Embroiled in the Wars of Illusion (Guide)
![]() |
Early PoSI Content |
Guide to progressing Embroiled in the Wars of Illusion, both part of and a continuation of the
A Name Whispered in Darkness storyline.
Level 0: The Heights of Chicanery[edit]
The Wars of Illusion story begins in The Flit at
A Name Whispered in Darkness 6 in the storylet The Heights of Chicanery. There is a secret world beyond what you've already discovered about The Flit, and to uncover it, you start with what worked before: following couriers and finding out what they know.
Increasing Embroiled in the Wars of Illusion to 2 requires rare successes on particular options from The Heights of Chicanery, some of which require certain levels of
Seeking... and/or
Investigating... to access.
You can use the options in The Tricks of the Courier's Trade to build Investigating... and Shadowing Couriers to build
Seeking.... (Alternatively, if you have other sources for
Investigating... and/or
Seeking..., you can use those storylets to build them up and then spend them here.)
The several of the following options give Embroiled on a rare success (+1 CP, except for Dropping the Eaves, which awards +2 CP).
Storylet | Option | Req. | Challenge | Success | Rare Success | Failure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Tricks of the Courier's Trade | Spy on the couriers | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() | ||
Spy on those who supply them | ![]() |
![]() |
||||
Spy on the Topsy King's court | ![]() |
![]() |
||||
Deploy your Suspicious Iguana | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Storylet | Option | Req. | Challenge | Success | Rare Success | Failure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shadowing Couriers | Follow at a distance | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() | ||
Follow closely | ![]() |
![]() |
||||
Disguise yourself as a courier | ![]() |
![]() |
||||
Deploy your Unerring Elver | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Storylet | Option | Req. | Challenge | Success | Rare Success | Failure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Heights of Chicanery | Raid a Message-Drop | ![]() |
![]() |
|||
More than just Messages | ![]() |
![]() |
||||
Encounters in the Smoke | ![]() |
![]() |
||||
Intercept a Message | ![]() |
![]() |
||||
Dropping the Eaves | ![]() |
Level 2: Wars of Illusion[edit]
Once you've gotten Embroiled to level 2 (a total of 3 CP worth of rare successes), a new option appears under The Heights of Chicanery titled Making Your Name: Wars of Illusion. This redirects to the main Flit storylet Wars of Illusion.
Selecting the only option here (What is going on?) sets Embroiled to 6.
Level 6: Bats and Cats[edit]
You now realize that the bats and cats of The Flit know something about the Wars of Illusion. A new storylet appears in The Flit titled Bats and Cats.
To progress from here and unlock the Bats and Cats option What is going on with these people?, you need to raise all of these qualities to 5: Making Use of Bats,
Making Use of Cats,
Investigating..., and
Seeking...
As before, you can also raise Investigating... and
Seeking... elsewhere and apply it here. You can also spend your
Bats and
Cats qualities in the rewards storylets. Note, however, that all these actions reset those progress qualities on success, meaning you'll have to build them up again to satisfy the above requirements for unlocking What is going on with these people?
Making Use of Bats[edit]
Storylet | Option | Req. | Challenge | Success | Failure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bats... | Try intercepting some bats | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() | |
Train some bats of your own | ![]() |
![]() |
You can combine Seeking... with
Making Use of Bats for skill check successes.
Storylet | Option | Req. | Challenge | Success | Rare Success | Failure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Making Use of Bats | Intercept a bat on its way to the Palace | ![]() |
![]() |
|||
Track a bat heading towards Veilgarden | ![]() |
Making Use of Cats[edit]
Storylet | Option | Req. | Challenge | Success | Failure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cats... | Try to find out about their allegiances | ![]() |
|||
Make contacts among cat kind | ![]() |
![]() |
|||
See what your Starveling Cat knows | ![]() |
![]() |
You can combine Investigating... with
Making Use of Cats for skill check successes.
Storylet | Option | Req. | Challenge | Success | Rare Success | Failure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Making Use of Cats | Ask for help with a little sabotage | ![]() |
||||
Track a bat heading towards Veilgarden | ![]() |
Once you unlock What is Going on with These People? in the Bats and Cats storylet, you will be redirected to a storylet with the option Convoluted like a weasel. This is a Shadowy 95 challenge; failure will subtract 5 CP of each of the tracking qualities, and success will set
Embroiled to 9 and
A Name Whispered in Darkness to 7.
