Ambition: Heart's Desire (Guide)
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Early MYN Content and Onwards |
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They say that once every nine years there's a card game where you can gamble your soul and win your heart's desire. That sounds like tremendous fun.
Ambition: Heart's Desire! is about investigating, staging, and playing an underground card game, The Marvellous, in the hope of winning what you want most in the world. The main Attributes are 
and 
.
For more information on Ambitions and choosing between them, consult the Ambitions guide.
Progress[edit]
This Ambition can be started in 
with 6. You can check your progress at any time on the Myself tab under Ambition; the number after the title is the part of the story you're currently on. This can be helpful when you're unsure where to go next; just find the corresponding part number below.
Heart's Desire (0–12)[edit]
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 0: Follow up the rumour, if you're ready to choose this Ambition — unlocked with 6.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 1: Ask around about the game — 10.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 2: Purchase the book for
.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 2b: Find someone who knows where this mysterious address is — 15.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 2b: Find someone who knows where this mysterious address is —
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 3: Spend
or 
to arrange a meeting and obtain 
.
The next part of the story takes place in 
. If you haven't already learned this route as part of the Making Your Name (Watchful) storyline, you have three additional options to unlock it here.
- Open the route from the travel map for
, which costs 
5 at the Bazaar. - At
, Find the Forgotten Quarter by raising 
to 5. This requires 15 successful actions and increases 
by 1 CP on success (and 2 CP on failure). - If you've already unlocked
, you can choose to exchange a considerable quantity of Connections for London Street Signs. This will cost you 3 x 
for 5 x . This will also increase your 
by 1 CP.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 3b: Find the Fountain of Names — 15.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 4: Pick up her trail — 15.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 5: Lure the monkey down and get the
— 25. - Ambition: Heart's Desire! 6: Attempt to get sense out of the Hysterical Monkey — 20.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 7: Follow the monkey to Watchmaker's Hill and Find... something — 32.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 8: Pay the Blind Astronomer
. - Ambition: Heart's Desire! 9: Find the Monkey, who is now the — 27.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 10: Test the truth of the Blind Astronomer's story — 37.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 11: Put up a stake of
— 30.
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! 12: Carry the monkey through the crowds in the streets — 35.
The Bishop of St Fiacre's[edit]
- The Bishop of St Fiacre's 1: Arrange an audience with the Bishop — 42 OR
OR 
. - The Bishop of St Fiacre's 2: Start the conversation — 52 OR 42 OR
exactly 3 - The Bishop of St Fiacre's 3: Give the Bishop
. - The Bishop of St Fiacre's 4: You now need to acquire
. This storylet provides several options for doing so.
- By far, the best option is to have another player send you coins. If they already have some, they can click on the coins in their inventory to send you 30 of them; if not, Arrange for a theft from the Museum of Mistakes.
| Option | Coins
|
Challenge | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Send your monkey out into the night looking for coins | 1 |  10%
|
Increases by 1 CP, which will be expensive to reduce later.
|
| Gamble for silver! | 2 (Rare: 10) | 20%
|
Costs  ; requires  5
|
| A polypous offer | 6 | Costs  and 
| |
| Accidentally commission burglaries | 6 |  60
|
Costs  and 
|
| Visit the Numismatrix | 1 | Costs 
| |
| The Master's Voice | 50 | Costs  Connected: The Masters 1 CP; also yields 
| |
| Arrange for a theft from the Museum of Mistakes | 30 | Costs 
| |
| Twist together the skeins of destiny | 20 | Costs 38 FATE | |
| Speak to the manager about... | 1 | Costs in A State of Some Confusion
|
The Topsy King[edit]
- Ambition: Heart's Desire! (The Flit): If you don't have , you can unlock it here by paying
or and a 55 check. You can also unlock it in the Enter the Flit storylet on the map. - Heart's Desire – the Topsy King: Secure A private audience with the King with
and 70% - The Topsy King 1: Mediate between the monkey and the Topsy King — 63
- The Topsy King 2: Attempt to understand the Topsy King — 49
- The Topsy King 3: You now need to get 4 CP of
:
- Talk to the Raggedy Men for — 63, +1 CP
- Turn to your store of secrets with — 20%, +1 CP
- Spy on the Raggedy Men on the card A fine day in the Flit — 96, +2 CP
- Talk to the Raggedy Men for
- The Topsy King 4: Determine where to look next — 56
- The Topsy King 5: To find out about the Topsy King's past, either:
- Quiz the curator, which requires minimum 63 — 70
- That looks familiar..., requiring
1 with no check
- Quiz the curator, which requires minimum
- The Topsy King 6: Induce the curator to let you take a closer look, requiring a minimum of 63 — 70
- The Topsy King 7: Read over the manuscript for a 70 check. If you have 1, you can take a slightly harder 75 to gain
The Topsy King 8: Examine the daguerreotype with a 
, or a 
and 
. You'll keep the scrutinizer either way, but spend the insights. The latter also has a 77 check.
