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.
10-minute prep
- Import San Telmo, or use Truth Fragmented.
- Position 2.
- Three clocks ready.
- Witness and proof custody decided.
- Boca Serena and Summit maps open.
- Player Packet or Player Kit shared.
- Three handouts separated.
- 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)
- Customs copy: the recopied harbor ledger.
- Resa's pressure notes and their technical contradictions.
- 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
- Name the faction whose interest the last move touched.
- Make that faction's next logical move.
- Advance a clock only if its stated trigger occurred.
- 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
Full record: mar-de-oro.com/adventures/ash-on-the-ledger/adventure-record
Five-line session review
- Which faction gained most?
- Which faction was ignored, and what did it do?
- Which clock became visible?
- What clue, witness, or document changed hands?
- What choice will matter next even if every roll succeeded?
Tales of Mar de Oro · Shadows of the Compañeros · Adventure One