[color=rgb(194, 194, 194)][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]
[/color][/color] [color=#0066ff]The Thorned Manservant returned from the War against Hell forever changed. Now he has found mysterious employment at the Shuttered Palace. Satiate your curiosity, infiltrate the palace, and uncover his connection with a certain secluded prince…[/color]
[color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]Written by [color=#ffffff]M[/color]ary Goodden[/color]
[color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]Art by [/color][color=rgb(194, 194, 194)][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]Monika Eidintaite[/color][/color]
[color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]Editing and QA: Olivia Wood[/color]
[color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]In addition to a new, substantial, stand-alone story every month, Exceptional Friends enjoy:[/color]
[color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]Access to the House of Chimes: an exclusive private member’s club on the Stolen River, packed with content[/color][/li][/ul][ul][li][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]Access to Mr Chimes’ Lost & Found, a shop in the Bazaar where you can exchange currency earned through playing Exceptional Stories for exclusive companions and items[/color][/li][/ul][ul][li][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]An expanded opportunity deck: of ten cards instead of six![/color][/li][/ul][ul][li][color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]A second candle: Twice the actions! 40 at once![/color]
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[quote=Thjazi]There’s an option in some early dialogue that unlocks if you’ve played The Gift! I don’t know what it is, since I have not played that, alas.[/quote]Is there a quality level requirement to it?
It’s echoed on my mantelpiece. There’s also an option if you have the Incognito Princess with you as a companion, or as I will be referring to her for the purpose of this ES the Unhelpful Princess.
I also find it somewhat confusing that at a later point you have the option to slash a painting apparently for moral reasons? It…seems a bit baffling as a response even if you ARE deeply moved by the campaign against Hell, considering you are currently trying to be discrete and also it’s not exactly a public and influential piece of art.
Edit: And-done. Quite a neat little story. There were parts, I felt, where the story sorta expected me to have a bigger reaction to certain things than I did when I was kinda already committed to just grabbing all the loot? The Thorned Manservant took the full revelation of what his boss did quite well, all things considered. I’m also amused that my complete indifference to the Bellicose Prince’s habits meant that the Thorned Manservant was in a good position to sell the thing off with enough profit to build a nice retirement home for the veterans. Once again, my ruthless b_stard of a would-be replacement Vake helped a lot of people by being too much of a selfish, power and profit-hungry jerk to do something rash.
…shame the fact that I did nick a few things from the palace never seems to come up again in the story as long as I didn’t get caught, though. Can’t even sell them off or anything. edited by Captain Blood Storm on 9/30/2021
[quote=Captain Blood Storm]There’s also an option if you have the Incognito Princess with you as a companion, or as I will be referring to her for the purpose of this ES the Unhelpful Princess. [/quote] Well, that’s one way to avoid writing an entirely different second half to the story, I suppose. I did think the quip regarding Isery along the lines of, "How’d they get here? Oh well" was a bit silly; of course we’re sneaking into the Palace with 70 companions, 1000 fantastical animals, and roughly a ballroom’s worth of loose belongings in case we need them in a pinch. Somehow, that’s just who we are. [quote] There were parts, I felt, where the story sorta expected me to have a bigger reaction to certain things than I did when I was kinda already committed to just grabbing all the loot? [/quote] Red Honey and the Royal Family are so over-the-top monstrous that I find it becoming a sort of amusement park ride version of evil; no need to worry, just enjoy its aesthetics and carry on! In the end I funded the expedition, not out of magnanimity but just a firmly pseudo-Victorian belief that expeditions, if at all possible, should be undertaken! I think I received a Nightwhisper, and lost some Ruthless in the exchange, regrettably.
Just started this one and I’m a little confused. The story seems to be treating me as if I were a veteran of the campaign against Hell, with the veterans wanting me to share my experiences with them.
[quote=Plynkes]Just started this one and I’m a little confused. The story seems to be treating me as if I were a veteran of the campaign against Hell, with the veterans wanting me to share my experiences with them.
[quote=Plynkes]Just started this one and I’m a little confused. The story seems to be treating me as if I were a veteran of the campaign against Hell, with the veterans wanting me to share my experiences with them.
Um, what?[/quote]
Nah, they just recognised that you’d had some dark experiences of your own and invited you to talk about them.
