Masks at the Table · Player Kit
Player Kit
Player packet and all three handouts. Player-safe throughout.
Where the story stands
The summit in Boca Serena is underway. Every accredited delegation wants influence over the terms that follow the San Telmo Incident. Public procedure and private bargaining are already pulling apart, and rumors of disappearances and disputed trade papers are adding pressure outside the conference hall.
If your group played The San Telmo Incident and Ash on the Ledger, carry your characters, their promises, and what they learned forward. These are the public facts everyone at the summit works from:
San Telmo suffered a serious incident involving Éterlumin infrastructure.
What people disagree about: Whether the chamber was an accident, an ancient machine, or evidence of a larger inland system.
The DeSauros mission represents Heller within a Valdegracian political framework.
What people disagree about: Whether Heller seeks stability, leverage, independence of action, or all three.
Albion, Stroomdijk, Luminore, Valdegracia, and local interests have arrived for negotiations.
What people disagree about: Which delegations know about covert operations already underway.
Trade and legal authority are the summit’s official subjects.
What people disagree about: Whether the real auction concerns custody of people, proof, and access to the Source.
| Public fact | What people disagree about |
|---|---|
| San Telmo suffered a serious incident involving Éterlumin infrastructure. | Whether the chamber was an accident, an ancient machine, or evidence of a larger inland system. |
| The DeSauros mission represents Heller within a Valdegracian political framework. | Whether Heller seeks stability, leverage, independence of action, or all three. |
| Albion, Stroomdijk, Luminore, Valdegracia, and local interests have arrived for negotiations. | Which delegations know about covert operations already underway. |
| Trade and legal authority are the summit’s official subjects. | Whether the real auction concerns custody of people, proof, and access to the Source. |
Your mission
Your characters are attached to the DeSauros mission from the Duchy of Heller. The visible task is to support the delegation during negotiations. The real work is to build leverage while protecting people and credibility, and to decide which truths can be proved.
Captain Huan DeSauros
Role: Chief negotiator and captain of Aurora Ventus.
Strength: Pragmatic authority, crew loyalty, commercial judgment.
Isabella “Izzy” Ferraro
Role: Trade and logistics adviser.
Strength: Numbers, tariffs, routes, insurance, and supply.
Rafael “Rafa” Morales
Role: Legal and diplomatic adviser.
Strength: Jurisdiction, treaty language, procedural traps.
| Delegation | Role | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Captain Huan DeSauros | Chief negotiator and captain of Aurora Ventus. | Pragmatic authority, crew loyalty, commercial judgment. |
| Isabella “Izzy” Ferraro | Trade and logistics adviser. | Numbers, tariffs, routes, insurance, and supply. |
| Rafael “Rafa” Morales | Legal and diplomatic adviser. | Jurisdiction, treaty language, procedural traps. |
How negotiations work at the table
The delegation handles technical wording. You decide what the mission wants. When a subject is on the table, the GM will ask you for three things:
- Strategic objective: what the mission is really trying to get.
- Concession: what you are willing to give up for it.
- Threat: what you can credibly make happen if you are refused.
One meaningful intervention is then resolved in your rules system. Most exchanges do not come down to a single social roll. Every public posture wins someone's trust and costs someone else's.
Position
Position is the DeSauros delegation's political standing at the summit, from 0 to 6. It carries over from the previous adventure. Some negotiation moves need Position or specific proof before they can be made:
Demand Access
Requirement: One Position or proof of immediate danger.
Result: Gain inspection, interview, or site access under named conditions.
Protect a Person
Requirement: A safe location, legal argument, or committed ally.
Result: The person cannot be quietly removed without public cost.
Expose a Contradiction
Requirement: Two independent sources or one intact primary record.
Result: Reduce a faction’s credibility and force a public answer.
Trade Silence
Requirement: Evidence the target believes can become public.
Result: Gain a concession now; create permanent debt and moral risk.
Force a Vote
Requirement: Four Position and at least two delegations willing to be recorded.
Result: Turn a private issue into binding public procedure.
Break the Table
Requirement: Proof of atrocity, armed attack, or active Source danger.
