Pact Intermediary

"You don't need to understand everything in the compact. You need to understand the three clauses that matter and the two that your Hollow entity thinks you haven't read. I've read them. Let's talk about what you're going to do with that."

Favored Save: Wit Save (+1D to Wit + Resolve rolls)

Power Access: Hollow Pact at 1D, no Talent cost (if Shadow-Bound lineage), or no Power Access (if other lineage). Intermediaries come from multiple lineage backgrounds; the role does not require tradition access, though Shadow-Bound Intermediaries commonly develop the tradition alongside their brokerage work.

Starting Resources: Circle credentials and professional standing as an Intermediary — the title carries recognized meaning in both hidden-world and Hollow entity networks. The Circle's full compact reference archive, including assessment templates for common and documented compact types. Working communication channels in Hollow entity networks through which negotiation requests can be formally tendered.

Lineage Affinity: Marked (Shadow-Bound), Human. The Intermediary role draws on strong Wit profiles and social facility regardless of lineage.

Progression Track: Pact Intermediary

Stage 1 (10 XP), Compact Assessment
  The Intermediary has developed genuine expertise in compact
  structure and can read a compact's terms, current state, and
  leverage points without guidance.
  - Compact Reading: The Intermediary can fully assess any compact
    with a Hollow entity they have access to — its terms, the
    current Involvement level, the entity's documented behavior
    relative to that level, and the specific clauses that create
    leverage for the contracted party. A Wit + Lore roll vs
    Threshold 2 surfaces standard information; Threshold 3+
    surfaces unusual terms, historical precedent, or non-standard
    entity behavior patterns.
  - Involvement Assessment: Once per session, the Intermediary may
    assess the current Involvement level of any compact they have
    been given access to — including their own, if they have one —
    without a roll. The GM provides an accurate current reading
    and the one trigger most likely to advance it.

Stage 2 (25 XP), Active Negotiator
  The Intermediary has conducted enough negotiations to have standing
  in Hollow entity networks as someone worth talking to.
  - Intermediary Negotiation: The Intermediary can conduct formal
    negotiations with Hollow entity intermediaries — representatives
    of compact sources, not the entities themselves — to modify
    compact terms, delay Involvement advancement, or establish new
    arrangements on behalf of contracted practitioners. A Wit +
    Persuade roll vs Threshold 3 opens a negotiation; success
    produces a modification the entity's representative is
    authorized to offer. The modification is real and binding.
    The terms it offers will reflect the entity's interests,
    not the practitioner's.
  - Market Intelligence: The Intermediary has developed enough
    presence in Hollow entity networks to receive intelligence about
    Hollow Market compact-brokerage operations as a matter of
    course. Once per session, they may ask the GM what the Market
    is currently doing in their operational area that intersects
    with Shadow-Bound community interests. The GM answers accurately.

Stage 3 (50 XP), Principal Intermediary
  The Intermediary's reputation in Hollow entity networks has reached
  the level where their involvement in a negotiation changes what is
  possible — not just for their clients but for the Circle's
  organizational position.
  - Entity Access: The Intermediary can request direct negotiation
    with a Hollow entity rather than their representatives. The
    entity is not required to accept; a Principal Intermediary's
    request is taken seriously rather than dismissed. If the entity
    accepts, the negotiation is conducted at the highest level of
    stakes — everything is on the table, for both parties.
  - Institutional Weight: Once per campaign, the Intermediary may
    invoke the Circle's full organizational standing to close a
    negotiation that has stalled — bringing the organization's
    accumulated entity relationships, intelligence, and leverage
    to bear on a single outcome. The Circle's position in Hollow
    entity networks is the asset; spending it this way does not
    diminish it permanently, but leaves a marker that some entities
    will eventually call in.