General Tips for a Starter?

[Dufflebags]

Just started my first Captain. Looks like he's going to die at sea or just plain run out of supplies and money without finishing anything.... I just can't seem to find the destinations I've been given, and likely have spent my starting income poorly.

Any tips for my next zailor, or is there any hope at all for my captain pulling a rabbit out of his hat? I do appear to be in an area to complete a miscellanious quest, but can't find the specific landing spot for the mission?

[Skaarphy]

This is a bit advanced (just a bit) but there are a number of places where a "Something awaits you ..." action is always beneficial. One of those places is Frostfound with "Take tea with the squatters at the dock", where a SAY grants you one supplies, one fuel, and minus 10 terror.

The trick - which is a bit cheesy - goes like this: Use your SAY on the benefit, launch your ship and immediately stop it (but don't dock). Then wait the 60 seconds for the next SAY to come around. Dock your ship, use your SAY on the benefit, rinse, repeat.

In Frostfound - aside from reducing your terror to zero - you can accumulate fuel and supplies that way (the former goes quicker if you turn off your lamp, the latter only works well if your crew is small enough).
If you want you can tab out, read something or so, and tab back in when you hear the bell sound.

[Woudo]

Already figured out a foolproof method for this that is impossible to bugger up, is barely effected by the random island placement, and doesn't get disabled after a period of time.

- Start game
- Go straight North until you hit Whither/Codex.
- Go straight East until you reach Mt Palmerston. (1)
- Talk to the Deviless once, wait for SAY, talk a second time and sell your soul (2), wait for SAY, talk a third time and receive information.
- Go back to London and cash in port reports.
- Go straight South until you reach Iron Republic.
- At Iron Republic, open the shop using a SAY event. (Has a chance to not succeed)
- Keep farming SAY events and opening the shops until your Iron Republic: Another Day = 15. Track this using the Journal.
- Once you have Iron Republic: Another Day = 15, compile a port report to get Port Report: Fallen London.
- Go back to London.
- Trade the Port Report: Fallen London to the Brass Embassy, and the Blue Scintillack to the Scholar.
- Repeat process (3).


1 - If you pass Chapel of Lights while looking for Mt Palmerston, up and to the right will be Avid Horizon. You can collect a Hunter's Eye and trade in your Beginner's Luck for potentially an Eyeless Skull. Give those to the Curator in Venderbight on the way back to London and that's one or two Captivating Treasures to kickstart your money.

2. If you don't want to trade your soul, you can buy a crate of human souls in London with your starting money. This entire route is completeable without having to buy any supplies at all.

3. You can squeeze more value from your Blue Scintillacks by trading them at Varchas, which is always on the southern most row of the map, and in the same position. GrandGeode -> PortCarnelian -> Nothing -> Adam's Way -> Varchas -> Kingeater's Castle. The Blue Scintillack is worth 800e to the scholar, but you'll get 1500e worth of items by trading it at Varchas.

You can have a dreadnought within an hour on a fresh save.

[hat15]

how can u have a dreadnought within an hour if getting a new say requires waiting for 1 minute

edit
oh i see it raises it by 5 each time, then you can stay that way i think for subsequent fallen london reports
but you lose an iron doing this which i guess you can make up for pretty easily through selling then buying secrets later or killing fluke worms for secrets with yo big bad ship
but eh

[inkvisitor]

I disagree with do not fight.
There is a good reason for fight, each sinked and looted ship reduce your terror by 5-10.

[Skinny Pete]

Originally posted by inkvisitor:

I1m disagree with do not fight.
There is a good reason for fight, each sinked and looted ship reduce your terror by 5-10

Early on it isn't worth it, though, because other than the bats and small crabs, everything else can wreck you.

Even those, you mainly kill them because they are sometimes too fast to avoid.

[mb3]

A lot of people seem to be having problems with the food/supplies, and I do too. I wish the developers would just get rid of the need for supplies. Anyone who likes this game but is finding it a bit too hard trying to keep up with supplies, fuel, repairs, etc., you should try "A House of Many Doors" Its very much like this game but much easier, so you can concentrate more on exploration and story development. Instead of an underground sea, the game is based in a parasite dimension that called a house, but is very LoveCraftian. Check it out.