While entertainingly appropriate for Feducci, I've just changed this to 0 actions.

Passionario wrote:

Be warned: unlike all other options on Hallowmas 1895 storylet that lead to further choices, 'FEDUCCI WELCOMES YOUR CONFESSIONS' is not a 0-action choice. Yes, the bandaged b_____d will happily take away your actions just for exploring the menu.

Let the buyer beware indeed.

The lance replica is a [spoiler]+20 Dangerous, +2 Dreaded weapon.[/spoiler]

/rant.

I wish I knew what type of lance I'm betraying people at their most vulnerable for. Is it an english &quotarrowhead&quot lance? Is it a chevau léger lance? Cut-and-thrust? With a crossguard? Medieval tournament lance?

I'm not gonna tell Feducci, a known snuffer-killer, that the bishop of st.Fiacre is a snuffer, for an english lance.

A Prince of Deputy Assistants, Sub-Under-Mayor

Would you accept a useless internet hug? Because that was heartbreaking.

Being a Nocturnal does not necessarily mean being a Feducci supporter at all...
edited by Lady Karnstein on 10/26/2017

The lance replica is a [spoiler]+20 Dangerous, +2 Dreaded weapon.[/spoiler]
edited by Passionario on 10/24/2017

MidnightVoyager wrote:

You're allowed to complain all you want without all the other words that basically say nobody's allowed to complain because it's free.

You can complain all you want. I still think that they provide great content for nothing. If you pay Fate (to get a Bonesless Consort, etc., as you pointed out), you're supporting the company that provides that free content.

I still stand by my statement. Just because everyone couldn't get everything for free during this holiday, people are upset. I've paid Fate to get higher BDR because I support FB and like what they do. If you can't do that, it's ok. That's fine, and perfectly acceptable.

But you can't expect to get everything for free.

Kharsirr Lynx wrote:

Anybody knows if the second week confessions will start appear today, or rather tomorrow?

I got a new confession free confession just now from the Melancholy Curate.

Robin Alexander wrote:

I don't think I'd actually mind most companions effectively being hidden behind a pay-wall, were it not for the fact that the special and most unique reward relies upon getting all of them
edited by Robin Alexander on 11/7/2017

That's not true.

1. I had the lance and all companions well before today. Sure, that was hard, but no Fate had been given in this round. If one is determined to get the companions only, that should be doable with less BDR too.

2. No single companion had been fate-locked, at the contrary of last year's Weeping Doll. There was one rare Bat with Attitude, but that's it. Sister Lydia is obtainable by free 10 Masquing at the Feast.

Tay1or wrote:

I was very, very disappointed to not have new art of the upgraded companions. They don't look all that interesting when they are just carbon copies of the what begat them. I'm not sure why new art would have been so hard--they are teeny, tiny pics, and the changes last year weren't extreme. Just little changes to go with their new state would have been appreciated. That was my biggest disappoint this year.

Oh, yes, that was my biggest disappointment too. It was obvious early on that I could get either the lance or the enhanced companions, and I chose the companions, but what a pity they look the same still! Especially since they're lined up in a row, so it looks like they're duplicates. I am harboring the wild hope that Failbetter just didn't have time to get to this before Hallowmas, and that one day, we'll find them suddenly transformed...

"whose lance is longer"
*facepalm* It always comes back to that, doesn't it? *amused*

All the ones from last year can only be obtained with Fate now. Confessions are for the new ones only.

In fact, as a Nocturnal I went out of my way to shock people by supporting the DTC.

"You've got something of the Barrister. You know the one. The all right one. The one who pays us proper when she sends us on errands."

Oh! The Ambitious Barrister is now much more attractive to me!

edited by Lady Sapho Byron on 10/26/2017

Running short of time to get my last confession to remove the Criminal Record and was wondering if there was currently any other way to remove that. If it's something date locked, can someone PM me the story I need?

Robin Alexander wrote:

I have a sneaking suspicion the 13 free confessions wouldn't get you all the Companions, though. This effectively locks off the rewards to a vast chunk of the player-base, forcing them to pay fate or lose out.

That's true. In this case they effectively ask for 120 Fate extra to get this full menagerie option. Probably extra Confession would be better off as a result of Heists, then.

