One aspect of life in Fallen London I’m not too sure about is, well, what the average person in Fallen London does for a living. Zailors seem to be the only "Working class" connection, and I don’t remember seeing anything about factories down here. Any thoughts?
It strikes me as somewhat of a semi-peaceful anarchist society. People seem to just do what they want in the amounts they can afford. I know there are tradesmen, though. I have seen mention of tailors, bakers, gunsmiths, zookeepers, dockworkers, butchers, and beggars. I am sure there are many, many more I have forgotten, but they are there.
There was a convention in Victorian Literature (which a lot of the writing is based upon) to have the protagonist move among as high a social standing as they could. The great mass of working people were treated either as masses in the background, or tacitly ignored altogether.
That said, there are factories, most of them under the management of Mr. Fires, who can be said to run the Trust, as it were, though shares are probably still distributed and traded in the city.
Men are cheaper than horses in this city, so you can expect laborers to do everything from pulling carts to unloading ships at the docks. Factory work, as Rack has said, is also a cornerstone of the economy. If you go down the Bazaar Sidestreet you can work with lawyers, tavern owners, jewelers and less reputable bookkeepers. In Spite a number of families seem to be involved in some kind of textile industry revolving around the spider-silk trade. Servants are abundant in high class neighborhoods and in the palace. There is also work for men and women at the Parlour of Virtues (read: brothel) and in other ‘less-respectable’ establishments as dancers or bouncers. Finally, the University provides training and more work for intellectuals from doctors to scientists.
This is only a small list of all the possible occupations in the city, but we can assume that every job that would be needed to sustain a failing utopia is here in Fallen London.
edited by Owen Wulf on 11/20/2014
Really? I’d have said the Masters’ rule shows every sign of being both ruthless and arbitrary, particularly when it comes to trade - and enforced with brutal violence by their Special Constables, their Neddy Men, and worse.
Overall, there’s certainly a lot of the city we professional adventurers don’t see - the everyday grind of production, distribution and consumption. London can’t rely on domestic agriculture for its food supply any more, so many eatables are imported from the Surface or from colonies across the zee. Industrial manufacturing is still a major factor in the East End - not only the Masters’ businesses, but also plenty belonging to mere mortal capitalists, exploiting underpaid human labour or, increasingly often, unpaid Clay Men. Spite still swarms with workshops, too, and I can’t think of any trade that isn’t still needed to some degree. Some have decreased in importance - when death is temporary, all surgery is cosmetic - while others have had a surprising resurgence - hunters and exterminators who’d face nothing more dangerous than a dog on the Surface have to contend with a perpetual encroachment of monsters onto respectable streets in the Neath. Still, everything that people need and want has to be made and sold, and the Masters’ taxes must be paid.
What kind of an economy do you think they have? I mean, it seems to be mainly barter, but Echoes seem to work as currency, if only for the Bazaar.
Pennies are still a thing, and Echoes are a solid currency that anyone can trade in.
I’d describe it as a multi-layered economy - the official trade in echoes, and a substantial grey market trade in semi-precious metals and stones, and other items of value.
I’m personally of the opinion that the Masters can keep tabs on people who use echoes, if only passively and to a very limited extent. After all, echoes are how bats can see. That’s why many people choose to exchange items instead. Larger and frequent exchanges of echoes could garner unwanted interest. And it’s an act of rebellion, a small way to subvert the system they’ve set up.
Also because the game would become more boring if all you ever got paid in were echoes. The variety in the item art is much more pleasing.
That is a very interesting theory if you don’t mind me saying so.
Really? I’d have said the Masters’ rule shows every sign of being both ruthless and arbitrary, particularly when it comes to trade - and enforced with brutal violence by their Special Constables, their Neddy Men, and worse.[/quote]
Well, the "somewhat" in the statement is for that very reason. But, in my experience, the people with authority exercise it so little it barely rates mentioning in Fallen London. The Masters defend their slice, but little more. The Empress doesn’t interact with the city in any notable fashion. And the constables keep the peace, I suppose, but how many of us have committed atrocities without even considering authoritarian response. I think people have near to the total freedom that anarchy provides.
