Melancholy Curate AND his Enigmatic Sister

Hello, fellow dwellers in the moonish light.

I am about to recount a tale of debauchery that will make even Mr. Wilde blush (or blanch) like an Oriental schoolgirl.
I am in a position to engage in a discreet dalliance with either the Melancholy Curate or his Enigmatic Sister. It is surely be a story for the proscribed literature that cannot be discussed in mixed company of ladies, gentlemen and squid.

However, I can convince them to combine their affections for a one night of scandalous exertions. The question is simple - should I? Is the time spent worth it?

Simply said - aside from an interesting sub plot, should I waste/spend my time and raise “Investigating” 20+ for the rewards it brings?

The most hedonistic man in all of Fallen London says “yes.”

In mathematical terms, you don’t get as many Echoes per action in the two-for-one sale, as it were, as you might for just picking the girl or the boy for some plain old vanilla. But, frankily, if all you’re looking for is the most profitable action then this storylet likely isn’t for you. Come to think of it, neither is this game. I highly recommend you choose whichever option your character would honestly choose. A few months from now you won’t be worried about which option gave the most silk scraps, but rather regretting that you no longer have access to a story which could very well define your character early on.

Mr. Gardiner goes into some further detail about this issue in an outstanding article [color=rgb(0, 0, 204)]here[/color]

Hmm…

It is a most interesting thought and article. As long as there are stats, people will become distracted with them. Inner Munchkin is within us all, threatening to crawl out like a a squamous worm.

Not to say that this is wrong in more traditional RPGs, but still…

I have began my character with the intent to make the most Bon Vivant character there is. Yet, Shadowy and Observant missions looked sooo tempting… And, with the game helpfully throwing in boosts for both, I can see that I look like a young criminal with Bohemian ties, not the other way around…

Honestly, the text for choosing BOTH is one of my favorite pieces of text in the entire game. I loved it.

And it’s lovely practice for later in the Empress’s Court.

I picked the sister, back when failing on the threesome would have cost all my progress. I still regret it.

If you need to run a cost/benefits analysis on a clerical threesome, I think it’s time to re-evaluate your priorities.

It’s not the threesome that threw me, it’s the amount of time/actions you need to devote to accomplish that goal. Some repetitive action is expected in any game. However, this being a primarily text game, I get a feeling that I am investing time in a grind, instead of looking for other venues to develop my character and the story.

Yes, the description of the threesome is very delicious. So say both of the game’s wikis.

I just kept heading back to that storylet when I wanted to grind up my Persuasive stat. I’m very glad I did the story all the way to an evening with both! It was a lot of actions, but I did it a bit at a time.

For the larger stories that is what I tend to do. 1/2 actions on a longer story and 1/2 taking advantage of what Op Cards come my way or checking out new stuff.

Ah, yes, the Enigmatic Sister and her Melancholy Curate. I chose the sister, and was rather… less than satisfied. So I donned an absolutely horrid hat (I may have taken a garrulous rodent and a questionable vintage as well), did it all over again and did them both. I never regretted the decision, nor the grind to get there. It is, for me, the most memorable storylet of the game, with much of the text still burned into my memory a year later.

As for the wiki’s, I highly recommend avoiding the spoilers! If you must use them, I suggest it only be to find out how to get where you want to be. Don’t let them spoil the journey, though.
edited by Eben on 5/4/2012

I am going to bump this thread considerably, for i would like to ask: why is this storylet even available?

I have just concluded it and felt rather…well…robbed. I spent a considerable amount of actions in grinding through it -a tedious entrepreneur, but the vagueness and mystique of what actually laid behind this mysterious couple kept me going, as the repetitive actions hinted at something rather interesting.

And yet, nothing gets really revealed, when I finally get to the end. Even worse, I literally gain nothing -some scraps of silk and brass, and that’s it, everything else is gone, no story progression, no mantelpiece item, no new story connection, nada, nispa, niente.

And yet just after that I do a very short venture involving finding out a couriers secret tattoo, and that gives me a new living story to start soon.

So it begets the question: if the small short one gives a satisfying reward, why dost the long, involved and grindy one instead give nothing? Please do something about such!

If you expect every action heavy story in the game to yield buckets of treasure, rare items & accomplishment and to answer all the mysteries of the Neath, then I’m afraid you’re in for a boatload of disappointment.
Some storylets are more profitable than others. The good news is that if you don’t like it, you don’t have to play it. I enjoyed the Curate & his sister storylet. You didn’t, and that’s fine. You never have to play it again. There are hundreds of other storylets throughout Fallen London and few of them are compulsory.

I assure you, I didn’t expect sorely amazing rewards and wonders beyond compare.

All I expected was a fulfillment to that particular story: instead I felt that I was lead around on a carrot and then this was chucked into the river, rather than given to me.

Apart from the grind I was enjoying it, for it promised to give a satisfying conclusion. So I re-iterate: what is the point of a story if it doesn’t justify the effort that was used in exploring it?

The problem came if you used investigating… boosting cards, since the end option didn’t really give a lot of goods.

[quote=reaperOscuro]I assure you, I didn’t expect sorely amazing rewards and wonders beyond compare.

All I expected was a fulfillment to that particular story: instead I felt that I was lead around on a carrot and then this was chucked into the river, rather than given to me.[/quote]
I felt something similar when I finished the story. Before I spent the night at their home, I had built up a lot of fascinating speculation. After I spent the night at their home, I was let down with little conclusion.

I didn’t want their bodies. I wanted their secrets.

The result text told me that my character uncovered their secrets, but I wasn’t told the how, why, where, or when of it all – just what they were in a vague fashion. Throughout the venture, I picked up many tantalizing clues for the Curate & Sisters’ natures and backgrounds, but I wasn’t left much more informed after the final storylet than before it. I was left with a lot of guesses when I was really searching for solid answers. I wish we’d meet the two siblings again in another storyline with more elaborate explanations.

I still enjoyed the writing itself. It was excellent in the sense that I remained hungry for more.

All we have are opinions, highly subjective reactions to the story. Some of us liked it while others disliked it, and there are those apathetic to it; it’s a basic spectrum of reader appreciation for any story. In this case, the point of the story was to give you an interesting and fun read. The flavor wasn’t right for you, but there are dozens of other flavors to try in Fallen London!

I’m certain this story’s author didn’t set out to frustrate you; there are other stories which specifically do that coughSeekingMrEatencough but not this one. At the end of the day, the creators can only hope more readers enjoyed their work than those who didn’t.

Agree with what you say Zeedee: I’m sure after all’s said and done, frustration wasn’t the writers objective, even though nothing story-wise is gained at the end.

But that is the beauty of the digital scene: unlike an actual book if something doesn’t work, it can easily be amended. And in my opinion, this interesting story needs to have its ending amended, to make it worth ones while.

I just finished the story with my alt. He doesn’t want to see one single other verse of poetry in his life. But he doesn’t regret one second of it.