Can anyone advise me on how to start looking for the Storm-bird since I need one for research and seem to require a sighting to begin with.
And I find myself in need of Skulls (and other bits) for my construction of skeletons.
Much obliged.
DW–
Go mad in Parabola. This is slightly easier with Menace-modifying equipment.
What content does your character have access to? Obviously the lab, Parabola, and the Bone Market, but have you built any railway? The availability of bones goes up significantly after you reach the Upper River. Before then, Bright Brass Skulls (from the Bazaar) are not terrible. They basically let you turn echoes into Skeleton Value. They’re expensive, but efficient at converting resources you have to resources you don’t.
Thank you, one attempt to go mad in Parabola coming up. Yes, I am in the lab and three stations of the railway built. Much obliged…
I’m quite new at it, butt to begin with I’ve been digging up horned skulls on Bullbone Island. You can get quite a few if you have a lot of Surveys of the Neath’s Bones. I think I got four or maybe five on one trip.
Edit: Hehe, Butt! Actually, I’m going to leave that unedited because it appeals to my juvenile sense of humour.
edited by Plynkes on 11/30/2020
Storm-bird sightings are available when you hit NM 8 in Parabola. It resets nightmares to 7, but with equipped NM gear you can loop it infinitely until you remove the gear.
You can grind sightings up to 15, which will lower the challenge level later, but it will nuke your Glasswork and Monstrosity (current, not maximum levels). Glasswork can be ground back in the Dome of Scales (bring a ton of goldfish), Monstrosity - while fighting your prey, like the STorm-bird.
edited by Aro Saren on 11/30/2020
If you have three stations already, then you have some good options for bones. You will need a supply of Bone Fragments and Warm Amber to kick-start the process… which are best obtained in the Bone Market. Hoarding Paleontologist and the Peculiar Zailor, respectively.
It might be worth your time to grind a few Bone Surveys in the Lab, and use these when dig-related cards come around in the Upper River. Not extremely reliable, but it will build up some inventory of arm and leg bones at least. And a few options give torsos.
Ealing Gardens has good Skull options. You will want to level up your Red Science, build a Device, and then upgrade your Butcher in Ealing Gardens. You may need to visit the Reflection of your Lab to start some of those projects, if you have not already. An upgraded Butcher makes several bone types straightforward to acquire, including two or three types of Skulls. To open up all of the options, you may need to acquire some of the beasts that Southwark uses in the 4th Coil of the Labyrinth of Tigers.
At least two of the barge destinations in Jericho Locks also give skulls. Persephone, in the Lower River, gives Skulls in Coral. Somewhere on the Upper River gives Bright Brass Skulls.
When you do see the Storm Bird in Parabola, don’t wear any gear that boosts Glasswork or Monstrous Anatomy. You’ll lose 1 CP of those stats for every level that you have.
I’d personally say just take the hits all in one bunch - grab all your nightmares-increasing gear, meet the storm-bird, and then keep meeting the storm-bird with menace-increasing gear to max out the quality. Yeah, you’ll end up tanking your glasswork and monstrous anatomy down to 0. But you can recover them all pretty easily, just costs actions, no resources.
The Storm Bird now gives you -8 CP of nightmares, rather than setting Nightmares to 6 like it used to, so you can’t just wear +2 Nightmares worth of equipment to keep meeting it as many times as you want. But you should meet it as many times as you plan to before investing anything into increasing Glasswork or Monstrous Anatomy, because it will cost you a level every time.