61 lines
8.6 KiB
Markdown
61 lines
8.6 KiB
Markdown
# Region Catalog
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> Exact count: eight regions. Regions provide minimal world framing and a
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> progression of encounter grammars. Narrative scope is environmental pressure,
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> guild route work, and recoverable run consequences.
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## Shared Region Structure
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Each region contains ordinary fights, one elite route, one hazard route, one
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shop-pressure route, and two bosses. A first-clear run confronts one boss per
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region; the alternate boss enters later runs and high-difficulty route pools.
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Enemy identity counts are not encounter counts: an encounter composes two to
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five identities under the region grammar.
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Previews disclose enemy IDs, order, arrival rules, hazard tags, reward family,
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and retreat consequence. Variants may change level or palette but never hide a
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new mechanic. Region transitions expand counterfactuals instead of applying a
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universal stat step.
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## Region Matrix
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| ID | Region and minimal framing | New behavior and build pressure | Encounter grammar and progression | Content assignment | Production needs |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| `RG-01` | **Windglass Verge**; open grass terraces where suspended mineral panes redirect aether gusts. The guild charts a safe trade crossing. | Introduces front-to-rear reach, basic protection, visible projectile screens, and simple pushes. Pressures the player to field a front holder without making one profession mandatory. | Two-threat tutorials become three-unit compositions; glass-wind hazard telegraphs a push one cadence ahead. Shops emphasize `EQ-001..EQ-040`; first clear opens all base profession shop weights. | `EN-R1-01..EN-R1-12`; `BO-R1-01..BO-R1-02`; artifacts `AR-001..AR-008`. | `E/P/A/V/S/M`: bright terrace layers, wind direction shapes, 12 silhouette kits, two boss scale kits, calm-to-gale music stem. |
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| `RG-02` | **Siltwake Fens**; reed channels carry luminous sediment between movable banks. The guild reopens seasonal ferry paths. | Introduces pulls, position-indexed hazards, hindrance expiry, and healing denial. Pressures stable order versus deliberate movement. | Tide markers shift the safe line index after a disclosed countdown; enemy pairs exploit whichever end the player leaves unsupported. Shops add `EQ-041..EQ-080`; route rewards add `AR-009..AR-015`. | `EN-R2-01..EN-R2-12`; `BO-R2-01..BO-R2-02`. | `E/P/A/V/S/M`: layered reeds/waterline, non-color tide notches, wet movement family, low pulse/hazard events, reed-and-drum tension stem. |
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| `RG-03` | **Emberloom Works**; communal kilns weave heat through old ceramic conduits. The guild prevents cascading pressure faults. | Introduces constructs, delayed bursts, item cooldown attacks, and Heat-like self-cost patterns. Pressures timing protection and device removal. | Every encounter declares one pressure valve position; occupying, vacating, or crossing it changes a known countdown. Shops add `EQ-081..EQ-120`; rewards add `AR-016..AR-022`. | `EN-R3-01..EN-R3-12`; `BO-R3-01..BO-R3-02`. | `E/P/A/V/S/M`: kiln layers, pressure gauges readable without color, construct/hot-metal families, vent captions, struck-clay industrial stem. |
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| `RG-04` | **Quillroot Archive**; living root shelves preserve route contracts as changing leaf patterns. The guild restores public navigation copies. | Introduces copied actions, target redirection, cleanse traps, and rule-text enemies. Pressures source diversity and inspection rather than raw output. | Encounters choose one disclosed archive clause: repeat, alternate, or preserve. Enemies reward obeying or deliberately breaking it. Shops add `EQ-121..EQ-160`; rewards add `AR-023..AR-030`. | `EN-R4-01..EN-R4-12`; `BO-R4-01..BO-R4-02`. | `E/P/A/V/S/M`: root stacks and leaf-script shapes, copy/erase motion family, paper/wood events with captions, plucked-string puzzle stem. |
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| `RG-05` | **Tideglass Reach**; salt flats hold mirror pools that repeat silhouettes out of sequence. The guild stabilizes rescue beacons. | Introduces decoys, delayed copies, rearmost intrusion, and identity-versus-footprint rules. Pressures legal target filters and rear recovery. | Preview distinguishes source from echo with shape and timing; some routes start with an empty rear arrival index. Shops add `EQ-161..EQ-200`; rewards add `AR-031..AR-037`. | `EN-R5-01..EN-R5-13`; `BO-R5-01..BO-R5-02`. | `E/P/A/V/S/M`: high-contrast salt/mirror layers, source/echo silhouette treatment, reflection timing VFX, water-glass events, reversed motif stem. |
