Message #331658

[Flipz]

70943

Well, basically, you start off breaking out of prison, and from there, you kind of just wander at will.  You have four main stats (Watchful, Shadowy, Dangerous, and Persuasive), and at the beginning there are four main areas--one for each stat--with their own unique Storylets.  Some Storylets begin ongoing storylines, some of them are one-offs specifically to earn money/items/connections, and some of them start carousels (a small set of linked storylets in which you raise a specific quality--i.e. 'running battle'--in order to pass a test of that quality in the conclusion).  All of these are actions--you can store up to 10 actions at a time (20 if you buy Nex using real money), and they regenerate at a rate of 1 action every 10 minutes.  (Speaking of Nex [Fate is a form of Nex specific to Fallen London, but they're otherwise interchangeable], certain options require it--most of the smaller Nex costs are for "shortcuts" to make things easier/quicker, while the higher-cost options generally unlock complete storylines, including things like special locations and equipment.)

You also have a small deck of Opportunity cards, which can be played regardless of your current location (though some can only be DRAWN if you're in a certain location).  Opportunity cards work just like storylets, except that--unlike most storylets--you have to wait to draw them, and once you use them, they're gone.

I mentioned tests before--these are skill checks for your stats, and are pretty much the only means of increasing said stats.  Riskier challenges reward more CP (Change Points) to increase your stat, which requires an increasing number of CP per level based on the level you're reaching (i.e. to get from 2 to 3 in a stat requires a 3 CP increase, from 3 to 4 takes 4 CP, 4 to 5 takes 5 CP, etc, up to a cap of 50 CP/level [the stat caps are currently set to 160, I believe]).

There is no one "Main" storyline--the closest alternative is the option to pursue one of four Ambitions, but they're incomplete (Fallen London is, after all, still in beta, though it's a very full-featured beta).  For the most part, just see what intrigues you and pursue it.  (Note that some cards and storylets disappear if your stats get above a certain point--there's a small amount of equipment that can be used to lower your stats, but if you powerlevel too much, it is possible to miss some things--though most newer content is designed to be better-balanced for multiple stat levels.)

FL is very much an RPG more than an action game, and it's meant to be played in short bursts rather than long marathons like most games are.