Trace

"A betraying clue that my pursuers might recognise. [Reckoners appear more quickly and are more powerful when there are more Traces on the board. The Foe himself can appear once there are at least five.]"

The Exile Legacy does not have to worry about Reputation or Hunters. Instead, Traces (including human and Reckoner corpses) draw the attention of reckoners.

Effect of Traces on Reckoner Appearance
Without any Traces on the board, the chance of Reckoner informants appearing each Time cycle is only 10%, and informants that do appear have a 25% chance of leaving without hassle. This increases to 30% at 1 Trace and 70% at 2 or more, with no chance of free departure.

Effect of Traces on Reckoner Reinforcements
While there are no Traces on the board, a reckoner scout cannot call reinforcements.

While there are 1 or more Traces on the board, a reckoner scout can call reinforcements, upgrading to a Reckoner Assassin or Reckoner Operative.

While there are 3 or more Traces on the board, a reckoner assassin or operative can call reinforcements, upgrading to an Underboss.

While there are 5 or more Traces on the board, a reckoner underboss can call the Foe.

Gaining Traces
There is a risk of Traces with a number of Actions:
 * Reconnoitre has a 30% chance of creating a Trace.
 * Launching a Caper has a chance of creating a Trace.
 * Relinquishing a Stolen Year for Cash has a 90% chance of creating a Trace.
 * Failing a Caper will create a Trace.
 * Completing an Operation with less than 3 Subtlety has a chance of creating a Trace. The less Subtlety, the greater the chance.
 * Communicating with a Ligeian without providing a suitable gift has a 70% chance of producing both a Wound and a Trace.
 * Reckoner scouts, assassins, operatives, and underbosses may create Traces. This action is not prevented by Obscurity.
 * Countering an assassin's or underboss's attack with an Ally, Weapon or Lore will create a Trace. (Countering with a Distraction does not.)
 * Attacking a reckoner with a Weapon or Lore has a chance of creating a Trace. Killing one does create a Trace (in addition to the corpse, which is also worth 1 Trace).
 * Provoking a Connection has a chance of failure, which will create a Trace.
 * Healing a Wound with a Stolen Decade will create a Trace (unless the Foe is already on the board).
 * Sending Discreet Messages supposedly has a chance of creating a Trace. Sending Hasty Messages (from a city in Flames) is supposedly very likely to create a Trace.

Eliminating Traces
Traces can be removed in a number of ways:
 * Departure to a new Destination purges all Traces.
 * Assisting an Uprising purges all Traces (though completing the Operation with less than 3 Subtlety has a chance to create a new one).
 * A Trace or a human corpse can be Relinquished by consuming two cards with Assists Deception. These cannot both be Spaces. This produces Obscurity.
 * Corpses count as Traces, but they are also Supplies and have and  Aspects. So using a Corpse in an Operation or Caper will remove it.
 * Reckoner corpses can also be Relinquished with Lore or Temptation: Defiance to valuable effect.
 * Purging Traces is one of the options of reward for Serapeum Peristasis.