Making Your Name (Guide)

Early-Game Content

During the early part of the game, the Making Your Name stories are the main way you'll progress through the story, raise your attributes, and unlock new locations.

Introduction

Why should I care about making my name?

The Making Your Name stories guide you through the early-game content, introducing you to basic game mechanics (such as attribute-based challenges and acquiring items) while also telling a story. Many of the characters and events you first encounter while Making Your Name will reappear later.

These stories also help you raise your main attributes by setting challenges whose difficulty generally matches your current level. The conclusions of major stages of the stories generally come with a bigger CP boost. Combined with the training professions, the Making Your Name stories will get you much of the way to raising each main attribute to 100 and becoming A Person of Some Importance.

Finally, by following these stories, you'll progress across the map—each one begins in one of the starting locations, and eventually leads you to other related locations.

• A Name in Seven Secret Alphabets is primarily Watchful. It begins in Ladybones Road and leads to Mrs Plenty's Carnival, Moloch Street, The Clay Quarters, The Forgotten Quarter, and The University.
• A Name Whispered in Darkness is primarily Shadowy. It begins in Spite and leads to Area-Diving in Spite, The Flit, and optionally Mahogany Hall.
• A Name Scrawled in Blood is primarily Dangerous. It begins in Watchmaker's Hill and leads to the Dept. of Menace Eradication, Wolfstack Docks, and The Labyrinth of Tigers.
• A Name Signed with a Flourish is primarily Persuasive. It begins in Veilgarden and leads to The Shuttered Palace and The Empress' Court.

Each of the Making Your Name stories has 7 stages, and the conclusion of each stage raises the level of that quality by 1. You can check your progress by looking for the relevant A Name... quality on your Myself tab, under Stories.

A Name in Seven Secret Alphabets

Hone your Watchful abilities by doing detective work, spying, pursuing expeditions, and engaging in arcane scholarship.

The Case of the Honey-Addled Detective

Start: Making Your Name: The Case of the Honey-Addled Detective in Ladybones Road To begin making your name as a detective in London, you'll first need to establish some contacts. That's why your first case will be to track down the Honey-Addled Detective.

• Pursue your current Case to raise Detective's Progress.
• You can also spend Favours on Faction cards to increase Detective's Progress; look for options that begin with "Solving a case".
• Once Detective's Progress reaches 10, you can close the case.

Find a Tattooed Courier's Contact

Start: Making Your Name: Find a Tattooed Courier's contact in Ladybones Road

Your next venture is assisting the Constables, who suspect something sinister regarding the tattoos coming out of Clathermont's Tattoo Parlor.

• Raise Seeking... by following your target or searching their belongings.
• With Seeking 5, you can progress to the next step, raising Surveillance Contract: Find a Tattooed Messenger's contact to 2.
• Repeat the process: raise Seeking to 5 again the same way, then spend it on the new storylet on Ladybones Road.
• Once you get Surveillance Contract to 4, you can head to Mrs Plenty's Carnival and decide how to close the case.

The Case of the Absconding Devil

Start: Working with the Honey-Addled Detective in Moloch Street. Choose the option Making Your Name: The Case of the Absconding Devil.

A Devil is missing from The Brass Embassy, and the Honey-Addled Detective is on the case. He wants your help.

• Gain Detective's Progress using Pursue your current Case (or other options, such as Faction Cards).
• With at least 12 Detective's Progress, you can spend this progress under Missing Person: Find an Absconding Devil to increase Evidence in the Case of the Absconding Devil. (There is also an option to spend Rostygold for this.)
• Once Evidence reaches 4, you can Arrange a meeting with the singer.
• Decide how to close the case.

While on this case, you have a complication in the form of a Surly Goat-Demon, which appears in your Opportunity cards. Confronting it can either increase or decrease your Detective's Progress, along with other effects.

The Disappearing Heiress

Start: Life on Ladybones Road in Ladybones Road. Choose the option Making Your Name – Begin a Case: the Disappearing Heiress.

The Comtessa has disappeared with a quantity of her father's money. He wants you to get it — er, and her, of course — back.

• Increase Detective's Progress via storylets or cards.
• When Detective's Progress reaches 10, the option A development: the Disappearing Heiress appears.
• With each development, you get an increase Evidence in the Case of the Missing Heiress.
• At Evidence 3, you'll gain the quality A Visitor to the Clay Quarters if you don't already have it.
• With Evidence 4, the conclusion of the case takes place in The Clay Quarters.

