Every delegation has a public brief, a private objective, and a line it will not admit exists.
| FACTION | PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM | FACES | RED LINE |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeSauros Mission | Secure favorable trade, safe passage, and Hellerite influence without provoking direct Valdegracian retaliation. | Captain Huan DeSauros; Isabella “Izzy” Ferraro; Rafael Morales. | Heller’s sealed authorization and hidden naval support must not be captured. |
| Project Custodian / DeLuca Administration | Restore confidence and turn the Ear into institutional or personal power. | Arturo DeLuca by default; otherwise the crown, Church, Albion, or Heller officials controlling the project. | Proof of coercion, trafficking, unlawful custody, or loss of control over the project. |
| Valdegracian Crown | Maintain jurisdiction, order, and ownership of the official record. | Admiral Esteban Calderón; crown agents; garrison officers. | Open evidence that Canula is beyond control. |
| Montoya’s Circle | Expose corruption, protect the island, and recover truth about Melenko without surrendering Valdegracia. | Inquisitor Lorenzo Montoya and a small loyal network. | Technical certainty. Montoya will not claim knowledge he does not possess. |
| Albion Delegation | Undermine Valdegracia through diplomacy, gain technical access, and preserve public deniability. | Ambassador Edmund Lysander; Beatrice Fairchild; Marcus Vance. | Proof that the delegation knowingly ordered atrocities or open war. |
| Albion Covert Command | Acquire the Ear, Resa, and Heller signal knowledge through deniable force; the field operation has exceeded its cover. | Commander Helena Drake; turned officials; the cut-off field commander. | Captured orders, traceable through command links, or exposure before extraction is complete. |
| Stroomdijk Interests | Protect commerce, contracts, and the hidden trafficking routes. | Willem van der Zee; Henrik Smit; Clara de Vries. | Public testimony from captives, ledgers, or buyers. |
| Luminore Delegation | Gain scientific access and cultural influence while appearing principled. | Elara Duvall; Dr. Lucienne Moreau; Juliette Armand; Henri Beaumont. | Being exposed as another extractor wearing gentler language. |
| The Shadowed Tide | Destroy the trafficking network and protect those trapped inside it. | Lukas Van Rijn; Anika Vos; Joris Smit; Lisbeth Jansen; Pieter Van den Berg. | Marina DeLuca’s identity and safe routes to the captives. |
| Clann na Saoirse (the Clann) | Clann na Saoirse, the Éirighdúnari movement rooted in Muirthuaidh, known abroad simply as the Clann. Keep the inland Source, watched routes, and burial paths beyond imperial reach; disrupt Albion’s overseas position, and deny or interfere with Albion’s strategic access to Éterlumin. They may tolerate individual Hellerite crews who refuse ownership, mapping, and extraction. | Éirighdún elders and masked field teams. | Maps, names, or surviving evidence that can lead a fleet to the Source. |
| Vega’s Crew | Survive the moons, protect Melenko or the Legacy Anchor, and find another path to freedom. | Lucian Vega and six trusted officers. | A cure that turns loyalty into sacrifice. |
DeSauros Mission
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Secure favorable trade, safe passage, and Hellerite influence without provoking direct Valdegracian retaliation.
- FACES
- Captain Huan DeSauros; Isabella “Izzy” Ferraro; Rafael Morales.
- RED LINE
- Heller’s sealed authorization and hidden naval support must not be captured.
Project Custodian / DeLuca Administration
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Restore confidence and turn the Ear into institutional or personal power.
- FACES
- Arturo DeLuca by default; otherwise the crown, Church, Albion, or Heller officials controlling the project.
- RED LINE
- Proof of coercion, trafficking, unlawful custody, or loss of control over the project.
Valdegracian Crown
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Maintain jurisdiction, order, and ownership of the official record.
- FACES
- Admiral Esteban Calderón; crown agents; garrison officers.
- RED LINE
- Open evidence that Canula is beyond control.
Montoya’s Circle
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Expose corruption, protect the island, and recover truth about Melenko without surrendering Valdegracia.
- FACES
- Inquisitor Lorenzo Montoya and a small loyal network.
- RED LINE
- Technical certainty. Montoya will not claim knowledge he does not possess.
Albion Delegation
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Undermine Valdegracia through diplomacy, gain technical access, and preserve public deniability.
- FACES
- Ambassador Edmund Lysander; Beatrice Fairchild; Marcus Vance.
- RED LINE
- Proof that the delegation knowingly ordered atrocities or open war.
Albion Covert Command
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Acquire the Ear, Resa, and Heller signal knowledge through deniable force; the field operation has exceeded its cover.
- FACES
- Commander Helena Drake; turned officials; the cut-off field commander.
- RED LINE
- Captured orders, traceable through command links, or exposure before extraction is complete.
Stroomdijk Interests
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Protect commerce, contracts, and the hidden trafficking routes.
- FACES
- Willem van der Zee; Henrik Smit; Clara de Vries.
- RED LINE
- Public testimony from captives, ledgers, or buyers.
Luminore Delegation
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Gain scientific access and cultural influence while appearing principled.
- FACES
- Elara Duvall; Dr. Lucienne Moreau; Juliette Armand; Henri Beaumont.
- RED LINE
- Being exposed as another extractor wearing gentler language.
The Shadowed Tide
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Destroy the trafficking network and protect those trapped inside it.
- FACES
- Lukas Van Rijn; Anika Vos; Joris Smit; Lisbeth Jansen; Pieter Van den Berg.
- RED LINE
- Marina DeLuca’s identity and safe routes to the captives.
Clann na Saoirse (the Clann)
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Clann na Saoirse, the Éirighdúnari movement rooted in Muirthuaidh, known abroad simply as the Clann. Keep the inland Source, watched routes, and burial paths beyond imperial reach; disrupt Albion’s overseas position, and deny or interfere with Albion’s strategic access to Éterlumin. They may tolerate individual Hellerite crews who refuse ownership, mapping, and extraction.
- FACES
- Éirighdún elders and masked field teams.
- RED LINE
- Maps, names, or surviving evidence that can lead a fleet to the Source.
Vega’s Crew
- PUBLIC / VISIBLE AIM
- Survive the moons, protect Melenko or the Legacy Anchor, and find another path to freedom.
- FACES
- Lucian Vega and six trusted officers.
- RED LINE
- A cure that turns loyalty into sacrifice.
Albion’s Two Faces
Lysander’s delegation and Drake’s covert command share a national interest but not a complete chain of knowledge. Lysander protects Albion’s diplomatic position and may genuinely oppose an operation that cannot remain deniable. Drake receives a separate Admiralty channel and withholds operational details. Evidence against one does not automatically prove the guilt of the other.
Faction Status
Track each faction on a five-step relationship scale: Hostile, Adverse, Guarded, Useful, Committed. Start most factions at Guarded. A faction becomes Useful when the characters advance one of its goals at real cost. It becomes Committed only when the characters protect something the faction values more than advantage. Status is not friendship. A committed faction can still ask for something terrible.