The Narrative Explanation of Inventory

One aspect of Fallen London is so ubiquitous that no one questions it: the unlimited inventory space of player characters. Certain actions, such as the &quotHomage to the paper man&quot and &quotPresumptious opportunity&quot, place penalties of time and currency for moving vast quantities of material, but the vast majority just ignore it like most games. I feel, however, that there is a sensible explanation for this.

The Bazaar’s main purpose, besides collecting love stories, is capitalism. To facilitate this, the Masters do things like literally moving economic centers to them.

My theory: in order to encourage trade, the Masters freely distribute dimensionally transcendent carpetbags (TARDIS totes, if you will). Considering what they have already done, it isn’t too hard to imagine that they would go to those lengths. Consider how much business would suffer if everyone could only trade what they could carry!

What does everyone else think? Maybe this theory will garner a mention in future content.
edited by Saklad5 on 5/1/2016[li]
edited by Saklad5 on 5/1/2016

I just assume that I use all the houses that I don’t live in as makeshift warehouses.

^ this.

I also assume my character wears all his clothes at once (isn’t climate in the Neath a bit nippy?), swapping them in a discreet closet whenever the situation demands it.
Like a super hero, but with FOUR secret identities!
edited by Zero on 5/1/2016

Carrying goods for trade is easy to think: you make the business at the bazaar, then bazaar employees go to your house to collect the payment and deliver your goods, much like it happens in real life. I already posted it somewhere, but what really makes me wonder wildly is how you can trade your outfits at some very improbable places, like a dark abyss with literally nothing nearby.

I’m mostly amused by the mental image of switching your companions while in a restricted area, like a heist.

Though it does explain why getting your own ship is essential if you’re spending a while at Zee.

I am more curious about why bloodstains automatically make us better at fighting, actually!

My theory for today:
On arriving in the Neath, everyone is thoughtfully provided by the prison management with the equivalent of The Luggage from Discworld. It diligently follows you from the prison when you escape, and subsequently follows you everywhere you go on its stubby little legs, carrying all your possessions and particularly all your clothing so that you can change outfits at a moment’s notice.

Nobody you meet in Fallen London will ever comment on it, nor comment on the spectacle of you suddenly stripping out of your clothes and changing in the middle of a social interaction, because it is one of those impolite matters that One Simply Does Not Speak Of.

[quote=Clifton Royston]My theory for today:
On arriving in the Neath, everyone is thoughtfully provided by the prison management with the equivalent of The Luggage from Discworld. It diligently follows you from the prison when you escape, and subsequently follows you everywhere you go on its stubby little legs, carrying all your possessions and particularly all your clothing so that you can change outfits at a moment’s notice.

Nobody you meet in Fallen London will ever comment on it, nor comment on the spectacle of you suddenly stripping out of your clothes and changing in the middle of a social interaction, because it is one of those impolite matters that One Simply Does Not Speak Of.[/quote]
Why would New Newgate supply them? Most citizens never set foot in the prison. Besides, no amount of manners would prevent people from noticing a huge walking chest follow you through the offices of Baseborn & Fowlingpiece.[li]

Manners won’t, but familiarity will. There’s got to be a dozen thousand of them by now, at least.

Manners won’t, but familiarity will. There’s got to be a dozen thousand of them by now, at least.[/quote]
There’s a lot of thieves, too, but that doesn’t stop people from catching them in the act.[/li][li]

Some items of “inventory” are probably stored in character’s heads, such as Whispered Secrets. On the other hand, I’ve always been amused, as Parelle has been amused, at the ability characters have to instantly change clothing before undertaking an action no matter where one is in Fallen London.

To be fair, a lot of the equipment could be chalked up as a story add details retroactively - like how in the Talk of the Town story your Infernal Contract check happens during the party despite the actual event taking place before the party has started.

Edit: Not just retroactively as well, but sometimes in a odd future tense - in Shroom-Hopping, some opportunities give you hundreds of ambers… by including a note in the storylet saying that &quotyou come back after the race to pick things up&quot while the player is still in the race for a good deal of time.

Time is vague down here; use that to your advantage!
edited by Estelle Knoht on 5/3/2016

I always assume there is a wonderful fully in character pause as she insists on sending a pet to fetch a minion to fetch a specific outfit or object from her closet, and meet her at the nearest lodging to make the required change. No matter who or what is attacking, or waiting for a response, they understand that it is only reasonable to pause and give a lady time to change to the appropriate attire, and being a woman of her word, she returns hours later and the constable or villain or avalanche or courtier or Master or whatever was menacing her or waiting for reply has in fact dutifully waited and patiently resumes the appropriate position, and proceeds.

[quote=Estelle Knoht]To be fair, a lot of the equipment could be chalked up as a story add details retroactively - like how in the Talk of the Town story your Infernal Contract check happens during the party despite the actual event taking place before the party has started.

Edit: Not just retroactively as well, but sometimes in a odd future tense - in Shroom-Hopping, some opportunities give you hundreds of ambers… by including a note in the storylet saying that &quotyou come back after the race to pick things up&quot while the player is still in the race for a good deal of time.

Time is vague down here; use that to your advantage!
edited by Estelle Knoht on 5/3/2016[/quote]
I recently disembarked on Bullbone Island for the first time, and I noticed that you can examine the false-stars, produce charts, sell them when you get back to London, and get 128 Moon-pearls. All in the one action, without any delay between action and reward.[li]

I just assume all my companions are following me at all times, and I’m just switching which one is standing at my right hand looking (menacing/endearing)

&quotHello, I’m Beli Yaal, and this is my Horrifying, Ridiculous Entourage.&quot

I just assume all my companions are following me at all times, and I’m just switching which one is standing at my right hand looking (menacing/endearing)

&quotHello, I’m Beli Yaal, and this is my Horrifying, Ridiculous Entourage.&quot[/quote]

I don’t know how many Companions you have, Beli Yaal, but if you have as many as I do, the idea of having them follow you around all the time would be, in itself, a source of extreme merriment. To say nothing of the fact that some of them (the Rose Bearing Maggot comes to mind) move at rates of speed not even remotely comparable to that of a human or Rubbery.

Oh trust me I have tons. We’re like our own travelling zoo and accompanying street gang (is the ubergoat part of the zoo, or the gang? No one can tell).
edited by Beli Yaal on 5/5/2016

And I guess somebody’s probably carrying the goldfish, then?

Hmm. Come to think of it, that goes towards explaining all the alternate outfits- have the companions carry the extra stuff for you. Choose wisely when distributing the items.

I let the rubberies carry the goldfish.

Curiously, according to the monthly budget, we go through a lot of goldfish.

Something to look into.

I blame the plant.