HELLO?

New fallen London oc: canadian zailor who calls it the Unterzed

Mulling on it a bit while I'm packing and i really am thinking on the check percentage thing from a design and feel standpoint

The thing with the checks in the game is there's of course the jest of RNG being so so evil, but jokes aside I think they really do contribute to a feeling of *risk*. When theres a knowledge you can fail something, the concept of succeeding is worth more. When you fail something you could have succeeded in, it's a far more brutal failing.

This needs to be balanced correctly of course - loosing out on something plot related due to the whims of chance isn't good and isn't fun, and would be kind of bs - but at the same time there needs to be this level of risk.

I think this in part contributes to part of why many ES feel minimal to no tension for late game players usually - you always 100% the checks, there's never any risk there, there's no semblance of a challenge. You're completely, and 100% safe. Which is why it is so notable to us playing when this *isn't* the case. Almost brings back the feeling of 'no, not even you' from the horticulture event.

That level of not always being in control is neccesary for a plot to hit properly, especially in a horror game. And I think having these percent chances with varying level of risks really play into the build up of tension.

veils if it was a normal bat

Fellas. Is it gay to have a twisted and complex thing with a man over your shared resentment over the past, the blame about that loss, the lingering affection and grief you both still hold for someone lost, while holding the heart you cut out of her chest?

To slowly go mad failing to understand why she felt she had to do it?

🎩 — What would an Exceptional Story featuring this character be about?

Exceptional story for May: In Violant, Inviolable

You grasp the Story by an overlong character introduction – but it sheds it, flopping to the cobbles and fleeing. You toss the squirming, adverb-coated passage and give chase, leaving the Apologist to wrangle the cut text into a sheet of flameproof paper.

A story has been stolen from the skin of the Bazaar – the very oldest of its kind – and the Violant-Scrawling Apologist has enlisted you to see it safely returned. Track a nascent thief across the Zee. Discern the nature of the Treachery of Records. And learn a little Neathy history, while you're at it.

Writing: violant-apologia

Editing: who needs editing anyway firmament certainly didn't have any (i'm joking FBG i love you)

QA: Stacy Fakename

Art: letters-of-fire

Exceptional Story for May: The Sunken River 

The interior of the Questionable has a noisy, almost raucous atmosphere. It’s inevitable – in such tight confines, trapped in this metal coffin, sound cannot escape, and men make jokes to keep the fear at bay. But when the bell sounds and the officers gather in the bridge, a hush falls over the ship. Descent is, to the zubmariner, a sacrament. 

The Unsanctioned Zubmariner has one last voyage to make – and, through the Admiralty’s machinations, you’ve just been promoted to First Officer. Embark on an ill-advised, officially unacknowledged expedition beneath the dark waves. Follow a trail of blood to the very heart of the Unterzee. Try not to crack under the pressure.

Writing: Bruno Dias

Editing: James Chew

QA: Luke van den Barselaar

Art: Erion Makuo

EXCEPTIONAL FRIENDSHIP All Exceptional Friends receive:

A new Exceptional Story every month

Memories of a Tale from each story to spend on exclusive companions and items

A second candle (up to 40 actions at once)

An expanded opportunity deck: ten cards instead of six

Three additional outfit slots

Access to the House of Chimes, including monthly gameplay perks

Enhanced Exceptional Friends receive all of the above, plus:

A past story, or two resets of stories you’ve played from a monthly menu

Memories of a Tale from every past story or reset

Extra monthly perks in the House of Chimes

Three seven-action refreshes per month

Trapped soul in a bottle

Your posts about Fallen London are slowly tempting me into playing it- do you have any tips to start or is it best to play it completely blind?

i have a few tips and tricks! mind you im far from a veteran and i basically got my hand held by tumblr for most of the game so take everything with a grain of salt. you can and should do whatever you want always. i don't personally play it blind, but you may get more enjoyment out of it if you do, and that's awesome and im super happy for you. this is what i can say from experience:

take your time with it. this is like. the numero uno fallen london tip. it's not a game where you rush to the end in a week. it's a game where you do 10-minute-intervals of a marathon to the end in maybe a few months if you know what you're doing. spending money on action refills usually isn't worth it when you can just mosey on through neathly life one storylet at a time. a vast majority of the game's content is completely free to everyone, and while the monthly subscription options are pretty neat and let you play some exclusive story stuff (that can be pretty fire- cricket anyone basically defined the scoundrel's entire character) none of it is required and 99% of the time you aren't missing out on anything by just taking your time and exploring the neath at your own pace.

you need to raise all of your skills eventually! this is, uh. something im horribly guilty of not following myself. you can (and probably should) pick at least two stats to focus on for your character (most of the time these will be your main ambition stats, aka the closest thing FL has to a main story questline) but eventually you Will be expected to have them all at around the 100 range, minimum. for certain Super Late-game Story Content, watchful 200 is mandatory to start it, so if you have trouble choosing i'd recommend leveling that bad boy first. don't neglect your other stats though!!! don't be like me. don't be like my poor poor neglected shadowy and dangerous. it's too late for me. save yourself.

