When you die, you come here…
What happens when you die in Fallen London?
Death is not always permanent in Fallen London. This gives rise to a peculiar overlap between the funeral parlour and the sanatorium.
Sidebar text.
Who goes to the boat?
When your Wounds Quality reaches 8, you suddenly and abruptly die, moving to a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river. There are other unwise or unexpected choices that will send you here even if your Wounds has not reached 8. You may also deliberately choose to die and you will end up here.
What is the boat like?
Dark and gloomy. But peaceful.
What can you do here?
Play games with the ferryman to try to win your life back, or interact with your fellow passengers. Some will offer stories, some will offer a quicker route back to the brighter shore. An opportunity could arise to become a Courier for the Dead here, too. You can also lie back, close your eyes, and give up…if you're really sure you want to.
There is no access to the Bazaar from here.
How do I get out of here?
Storylets and opportunity cards will reduce your Wounds, but at the cost of action points and possibly items. When your Wounds Quality reaches 0, you will awaken in your Lodgings.
Storylets on A Slow Boat…
Offer the Boatman a sacrifice
Do you have anything warm, furry and disposable?
Surrender any Lucky Weasels you're carrying
Unlocked with Lucky Weasel 1
I'm sure they'll come out of it fine. They're lucky little fellows, after all.
Your sacrifice disappears into the folds of the Boatman's heavy coat
A portion of your debt to Death has been discharged.
Lose:
all Lucky Weasel
Wounds decrease
2 change points
Wounds decrease does not appear to improve no matter how many pets you lose.
Surrender any Sulky Bats you're carrying to the Boatman
Unlocked with Sulky Bat 1
Well they shouldn't have complained so much, should they?
Your sacrifice disappears into the folds of the Boatman's heavy coat
A portion of your debt to Death has been discharged.
Lose:
all Sulky Bat
Wounds decrease
2 change points
Wounds decrease does not appear to improve no matter how many pets you lose.
Surrender any Dazed Raven Advisors you may be carrying
Unlocked with Dazed Raven Advisor 1
A bird full of secrets! That must be worth something!
Your sacrifice disappears into the folds of the Boatman's heavy coat
A portion of your debt to Death has been discharged.
Lose:
all Dazed Raven Advisor
Wounds decrease
2 change points
Wounds decrease does not appear to improve no matter how many pets you lose.
Play chess with the Boatman
Well, apparently he plays chess in paintings and folk-songs. Which are always accurate, of course.
(Unavailable with Wounds 15+)
He's done this before…
He's a veteran. But you might be something unexpected.
[Careful! Losing may sink you deeper into death.]
(No longer available at Watchful 83)
(Watchful challenge, straightforward at 82)
Look at that!
A worthy success indeed. But you're glad he doesn't offer to shake hands.
Watchful increase
Wounds decrease
2 change points
Oh dear…
At least he doesn't gloat. But the boat drifts an arm's length closer to the far shore.
Watchful increase
Wounds increase
2 change points
A smile of recognition
At least you hope it's recognition. It could be anticipation. Either way, he sets up the board. [Careful! Losing to the Boatman may make matters much worse.]
Unlocked with Watchful 83 (No longer available at Watchful 103)
(Watchful challenge, modest at 102)
A hard-won fight
He's good. You're better. Or he's playing a deeper game still.
Watchful increase
Wounds decrease
the Boatman's Opponent increase
A cunning snare
Have you played too many games against the Boatman? Has he learnt to anticipate your feints and assaults? Or is he just a d—nably clever player?
Watchful increase
Wounds increase
A nod of respect
He knows you, this one. Have you played against him before? Or does he follow your games in the living world? [Careful! Losing to the Boatman may increase your Wounds to a perilous degree.]
Unlocked with Watchful 103 (No longer available at Watchful 123)
(Watchful challenge, modest at 122)
An extraordinary talent
Death comes against you in a hailstorm of pawns, a lightning-fork of bishops. Perhaps he's been holding back in the past. He has no mercy now. But neither do you. Mate in four.
Watchful increase
Wounds decrease (at least 3 change points)
the Boatman's Opponent increase
Does he read the chess press?
He knew Ruprecht's Hook! You thought only three players in Europe understood that one. O dark dominion.
Watchful increase
Wounds increase
A friendly greeting
'Wonderful work against Marfellow in the end-game,' he remarks creakily as he sets up the board. What? Is Death a fan of yours? [Careful! Losing may take you further and further from the shores of day.]
Unlocked with Watchful 123 (No longer available at Watchful 143)
(Watchful challenge, high-risk at 137)
A moment of pettiness
The Boatman hisses as he topples his king with a bony knuckle. 'Enjoy it while it lasts,' he growls. 'You're all of you mine in the end.'
Watchful increase
Wounds decrease (5 change points)
the Boatman's Opponent increase (2 change points)
Approaching the Gates of the Garden increase (1 change point)>
The wisdom of ages
You bring a lifetime of mortal ingenuity to the fight. He brings a thousand thousand years of cunning. You contend against him for what seems years: but in the end, there can only be one result.
