Ecdysis (Guide)

Early Firmament Content

Ecdysis Summary
Limited-Length Activity
Setup				Progress				End
1 A				9/19+ A				1 A
Progress Details			Raise Preparing for Ecdysis to 6 while managing your Bodily Tendency to receive either a Boon or a monetary Reward.
Items Inputs/Outputs Outputs Memory of a Much Stranger Self Direful Reflection Emetic Revelation Antique Mystery Tempestuous Tale or one of: Wide-Eyed Sharpened Partially Boneless Radiant Bearing Hallow Vessel
Raw EPA						4.86

How to unlock

You'll first need access to the Roof from the Firmament storyline, which will begin once you've reached Involved in a Railway Venture 40. Once you're in Hallow's Throat, you'll want to raise Lung and Spleen to 2 to access The Arms.

To unlock Ecdysis, you must ingratiate yourself to some smugglers in The Arms, either with a Persuasive 180 challenge if you have Twilit Smuggler 10, or a Persuasive 240 challenge and 200 x Stuiver.

This will increase Lung and Spleen and reward you a single Ascended Ambergris, after which the Proprietress will forward you to the Resculptor. Offer her the Ambergris and Accept her gift, she will introduce you to the process of Ecdysis. If you have somehow lost your Ambergris between these steps, another can be purchased at this time in The Arms for 100 x Stuiver.

This first round of the carousel acts as a tutorial and only allows the monetary reward "Emerge as a freshly-made self". You'll gain the Discovered: Your Own Discarded Exuviae quality, allowing Boon rewards on subsequent rounds.

This process will increase your Lung and Spleen to 8, from now on you'll be able to access the carousel via The Path to the Spleen in Hallow's Throat.

Progress

The carousel has two main qualities: Preparing for Ecdysis tracks your progress (21 CP to finish), while Bodily Tendency determines which kind of rewards you can get. Bodily Reshaping is a secondary quality that governs how the possible boons can be stacked.

At the end you'll be able to choose between two types of rewards: a Boon that lasts for roughly a week or a purely monetary reward.

• If you plan on cashing out, you can ignore Bodily Tendency and Bodily Reshaping and focus on finishing as fast as possible.
• However, if you want a certain boon, you need to pay close attention to which option will push Bodily Tendency into the range needed for your boon. Your starting Bodily Tendency is randomized, and the challenges are exceedingly high, so you might not be able to get the boon you wanted on your first try.

Starting from Preparing for Ecdysis 2, the carousel is heavy on menaces, namely Nightmares and Wounds. Root yourself in place is the only safe option and is always available, but yields 1 less CP Preparing for Ecdysis than the other options available on success, and always gives only 1 CP on failure. If you plan on only doing one or two Ecdysis cycles and have low menaces, you may consider it worth it to go for the safer option

It is important to note that menace gains are capped. Suppose you are at high menaces or are planning to do many Ecdysis cycles at once. In that case, it is most likely better to tank the menaces (they will not ever go high enough to kill you or cause you insanity) and heal once you are done with the activity. For this reason, the EPA calculations will amortize actions spent on menace reduction.

Building up Preparing for Ecdysis

Preparing for Ecdysis 1 (1 Action)

Option	Unlocked	Challenge	Success	Failure
Will your heart to slow	1 ... 41		+2 CP Preparing for Ecdysis Bodily Tendency randomized
Close your eyes	20 ... 80		+2 CP Preparing for Ecdysis Bodily Tendency randomized
Feel your breathing	70 ... 100		+2 CP Preparing for Ecdysis Bodily Tendency randomized

Preparing for Ecdysis 2-3 (4 - 7 Actions)

Option	Unlocked	Challenge	Success	Failure
Allow your blood to cool	1 ... 40	+ 16	+2 CP Preparing for Ecdysis Bodily Tendency lowered	+2 CP Preparing for Ecdysis +1 CP Nightmares (up to 7)
Listen to your humours		+ /50 16	+2 CP Preparing for Ecdysis Bodily Tendency randomized
Assert the mind's dominance over the body	60 ... 100	+ /2 16	+2 CP Preparing for Ecdysis Bodily Tendency increased (by 3 to 8)
Root yourself in place		8	+1 CP Preparing for Ecdysis	+1 CP Preparing for Ecdysis

Preparing for Ecdysis 4-5 (4 - 11 Actions)

Option	Unlocked	Challenge	Success	Failure
Reimagine yourself as something alarming	1 ... 51	+ 18	+3 CP Preparing for Ecdysis Bodily Tendency lowered (by 3 to 7)	+3 CP Preparing for Ecdysis +1 CP Wounds (up to 7)
Reimagine yourself as something unpredictable	20 ... 80	+ 18	+3 CP Preparing for Ecdysis Bodily Tendency randomized
Reimagine yourself as something malleable	50 ... 100	14	+3 CP Preparing for Ecdysis Bodily Tendency increased (by 2 to 7)
Root yourself in place		8	+2 CP Preparing for Ecdysis	+1 CP Preparing for Ecdysis

Cashing out

Money

The option to cash out is always available. The carousel gains you 320 and 37.5 worth of various items, in total valued at 53.5.

Option	Reward
Emerge as a freshly-made self	1 x Memory of a Much Stranger Self ( 25 = 12.5)* 1 x Direful Reflection ( 12.5) 1 x Emetic Revelation ( 12.5)** 1 x Antique Mystery ( 12.5) 7 x Tempestuous Tale (7 × 10 = 7 × 0.5 = 3.5)* -1 CP Wounds +1 CP Nightmares, up to level 7

(* Item cannot currently be sold for Echoes. Conversion-rate: 0.05 = 1)
(** Can be converted to Cryptic Clues at the Bazaar and subsequently sold)

Boons

Instead of a monetary reward, you can choose to gain a boon, Each boon gives between 1 and 3 points of Bodily Reshaping.

• You cannot have multiple of the same boon.
• You cannot have more than 3 Bodily Reshaping.
• Boons and Bodily Reshaping last until Time, the Healer's next arrival.

Option	Unlock Requirement		Reward
	Bodily Tendency	Bodily Reshaping	Boon	Effects
Open your eyes	1 - 20	<3	Wide-Eyed	Watchful +5 Bodily Reshaping +1
Sharpen yourself	21 - 40	<2	Sharpened	Dangerous +5 Dreaded +1 Bodily Reshaping +2
Obscure some of your bones	41 - 60	<2	Partially Boneless	Shadowy +5 Insubstantial +1 Bodily Reshaping +2
Smile	61 - 80	<3	Radiant Bearing	Persuasive +5 Bodily Reshaping +1
Refashion yourself into something more malleable	81 - 100	0	Hallow Vessel	Shapeling Arts +1 Bodily Reshaping +3