How to use this document: This is a setting layer, not a standalone rulebook. All core mechanics -- resolution, the wound track, turn sequence, squad building, and campaign structure -- live in the Operator Tactics Core Rulebook. This document translates every IP-specific element into Eternal Court vocabulary. When a rule isn't mentioned here, the OT rulebook governs.
1. Setting Overview
Kormor Kirak. 1793.
A city-state sitting at the crease between two exhausted empires -- Albion and Terrassia -- that have been grinding each other down for a hundred years. Both sides want peace. Neither trusts the other enough to stop arming. Neutral Kormor Kirak was chosen as the venue for negotiations because it is ruled by neither: it answers to the Eternal Court, the ancient vampire nobility presided over by Queen Kiraline, who has watched empires rise and collapse since before anyone now living was born.
This is not a heroic setting. The two empires are not good and evil. They are tired. Albion builds machines that kill; Terrassia shapes magic that kills; and the vampires who rule this city have grown accustomed to watching humans destroy one another while feeding on the aftermath. The players are operatives -- agents of one faction or free contractors -- navigating the peace summit while a conspiracy to unravel it grows inside the city walls.
The central threat: Lord Barron Whitehallow, a dying Albion diplomat, is midway through a lich ritual. His goal is to possess the Albion Crown Prince during the summit, derail peace, and install himself as an immortal power behind the throne. The ritual is advancing. The clock is real.
Tone: Gothic exhaustion. Trust is a weapon. Information is currency. The supernatural is mundane -- vampires sit on the city council; clockwork constructs walk the market; undead labor in the fields outside the walls. Horror comes from implication, from what you almost see in the fog, from what you find after the fact. Not from jump scares.
Core tension at the table: Every mission either advances or delays the six Faction Pressure tracks. The peace summit will succeed, collapse, or transform into something worse depending entirely on what your operators do between sessions.
2. Six Attributes
These are the same six OT attributes in new names. All mechanical functions are unchanged.
| OT Name | Eternal Court Name | What It Represents | Governs |
|---|---|---|---|
| SHOOT | MARK | Marksmanship with flintlock, repeater, or crossbow | All ranged attacks |
| FIGHT | STEEL | Close combat -- blade, fist, grapple | All melee attacks |
| TACT | SCHEME | Tactical awareness, reading a situation, commanding allies | Overwatch, coordinated actions, command abilities |
| OPINT | CIPHER | Intelligence work, codebreaking, surveillance, social manipulation | All stealth and detection rolls; some social actions |
| GUTS | IRON | Resolve under pressure, pushing through pain and fear | Wound state checks, GUTS-equivalent rolls |
| MOBI | STRIDE | How far an operator can move in a turn | Movement only -- never rolled |
Attribute Block Format:
When writing operator stat blocks in Eternal Court, list attributes in this order:
MK / ST / SC / CP / IR / SD
Example: Ironclad Veteran -- MK 3 / ST 5 / SC 4 / CP 2 / IR 4 / SD 4
3. Six Classes
The six OT classes translated into operative roles within Kormor Kirak's shadow war.
The Ironclad
OT Equivalent: Commando
The close-quarters enforcer. Ironclads end fights before they become gun battles. They are the first through the door, the last to leave a hallway, and the reason a contract gets completed when everything has gone sideways.
Signature -- Iron Breach: Once per mission, when the Ironclad charges into contact, all enemies within 1 zone who can see the charge make an immediate IRON check at difficulty 5+. Those who fail are Suppressed for one round.
Doctrine -- Controlled Aggression: The Ironclad may spend 1 Operator Edge to move through a zone containing 1 or more enemies without triggering Overwatch, provided they end their movement in melee contact.
Specializations:
- Red Guard Training: +1 STEEL. Opponents in melee contact cannot benefit from cover bonuses against the Ironclad's attacks.
- Clockwork Brace: +1 IRON. Once per mission, negate one Flesh Wound by spending 1 Edge.
- Menace: Enemies who fail IRON checks caused by the Ironclad remain Suppressed for an additional round.
Stat Block: MK 2 / ST 5 / SC 3 / CP 2 / IR 4 / SD 4
The Sharpshooter
OT Equivalent: Marksman
One shot. One outcome. The Sharpshooter operates at range, removes high-value targets, and repositions before anyone traces the origin. They are patient and precise and deeply uncomfortable when the enemy closes the distance.
Signature -- Still Hand: When the Sharpshooter does not move during their activation, their next ranged attack gains +2 to the die roll. This bonus does not stack across turns.
Doctrine -- Patience Pays: The Sharpshooter may delay their action until any point in the round, including after an enemy has declared a move. When they fire from delay, they cannot be targeted by Overwatch that turn.
Specializations:
- Long Glass: +1 MARK. May target enemies in the adjacent zone beyond long range (1 zone further than the weapon's listed range) at difficulty 6.
