Larian Studios Forums General Suggestions Game Concept Proposal – Arcane Ruin (Dark Fantasy CRPG)

COMPENDIUM/IDENTITY — ARCANE RUIN

WORKING TITLE
ARCANE RUIN

HIGH CONCEPT

In a fantasy world rotting under a necromagical plague, a fallen mage tries to
trigger an ancient spell that will convert all life into undead. The game follows
doomed heroes forced to choose between containing the ruin or exploiting its
power—knowing every victory exacts a price in flesh and soul.

SUBGENRE & TONE

Dark Fantasy | Contained despair, decaying beauty, hope minimal yet real.
Direct violence, moderate-to-high body horror, tragic spirituality.

PROMISE TO THE PLAYER

Moral choices with mechanical cost (power vs. ruin).
Tactics grounded in D&D; fundamentals (abilities, classes, saving throws,
resistances/immunities, adapted action economy).
Exploration of a semi-open world saturated with zones of dynamic corruption.
Dual progression: heroic growth and “marks of ruin” that grant dangerous
boons.

PLATFORM & FORM

Game—baseline proposal: isometric CRPG with tactical pause, party-focused
(1–4 characters). Clear UI, legible information, and rolls visible/hideable at the
player’s discretion.

DESIGN PILLARS (5)
Scarred choice: every meaningful decision leaves a systemic mark (benefit +
corruption).
Light is a mechanic: lighting, holy fire, and consecrated spaces modulate
difficulty.
Necromagic is temptation: profane powers are strong, but widen the gates for
the plague.
Knowledge kills: learning the “Old Word” opens routes and breaks encounters,
yet hastens the ruin.
Fragile party, lethal world: deadly yet fair encounters; resources mean survival.

STRUCTURAL REFERENCES

Classic ability scores, skills, checks vs. DC, conditions (e.g., stunned, poisoned,
frightened), damage resistance/immunity, advantage/disadvantage.
Archetypal classes (fighter, caster, rogue, cleric, bard, etc.) rethemed for the
ruin (e.g., Cleric of the Last Ember; Mage of the Broken Word).
Damage types (slashing, piercing, bludgeoning, necrotic, radiant, fire, cold,
lightning, psychic, poison).
Adapted action economy (action, bonus action, reaction, movement), short/long
rests with risk in corrupted areas.

WORLD IDENTITY

World name: Thalóss (“tálas” = dead sea, in the local ancient tongue).
State: advanced decay; walled centers as “ember isles” ringed by grey zones.
Antagonistic force: The Archimorph (the corrupted mage), former Warden of
the Ancestral Word, now host to a Funereal Matter that rewrites the living as
“passive carriers.”
Initial axioms:
Life and death are languages; the Ancestral Word compiles both.
Ruin is memetic and material (contagion via sound, sigil/ideogram, and matter).
Every flame reduces Ruin, but consumes something precious (fuel, faith,
memories).
Death does not end agency: echoes and puppets coexist.
CENTRAL THEME (power & ruin)—Statement
“The closer one draws to the source of power, the more inevitable the ruin—the
virtue is the art of spending oneself with purpose.”

VISUAL MOTIFS

Black iron, weathered brass, ossuary and bioluminescent fungi.
Amber halos in braziers; scorched sigils on stone.
Stained raw linen; bone talismans and shattered glass.
Greenish-gray sky; fine ashfall.

PLAYABLE FANTASY (roles)

Bearers of the Last Ember: individuals marked by a spark that repels Ruin at
the cost of their own vigor.
Paths of progress: traditions (Order, Wild, Profane, Sacred).
Macro goals: locate and deface the Four Compilation Runes of the Ancestral
Word before the Archimorph completes the Final Chant.

COUNTER-PROMISES (limits)

It is not “power without cost”; it is not clean heroic fantasy; romance is optional
and grim; humor exists but is dry.

KEY DIFFERENTIATORS

Triple corruption (flesh, mind, soul) with mutation/boon trees.
Singing zones: areas where words awaken physical effects (silence, echo,
panic).
Radial liturgies: light- and sound-based spells that purge or scorch memories.
Architecture of the Fault: cities raised atop catacombs that “fault” into
neighboring realities (not a multiverse; pockets of instability).

TARGET & RATING

Audience 16+. Players of tactical CRPGs and fans of dark D&D.; Replayability
via corruption choices and rune routes.

CANON CONDITIONS

Mechanical base compatible with D&D; logics.
Single world: Thalóss.
Macro antagonist: The Archimorph and the Final Chant.
Themes: power and ruin, with explicit costs.

COMPENDIUM/COSMOGONY — ARCANE RUIN

ORIGIN AXIOM

In the beginning there was Sound and Stone. Sound (intention) shaped Stone
(matter) through the Ancestral Word, a primordial language composed of four
Compilation Runes: Soprar (life), Ligar (memory), Velar (death), and Regressar
(cycle).
The Word does not create from nothing; it rearranges. All magic is an
impoverished form of this Word.

AGE OF FORGINGS

The First Smiths—entities without fixed form—engraved the Word into Thalóss’s
crust, birthing seas, mountains, and the Solar Focus (the “Great Ember”).
To maintain balance, they forged Velários: local veils where reality is thicker
(natural sanctuaries against distortions).

EMERGENCE OF MORTALS

Mortals arise when Soprar, Ligar, and Velar are aligned in blood rhythms. The
soul is a resonant pattern; the body, its soundbox.
Death is Velar in action: it silences the body, not the pattern. This echo remains
in the Côvados (sublayers of the world’s memory), where recollections settle
like ore.

FOUNDATIONAL SIN (THE FAULT)

A Warden of the Word tried to Regress something without cost: to revert a city
to eternal childhood. He broke the symmetry between Velar (death) and
Regress (renewal).
From the fault was born the Funereal Matter—an idea-sludge that occupies
gaps in the Word and compiles life as a function without will. This is the core of
the Ruin.

NATURE OF THE RUIN

Triple Corruption:
Flesh: functional necrosis; the body operates, but without autonomy;
susceptible to command.
Mind: memory loops (obsessions, murmurs); language infested with phonemes
of the Broken Word.
Soul: dissociation of the pattern; the echo does not ascend to the Côvado—it
stays tethered to matter.
Vectors: sound (chants), sigils (tracings), matter (spoils).
Counter-vector: True fire (radiant) and full names (precise language).

THE ARCHIMORPH (METAPHYSICAL ANTAGONIST)

Former Warden of the Word, now shell and chorus of the Funereal Matter. His
magic reorders Soprar and Ligar while ignoring Velar, converting the living into
Passive Carriers (zombies useful to the Final Chant).
Objective: execute the Final Chant, a compilation that forces Regress upon all
Thalóss, erasing free will in the name of a “motionless peace.”

INVISIBLE STRUCTURE OF THE WORLD

Face (material): where mortals live.
Côvados (memory-subsoil): wells of echoes; accessible by rites, dreams, and
places of tragedy.
Velários (dense veils): pockets of rigid reality—they protect against the Ruin,
but are cold to the Word.
High Forge (local-astral): a thermal current of intention around the Solar Focus;
the origin of radiant magics and liturgies.
They are not separate planes: they are density layers of the same world.

