Wildermyth Wiki - User contributions [en]

Dragon

2018-04-22T14:34:55Z

Tim:

Dragons are a bit mysterious and mythical. Maybe were more prevalent in the past, but those records are old and incomplete. They are sort of cryptids.

Drauven dragon: a natural sort of dragon. Drauven worship dragons, dragons will use drauven as pawns. Mabye drauven are trying to turn themselves into dragons?

Thrixl dragon: self-authored -- "let's be dragons" and then they were. Thrixl dragons are somewhat removed from the thrixl hierarchy.

Dragons evolve naturally in relation to magic being in a place. Magic focused their evolution. They are magical or can use magic or devour magic.

Dragons are very local: dependent on magical microclimate. Also maybe dependent on some geographical microclimates.

Not a lot of existing lore about heroes encountering/fighting dragons -- until the hero legacy.

Dragons are sentient -- they can talk. They have no inherent alignment or personality traits; dragons come in many flavors of personality. Dragons are very varied as individuals.

Dragons are as much characters as they are fights.

Why are dragons not prevalent anymore? Maybe not in human-controlled lands, but more likely to find them further away.

Dragons, in fights, are about the level of bosses.

Dragon

2018-04-22T14:32:42Z

Tim:

Dragons are a bit mysterious and mythical. Maybe were more prevalent in the past, but those records are old and incomplete. They are sort of cryptids.

Drauven dragon: a natural sort of dragon. Drauven worship dragons, dragons will use drauven as pawns. Mabye drauven are trying to turn themselves into dragons?

Thrixl dragon: self-authored -- "let's be dragons" and then they were. Thrixl dragons are somewhat removed from the thrixl hierarchy.

Dragons evolve naturally in relation to magic being in a place. Magic focused their evolution. They are magical or can use magic or devour magic.

Dragons are very local: dependent on magical microclimate.

Not a lot of existing lore about heroes encountering/fighting dragons -- until the hero legacy.

Dragons are sentient -- they can talk. They have no inherent alignment or personality traits; dragons come in many flavors of personality. Dragons are very varied as individuals.

Dragons are as much characters as they are fights.

Why are dragons not prevalent anymore? Maybe not in human-controlled lands, but more likely to find them further away.

Dragons, in fights, are about the level of bosses.

Dragon

2018-04-22T14:27:29Z

Tim: Created page with "Dragons are a bit mysterious and mythical. Maybe were more prevalent in the past, but those records are old and incomplete. They are sort of cryptids. Drauven dragon: a natur..."

Dragons are a bit mysterious and mythical. Maybe were more prevalent in the past, but those records are old and incomplete. They are sort of cryptids.

Drauven dragon: a natural sort of dragon. Drauven worship dragons, dragons will use drauven as pawns.

Thrixl dragon: self-authored -- "let's be dragons" and then they were. Thrixl dragons are somewhat removed from the thrixl hierarchy.

Dragons evolve naturally in relation to magic being in a place. Magic focused their evolution. They are magical or can use magic or devour magic.

Dragons are very local: dependent on magical microclimate.

Not a lot of existing lore about heroes encountering/fighting dragons -- until the hero legacy.

Dragons are sentient -- they can talk. They have no inherent alignment or personality traits; dragons come in many flavors of personality. Dragons are very varied as individuals.

Dragons are as much characters as they are fights.

Why are dragons not prevalent anymore? Maybe not in human-controlled lands, but more likely to find them further away.

Dragons, in fights, are about the level of bosses.

Drauven Lore

2018-04-22T14:06:17Z

Tim:

Our mystics have agreed to call this thing a Drauv, after the Nylathien legends that refer to similar beings, answering for some hideous crime against creation by being malformed this way. They appear to be flourishing in the stench-filled armpits of the world.

The Drauven, singular Drauv, (pronounced Drowf-en, or Drowf) are a family of beings that, as close as we can yet divine, share little sentiment of kinship amongst disparate kinds or races. Signs of communion between varied groups and distinctions of Drauv remain few. We intend the use of Drauv to refer to an abominable creature that walks upright, with mixed facial features of a lion and a [[dragon]], a lizardine skin, and tail, and clawed hands. Some develop feathers, though how this happens, or why is not obvious. The Drauven display mostly man-like muscle and bone structures, and have human-like tendencies, such as the use of tools and weapons, the construction of shelters, the coveting of treasures, and the use of obviously complex, but thus far indecipherable language. Drauven mating is a mystery; we assume, grudgingly, that it must happen.

The Drauven social structure is naturally tribal, as any group of them that grows too large tends to splinter off. Given to argument and dueling, some Drauvs appear born for chiefhood, crests of colored feathers forming beneath their jawlines, and upon their shoulders. There appears to be no gender bias in this development, nor indeed does gender seem to play a part in the taking of social roles. It would seem the Drauven are organized into a caste-system that distinguishes hunters and soldiers from tenders, though no particular caste seems valued or privileged above the others. Only the chief and the elders have been shown to have preeminence, the elders seemingly carrying some mystic power or significance.

As foes, the Drauven are organized and cunning, using stealth and intelligent tactics to achieve battle-goals. Their weapons and armor tend to be crude but well-made, purposeful and deadly. It would seem they move mostly as their chief directs them, and so can often remain unobtrusive in a territory, until some whim calls them to violent action.

It would be difficult for us to say for sure how or where the Drauven originated. One theory is that they are a kind of Gorgon or Gorgonoid; they became self-willed, self-propagating, and highly invariable (for Gorgons). The majority of our delving, however, mostly into those afore-mentioned legends, suggests starkly different origins: ancient origins, perhaps in the womb of creation itself. Whatever the case, they seem to keep little document of their own history, which further proves the inferiority of their culture.

The Drauven may regularly inhabit almost any landscape, though they appear to prefer swamps and wooded areas. This is perhaps because they are so ugly that they wish to hide themselves from sight. Their diets consist of plants and animals, with little detectable bias. They do display a despicable taste for human flesh. Though our studies reveal the Drauven to be an intelligent race, we must emphasize that they show little inclination towards empathy or moral rectitude, and take little account of the lives of those who do not belong to their tribe. For this reason, Drauven should be considered hostile on contact, and slain without compunction.

--These Informed Opinions submitted by the Order of Kralar on <Date>

Event Types

2018-03-07T14:47:13Z

Tim: /* Comparing Story Types */

Stories in Wildermyth are applied procedurally. When the player is in a situation that calls for a story, the game searches the database of events for all the stories that could fit the situation, and then picks one randomly. Different situations come with different storytelling constraints.

A Note on Branching: Branching events are currently pretty awkward in our system, and so most of our stories currently revolve around a single choice. If this is too limiting, let's talk about it! We have some ideas for how to improve it but really it depends on what you want to write.

Another thing is that we're trying to avoid hard-and-fast rules here. In particular, any time is a good time to tell a more involved story, if that's what the story wants. The guidelines here are just guidelines.

=Some Things=
* '''[[Job]]s''' are things that take time on the overland map. The idea is your heroes work on something for a while, building, researching, investigating, all that. Jobs probably make the most sense as parts of Delvings, Site Quests, and Personal Upgrade Quests.
* '''[[Mission]]s:''' some stories might also call for fights in the middle of 'em. That's cool.
* '''Character Development''' is a blanket outcome that includes [[history]] lines, [[relationship]]s, [[stat]]s, [[aspect]]s, and [[equipment]]. Anything that moves a character forward.
* '''Combat advantage/disadvantage''' is somewhat vague right now, because we haven't built a set of tools for it yet. Specify what you want in STUBS or elsewhere and we'll try to work it out.

==Exploration Oriented Stories==
Exploration is a core feature of our game. We want a wide variety of stories here, and they can be somewhat involved.

===Wilderness Scouting===
When you scout a new tile, and there are no enemies, there might be something else interesting to interact with.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A fairly large number! Scouting is a common activity, so we expect the player to see 12-20 of these per game.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium. They're a bread and butter event. If they get too involved, consider splitting off as a Delving or Personal Quest?
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Party
|-
! Suggested Output
| Station, Delving, Character Development, Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for "wilderness". Silences, Witchstone, The Gambler...
|}

===Arrive at Hostile Site===
When you arrive at a hostile site for the first time, it's scary! There might be interesting site features, or a relationship story to tell, a prisoner to decide whether to rescue, or a novel tactic to consider. These can establish details about the site and the combat to come.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A large number! Attacking a hostile site is a dramatic focus and we want a big variety of stories.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium. Want to maintain a sense of danger and unease.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Delving, Additional Story (mid-mission or victory), Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for "heroesArriveAtSite". "One False Step", "Splinter", "Troygan"
|}

==Tactical Stories==
Like ArriveAtSite events, these events set up fights. Tactical Stories are stories that carry tactics, but not Exploration. Defense missions, ambush/escape missions, and retaking a site all call for tactical events that are more about the action and less about the mystery of the place.

Since tactical events are the most repeatable, it makes sense for them to be about risk management. Choices between a risky option and a safer option are recommended.

===Ambushed===
So you're scouting, right? But this is a dangerous place, and sometimes the Scouter becomes the Scouted, and then you might be AMBUSHED! Now you might have a few minutes to prepare, or a split second to make a key decision, and then you'll most likely be fighting.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Probably a small number. Ambush is a necessary risk, but it's not super fun and it's ok for it to be basically a generic situation.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. We don't want people farming ambush events, or feeling like they need to be ambushed to see all the content.
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Recruit, Escape
|-
! Example Content
| doesn't exist yet, but search defend_camp for some similar ideas.
|}

===Tactical Defense===
Monsters attack you sometimes, and you need to make some choices about how the fight should go.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A small number? We think the player will spend most of their time on offense.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to medium. We don't want defense missions to feel like a "reward."
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Flee?
|-
! Example Content
| These might not be great examples, but search encounter_defend
|}

===Attack Site (subsequent)===
Maybe you tried to attack this place once and failed. Or maybe you held it for a while and then left, and the monsters have moved back in. Either way we gotta set up the fight.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A small number. We don't expect this situation to be common and it's not particularly epic.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development
|-
! Example Content
| encounter_heroesArriveAtSite_returnAssault_song BUT, it's probably more specific and memorable than we really need.
|}

==Combat-Oriented Stories==
Ok so, you've made some choices, and the battle starts. This part of the game is what we call the [[Missions|Mission]], where everything is a 2D square grid and you hop around hitting foes. There could be stories here! I mean, definitely we want at least some.

===Mortal Choice===
When a hero falls to zero HP for the first time, they get a Mortal Choice, of whether to take a Heroic Death or fall back with some kind of maiming. Heroic Deaths are generally fairly powerful and can swing the combat in your favor, and we want them to be a valid choice, especially on higher difficulties.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Not sure but probably few. Could be cool to tell some specific stories about enemy types, damage types leading to particular injuries, etc., but also these will not come up too many times per playthrough, so are lower priority.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to Medium. Don't want to take away from the action too much, especially if the player is losing and multiple mortal choices are happening in a single fight.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Hero, Foe (who attacked hero)
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage, Death, Character Development
|-
! Example Content
| search for deathChoice
|}

===Mid-mission story===
We've only played around with this a little, but the idea is that under some conditions a little story can pop up in the middle of the action, and give you an interesting choice. This is experimental stuff but if you have an idea for a story that makes the most sense to live here, let's do it! Could work well as a way to establish site details, to start/continue/end another story, etc..

