Master Classes In Etiquette
These two mini-arcs are started and completed in Mahogany Hall.
Educating Lyme
Jasper and Frank want him to understand human manners. Your job is to play Dr Coppermann to Lyme's automaton - fitting, as your lessons are to be held in the empty auditorium at Mahogany Hall. Raise your Pygmalion quality to between 5 and 12 to unlock further options.
[Unlocked with Educating Lyme 1]
[Unlocked with Pygmalion 1]
Dexterity
Clay Men have all the problems you'd expect handling knives, forks, knitting needles, and so on.
_ 
challenge
Neatly done
After a few attempts at various crafts, Lyme produces a passable pair of crocheted mittens. He's making good progress with a spoon, too. It turns out that Clay Men sometimes ingest mud or gravel. It strengthens them.
Persuasive increase
Gain: 97 x
Glim
Pygmalion increase (2 change points)
This is getting expensive
Lyme tries hard, but in his huge hands, spoons bend, knitting needles snap and pencils splinter. You haven't dared give him a knife.
Persuasive increase
Wounds increase
Social hierarchies
Clay Men don't have the same kind of convoluted social structures as people. You need to help him understand what he's dealing with.
_ challenge
'So the aristocracy own everything, but they don't work for it?'
You draw charts and explain about power, wealth and influence. The history of the class system is striking sparks within Lyme, and he's asking a lot of astute questions. Some awkward ones, too, especially about the Masters of the Bazaar.
Persuasive increase
Gain: 99 x
Glim
Pygmalion increase (2 change points)
'So an earl is less important than a viscount and more than a duchess?'
No, no. Lyme is keen to get to the bottom of the class system, but its intricacies are hard to grasp. He's not quite fit to take tea with the Duchess yet.
Persuasive increase
Scandal increase
Bazaar politics
The new order of things, since the Fall, is something everyone's had to get used to. If Lyme's to be involved in his uncles' 'business', he will need to follow suit.
_ challenge
A keen interest
Post-Lapsarian politics is all about the Masters of the Bazaar. You explain what you know about their habits and spheres of influence, and Lyme drinks it in. At the end of the lesson, you look towards the back of the theatre. Is that a pair of glowing eyes, there in the shadows? Has… someone… been listening?
Persuasive increase
Gain: 102 x
Glim
Pygmalion increase (2 change points)
A dangerous interest
You explain what you know about the Masters of the Bazaar, and Lyme listens avidly. He asks question after question about their power. Questions you don't know the answer to. Dangerous questions.
Persuasive increase
Nightmares increase
Reading and writing
Jasper and Frank need a business associate. That means someone who's at least basically literate and numerate.
_ challenge
[Unlocked with Pygmalion 1]
Letters and numbers
Lyme's big hands are unused to handling delicate pens and inkwells, but he's getting there. He's showing promise as an accountant. Above all, though, he has a remarkable facility for reading. Once you've taught him his letters, he starts devouring all the literature he can find. He thanks you for your 'munificent and exemplary instructions and edifications'. Well, his vocabulary's certainly improved.
Persuasive increase
Gain: 105 x
Glim
Pygmalion increase (3 change points)
Inkblots
Lyme's surprisingly quick at grasping the alphabet, but he's still having problems with the technical aspects. Such as managing inkwells without throwing ink all over himself, your notebooks, your clothes… Patience is a virtue in a teacher, you're discovering.
Persuasive increase
Nightmares increase
Leisure
A foreign concept to Clay Men. Can you get Lyme to actually enjoy an activity? Take him to the shroom-hopping.
_ challenge
[Unlocked with Pygmalion 3]
Modest beginnings
It's a struggle against every ethos embedded in his Clay, but once you've explained to Lyme that the people shouting aren't in pain and the people racing aren't running away from something, he relaxes. There's even a spark of something close to enjoyment in his eyes by the end of the day.
Persuasive increase
Gain: 108 x
Glim
Pygmalion increase (3 change points)
'But why? But why?'
Leisure activities are, by definition, not work. But they are activities, just as work is. Lyme wants to know what the difference is. Your explanations aren't convincing him, especially when he sees how much apparent pain some of the shroom-hoppers are in. Being seen with him is embarrassing, too.
Persuasive increase
Scandal increase
Independent thought
The crucial question. Can you help Lyme learn to think on his own?
_ challenge
[Unlocked with Pygmalion 5]
Glimmers of rationality
Your approach is philosophical. You set Lyme a series of thought experiments that require him to make decisions. Would he prefer to be human or Clay? Would he save a pet weasel or a priceless painting from a burning warehouse? Eventually, he starts coming up with questions of his own. 'Would I prefer to work for Jasper and Frank,' he asks, 'or for Mr Fires, or for the neddy men, or for myself? Or for others of Clay? Or for society as a whole?' He's an apt pupil. But maybe this sort of dangerous talk is why people don't normally educate Clay Men.
