My character decided to kill the vandal, but ooc I found that ending rather disappointing. One would have hoped the collector would actually have a good reason for killing them :/
edited by TimurMurtazin on 2/27/2018
[quote=Ivica]Did anyone bring somebody else than Scorundel to meeting with Vandal?
Insurgent or Cognoscente?
I’m interested to read about this endings.[/quote]
I brought and echoed the results of bringing the Insurgent with you to the last meeting with the Vandal.
Any idea what the rewards are for various endings?
[quote=folklore364][quote=Ivica]Did anyone bring somebody else than Scorundel to meeting with Vandal?
Insurgent or Cognoscente?
I’m interested to read about this endings.[/quote]
I brought and echoed the results of bringing the Insurgent with you to the last meeting with the Vandal.
Any idea what the rewards are for various endings?[/quote]
i haven’t brought anyone and got uncanny incunabulums
This Exceptional Story was superb (and written by the creator of A House of Many Doors, no less!). I loved meeting all the bizarre and memorable characters, especially after their secret identities and motives were revealed. In the end, I took the Scoundrel to visit his daughter, and didn’t feel particularly bad about stabbing him the back, since the text implies that he wants to force her to go with him to the zee "whether she wants to or not". The Vandal’s suicidal decision to go to the Surface was sad, but understandable given her beliefs. As someone who has recently partaken of the Cider, I also enjoyed the chance to visit the Surface and see some sunlight. This story was a dark reflection of "The Heart, the Devil, and the Zee", which for me was about people learning to make their own choices and free themselves from burdensome obligations. The equippable Moth-Eaten Greatcoat and the disturbing implications of the Vandal’s journal were, as others have noted, particularly delicious.
edited by James Sinclair on 3/5/2018
Part of me wants to put this ES among some of my favorite ES storylines. The mystery surrounding the Vandal was an interesting one that pulled on a few more heartstrings than expected, and the story up to that point already had be invested with silly and eccentric characters. I’m always a fan for tasty chunks of lore, and seeing how far the weirdness of the Neath and the forces around it is a main part of why I keep coming back to this game.
That said, the ending keeps me from calling this one of my favorites. To be honest, it nearly does the opposite. I’ll fill in my reasoning in a spoiler tag, but it boils down to the ending for such a lovely story being disappointing if not infuriating, and that bad payoff paints the rest of the story in a bad light. Oh well, suppose I’ll wait until the season’s out to redo it.
[spoiler]It’s not that I’m expecting a "happy ending" out of all of this. A woman is determined that suicide is the only option to atone for her life and all the side characters have caused or wish to cause harm to her for their own purposes. Tragedy would be an understatement for this story’s set-up, so it’s not that the ending’s sad that upsets me, but how we came to that conclusion. As someone who brought along the Vandal’s dad, likes others have mentioned, how your actions will result in the ending are far too vague. Why do I HAVE to kill the Vandal or her father, assuming I don’t just let them murder each other? The PC can wrestle zee beasts and capture spider councils alive, but I can’t disarm the situation or subdue one party without killing one off? If, say, she held the blade to her throat and threatened suicide in front of her own dad were you or him to come closer, I could understand the situation being a one-or-the-other scenario. But this was a far simpler scene with a far simpler solution that didn’t require such a final outcome. I was prepared to kidnap her kicking and screaming Cheesemonger-style if it meant she wouldn’t kill herself over uncaring gods because she thought her birth was a sin. It’s fine if I couldn’t do such a thing (although I’d argue that itself could make for some good moral questions), I just wish the justification for why I couldn’t was warranted.
This story also has a similar issue to that of the ES Steeped in Honey, where there is an evil character that has either done terrible things or continues to do said terrible acts, yet even when giving control in other parts of the story, we can’t act where it matters and murder the SOB. I’m all for the Collector’s shocking twist for collecting bodies of Neath oddities and wanting the Vandal stuffed, but assuming that I’d even let her near the body of someone I’d have given a limb to protect (I’m a snuffer sympathizer, after all), the sheer fact that I’d be present to see it would drive Marlen to permanently murder her right in that room if not do worse. There’s no good reason in-character why an offended player (who is presumed to be horrified by this revelation they’ve unknowingly taken part in) couldn’t add another homicide to the list, but unlike Steeped in Honey’s fault in this department, the rest of this story’s ending doesn’t have the concrete quality to support it and the rest of the story’s payoff.