- Clockwork Sights: When using a Clockwork Repeater, ignore the Loud property on the first shot each round if not previously engaged.
- Clean Lines: Ignore soft cover bonuses (wooden furniture, curtains, light foliage) on ranged attacks.
Stat Block: MK 5 / ST 2 / SC 3 / CP 3 / IR 3 / SD 4
The Shadow
OT Equivalent: Infiltrator
Information before the operation. Access where there is no access. The Shadow is an intelligence operator who moves through Kormor Kirak's layered social architecture -- court functions, guild halls, consulate receptions -- as easily as through rooftops and maintenance corridors. Their CIPHER covers both physical infiltration and social manipulation.
Signature -- Ghost in the Room: Once per mission, the Shadow may declare that they were already present in a location at the start of an encounter, provided no enemy has specifically stated they checked that location. They begin in full concealment.
Doctrine -- Leverage: When the Shadow successfully extracts information from an NPC (via social check or document theft), they gain 1 Leverage token. Each token provides +1 to a future CIPHER roll, used any time during the mission.
Specializations:
- Diplomatic Papers: +1 CIPHER. The Shadow may pass through one Red Guard checkpoint per mission without a roll, representing forged or genuine credentials.
- Poison Trade: The Shadow may apply a contact poison to a weapon during setup. On a melee hit, the target makes an IRON check at 5+; failure causes 1 Flesh Wound at the start of each of their next two turns.
- Second Exit: Once per mission, when an extraction route is blocked, the Shadow automatically identifies an alternate route that requires 1 fewer move action to reach the edge of the board.
Stat Block: MK 3 / ST 3 / SC 3 / CP 5 / IR 3 / SD 5
The Wrecker
OT Equivalent: Breacher
When a door needs to not exist, when a machine needs to stop running, when a ritual site needs to be rubble -- the Wrecker makes it happen. They carry breach charges, alchemical accelerants, and the specific knowledge required to make a structure fail catastrophically without killing the people you need alive.
Signature -- Precision Collapse: When the Wrecker places a Breach Charge, they may specify up to 2 structural features (a wall, a door, a specific machine component, a floor section). The charge destroys exactly those features and no others, regardless of adjacency.
Doctrine -- Shock and Awe: Once per mission, immediately after a Breach Charge detonates, all enemies within 2 zones who are not in full cover make an IRON check at 4+. Failure causes Suppressed for one full round.
Specializations:
- Alchemical Primer: +1 IRON. Breach Charges the Wrecker places cannot be disarmed by enemies with fewer than 3 CIPHER.
- Jury Rig: Once per mission, the Wrecker may improvise a Breach Charge from available materials in the environment (requires 1 full action and the GM's confirmation that materials are present).
- Structural Reading: The Wrecker always knows whether a wall, floor, or object is structural before committing to demolition. No surprises.
Stat Block: MK 3 / ST 4 / SC 3 / CP 2 / IR 5 / SD 3
The Physick
OT Equivalent: Medic
The reason operators walk out of missions they shouldn't survive. Physicks combine conventional field medicine with alchemical knowledge that neither Albion nor Terrassia publishes openly. They know how to treat a gunshot wound alongside a necromantic contamination and will have opinions about which is more dangerous.
Signature -- Field Tincture: Once per mission, the Physick may prepare a tincture during the Approach phase. The tincture removes one Flesh Wound when administered (1 action, adjacent). This is in addition to their standard healing actions.
Doctrine -- Stabilize First: When the Physick is adjacent to an operator with a Mortal Wound, they may spend 1 Operator Edge to immediately stabilize them -- preventing that Mortal Wound from progressing this turn -- without spending an action. The Mortal Wound itself remains; only the deterioration is halted.
Specializations:
- Alchemical Kit: +1 CIPHER. The Physick carries compounds that can neutralize Blighted Ground contamination. An operator treated at the start of their activation is immune to Blighted Ground effects for the remainder of the mission (one use per mission).
- Triage Priority: The Physick may move and perform a healing action in the same activation without penalty once per round.
- Bonesaw Confidence: The Physick may attempt to remove a Mortal Wound in the field (normally a between-mission procedure) with a CIPHER check at 5+. Success removes one Mortal Wound. Failure converts it to two Flesh Wounds.
Stat Block: MK 2 / ST 3 / SC 3 / CP 5 / IR 4 / SD 4
The Artificer
OT Equivalent: Tech Specialist
Albion's machines are impressive. Terrassia's enchantments are elegant. The Artificer has studied both and is unimpressed by either. They maintain, bypass, reprogram, and occasionally turn against their operators the clockwork and aetheric technology that defines 1793. They are the reason the team can access a network of Automatic Assassins or disable a Terrassian surveillance construct without triggering every alarm in the building.