Persuasive increase
Gain: 111 x
Glim
Pygmalion increase (3 change points)
'Why is this better?'
Lyme understands that someone has to make decisions, but he's used to it being someone else. You lecture him on practicality and consequences, but it's too dry, and you're struggling. After the fiftieth 'why' of the lesson, you call it a day.
Introduce Lyme to a child
Unlocks: Pygmalion 5, Educating Lyme 1
Talking to a small child without scaring her away will be a good first test for the Clay Man.
Help him communicate with the young person
There's a matinée today, so finding a child to talk to is easy. Encourage Lyme to entertain her, perhaps by showing her a toy.
Pygmalion challenge, low risk at 10, disappears at 12
'I like Mr Lyme. He's friendly.'
Under your supervision, Lyme does very well. He neither scares the child nor breaks the toy. In fact, the little girl seems to find him quite charming.
Rewards:
Gain: 102 x Glim
Pygmalion increase (3 change points)
'Mummy, help me. He smells strange.'
You instruct Lyme to smile at the child as best he can, but the mangled grimace he produces sends her screaming back to her - by now irate - mother.
Rewards:
Pygmalion decrease
Suspicion increase
Send Lyme to the market
Unlocks: Pygmalion 7, Educating Lyme 1
Can he make his own choices about what to buy?
A basket but no list
Give Lyme the responsibility for choosing what you'll have for dinner.
Pygmalion challenge, straightforward at 13; action disappears at Pygmalion 14
A basket of good things
You follow Lyme to Spite, but stand back while he shops. He's slow, but he chooses mushrooms of various types, potatoes, turnips - he has an affinity with things that are still covered in the mud they grew in. You return with a full basket. Something red glimmers in his eyes as he thanks you for your help.
Rewards:
Gain: 108 x Glim
Pygmalion increase (3 change points)
Unaccountably Peckish decrease
An eccentric supper
You let Lyme do the choosing at the market. But he keeps buying potatoes. The muddier, the better, as far as he's concerned. When you gently prompt him to consider other vegetables, he just stares at you. Perhaps you need to give him a few more lessons.
Rewards:
Suspicion increase
Pygmalion decrease (2 change points)
Unaccountably Peckish increase
A business errand for Lyme
Unlocks: Pygmalion 9, Educating Lyme 1
Jasper and Frank want to see if their 'nephew' is ready to join the family business.
[Unlocked with Educating Lyme 1]
[Unlocked with Pygmalion 9]
Something not too difficult
Set him the task of collecting protection money from the box office at the Antimacassar Theatre. Jasper and Frank have a long-standing relationship there.
_ challenge, straightforward at 14
A nice haul
You take Lyme down to the Antimacassar. On the way, you offer him some hints and tips on how to handle the situation. He listens hard. When you get there, he's affable but firm with the box-office urchin. You've taught him well.
Gain: 50 x
Glim
Pygmalion increase
[3 change points]
Excessive force
You give Lyme some suggestions on the way to the Antimacassar, but they're not very specific. As a result, he's far too aggressive with the box-office urchin, which leads to tears. Jasper and Frank won't be pleased. Good relationships with customers are everything.
Suspicion increase
Pygmalion decrease
Try challenging him
Take Lyme to collect something Jasper and Frank need from the docks.
_ challenge, high-risk at 10
A successful trip
You explain to Lyme that he needs to be firm when handling dockers. He's very interested in discussing their terms of employment with you, and you have to warn him not to ask questions about Mr Fires. You let Lyme lead the transaction, and he handles it with aplomb, thanks to your warnings.
Gain: 80 x
Glim
Pygmalion increase
[3 change points]
'So, your contract of employment…'
You explain to Lyme that he needs to be firm when dealing with dockers. He begins handling the transaction very confidently, but without warning, launches into a series of very inappropriate questions. You have to leave in a hurry.
Suspicion increase
Pygmalion decrease
Make absolutely sure Jasper and Frank won't be disappointed
It might cost a little, but it's a lot safer. And you might get something a little special.
Requires 3 Fate
Fate-locked content must not be placed on the wiki, per the developers.
Set Lyme to writing
Unlocks: Pygmalion 12, Educating Lyme 1
Lyme is progressing well, beginning to think for himself. Can he produce a piece of writing all on his own yet?
Encourage him to write a factual essay
It will be good practice. Jasper and Frank want him to be able to keep detailed records.