As you said, though, it is very clearly not an anarchist state, it just appears to me to carry many of the same traits as one.
Really? I’d have said the Masters’ rule shows every sign of being both ruthless and arbitrary, particularly when it comes to trade - and enforced with brutal violence by their Special Constables, their Neddy Men, and worse.[/quote]
Well, the "somewhat" in the statement is for that very reason. But, in my experience, the people with authority exercise it so little it barely rates mentioning in Fallen London. The Masters defend their slice, but little more. The Empress doesn’t interact with the city in any notable fashion. And the constables keep the peace, I suppose, but how many of us have committed atrocities without even considering authoritarian response. I think people have near to the total freedom that anarchy provides.
As you said, though, it is very clearly not an anarchist state, it just appears to me to carry many of the same traits as one.[/quote]
I’d say our perspectives as Player Characters are very, very different from what the layman experiences. After all, we’re supposed to be notable persons of significant skill and influence, to the point that we can theoretically call in favors from the Masters depending on the choices we make. The average Londoner doesn’t have that clout protecting them. The average Londoner works in a factory, or runs a store, or holds a desk job. They don’t join the Velocipede Squad, or get embroiled in Bazaarine intrigues like the Affair of the Box. The residents of Spite and its rookeries definitely don’t have the player’s buying power. And most people in New Newgate, whether imprisoned fairly or not, never make it back out. The government definitely has a presence. And even the Player can get jailed if they are not careful. There are laws in play.
I’m curious as to what you think each Master’s "slice" is. (And also where you are narratively. Later in the game, you can start seeing signs that the Masters hold a lot more influence and get away with a lot more morally questionable things than they probably ought to.)
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edited by dismallyOriented on 11/21/2014
The Empress had little power even before London fell, and she’s even more of a propped-up figurehead now. Parliament still have formal legislative powers, but I suspect they’re answerable to the Masters in the end. The Masters may technically only have control over their own economic affairs, but their economic affairs cover everything - the whole Great Chain of Being. The common folk have zero political and economic power, and if they start trying to make things more free and equal - by starting a union, or talking about democracy or workers’ control - then, well, it’s New Newgate if they’re lucky, but more likely the Labyrinth, or the Orphanage, or Corpsecage, or some other nameless horror we can only imagine.
I agree - I suspect that echoes return to the Bazaar carrying rather more than when they were issued, somehow.
Perhaps in terms of official powers, but she is still the head of Society and Society has a tremendous amount of power.
Knowing all the right people can have far more affect on policy than some bill.
While an MP could toil and slave away for years to get even the smallest referendum passed, if The Empress decides she hates the color yellow, the Empire will never wear yellow again.
After all, the Empress invinted the wedding dress. Well, sort of. That’s a power no PM has ever had.
I’ve always liked this quote from John Maynard Keynes as to how the economy of the late 19th century functioned. I feel it describes the attitudes player characters have about finance:
"The inhabitant of London could order by telephone[or bat], sipping his morning tea in bed, the various products of the whole earth, in such quantity as he might see fit, and reasonably expect their early delivery upon his doorstep; he could at the same moment and by the same means adventure his wealth in the natural resources and new enterprises of any quarter of the world, and share, without exertion or even trouble, in their prospective fruits and advantages; or he could decide to couple the security of his fortunes with the good faith of the townspeople of any substantial municipality in any continent that fancy or information might recommend. He could secure forthwith, if he wished it, cheap and comfortable means of transit to any country or climate without passport or other formality, could despatch his servant to the neighboring office of a bank for such supply of the precious metals as might seem convenient, and could then proceed abroad to foreign quarters, without knowledge of their religion, language, or customs, bearing coined wealth upon his person, and would consider himself greatly aggrieved and much surprised at the least interference."
One of the Masters mentioned a Council of Aldermen in a throwaway Twitter comment, but I don’t think they’ve ever appeared in the game as an institution.