The core unit of the game is a group of friends, living, and later travelling together, surviving and shaping the game according to their own desires. In order for this to work and actually make sense, the Characters have to eventually become really good friends, sharing the same goals, or at least be willing to help out each other when it is more about one person’s individual goals.
To aid the Players when roleplaying this relationship, there is a stat describing the companionship between two Characters. During each longer travel, each Player gets to describe a scene between his and another Character. If the other player does not intervene, then the companionship stat between the two Characters is increased.
Besides being a roleplaying-aid, the companionshipstat has four more functions:
- Companionship can be used to encourage another Character to change his ways (a bit), thus promoting arcs where there is actual personal evolution.
- Companionship allows certain actions in conflict, to aid another character or to keep her from dying (‘Hang in there, I need you!’).
- Companionship naturally leads to a campaign’s final phase, where the Characters will build a home or base together, giving them something to fight for and defend in the Black Tide that is to come.
- Companionship is diminished by the influence of Darkness but can also become useful in shaking its grasp on a person’s soul.