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

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).