This, by far, was my favorite Exceptional Story. Really outdid themselves with this one, it’s second only to Flint for me.
Each of the characters had personalities and backstories that made them feel unique and memorable. The right balance has finally been achieved between character interaction and action sequences. I don’t feel like the story tried too hard to make me care for the characters, and nothing happens too quickly for me to not get invested in what’s going on. Running around London doing all those different heroic deeds really felt like I was playing multiple mini exceptional stories at once.
The Valkyrie was a legitimately endearing character, and after getting to learn about my charges while adventuring with them I became genuinely invested in keeping them safe. The subtle buildup for the encounter with Mr. Songbird was well-executed and made me genuinely unnerved when the time came to finally face him. The final twist was legitimately surprising, yet made lots of sense considering what I already knew from my experiences in certain part of the Neath.
My one complaint about this story is a common one: the rather abrupt ending. The warning the final confrontation could "take a while" made me consume a Darkdrop in advance, only for it to go by rather quickly. Other than that, I’m quite satisfied with my final choice and ended the story feeling rather fulfilled.
4.5/5 Well done! edited by Edward Warren on 4/28/2017 edited by Edward Warren on 4/28/2017
I really enjoyed this story. Loved each of the characters - I’m a big fan of these character based stories.
Also, just want to check - I distinctly remember receiving the May ES Season item (The headlines I think it was) but don’t see it in my inventory - do others have it or is it a bug?
Like “The Waltz that moved the World”, this is one where the experience is very much enhanced by having the pertinent music playing in the background as you play, especially for the climax (at least, the climax I played).
This is probably one of my favourite exceptional stories. They did a great job making this little gang of warriors endearing, and the conclusion was probably one of the most satisfying conclusions of any of the exceptional stories I’ve read.
Great story!
It came to me as a warm fairy tale, with a sinister underlying if one knows the truth behind the Foreign Office.
Really happy with this one!
What a wonderful story! I guess part of the reason for me is that I have a huge soft spot for urchins and everything related to them (for instance, I refuse to move from my handsome townhouse to better lodgings, because if it is good enough for my orphanage, it must be good enough for me), but this story has been one of my favourite things in Fallen London so far.
The characters were great, both intriguing and relatable. The Valkyrie reminded me from the start of Tamika Flynn -from Welcome To Night Vale-, only with opera instead of books as her theme, but she turned out to be a more idealistic and warm, less hardened character. And I also liked the mechanics: the three small sidequests were similar on their goals, but the fact that you took a different approach to each one (brute force, stealth and investigation) kept them from feeling monotone. And the little conversations during watches with the Valkyrie also created a good atmosphere.
The ending was also excellent. Maybe a bit short, but it made sense the way it was presented. The twist in the end both surprised me and felt logical.
And, as others hve said, I just wish I could help the new gang more. If not adopt them all, at least serve as a sort of sponsor, helping them when they need. A resourceful, dedicated and idealistic group like that could do lots of good for londoners, on a street level.
Oh this was absolutely delightful!
Since the previous two Exceptional Stories of this Season has been very unfitting and uninteresting for my character, it was great to get back to something I could thoroughly enjoy playing.
As others have said I loved how well-developed the characters were and found them very interesting to work with. This is especially telling as my character is normally ruthlessly ambitious and manipulative generally indifferent toward the urchins. And yet, she was so taken with these little guys and girls that she helped them stay together without any thought for payoff or personal gain down the line.
I also loved the whole mystery with Mister Songbird.
My sole disappointment was that the whole Songbird thing was just related to the foreign office. I know that this fit well in with the existing lore and made for a more emotional choice at the end. But I liked the superstitious elements and had hoped it would have been a more mystical explanation for Mister Songbird.
But overall I am very happy with the story, and it earns a spot amongst my five other top fate stories.
I chose to convince her to keep her Wagnerian party together but I didn’t see any story end item for it? Of the 62 echo variety. Did I miss something? I’ve yet to pull the urchins card since then either so I’m at a total loss lol. Great story and they don’t have to have a payoff I’m just curious if I’m waiting for an epilogue card or not?
You are mistaken. Look up the sale price of a Rookery Password. While it isn’t technically 62.5 Echoes, it is very close.[li]
Also, I honestly don’t care about rewards. If it doesn’t make narrative sense to hand something out, in fact, I’d rather they forgo items entirely. There are plenty of ways to grind in Fallen London. Exceptional Stories are not one of them.
This Exceptional Story was utterly spectacular. I think this is definitely one of my favorites.
I was so convinced it was the Vake, although I suspect there is still a strong connection there.
By the way, could you let us give the Nobodies all of the Echoes? Thanks. Seriously, I’d give them £500 in a heartbeat for nothing more than a quality tracking that I did. Without a quality, of course, it is guaranteed to have no effect. Even if a quality never gets used, I like the possibility of it.[li] edited by Saklad5 on 4/29/2017[/li][li] edited by Saklad5 on 4/29/2017
To be honest, I was a sucker for this story the instant I saw the art of the Valkyrie. As I told a friend of mine, “Failbetter Games appears to have mixed Norse mythology with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I expect glorious things.”[li]
I was not disappointed. edited by Saklad5 on 4/29/2017
I’m curious about the new Foreign Office option if you side with the Songbird, if anyone would care to PM me details. I’ve already sided with the Valkyrie and nothing in the world would make me change that, but curiosity cries out for satisfaction.
You are mistaken. Look up the sale price of a Rookery Password. While it isn’t technically 62.5 Echoes, it is very close.[li]
Also, I honestly don’t care about rewards. If it doesn’t make narrative sense to hand something out, in fact, I’d rather they forgo items entirely. There are plenty of ways to grind in Fallen London. Exceptional Stories are not one of them.[/quote]
Thanks, I’d missed the additional rookery password when finishing the story. I quite enjoyed it and as I said before wasn’t caring about the reward when reading it.[/li]
Gotta say, this one was my favorite too. I think like a lot of late-game players, I’ve had trouble with actually role-playing, what with the desire to actually see all the text I can. And, of course, the grind.
So, imagine how I felt in an ES where every action I took, every decision I made, actually was something that I could see myself doing in-character! This hit me right where it needed to.
On other aspects as well, this was fantastic. An idealistic breath of fresh air in London, hanging about permanently (at least in my branch). Well-written characters, just… Fantastic!