When it came to deciding our cast for Mask of the Rose, we knew we wanted to include a range of characters both old and new from our long-running browser game, Fallen London. We wanted our cast to offer a variety of perspectives and experiences on the events of Mask of the Rose, while keeping to our goal of a tightly focused and scoped game. Returning characters had to both add something unique to our cast while offering room for exploration and mysteries unfamiliar to players both familiar and unfamiliar with Fallen London. We therefore had to be parsimonious with our roster of characters and strict with ourselves when it came to including too many iconic characters from Fallen London, which features a cast of hundreds. We offered a range of characters we were excited to explore further, in their pre Fallen London days, as offerings at our highest backer tier. The character selection answered our above criteria, and we were delighted thinking of the possibilities each could add to the game. In the end, two were chosen by our generous backers at the Minister Tier: the Tentacled Entrepreneur, and the subject of this blog, the Bishop of Southwark.
The Bishop has long been a favourite of ours at Failbetter and we were extremely pleased to learn he was going to be joining our roster of characters in Mask of the Rose. The thunderous, rambunctious Bishop of Southwark is a fiery, complicated character, both humorous and tragic. The Bishop, or Reginald, as he's known in Mask, is a long-time fan favourite in Fallen London. He blusters, he shouts, he's a champion pugilist and he plans to make war on Hell. The Bishop of Southwark is a pillar of the community and a force to be reckoned with, a shouting stentorian subversion of what we imagine a Victorian vicar to be. Over the years we've enjoyed exploring the story of this fan-favourite and complicating the narrative of this seemingly severe churchman. We've delved into his backstory in Fallen London before, but we realised we didn't know much about Reginald's origins: where did he come from? Why did he join the Church to begin with? What motivated him to undergo such a drastic journey to reach the position he's in by the time Fallen London rolls around? We quickly realised we had a lot of story we wanted to tell with Reginald and many questions we'd yet to answer. From there it was a case of working out where he fits into the narrative as a whole - we wanted to fit him seamlessly into the world when he appears in the second act. This meant understanding which characters he was likely to meet and which events he was likely to be present for. This also involved imagining his reactions to everything that has happened prior to his first appearance and everything that occurs from there in the game. Ultimately we wanted to ensure players who wished to spend time with our good friend Reggie would be rewarded for their investment in him.
We also wanted to use him as a point of contrast with our other, more established churchman, Theophilus. Theophilus is, initially, a steadier figure ensconced in St Alban's, where Reginald finds himself seconded as a young canon. The two quickly establish the dynamic of their relationship, grounded in their contrasting views on just about everything. The player will have plenty of opportunities to get involved in the conflict, as both men are invariably tangled up in each other's plots. We wanted to use this contrast to explore differing perspectives within the Church on the events of the Fall, and subsequent approaches to life in the Neath. Reginald's inclusion add another lens on our exploration of characters of various faiths responding to the calamity and opportunity of the Fall, to go alongside Theophilus, Harjit and the events at the Tentergrounds Synagogue. Reginald is our vehicle to both delve into the origins of an iconic Fallen London character and show him in a whole new light while also providing a fresh angle on the people and circumstances of Mask of the Rose - including, of course, the player character. While we can't promise a fully fledged romance with Reginald (if nothing else he's not really at a stage in his life where such a thing would be anything other than disastrous), we can certainly say this hotblooded priest is full of surprises. And, of course, we can finally reveal the origin of Reginald's love of resolving disputes with wrestling

[ 2022-05-13 10:18:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome to Fallen London: a darkly hilarious gothic underworld where death is a temporary inconvenience, the rats talk, and Hell is only a stone's throw away.

Thanks to an unknown bargain, London now resides in a vast cavern under the earth. Down here, the sun doesn't shine, and Parliament has sunk into the Thames. Queen Victoria never emerges from her palace. Cats spy on their owners and whisper their secrets abroad. The fabric of strait-laced Victorian society has begun to fray.

New Masters are in charge. Why are they so… tall? And always cloaked? And why are they so interested in love stories?



The possibilities for personal connection in London are different now. Thrown together in crisis, you might befriend or romance many of the characters you meet, from Griz, your assertive housemate for whom the Fall was a chance to break free of Victorian societal norms, to the infernally well-dressed gentleman at the Brass Consulate with the amber eyes.

