"Perhaps not" discards within card redirects

Fallen London
1

It is my understanding that, when one selects a zero-action branch in an opportunity card, one is essentially redirected to another card. Sometimes one is then capable of clicking &quotPerhaps not&quot without losing access to that second card, which has replaced the first in one’s hand; I have mostly experienced this in special areas like the Flash Lay, but it also happens in London with the Implausible Penance card. When I select a branch of &quotAn implausible penance&quot and then I back out, I have a new card in my hand with a different image from that of the Implausible Penance card, and indeed a different image from that used in the Implausible Penance’s branch I have just selected. Subsequently I am able to handle this card as I might any other: whenever I please I can discard it or select it and proceed with my desired action.

My question is why this doesn’t happen more often. It doesn’t work with cards such as &quotA visit&quot and &quotWolfstack in the fog&quot, where clicking on a branch and then &quotPerhaps not&quot will remove the card from my hand. It’s been a while since I conducted the relevant experiments and it’s hard for me to remember specific examples now, but unless something has changed recently, I’m certain most &quotsub-cards&quot of this kind will auto-discard upon clicking &quotPerhaps not&quot. Which is disappointing, because when I realised the implications of this August 2015 blog post (as I understood them through the Flash Lay example) I thought all cards of this type would work like that. Apparently not.

PS: At least I have a fresh example now, &quotA kindness of ravens&quot. The branch &quotTake your raven to the weasel-fights&quot leads to another event (and gives the impression that it will move you to another area, but actually doesn’t). Is that actually a card or a storylet? I don’t know, but once you back out it’s gone.
edited by The Duke of Waltham on 6/2/2016

2

Could it be that cards which lead to other cards remain as those cards after you ‘Perhaps not’, and cards which lead to former storylets are the ones which are gone from your hand with nothing to replace them? Because former storylets would likely not have the ability to appear as cards at all.

3

It is possible that the criminal cards remain in hand because all the branches from the Implausible Penance used to be individual cards themselves. The friends from &quotA Visit&quot used to be individual storylets instead, and they were never converted to opportunity cards since there isn’t a reason to do so once they become linked storylets for a card.