Greetings!
I am a recent PoSI who’s begun accumulating notability, and now finds herself wondering what to spend it on. (Favorable circumstances? A top-tier profession? Or just keep accumulating notability for notability’s sake?)
Can anyone point me to a guide to the uses of notability, or just summarize them?
Excerpted from my upcoming ULTIMATE GUIDE TO NOTABILITY™:
[quote=I very arrogantly]Probably the most valuable use of Notability is to upgrade your Profession. […] It is [also] worth noting that when you draw the Unsigned Message, you can attempt a Notability check (100% odds at 9 Notability) which can reward a Surprise Package on success — the same sort of one you can normally only get from a friend Giving you a Gift, which can potentially be quite profitable.
[Other than that, uses include:]
— Upgrading your Lodgings!
If you have a Reservation at the Royal Bethlehem, a Key to a Brass Embassy Guest Room, or a Lengthy Lease to Premises at the Bazaar, then when you draw their cards, you can spend a very expensive item and a great deal of Notability in order to upgrade to a new version of that Lodging that will allow you to hold FIVE cards in your hand instead of four! However, these have VERY high requirements; all require an item worth almost 1,600 Echoes, and all cost at least 8 Notability! At Christmastime, it is possible to upgrade these lodgings much more easily, and at a cost of only 3 Notability apiece, but that’s outside the scope of this.
— Trading for M_____s’ B___d!
You may have drawn the card "A Presumptuous Little Opportunity" by now, allowing you to exchange wine in quantity for more valuable types. The most expensive trade, "A dangerous deal", allows you to swap five Tears of the Bazaar for a single Vial of M_____s’ B___d, but doing so also costs 7 points of Notability.
— Purchasing Knife-and-Candle Prize Tokens!
If you’re in a great hurry to obtain more Prize Tokens in Knife-and-Candle — perhaps to purchase a Waxwail Knife — then, if you are possessed of at least one extant Prize Token and 7 Notability, you can visit the Gamekeeper’s Cottage in Watchmaker’s Hill to trade all your Notability, as well as your Entry in Slowcake’s Exceptionals, for one Prize Token per point of Notability.
— Specializing, and driving one of your main attributes above the cap of 200!
Once you reach 200 in a main attribute, you can choose to specialize in it from the Unfinished Business storylet in its matching location (for instance, Watchmaker’s Hill for Dangerous). Doing so requires that you possess a certain item depending on the attribute, and costs you 5 Notability.
After you have specialized in an attribute, you can use the Unsigned Message to trade in all your Notability in order to SET your level in that attribute to 200 plus your Notability — giving you an effective maximum of 215. Note, however, that there are still ways to lose that bonus, such as visiting the Cave of the Nadir, and any losses you incur can only be recovered by trading in the full amount of Notability again.
Please note that at present, the text for the specialization branches states that you will be able to change it "later" – but right now, once you pick a specialization, you cannot alter it.
— Purchasing Favourable Circumstances without the use of Fate
At your Lodgings, on the "Write Letters" storylet, you can pay 7 Notability for a point of Favourable Circumstances, which will allow you to instantly draw certain cards, such as Connected cards or the Unsigned Message, from that same storylet.[/quote]
As you’re a recent Person of Some Importance, probably the best thing for you to do is to investigate the higher-tier Professions until you find one you want to settle on. After that, I would recommend saving up for specialization, or cashing it in for Prize Tokens if you find yourself desiring a +20 Dangerous item but not terribly fond of actually PLAYING Knife-and-Candle.
I am working feverishly toward my second point of Notability, so I will be following this thread closely!
Have you joined god’s editors and a club, and gotten a sedan or landau yet? Once you do, it’s easy to gain a point a week just from the polite invitations that come along.
Also, I’d be happy to take some of your scandal (no dupes please.)
Have you joined god’s editors and a club, and gotten a sedan or landau yet? Once you do, it’s easy to gain a point a week just from the polite invitations that come along.
