Editing The City of the Tracklayers (Guide)

{{GuideFor|Location=The City of the Tracklayers|Pages=The City of the Tracklayers#Hinterland City - Founding Body#New-Minted Currency#Leader of the Tracklayers#Hinterland City - Chosen Site#Hinterland City - Official Alignment#Hauling the City Out#The City Waning#Hinterland Efficiency#Hinterland Prosperity}}{{Audience|PostRailway|Evergreen=true}}
[[File:Hinterlandcity.png|right]]

{{ActivitySummary
|Activity=City of the Tracklayers
|Length=Variable
|Starting Actions=0
|Progress Actions=2
|Ending Actions=1
|Progress Details=Build and spend {{IL|Hinterland Prosperity}}.
|Output Items=≤2.5{{e}}:
*{{IL|Apostate's Psalm}}
*{{IL|Unidentified Thigh Bone}}
*{{IL|Ambiguous Eolith}}
12.5{{e}}:
*{{IL|Vital Intelligence}}
*{{IL|Puzzling Map}}
*{{IL|Nodule of Trembling Amber}}
*{{IL|Legal Document}}
*{{IL|Blackmail Material}}
*{{IL|Crystallised Euphoria}}
*{{IL|Verse of Counter-Creed}}
*{{IL|Lost Research Assistant}}
*{{IL|Holy Relic of the Thigh of Saint Fiacre}}
62.5{{e}}:
*{{IL|Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise}}
*{{IL|Primaeval Hint}}
*{{IL|Captivating Ballad}}
*{{IL|Searing Enigma}}
*{{IL|Stalemate}}
≥1560{{e}}:
*{{IL|Rumourmonger's Network}}
*{{IL|Vial of Masters' Blood}}
*{{IL|Seed of the Cedar}}
|Raw EPA = -
|EPA Notes = Ratmarket
|Raw SPA = -
|Boost Items= *''{{IL|Newly-Cast Crown of the City of London}}''
*{{IL|Khaganian Lightbulb}}
*{{IL|London Street Sign}}
*{{IL|Moon-Pearl}}
*{{IL|Phosphorescent Scarab}}
}}

One of the final acts of building the [[Railway (Guide)|Great Hellbound Railway]] is giving the tracklayers their own city.

Mechanically, it is [[The City of the Tracklayers|its own location]], available from the Railway Station where it's located.
This location has fixed storylets that are rarely used, and is mainly driven by opportunity cards.

This guide will cover the profit-making actions that are available in the City.


== Decisions ==

In the process of arranging the founding of the city, you will decide several of its aspects, which primarily change the stats required for some of the city's opportunity cards. Once the city is complete, {{IL|Hinterland City - Founding Body}} and {{IL|New-Minted Currency}} can only be changed by paying {{FontFate}}, while {{IL|Leader of the Tracklayers}}, {{IL|Hinterland City - Chosen Site}}, and {{IL|Hinterland City - Official Alignment}} can be changed through gameplay.

These decisions also affect the opportunity cards showing up in the City. (There is also a card affected by decisions outside the city, and a card '''added''' with a direct rail link. These are in the table too for your convenience.)

'''Note that the numbers in the table below refer to the value needed to succeed with 100% certainty, not the usual difficulty ratings in the wiki.'''

