Lore Meeting: June 22, 2025

Ability creation guild, Rift shrines, Sages, and Hub world
Guild types, Campaign system, Lore preservation, Forum categories

Ability Guilds

The team revisited ability guilds, aiming to rework past ideas with updated direction.

• Not class-based: Guilds should craft, enhance, or modify abilities. Not unlock them.
• Thematic Separation: Splitting ability by concepts, feel, or archetype.
• Guild consolidation: Barry suggested a unified guild model with sub-factions (merchant district style).
• Past proposals: Warren will compile old guild ideas for potential repurposing.

• Possible reuse of color/lore themes from previous suggestions even if not voted in.
• “Threadwright” guild was revisited as a potential fit.
• "Tower" & "Lodge" used as example for identity & vibe.

Rift Shrines

Terminology suggestions: “Shrines” / "Rift Tears" / "Altars"

Questions

• Are Rift Tears uniform?
• Do they affect the world or generate emotion?
• What do they look like (size, shape, variety)?

Concepts

• Guild / Cursed / Sage-Touched shrine variants.
• “Infected Rift” origin story, caused by prankster Sage.
• Player feedback: Visual and audio responses upon interaction.
• SFX/VFX:
  • Good: sparkles + “boom”
  • Bad: particles + “womp-womp”

Similar to

• VH-style pylons.
• Beacon/brazier-style objectives.
• VH god altars

Sages

The term “Sage” is under review due to baggage from older versions.

Possible Replacements

• “The Council”
• “Masked Cloaked Figures” (Court of Owls-style)
• Role passed down via objects or traditions

Possible Reframes

• Sages built the Hub’s central Rift structure (refined bedrock disc, pillars, anchor).
• Created the `Essence Guild, teaching new wanderers rift mechanics.
• Founding or highly skilled wanderer's selected and appointed role.

Hub World

Hub world lore decisions can impact:

• Sage
• Essence
• Guilds

Matt is developing a fresh hub concept, detached from earlier versions.

Suggesting to look at hubworld from a lore only focus. What goes on n the day-to-day life of it's inhabitents. Not just the player's perspective.

Guild Types

New thread to be posted in game dev establishing desired guild purposes/function.

Campaign System

Campaigns are modular, opt-in lore arcs. They should:

• Teach through play (environment/NPCs)
• Avoid altering the global world state
• Be story-driven, not mechanically required

Thread already posted in lore to discuss structure and what campaigns should include from lore aspect.

New thread to be posted in game dev to establish mechanics and implementation.

Lore preservation

Unused ideas may live on as collectible book content—a way to preserve cut lore.

“Cool but unused” features could be shown off in-game, rewarding curiosity.

New Forum Categories

Tasks vs Topics

• Tasks: Have owners, specific outputs
• Topics: Open brainstorms, could lead to task creation or be created to explore tasks