FanX

(Other author chiming in) This is a good discussion and I’m happy it’s happening right upfront in the game page because you’re raising something which appears completely different in the rules and in play. Seriously, thank you.

Yes, it’s actually odd to have NPCs which only have enemies or allies with very little in between, but the oddness is wanted because it interacts with two other key elements of the game:

1. The map shows what’s publicly known. An NPC might appear as a well-loved member of community, but actually be secretly resented by the NPCs further from them in the map (or vice versa). Hidden enemies and allies lurk in the shadows like wandering monsters or traps in a dungeon and the PCs might get caught on those (or maybe they can discover this information and use it for their gains)
2. At the start of the game, the PCs are very low on the social ladder, basically on the ground. They’ll have to use the information they gather (from the map and during play) to better their situation. This system is skewed to produce two topologies (more often than not combined in the same map - but we had a couple of outliers and they were fun to play as well) which are more usable to this end: a tightly-knit group of friends and an infighting mess.

In the end, the aim of the whole setup is to create an unstable situation the PCs can exploit in some way, not a stable situation someone can comfortably (un)live in. During the game the map will change (NPCs get killed, outed as traitors to their friends, enter new alliances and such), possibly leading to a more stable state (although not always, I’ve seen groups which aimed at creating further mess in order to profit out of it).