Signature -- Override: Once per mission, the Artificer may spend a full action adjacent to an Automatic Assassin or clockwork construct to attempt a CIPHER check at 4+. Success neutralizes the unit for the remainder of the mission without triggering an alert. Failure alerts the unit, which immediately acts on highest-threat priority.
Doctrine -- Field Modification: Once per mission, the Artificer may permanently modify one weapon in the team's loadout before deployment. Choose one: add the Silent property, add the Rapid property, or remove the Unreliable property. This modification lasts for this mission only.
Specializations:
- Aetheric Tap: +1 CIPHER. The Artificer can drain power from Albion clockwork devices to recharge one piece of equipment (restore 1 use to a Limited item, once per mission).
- Construct Reading: The Artificer always knows the patrol route and STRIDE value of any Automatic Assassin or clockwork unit before the mission begins (this information is provided during the Brief phase).
- Counter-Ritual: The Artificer has studied enough Terrassian technique to disrupt blood-magic wards. CIPHER checks to bypass Terrassian magical security are at +1.
Stat Block: MK 3 / ST 2 / SC 4 / CP 5 / IR 3 / SD 4
4. Enhanced Type: The Turned
Cost: 15 points at squad creation (opt-in, per operator)
The Turned are operatives who have accepted a partial transformation -- either vampiric gift from a member of the Eternal Court's inner circle, or deep clockwork augmentation beyond what Albion officially sanctions. They are not monsters. They are not fully human. They operate in that space between, which makes them extraordinarily effective and extremely complicated.
A Turned operator is always known to be Turned. There is no passing for baseline human in a city full of vampires who can smell the difference. This has social consequences the GM should play honestly.
How to build a Turned operator: Select one Augment Tag from the four below. The Universal Complication applies to all Turned regardless of tag.
Augment Tags
UNDYING (vampiric regeneration, blood-gift) At the end of each of your activations, you may remove 1 Flesh Wound. You may not use this ability if you are currently in Blighted Ground. This regeneration is visible -- wounds close in real time, which is unsettling in social situations.
IRONSHELL (clockwork subdermal plating, deep augmentation) You have a permanent AR 1 that stacks with worn armor (maximum total AR 3). This plating cannot be removed or destroyed during a mission. In Blighted Ground, the necromantic energy interferes with the enchantments holding the plating in place -- lose this bonus while in Blighted Ground.
GHOST-STEP (vampiric speed, supernatural displacement) Once per round, when you move, you may move 1 additional zone without spending an action. This movement does not trigger Overwatch. In Blighted Ground, this ability is unavailable -- the contamination disrupts the blood-gift.
PREDATOR'S EYE (heightened senses, blood-sight, prey detection) You are never surprised. You cannot be ambushed -- you always act in the Priority phase even if the enemy holds initiative. You also ignore illumination penalties in all but complete darkness. In Blighted Ground, the flood of necromantic noise overwhelms this sense -- you have disadvantage on all CIPHER checks while in the zone.
Universal Complication
All Turned operators share this complication regardless of Augment Tag:
Blighted Ground Response: At the start of each activation while in a Blighted Ground zone, make an IRON check at 4+. On a failure, you may only take 1 action this turn (instead of the standard 2). The specific additional effect of your Augment Tag (listed above) also applies while you remain in the zone.
This is not a bug in the system. Blighted Ground is contaminated with necromantic runoff that the Eternal Court has been quietly allowing to accumulate for decades. The Turned are more susceptible to it because their augmentations interact with that energy in ways that baseline human biology doesn't.
Faction Stocks
Not all factions are comfortable with Turned operators on the team. Track this honestly.
| Faction | Attitude Toward Turned |
|---|---|
| Red Court | Accepts Turned unconditionally (they created several of the vampiric variety) |
| Albion Delegation | Tolerates IRONSHELL only; deeply suspicious of vampiric types |
| Terrassian Consulate | Professionally interested -- Turned are useful experimental data |
| Lich Cult | Covets Turned operatives; will attempt recruitment or abduction |
| Merchant Web | Neutral -- they'll work with anyone who pays |
5. Factions
Five power centers operating in Kormor Kirak. All five have Faction Pressure tracks advancing between missions. All five can become allies, obstacles, or enemies depending on operator choices.
The Red Court
Queen Kiraline's enforcers -- the vampiric nobility and the Red Guards who serve them
The oldest power in Kormor Kirak. Queen Kiraline has ruled for long enough that her actual age is a matter of educated speculation rather than record. She did not ask for the peace summit to happen in her city and has opinions about it that she keeps carefully concealed. The Red Guards -- her mortal enforcers -- are disciplined, well-equipped, and everywhere.
Faction Doctrine: Coordinated Pressure Red Court units act as a coordinated force. When 2+ Red Guards can see the same operator, one of them may use the other's activation to reposition into flanking position without spending their own action. They are trained to work as a unit and they do.
