Educational companion dossier · Fact, interpretation, lived experience, clinical education, fiction, and mechanics are labeled separately. Scope & safety
GAME MECHANIC

PLAYER METHODS // FIELD MANUAL

Research translated into actions, choices, and failure states.

These guides explain what a player can observe, test, protect, negotiate, reconstruct, or refuse. Each method links back to complete reports and forward to live case files.

PROTOCOLS47 FIELD METHODSevidence-linked
GAME MECHANIC
Analytical Foundations

Evidence-Layer Separation

Divide a statement into observation, interpretation, source, confidence, alternative explanation, and consequence before deciding what it means.

Player goal
Prevent one vivid claim from collapsing several different evidence questions into one answer.
Characters
Analyst, Witness, Handler, Clinical Gatekeeper, Records Officer
Open protocol →
Analytical Foundations

Competing Hypotheses

Construct multiple non-trivial explanations and identify evidence that can discriminate among them.

Player goal
Replace single-story certainty with a testable hypothesis set.
Characters
All-Source Analyst, Mole Hunter, Red-Team Challenger, Investigator
Open protocol →
Source Analysis

Source Evaluation

Rate source reliability separately from the credibility of the current information and show the path to knowledge.

Player goal
Keep a mixed-history source from becoming globally believed or globally discarded.
Characters
Source Validator, Journalist, Analyst, Institutional Witness
Open protocol →
Attribution

Access–Action–Motive Separation

Treat access, action attribution, and motive as three separate evidentiary questions.

Player goal
Avoid turning permission plus a plausible motive into proof of conduct.
Characters
Counterintelligence Officer, Identity Custodian, Insider-Threat Investigator
Open protocol →
Humane Communication

Respectful Uncertainty

Acknowledge fear, meaning, and uncertainty without confirming an unverified threat or dismissing the person.

Player goal
Maintain trust while keeping world facts honest and revisable.
Characters
Clinical Gatekeeper, Handler, Witness, Recovery Navigator
Open protocol →
Humane Communication

Asking Permission

Use explicit consent for questions, proximity, sensory changes, note-taking, and optional support whenever immediate safety does not require otherwise.

Player goal
Preserve agency and obtain better information by making participation visible and revisable.
Characters
Interviewer, Recovery Navigator, Medic, Handler, Day-Room Mediator
Open protocol →
Humane Communication

One Question at a Time

Reduce cognitive load by asking one concrete question, allowing processing time, and separating follow-ups.

Player goal
Improve clarity without treating pauses, repetition, or incomplete answers as deception.
Characters
Interviewer, Debriefer, Clinical Gatekeeper, Source Validator
Open protocol →
Humane Communication

Shared-Observation Anchoring

Begin with something both participants can inspect together before discussing disputed meaning.

Player goal
Create a common reference point without requiring the person to abandon their interpretation.
Characters
Witness, Analyst, Mediator, Clinical Gatekeeper
Open protocol →
Humane Communication

Pause and Sensory Reduction

Lower avoidable cognitive and sensory load before demanding more interpretation, disclosure, or decision-making.

Player goal
Create conditions in which the person and the player can process evidence without using force or humiliation.
Characters
Mediator, Medic, Recovery Navigator, Protective Specialist
Open protocol →
Decision Governance

Correction and Appeal

Provide a documented way to challenge a claim, introduce counterevidence, correct a record, and review the consequence.

Player goal
Make analytical error repairable instead of hiding it behind authority or game progression.
Characters
Records Officer, Oversight Reviewer, Investigator, Institutional Witness
Open protocol →
Bias and Interpretation

Cultural-Context Review

Check language, gesture, honorific, naming, family, institutional, and historical context before treating difference as deception, pathology, or disloyalty.

Player goal
Reduce false positives caused by cultural unfamiliarity and translation loss.
Characters
Language Officer, Cultural Adviser, Analyst, Handler
Open protocol →
Influence Analysis

Misinformation Resilience

Slow emotional amplification, trace claims laterally, identify source laundering, and preserve corrections before sharing a conclusion.

