Destinies (Guide)

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Destinies are a special type of equipment item of which you can only have one at a time. They are generally acquired, or can be subsequently changed, during certain seasonal festivals. An original Destiny can be exchanged for a greater Destiny in Irem, a late-game location.

How to get a Destiny[edit]

Basic Destinies are currently available for free during four festivals: the Feast of the Exceptional Rose, Fruits of the Zee Festival, Hallowmas, and Christmas. The available Destinies and associated glimpses of the future are the same during all four festivals; only the method of starting the stories differs. In Irem, a late-game port, you can exchange a basic Destiny for an Iremi greater Destiny.

If you already have a Destiny, you can change to a new one during the same four festivals. The first Destiny change during a festival is free, while subsequent changes during that festival cost FATE. Basic Destinies can be changed in either the festival location or Irem; Iremi Destinies can only be changed in Irem.

Outside of festival weeks, you can also acquire or change your Destiny year-round in Irem for FATE.

Feast of the Exceptional Rose[edit]

Gaining a Destiny requires 20 Masquing. On the card The Feast of the Rose!, visit The Perfumer-Semiotician and spend 20 Masquing to reach The Gates of the Rose, from where a Destiny can be chosen.

Fruits of the Zee Festival[edit]

To find your Destiny at the Fruits of the Zee Festival, wait until the second week of the festival when the zee's bounty is restored. Then visit The Fruits of the Zee Festival, Restored! and Accept an invitation from the Drownies. They'll take you to The Drowning Feast where you can choose your Destiny.

Hallowmas[edit]

To find your Destiny during Hallowmas, you must first wait for Visitors at Hallowmas. The visitor you choose will determine which possible future you can experience and thus which Destinies are available to you. You can change this by taking different visitors until you lock it in at The Gates of Midnight, but keep in mind each visitor has a cost.

Every visitor requires Making Waves 5 and Nightmares 5 and will reduce your Making Waves. Most visitors also require other Qualities and/or cost other items.

Visitor Costs / Requirements A Possible Future: Associated future
A thud at the window 1 x Tiny Cave Fish The Taste of Blackest Brine An abyssal future
A greedy thud at the window
A furtive knock at the back door - A Darkness in the Air An obscure future
An unmarked black coach A Scholar of the Correspondence 1 The Chill of the Void A chilly future
A metallic rap at the door Embroiled in the Wars of Illusion 2 A Pricked Finger A silvered future
The Bishop of Southwark
A Diabolical Diplomat
A sword in the streets - A Blaze of Distant Light A jewelled future

Christmas[edit]

To find your Destiny during Christmas, you need an Unusual Pail of So-Called Snow and at least one level of Putting the Pieces Together: the Taste of Lacre. Use the Unusual Pail of So-Called Snow. Select the The Oracle of the Lintel and you will dream of The Gate of Tears where you can choose your Destiny.

Glimpses of the Future[edit]

Obtaining a Destiny is not a direct choice between every possible Destiny. Instead, your choice of possible future determines which Destinies you are offered. Once you glimpse a future, you cannot leave without choosing your Destiny, so choose wisely!

There are five different glimpses of the future, each leading to four or five potential Destinies. Some Destinies can be obtained from multiple futures, but (almost) all options within a glimpse give different Destinies.

Since glimpses of the future are story-heavy and Destinies have lasting mechanical consequences, this guide offers multiple sections to help you determine your future with a level of spoilers of your choice.

A handful of Destinies cost FATE when obtained, and a few others indirectly cost FATE because they require a quality from a FATE-locked story. The former Destinies are mechanically superior to other basic Destinies, while the latter are not. Both types grant the special quality A Charmed Fate. In Irem, players with a A Charmed Fate can obtain the otherwise-FATE-locked item A Questioning of Riddlefishers for free as compensation for (likely) exchanging their Destiny for a more powerful greater Destiny.

In-Game Hints (spoiler-free)[edit]

The branches to choose a possible future include a short hint of that glimpse's theme. This table simply shows those hints for those who wish to consider their options in advance but also wish to avoid spoilers.

Possible future Hints
A chilly future Destinies between stars.
An obscure future Nocturnal, anarchic destinies.
A silvered future Destinies in an imagined wilderness.
A jewelled future Destinies of conquest and immortality.
An abyssal future Destinies beneath the black waves.

