What do you fellows think of the Fate-locked Expedition members?
Tabitha seems quite useful, carrying 15 Supplies for just 7% of wages, plus providing the only 2-supply option for A Quandary.
The Silk-Clad expert costs 9% of the wages, i.e. 1% more than the Tiger, but has a card which allows you to proceed with a Glasswork challenge. Also, she doesn’t cost anything to recruit.
It boils down to the approximate value of 1% of the wages. From what I’ve seen, the Wages are also given as penny values, and thus 1% will likely be around 1 echo or less for most expeditions (reaching Dig Value of 10000 or less). The Expert is, then, in fact less expensive to hire than the Tiger.
Both of them are quite good, probably worth getting/using if you’ve been an Exceptional Friend for some time or if you’ve already got the Expert for your Laboratory… edited by Sir Reginald Monteroy on 1/23/2021
Tiger is kinda bad because his help on card is not 100%. I don’t have Tabitha. Silk Clad girl is very useful and best pair for her is tombie navigator. Navigator provides checkless pass on one card, Silk Clad on the other, 3rd I can 100% with 10 shapeling arts, which leaves only one card where I can fail shadowy check for minor penalty. Other 2 undiscardable cards I never play.
Tombie card is useless, Silk Clad card is the best. edited by Waterpls on 1/24/2021
My usual crew is the Navigator and the Porter. I like the guaranteed pass of two cards for two supplies each (and the navi’s special card proves useful on occasion). I don’t have Tabitha or the Expert, so I can’t comment on them. edited by Kaunisenkeli on 1/24/2021
My main goal is being able to progress with 2 supplies instead of 3. While I would prefer to avoid menaces, I put a lower priority on them vs supplies.
Given that, the miniature general option is a no-go, and the Rubbery Porter & Bandaged Navigator only save you menaces, not supplies. The Claw, Tabitha, and the Silk-Clad Expert all let you pass an obstacle for 2 supplies instead of 3. Given that those three also pack 15 supplies to start, they are definitely the ones to maximize expedition distance. I have not paid Fate for the Expert and probably won’t, but I had enough spare Tales that I could plonk down for Tabitha, and so far I’m pleased with the support she has brought.
The Navigator’s card feels good when I use it, but I also suspect that if I just drew another card it would be a better one. The Claw’s card doesn’t modify progress, but 4CP of menace for one action is actually a good deal. I haven’t used Tabitha’s re-supply option, but I suspect it’s not great.
I do not find Glasswork useful because the one Glasswork challenge requires 3 supplies. On the other hand, Shapeling Arts 10 is very easy for me to get (I can hit 13). My False-Star is probably providing me more benefit in the Wastes than any of the story-options actually written for it. For comparison’s sake, one point of Shapeling Arts increases the success chance on one card by 10%. Increasing my odds on, e.g., Clay Soil by 10% would take 35 points of Shadowy. Even if you can’t hit 10, you’ll probably get more mileage in terms of Menace avoided from Shapeling Arts than from any other stats you could find in the same slot, unless maybe you’re comparing a bone harpoon to a turnip?
It seems that the only penalty for failing the (very few) Persuasive checks is Disgruntlement. This is the one Menace which is cleared every expedition. I have yet to hit level 5, much less level 8. I have just retooled my gear to ditch Persuasive in favor of other stats. We’ll see how it goes. I have to admit, I’m diving deep into the wardrobe to find the best mixed-stat equipment. (Which is kinda the point of outfit locks, right?)
The Porter let’s you bypass the SA challenge for 2 supplies, and the navigator has a 2 supply option on one card that begins with a C but the name eludes me right now. So they can save you supplies. edited by Kaunisenkeli on 1/24/2021
[quote=Rachel ]The Porter let’s you bypass the SA challenge for 2 supplies, and the navigator has a 2 supply option on one card that begins with a C but the name eludes me right now. So they can save you supplies.
[/quote]
They don’t really save you supplies because both those cards have other options that also cost 2 supplies. Those assistants are saving you a chance at gaining menace, which I value less. Tabitha and the Claw both add a 2-supply option to a card that wouldn’t otherwise have one.
(The card is A Clatterwaul, apparently. I had to look it up, I thought it was Caterwaul but couldn’t spell that either.)
Can I just say that I love the ridiculous and ugly archaeological institute you build? And then make worse. I really don’t care how profitable it is, I got my scrips worth out that.
For expedition assistants, I’ve come to prefer the Silk-Clad Expert and Tabitha, but I haven’t tried any others except the Claw. Tabitha’s cost for extra supplies is too much in that it increases the percentage of the take so much, but she’s great for making distance. I’ve customized my "Moulin Expedition" gear as high Shapeling Arts and high Dangerous, which has worked out great. I have high Glasswork as well, but with the Silk-Clad Expert, it hasn’t mattered.
Same, actually. Though I’m really thinking of setting up high Shadowy instead since at this point Nightmares gain is far more costly than Wounds when I’ve got Hesperidean Cider to just sippy-sip away them (and earn some Extraordinary Implications on the side). High Glasswork is useful for writing monographs anyway.
Now to restock my Legenda Cosmogone, First City Edict and Cartographer’s Hoard… not to mention getting my hands on that Ivory Organza and a bunch of Fecund Amber.
It said that going through the Great Mirror would end the expedition, in a bold "warning" font. I had lots of supplies, so I left the wellspring, intending to continue on as far as possible and see what I could dig up. Not only did my lazy good-for-nothing lead me right back to Moulin, but they expected me to pay them off because they decided to turn around and go home without digging up any treasure. edited by PJ on 2/2/2021