A Raid on the Brass Embassy

Start: Making Your Name: A Raid on the Brass Embassy! in Ladybones Road

Choose whether to side with the Constables or the Devils. Concluding this part unlocks the location The Forgotten Quarter.

Nevercold Brass Slivers can be gained on the Night watch at the Brass Embassy warehouse storylet, Souls can be gained with Track down a Spirifer and Cryptic Clues can be gained with Scrutinise infernal contracts.

The Tomb of the Seven

Start: Making Your Name: the Tomb of the Seven in the Base-Camp area of The Forgotten Quarter

You've found clues indicating something intriguing buried in The Forgotten Quarter. Time for a crash course in Archaeology. Your ultimate goal here is to make a successful expedition to The Tomb of the Seven and recover the Set of Correspondence Stones. Doing so will make you A Scholar of the Correspondence and unlock The University. In order to even attempt the expedition to the Tomb, you have to build up your Archaeologist quality to 3 by completing other expeditions.

• First, Learn the Traditions of the Forgotten Quarter.
• Then complete the easier expeditions: Seek a thieves' cache and Seek a shrine of the Deep Blue Heaven.
• Once you reach Archaeologist 3, the one-time expedition The Tomb of the Seven is unlocked.

For tips on expeditions, refer to Forgotten Quarter Expeditions (Guide).

Tales of the University

Start: Invitations from the University, a storylet anywhere in London

As a Scholar of the Correspondence, you've attracted the attention of both The University's colleges, the radical Benthic and the more traditional Summerset. Which one will you ally yourself with?

Your goal is to progress through the University storyline, increasing the quality Featuring in the Tales of the University up to 25, and concluding by solving a case. Refer to Featuring in the Tales of the University (Guide) for more detailed help.

A Name Whispered in Darkness

Improve your Shadowy skills by uncovering secrets, committing burglaries, associating with urchins and thieves, and peering into a hidden world.

A Courier's Secret

Start: Making your Name: a Courier's Secret in Spite

It seems the anarchists of Fallen London are communicating through one of Spite's couriers. Intercepting their messages would be a good exercise of your Shadowy skills.

Build up your Shadowy until you can succeed at A Trove of Secrets. There are several ways to do this in the storylet The Alleys of Spite.

A Journalist and a Cat

Start: Making Your Name: the Next Step in Spite

You're starting to get the hang of this stealthy business. Time to see what else you can uncover in Spite. Investigate the Careworn Journalist, or catch a grey cat.

Area-Diving

Making your Name: Area-diving! in Spite

Find your way into one of Fallen London's finer homes via the staff entrance and liberate some valuables. Your goal is to complete an area-dive. For information on building up Casing..., refer to Casing (Guide).

Going Up in the World

Start: Making your Name: Going Up in the World in The Flit The Flit is the rooftop world of thieves, urchins, and the Topsy King, and it's time for you to learn the ropes.

To access The Flit, click the location on the map to open Enter the Flit. The route can be unlocked either by passing the Shadowy 50 challenge or by spending 1200 x Moon-Pearl.

You will also need to spend 1000 x Jade Fragments. These can be gained efficiently by stealing for the Widow in Spite. This will also get Connected: The Widow which probably will be useful at some point.

A Rash of Burglaries

Start: Making your Name: a Rash of Burglaries in The Flit

If you want to prove you're more than a common criminal, you need to pull off bigger robberies. Pull off burglaries in The Flit until your Master Thief quality reaches 5. You'll need to build up Casing... to attempt these.

The Records Office in Concord Square

Start: Planning a Heist in the Plan a Heist area of The Flit You know where the Constables store their records, and there's bound to be some valuable information among all that paperwork. Successfully rob the records office in Concord Square. Refer to On a Heist (Guide) for in-depth help with heists like this.

Embroiled in the Wars of Illusion

Start: The Heights of Chicanery in The Flit

There's another world hidden in these shadows, but so far you've seen only glimpses of it. The bats and cats of The Flit know something about it, but will they tell you their secrets?

Your goal is to increase Embroiled in the Wars of Illusion (via rare successes on actions from The Heights of Chicanery) to discover the secrets of The Flit. Refer to Embroiled in the Wars of Illusion (Guide) for a detailed breakdown of this pursuit.

