Jack-Of-Smiles (Guide)

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What needs work: Missing Fate locked info

What exactly is this guide for?

This guide is meant to cover both An Annoyance to Jack-of-Smiles and The Jack-of-Smiles Case. An Annoyance to Jack-Of-Smiles is a quality, and The Jack-Of-Smiles Case is a major storyline. For the sake of simplicity An Annoyance to Jack-of-Smiles will be called AAtJoS and The Jack-of-Smiles Case will be called TJoSC.

An Annoyance to Jack-Of-Smiles

This is an early game quality that has a few uses. Although it unlocks a few useful things, you do not need it to progress in any way.

How to obtain

There are only 2 ways to obtain this quality and both of them require rare successes, the percentages of which are unknown. Below is a table that shows the storylet and requirement to access it.

Storylet	Requirement	Dangerous Recommended
Get to your quarry before Jack-of-Smiles	A Name Scrawled in Blood 3-5	58
Smiles! Put that man down!	A Name Scrawled in Blood 4-7	76

It's recommended to try and get a high enough dangerous to complete the check 90% of the time, that way you'll be able to succeed the check 9/10 times, and possibly raise your dangerous to the next level. Out of the two storylets Get to your quarry before Jack-of-Smiles is better for the following reasons: It has a lower A Name Scrawled in Blood requirement and a less difficult dangerous check. However, Smiles! Put that man down! will also get the job done.

Benefits of An Annoyance to Jack-of-Smiles

There are a few benefits for having AAtJoS unlocked. The list of them is as follows:

• The next victim? Option on The Tower of Knives: Difficulties at a Smoky Flophouse which provides 0-1 Favours: Criminals and 0-1 Favours: Revolutionaries. On a rare success provides 1 Aeolian Scream. This option is a very good menace-free way of grinding Criminal and Revolutionary Favours.
• A glimpse of a dressing-room This is a Red Card in the Mirror Marches that reduces Nightmares by -2 CP.
• Jack strikes again An opportunity card that allows you to tweak 3 quirks, Magnanimous, Heartless, and Subtle. Each option increases your Someone is Coming by +1 CP, which is the most useful part of this card. This card is close to useless past the early game, however it's easily avoidable by having at least Magnanimous or Heartless 6.

A Warning

AAtJoS can go up to 4, but it is advised to only have it at 1. If you raise it to 3, something bad will happen.

Reaching AAtJoS 3, will present the storylet Mess with the Smile, get the teeth. You have no option but to proceed and doing so will lose you several faction favours and connected values. You'll lose one favour for the Bohemians, Constables, Criminals, Revolutionaries, The Church, and Urchins. You'll also lose -4 CP of Connected: The Widow. This is a one-time storylet, but there is no reason to get to AAtJoS 3 as you won't be getting very interesting text.

The Jack-of-Smiles Case

This is a major storyline spanning hundreds of actions revolving around finding out who Jack is. There are plenty of rewards at the end of the storyline with some interesting lore.

Beginning the Investigation

Unlike AAtJoS, TJoSC has some few requirements before you start. First, you have to be On the Velocipede Squad which in turn, requires you to be A Person of Some Importance. If you are not currently PoSI consult A Person of Some Importance (Guide) for more information on how to obtain it. There are a few options on how to obtain On the Velocipede Squad and they are shown below.

Option	Requirement(s)
The Inspector Calls	Dangerous 110 and one of the following: Renown: Constables 20, A Bringer of Death 1, or 1x Comprehensive Bribe.
The Velocipede Squad	Dangerous 120

The recommended course of action is going through the The Velocipede Squad as it is always available and it has less requirements.

After that going to Ladybones Road is the next course of action and going to the storylet Your turn at it. Note that you will need Watchful 130 and Dangerous 130. After that you will have TJoSC 1.

Seeking the Next Breakthrough

From now til you reach level 4 of TJoSC you will need to either participate with the constabulary through Riding the Savage Cobbles or by reaching out to contacts to raise Seeking the Next Breakthrough on the Jack Case (StNBotJC) up to 4 (10 CP), upon which you can turn it in to raise TJoSC. Advance each level at Ladybones Road.