Well thanks to a run of truly awful luck it looks like I will neither be able to get all the companions nor have enough confessions for the lance despite almost solid notability grinding for two weeks with 25 BDR. This holiday has left me completely worn out.

Honestly I would love to know what the thought process behind replacing Old Hallowmas with this version was (I realise that sounds like I'm being snide, but I am sincerely curious about why this route has been taken).

Oh well, at least it is over soon.

Nice SMEN shoutout in the Amused Lordship's confession. It was so sad...

theonie wrote:

Tay1or wrote:

I was very, very disappointed to not have new art of the upgraded companions. They don't look all that interesting when they are just carbon copies of the what begat them. I'm not sure why new art would have been so hard--they are teeny, tiny pics, and the changes last year weren't extreme. Just little changes to go with their new state would have been appreciated. That was my biggest disappoint this year.

Oh, yes, that was my biggest disappointment too. It was obvious early on that I could get either the lance or the enhanced companions, and I chose the companions, but what a pity they look the same still! Especially since they're lined up in a row, so it looks like they're duplicates. I am harboring the wild hope that Failbetter just didn't have time to get to this before Hallowmas, and that one day, we'll find them suddenly transformed...

I would go farther to say that if the art isn't updated in the future, it would be a disincentive for me to play Hallowmass content next year. I don't need a proliferation of companions who I don't use and who look exactly like companions I already have. Then it's just a grind whose only effect on game play is to make it harder to find the one companion I'm actually looking for, assuming I find some reason to use one of them in the future. Even if it's just a color change, there should be some differentiation.

I am quite aware of that. However, it was clearly Absintheuse's intent to give players a last-minute reminder that the festival would be ending, and a Tuesday morning reminder in London is effectively too late to be of use to anyone in the Americas. I do not think that the message was intended to be useful only to European (and, I suppose, Asian and Australian) players; ergo, it would have been more effectively deployed 18-24 hours earlier.

Mainly, the fact that you have to obtain every single companion for the large interview, instead of simply being able to have the ones you have be interviewed individually, despite the fact that there was a lot of dissatisfaction on the forums about that last year already--I'd sort of assumed FBG would have changed that because of the feedback. I'd like to know more about them, and scouring the forums for echoes of their interviews is a bit silly and tiring.

Finally, though this may just be a personal impression: it seemed far harder to get enough confessions this year than last. Last year, I think the only companion I missed out on was the Fate-locked one (which I was quite salty about since that was the only thing keeping me from the large interview). This year, I only managed to get half and that's with spending Fate; I didn't focus on Feducci or even bother trying to get the Lance, either.

Not sure if I'm just missing it or something, but when I read it then and reading it now I see no mention of "Midday London Time", just November 7th.

• "The Feast of Masks will take place from 24th October until the 7th November."
• "And of course, be sure to make any decisions about the confessions you’ve gathered from any characters by 7th November!"

Siankan wrote:

Absintheuse wrote:

Today the festivities of Hallowmas will be coming to a close around midday London (GMT) time. Players will have until the 13th November to meet with Mr. Huffam. We hope you've enjoyed this season of masks and secrets and are looking forward to the fast approaching Christmas festivities delicious friends.

One observation, by way of feedback: Midday GMT equals about the time most American and Canadian players are getting up to look at the forum (or before, if they live on the West Coast). Those living to the left of the Pond would appreciate if this announcement were made, say, a day ahead.

The announcement was made when the holiday started 14 days ago, in the first post in this very thread.

----
edited by dov on 11/7/2017

What can you do with the confessions that you cannot trade in for companion upgrades?

"whose lance is longer"
*facepalm* It always comes back to that, doesn't it? *amused*

Anyone know that value range on the bundle of oddities given by the Hallowmass Visitor card?

no real regret, no fear, no soul searching, no pathos, no wicked triumph - he's clearly as bored by it as the rest of us.

Huh. I would think anyone who goes through all that trouble to get a replica of Feducci's 'lance' should get a Bizarre boost.

The Palace being opened up might also be a factor - it's now a bit easier to grind making waves?

I got the Minacious Union-Rat.

His new character description says "It's amazing how versatile a spanner can be. He's started a union- ostensibly to campaign for worker rights, but so far its meetings have only descended into squabbling."

