I think that both Amanuensis options do the same thing - they allow you to gain Notability points through various means. They don’t allow you to trade them in to upgrade Profession, however. I haven’t seen any options to force-draw the Unsigned Message card, if that’s the one you meant, sorry!
The way I did it was, I gained one Notability point and then, flipped cards waiting for the Unsigned Message card to appear. Once it did, fortunately for me, I kept it in my hand and quickly raised my Making Waves to 15 so I could force-draw the Amanuensis card and gain the second Notability point needed to upgrade my Profession. That took about two-three days, I believe.[li] edited by Ether on 9/2/2013[/li][li] edited by Ether on 9/2/2013[/li][li] edited by Ether on 9/2/2013
Well, I haven’t tried the one that requires Favourable Circumstances, but I do think they do the same thing just for a different cost, because they both invite Amanuensis for a visit. I think that it’s just faster with Favourable Circumstances because you don’t have to raise Making Waves all the way up to 15, however, if you don’t have a lot of BDR then you still need high Making Waves to succeed in gaining a point of Notability, so it’s a win-win in that case :)
I thought it came once a week, and it’s always come on Tuesday, but it came TODAY and now I have lost my Notability again. What the <i>hell</i>, Time. If anything was going to be on-schedule, I thought it would be you.
So the message I’m taking from this thread seems to be “You’re already an Author, it isn’t worth getting Notability when you can’t afford a Salon or Orphanage.” Does that sound about right?
Yes, it sounds right, unless you have a desperate need for some of the unique rewards another Profession provides. Though it could be a good idea to get a Salon or Orphanage a soon as possible and start building up the related Scheme for when it will be needed (tip: if you get a Salon you can raise your Scheme expending Stolen Kisses, that you get for free as your Reward, and Connected:Bohemian, that you can easily grind in the Shuttered Palace, Publishing poetry in praise of the Duchess).
Is there any consensus on when to use an Amanuensis card if you get it? I have the unsigned card in hand, with 1 notability currently, and need 1 more to progress to Agent. Should I just grind up to 15 and then immediately try to draw Amanuensis, or is it worth it to raise Waves significantly past 15?[li]
[/li][li]
[/li][li]In my experience, your odds of actually succeeding on the Notability challenge are much better if you get Making Waves past 15 (at least to 22 or 23 or so). On the other hand, if you believe Time the Healer is going to come soon, grab the Amanuensis card and to the best you can to boost your odds by other means (loading up on items that give Bizarre and/or Dreaded and/or Respectable; bribing with lots of Souls or using Society connections, etc.).[/li][li]
[/li][li]
[/li]
What catyhr said, and also consider that drawing the card costs 5 CPs, so it’d be worth it to grind it at least up to 15.5 to avoid getting to 14 (and 10 CPs) as soon as you draw the card ^^
[/li][li]Well, the equation is 20+(Current Notability*6)-BDR to get a 60% chance (I’m pretty sure), so it really depends on your BDR. If your BDR was 11, 15 MW would give you a 60% chance. If it’s 14 or 15, go for it! Good luck.[/li][li]
Hrm, my BDR is (4 orphanage, 2 Landau, 1 Cane, 1 Suit, 1 salt-weasel)= 9. I guess what I was wondering was whether or not it was a linear or curved scale at the top end – i.e., am I better off just going for 60% chances repeatedly, or would raising my Waves to, say, 18 or 20 get me a virtually guaranteed shot?[li]
I.e., if currently at Notability 1 and the above stats, I’d need (20+6-9 = ) 17 MW for a 60% chance, would going up to 18 or 19 MW give me a 70% chance, or a much greater chance? How high would I need my MW to be for 100%? edited by Dr. Hieronymous Alloy on 12/5/2013
[You have a Professional Payment waiting at your Lodgings; wounds, irrigo, and other hazards have faded, as has your reputation in the public eye. Notability has not dropped this week: happy Christmas!]
In that case, you’d need 17MW to get a 60% chance, and 25MW would give you about 90%. Failing halves your MW. Hmm. Best to risk it in my opinion, but completely up to you!
Bribing the amanuensis is horribly inefficient, and the gain is random. The most effective way to gain MW seems to be accepting a private supper invite, which I’ve heard gives 6CP. I’m not sure how much you get sending one out, though.[li] edited by Little The on 12/6/2013
Has anyone else noticed a drastic decrease in the efficacy of “Encourage the great and the good to attend your salon”? I believe that I used to get ~10CP of Scheme: A Salon from this option, but in my last three attempts I’ve only been gaining around 5CP. At an investment worth around 22.5 echoes, that seems very low.
I just noticed this, but the options on faction cards (like the 10 rostygold to raise Connected Church or the 2 Greyfields for the Bohemians) raise Making Waves as well. I haven’t tested that many yet, but I know for certain that the Urchins don’t raise MW, not sure about the others.
Faction cards that raise Making Waves - Church; Bohemian; Society; Docks and Tomb Colonies.[li]
There are other things that raise MW - at least one of the Connected pets; having a plant at a certain level; completing certain activities - writing certain short stories, publishing a Newspaper, expeditions etc. edited by reveurciel on 12/7/2013