• Riding the Savage Cobbles (15 Actions/ Cycle)
  • The Jack Case gives +5 CP of StNBotJC on a success, and +3 CP on a failure.
• The opportunity cards provided by Hell, Revolutionaries, Criminals, Urchins, The Great Game, Society, Constables, the Docks, the Church, and The Demi-Monde: Bohemians
  • 5 actions for +3 CP of StNBotJC and +20 CP in a stat.
• The opportunity card provided by the Tomb-Colonies
  • 5 actions and 1 x Favours: Tomb-Colonies for +3 CP of StNBotJC and +20 CP in Dangerous.

A Choice

Once you reach TJoSC 4, you have a choice to make.

• You can either resume your detective work, which will give you level 5 and then you resume the activity detailed above
  • If you resume above, you will need 2 more cycles to raise TJoSC to 9.
• You can pick up the knife and Become Jack. This second option costs 10 FATE

Becoming Jack

Becoming Jack will progress through drawing opportunity cards.

This article is incomplete. You can help the Fallen London Wiki by expanding it. Reason: Need mechanical info on fate locked content.

The Next Step

Once you have achieved TJoSC 9, you will need to talk to the inspector about Jack's Origin to get TJoSC 10. At that point you will need to sail to Polythreme, either on your own boat, or booking a passage on a steamer.

Once there, you will need to head to Polythreme Streets where you much participate in the Polythremic Promenade twice, targeting COGNISANCE 12 each time, raising it to TJoSC 11 and then 12.

Concluding Choice

Now that you know the origin of Jack Smiles, you can either Destroy it or you can Leave it intact and pursue the current Jack further. Only if you spend 10 FATE can you accomplish both with Defeat Jack completely.

Spoilers:

If you do not intend on spending fate, and you want to achieve Jack's Gone - You did it!!, make sure to destroy the workshop. If you wish for Jack to remain around, then Leave it intact instead.

Destroy It

• Take the storylet available at Polythreme Streets
• Return to Ladybones Road where you can Conclude your case setting TJoSC to 20 and finishing the storyline.

Leave it Intact

• Return to London and head to the Veilgarden. There will be a new storylet there to continue the case.
• You will now need to head to the Bazaar Side-Streets to visit a garden.
• Then you'll need to consider what you've learned in Your Lodgings to wrap up the case setting TJoSC to 20 and finishing the storyline.
  • Among other things, One option will give Favours: Constables 5, and the other will grant +3 CP Connected: The Masters of the Bazaar.

Defeat Jack Completely

• Return to Ladybones Road and do another step

Gains:

• Jack's Gone -, Honoured with a Statue -, ~30 CP Making Waves, 1 CP Connected: The Masters of the Bazaar, Items worth 200 , 5 x Favours: Constables, 3 x Favours: Society and renown with these factions.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you've finished the storyline. Unless Jack's Gone, this storyline will have no further ramifications. You can, however, reset this storyline in Send a Message to a Contact with Another round with Jack: turn back the clock! for 20 FATE

Jack's Gone

If Jack's gone, there are certain ramifications to the rest of London. The following storylets will no longer be available:

• Jack strikes again
  • A rather low value card, but it is also locked with Magnanimous 6 or Heartless 6
• Jack! in The Crowds of Spite
  • One of the best pickpocket cards available if you can meet the check.
• Jack-of-Smiles has expanded his interests in Watchmaker's Hill
  • A low level Running Battle... activity.
• Smiles! Put that man down! in Watchmaker's Hill
  • A Low level activity
• The next victim? on the Smokey Flophous card
  • A good source of favours, assuming you are ok with either Favours: Criminals or Favours: Revolutionaries
• To follow Jack's trail on the Clay Sedan Chair card
  • A low value activity

It does, however, grant access to the Just a Knife tattoo at Millicent's Parlour during the Feast of the Exceptional Rose.