Diptych
Administrator
Posts: 3493
12/17/2018
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Here's this week's quack questions thread!
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Sir Frederick, the Libertarian Esotericist. Lord Hubris, the Bloody Baron.
Juniper Brown, the Ill-Fated Orphan. Esther Ellis-Hall, the Fashionable Fabian.
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Ixc
Posts: 365
12/17/2018
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Are the Masters cuddly?
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Pleased to meet you. Ixc, spy and detective. Inventor of the Correspondence Cannon.
Are you a Paramount Presence? Record your name here. For posterity, of course.
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
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PSGarak
Posts: 834
12/17/2018
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Ixc wrote:
Are the Masters cuddly?
Yes Constables, this post right here.
For real though? The robes make it hard to tell. One sidebar snippet says you can't even tell if they're mammal, reptile, or fungus. In theory, a bat should be somewhat fuzzy, but who knows. It probably also varies from Master to Master. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Mr Irons doesn't even have body heat.
The item description for Veils-Velvet implies Mr Veils has soft fur, but there's a lot of if's in that statement. There may also be an implication deep in one of the late choices of The Empress' Shadow, but that will take some thorough journal detective work.
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http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/PSGarak
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PSGarak
Posts: 834
12/21/2018
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Arcengal wrote:
Am I missing something or am I really going to have to grind another ~15 months to afford a scrap of Veils Velvet? Or any of the others?
You can't get scraps quickly. However, it is possible to get them less-slowly with some optimization. All scrap collection is card-based, so sacrifice a few dice to your lord and savior the RNG, and ask it keep you safe from the deceiver and betrayer of ways, which is also the RNG.
- Draw cards in the Flit. Calling in Favors with the Urchins nets 25 scrap (plus a Bundle of Oddities). This is the biggest one, 25 is lots of scraps.
- Buy any lodgings you don't have. Many of these cards are not very good, but getting 1 scrap is more scrap than not getting 1 scrap. Note that you will not be able to divest yourself of these cards afterwards except by making terrible decisions.
- Remove other irrelevant cards from your deck, where possible. This is a bit ironic because 1-scrap lodgings are considered "other irrelevant cards" for any other reason, and are cautioned against because of deck bloat.
- Gambling: On average, gambling an Armful of Scrap with the Relickers is 1 scrap per action, but the variance is high (Double-armful is same expected return, higher variance). It's up to you whether the potential frustration is worth it.
- Use Shenanigans to replenish your deck. There are several transitions that double your deck on entrance and exit, and a few places that fill your deck from 0. Some places to look include Parties, Flute Street, The Castles in the Ceiling, and any place with Flash Lay mechanics (including Zee and the Finishing School). Some people have opinions on which of these constitute abuse of game mechanics, I have my own line that I don't cross but it's subjective.
It took me two years of playing to get 3 of the items via scraps (the 4th was obtained by other means), and I had other priorities I was accomplishing at the same time. If you share your math on the estimate of 15 months, maybe we can find a few places to improve.
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http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/PSGarak
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Azothi
Posts: 586
12/18/2018
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Yes. Just remember that the storylet disappears if your stat drops below 215. There have been cases where players forgot and went to the Nadir first.
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Azoth I, the Emissary of Cardinals - A Paramount Presence (not currently accepting new Proteges)
Away to where the Chain cannot bind us.
 Hesperidean.
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Tyrconnell
Posts: 271
12/17/2018
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PSGarak put a lot of thought and effort into an answer. I'll give you the more hard-bitten Londoner answer:
Anything's cuddly if you have the strength to squeeze and the will to not let go.
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Tyrconnell, a gentleman and doctor of diverse interests and multifarious proclivities
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Jolanda Swan
Posts: 1789
12/18/2018
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PSGarak wrote:
Ixc wrote:
Are the Masters cuddly?
Yes Constables, this post right here.
I laughed.
And, Ixc, the Empress' Shadow made it clear than cuddling with the Masters will only lead in heartbreak and political upheaval in various worlds. Try the personals next time.
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Lover of all things beautiful, secret admirer of ugly truths, fond of the Parabola Sun... and always delighted to role play.
http://fallenlondon.com/profile/Jolanda%20Swan
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Ixc
Posts: 365
12/18/2018
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Jolanda Swan wrote:
And, Ixc, the Empress' Shadow made it clear than cuddling with the Masters will only lead in heartbreak and political upheaval in various worlds.
Worth it.
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Pleased to meet you. Ixc, spy and detective. Inventor of the Correspondence Cannon.
Are you a Paramount Presence? Record your name here. For posterity, of course.
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
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Skinnyman
Posts: 2133
12/17/2018
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Gillsing wrote:
And I'm not even sure what the probability of the rare success is. 4 rare success out of 50 expeditions.
This takes it to 8%, but it stood at ~6% until I got another rs today. I'll come back with more data after, let's say, 150 more expeditions.
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ESs items and quality requirements sheet. Please check if there are errors or if something is missing
Achievement list if you're feeling bored!
I am accepting Plant battles, Neath's Mysteries card, Starveling Cats and boxed cats.
No suppers, no second chances gain and no need to cure my menaces!
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Tyrconnell
Posts: 271
12/24/2018
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If you have only one of something, hold onto it. If you have hundreds, it's probably safe to sell.
