I have been for the longest time cultivating my progress with Attending To The Needs Of A Singular Plant, however I recently looked into the reason for this plant and the Tournament of Lilies. The fact that I am growing a carnivorous plant that grows human heads, the head of a Saint no less, is not a comforting realization after all this time. I see at the end of this whole affair this prize:
And I will have a chance to get this after hundreds of turns and just as many echoes spent growing the damn thing, only to have to gamble this hard won progress against other players. Losing would thus render my progress points, each one hard fought for, absolutely wasted. And from an RP standpoint, I have this thing in a house where I keep my Pets, my Companions do business and where my Constant Companion might stay. Maybe keeping this monstrosity might be more tenable in a Guest Room at the Brass Embassy or a premise on the Bazaar but certainly not in a Handsome Townhouse.
So unless this prize is worth it, unless this green abomination opens up any other doors, I am well and truly on my way to considering just giving it to that obsessed plant woman stalking my house and cutting my losses. Speaking of which, my losses would be considerable since my progress is at 9 and I am almost able to compete in the Tournament of Lilies. That the Tournament is the only form of PvP available since Knife-and-Candles got axed makes my decision all the more wearisome.
So what say you sirs and madams, should I rid myself of this menace or keep it? edited by Owen Wulf on 9/16/2012
Well, once you reach Attending To The Needs 16, you can grow your plant for free - if you’re sufficiently ruthless - and the Tournament prizes include Personal Recommendations and Books of Hidden Bodies.
I don’t think I am ruthless enough to feed it people, thank you kindly. And I can, or should, be able to attain Recommendations and Books easily enough without the Tournament. So… If I’m not ruthless enough to feed it live people (except maybe that Church Guy) I shouldn’t continue growing this plant? 16 itself would still be a challenge to attain all things considered. I just wish they didn’t make us gamble Progress Points in the tournaments, it’s really quite stupid. edited by Owen Wulf on 9/16/2012
You can feed it spiders instead of people, which is more expensive, though personally, I was happy to, because **** spiders. As for the Tournament rewards, true, those can both be found elsewhere. If one gets lucky in the Tournament, one might get the rewards quite quickly - quicker than grinding in the Sidestreets or at the Party - but it is, as you say, a gamble, so if you’re not enjoying the experience, you may as well sell your plant on!
(Incidentally, you’re not pursuing a certain Poor Edward, are you? Because the plant does have an alternate use there… which means it might have further uses elsewhere down the road, but that’s another gamble, so that’s entirely your call.)
What or who is a Poor Edwards? In addition, I realized that if your stuck in a Velvet Box your plant has the ability to come save you. So I guess that means it cares for us?
Edit: Concerning Poor Edwards, no I am not doing the Light Finger Ambition I am going through the Bag a Legend Ambition which I am happily content with. I still need to get around to buying a ship though.
But that aside, is the plant worth it for any other reason? edited by Owen Wulf on 9/16/2012
[quote=Owen Wulf]What or who is a Poor Edwards? In addition, I realized that if your stuck in a Velvet Box your plant has the ability to come save you. So I guess that means it cares for us?
Edit: Concerning Poor Edwards, no I am not doing the Light Finger Ambition I am going through the Bag a Legend Ambition which I am happily content with. I still need to get around to buying a ship though.
But that aside, is the plant worth it for any other reason? edited by Owen Wulf on 9/16/2012[/quote]
Well, the main reason is that there isn’t a reason… Yet? The thing to consider is that Fallen London is still a work in progress, and none of the Ambitions is finished yet, so it isn’t actually easy to divine whether the plant could find some uses in the future. At this point you have the plant and you’re not actually forced to make a choice - you could simply discard the plant-related cards if you find them. But having it in your basement is probably better than giving it away,in case you need it later.
I got a hundred Rostygold for mine, which is most certainly a net loss, probably around fifty echos though I did not keep records on this, not to mention the turns I wasted on it.
However, I have also been getting the card to allow me to start over again, so should a purpose manifest, that door is not forever closed to me.
Also, at the point I was in that storylet, I was getting multiple cards for the plant, but now I only get the base card to start the storylet, so I winnowed my opportunities deck slightly, which is a small gain in itself.
As you most likely guessed, I voted ‘ditch the damned plant’.
If you don’t like it; I wouldn’t continue in either case - whether it has a great value or not.
All of Fallen London is about flavour, words and stories. Echoes and items are just storytelling devices.
The same can be said about SMEN - Seeking Mr. Eaten’s Name: Everyone knows it’s stupid; dangerous; disadvantageous and whatnot, yet people still do the story because of the story and the urge to find out what happens.
Therefore you shouldn’t care about monetary gain the first time you do a story (if you replay it for rewards, the same cannot be said).
So my final recommendation for you is to simply stop using those plant cards; and, if your decision is still the same after a week or so, end the story. If you don’t like it and end it, there’s not THAT much content after 10 either way.
If you don’t like it but still keep it, you’ll be reminded about not liking it every time you draw one of the cards.
If you sell it and don’t like the story; every ‘Find a Plant’ card will either be just another card or a confirmation that you did the right thing in getting rid of it.
If you sell it and like the story, every such card will remind you of having sold it; and if you keep it and like the story, every card will fill you in relief that you did not sell it.
And, also, once you progress it high enough, you will stop getting cards to continue growing it. So, if you want to stop seeing the cards about it entirely, growing it to full size is the way to deal with that.
Then you can simply have a giant, man-eating plant quietly sitting in your basement, not causing any trouble.