Avian Overlord
Posts: 62
11/20/2014
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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?
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The Principled Dectective-http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Corvidae
Open for social actions of all sorts.
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Rackenhammer
Posts: 354
11/20/2014
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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.
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"DO NOT TRUST HAPPY ENDINGS. DO NOT FEAR SAD ENDINGS... NEITHER ARE ENDINGS."
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Mathieu Psmith: The Bard of Lost Children, loving husband, and a fixture of the artistic set. Can never resist making a show of things...
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Vaughan Montblanc: Once a frontiersman of Western Canada, he now practices medicine in London. His discretion may be absolutely trusted.
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Diptych
Administrator
Posts: 3493
11/20/2014
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Arcsbane wrote:
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.
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.
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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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dismallyOriented
Posts: 215
11/20/2014
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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.
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dismallyOriented
Posts: 215
11/21/2014
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Arcsbane wrote:
Sir Frederick Tanah-Chook wrote:
Arcsbane wrote:
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.
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.
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.
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.)
edited by dismallyOriented on 11/21/2014
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Owen Wulf
Posts: 715
11/20/2014
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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.
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edited by Owen Wulf on 11/20/2014
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Diptych
Administrator
Posts: 3493
11/20/2014
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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.
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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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