In the Backwaters, there are no heroes and few true innocents. When you strip away the titles and the allegiances, every soul is carried by one of two currents: you are either the one who causes the suffering, or the one who endures it.
These are the two fundamental pathways for those outside the Syndicate’s direct employ: the Path of the Lurker and the Path of the Lost. This is not a choice you make on a character sheet. It is a title you earn, a reputation that clings to you based on the story you tell through your actions. The world is always watching, and it recognizes the difference between a predator and its prey.
The Lurker: Thriving in the Shadows
The Lurker has adapted to the darkness. They see the bayou’s moral decay not as a tragedy, but as an ecosystem of opportunity. They are the criminals, the manipulators, the enforcers, and the survivors who have learned that the best defense is to become a greater threat than whatever is hunting you. This is the path of those who answer fear with greater fear.
Your standing as a Lurker grows when you are the one in control. Your actions will deepen this path when you:
- Act as the aggressor in conflicts.
- Successfully run your illicit trades and expand your influence.
- Intimidate, manipulate, or dominate others to achieve your goals.
- Leave your mark on the world through acts of calculated violence and control.
The Lost: Broken by the Bayou
The Lost are the souls being worn down by the swamp. They are defined by their scars, both physical and psychological. They are the victims, the addicts, the traumatized, and the desperate, trying to survive in a world that sees them as a resource to be consumed. Their story is one of enduring, and the strength it takes to simply survive another day.
Your connection to the path of the Lost deepens when you are the one who suffers. Your actions will etch this story onto your soul when you:
- Are the victim of a crime, an attack, or a kidnapping.
- Endure injury that requires a stay at the medical clinic.
- Fall under the control of another, becoming a pawn in their game.
- Engage in acts of desperation born of fear or addiction.
- Delve too deep into the unsettling mysteries of the swamp, coming back changed by what you witnessed in the dark.
The Blurred Line in the Mud
These pathways are not rigid classes. They are fluid states of being, reflecting your character’s recent journey. The line between them is as blurry and treacherous as a path through the swamp, and crossing it is where the most powerful stories are told.
The most feared Lurker can be captured by a rival, beaten, and left for dead. Their harrowing tale of survival and newfound trauma will push them closer to the Lost.
Conversely, the most broken soul on the Lost path might finally snap. In a moment of desperate clarity, they might commit an act of shocking violence to escape their tormentor, taking their first defiant steps down the Lurker’s road.
Your character’s title reflects the story you are telling now. It is a living reputation that will shift and change with your triumphs and your tragedies. The system is designed to listen. Your only job is to give it a story worth telling. Are you the shadow that falls upon others, or the one struggling to outrun your own?
