Am I correct in assuming we’re getting one last confession today?
Yes, it was announced that we’d get the last confession on the 6th.
Does picking the Mayor raise liberation of the night?
Want to trade one of my confessions of impropriety for a confession of violence, just like everyone else…
No, it doesn’t.
I didn’t get a confession I needed today, so I donated it to the Princess to raise her progress to 3 and then betrayed her to the Duchess (reroll).
I’ve one confession left. Anything to do with it?
Save it for a likely trade-in tomorrow?
Guess so.
I was slightly foolish and could have gotten 1 more companion total had I used my confessions differently. Bought 2 of the 3 confession cost ones, when I could’ve gotten 1 of them and spent the rest on 2 confession cost companions. Ah well.
I have: two impropriety. I need one more pride or curiosity, one more guile, or one violence. I also have two pride, but I’d only trade one of those for a violence. Anyone to trade?
edited by DeserterKalak on 11/6/2018
edited by DeserterKalak on 11/6/2018
[quote=DeserterKalak]I have: two impropriety. I need one more pride or curiosity, one more guile, or one violence. I also have two pride, but I’d only trade one of those for a violence. Anyone to trade?
[/quote]
Wrong topic, my friend. Try the one labeled for confession trading.
No, it doesn’t.[/quote]
Thanks ^_^
I’m surprised I picked the Contrarian as my companion, but he’s had me utterly charmed since being sworn in and his intentions seemed both good and sensible. Of course Anne chose to become the ambassador, her eyes are obscured by Cosmogone.
Well, if you want to know about souls, you’ll want to call up the Devils. However, we are talking about very real, very literal age. The Duchess was born
roughly 3,200 years ago, give or take a few decades.
Of course, you are precisely right in implying that the Duchess is much more than just an old lady with cats. Not that belies the fact that she is, in fact, an old lady with cats, of course.
edited by Siankan on 11/5/2018[/quote]
Thank you for this particle of knowledge. The image acquires third dimension. So it’s not for nothing that I didn’t trust this Old Lady ;).
Just want to note that I was talking not about that soul that can be sold to the devil. I simply do not have enough words for such stuff.
This Hallowmass was a lot of fun. I would have liked to have had Caroline be able to use her Notability but still, good all around.
I didn’t bother fully solving the mystery on either account, so no ambassadorship for me (I wanted those cats! So cute.) I went with the princess on my main and the widow on my alt. Neither are, perhaps, the <i>best</i> choice, but there’s something to be said for loyalty (or well, crushes in the case of my main but whateverO
I just finished escorting the Princess to Arbor.
It seems her progress, despite being cashed in, can still be ‘betrayed’ mechanically. Is that worth doing, or might there yet be rewards for that progress?
It seems more like a mechanical oversight that we even still have this Progress after returning from Arbor.
[quote=Shalinoth]I just finished escorting the Princess to Arbor.
It seems her progress, despite being cashed in, can still be ‘betrayed’ mechanically. Is that worth doing, or might there yet be rewards for that progress?
It seems more like a mechanical oversight that we even still have this Progress after returning from Arbor.[/quote]
Betraying gives a random confession. We have no way of knowing what rewards might be available for unused progress, but personally I would put a rather high value on a 1/6 chance for a Confession of Violence.
All right. I’ve taken the Duchess to Arbor, I will have had Private Debating Lessons as soon as I get some actions back, and I’ve deeply enjoyed giving the Mayor all sorts of information after it’s too late for him to make use of it. It’s time for a Hallowmas retrospective.
Preface: As a lover of Four Cities archaeology, a delightedly veteran explorer of the Elder Continent, and a student of the mysteries of Parabola (not to mention also someone the Duchess finds "quite exceptional!") I am utterly charmed by the content, and therefore thoroughly biased. Bear in mind as we go.
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I must begin by echoing my old protege: This is fantastic stuff. The writing is witty and beautiful, the characters are well-drawn, and the plot flows nicely, once you get into it. A teacher of freshman composition can get both cynical and difficult to please when it comes to writing quality, so praise on that point is hard to earn. Bravo!
