Yeah, this really doesn't make sense from a story perspective.

1. The Last Constable is, well, a Constable. "The last honest Special Constable in London", even. By giving the Cheery Man a fair shot, she is very directly not doing her job. Shouldn't her supposed dedication to law and justice come first?

2. The Cheery Man is a crime boss who routinely has people killed for far less than what the Last Constable has done. He has shown no qualms about sending agents to kill her despite her status as his daughter and as a Special Constable. She's a fool to assume that he wouldn't just her cut down the moment she sets foot in the Medusa's Head.

It's not necessarily revenge, but the story to a point (on the Cheery Man's side) made me wonder why they were so keen on this. It REALLY seemed like he was just going to murder his kid because she came back to London to put flowers on her mom's grave.

I have one last question: will it be possible to mend the relationship with your favoured character if you devil the tankards? Or is it against your narrative intentions?

what happens if you devil the tankards, and then choose Double-or-Nothing? Can you?

I have to admit, I disagree with the reasoning behind the lack of resets. Yes, SFiG cannot be reset for Fate. Almost every other story can be, and the major gameplay downside to it can be reset via Fate. The Waltzing Duke and his daughter (another estranged father/daughter pair)? Easily rechooseable for Fate. Who you sided with in the Box? Fate. Hell, a loved one of yours has died, and your major reason to go to the Neath is to get revenge for them? Some Fate, and all of a sudden, a huge gem is your driving goal. Having a story who's best result is dependant on passing a luck check, and then removing the reset option, does seem a little disingenuous when you can pay Fate in order to get the best result of the Jack storyline. The lack of consistency in choices is the major problem for me here, I feel. The reset is gone so as to not "compromising their experience of the story", and yet paying Fate to get the best result of a story is a common practise?

I apologise if this post has come across as a little confrontaional, because it is not meant to be. But I just sincerely do not understand why this choice is made in this situation, and not in others. Especially when the reset option existed, and has then been removed.

First of all, thank you for listening to the community. It seems, however, that in order to reach "the best" possible ending one still has to gamble real world currency. Personally, I find it unacceptable. if you are adamant about this issue, at the very least consider implementing a Fate-locked shortcut. I don't mind spending Fate once to reach the conclusion that I want. I do mind spending Fate repeatedly for a chance to succeed.

1. Will it be possible to acquire a Family and Law companion from the Feast of the Rose after finishing the main story?

2. Is there a chance of seeing the Cheery Man and/or the Last Constable in the future? I hate the idea that these characters are going to be discarded because of the dramatic conclusion to their story.

• How about utilizing the risk system already used in some Exceptional Stories? Just ask the player if they want the story to have the potential for severe and permanent consequences or to choose that "all shall be well". This way the player can choose the level of risk.
• This story should not cost Fate-bought companions (unless the player explicitly chooses for things to potentially not "end well"). There are narrative gymnastics that can be done to allow this. e.g. The Stiff-Backed Young Lady is not really called "The Last Constable". So in case you're risking her life, how about the Last Constable introducing you to a new young woman who is following in her footsteps? That way, even if the Last Constable doesn't make it, you can roleplay that your "Stiff-Backed Young Lady" is now this new woman. (same for the "A Gentleman of Undisclosed Business" - could be a new Crime Boss that takes over some of the Cheery Man's affairs).

I do worry about all these negative responses towards the ending, simply as it's so refreshing to have true tragedy and a permanent outcome to a choice. Tragedy IS pointless, hence why it's tragic, and by definition a tragedy requires someone to have a great fall of their own fault. Plus the permanent nature gives it weight and an emotional impact. It works amazing as a narrative.

I also think the ending works well narratively, but admit it's probably done for practical reasons. FBG are severely over-worked, especially right now, and I think somewhere else in this thread they admit they can't guarantee to touch upon this story again. They were doing us a favour by finishing off the unfinished stories, due to popular demand, as they could have just ignored our rightful complaints and said "tough luck". They wrapped it as best as they could, and endings like a compromise would have required a LOT more work, potentially more to the story, and even continuations. I was under the impression this had one writer working on it (along with the other unfinished works) while everyone else worked on Sunless Seas, Sunless Skies, promotions, holiday events, EF stories, etc. etc. - credit where it's due, they did great for such a heavy workload and small time-frame!

I think the RNG works here, because it is essentially a game of Russian Roulette, and you DO have the choice to rig the game to your chosen side if you wish (which also gives you the option of personal agency and choice, if you rather do that) . . . I rigged the game, which was my choice, while others chose to use the RNG, which was their choice.

I've completed one of my life goals I never knew I had: Hug the Last Constable.

Are we playing the same game? :P

To be honest, a day later, I really liked this story because it puts events out of your control.

Aniline wrote:

It's a geometric series. The average number of times a player who's dead-set on getting the golden ending would have to reset the story is a grand total of one.

Come again?

I think I realized why, aside from some big speedbumps in the narrative that struck me as unconvincing and forced, this story just particularly rubbed me the wrong way. This is just me, but I prefer there to be literally any "sweet" with my bitterness. If I see a tragedy, I'd like it to be at least beautiful. This one's just utterly pointless. Nothing is learned by any surviving parties. Nothing is gained by anyone for having this experience. Someone will die. Everyone is hurt. That is that, and nothing more. I can't even really feel sad for it? It's just a dull, nihilistic inevitability.

See: The Presbyterate Adventuress in Sunless Sea. Her storyline? I liked that. [spoiler]She dies in the end, yes. No, it doesn't kill the Vake. But she dies a goddamn hero to the nuns, having made a mark on the Vake.[/spoiler] I felt like I got something out of that. This just felt like "welp, life's crap and then we die. The End." Even for the "good" ending. And maybe I feel like that's true, especially after a year like this, but I'd rather my escapist media be SLIGHTLY more optimistic (or at least edifying) than a major depressive disorder.

