Clue

A Clue is a piece of information or evidence that helps the citizens of the world become aware of an awakening Old One. They may be generated as a side effect of using Ancient Power, and are located at a POI. If discovered by Heroes or Leaders the clue can be deciphered over time by a Sage and thus contribute to making Nations aware of the Old One's threat. This hastens the formation of Alliances and thus puts the Old One's long term plans at risk.

Clues degenerate over time, so it can be a useful strategy to increase the Danger of a POI containing threatening Clues. Infest it with vampires, stir up an insurrection... anything that keeps Heroes too busy or too dead to notice will help minimize the risk of the Clue.

There are four types of clues: Identity (who did this?) - Conspiracy (who was involved?) - Arcane (Magic was involved, what happened) - Ancient (Old One powers)
 * Identity clues are what increase fame/profile and make your Agent easier to find, these are mostly deciphered by knowledge and investigation. Identity clues contain information about mundane actions.
 * Conspiracy clues tie individuals/nations together and lead to increasing suspicion, these are a prime way to get notables interested in a hero's quest
 * Arcane clues are dropped when magic is used, the type of magic effects its deciphering and can also lead to new magic being developed by the heroes
 * Ancient clues are the most devastating to you though they are the hardest to decipher, they can lead to new quests/campaigns as well as awareness of who you are

Some clues can only be obtained by people sensitive to that type - for instance a warrior would have no idea what to do with an Arcane clue and would simply ignore it. Most clues are simply "digested over time" by heroes, but other clues require "Lore" to be used in order to research the clue. Stopping heroes either at the point of the clue, distracting them with misleading clues, and corrupting points of Lore are all viable strategies.

The AI adapts to the threats it faces by aggregating (individually but eventually as a whole when the Alliance forms) the clues and dangers it has faced which can lead it to "conclusions" which will lead them to either determining who they are facing (correctly or incorrectly) or to adopt certain strategies.

Azlan notably has an ability to make a specific Hero forget Clues.