Questions of a Rubbery nature

  1. Is plain amber ever good for anything, except selling it?

  2. Does Connected:RM ever open any doors? Between not being a side in the coin-war, having no full opportunity card of their own like the other factions, and offering no professions - these types rather make me wonder why i bothered getting quite this close to them.

  3. Is any insight into this curious lot available to an insignificant fellow such as myself? {all stats in the 50-80 zone, with equipment}

  1. You need thousands of it to gamble for a Majestic Pleasure Yacht.

  2. Level 15 appears to be he most you’ll need, both for calling in favours in the Forgotten Quarter, and together with level 20 for Tomb-Colonies and Urchins, allowing you to pass one of the requirements for becoming a Person of Some Significance.

  3. There is plenty of Fate-based content focused on the Rubbery Men, but apparently you need to finish the University storyline before Flute Street is even an option.

You can also convert amber for whispered secrets in coil 1 of the Labyrinth in a 1000:1100 rate. Whispered Secrets are definitely useful, for expedition supplies and whatnot.

Ah, i see. I also forgot to mention shroom-hopping, but that is quite bland. So, on the subject of insights? I have unintentionally exposed myself to a number of spoilers {even if that number does appear to be “1”, upon last count}, and am quite eager to reach the same knowledge - and then more - through less unorthodox channels. Specifically on subjects of their origins and nature.

It is good to know of the POSS criterion, Gilsing; thank you. I already have an excellent rapport with the urchins, having always favored the company of children. The one with Tomb Colonists, however, i shall have to build from scratch, when the time comes. I never did abide them much, though i do appear to have had carnal knowledge of one, during my exile, for the sake of adhering to my philosophy if nothing else.

An additional question, though less strictly rubbery: Is it possible at all to become a Student of the Correspondence without undertaking the third class of expedition?

Yes, there’s apparently a card that will give you it if you reach 100 watchful. I’d still recommend doing the expedition though. You won’t get the correspondence stone elsewhere.

[quote=Taciturn Masseur]It is good to know of the POSS criterion, Gilsing; thank you. I already have an excellent rapport with the urchins, having always favored the company of children. The one with Tomb Colonists, however, i shall have to build from scratch, when the time comes. I never did abide them much, though i do appear to have had carnal knowledge of one, during my exile, for the sake of adhering to my philosophy if nothing else.[/quote]Upon re-reading my reply, I realise that it is wide open for misinterpretation. The thing is that the ‘Rubbery Men, Tomb-Colonies and Urchins’ combination of connections is only one option out of four (five if you count a Fate-locked option) on one card, and there are three other cards with options for other things (one for clothes, two for lodgings). And you only need to pass one of all those requirements to progress to the next stage. So while Connected: Rubbery Men may be useful for that, I shouldn’t have phrased it as &quotone of the requirements&quot, as that makes it sound like all the requirements are required. I guess it would be better to say that it is one way to pass a stage on the path to become a Person of Some Importance.

You will from the devil librarian or something like that (I don’t remember that well). Although it costed quite a bit of Muscaria Brandy if I recall well.

You will from the devil librarian or something like that (I don’t remember that well). Although it costed quite a bit of Muscaria Brandy if I recall well.[/quote]

Ah, well, it’s worth doing the expedition either way!

I’ve been flipping cards for weeks on two characters looking for the card that gives the Scholar with having to do the expedition (don’t have a decent source of secrets at the moment). Neither has found it yet.

http://fallenlondon.wikia.com/wiki/A_Dream_about_a_Boat_and_a_Spire
It seems very, very rare. It’s possible to get it in Ladybones Road, so likely not location-specific. If you do happen to draw it, could you try to record its frequency?

I actually assumed that’s what you meant, just from seeing how the game normally treat such things. :=} Are there consequences to taking a specific path to that goal, and not another? That is, will it bring me closer to the dear squidlings, or result in any other consequences that relate to them particularly?

The paths all feed into the same result. It’d likely be a lot of work to make them all have unique consequences.

So, barring expenditure of Fate, there is little in the way of true interactivity on the part of Rubbery Men for one not yet POSI? Or even for one who is?

Pretty much. As a PoSI you can attend a soirée in Veilgarden (A Polite Invitation), where you can interact with a Rubbery Man. But that didn’t seem to be the best way to spend time at the party, so I never did. You’ve also got the two cards for moving Warm Amber from one card to the other, and that’s more interactive than a lot of other factions. But as with most Rubbery Man activities, not very profitable. So I avoid Warm Amber like it’s a menace.

Tangentially, i would have your advice on a question of nature more personal: Should i save myself for some future NPC courtship, or some unknown situation where bachelorhood would hold various doors open? Or shall i go ahead and pursue with another player?

I assume plural engagement is out of the question, but can one “be seen with” multiple individuals at the same time?
Does seduction remain possible, even under the aegis of matrimony?

Yes, you can be “seen with” more than one person, but only engaged/married to one, player or npc, at a time. As much as I adore my husband, I would personally recommend holding off marriage to a player for the moment unless it is of great importance to your character, because:

a)Once you are married, all of the “treat your sweetheart to x” options under the “affairs of the heart” page are suddenly closed. I have been harping on this blind spot since marriage first became an option, and there are supposedly special actions for committed folks in the works, but they have yet to manifest. Just give me my dates back and I’ll cheerfully shut up, FBG!

b) There is no option to divorce a player character, only to break off a “seen with” or an engagement. Surely not everyone made such a stellar choice in spouses as I did, and I’m sure some people are stuck married to players who have stopped playing, grown annoying, or something else pretty has caught their eye. Divorce is possible for npcs, but not pcs, and that’s just weird.

While I’m on my grumblepuss romance rant, I would also like there to be a friendlier option for breaking up with someone. Getting THE BETRAYAL no matter what just seems pretty dire, y’know?

London being London, seduction is always possible, and has no bearing on any npc/pc relationships. That’s between you and your conscience only. ;)

I made my pact with the Master Jewel Thief, because stealing diamonds seemed like a fun and profitable activity. Since then I have cursed my bad luck a number of times, but still managed to steal enough diamonds to pay for the cost of courtship and then some. (That is after deducting the usual 178.57 pence per Action I expect from a regular grind, though not accounting for all the Hastily Scrawled Warning-Notes I have to use, or the actions used to acquire them.)

I suppose the Rubbery Consort might be a better option for the Fated who wish to gain a lot of Notability, and a player spouse offers unparalleled stat bonuses for those who aren’t focused on profits. (Getting an extremely high Scholar of the Correspondence might require a Watchful spouse for some people.)

[quote=Lady Taimi Ward-Felix]Once you are married, all of the &quottreat your sweetheart to x&quot options under the &quotaffairs of the heart&quot page are suddenly closed.[/quote]So, romance is doomed to die at the altar? How dismal of them!

Oh. Now my curiosity is quite piqued indeed! How much fate would that require?

While we’re on the subject - will there ever be more survey questions that pay in fate? I received the ones on age and gender, but it has been months since.

[quote=Taciturn Masseur]Oh. Now my curiosity is quite piqued indeed! How much fate would that require?[/quote]First you need access to the Fate-locked Flute Street, and then you need to acquire a certain quality down there, which I think is also Fate-locked. I’ve heard that to get everything out of Flute Street you need 100 Fate, and that probably includes the Fate-locked part of the Labyrinth of Tigers. So I’m guessing that it takes around 50-80 Fate to qualify for a Rubbery Consort.

the Consort is 100 Fate on top of the Fate for the entrance, but you can get other stuff as well as the consort