Proxy Posture Chain / 代理人姿态链机制

Proxy Posture Chain is the mechanism that turns management pressure into RPG character posture. It answers the gap left by a green legal/custody corpus: a guarantee can be underwritten, collected, and released, but the human intermediary who carried that pressure can still vanish as a line item instead of becoming recruitable, missable, suppressible, hostile, or scarred.

A proxy is any named person, follower, handler, witness, editor, manager, runner, inspector aide, fan organizer, archive clerk, or faction-facing intermediary who is asked to carry a pressure surface on behalf of another claimant. The proxy may be loyal to the player, bound to a faction, publicly exposed, privately retained, suppressed, or pushed into hostility.

Mechanism entry

Open or update a proxy posture row when all of the following are true:

a live pressure surface exists: liability exposure, recourse target, release receipt, faction commitment, public contrition, witness payroll, facility access lock, route asset, archive order, cutroom patch, fan oxygen queue, or production triage ticket;
the pressure requires a human carrier, handler, signer, escort, source, clerk, fixer, witness, editor, fan organizer, or negotiator;
at least two claimants would prefer different proxy postures;
the player can choose approach, retain, recruit, suppress, expose, trade, abandon, rescue, or let a default faction claim the proxy;
the proxy can change future route availability, proof custody, faction posture, public legitimacy, staffing capacity, or broadcast reality.

This mechanism is state-driven. It must never open from a fixed numbered trigger.

Primary design problem

Without this mechanism, cross-faction pressure remains abstract:

a sponsor can buy silence without leaving a person who may resent, defect, or be recruited;
an inspector can require compliance without creating an aide, clerk, or handler who can become a bridge or enemy;
fan oxygen and public receipts can speak as a crowd without a vulnerable organizer;
edit capacity can be spent without changing Baiya, Han Cutroom, a runner, or a checksum witness;
production triage can consume a handler without the handler becoming tired, loyal, missing, or hostile.

The proxy posture chain makes every human carrier of pressure visible as a future RPG surface.

Proxy row contract

A satisfying implementation should expose an equivalent row:

proxy_id: <stable id>
proxy_name: <display name or role>
proxy_family: manager | editor | inspector_aide | archive_clerk | fan_organizer | witness | runner | performer | sponsor_agent | pirate_relay | security | unknown
source_pressure:
  source_storyline: faction_liability_underwriting | guarantee_recourse_cascade | recourse_collection_release | faction_commitment_ledger | production_triage_desk | witness_reprisal_chain | equivalent
  source_session_id: <session id if inherited>
  source_seed: <seed if inherited>
  pressure_id: <ledger, docket, receipt, ticket, route asset, or event id>
claimants:
  player_offer: <offer or absent>
  faction_claim: sponsor | inspector | archive | fan_public | editor | artist | witness | pirate | producer | split | none
  rival_claim: <second claimant or absent>
current_posture: unclaimed | approached | retained | recruited | suppressed | exposed | faction_bound | hostile | missing | recovery_only
requested_role: signer | escort | handler | public_voice | proof_source | edit_operator | manager_bridge | facility_key | witness_guard | relay_host | substitute_collateral
risk_if_used: retaliation | public_exposure | contract_capture | inspection_heat | edit_debt | fan_resentment | source_ambiguity | facility_lock | burnout | death_pressure | none
future_route_effect: unlocked | costlier | captured | hostile | public_only | lawful_only | recovery_only | blocked

The mechanism must fail if the proxy is only flavor text attached to a ledger, or if recruitment and hostility are represented as generic reputation changes with no named proxy state.

State machine

State	Meaning	Required consequence
`unclaimed`	A human carrier exists but nobody has secured them.	A claimant can approach, claim by default, or lose them.
`approached`	Player or faction has made contact.	A concrete offer, protection, threat, or price must be visible.
`retained`	Proxy is temporarily paid, sheltered, or bound to a task.	Future availability is conditional and cost-bearing.
`recruited`	Proxy becomes a durable ally, handler, follower, or route asset.	At least one future route opens and at least one pressure increases.
`suppressed`	Proxy is silenced, hidden, legally frozen, or removed from public view.	Immediate risk may fall; public, ethical, fan, archive, or hostility cost rises.
`exposed`	Proxy is made public as proof, witness, signatory, or counterclaim.	Public legitimacy may rise; retaliation or faction pressure rises.
`faction_bound`	A non-player faction claims the proxy first.	Future access becomes costlier, lawful-only, public-only, hostile, or captured.
`hostile`	Proxy retaliates, leaks, defects, refuses, or works against the player.	A breach event, route block, false version, or counterclaim becomes active.
`missing`	Proxy is lost through panic, arrest, sponsor extraction, fan flight, or archive seizure.	Recovery requires a scarred rescue or substitute.
`recovery_only`	Proxy can be used only through a scarred recovery branch.	Clean recruitment is no longer available.

Branch contract

Branch A — Recruit proxy

The player protects, pays, legitimizes, or proves enough to make the proxy a durable ally.

