Failure Is The Only Option? (Spoiler-free)

Fallen London
1

I would like to discuss the concept of menaces exclusive to Exceptional Stories.

I am of the belief you should fail, whenever you can.

In Fallen London, when one of your menaces reach 8, something bad happens. In Exceptional Stories (and their custom corresponding menaces)… not so much. In fact, it feels like you’re missing out if you do succeed.

In The Attendants (August 2017), I purposefully gained enough menace to see what would happen. What followed was the most chilling and impactful scene I’ve ever read in Fallen London, something I still remember to this day.
After the scene played out, I was… right back in. No slow boat ride equivalent, no limbo state, nothing- just right back in as if nothing happened.

On the opposite side of the coin, we got 12:15 From Moloch Street (January 2017). During the half-time event, I did not succumb to the custom menace. Sequentially, I succeed at my task and the story continued forward without addressing the menace. My problem now is this: I’ll never know what would’ve happened had I failed. I’ll never know the source of that menace. I miss out on what might’ve been exciting content.

What are y’all’s thoughts on this?

2

This is in no way universal. There’s more than one story that locks you out of things if you raise the story menace.

My memory is bad, but I just remembered the name of one: Say it with Flowers. If your menace gets too high, you won’t learn anything and you’ll lose an option in the end.
edited by MidnightVoyager on 6/7/2020

3

I think that part of what Failbetter is doing with ESes is to provide an experience where the player has to take a bit of a risk in playing the story. It’s a small risk–ESes don’t deprive you of anything you already have, but as you said, Tystefy, they can lock you out of options in the ES itself, depending on your choices. Sometimes, it just pays to trust your gut and gamble. (And sometimes it doesn’t. I failed to get the Boatman’s Hat, which is what I played that story for, because I didn’t realize until too late that I needed to LOSE the chess game to get it.)

P.S. I’d answer your poll, but you haven’t given me an option up there that I’d choose.
edited by Catherine Raymond on 6/7/2020