Running It: Red Court enemies communicate constantly via a whisper-network the PCs cannot intercept. Treat them as always aware of each other's positions. If one Guard sees something, act as though all Guards in the zone know within one round.
Faction Pressure: As Red Court pressure increases, curfews tighten, patrol density doubles in hot zones, and Guard response times to Alarm decreases from d8 turns to d4.
The Albion Delegation
Empire of industry -- diplomats, officers, and the Automatic Assassins they brought as "security staff"
Albion ran out of things to say in the war about ten years ago but has kept fighting because stopping requires admitting that three generations of conscripts died for a line on a map that moved back and forth without permanent resolution. Their delegation is exhausted and also fully armed. The Automatic Assassins -- bipedal clockwork units running on aetheric cores -- were officially classified as "diplomatic protection staff" in the summit documentation. Nobody believes this.
Faction Doctrine: Attrition Protocol Albion units do not retreat and do not surrender. When an Albion unit reaches its first Mortal Wound, it does not check for surrender -- it continues to act normally until it reaches its final wound state. Automatic Assassins specifically ignore all wound state penalties (they feel no pain; their behavioral parameters do not include self-preservation).
Running It: Resource pressure. Make the players feel the math. Albion has more units than the PCs expect and will feed them into a zone until the problem is solved. Do not flinch at the cost.
Faction Pressure: As Albion pressure increases, Automatic Assassin patrols expand beyond the delegation compound into adjacent city zones. Eventually they operate city-wide with diplomatic immunity -- making them legally untouchable while still very shootable.
The Terrassian Consulate
Empire of deep magic -- necromancers, blood-mages, and the Koss dynasty's chosen agents
Terrassia's magic is old and meticulous. Their necromancers don't raise armies of screaming shambles -- they do careful, precise work with the dead, treating it as a technical discipline. Their blood-mage attachés have been mapping the magical topology of Kormor Kirak since the delegation arrived, and what they've found in the Hallaset Fields has made their senior attaches very quiet.
Faction Doctrine: Calculated Risk Terrassian units never overextend. When a Terrassian unit is the only one of its faction within a zone, it will not act until it can call for support (1 round delay minimum). When 2+ Terrassian units are in a zone, they fight efficiently and without waste. Additionally: Terrassian necromancers in the field always know the current Blighted Ground status of all zones within their line of sight.
Running It: Position before aggression. Terrassian units spend a turn getting into ideal positioning before committing to an attack. They don't rush. This is unsettling to PCs who expect enemies to act immediately.
Faction Pressure: As Terrassian pressure increases, blood-magic wards begin appearing on doors and transit corridors. CIPHER checks to bypass Terrassian-warded areas increase by 1 difficulty. At maximum pressure, Terrassian surveillance constructs (small, silent, bat-shaped) operate throughout the city.
The Lich Cult
Whitehallow's conspiracy -- fanatics, desperate scholars, and the dying Lord Barron himself
Lord Barron Whitehallow has perhaps eight weeks before the disease takes him. He has arranged a ritual that will prevent this by converting him to a lich -- an undying sorcerer -- and then possessing the body of Crown Prince Aldric during the summit signing ceremony. His inner circle believes in this plan with the conviction of people who have already crossed lines they cannot uncross. His outer circle thinks they are participating in a scholarly society.
Faction Doctrine: Opportunist The Lich Cult does not hold terrain and does not fight pitched battles. They insert themselves into situations already in chaos -- during an alarm, during a faction confrontation, when the operators are occupied elsewhere. When the Alert Level is 2 or higher, Lich Cult units may enter from any table edge on their first activation rather than from designated deployment zones.
Running It: The Cult is aware that they are racing a deadline (Whitehallow's physical decline). They will sacrifice members to maintain the ritual timeline. When a Cult unit is captured, they provide false information before surrendering any real intel -- CIPHER check at 5+ to identify a lie.
Faction Pressure: This is the endgame clock. Track Whitehallow's ritual progress separately from the standard Faction Pressure track -- every mission that ends without disrupting the ritual advances it one step. At maximum, the ritual is complete and Whitehallow has become a lich. What happens next is a campaign milestone, not a game over.
The Merchant Web
Rozito's Guild and the city's criminal infrastructure -- information brokers, smugglers, and neutral parties with very expensive neutrality
Rozito is the head of the Merchant Guild and also, by all available evidence, the head of Kormor Kirak's criminal underground. He has the kind of face that makes people feel like they're getting a good deal. He sells information to every faction and has a studied policy of non-escalation -- he does not take sides, which means that when a side needs something badly enough, they pay his prices.
Faction Doctrine: Calculated Risk Merchant Web operatives never fight when they can talk. When a Web operative is surprised or caught, their first action is always an attempt to negotiate -- they name a price for non-violence. GMs should play this straight: they have something worth selling more often than not. Web operatives will fight competently if negotiation fails; they're not soft, they're pragmatic.