The Topsy King 9: There are several options here, but you'll either want:
- Search the book for hints, using the with a 84 check, or
- Go back to the Devious Bookseller and pay
for a 87 check. - If you lost it, you can also Purchase a replacement copy of 'on the Maladies of Goats' for
- The Topsy King 10: Eavesdrop on the Constables — 90
- The Topsy King 11: Watch and wait — 97
- The next branch has two options depending on whether you antagonised your monkey:
- (Without ) Simian approbation:
- Her! moves you straight to the next branch
- Her? does the same but also gets you a
and a - Him. Her. Pff. These are matters for the monkey alone. gets you on success or
on failure, but advances the conversation either way
- (With ) A long-delayed conversation: Gives you no choices and instead moves you to:
- The Topsy King 13: To placate your monkey, you can:
- Sweeten it with honey, for a whopping
- Manage it with menaces —
95
- Sweeten it with honey, for a whopping
- The Topsy King 13: To placate your monkey, you can:
- (Without
- 15: The Topsy King's Sister: Now that the monkey is satisfied, you'll need to get Cora to open up:
- Charm: for —
8; be careful, as you'll lose the Smiles regardless of whether you pass the check. - Impatience — 90; gives on success, or removes on failure
- Warmth — 94; gives nothing beyond moving on for succeeding, but removes a on failure
- Charm: for
- 16: Desperate Intentions: Pay or pass a 101 check
- 17: Double or Nothing: What if... — 103
18: For the next step, you'll need to raise your to 5 so you can draw A Merry Gentleman:
- Approach the Merry Gentleman: Arrange a meeting
- 19: The Man with the Brass Buttons: Find him with your still at 5
- 20: The Price of Desire: The first of the expensive options in your Ambition!
- If you have
, you can Give him brass for buttons, paying for a single and no progress - If you have at least five levels each of
, 
, 
, and 
, plus one 
, you can pay ALL of those dreams to move to the next step - If you have a
, you can hand it over to move on
- If you have
- Of the options that give you progress, dreams are very slow to accumulate, and you'll need them later anyway. Getting the instead requires you to get a boat, which you'll also need soon, and to travel to
. Getting a boat, in turn, requires being 
, so this is a good time to take a break and raise your stats if you haven't yet.
- 21: Back to the Bale: Requires , which are consumed on passing or failing — 110
- You have two options for the next step:
- 22: Tapping the Baton: In , pay
, , and 
.
- 23: A Night at the Opera: Requires 1 — 115, gives on success or and on failure
- 23: A Night at the Opera: Requires
- If you reach
6, you can instead choose to perform Tristram Bagley's unfinished masterpiece in , requiring 1, which will advance your Ambition and get you 
all at once.
- 22: Tapping the Baton: In
- 25: The Morning After: Meet with the Topsy King again — 115
Back to the Manager: Find the Manager — 127
To Polythreme! (13–17)[edit]
To reach Polythreme, you'll need either:
- Your own ship, and the
(see the Cat and Mouse guide); OR 
(which can be bought at the Rat Market) for A Ticket to Polythreme.
You'll also need a 
. If you haven't been lucky enough to acquire one yet and don't have access to the Railway, your best strategy is probably:
- Acquire
. You can move items around the Cross Conversion carousel to get these, so anything you can upconvert to a 50p item is a potential source. - Upconvert the Strangling Willow 3 times into
. - Upconvert 25 of the Broken Giant into
. - Trade the Cellars for Airag on the card A Presumptuous Little Opportunity. You can spend
to force-draw the card.
- Alternatively; you can buy the 5 Cellars from the card
for 
1250 Glim each for a total of 6250 Glim. Or at least, you can do this while 
is still present, as it is projected to be depleted sometime in late 2024 or 2025.
