History VideoGame / FallenLondon

** Something bad happened during the time of the First City. [[spoiler: Bad enough to nearly have caused the [[KillThemAll "liquidfication of the city"]]. The only time anything even comes ''close'' to that involves the murder of a Master and the abuse of the Bazaar's unbreakable word to claim a reward bigger than everything it can pay with]]. Most of what we know is that the Efficient Commissioner ''still'' has nightmares over the whole affair.

Fallen London can be played [[http://www.fallenlondon.com/ here]]. ''[[http://silvertree.storynexus.com/ The Silver Tree]]'', set [[TheVerse in the same universe]], was funded through Kickstarter. A spinoff game, ''VideoGame/SunlessSea'', is available on Creator/HumbleBundle, Website/GOGDotCom and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. Its sequel, ''VideoGame/SunlessSkies'', was released on 31st January 2019, and its story involves heavy spoilers for this game. A prequel VisualNovel, ''Mask of the Rose'', arrived on Kickstarter in February 2021, and is projected to come out by October-November 2022.

* DrugsAreGood: The use of Prisoner's Honey is in general portrayed as a fairly harmless if socially inappropriate ([[TheHedonist and bohemian]]) behavior that leads to some incredible dreamlike vistas, with many artists taking it in order to [[HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs inspire themselves for their next work]]. [[spoiler:Averted hard for Red Honey/Gaoler's Honey however, though not for the reasons one might expect, it's portrayed negatively because it allows those who partake it to interfere and mess with ''other people's dreams'', with very unpleasant results. In a more classical manner, overdosing on it will also lead to permanent and unpleasant BodyHorror.]]

* NoIndoorVoice: During the Fruits of the Zee Festival, you can befriend a Submerged Rector. His bell-ringing duty has made him hard of hearing, so much of his speech is SHOUTED. You can even take advantage of that in the Hinterlands when disputes between dioceses arise, by bringing him in to "noisily subvert the entire process".
-->The Submerged Rector likes the bit of the Counter-Creed about BELLS WITH CLAPPERS AND BELLS WITHOUT. [...] You are requested -- nay, ''begged'' -- to influence the Rector into departing, and a bothered-looking Bishop offers you a substantial donation.

* DrugsAreGood: The use of Prisoner's Honey is in general portrayed as a fairly harmless if socially inappropriate ([[TheHedonist and bohemian]]) behavior that leads to some incredible dreamlike vistas, with many artists taking it in order to [[HigherUnderstandThroughDrugs inspire themselves for their next work]]. [[spoiler:Averted hard for Red Honey/Gaoler's Honey however, though not for the reasons one might expect, it's portrayed negatively because it allows those who partake it to interfere and mess with ''other people's dreams'', with very unpleasant results. In a more classical manner, overdosing on it will also lead to permanent and unpleasant BodyHorror.]]

* ExcitedShowTitle: Three of the ambitions: Light Fingers!, Heart's Desire!, and Bag a Legend! Ambition: Nemesis, where the player character is on a serious revenge quest to kill someone who murdered their loved one, appropriately has no exclamation point.

Fallen London can be played [[http://www.fallenlondon.com/ here]]. ''[[http://silvertree.storynexus.com/ The Silver Tree]]'', set [[TheVerse in the same universe]], was funded through Kickstarter. A spinoff game, ''VideoGame/SunlessSea'', is available on Creator/HumbleBundle, Website/GOGDotCom and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. Its sequel, ''VideoGame/SunlessSkies'', was released on 31st January 2019, and its story involves heavy spoilers for this game. A prequel VisualNovel, ''Mask of the Rose'', arrived on Kickstarter in February 2021, and is projected to come out by June 2022.

* KnifeNut: Jack-of-Smiles, London's premier half-immortal mass murderer, favours those. It's not so bad if he just cuts your throat, as death isn't permanent in London, but he's still dangerous - if he slices you into chunks, you're not going to come back. [[spoiler:In fact, Jack 'is' the knives. He's 'in' the knives. If you pick up one of his knives, you're going to become Jack.]]

** Your Very Own Hellworm costs a whopping 200,000 Hinterland Scrips and allows you to draw a very profitable card while having it equipped in the Hinterlands. However, it is so ludicrously expensive that it is hard to conceive of a player who was wealthy enough to purchase it in the first place ever being in need of more money. Once you have it however, the real Bragging Rights Rewards come in. For the same amount of scrips, all 200,000, you can purchase riding accessories for your Hellworm, finally getting your Hellworm Saddled and Bridled, which makes the card you can acquire even more profitable. Then you can spend another 200,000 scrips to purchase some riding boots, which are powerful but no more so than other boots you can acquire much much much more cheaply. [[RuleOfThree Then you can spend another 200,000 Scrips]] to purchase some... Boot Polish. As of time of writing, someone purchased the Boot Polish, and so far it's ''indeed'' completely useless, not even unlocking yet another scrip-dump of an item. It is hard to see these items as anything other than a parody of this very trope.

** In general, the most expensive Bazaar items are usually not the best ones in each slot, but getting them is straightforward and anything that outclasses them is either event-, Profession-bound or Fate-locked, or requires a lot of time to grind for 40 Renown. In particular, the Scuttering Squad can also be obtained by trading in the Rat of Glory you can get every year for Sacksmas. Their only downsides are that you might get a rare conflict card if you also have a Midnight Matriarch, and [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts they don't "sell" for nearly as much as you paid for them]] (because of a stiff cancellation clause in their contract). The exception to this is the Overgoat, whose Watchful bonus is second only to its upgraded version (the Übergoat), but which is exorbitantly expensive enough to count as an InfinityPlusOneSword.

