Ash on the Ledger · GM only · Contains spoilers

GM Quick Reference

Everything needed at the table, on one or two pages. Full detail lives on the adventure page.

Before play
After play

10-minute prep

  1. Import San Telmo, or use Truth Fragmented.
  2. Position 2.
  3. Three clocks ready.
  4. Witness and proof custody decided.
  5. Boca Serena and Summit maps open.
  6. Player Packet or Player Kit shared.
  7. Three handouts separated.
  8. Default start: Customs, unless the table has a stronger opening.

Before play

  • Agree lines and veils or other table safety limits.
  • Import the San Telmo ending, or use the standalone Truth Fragmented state.
  • Position starts at 2.
  • Clocks: Project Custodian Completes the Ear 0/8 · Albion Covert Command Identifies the Asset 0/6 · Negotiations Collapse 0/8 (adjust for your San Telmo import).
  • Establish who holds each witness and each piece of proof.

Objective

  • Secure the DeSauros mission's position.
  • Establish that something usable survived San Telmo.
  • Establish that Resa is under pressure.
  • Understand the summit is an auction disguised as restoration.

Three clue routes (any one is enough)

  1. Customs copy: the recopied harbor ledger.
  2. Resa's pressure notes and their technical contradictions.
  3. A servant or witness who remembers a brass cylinder or calibration case removed from San Telmo.

A failed roll changes custody, cost, or a clock. It never removes the route.

Scene nodes (any order)

  • Customs at Boca Serena: papers delayed, ship inspected. Route 1.
  • The Wrong Name: a witness is being moved before the summit. Route 3.
  • Montoya's Harbor Chapel: private meeting under sacred form. Routes 2 or 3.
  • Convener's Welcome: the auction shows itself. Missed: Huan returns with one offer and one insult; Negotiations +1.
  • Optional ship and physical evidence: the one proof no official copy can overwrite.

Clocks

  • Project Custodian Completes the Ear (8): advance when the characters delay, Resa is isolated, technical records are recovered by the custodian, or he gains outside expertise. Full: the device can transmit; the custodian schedules a demonstration, seizure, or sale.
  • Albion Covert Command Identifies the Asset (6): advance when the characters display San Telmo evidence, use Heller signals, or expose an Albion operative. Full: Albion's covert command begins armed extraction.
  • Negotiations Collapse (8): advance when a public accusation fails, violence reaches the summit, or a delegation is humiliated. Full: the summit becomes a blockade, seizure, or armed standoff.

Position

Starts 2, maximum 6. Gain 1 for protecting a witness without losing legal standing.

Spend 1 to demand an enforceable concession, protect a named person, secure passage or custody, or force a delay. At 0, every success needs a concession or a debt.

When play stalls

  1. Name the faction whose interest the last move touched.
  2. Make that faction's next logical move.
  3. Advance a clock only if its stated trigger occurred.
  4. Put the changed situation back in front of the players.

Pacing (guidance, not required)

  • One long session: start at Customs; combine one node; bring the Welcome forward once leverage exists.
  • Two sessions: break after the first custody or evidence choice; open session two on faction reactions.

Hard choice: before sundown

Protect the frightened witness, follow the clerk, or preserve the physical evidence on the ship. Whichever route is ignored reaches a faction first.

Consequences to reach for

  • Legal standing costs the delegation.
  • A witness moves into another faction's custody.
  • Document access is restricted.
  • Albion's asset clock advances.
  • Negotiations Collapse advances.
  • Violence brings marines or the garrison, and the legal position becomes the story.

Move on when

  • The players understand the summit is an auction disguised as restoration.
  • They know usable material or a pattern survived San Telmo.
  • They know Resa is under pressure.
  • They understand several incompatible interests are pursuing the asset.

End-of-session record

  • Clocks: Ear __/8 · Albion __/6 · Negotiations __/8
  • Position: __ / 6
  • Witness custody · proof holders
  • Private offer pursued
  • Faction that gained most · faction ignored
  • What changed because of the party

Open the editable Adventure Record

Five-line session review

  1. Which faction gained most?
  2. Which faction was ignored, and what did it do?
  3. Which clock became visible?
  4. What clue, witness, or document changed hands?
  5. What choice will matter next even if every roll succeeded?
Tales of Mar de Oro · Shadows of the Compañeros · Adventure One