Watchful increase
Wounds increase (3 points)
A grin of sorts
'You again! Couldn't stay away, eh?'
Unlocked with Watchful 143
A game of spider-like patience
You construct your web strand by strand. So does he. Each move thrills across the board like a signal. You know that the game is win twenty moves before he finally concedes.
Watchful increase
Wounds decrease (5 change points)
A twist in your tale! You are now the Boatman's Opponent. OR the Boatman's Opponent increase (1 change point)
Age and night and patience
It's like wrestling with time. You know three moves in that you're going to lose. After that, it's just a question of how grandly you go. You do make him work for his victory.
Watchful increase
Wounds increase (2 change points)
A twist in your tale! You are now the Boatman's Opponent. OR the Boatman's Opponent increase (1 change point)
Dice with the Boatman
Bone dice. Of course they would be.
Rattling the dice in your cupped hands….
Roll well. he's grinning at you.
(A matter of luck: it could go either way.)
You're coming out ahead!
A lucky roll? Perhaps you'll have another lucky roll.
Wounds decrease
3 change points
Oh, dear…
If you thought he was grinning before, now his grin nearly meets behind his head. He scoops up the dice again and offers them to you.
Wounds increase
2 change points
Opportunity Cards on A Slow Boat…
Most of these Opportunity Cards are red-bordered (indicated by Auto-Fire) which means they take effect when you select them.
'Take a message to the living world!'
The girl who sits near the prow of the boat is pleading for someone to deliver a message. She'll offer a little of her remaining breath to anyone who agrees. But all the others seem too apathetic.
Accept her commission
'Do this one thing for me, and you shall have the last thirteen breaths from my lungs.'
You've accepted a dead woman's commission
Well, she was a dying woman. But she's a dead woman now, all pale and calm. You, meanwhile, are a little closer to life. When you return to the living world, you have a message for the Gracious Widow in Spite.
Wounds decrease
3 change points
A twist in your tale! You are now
a Courier for the Dead!
Remember the rough camaraderie of Watchmaker's Hill
The smell of powder and gunsmoke!
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Dangerous 15
Recall the rough camaraderie of Watchmaker's Hill
The smell of powder and gunsmoke! The half-wild laughter of women and men who weren't quite devoured! The lights of the Observatory, high on the hill! You must find your way back.
Wounds decrease
1 change point
Recall glad times at the Singing Mandrake
Wine, warmth, good company…
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Persuasive 15
Recall glad times at the Singing Mandrake
Wine, warmth, good company. This place is nothing like that. Only dust to drink and the staring eyes of the dead. You must find a way back!
Wounds decrease
1 change point
Recall the noise and life of Spite
The slurred songs they sing in the gin-palaces…
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Shadowy 15
The slurred songs they sing in the gin-palaces! The rattle of the silk-weavers' looms! Spite! Filthy, murderous and vital! You must find your way back!
Wounds decrease
1 change point
Recall scenes from Ladybones Road
The yellow-eyed laughter of devils…
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Watchful 15
The yellow-eyed laughter of devils. The gloating murmurs of the old women who sell candied mushrooms. The gleam of the fittings on the trains in Moloch Street station. It's not so much, but it's home.
Wounds decrease
1 change point
Remember the Flit
On the roof-tops of Flit, you once saw a man bet he could jump all the way across Childcake Street without falling…
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Route: The Flit
Remember the Flit
On the roof-tops of Flit, you once saw a man bet he could jump all the way across Childcake Street without falling. He broke his neck. He was drunk, but drunk or sober, he'd not have done it if he knew what was waiting for him. You have to get back!
Wounds decrease
Remember the Forgotten Quarter
The Forgotten Quarter! -
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Route: The Forgotten Quarter
Remember the Forgotten Quarter
The Forgotten Quarter! The place is more like being dead than anywhere else in Fallen London. The silent, dripping statues. The avenues where only the wind walks. The glint of eyes imagined in the shadows. But it's still better than this. You have to get back!
Wounds decrease 1 change point
Recall the glitter of the Shuttered Palace
The light on the mirrors….
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Route: The Shuttered Palace 1
The light on the mirrors. The Chamberlain's narrow smile. The dangerous scents of the rose-gardens. It's not home. But it would be a shame to give all that up.
Wounds decrease
Remember the Regretful Soldier
One misty morning he took you out rat-shooting along the Stolen River…
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Aquaintance: Regretful Soldier 1
Remember the Regretful Soldier
One misty morning he took you out rat-shooting along the Stolen River. You remember he was looking out across the river when he dropped his gun in the mud and began to weep. You didn't understand why. Now you wonder: had he once seen this place?
Dangerous increase
Wounds decrease
Remember the Repentant Forger
You remember his uncertain frown…
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Aquaintance: Repentant Forger 1
Remember the Repentant Forger
You remember his uncertain frown. Your hands curled round a cup of coffee. The smell of oils. The chatter and scratch of the bats in the roof. You must get back!
