Savour the Fruits of the Zee!

Fallen London
1

Look out your rod and reel: the Fruits of the Zee Festival is upon us! The festival begins today, 17th August, and will end on the 31st.

As summer winds down, enjoy calming fishing trips and indulge in a cornucopian repast of delights plucked fresh from the bounteous Zee.

[ul][li]Hire a fishing boat, land a Strange Catch and trade it at the festival for special rewards![/li][li]Enjoy the maypole dancing, Drownie serenades, beer &c![/li][li]Secure an invitation to a secret feast and catch a glimpse of your Destiny. Will it be a vision of victory or a dream of darkness?[/li][li]Lend a hand to Mr Wines’ personal butler, Jervaise, who is visiting Mutton Island on a mission to find stories of tempestuous love.[/li][/ul]Catch a ferry from Wolfstack Docks to Mutton Island to join the festivities!

The Fruits of the Zee Festival is a free event open to all players, no matter your level. You don’t need to own a boat, and if you don’t know the way to Wolfstack Docks, there’s a helpful urchin at your lodgings who will be happy to ferry you for a reasonable price.

(borrowing the blog post so we have a dedicated thread!)

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Yay, event!

10 Moon Pearls and 5 Actions to go to Mutton Island. ‘Reasonable price’.

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I took two trips down to the Cove, and Switching Collars as well as the Cured Jillyfleur Cloak are still available, so I imagine (or hope) all the unique items from last year are still around if you’re willing to suffer the semi-random number generator.

4

This is my first Zee event… any particular rewards I should be looking out for? Very RNG based?

5

Somewhat RNG based. Your score from fishing is pretty deterministic… then it’s multiplied by a random number from 1 to 4 to get your &quotPicking&quot value, and that determines what you get from the Cove. So if you want to get a particular item there’s some optimization you can do but it’s still RNG-related.

Also you will have to cycle the festival’s Airs-like quality to actually be able to exchange your fish for items.

Given it’s your first time at the Festival, just YOLO your way through fishing the first few times. Whatever &quotPicking&quot value you get will give you something, and they’re all unique and mostly good. Higher numbers usually better. Maybe in a week you can look up a guide, see what items you’re missing, and making plans to fill in the gaps.

The stuff from the Festival that’s not getting items is fun to see, and it does remind me of some small-town harvest festivals I’ve been to. But the item rewards aren’t fantastic, and the Menaces raise rather quickly, so I wouldn’t hang around too long… also like some real-life smal-town Festivals, staying out too late will give you quite the hangover so get some rest.

6

FotZ has always been my least favourite event, mainly because cycling actions to get the Sights at the Festival range you want is such a royal pain in the arse. Will do a couple of runs to see if there’s any new shiny stuff at Wrecker’s Cove, then sod off right back to London.
edited by Kaminski on 8/17/2021

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Did I miss something last year, or is the Jervaise/Mr. Wines storyline new?

(no new catches yet)

8

Yes, it must be, as Jervaise (think it was him - somebody did) referenced the recent business in London when I was talking to him.

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[quote=fishandchips]10 Moon Pearls and 5 Actions to go to Mutton Island. ‘Reasonable price’.[/quote]Normally you have to zail there. So.

[quote=El Mar]Did I miss something last year, or is the Jervaise/Mr. Wines storyline new?[/quote]It’s new, and not new. It’s just like previous years had stories tied to the newly-elected mayors. This year there’s no mayor, so the story is something different, following up on the Clearing-Out.

[quote=elderfleur]I took two trips down to the Cove, and Switching Collars as well as the Cured Jillyfleur Cloak are still available, so I imagine (or hope) all the unique items from last year are still around if you’re willing to suffer the semi-random number generator.[/quote]Jillyfleur cloak isn’t unique, it’s a standard festival item that’s freely available every year. Collar switching being available may or may not be still possible on purpose, but I think it’s a safe bet that you can’t get a new collar by fishing, since the storyline is over.
edited by Tsar Koschei on 8/17/2021

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Oh yes, it is decidedly new. Has anyone been able to make heads or tails of it already? I admit that I’m quite lost as to what to aim for, especially since it seems that you only get the three shots and only are made aware of the results after you’re done with the festival… Anyone managed to submit singularly catastrophic stories to Mr Wines already?
Plus, is there any meaningful use for Strange Catch once you have all the items from the previous years? Or is it just useful once for starting with the whole chaperoning business?