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The writing also reminds me strongly of The Attendants. Now, topically and thematically there are obvious connections (as those who’ve played through The Attendants no doubt observed), but even stylistically it is reminiscent of that story to me. [N.B. Ye of Failbetter, I’d love to know who wrote the text for this year’s Hallowmas adventure.] This was definitely a plus. Hallowmas also did one thing clearly better than that story: it gave us a chance to look around. Not long, and not much, but we at least got to see a bit of the place. Even more interestingly, we got a moment to hear our companion’s thoughts on it. Again, bravo!
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This Hallowmas’s story also hit a difficult balance: giving us choices that felt meaningful, yet not in a way that left you feeling screwed-over if you chose poorly. [N.B. I did say story, not confessions.] That isn’t easy to do on a good day, and certainly isn’t easy to do when the consequences of those choices are unknowns. For the third time, bravo!
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Oh, unknown consequences. The cliffhanger. You do know how to string a guy along, don’t you? I am surprised that the "When will Arbor return?" speculation hasn’t fired up yet, but no doubt it’s only a matter of time. If it is as delightful as this, and if your Hallowmas choice feels satisfying without those who didn’t participate feeling left out, then they may have a masterwork on their hands.
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What about overall structure? Playing half the event for a tantalizingly unknown goal is exciting. Doing so with finite resources may perhaps be less so. I like the two-step process from a narrative perspective, but it may be at odds with the mechanical demands of the event. Cf. the election and Christmas, which are both two-part holidays, but in which you either can’t go wrong (i.e. the latter) or there is no cap on what you can work for (i.e. the former). A choice-based event (and Hallowmas is increasingly becoming the choice-based event of the year) needs either enough information to choose wisely, or the ability to recover if you choose poorly. On its own, I do not know if this structure is conducive to either of those ends.
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Which leads us to the thorny issue (I know; I’m sorry; I’ll try to stop) of information. The first twenty-four hours of Hallowmas were, at the very least, a major PR failure. More than enough electrons have died to bring us that conversation, and I won’t elaborate more on it now. [If interested, see the first pages of this topic.] Let us simply acknowledge it was a major issue, that Failbetter addressed it in a reasonable time (even if it didn’t feel like it at the moment), and that information definitely wins this year’s Most In Need of Improvement rosette. (Yes, did it again.)
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The other outstanding issue is confessions. As the chief currency of Hallowmas, confessions require careful balancing. It is clearly reasonable that a person should not be able to Do All The Things without extra expenditure; this both provides us with meaningful choices (a major part of any game) and helps put food on the Failbetter table. Equally clear, however, is the need for base-level involvement to feel satisfactory. Are we there yet? I don’t really think so. Now, let me be clear: I was able, without spending a single point of Fate, to get the full Arbor story, the Mayor’s weapon, and even a scrubbed-up Mog (and could’ve gotten a second companion with a little more wisdom). I did not get all the companions I wanted, but that was my choice; I saw I could get the Lessons and ran for it. I am well satisfied. However–and this is the critical part–that was after the Goddess Athene passed by scattering confessions to the crowd, and after the Day 2 reset netted me an extra three. Would Arbor and a few carefully-chosen companions (what I would have gotten off of the original twelve confessions) have been satisfying as well? I don’t know. I think it’s much more reasonable in hindsight than it seemed at the beginning, and last year I happily gave up the Lance in the name of getting my chosen companions; nevertheless, the fact that getting the weapon would have cut you out of the story seems like a miscalculation. Also, of course, the fact that you end up palliating the masses with bread and confessions is a sign that something fundamental is off. I don’t think were there yet.
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All of that said, I must come back to the fact that the year’s big addition–ES-level story content in an accessible format–is a major win. The sheer fact that people have stopped talking about what they didn’t like from week one should be proof enough of that. This is the sort of thing that keeps us coming back, and long may it do so!
So, Hallowmas may not have been entirely a bed of roses (can–not–stop–please–send–help), but its flaws were ultimately minor compared to its magnificent conclusion. This is one we’ll be remembering for a long time, and unless Mr. Sacks carries us all to the top of the Mountain it will probably go down as the event of the year. If anything, Failbetter’s main Hallowmas problem now might be following up its own act. That is, you will admit, not a bad problem to have.
Great post!