** Choosing a tier 1 Profession costs 5 Favours for a particular faction; advancing to tier 2 requires 2 Notability (Journalists can also spend 5 Favours: Bohemians and an Exceptional Short Story if they want to advance before becoming a [=PoSI=]); advancing to tier 3 requires 5 Notability and passing a 300 stat challenge). None of this is particularly costly or time-consuming; in exchange, the tier 1 and 2 Profession items are often very good by the time you can obtain them (if not best-in-slot), while the tier 3 ones can only be outclassed by the Mayoral weapons (which cost 40 Fate each if you haven't gotten them during the Hallowmass when that Mayor was incumbent, and even then they remain best-in-slot for one of the two associated stats) and the rewards of finishing an Ambition, and are the only items in the game that provide bonuses to advanced stats alongside said rewards. That being said, you can only have one Profession (and one Profession item by extension) at a time.

** Five actual weapons come the closest to being an Infinity+1 Sword (in term of main stats). The Waxwail Knife (+20 Dangerous) outstrips the Profession-bound items and even Fate-locked weapons, and can only be obtained through the game of [[PlayerVersusPlayer Knife-and-Candle]], which was removed from the game. The four others are the two Mayoral weapons: Feducci's Lance (Replica) (+20 Dangerous) and Private Debating Lessons with the Jovial Contrarian (+20 Persuasive), which can only be obtained for free during the Hallowmas when that mayor was incumbent, or bought for 40 Fate in subsequent ones; and two 40 Renown items: the Infernal Vinification Apparatus (+10 Watchful) and What Might Be A Thunderbolt (+10 Shadowy, with the additional caveat of having to be redeemed at the very hard to reach Mind of the Long-Dead God).

** The best home comfort item is the Shrine to Saint Joshua, exclusive to Midnighters (a tier 3 profession). For non-Midnighters, the best ones in terms of attributes are the Oneiric Key, Gleaming Buttons and Beatific Stone, all of which give 8 points to an attribute and require 40 Renown for (respectively) the Bohemians, Revolutionaries and Church. Meanwhile, if you want any BDR-giving home comfort, you have to either shell out 30 Fate during Christmas for an Incarnadine Robe (which can be exchanged for a home comfort that provides 1 BDR) or 35 Fate to buy The Ceremony Exceptional Story (whose potential home comfort rewards provide 2 BDR).

* NiceHat: Many of the hats. The Extraordinary Hat. Also the Exceptional Hat, [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial which has]] [[BrainFood never eaten any brains]], [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial despite stories to the contrary.]]

* PlayEveryDay: Time the Healer (which comes at the beginning of each week) provides your profession payment, halves your Making Waves and reduces Notability if it's higher than Making Waves (ensuring that you have to constantly keep Making Waves higher), reduces Taimen's Attention (which makes challenges in Khan's Heart easier), and is the only way to remove Irrigo (allowing you to enter the Cave of the Nadir again) and Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance (allowing Seekers of the Name to gain a point of SMEN from the black opportunity cards). The Castellan of Balmoral's gift is a particularly bad version, as it is ''supposed'' to be weekly but is not tied to Time the Healer, instead having its own living story that activates exactly 604800[[note]]60*60*24*7[[/note]] seconds after you last received the gift, meaning that it ''will'' slip away every week.

** Your Very Own Hellworm costs a whopping 200,000 Hinterland Scrips and allows you to draw a very profitable card while having it equipped in the Hinterlands. However, it is so ludicrously expensive that it is hard to conceive of a player who was wealthy enough to purchase it in the first place ever being in need of more money. Once you have it however, the real Bragging Rights Rewards come in. For the same amount of scrips, all 200,000, you can purchase riding accessories for your Hellworm, finally getting your Hellworm Saddled and Bridled, which makes the card you can acquire even more profitable. Then you can spend another 200,000 scrips to purchase some riding boots, which are powerful but no more so than other boots you can acquire much much much more cheaply. [[RuleOfThree Then you can spend another 200,000 Scrips]] to purchase some... Boot Polish. As of time of writing, no player has made enough money to make this third purchase, and it is hard to see these items as anything other than a parody of this very trope.

* AllianceMeter: Your Connected qualities keep track of how close you are to the various factions of Fallen London.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: The player, if they desire. There are a multitude of opportunities to betray people, factions, causes, your ideals, and your good sense. This is not a good idea with the Affair of the Box story, though: you have options that support either the PowersThatBe or their detractors, and if you waffle back and forth you'll acquire an "A Turncoat!" menace. If that gets too high, neither side will work with you.

%% insufficient context * CoolBoat: The Zubmarine and Majestic Pleasure Yacht...if you're willing to [[ThatOneSidequest pay exorbitant costs]] to build them.
% insufficient context * CoolPet: Many of the higher-level animal companions definitely count.

** Want an Impossible Theorem to upgrade your room at the Royal Bethlehem Hotel into a suite? The first part is to prepare ''49'' Searing Enigmata, each of which is already a fairly valuable item in itself. Then bring them to the University, where you need to pass a Watchful check with a difficulty level of '''500''', which means that you can only hope for a 38% success chance at best even with maxed Watchful, plus Notability and items. And if you fail, you'll lose a Searing Enigma, 100 Echoes and gain so many CP of Wounds to bring you from 0 Wounds to '''11'''. If you don't have a [[ImmortalityInducer Firkin of Hesperidean Cider]], then be prepared for a very time-consuming trip with the Boatman before you can even hope to attempt this again. Thankfully, it is possible to buy the Suite for a much cheaper price during January through Penstock's Wicket.