Running It: The Web wants the summit to produce any stable outcome. Instability is bad for business. They are the most willing faction to assist operators who demonstrate they are working toward stability, and the most reliable source of accurate intelligence -- for a price.
Faction Pressure: A conflicted relationship. Web pressure increasing means Rozito is auctioning information about the operators to other factions. If operators have maintained good relations with the Web, this Pressure track can be held at bay through payment or favors.
6. Equipment
All OT equipment rules apply unchanged. What follows is the Eternal Court weapon, armor, and gear list. Use these in place of the OT default equipment lists.
Note on Supply State: Supply State functions identically to OT rules. In Eternal Court fiction, restricted supply means contacts have gone quiet, the city watch is inspecting shipments, or Whitehallow's cult has disrupted a supply line. Abundant supply means the Merchant Web is cooperative and prices are fair.
Weapons
| Weapon | Range (Short/Long/Extreme) | Cost | Properties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flintlock Pistol | 2 / 3 / -- | 8 | Side Arm, Unreliable |
| Clockwork Repeater | 2 / 4 / -- | 22 | Rapid, Loud |
| Long Rifle | 4 / -- / -- | 28 | Accurate, Loud, Two-Handed |
| Blood-Iron Crossbow | 3 / 5 / -- | 20 | Silent, Slow-Load |
| Sabre | Melee | 10 | -- |
| Trench Knife | Melee | 6 | Concealable |
| Clockwork Garrote | Melee | 14 | Concealable, Silent |
| Alchemical Bomb | AoE 2 | 18 | Burn, Limited 2 |
| Aetheric Flare | AoE 3 | 12 | Blind, Limited 1, Loud |
| Breach Charge | Structure | 20 | Limited 1, Loud |
New Properties (Eternal Court additions):
- Slow-Load: After firing, the weapon cannot be fired again until the operator spends 1 action reloading. This is not tracked during melee.
- Burn: On a successful hit, the target zone is set alight. Any unit ending its activation in a burning zone suffers 1 Flesh Wound automatically (no roll). Fire extinguishes after d3 rounds.
- Blind: Targets in the affected area are Suppressed and lose line of sight until the start of their next activation.
- Concealable: The weapon can be carried through a social or guard checkpoint without detection unless an active search is conducted (CIPHER check by the searcher vs. the carrier's CIPHER).
- Silent: Does not trigger Alert Level increases from noise. Does not trigger Overwatch from sound. (Visual detection rules still apply.)
All standard OT weapon properties (Accurate, Loud, Rapid, Side Arm, Two-Handed, Limited, AoE) apply unchanged.
Armor
| Armor | AR | Cost | Properties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street Clothes | 0 | -- | Concealable |
| Reinforced Coat | 1 | 15 | -- |
| Armored Plate Vest | 2 | 28 | -- |
| Clockwork Carapace | 3 | 45 | Bulky |
Bulky: Operator's STRIDE is reduced by 1. Cannot be Concealed under any circumstances.
Field Gear
| Item | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Alchemical Tincture | 12 | Remove 1 Flesh Wound (1 action, self or adjacent). Limited 2. |
| Grapple Line | 10 | Move vertically between zones without a STRIDE cost. |
| Smoke Canister | 8 | Zone becomes obscured for d3 rounds; blocks line of sight. Limited 2. |
| Lockpicks | 6 | +1 CIPHER on mechanical lock checks. Concealable. |
| Cipher Kit | 14 | +1 CIPHER on document/code work. Required for some mission objectives. |
| Aetheric Dampener | 18 | When placed, disables all Terrassian magical wards in a zone for 1 round. Limited 1. |
| Clockwork Disruptor | 20 | Disables 1 Automatic Assassin or clockwork unit for d3 rounds (CIPHER check 4+, adjacent). Limited 1. |
| Field Bandage | 5 | Stabilize a Mortal Wound (stops it progressing, does not remove it). Limited 3. |
Specialization Gear
Available only to the listed class:
| Item | Class | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physick's Satchel | Physick | 25 | Expands healing capacity: carry 4 uses of Alchemical Tincture instead of 2; also carries 2 Field Bandages. |
| Breach Satchel | Wrecker | 20 | Carry 3 Breach Charges instead of 1. Also contains 1 Alchemical Bomb. |
| Shadow Kit | Shadow | 18 | Climbing spikes (silent vertical movement), cosmetic kit (1-use disguise, CIPHER 5+ to see through), written forgeries for one listed identity. |
| Artificer's Tools | Artificer | 22 | +1 CIPHER on all construct/clockwork checks. Contains aetheric diagnostic equipment; can identify the behavioral profile of any clockwork unit before attempting Override. |
| Ironclad Brace | Ironclad | 15 | Once per mission, negate the weapon's damage on a Flesh Wound you would receive (describe the brace absorbing the impact). |
7. Hazardous Terrain: Blighted Ground
The Hallaset Fields stretch north of the city walls -- an ancient cemetery repurposed and expanded by every regime that has ruled Kormor Kirak. The fields have absorbed two centuries of necromantic runoff from Terrassian burial practices, informal blood-magic disposal, and whatever the Eternal Court does with its own dead in the lower crypts. The contamination has seeped outward.