{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" 
|-
!Decision
!Affected Card
!Chosen Option
!Result
|-
|rowspan="5"|{{IL|Hinterland City - Founding Body|Appearance=Founding Body}}
|rowspan="4"|[[Genii Locorum]]
|ANY
|{{IL|Mithridacy|15}}
|-
|Furnace
|{{IL|Watchful|250}}, {{IL|Steward of the Discordance|7}}
|-
|Cornelius
|{{IL|Watchful|250}}, {{IL|Mithridacy|12}}
|-
|Manager
|{{IL|Persuasive|250}}, {{IL|Zeefaring|12}}
|-
|[[The Creditor's Moods]]
|Soul-tied, founding body NOT Furnace
|{{IL|Dangerous|250}}, {{IL|Zeefaring|12}}
|-
|rowspan="8"|{{IL|New-Minted Currency}}
|rowspan="3"|[[The Flow of Commerce]]
|rowspan="2"|Story-backed
|{{IL|Watchful|334}}
|-
|{{IL|Persuasive|334}}
|-
|NOT Story-backed
|{{IL|Watchful|334}}
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Mouths to Feed]]
|Lacre-imbued
|{{IL|Shadowy|250}}, {{IL|Monstrous Anatomy|12}}
|-
|NOT lacre-imbued
|{{IL|Watchful|250}}, {{IL|Artisan of the Red Science|12}}
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[The Creditor's Grievances]]
|Evenlode-aligned and soul-tied
|{{IL|Persuasive|250}}, {{IL|Zeefaring|12}}
|-
|NOT Evenlode-aligned
|{{IL|Dangerous|250}}, {{IL|Artisan of the Red Science|12}}
|-
|NOT soul-tied
|{{IL|Persuasive|250}}, {{IL|A Player of Chess|12}}
|-
|rowspan="11"|{{IL|Leader of the Tracklayers}}
|rowspan="11"|[[Assist (Tracklayers Leader)]]
|Furnace, with Balmoral as chosen site
|{{IL|A Player of Chess|12}}
|-
|rowspan="2"|Furnace
|{{IL|Persuasive|300}}, {{IL|A Player of Chess|10}}
|-
| -2 {{IL|Appalling Secret}}
|-
|rowspan="2"|Cornelius
|{{IL|Persuasive|300}}, {{IL|Monstrous Anatomy|10}}
|-
| -1 {{IL|Appalling Secret}}
|-
|rowspan="2"|Fires' Lackey
|{{IL|Persuasive|300}}, {{IL|Mithridacy|10}}
|-
|{{IL|Persuasive|300}}, {{IL|Zeefaring|10}}
|-
|rowspan="3"|Your Lackey
|{{IL|Persuasive|300}}, {{IL|Zeefaring|10}}
|-
|{{IL|Persuasive|300}}, {{IL|Mithridacy|10}}
|-
|{{IL|Watchful|300}}, {{IL|Zeefaring|10}}
|-
|January
|{{IL|Persuasive|300}}, {{IL|Mithridacy|12}}
|-
|rowspan="11"|{{IL|Hinterland City - Chosen Site|Appearance=Chosen Site}} /<br>{{IL|Charter of the Great Hellbound Railway|Appearance=Railway Charter}} /<br>{{IL|Involved in a Railway Venture|Appearance=Rail Access}}
|rowspan="11"|[[Troubled Times Recur]]
|Ealing
|{{IL|Watchful|250}}, {{IL|Shapeling Arts|12}}
|-
|Evenlode
|{{IL|Watchful|250}}, {{IL|Monstrous Anatomy|12}}
|-
|Balmoral
|{{IL|Persuasive|250}}, {{IL|A Player of Chess|12}}
|-
|Station VIII
|{{IL|Shadowy|250}}, {{IL|Mithridacy|12}}
|-
|Burrow-Infra-Mump
|{{IL|Persuasive|250}}, {{IL|Glasswork|12}}
|-
|Moulin/Hurlers
|{{IL|Watchful|250}}, {{IL|Mithridacy|12}}
|-
|Marigold
|{{IL|Shadowy|250}}, {{IL|Zeefaring|12}}
|-
|Direct Rail, Wealth/Church/Hell charter
|{{IL|A Player of Chess|15}}
|-
|Direct Rail, Charity charter
|{{IL|A Player of Chess|14}}
|-
|Direct Rail, Science charter
|{{IL|Artisan of the Red Science|15}}
|-
|Direct Rail, Worker charter
|{{IL|Zeefaring|15}}
|-
|rowspan="5"|{{IL|Patronage of the Prehistoricists|Appearance=Patronage}} /<br>{{IL|Train through Parabola|Appearance=Parabola Train}} /<br> {{IL|Route Taken to Evenlode|Appearance=Evenlode Route}}
|rowspan="5"|[[Denizens of the Neath]]
|Ferrocephalus Real
|{{IL|Dangerous|250}}, {{IL|Monstrous Anatomy|12}}
|-
|Train NOT through Parabola
|{{IL|Watchful|250}}, {{IL|Monstrous Anatomy|12}}
|-
|Train through Parabola/Parabolan Spur Line
|{{IL|Watchful|250}}, {{IL|Glasswork|12}}
|-
|Evenlode Plains/Plains Spur Line
|{{IL|Dangerous|250}}, {{IL|Kataleptic Toxicology|12}}
|-
|Evenlode Hills/Hills Spur Line
|{{IL|Persuasive|250}}, {{IL|Zeefaring|12}}
|-
|rowspan="2"|{{IL|Involved in a Railway Venture|Appearance=Rail Access}} /<br>{{IL|Hinterland City - Official Alignment|Appearance=Official Alignment}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Merely Passing Through]]
|Direct Rail
|{{IL|Persuasive|334}}
|-
|Direct Rail, Complacently Unrevolutionary
|{{IL|Persuasive|250}}, {{IL|Mithridacy|12}}
|}