friends are fun and free and you are legally mandated to exploit them for fun and profit. okay you really aren't mandated to exploit your FL friends list but you totally should anyway just for goofy sillies. to be less jokey about it, while fallen london is primarily a single-player gaming experience, the playerbase is super friendly and super open to helping each other out (especially new players!). go on reddit, ask around on tumblr, get yourself a few buddies and use them as resources to gain items and stats and menace reduction i mean. valued companions that im sure you will treasure forever and definitely not backstab to publish that inflammatory newspaper article you've been cooking up.

on a very loosely similar note, the fallen london wiki is your best friend. yes, we're following stardew rules with this one. this is the kind of game best optimally played with a wiki article or three open in the neighboring tabs so you can follow along and know what is what. there's tons of guides on basically every part of FL, and it's no shame at all to reach out to either it or the wider community if you get stuck or feel lost at something.

if an in-game storylet has bold text, it will never lie to you! except for when it does. but that's very very very rare. you can always trust the bold text. it is always your friend. i prommy. which brings us neatly into our next bulletpoint,

seeking the name is ill-advised because it's the only storyline that can permanently brick your account at its conclusion. don't worry, the ease at which you can avoid this is practically comical, and the game will Always give you multiple chances to opt-out if you somehow accidentally start it anyway. most people make a dedicated alt character entirely for the purpose of sacrificing them to the well of doom. unless you're playing with your eyes closed for multiple months straight, you'll never run into SMEN without deliberately chasing it, and if you somehow get to that point honestly man just ignore this entire bulletpoint and see how far the rabbithole goes. go on. it's friendly :)

batfucking is always the right answer to any problem ever

echoes/the game's standard currency should always be thought of as a method of gaining items rather than a strict hoard of video game dollars. money-making can be super difficult in the earlygame, but it gets exponentially easier as you go further on. you shouldn't be afraid to sell anything you don't need, though personally i'd recommend keeping an "insurance stock" of the most basic items just in case. this includes rostygold, moon-pearls, honey droplets, etc. by-and-large, these are the easiest items to get in a pinch, and it usually isn't worth buying them from the bazaar when you can otherwise get them naturally through other methods around london. once you've got a good lodgings setup and feel decently familiar with the earlygame zones and their options, you should aim to have at minimum 1,000 of these bad boys on hand at any given time, then feel free to sell any excess you make for some quick cash in a pinch.

menaces aren't as bad as you may think, but be wary of specifically suspicion! the four main menace qualities you'll encounter in the earlygame are nightmares, wounds, scandal, and suspicion. when one of these menace stacks reach 8, you'll automatically be trapped in a unique location corresponding to whatever menace you raised too high and will have to spend time working your way out. some (nightmares and wounds) tend to fly-by rather quickly, while others (scandal and suspicion) tend to take a bit longer to get out of. none of these mean the end of your playthrough or your character, and some quests even require you to visit certain menace-exclusive locations! there are tons of items and ways to reduce menaces and keep yourself out of Situations such as these, but suspicion in particular is probably the only menace you should avoid maxing At All Costs. when your suspicion gets too high and you get sent to its special menace zone too often, you build up a criminal record that makes it harder to reduce suspicion in the future. fortunately, suspicion is the only menace with this gimmick, and before this record gets too high it's just as easy to keep row as the rest of the lot. TLDR, death from wounds is easy to escape from, but avoiding the strongarm of the law is substantially more annoying and inconvenient.

or you could be like tumblr user @with-bells-upon, who's apparently avoided death at all costs and apparently hasn't died once in the entire several months they've been playing. i don't even know how they've gotten this far without doing that. it's kind of impressive, kind of funny. especially since their ambition is one the few requiring you to die to proceed. this isn't a piece of advice i just wanted to affectionately call them out because what the heck

speaking of ambitions, pick the ambition that's right for you! ambitions are the biggest overarching questline in the game, and their requirements and rewards span the entire neath and occasionally even beyond. all four ambitions are meant to be started early and last well into the mid and late game. outside of a certain special situation regarding the light fingers ambition (the only ambition that explicitly lies to you in-game when describing its premise) you can't change your ambition without spending money, so choose carefully and choose well. they're all (mostly) equally rewarding and equally fulfilling adventures that will define your player character and your journey through the neath. there's tons of advice and spoiler-free summaries of each ambition online, so i won't cover it all here. just do your research (or don't, if you prefer) and follow your heart. maybe playing the world's most high-stake poker game ever speaks to you. maybe you want to commit a murder. maybe you want to commit a murder in the name of justice and/or revenge. maybe you just want a really really big really really shiny rock. all can be found in the neath, and all shall (eventually) be well.