Expected outcome:

proxy_posture_after: recruited
relief_any:
  - route_unlocked
  - proof_custody_up
  - staffing_capacity_up
  - public_legitimacy_up
cost_any:
  - faction_hostility_up
  - protection_debt_up
  - witness_exposure_up
  - handler_fatigue_up
future_route_effect_any:
  - ally_route_unlocked_with_debt
  - proxy_protection_ticket_armed

Branch B — Retain proxy temporarily

The player buys time, shelter, transport, edit hours, legal cover, or a limited task.

Expected outcome:

proxy_posture_after: retained
relief_any:
  - immediate_default_down
  - task_completed
  - route_delay_secured
cost_any:
  - payroll_debt_up
  - contract_capture_up
  - future_availability_costlier
future_route_effect_any:
  - short_bridge_open
  - follow_up_hearing_required

Branch C — Suppress proxy

The player hides, quarantines, legally freezes, intimidates, edits out, or denies the proxy.

Expected outcome:

proxy_posture_after: suppressed
relief_any:
  - immediate_exposure_down
  - sponsor_default_down
  - inspection_contradiction_down
cost_any:
  - public_receipt_distrust_up
  - fan_resentment_up
  - proxy_hostility_armed
future_route_effect_any:
  - clean_recruit_blocked
  - hostile_leak_possible

Branch D — Expose proxy publicly

The player publishes, presents, or routes the proxy through public proof.

Expected outcome:

proxy_posture_after: exposed
relief_any:
  - public_receipt_legitimacy_up
  - false_owner_pressure_down
  - private_capture_blocked
cost_any:
  - witness_exposure_up
  - inspection_heat_up
  - sponsor_stop_loss_pressure_up
future_route_effect_any:
  - public_route_open_with_retaliation
  - protection_required

Branch E — Trade proxy to a faction

The player lets sponsor, inspector, archive, editor, public, pirate, or manager desk claim the proxy as collateral or bridge.

Expected outcome:

proxy_posture_after: faction_bound
relief_any:
  - immediate_pressure_down
  - recourse_target_protected
  - room_access_unlocked
cost_any:
  - route_capture_up
  - contract_capture_up
  - bureau_favor_debt_up
  - source_ambiguity_up
future_route_effect_any:
  - faction_gate_required
  - proxy_route_costlier

Branch F — Abandon or miss proxy

The player lacks handler, protection, proof, room access, public cover, or attention; a faction or crisis claims the proxy by default.

Expected outcome:

proxy_posture_after_any:
  - hostile
  - missing
  - recovery_only
emitted_event: storyteller.event.proxy_defection_break.v1
cost_any:
  - route_blocked
  - hostile_counterclaim_up
  - proof_custody_down
  - black_screen_slots_up
future_route_effect_any:
  - recovery_only_route_remains
  - hostile_proxy_branch_armed

Counter contract

Every branch must move at least three counters or durable states. At least one must be visible relief and at least one must be visible cost.

Primary states and counters:

proxy_posture
proxy_availability
proxy_protection_debt
proxy_hostility
proxy_exposure
staffing_capacity
handler_fatigue
payroll_debt
public_receipt_legitimacy
public_receipt_distrust
fan_oxygen_balance
fan_oxygen_resentment
witness_exposure
inspection_heat
bureau_favor_debt
contract_capture
edit_debt
source_ambiguity
facility_access_pressure
route_asset_pressure
claimant_hostility
black_screen_slots

Replay evidence contract

mechanic: storyteller.mechanic.proxy_posture_chain.v1
source_state:
  source_storyline: <pressure storyline id>
  source_session_id: <session that created pressure if available>
  source_seed: <seed if available>
  pressure_id: <ledger, docket, receipt, route asset, ticket, or event id>
proxy_row_before:
  proxy_id: <stable id>
  current_posture: unclaimed | approached | retained | recruited | suppressed | exposed | faction_bound | hostile | missing | recovery_only
  requested_role: <role>
  faction_claim: <claimant>
  rival_claim: <claimant or absent>
hearing:
  selected_branch: recruit | retain | suppress | expose | trade | abandon
  handler: <handler or absent>
  protection_or_price: <input or absent>
  public_cover: <input or absent>
result:
  proxy_posture_after: <state>
  counter_deltas: {}
  future_route_effect: <effect>
assertions:
  - entry_is_state_driven
  - named_proxy_or_role_is_concrete
  - recruit_suppress_hostile_are_non_equivalent
  - branch_has_relief_and_cost
  - future_route_or_staffing_state_mutates
  - no_fixed_turn_trigger

Non-goals

Not a generic affection meter.
Not a raw follower count target.
Not a fixed recruitment phase.
Not governance or design-method prose.
Not a replacement for character storylines.
Not a clean way to recruit every helper.
Not satisfied by naming an NPC; the proxy must carry a pressure row and mutate future play.

Storyteller Wiki

Explorer

Proxy Posture Chain / 代理人姿态链机制

Proxy Posture Chain / 代理人姿态链机制

Mechanism entry

Primary design problem

Proxy row contract

State machine

Branch contract

Branch A — Recruit proxy

Branch B — Retain proxy temporarily

Branch C — Suppress proxy

Branch D — Expose proxy publicly

Branch E — Trade proxy to a faction

Branch F — Abandon or miss proxy

Counter contract

Replay evidence contract

Non-goals

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