January Exceptional Story: Caveat Emptor

Fallen London
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[color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]Exceptional Story for January: Caveat Emptor[/color]

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[color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]
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A notorious Vicomte is buying property across London. Now he has an eye on your address – and perhaps something just a little below your collar. Navigate the estate market, infiltrate hidden lairs, and contend with a truly blood-sucking landlord.[/color][color=rgb(194, 194, 194)][font=facitweb-1, facitweb-2, &quotLucida Sans Unicode&quot, &quotLucida Grande&quot, sans-serif][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]

Written by Chandler Groover[/color][/font][/color][color=rgb(194, 194, 194)][font=facitweb-1, facitweb-2, &quotLucida Sans Unicode&quot, &quotLucida Grande&quot, sans-serif][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]
Art by Tobias Cook
Editing and QA: James Chew and Olivia Wood

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[/color][/font][/color][ul][li][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]Access to the House of Chimes: an exclusive private member’s club on the Stolen River, packed with content[/color][/li][/ul][ul][li][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]Access to Mr Chimes’ Lost & Found, a shop in the Bazaar where you can exchange currency earned through playing Exceptional Stories for exclusive companions and items[/color][/li][/ul][ul][li][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]An expanded opportunity deck: of ten cards instead of six![/color][/li][/ul][ul][li][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]A second candle: Twice the actions! 40 at once![/color][/li][/ul][color=rgb(194, 194, 194)][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]
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So far I’m liking it. I won a deed to a new lodgings too. Hopefully I get to keep it at the end.

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Move in as full owner? Colour me doubtful.

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My favorite ES writer does a vampire story and has clearly read Dracula? I could not be any happier

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I popped the Viscount. I thought he was a twat from the start, to be honest. You can’t pretend to be more than a parasite when you spend your time stalking and playing mind tricks on someone instead of making a good faith effort to clear the air from the start. You can’t claim to only want love when you spend the meal together trying to eat other things first. I didn’t buy his self-congratulating drivel about waah, waaah waaaah, nobody understands me, I’m a lonely lovelorn seeker of love in a heartless universe from the start. And hey-I was proven right-albeit now in the way Penstock initially presented him as being!

I didn’t destroy the seed of him, though. It’s up to other people to decide if they want to let a sentient property law vampire take a bite out of them, knowing there isn’t even some other stowaway absorbing all the passion-just the Bazaar playing tricks again. Perhaps someone was more merciful and less incautious around the Vicomte, and learned things about him that I overlooked. But honestly I’m just happy to have killed yet another thing from another world.

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I tried to play this and I don’t have the Deed. Where is it? The story says it’s under my Lodgings tab, but it’s not.
edited by DuskWanderer on 12/31/2020

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[quote=DuskWanderer]I tried to play this and I don’t have the Deed. Where is it? The story says it’s under my Lodgings tab, but it’s not.
edited by DuskWanderer on 12/31/2020[/quote]

You have to refresh to get it. At least I had to.

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[quote=Winthropx][quote=DuskWanderer]I tried to play this and I don’t have the Deed. Where is it? The story says it’s under my Lodgings tab, but it’s not.
edited by DuskWanderer on 12/31/2020[/quote]

You have to refresh to get it. At least I had to.[/quote]

That fixed it. Thanks

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I have to agree with Hattington. The vicomte was tripping flags from page one. Then he shows up, uninvited, in my new house and attempts to have me for dinner. Sheer cheek!

My mind was made up in that instant. Maybe things would be different if the little parasite had been more straightforward and knocked on the door to announce himself instead of just showing up and expecting his quarry to be immediately enraptured. But as it is, I can already tell I’m going to kill him.

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Loving this story so far; one of my favourites in a long time.

It’s another that makes me wish FBG would let you buy their artworks, though, as posters or merch. That is a damned awesome image for the story! The character of the Vicomte seems well written to me, and it actually surprises me he’s so unpopular (unless the ending dramatically changes things, I could see him as a spouse option or a potential companion), and the writing throughout is so superb and well-written (also quite witty and amusing at points, too).

The mechanics aren’t too bad, either; a bit annoyed at the luck parts . . . one for the auction consumed about 7 or 8 action points before I could pass a supposedly 60% success check, and some of the cards rely on luck a lot, too (I’m also concerned trying to get 5 attention, what happens if I get 6 familiarity first, as it’s hard to see what causes what and what will deduct from what). There’s also the issue of having to refresh your browser to see the new lodgings, and they actually moved places on me at one point, too, also making me waste an action clicking on the wrong Lodging.

Those few mechanic gripes aside; it’s a really refreshing and interesting gameplay, to move from place to place, interacting with your possessions and having the new opportunity deck . . . can’t fault that at all, really, and it’s all clearly sign-posted and explained, which makes it fun, too. It’s one of the rare few I’m excited to see the end, because I’m so invested, and not just desperate for it to end.

Brilliant job!

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Does anyone have the text for having the option with the newly cast crown of London?

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[quote=Robin Alexander]Loving this story so far; one of my favourites in a long time.

It’s another that makes me wish FBG would let you buy their artworks, though, as posters or merch. That is a damned awesome image for the story! The character of the Vicomte seems well written to me, and it actually surprises me he’s so unpopular (unless the ending dramatically changes things, I could see him as a spouse option or a potential companion), and the writing throughout is so superb and well-written (also quite witty and amusing at points, too).

The mechanics aren’t too bad, either…[/quote]

The artwork for Paisley (July’s ES) is similarly excellent, and turns out also written by the same author as this one-- I went looking, because that ES plays with and makes new use of mechanics as well, in terms of actual functionality becoming part of the story-- there with outfitting and here with lodgings. I like it.

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I’ve loved the story, but I guess I locked myself outta an option at the end.

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I want to keep the Chateau, no matter what the outcome of the story is (haven’t gotten that far yet). I’m still a little sad that I chose not to keep the Prim Baronet’s manor after I did that ES, though I still think that decision was appropriate role play for my character. But I still miss not getting that Lodging and its card! (wants ALL the Lodgings!)

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Hi Cathy,

There is no opportunity card associated with the the Prim Baronet’s manor, FYI. So at least you’re not missing out there.

J-

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Having recently re-read Dracula, I have to say that I am immensely enjoying this story.

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[quote=Jason5237]Hi Cathy,

There is no opportunity card associated with the the Prim Baronet’s manor, FYI. So at least you’re not missing out there.

J-[/quote]

I thought there was, for some reason! Thanks for setting me straight.

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Cathy - you are welcome! Like you, I had been hoping for cards associated with all lodgings. I know many don’t wish for more opportunity cards but I enjoy them. I would have easily welcomed them for all remote lodgings (which I have).

J-

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[quote=Jason5237]Cathy - you are welcome! Like you, I had been hoping for cards associated with all lodgings. I know many don’t wish for more opportunity cards but I enjoy them. I would have easily welcomed them for all remote lodgings (which I have).

J-[/quote]

For most of the time the game has been in existence, there was no way to get Lodgings cards out of one’s deck. Now that there is, people who want to thin their decks can do so. Or they can do so selectively, and only get rid of certain Lodgings (and Transport) cards–without getting rid of the Lodging or Transport! So I understand why many players reflexively want not to get additional Lodgings, or Opp Cards. But now that we have some capability to tune our Opportunity card decks, that may change.

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Hahaha, I just started and there was the bit where you buy at auction a terrible bird chimera.

I feel seen, I have sold so many terrible bird-things to so many gullible buyers.