Spread your Tale of Terror!

Myself being one of the luckier individuals in the Neath I am already at a point where stopping the search is quite profitable. For smashing my lens of black I have been offered a Searing Enigma, a Primeval Hint, a Bazaar Permit, and a Comprehensive Bribe. This has made my blood thirst even more powerful. On a side note I think this storyline is repeatable so with the right combination of luck and perseverance you could rack quite a lot of loot.

Some quick calculations indicate that it’s not that bad a deal. If I got my math right, assuming the data on the Wiki as of now is correct, “pretty good odds” is 70%, “it could go either way” is 50%, you value an action at 1 Echo, and you don’t care about the cost to convert items from lower-tier ones:

Say you’re looking for Antique Mysteries, so you’ll cash out at that point and no sooner. You have a 24% chance of getting there, so on average you’ll fail 3 times per 1 success. In those 3 failures, you’ll waste a total of ~7.5 Echoes and actions. In the successful attempt, you’ll spend 5 actions and 3 Echoes worth of goods, for a total cost of 15.5 Echoes+actions, but the payout’s worth 25.
edited by Aspeon on 3/2/2012

On a side note. I think failbetter games forgot the part where we get punished for going all the way to the end of the story. I mean I thought there would be a punishment somewhere. Nope just a 300 echo shiny and a muddied conscience. Not quite what I had in mind. >_>

This isn’t Mr. Eaten we’re talking about here. Unless it is. I haven’t gotten past the hotel yet.

According to the steam-powered computational engine deep under my lair in the marsh, it should take approximately 115 turns on average to succeed, with a cost of just over 100 echos of goods (sell-able value.) Considering the payoff, that’s actually a pretty decent money maker, rather than a sink - aside from the unfortunate vagaries of lady luck. Of course, a marsh wolf may have gotten stuck in the gears again, so my numbers may be steaming excrement.

I am quite interested but I too find my “pretty good odds” to actually be really fairly poor. I shall wait to make further tries until I have more of the second item used. I have a bit of stock in Tales of Terror but not the Visions of the Surface.

But I do have PLENTY of other goals to keep myself occupied with so this one mystery will just have to wait in line!

~MF
A Lady juggling plans

Out of curiosity, how many steps are there? I got to the lens, but that’s the furthest I’ve made it so far.

That’s the last step. The reward is right around the corner.

‘In the deepest matters of frustration, always look to luck. Always.’

Still, it is fun. And we get to see the soft-hearted widow again!
edited by Byron Man on 3/2/2012

That’s the last step. The reward is right around the corner.[/quote]

Good to know!

Also can be gotten by 680 scraps… so in the end it is a very good deal if you are lucky.

Yep, I just finished the storyline within 30 actions. I did it by make sure I have 3 copies of each stage before progressing to the next - I personally feel that it is less likely to fail three times in a row.
edited by Byron Man on 3/2/2012

Fascinating story! Interesting mechanics. Obviously, it’s shiny-new, so I’m absolutely obligated to explore it, but once it’s established enough to be optional… yeah, it’s a gamble, but it’s fun! I like it.

[color=rgb(0, 153, 0)]As some people surmised, this is a little bit of gambling entertainment. Unlike most gambling, we have tuned the odds carefully so that in the long run you’ll come out, on average, a little ahead, but of course you could be very lucky or unlucky. There’s enough texture in there, in terms of different goods, that there are a variety of strategies you can weigh up in terms of cashing out for particular goods, if you’re playing the economy game.[/color]
[color=rgb(0, 153, 0)]
[/color]
[color=rgb(0, 153, 0)]The mechanic came first; the story is ultimately flavour. But I think Chris did a blinding job on it, and it teases some upcoming content which will tie together existing mysteries.[/color]

I had the feeling we’d be seeing [color=rgb(255, 255, 255)]these three gentlemen[/color] again. The story was great, and does a great job of answering questions with more questions, but mechanically I suppose I’m just not in the target audience for this particular piece of content, since I personally despise the feelings of tension and compulsion gambling-based mechanics tend to create in me.
edited by Patrick Reding on 3/2/2012

That was my first thought - that this story ties together at least two others (or at least hints at such ties.) I’m just trying to figure out exactly which ones. Very exciting stuff! I enjoyed the story more than the monetary payoff - impressive though it was. I suppose that may change once I have a use for the thing…

well it’s something to do while waiting for doubt street op cards to show, at least. picked up a night-whisper so far, then got as far as the lens before failing

Getting frustrated, I got to the lens three times and failed all three. I wish adventures turned over more quickly.

Hmm… I’m saving up for an Overgoat, but the promise of payoff from this storyline is awfully tempting…

Well, I’ve gone through this story completely, and have made a point of doing it again for the more lucrative deals that can result along the way. But I have to say that (spoilers) [color=#ffffff]selling information to the devils netting me the “hellfarer” quality certainly raised an eyebrow. Just what sort of fate am I condemning myself to? /color Things are getting very interesting.
edited by ZackOak on 3/3/2012

Success! finally. I must admit this is a pretty frustrating mechanic. I didn’t keep track of my overall costs, but I have 40 fewer tales of terror than when I started, and I ran out of correspondence plaques halfway through and had to make more.