Some sneaking around the wiki indicates that it’s an option inside the “Study the Secrets of Fallen London” storylet in Ladybones Road. I’m half-surprised it’s not an Opportunity Card.
http://fallenlondon.wikia.com/wiki/Study_the_secrets_of_Fallen_London.
Thanks, PSGarak. I did look but couldn’t figure it out (and like you say, expected it to be a card).
I’ve been trying to draw this card with my alt, Keilios, who sided with the constable. Based on what I’ve seen and talked to a few others the card doesn’t seem to drop as often. Or maybe Keilios just has abysmal luck or the fact that I want to see the other side of things is making it hard to draw, haha.
That being said Dubheasa did not feel so great about her outcome with it. But it was a wonderful, if painful, ride.
Do you have A Name Whispered in Darkness 7? Because that’s what the card requires to appear.
I have to admit, it’s a little frustrating that “A message from an old acquaintance” can’t be discarded. I was considering resetting the story (as I mentioned earlier in the thread, I missed a lot of content by blazing through the story when I was first starting out), but I don’t have the Fate right now, and it’s a little annoying having a slot basically taken up because I don’t want to be locked into the story yet.
Would it be possible to make the card discardable?
I’m having the exact same problem, Daedalus. I’m refusing to do this story until it’s able to be reset, now it’s polluting my hand forever.
A bit late but for the sake of feedback. I’ve finally decided to deal with the storylet and I’m one of those people who really enjoyed it. I think it’s fine if we have these tales where the PC is not central for a good reason. Here we are at most a secondary characters in the tragedy of these two.
In character it was nice to do this as a favour to the Cheery Man, whom I met in my early days in Fallen London and with whom I always kept a courteous relationship. I’ve seen it through without meddling, interfering or trying to discourage, because that is what the two of them wanted, or at least felt they needed to do. I got the result that I desired but I believe I wouldn’t reset it regardless if given the option, I’m generally in for the stories and not for the mechanics and to me the story was that the two decided on the old Lady Luck to give their feud and ending, it would feel disrespectful to the characters to reroll it just to get the result that I liked more.
Writingwise I really liked the feel of the storyline. If I had a criticism perhaps the initial pursuit feels a bit too actiony for the rather melancholy tone that permeates the rest of the narrative (at least the way I dealt with it) but I understand the need to establish some tension and it is done with very early on so it didn’t break the pacing for me once the stakes were established.
edited by ValentinV on 11/30/2017
Incidentally, has there been any word on Coffee With The Last Constable/A Drink With The Cheery Man returning post completion? Granted, LC is considering leaving town afterwards, but she’s clearly inclined to pass through London given the Feast of the Rose and in any case, pursuing a crime in the south or not, she’s the type to go where a case leads her.
On the other side of the coin, CM isn’t likely to be absent at all.
Just kind of wondering because it was always nice to catch up with either of them for a chat, alone or otherwise and I’d love to see the card return with potentially a new option to reflect on the finale as a dialogue choice, see how they feel once they’ve had time to process it if they survived and you didn’t meddle.
I’d like to add my voice to those who worked through the early-game Last Constable content in a single chunk without seeing the “Coffee with the LC” card once–on two separate alts! All that content down the toilet.
I’ve been playing this game for four years, and I didn’t even know that card existed until recently. It’s very poorly telegraphed.
[quote=hwoosh]I’d like to add my voice to those who worked through the early-game Last Constable content in a single chunk without seeing the "Coffee with the LC" card once–on two separate alts! All that content down the toilet.
I’ve been playing this game for four years, and I didn’t even know that card existed until recently. It’s very poorly telegraphed.[/quote]
I understand that a player may miss some content due to fast advancement, but the card you are talking about locks itself very fast and has a low frequency. I know about that card only from Wiki and, with this info, I saw it on my alt two times only; advanced the story and was a bit shocked to see that it locks before the previously last steps.
No wonder few people know about it!
Well, finally did it. I remember everyone at the time getting upset because their chosen ally died. Well I’m upset because mine didn’t!
I wanted to get their weapon at the feast! Grr…I think somehow the game knows what you want and always manages to work things so you don’t get it. Want the Amanuensis? He’s out of town all week. But when you have no use for him he’s all over you like a rash. Same with the Lady in Lilac.
The game just knows.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, though. It would have been more poignant if my guy had died, but I have no gripes. None. :)
I have a question, if anyone here can answer.
I sided with the Constable, and ended up playing the final story with the Constable and the Cheery Man in such a way that the Cheery Man died. I also have the “Stiff Backed Young Lady” as a Companion. Here’s the question. Assuming I have sufficient Masquing, will I be eligible for the Cudgel or the Cane?