- Alternatively; you can buy the 5 Cellars from the card
You may want to bring 
Surface-Silk Scraps to spend on Paying Your Way, as this will make it much easier to successfully complete the Polythreme carousel. They can also be acquired in Polythreme, though keep in mind that you won't be able to reduce Menaces while there—so if you can't 100% the checks (requiring 134 or 200), it'll be safer to stock up in London. is enough to pay your way 3 times at the start of each carousel, gaining 30–60 CP of the progress qualities.
Another thing to consider is that some storylines and items are exclusively available in Polythreme, it would be wise to have the requisite progress and items so that you can get it all done in one go and not have to return later just for them. After this first visit to Polythreme, you will have to return a second time however, so don't fret if you can't get them all done on this first visit. The most relevant and worthwhile storylets and items are:
winds through Polythreme.- Turn an
into an 
by learning about Unfinished Men via An Unfinished Story. - Turn a
into a 
at The Clothes-Colony.
- See Polythremic Promenade (Guide)/Story Table for a breakdown of all the story-based conclusions to the promenade.
[edit]
The next five steps will require you to complete the Polythremic Promenade carousel five times, getting 
to 1 and either 
or 
to 12, depending on the step.
- 13: Seeking the Manager's Beloved: 12
- 14: Gaining an Audience: 12 and
- 15: Meeting the King: 12
- 16: Walking in the Garden: 12
- 17: The End of Memory: 12
Convincing the other players (18-210)[edit]
Now that you're done with Polythreme, you'll need to convince the other players to join, starting with the Manager.
18–110: The King's Heart:[edit]
- 18: Find the Clay Man who stole the shard:
, , - 30: Embark on an expedition to find the Unfinished Man: You'll now need to do an expedition in , requiring
and 
2. See Forgotten Quarter Expeditions (Guide) for how expeditions work in general. - 40: Find the home of the urchins that stole the shard:
and 
50–90: Old Downy:[edit]
Old Downy is possibly the most difficult section in the entire Ambition, requiring five successful checks in a row and costing a 
for each set of attempts. To minimise the pain here, you will probably want to get your fairly high if you haven't already - at least 150 with modifiers - and to get a second try on each check. There is also a difficult check that can be bypassed by spending . If you've been saving a Mood card (A dusty bookshop or A little omen), now is an excellent time to use it.
- Enter Old Downy: — 140
- 50: Navigate the tunnels — 140
- 55: Sneak across the mess hall — 180 OR
- 55: Apply a tincture of Carnelian mushrooms to the stew:
- 60: Traverse the curtained corridor: — 150
- 65: Search the chamber of socks: — 160
- 70: Climb the heaving stair: — 160
- 75: Enter the last chamber: No check
- The Height of the House: From here, you can finally take your prize, but first you must decide whether to promise to return it. This is only a promise; it's up to you whether to keep it.
- Steal the sock: Simply take it, making no promises and losing all your
- Borrow the shard: Promise to return it, getting
- Steal the sock: Simply take it, making no promises and losing all your
- 50: Navigate the tunnels —
- 100–105: Completing the King: Back to Polythreme!
- 100: Return the shard: If you did not promise to return the shard, simply give it to the King
- 105: If you did promise:
- Convince him to let you return it to Old Downy, and return it to the Urchins
- Betray the Urchins, losing all your plus and
- 110: Release the Manager from his promise: Tell the Manager of your success
120–160: Virginia:[edit]
- 120: Invite Virginia to dinner: Set the scene with
, 
, , and - Choose between:
- 130: Delve into the Church's archives about Virginia: Ask the clergy with ,
, and 
, OR - 130: Enquire with your devilish contacts: Poke around with devils for
, , and 
- 130: Delve into the Church's archives about Virginia: Ask the clergy with
- 140: Plan a journey to the Prince's Prison: Requires, unsurprisingly,
- Lucky for you, a one-time discount is available: Uncover the location of a One-Time Prince of Hell, costing
, , , and 
- Lucky for you, a one-time discount is available: Uncover the location of a One-Time Prince of Hell, costing
- Travel to Corpsecage Isle: Get in your boat and head for the prison
- 150: The Prince's Prison: Here, you can decide whether to free Virginia's former lover:
- Free it: No check
- Bargain with it: 170. The check is harder with each level of
, 
, and 
you have, and easier with each level of 
, 
, and 
.
