The Fidgeting Writer [spoilers]

So I’ve lost 7 room numbers so far with no successes. Has anyone made it past this stage?

Even better, has anyone figured out profitability for cashing out at different stages?

Succeed the very final challenge: 312.5 echoes, I believe
Cash in the final challenge: 150 echoes, I think.
Cash in the penultimate challenge: 62.5 echoes
Room number at the Royal Beth: 25 echoes, I think–two Antique Mysteries, which I think are 12.5 each.
Deal with a Devil: 12.5 echoes (Brass Ring) and 1 CP of Hellfarer.
Glimpse of Something Larger: 25 echoes, I think–two Collated Research, which I think are 12.5 each.
Sense of Deja Vu: ~2.5 echoes? One Compromising Document, anyhow.

I’ve been through the entire storylet, and I have the success, failure and cash-in texts for each stage, but I couldn’t echo the results to my journal, just the text, so I’m working from memory. I’m certain about the objects rewarded, but the sale values are a little fuzzier.

[color=00ffff]This[/color] thread might help you.

I finally made it through by converting about 100 Tales of Terror, then converting all of the next group, and the next group, and the next group, continuing to lose half of everything along the way. (Not all of the 100 Tales made it, either…) Clearly the storyline wasn’t profitable in my case :) but I had the Tales of Terror to burn and I wanted to see the ending.

That said, the writing of this particular little storylet is beautifully done, and I think plot-wise the story is worth it. My main suggestion, since it’s a chance storylet all the way through, is to change it all to at least “Pretty Good Odds,” or, alternatively, offer an alternative where each step costs considerably more, but can be taken with no risk, with players choosing risk versus very expensive certainty

As much as I loved the story and writing, I was infuriated by the luck mechanic, though I guess that would be rather in-character. I was beginning to get creative in swearing at my computer screen after about the… 20th try, I believe.
What actually bothered me the most was that I had to provide souls for one of the steps (which I had to do over and over, mind you), it always makes me feel… like a terrible person, even if this is a game.
Is that ever a problem for anyone else, or am I just crazy?

My dear Lady Anna, it is a pleasure to me to find someone else who feels uneasy over the business of souls, even if it’s just a computer game.

I don’t know why, but yes - I do feel a bit guilty when using Souls for anything. Knowing that at some point I will be using Souls to gain rooms at the Bazaar also makes me twitchy.

[quote=Anna Carbonyl]What actually bothered me the most was that I had to provide souls for one of the steps (which I had to do over and over, mind you), it always makes me feel… like a terrible person, even if this is a game.
Is that ever a problem for anyone else, or am I just crazy?[/quote]
[color=rgb(0, 0, 204)]One of the experiments with Fidgeting Writer was to take a straightforward ‘take the money or open the box’ gambling mechanic, and lay over it a Fallen London narrative with mysteries, moral choice and escalation.[/color]

[color=00ffff]So at some points, the ‘moral’ thing to do is the ‘take the money’ option. Stop pursuing the story, cash out your progress, and go home. At other stages, the ‘moral’ thing to do is the ‘open the box’ option, and press forwards.[/color]
[color=00ffff]Lots of people will do anything, no matter how monstrous, if there’s a sniff of further story for it. :)[/color]
[color=00ffff]But some don’t. Some draw a line and say ‘this I will not do.’[/color]

[color=00ffff]It’s interesting to watch.[/color]

Ah. That may explain why it’s so frustrating - I never even thought about it in those terms. I mean, obviously I’m going to play through the whole storyline, I play through all the storylines, so that means I have to get the 7 successes in a row, which is really annoying.

I mean, it’s an interactive book, like you guys often say - I wouldn’t stop reading a book just because a character was about to do something immoral. I guess the role-players like this story more.

To continue in the casino trend of refering to this storyline, i mostly see reaching the end of it as getting 777 in a slot machine aka jackpot :p It is afterall something most who play slots hope to get and often go beyond their means to try gaining

One thing that’s bugged me in the past is that you’re REQUIRED to do certain possibly immoral actions to continue with the game, a big example being that you do require a high shadowy quality to become a PoSI and proceed with the game, but there’s understandably little in the way of shadowy actions that don’t involve breaking the law. While one could just use fate to bypass the 100 shadowy requirement, I’m unsure if you could feasibly play through the content afterwards without ever touching your shadowy quality.

Fallen London is a moral ambiguous place. Even the saints are sinners. I mean your right next to hell. Its hard not to be tempted by evil.

