Intro Notes: This route is designed and written under the assumption that those ports which have variable positions will spawn in the most optimal tile for the runner's purposes. In actual runs it will almost always be necessary to improvise based on where the ports are actually found.

Fast travel rng is also assumed to go the runner's way, and getting the wrong result from a fast travel attempt is usually a reset. Welcome to speedrunning Sunless Sea :/

To save time and space I will be using "SAY" to refer to "something awaits you".

To save time and space I will be using "launch" as a shorthand to refer to the combined action of closing the gazetteer and launching away from the current port.

I'm posting this route with Aestival still in. This isn't actually the fastest way to bring the Fathomking "a light from the sky", but I didn't know that when I originally wrote the route. I will post a guide to modifying this route soon after this post goes up, and I'll discuss "Your Father's bones: A sky-light for the Fathomking" there.

And now the route:

Fallen London 1: Death abuse three times: Choose Past Wreathed in Shadows Sell "Advice for Captains", all your fuel, and your ship. Abandon ship. Choose salvager. Fourth captain: Choose priest, father's bone's, and whatever form of address has its button closest to the continue button. You can name your character as you please, but the fastest name is a single letter or number. Notably, if you're as amused by it as I am, you can name your character " ". Talk to the bishop. Launch.

Discover the Echo Bazaar and Bugsby's Marshes (Bugsby's can be discovered from inside the harbor wall by simply sailing south and colliding with the barrier, which costs the runner only 1 hull). Return to London.

Fallen London 2: Wait for SAY then dock. Recruit the Genial Magician or Maybe's Daughter or engage a zailor in that order of priority. Sell Advice for Captains. Buy ten supplies and two coffee. Father's Bones: the next step. Read the morning papers. Launch.

Sail to the light ship and dock, discovering Badstevener's Abyss and Rowena's Rocks along the way. Trade recent news for a zee story. Launch.

Sail to Hunter's keep, discover HK and Low Barnet (you should now have 1 secret).

Hunter's Keep 1: Present yourself at the house. Have dinner with Cynthia. Jettison all fuel. Sacrifice to Salt.

Kingeater's Castle 1: launch

sail north to EoH.

Empire of Hands 1: dock with SAY. Wait for it if you spent it or got there before it rang. Explore the four islands. Befriend the Monkey Foundling. Compile the port report. Check to see if SAY makes the rusty locket available, and if so get the locket. If the locket is not available, don't explore. Not getting the locket here loses 1 minute of time, so runners with particularly competitive personal bests may need to consider resetting if the locket is being coy. Launch and sail back to Kingeater's or sacrifice to salt to return there.

Kingeater's Castle 2: Make sure SAY FIRST, then dock. Lose your mind. Sacrifice stories.

Fallen London 3: when you do breath of relief, note your menaces: nightmare's strength. You need it to stay between 1 and 4, so flee the nightmare at 4 and go deeper into it when at 1, 2, or 3. accept dispensation from the blind bruiser recruit whichever officer you don't have. Maybe's Daughter is optional, but if you don't have the genial magician you'll have to farm for him by undocking and waiting for SAY until he's available. If he trolls you, you can engage zailors a total of three times including the one in Fallen London 2 if Maybe's Daughter wasn't available. Invite the magician to dinner as soon as you have him. Peruse EoH port report in Lodgings. read the papers Get the Delightful Adventuress. buy eight wine. remain unblemished at Clathermont's. Make a sacrifice to Salt.

Kingeater's Castle 3: Let the Gall-eyed Engineer go ashore. Launch.

Sail to Varchas.

Varchas: Over the course of a minimum of three SAYs, do the following: Talk to the wine-mazed lamplighter. Accquire the mirror charm (do this first thing in SAY 2 to make sure you don't sleep without it twice if you get trolled by the skill checks). Invent a wanderer's tale for the Jewel-Turbaned youth. Start the pilgrimage (AFTER getting the mirror charm) Join the Neather Revolution. Launch.

Sail to EoH

Empire of Hands 2: acquire the rusty locket if you don't have it yet. approach the Monkey Foundling's hut in Ash Isthmus. Trade 1 supplies for a candle with the Treasure hunter, and get dynamite. Visit the Adventuress' camp and get the gift for the emperor. Gain access to the court. accept the commission for the zeppelin. Go back to Fountainhead and enter the vault. Tile combination is Yellow, Blue, Red. Side with the mayor. Donate the souls to the zeppelin. punish the adventuress. Trade 8 wine with the wildweald court. give soul to the Emperor making sure he rewards you with the cinder (if he doesn't it's a reset, pure and simple). Get the treasure map. Undock and wait for SAY if you don't have it. Go on a treasure hunt: North, West, West, West, West, West, West, Dig ("marker of crossed bones). Launch.

once you have SAY, sail off the east edge of the map unless Irem is too close to make the fast travel worth it.

