Pilots
A pilot adds one signature card and a level that decides how much of the card pool is open to them. cardsUnlocked is derived from level, never stored, so it cannot drift.
| Id | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| PL-01 | Ace | Coral Line |
| PL-02 | High Altitude | Monsoon Coast |
| PL-03 | Veteran | Ember Isles |
| PL-04 | Unmarked | Glass Reef |
Heritage
Every account is seeded a heritage, one of four island nations, from a hash of its id. Heritage fixes the flight school, and the school fixes the signature card. It is deterministic: the same id always produces the same starting pilot, with no random call at the moment an account is first read.
Recruiting
More pilots need quarters. Barracks capacity caps how many you can house, so recruiting is gated by a building rather than by a wallet.
Recruits are bought from the same one-catalog-two-prices shelf as airframes.
Affinity
Each pilot carries an elemental leaning that can be rerolled for points. The combat hooks for affinity are not wired up yet. The field exists, the reroll works, and nothing in a match reads it. It is a planned feature rather than a live one, and it is said plainly here rather than pretended into the rules.