Upon a Red Stage (Guide)

Late Firmament Content and Onwards

Welcome, delicious thespian. For those who wish to act upon the stage at Queeneater's Castle may find themselves most welcome to join. Mind the blood.

How to Unlock

To reach Queeneater's Castle, one must reach the seventh stage of Firmament. Natural progress through the story will open the stage once From Ritual to Restitution reaches 10. One play on the stage is required to progress through Firmament with no specific choices as to what kind of play to act. Once Firmament reaches its conclusion, more plays may be starred in.

Overview

A play takes 15 actions to complete, broken down into 3 sets of 5 for the 3 acts of the play. There are two 0 cost actions beforehand. Once a play is started with the first 0 cost action, the player cannot exit until the play is complete. It is not possible to change outfits once a play has started.

The first 0 cost choice is to choose whether to play a comedy or a tragedy. There is flavor text difference between the two, but ultimately, there is a difference in one of the rewards: Comedies pay out in Memory of a Much Stranger Self while Tragedies pay out in Cave-Aged Code of Honour. Both types of plays will also pay out in Blood Oath and Bone Fragments at the same rate.

The second 0 cost choice is to choose the role you will play, setting the Starring Role quality. Both types of plays have the same three roles. One may play a Queen, a Knave, or a King. The Queen receives more Dangerous checks, the Knave receives more Persuasive checks, and the King has an equal chance of either, but also the opportunity for checks that use both Dangerous and Persuasive in concert. These checks matter for all but the final choices in act 1 or 2.

The Play Commences

The first four choices of each act are similar. The quality Crimson Airs determines which choices become available, with variation based on which act the play is in, which role the player is inhabiting, and the type of play. The Ravenous Thespian will provide an extra option if the player has this asset. For the most part, these choices are little more than flavor text. All choices give Scarlet Applause, ranging from 400-600 on a successful check, and half the amount on a failed one. Failed checks typically provide Nightmares. Checks are either Dangerous, Persuasive or both (limited to when the Starring Role is a King, or the Ravenous Thespian is an option.

The Audience Hungers

The fifth choice in Act I is Parabasis: A Look at the Audience and has no checks. It will pick a role based on the level of Crimson Airs. A role will be selected based on this: King if 33 or lower, providing Red Rapture, Queen if between 34 and 66, providing Red Thirst, or Knave if 67 or higher, providing Red Hunger. This is independent of the role the player might have. Scarlet Applause is also given, typically around 550. This Red trait will increase for this character at random during the rest of the play. It will never switch to another role once started, nor will it go down.

The Hazard

The fifth choice in Act II is the only choice that requires a card draw. The player draws a hand size of 3; this is not affected by A Knight of the Order of the Golden Carapace. No cards may be discarded, and cards drawn in this deck do not count against card draws that replenish with time. The player may back out of a card and select a different one without issue. These cards use different checks based on other skills:

Intermission

Card Drawn	Check Used	Restrictions on Draw
Intermission: A Flash of Bone	Shapeling Arts	No Restrictions
Intermission: A Smile from the Mirror	Glasswork	No Restrictions
Intermission: A Twist in the Gut	Kataleptic Toxicology	No Restrictions
Intermission: Death from the Machine	Artisan of the Red Science	No Restrictions
Intermission: A Chorus in Opposition	A Player of Chess	No Restrictions
Intermission: A Stain on the Boards	Watchful	Consuming Genre: Must be a Comedy
Intermission: A Steel Compulsion	Shadowy	Consuming Genre: Must be a Tragedy
Intermission: Presentiments of Usurpation	Respectable	Starring Role must be King
Intermission: Red Suspicion	Dreaded	Starring Role must be Queen
Intermission: Covetous Heirs	Bizarre	Starring Role must be Knave

In any event, Scarlet Applause is still gathered in a more significant amount when using this check, 650 upon success.

The Finale

The finale has a final check that is based either on the red quality building up: Red Rapture, Red Hunger or Red Thirst, and either Dangerous or Persuasive. The Dangerous check provides Wounds even if successful, and the Persuasive check provides Nightmares even if successful. There is a slight deviation in flavor text if the role selected is the role you are playing.

Once complete, the payout is received, and the player may immediately do another play if desired.

Uses

Plays on the stage are a hefty source of Blood Oath, and The Costumer's Wares all use this for purchasing various equipment. Blood Oath also sell for 10 Stuiver each. When playing comedies, plays are a decent source of Stuivers since both Memory of a Much Stranger Self and Blood Oath can be sold. On average, for 15 turns, the player will get items that sell for roughly 1500 Stuiver per round, which is about 100 Stuivers per action, up to around 110 if all actions were successful. This is comparable to The Stacks, taking less actions, but either Wounds or Nightmares will always increase.