Hannah Flynn
Administrator
Posts: 491
12/18/2019
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Introducing a new festive premium story by Nigel Evans: The Brass Grail.
"His Grace wishes to see you. He's in a shocking state since those books came. He's barely wrestled any of the staff in a week and he's off his sherry. I think something terrible has happened."
Scandal in London as the Bishop of Southwark is summoned to court. Old sins weigh heavily upon the mitred head. Can one ever truly escape the shadow of Hell?
The Brass Grail is available for 35 Fate, alongside our previous Christmas premium stories:
The Ceremony by Cassandra Khaw
A spate of exquisite and unpleasant transformations sweeps London: new Rubbery enhancements of a drastic degree. What lies behind the tentacles? What secrets are hidden within the spiraling bones? Who is the Gilded Sacrifice?
The Gift by Chris Gardiner
The parcel sits brightly on your doorstep. Its ribbon is an immodest red. The card is cream, and of excellent stock. It bears no signature, seal, or watermark. A tale of terror, aberration, and the horrors beneath the Palace.
The Empress’ Shadow by Emily Short
The Empress' Shadow, the only child of Her Enduring Majesty residing on the Surface, has come to London. Train servants for her in Sinning Jenny's Finishing School; uncover the political and familial intrigues that threaten London.
The Marriage of Feducci by Cash DeCuir
It is the first Royal Wedding since London fell: Mayor Feducci's proposal of marriage to the Captivating Princess has been accepted! Join the Beleaguered Wedding Planner in the Shuttered Palace to make or break this historic moment.
Look for Explore the Festive Season to begin!
edited by h4nchan on 12/18/2019
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Wields the news canon, aboard the hype train.
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Jolanda Swan
Posts: 1783
12/19/2019
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I completed the story but I admit I am a bit lost as to what happened and why.
I loved the story of Southwark, and the story of James. I loved that we got a very convincing explanation of where the Church stands in matters of homosexuality and sexuality, especially given that questions break out in the forum again and again. Nice to have an official answer.
I didn't make head or tails of many, many things though. First of all the Court of Diligence hinted at monumental, life-shattering tasks but the feats we had to perform were... really, really easy. Even without the players' advice, the Bishop would have handled them fine on his own - we weren't needed save as friends. I was expecting (dreading) horrible dilemmas but instead we got a nice trip of self-discovery. Though I am personally grateful I didn't have to depress myself (I am soft and my heart is squishy) it makes no sense that Hell would punish the Bishop with a walk in the park, especially given the build-up and the dread. I mean... compared to Abstraction and Matrimony, Diligence was child's play.
Having said that I have no idea why Matrimony was even mentioned - it made no sense and it's value to Hell is never explained. I also have no idea what the human-looking devils were supposed to be. Or what Clarissa wanted or who she was. And finally I have no idea what the Dowager was asking of us and what she plans to do with the advice. I was expecting something to happen after she asked and we answered and... nothing. As for the politics, did we learn anything else apart from the well-known fact that Devils have factions?
Am I extremely confused, or were all these threads left hanging?
My other complaint is that the story was unnecessarily action-consuming. The Goat for example was pure padding (tickets, bets, two rounds of fighting... more than half a candle for a completely unrelated story? I am a Paramount Presence, it made absolutely no sense to have to prove anything to a man I have helped breed zee monsters). And it didn't stop there. Sitting down and opening an envelope, required two different actions. And you had to open four of them! I had saved my Darkdrop coffee for the story, and I didn't mind buying a candle, but I wanted story for these items, not action-wasters.
