I was a little confused at the wording of some things around the end, but I usually am, so I don’t think it’s a mark against the story or such. I gave the Decorated Ambassador the impression "London is Weird", which was exactly what I wanted, and urged her against open hostility/distrust of London. She told me the colonies would likely federate when she got back, which I also wanted, and I’m guessing that that’s either standard or a result of not giving her the impressions that London was powerful/unjust.
I liked the setting of this one, and it was fun to participate in all the guest’s sidequests! They gave a good sense of separate motivations for everyone involved. I also loved the references about the Ambassador’s heritage, it gave her character and her own motivations great depth.
I am, however, left with one question: Was mistress Gladrags a measurer? As in, like the ones from Sunless Skies. It talked like they do, with the obvious stuff about paying debts, and it’s hand is described as "chitinous", which also holds up to the measurers being, like, beetles. Why was it in the Neath, though?! edited by cadwynknivlove on 6/26/2019
A pretty decent story. Much more focused on characters and atmosphere than on actual plot.
I appreciated the interactions with all the minor characters (and that each had a small mini-quest to reward checking and re-checking all the options). And meeting Sinning Jenny again is always a delight.
I also appreciated that most movements at the party cost no actions, though it was still tedious at times to go back and forth just to toggle some qualities to unlock a new option.
The ending felt a bit abrupt and strangely inconsequential, considering that it involves statements that can change the world’s status-quo quite a bit (potentially, this can be as impactful as the final choice of The Empress’s Shadow, but there the implications are built-up better).
Personal ranked list of all Exceptional Stories:
[spoiler] Masterpiece:
Cricket, Anyone?
Excellent:
Lost in Reflections[/li][li]Cut with Moonlight[/li][li]Hojotoho![/li][li]For All The Saints[/li][li]The Frequently Deceased[/li][li]The Waltz that Moved the World[/li][li]Steeped in Honey[/li][li]Flint[/li][li]All Things Must End[/li][li]Written In The Glim[/li][li]The Century Exhibition[/li][li]The Twelve-Fifteen From Moloch Street[/li][li]The Persona Engine[/li][li]Where You and I Must Go[/li][li]The Sinking Synod[/li][li]A Little Pandemonium[/li][li]The Attendants
Good:
Noises From Upstairs[/li][li]The Murgatroyd Formula[/li][li]Lamentation Lock[/li][li]The Web of the Motherlings[/li][li]The Pentecost Predicament[/li][li]The Calendar Code[/li][li]Daylight[/li][li]The Rat-Catcher[/li][li]The Art of Murder[/li][li]The Chimney Pot Wars[/li][li]The Final Curtain[/li][li]The Garden Embassy[/li][li]Tauroktonos[/li][li]The Magician’s Dream[/li][li]The Bones of London[/li][li]The Heart, the Devil and the Zee
OK:
The Stag and the Shark[/li][li]The Price of Loss[/li][li]Our Lady of Pyres[/li][li]Required Repairs[/li][li]The Clay Man’s Arm[/li][li]Five Minutes to Midday[/li][li]Discernment[/li][li]The Haunting at the Marsh House[/li][li]The Pursuit of Moths[/li][li]Factory of Favours
Meh:
Trial and Error[/li][li]The Last Dog Society[/li][li]The Seven-Day Reign[/li][li]The Court of Cats
I don’t know anything about Sunless Skies lore, but I understood Mistress Gladrags to be a Master of the Bazaar, specifically Mr Veils (who trades in Rags)… though why it would be so interested in this particular affair isn’t clear to me.
I don’t know anything about Sunless Skies lore, but I understood Mistress Gladrags to be a Master of the Bazaar, specifically Mr Veils (who trades in Rags)… though why it would be so interested in this particular affair isn’t clear to me.[/quote]
Cadwyn is probably correct. Sunless Skies has a species called Measurers, who among things are described as chitinous, are all named Mistress, and offer a gift supposedly free of charge but later show up and extract payment at inconvenient times.