After finally having ground (grinded?) his way up to ToMH 22, DavidJ left behind two particularly dreadful Unfinished Men in favor of a pair of charming stage princesses. He is now to start the Boxful of Intrigue carousel, but before he can do so, he must choose to blame the troubles this box has brought him on either the people or the Masters. Normally David is inclined to agree with certain outlandishly revolutionary characters (not publicly of course), but he is having second thoughts due to the wording of the choices on the cards.
"The box is a thing of the Masters of the Bazaar. It’s probably their fault your life is so complicated."
"If people would just shut up and be ruled, the Masters wouldn’t have to scheme and plot."
Both options sounds a tad bit pretentious to me, but the option to blame the people brings up a good point. While the Masters did steal London and the other four cities before it, they have brought stability in a time of conflict and espionage. Certain of the methods may be reprehensible, but that is true for any governing body.
My point is, that this (intentionally?) whiny discourse going on inside my character’s head makes me reconsider whether or not my views are as just as I see them. Has anyone else had this moral struggle in their mind while choosing a side in this conflict?
I only had a problem in the sense that I knew my character is not a revolutionary, but not a big fan of the Masters, either. In the end, I picked the people because she likes to side with underdogs and, basically, I needed lots of correspondence plaques. shrugs
I’m hardly on bad terms with the Masters, but I dislike the “Special” Constables quite a bit. And I’m as neutral as one can possibly be to the revolution.
Also, money. Also, the side I chose very indirectly assisted in getting me some much-needed Bazaar Permits.
The swerve in that story from the personal level to the political level is a little sudden. It’s not necessarily a question of Masters/Revolutionaries - rather, a broader question of "do I trust those authority to have the best wishes of the people at heart and think they should be allowed to govern as they see fit (even when they’re taking part in elaborate box-related schemes) or do I think others have a right to be involved in the political process (even if they only have their own selfish interests at heart)?"
Obviously, almost everyone will be somewhere in between, so go with whichever better suits your character in broad strokes. If you’re fundamentally concerned about the public good, would you rather advance that by maintaining the stability of established order, or by working towards self-determination for the common folk, free of government control? If your motives are ultimately mercenary, do you think there’s a greater profit in endearing yourself to the authorities and doing their dirty work, or in robbing them of their riches? edited by Sir Frederick Tanah-Chook on 6/30/2016
Or, if you are the more practical sort, or easily bow to peer pressure, or plan to play this grind for an extended period of time, you will inevitably gave in to Conscience of the Empire for that little bit of extra money. Even if you stay loyal to the Bazaar.
I chose the revolutionaries because the masters are always ungratfull cheapskates who never reward you properly no matter how hard you work for them. This alone is the source of my opposition.
Thank you all for the prompt and informative replies. I have now reached the end of the intrigue carousel, and must make a choice to side with Stones, Fires, or publish a very special edition in my newspaper. Siding with either of the two Masters grants you 2 much coveted CP in Connected: Masters of the Bazaar and a unique quality unobtainable elsewhere, while exposing them lowers that connection and gives you 5CP in a grindable quality. Are there any benefits (outside of RP) for publishing your special newspaper that have not been released yet or am I missing something?
Besides that, this lore was second only to my ambition in how much it caught my attention. Is there more lore like this outside of SMEN later in the game? Because frankly, I was astounded by how immersive and intriguing all this was. From learning about the king of the Fourth City to actually hearing the Gracious Widow speak more than a few words, the experience was awesome and the grinding was more than bearable :) edited by ExceptionallyDelicious on 7/2/2016
Not that I know of. I’m pretty sure outside of connected masters loss or gain its really just an RP thing. I choose Fires as I may not like his tyranical and self centered CEO personality, but I find his schemes at least have Londons best interests at heart, at least compared to Stones insane plans.