- 160: Meet with Virginia again back in London, which will convince her to play the Marvelous and lose you if you have any
170–200: Mr Pages:[edit]
- 170: The last player to convince is a Master, so you have some creative options to convince it:
- ...blow up the Bazaar: Reactivate a revolutionary cell with ,
, and 
. You will gain 
and also CP. Definitely the most expensive and least rewarding of the three. - ...acquire a Sixth City: Threaten to bury London with ,
, , and . You will also gain an Alluring Accomplice. - ...go North: SEEK for ,
, 
, and 
, plus 7. You will gain . Only requires 7 SMEN, which is actually rather easy to get, but does take at a minimum 3 - 5 weeks to build up to without splurging resources on The Seeking Road.
- ...blow up the Bazaar: Reactivate a revolutionary cell with
- 180: A knock at the door 2: Be visited by Mr. Pages, who offers to let you join:
The Marvellous (200-245)[edit]
- 200-219: A Marvellous Conversation with Mr Pages: There are quite a few options and flavor texts here, with more opening up as you progress, but the only required one is to Ask about the next step.
A Marvellous Venue (1–100)[edit]
- 210: Discuss the venue: Ask Mr. Pages, who just tells you its requirements at no cost.
- 210 - 700: Meet with the Topsy King: Ask the Topsy King in :
- Ask about his preferences regarding the venue: Help him write his opera with
. - Ask about his preferences regarding the venue (Correspondent): A
can offer their expertise, , and .
- Ask about his preferences regarding the venue: Help him write his opera with
- 210 - 700: Meet Virginia at Dante’s Grill: Ask Virginia in .
- Inquire about Virginia's preferences regarding a venue: Buy her a drink with
.
- Inquire about Virginia's preferences regarding a venue: Buy her a drink with
- 210 - 700: Meet with the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem: Ask the Manager of the Hotel when you have .
- Spend the evening with the Manager: Take him on a walk through London with , ,
, and .
- Spend the evening with the Manager: Take him on a walk through London with
- 210 - 700: Meet with the Monkey: Ask the Monkey in .
- Join a game: Gamble with the Monkey using
, , and .
- Join a game: Gamble with the Monkey using
- 210 - 700: Meet the Bishop of St Fiacre's: Ask the Bishop of St. Fiacre's Church in .
- Choosing the Venue: You've enquired about everyone's preferences for the venue and can now choose the location.
- Wrack your brains: With ,
, and , you find that only 
Arbor fulfills all the conditions. - Petition the Roseate Queen to host the Marvellous: Visit Arbor via the card A Dream of Roses and bring your offerings of
, 
, and to the Palace (Keep walking south and you'll eventually reach it).
- Wrack your brains: With
A Marvellous Deck (1–100)[edit]
- 10 - 14: Storridges Printing House: Travel to the to acquire your Marvellous deck.
- 17 - 20: Enter Parabola: The newly minted Marvellous will have to be consecrated deep within Parabola, which means you must have
:
- Find a Route to Parabola: A research project in the
University Laboratory that'll require , , and - Contact a Silverer: Who has a fee of , , and
. - Alternatively, if you're a
, it's possible to open a path to Parabola in The Honey-Dens of Veilgarden, saving .
- Find a Route to Parabola: A research project in the
- 17 - 20: Prepare to Travel the Wanting Way: Navigating through Parabola can be quite treacherous, so thorough preparations are needed:
- A Worthy Vessel for the Jouney:
- Search dreams for a suitable vessel to traverse the Writhing River: Scour Parabola for the right dream-boat, which requires and , OR
- Build your own boat: With
and .
- Search dreams for a suitable vessel to traverse the Writhing River: Scour Parabola for the right dream-boat, which requires
- Venom Protection:
- A Worthy Vessel for the Jouney:
- 30: The Writhing River: Go down the River, tossing venomous serpents off your boat in the meanwhile.
- 40: The Other Base-Camp: Here you can read the markings of your predecessors.
- The Musings of the Heart: A glimpse of the possible Heart's Desires.
- 50: Down the Gullet: You descend the cavern and arrive at the final destination.
- 60: The Root of Need: The living quarters of the Yearning Custodian.
- 70–80: The Yearning Custodian: Have your deck consecrated, and afterwards, you can ask the Custodian some questions.
