Well, we’re promised the ability to cash the three bloods in during February, and the three stories that give the bloods are called the ‘Heart’s Blood Season’. So either
a) There’ll be an additional story released sometime during the month of February (I doubt that it will be linked to Exceptional Friendship, as we should be warned were that the case), or…
b) Hearts and Valentines are very closely linked. My bet: there’ll be an extra option during the Feast of the Exceptional Rose.
I don’t think so.
[/quote]
Yeah! I was really quite excited about this story just because I remembered sunless sea Vienna - you get an Enigma if you go back up to meet your friend with the Name. There were two similar sets of memories in Frostfound, after all.
yikes, why don’t these spoilers work
edited by fortluna on 1/29/2016
I was particularly intrigued by the snippets we heard regarding the Surface - far as I’m aware, this is the first we’ve heard of the Surface in terms of how Europe reacted to London’s removal. Honestly, though, it’s a little strange. WW1 didn’t manage to tear Europe apart, and they had, for the first time, much more devastating weapons. London being separated from England would have been a massive blow, but England still has its shipyards and its Empire, which barely needs London to function as it is. While it’s not invading France any time soon, it’s still a player, which is, I assume, why the Great Game is still played in London. If Europe is ravaged by the Great Game blowing up in Bismarck’s face, and America didn’t excitedly see Europe tearing itself apart and swoop in to claim territory (it might be a bit early for that, but then if Europe’s ripe for the plucking…) what the hell is going on up there?
Personally I assume that someone smuggled a correspondence-marked crate of Cider up. That feels like it’d incite the kind of wars talked about.
edited by merusdraconis on 1/30/2016
Everyone loves the epic, lore-rich exceptional stories, but this one may be the most successful at a personal tale, where the big events are backdrop to character relationships.
I enjoyed the “Leads” section quite a bit, due to both mechanics and getting to talk to well-known Londoners.
I think we had heard a fair amount of similar information, merusdraconis. Sunless Sea had plenty of revolutionary sentiments in Vienna and I recall hearing in both games snippets about the decline of surface affairs. This is probably the most detailed account though.
(Also the Great Game is played in London partially because every surface power is very interested in controlling the unique resources of the Neath and the influence of the Bazaar.)
Beautiful story and a satisfying experience all around. Love the investigating part and being able to hang out with some of the cool characters we’ve seen around London in the past (although that Sinning Jenny…what a tease! :P ) and the two main characters’ backstories were just heartbreakingly tragic. And the climax of the story was so suspenseful my heart was pounding, and at one point I thought I’d irreversibly mucked it all up and was all ready to be heartbroken (thankfully it turned out the directions were a little unclear and I hadn’t actually screwed it up, which was a relief). A very well-written tale and I loved it.
[spoiler]And I’m glad there was an option to save the Duke. I honestly thought that no matter what I did, the poor old wretch was going to be toast. He seemed resigned to it and I was afraid there wasn’t anything my character could do to convince him or his daughter otherwise. It was nice to be able to prevent another tragedy from happening and bring the two of them some measure of peace.
Also, due to both of them having an affinity for that particular waltz, I was genuinely convinced for a while that the Duke was going to turn out to be that organ grinder I shooed away at the beginning of the story. What a disguise! What a twist! :P [/spoiler]
[quote=metasynthie]I liked the subtle flavors of this one enough to wish it had a little more opportunity to get to know or understand the Aesthete – we hear an awful lot about the Duke’s activities, and she ends up seeming a flat revenge-seeker by comparison, especially when we wind up at an ending with such duality. I suppose that balances out against the greedy desire to kill the Duke for his secret, though. I also love how the Thief of Faces is present in this story only as a figure of rumour and seeds of paranoia… OR IS HE?! Now I’m awfully suspicious of His Amused Lordship’s fear of death-talk and loitering nonchalantly around Dilmun business.
In any case, I have two fragments of the tragedy procedures now, and they both say different things! I wonder how many fragments you’d need for a whole copy. I suspect… 49.
As for the Old Man, isn’t he…
…the same gentleman who appears in Sunless Sea’s Vienna?
Yes. If you weren’t metasynthie, I’d also say "go on, shell out fate and reset the thing to infinity so you can get another 49 Fragments."
Oh, I’m sure there will be… other opportunities.
metasynthie, I’d love to know where you found the other fragment.
It’s one of the potential rewards from paying the Regiment to steal something out of Mr Sacks’ sack for you – an option which is still available (but costs Fate). If you’re curious what that fragment says, it’s been echoed:
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Black~Tom?fromEchoId=7284069
It’ll be awesome if whatever comes in the extra story ties into our previous choices. All of my main’s actions were aimed against the thief, would be nice if that translated to some consequences.
really enjoyed this story. I’d love to know more about the Duke’s past, since it sounded like he was up to the level of unwise brilliance normally associated with PC plans.
edit- also, thank you metasynthie. Good to know.
edited by Mordaine Barimen on 1/31/2016
I like how painful it was to make a choice in this story.
I wish I knew more about what happened to the Duchess, as the way she expired sounded quite dramatic and terrifying - I was half-expecting the daughter to stab the old man in the back, anyway, for all the horror finding the poor lady and watching her expire might’ve caused.
Also, I hope it’s not too off-topic, but that poster for this exceptional story is gorgeous. Has to be my favorite thus far.
[quote=TheThirdPolice]Everyone loves the epic, lore-rich exceptional stories, but this one may be the most successful at a personal tale, where the big events are backdrop to character relationships.
I enjoyed the "Leads" section quite a bit, due to both mechanics and getting to talk to well-known Londoners.[/quote]
Couldn’t agree more, the investigation part is pretty interesting, so does the news about the Surface, but besides that, there is not much lore/mystery revealed. That’s why I don’t like it. Sure there are tough moral choices, but it doesn’t really bother my character too much.
Sure, but I think it’s good to have a variety of story types. And if you didn’t choose to take the secret for yourself, look earlier in this thread for a link to an Echo of the result. It’s not a major reveal, but it’s the most interesting new lore tease we’ve had in a while.
Oh that is a good one! Still rises more questions than answers, though. But that’s what makes it good.
Thanks for the story.
Oh, yes. I switched dancing partners several times while I was pondering what to do. (And I loved the fact that I could do that.) That dance went on for quite a while!
TheThirdPolice, did you not find the hidden lore from being unwise in Flint, or are you just less easily excited than I?
I really, really liked this story and look forward to more from [gendertitle] DeCuir in the future. While the ending was a little rushed, the characterizations were quite tasty.
Ya I have checked that out, nothing exciting though. I agree that there should be more story types, romance for example. However, I do think the Waltz could be better. I don’t feel much connection between my character and the story. His amused Lordship and Sinning Jenny are attractive, but their contents are a bit short. The daughter and the father came out of nowhere and we probably won’t see them again (and their profile pics are, er, no offence, a bit ugly). Besides, nothing is really at risk, except for my character’s conscience, maybe? Sure this is another drawback.
[quote=Mordaine Barimen]TheThirdPolice, did you not find the hidden lore from being unwise in Flint, or are you just less easily excited than I?
[/quote]
Good to see you enjoy the Flint, but I thought we were talking about the Waltz? Also, killing someone for his eyes (and secrets) is rather different from being unwise, in my opinion.
edited by Lomias on 2/2/2016
I was comparing new lore revealed near the end of Flint to that in Waltz.