# General



# wip

# General Information

### Setting and Background

#### Fall of an Ancient Civilization:  


- An ancient civilization once wielded powerful magic, creating immensely potent artifacts.
- After their collapse or leave, these artifacts were damaged and lost their original purpose.
- Their magic now leaks uncontrollably, affecting the environment in unpredictable ways.
- a myth

#### Lost Artifacts:

- Over centuries, fragments of a particularly powerful artifact were scattered across the land.
- These fragments ended up in the possession of various factions, often without them understanding their true nature or power.
- A large central piece of the artifact remains at a specific location, radiating nightmares that the player party recives

#### Effects of the Magic:

- The leaking magic subtly alters the environment, often going unnoticed by ordinary people.
- Some factions inadvertently harness the fragments, causing changes to themselves or their surroundings.

### Factions and Goals

#### The Factions:

- Each holds a fragment of the artifact, using it for their purposes or ignoring its significance.

#### The Coven:

- A secretive group aiming to restore the artifact’s power and control it for their own ambitions.

#### Player Objective

- **Mission:**
    - The players must stabilize or neutralize the artifact’s broken magic
    - This requires locating the fragments, learning their whereabouts and properties through quests, and collecting the leaking energy.

### Gameplay Flow

**<span style="color: rgb(224, 62, 45);">The artifacts must be reachable without faction quests.</span>**

##### Exploration and Information Gathering:

- Players uncover the locations of the fragments and learn how their leaking magic affects the forest and its creatures.
- Factions unknowingly or deliberately use the fragments, influencing local animals and ecosystems in unique ways.
- Completing quests for or against these factions can make the final retrieval of the fragments easier by: 
    - Reducing resistance from the faction.
    - Weakening the fragment’s defenses.
    - Providing insights into the fragment’s powers and vulnerabilities
    - making the last run easier

#### Absorbing Artifact Magic:

- In later runs, the players goal should be to visit the fragments locations to **absorb the magic of each fragment**. (partly)
- Absorbing the magic changes the Gamplay (GAME DESINGN)  
    
    - - - - (The act of absorption destabilizes the magic further, signaling the importance of reaching the central artifact before the situation spirals out of control and strengthens the player)

#### Final Run and Showdown:

- After absorbing all fragments’ magic, the final goal is to bring the accumulated magic to the central artifact’s location.
- This final run is the culmination of the quest, where the effects of previous choices (faction quests, alliances, or conflicts) play a critical role in determining the difficulty.
- At the central location, the Coven awaits, seeking to use the fully charged fragments for their own ends.

#### Endgame Options(WIP):   


- Players must decide whether to: 
    - **Stabilize the artifact**, restoring balance to the forest.
    - **Destroy it entirely**, which could erase the magic of the artifact but at a great cost.
- The final confrontation with the Coven determines whether the players succeed in their chosen path.