The Structure of H.E.R.O.

H.E.R.O. comprises twenty Groups, each a self-directed team of specialists operating across the continent. These Groups are arranged into four bands, each with distinct scope, autonomy, and resource allocation.

The Four Bands

Response Band (Groups 1–4): Field Response & Rapid Deployment

The most junior of the operational bands, Response handles civilian-scale emergencies — local flooding, bandit incursions, disputes requiring arbitration. Rookies prove their competence here. Group 1 follows orders; Group 20 writes them, and the Groups between live out a journey of increasing independence.

Field Band (Groups 5–15): Specialised Operations

The spine of the organisation. Each Field Group develops deep expertise: Group 7 handles maritime emergencies and coastal law enforcement; Group 9 specialises in structural collapse and siege aftermath; Group 12 arbitrates inter-guild disputes and diplomatic friction; Group 14 contains blights, plagues, and curse-work requiring sustained medical and thaumaturgical response. These Groups command sophisticated equipment budgets, regional authority, and the latitude to innovate tactically.

Crisis Band (Groups 16–19): Catastrophic Threats

Reserved for disasters exceeding local government scope — invasion-scale threats, reality-warping anomalies, dragon activity. Group 17 maintains the Dragonwatch and aerial reconnaissance. Entry to Crisis Band is rare; authority and autonomy scale accordingly.

The Vanguard (Group 20): Continental Authority

The demigod-celebrities of H.E.R.O., vanguard members are public figures — memorialised in ballads, featured on merchandise, commanding fan clubs and sponsor networks rivalling noble households. They answer only to the Citadel's senior command and can unilaterally declare continental-scale crises. They are, in practice, the law where they operate.

Administration

All administrative functions — recruitment management, records archiving, Sending Stone dispatch, the Continental Registry, and threat-level classification — are performed at the Citadel.

[Records note — T.W.]: That's where I work. Well — volunteer. Assistant intern. It counts.

The Twenty Groups

H.E.R.O. comprises exactly twenty operational Groups.

[Records note — T.W.]: Twenty groups. (And, apparently, a Group 0? Still looking for the documents on that one. And why.)

Progression & Compensation

Resources, pay, and autonomy increase with rank. A Response Group member earns a monthly stipend sufficient for lodging, meals, and basic equipment maintenance; a Field Group member commands an equipment budget and regional expense account; Crisis Band members negotiate directly with the Citadel for whatever they require. Vanguard compensation is confidential but rumoured to include property rights, equity stakes in regional merchants, and sponsorship arrangements worth more than most settlements' annual trade volume.