if you buy 400 lucky weasels you get a special achievement. i don't need to say more.

make up a guy. this is another legal mandate if you're a fallen london player. you have to make up your own little sicko victorian london guy and roleplay them while you play. trust me. it's fun. it's free. they're going to haunt you forever. the scoundrel got a nickname like 4 months ago and ever since my mind has never known peace.

and probably most important of all, fallen london might not be the game for you, and that's okay. it includes a lot of reading. and grinding. and i do mean a lot of reading and grinding. particularly the latter, which tends to throw people off the most out of anything. it's a very niche game for a very niche audience and getting into it can be an acquired taste at the best of times. but when you do get into it, it's some Really good writing and Really in-depth worldbuilding and the most fun you'll ever have imagining sicko victorian guys running around building train stations and railway tracks directly to hell. take your time, have fun, and most important of all, always look to love.

anyway yeah that's my fallen london tips and tricks list isn't it really short and comprehendible

oc ask game based on various dictionary dot com words of the day!

desuetude- they’ve made it to the seventh city. what relics of their past in London are they still holding onto?

gallimaufry- what’s their silliest outfit? the most chaotic jumble of items that would make no sense in real life but has excellent stats.

inveterate- is there a habit, good or bad, that they just can’t break?

absquatulate- what does it take to make them run away from a fight?

petrichor- do they have a particular scent?

axolotl- what’s their favorite animal companion?

primordial- what event in their backstory was the most formative to them today?

zetetic- how curious are they? has it led to anything particularly great or horrible happening to them?

subterfuge- would they make a good spy? why or why not?

plethora- do they collect anything?

naïveté- what were they like when they first came to the neath? what brought them there in the first place?

jubilation- what are they like at parties?

mellifluous- can they sing?

propinquity- what is their relationship with their family like? how do they define family?

assuage- is there something that makes them feel better almost every time?

denouement- what is their destiny? do you interpret it differently than what is written in the game text?

It's close enough to May yeah? which means it's May May, and also MerMay? :-)

[i.d. in alt text.]

This big ole guy took me a good while to finish! the character he has in his hands is @thedeafprophet 's OC Jamie Awnings. I really wanted to draw an absolutely massive Mer, and the Manager was the perfect fit!

His body and the 'scale' part of his tail are both done in Prismacolor, as is Jamie. His fins and the background are sone in Pen Inks used as watercolors.

Re-reading Evolution, and it's even better as a whole with some things from the final chapter in hindsight.

These enigmatic metaphors go too well with the Calendar Council's inspiration from "The Man Who Was Thursday" and what its author said: "You ask me who Sunday is? Well, you may call him Nature, if you like. But you will note that I hold that when the mask of Nature is lifted you find God behind."

My mind is passionately gnawing on an AU (NOT meant to be a theory, just a purely self-indulgent fantasy): what if "Death's twin" is literally Life – which makes December the Creator – and the Judgements are merely usurpers (very befitting their usual role of a flawed and cruel Gnostic demiurge who only pretends to be the highest authority) who deposed December just like they banished the Black King of the Adulterine Castle?

Or, if December isn't a deity, simply a rebellious servant (because the Boatman says "we both served the same table once"), what if it was a forced reduction from the former to the latter as a first-warning punishment?

What if this original god of life-and-death truly cared about all creatures equally, but then the likes of the Sapphir'd King decided to devour souls for more power instead of guiding them through rebirth (which Devils reclaimed + which somehow-December-connected frost moths represent) and devised the Great Chain to justify the right of "greater" beings to prey on "lesser" ones?

What if the Liberation of Night isn't an overthrow of natural order but is a return to what it should always have been (before "then the light came") and it's no coincidence that the Anchoress managed to behold god's love and true design only in the darkness? (High-fiving this @gant-eyed-warden’s post.)

What if the Bishop of St Fiacre’s knows it all – and that’s where his hopeful religious devotion comes from despite being a Neathy creature that would never be forgiven and accepted by the Judgements?

...I definitely want to write something about it, but I already have two WIPs, ooooh...

Dont threaten me with a good time now~

the opera was great, thanks for asking

I want to play Fallen London again but the problem with Fallen London is that while you're playing it's all perfectly simple and ingrained but the moment you step away for like, a month, then when you come back suddenly the entire game is like "If you really want to continue this storyline you'll have to get 9 Whispers of a Lovelorn Dream and sell them to an authoritarian rabbit in the 87.2th circle of hell where it'll bestow on you the Token of an Inadequate Perfume-Maker, but first you'll need to buy the Indefatigable Jetski from the Fulminating Dowager at Watchmaker's Hill by collecting enough Pieces of the Flayed Corpse of God and converting them into Baptized Rat Kings." and I'm like wow I cannot believe how recently I understood what all of that meant. but now I. do not.

hey don't cry. even Hell itself contains soup