Irem: riddle of the stones house of the amber sky -retrieve a serpent image. buy 1 ambiguous eolith, 1 watchful curio, 2 soothe and cooper long boxes, and 1 empty mirrorcatch box. If you are short a secret for some reason, leave the eolith for later. Sell 5 coffee for 5 parabola linen. Fill the rest of your hold with fuel. undock and wait for SAY (you can also use this time to scout the tile west of Irem if you've learned how to differentiate those tiles by their edges). house of the amber sky- rarest fruit. You have one extra coffee so you can wait one more SAY and rest, recover, dream if your terror is high. Launch.

sail south to Aestival.

Aestival: Fill your mirrorcatch box and gather supplies. launch.

THE NORTH-EAST REGION: You are looking for the Salt steppes, Principles of Coral and Sea of Voices.

Polythreme: Audience with the king with a hundred hearts. sell sapphires. buy we are clay. launch.

Khan's Shadow: sell artifacts. buy 1 stygian ivory. and fill hold with fuel. equip we are clay if you already have it launch.

Khan's Heart: find help for the genial magician: hire informants. terror reduction and crew as needed. launch.

Port Cecil 1: play chess until an extra move (Eat the hespiridean apple if the games drive you insane. You can recover the apple in Irem by getting coffee in London and simply buying a searing enigma since you're rich at that point. Returning to Irem is a big time loss, but at least it saves the run.) move a paw. offer assistance with dissolution. gather scintillack. launch.

NOTE: Frozen north and near home waters regions will almost always overlap.

NEAR HOME WATERS REGION: You are looking for Salt Lions, the Snares, and Shepherd's Wash. Note that station III and the Salt Lions can both be done after London 5 if necessary, but Pigmote is crucial.

Salt Lions: visit the unmakers if needed. Shalt-Flions. launch.

Station III: deliver the longbox. trade a longbox for a heartmetal ingot. launch.

Pigmote island: side with the chief engineer. offer advice only. wide dark zee beckons. go to the cavy ghetto and assist the revolution. launch.

THE FROZEN NORTH REGION: You are looking for Void's approach and Palmerston's Reach.

Avid Horizon: make sure you have at least 77 fragments when you're about to enter. may force a reroute to chapel of lights first or to discover the kisigar vortex to compile a secret etc. You heard a story. Father's bones the next step. launch.

Chapel of lights: dock and eat of the chapel's bounty. if you don't get unaccountably peckish, close the gazeteer and wait for a hunger tick. then try again. do not undock while you do this. give a nightmare to the well. launch.

Mt. Palmerston: engage the Modiste. buy an eolith if you didn't get it in Irem. buy fuel until full. Launch.

sail to hunter's keep if you've already been to the Salt Lions.

Hunter's Keep 2: have lunch with Cynthia. launch. NOTE: Hunter's Keep 2 is only necessary if you intend to attempt to fast travel back to London after acquiring your Father's Bones. This is because you spend Salt's Attention at the Salt Lions and need to get it back from Cynthia to fast travel.

Fallen London 4: gain access to the forgotten quarter. get an eyeless skull. complete the magician's story line. make sure you have enough fuel to get to and from Venderbight. launch.

sail to ... Venderbight: complete the neathbow and accept a reward of seven treasures. launch.

sail to ... Fallen london 5: give all your treasures to the alarming scholar. purchase an elegant townhouse and rest. kill the modiste. rest whenever she wounds you twice. buy the corvette. buy and equip heart ender and hellthrasher. dump the old engine and deck gun. craft and equip the serpentine. top off on crew. grab up to five supplies or so. Buy as much fuel as you can carry. Buy five to ten rattus faber assistants rest until your terror's gone. launch.

Sail down into the south-east region and find fathomking's hold. there will usually be a lorne fluke near luckwright's reef. Kill it and loot the core. sail to port cecil.

Port Cecil 2: setting up: just dump all the excess scintillack into the zee. lose lose LOSE the match. launch.

sail to Fathomking's hold

Fathomking's Hold: descend to an audience. discuss the matter of your father's bones. ask for help. turn everything in. fathomking's key. launch.

sail to Avid Horizon. advance the ambition story. launch.

sail to Chapel of Lights. Meet with the priest to get the bones. dump your fuel. sacrifice to salt.

Kingeater's 4 sacrifice your stories.

Fallen London 6: breath of relief (probably) -> collect messages from the harbor master -> lodgings -> retire to victory -> continue.

DONE