* TakeYourTime: Some storylets are presented with very urgent situations, such as being pursued by the police or facing a giant monster, but you're still free to LevelGrind, rearrange your equipment, and pursue other side quests before you actually attempt them. Downplayed by some Opportunity Cards marked as "can't discard." You can put them off, but you'll have to deal with them eventually. Some circumstances (such as having high Nightmares) will [[OhCrap will throw lots of these at you until they're dealt with]].

* AngelsDevilsAndSquid: Angels are conspicuous in their absence. The Devils are ever-present, preying on the weak and gullible. The Rubbery Men are alien and bizarre, and seem harmless to mortals, but the Devils can't stand them.
** It turns out that the closest thing to an angel in-game is [[spoiler:Echo Bazaar itself, which is from a species of alien crustaceans which carries messages between the godlike Judgements]]. Which means that Angels are [[spoiler: crabs]], Devils are [[spoiler:bees]], [[NonIndicativeName and even the Squid are sometimes sea urchins and coral]].

* ArtEvolution: The icons for actions and items have been replaced and improved over time.

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny:
** In one mission, you are attempting to trail a target through the carnival. If you fail, this happens.
** Since you can usually leave a mission, go off and explore the world or play around with other things, then return to it with no time in the mission passed or progress lost, gameplay can tend to give this impression of the player character.

** In the Heart's Desire ambition it's said that [[spoiler:this was so with the First City, with its priest-king making a deal to save his lover... who became [[GeniusLoci the King with a Hundred Hearts]].]]
*** In the same ambition we find out that [[spoiler:this was also the case with Gregory Beechwood, who used his wish to turn himself into the monkey, as he believed this is the ideal form to humanity. He came to regret this, and claims this trope as one of the reasons why the Marvellous must end.]]

** The ending of [[spoiler: the Finder of Heiresses storyline]] is pretty bad.

* BombThrowingAnarchist: The Revolutionaries, naturally. On their faction opportunity card:
--> ''Some call them the dynamite faction, [[BaitAndSwitchComparison but they're very far from united.]]''
** A Dangerous training option on that very same card states that [[ZigZaggedTrope even though the press likes to portray every anarchist as carrying a baker's dozen of bombs at all times, explosives are rare and difficult to use.]]

* BrickJoke: Early on in the Light Fingers! Ambition, you're led to believe it will be about stealing a "diamond the size of a cow" from Mr Fires. Much later on, when it becomes clear it won't be what you're going after, your character remarks that, "there probably won't be a diamond at the end of this" when boarding [[spoiler:a zeppelin for the roof of the Neath]]. Later ''still'', when [[spoiler:Mr Fires]] offers to bribe you to get what they want (which happens to be what you're supposed to protect), they offer a diamond, and your character directly asks "is it the size of a cow?" [[spoiler:It isn't, but it is [[ImmortalityInducer not a normal diamond at all]].]] Though if you trick Mr Fires to protect it, and [[spoiler:thus let the Hybrid escape and be free, in subsequent months of you getting the Rewards of Ambition your character might wonder how much it's grown, perhaps even to the size of a cow]].

* ButtMonkey: [[InformedAttribute Lucky]] Weasels. Despite their flavor text, they exist primarily to be sacrificed to [[TheGrimReaper the Boatman,]] used as plant food, [[BrownNote exploded from singing "Pop Goes The Weasel" one too many times,]] and [[BodyHorror left half-devoured but still alive]] by the Bifurcated Owl.

** There are also many storylets that do not raise minor qualities (usually Quirks) if they are above a certain value.

** Bag a Legend: [[HeWhoFightsMonsters The hunter and the prey may not be so different]]. You begin the story as a hunter, with the Vake being your prey. Then you discover that the whole thing was no more than a [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame game]] for the Vake, who lured hunters like you in with promises of wealth so it would have worthy preys to hunt for sport. You then ally yourself with the Sisterhood of Abbey Rock, an order of nuns who dedicate themselves to hunting the Vake, who themselves are also targets of it. [[spoiler:Both the Vake and the Mother Superior, the leader of the Sisterhood, become progressively more unhinged over their obsession of this mutual hunt, their ruthlessness mirroring each other, and a friend of theirs intervene to [[MercyKill mercy kills]] them, Mr Wines or Sinning Jenny respectively (though in the former's case this is optional and in the latter's case the kill is temporary). The player is also implied to feel a strong affinity to the Vake, which can be explicitly acknowledged, and regardless of which ending they achieve they take on a quality of it as their trophy.]]

* CircusOfFear: Mrs Plenty's Most Distracting Carnival, at times. [[spoiler:Especially if you're a Seeker of the Name]].

* CityOfAdventure: London, naturally.

\\ If you fail that event you get this.
-->''"Three ladies faint. So do three gentleman and a passing waiter. Two cats fall off the roof and and an elderly horse outside keels over. You are denounced in two newspapers and a sermon. What words! You have definitely gone too far this time."''

** [[spoiler: Playing as a Clay Man. Until you remember...]]

* CoolBoat: The Zubmarine and Majestic Pleasure Yacht...if you're willing to [[ThatOneSidequest pay exorbitant costs]] to build them.
* CoolPet: Many of the higher-level animal companions definitely count.

* CreepyCircusMusic: The tracks for [[https://failbettergames.bandcamp.com/track/mrs-plentys-carnival Mrs. Plenty's]] [[https://failbettergames.bandcamp.com/track/carnival-at-midnight Carnival]] in the mobile app.

* CulturedBadass: Any player who focuses on Persuasive and Dangerous. An NPC example would be Mr Inch.
* CurbStompBattle: Several, but one of the crowner is the winning text for "Wade into the Ring Fights", where you character doesn't pay attention to the fight at all:

* DaEditor: The player character, once you have created your own newspaper.

* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Many of the Black Ribboners have strong overtones of this, and many of ''them'' are [[HeroicBSOD traumatized wrecks]]. There's heavy DrivenToSuicide implications for some of them, too.]] Kind of [[TearJerker depressing]], really.

** You, toward your Ambition. [[SubvertedTrope ...Unless you decide to ignore it in favour of other storylets]].
** Also, [[spoiler:towards seeking Mr Eaten's name, if you choose to pursue the quest. After a while, it seems like it may be the only reason you still pursue it]].
** And figuring out what's in that painting...and attending to the needs of a singular plant... Come to think of it, a lot of opportunity cards are like this.
** Also, you when getting out of the Wounds failure location. The text on almost every single card there ends with "You must find your way back!" You're getting away from Death on sheer willpower.

* DevelopersForesight: Helped by the fact that the developers actively monitor the game and are[[ThrowItIn happy to add new elements in response to certain players' behavior.]]
** From Christmas 2013: the acquaintance system had received an overhaul, allowing players to send calling cards to each other. One brave and foolish player sent a calling card to [[HumanoidAbomination Mr Eaten's]] in-game account... [[OhCrap and got one in return!]]

* DifficultySpike: Once you become a Person of Some Importance, all bets are off. Challenges become much harder and carry much steeper penalties for failure. Menaces are ''much'' harder to remove, Nightmares and Scandal especially. Items that were once commonplace and cheap suddenly become rare and expensive, and resources are far more scarce.

** Potentially you, while seeking Mr Eaten's name. A lot.

* EatenAlive: [[spoiler:If you're Seeking Mr Eaten's Name, it is possible to do this to your pets.]]
* EldritchAbomination: A great many, including but not limited to the Masters, the Rubbery creatures and Flukes, the Eater-of-Chains, the Vake, and more denizens of the Labyrinth of Tigers than have yet been named.

* ExperienceBooster: The Talkative Rattus Faber companion is this in effect, since it reduces all attributes by a substantial amount, which make all challenges harder, causing you to gain more CP on average (if you don't mind the menaces or other penalties caused by failing the challenge that is).

** It's also easy to play this way, yourself, if you mostly indulge in earthly pleasures but refuse to deal with demons on principle. You'll raise both your Hedonist and Austere qualities quite a bit.

* EyeScream: Sorrow-spiders steal eyeballs, which [[spoiler: hatch into new spiders]].

* FisherKing: The Fisher Kings are an urchin gang, based on the Arthurian legend, but it's not clear whether their domain reflects their character. [[spoiler:The King with a Hundred Hearts]] is a GeniusLoci example, whose very dreams shape his land and his subjects.

* FluffyTamer: The Labyrinth of Tigers is full of these, and you'll need to learn their ways if you want to make any sort of progress inside.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Because of how the game is written, a lot of seemingly innocuous comments in early stories or events hint at considerably larger secrets of the setting that don't come to light until your stats are over 150. And then there are bits that hint at stories that aren't explored in the game itself - for some hints, such as the some of the archaeology works in the Forgotten Quarter, pertain to VideoGame/SunlessSea or VideoGame/SunlessSkies exclusively.

** The Bazaar is alive in some sense. [[spoiler: And it also appears to eat love.]]

* GentlemanAndAScholar: Any player who focuses on Watchful and Persuasive. (Naturally, this includes players who choose the Heart's Desire ambition)
* GentlemanThief: Any player who focuses on Persuasive and Shadowy. (Naturally, this includes players who choose the Light Fingers ambition.)
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Possibly the Topsy King. [[spoiler:Actually, [[DealWithTheDevil he bet his mind as a stake on a certain card game.]]]] Also, knowing some secrets in the Neath pushes your Nightmares attribute, and when it gets high enough, this happens to you.

-->" 'It's a fierce shame - they's both sing like angels, so they do. She was s'posed come back from the Forgotten Quarter last week. I fears the worst for her.'\\

** The Enterprising Astronomer's assistant (see Funetik Aksent above) has this effect, too. You notice the parcel is hemitting... emitting a low wail.
** Same with Zailors and their gratuitous Z usage.

* HalfwayPlotSwitch: The Light Fingers! Ambition is initially presented as being a heist story, about stealing an enormous diamond from Mr Fires, but it turns out partway through that it is actually about [[spoiler:saving Clara from her unwanted pregnancy]].

* IGaveMyWord: The Steadfast Quirk measures how many times you've done this.

* ILied: The Ruthless Quirk (usually) measures how many time you've done this.
* ImmortalityInducer: Hesperidean Cider, ostensibly, which is actually ''an ordinary commodity sold at the Bazaar''. It costs a fortune, though; even more than an Overgoat. It would take over three years of constant farming to get enough echoes to buy some. One player has, in fact, managed to become the first Hesperidean... [[BribingYourWayToVictory by pledging $500]] (in real money!) to another Failbetter Games project on Kickstarter. A second bottle was later awarded to a player for donating $1600 to Con or Bust in a charity auction. When used in the game, it [[spoiler:unlocks some extra content and heals all your wounds, and can be used an unlimited number of times, even when already dead (or, in other words, you'll never have to worry about your Wounds or deal with the Boatman again, except when you want to). It can also shared with any number of other players without losing it, making it a social CoolToy.]]
* ImpossiblyDeliciousFood: Perhaps subverted with the Sausage About Which No One Complains. It ''is'' apparently tasty enough to be used as an initial bribe, but the main reason no one ''really'' complains about it is because Mutersalt, a compound that paralyzes the vocal chords for some time when ingested, is the starring condiment. Otherwise it's just a sausage made of mashed rats.