The thing about starting out is that you'll eventually probably need more of everything than you have now. Those one penny goods like rostygold and jade? There will be times that you'll want them in bulk. Later you won't want them, and it'll also be easier to get more, but you'll need to have large amounts between now and then. Exactly what you mean by new determines what you're likely to have and which things you can most easily give up for cash.
The other rule of thumb I have is that it's rarely necessary or even particularly useful to liquidate items for echoes, especially early on. You don't need the stats that much. Some of the very cheap gear is decent, and some of the very expensive gear is worth having much later, but there are a lot of things that cost up to hundreds of echoes that you'll probably never want.
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Tyrconnell, a gentleman and doctor of diverse interests and multifarious proclivities
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Azothi
Posts: 586
12/18/2018
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Fredhot21 wrote:
How does Prisoner's Honey work? If the "nature of the dream to which you travel depends in large part on your own imaginative powers", then how do you get to dreams that aren't your own such as the Besotted Poet in "The Heart, The Devil, and The Zee" or take companions into your dreams such as the Wayward Heiress? The nature of Prisoner's Honey is vague to begin with - it's an analogy for opium and a gateway into Parabola, but the precise mechanics are still vague. The evidence suggests that the control you exert over traveling into dreams is not so much in the creation of dreams but rather in the navigation. All the dreams exist within Parabola, as part of the IS NOT. Dangerous honey-dreams are not characterized by the subconscious, as one might anticipate if honey-dreams were, like real dreams, the result of wholly internal neural processes, but rather characterized by real and present external danger. Furthermore, Prisoner's Honey is the product of Exile's Rose by the bees who are exiles of Parabola themselves. There is substantial circumstantial evidence for this as well, particularly repeated references to the Rosers, who fled into dreams. Altogether, it's accepted lore that Prisoner's Honey is a gateway to Parabola.
Therefore, in the case of the Besotted Poet in "The Heart, the Devil, and the Zee", you're not sharing a dream with the poet, but rather you're following him into dreams. That's why you have to search the Castle of Forests to find him. The Castle of Forests is a (not) real location in Parabola accessible to any traveler of dreams - a commodore at the Admiralty has plans for the Castle of Forests (naval warfare is the specialty of the Admiralty, after all), for instance. You can observe the same phenomenon in the Mirror Marches - you share the environment with the dream avatars of London's cats.
The methodology of sharing dreams is not well-explored, though, as far as I know. My best explanation given the current evidence is that when sharing dreams, only one of you actually consume Prisoner's Honey, and you share the dream by holding each other during the transition process. When entering a honey-dream, your physical body actually disappears from reality (this implies that rather than being a dream-copy of yourself like a normal dream, the you in honey-dreams is your physical body, capable of sustaining wounds, which is consistent with current observations). Presumably, clothes disappear with the body (you're still able to access your equipped items in the Mirror-Marches and Castle of Forests but not your other items as a consequence of game mechanics). It's not too far of a stretch to assume, then, if you were holding another person, they might be carried into Parabola with you.
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Azoth I, the Emissary of Cardinals - A Paramount Presence (not currently accepting new Proteges)
Away to where the Chain cannot bind us.
Hesperidean.
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Moran Sawall
Posts: 5
12/24/2018
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EDIT: It appears that I have misunderstood the purpose and function of the Journal. Looking at those of other players, it appears that it is an automatic function of the game (taken from my adventures). Although curiously, I cannot see the entries it creates.
If that is the case, kindly disregard. (Original post to follow)
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My pardons if this is the incorrect place to pose this question. I am a freshly minted player, less than 48 hours old. I’m attempting to chronicle my adventures in my journal and I’m encountering some difficulty. I click on the “Myself” tab, and then “view my journal”. I see two buttons which open up calendar date selection screens. I can’t find anywhere to actually write any of my own text (unlike the “What do people say” button). Am I doing something wrong, or am in the wrong place?
As far as browsers, I’ve tried Safari and Chrome.
edited by MSawall on 12/24/2018
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https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/MSawall
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Moran Sawall
Posts: 5
12/24/2018
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PSGarak wrote:
The content of the journal is automatic. You can't edit anything except the title. However, you have to actively do something for a piece of game content to become journaled. When you enter a storylet, and when you take an action, in the upper-right there should be a teal icon with a pencil. This will put the game text into your journal.
Ah, bless you Garak! That explains things nicely. I wish it had been clearer from the start, I’d like to have chronicled my first adventures, but thank you for explaining it to me.
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https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/MSawall
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Siankan
Posts: 1048
12/18/2018
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Game back. Refunds available for unspent panicking. 
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Prof. Sian Kan, at your service.
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Fredhot21
Posts: 19
12/18/2018
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Thank you for the explanation, Azothi.
There is still one question that I have that is apropos to the Besotted Poet and the Honey-Sipping Heiress.
How do you get into certain dreams? When you try to get to the Besotted Poet, you're given a bit of honey, honey with the scent "of roasted chestnuts" and the taste of "ground coffee", to get to him because he lives in the Castle of Forests. You're not given a descriptor or any idea of where he actually is in dreams but you start in the Castle of Forests and try to find him. Is that reliant on the strain of honey? Do certain strains take you to certain places more often?
With the Honey-Sipping Heiress and thief, you can bugger up and get into dreams that would significantly dampen romantic ardor such as a city whose buildings are constructed of frozen blood. How do you get into such dreams since it doesn't seem to be deliberate?
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