Level 9: Make More Use of Bats and Cats[edit]
A storylet now appears in The Flit called Make More Use of Bats. Or Cats. Here you can choose whether to work with the bats or the cats — though, as the game informs you, the choice isn't permanent at this point. (Ultimately, siding with the bats will align you with
The Glass later in the story, while choosing the cats will align you with
The Shroud.)
Choosing bats sets Making Use of Bats to 1, and choosing cats sets
Making Use of Cats to 1. Whichever you choose,
Embroiled is set to 10.
Level 10: Choosing a Side[edit]
Your choice also unlocks a new Flit storylet, either Working with the Bats or Working with the Cats. (You can unlock the other as well by raising its Making Use quality to 1 on the Bats and Cats storylet.)
When your Bats or
Cats quality reaches 6, a new Flit storylet appears, either Gain the full trust of the bats or Cement your place with the cats.
The following cards may also appear in your opportunity deck during this section of the story, and give Cryptic Clues and/or
Seeking... on success. Additionally, the option Anything but that on A Theosophistical Enquiry gives 2 CP of
Plagued by a Popular Song.
When you're ready to progress, Gain the full trust of the bats or Cement your place with the cats. Both require Shadowy 97 to be unlocked, and the challenge level is
Shadowy 101 (but thankfully, you don't lose
Bats or
Cats CP on a failure).
On success, Embroiled is set to 15, and
Connected: Glass (if you chose bats) or
Connected: Shroud (if you chose cats) is set to 1.
Level 15: Mahogany Hall[edit]
To continue the storyline, you need to unlock the route to Mahogany Hall, which will now appear in the Spite area of your map. ( Mahogany Hall can also be unlocked temporarily, or permanently for 5 FATE, from the opportunity card The Ways of Mahogany Hall.)
When you reach Mahogany Hall, you will be welcomed to either the Glass or the Shroud, and once more get the chance to rethink your allegiance. If you choose to play both sides, your
Embroiled will be reset to 9, and you can play through that part of the storyline again (note that this option results in +3 CP
Subtle (up to level 10) and is repeatable if you choose the same side again). If you choose to remain loyal to your side,
Embroiled will be set to 20 and you can continue with the story from here.
See Tales of Mahogany Hall (Guide) for more information.
Level 20: An Illusion or a Séance[edit]
The following storylets are available in Mahogany Hall with
Embroiled 20 and certain levels of Connected:
Increasing ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
---|---|---|
Hold your own séance? | ![]() |
|
The mystic arts | ![]() |
|
Before the grand séance | ![]() |
![]() |
Become a double agent for the Shroud | ![]() |
![]() |
Watching the Grand Illusion | ![]() |
![]() |
Sabotaging an illusion | ![]() |
![]() |
Final preparations for the grand séance | ![]() |
Increasing ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
---|---|---|
Star in your own illusion? | ![]() |
|
The magic of the theatre | ![]() |
|
Before the grand illusion | ![]() |
![]() |
Become a double agent for the Glass | ![]() |
![]() |
Sabotaging a séance | ![]() |
![]() |
Final preparations for the grand illusion | ![]() |
Up to a point, you can continue playing both sides and raise both Connected qualities. However, to progress to the final stage of your performance, you have to choose one of the options in the associated Before the [performance], Become a double agent, or Sabotaging storylets that cements your alliance with your chosen faction and raises the associated Connected to 15. This will unlock the Final preparations storylet for your chosen side. That storylet will raise your Connected to 16 and set Embroiled to 25, unlocking a new storylet for the final performance.
Level 25: The Performance[edit]
It's time to put on your big séance or illusion. In either case, it's a Shadowy 113 challenge, and success raises your Connected to 20.
- The grand séance! (unlocked with
Connected: Shroud 16)
- The Most Daring Feat of Illusion and Escapology! (unlocked with
Connected: Glass 16)
Note: Unlocking The Most Daring Feat of Illusion and Escapology! also requires Day of the Week to be set at 6 (Saturday) via The weekly variety bill!