Result: End normal negotiation and begin inquiry, blockade, or emergency authority.
| Move | Requirement | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Demand Access | One Position or proof of immediate danger. | Gain inspection, interview, or site access under named conditions. |
| Protect a Person | A safe location, legal argument, or committed ally. | The person cannot be quietly removed without public cost. |
| Expose a Contradiction | Two independent sources or one intact primary record. | Reduce a faction’s credibility and force a public answer. |
| Trade Silence | Evidence the target believes can become public. | Gain a concession now; create permanent debt and moral risk. |
| Force a Vote | Four Position and at least two delegations willing to be recorded. | Turn a private issue into binding public procedure. |
| Break the Table | Proof of atrocity, armed attack, or active Source danger. | End normal negotiation and begin inquiry, blockade, or emergency authority. |
The public agenda
Opening
Public subject: Recognition and procedure
Trade
Public subject: Tariffs, convoy access, and insurance
Security
Public subject: Escort rights and naval presence
Culture and Science
Public subject: Historical sites, research, education
Private Bargaining
Public subject: Bilateral concessions
Final Terms
Public subject: Custody, publication, and enforcement
| Phase | Public subject |
|---|---|
| Opening | Recognition and procedure |
| Trade | Tariffs, convoy access, and insurance |
| Security | Escort rights and naval presence |
| Culture and Science | Historical sites, research, education |
| Private Bargaining | Bilateral concessions |
| Final Terms | Custody, publication, and enforcement |
People you will meet
- The Convener: the authority who summoned the delegations.
- Edmund Lysander: Albion ambassador.
- Helena Drake: Albion delegation security liaison.
- Willem van der Zee: Stroomdijk envoy.
- Juliette Armand: Luminore attaché.
- Captain Huan DeSauros: your chief negotiator.
New to the campaign? Choose a role
Continuing characters need nothing new. A group starting here can build characters in any system around one of these campaign roles:
Envoy or legal aide
What you bring: Procedure, rhetoric, rank, and public access.
A question to answer: Which law do you still believe deserves obedience?
Naval officer or marine
What you bring: Command, discipline, violence, and shipboard authority.
A question to answer: Whose order would you refuse in public?
Investigator or intelligence operative
What you bring: Surveillance, documents, covert contacts, and inference.
A question to answer: Which earlier assignment still follows you?
Engineer, physician, or scholar
What you bring: Technical knowledge, care, evidence, and specialist credibility.
A question to answer: What discovery would you refuse to weaponize?
Local guide, dockworker, or survivor
What you bring: Routes, communities, memory, and practical legitimacy.
A question to answer: Who on Canula Prime expects you to protect them?
Free captain, smuggler, or privateer
What you bring: Mobility, deniable access, criminal contacts, and flexible loyalty.
A question to answer: What debt can still alter your course?
| Role | What you bring | A question to answer |
|---|---|---|
| Envoy or legal aide | Procedure, rhetoric, rank, and public access. | Which law do you still believe deserves obedience? |
| Naval officer or marine | Command, discipline, violence, and shipboard authority. | Whose order would you refuse in public? |
| Investigator or intelligence operative | Surveillance, documents, covert contacts, and inference. | Which earlier assignment still follows you? |
| Engineer, physician, or scholar | Technical knowledge, care, evidence, and specialist credibility. | What discovery would you refuse to weaponize? |
| Local guide, dockworker, or survivor | Routes, communities, memory, and practical legitimacy. | Who on Canula Prime expects you to protect them? |
| Free captain, smuggler, or privateer | Mobility, deniable access, criminal contacts, and flexible loyalty. | What debt can still alter your course? |
Table safety
This adventure involves political pressure, coercion, and people who go missing. Agree on lines and veils before play, use whatever check-in tool your table prefers, and remember that anyone can pause or redirect a scene. Harm to vulnerable people is handled off-screen unless the whole table wants otherwise.
Conference Invitation
Official copy
By authority of the Convener, the accredited delegations are summoned to Boca Serena to establish temporary terms of trade, custody, scientific access, and maritime security following the San Telmo Incident. Attendance confirms no admission of liability. Absence will be recorded as refusal of procedure.
Stroomdijk Cargo Exemption
Commercial clause
Registered carriers operating under bilateral exemption shall not be delayed, opened, or inspected by local authorities except under countersigned emergency writ.
Clann Warning
Road sign
The knot is turned toward the sea. Outsiders read it as decoration. Those taught the older rhythm understand: soldiers have crossed the watched line, graves have been disturbed, and anyone carrying a map must decide who will inherit it.