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Lore Meeting: July 2, 2025

Material, Ability Guild, Essence Guild, Gem Guild Leader

Hub World, Sages, Shrine Pitch, Essences, Pitch Process

Material​

  • Discussion of Metal concept:

    • Moving focus from brass to copper that is altered by Rift energy.
    • Process similar to Shimmer from Terraria or the Elven portal from Botania where items transform when passed through.
    • Instead of relying on the portal model, players could use a bucket to scoop out "liquid fabric" of space.
    • Suggested names: Altered Copper, Rift Blessed Copper, also drew inspiration from D&D’s Orium (a toxic but valuable Feywild metal).
    • Other ideas included: Phase Metal, Echo Alloy, Shift Metal, Limbro.

  • Discussion of Wood concept:

    • Focus on Ashwood trees, inspired by Flatland, envisioned as higher-dimensional organisms linked to Yggdrasil.
    • All Ashwood trees are connected across dimensions, forming a vast network.
    • Mechanics discussed:
      • Could allow teleportation or act as living gateways to a Hub world.
      • Unlike a typical portal frame, using Ashwood logs would require a catalyst or special action to open a rift.
      • Possibly using the entire tree as a multi-block portal, keeping it organic and distinct.
      • Turning Ashwood into planks yields phase planks, still linked to the world tree.

  • Discussion of Fabric concept:

    • When a rift collapses, it sheds a plant-like organic fiber, resembling dry grass or reeds.
    • A wanderer with residual Rift energy could replant these fibers, making them active again.
    • They grow like reverse vines, climbing up walls, producing cotton-like bulbs that can be harvested for silk and then woven into fabric.
    • Names proposed: vinesilk velvet, riftweave silk, driftseed velvet.
    • Riftweave could be the solid block form; initial harvest might be vine string or vine silk.

Ability Guild​

  • Discussion of School concept:
    • Academy offered as expanded idea
    • Could be more than just simple ability enhancement and could frame the pack
  • Port over of previous concepts:

Essence Guild​

  • Broke into three high-level archetypes:
    • Sages: mystical lineage with ties to existing lore.
    • Craftsman family: secrets passed through generations.
    • Science/research guild: more experimental approach.
  • Plan is to draft all three as pitches by next Wednesday for a vote.
  • two or three options for the vote to avoid a single forced path.

Gem Guild Leader​

  • Goal to rework Gem Garners guild leadership:
    • Shift from Greebles as leaders to (potentially a crow species who love shiny things.)
    • Greebles might instead be hired help/pets, or handled separately as loot goblins.
    • Options include splitting Greeble lore/art, using them for rune gem aspects, or creating simpler alternatives.
  • Draft ideas for a Gem Guild leader to get better direction.

Other Topics​

Hub World & Liminal Spaces​

  • Discussed making the Hub resemble nostalgic liminal spaces
  • Ideas for an archipelago of islands connected by rift trees.
  • Acknowledged the Hub might not come until the 0.3.0 update, so guilds need to stand alone first.

Sages & Story Lore​

  • Sages are like retired level 20 D&D adventurers — powerful, mostly withdrawn or missing.
    • Queen Elizabeth Lavaria (Ever Burning Flame) rules the Hub, benevolent but acts only if threatened.
    • Edward Lindsay (Emperor of 100 Seas) is more conquest-driven, seeking challenges.
    • Concept to link these characters as founders of the Hub.
    • If not used may fit well as a campaign

Shrine Game Pitch​

  • A pitch has been developed alongside Rachael's shrine work and is almost ready.
  • Wout welcomes at least one other competing idea for the shrine.
    • The goal is to avoid a "yes, no" vote scenario, encouraging more diverse options.

Essences​

  • Revisit the Essences concept and break it down to its basic forms.
  • Find new approaches to categorizing blocks to build a foundation for the Essence system.
  • Examples:
    • Color
    • Elements (earth, water, wind, fire)
    • Source (living, ground, dimension)
    • Block properties (full, transparent, hardness, tool requirements)

Pitch Process Clarification​

  • There was general uncertainty about how the lore pitch and review process is supposed to work.
  • Questions were raised on whether it’s strictly a "yes/no" vote for a single pitch, or if multiple pitches can be approved simultaneously for proofs of concept.
  • The pitch poll format was noted to allow "yes, no, or rework" options, but recent examples (like the Essences vote) didn’t follow this structure.
  • The group acknowledged that the process is still largely defined by precedent and collective decision.
  • Discussion on whether the vote for which story direction to pursue should take place within Lore Review.
  • Current plan is to have all three pitches written up, then hold form a consensus.
  • The only formal nodes referenced were under Lore tasks and the pinned tasks post, which outline owner responsibilities but not voting.
  • It was unclear if the group should go through the full pitch-to-feature pipeline when only discussing the story aspect.
  • There may need to be a separate pitch later for the guild’s mechanics like creation and manipulation.
  • Suggestion that Lore Review might be the venue where different story-based pitches (e.g. scientific vs sage approaches) are posted and discussed.
  • Under this approach, separate posts would detail each pitch and follow the yes/no/rework format.
  • Once a pitch is chosen, does it move to Lore Canon?
  • Step five would involve collaborating with the Lore leadership team to formally adopt it into canon.
  • Only one idea would be fully accepted for the specific task, though others could be repurposed.
  • There was also speculation that depending on the vote outcome, one, two, or even all three might proceed.
  • After the initial vote, a full pitch would be drafted with more gameplay details.

  • Suggested to talk with CJ or Doro to get further clarity on the process.​