The Nouveau Pauvre

Fallen London
1

My star is ascending quickly and I have recently become a person of some importance, with a great many tempting luxuries at my fingertips. However, my accumulated wealth which I have hoarded extensively on my way from rags to riches, appears to be paltry compared to the costs incurred.
The item conversion rates through influence appear to allow some of the final tiers of influence to be created, separately from those trade-ins available at the bazaar. Other things are only available as trade-ins at the bazaar or through the repeatable assassin or wilmot’s end storylines. Has anyone done an economical comparison for each final tier of influence fo the item conversions/bazaar tradeins/ storyline grind options so that I can stretch my meager resources? Or would I be the first to have to crunch those numbers?
Anyone have any other advice for an upwardly mobile gent? Things to do first?
Which of the rainbow of offerings is considered most valuable?

Also, as an unrelated note, if I take the opportunistic route and turn-in the innocent person in the University storyline, can I still go on a scientific voyage later on?

2

Greetings to ya sir, I know the pain of becoming upwardly mobile. And so I do have a touch of the good advice for ya.

First off, yer costs for making that final leap to being a person of importance - Primary amongst these costs is your purchasing of a Velocipede, which sadly is only really purchasable through the conversions of items into other things in the Bazaar Sidestreets. - The item conversion tree does not provide Whirring Contraptions, Strong Backed Labor or Legal Documents.

But dont despair - It was once a lot harder to hoard up the cash for these things. Putting together the required stuff these days isnt quite as time intensive as it used to be.

Second, if you intend to be upwardly mobile, I highly recommend settling your accounts with the Black Ribbon Society (particularly with Feducci himself should you be so bold.) And completing your grand heist in the Flit - Both of these will provide qualities which will ease your way into greatness.

I likewise suggest that you take the time to build up your connections amongst the factions of London - And I always recommend making friends with as many people as you can. Try to get them above 15-20 for best results.

Finally, I’d recommend getting ALL Your stats to 90 or so, and make sure you have sufficent gear to bring you to 100 or more. This is vital to handling the new wave of stories you will encounter.

As for the rainbow of offerings, choose the one that seems most valuable to you - Note that Bazaar Permits, Collated Research, Cellars of Wine, Favors in High Places and Blackmail Materiel are all available through item conversion now (At substantial discounts to the traditional methods.) So choose wisely.

As to the University question, I genuinely don’t know - However, to be honest - I think the long-term benefits of taking the high road are far greater. Still, it is up to you.

Good luck my friend, May your ascendance to the heights be swift - and your remaining there be long.

3

[color=000000][quote=AlbrechtEB]Also, as an unrelated note, if I take the opportunistic route and turn-in the innocent person in the University storyline, can I still go on a scientific voyage later on?[/quote]

[spoiler]Yes, of course. You only get kicked out of the University for not blaming the innocent person… Note that if they do expel you, you’ll be granted access again after completing a successful expedition.[/[color=000000]spo[color=000000]iler][/color][/color]
[/color]
edited by Rupho Schartenhauer on 3/24/2015

4

I should say that I am already a person of importance- I shelled out for my velocipede, although getting the whirring contraption nearly paupered me right back into the gutter, and as I am hoarding my fate I’ve already worked my way slowly up to 100 (with accoutrements included) across the board. Neither Feducci nor the Brass Embassy were able to stop me achieving my goals either. Is there some place I should go first? Is maritime endeavour crucial or further on than choosing a club?

[quote=Mr. James Rayner]
As to the University question, I genuinely don’t know - However, to be honest - I think the long-term benefits of taking the high road are far greater.[/quote]
Which benefits do you mean? Unless you’re speaking of the next life- which as long as I keep up my chess skills won’t be for a while yet.
edited by AlbrechtEB on 4/17/2012

5

If you haven’t gotten a ship yet, I’d recommend making that your next priority. Having a club is nice, but so far just gives an occasional opportunity card. Your own ship opens up a lot of content.

6

There isn’t any benefit to which side you choose in the University. [SPOILER][color=rgb(255, 255, 255)]Well there is. Turning the guy in gets you Connected: Masters while sticking to your principles forces you to pay a bunch of expensive notes later on, making turning the guy in the “right” choice.[/color]But you should do whichever you want as it best suits your character. It won’t come up again in any significant way.
As to which thing to get first, it really doesn’t matter. Getting your ship first is generally preferable because it opens up more stories, but it honestly doesn’t matter. One of the great things about Echo Bazaar/Fallen London is that it is so open ended and there really isn’t a right or wrong path, especially when it comes to which order you get your Affiliations or Club or Transportation. Let your conscience, or lack thereof, be your guide.

As for “an economical comparison of influence of the item conversion/bazaar trade in/storyline grind options” I’m not wholly sure what you mean, but I think you’re asking which items should you keep, which should you convert and which should you sell. This has been calculated, but because the answer is singular to the individual, it’s really up to you. A lot of that has to do with what you are trying to get.
A general rule of thumb is that you won’t need an item until you sell it.:) Hold off on converting items until you know what it is you want and hold off on selling things until you have it. Or don’t. Again, there is no right or wrong answer. It’s entirely up to you so I wouldn’t lose any sleep over this.

7

When I were a lad, we 'ad to walk four miles uphill - rain or snow, mind! - just for a hundred Whispered Secrets…

8

When I were a lad, we 'ad to walk four miles uphill - rain or snow, mind! - just for a hundred Whispered Secrets…[/quote]

In my times, we drank Greyfields 1879 AND WE LIKED IT! XD

9

Luxury! It were laudanum or nowt!

10

Luxury! It were laudanum or nowt![/quote]

(I’d wish laudanum was as cheap as Greyfields 1879 T.T)

11

[quote=Nigel Overstreet]
As for “an economical comparison of influence of the item conversion/bazaar trade in/storyline grind options” I’m not wholly sure what you mean, but I think you’re asking which items should you keep, which should you convert and which should you sell.[/quote] Not quite- I wanted to know, the cheapest methods (out of the grinding/item conversion/trade in options) for the end game items.
edited by AlbrechtEB on 4/18/2012

12

[quote=AlbrechtEB][quote=Nigel Overstreet]
As for “an economical comparison of influence of the item conversion/bazaar trade in/storyline grind options” I’m not wholly sure what you mean, but I think you’re asking which items should you keep, which should you convert and which should you sell.[/quote] Not quite- I wanted to know, the cheapest methods (out of the grinding/item conversion/trade in options)[/quote]

In that case, what you’re looking for is the table at the bottom of [color=00ffff]this Wiki page[/color]. Note that the action costs assume that you’ll always succeed at the skill tests for Lethal Prominence/Elegant Party/Wilmot’s End, which you probably won’t if you’ve recently become Important. (And there are ways to get many of the base goods at greater than 1 Echo/action- for starters, the Unfinished Business options that take multiple actions all do a little better than that.)

In general: Item conversions are almost always the best, but you’re getting multiples of the item and may wind up with some left over (The one exception may be The Big One, if you have a Gang of Hoodlums). After the cost adjustments back in January, Sidestreets are usually better than the other alternatives.