* InsistentTerminology: ''[[BerserkButton Don't]]'' call him "Smiles."

* ItAmusedMe: The player's motives for ''why'' they do things are rarely delved into, leaving this open as a possible explanation.
* ItIsDehumanizing: The Masters are usually called "it", even though they go by "Mr" -- nobody actually thinks they're male.
* JerkAss: Any character with a high Heartless score, generally.
* JigsawPuzzlePlot: And oh boy are there lots of pieces.

* KarmaMeter: Several opposing player qualities tend to work this way, including Austere/Hedonist, Magnanimous/Ruthless, and Heartless/Steadfast. Like ''Franchise/MassEffect'', however, the qualities are not mutually-exclusive, which means there's nothing stopping you from, for example, being Magnanimous in some situations and Ruthless in others, though you may still find storylets in which the two qualities conflict. Entering the House of Chimes requires the player to claim some "exceptional" quality; one option involves having high Austere ''and'' Hedonist.

* KingOfTheHomeless: The Topsy King.
* KillEmAll: A possible ending to [[spoiler: The Cheesemonger storyline]] is to kill [[spoiler:Alice, her daughter]], [[AndYourLittleDogToo and their little dog, too.]] By way of [[EarthShatteringKaboom dynamite,]] that is.

* KnowledgeBroker: Trading in the "Mysteries," "Influence," and "Rumour" item branches pretty much makes you one. Secrets in Fallen London are a commodity just like echoes, jade, and glim. Though it's [[FridgeLogic never explained]] how your character [[GameplayAndStorySegregation keeps track of all that information with only 19th century technology]], or how many secrets a single person can reasonably acquire, especially [[ItemFarming when they frequent the same sources over and over.]]
* LackOfEmpathy: The Heartless Quirk measures this.

** If you ask Mr Wines to employ your maiden aunt, it will remark that 'She could almost be a sister to the delicious Mrs Gebrandt.' F.F. Gebrandt and your maiden aunt use the same character art.
** Similarly, the Inhabiter of Wolves shares character art with the Eater of Chains...

* LovecraftLite: The game's genre has been described by its creators as [[IncrediblyLamePun Comic]] [[CosmicHorrorStory Horror]].

* MakeUpIsEvil: The Quiet Deviless invites you into her chambers to confidentially show you her cosmetics.

* MarkOfTheBeast: There is actually an entire storyline revolving around having one of these.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: Resisting the allure of the nibbles tray at a fancy party is apparently such an amazing display of willpower that one partygoer ''applauds you''.

* {{Neologizer}}: Mr Pages.

* NiceGuy: Anyone with a high Magnanimous score becomes this, usually.

** The calling card of Jack-of-Smiles is smearing his red smile across Wanted posters - then, later on, showing the victim the real thing as he stabs the shit out of them.
* NightmareFuel: InUniverse; some secrets in the Neath are so disturbing that they actually give your character nightmares. If this happens too often, you GoMadFromTheRevelation.

* NothingIsScarier: The 99th day (the final in the cycle) of every visit to the Iron Republic is blanked out.

* OneNationUnderCopyright: While not a MegaCorp, the Masters of the Bazaar obviously think of themselves as merchants and traders, and are essentially the rulers of the city.

** Failing a duel with [[spoiler: Feducci]] or a Lethal Sparring Bout with another player will [[DeadlyEuphemism put you on the slow boat]] regardless of how many wounds you had beforehand.
** Similarly, failing to [[spoiler: rob the Bazaar]], regardless of your previous Nightmares, will instantly raise your Nightmares to 8, enough to drive you insane, unless you have a Nightmare-reducing item(s) equipped to keep you sane. [[TooDumbToLive Don't un-equip it.]]

* OpiumDen: The Honey Dens of Veilgarden bear a certain resemblance.

* OrphanageOfFear: The mysterious institution, known only as The Orphanage, where [[spoiler:agents of the Masters experiment on kidnapped orphans.]] High-level characters can open their own, and act as TheFagin to its residents.
* OrphanageOfLove: Alternately to the above, a nicer orphanage owner can dedicate their resources to supplying their charges with comfortable conditions and loving homes.

* PathOfMostResistance: On an expedition in the Forgotten Quarter, you can progress through one of three options: a cautious (50 Watchful check, consumes 1 supply and gives 1 progress if successful), bold (100 Watchful check, consumes 2 supplies, gives 2 progress) and buccaneering approach (160 Watchful check, consumes 3 supplies and gives 3 progress). Rivals' Progress has the same chance to increase regardless of your own approach, so that if you only choose the cautious approach, your rival will reach the goal long before you and force you to confront them which costs even more supplies and actions. For super lategame players, when actions spent become far more valuable than the supplies, the buccanering approach (and obtaining enough Watchful to remove the chance of failure) become key to turning a profit through archaeology.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: Sometimes, an Opportunity will have some thief you know of ask you to rob some down-on-his-luck bastard, like a Tomb-Colonist. You can pretend to steal from them, then steal a few more from ''him'' and give it to the Tomb-Colonist.

* PersonaNonGrata: You are permanently banned from entering the Empress' Court after finishing its main story, or the University if you choose to accuse the [[spoiler:Provost of Summerset College]] of the murder you've been investigating. Getting welcomed back is not easy.

* ProfessionalKillers: Fallen London has its share of murderers-for-hire -- many of which will even make sure their targets ''stay'' dead. The player can even become one!
** And it also has its share of Hobbyist Killers, in the form of the Game of Knife And Candle, where participants murder each other with "strangely boyish" enthusiasm.

