Mask of the Rose (tuxdb.com)

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Today, I'd like to introduce another supporting player in Mask's cast - the Clay Lodger. Or, perhaps we should use his real name: Moss-on-Limestone.
The Clay Lodger was introduced as a stretch goal back in our Kickstarter campaign. For those familiar with our other titles, his introduction was intended to signal our inclusion of other Neathy characters in Mask, diversifying the range of characters within the cast. For those unfamiliar with our wider setting, Moss is a Clay Man - which is very much what it sounds like. The Clay Men hail from the living city of Polythreme, an ancient power across the sea from London. In that city, all manner of things are said to be alive and speak with their own voices - including its statues. Clay Men have appeared in several of our titles as recurring characters, ship officers, romance options, both as stalwart companions and bitter enemies. Clay Men have a particularly prominent role in Fallen London, where they've developed a long and complicated relationship with London following the Fall. Mask, being set some thirty years before Fallen London, offered a space to explore the development of that relationship from its outset - to investigate what that initial encounter might have looked like, both in how Londoners might have reacted to the Clay Men, but also how the Clay Men adjusted to life in London. All that said, we wanted Moss to have a unique perspective and a personal history specific to him, rather than to act as a stand-in for the entire body of Clay Men as a whole. We also knew from the Kickstarter that Moss carried with him a mystery of his own. We took the opportunity to work out some of the more unexplored elements of Polythreme's relationship with London - and the cities that came before it. In doing so we were able to establish a timeline for Moss' involvement with the fallen cities - and to chart areas of pre-Fall history involving the Clay Men that we've not had a chance to explore before. There are, we hope, some fun connections with our established lore too, grounded in a new perspective; that of a Clay Man beginning to establish his identity outside of the familiar structures - and strictures - of his homeland. Developing Moss' voice took some work - we wanted him to have a unique cadence, contrasting that of other characters. This has manifested in a number of ways. Chiefly, in his affect - his personality operates in a different register to many of the other characters. He is not perturbed by the events of the Fall, but like most of London, he is a fish out of water and struggles to keep up with the brave new world in which he finds himself. The other way Moss presents differently from the rest of the cast is his use of 'Loamsprach,' the language of the Clay Men. We were, alas, unable to establish a complete and accurate English-to-Loamsprach dictionary, and instead have resorted to including a variety of phrases in the original language, which punctuate Moss' speech. Close observers may even be able to discern their meaning here and there. Moss will appear around Yuletide to take up a room as a lodger in the boarding house. To say more about the circumstances surrounding his arrival at Horatia's would be to invite spoilers. Suffice to say he is likely to experience some turbulence fitting in - unless, of course, the player chooses to take an interest in this taciturn Clay Man and help him find his feet as he establishes himself in this new London.

[ 2022-11-18 14:23:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mask of the Rose

Failbetter Games Developer

Failbetter Games Publisher

Coming Soon Release

Singleplayer Tags

Game News Posts: 37

🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
🎮 Full Controller Support

Mostly Positive (205 reviews)

http://www.failbettergames.com

Steam Store

Public Linux Depots:

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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.

MINIMAL SETUPOS: Ubuntu 20.04+. ArchLinux
Processor: Intel Pentium 2GHZ or AMD equivalentMemory: 4 GB RAM
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: OpenGL 3.2+. Vulkan capable
Storage: <8 GB available space

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