Persuasive increase
Wounds decrease
Recall a certain hunger…
You remember a certain voice you heard in your dreams…
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Unaccountably Peckish 1
Remember a certain hunger…
You remember the hollow voice you heard in your dreams. The gnawing hunger in your belly. The way the darkness seemed populated with tiny movements. The sense you had that your bones were outgrowing your skin… perhaps you shouldn't go back. It's more peaceful here.
Watchful increase
Wounds increase
You remember the tomb-colonists, and shudder
Is that what's waiting for you if you recover?
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Connected: The Tomb-Colonies 1
Is that what's waiting for you if you recover? A half-life encased in bandages? Exile across the Unterzee? Even that must be better than this. You have to get back!
Wounds decrease
2 change points
…or you could just give up.
It's peaceful down here, after all.
Lie back and close your eyes
Are you quite sure about this?
The river laps against the boat's hull
You hear it in your bones. Your bones are quite prominent in your thoughts, actually. All that ivory and peace.
Wounds increase
3 change points
Nightmares decrease
2 change points
How much can you see of the far bank?
So that's the far country. What does death look like?
You can almost see details.
If you looked a little closer…but would that be wise?
Unlocked with Watchful 20
…it's not what they said, that place!
All around you, the dead cringe low and moan in desperate fear. You'll carry only a few desperate fragments of what you saw back to the land of the living. If you get there. Perhaps that's for the best.
Gain: 3 x Appalling Secret
Wounds increase
5+ change points
Nightmares increase
3+ change points
Pilfer a few breaths from another passenger
That chap in the back seems to be in better shape than you. Perhaps you could steal a little of his life.
Carefully now…
If you can lift a purse in the living world, surely you can steal a few breaths from a dead man down here?
(Shadowy challenge, straightforward at 45)
Success!
You sit up a little straighter, and there's a little more colour in your cheeks. The poor fellow you stole from slides sideways.
Shadowy increase
Wounds decrease
2 change points
Whoops, you've been noticed.
You've earned yourself a nasty glare. For a moment you thought he was going to push you out of the boat.
Shadowy increase
Remember where you fell
Where was it you left your body, now? In the street? At home in bed? How is the old thing getting on?
A sobering thought
Urchins are probably going through your pockets at this very moment.
Wounds decrease
1 change point
A sobering thought
You can almost see your corpse. Is that a spark of light you imagine in its imagined eye? [This will remove all your Wounds and allow you to return immediately.]
Unlocked with Wounds 3
Requires 11 Fate
Fate-locked content must not be placed on the wiki, per the developers.
Trail your fingers in the water
There are five rivers around the place of the dead…
Auto-fire
Trail your fingers in the water
There are five rivers around the place of the dead. More, on some maps. It would be very silly to dip your fingers in some of them. But this one is a little safer. The cold touch of its waters recalls life.
Wounds decrease
1 change point
Stare at the shore of the living world
There: movement, crowds, life….
Auto-fire
Stare at the shore of the living world
There: movement, crowds, life. The pale lights of Fallen London. The distant flicker of fires. The sight of it almost brings the roses back to your cheeks.
Wounds decrease
1 change point
You loved someone once
They must have passed this way, on this boat….
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Ambition: Nemesis 1
You loved someone once
They must have passed this way, on this boat. You could go on and join them, in the silent houses of the dead. But then how would you avenge them?
Wounds decrease
3 change points
You've unfinished business in the world of the living
There's someone waiting for you up there….
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Fascinating… 1
You've unfinished business in the world of the living
There's someone waiting for you up there. There's none of that warmth down here. You must get back!
Wounds decrease
2 change points
You've unfinished business in the world of the living
You knew it would be a battle to the death….
Auto-fire
Unlocked with Running Battle… 1
You've unfinished business in the world of the living
You knew it would be a battle to the death. You didn't mean your death! Damn it, you'll see this finished!
Wounds decrease
2 change points
Looking upwards
The river is endless. But, wait. Is that the reflection of someone you know? Someone living on the Surface?
Haunt someone on the Surface
Why not? It's one of the few perks that Death has to offer. And it will no doubt make you feel better.
Haunt someone on the Surface
Why not? It's one of the few perks that Death has to offer. And it will no doubt make you feel better.
From Death Choose a friend on Facebook, or follower/followee on Twitter to invite to join you in this.
Choose one of your contacts from the drop-down menu.
Choose friend, and they can visit this link to descend to Fallen London and start playing Echo Bazaar: personal link
Do you want to send them an automated message?
(untick the box if you just want to email them the link on your own)
[] Post this message on your Twitter stream:
"@friend yourname died in Fallen London. Which must be a bother. They sound remarkably perky though. personal link"
When your Wounds fall to zero…
When your Wounds fall to zero, all storylets disappear and you are shown the following storylet.
A sudden light!
You sit bolt upright! Everything hurts. But you're alive. For now.
You've moved to a new area: your Lodgings
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Failbetter Games asks that you read the FBG Fan Project Guidelines before adding content to this wiki.
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