On the advise of many, I have decided to spend some time at the Imperial Court, not so much for the intrigue and opportunities for seduction (though those ARE nice…), but to create some worthwhile works of art! An epic poem or a novel, of a less… fantastical bend, to help me gain access to God’s Editors. Now that I’ve gotten started, though, I find that the many options for gathering inspiration here are… bewildering.
Loads of options, many different advantages, and occasionally problematic consequences on failure. Seeing as I’ve only just barely got over 100 Persuasive, my odds are never higher than the mid-60’s for success, making failures inevitable…
So I would ask those who have already walked the paths of those hallowed halls - are any of the options clearly superior? Or clearly inferior? I can access all of them… more or less. My Austerity is a bit too low to have any kind of decent chance at taking inspiration from chamber-music.
"You have Rivals" have a rare success that gives 2 Incendiary Gossip, and even on regular success consume nothing. Failure gives only scandal. No quirk changes. Need Society 50 but does not consume Society; safest and best in my opinion.
"The Lead" gives 20 CP on a success and is faster than other things, although it also drops Inspired by the same amount on failure. Success or not, it damages Austere and increase Hedonist. More efficient, more risk.
Most Connected options are traps - give regular 15 CP on success but also consume 10 CP of connnections for no additional benefits.
In any case I recommend you get your Persuasive higher first - scandal can be annoying to manage, and I am not sure but being exiled might reset your Inspired. And constant failures tend to be the biggest roadblock for ventures. edited by Estelle Knoht on 5/5/2015
Just another point to consider: If it’s just God’s Editors that you are after at the moment, then instead of creating and then sacrificing a work of art, you can alternatively give 2000 Foxfire Candle Stubs (plus you need Church and Bohemian connections at 20, which is easy to get quickly).
If you have a decent source for candles (Unfinished Business in Veilgarden will give you an average of 100 per action if you succeed in the Persuasive challenge), this might be faster and easier for you than creating a novel at Court.
I’m terribly short on candles, unfortunately… they’ve been steadily used up by my plant. Besides, I needed to practice my Persuasive anyway, to get it up to 110, so I could start accepting party-invitations.
I’ve actually got just a BIT too low Society-connection to do ‘Rivals’… but I think I can get it there pretty fast. I might go for that. The Lead, unfortunately, is only an option if you’re doing a ballet or opera or whatever… sadly, you cannot spend quality-time with the lead of a poem or a novel. Not even in the Neath. :p
I always went with cloistering myself and working. 10CP most of the time, with a rare 20CP success. Doesn’t take resources, and failure just costs scandal. Not saying it’s the best option, but it’s the one I always went with.
Ah, that one works… I think I’ll go with that, for now.
Incidentally, I just discovered that there actually IS a Guide available for this on the Wiki - albeit at the somewhat counter-intuitive location of ‘Shaping a Masterpiece for The Empress’, which I understand is the name of a now-defunct Storylet that got replaced by the current system of inspiration-gathering and whatnot. I’ll just leave that here for any other forum-goers who happen by this thread looking for advice…
I mostly go with “A City of Culture”, with occasional breaks to take in “Nature in the Neath” or “A quiet day at [my] lodgings” to actually do some work if I get tired of clicking the same button. They’re all practically the same.
If the Caligula’s Coffee House opportunity card turns up it can give a good boost (or penalize you), but that’s more likely to come up if you have a work open as a more long-term pursuit than it would be trying to get God’s Editors ASAP for the BDR.
I managed to write a play that was very well received with a Persuasive of just 81. I used my connections to the Church to good affect, with a back shredding amount of self flagellation. It was probably a little audacious of me, especially as I was only at the Palace by way of invitation.
[quote=BlakeTheDrake, 15 days ago]
Incidentally, I just discovered that there actually IS a Guide available for this on the Wiki - albeit at the somewhat counter-intuitive location of ‘Shaping a Masterpiece for The Empress’, which I understand is the name of a now-defunct Storylet that got replaced by the current system of inspiration-gathering and whatnot. I’ll just leave that here for any other forum-goers who happen by this thread looking for advice…[/quote] edited by Estelle Knoht on 5/20/2015