* PunnyName: One story involves finding a thieves' stash in a graveyard. It's buried in the grave of "Eliza Trove" ("Here lies a trove" with a Cockney accent)

* [[RareRandomDrop Rare Random Result]]: Some storylets and opportunity cards have "rare successes" that give better rewards than their normal success results. It usually scales with the regular reward, too; low-tier Rare Successes tend to simply grant a few extra mid-tier items, while tests with already-big rewards tend to grant hugely valuable items on a rare success (commonly a Searing Enigma). There are also rare-frequency cards that give unusually good items or Moods that temporarily raise an attribute by a huge number.

** If Dr Schlomo's theories are correct, [[spoiler:the Correspondence can be used to do this]].

-->'''Revolutionary:''' Mad as you like, but if you believe him, sometimes rain falls up and time runs backwards. Not even the tyranny of nature rules in the Iron Republic. Imagine that! True freedom for all!

* ReallyGetsAround: The player has the option to seduce a ton of people for any reason they see fit.

* RecurringDreams: The Dreams qualities measure your recurring dreams.

* RepeatingSoTheAudienceCanHear: Successfully acquiring Tales of Terror!! during one's heist in the Flit results in this snippet:
-->Yes, of course you're the courier from her publisher, here for the new manuscript. No, you've not time to stay for tea. Yes, you'll deliver it safely. Heh heh.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The ''Nemesis'' ambition.
* RodAndReelRepurposed: The Fisher Kings are [[StreetUrchin Street Urchins]] that use fishing rods to steal goods from unsuspecting passerbyes.

* SadisticChoice: The Finder of Heiresses case ends with one. [[spoiler:You find the missing Comtessa, only to learn that her Clay Man kidnapper/lover has put her through a process that is about to permanently turn her to stone. She can no longer speak to you. You have the choice to kill her on the spot to spare her from a FateWorseThanDeath, or to leave her alive. The game leaves it deliberately ambiguous which choice was the right one, if any.]]
** The end of the Orphanage segment of the Light Fingers ambition. [[spoiler: You can release all of the prisoners, but the Orphanage will remain functioning and kidnap more orphans. [[BurnTheOrphanage Or you can burn it down]], with all of the prisoners still inside.]]

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: The Wry Functionary.

* ShopliftAndDie: In the Flit, if you try to rob the Bazaar and fail, you'll gain '''36''' CP of Nightmares - which will instantly cause you to move to the State of some confusion, unless your Nightmare-reducing equipment was good enough to give you a negative total.

* {{Snowlems}}: During [[ChristmasEpisode January]], players can buy a Noman from Penstock's Wicket, a companion formed from a mixture of lacre (or "so-called snow") and the player's blood to resemble that player. The Noman will eventually melt but you can prolong its life by feeding it some of your Quirks and/or Tears of the Bazaar and [[VideoGameCaringPotential forming an especially strong bond with it]] will earn you a rare, valuable item. Keeping it alive until the Feast of the Exceptional Rose in February is also possible and unlocks some storylets, but this is a [[SelfImposedChallenge massive challenge best reserved for players who can stockpile vast quantities of Tears of the Bazaar in advance]].
** In addition, [[spoiler:the twelve Mr Sacks figures that show up during Neathmas]] are lacre-constructs of the Masters. [[spoiler:''[[TheReveal All]]'' [[WhamLine of the Masters.]]]]

* StatGrinding

** To buy a a First City Coin, you need 111 surface currency -- and [[NumberOfTheBeast surface currency costs 6 pence]].

* SteamPunk: Averted. Despite being set in a fanciful alternate-history London, the setting is short on that genre's trademark anachronistic technology, and [[http://www.failbettergames.com/five-things-chris/ has been explicitly denied]] as belonging to it by WordOfGod. With the exception of a handful of discoveries in the Neath (such as the burning of glim to create powerful spotlights, ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld, complex rifles, etc), the science of Londoners remains largely appropriate to the era. The ''magic'', on the other hand... ''VideoGame/SunlessSea'', curiously [[note]]Due to the fact that Sunless Sea is a canon companion piece that happens along with Fallen London, with Fallen London getting updates that makes multiple references to what happened in Sunless Sea[[/note]], plays this straight, however, with things like thermobaric weapons, undersea towns, [[TransformingVehicle transforming submarine]], DeathRay, and even [[spoiler:engine reverse engineered from interstellar living rockets and ''an artificial sun'']]! ''VideoGame/SunlessSkies'' went even further, since it's set in space. [[WagonTrainToTheStars Space]] [[CoolTrain Trains]] is your most basic stuff there.
** There's an affectionate TakeThat if you write a Tale of the Future to please and impress the Empress's Court:

* StoryBreadcrumbs
* StrawmanU: The University has ''two'' on the same campus - secular, liberal Benthic College and Anglican, upper-class Summerset College.
* StreetUrchin: A whole bunch of gangs of them.

* SwordCane: Weapon of choice for the would-be CulturedBadass.

* TakeThat: According to a card in the Tomb-Colonies, your character, a supposed blank slate to be written by the player, hates [[Creator/AlfredLordTennyson Tennyson]] a lot.
* TakenForGranite: [[spoiler:The Countess.]]
* TalkingAnimal: A few, in addition to the regular sort. Rattus Faber are talking rats with a talent for smithing and mechanics, intelligent cats are involved in much of the intrigue of the Neath, and the late game introduces the Labyrinth of Tigers, kept by [[spoiler:the tigers themselves]].

* TearsOfBlood: A common side effect of trying to read the Correspondence.

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Attempting to locate an Impossible Theorem and fail will cause you to gain approximately 66 CP of Wounds, which means going from zero wounds to ''11''. If you're Seeking the Name, have a Stain on your Soul and sell it to the devils, if you go to the Forgotten Quarter and fail a very difficult Shadowy check, both your Wounds ''and'' Nightmares will be set to ''15''.