If it seems I’m being too harsh, as I’m willing to admit, it’s because the rest of the story was just that damn good. It would be one thing if an unsatisfying ending came from something on par with The Rubbery Murders or the Velocipede’s Spinning of the Wheels, but this story was something of a gem up until this point, and it stings to see all that promise end up flat. I honesty look forward to the writer’s later work for FL, because they have talent that clearly shows throughout their writing. I only hope that later works have better polished endings with tragedies that cause sympathy and loss rather than annoyance.[/spoiler]
edited by Sir Joseph Marlen on 3/7/2018
Just finished up this E.S. Seemed rather on the short side, but the characters and story were charming and touching, so I’m overall quite pleased.
[quote=Sir Joseph Marlen]Part of me wants to put this ES among some of my favorite ES storylines. The mystery surrounding the Vandal was an interesting one that pulled on a few more heartstrings than expected, and the story up to that point already had be invested with silly and eccentric characters. I’m always a fan for tasty chunks of lore, and seeing how far the weirdness of the Neath and the forces around it is a main part of why I keep coming back to this game.
That said, the ending keeps me from calling this one of my favorites. To be honest, it nearly does the opposite. I’ll fill in my reasoning in a spoiler tag, but it boils down to the ending for such a lovely story being disappointing if not infuriating, and that bad payoff paints the rest of the story in a bad light. Oh well, suppose I’ll wait until the season’s out to redo it.
[spoiler]It’s not that I’m expecting a "happy ending" out of all of this. A woman is determined that suicide is the only option to atone for her life and all the side characters have caused or wish to cause harm to her for their own purposes. Tragedy would be an understatement for this story’s set-up, so it’s not that the ending’s sad that upsets me, but how we came to that conclusion. As someone who brought along the Vandal’s dad, likes others have mentioned, how your actions will result in the ending are far too vague. Why do I HAVE to kill the Vandal or her father, assuming I don’t just let them murder each other? The PC can wrestle zee beasts and capture spider councils alive, but I can’t disarm the situation or subdue one party without killing one off? If, say, she held the blade to her throat and threatened suicide in front of her own dad were you or him to come closer, I could understand the situation being a one-or-the-other scenario. But this was a far simpler scene with a far simpler solution that didn’t require such a final outcome. I was prepared to kidnap her kicking and screaming Cheesemonger-style if it meant she wouldn’t kill herself over uncaring gods because she thought her birth was a sin. It’s fine if I couldn’t do such a thing (although I’d argue that itself could make for some good moral questions), I just wish the justification for why I couldn’t was warranted.
This story also has a similar issue to that of the ES Steeped in Honey, where there is an evil character that has either done terrible things or continues to do said terrible acts, yet even when giving control in other parts of the story, we can’t act where it matters and murder the SOB. I’m all for the Collector’s shocking twist for collecting bodies of Neath oddities and wanting the Vandal stuffed, but assuming that I’d even let her near the body of someone I’d have given a limb to protect (I’m a snuffer sympathizer, after all), the sheer fact that I’d be present to see it would drive Marlen to permanently murder her right in that room if not do worse. There’s no good reason in-character why an offended player (who is presumed to be horrified by this revelation they’ve unknowingly taken part in) couldn’t add another homicide to the list, but unlike Steeped in Honey’s fault in this department, the rest of this story’s ending doesn’t have the concrete quality to support it and the rest of the story’s payoff.
