I love it!  I love setting up those connections beforehand because then, we're not just waiting around to play the part of our character, but to play our part within our group, our little society.  It works so much better that way!<br/><br/>Real quick, though, do you want us to discuss this here or via PM?  On the assumption that it's probably okay to start talking about it here in the thread, I'll go first:<br/><br/>The way I see Emmeret, I don't think he's innately good or evil.  He's just a guy doing what he does best in a world of unregulated capitalism, where corporate espionage, or the closest thing, is not illegal, but just a fact of life in the trade network.  That said, it's not totally necessary for any of the other PCs to know what he is or what he's up to and if it would cause conflict (more than what would make things interesting, anyways), then it might be best for him to be keeping it a secret from them (any one of them).  I don't imagine he's trying to steal secrets from the merchant we're traveling with, but rather he's using the merchant as a cover to get close to more valuable information (perhaps the guild the merchant is a part of, for example).<br/><br/>I'm not totally sure what you mean about the hooks (and Fate, capitalized), but I do remember the connections listed by the foci.  My connection for Leads is that one of the other PCs was once a follower of Emmeret's, but he now thinks of them as a peer.  I'm not really sure how to work that since Emmeret is supposed to be unaware of his leadership abilities until later, but if someone else has an idea as to how that could work, then I'd love to hear it.<br/><br/>It does now occur to me that there are hooks listed in the descriptor as initial links to the starting adventure.  Looking at those links, I feel as though the most apt are either 1. Emmeret talked his way into things because he figured he could make some money from it or 2. He doesn't think the other PCs would succeed without him.  I think the latter is better than the former, but if anyone has any additional ideas there, I'd love to hear it.<br/><br/>Now, aside from the connection from the Leads focus, I feel as though the PCs that know Emmeret's occupation could know him as a contact, someone who knows the right people (past employers and people who have helped/supplied him in the past).  Any PCs that don't know his real occupation may know his cover story and that would be that he, himself, aspires to be a merchant, himself, but lacks the funds to get started, so he's signing up to help existing merchants to make some shins to get started and get some experience.<br/><br/>At this point, though, I don't think Emmeret has any ties to the church.  Not directly.  If he does, I might need some help working that out.<br/><br/>As far as opinions about the Steadfast goes, I think Emmeret tends to dislike the smaller towns in favor of larger cities (especially those like Mulen and the City of Bridges).  Part of it is because he doesn't get much work out in the smaller towns, but another part of it has to do with his father, stories of his mother and the idea that those small towns represent a simpler life that he could never have, now.<br/><br/>That's all I've got so far.  I don't have answers to who met who first and what brings us together (or what could tear us apart) just yet.  I am open to discussion either here in this thread or elsewhere.