Chapter V: Campaign Clocks and Leverage

Pressure should remain visible even when the characters choose another door.

Core Campaign Clocks

CLOCK	SEGMENTS	ADVANCE WHEN	WHEN FULL
Project Custodian Completes the Ear	8	Resa is isolated, the party delays, technical records are recovered, or the custodian gains outside expertise.	The Ear can transmit toward the inland Source. The custodian schedules a demonstration, seizure, or sale.
Albion Covert Command Identifies the Asset	6	The party displays evidence, uses Heller signals, contacts Vega, or exposes an Albion operative.	Drake begins armed extraction and the Wolf in the Clouds act starts.
Albion Delegation Loses Control	4	Public evidence surfaces, Drake acts without approval, or cut-off troops are identified.	Lysander must disavow the field command, defend it publicly, or split the delegation. Deniability becomes a contested fact rather than automatic guilt.
Traffickers Erase the Route	6	Stroomdijk is accused, raids fail noisily, or witnesses disappear.	Ledgers burn, captives are moved inland, and the network sacrifices an intermediary.
Negotiations Collapse	8	Public accusations fail, violence reaches the conference, or delegations are humiliated.	The summit becomes a blockade, seizure, or armed standoff.
The Clann Withdraw Trust	4	The party reveals maps, brings soldiers inland, mistreats graves, or treats the Source as property.	The Clann erase the route and become active opposition.
Vega Loses Control	6	A moon threshold turns, his crew suffers losses, Melenko or the Legacy Anchor is threatened, or the Ear is moved.	Vega attempts a desperate seizure or transforms during a political crisis.
Source Disequilibrium	10	The Ear transmits, the burial site is disturbed, violent resonance manipulation occurs, or contradictory commands enter the system.	The failed correction manifests and the campaign enters its final crisis.

Project Custodian Completes the Ear

SEGMENTS: 8
ADVANCE WHEN: Resa is isolated, the party delays, technical records are recovered, or the custodian gains outside expertise.
WHEN FULL: The Ear can transmit toward the inland Source. The custodian schedules a demonstration, seizure, or sale.

Albion Covert Command Identifies the Asset

SEGMENTS: 6
ADVANCE WHEN: The party displays evidence, uses Heller signals, contacts Vega, or exposes an Albion operative.
WHEN FULL: Drake begins armed extraction and the Wolf in the Clouds act starts.

Albion Delegation Loses Control

SEGMENTS: 4
ADVANCE WHEN: Public evidence surfaces, Drake acts without approval, or cut-off troops are identified.
WHEN FULL: Lysander must disavow the field command, defend it publicly, or split the delegation. Deniability becomes a contested fact rather than automatic guilt.

Traffickers Erase the Route

SEGMENTS: 6
ADVANCE WHEN: Stroomdijk is accused, raids fail noisily, or witnesses disappear.
WHEN FULL: Ledgers burn, captives are moved inland, and the network sacrifices an intermediary.

Negotiations Collapse

SEGMENTS: 8
ADVANCE WHEN: Public accusations fail, violence reaches the conference, or delegations are humiliated.
WHEN FULL: The summit becomes a blockade, seizure, or armed standoff.

The Clann Withdraw Trust

SEGMENTS: 4
ADVANCE WHEN: The party reveals maps, brings soldiers inland, mistreats graves, or treats the Source as property.
WHEN FULL: The Clann erase the route and become active opposition.

Vega Loses Control

SEGMENTS: 6
ADVANCE WHEN: A moon threshold turns, his crew suffers losses, Melenko or the Legacy Anchor is threatened, or the Ear is moved.
WHEN FULL: Vega attempts a desperate seizure or transforms during a political crisis.

Source Disequilibrium

SEGMENTS: 10
ADVANCE WHEN: The Ear transmits, the burial site is disturbed, violent resonance manipulation occurs, or contradictory commands enter the system.
WHEN FULL: The failed correction manifests and the campaign enters its final crisis.

Lunar Pressure Calendar

Track the moons by elapsed days, not dramatic convenience. At campaign start, record the current phase and next relevant threshold for each moon. Every full day in the fiction advances all three cycles.

MOON	CYCLE	CAMPAIGN PROCEDURE
Umbra	29 days	Record the next established threshold and advance it one day for every day of fiction.
Sirulena	34 days	Record the next established threshold and advance it one day for every day of fiction.
Veles	41 days	Record the next established threshold and advance it one day for every day of fiction.
MOON RULE	When a relevant lunar threshold is crossed, advance Vega Loses Control by 1. If two thresholds coincide, advance it by 2. Crew loss, betrayal, or threat to the Legacy Anchor may still advance the clock, but the GM should never invent a lunar change that the calendar has not reached.

Umbra

CYCLE: 29 days
CAMPAIGN PROCEDURE: Record the next established threshold and advance it one day for every day of fiction.

Sirulena

CYCLE: 34 days
CAMPAIGN PROCEDURE: Record the next established threshold and advance it one day for every day of fiction.

Veles

CYCLE: 41 days
CAMPAIGN PROCEDURE: Record the next established threshold and advance it one day for every day of fiction.

MOON RULE

CYCLE: When a relevant lunar threshold is crossed, advance Vega Loses Control by 1. If two thresholds coincide, advance it by 2. Crew loss, betrayal, or threat to the Legacy Anchor may still advance the clock, but the GM should never invent a lunar change that the calendar has not reached.
CAMPAIGN PROCEDURE

Evidence and Leverage

Evidence is a fact that can change what another person is willing or able to do. Leverage is evidence placed in the right hands under the right conditions. A ledger hidden in a satchel is evidence. The same ledger read into the record while its clerk and a rescued witness are present is leverage.

LEVERAGE LEVEL	WHAT THE CHARACTERS HOLD	EFFECT AT THE TABLE
Rumor	A credible claim, partial document, or frightened witness.	Gain access, a private meeting, or one concession. Public use is risky.
Proof	Corroborated testimony, intact records, technical evidence, or multiple independent clues.	Force a faction to answer, delay a decision, or concede a major term.
Public Case	Proof plus witnesses, jurisdiction, and a protected forum.	Change the summit, remove an official, split a delegation, or redirect custody.
Irreversible Truth	A living survivor, Source event, manifest, or confession that cannot be quietly removed.	The political map changes. Every faction must choose a public position.

Rumor

WHAT THE CHARACTERS HOLD: A credible claim, partial document, or frightened witness.
EFFECT AT THE TABLE: Gain access, a private meeting, or one concession. Public use is risky.

Proof

WHAT THE CHARACTERS HOLD: Corroborated testimony, intact records, technical evidence, or multiple independent clues.
EFFECT AT THE TABLE: Force a faction to answer, delay a decision, or concede a major term.

Public Case

WHAT THE CHARACTERS HOLD: Proof plus witnesses, jurisdiction, and a protected forum.
EFFECT AT THE TABLE: Change the summit, remove an official, split a delegation, or redirect custody.

Irreversible Truth

WHAT THE CHARACTERS HOLD: A living survivor, Source event, manifest, or confession that cannot be quietly removed.
EFFECT AT THE TABLE: The political map changes. Every faction must choose a public position.

Negotiation Position

The DeSauros delegation begins with two Position. Gain one Position when the characters secure a major ally, rescue a key witness, prove a rival’s contradiction, or provide an advantage the summit cannot ignore. Spend Position to demand an enforceable concession, protect a named person, secure passage or custody, or force a delayed vote. Position cannot exceed six.

At zero Position, Huan may still negotiate, but every success requires a concession or debt.