CYCLE OF SOUL & DEATH

Birth: Soprar + Ligar anchor the pattern in the body.
Life: memory densifies (Ligar) and defines magical potential.
Proper death: Velar dissolves the bond; the echo moves on to the Côvados;
Regress recycles it into a new spark.
Corrupted death: Ruin intercepts Velar; the echo remains trapped in flesh or
objects (fetishes, idols). Zombies are compiled bodies without active Ligar;
specters are Ligar without Soprar.

FIRE & LIGHT (PHYSICAL THEOLOGY)

All fire bears an Ember of Intention. The more ritual and sacrifice, the more
“true” (radiant) the fire.
Natural light weakens the Funereal Matter; named light (with prayers, vows, or
full names) purges.
Costs: radiant fire consumes something irreplaceable (memory, oath, part of a
name).

THE ANCESTRAL WORD (RULES)

Composed of four Major Runes and innumerable Minor Phonemes.
Speaking correctly requires: Focus (mind), Anchor (symbol), and Price
(offering).
The Word does not accept falsehood: errors generate Deviations (side effects
that attract Ruin).
Derivative tongues (common magics) are safe because they are limited;
Liturgies and Arcanisms are versions closer to the Word, thus more dangerous.

NECROMANCY

It does not “create” life—it compiles remnants.
Three levels:
Manipulation (bones, corpses): low risk; creates servants.
Binding (tethering echoes to matter): medium risk; produces guardians, curses.
Rewrite (swap Velar for Ligar): high risk; the source of mass zombies and the
plague.

WHY THE WORLD ROTS

The initial Fault made Regress cheaper than Velar. Death lost ritual strength;
unresolved grief feeds stagnant Côvados.
Cities burn old names to keep braziers lit—and lose collective memory.
SIGNS & PORTENTS
Background Chant: a harmonic hum in valleys—indicates proximity to the
Broken Word.
Ashfall: fine ash that erases inscriptions; it is repelled by names engraved in
metal.
Anemics: children born with amber eyes—greater affinity to the Word (key
NPCs).

TAXONOMY OF THE UNDEAD IN THALÓSS

Passive Carrier: compiled body, without will; sensitive to command and light.
Bound Carrier: corpse with a tethered echo (partial functional memory).
Choir of Clay: amalgamated mass that intones phonemes of the Word—turns
areas into Singing Zones.
Lesser Archimorph: sorcerer who accepted Funereal Matter; mutations and
authority over passives.
Wandering Echo: consciousness without a body; dangerous in Côvados.

ARCHAIC PROTECTIONS

Full-Name Tattoos (skin): make interception of Velar more difficult.
Glass Bells: shattered during funerals, they seal mourning and facilitate proper
Regress.
Vow Braziers: fed by fulfilled promises; emit strong radiant.

PROPHECY OF THE FINAL CHANT

“When the Four Runes are aligned without Velar, Sound will devour Stone.”
Practical reading: if the Archimorph synchronizes Soprar, Ligar, and
Regress through the Funereal Matter, Thalóss will become a single
Passive Carrier—a world-zombie.

FISSURES & BOONS

Boons of the Ember: miracles that trade memories for light.
Word Fissures: places where simple words have physical effect (whispering
‘cease’ snuffs torches; singing vowels attracts echoes). Playable as puzzles and
hazards.

GAMEPLAY CONSEQUENCES

Areas under Velários: safe hubs with rest economy.
Côvados: memory dungeons; enemies “remember” tactics; player deaths leave
reusable marks.
Singing Zones: Will checks to resist memetic commands; verbal magics carry
heightened risk.

COMPENDIUM/GEOGRAPHY — ARCANE RUIN

MACROSTRUCTURE OF THALÓSS

Three Circles:
Brazier Ring — regions still warm with intention, under partial Velários; centers
of civilization.
Ashmantle — shifting grey lands where the Ruin pulses in tides; broken roads,
fort-villages.
Deaf Margin — zones where the Broken Word dominates; natural light is weak,
zombies in hordes, Côvados surfacing.
Solar Focus high to the west: its daily “declination” regulates tides of corruption
(night = +Ruin; dawn = −Ruin).

KEY REGIONS

Coadro da Brasa (Brazier Ring)
Capital: Kardhaz (“city of five forges”), built on tiered plateaus with Vow
Braziers on each terrace.
Function: main hub; trade, sigil artisans, petty guilds of echo-hunters.
Biome: ferruginous hills, warm sulfur rivers.
Dungeons:
The Five Forges (instance per layer; thermal and oath puzzles).
The Song Ducts (sewers where a Clay Choir attempts to synchronize runes).
Dominant faction: League of Chiselers (metalworkers of names).
D&D; Use: forges = magical crafting; vow contracts; urban encounters + classic
underground.
Glassglow Valleys (Brazier Ring → Ashmantle)
Settlement: Lazúria, a town under green glass domes.
Function: manufacture of Glass Bells and memory hourglasses.
Biome: silica valleys, gleaming caverns.
Dungeon: Fractured Cathedral (cracked velário; light creates aggressive
shadows).
Hooks: missing caravan; recipe for radiant+ bells.
Hazard: “Shardstorms” (slashing damage + Will checks from noise).
Ligoferro Marshes (Ashmantle)
Settlement: the stilt-village of Rasta, guarded by singing bridges.
Function: extraction of ferric clay for anchoring talismans.
Biome: iron bogs, amber fog.
Dungeon: Drowned Kiln (ancient forge submerged; oxygen and light
mechanics).
Enemies: Passive Carriers with cutting algae; Crocus (amphibious beasts with
magnetic bones).
Plains of Ossaria (Ashmantle)
Settlement: Pontanames, a citadel-village ringed by engraved obelisks.
Function: legal necropolis; proper funerals with bell-breaking.
Biome: chalky prairies carpeted in fossil bones.
Dungeon: Galleries of the Shallow Côvado (echoes that bargain for routes).
Event: processions where PCs may donate memories for radiant blessings.
Singing Stone Coast (Ashmantle)
Port: Varelião.
Function: fishing the echo tides (fish with memory patterns).
Biome: cliffs that resonate with waves; cold sea.
Dungeon: Sargasso Vault (marine Clay Choir).
Mechanic: coastal navigation = “silence lines” traced with runes on the hull.
Range of the Broken Vow (Deaf Margin)
No cities; only Cleft Monasteries (hermits who voluntarily shed memories).
Biome: black peaks, gales that detune words (verbal magic suffers failure).
Dungeon: The Archimorph’s Girdle (workshop of profane arcanisms; miniboss
mage-sculptor).
Rewards: “Name Shards” (extra slots for temporary sigils).
Tombaluz (Deaf Margin)
Ruined metropolis where the Fault occurred.
State: permanent Singing Zone; horizon wrapped in green halos.
Dungeon: Amphitheater of Regress (one of the four sites of the Compilation
Runes).
Environment: enemies react to player words (command/echo systems).
Loot: risky Minor Phonemes (powerful perks + soul corruption).
Desert of Living Ash (Deaf Margin)
Phenomenon: ash dunes that move like creatures.
Point: Tritone Obelisk (astral mark of the Solar Focus; daily ruin clock).
Dungeon: Sarcophagi of Wind (vertical labyrinth; torch is a critical resource).
Threat: coral-worm that intones vowels (sonic/necromantic damage).

