Painting in Balmoral (Guide)

Late Railway Content

Painting in Balmoral Summary
Fixed-Length Conversion Activity
Setup				Progress				End
1 A				6 A				2* A
Progress Details			Raise Nostalgic, Luminosity, and Incendiary while you can add Painter's Progress as required for desired payout.
Items Inputs/Outputs Inputs Moonlit Memory of a Much Lesser Self Memory of Light Vital Intelligence Touching Love Story Outputs 2.5 : Thirsty Bombazine Scrap Mourning Candle Sworn Statement Vienna Opening Muscaria Brandy 12.5 : Skeleton with Seven Necks Blackmail Material Cellar of Wine Bazaar Permit Silent Soul Direful Reflection Favour in High Places 62.5 : Night-Whisper Discordant Soul Parabola-Linen Scrap Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise
Raw EPA			6.15			Raw SPA			10.86

General

Balmoral is found at the fourth station of the Railway. Apart from visiting the local forest (the Moonlit Woods, where you can gain Moonlit for painting) and Balmoral Castle, you can join the artist in the old Distillery in Crathie and take up commissions for Her Enduring Majesty. She has neglected to visit the place since the Fall, but that doesn't seem to bother anyone.

Painting Progress

Your Painter's Progress quality determines the development of your piece. This quality is set to 1 by undertaking a commission, progresses 1-6 by options influencing the painting's style ( Luminosity, Nostalgic and Incendiary) and finishes when it reaches 7.

You have 6 actions to influence your work for every painting. Both success and failure increase Painter's Progress by 1.

Option	Item Cost		Challenge	Result
With Moonlight	Moonlit 2 2 x Memory of a Much Lesser Self 10 x Memory of Light		Persuasive 200	Success	Luminosity 1 +1 CP Inspired...
				Failure	Nostalgic 1
In a subversive cast	1 x Vital Intelligence		A Player of Chess 4	Success	Incendiary 1 15 x Romantic Notion
				Failure	Nostalgic 1
Paint!	Success	5 x Touching Love Story	Persuasive 200	Success	Nostalgic 1 15 x Romantic Notion
	Failure	3 x Touching Love Story		Failure	Incendiary 1

Rewards

Return to either London or the Helicon House in Ealing Gardens to present your painting. Only a Completed Painting may be presented.

Requirements	Reward	Value ( )	Raw EPA
London - Presenting your Painting
Nostalgic at least 4	1 x Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise 1 x Cellar of Wine 2 x Sworn Statement	80 96.83	2.59 3.78
Luminosity at least 4	5 x Vienna Opening 5 x Sworn Statement 1 x Parabola-Linen Scrap 1 x Bazaar Permit	100.20 120.20	3.59 4.59
Incendiary at least 4	1 x Skeleton with Seven Necks 1 x Silent Soul 2 x Thirsty Bombazine Scrap	80	3.50
Incendiary 3 Nostalgic 3	1 x Discordant Soul 1 x Direful Reflection 2 x Mourning Candle	17.50 +1 x	3.86
Incendiary 3 Luminosity 3	1 x Night-Whisper 5 x Vienna Opening 5 x Thirsty Bombazine Scrap 1 x Blackmail Material	100.20 120.20	3.87 5.01
Nostalgic 3 Luminosity 3	1 x Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise 10 x Mourning Candle 1 x Favour in High Places	100 120.20	2.41 3.08
Any other combination	1 x Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise 2 x Favours: Society (up to 7) 5 x Muscaria Brandy	75 +2 x 106.83	2.71 3.71
A Nascent Opportunity 1 (only once, during story)	Scandal (+5 CP) 5 x Vienna Opening 5 x Sworn Statement	25.20	-
Helicon House - Display your own painting
Any combination	125 x Hinterland Scrip Inspired... (+ CP) Fitting in at Helicon House + ( - )	63.50	1.75

Analysis

Each painting essentially takes at least 9 Actions: one to begin, six to paint, one to complete, and one to sell.

• Traveling with your finished piece will always take 1 Action, irrelevant to your preferred seller ( London or The Helicon House).

You have six chances to influence your painting, with each option giving a point of Painter's Progress. Failure on checks is not only likely, but encouraged, if you are looking for the best EpA.

The results presented in the table Rewards were obtained by taking into account all options as they report to Paint! as their filler, thus any option of "at least 4" was completed using the Failure on Paint!:

• Likewise, the points in Incendiary were gained with this method.
• Unlike Luminosity, which was sourced from Paint with Moonlight as the references show (A rate of + 1.26 Action, and + (Red Dear Rewards-Moonlit Woods investment)/12.6 was factored in for every point of Moonlit).
• While Nostalgic sources varied, as the non-rat market EPAs are higher with Paint with Moonlight, while rat market variants faired better with Paint! for sourcing.

Thus, your best bet is to mix equalt parts Incendiary and Luminosity on the Night-Whisper option for an EPA of 5.01.

• The Kraken option proved most interesting for sourcing Touching Love Stories, as this brings the EPA to the hefty rate of 5.90, assuming you can 100% its check.
  • The City of the Tracklayers (Guide) to Request a trophy from a shared enemy to ...would they dare? has a rather poor EPA, well, poor by this guide's standards, at only 5.28 EPA. A decent increase of 0.08 EPA from the usual TLC rate, but requiring an Estival ( Whitsun) to cash out, as compared to the versatile method mentioned above.
• Factoring Hinterland Prosperity into the Moonlit Woods, we get an even better EPA of 6.15! to the already great Kraken option.
• Also, Kraken brings the SPA of the Helicon House option to a 10.86.