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Not sure! We need to try this out and see how it feels. The main rule for these is that they should make sense in context. If a particular questline calls for one, or the story doesn't make sense without the urgency of combat. In general we want to see these at most once per combat, and my guess is, more like every other or every third combat, and then probably only the first time you fight at a site, not so much on defense missions, etc..
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium? What feels good?
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Recruit, Station, Delving, Additional Story
|-
! Example Content
| not implemented yet, but check out chapter1_gorgon_event_3_3 for an old idea.
|}

===Mission Victory===
You win! Celebrate a bit! Maybe also mourn your friends who died or were wounded.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A medium amount. There's a good variety of situations to cover, what with who might be wounded or not, what we were fighting and where, and what we found afterward. Good place to put rewards maybe? Character/relationship development?
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. Victories don't call for choices most of the time, because anyway if there are rewards the player will be making choices about those and that will feel great.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development, Stations, Delvings, Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for missionVictory
|}

===Mission Defeat===
You lose. Bad times. Probably one or more of your heroes is still alive, but wounded and retreating. But in general, bad times.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Very few. We are specifically NOT making special defeat stories for quest lines, etc.. Nope. Not doing it. Most players will never see that content.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. Nobody wants to dwell on how awful that just was.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development?? None??
|-
! Example Content
| search for missionDefeat
|}

==Infrastructure Stories==
A chunk of your time on the Overland Map goes to managing tiles you control. Stuff like building roads, bridges, mountain passes, that sort of thing. That's boring. But then also, investigating mysteries and restoring ancient magics...

===Site Feature Job (Delving)===
Explore the old ruins, catalogue the library, sample the wine cellar, walk the old forest... Delvings are [[Job]]s that take time, that produce some reward or additional story or choice. Delvings are visible as soon as you take over a site. The point is that these places are interesting, full of history and whatnot, and it's worth investigating. Delvings are optional and can be ignored.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Potentially a lot? This is unexplored space but it seems like it could be a lot of fun.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| medium to high. Good place to hang introductions to more complicated chains, but fairly simple "this is a library" is also totally fine.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Stations! Character Development, maybe Recruit once in a while.
|-
! Example Content
| doesn't exist yet. We need to define what these look like.
|}

===Founding Towns===
Sometimes you'll get to make new towns! That's exciting and we want to celebrate it. Maybe give the player an opportunity to name the town, or at least have some fun and get some reward.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| One or a Few.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| low. Anything that the player can see more than once should be kept simple.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Tile, Party, Company
|-
! Suggested Output
| Name the town
|-
! Example Content
| See the "We called it Legacy" event for an example of naming with options and a prompt.
|}

===Recruiting Heroes===
Your heroes can die, and you can choose to recruit more at towns. This is in addition to any recruits you might find out-and-about, so to speak. Recruiting stories are an opportunity to introduce the new guy, establish some relationships, start caring about 'em.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A few.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to medium. Mostly we want to introduce the new hero and and maybe learn a little bit about them.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Volunteer
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development (relationship with recruited hero?)
|-
! Example Content
| search "welcomeRecruit"
|}

==Randomly Surfaced Stories==
Some opportunities pop up seemingly at random, as time passes. These might be hero-oriented or site-oriented.

===Personal Relationship (Hook) Quest===
Characters have histories, and have their own motivations. Sometimes these bubble up. Relationship quests center on a relationship between two heroes, and tell a story about one of the character's "hooks", which are personality-aspects that are set by history lines. Generally the quest line will introduce itself, the characters will go on a journey, do a fight, and then resolve the quest.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Many, and these are mostly written or in progress already.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| High. Great opportunity to deep dive on characters, relationships, etc..
|-
! Special Input
| Hook, Hook2 (friend, rival, or lover), Site, ...
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development!!! Other stuff is ok too.
|-
! Example Content
| search "hook". Hook quests that exist are generally broken in to 3 events each: intro, arrive, and resolve.
|}

===Personal Upgrade Quest===
Heroes are self-motivated and ambitious, and might get ideas for how to improve themselves. This might be their gear, or something more like, personal/magical/whateverical. For example, if a character loses their eyesight, they might go on a quest to build a pair of Ruby Eyes that allow them to fight again. Or something that's easier to implement than that, would also be cool. Similar to relationship hook quests?? This category is a bit wobbly.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Unclear. Maybe a lot, if they are fun. Maybe a whole lot, eventually.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Meidum to High. These should be ambitions are really important to the hero, require help from friends to accomplish, and are somewhat involved.
|-
! Special Input
| Hook... ??? what would be helpful?
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development!!! Other stuff is ok too.
|-
! Example Content
| Most similar to hooks, but with a clearer focus on "oh I want to get rid of this wolf head" or "actually I want to go full wolf mode" or "There's an epic blade I must possess..." Can definitely key off of previous injuries, relationships, whatever stories you want to tell.
|}

===Site Stories===
AKA Site Quests. When you control tiles, sometimes stuff bubbles up. Unlike a Delving, this is stuff that was not present when you arrived, but has arrived or manifested or coming out of hiding since your arrival. The locals have been seeing funny lights in the forest. Someone stole your sweet roll. Who knows. Scooby Doo stuff. Point is, it's an opportunity for someone to investigate, maybe do some research, have a little fight, get down tonight. These are usually optional quests that have a little intro hook, and then go from there.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Need a goodly amount for launch, maybe increasing to a very large amount if they are a lot of fun.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to High. Mysteries come in all sizes.
|-
! Special Input
| Tile?? what's helpful?
|-
! Suggested Output
| Stations, friggen anything else too.
|-
! Example Content
| search "hook". Hook quests that exist are generally broken in to 3 events each: intro, arrive, and resolve.
|}

==Experimental Stories==
What else can we do? Float your ideas!

===Yondering Events===
Big, map-altering events that occur at the end of intervals / the start of chapters. These should have a big impact on gameplay and maybe a couple of followup points. Think: rampaging collosus, volcanic eruption, starfall, monstrous harvest, attack of the Vulture Lord? A place for big Villains, maybe? crazy weird stuff? Who knows! But, we don't have any yet and they sound kindof expensive so we'll see. Might end up being a post-launch thing.

===Scenarios===
These are stand-alone battles accessed from the main menu, maybe unlocked when you have certain heroes in your legacy. Predefined maps and monsters. Crafted experiences. Stories to go with. Could be an awesome place to set modders loose?

===Adventures===
This is an idea for stand-alone sequences that are not related to the [[campaign]]. They can tell much more specific stories, and will use a sequence of predefined encounters (optionally, fixed maps, monster layouts even?) They tell a single story. We don't have any of these yet but it seems like they might be cool maybe? Might unlock similar to scenarios? Or? Good for modders?

==Comparing Story Types==
Events are often differentiated by the concepts of "how we got into this situation" and "do we expect a fight".

Delving is exploring the stuff that was there when you arrived. Site Quests interact with the stuff that has arrived, or surfaced since.

Site Quests mean the party has gone to a certain tile to find something relating to that place, but not necessarily monsters. In an ArrivalAtHostileSites, the player has already made a decision to attack a particular site, even though the exact specifics are unknown.

ArriveAtHostile site is when you see something on the map, and you choose to attack the monsters lurking there, and it's the first time you've been to that site. Incursions are where the monster send a visible army to attack you. There are attack and defense events for incursions, but they're tactical, shouldn't give big rewards, and are really focused on that enemy army and not some cool location. Sometimes you might take over a site, and then leave it unguarded, and then monsters move in again. Or, you might attack a site, but lose the battle. In either case, when you return, you get a Return Assault, also called AttackMundaneSite.

Ambushes happen when the party is interrupted in their normal course of overland movement or jobs, and monsters attack.

Ambushes vs ArrivalAtHostileSites vs WildernessEncounters

Stat

2018-03-05T17:44:27Z

Tim: /* Personality Stats */

Stats are divided into Primary and Secondary, and into Gameplay and Personality. You can use any of the stats when selecting targets and determining difficulty rolls for events. Some stats have different natural ranges, which is a bit awkward, but that's where we're at right now.

=Primary Stats=
A stat tied to a character that directly affects game mechanics in regards to combat or campaign-layer activities. The primary stats are:
* VITALITY
* AGILITY
* TENACITY
* FOCUS
* ATTUNEMENT
* AMBITION
* CHARISMA

=Secondary Stats=
From the Primary Stats, a set of secondary, Calculated stats exists that directly affect combat, and these can also be directly influenced by aspects and so forth, on top of their calculation. For [[monster]]s, we might choose to only specify the secondary, combat-relevant stats.

=Gameplay Stats=

=Personality Stats=
See [[Story Role]]

Interfuse

2018-03-03T17:07:01Z

Tim:

[[Mystic]]s interfuse with things and can then manipulate those things to perform their magic. The mystic can perform some action and/or gain some benefit from the interfusion. The effects of interfusion depend on the object that the mystic is linked with, and so [[battle]]s play out differently in different environments. Interfusion is the primary method human mystics use to perform magic.

It's sort of a temporary soul-combining, maybe?

Legacy

2018-03-03T16:57:13Z

Tim:

The past history of the [[player]].

A data store for the player’s accomplishments, including [[achievement]]s, [[hero]]es, and [[equipment]]. Anything that can be unlocked is notionally stored in the player’s Legacy, and the Legacy can be queried during the game for purposes of unlocking content, providing relevant legends, etc..

Stat

2018-03-03T16:56:21Z

Tim: Created page with "Stats are divided into Primary and Secondary, and into Gameplay and Personality. You can use any of the stats when selecting targets and determining difficulty rolls for event..."

History

2018-03-03T16:52:22Z

Tim:

Also called History Line. A line of player-facing text that tells a story about the [[entity]] it’s pinned to; coincides with [[aspect]]s, [[stat]]-increases, [[hook]]s; some is generated upon initialization, some is recorded in recognition of game-occurrences.

[[Hero]] History is generated at the start of the game with three lines: an Origin, and Anecdote, and a Motivation. These affect prime stats and personality stats, and also seed Hooks. History lines leave behind a number of Hooks, which are more specific character aspects and often take the form of a personality flaw or quirk.

Note that History lines cannot be queried, but can apply aspects, which can be queried.

Aspect

2018-03-03T16:51:45Z

Tim:

A named marker tied to an [[entity]], usually reflecting its narrative state, that add stats or applies specific effects.

For [[hero]]es, aspects are just facts about the hero. Stuff like "human", "female", "attractedToMen", "hunter", "missingLeftArm". Aspects can carry stat modifiers and Effects. Aspects are the workhorse of the dynamic content in the game, almost everything you need to know about a hero, site, anything really, can be accessed as an aspect (other than stat values). Aspects can be queried to find out almost things about an entity (other than [[history]], but that applies aspects that can be queried).

A special subcategory of aspects is [[hook]]s.

Hook

2018-03-03T16:48:14Z

Tim:

A powerful marker that changes how the [[character]] might interact with [[event]]s, and also acts as a seed for the character to undergo a specific [[quest]]; applied by [[history]] and sometimes events. Hooks are fundamentally just [[aspect]]s with a special naming convention and some extra tooling around them.

Heroes start the game with 3 hooks, which are specific character aspects and often take the form of a personality flaw or quirk.

Aspect

2018-03-03T16:47:40Z

Tim:

Hook

2018-03-03T16:46:13Z

Tim:

A powerful marker that changes how the [[character]] might interact with [[event]]s, and also acts as a seed for the character to undergo a specific [[quest]]; applied by [[history]] and sometimes events.

Heroes start the game with 3 hooks, which are specific character aspects and often take the form of a personality flaw or quirk.

History

2018-03-03T16:44:40Z

Tim:

Writer's Guide

2018-03-03T16:42:49Z

Tim: /* Heroes */

All about writing for Wildermyth!

=Lore=
==The Yondering Lands==

[[File:YonderingLands.jpg|600px]]

The world goes through [[loops|cycles]]. Civilizations rise and fall, and threats to humanity wax and wane. Building ruins, powerful artifacts, the memories of great deeds all fade into myth or are lost to memory and are rediscovered time and again. The history of the lands are repeated patterns that are still never quite the same.

[[The Yondering Lands]] are sortof vaguely American. Or at least, if you have a choice between American and European, lean American. This applies mainly to flora and fauna, but also to little things like, we don't talk a lot about nobility, kings and queens, and we don't use a lot of the strongly-flavored medieval-fantasy words. No British accents or isms, unless it's a particularly foreign character. (People have been known to fall into the lands from time to time from other places, so.) But then also, we don't quite do banjos and cowboy hats. Guitars are maybe right on the edge. Fiddles are probably cool, right? I don't know.