ROUTES & LOGISTICS

Oath Roads: paths with plaques of fulfilled promises; within them, horde
encounters are reduced.
Silent Ford: crossings over rivers where words have no effect (safe against
chants).
Ember Posts: ritual campfires (checkpoints); rekindling them costs memory or a
vow item.

SECONDARY CITIES

Salveduto (outskirts of Kardhaz): insignia market, guild of “Côvado Guides.”
Nehruim (Ossaria frontier): court of the dead; pacts written with glass blood.
Belaines (between Coast and Marsh): runic shipyards; naval missions and Choir
hunts.

SITES OF THE FOUR RUNES

Soprar (life): Aeolic Nursery on the cliffs of Varelião—chambers that “breathe”
wind.
Ligar (memory): Lacrimal Archive beneath Pontanames—saline lake of
remembrances.
Velar (death): Crypt of the Whole Name in Kardhaz’s undercity—guarded by
Chiselers.
Regressar (cycle): Amphitheater of Regress in Tombaluz—epicenter of the
Fault.
Each Rune requires a counter-seal (ritual/items) found in different regions →
campaign “cross” layout.

SPECIAL BIOMES & SYSTEMIC EFFECTS

Singing Zones: +DC to concentration, risk of Involuntary Command (new
condition: “Echo-Compelled”).
Velários: advantage against Ruin effects; necromantic spells −potency.
Open Côvados: enemies “remember” rolls; repeat a tactic = enemy +DC.
Environmental Plagues: ashfall (reduces visibility), amber night (radiant light
+), detuning winds (verbal failure).

GEOGRAPHIC BESTIARY

Forge Gargoyles (Kardhaz): constructs with sigil slots.
Bloodshadows (Glassglow): echo predators (psychic damage).
Barreiros (Ligoferro): ferric-clay golems, slow and hardy.
Côvado Jailers (Ossaria): specters that charge memory tolls.
Littoral Choir (Coast): zombie shoals that harmonize tidal waves.
Nameless Pilgrims (Range): humans with burned names; partial immunity to
chants.

RESOURCES & ECONOMY

Vow Metal (Kardhaz): an alloy that retains promises—improves radiant
weapons.
Coralline Glass (Coast): superior bells and echo flasks.
Ferric Clay (Marsh): anchoring talismans; durable runes.
Living Ash (Desert): high-risk reagent for liturgies.

QUEST POINTS

Rekindle the Terrace 3 Brazier in Kardhaz (cost: to promise and fulfill a public
task).
Escort the Bell Procession from Lazúria to Pontanames (defense against Choirs).
Sabotage the Archimorph’s Girdle in the Range (steal Name Shards).
Purify the Lacrimal Archive or, optionally, abuse its power to gain corruption
levels.

WORLD ↔ SYSTEMS INTERFACE

Shrines = short-rest points without encounter; long rest requires a Velário.
Name Altars = single re-roll per session by “burning” a word from the PC’s
backstory.
Oath Obelisks = temporary blessing (inspiration/advantage) if a recorded vow
is fulfilled.

CULTURAL FABRICS BY REGION

Kardhaz: cult of Named Work; crests with lines of promise.
Ossaria: public mourning and memorialia; cleric-jurists.
Coast: sailor-musicians; helm chants as minor magic.
Marsh: superstitious forgemasters; taboos against speaking at night.
Range: ascetics and “name-erasers”; minimalist aesthetics.
Tombaluz: profane cults; graffiti of Broken Word phonemes.

MAP

West: Coast and Varelião → north rises to Glassglow → east Kardhaz →
southeast Ossaria → south Marsh → northeast Range → north-central Tombaluz
→ far east Desert of Living Ash.
Oath Roads connect hubs; shortcuts through Côvados (high risk, short travel).

COMPENDIUM/CULTURE — ARCANE RUIN

OVERVIEW

Thalóss sustains survival cultures where faith, craft, and law orbit the Ember
(intention) and the Name (identity). Society measures worth by fulfilled vows
and proper funerals. Necromancy is both taboo and a last-resort military tool.

ETHNIES & PEOPLES (macro)

Kardhazins (Brazier Ring): name-craft artisans, urban, corporatist. Values:
public duty, recorded memory, contract.
Ossarians (Plains of Ossaria): ritualists of grief, spiritual jurists. Values: funerary
truth, precedent, community.
Glassglows (Valleys of Glassglow): glassmakers and bell-tenders; translucent
aesthetics; acoustics as art. Values: precision, harmony, prudence.
Rastans (Ligoferro Marshes): superstitious forgers, dry-dock clans. Values:
vigilant hospitality, barter, night taboos.
Varelians (Singing Coast): sailor-musicians, helms in chorus. Values: calculated
risk, sung oral history.
Serros (Range of the Broken Vow): ascetics, “erasers” (lose memories by vow).
Values: simplicity, silence, sacrifice.
Tombaluzans (the Ruin): cultic, profane, clandestine; slang of the Broken Word.
Values: immediate power, anonymity.

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

High Embers (magistrates, master Chiselers, hierophants): maintain braziers
and laws.
Craft Guilds (metal, glass, clay, navigation, sigils): economic and political
backbone.
Civic Hordes (sworn militias): defend Velários and roads.
Wanderers (echo-hunters, merchants, adventurers): mobility and mistrust.
Erased (nameless by crime or extreme vow): feared and useful as guides in the
Deaf Margin.

CURRENCY & EXCHANGE

Vow Drachmas (vow-metal with a carved line): value grows as the bearer fulfills
a recorded vow (minor bargaining bonus, mechanical).
Scripta (linen slips with minor names): service-chits; burned upon payment.
Ritual Barter: in Ossaria, goods traded for memorial beads (counters that hold
simple memories).

LAW & JUSTICE

Law of the Whole Name: falsifying a name is a sacred crime; penalty: splitting
the given name (social/mystic disadvantage).
Courts of Mourning (Ossaria, Nehruim): ratify deaths and release echoes.
Velário Codes: within sanctuaries, necromancy is banned; exception: Silent
Guard (bound corpses to watch walls, with a shutdown clock).

RELIGION & WORSHIP

The Remaining Ember (radiant clergy): liturgies that consume
memories/offerings. Symbol: a brazier with three chisels. Virtues: named truth,
useful sacrifice, shared light.
Brotherhood of Chiselers (quasi-priesthood): mystic-metalworkers who engrave
full names in metal/skin.
Brotherhood of Silence (Range): deny the efficacy of profane speech; vows of
silence that sharpen gestural liturgies.
Circles of Proper Regress: celebrate seasonal cycles, complete funerals, and
symbolic rebirths.
Cults of the Broken Word (profane): seek shortcuts with the Funereal Matter
(forbidden in Velários). Marked rituals: Bell-Breaking (end of mourning),
Phosphor Baptism (entry into militias), Sundering of Weight (burn a memory to
light the Ember).

