jpmschweitzerandClaude Opus 4.6
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Standardized YAML frontmatter on all 40 docs/design/ files with title, description, type, status, ticket, decision_refs, and author fields. Covers specs, wireframes, voice cards, spatial layouts, and system designs. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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title, description, type, status, ticket, decision_refs, author, created, updated
| title | description | type | status | ticket | decision_refs | author | created | updated | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divergent Relationships | Comparison of smuggler vs detective starting relationship webs, access tiers, and social site coverage | design | draft | #183 |
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2026-02-19 | 2026-02-19 |
Divergent Relationships
Ticket: #183 | Priority: Critical | Sprint: 12 Status: v0.1 Draft Blocked by: #180 (Smuggler build), #181 (Detective build) Decisions referenced: D-005, D-027, D-028 (four relational layers), D-029 (30/50/20), D-033 (entity color), D-075 (knowledge confidence gate on trust)
1. Design Principle
Same NPCs. Two different starting relationship webs. The smuggler is inside the social fabric of Sova Transit District. The detective is outside it, with institutional authority as their primary access tool.
This divergence is not symmetric. The smuggler has deep relationships with fewer NPCs but holds insider access from session start. The detective has shallow relationships with many NPCs but can use authority credentials to access people the smuggler cannot pressure. Neither coverage model is superior — they produce different investigations.
The honest truth is: the smuggler's social depth is their strength AND their vulnerability. When the ring starts to crack, their close relationships become sources of betrayal, not safety. The detective's institutional distance is protection AND limitation — they never get the warmth, but they also never get the blindspot.
2. NPC Relationship Comparison
Key: RelationshipState | Access Tier | Trust | Entity Color (D-033)
| NPC | Smuggler | Detective |
|---|---|---|
| Kael Davan | Friendly / insider+peer / trusted / green | Unknown / public / N/A / grey |
| Sera Venn | Known / public / uncertain / teal | Friendly / peer / trusted / green |
| Voss | Known / insider+peer / reliable / teal | Known / authority / uncertain / teal |
| Maret Korr | Known / insider+peer / reliable / teal | Known / authority / uncertain / teal |
| Drin Rosta | Known / insider / reliable / teal | Known / authority / uncertain / teal |
| Lera Sessik | Friendly / insider+peer / trusted / green | Unknown/Known / public / uncertain / grey→teal |
| Naia Tamm | Known / peer / reliable / teal | Unknown / public / N/A / grey |
| Torek Lintar | Known / peer / uncertain / amber | Known / public / uncertain / teal→amber |
| Nils Davan | Known / insider / reliable / teal | Unknown / N/A / N/A / grey |
| Renn | Known / insider / reliable / teal | Unknown / N/A / N/A / grey |
| Devra | Known / insider / reliable / teal | Unknown / N/A / N/A / grey |
| PC-Detective | Unknown/Known / public / uncertain / amber (warned) | N/A — is the detective |
| PC-Smuggler | N/A — is the smuggler | Unknown / public / N/A / grey |
Color key (D-033):
- Green = Friendly relationship — warm, accessible, insider content possible
- Teal = Known/neutral — recognized, baseline access
- Amber = Person of Interest — heightened observation, potential threat
- Grey = Unknown — no existing relationship
3. The Inversion Architecture
The same NPCs appear in both relationship maps. But the maps are mirrors, not duplicates.
Kael Davan (THE FRIEND): Maximum Divergence
| Smuggler | Detective | |
|---|---|---|
| RelationshipState | Friendly | Unknown |
| Access Tier | insider + peer | public |
| Trust | 8/10 — "the day is better when he's on shift" | N/A — one of many dock workers |
| Entity color | Green | Grey |
| Dialogue available | Phase-gated ring talk, personal warmth, confession (if trust maxed) | Greeting, basic questions, deflection |
| Emotional weight | Maximum — 2 years of shared risk | Zero — no relationship to lose |
| FRIEND arc | Betrayal, protection, contaminated trust | Behavioral tells, manifest connection, informant potential |
This is the central architectural divergence. The smuggler's most important NPC is the detective's least known. When the smuggler feels Kael's betrayal, the detective is trying to figure out who Kael is.
