A Scholar of the Correspondence challenge on the card could be fairly interesting (for instance, if it took SotC 15 to have 100% success) for a 2 Echo reward would be mechanically useful and give incentive to newer players to raise the quality in a way that fits with the story.
(Anyway, as an unrelated note, the Renown drop seemed to only be 1-2 CP for me. Anyone else have numbers to corroborate?)
[quote=Azothi]A Scholar of the Correspondence challenge on the card could be fairly interesting (for instance, if it took SotC 15 to have 100% success) for a 2 Echo reward would be mechanically useful and give incentive to newer players to raise the quality in a way that fits with the story.
(Anyway, as an unrelated note, the Renown drop seemed to only be 1-2 CP for me. Anyone else have numbers to corroborate?)[/quote]
How about SotC at 21 for 90% success; a success which will yield 2 E vs 1.5 from failure. Now this is something I like! It combines semi-useless SotC with an almost-guaranteed success!
And what do you mean by renown drop?
[quote=Skinnyman]
How about SotC at 21 for 90% success; a success which will yield 2 E vs 1.5 from failure. Now this is something I like! It combines semi-useless SotC with an almost-guaranteed success![/quote]
Did you offer this reasoning to FBG through support e-mail? They are very polite and friendly, in my experience, and by doing so you assure the issue is acknowledged at leastā¦
Renown drop: there is minor Renown drop for two factions (and Connected drop for one still unconverted) in one of final options. The game clearly telegraphs it, and it is outstanding - Renown, by design, should never dropā¦ but this loss is minor. But still important in case you ran for Renown 40 exactly and were very optimal in doing so. In which case you may find yourself in a need to increase Renown one more time after said drop.
edited by Kharsirr Lynx on 2/9/2019
[quote=Kharsirr Lynx]The game clearly telegraphs it, and it is outstanding - Renown, by design, should never dropā¦ but this loss is minor. [/quote]I find it very interesting that they experimented with this kind of option! This ES sounds damn great! :D
All I know is, part of me wants a new Feast companion or two stemming from this story.
Azothi, regarding your comment about the Athletic Deviless:
It makes sense, though, that the Athletic Deviless would be able to dance messages. Remember the devilsā connection with bees!
Good catch!
ā¦ And now Heās justā¦ some drunk.
That hit me harder than any of the other revelations or reveals.
I even had the Who Wantās To Be A Millionaire Final Question music on loop for 10 minutes mulling over who to accuse! I was pulling my hair out!
[quote=Catherine Raymond]Azothi, regarding your comment about the Athletic Deviless:
[/quote]
This happens in Sunless Skies as well:
Devils at the Well of the Wolf dance the Correspondence in hymns
So I was wondering about
Viennaās/the Whiteās motivation in collecting Mr. Winesā Confession. Here is my rudimentary theory thus far and the assumptions it is built on:
The fall of Mr. Winesā kingdom would have been important news, thus we can presumably remove Vienna wanting to learn of what happened as a motivation, for the Old Man would have likely learned of it from his monochromatic ally in the heavens.
This brings me to an older ES, the Waltz that Moved the World, where Vienna tried to learn of the Bazaarās contingency plans for the Thief-of-Faces impersonating a Master, presumably so the Thief could replace them for their gain. Kidnapping a Master has been attempted before (Cheesemonger storyline), admittedly ending as a failure.
Viennaās unorthodox confessional would have taken Winesā memory of this, a confession very few, sans Spices, would have known about, including the other Masters, which would explain if the Thief did impersonate Wines, why it wouldnāt know a very important and defining part of Winesā life, giving it a stronger cover for when it strikes.
Of course, this presumes Wines is the target, which would bring me to a second part of the speculation around the Waltz; His Amused Lordship as the Thief. If his Lordship really is the Thief and Wines his target, it would explain his status as āan intimate of Mr. Winesā- He is studying his mark and their mannerisms so he may more easily impersonate Wines.
It all hinges on speculation and presumptions, but it does not bode well for Mr. Wines.
Re: Ixc (on the motivations of certain agents)
[spoiler]
My perspective on Viennaās efforts in extracting the Confession gives them admittedly simpler and less interesting motives, but I believe itās still worth exploring. We know from the Mysteries that the Great Game is played for "The secret currencies in the Bazaarās vaults", those reflections of a more primal force that the Numismatrix describes. As far as I see things, this is what Vienna seeks. Learning secrets from the Tragedy Procedures and unveiling the weakness and regret of Mr Wines gives Vienna significant leverage in making a move on those secret currencies and the power they represent.
Iām not inclined to believe that the fierce old man in Vienna is necessarily an ally of the White. We know that the Old Man is aware of the Judgements and the High Wilderness, and both share an intense desire to quash the Liberation of Night, but to me, they seem more like mythic echoes on different links of the Great Chain. They are the archetypal spymaster to the agent in the Woods in Winter. The Old Man seems intent on hiding this echo from the Judgements by keeping Frostfound secret. Furthermore, the Whiteās plans for the Neath are distinct from and even conflicting with the Old Manās machinations.