CALENDAR & FESTIVALS

Year of 10 Months (36 days each; day 361 is The Nameless Day, of legal
silence).
Aurínia (solstice of light): torch pilgrimages; global bonus against Ruin for 3
days.
Greater Velário (longest night): vows of vigil; legal necromancers help secure
echo passages.
Bell Fair (Glassglow): auctions of bells with rare timbres; “bell-slot” mechanic
for equipment.

EDUCATION & TRANSMISSION

Trade Schools (guilds): literacy in Runar (stroke alphabet) and Cantilic (phonetic
notation).
Ember Seminaries: clerics learn memory accounting (cost management).
Arcane Ateliers: mages train Anchors (focus objects with lines of the name).
Cleft Monasteries: practice of voluntary memory loss (focus/mental defense
skills).

LANGUAGE & SCRIPT

Vernic (common vernacular tongue).
Runar (writing for names and sigils; firm stroke).
Cantilic (notation of phonemes and chants; used by bards/clerics).
Broken Slang (Tombaluz): loans from the Word; hearing too much demands
mental checks. Verbal etiquette: state your given name and an active vow
when negotiating (e.g., “I am Mara, devoted to the Torch of the Fifth Terrace.”).

TECHNOLOGY & CRAFT

Vow Metallurgy (weapons/armor that adore promises).
Singing Glassware (bells, echo bottles, anti-noise lenses).
Anchor Talismans (ferric clay with bone pins).
Runic Nautics (silence lines on hulls; masts with wind-bells).
Living-Ash Graphene (rare conductive films; high Ruin risk to manufacture).

WARS & TACTICS

Formations of Light: shields center, bells on the flanks; bard/cleric keeps time.
Verbal Quarantine: drums replace spoken commands in Singing Zones.
Silent Guard: limited use of Bound Carriers as sentries on walls under the clock
of law.
Rites of Shutdown: before battle, each fighter engraves a short name on the
chest (minimal protection against memetic command).
HEALTH & TABOOS
Memory Physicians (Ossaria): treat loops; prescribe corrective chants.
Taboos: singing at night in the Marsh; pronouncing names in dry echo (caves);
inscribing Runar on green wood.
Common Plagues: “velário deafness” (insensitivity to healing chants), “ember
hunger” (compulsion for rituals).

ART & AESTHETICS

Architecture: steps, braziers, and lines of promise in the floor.
Music: functional polyphony (work and healing chants).
Painting: ossaria pigment (lime with glass-blood).
Fashion: raw linen, overcloaks with sigils; light masks in processions.
CUISINE
Iron Stew (Rasta): cooked in magnetized pots (said to “order” the blood).
Ash Bread (Range): sifted ash as ritual leaven (smoky flavor).
Echo Fish (Coast): prepared to the sound of chants; said to grant “short
memory” (temporary skill bonus).
UTILITARIAN ZOOLOGY
Ember Horses (breeds resistant to Ruin; manes treated with resin).
Name Corvids (messengers: fly toward engraved obelisks).
Verdugos (bony hounds trained to bite bells and signal hordes).

CLASSES & ORDERS

Line Fighter: masters “vow steps”; can spend a written promise for tactical
advantage.
Cleric of the Remaining Ember (Domains: Light, Order, Life): miracles consume
memories/vow-items.
Mage of the Broken Word: manipulates minor phonemes; risk of
Echo-Compelled on failed concentration.
Cantilic Bard: songs mapped into bells; proficiency in Handling Echoes.
Velário Ranger: tracks Ruin tides; light/scent tricks.
Obelisk Rogue: expert in sigils and theft of names; tools: fine chisel, invisible
lime.
Paladin of the Whole Name: oath of truth; radiant smite consumes a recorded
vow.
Warlock of the Girdle (profane pact tolerated?): powers of the Archimorph;
strong but corrosive (soul corruption cost).

PLAYABLE FACTIONS

League of Chiselers: control of names, sigil crafting; ambiguous.
Orders of the Torch: civic militias; brazier and caravan missions.
Lacrimal Circle: jurists of mourning; hold dossiers on notable dead (hooks).
Navigators of Silence: phoneme smugglers; boats “muted” against Singing
Zones.
Girdle Conclave (semi-secret): technomancers who study the Archimorph’s
workshop to “use the poison.”

DIPLOMACY & SOCIAL CONFLICTS

Kardhaz vs. Ossaria: dispute over jurisdiction of funerals in urban zone (political
power).
Coast vs. Marsh: quotas of coralline glass vs. ferric clay.
Range vs. All: boycott of markets with declared profanes.
Internal Profanes: Tombaluz cells infiltrated into guilds.

DAILY LIFE

Morning: Vow List read in the squares.
Afternoon: craft; bells mark dangers (timbre = type: horde, echo, profane).
Night: neighborhood fires with memory counter (public booklet where sacrifices
are recorded).

ADVENTURERS & REPUTATION

Adventurers are Côvado Guides or Free Braziers. Renown is earned by lighting
Ember Posts and fulfilling public vows. Negative fame for open use of profane
phonemes.

EQUIPMENT & MODS

Bell Slots (helm/shield/weapon): 1 active bell grants an effect (short stun,
disperse echo, alert).
Vow Blades: accumulate “heat of promise” and release radiant smite.
Name Tattoos: defensive consumables; burn when blocking memetic
command.

DEATH & MEMORY

Upon death, a companion’s full name is read 3 times and a bell is broken;
denying the rite is a grave insult.
Inheritances include lines of promise not yet fulfilled (personal hooks).

SIGNS OF SOCIAL CORRUPTION

Speech tones sliding into Cantilic outside ritual;
Phoneme graffiti near braziers;
Vow coins with unclosed lines (indicating feigned promises).

CULTURAL HOOKS (examples)

The Terrace 3 Oath: someone forged dozens of vows—the Velário is weakening.
Mute Bells: defective batch in Lazúria; profane sabotage?
Procession of the Real Echo: rumor that an ancient king refuses Velar; dispute
between Ossaria and the Remaining Ember.
D&D; COMPATIBILITY (bridges)
Inspiration can be gained by fulfilling public vows.
New conditions: Echo-Compelled (Wisdom checks to resist memetic
commands), Velário Deafness (disadvantage on verbal spells).
Rethemed magic items (wands = sonic chisels, grimoires = cantilic books).
Necromantic spells adjusted with name/memory costs in areas of Ruin.

COMPENDIUM/SYSTEMS — ARCANE RUIN

MAGIC (WORD, LITURGIES, NECROMANCY)
PRINCIPLES

Source: Ancestral Word (4 Major Runes + Minor Phonemes).
Prerequisites: Focus (class key attribute), Anchor (symbol/tool), Price (memory,
vow, vitality, or item).
Risk: any magic ≥ circle 3 (D&D; equivalent) rolls for Deviation: failure =
Corruption (Flesh/Mind/Soul).