[quote=Chris Gardiner][quote=Anna Carbonyl]What actually bothered me the most was that I had to provide souls for one of the steps (which I had to do over and over, mind you), it always makes me feel… like a terrible person, even if this is a game.
Is that ever a problem for anyone else, or am I just crazy?[/quote]
[color=rgb(0, 0, 204)]One of the experiments with Fidgeting Writer was to take a straightforward ‘take the money or open the box’ gambling mechanic, and lay over it a Fallen London narrative with mysteries, moral choice and escalation.[/color]

[color=00ffff]So at some points, the ‘moral’ thing to do is the ‘take the money’ option. Stop pursuing the story, cash out your progress, and go home. At other stages, the ‘moral’ thing to do is the ‘open the box’ option, and press forwards.[/color]
[color=00ffff]Lots of people will do anything, no matter how monstrous, if there’s a sniff of further story for it. :)[/color]
[color=00ffff]But some don’t. Some draw a line and say ‘this I will not do.’[/color]

[color=00ffff]It’s interesting to watch.[/color][/quote]

Hmm… Yep, I know which category I fall into for certain. The only thing that has given me pause was the Mr. Eaten story line. When even the noose-wearing spirifer the cat dragged in had moral qualms about doing what I needed, I worried. I did, however, press on in the end… and after that handing over a box or two of souls to Hell seemed less troublesome by comparison.

[quote=Chris Gardiner][color=rgb(0, 0, 204)]One of the experiments with Fidgeting Writer was to take a straightforward ‘take the money or open the box’ gambling mechanic, and lay over it a Fallen London narrative with mysteries, moral choice and escalation.[/color]

[color=rgb(0, 0, 204)]So at some points, the ‘moral’ thing to do is the ‘take the money’ option. Stop pursuing the story, cash out your progress, and go home. At other stages, the ‘moral’ thing to do is the ‘open the box’ option, and press forwards.[/color]
[color=rgb(0, 0, 204)]Lots of people will do anything, no matter how monstrous, if there’s a sniff of further story for it. :)[/color]
[color=rgb(0, 0, 204)]But some don’t. Some draw a line and say ‘this I will not do.’[/color]

[color=rgb(0, 0, 204)]It’s interesting to watch.[/color][/quote]

Well, considering the “Choose your own adventure” style of the game, it’s natural to feel the curiosity to try out every story snippet, especially those that seem to yield answers to some of the mysteries of the Neath. What’s to consider is that there are no REAL souls involved, after all, so I think it’s quite natural for a player to choose options he would normally not in real life ^^

(I myself am currently puzzling over the issue of killing. As of now my character was quite respectful of other’s lives, if not of their… personal possessions. But the whole Black Ribbon storylet seems just too interesting to let go. I suppose that killing somebody willingly engaging in a duel to the death isn’t so morally criticizable as mere murder is…)

[color=00ffff]You’re right. We’re actually addressing the Shadowy issue in content we’re working on at the moment - we’ll talk more about it fairly soon.[/color]
[color=00ffff]
[/color]
[color=00ffff]There’s certainly a theme of gradual corruption running through Fallen London, but requiring people to be flat-out criminals steps on too many character concepts.[/color]

[color=00ffff]Whatever helps you sleep at night. :)[/color]

[color=00ffff]Whatever helps you sleep at night. :)[/color][/quote]
Killing someone in a duel isn’t murder; it’s assisted suicide. You can’t be held responsible for the fact you are better than they.
That was Andrew Jackson’s logic.

Clean conscience is for people who can’t afford a laudanum habit.

On that note, it would be nice if some more storylets had an option to end them without playing them to their conclusion. One example is with the “Intimate of Devils” storyline. Once I found out that she was only interested in my soul, I came to my senses and told her to go away. However, that only knocked the value down to 8, and near as I can tell there’s no way to get them to leave you alone outside of selling your soul. Granted, I suppose the smart thing to do would have been to refuse their offer in the first place, but I honestly thought they simply wanted company when I began!

Though… on this train of thought, I think I’m going to dig up that plant, maybe turn away some of my more clingy indiscretions… and maybe, MAYBE, ignore my curiosity and sate my hunger instead of going forth to look for the name. Maybe.
edited by Urthdigger on 3/14/2012

[quote=Urthdigger]On that note, it would be nice if some more storylets had an option to end them without playing them to their conclusion. One example is with the “Intimate of Devils” storyline. Once I found out that she was only interested in my soul, I came to my senses and told her to go away. However, that only knocked the value down to 8, and near as I can tell there’s no way to get them to leave you alone outside of selling your soul. Granted, I suppose the smart thing to do would have been to refuse their offer in the first place, but I honestly thought they simply wanted company when I began!

Though… on this train of thought, I think I’m going to dig up that plant, maybe turn away some of my more clingy indiscretions… and maybe, MAYBE, ignore my curiosity and sate my hunger instead of going forth to look for the name. Maybe.
edited by Urthdigger on 3/14/2012[/quote]
It is actually possible by playing the “bad” option on every IoD card that comes up. I’ve done it. But it takes about as much work to end the relationship as it did to develop it to that point.

I should just note that my issue with the mechanics for the Fledging Writer storyline really wasn’t the resources burned; it was the number of actions required to reach the end of what was only a six part storyline. It felt unbalanced and frustrating. Maddening, even :)