== Location ==

The location of the City of the Tracklayers is initially determined via [[Take the vote and declare Victory in the matter of locating the TLU city|board meeting]] right before finishing the railway line.

You can change the city location after the fact by playing the [[Hauling the City Out]] storylet, which costs:

* {{IL|Much-Needed Gap|1x}}, best obtained from [[Khaganian Intrigue (Guide)|Intrigues in the Khanate]]
* {{IL|Vitreous Almanac|5x}}, see [[Cartography Grinding (Guide)#Vitreous_Almanac]] for possible sources
* All your current {{IL|Hinterland Efficiency}}

The actual movement is based on the results of a combined {{IL|Persuasive}} and {{IL|Artisan of the Red Science}} check. If you succeed, it moves the City closer to Hell / Marigold Station (if possible); failure moves it further away from Hell and towards Ealing Gardens. If you want a certain failure, equipping a {{IL|Weasel of Woe}} is a good idea.

Moving the city also gives you {{IL|The City Waning|10 CP}}, {{IL|Tracklayers' Displeasure|5 CP}} and {{IL|Wounds}}.

Since rebuilding {{IL|Hinterland Efficiency}} costs quite a few actions, it is advisable to do all the moving fairly close together, and only rebuild your Efficiency afterwards.

== Economy ==

The "currency" of the Tracklayers' City is {{IL|Hinterland Prosperity}}, valued the same as 1 {{IL|Penny}}.

You can gain and spend Hinterland Prosperity by playing cards, there are no fixed storylets to cash it out, nor is there a separate exchange (the Bazaar tab is the same as in the Hinterlands).

Many of the opportunity cards have an option that, on success, give you 200 or 220 + {{IL|Hinterland Efficiency}} points of {{IL|Hinterland Prosperity}}. Most options that have the higher payout require a double check of one of the base stats ({{IL|Watchful}}, {{IL|Persuasive}}, {{IL|Dangerous}}, {{IL|Shadowy}}) plus one of the [[Advanced Skills (Guide)|advanced skills]].

{{IL|Hinterland Efficiency}} starts at 0 and is capped to 300. You can raise it by first raising {{IL|Developing...}} to 5, and then playing [[A Project Concludes]] that resets it, and raises {{IL|Hinterland Efficiency}} by 50. You can raise {{IL|Developing...}} by playing [[Matters of Infrastructure]] (unlock) and then [[Developing Infrastructure]].

=== Cashing Out Hinterland Prosperity ===

You need to play cards to exchange Hinterland Prosperity for other items. Some of these cards only become visible with a certain amount of Hinterland Prosperity.