All in all, I am left with a lovely impression of Southwark and his story, the Dowager's haunting image and a bunch of questions.
edited by Jolanda Swan on 12/19/2019
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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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Hattington
Posts: 210
12/19/2019
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Do you want to know something funny? I was all dead set on betraying the Bishop. With what limited guidelines I had, I tried to pick the "wrong" task options on the assumptions it was just a farce to humiliate the Bishop. I've never had much sympathy for the Church, in large part because they're simply WRONG about who the supreme powers of the universe are, and because the planned invasion of Hell always struck me as suicidally hubristic, hypocrital (yes bargain with the Fingerkings, I'm sure NOTHING could go wrong there) and ignorant in a way that doesn't embrace the FUN of a hopeless cause, like say-Heorot. Then Virginia bribed me and made a fatal mistake: Not offering up any payment before hand, and making the bribe secrets when I already grind those out on the weekly instead of, say, a devillish vacuum cleaner or something. Something commensurate to suspending anti-Abstraction laws of all things.
I didn't just suddenly go from being bent on indicting the Bishop to defending him because the devils themselves were torn over Virginia's plan, or because I want the Brimstone Convention to owe me favors. I did it because the Dowager offered me a much better bribe: The fun of choking someone on their own hubris. I still gave another devil info on the Relicker though, partly because I really have nothing personal against the devils as a whole and mostly because the man keeps throwing my scraps at me.
And that's the story of how I betrayed everyone except the giant devil dowager so hard I accidentally ended up being loyal to the Bishop anyway.
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The Dawnburnt Vake-Rider: https://www.fallenlondon.com/Profile/Hattington
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babelfishwars
Administrator
Posts: 1152
12/19/2019
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phryne wrote:
Hannah Flynn wrote:
The Marriage of Feducci by Cash DeCuir It is the first Royal Wedding since London fell: Mayor Feducci's proposal of marriage to the Captivating Princess has been accepted!
Is he still called Mayor in this story? Just curious.
He was when you asked, I've now fixed it to recognise his time is over. Although, if anyone happens to play it (please don't just for this) and spots anything that's still weird, please let me know. I like fixing things.
edited by babelfishwars on 12/19/2019
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Mars, God of Fish; Leaning Tower of Fish
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Jolanda Swan
Posts: 1783
12/20/2019
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loredeluxe wrote:
Knowledge of the Fallen London universe does make everything the Bishop goes through even sadder when you consider what we know about the Judgements, devils, and souls. In this world, there's no such thing as the Abrahamic God, so the Bishop is putting himself through all this suffering for basically no reason.
I am not sure it's 'for no reason.' It gives him a purpose, a reason to stick to charity and good works and the strength to fight devils. Given he is not giving people grief for who they love and how long their skirts are, I would say being devout has helped him immensely.
Being a Buddhist myself, I asked my Lama if there is any truth in what he believes: sure, meditation and kindness and all that improve my life, but how do we know the supernatural element is real?
His answer was "why do you even care?"
I know there are reasons to want to know the Truth, but I doubt the Bishop would see his life as a waste if he knew the Star-lore we as players know.
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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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PSGarak
Posts: 834
12/18/2019
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Warning about some quality loss, y'all:
[spoiler]I lost a point of Revolutionary Renown. This is mediumly-distressing, because I don't really want the Liberation, but now I'm also 1 point shy from 40.
You will know the option when you see it. It requires Revolutionary Renown. It's just... Renown was supposed to be an unlock, not an expendable resource.[/spoiler]
edit: spoiler tag works now?
edited by PSGarak on 12/18/2019
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http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/PSGarak
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Lady Karnstein
Posts: 278
12/19/2019
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I enjoyed this story. Interesting Rewards, a fascinating examination of the Church and Hell, I found myself extremely satisfied. It was clever and the latter trial part kept me guessing
[spoiler]
As a gay women in real life, I like how this story confronted the Bishop's homosexuality. It did not handwave it or make it normal (which is totally fine and I love that about general Fallen London) but made the Bishop confront it as a man of the cloth. It did not make it so ugly I could not deal with it, but at least with the supportive version, I like how it was handled and I loved his later quip about going against the natural order.
To reiterate, I enjoy FL's handling of queerness very much. But this was a little different, and it was nice to see it handled maturely.[/spoiler]
Also, Caroline has 3 Affiliations with cards that can give her Church Favors. How did that happen?
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Lady Caroline Karnstein, The Moral Hedonist (Description)
Infamous writer, artist, and courtesan. Unrepentant Invert. Hesperidean.