If it seems I’m being too harsh, as I’m willing to admit, it’s because the rest of the story was just that damn good. It would be one thing if an unsatisfying ending came from something on par with The Rubbery Murders or the Velocipede’s Spinning of the Wheels, but this story was something of a gem up until this point, and it stings to see all that promise end up flat. I honesty look forward to the writer’s later work for FL, because they have talent that clearly shows throughout their writing. I only hope that later works have better polished endings with tragedies that cause sympathy and loss rather than annoyance.[/spoiler]
edited by Sir Joseph Marlen on 3/7/2018[/quote]
I chose not to take anyone with me when I finally tracked the Vandal down. Though I didn’t realize at the time that I was eliminating many choices in doing so, my choice to take her on alone was consistent with my character and much less fraught than the other choices provided.
All I seem to be doing is feeding bats? What’s going on?
That’s the hub for the Season, which this ES is a part of. Try Veilgarden?
That’s the hub for the Season, which this ES is a part of. Try Veilgarden?[/quote]
Ahhhh , there. Could have sworn I went to all the locations.
Don’t forget to get this story in less than 21h if you didn’t!
This was a bitter sweet story, that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I like that I had plenty of interaction with the members of the Society, forming my own allegiances and opinions, it was all very well done. They each felt properly fleshed out - if simple - and I felt satisfied on that front.
I do wish we will have more happy endings in the future ;)
Thanks for the story, I am looking forward to the next one.
In my opinion story is fine, but too short. Not much revealed. At least in my route.
Curses. Forgot to go back to the Society and call another meeting in order to discuss the clues we found before the first meeting with the Vandal. Did anyone managed to echo any of it?
Aw crap, I’ve been having some serious computer troubles this last month plus ive been super busy and I haven’t been able to check FL, but I never halted my subscription. There’s no way for me to play this now is there? My March payment was completely wasted?
Well, when they switched over to having a hub from which to unlock EF stories by season, I managed not to unlock a couple properly, and support were most understanding. I’d certainly drop them a note in hope and see if they are willing to help.
Well, when they switched over to having a hub from which to unlock EF stories by season, I managed not to unlock a couple properly, and support were most understanding. I’d certainly drop them a note in hope and see if they are willing to help.[/quote]
Well, when they switched over to having a hub from which to unlock EF stories by season, I managed not to unlock a couple properly, and support were most understanding. I’d certainly drop them a note in hope and see if they are willing to help.[/quote][/quote]
Support was kind enough to unlock it for me, I brought the scoundrel to his daughter and accompanied her to the surface :)
I just finished this story. I brought the Mackintosh to reunite with his daughter, but after hearing the Vandal’s side (and witnessing the Father’s reaction and ultimatum), chose to defend her.
I see that many were disappointed with that outcome. While it was brutal and perhaps initially a shock, it was clear to me that not intervening would mean witnessing a knife fight to the death. So if anyone had wanted to truly save the Vandal, there was only one outcome.
That’s how I saw It, at least.
I will say that I’ve played every ES and haven’t come back to read these story-specific threads until now. The discussion, shared text, and theories expounded here are really invaluable, I think. Helps everyone, no matter what choice was made during the story. It really helps flesh out the lore and understanding of what’s going on in a broader sense! So all in all, great to read.
J-
A bit late to the party, but better late than never.
I found this story a bit underwhelming, though the writing was fine (loved the puns), and the characters had potential. What really drew me out of the story was how easily all these characters suddenly trusted me with their secret identities/agendas (which are life and death revelations for them).
The setup was fine, but I would have like it much better had the story built upon the whole "secret agenda" thing, by giving us ways to play different Society members against each other. As it was, it was too short, and didn’t give the more interesting aspects room to grow.
Personal ranking of all Exceptional Stories:
Excellent:
- Lost in Reflections[/li][li]Cut with Moonlight[/li][li]Hojotoho![/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]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]The Attendants
Good:
- Lamentation Lock[/li][li]The Web of the Motherlings[/li][li]The Pentecost Predicament[/li][li]The Calendar Code[/li][li]The Art of Murder[/li][li]The Chimney Pot Wars[/li][li]The Final Curtain[/li][li]The Heart, the Devil and the Zee[/li][li]Our Lady of Pyres[/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
Terrible:[ul][li]The Stone Guest[/li][/ul]