==Monsters!==

[[File:MonsterBanner_deepist.jpg|600px]]

[[Deepist]]s are a minotaur-worshiping cult who live in cave systems. They put stone and fungi to creative use, and our heroes aren't sure whether their power comes from their own passion, or from something more sinister... Read some in-fiction lore [[Deepist Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_drauven.jpg|600px]]

[[Drauven]] are grouchy lizard-folk who primarily live in the trees of forests and swamps, or in trees within swamps, but are happy to descend to the ground to go raid a village and maybe snack on a villager. They decorate themselves and their environment with bird and dragon-like motifs. Read some in-ficiton lore [[Drauven Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_gorgon.jpg|600px]]

[[Gorgon]]s have been corrupting the local wildlife and turn them into raging tentacular monsters. They seem to be doing this experimentally, in pursuit of some deeper truth, but to call them "scientists" would tarnish the word. In the meantime, they continue to create the beasts as quickly as we can slaughter them. Read some in-fiction lore [[Gorgon Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_morthagi.jpg|600px]]

[[Morthagi]] are clockwork undead, created from bone and metal long ago to serve some dark master. Their creator may be long gone, but the Morthagi themselves have persisted, clanking and hissing in the dusty, forgotten corners of the world. Read some in-fiction lore [[Morthagi lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_thrixl.jpg|600px]]

[[Thrixl]]s are dreamlike and insectoid. Their powers are more subtle than those of a Drauv, but more frightening—they prefer to attack minds and souls directly. Read some in-fiction lore [[Thrixl lore|here]].

All monsters are indeed monstrous. There may be shades of gray, but in aggregate monstrous life is incompatible with human life. Humans fight monsters to survive.

There are no demi-humanish creatures in the Yondering Lands: no elves, dwarves, orcs, or their kin. But I mean, we COULD have some badger-people or some other weird stuff. I mean, Drauven are kindof on the line, aren't they? But certainly none of the "stock fantasy races."

==Magic!==
Human magic is performed by [[mystic]]s who [[interfuse]] with objects to manipulate them.

But also, some [[monster]]s can perform magic and/or ARE magic.

==Equipment!==
There's lots of [[equipment]] in the game. Generally procedurally generated, but its history grows over time. Every piece of equipment has a description, some narrative insight that follows some [[Equipment Descriptions|general rules]].

TODO - The equipment design is in pretty heavy flux right now.

=How the Game Works=
This is a quick overview of how the game functions. It's good to have a handle on this so you know what you can do.
==Heroes==
[[Hero]]es are generated with [[History]], which drives [[Aspect]]s, which drive [[Stat]]s.

Hero History is generated as three lines, an Origin, and Anecdote, and a Motivation. These affect prime stats and personality stats, and also seed Hooks.

History lines leave behind a number of [[Hook]]s (usually 3 per hero), which are more specific character aspects and often take the form of a personality flaw or quirk. Hooks are great things to hang quests off of! They're also useful for letting a hero have a moment of badassery or weakness that's totally in theme for them. You can call out hooks when adding story roles, if you want to tell a whole story that hinges on one, or if you want to call out an optional character to provide an alternative path, that sort of thing.

[[Aspect]]s are just facts about the hero. Stuff like "human", "female", "attractedToMen", "hunter", "missingLeftArm". Aspects can carry stat modifiers and [[Effect]]s. Aspects are the workhorse of the dynamic content in the game, almost everything you need to know about a hero, site, anything really, can be accessed as an aspect (other than stat values). (History lines cannot be queried, but can apply aspects, which can be queried.) Hooks are just aspects with a special naming convention and some extra tooling around them.

[[Stat]]s are divided into Prime and Secondary, and into Gameplay and Personality. You can use any of the stats when selecting targets and determining difficulty rolls for events. Some stats have different natural ranges, which is a bit awkward, but that's where we're at right now. Personality stats are a great way to make characters come alive.

==Overland Map==
See: [[Campaign]]

The overland map is randomly generated, and fits together like board game tiles. In between tiles, mountain ranges and rivers create barriers that restrict travel. Players explore one tile at a time, scouting the tile, fighting any lurking threats, and then defending and improving the tile over time.

About half of the tiles the player explores will have an enemy lair on them. Lairs must be cleared through combat. Attacking a lair triggers an ''Arrive at Site'' story. Empty tiles may trigger a ''Wilderness Scouting'' 'story. Monsters will occasionally attack tiles that the player controls. The player will be prompted to defend.

'''(NOT YET IMPLEMENTED):''' As play progresses through the [[chapter]]s , the player will gain access to more and more area, which means additional tiles will be accessible. Control of tiles is important to the player, because it provides benefits at the end of each chapter, and Tiles are a source of stories and advancement for characters as well.

==Mission Maps==
[[Missions]] take place on randomly generated maps. The way it works is there are a set of scripts, and each script builds one type of map, with some random variation. Mission maps are designed to break the encounter into 2-4 sections, so that the player has some control over the pace of the fight.

==Legacy and Unlockables==
A player's [[Legacy]] is a collection of their favorite heroes, and these heroes can rejoin playthrough after playthrough. Similarly we track things the player has done over time as [[Unlockables]], which are also stored in the legacy. Stories should be able to query this stuff.

==Effects: Triggers, Targets and Outcomes==
Most things that happen in the game are modeled with [[Effects]]. Effects each have a trigger, a set of targets, and a set of branching outcomes. This same system is used for combat abilities and storytelling.

Stories use this system to specify when they can be told, and how they change the game world.

See Main Article: [[Story Inputs and Outputs]]

=Tools=
==Set up your work space==
If you are a developer and have version control access, you should also have access to the version control setup guide, which is not stored on this wiki since it contains some sensitive information. Do that setup first.

* How to run [[Scratchpad]],
* Some common [[Technical Difficulties]].
* Learn how to [[Testing|test]] your content.

==Exploring Existing Content==

The fastest way to find the content is by using [[Scratchpad]], but a lot of it can be found in the game as well, if you have cheats turned on. The [[Character Sheet]] is home to a lot of this, and the [[Content Editor]] can be pulled up with F12 once you're in-game.

[[Combat Lab]] is a great place to see what's currently possible in the game. From here, there a number of cheats accessible that will help you to build any character you want to try out. Gear upgrades, ability upgrades, and (some) narrative content can all be accessed here if you poke around. Particularly, check out the [[Character Sheet]].

[[Environment Lab]] will show you what mission maps we currently support.

[[Name Lab]] gives you some insight into the name generator.

[[The Content and Comics Editor]] is where the vast bulk of the content in the game is accessible.

[[Character Lab]] is currently sorta broken, but wants to be a catalog of all the heroes and monsters we can generate.

==Using The Editors==
See main article: [[Comic Editor Reference]]

=Tone, Style, Voice, Visuals=
hey what's a good story?

What's our "bar" for comic panels?

How many personality-specific lines should there be?

Let's decide all this!

=Stretching and Establishing new Content=

How far can stories range from the existing material and game assets? Spoiler: quite far!

Because we are using 2D art and no animation, certain things are incredibly cheap for us to do, which would be prohibitively expensive for other games. Here are some examples which should give you an idea. In general, we are looking for writing to stretch and grow our content range as much as possible.

Here are few but if you have a particular idea, run it past!

'''Comic Art''' is very cheap. If you need a prop or a background to tell a story properly, ask for it!

'''Special Gear''' Weapons are maybe the second-cheapest asset class in the game, specify as many as you like. Augments are also pretty cheap. Armor is fairly expensive, but we can do it if it feels really special.

'''One-Off Monsters''' if none of the existing monsters make sense, you can call for a one-off monster to appear in a story or a fight. Most stories probably won't need this, but it's relatively inexpensive, so let's do it when it makes sense.

'''Body Modifications''' are where our character rig really shines. Any limb, or the head, can be swapped out for something monstrous or more awesome. Hair styles, skin patterns, scars, tattoos, bring it! It gets a little tricky if it modifies the face, because the different facial expressions

'''Playable Characters''' might be monsters or weirdthings that you can recruit or get transformed into. Fairly cheap, and we really want these. One thing to consider is whether they will be able to use weapons or armor. The default approach is that non-humans don't use gear, but we could possibly make an exception for weapon-wielding, since that is relatively easy to rig up.

'''In-game Scenery''' is cheap, and could double as comic props?

'''Map icons''' are very cheap if you need something specific.

'''In-Game Environments''' are expensive, since they require a lot of art to work together, and a deal of programming too. But, bring your ideas. We might be able to make something work.

'''Combat Abilities''' Do you need special abilities, as rewards, for one-off enemies, playable characters, or whatever? They are pretty easy to make! Say what you want and we can talk it over.

'''Buffs/Debuffs''' are relatively cheap, particularly if they are similar to an existing effect.

'''Combat Avantages/Disadvantages''' are not totally implemented, so let us know what you want to see.

=Event Types=
There are maybe 10 or 12 different types of randomly selected events that we need. They each cover a particular situation, have different inputs and outputs, and generally impose particular constraints on the writer.

See main article: [[Event Types]].

Roll

2018-03-03T16:42:10Z

Tim: Created page with "Roll a virtual game die of specified sides/values."

Roll a virtual game die of specified sides/values.

History

2018-03-03T16:41:50Z

Tim:

Story Role

2018-03-03T16:41:31Z

Tim:

Stats for Story Roles and Their Relationships:
When one of these stats is called out as a role, it means that hero has the highest number for that stat in the present or affected party. If that stat is called out negatively (e.g. “Not Leader”) that character has the lowest number for the correlating stat.

The hook describes a facet of a character’s personality and especially as pertains to that character’s place in stories. Affects what characters might say, and what language is associated with them, as well as relationships with other characters.

It should be possible to call out Roles for party, or for the whole company in an event, if necessary.

''Bookish'' – Nose in a book, this character is involved with stories and science, and shuns needless action.

''Coward'' – This character often quails when confronted with true horror, but will come through at unexpected times.

''Goofball'' – This character tends to joke and make a fool of herself, especially when tensions are high.

''Healer'' – This character is naturally gifted and nursing and nurturing others, and tends to have an intuitive sense for people’s pain.

''Hothead'' – This character is quick to anger, quick to action, and will often be impatient when asked to wait.

''Leader'' – This character tends to take the lead, either explicitly or implicitly, in situations that require a firm or decisive statement.

''Loner'' – This character is unafraid of loneliness, even embraces it. Often pulls in the direction of solitary action and survival.

''Greedy'' – I want to keep this explanation all to myself. It's mine, all mine. (this replaced the 'peacemaker' role)

''Poet'' – This character sees things in a different way, alive to the sensory pleasures of the world and able to express her aliveness with some fluency.

''Romantico'' – This character is a Casanova, or at least wishes he were, and will speak up in romantic matters and be influenced often by his attractions.

''Snark'' – This character is witty and sarcastic, and often negative, but may be shockingly hopeful and romantic when it comes right down to it.

Hook

2018-03-03T16:40:12Z

Tim: Created page with "A powerful marker that changes how the character might interact with events, and also acts as a seed for the character to undergo a specific quest; applied by hi..."

History

2018-03-03T16:39:32Z

Tim: Created page with "A line of player-facing text that tells a story about the entity it’s pinned to; coincides with aspects, stat-increases, hooks; some is generated upon initia..."

A line of player-facing text that tells a story about the [[entity]] it’s pinned to; coincides with [[aspect]]s, [[stat]]-increases, [[hook]]s; some is generated upon initialization, some is recorded in recognition of game-occurrences.

Hero

2018-03-03T16:38:11Z

Tim:

Heroes are the . . . uh, heroes . . . of the game. Each hero has a [[personality]], develops [[augments]] over time, and carries [[equipment]].

Heroes travel in a [[party]]. The party starts as a [[bunch of farmers]] and every hero develops over time. A farmer can become a [[warrior]], a [[hunter]], or a [[mystic]].