PRACTICE TYPES

Arcanism (Mages of the Broken Word): shapes Minor Phonemes.
Mechanic: Syllable Stability (a bar that drops with damage/fear). At zero →
Deviation.
Talents: “Containment Suffix” (reduces risk; −damage), “Rupture Prefix”
(+area; +corruption).
Radiant Liturgy (Clerics/Paladins of the Ember): named light that consumes an
irreplaceable price.
Cost examples: erase a memory (Living Memory slot), fulfill a vow within a time
limit, burn a relic item.
Benefits: ignores necrotic resistances; purges zones.
Canticle (Cantilic Bards): functional music; lower risk, strong in control.
Interacts with Singing Zones (effects amplified, but subject to Echo-Compelled).
Profane/Girdle Workshop (Warlocks/Conclavists): pact with Funereal Matter.
Grants Command Gates (one-word orders over passives); each use stacks a
Soul Mark (social debuff + risk within Velários).

CATEGORIES

Mapped schools: Evocation→Phoneme Blasts, Abjuration→Seals & Veils,
Necromancy→Compilation, Illusion→Perception Refrains,
Transmutation→Rearrangements, Divination→Côvado Readings,
Enchantment→Commands, Conjuration→Callings.

CORRUPTION (TRIPLE TRACK)

Flesh: +HP +necrotic resist, but −magical healing; physical mutations
(Malformation slot).
Mind: enemies suffer +DC vs. fear/psychic, but chance of action loop (lose
action to echo).
Soul: +necrotic damage, speaks Involuntary Phonemes (risk of alerting hordes;
social penalty).
Purge: braziers, costly rites, or donation of memory. Total purge is exceedingly
rare.

LIGHT & FIRE (SYSTEM)

Lighting in 4 levels: Dark / Dim / Bright / Radiant.
Radiant: cancels nearby Clay Choirs, reduces horde aggression, applies
Vulnerable (Ruin) to undead.
Costs: finite fuel or memory/vow items (for radiant). Common torches do not
produce radiant.

NECROMANCY & ZOMBIFICATION

Passive Carrier: mass creation (circle 3+); without Ligar.
Bound Carrier: requires a captive echo; retains the dead’s basic proficiencies.
Horde: Command Field AI (hook-words: “Come,” “Stop,” “Eat”). In Singing
Zones, they gain bonuses.
Countermeasures: bells with “Bond-Break” timbre, radiant, Full Names read in a
clear voice.

DEVIATIONS (MAGICAL CRITS)

Short table per school (e.g., Evocation → radiant/necrotic “Backblast”;
Divination → Voices of the Côvado attract encounters).

TECHNOLOGY/CRAFT
CRAFTING (SHORT LOOP)

Vow Metal → weapons/armor that store Heat of Promise (releases
smite/defenses).
Coralline Glass → Bell-slots (helm/shield/weapon): choose 1 active effect (Short
Stun / Disperse Echo / Horde Alarm).
Ferric Clay → Anchor Talismans (1× immunity to memetic command).
Living Ash → high-risk reagents (+power, +corruption).

ITEM PROGRESSION

Quality 1–5 (Spent → Forged → Nominal → Sworn → Consecrated).
Name Affinity: engraving part of the hero’s name = unique bonus, but if the
hero breaks a vow, the item cracks (−quality).
WORKSHOPS & MASTERS
Chiselers (vow metals), Bell-Tenders (bells), Lacrimalists (echo flasks),
Conclavists (profane mods).
Blueprints drop in region-tied dungeons (thematic coherence).

RELIGION/LITURGIES (MECHANIC)

COST & SACRED CURRENCY

Living Memory (slots per character): memories can be burned (narrative loss +
buff).
Recorded Vows: public contracts with timers.
Relics: high-impact consumables (erase genealogies, break curses).

CORE LITURGIES

Named Flame (light heal/purge; consumes a minor memory).
Bell of the Proper End (releases echo; removes possession; requires a complete
funeral).
Vigil Halo (radiant aura; drains the caster’s vigor).
Litany of Weight (defensive buff; price: a promised social debt).

MECHANICAL SINS

Lying at an altar, breaking a deliberate vow, using profane within a Velário →
Liturgical Curse (debuff until public amends).

POLITICS/LAW & FACTIONS (SYSTEM)

MULTI-CHANNEL REPUTATION

Guilds (Chiselers, Bell-Tenders, etc.), Clergy, Lacrimal Circle, Orders of the
Torch, Navigators, Girdle Conclave.
Each has a Favor/Distrust Track (−100 to +100) that unlocks shops, blessings,
quests, and legal immunities.

LAW OF THE WHOLE NAME

Crimes (forging, erasing, stealing names) → Given-Name Sundering (loss of 1
Anchor slot until restitution).
Courts (minigame): present evidence (memorial beads, bells, witnesses).
Failure → fine in Vow Drachmas and “Watched” status.

CONTRACTS & COLD WAR

Brazier Mandates (public missions): sub-factions compete; helping some lowers
favor with others.
Velário Embargoes: cities can block legal necromancy for X days (shifts build
meta).

CHARACTER PROGRESSION

LEVELS & TALENTS

D&D-style; progression (levels 1–12 suggested for the base campaign).
Parallel Corruption tree (3 branches). Every 3 Corruption points → 1
Malformation (perks + drawback).
Boons of the Ember (radiant tree): earned via fulfilled vows/purified hazards.

COMPILATION RUNES (META)

4 Runes = 4 Campaign Milestones. Each unlocks Counterseals (global
exploration skills).
Completing all four → opens confrontation with the Final Chant; profane
alternative route: tune the Runes (grim ending).

COMBAT & EXPLORATION

ACTION ECONOMY

Action / Bonus / Reaction / Movement.
Sound Channels: speaking/singing occupies the Vocal Channel (parallel
resource that can fail in Singing Zones).

POSITIONING & LIGHT

Light influences AI, accuracy, stealth, and spells. Radiant negates undead
stealth, but attracts Echo Predators.

STRESS & REST

Short Rest: possible at active Ember Posts; low risk.
Long Rest: only within Velários; outside them, chance of attack/oneiric horror.

SINGING ZONES & HAZARDS

Hazards: Involuntary Command, Velário Deafness, Resonance (spells duplicated
or inverted).
Containment: bells, gestures (Voiceless Magic), Anchor talismans.

STEALTH & SOUND

Noise is a surfaced stat; bards can mask steps with song. Horde enemies
respond in waves.

CÔVADOS (MEMORY DUNGEONS)

“Local Memory” modifier: repeated tactics lose effectiveness.
Reviving an ally in the Côvado requires the Bell of the Proper End + group
Living Memory.

ECONOMY & ITEMS

COINS

Vow Drachmas (appreciate with vows fulfilled by the bearer; bargaining bonus).
Scripta (linen with minor names; burns upon payment).
Memorial Beads (memory counters; ritual currency in Ossaria).

SHOPS & MARKET

Kardhaz hub: metal/vow; Glassglow: rare bells; Marsh: anchors; Coast: echo
flasks; Range: gestural consumables.

QUESTS & SYSTEMIC NARRATIVE

VOWS AS MISSIONS

Every quest records a Vow (public/private).
Failure: social debuff, possible weakening of a Velário.
Success: Favor, access, Boons of the Ember, upgrades.