** One of the possible endings of the [[spoiler: Melancholy Curate]] storyline.

* UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay: As people diving in the deep, dark waters of the Magistracy of the Evenlode, even in the depths of the Earth where the laws of physics and reality are violated every day there is no real escape from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decompression_sickness Decompression Sickness]], which must be watched and avoided by not emerging too quickly. Granted, it's not an ''especially'' terrible thing when DeathIsCheap and people are MadeOfIron on principle, but it still bloody hurts.
* TheUnfettered: Anyone with a high Ruthless score becomes this.

* WasOnceAMan: This sometimes happens to those who strike deals with the PowersThatBe. Examples include [[spoiler:the Cantigaster]] and [[spoiler:the King with a Hundred Hearts]].

%%* WeaponOfChoice: Most of the Black Ribbon duelists have one.
%%** Colonel Pommery: HandCannon
%%** Father Norton: CarryABigStick[=/=]BareFistedMonk
%%** Mr Inch: SwordCane and [[TheBeastmaster assorted animals]]
%%** Captain Vendrick: KnifeNut
%%** Chi Lan: CoolSword
%%** Feducci: [[spoiler:JoustingLance]]

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: [[spoiler: Near the end of Seeking Mr Eaten's name, you're given the opportunity to skip the Obscurity sacrifices and gain St Erzulie's Candle for free. For once, there's no catch: the story continues exactly the same either way, and any qualities indicating that you took the easy way out are hidden even from your profile, so no one will know what you did except you. You can however accidentally blow your cover by, for example, putting St. Erzulie's Candle on your mantlepiece while equipping a Profession-locked item, which is impossible unless you took the easy route as your Profession is one of the sacrifices.]]

** EpilepticTrees: Tons of theories are sprouting up throughout the internet about these, most notably the first four cities. Helps that there's always certain tidbits that remain completely unsolved to this day.

*** This is doubly true for the Location of an Underground Organ, the reward for getting 40 Renown with the Rubbery Men. Firstly, it is weaker than two profession-exclusive items and one fate-locked item. Secondly, it gives the same bonus as the Unexploded Mine, the rewards for 40 Renown with the Docks, which is much easier to acquire favours with, making the Rubbery alternative virtually obsolete. Finally, it requires the player to access an item that requires unlocking with real money. Not only is it arguably among the weakest Renown 40 rewards, it is also the most difficult to get, and the only reason to get one is if you want to collect all the Renown items or you just really like Rubbery Men.

** There's one above the gate at the Shuttered Palace. It reads "Omnis Traductor Traditor." [[labelnote:Translation]]"Every translator is a traitor.[[/labelnote]]

* DeathByOriginStory: Comes with the [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Nemesis]] Ambition. You even get to choose whether it was your character's [[CartwrightCurse lover, spouse]], [[RelativeButton brother]], or [[AdultFear daughter]] who was murdered.

* ChristmasEpisode: December is typically marked by "snow" falling in the Neath that has unique properties like being capable of dissolving souls, and Mr Sacks coming around to ask for you to give it gifts instead of the other way around. [[spoiler:Except Eaten-Sacks, who actually will give you a gift.]]

* SchrodingersQuestion: If you're in the Labyrinth of Tigers' breeding program, one of the ways to prepare your creature is to tame it, but none of the texts specifies which of the beasts you discipline (it's always "your beast", "monster", etc.). You then choose which one you have prepared when it's time to breed, which means it's possible to breed a beast before actually capturing it.

* ShaggyDogStory: If you agree to take in the [[spoiler:Albino Rat]] at the end of the Plaster Face story, they tell you one of these: [[spoiler:The Albino Rat was once a friend of the Watchmaker's Daughter, and they were happy -- but then the Masters of the Bazaar started sending ominous messages, and the Watchmaker's Daughter felt that they wanted to own her. The Albino Rat tried to make a music box to soothe her friend, but [[DrivenToSuicide she drowned herself to escape]] [[TearJerker before the box was finished]].]]
** Of course, the Neath being what it is, [[spoiler: there's a strong implication she's not dead, but simply hiding among the Drownies - and now there are clockwork toys and gadgets rising up in bloody rebellion, and the Watchmaker's Daughter is likely deeply involved.]]

* MoneySink: The Firkin of Hesperidean Cider, which costs 180000 Echoes, and Your Very Own Hellworm, which costs 200000 Hinterland Scrip and comes with a saddle that costs a further 200000 Hinterland Scrip, which also comes with a pair of boots that costs yet another 200000 Hinterland Scrip, serve as big-ticket items for very advanced players to work towards (for the record, the most expensive item excluding these two is the Overgoat, which costs 11712.8 Echoes, and can be upgraded to the Übergoat if you have two).

** Reaching 40 Renown with a faction lets you obtain an item in a difficult-to-reach location that gives a +10 bonus to an attribute and some of these items are among the best possible for their slot. However, unless you had ''really'' high Connections before they got converted to the new Renown system, getting to 40 Renown for any faction is such a long and tedious grind with several other items existing that are only slightly worse and ''much'' easier to obtain than the 40 Renown ones that the items mainly just serve as proof of your dedication to that faction.

** Getting the Passion destiny is ''the'' epitome of this trope in Fallen London. Its Persuasive bonus is exactly the same as the far-easier-to-obtain Curator destiny, and to get it you have to 1) reach a specific ending of a Fate-locked story that requires you to [[CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption act like a complete jerk to one of your acquaintances]] (and this story isn't resettable so if you got the non-asshole ending, you can't get the Passion destiny period) and 2) draw a rare card that can be found only in the Bazaar Sidestreets (and by "rare", we mean "you might not draw it for ''months'' on end").