{| class="article-table mw-collapsible 
|-
!Card
!Option
!Unlock {{IL|Hinterland Prosperity|Appearance=HP}}
!Nominal Value ({{E}})
!Item Gained
!Special Consideration
|-
|[[Charting the Hinterland]]
|[[Collate the results of an expedition]]
|1,050
|12.50
|{{IL|Puzzling Map}}
|
|-
|[[Mouths to Feed]]
|[[Engage in a little light price gouging]]
|1,050
|(12.50)
|15 x {{IL|Ambiguous Eolith}}, 5 x {{IL|Unidentified Thigh Bone}}
|
|-
| rowspan="7" |[[Imports and Exports]]
|[[Rubbery liaisons]]
|1,050/1,000<ref>1,000 base when {{IL|Hinterland City - Chosen Site|Appearance=Chosen Site}} is 1 (Near Ealing Gardens), otherwise 1,050 base</ref>
|12.50
|{{IL|Nodule of Trembling Amber}}
|
|-
|[[Real estate development]]
|1,050/1,000<ref>1,000 base when {{IL|Hinterland City - Chosen Site|Appearance=Chosen Site}} is 2 (Above the Magistracy of the Evenlode), otherwise 1,050 base</ref>
|12.50
|{{IL|Legal Document}}
|
|-
|[[Vibrations on the web]]
|1,050/1,000<ref>1,000 base when {{IL|Hinterland City - Chosen Site|Appearance=Chosen Site}} is 3 (Outside of Balmoral), otherwise 1,050 base</ref>
|12.50
|{{IL|Vital Intelligence}}
|Can be sold for {{IL|Hinterland Scrip}}
|-
|[[Trade with the Masters]]
|1,050/1,000<ref>1,000 base when {{IL|Hinterland City - Chosen Site|Appearance=Chosen Site}} is 4 (In the Shadow of Station VIII), otherwise 1,050 base</ref>
|12.50
|{{IL|Crystallised Euphoria}}
|
|-
|[[The book trade]]
|1,050/1,000<ref>1,000 base when {{IL|Hinterland City - Chosen Site|Appearance=Chosen Site}} is 5 (In the Parish of Burrow), otherwise 1,050 base</ref>
|12.50
|{{IL|Verse of Counter-Creed}}
|Can be converted into Scrip via your [[Lend religiously|Jericho Library]], or into even more Scrip [[A Jurisdictional Dispute|via an Upper River card]] if you have {{IL|A Submerged Rector}}. Or directly into {{e}} [[Correct a Verse of Counter-Creed|via an option]] if you have {{IL|A Church in the Wild|50}}
|-
|[[Academic encounters]]
|1,050/1,000<ref>1,000 base when {{IL|Hinterland City - Chosen Site|Appearance=Chosen Site}} is 6 (Between Moulin's Wastes and the Cold of Hurlers), otherwise 1,050 base</ref>
|(12.50)
|{{IL|Lost Research Assistant}}
|Can only be "sold" during an Urchin War world event
|-
|[[Infernal encounters]]
|1,050/1,000<ref >1,000 base when {{IL|Hinterland City - Chosen Site|Appearance=Chosen Site}} is 7 (Near Marigold), otherwise 1,050 base</ref>
|12.50
|{{IL|Blackmail Material}}
|
|-
|[[Merely Passing Through]]
|[[Investigate the souvenir stalls]]
|6,250
|62.50
|{{TableList|{{IL|Holy Relic of the Thigh of Saint Fiacre|x 1}}|{{IL|Verse of Counter-Creed|x 3}}|{{IL|Apostate's Psalm|x 5}}}}
|Relics can be valuable in [[Assembling a Skeleton (Guide)/Recipes#Sainted skeletons|certain skeletons]]; the verses can be converted into Scrip via your [[Lend religiously|Jericho Library]], or into even more Scrip [[A Jurisdictional Dispute|via an Upper River card]] if you have {{IL|A Submerged Rector}}
|-
|[[The Flow of Commerce]]
|[[Help yourself to one of the stories he isn't watching]],<br/>[[Convert a few tales into a safer form of art]]
|6,250
|62.50
|{{IL|Captivating Ballad}}
|Can be sold at the Khanate for {{IL|Assortment of Khaganian Coinage|Appearance=Khaganian Coinage}}. Can be sold at [[The Rat Market (Guide)|The Rat Market]] for extra profit
|-
|[[Officially Non-Criminal]]
|[[Give Mr Wines one in the eye]]
|31,250
|312.50
|5 x {{IL|Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise}}
|Can be sold at the Khanate for {{IL|Assortment of Khaganian Coinage|Appearance=Khaganian Coinage}}. It is no longer possible to make extra profit by then buying {{IL|Crackling Device|Appearance=Crackling Devices}} to sell at [[The Rat Market (Guide)|The Rat Market]].
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[A Visit from Virginia]]
|[[Request connections]]
|156,000
|1,560.00
|{{IL|Rumourmonger's Network}}
|
|-
|[[Request a trophy from a shared enemy]]
|156,250
|1,562.60
|{{IL|Vial of Masters' Blood}}
|
|-
|[[Request a seed of the cedar]]
|156,250
|
|{{IL|Seed of the Cedar}}
|Has no known uses after finishing the Railway storyline, and cannot be sold
|}
<references />