No. The Cudgel/Cane are mementos of your chosen ally, should they not survive.
No. The Cudgel/Cane are mementos of your chosen ally, should they not survive.[/quote]
Great. So I’ve spent Fate to get to 40 Masquing that I can’t use. My foolishness. Thanks.
EDIT: All is well, and all manner of things is well. It turns out there are other 40 Masquing Companions available that I did not have, one of which I have chosen.
edited by cathyr19355 on 2/16/2018
I finished this quest a few days ago. At first I was a tad unhappy with the luck check (might I suggest removing the little “you were unlucky, better luck next time” thingy, just this once? It REALLY rubs it in). Now… I’m just very affected and mourning my friend the Last Constable. She and her father aren’t so different, y’know? Nicely done.
I confess to having an odd time of it.
[spoiler]I originally played it on the app when it was released, and my ally, the Last Constable, somehow survived the luck check gauntlet in-game. However, IRL luck checks were less friendly, and the app refused to sync. Round 2 had her be the one killed. Then Failbetter redid the conclusion and offered a reset, so on Round 3, the Last Constable won again and is now still alive.
I wasn’t aware that the Last Constable and the Cheery Man were fighting a lethal sparring bout, but I’m glad she’s the one who won two rounds.[/spoiler]
I’m really rather disappointed, if probably for a different reason than most other people here.
You see, I read through this thread when it first came out, and saw that the odds were stacked against you. Then I went away doing other things (I’m prone to putting off stories for months), until the Feast rolled around, and then I made the decision to get the Stiff-Backed Young Lady with the express purpose of seeing her through this game of chance to a most likely tragic ending. Now, I’d sided with the Constable long, long ago, but I didn’t have any extreme emotional attachement to her. I liked her a lot as a character, but the narrative value of the bad ending was even more appealing - I would have cherised her Memory (or whatever the replacement item for the SBYL is called), it would have added (depth, (back)story) to my in-game character, and in short I would have been sad but satisfied. (In fact it’s even mechanically better, as you get two items to replace your one…)
Instead, on the first round the Cheery Man promptly dies, the Last Constable sends me away telling she "needs a moment", and bam story’s over and I never hear from it again.
I must say I can’t remember the last time I have felt so unsatisfied. I feel like this is even worse than expecting your ally to live and have them die - as at least in that case you have a clear reason to be sad, perhaps devastated, which bears testament to the quality of the game’s writing and worldbuilding: which is valuably in much the same way that an actual tragedy novel is valuable and worth reading (I fondly remember the last story I read which brought me to near-tears). In my case, though, where I was expecting an emotional ending and got… nothing much? I’m not even sure what to feel. I guess I can be happy she’s alive? Yay? But because I barely ever interacted with her previously, she would really have been more memorable as a memory (excuse the tautology) than as yet another interesting but ultimately utterly inconsequential living character. So I’m left with just… emptiness and disappointment, and that’s in no way a hallmark of a good story.
EDIT: Forgot to add, that people who want their character to survive at any cost do have that option, ever since deviling with the tankards guarantees success. But people like me who seek narrative satisfication through the "bad end" have no choice but to brave the dice… Especially since resetting was disabled. Which is especially painful for me, because FB changed the odds within a day listening to the people disappointed in the bad ending, and yet now - after many months of the same kind of outcry and feedback from people asking for it to be put back - the resetting option is still not there, and will likely never be. Feels kinda preferential, even though I know it obviously isn’t.
For reference, this is pretty much the only story ever for which I have even considered spending Fate on a reset, as normally I like living with the consequences of my choices.
edited by Dudebro Pyro on 5/30/2018
While I see your point, those who asked for the option to guarantee success (and lose their friend, might I add) were asking for something that made narrative sense. You want her to live above all, you cheat and you get your ‘rewards’ - save the person, lose the friendship. Making sure she gets poisoned, well, this does not make sense if she is your friend.
I’m more arguing in favour of a reset* (as well as just venting, since I was really looking forward to developing my character through this and was left with nothing of singificance happening).
*Or against RNG mechanics - obviously removing them from this story will never happen, since it would probably require a complete rework of the ending, but by pointing out the problems maybe at least FB will take this feedback to heart and be more careful with RNG endings in the future. And who knows, maybe they will revisit this story at some point in the distant future.
edited by Dudebro Pyro on 5/30/2018
Oh I think we can agree that leaving the ending up to the RNG was not a good idea at all.