Simonides’ “whisper network” is not a spy organization. It is a loose web of friends, beneficiaries, correspondents, tradespeople, travelers, and occasional informants.
You have inherited:
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Simonides’ relationships and obligations;
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a trust used to maintain those relationships;
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records, ciphers, safe rooms, and correspondence;
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the ability to ask contacts for information or assistance.
These people are not employees awaiting orders. Some will help freely, some expect payment or reciprocal favors, and some must be convinced to accept personal risk.
Starting State
| Resource | Starting value |
|---|---|
| Correspondence, Relief, and Travel Trust | 48,000 gp |
| Operating mode | Active |
| Monthly base upkeep | 600 gp |
| Confidence | 2 — Tentative |
| Heat | 1 — Noticed |
| Home reach | Naukros |
| Coordinated Requests | One per Bastion turn |
| Current assets | Two safe rooms, several caches, coded correspondence materials, and Simonides’ contact archive |
A Bastion turn normally represents 7 in-game days.
Operating the Network
At the beginning of each month, choose how actively the network operates.
| Mode | Monthly cost | Capability |
|---|---|---|
| Dormant | 200 gp | Preserves records and essential emergency contacts; no coordinated Requests |
| Quiet | 300 gp | One coordinated Request per month |
| Active | 600 gp | One coordinated Request per Bastion turn; contacts may provide unsolicited tips |
| Surge | 1,200 gp | Two coordinated Requests per Bastion turn; gain 1 Heat at the end of the month |
Operating costs cover ordinary correspondence, small stipends, routine travel, harmless favors, and maintenance of existing assets.
Risky or unusually expensive Requests cost additional money.
Fund Runway
Assuming no additional expenses:
| Mode | Time before the 48,000 gp trust is exhausted |
|---|---|
| Dormant | 20 years |
| Quiet | 13 years, 4 months |
| Active | 6 years, 8 months |
| Surge | 3 years, 4 months |
New Anchors, safehouses, bribes, foreign travel, emergency assistance, and other special expenses reduce this runway.
Confidence
Confidence measures whether Simonides’ contacts believe you will honor his relationships and protect the people who help you.
It does not represent obedience or membership in an organization.
| Confidence | State | What contacts will generally do |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Broken | Most contacts disappear or refuse involvement |
| 1 | Wary | Provide harmless rumors or accept ordinary paid work |
| 2 | Tentative | Provide information and modest favors |
| 3 | Established | Accept some personal, professional, or legal risk |
| 4 | Devoted | Volunteer warnings and undertake serious risks |
Increasing Confidence
Confidence can rise when you:
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continue assistance Simonides promised;
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protect contacts’ identities;
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pay fairly;
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rescue or defend endangered contacts;
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perform favors without immediately demanding repayment;
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meet important contacts personally;
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accept a loss rather than expose someone.
Losing Confidence
Confidence can fall when you:
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miss support payments;
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expose confidential sources;
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abandon contacts in danger;
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use threats or coercion against the network;
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treat contacts as expendable agents;
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divert trust money toward unrelated purposes.
Confidence determines what contacts are willing to attempt. It does not provide a universal bonus to checks.
Heat
Heat measures how much attention Simonides’ relationships and your use of them have attracted.
| Heat | State | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Quiet | No general suspicion |
| 1 | Noticed | Rivals know Simonides maintained unusual relationships |
| 2 | Watched | Sensitive Requests cost more, take longer, or carry greater risk |
| 3 | Compromised | A named contact, safe room, route, or Anchor becomes unsafe |
| 4 | Scattered | Coordinated Requests stop until the exposure is addressed |
Gaining Heat
Heat can rise through:
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failed covert Requests;
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repeated activity against the same faction;
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public use of confidential information;
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conspicuously activating Simonides’ old contacts;
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running several sensitive operations in quick succession;
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operating in Surge mode.
Reducing Heat
Heat can fall through:
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lying low for a month;
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changing communication methods;
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relocating a compromised contact;
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identifying and stopping surveillance;
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abandoning an objective rather than exposing someone;
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completing a successful Check the Web Request.
Heat affects particular people and assets. A problem in one location does not mean every contact everywhere has been exposed.
Contacts
Each contact has four important traits.
| Trait | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sphere | The part of society, profession, or region they understand |
| Access | The information, services, or introductions they can reasonably provide |
| Need | What maintains their relationship with Simonides’ heirs |
| Limit | What they will not do or risk |
A contact’s Access determines whether they can meaningfully help with a Request.
A harbor clerk may readily obtain docking records but be unable to shelter a fugitive. A boarding-house keeper may hide someone but have no access to Council proceedings.
Making a Request
A Request is a coordinated use of Simonides’ contacts. The number available depends on the network’s operating mode.
Ask Around
Gather rumors or seek an answer to a focused question.
Examples:
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What are sailors saying about the explosion?
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Which merchants have recently met with Melkarthe’s representative?
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Who has been asking about the Sand Reckoner?
Find
Locate a person, vessel, business, document, or likely destination.
Introduce
Arrange a meeting, invitation, recommendation, or trustworthy intermediary.