Also, I’d be happy to take some of your scandal (no dupes please.)[/quote]
Still working on all of those… not as easy as I had expected.
And I will happily accept kind words. Thanks!
Yes, I second getting all the BDR equipment you can get your hands on. Once all equipment slots are filled, getting your Notability up to 5 isn’t very difficult. Honestly, as a new POSI, Notability isn’t that important yet. Material gains over reputation at this point, I say :)
For a serial loiterer like myself, I still manage to get 1 Notability a week without trying particularly hard (I’m currently at 7 and I need MW27 to hit my next level. It’s probably going to get harder only once I need over MW30.
[quote=navchaa]Yes, I second getting all the BDR equipment you can get your hands on. Once all equipment slots are filled, getting your Notability up to 5 isn’t very difficult. Honestly, as a new POSI, Notability isn’t that important yet. Material gains over reputation at this point, I say :)
For a serial loiterer like myself, I still manage to get 1 Notability a week without trying particularly hard (I’m currently at 7 and I need MW27 to hit my next level. It’s probably going to get harder only once I need over MW30.[/quote]
I failed to hit 21 last week, and TtH has just passed, so I must begin anew. Of course, now I have a skull staring at me, telling me I need to go somewhere.
I normally make plenty of waves through Free Evening suppers and drawing A Decadent Evening loads of times. The rest are because I’m normally converting in Tier 3 or the Fidgeting Writer to buy pails of snow from the urchins. I have 5 card lodgings and draw a few other cards that give MW, but I think they are mainly fate-locked.
Unless you are in a hurry to upgrade your profession, there’s not much need to grind Notability just yet. :)
[quote=navchaa]I normally make plenty of waves through Free Evening suppers and drawing A Decadent Evening loads of times. The rest are because I’m normally converting in Tier 3 or the Fidgeting Writer to buy pails of snow from the urchins. I have 5 card lodgings and draw a few other cards that give MW, but I think they are mainly fate-locked.
Unless you are in a hurry to upgrade your profession, there’s not much need to grind Notability just yet. :)[/quote]
I took SOOO long to get this profession, that, when the card to upgrade popped so fast… I was hoping for the upgrade… this d__nable skull is fill 2 of my 3 slots right now though… so optimal gameplay is quite a challenge
No wonder. Either get rid of the skulls post haste (get your supplies to go to the Nadir) or get a four-card lodging (which only eases the pain slightly).
If you are referring to the Unsigned Message card, it will come round again. There’s no need to upgrade immediately. Yes, the RNG will mock you when you’re eventually ready, but that’s better than being stuck with eyeless skulls boring holes into your computer screen. In case you don’t know this - starting the Expedition to the Nadir doesn’t mean you have to complete it. Just get your 100 supplies, start the Nadir expedition to get rid of the skulls and then do whatever else you want to get done.
[quote=navchaa]No wonder. Either get rid of the skulls post haste (get your supplies to go to the Nadir) or get a four-card lodging (which only eases the pain slightly).
If you are referring to the Unsigned Message card, it will come round again. There’s no need to upgrade immediately. Yes, the RNG will mock you when you’re eventually ready, but that’s better than being stuck with eyeless skulls boring holes into your computer screen. In case you don’t know this - starting the Expedition to the Nadir doesn’t mean you have to complete it. Just get your 100 supplies, start the Nadir expedition to get rid of the skulls and then do whatever else you want to get done.[/quote]
I am currently running expeditions to the Deep Blue Heaven to get my Archaeologist up to 5, so I CAN enter the Cave.
In the meantime, I keep collecting Skulls…
Jeremy Avalon has covered all the good uses of notability - waxwail knife is one of the better ones, and I like the guaranteed free present from "An Unsigned Message" card once you have a top-tier profession.
I recently had to restore a lot of notability after finishing my lodging collection. As long as you can summon the Amanuensis from your lodgings (needs the one point) this isn’t too bad.
