The early phase of the University?

I’ve gone through the guest lecturer part of university for a few times, now I’m considering progressing to my own department… but I still haven’t tried everything. Are there any good options I should not miss? Should I spend as long as possible here before setting up my own department? I have Watchful 126 right now.

You’ll just miss out on the text rewards for those options you didn’t choose. It’s fine to move on when you feel you are ready.

I went through the cycle until I’d tried every available finishing storylet (though not necessarily every option in those storylets). By doing that I had plenty of time to try out all of the other storylets, but if you don’t like them enough to check them all out, I don’t see why you couldn’t just move on.

I suppose it might help if you specified what you mean by ‘good options that you should not miss’ though. Good stories, special qualities, huge rewards? I’m afraid I don’t remember a lot of the specifics, but someone else might be able to tell you.

If you were planning at some point to go for the Soul Trade story, I would definitely advise holding off on your own department until you have your timepiece/fork. They unlock some extra branches in the Day of the Debate storylet, which are useful for the spirifer or CVR member. Besides that, as for material rewards, there isn’t anything here that you can’t get anywhere else. But it is easier to build up College connections in the first part of the Storyline than the second, and Benthic connections are important for several item conversions. Reporting the Revolutionaries on the Roof to the College Authorities is the best source for this, but only if you’ve built them both up enough to succeed at the challenge already.

I don’t know if these things are replicated later, but I have chosen not to advance the university storyline just yet because I’m still farming the first storyline for several things.

Succeeding at a Watchful Check (Business and Pleasure) at Term Passing 11 at the Feast of the World (only if you still have your soul, sorry) will yield you a London Street Sign, salable for 2.5 echoes. You can do this three times before the final action at the end of the term. Here, I bet on the cricket match, which is unfortunately a straight luck check that has a 50% chance of increasing my Scholar of the Correspondence (which was already at 7 from searching for Curios in the Forgotten Quarter whilst looking for Eyeless Skulls). It’s a long-term project, but when I can’t raise my Scholar of the Correspondence any higher from betting on cricket matches, then I’ll move on to founding my own department.

In the meantime, the Enjoying the Pace of Academic Life is a wonderful, if slow, way of reducing nightmares and gaining all those extras you get with it. I’m in no hurry to give it up, and the University is also an adequate source of Proscribed Material that I need for higher-tier item conversions.

Edit: typos
edited by Caninicus on 9/4/2014

Hmm, thank you. Is that Scholar of the Correspondence thing important? I’m around 6 now, but I never find a place that required more than 1.

[quote=Caninicus]I don’t know if these things are replicated later, but I have chosen not to advance the university storyline just yet because I’m still farming the first storyline for several things.

Succeeding at a Watchful Check (Business and Pleasure) at Term Passing 11 at the Feast of the World (only if you still have your soul, sorry) will yield you a London Street Sign, salable for 2.5 echoes. You can do this three times before the final action at the end of the term. Here, I bet on the cricket match, which is unfortunately a straight luck check that has a 50% chance of increasing my Scholar of the Correspondence (which was already at 7 from searching for Curios in the Forgotten Quarter whilst looking for Eyeless Skulls). It’s a long-term project, but when I can’t raise my Scholar of the Correspondence any higher from betting on cricket matches, then I’ll move on to founding my own department.

In the meantime, the Enjoying the Pace of Academic Life is a wonderful, if slow, way of reducing nightmares and gaining all those extras you get with it. I’m in no hurry to give it up, and the University is also an adequate source of Proscribed Material that I need for higher-tier item conversions.

Edit: typos
edited by Caninicus on 9/4/2014[/quote]

[quote=zbr308]Hmm, thank you. Is that Scholar of the Correspondence thing important? I’m around 6 now, but I never find a place that required more than 1.[/quote]You need 10 to become a Correspondent, in case that’s something you’d want. (It’s a pretty great and popular profession.) Oh, and it really helps when studying pails of so-called snow during Christmas.


edited by Gillsing on 9/5/2014

Wait, so some professions are better than the others?

[quote=Gillsing][quote=zbr308]Hmm, thank you. Is that Scholar of the Correspondence thing important? I’m around 6 now, but I never find a place that required more than 1.[/quote]You need 10 to become a Correspondent, in case that’s something you’d want. (It’s a pretty great and popular profession.) Oh, and it really helps when studying pails of so-called snow during Christmas.


edited by Gillsing on 9/5/2014[/quote]

Yes, the Pot of Violant Ink gives +12 to both Watchful and Persuasive, both of which are used in lucrative and very difficult challenges. Shadowy and Dangerous also have such challenges, but requires the Master Jewel-Thief spouse and The Listing Tower, which don’t seem to be quite as common as Overgoats and the Cave of Nadir (both of which a lot of people seem to have or eventually get).