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Trying to take the "good" options in stories will often lead to the game punishing you, either immediately or later on.

* NotTheIntendedUse: The Flash Lay MiniGame in Veilgarden is meant as a simple long con simulator with a nice reward at the end. Alternately, with careful stat management, it can also be used to refill your opportunity deck at a cost of just two actions.

** The Viscountess of the Viric Jungle's mayoral tenure over London ended with one of these. It appears to have started as an attempt to gather more armaments for the Cats' war against the Fingerkings by [[spoiler:ransacking the dreams of the Stone Pigs, the Bazaar's symbiotic "propulsion"]], after she found the Fingerkings doing so successfully. The attempt was ''disastrous'', giving Londoners everywhere highly specific nightmares of being trapped under sand, causing a ridiculous mess in the Viric Jungle (her own supposed domain) by carving a giant chunk of sandy wasteland into it, and did ''something'' we're not told about that forced her to go into hiding, lest the Masters [[DeadlyEuphemism "extend their felicitations to her in person"]], and had the Bazaar authorities cancel mayoral elections for the foreseeable future "to prevent further Tragedy". It can also be inferred this screwed up her war efforts considerably.

* BribingYourWayToVictory: The game is free to play, but you can buy Fate points with actual money. With Fate points, you can refill your actions instantly, refill the deck of opportunity cards, reset your Ambition, change your name or portrait, or open access to certain exclusive story branches, which might either avert this trope [[note]][[ExpansionPack premium stories]], newspaper rename, naming for ships and spouses, Fate-locked conversations[[/note]], downplay it [[note]]small, grindable storylets[[/note]] or play it straight [[note]]branches with little story that only serve to give better rewards for paying players[[/note]].

* GogglesDoNothing: Thoroughly averted. They raise your Watchful score.

* HideYourChildren: Averted. One task involves starting a war between two rival urchin gangs. If you choose to do so rather than warn them, you'll hear that children are throwing each other off rooftops and into the river. Probably gets away with it because the character isn't actually inflicting the violence, and it's only a text description. Also, as DeathIsCheap in the Neath, the kids will likely be fine in the end.
** Except for the ones ending up in the river. Drownies have it bad.

** Carefully averted with certain choices, for example [[spoiler:beast breeding in the Labyrinth of Tigers]] and [[spoiler:acquiring Mr Eaten's Calling Card]]. All possible options are marked as luck challenges, but one is the "correct" choice to advance the plot, and it will have the same result whether you "succeed" or "fail" at the luck roll.

** And expanding on that, [[AvertedTrope averted]] once your railway makes it out to The Hurlers. The place is frightfully cold and dark, so your character decides the best way to keep the station's furnace lit is by just dumping Correspondence plaques straight into the furnace, one on top of the other. [[spoiler:Load too many however, and the ''other'' properties of the Correspondence assert themselves; the furnace takes on a life of its own and breaks out of the station, necessitating its capture to keep the station from freezing over.]]

** Once you leave them, it is impossible to revisit several Exceptional Story-related locations unless if you reset the story entirely: Caution, the Bleeding Forest, the Grey Vineyard and the Prison of Flint (in ''Flint''), the Lifeberg (in ''Where You and I Must Go''), the Wreck of the ''Pyres'' (in Our ''Lady of Pyres''), the Persona Engine (in ''The Persona Engine''), Henlys and the Gates of Hell (in ''The Twelve-Fifteen to Moloch Street'') and the Century Exhibition (in ''The Century Exhibition''). The Twelve-Fifteen to Moloch Street train itself is a Three-Time Dungeon, in that you board it three times during the eponymous story but can't revisit it without resetting the story either. The Silken Chapel, visited in an early Wolfstack Docks storylet is similar, minus the reset. Averted with Apis Meet (''Flint'') and Tanah-Chook (''All Things Must End''), which are permanently unlocked as new locations once the stories are completed.

* PathOfMostResistance: On an expedition in the Forgotten Quarter, you can progress through one of three options: a cautious (50 Watchful check, consumes 1 supply and gives 1 progress if successful), bold (100 Watchful check, consumes 2 supplies, gives 2 progress) and buccaneering approach (160 Watchful check, consumes 3 supplies and gives 3 progress). While this trope is averted for the easier expeditions (the harder options are not more supply-efficient, if not less so because you're more likely to fail the check), it is played straight for the harder ones (where you have to compete with rivals): Rivals' Progress has the same chance to increase regardless of your own approach, so that if you only choose the cautious approach, your rival will reach the goal long before you and force you to confront them which costs even more supplies and actions. For super lategame players, when actions spent become far more valuable than the supplies, the buccanering approach (and obtaining enough Watchful to remove the chance of failure) become key to turning a profit through archaeology.

** Averted near the end of the Light Fingers Ambition, where you're given the choice of accepting Mr Fires's deal or not. Choosing to accept it comes with an explicit disclaimer that it actually doesn't lock you out of going against it later.

** Among the items that can be redeemed from the Relickers for 3200 Certifiable Scraps, the Breath of the Void, Rumourmonger's Network and the Veils-Velvet Scrap have but one use: for Invisible Eminences to gain the London's Marrow quality (however, doing this doesn't consume the items and they can be safely sold after you've got the quality). The only 3200-Scrap item that averts this trope is the Reported Location of a One-Time Prince of Hell, which is necessary to upgrade a Guest Room in the Brass Embassy to a Sanctum if Penstock's Wicket is not open or you don't want to sell your soul. This leads to conversations between stars, velvet spun from the fur of Mr Veils and an entire intelligence network being sold for money because they were simply useless to you.