Blighted Ground is not confined to the Hallaset Fields anymore. It appears wherever sustained necromantic work has occurred: the lower levels of Torony Piros castle, Lich Cult ritual sites (which can be anywhere), former Terrassian magical research spaces, and anywhere that a significant number of dead have been ritually interred or animated.
Blighted Ground Rules:
These replace the OT Contaminated Terrain rules for the Eternal Court setting.
Identifying Blighted Ground: Zones are designated as Blighted Ground during mission setup. The GM places Blighted Ground markers before operators deploy. A CIPHER check at 3+ during the Approach phase allows an operator to identify Blighted Ground in adjacent zones. The Predator's Eye Turned augment always detects it automatically.
Effects on standard operators: At the end of any activation spent in a Blighted Ground zone, a standard (non-Turned) operator makes an IRON check at 3+. On a failure, they suffer 1 point of Morale loss. At 0 Morale, the operator withdraws to the nearest non-Blighted zone and will not voluntarily re-enter Blighted Ground until their Morale recovers (end of mission, or Physick action).
Effects on The Turned: See the Universal Complication under Section 4. The Turned always make the IRON check at the start of activation (not end), at higher difficulty (4+), and their Augment Tag bonus is suppressed while in the zone.
Escalating Blighted Ground: If a Lich Cult ritual completes within a zone, all zones within 2 of the ritual site become Blighted Ground for the remainder of the mission. Track this. The Wrecker's Breach Charge can destroy a ritual site before completion -- this is often a mission objective.
The deeper contamination: Some Blighted Ground zones in the castle's lower levels are so dense with necromantic energy that they require IRON at 5+ for all operators, and Turned operators must make the check twice (once for the Universal Complication, once for IRONSHELL/GHOST-STEP/PREDATOR'S EYE suppression separately). The GM should flag this before operators enter these zones.
8. Setting Tables
These replace the OT default random tables. All table mechanics are unchanged.
Callsign Generator (d20 × 2)
Roll twice -- one from each column. Combine.
| d20 | Column A (Modifier) | Column B (Name) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pale | Accord |
| 2 | Crimson | Baron |
| 3 | Iron | Crown |
| 4 | Hollow | Chalice |
| 5 | Shroud | Dirge |
| 6 | Ashen | Enfield |
| 7 | Dusk | Fog |
| 8 | Black | Griffin |
| 9 | Sable | Hand |
| 10 | Gilt | Jackal |
| 11 | Blood | Knave |
| 12 | Bone | Lantern |
| 13 | Veil | Mantle |
| 14 | Wraith | Night |
| 15 | Thorn | Oath |
| 16 | Gallow | Pyre |
| 17 | Cipher | Quill |
| 18 | Mortem | Rook |
| 19 | Shadow | Stag |
| 20 | Rook | Warrant |
Examples: Pale Rook, Crimson Dirge, Bone Lantern, Veil Accord
Operational Liabilities (d12)
Roll once during the Brief phase. The GM may prepare this in advance or reveal it when the Approach phase begins.
| d12 | Liability |
|---|---|
| 1 | A Red Guard patrol has changed its route -- the expected window is now 4 turns shorter. |
| 2 | Your primary contact went silent yesterday. Someone may have found them. |
| 3 | The target location is also being used for a Lich Cult ritual tonight. They arrive d3 rounds after insertion. |
| 4 | An Albion Automatic Assassin is already on-station, pursuing an overlapping objective. It will not cooperate. |
| 5 | The city has imposed an emergency curfew following a diplomatic incident. Civilian cover is gone. |
| 6 | A Terrassian blood-mage has placed a ward on the ingress route. CIPHER 5+ to bypass silently. |
| 7 | The Merchant Web is auctioning intelligence on your team's identities. Assume at least one faction knows you're coming. |
| 8 | One operator has a prior connection to the target or someone protecting them. At GM's discretion. |
| 9 | A diplomatic gathering is being held in the adjacent zone -- civilians are present throughout the objective site. |
| 10 | Evidence from a previous operation has surfaced. The city watch is actively investigating. Alert starts at Level 1. |
| 11 | A vampire spawn patrol is operating outside scheduled hours in the target zone. No one authorized this. |
| 12 | The extraction route passes through Blighted Ground that wasn't on any map. Expand the Blighted Ground area by 2 zones. |
Mission Types (d8)
| d8 | Mission Type | The Job |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Extraction | Get someone out before the cult, a delegation, or the Red Court finds them. The target may not want to leave. |
| 2 | Elimination | Remove a specific individual who is disrupting the summit or advancing the ritual timeline. Leave no evidence. |
| 3 | Infiltration | Access a secure location -- the Albion airship berths, the Terrassian consulate vaults, the lower castle crypts. |
| 4 | Intelligence | Steal documents, photograph a cipher, surveil a meeting, plant a listening device. No disruption. |
| 5 | Protection Detail | Keep a key figure alive through an ambush or an open social event where you can't show weapons until it's already happening. |
| 6 | Sabotage | Destroy a piece of machinery (Albion's Automatic Assassin fabrication unit) or a ritual site before it's complete. |
| 7 | Negotiation Cover | Provide covert security for a clandestine meeting between two parties who shouldn't be seen together. |
| 8 | Recovery | Retrieve an artifact, document, or person currently in hostile hands before it changes hands again. |
Scenario Seeds (d6 × 4 Columns)
Roll on each column independently for a complete scenario sketch.