As for the Thief-of-Faces, this is the first Iāve heard of the HAL hypothesis. Itās quite interesting, though I donāt believe it. The defining trait of the Thief-of-Faces is hate, self-loathing and misanthropy, always changing but never satisfied. From the Bishop of St Fiacreās:
[quote]Whatever it is, it hates, and whatever it has been, it hates and will work to destroy: it will change endlessly and never be satisfied.[/quote]His Amused Lordship has not displayed much self-hatred, even in his confession, which reveals his wife was a Seeker. Furthermore, it seems like the Thief-of-Faces is currently with Mt. Nomad:
[/spoiler]On a more unrelated note, Iām very excited to see what Ambition: Heartās Desire holds in the future, even if Iām on Ambition: Nemesis, now that weāve learned what weāve learned.
[quote=MidnightVoyager][quote=Catherine Raymond]Azothi, regarding your comment about the Athletic Deviless:
[/quote]
This happens in Sunless Skies as well:
Devils at the Well of the Wolf dance the Correspondence in hymns
Interesting! Thanks for that tidbit.
In the Chilly Future, we see that the Masters themselves āspeakā the Correspondence with what seems to amount to mainly body language too. Or at the very least, they are not speaking it in air or writing with it. So it seems that the Correspondence can physically āacted outā in some capacity.
Does anyone have echoes for
the differences you get from having Mr Winesā Scepter? Iām wondering if it changes the context of things at all. Feel free to PM me ^u^
Thank you!
edited by lolahighwind on 2/22/2019
[quote=PSGarak]I think this Exceptional Story is the whole, entire experience of Fallen London, distilled down into a single story. I think thatās why we like it so much. Itās everything weāve wanted and everything weāve enjoyed, distilled and purified until it fits into a single steaming mug.[/quote]Thank you for putting my feelings into words! :)
Iāve played this story over the past weekend and, like others in this thread before me, was completely lost for words.
I had high expectations when I saw the name Chandler Groover since their first ES, The Rat-Catcher, was outstanding - and now I think itās safe to say they went one better with this one. Failbetter, if itās at all possible, please hire Chandler Groover as a permanent writer, or at least as often as you possibly can!
That said, I have a few questions for the community:
I never saw that opportunity unlocked with Courierās Footprint which so many of you have mentioned. Is it visible only to players who already have this requirement, or did I simply overlook it?
Regardless, the person to send me its full text via PM will have my eternal gratitude! :)
Could someone link to the echoes for having/not having Mr Winesā Sceptre and the Beggarās Crown, respectively? Iād like to compare the differences.
I would also appreciate a link to the echo for giving the Word to the Constables.
How much Renown and Connected: the Masters do you actually lose if you choose to keep the Word? Iām thinking about resetting this story later, and take that option.
I chose to give the Word to Hell ("Fallen things belong with fallen things" convinced me) and was a little bit disappointed with the single CP of Renown I got. But if the losses are also just 1 CP, that wouldnāt be so badā¦
Apologies if some questions have already been answered, I only skimmed through the thread! ;)
edited by phryne on 2/22/2019
[quote=phryne]That said, I have a few questions for the community:
[/quote]
[spoiler]
Hereās the Courierās Footprint option. No clue if itās visible when locked, but itās an alternate option to hit the ball in the fourth inning.
Here are the echoes for having the Sceptre and Crown; I donāt have the ones without but they should be easy to find.
Iām pretty sure the losses are just 1 CP to each faction, yes.[/spoiler]
edited by Optimatum on 2/24/2019
[color=rgb(194, 194, 194)]Probably missing something very obvious but I am kind of struck at the moment[/color]
[color=rgb(194, 194, 194)]I am at the third inning and have confronted the Deviless and the Summerset guy so far.[/color]
The research in the library and the bat reseasrch have been completed but I canāt work out how to confront the Bentham captain to get the belltower option.
[color=rgb(194, 194, 194)]I canāt play cricket any further either and Iāve checked every location several times. I have "reason to suspect the Benthic captain 3 and donāt see any way to raise it to 5. This is the first time Iāve ever gotten stuck like this in this game. What am I missing?[/color]
[quote=WanderK8] [color=rgb(194, 194, 194)]I canāt play cricket any further either and Iāve checked every location several times. I have "reason to suspect the Benthic captain 3 and donāt see any way to raise it to 5. This is the first time Iāve ever gotten stuck like this in this game. What am I missing?[/color][/quote] In my notes the only two things which affect Suspecting the Benthic Captain are speaking to him about bats, and then specifically experimenting with a Sulky Bat.
@Wanderkay8
I had something like this happen to me on another ES: needed a value of 20 but only had 16, which locked me out of all progress. They never did figure out what happened, but a note to support did the trick and they re-set it for me. Iād check with them.