Who can I court? Who offers the best bonuses?[li]
Of the potential Spouses, do you mean? Or of the upcoming Exceptional Rose content? The Spouses that don’t require any Fate give 1 point each - the Artist’s Model gives Watchful and the Jewel Thief gives Persuasive. There are Spouses available through the Fate-locked part of the Foreign Office that give 2 points each, to either Persuasive and Watchful or Dangerous and Shadowy, and another very expensive one available though a story starting in Flute Street that gives 3 Bizarre.
Regarding the Exceptional Rose content, we don’t yet know everything, because it’s set to be different from last year’s event. There might be new Spouses; there’ll almost certainly be other new friends and companions. Of those that appeared last year, the Irresistible Lady and the Quiet Deviless had better Persuasive and Watchful, respectively, than most other Pets.
PS: I’ve popped this thread in the Bazaar section, for discussion of game mechanics!
My investigations into the wikia has led me to believe that the Master Jewel-Thief is the most lucrative of the two non-Fate spouses, as his card appears to offer an attempt to steal a Magnificent Diamond (12.5 Echoes) at the cost of 20 Intriguing Gossip (4.00 Echoes). Granted, the chance of success with Shadowy 250 appears to only be 30%, but by using Hastily Scrawled Warning-Notes and backing out on failures, one could say that the action is worth:
12.5 Echoes - 4.00 Echoes x 0.30 (30% chance of success) = 2.55 Echoes
Which doesn’t seem like that much more compared to the Extraordinary Implication (2.50 Echoes) one would get from taking a stroll with the Artist’s Model. But 2.55 Echoes is a rather good payoff for any action, and the Master Jewel-Thief could be said to offer 3.33 such actions every time his card is drawn. Unlike the Artist’s Model, whose card only offers one. And on success, the challenging theft also yields two Hastily Scrawled Warning-Notes that would come in handy for the next attempt. It also makes use of all that Intriguing Gossip that one gets from helping the Sardonic Music-Hall Singer, and visiting the peers of the Wry Functionary. And finally, it also seems like a rather exciting thing to be doing on a regular basis. Certainly more exciting than a stroll through the park, even if it is the Tyrant’s Gardens. ;)
But perhaps there are Fate-locked spouses that have more lucrative cards attached to them? Or do they only offer higher bonuses?
Sadly, I have never received an opportunity card associated with my Fate-locked spouse. Perhaps Rubbery ones do?
The Boneless Consort does have a card! The new option is effectively worth 2.50 echoes, though I’m not sure why you’d sell it unless you already had a nice pile of the stuff.
It’s Deep Amber, isn’t it? It’s always Deep Amber. I have 20,682 Deep Amber… ::
It’s not Deep Amber. The reward is much less common than that.
I wonder if I could convince Mr. Iron to accept a proposal? I know underneath those cloaks their is a heart that burns more passionately than the sun, or at least an organ colder that the spaces between stars. Either way, I do wonder what would happen.
Alas, he never so much as accepted my card. It must take some sort of truly powerful temptation to draw him to your door.