Pygmalion challenge, low risk at 16
Apt and pithy
Lyme produces a grubby piece of paper, smeared but legible. It's a piece entitled The Economy of Wolfstack Docks. There are a few errors here, factual and grammatical, but overall, it's an achievement. You've taught him well. He does demonstrate quite a bias towards the dock workers, though.
Rewards:
Gain: 112 x Glim
Pygmalion increase (3 change points)
A jumble of rage
Lyme hands you a piece of paper. He's looking shy. When you unfold it, you don't find the promised piece on the history of Wolfstack Docks. Instead it's an incoherent, ranting tirade against the Masters. The content is dangerous, but the spelling and grammar are worse. What have you been teaching him?
Rewards:
Suspicion increase
Pygmalion decrease
Ask him to write a story
Lyme has quite a fondness for reading. Encouraging him to write fiction is the ultimate test of his education. [Success here will mean your pupil's education is finished!]
Pygmalion challenge, high risk at 12
A charming tale of weasels and lizards
You spend a lot of time talking to Lyme about style, narrative and plot. It pays off when he presents you with a sweet little tale about his pets. He's inordinately fond of his pets, and he's shown a lot of imagination here, depicting them as Clay Men in animal form. You've definitely developed his mind. Whether you've improved it or not is another question. Either way, Jasper and Frank are generous.
Rewards:
Gain: 700 x Glim
was 1000 Glim, changed as of April 9th, 2012 at the latest
Your 'Pygmalion' Quality has gone!
Your 'Educating Lyme' Quality has gone!
An odd little tale
Lyme wants to try this by himself, and so you leave him to his own devices. It is fiction, after all. Maybe it's better without too much guidance?
No, no, it's not. You consign his story to the flames before it can imprint itself too strongly on your mind. What in the Neath has he learned from you?
Pygmalion decrease (10 change points)
suspicion increase (3 change points)
Instructing a Louche Devil
Unlocks: Pygmalion 1
Make him presentable to polite society. Or Jasper and Frank will be displeased, not to mention the Brass Embassy. [Raise your Pygmalion quality to between 5 and 12 to unlock further options.]
Elocution
That devilish drawl has to go. Not to mention that insolent tone.
'The FOG in SPITE coils MAINLY in the NIGHT'
Your time spent among high Society serves you well. You devise exercises in diction and enunciation. Whilst the devil makes a great show of being bored by the repetition, his speech is noticeably improving.
Rewards:
Persuasive increase
Gain: 97 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Pygmalion increase
Deportment
That languid slouch projects a lazy confidence, certainly, but it's shocking to refined company.
A straightening of the spine
You've seen actors rehearsing, so you know what to do. You set the devil to walking up and down with a pile of books balanced on his brutish head. It's working. He's moving almost like a human. You've even noticed him dipping into Slowcake's Exceptionals in his breaks.
Rewards:
Persuasive increase
Gain: 99 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Pygmalion increase
Camouflage
Clothes, shoes, spectacles, this devil's ignorant of the proper accoutrements for a modern chap about town.
A moth emerging from a chrysalis
Most devils need no more than a pair of smoked glasses to pass for human, superficially at least. This one's trickier. Trips to the gentlemen's outfitter, advice on matching handkerchiefs and cravats, and some actors' tricks with rouge and powder are beginning to help, though.
Rewards:
Persuasive increase
Gain: 102 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Pygmalion increase (2 change points)
Morality
Most devils take a detached interest in human morality. This one just stares at you, head to one side, when you raise the subject.
'But why not?'
You start to explain the basics of concepts like 'good' and 'evil'. As his initial incomprehension clears, your pupil begins to ask some intelligent questions. Questions that would have any clergyman reaching for the laudanum, but still.
Rewards:
Persuasive increase
Gain: 105 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Pygmalion increase (3 change points)
History and politics
Unlocks: Pygmalion 3
This devil lacks even a basic grounding. He needs to learn about social politics, too, if he's ever to be useful to the Brass Embassy.
A capacity for expedient deceit
Once he's grasped your introduction to human politics, your pupil begins to take the ideas apart to see how he could use them. You explain 'social climbing' and he starts plotting ways to take advantage of overambitious parvenus. It's not the most balanced approach, but it's undoubtedly what the Brass Embassy was hoping for.
Rewards:
Persuasive increase
Gain: 108 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Pygmalion increase (3 change points)
Philosophy
Unlocks: Pygmalion 5
The heart of the matter. Try to teach the devil why humans value their souls. He needs to know, if he's to start parting one from the other.
Success - of a sort
For once, he's willing to learn. You cite poetry, you discuss emotions and religion and scientific theories. The devil takes it all in. 'So,' he says at the end of the lesson, 'Your own soul. How… attached are you really?' He begins to turn everything you've taught him back on you. Those big, yellow eyes are hypnotic…
You come to with a jolt. Yes. He's definitely learnt from you. And you've made him very dangerous.
