I’ve reached the late game, and, as many others have pointed out, I’ve been reduced to the long late-game grinding. I still love Fallen London a great deal, though, and I don’t want to leave it for boredom, and I don’t really want to start a new account, either.
So, I’ve been considering becoming an Exceptional Friend, and pursuing some Fate-locked stories. My question is, which Fate-locked stories should I pursue if I’m stuck in the late-game grind, and want to find out more about London’s deeper secrets? I’ve been considering the Mysteries of the Foreign Office, but I’m not really sure. Thoughts?
How interested are you in grinding and mechanical benefits of stories? There’s various Fate-locked stories that aren’t quite as good narratively but provide permanent benefits alongside lore.
A certain ending of The Gift provides a card that gives Favours that can be most profitably, in an EPA sense, be redeemed by those of an archaeological inclination. The story itself also has good lore is delightfully written.
If you become an Exceptional friend now, you have about 24 hours to play the current story, which is worth the price of admission alone.
Right after that, another story will unlock.
As far as the ones you can buy are concerned, Lost in Reflections is widely considered great (and is lore-heavy). So is Flint. (didn’t love it, most did) The Rat Cather and HOJOTOHO are highly rated and, though not lore-heavy, illuminate important sides of London. Play the latter after the Foreign Office.
I also love the carousel left over from The Empress Shadow, which refills your cards, and as a storyteller (going by your moniker) you might enjoy the Blemmigan Affair. edited by Jolanda Swan on 9/25/2018
Theological Husbandry is pretty great and gives you a +4 BDR companion at the end. It is unmatched save for the Übergoat. I also agree that this month’s Exceptional Story is something else and very much worth it, and you’ll also get next month’s. edited by NotaWalrus on 9/26/2018
I’ve been an Exceptional Friend since shortly after I started in 2016. With the exception of recent stories around the time of the site redesign, where I put the ESs on hiatus until the redesign was clean and bug-free, I’ve played every story. Went back and played the ESs that were before my membership, too.
There are plenty of threads that give you recommendations, and you’ll see many consistencies as to which stories are generally liked by the majority. I honestly would play them all if you can afford it. Even some of the less appreciated stories, you will find players that enjoy them. So it ultimately depends on your personal taste. All of them are fun in their own way. It’s just that some are much more fun.
My personal favorites lore-wise, in no particular order:
The Magician’s Dream (Parabola, Finger Kings)
Lost in Reflections (same)
Flint (Elder Continent)
Steeped in Honey (Red Honey)
The Gift (Royal Family)
Flute Street (Rubbery Men)
Foreign Office
The Rat-Catcher
Mechanically, the following are interesting for permanent benefits past the story itself:
Trade in Souls (very profitable storylet or favors)
The Empress’ Shadow (carousel to grind favours)
Theological Husbandry + Flute Street (+4 BDR companion)
Flute Street + Peculiar Personal Enhancement (+3 BDR spouse)
HOJOTOHO! (new useful option on Urchins card, but unlike most people I found the story itself weak)
The Gift (new favors card)
Inconvenient Aunt (among other possibilities, a new card with a chance to refresh 10 actions)
All Things Must End (new location, though I’m not sure if there’s any reason to revisit it)
I probably missed some but those are the ones that benefited me most. edited by Monara on 10/29/2018
Thank you for the rec! I loved all the lore recommendations, and have played all of them except The Foreign Office, so that one’s up next. And I’ve done all the mechanical ones aside from Trade in Souls.
[quote=Monara]My personal favorites lore-wise, in no particular order:
The Magician’s Dream (Parabola, Finger Kings)
Lost in Reflections (same)
Flint (Elder Continent)
Steeped in Honey (Red Honey)
The Gift (Royal Family)
Flute Street (Rubbery Men)
Foreign Office
The Rat-Catcher
Mechanically, the following are interesting for permanent benefits past the story itself:
Trade in Souls (very profitable storylet or favors)
The Empress’ Shadow (carousel to grind favours)
Theological Husbandry + Flute Street (+4 BDR companion)
Flute Street + Peculiar Personal Enhancement (+3 BDR spouse)
HOJOTOHO! (new useful option on Urchins card, but unlike most people I found the story itself weak)
The Gift (new favors card)
Inconvenient Aunt (among other possibilities, a new card with a chance to refresh 10 actions)
All Things Must End (new location, though I’m not sure if there’s any reason to revisit it)
I probably missed some but those are the ones that benefited me most. edited by Monara on 10/29/2018[/quote]
Glad you liked them!
The foreign office is not a full fledged story like the others, but it does reveal more about its inner workings. HOJOTOHO! also ties in to this, but if you played the former it doesn’t reveal anything new, it just shows how it’s affecting a certain faction. It’s also a well-liked story so I’m probably just weird for not enjoying it that much.
I also just realized that I listed those by going through the Fate page, but not all stories are available for purchase yet, so I missed a few that I also found excellent:
For all the Saints (Hell)
Written in the Glim (Starved men) edited by Monara on 10/31/2018