Sera Venn (THE FRIEND): Mirror of Kael
| Smuggler | Detective | |
|---|---|---|
| RelationshipState | Known | Friendly |
| Access Tier | public | peer |
| Trust | 0/10 — "Commission, keep distance" | 9/10 — "she always was the reliable one" |
| Entity color | Teal | Green |
| Dialogue available | Basic public-tier; no personal content | District orientation, gossip, institutional sharing |
| Emotional weight | Near zero — categorized threat | Maximum — only ally in unfamiliar territory |
| FRIEND arc | N/A | Avoidance pattern, suppressed evidence, contaminated trust |
Same NPC. The smuggler maintains institutional distance. The detective relies on personal friendship. The contradiction (Sera sitting on evidence that could advance the investigation) hits differently: for the detective, it's a betrayal of trust. For the smuggler, if they were ever to learn it, it would be irrelevant — Sera was never trusted in the first place.
Voss: Inverted Access, Same NPC
| Smuggler | Detective | |
|---|---|---|
| RelationshipState | Known | Known |
| Access Tier | insider + peer | authority |
| Trust | "reliable but not warm" — operational respect | "uncertain — answers but doesn't volunteer" |
| Dialogue available | Ring operational coordination, schedule management | Institutional questions, manifest data, evasive answers |
| What Voss says to them | Operational specifics: "Transition window is clean." | Institutional surface: "Everything is in compliance." |
Both characters talk to Voss. The conversations are nothing alike. The smuggler gets operational truth. The detective gets institutional deflection.
4. Access Tier Divergence Table
Per-NPC table of which dialogue tiers each character can access at session start vs. through play:
| NPC | Smuggler Starting | Smuggler Max | Detective Starting | Detective Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kael | insider + peer | insider + peer | public | authority (if POI) |
| Sera | public | public (no growth path) | peer | authority (post-contradiction) |
| Voss | insider + peer | hostile (if cover blown) | authority | peer (if trust earned) |
| Maret | insider + peer | hostile (if pressured wrong) | authority | peer (if cooperation) |
| Drin | insider | hostile (if flipped) | authority | — see note |
| Lera | insider + peer | hostile (social contamination) | public | peer (4+ visits) |
| Naia | peer | hostile (if truth revealed) | public | peer (through Sera) |
| Torek | peer | hostile (if confronted about spending) | public | authority (financial tells) |
Note on Drin: The detective can pressure Drin via gambling debt (institutional leverage). This is the detective's entry point to actual ring structure — Drin as turned informant. The smuggler knows Drin is compromised; they have no leverage angle because they're on the same side.
5. Social Site Coverage
How each character covers the three social sites of Sova Transit District:
The Terminal (Logistics Hub)
Smuggler:
- Full insider access to ring-aware NPCs (Kael, Voss, Maret, Drin, Renn)
- Cargo floor access (shifts, freight systems, break room)
- Social belonging — people wave, greet, assume presence is normal
- Blind spots: doesn't see the detective's investigation angle; doesn't know Maret is worried about the manifest requests
Detective:
- Authority access to institutional NPCs (Voss, Maret, Drin)
- Data access (manifests, scheduling records, inspection logs)
- Visible outsider — NPCs stiffen, answers get shorter, body language shifts
- Blind spots: ring-operational dialogue is completely inaccessible; NPCs perform compliance without candor
Coverage overlap: Both characters are in the Terminal. Same physical space. The overlap zone is the ~20% of dialogue that's truly public — shift schedule announcements, generic greetings, environmental observations. Everything else is character-specific.
The Last Shift (Bar)
Smuggler:
- Insider status — Lera saves their seat, ring-aware regulars speak freely
- Social hub for ring: Kael, Renn, Torek (if present), Lera all accessible
- Emotional territory: this is where the smuggler goes to decompress, not investigate
- Blind spots: doesn't see Sera's avoidance of Torek as anything other than "Commission, normal behavior"
Detective:
- Outsider becoming regular — needs 3-4 visits to unlock peer access with Lera
- Social anchor through Sera — Sera's presence grants partial access to bar social fabric
- Observation territory: this is where the detective watches, not relaxes
- Blind spots: ring-adjacent social dynamics (Torek's rounds, Lera's protectiveness) read as social texture, not evidence
Coverage overlap: Sera is the bridge. Both characters interact with Sera at the bar. Sera's dialogue with the smuggler (brief, guarded, Commission-wary) and with the detective (warm, orienting, personal) are completely different. An NPC the detective trusts most is the one the smuggler avoids most.
