GM Quick Reference

Goal: Let the characters attack the trafficking network while forcing meaningful choices between rescue, evidence, secrecy, political leverage, and survivor safety.

Must surface: Stroomdijk interests and the Project Custodian overlap, Marina is assisting Lukas, and the pressure being used against Resa connects the trafficking investigation to the Ear project.

Move on when: The party identifies the pressure being used against Resa and learns that the Ear is nearing completion.

• The challenge is how the players rescue people and preserve testimony, not whether trafficking can be proved wrong.
• A noisy raid, accusation, or disappearance advances Traffickers Erase the Route. The network moves people before it burns paper.
• Direct violence at Valerio’s estate destroys the public case; the servants already know the truth.
• Treat Marina as an actor with her own plan, never as a hostage or a moral symbol.
• Ask which person becomes endangered when a piece of evidence is used.

• Lukas Van Rijn: Rebel leader and former Stroomdijk naval officer. Trust: Protecting captives before evidence or advantage.
• Anika Vos: Infiltrator and mapper. Trust: Accurate plans and respect for compartmentalization.
• Joris “Red Blade” Smit: Enforcer and extraction specialist. Trust: Standing in the dangerous place rather than ordering others into it.
• Lisbeth “Whisper” Jansen: Information broker. Trust: Giving useful truth without demanding her whole network.
• Pieter “Patch” Van den Berg: Medic and saboteur. Trust: Saving wounded enemies or workers when it costs time.
• Marina DeLuca: Inside source and political heir. Trust: Treating her as an actor, not a hostage or moral symbol.

• The Exempt Warehouse: Recover captives and manifests before a night transfer. Wet powder, frightened guards, a second faction already inside. Leverage: Proof linking exemptions to named buyers.
• Valerio’s Estate: Steal correspondence or compel Hector Valerio to testify. Servants know the truth; direct violence destroys the public case. Leverage: The Project Custodian’s bribes, plantation payments, and a route to the laboratory.
• The Messenger: Intercept Stroomdijk correspondence without exposing the Shadowed Tide. The courier is a coerced clerk, not a willing conspirator. Leverage: Evidence that Henrik Smit and Clara de Vries are directing erasure.
• The Small Pen: Locate and free children held for a specific buyer. The route is designed to move them if alarms sound. Leverage: An irreversible truth and a permanent enemy.
• Marina’s Choice: Help Marina remove records or remain in place as an inside source. Either choice may end Marina’s relationship with her family or the administration she infiltrated. Leverage: Access to the Project Custodian’s schedule and the location or status of the current leverage against Resa.

Position 0 to 6, continues from Masks. Use campaign-wide Position rules only.

• Traffickers Erase the Route (6): Stroomdijk is accused, raids fail noisily, or witnesses disappear. Full: Ledgers burn, captives are moved inland, and the network sacrifices an intermediary.
• Project Custodian Completes the Ear (8): Resa is isolated, the party delays, technical records are recovered, or the custodian gains outside expertise. Full: The Ear can transmit toward the inland Source. The custodian schedules a demonstration, seizure, or sale.
• Negotiations Collapse (8): Public accusations fail, violence reaches the conference, or delegations are humiliated. Full: The summit becomes a blockade, seizure, or armed standoff.
• Vega Loses Control (6): A moon threshold turns, his crew suffers losses, Melenko or the Legacy Anchor is threatened, or the Ear is moved. Full: Vega attempts a desperate seizure or transforms during a political crisis.

Advance a clock only when its trigger occurs. Keep every other campaign clock as saved.

Before evidence is used, ask which person becomes endangered. Record who holds each rescued person and each piece of proof, and who can authenticate it.

• The network burns ledgers and moves captives inland ahead of any raid.
• The Project Custodian tightens the pressure on Resa or moves him to safer custody.
• Marina's position becomes untenable if her assistance to Lukas is exposed.
• The Valdegracian garrison treats a rescue as an armed incident rather than a rescue.
• Once contact is earned, the Shadowed Tide can offer one of the operations as a concrete next step.

Optional pressure, not scheduled events. If the table walks away, see When the Players Walk Away.

The challenge is not whether the players can prove that trafficking is wrong. The challenge is how they rescue people without allowing the network to move the rest, how they preserve testimony without treating survivors as evidence, and whether they will sacrifice negotiation advantage for immediate safety.