TODO also:

* [[history]]
* [[aspect]]s
* [[stat]]s

Entity

2018-03-03T16:36:40Z

Tim:

Everything in the game is an Entity. An Entity can have various Components attached to it. Some example components are [[History]], Status, Individual, Attachments, Controlled, MapLocation, things like that. Only 1 of each type of component may be attached to a given Entity.

Entity

2018-03-03T16:36:21Z

Tim: Created page with "Everything in the game is an Entity. An Entity can have various Components attached to it. Some example components are History, Status, Individual, Attachments, Controlled, Ma..."

Everything in the game is an Entity. An Entity can have various Components attached to it. Some example components are History, Status, Individual, Attachments, Controlled, MapLocation, things like that. Only 1 of each type of component may be attached to a given Entity.

Aspect

2018-03-03T16:36:03Z

Tim: Created page with "A named marker tied to an entity, usually reflecting its narrative state, that add stats or applies specific effects."

A named marker tied to an [[entity]], usually reflecting its narrative state, that add stats or applies specific effects.

Writer's Guide

2018-03-03T16:35:02Z

Tim: /* Heroes */

All about writing for Wildermyth!

=Lore=
==The Yondering Lands==

[[File:YonderingLands.jpg|600px]]

The world goes through [[loops|cycles]]. Civilizations rise and fall, and threats to humanity wax and wane. Building ruins, powerful artifacts, the memories of great deeds all fade into myth or are lost to memory and are rediscovered time and again. The history of the lands are repeated patterns that are still never quite the same.

[[The Yondering Lands]] are sortof vaguely American. Or at least, if you have a choice between American and European, lean American. This applies mainly to flora and fauna, but also to little things like, we don't talk a lot about nobility, kings and queens, and we don't use a lot of the strongly-flavored medieval-fantasy words. No British accents or isms, unless it's a particularly foreign character. (People have been known to fall into the lands from time to time from other places, so.) But then also, we don't quite do banjos and cowboy hats. Guitars are maybe right on the edge. Fiddles are probably cool, right? I don't know.

==Monsters!==

[[File:MonsterBanner_deepist.jpg|600px]]

[[Deepist]]s are a minotaur-worshiping cult who live in cave systems. They put stone and fungi to creative use, and our heroes aren't sure whether their power comes from their own passion, or from something more sinister... Read some in-fiction lore [[Deepist Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_drauven.jpg|600px]]

[[Drauven]] are grouchy lizard-folk who primarily live in the trees of forests and swamps, or in trees within swamps, but are happy to descend to the ground to go raid a village and maybe snack on a villager. They decorate themselves and their environment with bird and dragon-like motifs. Read some in-ficiton lore [[Drauven Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_gorgon.jpg|600px]]

[[Gorgon]]s have been corrupting the local wildlife and turn them into raging tentacular monsters. They seem to be doing this experimentally, in pursuit of some deeper truth, but to call them "scientists" would tarnish the word. In the meantime, they continue to create the beasts as quickly as we can slaughter them. Read some in-fiction lore [[Gorgon Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_morthagi.jpg|600px]]

[[Morthagi]] are clockwork undead, created from bone and metal long ago to serve some dark master. Their creator may be long gone, but the Morthagi themselves have persisted, clanking and hissing in the dusty, forgotten corners of the world. Read some in-fiction lore [[Morthagi lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_thrixl.jpg|600px]]

[[Thrixl]]s are dreamlike and insectoid. Their powers are more subtle than those of a Drauv, but more frightening—they prefer to attack minds and souls directly. Read some in-fiction lore [[Thrixl lore|here]].

All monsters are indeed monstrous. There may be shades of gray, but in aggregate monstrous life is incompatible with human life. Humans fight monsters to survive.

There are no demi-humanish creatures in the Yondering Lands: no elves, dwarves, orcs, or their kin. But I mean, we COULD have some badger-people or some other weird stuff. I mean, Drauven are kindof on the line, aren't they? But certainly none of the "stock fantasy races."

==Magic!==
Human magic is performed by [[mystic]]s who [[interfuse]] with objects to manipulate them.

But also, some [[monster]]s can perform magic and/or ARE magic.

==Equipment!==
There's lots of [[equipment]] in the game. Generally procedurally generated, but its history grows over time. Every piece of equipment has a description, some narrative insight that follows some [[Equipment Descriptions|general rules]].

TODO - The equipment design is in pretty heavy flux right now.

=How the Game Works=
This is a quick overview of how the game functions. It's good to have a handle on this so you know what you can do.
==Heroes==
[[Hero]]es are generated with [[History]], which drives [[Aspect]]s, which drive [[Stat]]s.

Hero History is generated as three lines, an Origin, and Anecdote, and a Motivation. These affect prime stats and personality stats, and also seed Hooks.

History lines leave behind a number of [[Hooks]] (usually 3 per hero), which are more specific character aspects and often take the form of a personality flaw or quirk. Hooks are great things to hang quests off of! They're also useful for letting a hero have a moment of badassery or weakness that's totally in theme for them. You can call out hooks when adding story roles, if you want to tell a whole story that hinges on one, or if you want to call out an optional character to provide an alternative path, that sort of thing.

[[Aspect]]s are just facts about the hero. Stuff like "human", "female", "attractedToMen", "hunter", "missingLeftArm". Aspects can carry stat modifiers and [[Effect]]s. Aspects are the workhorse of the dynamic content in the game, almost everything you need to know about a hero, site, anything really, can be accessed as an aspect (other than stat values). (History lines cannot be queried, but can apply aspects, which can be queried.) Hooks are just aspects with a special naming convention and some extra tooling around them.

[[Stat]]s are divided into Prime and Secondary, and into Gameplay and Personality. You can use any of the stats when selecting targets and determining difficulty rolls for events. Some stats have different natural ranges, which is a bit awkward, but that's where we're at right now. Personality stats are a great way to make characters come alive.

==Overland Map==
See: [[Campaign]]

The overland map is randomly generated, and fits together like board game tiles. In between tiles, mountain ranges and rivers create barriers that restrict travel. Players explore one tile at a time, scouting the tile, fighting any lurking threats, and then defending and improving the tile over time.

About half of the tiles the player explores will have an enemy lair on them. Lairs must be cleared through combat. Attacking a lair triggers an ''Arrive at Site'' story. Empty tiles may trigger a ''Wilderness Scouting'' 'story. Monsters will occasionally attack tiles that the player controls. The player will be prompted to defend.

'''(NOT YET IMPLEMENTED):''' As play progresses through the [[chapter]]s , the player will gain access to more and more area, which means additional tiles will be accessible. Control of tiles is important to the player, because it provides benefits at the end of each chapter, and Tiles are a source of stories and advancement for characters as well.

==Mission Maps==
[[Missions]] take place on randomly generated maps. The way it works is there are a set of scripts, and each script builds one type of map, with some random variation. Mission maps are designed to break the encounter into 2-4 sections, so that the player has some control over the pace of the fight.

==Legacy and Unlockables==
A player's [[Legacy]] is a collection of their favorite heroes, and these heroes can rejoin playthrough after playthrough. Similarly we track things the player has done over time as [[Unlockables]], which are also stored in the legacy. Stories should be able to query this stuff.

==Effects: Triggers, Targets and Outcomes==
Most things that happen in the game are modeled with [[Effects]]. Effects each have a trigger, a set of targets, and a set of branching outcomes. This same system is used for combat abilities and storytelling.

Stories use this system to specify when they can be told, and how they change the game world.

See Main Article: [[Story Inputs and Outputs]]

=Tools=
==Set up your work space==
If you are a developer and have version control access, you should also have access to the version control setup guide, which is not stored on this wiki since it contains some sensitive information. Do that setup first.

* How to run [[Scratchpad]],
* Some common [[Technical Difficulties]].
* Learn how to [[Testing|test]] your content.

==Exploring Existing Content==

The fastest way to find the content is by using [[Scratchpad]], but a lot of it can be found in the game as well, if you have cheats turned on. The [[Character Sheet]] is home to a lot of this, and the [[Content Editor]] can be pulled up with F12 once you're in-game.

[[Combat Lab]] is a great place to see what's currently possible in the game. From here, there a number of cheats accessible that will help you to build any character you want to try out. Gear upgrades, ability upgrades, and (some) narrative content can all be accessed here if you poke around. Particularly, check out the [[Character Sheet]].

[[Environment Lab]] will show you what mission maps we currently support.

[[Name Lab]] gives you some insight into the name generator.

[[The Content and Comics Editor]] is where the vast bulk of the content in the game is accessible.

[[Character Lab]] is currently sorta broken, but wants to be a catalog of all the heroes and monsters we can generate.

==Using The Editors==
See main article: [[Comic Editor Reference]]

=Tone, Style, Voice, Visuals=
hey what's a good story?

What's our "bar" for comic panels?

How many personality-specific lines should there be?

Let's decide all this!

=Stretching and Establishing new Content=

How far can stories range from the existing material and game assets? Spoiler: quite far!

Because we are using 2D art and no animation, certain things are incredibly cheap for us to do, which would be prohibitively expensive for other games. Here are some examples which should give you an idea. In general, we are looking for writing to stretch and grow our content range as much as possible.

Here are few but if you have a particular idea, run it past!

'''Comic Art''' is very cheap. If you need a prop or a background to tell a story properly, ask for it!

'''Special Gear''' Weapons are maybe the second-cheapest asset class in the game, specify as many as you like. Augments are also pretty cheap. Armor is fairly expensive, but we can do it if it feels really special.

'''One-Off Monsters''' if none of the existing monsters make sense, you can call for a one-off monster to appear in a story or a fight. Most stories probably won't need this, but it's relatively inexpensive, so let's do it when it makes sense.

'''Body Modifications''' are where our character rig really shines. Any limb, or the head, can be swapped out for something monstrous or more awesome. Hair styles, skin patterns, scars, tattoos, bring it! It gets a little tricky if it modifies the face, because the different facial expressions

'''Playable Characters''' might be monsters or weirdthings that you can recruit or get transformed into. Fairly cheap, and we really want these. One thing to consider is whether they will be able to use weapons or armor. The default approach is that non-humans don't use gear, but we could possibly make an exception for weapon-wielding, since that is relatively easy to rig up.

'''In-game Scenery''' is cheap, and could double as comic props?

'''Map icons''' are very cheap if you need something specific.

'''In-Game Environments''' are expensive, since they require a lot of art to work together, and a deal of programming too. But, bring your ideas. We might be able to make something work.

'''Combat Abilities''' Do you need special abilities, as rewards, for one-off enemies, playable characters, or whatever? They are pretty easy to make! Say what you want and we can talk it over.

'''Buffs/Debuffs''' are relatively cheap, particularly if they are similar to an existing effect.

'''Combat Avantages/Disadvantages''' are not totally implemented, so let us know what you want to see.

=Event Types=
There are maybe 10 or 12 different types of randomly selected events that we need. They each cover a particular situation, have different inputs and outputs, and generally impose particular constraints on the writer.

See main article: [[Event Types]].

Achievement

2018-03-03T16:34:13Z

Tim: Created page with "An accomplishment tied to player activity that may or may not unlock game features."

An accomplishment tied to [[player]] activity that may or may not unlock game features.

Event Types

2018-03-03T15:55:54Z

Tim: /* Comparing Story Types */

Stories in Wildermyth are applied procedurally. When the player is in a situation that calls for a story, the game searches the database of events for all the stories that could fit the situation, and then picks one randomly. Different situations come with different storytelling constraints.

A Note on Branching: Branching events are currently pretty awkward in our system, and so most of our stories currently revolve around a single choice. If this is too limiting, let's talk about it! We have some ideas for how to improve it but really it depends on what you want to write.

Another thing is that we're trying to avoid hard-and-fast rules here. In particular, any time is a good time to tell a more involved story, if that's what the story wants. The guidelines here are just guidelines.