Even death itself has a twist here: the first murder victim since the Fall is feeling much better, and keen to see justice done. Unfortunately, as the doctor who treated him immediately before he expired, your housemate Archie is the prime suspect...

• (Re)invent yourself: who were you before the Fall? Who will you be now?
  
• Create outfits from a selection of clothing and unusual accessories to unlock different story options
  
• Fall in love with a cast of diverse Londoners, each with their own secrets
  
• Matchmake among your friends, or seek love for yourself (by any definition you like)
  
• Write love stories in a delightful minigame, and use them to impress the new Masters
  
• Pick up odd jobs to earn money and gather resources. How are you at rat catching?
  
• Solve the first murder since the Fall, with the assistance of the victim
  
• Discover cosy, mysterious and magnificent locations in a dark and delicious version of Victorian London
  
• Seek deeper and deeper secrets over multiple playthroughs

Will you be a brilliant matchmaker, connecting friends and rivals while remaining unattached? Or are you looking for lasting love? Perhaps you're open to whatever comes your way? Every major storyline is accessible regardless of whether your approach to love is romantic or platonic.

Use an elaborate, dynamic story-crafting system to create love stories – and murder theories. Are the twists in the tale not to your taste? Then change the motive, the location, even the victim, and see how the stories adapt!





Your past will open different doors for you in London. What was your life on the Surface like? Were your family landed gentry? Or did they own a tailor’s shop, or dabble in the occult?

Your clothing will also make people think differently of you. Your outfits open new possibilities in conversation: be bolder, more commanding, more flirtatious. Ingratiate yourself with London's inhabitants by changing your style of dress – they won't be able to resist you in that hat!



You'll also work odd jobs and collect resources which will open new avenues in social situations. Your housemate Griz has found you work as census-taker for those curious new Masters. Fill your census-taker's notebook with intimate details about your fellow citizens and you'll find you can pursue deeper relationships with them, romantic or otherwise.







Griz

For your fellow lodger Griz, the Fall of London has been a liberation – the chance to throw off her corsets, dump the dresses and be taken seriously in a position that would have been forbidden to her when she was 'Miss Griselda'.

Archie

For your other housemate Archie, the change is terrifying. What is a medical student supposed to believe in when even the laws of death no longer apply?

Harjit

When the Fall struck, Harjit stepped up to help anyone who needed it. Now he’s settling into his role as a man in uniform, but the territory is unfamiliar – and, secretly, he has a missing person of his own to find.

Milton

Milton is the amber-eyed host of a literary parlour with a scalding handshake and a prior address in Hell. He’s an excellent listener, but does he only want you for your soul?

Rachel

Rachel was halfway through her serialised novel when London fell and everything she was writing about was turned upside-down. Her publisher grows impatient. Fortunately (?) meeting Milton has rekindled her passion – for more than just writing.

David

Rachel’s brother, and no fan of Milton, David is also destined to be Fallen London’s first murder victim. When he returns from the dead, you can ask him all about it.

Horatia

For a decade, Horatia has taken in lodgers and turned them into family. Since London fell, people need the security she offers more than ever. So when a man made entirely of clay knocks at the door, offering to pay handsomely for lodgings, she can hardly refuse.

Mr Pages

One of London's new, mysterious “Masters”, Mr Pages has embarked on the titanic endeavour of conducting London’s first post-Fall census! But why are its questions so concerned with the love-lives of London’s citizens? How do people declare their affection, in this fair city? How lasting are their attachments? Might a Londoner take an interest in a very tall, broad-shouldered, cloaked personage that leans towards the chiropterous, hypothetically speaking?





Explore this unique city in glorious, richly rendered 2D. Experience London through three seasons: the season of Confessions, the season of Yule, and the season of Love. Help establish the first Feast of the Rose, a festival of romance that will be celebrated in London for decades to come!

For players of Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies, Mask of the Rose offers a chance to immerse yourselves in the city that founded this deep, dark, and marvellous universe. And for veteran players of the Fallen London browser game, it marks your first opportunity to visit the city just after it fell. But fear not: Mask of the Rose is an excellent introduction to the universe we’ve been building for more than a decade, and you don’t need to have played our other games first. Come on in. Most things won’t bite, unless you want them to.

Explore the locales, lives, and loves of an impossible city. Exchange bon-mots with devils. Investigate the first murder where the victim can testify at the murderer’s trial. Dive into the sunken ruins of poor drowned Parliament. And if you’re truly reckless, fall in love.