[quote=the truthseeker]Unlike some other lodgings that cost 60-80 K worth of stuff, the Townhouse is quite reasonable now I can clearly see the path!
…
(Yeah, right, I know there’s a card Watchful 100+ people could draw; I ain’t getting it, like I never annoyed Jack of Smiles after 190+ attempts for the Rare Success back in Watchmaker’s Hill.)
So I am upping my Expeditions in the Forgotten Quarter (deciding how to best raise funds pre-POSI for that is a whole other question …
(So for instance I can’t do the Labyrinth yet, nor do I have the 5000 entry rats …[/quote]Those 60-80K lodgings can all be gotten through alternative means, and given how ridiculously difficult it is to get that much of anything, the ‘alternative’ means are practically the default means. The Bazaar Side-Streets gives you access to the alternative for Premises at the Bazaar.
Best way to get expedition supplies nowadays is to Hire a porter from the docks, and buy an Engraved Pewter Tankard and use it with 150 x Glim whenever your Docks connection is at 10-19. Unless you have a bunch of Whispered Secrets that you have nothing better to do with. But even if you can get 150 x Whispered Secret per Action they’re still not faster than using dockers, so only faster for already accumulated stockpiles that you don’t intend to replenish.
Using Strong-Backed Labour from The Acacia and the Butterfly are about equal to the hired porters, but not nearly as convenient to get. But you might as well get some of those if you’re preparing for expeditions by building your Docks connection. According to my calculations the efficiency is acceptable even when I speed up and simplify the process by siding with both the Widow and the Docks against the Urchins, who I then placate with dead rats and living lizards by using a Rookery Password.
And here’s a SPOILER for the Labyrinth of Tigers: The reward for finishing the first coil is enough rats to pay for a season pass. (And then some.) So you really only need a day pass if you’re willing to stay in there until you’ve finished it. I didn’t know about that when I did it. I also didn’t know for sure that the lucrative The third coil storylet would close when I progressed far enough.