The Maintenance Corridors
Smuggler:
- Full access (corridor token)
- Routes, surveillance gaps, timing windows all known
- The corridors are operationally familiar — movement here is intentional and professional
- THE FRIEND contradiction happens here: Corridor B-7, Kael's unauthorized meeting
Detective:
- No natural access — maintenance corridors are not institutional territory
- Presence here is suspicious (both to NPCs and mechanically)
- May access if security authority is invoked, but it triggers NPC awareness
- Can observe corridor access from entry points; cannot follow undetected
Coverage gap: The corridors are entirely the smuggler's territory. The detective's only route in involves institutional authority that announces itself. This makes the smuggling operation's most vulnerable moments physically inaccessible to the detective's normal investigative approach.
6. NPC Knowledge of Each Character
NPCs hold knowledge about both characters simultaneously (D-041 bidirectional). The same NPC has:
- EntityKnowledge about the smuggler (from the smuggler's perspective)
- EntityKnowledge about the detective (from the detective's perspective)
Key examples:
Kael's knowledge of both characters:
- Of the smuggler: Friendly / trusted / ring member / close colleague
- Of the detective: Known / suspicious / Commission / risk: moderate
Lera's knowledge of both characters:
- Of the smuggler: Friendly / trusted / regular customer / ring-aware
- Of the detective: Unknown-becoming-Known / uncertain / Commission presence
Sera's knowledge of both characters:
- Of the smuggler: Known / uncertain / "dock worker, keep minimal contact"
- Of the detective: Friendly / trusted / friend, institutional colleague
Voss's knowledge of both characters:
- Of the smuggler: Known / reliable / ring member
- Of the detective: Known / suspicious / risk: moderate / managing exposure
7. Relationship Shift Paths (First 30 Minutes)
How relationships shift during the vertical slice for each character:
Smuggler Relationship Shifts
| NPC | Starting State | Likely Shift | Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kael | Friendly | → PersonOfInterest | Corridor B-7 observation (Phase 3) |
| All ring NPCs | Known/Friendly | → Hostile (conditional) | If smuggler cooperates with detective or cover blown |
| Naia | Known | → (no shift in v0.1) | No player action triggers this in 30 min |
| Sera | Known | → (no shift in v0.1) | Smuggler never gets close enough |
Detective Relationship Shifts
| NPC | Starting State | Likely Shift | Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sera | Friendly | → PersonOfInterest | Torek avoidance pattern (Phase 3) |
| Kael | Unknown | → Known → PersonOfInterest | Behavioral tells + manifest discrepancy connection |
| Drin | Known | → Cooperative (conditional) | Gambling debt leverage applied |
| Lera | Unknown | → Known → peer (conditional) | 3-4 bar visits |
| Maret | Known | → peer (conditional) | Cooperative interview unlocks |
| Smuggler-NPC | Unknown | → Known → PersonOfInterest | Tell accumulation + cargo attention on 4471 |
8. Design Implications
The most emotionally resonant NPCs are the ones each character DOESN'T know.
The smuggler will encounter the detective investigating the people they love most. The detective will encounter the smuggler operating inside the community they're trying to understand. The tension comes from the player knowing what the NPC they're watching doesn't know.
Relationship symmetry check: For every NPC in one character's web, verify the other character's starting state. If the smuggler has a Friendly / insider relationship, the detective must start at Unknown or Known / public for there to be discovery room. If both characters start at Friendly, the NPC is a shared ally and loses narrative potential.
The bar is the convergence zone. Both characters are present at The Last Shift. The physical overlap creates the mirror moment opportunities (ticket #329). Same room, same NPCs, different access. The bar scenes are the most structurally dense content space in v0.1.
Ticket #183 — Divergent relationships. v0.1 scope.