allow me to clarify my issue with the gold armband and hermes request. i had those glaring concerns i've presented that were not addressed in those scenes. it's okay if the master wanted to do it as a promise or whatever, but i wanted for them to at least acknowledge that the terms would bring harm to him even if it wasn't his fault. then he could be like, "yeah, but i'm gonna do it anyway because promises". for the hermes is the same thing, i wasn't given a reason as to why the master did not inquire hermes further in, it didnt have to go there with the questions i still had, but at least the conversation could have had to be interrupted short to give us the sense that there were things that needed to be left unsaid for the time being.
if themba isn't in the hotel then luke will fill in that videogame talk, and as much as i love themba, i have to say that luke had the most heartfelt conversation with pedro for me. technically musical instruments aren't natural resources, so you'd have to teach the hotel to make them first, it can be probably done, but it's the sort of thing that might require an R&D task.
there is a codex, it only registers the things you found, but it's available to see from the main menu. it's called files and it registers everything you got in every playthrough. i also did post somewhere on this forum a files list with everything that can be found, assuming mine is complete. there's also an achievments menu to keep track of certain things you've done and hint at others.
but you will have to choose between arts background to recruit both themba and khenbish, or the leaders background to be able to recruit both pedro and nikos