Watch
Ask contacts to notice a target’s movements, meetings, visitors, or activity.
Carry
Deliver a message, payment, or small package discreetly.
Shelter
Find temporary lodging, hide someone, or assist with relocation.
Smooth the Way
Help with permits, scheduling, bureaucratic delays, ordinary documentation, or access to officials.
Shape a Rumor
Circulate, redirect, or suppress a limited story among a specific audience.
Check the Web
Determine whether a contact, message, safe room, route, or Anchor is being watched or has been compromised.
Resolving a Request
Not every Request requires a roll.
A contact can normally perform routine tasks clearly within their Sphere and Access. A harbor clerk can retrieve an ordinary public registry entry; a performer can learn what tavern patrons are openly discussing.
A check may be required when the Request is:
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guarded;
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dangerous;
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urgent;
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illegal;
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politically sensitive;
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outside the contact’s normal Access.
Procedure
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State exactly what you want to accomplish.
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Choose a relevant contact, or ask the network to locate one.
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Determine the likely delay, expense, and danger.
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Make an appropriate ability check if the outcome is uncertain.
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Relevant Access usually grants Advantage.
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Heat may cause Disadvantage, increase the cost, or delay the result.
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Failure produces incomplete information or a complication rather than nothing.
Possible checks include:
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Intelligence (Investigation): Frame a precise records search or connect scattered information.
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Charisma (Persuasion): Convince a contact to accept inconvenience or risk.
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Charisma (Deception): Establish a cover story or conceal the Request’s true purpose.
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Wisdom (Insight): Interpret rumors, judge sources, or recognize misinformation.
The network creates opportunities and access. It does not replace the party’s own abilities or complete adventures off-screen.
Additional Request Expenses
Normal upkeep covers harmless favors and ordinary communication. More difficult work has additional costs.
| Request | Typical additional cost |
|---|---|
| Ordinary rumors or public records | 0–25 gp |
| Discreet search or surveillance | 50–200 gp |
| Special introduction or bureaucratic favor | 100–500 gp |
| Forged local document | 100–500 gp |
| Temporary shelter or local relocation | 250–750 gp |
| Cross-island travel or foreign investigation | 500–2,000 gp |
| Emergency extraction, major bribe, or endangered witness | 1,000–5,000 gp |
These payments cover expenses such as:
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travel;
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lodging;
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lost wages;
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bribes;
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materials;
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documents;
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compensation for risk.
Payment does not guarantee cooperation or success.
Geographic Reach and Anchors
The network’s reliable home territory is Naukros.
To operate regularly in another city or region, you need an Anchor.
Anchor
An Anchor is a trusted person or small group in a named external location.
Examples include:
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a traveling performer in Melkarthe;
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a former student in another city-state;
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an innkeeper near Tortoise Cove;
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a courier captain who travels between the eastern islands.
An Anchor allows normal Requests in that location.
Without an Anchor, the network can still:
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send messages;
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seek introductions;
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ask travelers for broad rumors;
but it cannot reliably arrange surveillance, shelter, document searches, or other sustained local assistance.
Establishing an Anchor
Establishing an Anchor normally requires:
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a named person or existing relationship;
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a reason they trust you;
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a personal meeting, significant favor, or mission;
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500–2,500 gp in travel, assistance, lodging, and setup costs.
An Anchor normally costs 50–150 gp per month to support.
There is no separate regional expansion purchase. The network’s geographic reach is determined by the Anchors it actually maintains.
Network Assets
Safe Room or Safehouse
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Setup | 1,000–3,000 gp |
| Monthly upkeep | 50–150 gp |
Provides secure lodging, storage, or a meeting place in one location.
A safehouse is a physical asset. It does not automatically include trained agents or guards.
Coded Correspondence System
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Setup | Approximately 2,000 gp |
| Monthly upkeep | 25 gp |
Reduces the chance that ordinary intercepted messages reveal contact identities or intentions.
It cannot indefinitely defeat a determined professional cryptanalyst.
Emergency Chest
You may reserve any portion of the trust for emergency expenses such as:
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bail;
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medical treatment;
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relocation;
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funerals;
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destroyed records;
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emergency bribes;
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helping the family of a compromised contact.
Reserved money remains part of the trust but is not available for ordinary spending.
Contact Archive
Simonides’ contact ledger, sealed schedules, correspondence, ciphers, and reports are stored at the Bastion.
The archive helps identify relationships and interpret old messages, but possession of Simonides’ records does not guarantee the cooperation of the people named within them.
Passive Benefits
While the network operates in Active or Surge mode, its contacts may occasionally provide useful information without receiving a formal Request.
Possible benefits include:
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a relevant rumor or warning during a Bastion turn;
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notice that a known faction has made a conspicuous move;
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recognition of an unfamiliar name, symbol, vessel, or organization;
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a suggestion of someone who might provide an introduction;
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warning that a contact or route has become unsafe.
These benefits provide leads rather than complete solutions.
A contact might report that a Melkarthene official met privately with harbor assessors. The network would not automatically discover the official’s complete plan.