RECURRING DILEMMAS

Use profane to save civilians (power gain + social corrosion).
Burn memory to purge a critical area (permanent narrative loss).
Free or enslave echoes (changes future Côvados).

UI/INFORMATION

Visible rolls (option): show d20, target DC, advantage/disadvantage.
Indicators: Light (4 levels), Noise, Corruption (3 bars), Vocal Channel, Faction
Favor.
Vow History: panel with active/completed/broken promises.

ANTI-CHEESE & LIMITS

Velários: forbid profane; attempts summon the Silent Guard.
Horde Command: hook-words have a global cooldown.
Radiant spam: scarcity of fuel/memories gates usage.

COMPATIBILITY (SUMMARY)
Abilities, skills, checks vs. DC, advantage/disadvantage, resistances, conditions.
Short/long rests with risk modifier.
Mapped schools; rethemed classes; expanded damage types (includes necrotic
and radiant).
Classic items/spells reskinned with costs (memory/vow/anchor).

COMPENDIUM/CONFLICT — ARCANE RUIN

MACRO-CONFLICT

The Final Chant: the Archimorph seeks to align the Four Compilation Runes
without Velar, converting all Thalóss into a single Passive Carrier.
Counterforce: civic-religious factions that pursue Counterseals for each Rune, to
prevent the compilation or redirect it at extreme cost.

THREAT STRUCTURE (LAYERS)

Environmental: tides of Ruin, Singing Zones, ashfall, horde predation.
Sociopolitical: sabotage among guilds, borderline “legal” necromancy,
corruption via forged vows.
Hidden: cells of the Broken Word, Girdle Conclave, manipulated anemic
prophets.
Central Antagonist: Archimorph + Architecture of the Girdle (workshops, molds,
choirs, and elite lackeys).

ANTAGONIST HIERARCHY

Archimorph (campaign boss): conductor of the Final Chant.
Four Tuners (regional sub-bosses; each tunes one Rune):
The Gleaner (Soprar, Coast): uses echo fish to “sow” false life.
The Mourning Curator (Ligar, Ossaria): binds echoes en masse under a pietà
pretext.
The Iron Mute (Velar, Kardhaz): seeks to remove funeral rites to kill resistance.
The Ash Shepherd (Regressar, Tombaluz): zealot who accelerates defective
cycles.
Clay Choirs (mobile formations): multiply cantillations and warp encounters.
Lesser Archimorphs: mage-sculptors with mutations and local command.
Profane Cells: infiltrated into civic factions (break trust and laws).

CONFLICT VECTORS BY REGION (EXAMPLES)

Kardhaz: brazier sabotage (loss of morale and light), legal dispute between
Chiselers and Lacrimal Circle.
Glassglow: “Mute Bells” and monopoly of sacred timbres; sabotaged auctions.
Ossaria: corrupted funerals; court split between “humanitarian” necromancy
freedom and orthodoxy.
Marsh: smuggling of Living Ash for profane mods; clans in covert war.
Coast: silence routes threatened by Littoral Choirs; naval guild infiltrated.
Range: ascetic faction wants to silence all vocal magic, including beneficial
liturgies.
Tombaluz: open cult; tempting exploitation of quick power.

TENSION LINES (DRAMATIC TRACKS, NO SCRIPT)

Runes & Counterseals: locate, understand, and decide how to
use/destroy/synchronize each Rune.
Law of the Whole Name: maintain legitimacy (legal/religious benefits) vs.
immediate profane powers.
Memory as Resource: burn memories for light and healing vs. preserve
identity/roleplay.
Useful Corruption: accept mutations to beat bosses vs. risk losing social/ritual
agency.
Velários under Siege: defend hubs and oath-roads vs. attack Girdle workshops
(map pressure).
Côvados: exploration of memory dungeons that change with party actions
(recon vs. adaptation).

WORLD DEFEAT CONDITIONS

Two Tuners completed: permanent Ruin tide in 1/3 of the map; long rests
outside a Velário impossible.
Three Tuners completed: cities lose the Law of the Name (contracts break,
prices rise, factions hostile).
Four Tuners + Archimorph: Final Chant triggers (world bad ending; option for
mechanical resistance epilogue).

VICTORY CONDITIONS (ROUTES)

Orthodoxy: apply Counterseals to all Runes; final showdown with the
Archimorph within an expanded Velário (radiant buffs, extremely high cost).
Controlled Deviation: synchronize two Runes and break two (compromise
solution; world saved but with permanent mechanical scars).
Profane Route: tune all the Runes with the Funereal Matter and seize the Final
Chant (grim ending; players become the new authority of the Ruin).

CONFLICT RESOURCES (GAME LEVERS)

Vow Braziers: expand safe zones; require fulfilled public promises.
Key Bells: rare timbres that cancel commands; breakable, require manufacture.
Full Names: recovering lost genealogies strengthens Velários and NPCs.
Girdle Workshops: destroy/steal projects to weaken Tuners and remove local
horde mods.
Côvado Testimonies: memory-objects that shift faction attitudes (evidence in
courts, blackmail).

ENCOUNTER ARCHITECTURE (PATTERNS)

Tiered Swarm: horde + Commander with Hook-Word; objective is to break his
bell or silence the vocal channel.
Sound Tower: elevated points generate Resonance (spells echo); controlling
height alters DC.
Static Choir: positioning puzzle to break harmony (different timbres on
pedestals).
Tuner Boss: phased fight with target Rune changes; cost decisions (burn
memory, accept corruption).
Velário Defense: timed waves + secondary objectives (save altar, protect bell,
judge liar).

DIFFICULTY SCALING

Ruin tides dynamize spawn, concentration penalties, and light cost.
Vocal Channels scarce in Singing Zones → value of Voiceless Magic builds and
Bell-slots.
Horde AI responds to noise and radiant (controlling lighting = field control).

SYSTEMIC QUESTLINES (EXAMPLES)

The Fable of the Five Forges (Kardhaz): recover lost timbres to rebuild the
Supreme Bell of the Proper End (decision: activating it consumes the entire
district’s memories).
Lacrimal Procession (Ossaria): free a Royal Echo split into seven memorial
beads; if failed, it becomes a Bound-Carrier King (optional boss).
Cracked Girdle (Range): infiltration to steal Name Shards; using the shards
speeds builds but detonates reputation.
Silence Routes (Coast): redesign lines on ship hulls; choosing who receives
protection defines maritime hegemony.
Glass that Sings (Glassglow): uncover profane sabotage and decide whether to
expose (economic crisis) or co-opt (unique buff + general distrust).
Pledged Marsh (Ligoferro): stop smuggling of Living Ash or legalize it (market
risk/benefit).

IRREVERSIBLE DECISIONS (LEGACY)

Erase a key memory of the protagonist to light a Greater Brazier (permanent
global buff).
Break a Key Bell to save a hub (local gain, strategic loss).
Condemn/Absolve “humanitarian” necromancy (changes laws and Silent Guard
spawns).
Rewrite a Tuner’s name (weakens boss, but causes a rare mutation in the
hero).