- 90: The River Runs Backwards: Return to the
.
Prior Winners (210–245)[edit]
- 210: Ambition: Preparing for the Honour: You will need to find more information about the winners of the Marvellous to learn how they did it.
- 220: Piece your clues together (to locate October):
- Ask the Monkey about prior winners: Stake to acquire .
- Ask Virginia about prior winners: Give her to acquire
. - 225: Ambition: Finding October: October resides in Parabola, but you will need help to find out where exactly:
- Ask an old friend: The
(acquired at the FEAST OF THE ROSE), OR - Consult the Revolutionaries: .
- Journey to Yesterday's Clerestory: Make way to Yesterday's Clerestory using , , and .
- Ask an old friend: The
- Ask the Monkey about prior winners: Stake
- 230: Piece your clues together (to locate Gregory Beechwood):
- Ask Mr Pages about prior winners: Trade to obtain
. - Ask the Topsy King about prior winners: Sing
to obtain . - 235: Ambition: A Visit to All Christs: Meet with Cora, who directs you to an archive in .
- Ambition: The Beechwood Archive: You are given several options to obtain 'Moral Selection', but note that it won't arrive until after the Honour:
- Ask Mr Pages about prior winners: Trade
- 240: Piece your clues together (to locate His Amused Lordship):
- Ask the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem about prior winners: Give him a to acquire
. - Ask the Bishop of St Fiacre's about prior winners: Threaten him with to acquire
. - 245: Search for His Amused Lordship:
- Draw the The Seekers of the Garden card and Speak to His Amused Lordship: , 5 x Bottles of Broken Giant 1844
- Draw the The Seekers of the Garden card and Speak to His Amused Lordship:
- Ask the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem about prior winners: Give him a
The Honour (250-290)[edit]
Return to to begin the Honour. Make sure you still have your stake of 77 x First City Coins before entering Arbor, it would be very inconvenient otherwise. Additionally, you'll need at least to enter and remain in Far Arbor.
- 250: Attend the Honour: Just walk north and you'll eventually reach Arbor's Temple district, where the storylet is located.
- 260: Ambition: Opening Hands: Play in earnest — 170 check. Success will net you and
, while failure will lose . - 280: The Honour: the Late-Game: Here you get to choose who you'll face in the first round of the Marvellous.
- Fold: Your opponent will be the Bishop (and you lose 7 x First City Coins).
- Hang on in there — 200: Succeeding the check means you lose 14 x First City Coins, gain , and face the Topsy King in the next round. Failure deducts 21 x First City Coins and the Bishop is your opponent as above.
- Fold: Your opponent will be the Bishop (and you lose
- 290: Ambition: The Victors: Mr Pages is triumphant.
First Interlude (300-400)[edit]
- 300: Heart's Desire: Awaiting the Next Bout: Virginia is causing some trouble for the Monkey. You're unfortunately caught in the crossfire:
- Argue the Monkey's case — 180 check. Success means you will only lose and 3 CP of . Failure deducts , , , ,
10000 x Pennies, 3 CP of and you'll have to try again. - Step aside: Be prepared for 10000 x Pennies worth of property damage, a loss of 3 Confident Smiles and Hard-Earned Lessons each, a gain of and 3 CP of .
- Argue the Monkey's case
- 310: Gregory Beechwood: You receive a note that Beechwood's monograph is finally available for reading.
- Ambition: 'Moral Selection': You piece together that your Monkey is (or was) Gregory Beechwood.
Your Opponent[edit]
If is The Topsy King:
- 320: The Victim of a Burglary: You've been robbed of half your wealth in Pennies, but don't worry, you'll get it back later. What is concerning, however, are the stolen painting in your lodgings and the constables at your door:
- 330: Dealing with the Topsy King: Return the painting to avoid the consequences:
- Smuggle the painting back into the Shuttered Palace: , ,
20 x Strong-Backed Labours, , 10 x Identities Uncovered!, and . - Return the painting via a secret connection: A
can pay their contact with 
, , 10 x Identities Uncovered!, and 25 x Extraordinary Implications.
- Smuggle the painting back into the Shuttered Palace:
- 340–350: Treating with the Topsy King:
- Propose a truce with the Topsy King: One worth , , and .