But most of all, I definitely think it was harmed greatly by the long wait building up expectations and making people imagine theories for how it will end. I think building up expectations can be especially rough for a downer ending where there is no light or hope.

Damnation. I misclicked and chose an option I didn't want to. Is it possible to pay Fate to reset this story after completing it?

Kuka, I love you and Flesh-Stick but gods help me I will fight you and granddad kingpin both.
edited by Sir Joseph Marlen on 10/19/2017

Since the Cheery Man is the only Criminal who opposes the Soul Trade (I think? That's what I gather from the FL lore, but it doesn't seem consistent with his behavior in SS)

There should be a secret option to covertly replace the poison with Hesperidean Cider, if you have any.

"Now you have an eternity to resolve your feud. Good luck!"

Out of curiosity, does anyone have the text for choosing the "love" option when Cheery asks for your reasons? I never saw the option to ask him in the first place, and I can't help but feel like Max missed out on finally getting that out of his chest.

Under what circumstances, exactly, do you get invited to the funeral? I didn't rig the match, didn't choose Double Or Nothing, didn't intervene--Just did everything they asked.

I disagree, NPC. No where else in London are we side-lined as lacking player agency. In other locations, our choices matter. Here the course is set and there is nothing we can do to alter the outcome.

The players getting the unlucky result would be understandable upset.

I feel like this is a "be careful what you ask for" for everyone who wanted stories with dangling threads to be closed off. I was already annoyed at the random nature of the ending and the amount of effort that needs to be expended just to end up in a coin flip, but I suppose I could have lived with that. (with more irritation than a sense of loss, so I wouldn't call it a good tragedy) A random loss of an item I paid for? Nope, I'm never finishing this. Except I'm locked from some criminal-related things without swapping over... and I wanted to swap so I could get the Cheery Man next year, but I can't do that without possibly killing the Constable.

Either having them as fate-locked companions for the Feast in the first place or the mechanics of this story are poorly thought out. "Warning everyone I know not to finish the story" isn't the kind of tragedy I think Failbetter was aiming for.

There's a big difference between "lose a thing you paid money for" and "final, lasting story consequences" as far as narrative satisfaction goes. One interferes with the narration.

I'd like to add my voice to those who worked through the early-game Last Constable content in a single chunk without seeing the "Coffee with the LC" card once--on two separate alts! All that content down the toilet.

I've been playing this game for four years, and I didn't even know that card existed until recently. It's very poorly telegraphed.

There will still be a number of people who reset multiple times. So it would still be an exploitative system.

Should he die, does the Cheery Man get replaced with a different Cheery Man?

The facts remain the same; the interpretations change.

If the Marvelous ends up being a literal 1:7 luck check, I'll say "Told You So".

So I saw mentioned within this thread that the option to reset is under Write Letters in your Lodgings, for 20 Fate. I’m not seeing it there under the open beta site.

Please give me a quick, short answer. I'm about to start Preparing for a Lethal Gambit. Just tell me if the storylets i'm presented with cancel each other out, or if they all need to be played through.

I'm still trying to find out how it was that I didn't even get to watch the "contest". That was the one thing I wanted to do, but apparently I made a wrong choice and was left with the one storylet to click--refusing to take part.

The form the showdown takes is a bit ‘huh?’, but the Constable is so powerless against her dad that you have to allow a bit of narrative wiggle room.

ReusedNPC wrote:

Edit: ...I don't suppose anybody has a journal entry of doubling down and both of them dying? Or, rather, a journal entry of the funeral afterwards, I'm not interested in the grisly details of the actual death.

Like yourself, I risked the double-tragedy outcome of 'Double or Nothing', but it didn't happen for me either. I do wonder if it just increases the chance of a poisoned tankard being picked by someone, but doesn’t change the chances of who turns out to have picked it – ie, the contest will simply last for fewer rounds.

Anne Auclair wrote:

I've yet to play this story, even part way. I would appreciate a link to the scene where you have coffee with the Last Constable ^_^

It's a very infrequent card which can be locked as you progress the story. Bit unfair, but I guess this is what asymmetrical design is.

folklore364 wrote:

So can we kill the Cheery Man if the last constable loses?

I didn't think of that... What a genius idea!
(I doubt that's an option in the game, but I don't know because I was lucky.)
Though if there was a choice between getting revenge for your friend's death or accepting their death and mourning them... Hate or grieve?
edited by lolahighwind on 10/21/2017

And so it turns out my Constable died. Go go RNG, go go.

This is honestly the worst FL story I've gone through and this is from someone who has go through all of the monthly released stories. I'm disappointed in this content. These stories have been on hold for years and this is the ending, the mechanics, and the consequences?

Maybe I'm just a bitter old man these days, but it makes me hope the rest of the stories that have been put on hiatus stay on hiatus. Better to never see them complete than see them mangled.
edited by ShroudedInLight on 10/21/2017

So I take it Special Constables in FL are something different to their real-life versions? Here they seem to be some sort of elite, an idea that would have left actual Victorians rolling around on the ground in laughter, I can't help but feel, given their reputation in those days. Well, and nowadays too, to some extent.

If you've completed the story already and lost a companion from the Feast of the Rose because of it, we'll return them and reset your progress automatically (unless we hear otherwise from you beforehand). As a general principle, we don't want players to have to place a companion they've spent Fate on in jeopardy in order to reach the resolution of a story.

If you've completed the story already and were adversely affected by the unequal odds of survival, we'd be happy to reset your progress to immediately before the Constable and Cheery Man go to the Medusa's Head. Just drop an email to support@failbettergames.com by next Friday (27th October), letting us know your character's name.