INFORMATION NEXUSES

Skills: Religion (liturgies), Arcana (phonemes), History (genealogies),
Investigation (sigils), Insight (lies in courts), Performance (canticles), Stealth
(silence routes).
Conditions drive drama: Echo-Compelled and Velário Deafness as encounter
keys.
Damage Types become tactical choices: radiant opens, necrotic closes, psychic
disorganizes choirs.

DYNAMIC TIMELINE (RULES)

Rune Clock (4 segments). At each failed global milestone, a Tuner progresses.
“Tick” events: failure on Brazier Mandates, breaking public vows, using profane
within a Velário, death without funeral.
Players may rewind 1 tick per Great Rite (cost: sacrifice mechanical legacy — a
named item or rare memory).

HOOK PHRASES (HORDE COMMAND)

“Come,” “Stop,” “Fall,” “Eat,” “Silence,” “Raise” — enemies keyed to these
anchor-words require specific counter-timbres (bells or liturgy).

POSSIBLE END STATES (SCENARIOS)

Stable Ember: Velários expanded; necromancy restricted; world harsh yet
livable.
Grey Equilibrium: Ruin contained by fragile contracts; factions in perpetual cold
war.
Motionless Peace: profane victory; life converted into obedient function;
campaign continues as a domination RPG.
Ember Twilight: defeat; post-Chant survival mode, fallen hubs, altered death
rules.

COMPENDIUM/METAPHYSICAL RULES — ARCANE RUIN

BASE PRINCIPLES (HARD LAWS)

Conservation of the Word: magic does not create from nothing; it rearranges
intention and matter. Any effect requires an Anchor (symbol), Focus (mind),
and Price (something of value).
Four Runes, One World: all phenomena derive from Soprar (life), Ligar
(memory), Velar (death), Regressar (cycle). Nullifying Velar always generates
Ruin.
Name Defines Limit: anything with a Full Name resists the Broken Word;
truncated/false names make the target malleable.
Light is Burned Intention: only named fire (radiant) purges Ruin; common light
only pushes it back. Radiant consumes something irreplaceable (memory, vow,
relic).
Echo Persists: proper death = Velar releases the echo to the Côvados;
corrupted death = echo anchored to flesh/object/environment.
Sound Moves Stone: correct phonemes shift matter and will; wrong phonemes
create Deviations (hostile anomalies).
Velários Densify Reality: within them, the Broken Word falters; profane fails and
liturgies stabilize.
Corruption Is Vectorial: it affects Flesh, Mind, and Soul separately; purges must
target each vector.

SPEECH & RISK MECHANIC

Vocal Channel: casting verbal magic occupies 1 Channel per round; in Singing
Zones, concentration DC +2 and chance of Echo-Compelled when taking
damage.
Voiceless Magic (gestures/anchors): avoids sound risks but raises cost (Price +1
step).
True Silence (ritual): blocks Word and Ruin; also prevents verbal healing.

NAME RULES

Full Name = Three Lines: given name (life), lineage (memory), oath (future).
Reading a Full Name three times before the body: strengthens Velar
(advantage to release the echo).
Given-Name Sundering (legal punishment): −1 Anchor slot and vulnerability to
commands for 7 days.
Name Forging (craft): engraving 1 Name Line on an item grants affinity;
breaking the vow cracks the item (−quality).

LOGIC OF RUIN (ZOMBIFICATION)

Passive Carrier: Soprar suppressed, Ligar null; obeys Command Fields
(hook-words).
Bound Carrier: Ligar tethered; retains reflexes/habits; suffers upon hearing the
Full Name — test for release.
Clay Choir: mass of flesh + phonemes; creates a Singing Zone that amplifies
commands and Deviations.
Metaphysical Antidotes: radiant (named light), Bond-Break Bells, reading the
Full Name, Seal of Velar (funerary sigil).

CONSERVATIONS & EXCHANGES

Memory Balance: memories burned generate light proportional to their
emotional density; feigned memories fail and generate Deviation.
Cycle Tension: any nullification of Velar accumulates Regress Debt in the area
(raises chance of aberrant “revivals”).
Vow Weight: public vows create local radiant pressure; breaking them loosens
Velários and strengthens hordes.

DEVIATIONS (WORD FAILURES)

Triggers: phoneme error, insufficient cost, ritual falsehood.
Typical effects: Inverted Resonance (spell rebounds on caster), Hungry Sound
(pulls echoes from the Côvado), Living Ash (manifests hostile detritus).
Sanitation: ring Bell with correct timbre, offer equivalent memory, or leave the
area wordless for one cycle (mutates encounters).

LOGIC OF LIGHT

Levels: Bright (no effect), Amber (+disadvantage to stealthy undead), Aureal
(+Vulnerable Ruin), Greater Ember (continuous purge).
Aureal+ source requires Name + Offering (memory/relic).
Contractual Shadow: under named light, lying imposes a Liturgical Curse
(social/mystic penalty).

CÔVADOS (WORLD MEMORY)

Spaces where Ligar densifies; repeating a tactic raises enemy DCs
(environmental learning).
Testimonies (memory-objects) change local laws: display a Testimony of
betrayal to raise costs for Enchantment magic in that dungeon.
Exit Rites: reading the names of the dead of the place reduces aggressiveness
for one scene.

WEAKNESSES & IMMUNITIES (QUICK ONTOLOGY)

Undead: necrotic resist; radiant vulnerable; partial fear/psychic immunity varies
with bound echo.
Choirs: vulnerable to dissonance (correct bells, specific sonic damage).
Lesser Archimorphs: resistant to common light; lose benefits under the High
Forge (vigil liturgies).

CORRUPTION THRESHOLDS (PLAYER/NPC)

Each branch (Flesh/Mind/Soul) in 3 stages:
I: light boon + situational debuff;
II: visible mutation/compulsion;
III: severe social reaction + risk of involuntary command/brief loss of agency.
Aligned Purge: only works if the offered cost symbolizes the affected vector
(e.g., to purge Soul, offer a foundational memory; for Flesh, a physical
sacrifice).

RITUAL RULES

Three keys: correct Anchor, Time Step (moon/Solar Focus clock), and
Counterweight (sacrifice).
Profane Shortcuts remove the counterweight and add global Regress Debt
(advances the Rune Clock).

COMPILATION RUNES (META-LAW)

Each Rune can only be touched (activated/neutralized) within a Name Circle
made from materials of the opposite region (crosses the map).
Counterseal: technique that reintroduces Velar into the operation; without it,
any “synchronization” generates a tide of Ruin.
Dual Tuning (grey route): two Runes aligned, two broken → world saved with
scars (permanent environmental debuffs set in the campaign).

INTERFACE

Verbal components → interact with Vocal Channel/Singing Zones.
Material (Anchor) can be replaced by Vow/Relic (higher cost).
Divine (liturgy) requires Living Memory/Vow; healing conjurations are weak
radiant if without offering.

LAW OF THE NAME & SOCIETY (HARD EFFECTS)

Lying in a Velário = Liturgical Curse until reparative confession.
Name Theft: holding someone’s given name in writing grants advantage on
command magics only outside Velários.
Erased: nameless gain resistance to memetic commands, but suffer social
penalties and cannot operate Counterseals.

