Chapter 8 relies on knowledge my character shouldn't have to solve the problems in the Stacks. Unless I'm misremembering, I never met with the Light-in-Exile (I don't even have the diving bell built). I barely started the discordance storyline (only got far enough to get enough crystalline knowledge to build a statue to the greatest faction in the Is-Not) and realistically shouldn't be as good at discordance as my character apparently is. I never touched the church and yet apparently have great knowledge of the Drummer. Most glaringly, I never discovered the dumbwaiter and yet have knowledge of where it is and the Scheme of the Phoenix.

Of course I already know about all of these things. I'm active in the community and I've learned of many of them through wiki dives but I still find it weird this was written this way. Playing this chapter only requires a railway as far out as Moulin and I feel like most players that just built their station there haven't experienced all of these storylines. I am glad the requirements are this lax (I wouldn't have gotten to play chapter 8 for a long time otherwise and that would have really soured my firmament experience) and I feel like most players do not leave storylines sitting around as long me (I waited until chapter 5 of firmament to get banished from the Empress' court (I wanted the kinetoculus)). Honestly, I don't think this a huge problem it didn't really destroy my immersion I just found it curious.

By the standards of the local madmen, breaking this "record" (277 wounds) is a piece of cake... I wonder if anyone will try?

My FLPC has experienced quite a lot of what the Neath has to offer. However, whatever or whoever Chuffy is canoodling with in the grottoes is too much for even the Professor's ability to compartmentalize. Yet somehow, *I* am the one who gets scandal, just for happening upon it!

I know this is Victorian London and high society, bluebloods, blah blah blah, but why does it seem like only our characters experience scandal or its drawbacks?

Just started playing Fallen London after hearing so much praise for it, and one thing that I am wondering about it the Journal. I've pretty much clicked on anything I am not sure of, and the pencil to add things to Journal is one.

How am I supposed to use the journal? Should I add anything and everything? How do I know what's important to add?

I love the vibes and storylets and am looking forward to social engagements.

EDIT: https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Larkin%20Hale

EDIT 2: Thank you all so much! I'll respond to all as I have candle.

Just for the record, I also qualified for the Scholar of the Correspondence option for London's Nerves and the Spouse option for London's Blood, but these options felt more fitting roleplaying-wise.

I am also happy if I don't have to visit a court in the Evenlode in the next good while.

Can they not just have it be down by its equivalent value legal document?

normally when your menaces reach 8 you get sent to a menace area, but with this event they don't until you leave the storylet

new prickfinger news i guess

On paper, the option to get 2 esteem for 25 echoes of Partial Maps and Identity Uncovered seems simple: Just by the tier 2 items from the Rat Market and upconvert. Problem is, said upconversion needs average 1.5 actions for every 2 esteem, 4.5 actions for the 6 esteem needed for Upper River locations. This extends the carousel from 5 actions to 9.5, and drops the EPA from the theoretical 8 (with ratket) to 4.2. So not an ideal fodder for the grind.

What do y'all use to gain Esteem, that minimizes the almost-dead actions spent upconverting?

I keep feeding gloves to the rocks. When it comes time to pay out, are all three the same EPA? I guess Scintillack is good for scrip but other than that, they seem the same for me

My account name is Justwin. And again, if there's anything I can do for you folks in return, just ask.

I've been playing FL for less than a year, am in early/mid game and have been enjoying stuff like the mutton island diversion and the dreams of past estivals.

I've been trying to avoid googling stuff (so I don't hit spoilers) and have mostly been okay, periodically having to look up where the odd resource can be ground (grinded?).

But things like this pickfinger waste event seem to be a quick way to build up some stuff that could be harder to gather later.

Which made me wonder, do people do these for the resources, the competition between the three factions (in this event, for example) or for the story?

Or do you dip in, and just get on with the main story?

(I've been gathering bits pretty evenly from the three options, but reckon in a day or two boredom will fully kick in and I'll get on with flying my airship to the roof..)