=== Analysis ===

Once you've raised {{IL|Hinterland Efficiency}} to its maximum of 300, most opportunity cards offer a 5 or 5.2 EPA option. For several of the items that can be obtained for {{IL|Hinterland Prosperity}}, this is the most action-efficient source. There are also a few options (like [[Landscape in Moonlight]] and [[A visitor for (Leader of the Tracklayers)]]) that pay out an additional 0.3{{E}} in items.

If you turn your {{IL|Hinterland Prosperity|Appearance=Prosperity}} into {{IL|Captivating Ballad|Appearance=Captivating Ballads}} and then sell them at the [[The Rat Market (Guide)|Rat Market]]; this raises the efficiency to somewhere between 5.86 and 6.06 EPA, depending on how many 5 and 5.2 EPA actions you manage to play. This comes with the limitation of only being able to sell to the Rat Market at some weekends and the reducing Rat Market price bonus as your sales increase.

Another payout option is to go through {{IL|Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise}}. This is a remarkably good source of {{IL|Vial of Tears of the Bazaar}} via [[A Presumptuous Little Opportunity]] and is useful for those aiming for a long-lived [[Noman Tattoo (Guide)|Noman]].

{{IL|Holy Relic of the Thigh of Saint Fiacre|8x}} can be combined (together with {{IL|Segmented Ribcage|3x}} and other items) into a  [[Assembling a Skeleton (Guide)/Recipes#Sainted skeletons|spider skeleton]] and sold to [[A Familiar Bohemian Sculptress]]. The only repeatable source for the Segmented Ribcage is [[Port Cecil (Guide)|Port Cecil]], where you can spend 14 actions for {{IL|Segmented Ribcage|3x}} (plus one {{IL|Lost Research Assistant}}). To compensate for the cost of the Zailing actions to get to Port Cecil, you'll likely want to do several iterations of the carousel at Port Cecil, all without profitable access to the opportunity deck. It's tradeoffs all the way down.

=== Profit Through Board Meetings ===

If you have

* {{IL|Involved in a Railway Venture|140}}, that is, you have built the spur line to the City of the Tracklayers
* {{IL|Charter of the Great Hellbound Railway|exactly 1}}, that is, Wealth-seeking (which you can change through a board meeting)
* High {{IL|A Player of Chess}} (15 for 100% success rate, still worth playing at 14)

then playing the option [[Reckon with the wealth-seeking charter of the GHR]] of the card [[Troubled Times Recur]] not only gives you up to 520 points of {{IL|Hinterland Prosperity}}, but also decreases {{IL|In Corporate Debt}} by one and sometimes even two points.

With this setup, you can once a week convene [[Railway Board (Guide)|a Board Meeting]], [[Vote a dividend to the shareholders]] twice, and then gradually reduce {{IL|In Corporate Debt}} through the above-mentioned option. This way, there is no need to juggle board members to reduce corporate debt, raising the efficiency of the dividends option and reducing actions spent in the board meeting. 

With maxed out {{IL|Train Luxuries}}, you get for each dividend:

* {{IL|Moon-Pearl|4800x}}, worth 48 {{E}}
* {{IL|Magnificent Diamond|2x}}, worth 25 {{E}}
* {{IL|Bottle of Broken Giant 1844|2x}}, worth 5 {{E}}
* {{IL|In Corporate Debt}}: 5 CP for the first, 7 CP for the second dividend

so a total of 78 {{E}} per dividend, or 156 {{E}} for two dividends.