Short Descriptions (story spoilers)[edit]

Each possible future features your character in a very unusual situation, where you must choose a path forward. This table briefly describes the situation and the choice for those who wish to choose a future they find interesting or avoid ones that would be out-of-character.

Possible future Situation Choice
A chilly future You are years into your journey, flying to a Judgement with the Bazaar and the other Masters. Have you grown fond of the others? Will you continue with them?
An obscure future The Liberation of Night is here and every light in the Neath is extinguished. Who will you save, if anyone?
A silvered future You are in Parabola, working for the Fingerkings. Today is the Feast of Masks. Which prisoner will you release?
A jewelled future You and your many allies are days away from breaching the Mountain-of-Light. What will you do with the power to bestow eternal life?
An abyssal future You are meeting the oldest Lorn-Flukes at the Drowning Feast. What will you give them?

Rewards of Choices (mechanical spoilers)[edit]

The glimpse you select and the choice you make within it will determine your Destiny. This table simply shows what you receive for each choice as well as any requirements those choices may have.

Note that during Fruits of the Zee Festival and Christmas — but NOT during Hallowmas An abyssal future also requires An Explorer of the Unterzee - The Captain.

Possible future Choice Requirements Destiny
A chilly future Aver it - Authority
Deny it - Gleam
Prevaricate - The Memory
Depart 10 FATE The Road
Indicate a fondness for the Bazaar Uncovering Secrets Framed in Gold (FATE) Passion
An obscure future Whoever you can - Gleam
No-one. This is what you've been working towards. - Gloom
No-one! Who cares? - Appetite
The Captivating Princess Acquaintance: the Captivating Princess 1
Your beloved Committed: You are committed to a relationship. The Oath
A silvered future The Bishop of Southwark A Brazen Fate - With Cleansing Blade (FATE) The Instrument
The Diabolical Diplomat A Brazen Fate - An Infernal Agent (FATE) The Instrument
The Bloody-Handed Queen - Gloom
The Genial Magician - Gleam
Mr Wines - The Curator
Myself 10 FATE Backstage
A jewelled future "...give it to the world." - The Revelation
"...reserve it for those who merit it." - The Curator
"..end it, as I swore I would." - Gloom
"...use it wisely." 10 FATE Backstage
An abyssal future "I bring the Bazaar." - Gloom
Myself - The Memory
Nothing - The Revelation
The Sky 10 FATE The Road
The Name St Cerise's Candle, SMEN 35 Torment

Choices for Each Destiny (mechanical spoilers)[edit]

Each Destiny can only be obtained by choosing particular options; some can only even be obtained from one path. This table is the reverse of the previous, showing which sets of choices correspond to each Destiny.

Destiny Possible future Choice
Appetite An obscure future No-one! Who cares?
The Captivating Princess
Authority A chilly future Aver it
Gleam A chilly future Deny it
A silvered future The Genial Magician
An obscure future Whoever you can
Gloom An obscure future No-one. This is what you've been working towards.
A silvered future The Bloody-Handed Queen
A jewelled future "..end it, as I swore I would."
An abyssal future "I bring the Bazaar."
The Curator A silvered future Mr Wines
A jewelled future "...reserve it for those who merit it."
The Memory A chilly future Prevaricate
An abyssal future Myself
The Oath An obscure future Your beloved
The Revelation A jewelled future "...give it to the world."
An abyssal future Nothing
Backstage A silvered future Myself (10 FATE)
A jewelled future "...use it wisely." (10 FATE)
The Instrument A silvered future The Bishop of Southwark (FATE)
The Diabolical Diplomat (FATE)
The Road An abyssal future The Sky (10 FATE)
A chilly future Depart (10 FATE)
Passion A chilly future Indicate a fondness for the Bazaar (FATE)
Torment An abyssal future The Name

Stats and Descriptions (mechanical spoilers)[edit]

Destinies that provide multiple stats are listed according to the stat they increase the most.

Destiny Description Stats
Shadowy Destinies
Appetite You may yet satisfy your hungers.
Gloom There is a darkness in your future.
Backstage FATE Your hands, secretly, on the lever that moves the world.
Dangerous Destinies
Authority Dominion will be given unto you.
The Instrument FATE It will end in war.
The Road FATE The sky will open to you.
Watchful Destinies
Gleam Lost in light.
The Memory You will change beyond all understanding, but something of you will remain.
The Revelation Everything will change. For the better?
Persuasive Destinies
The Curator You will preserve.
The Oath You will be true.
Passion FATE There will still be something beautiful.
Unwise Destinies
Torment It will end horribly for you.

