February’s Exceptional Story: Factory of Favours

[color=#cc0099]Delicious friends, the Exceptional Story for February is here!

One of Iron and Misery’s factories has gone silent. Learn why, negotiate with Clay Men, and bargain with Rattus Faber. Untangle the web that snarls the forces of industry and determine the factory’s fate!

Factory of Favours is the third story in the Season of Silver, and was written by Graham Robertson. This season, experience three stories that delve into debts, obligations, and contracts gone wrong. You can begin each from the Season of Silver card.

Editing and QA: Cash DeCuir, Olivia Wood and Caolain Porter.

Art by Paul Arendt.

EXCEPTIONAL FRIENDSHIP

In addition to a new, substantial, stand-alone story every month, Exceptional Friends enjoy:

[ul][li]Access to the House of Chimes: an exclusive private member’s club on the Stolen River, packed with content[/li][li]An expanded opportunity deck: of ten cards instead of six![/li][li]A second candle: Twice the actions! 40 at once![/li][/ul]Finishing all three stories in the Season of Silver will make you eligible for an additional opportunity, to follow.

If you want to keep an Exceptional Story beyond the month it’s for, you must complete the related storylet in the current Season’s card throughout London. This will save it for you to return to another time.[/color]
edited by Absintheuse on 1/25/2018

Seems you got the notifications (ingame top banner) wrong. It’s about the 12 days of Sackmass.

[color=#cc0099]That’s just due to the fact that the new banner hasn’t been posted yet (we typically wait a bit after the story goes live before posting it to the masses). Once the new banner goes up it’ll be fixed. Unfortunately our system shows the last banner even if it’s labelled retired.[/color]

I’m actually getting the Fallen London Reworks banner from May.

In the Office of the Haggard Supervisor, one of the storylets has this caption: “Discuss the state the factory” The word “of” should appear after the word “state”

So am I. That’s a bit confusing.

This was a really entertaining concept! I had a few good chuckles at the idea of a society predicated entirely on debts and favours without actually producing anything.

My alt (The Courier) is a Clay Man, so it was interesting playing through as him, trying to get into the strange mindset of his factory-bound brethren. I particularly enjoyed the gentle looming threat of Mr Iron throughout, although I was hoping we’d see and/or hear a little more from or about them. I guess all ESs (rightly) can’t be deep-lore dumps a la The Attendants.
edited by Barse on 1/25/2018

[color=#cc0099]Please submit any bugs or typos to support@failbettergames.com, thank you. That would normally go for the banner issues as well but we’re already aware of those so no need to send in a support ticket for that[/color]

So… finishing Lamentation Lock gave one coin, and finishing this story gave another. But the first story didn’t give any coin at all, so we’re still missing one of the three.

I like it so far - a small, weird story. I also like that not all dialogue options have a cost. So far, so good!

[color=#cc0099]Please submit any bugs or typos to support@failbettergames.com, thank you. That would normally go for the banner issues as well but we’re already aware of those so no need to send in a support ticket for that[/color][/quote]

Noted. Sorry.

Maybe.

But remember that when you first meet the Numismatrix she gives a lecture about coins, which includes this:

edited by dov on 1/25/2018

Completely to the point then.

…you know what I find uncanny? It’s obvious the Clay Men are meant to be sympathetic by the narrative. But whenever the Unfinished come to the fore, they’re so damn insufferable they make me think it is legitimitely for the best that THE ENTIRE RACE REMAINS ENSLAVED FOREVER.

The exact moment that unfinished b*gger tried to extort a favor from me just for asking a question, i decided I would bring ruin to his little world and shatter his dreams. The action sink wasn’t as bad as I expected, but stockpiling favors turned out to be the right decision. My only regret is that at the very end, he didn’t snap hard enough to give me an excuse to put some bullets in him. In self defence. Or at least to pretend it was.

Or for that matter, call in a connection to deal with him. The obvious example’s getting a mob of Constables or criminals to jump him in an alley, but imagine sending Slivvy to annihiliate him with Storm’s lightning! Or arranging for a Lorn-Fluke to explode him one day while he’s walking near the seaside! Or heck, even convincing a certain Master that he’s not only a dangerous element, but also excellent prey!

Has anyone chosen to shut the factory down? (My anarchic schemer is far more on the side of the Clay Men and Rats than with the factory system, but I’m not sure which path benefits who the most, given how wildly inefficient this factory is. )

I was fairly apathetic towards this one. The idea while intriguing didn’t quite live up to the whole web of favours, bartering, and negotiations that I had hoped for.

I also heavily dislike Boris which I presume was intentional. Had there been an option to trade in large quantities of sculptures and favours to pay the Rattus Faber to drag him into a dark alley, I would have gladly paid.

I did; echoes start here. Reward was Pulsating Amber.

I did; echoes start here. Reward was Pulsating Amber.[/quote]

Thank you!

Maybe.

But remember that when you first meet the Numismatrix she gives a lecture about coins, which includes this:

Sure, but that’s still only two coins - the Superbian Coin from Lamentation Lock and the Scored Stone from this story. The only way we could have three coins is if the Withered Vagabond’s Locket was secretly built around an ancient coin, which would be a pretty terrible twist.

I did; echoes start here. Reward was Pulsating Amber.[/quote]

You seem to be missing the epilogue.
edited by Optimatum on 1/25/2018

Quite enjoyed this one, as a character going full Austere being able to represent the Honourable Iron & Misery company and put those mudmen in their place was a delight, with some pretty decent rewards for my work. Graham certainly did a great job creating such a loathsome figure with the upstart Boris.

What I’m wondering now is if I ought to buy the first story of this season so as to not miss out on this arc’s resolution? EDIT: Turns out I have, forgot Steeped in Honey was part of it.
edited by E.C.H on 1/25/2018