| d6 | The Job | The Problem | The Location | The Complication |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retrieve a stolen cipher | A Red Guard is already on scene | The Albion airship berths | The target is sympathetic and doesn't want to be retrieved |
| 2 | Extract a defecting Terrassian attaché | The Lich Cult wants the same target | The Hallaset Fields after dark | Your contact sold your identities to the faction you're moving against |
| 3 | Destroy a ritual component | The delegation compound is on lockdown | The castle's lower crypts | An Automatic Assassin has been tasked with the same objective |
| 4 | Photograph documents before dawn | A vampire spawn is loose and uncontrolled | The Merchant Guild hall during a gala | The job requires passing as legitimate guests |
| 5 | Kill an assassin before they reach their target | A competing team is running a parallel op | The Terrassian consulate roof gardens | The weather is catastrophic -- roll on the OT weather table |
| 6 | Recover an operator taken during the last mission | The building is warded by Terrassian blood-magic | The old city aqueducts beneath the market district | One operator has a personal stake that might override the mission |
9. GM Guide
Faction Pressure Between Missions
The Between-Mission Sequence functions as written in the OT rulebook. The following describes how each faction's Pressure track manifests narratively and mechanically as it advances.
Faction Pressure Tracks run from 0 to 5. At 5, a faction has achieved a major objective. Most tracks reset to 3 after a major objective -- the faction is changed but not gone.
Red Court (Track: "The Queen's Patience")
0-1: The Red Guards are present but not focused on the operators. Standard patrols, standard procedures.
2-3: Kiraline has noticed something she doesn't understand. Guard density increases in the zones where the operators have been active. Alert Level starts at 1 in those zones.
4: The Queen has made inquiries through her network. Operators are being described, not identified -- but the net is tightening. Social cover for the team is compromised in Red Court-adjacent locations.
5 (Major Objective): Kiraline has identified the team and chosen a response. Depending on her read of the situation, she may move to eliminate them, attempt to recruit them, or issue a formal expulsion order from the city. The GM decides which based on whether the team has worked against or (arguably) for the city's stability.
Reduce Pressure by: Operations that demonstrably benefit the city's stability, or that remove a threat Kiraline has also been tracking.
Albion Delegation (Track: "Crown's Investment")
0-1: Standard delegation security. Automatic Assassins patrol the compound.
2-3: A diplomatic incident has occurred (connected or not to the team). Albion has requested expanded patrol rights in the city. Two AA units now operate in the market district.
4: The Crown Prince's security detail has been doubled. Access to the delegation compound requires convincing cover. Albion has formally lodged a complaint with the Red Court about "unauthorized paramilitary activity."
5 (Major Objective): Albion walks out of the summit. They cite the complaint. This may be recoverable with a specific operation to deliver evidence of Whitehallow's conspiracy to sympathetic delegates -- but it requires working fast.
Reduce Pressure by: Demonstrating that the threat to the summit is internal to the Albion delegation (i.e., Whitehallow's cult), removing AA units that were deployed illegally, or producing leverage that makes the delegation more cooperative.
Terrassian Consulate (Track: "The Koss Calculation")
0-1: Terrassian observers are cataloging the magical topology of the city. Quiet work.
2-3: Blood-magic wards appear on two transit corridors the team has used. Not aimed at the team specifically -- just a general survey hardening.
4: A Terrassian senior attaché has identified the team as "persons of interest." Their surveillance construct (bat-form) begins tracking one specific operator between missions.
5 (Major Objective): Terrassia has concluded that Albion is behind whatever is happening in Kormor Kirak and moves to unilaterally protect the summit by placing the Albion delegation under magical observation. This escalates the summit into crisis whether or not it's accurate.
Reduce Pressure by: Providing the consulate with accurate intelligence that redirects their suspicion toward the Lich Cult. They respond well to being proven right about things they were already suspicious of.