Note: You will reach A Name Whispered in Darkness 7 by completing the Bats and Cats section and reaching Embroiled 9, but the Wars of Illusion storyline continues from there and eventually leads to Mahogany Hall.

A Name Scrawled in Blood

Become more Dangerous by exterminating London's pests, hunting monsters, duelling, and capturing strange beasts.

A Worryingly Large Rat

Start: Making your Name: the Contract in Watchmaker's Hill

There's talk of a rat in Watchmaker's Hill that's bigger than a rat has any business being. The Department of Menace Eradication is offering a sizable reward for bringing it in.

• Choose Visit the Department of Menace Eradication to unlock that location.
• There, find the storylet Make your name! Contract: a Worryingly Large Rat
• Use the options in the Dept. of Menace Eradication storylet Hunting across London to reduce Quarry: Confounded Thing is Hiding to 0 and catch the rat. 
• Once you've reduced Quarry to 0, you can choose the option You know where the Rat is lairing... which leads to the conclusion of the hunt.

An Infestation of Sorrow-Spiders

Start: The Department of Menace Eradication in The Dept. of Menace Eradication; choose the option Make your name! Contract: destroy an infestation of sorrow-spiders

These aren't your garden-variety spiders. Slay them and bring back their legs as proof, and you'll have boosted your reputation as a monster-hunter — and probably saved a few eyeballs.

• Build up Running Battle... to at least 4 (though you'll have a higher chance of success on the hunt if you get it higher)
• Make your name! Turn in a sack of sorrow-spider legs

A Picnic on the Marsh's Edge

Start: Business on Watchmaker's Hill in Watchmaker's Hill

You just want to enjoy your picnic, but unfortunately so do these rats.

The Fighting Rings

Start: Making your Name: the Fighting Rings in Watchmaker's Hill

The duellist Feducci runs a series of fighting rings in Fallen London. If you can survive them, he's sure to take notice of you.

• Each ring requires a different item to buy in, beginning with 100 x Piece of Rostygold to enter the Ring of Meat.
• Earn 5 x Tale of Terror!! in the Ring of Meat to buy into the Ring of Roses.
• Repeat until you win 3 x Presbyterate Passphrase in the Ring of Roses so you can enter the Painted Ring.
• Win in the Painted Ring.

A Conspiracy of Spiders

Start: Making your Name: a Conspiracy of Spiders in Wolfstack Docks

More spiders? Time to get to the bottom of this. Investigate the spiders in Wolfstack Docks and figure out where they're coming from and what to do about them.

• Investigate the Silken Chapel
• Brave the spiders' crypt
• Gather the supplies you need and Face the thing in the crypt
  • Foxfire Candle Stubs can be gained by cashing out Favours: The Church in The Shuttered Palace. These can also be used to get Flask of Abominable Salts. Cryptic Clues can be gained from Favours: The Great Game at the docks, as well as many other sources.
• Decide how to deal with the Spider-Council

Duelling with the Black Ribbon

Start: Making your Name: a Letter from Feducci in Wolfstack Docks

Your fighting prowess has earned you the privilege of dueling the Black Ribbon. Defeating them will earn you great renown, and if you lose… well, your reputation won't much matter anymore.

Raise Running Battle... in order to challenge progressively stronger Black Ribbon duellists, ultimately raising your A Fearsome Duellist quality to 5.

Refer to Duelling with the Black Ribbon as well as Running Battle (Guide) for tips.

Acquiring Exhibits for the Labyrinth of Tigers

Start: Making your Name: a Proposition from an Acquaintance in Wolfstack Docks

Mr Inch is in need of new creatures for his most unusual zoological exhibition.

Raise The Hunt is On! to attempt to kill or capture the beasts Mr Inch sets you after. Refer to The Hunt is On! (Guide) for information on acquiring exhibits for the Labyrinth of Tigers.

A Name Signed with a Flourish

Cultivate your Persuasive talents by writing poetry, pursuing inspiring relationships, mixing in high society, and becoming known in the Empress' Court.

A Commissioned Epic

Start: Make Your Name: A Commissioned Epic in The Singing Mandrake

Inspiration can be found in the commonest of subjects, and there's hardly anything more common in Fallen London than mushrooms.