11

Hmmm… 5 actions to island and 5 actions back to London. I think I will stay in London and rush to Notability 5 (currently 4 and MW 21) before Time the Healer arrives. Too many actions spent on travelling.

I got Sun-Seared Silken Gloves, will aim for the Forsaken Crown next time. I think the Hooded Lady has more nice stuff.

12

[quote=Sir Reginald Monteroy]Oh yes, it is decidedly new. Has anyone been able to make heads or tails of it already? I admit that I’m quite lost as to what to aim for, especially since it seems that you only get the three shots and only are made aware of the results after you’re done with the festival… Anyone managed to submit singularly catastrophic stories to Mr Wines already? [/quote]Right now I’m just focusing on finding all possible applicants for the mating game. So far I have the drownie fella, the chef, the curate, the cannibal lady, Mrs Plenty, and of course Jervaise. Is that everybody? Cycling through the event options is a real pain in the neck.

Out of these options, the chef and the replete, along with Jervaise and Mrs Plenty, suggest themselves as strong alternatives. Which (if you don’t want to double up) leaves what, the curate and the drownie? I guess it’ll have to do.

[quote=Sir Reginald Monteroy]Plus, is there any meaningful use for Strange Catch once you have all the items from the previous years? Or is it just useful once for starting with the whole chaperoning business?[/quote]Previously there’s always been something new to aim for, but we have to rely on trial and error and wait for RNG to tell us if that’s still the case.

[quote=fishandchips]Hmmm… 5 actions to island and 5 actions back to London. I think I will stay in London and rush to Notability 5 (currently 4 and MW 21) before Time the Healer arrives. Too many actions spent on travelling.
I got Sun-Seared Silken Gloves, will aim for the Forsaken Crown next time. I think the Hooded Lady has more nice stuff.[/quote]Here is how you play Fruits of the Zee:

  1. Go to Mutton Island

  2. Complete the unique story of the year and get the reward

  3. Grab whatever other Wreckers’ Cove items you want to get

3.5) If necessary, return to London or trade catches to curate/chef in order to cure wounds and/or nightmares while completing the above steps

  1. Leave Mutton Island and don’t go back until next year

It’s that simple.
edited by Tsar Koschei on 8/17/2021

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The “Something Else” (Fate) option in the Wrecker’s Cove appears not to work and not to allow a glimpse at the rewards.

14

Honestly, I can’t understand what should I do. Have involved all six people, but what exactly Mr. Wine want? Am I missing some hints or pieces?

15

Basically Mr Wines wants you to play matchmaker, observer and manipulator of their relationships.

Match em up, either make them love or hate each other, then conclude the relationship.

Do this for 3 sets and return to London and collect your rewards.

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[quote=Orioza]Basically Mr Wines wants you to play matchmaker, observer and manipulator of their relationships.

Match em up, either make them love or hate each other, then conclude the relationship.

Do this for 3 sets and return to London and collect your rewards.[/quote]I’m assuming either star-spun or catastrophic is better than the options in-between, but what effect does the balance of stories you finish on – all happy, all miserable, or a mix – have on the results of the story? Wines did ask for tragic and stormy love-stories, so I take it that means catastrophic is his preference? How does all this affect the rewards?

Also, does the disposition increase above 100? If so, is there any advantage to raising it further?

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There seems to be &quotmid tier&quot rewards:

Star-Spun: An error, most grievous

[spoiler]Mr Wines is towering, incandescent. Its wroth is like thunder, echoing about the Parlour and shaking the ceiling, sending attendants fleeing for cover.
Mr Wines curses. &quotA happy union! Their joy in each other shall only multiply tenfold. Their marriage, renewed, reforged! An understanding after so many years achieved, and completely. Such bliss as is permitted in this waking life, discovered! Oh, this is calamitous to our affairs!&quot
&quotLove? On Mutton Island? A calumny! An impossibility! A treachery! Oh, calamity!&quot It lapses into a brooding silence.
An attendant, bedecked in jewellery, approaches you surreptitiously. &quotA gift from one more appreciative,&quot she says, passing you a sealed document. There are only a few lines, seared in Correspondence. They concern the ‘Protocols for Peregrination’.

1x Fragment of the Tragedy Procedures.
1x Bazaar Permit.