=Some Things=
* '''[[Job]]s''' are things that take time on the overland map. The idea is your heroes work on something for a while, building, researching, investigating, all that. Jobs probably make the most sense as parts of Delvings, Site Quests, and Personal Upgrade Quests.
* '''[[Mission]]s:''' some stories might also call for fights in the middle of 'em. That's cool.
* '''Character Development''' is a blanket outcome that includes [[history]] lines, [[relationship]]s, [[stat]]s, [[aspect]]s, and [[equipment]]. Anything that moves a character forward.
* '''Combat advantage/disadvantage''' is somewhat vague right now, because we haven't built a set of tools for it yet. Specify what you want in STUBS or elsewhere and we'll try to work it out.

==Exploration Oriented Stories==
Exploration is a core feature of our game. We want a wide variety of stories here, and they can be somewhat involved.

===Wilderness Scouting===
When you scout a new tile, and there are no enemies, there might be something else interesting to interact with.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A fairly large number! Scouting is a common activity, so we expect the player to see 12-20 of these per game.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium. They're a bread and butter event. If they get too involved, consider splitting off as a Delving or Personal Quest?
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Party
|-
! Suggested Output
| Station, Delving, Character Development, Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for "wilderness". Silences, Witchstone, The Gambler...
|}

===Arrive at Hostile Site===
When you arrive at a hostile site for the first time, it's scary! There might be interesting site features, or a relationship story to tell, a prisoner to decide whether to rescue, or a novel tactic to consider. These can establish details about the site and the combat to come.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A large number! Attacking a hostile site is a dramatic focus and we want a big variety of stories.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium. Want to maintain a sense of danger and unease.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Delving, Additional Story (mid-mission or victory), Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for "heroesArriveAtSite". "One False Step", "Splinter", "Troygan"
|}

==Tactical Stories==
Like ArriveAtSite events, these events set up fights. Tactical Stories are stories that carry tactics, but not Exploration. Defense missions, ambush/escape missions, and retaking a site all call for tactical events that are more about the action and less about the mystery of the place.

Since tactical events are the most repeatable, it makes sense for them to be about risk management. Choices between a risky option and a safer option are recommended.

===Ambushed===
So you're scouting, right? But this is a dangerous place, and sometimes the Scouter becomes the Scouted, and then you might be AMBUSHED! Now you might have a few minutes to prepare, or a split second to make a key decision, and then you'll most likely be fighting.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Probably a small number. Ambush is a necessary risk, but it's not super fun and it's ok for it to be basically a generic situation.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. We don't want people farming ambush events, or feeling like they need to be ambushed to see all the content.
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Recruit, Escape
|-
! Example Content
| doesn't exist yet, but search defend_camp for some similar ideas.
|}

===Tactical Defense===
Monsters attack you sometimes, and you need to make some choices about how the fight should go.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A small number? We think the player will spend most of their time on offense.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to medium. We don't want defense missions to feel like a "reward."
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Flee?
|-
! Example Content
| These might not be great examples, but search encounter_defend
|}

===Attack Site (subsequent)===
Maybe you tried to attack this place once and failed. Or maybe you held it for a while and then left, and the monsters have moved back in. Either way we gotta set up the fight.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A small number. We don't expect this situation to be common and it's not particularly epic.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development
|-
! Example Content
| encounter_heroesArriveAtSite_returnAssault_song BUT, it's probably more specific and memorable than we really need.
|}

==Combat-Oriented Stories==
Ok so, you've made some choices, and the battle starts. This part of the game is what we call the [[Missions|Mission]], where everything is a 2D square grid and you hop around hitting foes. There could be stories here! I mean, definitely we want at least some.

===Mortal Choice===
When a hero falls to zero HP for the first time, they get a Mortal Choice, of whether to take a Heroic Death or fall back with some kind of maiming. Heroic Deaths are generally fairly powerful and can swing the combat in your favor, and we want them to be a valid choice, especially on higher difficulties.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Not sure but probably few. Could be cool to tell some specific stories about enemy types, damage types leading to particular injuries, etc., but also these will not come up too many times per playthrough, so are lower priority.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to Medium. Don't want to take away from the action too much, especially if the player is losing and multiple mortal choices are happening in a single fight.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Hero, Foe (who attacked hero)
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage, Death, Character Development
|-
! Example Content
| search for deathChoice
|}

===Mid-mission story===
We've only played around with this a little, but the idea is that under some conditions a little story can pop up in the middle of the action, and give you an interesting choice. This is experimental stuff but if you have an idea for a story that makes the most sense to live here, let's do it! Could work well as a way to establish site details, to start/continue/end another story, etc..

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Not sure! We need to try this out and see how it feels. The main rule for these is that they should make sense in context. If a particular questline calls for one, or the story doesn't make sense without the urgency of combat. In general we want to see these at most once per combat, and my guess is, more like every other or every third combat, and then probably only the first time you fight at a site, not so much on defense missions, etc..
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium? What feels good?
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Recruit, Station, Delving, Additional Story
|-
! Example Content
| not implemented yet, but check out chapter1_gorgon_event_3_3 for an old idea.
|}

===Mission Victory===
You win! Celebrate a bit! Maybe also mourn your friends who died or were wounded.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A medium amount. There's a good variety of situations to cover, what with who might be wounded or not, what we were fighting and where, and what we found afterward. Good place to put rewards maybe? Character/relationship development?
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. Victories don't call for choices most of the time, because anyway if there are rewards the player will be making choices about those and that will feel great.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development, Stations, Delvings, Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for missionVictory
|}

===Mission Defeat===
You lose. Bad times. Probably one or more of your heroes is still alive, but wounded and retreating. But in general, bad times.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Very few. We are specifically NOT making special defeat stories for quest lines, etc.. Nope. Not doing it. Most players will never see that content.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. Nobody wants to dwell on how awful that just was.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development?? None??
|-
! Example Content
| search for missionDefeat
|}

==Infrastructure Stories==
A chunk of your time on the Overland Map goes to managing tiles you control. Stuff like building roads, bridges, mountain passes, that sort of thing. That's boring. But then also, investigating mysteries and restoring ancient magics...

===Site Feature Job (Delving)===
Explore the old ruins, catalogue the library, sample the wine cellar, walk the old forest... Delvings are [[Job]]s that take time, that produce some reward or additional story or choice. Delvings are visible as soon as you take over a site. The point is that these places are interesting, full of history and whatnot, and it's worth investigating. Delvings are optional and can be ignored.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Potentially a lot? This is unexplored space but it seems like it could be a lot of fun.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| medium to high. Good place to hang introductions to more complicated chains, but fairly simple "this is a library" is also totally fine.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Stations! Character Development, maybe Recruit once in a while.
|-
! Example Content
| doesn't exist yet. We need to define what these look like.
|}

===Founding Towns===
Sometimes you'll get to make new towns! That's exciting and we want to celebrate it. Maybe give the player an opportunity to name the town, or at least have some fun and get some reward.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| One or a Few.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| low. Anything that the player can see more than once should be kept simple.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Tile, Party, Company
|-
! Suggested Output
| Name the town
|-
! Example Content
| See the "We called it Legacy" event for an example of naming with options and a prompt.
|}

===Recruiting Heroes===
Your heroes can die, and you can choose to recruit more at towns. This is in addition to any recruits you might find out-and-about, so to speak. Recruiting stories are an opportunity to introduce the new guy, establish some relationships, start caring about 'em.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A few.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to medium. Mostly we want to introduce the new hero and and maybe learn a little bit about them.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Volunteer
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development (relationship with recruited hero?)
|-
! Example Content
| search "welcomeRecruit"
|}

==Randomly Surfaced Stories==
Some opportunities pop up seemingly at random, as time passes. These might be hero-oriented or site-oriented.

===Personal Relationship (Hook) Quest===
Characters have histories, and have their own motivations. Sometimes these bubble up. Relationship quests center on a relationship between two heroes, and tell a story about one of the character's "hooks", which are personality-aspects that are set by history lines. Generally the quest line will introduce itself, the characters will go on a journey, do a fight, and then resolve the quest.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Many, and these are mostly written or in progress already.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| High. Great opportunity to deep dive on characters, relationships, etc..
|-
! Special Input
| Hook, Hook2 (friend, rival, or lover), Site, ...
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development!!! Other stuff is ok too.
|-
! Example Content
| search "hook". Hook quests that exist are generally broken in to 3 events each: intro, arrive, and resolve.
|}

===Personal Upgrade Quest===
Heroes are self-motivated and ambitious, and might get ideas for how to improve themselves. This might be their gear, or something more like, personal/magical/whateverical. For example, if a character loses their eyesight, they might go on a quest to build a pair of Ruby Eyes that allow them to fight again. Or something that's easier to implement than that, would also be cool. Similar to relationship hook quests?? This category is a bit wobbly.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Unclear. Maybe a lot, if they are fun. Maybe a whole lot, eventually.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Meidum to High. These should be ambitions are really important to the hero, require help from friends to accomplish, and are somewhat involved.
|-
! Special Input
| Hook... ??? what would be helpful?
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development!!! Other stuff is ok too.
|-
! Example Content
| Most similar to hooks, but with a clearer focus on "oh I want to get rid of this wolf head" or "actually I want to go full wolf mode" or "There's an epic blade I must possess..." Can definitely key off of previous injuries, relationships, whatever stories you want to tell.
|}

===Site Stories===
AKA Site Quests. When you control tiles, sometimes stuff bubbles up. Unlike a Delving, this is stuff that was not present when you arrived, but has arrived or manifested or coming out of hiding since your arrival. The locals have been seeing funny lights in the forest. Someone stole your sweet roll. Who knows. Scooby Doo stuff. Point is, it's an opportunity for someone to investigate, maybe do some research, have a little fight, get down tonight. These are usually optional quests that have a little intro hook, and then go from there.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Need a goodly amount for launch, maybe increasing to a very large amount if they are a lot of fun.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to High. Mysteries come in all sizes.
|-
! Special Input
| Tile?? what's helpful?
|-
! Suggested Output
| Stations, friggen anything else too.
|-
! Example Content
| search "hook". Hook quests that exist are generally broken in to 3 events each: intro, arrive, and resolve.
|}

==Experimental Stories==
What else can we do? Float your ideas!

===Yondering Events===
Big, map-altering events that occur at the end of intervals / the start of chapters. These should have a big impact on gameplay and maybe a couple of followup points. Think: rampaging collosus, volcanic eruption, starfall, monstrous harvest, attack of the Vulture Lord? A place for big Villains, maybe? crazy weird stuff? Who knows! But, we don't have any yet and they sound kindof expensive so we'll see. Might end up being a post-launch thing.

===Scenarios===
These are stand-alone battles accessed from the main menu, maybe unlocked when you have certain heroes in your legacy. Predefined maps and monsters. Crafted experiences. Stories to go with. Could be an awesome place to set modders loose?

===Adventures===
This is an idea for stand-alone sequences that are not related to the [[campaign]]. They can tell much more specific stories, and will use a sequence of predefined encounters (optionally, fixed maps, monster layouts even?) They tell a single story. We don't have any of these yet but it seems like they might be cool maybe? Might unlock similar to scenarios? Or? Good for modders?

==Comparing Story Types==
Delving is exploring the stuff that was there when you arrived. Site Quests interact with the stuff that has arrived, or surfaced since.

Ambushes vs ArrivalAtHostileSites vs WildernessEncounters

Job

2018-03-03T15:53:20Z

Tim: Created page with "Some number of heroes has to sit at a site for some number of days. It's a thing that can be completed, and then there may be further steps."

Some number of [[hero]]es has to sit at a site for some number of days. It's a thing that can be completed, and then there may be further steps.

Event Types

2018-03-03T15:50:37Z

Tim: /* Site Feature Job (Delving) */

Stories in Wildermyth are applied procedurally. When the player is in a situation that calls for a story, the game searches the database of events for all the stories that could fit the situation, and then picks one randomly. Different situations come with different storytelling constraints.

A Note on Branching: Branching events are currently pretty awkward in our system, and so most of our stories currently revolve around a single choice. If this is too limiting, let's talk about it! We have some ideas for how to improve it but really it depends on what you want to write.

Another thing is that we're trying to avoid hard-and-fast rules here. In particular, any time is a good time to tell a more involved story, if that's what the story wants. The guidelines here are just guidelines.