Iremi Destinies[edit]

Acquiring one of the "original" Destinies is a requirement for weaving a greater Destiny in Irem. Exchanging an ordinary Destiny for an Iremi greater Destiny can be done for free any any time of year. In order to do so, you must first complete the story Evolution in order to gain full access to Irem.

The process of selecting a greater Destiny is very different from that of selecting ordinary Destinies. Irem's mechanics allow you to fully explore each possible future and see all potential Destinies before making a final decision. As such, this section of the guide is much shorter and more spoiler-heavy. For more information on Irem's mechanics, see Irem (Guide).

Short Descriptions (story spoilers)[edit]

Like the table for ordinary Destinies, this table briefly describes the events of each destiny for those who wish to choose a future they find interesting or avoid ones that would be out-of-character.

Possible destiny Neathy Tarot number Summary Correspondence description
The Mushroom numberless You form a transhumanist commune after the liberatory dark sets in. To see the world not with eyes, but with hyphae.
The Lovers VI As the world shrinks for you and your beloved spouse(s), the depth of your love grows, including into Parabola. The pull of mutual gravity willingly accepted.
The Chariot VII TRAVELLER RETURNING. You go East at full speed. Escape velocity.
Justice XI You continue The Great Work with the Calendar Council, spreading the Liberation through the Neath and eventually throwing off the yoke of the Judgments themselves. A long-overdue change in course.
The Hanged Man XII As the Youthful Naturalist considered, you transform yourself whenever you are about to die, eternally escaping death. The necessary sacrifice of a limiting part of yourself.
The Tower XVI You don't visit the Adulterine Castle or enact an immensely powerful Discordant Law: No thing shall be. Nothing.
The Moon XVIII You make yourself into a city, with a piece of the moon replacing your heart. A truth that can be felt, but never spoken.
The World XXI You return to the surface at great expense, trusting your ability to survive under the warm Sun. To win it all.
The Mask XLIX You were prepared when the Roof broke and the Sun killed the Bazaar, and continue the work for Liberation. To protect a truth with an armour of lies.
The Star LXVII (XVII in Earth tarot) You make arrangements with geographic powers to ensure a future for the Seventh City, after the Bazaar leaves. A course set by the light of something bright and distant.
Judgement LXXVII (XX in Earth tarot) You will enforce the Law and worship the Sapphir'd King. A reckoning no longer postponed.

Rewards of Choices (mechanical spoilers)[edit]

This table shows which Destinies can be obtained from each future. Many Destinies require items obtained elsewhere in Irem; these are not shown here. One requires being Committed: to a relationship. Another requires a very expensive and nonexistent fabric.

Possible future Storylet Choice Destiny
A Nearby Future The Ennui of Victory Nowhere to go but up The World
Not as you are, anyway The Moon
A Dark Future The Liberation, in Gant Plant the seeds of a new community The Mushroom
Plant the seeds of the Great Work Justice
A Neon Future June 22nd, 2023 "For you, of course." The Lovers
"For the memory of London." The Star
"That was simply how long it took to put my plan into motion." The Chariot
An Altered Future Doom/Knot Turn the Key The Hanged Man
No Future The Adulterine Castle, One Final Time Enter the cell, and end it The Tower
A Brilliant Future Inspection Day You have ensured there will be nothing to find The Mask
You are loyal to the Law Judgement

Mechanical Spoilers[edit]

A full list of advanced Destinies and stats.

Destiny (Neathy Tarot) Description Stats
The Mushroom (numberless) You will scatter a new spore.
The Lovers (VI) You will be joined.
The Chariot (VII) You will move on.
Justice (XI) You will remake the world.
The Hanged Man (XII) Death will take aim at you, and miss.
The Tower (XVI) No future.
The Moon (XVIII) You'll know it in your bones.
The World You will return.
The Mask (XLIX) You will keep a secret.
The Star (LXVII; XVII in Earth tarot) You will keep your eyes on the horizon.
Judgement (LXXVII; XX in Earth tarot) You will know right from wrong.

Instead of choosing one of the above Destinies, you can also choose to instead retain your previous Destiny and acquire a special Home Comfort. This item has a net advanced stat bonus equivalent to choosing a greater Destiny, though it is only available for Mithridacy.

Mark of Acceptance