Catastrophic: Richly earned

Mr Wines is exuberant! It is positively protuberant as it looms above you, swaying upon its feet. Will it dance? Can the Parlour withstand such an action? But, before anyone need to worry for the permanence of the infrastructure, Wines has composed itself. Mr Wines waves a hand magnanimously. &quotThey shall not see each other again. Jervaise will stay closer to home; the Drownie will come only occasionally to shore. Whatever they sought, they did not find, but shall no longer seek.&quot &quotSplendid! Splendiferous, even as a detestable colleague might put it! We shall see how it likes that. Mutton Island! Pah! A pittance, an indignance, a muchness of nothingness!&quot Mr Wines lowers its voice just a fraction. &quotThis should put paid to any more thoughts of wandering. Now, your pay! An extravagance, as is your due.&quot

1x Night Whisper.
1x Favour in High Places.

Fine: A mixed result.
Mr Wines is pensive as it listens to your report. &quotWe see,&quot it says at last, in a tone gravelly with regret. &quotAnd no more than this? And no less?&quot It lapses into silence, ominous as a stormcloud. At last, it lets out an aggrieved sigh.Mr Wines sighs. &quotIt will not be a long-lasting union, but perhaps a fruitful one. We suspect we may one day hear of the cuisine of Mutton Island being sampled in the Presbyter’s halls!&quot&quotWe shall do what we can, as you have done what you can, and we must assume Jervaise has done what he can. Words will be said; the truth massaged, flattered and put to work! We shall hear no more of wanderings and less of leavings. Love! Pah! Love is for London.&quot Muttering to itself, it dismisses you for the time being, leaving an attendant to sort your reward.
1x Searing Enigma.

Indifferent: A mixed result

Mr Wines is pensive as it listens to your report. &quotWe see,&quot it says at last, in a tone gravelly with regret. &quotAnd no more than this? And no less?&quot It lapses into silence, ominous as a stormcloud. At last, it lets out an aggrieved sigh. Mr Wines sighs. &quotA chance for a fruitful alliance likely squandered. We shall be having words with our dear Jervaise.&quot &quotWe shall do what we can, as you have done what you can, and we must assume Jervaise has done what he can. Words will be said; the truth massaged, flattered and put to work! We shall hear no more of wanderings and less of leavings. Love! Pah! Love is for London.&quot Muttering to itself, it dismisses you for the time being, leaving an attendant to sort your reward.

1x Searing Enigma.
[/spoiler]

I noticed that certain couple are &quoteasier&quot (starts at 40, 50 or 60), for example &quotCurate + Ms. Plenty&quot starts at 40.

I have NO IDEA of what will happen at the end of the Festival, when all 3 love stories are done in any of the various combinations.
edited by Frenzgyn on 8/18/2021

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Ok, so you CAN improve a courtship past 100, but it seems to be a waste of actions. I’m assuming so, anyway, since I left the improvement storylet at 105 and now I’m locked out of it, so the number is final unless I abandon the whole thing.

And thanks Frenzgyn, that seems to confirm the assumption about star-crossed or catastrophic being the &quotbest&quot results, since they get a 12.5 item on top of the base 62.5. The EPA on that is really dismal though, so I sure hope we get some further reward down the line for going the extra mile, otherwise it seems like turning in the most basic relationships possible would make the most sense by far.

Edit: kinda strange – you can match the same pairing repeatedly? Why? So you can do different results for the same two? Or repeat the same result over and over? Seems a bit odd.
edited by Tsar Koschei on 8/17/2021

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I turned in my stories to mr wines. One atrocious one, one happy one, and one intermediate. All have a 62.5e item, the really bad and really good romances gave a 12.5e item as bonus. (None of the items were unique.) Wines loved the terrible ending and hated the happy one.

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Considering you can just hand in a basic failed romance without spending any actions improving or worsening it, I have to hope that the 12.5e items aren’t the only reward we get for dropping a minimum of 8 extra actions per story.

Really though, the bit about &quotProtocols for Peregrination&quot makes one wonder if Wines mightn’t have the right idea here. Sounds to me like the Bazaar is saying &quotprepare for blastoff!&quot

Also, one bit of writing and scripting that clearly wasn’t fully worked out: Jervaise offers the exact same detached commentary on a lovey-dovey couple WHEN HE IS ONE OF THE COUPLE.
edited by Tsar Koschei on 8/17/2021