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| `RG-06` | **Skyrail Orchard**; fruit terraces hang from slow freight rails crossing strong updrafts. The guild makes harvest routes dependable. | Introduces moving enemy order, airborne untargetability windows, falling arrivals, and contested center. Pressures flexible reach and action reservation. | Rail cars announce two future stops; enemies board or leave only at a shown stop. Rewards improve when the player preserves cargo footprints. Shops add `EQ-201..EQ-240`; rewards add `AR-038..AR-045`. | `EN-R6-01..EN-R6-13`; `BO-R6-01..BO-R6-02`. | `E/P/A/V/S/M`: orchard/rail parallax, stop glyphs, board/leap/fall families, rail clack with haptic-safe caption, airy string/percussion stem. |
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| `RG-07` | **Nightcurrent Basin**; dark water channels reveal only what luminous current touches. The guild maps safe night crossings. | Introduces forecast denial that must be actively revealed, resource theft, linked enemy circuits, and mixed-damage retaliation. Pressures scouting tools and diversified resource loops. | One visible current sweeps front to rear; it reveals a hidden action category before the action can become major. The player always has at least one non-item reveal route. Shops add `EQ-241..EQ-280`; rewards add `AR-046..AR-052`. | `EN-R7-01..EN-R7-13`; `BO-R7-01..BO-R7-02`. | `E/P/A/V/S/M`: dark-but-readable basin layers, luminance-safe reveal shapes, current-link VFX, sonar-like captions, sparse bass-to-bright reveal stem. |
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| `RG-08` | **Crown of Morn**; the high route nexus folds all prior currents through a ring of dawnlit stone. The guild completes a stable public circuit. | Synthesizes push/pull, expiry, constructs, copies, echoes, rail timing, and reveal without adding an undisclosed immunity. Pressures role redundancy, replacement depth, and adapting across consecutive fights. | Routes present two known grammars at once and one choice of recovery versus counter reward. Boss preview names every inherited rule source. Shops add `EQ-281..EQ-320`; rewards add `AR-053..AR-060`; clearing either boss completes the first-clear route and opens alternate-boss mastery paths. | `EN-R8-01..EN-R8-13`; `BO-R8-01..BO-R8-02`. | `E/P/A/V/S/M`: dawn nexus with eight readable current motifs, synthesis action families, motif-specific captions, layered reprise music with reduced-density mix. |
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## Encounter Composition Rules
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| Region band | Ordinary composition | Elite composition | Anti-filler requirement |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| `RG-01..RG-02` | Two or three identities; at most one delayed arrival. | Three identities with one `elite` row and one readable synergy. | A composition must change which end, target, or timing the player protects. |
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| `RG-03..RG-04` | Three or four identities; one region object or clause. | One `elite` plus two older identities whose rules interact with it. | At least two rational response tags appear in preview. |
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| `RG-05..RG-06` | Three to five identities; source/footprint and arrival order explicit. | One `elite`, one region support, and one pressure identity from an earlier region. | Removing the elite must change target or order logic, not only durability. |
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| `RG-07..RG-08` | Four or five identities; one disclosed synthesis pair. | One or two elites with a recovery or reward tradeoff. | No encounter may require a single profession or exact item ID. |
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Bosses use their own identity rows rather than scaled elite variants. No boss
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is a unique recruit, social gate, or source of individual voice content.
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## Progression And Revisit Rules
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- First clear visits regions in numeric order so each grammar receives an
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isolated introduction before synthesis.
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- Later runs may branch between two unlocked adjacent regions, with previewed
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shop band and enemy grammar. Route order never rerolls locked offers.
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- Each region adds item and artifact breadth; it does not remove earlier legal
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counters.
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- Ordinary enemies may recur outside their home region only when the encounter
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preview names the imported rule. Elites and bosses remain home-region
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identities.
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- Difficulty layers shorten safe timing, alter compositions, or combine known
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rules. They may not hide telegraphs, add immunity by palette, or inflate a row
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into a new identity.
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- Region completion records encountered IDs, defeated IDs, and counter tags
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used. It grants breadth and mastery routes, not compulsory flat power.
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