Daedalus_Falk wrote:

OK, but aside from the fact that he's a literal criminal who behaves outrageously and profanes the office of the mayor (which, of course, is why I admire him), why don't you like Feducci? :p
edited by Daedalus_Falk on 10/25/2017

I was going to say, were you not here for the election? But if you weren't, well...

there's a whole politics subforum in which this topic was discussed at great length!

I just did a run on Sinning Jenny's Finishing School and found out about the student confessions. I echoed the Veteran Anarchist's. Does anyone have echoes of the others?

Does the 13 free confessions include what has already been given out? Or what was given out today and what will be given out later? I now intend to divert all my resources towards acquiring this lance, but I fear I may already be locked out of from what I have already spent.

Anne Auclair wrote:

gronostaj wrote:

Anne Auclair wrote:

My dislike of the Veteran Privy Councilor continues to grow. What a puffed-up mediocrity pretending at power. Even his scandals are incredibly boring :P

i'm not sure if the girl was trying to blackmail him for money or get a legit child support from him, but either way, i'm already on her side on this one

I might give his confession to Feducci out of sheer spite.

Giving his confession to feducci is actually the good end. Feducci gets her into jenny's school so she has better chances in life. (No quality change, so its just text)

I quite enjoyed Hallowmas last year, and just barely managed to snag all the companions by the skin of my teeth.

But I am somewhat disappointed this year, because this incarnation is missing what was quite clearly the objectively best part of last year--new art! And not entirely new art, but art that was a small and hilarious variation on existing art!

My two new companions look identical in my inventory to the base companions that they used to be. They give the appearance of having been unchanged. And more importantly, my weasel has no tiny scarf or miniature hat from its adventures in Mahogany Hall. Since the Weasel is this year's Goldfish, it deserves something better.

My dislike of the Veteran Privy Councilor continues to grow. What a puffed-up mediocrity pretending at power. Even his scandals are incredibly boring :P

*laughs at the privy counselor's confession*
C'mon buddy, we both know no one would sleep with you :P

Robin Alexander wrote:

If you're a new or mid-game player, who isn't yet a PSOI, and thus - because of this - even if you're at 99 stats all around, collected a lot of items, played all EF and Fate content, and so forth . . . how do you get extra confessions?

I believe that the answer is: you're not supposed to.

Similar to how you get one free gift in the Election and can buy more with Fate, the design here is that you get 13 free confessions, and can buy more with Fate. And as a bonus to advanced players, there's a path to gain a few more, with great cost and effort.

Any player, even a fresh one, could get either 6 different new upgraded companions, or one upgraded companion and the Lance. Anything else is a bonus, that FBG do not expect most players to get.

We can indeed argue as to the pros and cons of this design, but it's clear that this was the intent.

----
edited by dov on 11/7/2017

So yes, BDR 33 helps a lot but the other factors on that list I think are the bigger contributors.

It actually does not explicitly state that it's politically motivated, Anne. Causing the Campaigner pain can be personal as well, and having to reevaluate herself can be improving.

There's also no explicit statement that says the combining of the two groups would be voting Implacable and the Campaigner dropping out. For example: co-mayorship, division of duties -- I can think of several (though unlikely) ways to handle this. Perhaps the best, though perhaps the least likely to actually happen, would be mayor and second in command, with them debating their differences behind the scenes and agreeing on a policy.

Oddly enough, true idealists are not all that good at getting things done on their own. Furthermore, everyone messes up at some point, and usually there's a situation where you're going to have to compromise one belief or another because you simply cannot do anything at all if you do not. I seem to remember a list of things that could be compromised and then things which could not be at all, when investigating the Campaigner.

Feducci's momentary silence is him desperately trying to figure out the most interesting thing he can do with this incredibly boring man's incredibly boring confession.

she will be rubbing shoulders with urchins, honey addled Bohemians, monster hunting nuns, salty zailors, unabashed anarchist terrorists, foreign office spies, surface spies, and poison loving children of privilege...and presumably learning from them. If that doesn't make the VPC's life a little more interesting, than nothing will.

Kindoflame wrote:

What can you do with the confessions that you cannot trade in for companion upgrades?

A lot of people are saving all of their confessions and/or grinding out more to trade them for feducci's favor, which you can spend to reduce your criminal record, for collectible items, or for a 20+ Dangerous weapon (lance).

Excluding today's confessions, how many confessions are left at this point?