- Propose a truce with the Topsy King: One worth
If is The Bishop:
- 320: The Theft of your Secrets: The Bishop has dragged your name through the mud. You can choose to respond in multiple ways:
- Rise Above: Simply ignore the gossip, which will raise and by 15 CP, and halve your current , , and Extraordinary Implications.
- Publish a muscular defence in your own newspaper: Head to Doubt Street where you will find a new option available when you Start the Presses. You will require at least 60 Meritorious Copy to publish your defense.
- Pen a vigorous defence to be circulated to those:
- Rise Above: Simply ignore the gossip, which will raise
- 330–350: Dealing with the Bishop of St Fiacre's:
- 340: Investigate the Bishop's own secrets — 160: .
- Use your contacts in the Great Game to commission the services of the Face-Tailor:
, 
, , and 
- Use the arts of St Joshua to commission faces from the Face-Tailor: A
pays a discounted price of , , and - Contact the Face Tailor: This requires having done
FATE with 
, , and .
- Use your contacts in the Great Game to commission the services of the Face-Tailor:
The First Round (400-475)[edit]
- 410: The First Round: It is your duty as the newest player to host your first game:
If is The Topsy King:
- Host the Topsy King in your Sanctum (
), or Spire (
): 
20 x Sworn Statements, , 500 x Maniac's Prayers, 400 x Appalling Secrets, and 250 x Tales of Terror!!.
- The Suite (
) costs an additional 10 x Sworn Statements.
- The Suite (
- 420: Against the Topsy King:
- Play warily — 170
- Play unpredictably — 190
- Play warily —
If is The Bishop:
- Host the Bishop of St Fiacre's in your Sanctum (), or Spire (): 200 x Amanita Sherries, , 50 x Mourning Candles, and 50 x Bottles of Muscaria Brandy.
- The Suite () option costs an additional 10 x Mourning Candles.
- The Suite (
- 420: Against the Bishop:
- Play warily — 190
- Play unpredictably — 170
- Play warily —
Afterwards, you have to wait 24 real-time hours for the outcome of the match between the Manager and whoever he was matched with. Then, this message (Waiting for the Next Bout) appears in your inbox.
The First Round, concluded[edit]
- 475: Learn the Outcome of the Latest Match (Topsy King or Bishop):
- Ambition: A Prodigious Thump (depending on your opponent):
The Second Round (500-630)[edit]
- 500: Wait upon Mr Pages' decision:
- 510: Consider the Manager:
- Further Winners:
- Try and deduce the final sign: With 25 x Inklings of Identity and 5 x Extraordinary Implications, you conclude that the Boatman is yet another winner of the Marvellous.
- Try and deduce the final sign: With
- 520: Addressing Some Confusion:
The Garden of Nightmares[edit]
- 560: Preparing to Face the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem:
- An Incursion of Red and Gold: A very unpleasant card that gives you Nightmares and lose a lot of Nevercold Brass; the solution to this is an action under the same card.
- Fortify your mind: ,
2 x Vital Intelligences, 2 x Diaries of the Dead.
- Fortify your mind:
- Arm Yourself Against the Garden of Nightmares: You only need to have 15 levels in one of these dreams in order to proceed:
- Conjure fire: .
- Muster the dead: .
- Summon the Storm: .
- Marshal an Army: .
- Conjure fire:
- Face the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem: It's time to speak to the Manager.
- An Incursion of Red and Gold: A very unpleasant card that gives you Nightmares and lose a lot of Nevercold Brass; the solution to this is an action under the same card.
- 600: The Garden of Nightmares:
- Play cautiously — Watchful 190
- Play with cunning — Shadowy 190
- 620: The Manager's Chance: You must choose between two things:
- Accept the Bright Brass-Button — Watchful 190: of the Manager's own, a +1
Weapon. It has minor benefits in a variety of situations: Escaping the Beth early, Oneiropomping, Brawling with Dockers, and a one-time use in The Efficient Commissioner's Tale. - Insist on something else instead... — Watchful 190: The Topsy King's Mind, which you can return to him before the final match to gain . It is a +1
Affiliation, and when equipped gives +1 - a quality that adds the card An Encounter with Tristram Bagley to your deck.