=Some Things=
* '''[[Job]]s''' are things that take time on the overland map. The idea is your heroes work on something for a while, building, researching, investigating, all that. Jobs probably make the most sense as parts of Delvings, Site Quests, and Personal Upgrade Quests.
* '''[[Mission]]s:''' some stories might also call for fights in the middle of 'em. That's cool.
* '''Character Development''' is a blanket outcome that includes [[history]] lines, [[relationship]]s, [[stat]]s, [[aspect]]s, and [[equipment]]. Anything that moves a character forward.
* '''Combat advantage/disadvantage''' is somewhat vague right now, because we haven't built a set of tools for it yet. Specify what you want in STUBS or elsewhere and we'll try to work it out.

==Exploration Oriented Stories==
Exploration is a core feature of our game. We want a wide variety of stories here, and they can be somewhat involved.

===Wilderness Scouting===
When you scout a new tile, and there are no enemies, there might be something else interesting to interact with.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A fairly large number! Scouting is a common activity, so we expect the player to see 12-20 of these per game.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium. They're a bread and butter event. If they get too involved, consider splitting off as a Delving or Personal Quest?
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Party
|-
! Suggested Output
| Station, Delving, Character Development, Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for "wilderness". Silences, Witchstone, The Gambler...
|}

===Arrive at Hostile Site===
When you arrive at a hostile site for the first time, it's scary! There might be interesting site features, or a relationship story to tell, a prisoner to decide whether to rescue, or a novel tactic to consider. These can establish details about the site and the combat to come.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A large number! Attacking a hostile site is a dramatic focus and we want a big variety of stories.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium. Want to maintain a sense of danger and unease.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Delving, Additional Story (mid-mission or victory), Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for "heroesArriveAtSite". "One False Step", "Splinter", "Troygan"
|}

==Tactical Stories==
Like ArriveAtSite events, these events set up fights. Tactical Stories are stories that carry tactics, but not Exploration. Defense missions, ambush/escape missions, and retaking a site all call for tactical events that are more about the action and less about the mystery of the place.

Since tactical events are the most repeatable, it makes sense for them to be about risk management. Choices between a risky option and a safer option are recommended.

===Ambushed===
So you're scouting, right? But this is a dangerous place, and sometimes the Scouter becomes the Scouted, and then you might be AMBUSHED! Now you might have a few minutes to prepare, or a split second to make a key decision, and then you'll most likely be fighting.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Probably a small number. Ambush is a necessary risk, but it's not super fun and it's ok for it to be basically a generic situation.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. We don't want people farming ambush events, or feeling like they need to be ambushed to see all the content.
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Recruit, Escape
|-
! Example Content
| doesn't exist yet, but search defend_camp for some similar ideas.
|}

===Tactical Defense===
Monsters attack you sometimes, and you need to make some choices about how the fight should go.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A small number? We think the player will spend most of their time on offense.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to medium. We don't want defense missions to feel like a "reward."
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Flee?
|-
! Example Content
| These might not be great examples, but search encounter_defend
|}

===Attack Site (subsequent)===
Maybe you tried to attack this place once and failed. Or maybe you held it for a while and then left, and the monsters have moved back in. Either way we gotta set up the fight.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A small number. We don't expect this situation to be common and it's not particularly epic.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development
|-
! Example Content
| encounter_heroesArriveAtSite_returnAssault_song BUT, it's probably more specific and memorable than we really need.
|}

==Combat-Oriented Stories==
Ok so, you've made some choices, and the battle starts. This part of the game is what we call the [[Missions|Mission]], where everything is a 2D square grid and you hop around hitting foes. There could be stories here! I mean, definitely we want at least some.

===Mortal Choice===
When a hero falls to zero HP for the first time, they get a Mortal Choice, of whether to take a Heroic Death or fall back with some kind of maiming. Heroic Deaths are generally fairly powerful and can swing the combat in your favor, and we want them to be a valid choice, especially on higher difficulties.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Not sure but probably few. Could be cool to tell some specific stories about enemy types, damage types leading to particular injuries, etc., but also these will not come up too many times per playthrough, so are lower priority.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to Medium. Don't want to take away from the action too much, especially if the player is losing and multiple mortal choices are happening in a single fight.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Hero, Foe (who attacked hero)
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage, Death, Character Development
|-
! Example Content
| search for deathChoice
|}

===Mid-mission story===
We've only played around with this a little, but the idea is that under some conditions a little story can pop up in the middle of the action, and give you an interesting choice. This is experimental stuff but if you have an idea for a story that makes the most sense to live here, let's do it! Could work well as a way to establish site details, to start/continue/end another story, etc..

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Not sure! We need to try this out and see how it feels. The main rule for these is that they should make sense in context. If a particular questline calls for one, or the story doesn't make sense without the urgency of combat. In general we want to see these at most once per combat, and my guess is, more like every other or every third combat, and then probably only the first time you fight at a site, not so much on defense missions, etc..
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium? What feels good?
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Recruit, Station, Delving, Additional Story
|-
! Example Content
| not implemented yet, but check out chapter1_gorgon_event_3_3 for an old idea.
|}

===Mission Victory===
You win! Celebrate a bit! Maybe also mourn your friends who died or were wounded.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A medium amount. There's a good variety of situations to cover, what with who might be wounded or not, what we were fighting and where, and what we found afterward. Good place to put rewards maybe? Character/relationship development?
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. Victories don't call for choices most of the time, because anyway if there are rewards the player will be making choices about those and that will feel great.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development, Stations, Delvings, Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for missionVictory
|}

===Mission Defeat===
You lose. Bad times. Probably one or more of your heroes is still alive, but wounded and retreating. But in general, bad times.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Very few. We are specifically NOT making special defeat stories for quest lines, etc.. Nope. Not doing it. Most players will never see that content.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. Nobody wants to dwell on how awful that just was.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development?? None??
|-
! Example Content
| search for missionDefeat
|}

==Infrastructure Stories==
A chunk of your time on the Overland Map goes to managing tiles you control. Stuff like building roads, bridges, mountain passes, that sort of thing. That's boring. But then also, investigating mysteries and restoring ancient magics...

===Site Feature Job (Delving)===
Explore the old ruins, catalogue the library, sample the wine cellar, walk the old forest... Delvings are [[Job]]s that take time, that produce some reward or additional story or choice. Delvings are visible as soon as you take over a site. The point is that these places are interesting, full of history and whatnot, and it's worth investigating. Delvings are optional and can be ignored.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Potentially a lot? This is unexplored space but it seems like it could be a lot of fun.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| medium to high. Good place to hang introductions to more complicated chains, but fairly simple "this is a library" is also totally fine.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Stations! Character Development, maybe Recruit once in a while.
|-
! Example Content
| doesn't exist yet. We need to define what these look like.
|}

===Founding Towns===
Sometimes you'll get to make new towns! That's exciting and we want to celebrate it. Maybe give the player an opportunity to name the town, or at least have some fun and get some reward.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| One or a Few.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| low. Anything that the player can see more than once should be kept simple.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Tile, Party, Company
|-
! Suggested Output
| Name the town
|-
! Example Content
| See the "We called it Legacy" event for an example of naming with options and a prompt.
|}

===Recruiting Heroes===
Your heroes can die, and you can choose to recruit more at towns. This is in addition to any recruits you might find out-and-about, so to speak. Recruiting stories are an opportunity to introduce the new guy, establish some relationships, start caring about 'em.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A few.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to medium. Mostly we want to introduce the new hero and and maybe learn a little bit about them.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Volunteer
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development (relationship with recruited hero?)
|-
! Example Content
| search "welcomeRecruit"
|}

==Randomly Surfaced Stories==
Some opportunities pop up seemingly at random, as time passes. These might be hero-oriented or site-oriented.

===Personal Relationship (Hook) Quest===
Characters have histories, and have their own motivations. Sometimes these bubble up. Relationship quests center on a relationship between two heroes, and tell a story about one of the character's "hooks", which are personality-aspects that are set by history lines. Generally the quest line will introduce itself, the characters will go on a journey, do a fight, and then resolve the quest.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Many, and these are mostly written or in progress already.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| High. Great opportunity to deep dive on characters, relationships, etc..
|-
! Special Input
| Hook, Hook2 (friend, rival, or lover), Site, ...
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development!!! Other stuff is ok too.
|-
! Example Content
| search "hook". Hook quests that exist are generally broken in to 3 events each: intro, arrive, and resolve.
|}

===Personal Upgrade Quest===
Heroes are self-motivated and ambitious, and might get ideas for how to improve themselves. This might be their gear, or something more like, personal/magical/whateverical. For example, if a character loses their eyesight, they might go on a quest to build a pair of Ruby Eyes that allow them to fight again. Or something that's easier to implement than that, would also be cool. Similar to relationship hook quests?? This category is a bit wobbly.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Unclear. Maybe a lot, if they are fun. Maybe a whole lot, eventually.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Meidum to High. These should be ambitions are really important to the hero, require help from friends to accomplish, and are somewhat involved.
|-
! Special Input
| Hook... ??? what would be helpful?
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development!!! Other stuff is ok too.
|-
! Example Content
| Most similar to hooks, but with a clearer focus on "oh I want to get rid of this wolf head" or "actually I want to go full wolf mode" or "There's an epic blade I must possess..." Can definitely key off of previous injuries, relationships, whatever stories you want to tell.
|}

===Site Stories===
AKA Site Quests. When you control tiles, sometimes stuff bubbles up. Unlike a Delving, this is stuff that was not present when you arrived, but has arrived or manifested or coming out of hiding since your arrival. The locals have been seeing funny lights in the forest. Someone stole your sweet roll. Who knows. Scooby Doo stuff. Point is, it's an opportunity for someone to investigate, maybe do some research, have a little fight, get down tonight. These are usually optional quests that have a little intro hook, and then go from there.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Need a goodly amount for launch, maybe increasing to a very large amount if they are a lot of fun.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to High. Mysteries come in all sizes.
|-
! Special Input
| Tile?? what's helpful?
|-
! Suggested Output
| Stations, friggen anything else too.
|-
! Example Content
| search "hook". Hook quests that exist are generally broken in to 3 events each: intro, arrive, and resolve.
|}

==Experimental Stories==
What else can we do? Float your ideas!

===Yondering Events===
Big, map-altering events that occur at the end of intervals / the start of chapters. These should have a big impact on gameplay and maybe a couple of followup points. Think: rampaging collosus, volcanic eruption, starfall, monstrous harvest, attack of the Vulture Lord? A place for big Villains, maybe? crazy weird stuff? Who knows! But, we don't have any yet and they sound kindof expensive so we'll see. Might end up being a post-launch thing.

===Scenarios===
These are stand-alone battles accessed from the main menu, maybe unlocked when you have certain heroes in your legacy. Predefined maps and monsters. Crafted experiences. Stories to go with. Could be an awesome place to set modders loose?

===Adventures===
This is an idea for stand-alone sequences that are not related to the [[campaign]]. They can tell much more specific stories, and will use a sequence of predefined encounters (optionally, fixed maps, monster layouts even?) They tell a single story. We don't have any of these yet but it seems like they might be cool maybe? Might unlock similar to scenarios? Or? Good for modders?

==Comparing Story Types==
Ambushes vs ArrivalAtHostileSites vs WildernessEncounters

Event Types

2018-03-03T15:45:07Z

Tim:

Stories in Wildermyth are applied procedurally. When the player is in a situation that calls for a story, the game searches the database of events for all the stories that could fit the situation, and then picks one randomly. Different situations come with different storytelling constraints.

A Note on Branching: Branching events are currently pretty awkward in our system, and so most of our stories currently revolve around a single choice. If this is too limiting, let's talk about it! We have some ideas for how to improve it but really it depends on what you want to write.

Another thing is that we're trying to avoid hard-and-fast rules here. In particular, any time is a good time to tell a more involved story, if that's what the story wants. The guidelines here are just guidelines.

