Father's Bones alternate strats and modifications:

In the existing route I satisfy Your Father's bones: a Sky-light for the Fathomking by bringing his Complexity a sunlight-filled mirrorcatch box.  However the fastest way to acquire an item for this part of the ambition is recruiting the Presbyterate Adventuress and giving her up in the Boarding Action event in London, which will reward the player with a Mountain Sherd.  This does add more officer rng to the run though, so some runners may wish to stick with the Aestival strat as they're starting out.

It is worth noting that Priest is actually slower than Soldier for this ambition.  Soldier can advance the ambition by compiling port reports at Hunter's Keep, Kingeater's Castle, and Empire of Hands then talking to the Dark-Spectacled Admiral.  Soldier can then fast travel directly to Kingeater's Castle from Fathomking's hold at the end of the run and then from Kingeater's directly to London.  The downside of Soldier is that a lower hearts attribute will make your crew more vulnerable to fire checks and your runs will die to rng much more often. You will also have to more careful about conserving fuel at the beginning of the second loop since you can't get fuel at Kingeater's with the gall-eyed engineer, and you will need to be more cognizant of where your secret is coming from for the fast travel back to Kingeater's from Fallen London, since you aren't perusing the EoH port report in your study.  It's also worth noting that the EoH port report is worth 300 echoes, so it might mean being able to cut out the first three captains thus saving about a minute and a half, but I'm not sure.

It is at least conceivably possible to do this run without completing the neathbow, but the route would require getting the nacreous survivor from the Fathomking, which is prohibitively expensive and may require too many neathbow colors to save time at all.

Route for Father's Bones

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

Running Townhouse%

Townhouse% is an appealing category, to me at least, as it's fun to pick up and fairly quick.

It might be a surprise, if you haven't seen the quickest runs, but you don't even need to leave the starting port to win this category.

Because the timer doesn't start until we move beyond the 'Captain's Making' page of the journal, we have ample time to familiarise ourselves with the layout of the game. Again, this run is now all about quick UI navigaton, there's no reason to use your ship at any point.

You'll want to start with a Past Wreathed in Shadows, as customising your Captain will contribute toward your time and provides no bonuses that you'll need.

Now, you're on the clock. You want to prioritise selling your Fuel and Supplies as soon as possible, which will both contribute to your funds and allow you to start a storyline where a criminal benefactor helps you out with some free supplies and fuel; sell these too, you won't be leaving port.

Once you've sold everything, including the guide book for new captains, you'll want to swap to the smallest possible ship for the free Echoes. From there, all you need to do is die!

You can achieve this with 'Desperate Measures' and 'Abandon Ship'.

Now, there is a random chance that you might be saved from death; you 100% want to die here and not lose time like this, meaning you'll want to restart the run so you don't lose time arbitrarily.

When passing over to a new Captain in your lineage, choose 'Salvager' (or 'Pupil'), which allows you to keep half of the previous Captain's Echoes. You do not stop the timer at any point, so you may want to familiarise yourself with whereabouts these boxes are.

Once you're starting with this second Captain, choose the 'Past Wreathed in Shadows' option once more, sell your fuel and supplies, avail yourself of the gift from the same criminal as before, sell those, and your book, and trade your ship down.

Choose to Purchase an Elegant Townhouse, then Retire from Zeefaring Life. The timer stops on the screen the comes up as the run ends.

With that, you've learned how to run Townhouse% without even leaving port!

(And upscaling your UI may help make things easier to click on, which features prominently in JazzyChazzy's run.)

Sunless Sea, Townhouse% speedrun guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9sXTws5djU&ab_channel=Failmasta

Townhouse% Notes

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bz1UmSUwOJXV8RPwMp5IPl5M8fwDcMs-Z8k0cNzqZhs/edit?usp=sharing

Naam	Auteur
Father's Bones alternate strats and modifications:	Neurotaku 3 years ago
Route for Father's Bones	Neurotaku 3 years ago
Running Townhouse%	Thighs 3 years ago
Sunless Sea, Townhouse% speedrun guide	Failmasta 3 years ago
Townhouse% Notes	Mqkoto 3 years ago