Rewards:
Persuasive increase
Gain: 111 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Pygmalion increase (3 change points)
Take the Louche Devil to the shroom-hopping race
Unlocks: Pygmalion 5
A good early test for him, this. If he can pass as human from a distance here, you're getting somewhere.
Encourage him to keep to the shadows
Don't get overambitious.
Unobtrusively successful
The Louche Devil takes your advice and doesn't draw attention to himself. And no one notices him. You observe his demeanour for a while, and from a distance, he could indeed be taken for a human man. It is a start.
Rewards:
Persuasive increase
Gain: 106 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Pygmalion increase
Encourage him to be confident
What better test for him than mingling with the crowd, placing a few bets, and so on?
A modest success
Your pupil acquits himself well. He makes a few successful wagers without terrifying the moss accountants. He only attracts cursory glances when he buys a puffball ice. Perhaps you can civilise him yet.
Rewards:
Gain: 109 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Pygmalion increase
Take the Louche Devil to the Doubt Street Scullery
Unlocks: Pygmalion 8
Dinner at a rough and ready chop house will be a good test for his new skills. He won't need to be too refined here.
Take supper with him
Use the opportunity to work on his table manners.
A meal without incident
You enjoy a peaceful supper with the devil, who sits up straight, uses cutlery, doesn't spill his ale and even manages a few almost-polite remarks. Progress indeed.
Rewards:
Gain: 108 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Unaccountably Peckish decrease
Pygmalion increase
An unpleasant experience
Your pupil forgets all his lessons. He slouches, he eats with his fingers, he gets bored and goes to sleep under the table. People are looking. This is no good.
Rewards:
Scandal increase
Pygmalion decrease
Can the Louche Devil negotiate a tea shop?
Jasper suggests that your pupil might take a young lady to Beatrice's Tea Parlour one afternoon, to practise his manners.
Unlocks: Pygmalion 10
A robust young lady
There's a handsome young woman who's rather fond of the company of devils. She'll be amenable to going out for tea.
'Personable. Almost charming, in an animalistic sort of way.'
The lady reports back to you after she's taken leave of the devil. 'He could begin to pass for a gentleman,' she says. 'His dress was not too eccentric for the season. He claimed to be interested when I told him about my Aunt Tabitha's dropsy.'
Progress indeed. He's doing well.
Rewards:
Gain: 109 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Pygmalion increase
'Outrageous. And worse, ineffectual.'
The lady reports back to you after she's taken leave of the devil. 'That young fellow,' she says, 'needs to learn some patience and finesse. We'd barely sat down before he'd grabbed my hand and tried to sweet-talk me into an Abstraction. I told him a lady likes to be wooed, but he got boorish and left once I'd said no. You need to teach him some manners.'
Rewards:
Scandal increase
Pygmalion decrease
A Society dinner with the Louche Devil
Unlocks: Pygmalion 12
He's making progress. If you can prove it, the Brass Embassy will reward you well. Can you help him make it through a dinner with some of the Duchess's Society friends?
Concentrate on the etiquette
If he can use the right fork for each course, he's almost there.
A modest success
The devil negotiates the tricky regiment of cutlery with panache. He uses his napkin and even his fingerbowl appropriately. He makes one or two slightly off-colour comments, and some of the ladies seem a little nervous, but the Brass Embassy are encouraged enough to offer you a little bonus.
Rewards:
Gain: 80 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Pygmalion increase (capped somewhere < 15)
Unaccountably Peckish decrease (mine disappeared completely at 3)
Oh dear
The Louche Devil doesn't say anything offensive all evening. But he uses his soup spoon to eat his fish course, blows his nose on his napkin and drinks the contents of his fingerbowl. You have more work to do here.
Rewards:
Scandal increase
Pygmalion decrease
Concentrate on conversation
If he's able to talk charmingly, they'll forgive a few cutlery-related faux pas. [Success here will mean your pupil's education is finished!]
Looks like he'll go far
You've transformed the Louche Devil. He stares avidly at the other guests, to be sure, and if they looked behind his new smoked glasses, they'd see the empty hungers smoulder. But now, he conceals it. He charms and flatters. The Brass Embassy is delighted with your achievement, and rewards you well.
Rewards:
Gain: 1000 x Nevercold Brass Sliver
Your 'Pygmalion' Quality has gone!
A faux pas
The Louche Devil sets out to charm the other guests. He hides his true nature well. Until he takes one too many glasses of muscaria wine. Before you know it, he's trying to take a lady's soul right there at - well, on - the dinner table. This will not do.
Scandal increase (3 change points)
Pygmalion decrease (10 change points)