Lich Cult (Track: "Whitehallow's Hour")
This track functions as a progress clock, not just a threat escalation. It advances every mission that ends without the operators actively disrupting the ritual.
0-1: Whitehallow moves through the delegation compound. He is ill and visibly declining. Cult members are establishing themselves in key positions around the city.
2-3: The ritual has entered its middle phase. Whitehallow's physical deterioration is accelerating -- he has weeks. Cult activity is visible in the form of unusual deaths and missing persons near the Hallaset Fields.
4: The ritual is nearly complete. Whitehallow has begun drawing power from the Fields directly -- Blighted Ground expands by 1d3 zones. His physical form is beginning to stabilize unnaturally.
5 (Major Objective): The transformation completes. Whitehallow is a lich. This is a campaign milestone -- the shape of the threat changes dramatically, and the possession attempt on the Crown Prince becomes imminent.
Reduce Pressure by: Destroying ritual components, eliminating senior Cult members, disrupting the Field connection directly, or exposing the conspiracy to an authority with the power to act (a hard sell given Whitehallow's diplomatic status).
Merchant Web (Track: "Rozito's Ledger")
0-1: The Web is cooperative. Information is available at standard prices. Contacts are reliable.
2-3: Rozito has noticed the operators and is quietly determining their value to each faction. Information is still available but slightly more expensive.
4: The Web is actively selling intelligence on the team to interested parties. The team's known safehouses and contacts are compromised unless relocated.
5 (Major Objective): Rozito has chosen a side -- whichever faction paid most or offered the most stability. The Web becomes actively hostile to the team and fully cooperative with one specific faction.
Reduce Pressure by: Paying Rozito directly and repeatedly, completing an operation that benefits the Web's long-term commercial stability, or providing information valuable enough that the team is worth more as clients than as product.
The Bastion Inn (Safe House)
The team's between-mission base of operations is the Bastion Inn, a mid-grade establishment in the old quarter near the southern gate. It is run by Hepsabeth Dour, a woman of indeterminate age and absolute discretion who accepts coin from all sides and volunteers information to none. She has been running the Bastion for thirty-one years. She has seen several sets of operators come and go.
The Bastion Inn provides the physical space for all seven steps of the Between-Mission Sequence. The following contextualizes each step in Eternal Court fiction:
1. Wound Recovery: The Physick works in the back room. Hepsabeth provides access to a locked medicine cabinet and asks no questions about its contents.
2. Downtime: Operators pursue their downtime activities in the city. The bar's regulars are a useful source of low-grade intelligence -- not secrets, but patterns and observations that a careful operator can use.
3. Supply State: Hepsabeth has one contact who can connect the team to Rozito's supply network. If the Merchant Web Pressure track is at 4 or 5, this contact is unavailable.
4. Field Requisitions: Run through Rozito's guild contacts, accessed at the Bastion. Silver requisitions are standard. Gold requires a personal meeting with a Rozito representative (usually held in a back room the GM describes vividly). Platinum requires operators to attend a Merchant Guild event as guests -- social cover required.
5. Battlefield Evolutions: The team's Evolutions are recorded in the Operator Roster sheet (see The Eternal Court -- Operator Roster). When a Performance Trigger fires, narrate it briefly -- the scar tissue of competence, not the glow of a level-up.
6. Advance Factions: Roll for each faction's Pressure track advancement using the OT procedure. Apply the narrative escalations described above.
7. Brief: The next mission's context is established. Intel is reviewed, objectives confirmed, the Operational Liability is revealed or concealed per GM preference.
Hazardous Terrain Placement Guidelines
Blighted Ground is placed by the GM during mission setup, before deployment. The following guidance:
- Outdoor missions in or near the Hallaset Fields: 30-40% of zones are Blighted Ground. Mark the boundary clearly -- it has a visible appearance (discolored soil, dying plant life, faint luminescence after dark).
- Urban missions in the old city: 10-20% of zones, concentrated around former ritual sites and underground access points. These are harder to identify visually.
- Castle missions (ground level): 15% of zones. The castle's maintenance passages and the formal courtyard are clean.
- Castle missions (lower levels / crypts): 60%+ of zones. The GM should warn players before they descend that the contamination here is dense. Use the escalated IRON check rules (5+).
- Lich Cult ritual sites: Any active ritual site generates Blighted Ground in a 2-zone radius. If the ritual completes during the mission, expand this to 4 zones.
The Physick's Alchemical Kit can temporarily negate Blighted Ground effects for one operator. The Wrecker's Breach Charge is the only reliable way to destroy a ritual site and prevent expansion. These are interdependencies worth communicating to players during the Brief.
End of Setting Layer
For all core mechanics, resolution procedures, the wound track, squad building, Operator's Edge, the Between-Mission Sequence structure, and Solo Operations tools -- consult the Operator Tactics Core Rulebook.
Document version: 1.0 -- Kormor Kirak, 1793