Player goal
Keep an influence operation from using urgency, identity threat, or repetition to control player decisions.
Characters
Media Analyst, OSINT Researcher, Journalist, Information Integrity Researcher
Open protocol →
Source Analysis

Source Provenance

Trace a claim to its origin, transformations, custody, publication context, and dependency chain.

Player goal
Know whether several documents are independent evidence or different presentations of one origin.
Characters
Archive Custodian, Analyst, Journalist, Digital Forensics Investigator
Open protocol →
Source Analysis

Citation Verification

Check that a citation exists, says what the page claims, supports the relevant scope, and has not been copied from an unrelated or private source.

Player goal
Make research links useful evidence rather than decorative authority.
Characters
Analyst, Editor, Educator, Source Validator
Open protocol →
Character Analysis

Persona Decomposition

Separate identity, role, access, cover, loyalty, need, reasoning, trust, state, evidence behavior, and plot function before deciding what a character is doing.

Player goal
Build a layered persona model that stays useful when one label is wrong.
Characters
Handler, Analyst, Clinical Gatekeeper, Deep-Cover Operative, Institutional Witness
Open protocol →
Counterintelligence

Role–State Separation

Determine whether changed behavior comes from stable function, new tasking, exposure, coercion, injury, or a temporary psychological state.

Player goal
Avoid both false accusation and false reassurance when a character stops acting like their established role.
Characters
Counterintelligence Investigator, Compromised Investigator, Identity-Strained Operative, Institutional Witness
Open protocol →
Allegiance Analysis

Loyalty Lattice

Map institution, sponsor, ideology, money, family, handler, debt, coercion, affection, and temporary alliance as directional obligations.

Player goal
Predict which obligation will govern the next irreversible choice without assuming current obedience equals loyalty.
Characters
Double Agent, Mole, Defector, Coerced Insider, Loyal Opponent
Open protocol →
Dialogue and Trust

Disclosure Thresholds

Track cooperation, factual disclosure, emotional disclosure, operational disclosure, and irreversible trust as separate gates.

Player goal
Earn the exact kind of access needed without treating one intimate conversation as ownership of the character.
Characters
Walk-In Source, Reluctant Mentor, Truth Broker, Recovery-Oriented Source
Open protocol →
Network Analysis

Relationship Triangulation

Compare directional trust, protection, fear, knowledge, manipulation, debt, and misidentification across three or more characters.

Player goal
Understand a persona through the network around them rather than one self-description.
Characters
Network Hinge, Truth Broker, Charming Manipulator, Conflicted Protector
Open protocol →
Dynamic State

Pressure Transition Map

Track the triggers, observable shifts, gameplay effects, and reversible exits among baseline, guarded, pressured, compromised, burned, disoriented, defecting, extracting, stabilizing, and reintegrating states.

Player goal
Respond to the active state without rewriting the character’s entire personality.
Characters
Identity-Strained Operative, Hypervigilant Survivor, Morally Injured Witness, Burned Asset
Open protocol →
Evidence Lab

Differential Timeline

Build one chronology across symptoms, mood, sleep, exposure, medical change, operational events, and institutional responses before choosing an explanation.

Player goal
Identify which theory best explains onset and change without erasing competing evidence.
Characters
Clinical-Intelligence Liaison, Acute-Episode Witness, Mood-State Operative, Medical-Cause Witness
Open protocol →
Evidence Lab

Corroboration Ladder

Break a large surveillance claim into independently testable observations and increase confidence only when sources are genuinely independent.

Player goal
Preserve accurate details without promoting an unsupported total theory.
Characters
Corroboration Specialist, Fixed-Belief Investigator, Trauma-Exposed Source, Records Integrity Clerk
Open protocol →
Social Investigation

Reality-Neutral Dialogue

Acknowledge fear and need, state what the player can verify, and offer concrete choices without confirming an unverified threat or forcing a confession.

Player goal
Gain usable information while preserving dignity, honesty, and future trust.
Characters
Recovery Navigator, Trauma-Exposed Source, Acute-Episode Witness, Shared-Belief Pair
Open protocol →
Psychological Evidence

Mood-State Crosscheck

Compare espionage beliefs with mood, energy, sleep need, speech, activity, guilt, hopelessness, and psychosis outside mood episodes.