- Accept the Bright Brass-Button — Watchful 190:
- 630: Leaving the Garden of Nightmares:
Second Interlude (631-680)[edit]
- 631: A Further Interruption: Some personnel from the Labyrinth of Tigers have come to collect the Monkey, courtesy of Mr Pages. You can call on favours to drive them off:
- 632: A Master's Wrath: Mr Pages has employed the most terrible of measures - bureaucracy. You will need to do some legal strong-arming of your own:
- 633: Your Monkey is ready to play Mr Pages:
- 638–639: Gather Your Thoughts:
- 640–660: An Esteemed Visitor: The Monkey has hired a translator to facilitate a proper conversation.
Preparing for the Final Match[edit]
- 670: Preparing for the Final Match:
- Learn your opponent's style (Compendium):
, , , , , and , OR - Learn your opponent's style (No Compendium): The same as above except it's instead of an .
- Learn your opponent's style (Compendium):
- 680: Train with other players: You'll need to train with at least 3 players.
- Convince Virginia to help you train for the Marvellous: Requires ,
, and a (The Location will not be consumed). - Train with the Topsy King (If you hadn't returned his mind): ,
, and . - Train with Tristram Bagley (If you had returned his mind): , , and .
- Train with the Bishop of St Fiacre's: , and .
- Train with Mr Pages: Consumes and
in exchange for 
, a unique Hat which gives 
+2, 
+1, + 4. - Convince the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem to train you: and
.
- Convince Virginia to help you train for the Marvellous: Requires
Here would be a good moment, just before the final game, to visit the Boatman, to collect the final advice and unique Weapon 
( +7, 
+1, 
+1, +1), if you want it.
- Get a
. - Gaze into Heart's Mirror is the most straightforward and does not consume Horsehead Amulet if you have any.
- Get your
to 8. You can use Call in a favour from Virginia to help move you to a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river, which costs , and requires 
, 
, and 
. (Or you could just Gaze into Heart's Mirror.) - While "dead", talk to the Boatman.
- With all advices in hand, Assemble a Compendium of the Heart's Desires: 5 x Uncanny Incunabula,
.
The Final Match[edit]
- 700: In the Heart of the Bazaar:
- Opening Plays: Power:
- 720: Developing Play: Love:
- 730: The Game Matures: Time:
- 740: The Endgame: Escape:
- 750: Your Last Chance: You can stake your Profession, your
Destiny, or even a single to remain in the game for a decisive victory. Alternatively, you can just forsake your Chance and let Beechwood win.
Winning path[edit]
- 760: Beechwood's Chance: Your choice here decides which of two items you obtain:
- 780: Mr Hearts' Congratulations: Afterwards, you have to wait 24 real-time hours for the next.
- 800–805: The Conjunction of Gifts: Your Heart's Desire (or its approximation) is finally granted. Consult the Long-term rewards section to better understand what they are.
- 1100–1400: Cora Bagley, Again:
Losing path[edit]
- 770: Your Defeat:
- 900: An Invitation From Mister Hearts:
- 1900–1903: Beechwood's Heart's Desire:
- Hand over the Marvellous: For having forsaken your Heart's Desire, you are given (Treasure, +13, , +4, +2) and the (Companion, +5, +5, +1, -1).
- Hand over the Marvellous: For having forsaken your Heart's Desire, you are given
- 3000: An Encounter with Cora Bagley:
Aftermath[edit]
- 21100–21400: You have finished seeking your heart's desire
Long-term rewards[edit]
- The Rewards of Ambition
- Every four weeks, claim additional rewards in your Lodgings for your ending to the story.
- Ask Cora Bagley to work in your Laboratory
- Recruit Cora Bagley to work in lab. She specialises in mathematical research, including production of Mirthless Compendiums of Statistical Observations and
s.
- Recruit Cora Bagley to work in lab. She specialises in mathematical research, including production of
| Ending | Unique item | Rewards of Ambition |
|---|---|---|
| Choose Power |
|
Further your transformation into one of the Masters
|
| Choose Adoration | 
|
Bask in your celebrity
|
| Choose Time | 
|
Enjoy the benefit of time
|
| Choose Escape | 
|
Visit your other home
|
| Hand over the Marvellous |
|
Take out the old Marvellous deck
|
Items needed[edit]
This is an attempt to list all possible items needed in Heart's Desire, for help with planning. The quantities listed are the fewest you can get away with (min), and the most you will need (max). This list only includes items that can be found outside of this Ambition; items that are acquired within the Ambition itself are listed elsewhere.
