum if you need help increasing your skill, every training session costs 1 Free Evening but levels you up (I think) 5 levels. I think you can also use items to boost your stat to make the grade, but I do not know if that is the case.
edited by Owen Wulf on 10/13/2014
Yes, you can use items to boost your stats to 100 to progress.
You can indeed; neither of my characters has a base level of 100 in all their stats, but they were both able to get by anyway by simply wearing the right gear. There is only so much items can provide, though, so, while you don’t necessarily need 100, one would still need to have a fair base level in each stat - somewhere between 60 and 70, at least, if you’re willing to spend the Echoes on very high-end stat-boosting gear (or maybe less if you’re lucky enough to find a Mood) - but that’s nothing a few weeks with a training profession can’t help you reach.
As it happens, you can use both items and a mood to make the grade if necessary. My shadowy was abysmally low, and I didn’t have anything better to use the mood for, so the combination of the two let me squeak by.
In practice i think you tend to need around 75 in a stat, although depending on how much money you spent it could be a lot lower. Affording much higher than +25 starts getting really expensive though.
Also you can spend fate instead of having 100 in a stat if you want.
Oh, I thought I only need to train one quality up to 100. It feels like a drag: I didn’t have a reason to train other qualities so far, if I don’t need to, and I though I can leave it that way.
What’s the best way to acquire Free Evenings and how should I use them?
You get 5 Free Evenings every real-time week (so far as I know there is no other way to acquire them, save around Christmas time). If you have a Patron they can give you stat-boosting lessons at the cost to you of a Free Evening, as noted in previous responses. You can also use Free Evenings to invite people over for dinner and to entertain your sweetheart.