I think it is much better to go in the direction of more tools for advanced players at the cost of learning curve; that is (it seems to me) the game's core identity. I was aware of the popups on clicking 'more', I just didn't think that's what 'quests' meant in that context; I thought that was for *effects* of quests (like stop the undead uprising's skeletons), not for things that cared about the game state when your turn actually ended, which I thought was when you pushed the button. I would also have been confused by a card that cared about end-of-turn state (rather than having an 'on end turn' effect) being affected by the 'on end turn' effect of a card further left in the hand.
For the items, I was referring to their quests (which, admittedly, are the same as their activation conditions), but your point still stands. Thanks for your thorough reply.