Core Loop
Seven phases. Same structure every session. What changes is the state you carry into it.
Review Stray status, Bastion resources, available Fractures. Behavioral flags determine viability. Assign roles. Select the target Fracture.
Optionally run a Calling between deployments. Candidates arrive with partial profiles. You learn what the scan missed once they are in a Fracture.
Before dispatch, each Stray's drift, morale, fatigue, and complacency are captured as weighted simulation inputs.
The Fracture initializes with threat composition, environmental modifiers, and objective conditions. Partial intel returns. The window closes.
Cardinal Engine runs the full simulation. No input from you. Stray behavioral states shift throughout. Heuristics govern every decision. The log fills.
Rewards calculate from objectives completed, Stray survival, and performance relative to behavioral state. Resources, XP, narrative fragments.
Returning Strays enter recovery. Bastion facilities determine what heals and what compounds into the next cycle. Upkeep draws from your pool.