Once-only choices

Fallen London
1

So many delicious occurrences every day in London, so many of them repeatable, although some only for a while.

And then there are the fateful choices, the ones you get just once. Some are obviously once-only, others not so much.

One I saw as fateful at the time was that of which benefactor and which of their gifts. I chose the Shadowy Unobtrusive Bowler Hat over the Watchful Mirror-polished Shoes and the other choices for Dangerous and Persuasive. Later I found that Watchful shoes are a rarity and lamented my selection in a thread named after the Shiny Shoes. I received many helpful comments, including that there are better Watchful shoes available at Christmas and the Watchful choice has advantages later on. And that once a benefactor’s story is complete, you can use Fate to revisit your choice (with substitution of the new gift for the old).

I decided that I would stick with my previous choice.

And now I’ve discovered there’s another fateful choice that I’d not realised was such, when circumstance dropped a Whisper-Locked Sea Chest at my feet.

At the time, I was new to London. Despite my previous stay as a Guest of Her Majesty, I was still rather straight-laced. I quickly decided to turn it into the Constables.

While bringing a tear to the eyes of a Constable in polite circumstances will always be a cherished memory of mine, I am acquainted with a Captain on the Sunless Sea and should have turned it over to him. It would have bettered us both.

Alas, as far as I can tell, this is irreversible. And irritates me no end.

And now I wonder, what are the other fateful, once-only choices in London? I’d hate to stumble through another.
edited by Jacke on 3/8/2015

2

There are a number of such situations. Some can be reversed by fate, others cannot. In general the impact is minor (the whisper-locked box is one of the more irritating ones to lose out on). Generally there is a warning, but not always, and consequences are usually obvious, but again not always. I’m afraid that listing them all would spoil some of the game, and take quite a while.

3

Choosing an ambition (light-fingers allows you to back out and choose another, the others do not), the constable vs. the cheery man, the fight for the docks…

4

Be careful with your aunt. (Unless you want to use fate.)
edited by yang573 on 3/8/2015

5

I misplaced my aunt, but haven’t seen any way to retriever her… with or without fate.

6

You will eventually draw a card with the option to get her back from whatever misfortune befell her for the cost of 15 Fate.

7

Although I was satisfied with the Shadowy choice of the Bowler Hat (and good Shadowy hats are expensive), I was troubled no end by my choice with the Whisper-locked Sea Chest. In the end, I decided paying a week’s worth of progress was worth fixing that for Sunless Sea. I deleted my StoryNexus account and recreated it and my FL character. And got it right this time. I have also decided to go with the Shadowy Bowler Hat once again.