Sir Joseph Marlen wrote:

In case anyone is in need of more opportunity cards, Parelle mentioned that the FL reddit discovered a refresh option for 2 actions. If you enter a Flash Lay with 2 Scandal, the Modish Bonnet, Scarlet Stockings, and the Barrel-Clothing Bohemian Renown item, you'll enter with a total of 5 Scandal and immediately be kicked out. You'll have a refreshed deck after being kicked. Hope this helps!
EDIT: I seem to have some downvotes on this, though I'm confused as to why. Does anyone care to explain why?
edited by Sir Joseph Marlen on 10/31/2017

I've found people tend to treat card refresh things like that as sorta unfair or abusive of the system. In fact I think that's the sort of thing usually turned in to the support team, and I fully agree. Besides, if it really is only two actions I doubt if it'll stick around long. You could argue the same thing about the Hesperidean Cider refresh, but, well, that's Cider.

Can anyone enlighten me about why you would want to increase Plagued by a Popular Song?

Ta1or wrote:

Ah--thanks! Oh my gosh...I've just realized, it's not an owl! The art always made me think of an owl! Sheesh...maybe I shouldn't be admitting that!

No need to hide it, that's a common misconception. I thought the same for at least a year.
edited by PSGarak on 11/2/2017

On the other hand, US governemnt isn't directly controlled by mass-murdering capitalist space bats and a crab, so …

The space bat and crab parts are hardly important when the rest is the same.

Good time of the day, fine gentlepeople.
The conversation has been going on for far too long for one to grasp everything, so I humbly ask for advice.
I've been collecting confession since the beginning of the season, and if it were not for some of my companions, I would have gathered quite a bulk. Those peo... I mean creatures have no respect for one's property, especially the whiskered one, I would say.
Nonetheless, I still have my hopes high. Even though I don't like our current mayor too much, his lance — oh, that lance! I longed for it ever since it nailed me to the tree for the first time, and now I can try to gain one of my own.

To the point. How many of my confessions should I offer to Feducci to get a copy?

Anyone know what rate feducci gives for the new confessions?

Israfel wrote:

Not sure if I'm just missing it or something, but when I read it then and reading it now I see no mention of "Midday London Time", just November 7th.

You're right that the didn't specify the exact time of day (and had they mentioned it, it would indeed be clearer to new players).

But they also didn't say the holiday will end "after" November 7th, so it was a risky thing to assume anyway. What they *did* write was (emphasis mine):

• "The Feast of Masks will take place from 24th October until the 7th November."
• "And of course, be sure to make any decisions about the confessions you’ve gathered from any characters by 7th November!"

Trying to guess the exact hour an event will end is inherently risky. Veteran players know that events usually happen at noon UK time, but even that isn't guaranteed, and FBG have urged us in the past not to rely on things happening at an exact time of day.

Are there a lot of people who carefully ground to be just shy of POSI eligibility for the festival, without stepping across that line? But, speaking more broadly... well, yes, a very low level player won't be able to take advantage of everything the game has to offer. That is a rather traditional and commonplace arrangement for games - the more you have advanced, the more options are available to you, and the more likely you are to achieve success.

No new option on One's Public yet.

BillyCosmos! wrote:

You look noble and ferocious in the picture. To me that usually means nude

so just like podkowiński's painting, frenzy, but the girl is now armed with a lance and dangerous

Unfortunately that wouldn't stack with letting us get multiple of each companion. (Unless you count multiple of the same companion as deserving of multiple interviews, but that seems a bit silly.) There's probably some inelegant way around it.

Absintheuse wrote:

Today the festivities of Hallowmas will be coming to a close around midday London (GMT) time. Players will have until the 13th November to meet with Mr. Huffam. We hope you've enjoyed this season of masks and secrets and are looking forward to the fast approaching Christmas festivities delicious friends.

One observation, by way of feedback: Midday GMT equals about the time most American and Canadian players are getting up to look at the forum (or before, if they live on the West Coast). Those living to the left of the Pond would appreciate if this announcement were made, say, a day ahead.

BillyCosmos! wrote:

You look noble and ferocious in the picture. To me that usually means nude

so just like podkowiński's painting, frenzy, but the girl is now armed with a lance and dangerous

You look noble and ferocious in the picture. To me that usually means nude