In a world where the powerful have eyes and ears everywhere, unravel a hidden circle of control and corruption.

The Circle Unwritten is a compact, low-complexity campaign frame for Daggerheart™ Compatible play, built for espionage, heists, social maneuvering, hidden agendas, and consequences that keep the intrigue alive.

The land of Threnovar looks peaceful. Its cities bustle, its fields flourish, and most people have little reason to question the order around them. Look closer and the pattern changes: a debt eased here, a witness changing their story there, an ordinance quietly rewritten before anyone notices.

Behind much of it is The Umbral Circle, a loose network of spies, power brokers, fixers, and people who know how institutions really work. Money can be moved. Belief and memory can be altered. Reputation is transient. The outcomes the Circle wants begin to look inevitable.

Some of you serve the Circle willingly. Some owe it debts. Some want out. Some intend to bring it down. Whatever your motives, someone within the Circle has just dragged you in deeper.

Inside the frame

1. The Umbral Circle, a conspiracy with no central authority and four overlapping methods of influence: the Dagger, Ledger, Flask, and Quill.
2. Saltgloom, A mist-wrapped port city where merchant houses, criminal brokers, and old families compete for power.
3. Nine NPCs, from powerful political and commercial figures to everyday contacts.
4. Player and GM Principles for running intrigue without turning uncertainty into paralysis.
5. Two Campaign Mechanics
6. The Walls Do Talk, a downtime mechanic that makes surveillance an ongoing risk, and sometimes an opportunity.
7. Oh, I Planned For That, allowing characters to flashback, revealing clever preparations they made before the trouble started​.
8. Dead on Arrival, an inciting incident that can launch the campaign immediately.
9. Session Zero questions, and a simple three-stage operation structure.

The question in Saltgloom is rarely whether someone can be trusted. It's what their trust will cost, and who's watching.

1. Tone: Covert, slick, audacious, seductive, cinematic.
2. Touchstones: James Bond, Ocean’s Eleven, Six of Crows, The Prestige, and Blades in the Dark.

11-page PDF, including cover, title page, and credits. Illustrated with historical book artwork and original graphic elements, with full art credits and source information included.

Designed for Daggerheart™ Compatible play. Requires access to the SRD 2.0 or core rules.

1. Version 1.1 · October 7, 2026
2. Version 1.0 · October 6, 2026

© 2026 Ray Yu. The Circle Unwritten™, Ryu Press™, and their associated logos are trademarks of Ray Yu.