Money-Making
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Early PoSI Content and Onwards |
If you're interested in currencies other than Echoes, check Hinterland Scrip-Making or Stuiver Grinding (Guide)
Introduction[edit]
Fallen London as a game is best thought of as a means to read a story. Indeed, until you are approaching the highest levels (all stats at/near cap and so forth), the best source of Echoes is the content you're currently experiencing. There is very little that may be considered truly "profitable" before the player becomes a 
A Person of Some Importance - (PoSI), although calling in Favours may be an exception.
The Grinds[edit]
For serious money-making grinds - for those Londoners working towards 
goats, 
cider, or other treasures, it's recommended to first reach the end-game, because those grinds will be significantly better than any early or mid-game grinds.
Money-making grinds are split into guides based on their requirements and classified by their Echoes per Action (EPA): the total number of echoes for a single cycle of that grind, divided by the number of actions to complete that cycle.
| A player-created Guide is available for this content: Money-Making/Lategame |
- Money-Making/Lategame shows money-making options from the endgame onwards. These grinds should have a Raw EPA of at least 5.0 EPA. Some of these activities or weekly actions may be available as early as the midgame onwards (PoSI, Railway and on)
Wiki note: The resources below are outdated and no longer reflect the current state of Fallen London. Use with caution.
- Money-Making/Midgame shows money-making options from the midgame onwards. This means everything from PoSI to the Railway, and should have a Raw EPA of 2.5+
For Beginners[edit]
For those referred to this page from the Beginner's Guide, here are a couple of hints for your first few days (and possibly weeks). These only offer about 50p (half an Echo) in rewards, which is fairly pitiful compared to money-making at higher levels; but when you're wondering how you can possibly afford a full set of the four +2 gloves at either 
3.20 (the 
Pair of Cutpurse's Mittens and 
Pair of Magician's Gloves) or 5 (the 
Eager Glove and 
Pair of Knife-and-Candler's Gloves), each from Dark & Savage at the Bazaar, these tips can be helpful.
This is especially true as they take no thought, there are no attribute tests to fail, and take around a total of 40 quick clicks/taps (i.e. maybe a couple of minutes, real time) to turn a full 20 action candle into 10 worth of items. This is perfect for when you have a full candle, but will have no spare time to properly use it reading the story for a few hours, during which your candle will fully regenerate.
Mrs Chapman's Boarding House, located in 
Spite, has options to partake of soup or liquor, each of which give out items worth 0.5 per action (e.g. 1 
Vision of the Surface worth 50p, or 5 
Romantic Notion worth 10p each. See The Season in Soup (Guide) for more details.- If you've made the acquaintance of the
Honey-Addled Detective, Discuss a minor case (located in 
Moloch Street on the map, under Working with the Honey-Addled Detective) will earn 5 
Inkling of Identity, worth 10p each. The action is repeatable.
For something slightly less mindless than clicking two buttons over and over, but also somewhat more rewarding, expand this section:
- If you've got
Dangerous at 25 (for 100% success, which is recommended so you don't risk wasting a bunch of actions, though your chances at Dangerous ~20 are reasonable) you can get 200 
Rostygold from Contract: a Worryingly Large Rat at 
The Department of Menace Eradication, taking 4 actions with no Wounds risk. You need to gain the contract, Approach it very casually to remove all the hiding points, Shoot it the moment you see it to kill it, then Return to the Department to claim the reward. This also gives a bonus 10 Dangerous CP in addition to the CP from the 2 hunting actions, so the total rewards are 2 ( 0.5 per action) and 12 Dangerous CP (3CP per action). This matches the above Echo rewards, and lets you grind Dangerous at a decent rate. At slightly higher levels of Dangerous (40 for 100% success), you can choose to Explore its lair thoroughly before it returns instead, consuming a total of 3 actions for items worth 4 ( 1.33 per action). This is good for getting together seed money for the The Ring of Meat. - If the University is unlocked pre-PoSI, Hunting Bees in Old Newgate can easily exceed the 1.33 per action above. Each bee caught can be exchanged for 0.10 of items and you will always have an action available that gives 25 bees on success, though failure costs 6 bees, giving a maximum yield of 2.5 echoes per action. Note that hunting bees requires two additional actions to start the activity and cash in your bees, so this will be more efficient and closer to the 2.5 EPA the longer you grind uninterrupted. Choose a payout option with items that you can sell easily.
You can also "upconvert" some lower-value items into higher tier items in your Possessions tab by clicking on items with a green border. This takes an action, but you'll get a luck check on whether you get a bonus with your conversion. Sometimes the bonus will be minor, like 40 
Whispered Hint, but rarely it'll be quite valuable, like a 
Favour in High Places - almost enough for a pair of 
Pair of Savage Hob-Nailed Boots or 
Pair of Spidersilk Slippers by itself!
Resources[edit]
- For a more exhaustive list of grinds, see Money-Making/Sources. This is also the page where new grinds can be added to be embedded into other guides
- For FATE-based grinds, some low-complexity end-game grinds, and historical Money-making, see Money-Making/Extras
- For detailed calculations and a scratch page, see Money-Making/Calculations
- For the old version of this guide, see this page