Paramount Presence, Correspondent, Nocturnal. Poet Laureate of the Neath, Ambassador to Arbor
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JaneAnkhVeos
Posts: 132
12/21/2019
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Jolanda Swan wrote:
loredeluxe wrote:
Knowledge of the Fallen London universe does make everything the Bishop goes through even sadder when you consider what we know about the Judgements, devils, and souls. In this world, there's no such thing as the Abrahamic God, so the Bishop is putting himself through all this suffering for basically no reason.
I am not sure it's 'for no reason.' It gives him a purpose, a reason to stick to charity and good works and the strength to fight devils. Given he is not giving people grief for who they love and how long their skirts are, I would say being devout has helped him immensely.
Being a Buddhist myself, I asked my Lama if there is any truth in what he believes: sure, meditation and kindness and all that improve my life, but how do we know the supernatural element is real?
His answer was "why do you even care?"
I know there are reasons to want to know the Truth, but I doubt the Bishop would see his life as a waste if he knew the Star-lore we as players know.
I remember trying to use this to add some drama to my captain’s story in S.Skies (with a Priest origin), but then he merely took the Judgements for gnostic demiurges and proceeded with his crusades with doubled enthusiasm 
For characters such as the Bishop, there will always be a reason. And I guess it’s part of what makes them sympathetic.
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|| the Nocturnal Nostalgist, pawnbroker of dreams and memories ||
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navchaa
Posts: 561
1/1/2020
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I enjoyed the story but found it quite odd that neither my title of Bishop nor my soullessness affected the story choices!
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Paramount Presence (London's Marrow 2, London's Nerves 2, London’s Sinew 3, London’s Blood 3) and mercenary Notary
Married to Myrto :: Exchanging Surprise Packages with anyone interested :: Exchanging cat boxes with Kitty Rambunctious
http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/navchaa
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Skinnyman
Posts: 2133
12/18/2019
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My, my, the art look gorgeous, delicious friend!
I kindly ask the people around to ping me or the quality/item thread. Happy Sackmas!
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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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phryne
Posts: 1347
12/18/2019
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Hannah Flynn wrote:
The Marriage of Feducci by Cash DeCuir
It is the first Royal Wedding since London fell: Mayor Feducci's proposal of marriage to the Captivating Princess has been accepted!
Is he still called Mayor in this story? Just curious.
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Accounts: Bag a Legend • Light Fingers • Heart's Desire • Nemesis • no ambition
Exceptional Stories, sorted by Season and by writer ― Favours & Renown Guide
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loredeluxe
Posts: 106
12/18/2019
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Knowledge of the Fallen London universe does make everything the Bishop goes through even sadder when you consider what we know about the Judgements, devils, and souls. In this world, there's no such thing as the Abrahamic God, so the Bishop is putting himself through all this suffering for basically no reason.
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Fadewalker
Posts: 136
12/18/2019
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JamesFailbetter in Q&A: (for favourite character) these days it's the Bishop of Southwark.
And now the Bishop of Southwark: I should have realised it was James doing!
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A fervent supporter of the Council and the Masters.
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Waterpls
Posts: 322
12/18/2019
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Any info about rewards? Except Cross of Southwark.
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Long grinds: Heptagoat 100/180; Cider Done; Correspondence 21/21; Paramount 4/4.
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Waterpls
Posts: 322
12/18/2019
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Snort its affiliation
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Long grinds: Heptagoat 100/180; Cider Done; Correspondence 21/21; Paramount 4/4.
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Snort
Posts: 92
12/18/2019
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Waterpls wrote:
Snort its affiliation
Oh, for Goodness’ sake. And thank you.
I will now go pound my head on the closest hard vertical surface.