=Some Things=
* '''[[Job]]s''' are things that take time on the overland map. The idea is your heroes work on something for a while, building, researching, investigating, all that. Jobs probably make the most sense as parts of Delvings, Site Quests, and Personal Upgrade Quests.
* '''[[Mission]]s:''' some stories might also call for fights in the middle of 'em. That's cool.
* '''Character Development''' is a blanket outcome that includes [[history]] lines, [[relationship]]s, [[stat]]s, [[aspect]]s, and [[equipment]]. Anything that moves a character forward.
* '''Combat advantage/disadvantage''' is somewhat vague right now, because we haven't built a set of tools for it yet. Specify what you want in STUBS or elsewhere and we'll try to work it out.

==Exploration Oriented Stories==
Exploration is a core feature of our game. We want a wide variety of stories here, and they can be somewhat involved.

===Wilderness Scouting===
When you scout a new tile, and there are no enemies, there might be something else interesting to interact with.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A fairly large number! Scouting is a common activity, so we expect the player to see 12-20 of these per game.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium. They're a bread and butter event. If they get too involved, consider splitting off as a Delving or Personal Quest?
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Party
|-
! Suggested Output
| Station, Delving, Character Development, Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for "wilderness". Silences, Witchstone, The Gambler...
|}

===Arrive at Hostile Site===
When you arrive at a hostile site for the first time, it's scary! There might be interesting site features, or a relationship story to tell, a prisoner to decide whether to rescue, or a novel tactic to consider. These can establish details about the site and the combat to come.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A large number! Attacking a hostile site is a dramatic focus and we want a big variety of stories.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium. Want to maintain a sense of danger and unease.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Delving, Additional Story (mid-mission or victory), Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for "heroesArriveAtSite". "One False Step", "Splinter", "Troygan"
|}

==Tactical Stories==
Like ArriveAtSite events, these events set up fights. Tactical Stories are stories that carry tactics, but not Exploration. Defense missions, ambush/escape missions, and retaking a site all call for tactical events that are more about the action and less about the mystery of the place.

Since tactical events are the most repeatable, it makes sense for them to be about risk management. Choices between a risky option and a safer option are recommended.

===Ambushed===
So you're scouting, right? But this is a dangerous place, and sometimes the Scouter becomes the Scouted, and then you might be AMBUSHED! Now you might have a few minutes to prepare, or a split second to make a key decision, and then you'll most likely be fighting.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Probably a small number. Ambush is a necessary risk, but it's not super fun and it's ok for it to be basically a generic situation.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. We don't want people farming ambush events, or feeling like they need to be ambushed to see all the content.
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Recruit, Escape
|-
! Example Content
| doesn't exist yet, but search defend_camp for some similar ideas.
|}

===Tactical Defense===
Monsters attack you sometimes, and you need to make some choices about how the fight should go.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A small number? We think the player will spend most of their time on offense.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to medium. We don't want defense missions to feel like a "reward."
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Flee?
|-
! Example Content
| These might not be great examples, but search encounter_defend
|}

===Attack Site (subsequent)===
Maybe you tried to attack this place once and failed. Or maybe you held it for a while and then left, and the monsters have moved back in. Either way we gotta set up the fight.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A small number. We don't expect this situation to be common and it's not particularly epic.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development
|-
! Example Content
| encounter_heroesArriveAtSite_returnAssault_song BUT, it's probably more specific and memorable than we really need.
|}

==Combat-Oriented Stories==
Ok so, you've made some choices, and the battle starts. This part of the game is what we call the [[Missions|Mission]], where everything is a 2D square grid and you hop around hitting foes. There could be stories here! I mean, definitely we want at least some.

===Mortal Choice===
When a hero falls to zero HP for the first time, they get a Mortal Choice, of whether to take a Heroic Death or fall back with some kind of maiming. Heroic Deaths are generally fairly powerful and can swing the combat in your favor, and we want them to be a valid choice, especially on higher difficulties.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Not sure but probably few. Could be cool to tell some specific stories about enemy types, damage types leading to particular injuries, etc., but also these will not come up too many times per playthrough, so are lower priority.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to Medium. Don't want to take away from the action too much, especially if the player is losing and multiple mortal choices are happening in a single fight.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Hero, Foe (who attacked hero)
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage, Death, Character Development
|-
! Example Content
| search for deathChoice
|}

===Mid-mission story===
We've only played around with this a little, but the idea is that under some conditions a little story can pop up in the middle of the action, and give you an interesting choice. This is experimental stuff but if you have an idea for a story that makes the most sense to live here, let's do it! Could work well as a way to establish site details, to start/continue/end another story, etc..

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Not sure! We need to try this out and see how it feels. The main rule for these is that they should make sense in context. If a particular questline calls for one, or the story doesn't make sense without the urgency of combat. In general we want to see these at most once per combat, and my guess is, more like every other or every third combat, and then probably only the first time you fight at a site, not so much on defense missions, etc..
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium? What feels good?
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Recruit, Station, Delving, Additional Story
|-
! Example Content
| not implemented yet, but check out chapter1_gorgon_event_3_3 for an old idea.
|}

===Mission Victory===
You win! Celebrate a bit! Maybe also mourn your friends who died or were wounded.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A medium amount. There's a good variety of situations to cover, what with who might be wounded or not, what we were fighting and where, and what we found afterward. Good place to put rewards maybe? Character/relationship development?
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. Victories don't call for choices most of the time, because anyway if there are rewards the player will be making choices about those and that will feel great.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development, Stations, Delvings, Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for missionVictory
|}

===Mission Defeat===
You lose. Bad times. Probably one or more of your heroes is still alive, but wounded and retreating. But in general, bad times.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Very few. We are specifically NOT making special defeat stories for quest lines, etc.. Nope. Not doing it. Most players will never see that content.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. Nobody wants to dwell on how awful that just was.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development?? None??
|-
! Example Content
| search for missionDefeat
|}

==Infrastructure Stories==
A chunk of your time on the Overland Map goes to managing tiles you control. Stuff like building roads, bridges, mountain passes, that sort of thing. That's boring. But then also, investigating mysteries and restoring ancient magics...

===Site Feature Job (Delving)===
Explore the old ruins, catalogue the library, sample the wine cellar, walk the old forest... Delvings are [[Jobs]] that take time, that produce some reward or additional story or choice. Delvings are visible as soon as you take over a site. The point is that these places are interesting, full of history and whatnot, and it's worth investigating. Delvings are optional and can be ignored.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Potentially a lot? This is unexplored space but it seems like it could be a lot of fun.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| medium to high. Good place to hang introductions to more complicated chains, but fairly simple "this is a library" is also totally fine.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Stations! Character Development, maybe Recruit once in a while.
|-
! Example Content
| doesn't exist yet. We need to define what these look like.
|}

===Founding Towns===
Sometimes you'll get to make new towns! That's exciting and we want to celebrate it. Maybe give the player an opportunity to name the town, or at least have some fun and get some reward.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| One or a Few.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| low. Anything that the player can see more than once should be kept simple.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Tile, Party, Company
|-
! Suggested Output
| Name the town
|-
! Example Content
| See the "We called it Legacy" event for an example of naming with options and a prompt.
|}

===Recruiting Heroes===
Your heroes can die, and you can choose to recruit more at towns. This is in addition to any recruits you might find out-and-about, so to speak. Recruiting stories are an opportunity to introduce the new guy, establish some relationships, start caring about 'em.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A few.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to medium. Mostly we want to introduce the new hero and and maybe learn a little bit about them.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Volunteer
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development (relationship with recruited hero?)
|-
! Example Content
| search "welcomeRecruit"
|}

==Randomly Surfaced Stories==
Some opportunities pop up seemingly at random, as time passes. These might be hero-oriented or site-oriented.

===Personal Relationship (Hook) Quest===
Characters have histories, and have their own motivations. Sometimes these bubble up. Relationship quests center on a relationship between two heroes, and tell a story about one of the character's "hooks", which are personality-aspects that are set by history lines. Generally the quest line will introduce itself, the characters will go on a journey, do a fight, and then resolve the quest.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Many, and these are mostly written or in progress already.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| High. Great opportunity to deep dive on characters, relationships, etc..
|-
! Special Input
| Hook, Hook2 (friend, rival, or lover), Site, ...
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development!!! Other stuff is ok too.
|-
! Example Content
| search "hook". Hook quests that exist are generally broken in to 3 events each: intro, arrive, and resolve.
|}

===Personal Upgrade Quest===
Heroes are self-motivated and ambitious, and might get ideas for how to improve themselves. This might be their gear, or something more like, personal/magical/whateverical. For example, if a character loses their eyesight, they might go on a quest to build a pair of Ruby Eyes that allow them to fight again. Or something that's easier to implement than that, would also be cool. Similar to relationship hook quests?? This category is a bit wobbly.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Unclear. Maybe a lot, if they are fun. Maybe a whole lot, eventually.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Meidum to High. These should be ambitions are really important to the hero, require help from friends to accomplish, and are somewhat involved.
|-
! Special Input
| Hook... ??? what would be helpful?
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development!!! Other stuff is ok too.
|-
! Example Content
| Most similar to hooks, but with a clearer focus on "oh I want to get rid of this wolf head" or "actually I want to go full wolf mode" or "There's an epic blade I must possess..." Can definitely key off of previous injuries, relationships, whatever stories you want to tell.
|}

===Site Stories===
AKA Site Quests. When you control tiles, sometimes stuff bubbles up. Unlike a Delving, this is stuff that was not present when you arrived, but has arrived or manifested or coming out of hiding since your arrival. The locals have been seeing funny lights in the forest. Someone stole your sweet roll. Who knows. Scooby Doo stuff. Point is, it's an opportunity for someone to investigate, maybe do some research, have a little fight, get down tonight. These are usually optional quests that have a little intro hook, and then go from there.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Need a goodly amount for launch, maybe increasing to a very large amount if they are a lot of fun.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to High. Mysteries come in all sizes.
|-
! Special Input
| Tile?? what's helpful?
|-
! Suggested Output
| Stations, friggen anything else too.
|-
! Example Content
| search "hook". Hook quests that exist are generally broken in to 3 events each: intro, arrive, and resolve.
|}

==Experimental Stories==
What else can we do? Float your ideas!

===Yondering Events===
Big, map-altering events that occur at the end of intervals / the start of chapters. These should have a big impact on gameplay and maybe a couple of followup points. Think: rampaging collosus, volcanic eruption, starfall, monstrous harvest, attack of the Vulture Lord? A place for big Villains, maybe? crazy weird stuff? Who knows! But, we don't have any yet and they sound kindof expensive so we'll see. Might end up being a post-launch thing.

===Scenarios===
These are stand-alone battles accessed from the main menu, maybe unlocked when you have certain heroes in your legacy. Predefined maps and monsters. Crafted experiences. Stories to go with. Could be an awesome place to set modders loose?

===Adventures===
This is an idea for stand-alone sequences that are not related to the [[campaign]]. They can tell much more specific stories, and will use a sequence of predefined encounters (optionally, fixed maps, monster layouts even?) They tell a single story. We don't have any of these yet but it seems like they might be cool maybe? Might unlock similar to scenarios? Or? Good for modders?

==Comparing Story Types==
Ambushes vs ArrivalAtHostileSites vs WildernessEncounters

Event Types

2018-03-03T15:43:40Z

Tim: /* Some Things */

Stories in Wildermyth are applied procedurally. When the player is in a situation that calls for a story, the game searches the database of events for all the stories that could fit the situation, and then picks one randomly. Different situations come with different storytelling constraints.

A Note on Branching: Branching events are currently pretty awkward in our system, and so most of our stories currently revolve around a single choice. If this is too limiting, let's talk about it! We have some ideas for how to improve it but really it depends on what you want to write.

Another thing is that we're trying to avoid hard-and-fast rules here. In particular, any time is a good time to tell a more involved story, if that's what the story wants. The guidelines here are just guidelines.