On a minimal board you'll spend one action proposing the dividend, at least four actions convincing your members, and one to accept the final vote. Two times for two dividends makes 12 or more actions. This part alone is up to 13 EPA. Of course, you cannot just add the profits and actions you spend on the [[Troubled Times Recur]] card, because you'll have to draw and play many cards to get your nearly 12 draws of this card to wipe out your corporate debt. Let's just say that if you want to spend lots of time in the City of the Tracklayers and have high {{IL|A Player of Chess}}, this scheme gives some nice extra boost to profits once a week.

Speaking of high {{IL|A Player of Chess}}, if you play [[Subvert the Revolution]] often enough to wipe out all revolutionary alignment of your city, it makes the Chess check easier by two points, so you "only" need {{IL|A Player of Chess|13}} for 100% success rate.

==Communing==
The Tracklayer's City also brings the opportunity to commune with three chthonic entities; the TLU City, the Creditor, and London. The former two are accessible in the City, but London is (obviously) in London, specifically {{IL|Your Activities}}. Each communion must be carried out at least once as part of the City storyline, but can be repeated even after the storyline is over for profit.

Each of the three communions revolves around various advanced skill checks to raise {{IL|The Mind's Ascent}}, with each offering different checks when you have {{IL|The Mind's Ascent|}} 1, 2 and 3; once this reaches 4 the mind of the chthonic entity can be entered, with the reward being granted on leaving the mind. Failures on these checks grant {{IL|Nightmares|+2 CP}}, whereas successes grant {{IL|The Mind's Ascent|+1 CP}}.

{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Mind
!Challenges
!Reward
!EPA<ref>Assuming all checks are successful</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[Reach out to the mind of the city|TLU City]]
|{{TableList|{{IL|Monstrous Anatomy}} 10|{{IL|Shapeling Arts}}10 |{{IL|Kataleptic Toxicology}} 10}}
| rowspan="3" |{{IL|Searing Enigma|x 1}}
| rowspan="3" |5.68
|-
|{{TableList|{{IL|Artisan of the Red Science}} 10|{{IL|Zeefaring}} 10|{{IL|Steward of the Discordance}} 4}}
|-
|{{TableList|{{IL|Mithridacy}} 10|{{IL|Glasswork}} 10|{{IL|A Player of Chess}} 10|{{IL|Chthonosophy}} ??}}
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[Reach out to the mind of the Creditor|Creditor]]
|{{TableList|{{IL|Monstrous Anatomy}} 10|{{IL|Shapeling Arts}}10 |{{IL|Kataleptic Toxicology}} 10}}
| rowspan="3" |{{IL|Primaeval Hint|x 1}}
| rowspan="3" |5.68
|-
|{{TableList|{{IL|Artisan of the Red Science}} 10|{{IL|Zeefaring}} 10|{{IL|Steward of the Discordance}} 4}}
|-
|{{TableList|{{IL|Mithridacy}} 10|{{IL|Glasswork}} 10|{{IL|A Player of Chess}} 10|{{IL|Chthonosophy}} ??}}
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[Reach Out to the Mind of London|London]]
|{{TableList|{{IL|Monstrous Anatomy}} 10|{{IL|Shapeling Arts}}10 |{{IL|Kataleptic Toxicology}} 10}}
| rowspan="3" |{{TableList|{{IL|Stalemate|x 1}}|{{IL|Nightmares|+5 CP}}}}
| rowspan="3" |4.88<ref>Factoring in {{IL|Tinned Ham}} conversion of scrip to echoes, and ignoring menaces</ref>
|-
|{{TableList|{{IL|Artisan of the Red Science}} 10|{{IL|Zeefaring}} 10|{{IL|Steward of the Discordance}} 4}}
|-
|{{TableList|{{IL|Mithridacy}} 10|{{IL|A Player of Chess}} 10|{{IL|Chthonosophy}} ??}}
|}

Note that communion with London gives an additional {{IL|Nightmares|+14 CP}} on your first visit, and {{IL|Nightmares|+5 CP}} on subsequent visits.