Player goal
Separate valid operational work from episode-driven authority, guilt, or certainty.
Characters
Mood-State Operative, Signals Scheduler, Retired Liaison Officer, Longitudinal Psychosis Analyst
Open protocol →
Protective Tradecraft

Trauma Trigger Map

Separate trauma reminders, body-based threat responses, present surveillance indicators, and new interpretations.

Player goal
Verify current threat without forcing re-exposure or turning the character into bait.
Characters
Trauma-Exposed Source, Surveillance Detection Specialist, Extraction Operator, Recovery Navigator
Open protocol →
Medical Evidence

Substance, Medication, and Sleep Timeline

Test intoxication, withdrawal, medication change, and prolonged wakefulness against symptom onset without treating toxicology as a moral verdict.

Player goal
Determine what exposure plausibly contributed and what evidence remains after stabilization.
Characters
Exposure-Compromised Technician, Pharmacy Technician, Communications Technician, Medical-Cause Investigator
Open protocol →
Medical Evidence

Medical Red-Flag Triage

Escalate sudden or atypical psychosis when attention fluctuates, neurological signs appear, or illness, injury, medication, seizure, or toxic exposure may be involved.

Player goal
Prevent a medical emergency from being misfiled as behavior or counterintelligence compromise.
Characters
Medical-Cause Investigator, Forensic Neuropsychiatric Consultant, Neurocognitive Legacy Source, Tactical Medic
Open protocol →
Social Investigation

Shared-Belief Network Analysis

Map mutual reinforcement, isolation, coercion, shared evidence, and independent agency across close relationships.

Player goal
Recover independent accounts without punishing the relationship or forcing a dominant/passive story.
Characters
Shared-Belief Pair, Housing Caseworker, Repair Technician, Shared-Belief Network Analyst
Open protocol →
Psychological Evidence

Trait vs. Episode Distinction

Compare long-standing suspiciousness or interpersonal patterns with abrupt episodes, persistent psychosis, mood change, and actual betrayal.

Player goal
Avoid using a personality label as a mole detector or a substitute for access evidence.
Characters
Fixed-Belief Investigator, Counterintelligence Investigator, Clinical-Intelligence Liaison, Target Assessor
Open protocol →
Psychological Evidence

Longitudinal Psychosis Review

Track positive, negative, cognitive, disorganization, mood, function, recovery, and factual threat across time.

Player goal
Keep diagnostic uncertainty visible while preserving competence and real-world evidence.
Characters
Longitudinal Psychosis Analyst, OSINT Researcher, Clinical Timeline Analyst, Recovery Navigator
Open protocol →
Evidence Lab

Witness Reliability Without Reduction

Score claims, sources, and collection conditions—not people. A witness can be accurate, mistaken, uncertain, and competent in different parts of the same account.

Player goal
Recover usable evidence without turning diagnosis, confidence, or status into a permanent reliability score.
Characters
Corroboration Specialist, Patient / Witness, Records Integrity Clerk, After-Action Investigator
Open protocol →
Evidence Integrity

Clinical Evidence Chain

Preserve who observed what, when it was recorded, how language changed, and whether clinical data were merged, copied, redacted, or repurposed.

Player goal
Make the chart auditable without treating it as objective reality.
Characters
Clinical Timeline Analyst, Records Administrator, Cryptographic Archivist, Medical-Cause Investigator
Open protocol →
Social Investigation

Day Room Protocol

Use the shared room as a living evidence space without turning every conversation into interrogation.

Player goal
Learn who changes behavior around whom, preserve dignity, and create voluntary opportunities for disclosure.
Characters
Day Room Mediator, Patient / Witness, Handler, Counterintelligence Observer
Open protocol →
Identity Tradecraft

Legend Audit

Test whether a cover identity remains coherent across records, relationships, habits, finances, and digital history.

Player goal
Find the smallest contradiction that distinguishes a damaged life from an intentionally constructed one.
Characters
Legend Architect, Identity Cobbler, Records Administrator, Deep-Cover Operative
Open protocol →
Counterintelligence

Mole Hunt

Identify a leak through access, opportunity, controlled disclosures, and competing hypotheses instead of institutional panic.