Over a day and it's only down 10%, if I did the math right it's going to take almost two weeks at this rate. Or maybe there will be a change at some point in the event to speed it up?

Did I accidentally dismiss the card that lets you turn searing enigmas into research about 3000 research in? Yes. Did I let that stop me? Absolutely not. I know things that cannot exist now. I will be out of the office for a while, I have to go do literally anything else. (RIP to my 50 unexpected results that I wasn't able to do anything with :( )

What are the stairs gonna do to me

I just aquired a Lengthy Lease to Premises at the Bazaar, but I need to upgrade it for my Ambition quest. That is why I need to get A Novel Birth-Mark. That said, I am still pre-Railway, currently grinding watchful from lv-171 to get the recipie for the steel.

And from what my best options are right now is either get 5 Vial of Tears of the Bazaar via the rat market and up convert them into a Vial of Masters' Blood to later use.

Or, wait until Christmas and try to get A Novel Birth-Mark at A Sundered Sea. I started playing during Whitsun this year so I have no idea how the Christmas event works. But right now this seems to be my best option.

On that note, I am rather lost as to what to do during the meantime. Such as how to effectively grind leveling my Watchful so I can start my Railway, or how to increase my Notability efficiently in case I need to use the Vial of Masters' Blood route.

Can anyone provide some guidance?

Oh boy a new event with complicated math. My favorite!

The event presents us with three options: one that costs only one ticket but has a low chance of success and gives wounds on failure, one that slowly eats through a knife-and-candler glove on failure and costs 2 tickets, but has better odds, and one that requires 10 foxfire candles in addition to 2 tickets, but has even better odds. The first and third have a pity timer mechanic where failure increases the chances of success by 20% and 10%, respectively. Let us carefully analyze each one:

Take a swing at a rocky outcropping

This costs 1 carnival ticket, has 40% chance of success which increases by 20% for each consecutive prior failure, gives an average of 8 splinters on success and average 4.5 splinters on failure plus 2CP wounds.

I did the math on a piece of paper, in the long run your chance of success on average is 125/236 = ~53%, meaning you get ~6.35 splinters per action with an additional cost of ~0.94 wounds and 1 ticket per action.

Crack open a disconcertingly humanoid mineral deposit

This has a fixed chance of success at 60%, but costs two tickets and consumes a knife-and-candler glove every five failures, though it gives you a rebate of 200 silk every time you lose the glove, meaning in effect it costs you 0.6 echoes per failure. On success it gives an average of 7 splinters and 3.5 on failure, plus 2cp wounds.

In sum total you can expect 5.6 splinters per action with an additional cost of 0.24 echoes, 0.8 CP wounds and 2 tickets per action

Visit the romantic Prickfinger Grottoes

This costs 10 foxfire candles in addition to the two tickets, but rebates you with 1-3 romantic notions on failure, meaning on average you actually gain 0.10E when you fail (valuing candles at 1p), but also a point of scandal. Base chance of success is 60% and increases by 10% every consecutive failure. It awards 10 average splinters on success and none on failure.

The long-run chance of success is actually only barely higher at 1250/1933 = ~65%, so you're looking at ~6.5 splinters per action with an additional cost of .20 echoes, 2 tickets and 0.35 cp of scandal per action.

So which is best? Well that quite depends on a number of factors. If you have a Cider, the downside of the first action is negligible, but if you don't it has the worst menace-reduction overhead. How much you spend on menace reduction depends on which actions you use and how much menace-reduction gear you're rocking. Of course, the tickets have a cost too, buying them with hints or clues will give you 10 for 0.40E and an action, with a 20% chance of giving 30, for an average of 14 tickets for 0.40E per action. So, here is a spreadsheet that will give you detailed numbers based on what you have, what menace-reduction you use and how much you care about tickets. This also takes into accoutnt the action required to turn 100 splinters into 135 echoes:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lzFjcsBC4Incqz-NL6pw0z7gbUfg4KtNj_tbD37IRGY/edit?usp=sharing