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

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.