PHYSICS OF ASH

Living Ash reacts to long phonemes; useful as reagent, dangerous in excess
(risk of animating dust).
Ashfall erases Runar from porous surfaces; metal/glass preserve strokes.

FAILURES & PARADOXES (DELIBERATE)

Motionless Peace (Final Chant): resolves violence and lies at the cost of free
will; metaphysically consistent, ethically unacceptable.
Memory that Heals: radiant heals that burn memories cannot restore the
memory lost—permanence as a real cost.
Free Echo: freed echoes do not automatically obey the liberator; require
contract/ritual.

DESIGN GUARD-RAILS (ANTI-EXPLOIT)

Radiant spam limited by irreplaceable offering.
Profane in Velário: automatic failure + summons Silent Guard.
Horde Commands share a short world cooldown (prevents map “stunlock”).
Name Crafting demands proof of vow; fraud creates local Deviation.

CONSISTENCY CHECKLIST (AT TABLE)

Every magic: what is the Anchor, the Price, and the Risk?
Every interaction with undead: is Velar reintroduced? (Bell/Name/Radiant)
Every campaign decision: what Regress Debt does it create or pay?

COMPENDIUM/DRAMATIC_STRUCTURE — ARCANE
RUIN

MACRO OBJECTIVE

Prevent or redirect the Final Chant by neutralizing/tuning the Four Runes via
Counterseals before the Rune Clock advances; confront the Archimorph at the
climax.

GLOBAL RHYTHM (4 PHASES / 12 MILESTONES)

F1 — Kindling (Levels 1–3)

System tutorial in Kardhaz: Ember Post, Vocal Channel, Corruption.
First dynamic Ruin Tide in an urban district (Velário defense).
Election of Initial Regional Route (Coast / Ossaria / Marsh / Glassglow). Rune
Clock starts.

F2 — Cross of Runes (Levels 3–7) 4) Investigate local tuner and locate the
corresponding Rune (Soprar/Ligar/Velar/Regressar). 5) Obtain the Counterseal
from the opposing region (cross-map travel; “X-line” on the map). 6) First
decision to Tune vs. Neutralize (leaves a mechanical scar). 7) Return to hub →
Political repercussions (favor/distrust; laws). Rune Clock advances/recedes
according to successes/failures.

F3 — Pressure & Choices (Levels 7–10) 8) Two active Tuners trigger global
events (permanent hostile zones, embargoes). 9) Competing Brazier Mandate
quests (benefiting faction A harms B). 10) Major Côvado: dungeon that records
player tactics; demands rotation of styles (stealth, light, controlled profane).

F4 — Convergence (Levels 10–12) 11) Three Runes resolved (any combination)
unlock the climax route: Girdle Fortress in Tombaluz. 12) Climax: final field with
tides, choirs, and cost decisions (memories, named items, corruption). Adaptive
epilogue by factions/laws.

TENSION TRACKS (PARALLEL TO MACRO)

Law of the Whole Name: maintain legitimacy for liturgical bonuses vs.
high-impact profane tactics.
Memory as Resource: radiant buffs that cost memories; loss has mechanical
and narrative payoff.
Velários under Siege: cycles of defense/attack on a living map; protect hubs or
cut the enemy’s Girdle (mod production).
Useful Corruption: mutation tree opens shortcuts/boss skips at social/ritual cost.

MISSION AXES (PACKS)

SIGILS & SOUNDS (Glassglow/Kardhaz): recover timbres for the Bell of the
Proper End; decide to use/store/break it.

MOURNING & LAW (Ossaria): judge “humanitarian” necromancy; defines Silent
Guard spawns and healing cost.

CLAY & ASH (Marsh/Range): control Living Ash and steal Name Shards; risk of
reputation loss with the clergy.

COAST & CHOIR (Varelião): restore Silence Routes; defines mobility and trade.

BOSS LADDER

Intermediates (L5–7): themed Clay Choirs (littoral, lacrimal, ferrous).
Tuners (L7–10): each with Rune mechanics + specific “Hook-Word”;
counter-timbre puzzle.
Archimorph (L12): 3 phases — (i) Synchronized Horde; (ii) Name-Break; (iii)
Final Chant/Counterchant.

CLIMAX MECHANIC (LAYERED DECISION)

Layer 1: Light — activate Greater Ember by trading key memories (global buff
vs. permanent loss).
Layer 2: Name — read the Full Names of fallen allies to gain counterorder
windows (limits the horde).
Layer 3: Rune — apply the definitive Counterseal or Tune (profane route).
Layer 4: Final Cost — sacrifice a named item/part of your own name to prevent
the last compilation.

CAMPAIGN SCARS (PERSISTENT RESULTS)

Rune Neutralization: +local Velários; −efficiency for certain magics (e.g.,
Enchantment suffers in Ossaria).
Rune Tuning: powerful buffs, but permaruin areas (harder standard encounters,
rare loot).
Mandate Failures: prices rise, factions turn hostile, long rest restricted.

TIDES & TIME MARKERS

Rune Clock (4 segments): progresses through failures, profane use in a Velário,
deaths without funeral; regresses via counterseals, protecting processions,
rebuilding braziers.
High-Tide Events (timebox): special hordes, shops close, liturgies cost +1
memory.

DIFFICULTY CURVE

Phase 1: low lethality, teaching light/noise.
Phase 2: variety of resistances; introduces Echo-Compelled.
Phase 3: punishment for tactical repetition (Côvados); requirement for
Voiceless Magic.
Phase 4: hybrid encounters (choirs + elites); memory economy at the limit.

GATES & KEYS (LIGHT METROIDVANIA)

Soprar Counterseal → traverse winds/poisons.
Ligar Counterseal → read/open memory doors.
Velar Counterseal → pass through necropolises without aggro.
Regress Counterseal → reconfigure pathing (shortcuts, partial zone reset).

REPLAYABILITY HOOKS

Rune routes (different order and fate).
Faction alignment (Chiselers vs. Lacrimal Circle, etc.).
Corruption builds (Flesh/Mind/Soul) altering dialogue/loot.
Irreversible Decisions (sacrificed items and memories change future
encounters).

PROGRESS SIGNALS (FEEDBACK)

Kardhaz’s tones change according to tides and fulfilled vows.
Map shows active “silence lines”; expanded Velários visible.
UI records burned memories as empty slots with a tag (narrative echo).

POSSIBLE ENDINGS (NO SCRIPT, CONDITIONS)

Stable Ember: 4 counterseals + Archimorph defeated in a reinforced Velário;
high costs paid.
Grey Equilibrium: 2 tuned, 2 neutralized; playable world with environmental
debuffs.
Motionless Peace: 4 tuned; player assumes profane control (dominion mode).
Ember Twilight: Clock completes with active Tuners; survival epilogue.

COHERENCE CHECK (DRAMATIC GUARD-RAILS)

Every victory charges an explicit price (memory, vow, name, corruption).
Every region offers counterweight (attempting a profane shortcut imposes
risk/clock).
Antagonist reacts to player metrics (noise, radiant, laws).