Player goal
Produce an accusation that explains both incriminating and innocent evidence.
Characters
Mole-Hunt Investigator, Security Supervisor, Analyst, Double Agent
Open protocol →
Field Tradecraft

Surveillance Detection Route

Walk a route designed to generate observations rather than merely reach a destination.

Player goal
Determine whether a meeting is watched without confronting a possible follower or exposing the destination.
Characters
Surveillance Detection Specialist, Courier, Watcher, Counterintelligence Investigator
Open protocol →
Signals

SIGINT Triangulation

Combine fragmented transmissions, language, timing, channel behavior, and physical evidence.

Player goal
Identify the speaker and operational meaning without pretending a damaged intercept is complete.
Characters
Cryptologic Linguist, SIGINT Specialist, Technical Watcher, Analyst
Open protocol →
HUMINT

Asset Burn and Extraction

Decide what happens after a source is exposed: rescue, relocation, controlled disclosure, negotiated surrender, or abandonment.

Player goal
Protect the person and the network while confronting which promises the sponsoring organization will actually honor.
Characters
Burned Logistics Asset, Case Officer, Extraction Operator, Cut-Out
Open protocol →
FININT

Forensic Finance

Follow money through front companies, mixing, over-invoicing, item trades, and beneficial ownership.

Player goal
Find a reproducible paper trail that reveals access or coordination without assuming money explains motive.
Characters
Forensic Financial Analyst, Corporate Intelligence Director, Front-Company Administrator
Open protocol →
Dialogue

Interview Without Collusion

Acknowledge fear and meaning without confirming an unverified belief or aggressively arguing it away.

Player goal
Gain usable information while preserving psychological safety and epistemic honesty.
Characters
Patient / Witness, Clinician, Day Room Mediator, Handler
Open protocol →
Operations

After-Action Reconstruction

Rebuild a mission from the information available at each decision point, not from the certainty of the outcome.

Player goal
Identify corrective actions, concealed orders, and genuine responsibility without inventing a single convenient villain.
Characters
After-Action Reviewer, Extraction Operator, Paramilitary Operator, Analyst
Open protocol →
Psychology

Target Assessment Without Reduction

Model needs, access, pressure, self-narrative, loyalty, and boundaries without converting a person into a diagnosis or MICE label.

Player goal
Predict choices under specific conditions while retaining uncertainty and ordinary humanity.
Characters
Targeter, Case Officer, Forensic Analyst, Legend Architect
Open protocol →
Tradecraft

Dead Drop and Cut-Out

Move information through a compartmented chain while limiting what any single participant can expose.

Player goal
Deliver or intercept material by understanding signals, custody, route discipline, and network knowledge.
Characters
Cut-Out, Courier, Case Officer, Surveillance Detection Specialist
Open protocol →
Alliance Play

Crisis Alliance

Build a temporary coalition among factions that expect to betray one another after the immediate threat is contained.

Player goal
Share enough intelligence to stop the crisis while preserving leverage, verification, and exit options.
Characters
Liaison, Corporate Sponsor, Counterintelligence Investigator, Independent Operator
Open protocol →
Signals

Signal Discipline

Use call signs, challenge phrases, timing, brevity, and read-back to communicate under pressure.

Player goal
Transmit unambiguous mission information while revealing as little network structure as possible.
Characters
Cryptologic Linguist, Courier, Technical Watcher
Open protocol →
Surveillance

Pattern of Life

Build a baseline before treating an event as anomalous.

Player goal
Discover which routine deviations are operational, personal, coerced, or ordinary.
Characters
Watcher, Analyst, Surveillance Detection Specialist
Open protocol →
Investigation

Evidence Preservation

Keep logs, documents, testimony, and artifacts useful by preserving origin, order, integrity, and uncertainty.

Player goal
Make evidence strong enough to survive hostile review and reveal tampering as a plot event.
Characters
Leak Investigator, After-Action Reviewer, Records Administrator, Forensic Analyst
Open protocol →