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https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Snort
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Ixc
Posts: 365
12/20/2019
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I believe it's stated or implied that the Devils wanted to use Southwark to drag the church's and the Bishop's reputation through the mud, which is what they try in all tasks. The first two are to degrade the Bishop, while the last two are to strain the Church's status with the government, the public and the Bazaar. The second task could also call into question the current sanctity of Scripture, which would hurt the Church more fundamentally than the others. This could also be accomplished with an Abstraction (the scandal of a Bishop seeming to sell his soul, and the Bishop would probably lose his drive against Hell), while Matrimony seems to do the same, but also as a sort of torment to the Bishop- he could lead to less harm to his colleagues if he sacrifices and marries Virginia. It may also do what the second task does- question why marrying a devil is allowed, which would in turn rebound on the changes God's Editors are making.
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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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Lady Karnstein
Posts: 278
12/21/2019
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re: Michael
[spoiler] If you Double Cross Virginia by selling her out to the Dowager, Michael becomes a companion https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Masked_Former_Priest [/spoiler]
edited by Lady Karnstein on 12/21/2019
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Lady Caroline Karnstein, The Moral Hedonist (Description)
Infamous writer, artist, and courtesan. Unrepentant Invert. Hesperidean.
Paramount Presence, Correspondent, Nocturnal. Poet Laureate of the Neath, Ambassador to Arbor
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Ixc
Posts: 365
12/19/2019
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It was a very enjoyable story, but it seems Hell has stolen a distressing amount of periods from the story.
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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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Shadowcthuhlu
Posts: 1557
12/19/2019
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Is nobody else disturbed by hell "improving" the dowager?
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https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Dirae%20Erinyes. Closed to calling cards, but open for all other social action. I also love to roleplay.
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xKiv
Posts: 846
1/2/2020
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phryne wrote:
Is it even possible not to have the Bishop acquitted in the end?
Yes, but you have to know which trials you have to judge against him.
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https://www.fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/xKiv - a witchful, percussive, dangermous and shadowry scholar of coexplodence, hopsidirean, and walker of fallen kitties.
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Lady Karnstein
Posts: 278
12/22/2019
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phryne wrote:
Not reading through the thread yet as I don't want to be spoilered 
I'd just like to know whether there's anything specifically helpful I should bring to the Prickfinger Wastes (or any later part of the story)? Any items I should stock up on?
Just actions.
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Lady Caroline Karnstein, The Moral Hedonist (Description)
Infamous writer, artist, and courtesan. Unrepentant Invert. Hesperidean.
Paramount Presence, Correspondent, Nocturnal. Poet Laureate of the Neath, Ambassador to Arbor
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phryne
Posts: 1347
12/24/2019
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Is it even possible not to have the Bishop acquitted in the end?
Jolanda Swan wrote:
PS Who is Clarissa? What happened to Michael? What did the Dowager do? Does anyone know? [spoiler]Michael seems to have been very successfully "tempted" by Hell, and Clarissa was apparently the deviless encharged with the tempting:
When you blink, the Dowager's mind is silent. You open your eyes and in the mirrors you see a thousand copies of Clarissa in a ball-gown speaking to a thousand reflections of a green-eyed man in the robes of a priest. The clamour of the Dowager's ruined mind starts up a heartbeat later.
That a human can be turned into an actual devil, or half-devil or whatever, is probably the most important bit of lore from this story. Don't think that ever came up before.[/spoiler]
As to the Dowager, I'm not sure what your question refers to. I didn't see her do anything but give me the vision in the above spoiler tag, but I didn't get the ending with Michael as a companion. Not sure whether she has anything to do with him apparently switching sides again. She doesn't seem in a position to do much of anything.
Speaking of her, can you imagine anything more insulting than using this former member of infernal royalty as a mobile congress centre? Got to admire the revolutionary zeal of the Devils, even though I agree with the Bishop that their revolutionary court wasn't as badass as expected. But I think the whole thing was a charade planned by Michael anyway. None of the Devils seemed to have their hearts in it, especially Virginia.
 expanded spoiler tag to include more of the spoilery stuff
edited by phryne on 12/29/2019
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Accounts: Bag a Legend • Light Fingers • Heart's Desire • Nemesis • no ambition
Exceptional Stories, sorted by Season and by writer ― Favours & Renown Guide
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