For getting lower levels of making waves: buy drinks for writers, buy drinks for dockers, let the sardonic music singer help you, accept an invitation to society dinner, attend a party, and probably other things from common cards - do them all.
At 5+ notability, you can also "Say nothing. Wait for the Amanuensis to speak instead" when his card shows up.
When a week of playing all the +MW cards isn’t enough, then you should start with the item conversions. Tales of terror (grindable by stealing them in the Flit with thefts of a particular character) -> Extraordinary Impications -> Uncanny Inculabulm works well.
This needs academic connections too, which you can get both from "A colleague with a problem" at the university.
Once that isn’t enough, then it’s time to start inviting people to your salon. Or gambling…
Also worth noting is heists- if you’re going on one anyways, prolonging it past the finish point adds another 2 MW per point theives’ progress, if you’re doing the harder option. this can be very worthwhile, if not absolutely optimal.
Start with cheap wine.
Trade Wine for Honey in the Veilgarden Honey Dens.
Convert Honey to Romantic Notions.
Convert Notions to Visions of the Surface.
Follow the sideconversion trail until you hit Strangling Willow Absinthe.
Now you could start again or just loop the 50 pence items indefinitely, but Visions until Strangling Willow gets all of the MW steps on the sideconversion carousel already and takes three or so more conversions to return to Visions.
Not yet
EDIT: No spoilers, but do the Fate-locked expeditions give a greater increase in Archaeologist than Blue?
edited by John Savage on 1/19/2016
[quote=the truthseeker]What the last two replies noted and this:
Since I bought two 5-card lodgings from the Wicket and bought M*****'s B***d from the opportunity, I’ve had to look into restoring a lot of Notability recently. One of the oft overlooked methods I credit Nitebrite for reminding me to use when restoring up to 7 (and sometimes 8) Notability is side-converting Tier 3 items (read it vertically) as yetanotherone briefly noted. As long as you have 50 of an item and the turns, you can just keep moving them from one category to another, picking up the 1-10 MW on average at the MW item sections.
edited by the truthseeker on 1/19/2016[/quote]
I believe the MWpA is roughly 1.5. the EpA is, of course, 0.5.
[quote=Grenem][quote=the truthseeker]What the last two replies noted and this:
Since I bought two 5-card lodgings from the Wicket and bought M*****'s B***d from the opportunity, I’ve had to look into restoring a lot of Notability recently. One of the oft overlooked methods I credit Nitebrite for reminding me to use when restoring up to 7 (and sometimes 8) Notability is side-converting Tier 3 items (read it vertically) as yetanotherone briefly noted. As long as you have 50 of an item and the turns, you can just keep moving them from one category to another, picking up the 1-10 MW on average at the MW item sections.
edited by the truthseeker on 1/19/2016[/quote]
I believe the MWpA is roughly 1.5. the EpA is, of course, 0.5.[/quote]
I’m trying all the routes… MW closing in on 16… looking for 21 before next Sunday
Side conversion is especially good as it’s a carousel. Convert the non-MW materials while you don’t need them, and stockpile the ones that do. I.e. I convert my Tier 3 items till Zee Stories, Incendiary Gossip, Visions of Light and Tales of Terror in an off period. When I need to unleash the MW, I have a good stockpile to immediately get them. Otherwise, I will need to painfully convert through the other materials.
If it’s particularly hard to get MW, one way is to gain Notability every other week. One week just to grind the items, and the next week to unleash the MW.
[quote=navchaa]Side conversion is especially good as it’s a carousel. Convert the non-MW materials while you don’t need them, and stockpile the ones that do. I.e. I convert my Tier 3 items till Zee Stories, Incendiary Gossip, Visions of Light and Tales of Terror in an off period. When I need to unleash the MW, I have a good stockpile to immediately get them. Otherwise, I will need to painfully convert through the other materials.
If it’s particularly hard to get MW, one way is to gain Notability every other week. One week just to grind the items, and the next week to unleash the MW.[/quote]
The tricksies! Lovely!