• Increase Inspired... using the options Celebrate Fungus in Verse: Make up the details and Celebrate Fungus in Verse: Field work!
• Decide whether to write an honest effort or a satire!

A Notable Affair

Start: Making Your Name: Engage in a Notable Affair in Veilgarden

In the literary world of Veilgarden, your personal life commands as much interest as your work. Who will you pursue a much-talked-about relationship with?

• Choose whether to pursue The Honey-Sipping Heiress, The Honey-Sipping Jewel Thief, or a Cloistered Diatomist.
• Increase Fascinating... to progress each stage of the relationship.

Writing a Short Story

Start: Making Your Name: Writing a Short Story in Veilgarden

You've been in Fallen London for a while now; you're bound to have some exhilarating experiences to write about. Get Manuscript Page to at least 10, and Potential to 30, to access the option Make Your Name: Publish your story. For information on writing short stories, refer to Short Stories (Guide).

Note: any Potential beyond 30 will be wasted here, since the only publication option you get the first time around is Make Your Name: Publish your story. You can try for a higher-quality story only after completing this one.

The Ambassador's Ball

Start: Make Your Name: Getting to the Ball in Veilgarden

It's the place to make your big society debut.

Acquire the Favours: Society and other items needed to get to the Ambassador's Ball. You will also unlock the route to The Shuttered Palace.

Silk Scrap can be gained with The Seamstress' favour. Scrap of Incendiary Gossip are typically hard to get at this level. You can get some through Playing with Soul and some opportunity cards. Other sources:

• Edit a book of meditations on the Anchoress (if you have a Vision of the Surface)
• Ask for advice with Dazed Raven Advisor
• Many of the Clandestine companions from Watchmaker's Hill give them on their opportunity cards.

An Audience with the Duchess

Start: Make Your Name: An Audience with the Duchess in The Shuttered Palace

Someone important (and delightfully controversial) has taken notice of you.

• Obtain an audience with the Duchess by fulfilling the requirements of one of the options in this storylet, all of which require Renown: Society 5 and Connected: The Duchess 5, among other things.
• Completing this will unlock the location The Empress' Court.

Where to get stuff:

• Jade Fragments can be gained from many storylets in the Palace, or by working with the widow in Spite.
• Rat on a String can be gained in The Flit and by stealing with criminals.
• Scrap of Incendiary Gossip is generally hard to gain directly.
• Renown: Society can be gained at Mrs Plenty's Carnival
• Connected: The Duchess Can be gained with Curry favour with the Duchess or other storylets in the Palace.

A Courtly Romance!

Start: Making Your Name: Engage in a Courtly Romance! in The Empress' Court

Your honeyed fling in Veilgarden was the talk of the town for a little while, but Fallen London society is eager for a real fairytale romance. Where better to pursue one than a palace?

Use Attend to Matters of Romance to raise your Fascinating... quality in order to romance either the Barbed Wit or the Acclaimed Beauty. You can also become friends with the Unattainable Fashion-Flies if you would rather avoid romance. The conclusion of any of these relationships will leave you with a Memento of Passion.

See Fascinating (Guide) for tips. Also consider combining this and the next step, as several of the works that are made give Fascinating....

Carving Out a Reputation at Court

A player-created Guide is available for this content: Carving out a Reputation at Court (Guide)

Start: A slow day in The Empress' Court

You've commanded the attention of the Court. Now what will you do with it?

Unlocked with: A Name Signed with a Flourish 6 (You can begin A slow day as soon as you can access the Court, but you can only continue to Why are you doing this? once A Name Signed with a Flourish is 6.

• Increase Carving out a Reputation at Court to 6. (You can start this as soon as you have access to the Court, but the next option won't be available until after you complete the Courtly Romance in the previous stage.)
• You will be asked Why are you doing this? Whichever response you choose, you will begin an Opera
• Raise Inspired... to 24 and proceed to The Grand Finale.

At the end of this story, you will be Banished from the Court - and (temporarily) sent to Disgraced exile in the Tomb-Colonies.

Note: You may want to delay finishing this stage until you're A Person of Some Importance. The main benefit of being Banished is access to the location The Foreign Office, which requires PoSI status anyway. Furthermore, you can only become Restored to Her Enduring Majesty's Court via a relatively long process, also requiring you to be a PoSI. Finally, there are a number of storylets available at court (such as those for increasing Fascinating) that you may not want to give up until you have better sources for their rewards.