=Some Things=
* '''[[Job]]s''' are things that take time on the overland map. The idea is your heroes work on something for a while, building, researching, investigating, all that. Jobs probably make the most sense as parts of Delvings, Site Quests, and Personal Upgrade Quests.
* '''[[Mission]]s:''' some stories might also call for fights in the middle of 'em. That's cool.
* '''Character Development''' is a blanket outcome that includes [[history]] lines, [[relationship]]s, [[stat]]s, [[aspect]]s, and [[equipment]]. Anything that moves a character forward.
* '''Combat advantage/disadvantage''' is somewhat vague right now, because we haven't built a set of tools for it yet. Specify what you want in STUBS or elsewhere and we'll try to work it out.

==Exploration Oriented Stories==
Exploration is a core feature of our game. We want a wide variety of stories here, and they can be somewhat involved.

===Wilderness Scouting===
When you scout a new tile, and there are no enemies, there might be something else interesting to interact with.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A fairly large number! Scouting is a common activity, so we expect the player to see 12-20 of these per game.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium. They're a bread and butter event. If they get too involved, consider splitting off as a Delving or Personal Quest?
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Party
|-
! Suggested Output
| Station, Delving, Character Development, Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for "wilderness". Silences, Witchstone, The Gambler...
|}

===Arrive at Hostile Site===
When you arrive at a hostile site for the first time, it's scary! There might be interesting site features, or a relationship story to tell, a prisoner to decide whether to rescue, or a novel tactic to consider. These can establish details about the site and the combat to come.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A large number! Attacking a hostile site is a dramatic focus and we want a big variety of stories.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium. Want to maintain a sense of danger and unease.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Delving, Additional Story (mid-mission or victory), Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for "heroesArriveAtSite". "One False Step", "Splinter", "Troygan"
|}

==Tactical Stories==
Like ArriveAtSite events, these events set up fights. Tactical Stories are stories that carry tactics, but not Exploration. Defense missions, ambush/escape missions, and retaking a site all call for tactical events that are more about the action and less about the mystery of the place.

Since tactical events are the most repeatable, it makes sense for them to be about risk management. Choices between a risky option and a safer option are recommended.

===Ambushed===
So you're scouting, right? But this is a dangerous place, and sometimes the Scouter becomes the Scouted, and then you might be AMBUSHED! Now you might have a few minutes to prepare, or a split second to make a key decision, and then you'll most likely be fighting.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Probably a small number. Ambush is a necessary risk, but it's not super fun and it's ok for it to be basically a generic situation.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. We don't want people farming ambush events, or feeling like they need to be ambushed to see all the content.
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Recruit, Escape
|-
! Example Content
| doesn't exist yet, but search defend_camp for some similar ideas.
|}

===Tactical Defense===
Monsters attack you sometimes, and you need to make some choices about how the fight should go.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A small number? We think the player will spend most of their time on offense.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to medium. We don't want defense missions to feel like a "reward."
|-
! Special Input
| Tile, Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Flee?
|-
! Example Content
| These might not be great examples, but search encounter_defend
|}

===Attack Site (subsequent)===
Maybe you tried to attack this place once and failed. Or maybe you held it for a while and then left, and the monsters have moved back in. Either way we gotta set up the fight.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A small number. We don't expect this situation to be common and it's not particularly epic.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development
|-
! Example Content
| encounter_heroesArriveAtSite_returnAssault_song BUT, it's probably more specific and memorable than we really need.
|}

==Combat-Oriented Stories==
Ok so, you've made some choices, and the battle starts. This part of the game is what we call the [[Missions|Mission]], where everything is a 2D square grid and you hop around hitting foes. There could be stories here! I mean, definitely we want at least some.

===Mortal Choice===
When a hero falls to zero HP for the first time, they get a Mortal Choice, of whether to take a Heroic Death or fall back with some kind of maiming. Heroic Deaths are generally fairly powerful and can swing the combat in your favor, and we want them to be a valid choice, especially on higher difficulties.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Not sure but probably few. Could be cool to tell some specific stories about enemy types, damage types leading to particular injuries, etc., but also these will not come up too many times per playthrough, so are lower priority.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to Medium. Don't want to take away from the action too much, especially if the player is losing and multiple mortal choices are happening in a single fight.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Hero, Foe (who attacked hero)
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage, Death, Character Development
|-
! Example Content
| search for deathChoice
|}

===Mid-mission story===
We've only played around with this a little, but the idea is that under some conditions a little story can pop up in the middle of the action, and give you an interesting choice. This is experimental stuff but if you have an idea for a story that makes the most sense to live here, let's do it! Could work well as a way to establish site details, to start/continue/end another story, etc..

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Not sure! We need to try this out and see how it feels. The main rule for these is that they should make sense in context. If a particular questline calls for one, or the story doesn't make sense without the urgency of combat. In general we want to see these at most once per combat, and my guess is, more like every other or every third combat, and then probably only the first time you fight at a site, not so much on defense missions, etc..
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Medium? What feels good?
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Combat advantage/disadvantage, Character Development, Recruit, Station, Delving, Additional Story
|-
! Example Content
| not implemented yet, but check out chapter1_gorgon_event_3_3 for an old idea.
|}

===Mission Victory===
You win! Celebrate a bit! Maybe also mourn your friends who died or were wounded.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A medium amount. There's a good variety of situations to cover, what with who might be wounded or not, what we were fighting and where, and what we found afterward. Good place to put rewards maybe? Character/relationship development?
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. Victories don't call for choices most of the time, because anyway if there are rewards the player will be making choices about those and that will feel great.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development, Stations, Delvings, Recruit
|-
! Example Content
| search for missionVictory
|}

===Mission Defeat===
You lose. Bad times. Probably one or more of your heroes is still alive, but wounded and retreating. But in general, bad times.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Very few. We are specifically NOT making special defeat stories for quest lines, etc.. Nope. Not doing it. Most players will never see that content.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low. Nobody wants to dwell on how awful that just was.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development?? None??
|-
! Example Content
| search for missionDefeat
|}

==Infrastructure Stories==
A chunk of your time on the Overland Map goes to managing tiles you control. Stuff like building roads, bridges, mountain passes, that sort of thing. That's boring. But then also, investigating mysteries and restoring ancient magics...

===Site Feature Job (Delving)===
Explore the old ruins, catalogue the library, sample the wine cellar, walk the old forest... Delvings are [[Jobs]] that take time, that produce some reward or additional story or choice. Delvings are visible as soon as you take over a site. The point is that these places are interesting, full of history and whatnot, and it's worth investigating. Delvings are optional and can be ignored.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Potentially a lot? This is unexplored space but it seems like it could be a lot of fun.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| medium to high. Good place to hang introductions to more complicated chains, but fairly simple "this is a library" is also totally fine.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Foes, maimedHeroes, deadHeroes
|-
! Suggested Output
| Stations! Character Development, maybe Recruit once in a while.
|-
! Example Content
| doesn't exist yet. We need to define what these look like.
|}

===Founding Towns===
Sometimes you'll get to make new towns! That's exciting and we want to celebrate it. Maybe give the player an opportunity to name the town, or at least have some fun and get some reward.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| One or a Few.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| low. Anything that the player can see more than once should be kept simple.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Tile, Party, Company
|-
! Suggested Output
| Name the town
|-
! Example Content
| See the "We called it Legacy" event for an example of naming with options and a prompt.
|}

===Recruiting Heroes===
Your heroes can die, and you can choose to recruit more at towns. This is in addition to any recruits you might find out-and-about, so to speak. Recruiting stories are an opportunity to introduce the new guy, establish some relationships, start caring about 'em.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| A few.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to medium. Mostly we want to introduce the new hero and and maybe learn a little bit about them.
|-
! Special Input
| Site, Party, Volunteer
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development (relationship with recruited hero?)
|-
! Example Content
| search "welcomeRecruit"
|}

==Randomly Surfaced Stories==
Some opportunities pop up seemingly at random, as time passes. These might be hero-oriented or site-oriented.

===Personal Relationship (Hook) Quest===
Characters have histories, and have their own motivations. Sometimes these bubble up. Relationship quests center on a relationship between two heroes, and tell a story about one of the character's "hooks", which are personality-aspects that are set by history lines. Generally the quest line will introduce itself, the characters will go on a journey, do a fight, and then resolve the quest.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Many, and these are mostly written or in progress already.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| High. Great opportunity to deep dive on characters, relationships, etc..
|-
! Special Input
| Hook, Hook2 (friend, rival, or lover), Site, ...
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development!!! Other stuff is ok too.
|-
! Example Content
| search "hook". Hook quests that exist are generally broken in to 3 events each: intro, arrive, and resolve.
|}

===Personal Upgrade Quest===
Heroes are self-motivated and ambitious, and might get ideas for how to improve themselves. This might be their gear, or something more like, personal/magical/whateverical. For example, if a character loses their eyesight, they might go on a quest to build a pair of Ruby Eyes that allow them to fight again. Or something that's easier to implement than that, would also be cool. Similar to relationship hook quests?? This category is a bit wobbly.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Unclear. Maybe a lot, if they are fun. Maybe a whole lot, eventually.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Meidum to High. These should be ambitions are really important to the hero, require help from friends to accomplish, and are somewhat involved.
|-
! Special Input
| Hook... ??? what would be helpful?
|-
! Suggested Output
| Character Development!!! Other stuff is ok too.
|-
! Example Content
| Most similar to hooks, but with a clearer focus on "oh I want to get rid of this wolf head" or "actually I want to go full wolf mode" or "There's an epic blade I must possess..." Can definitely key off of previous injuries, relationships, whatever stories you want to tell.
|}

===Site Stories===
AKA Site Quests. When you control tiles, sometimes stuff bubbles up. Unlike a Delving, this is stuff that was not present when you arrived, but has arrived or manifested or coming out of hiding since your arrival. The locals have been seeing funny lights in the forest. Someone stole your sweet roll. Who knows. Scooby Doo stuff. Point is, it's an opportunity for someone to investigate, maybe do some research, have a little fight, get down tonight. These are usually optional quests that have a little intro hook, and then go from there.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! How many stories
| Need a goodly amount for launch, maybe increasing to a very large amount if they are a lot of fun.
|-
! Suggested Complexity
| Low to High. Mysteries come in all sizes.
|-
! Special Input
| Tile?? what's helpful?
|-
! Suggested Output
| Stations, friggen anything else too.
|-
! Example Content
| search "hook". Hook quests that exist are generally broken in to 3 events each: intro, arrive, and resolve.
|}

==Experimental Stories==
What else can we do? Float your ideas!

===Yondering Events===
Big, map-altering events that occur at the end of intervals / the start of chapters. These should have a big impact on gameplay and maybe a couple of followup points. Think: rampaging collosus, volcanic eruption, starfall, monstrous harvest, attack of the Vulture Lord? A place for big Villains, maybe? crazy weird stuff? Who knows! But, we don't have any yet and they sound kindof expensive so we'll see. Might end up being a post-launch thing.

===Scenarios===
These are stand-alone battles accessed from the main menu, maybe unlocked when you have certain heroes in your legacy. Predefined maps and monsters. Crafted experiences. Stories to go with. Could be an awesome place to set modders loose?

===Adventures===
This is an idea for stand-alone sequences that are not related to the [[campaign]]. They can tell much more specific stories, and will use a sequence of predefined encounters (optionally, fixed maps, monster layouts even?) They tell a single story. We don't have any of these yet but it seems like they might be cool maybe? Might unlock similar to scenarios? Or? Good for modders?

Drauven Lore

2018-03-03T15:25:16Z

Tim:

Our mystics have agreed to call this thing a Drauv, after the Nylathien legends that refer to similar beings, answering for some hideous crime against creation by being malformed this way. They appear to be flourishing in the stench-filled armpits of the world.

The Drauven, singular Drauv, (pronounced Drowf-en, or Drowf) are a family of beings that, as close as we can yet divine, share little sentiment of kinship amongst disparate kinds or races. Signs of communion between varied groups and distinctions of Drauv remain few. We intend the use of Drauv to refer to an abominable creature that walks upright, with mixed facial features of a lion and a dragon, a lizardine skin, and tail, and clawed hands. Some develop feathers, though how this happens, or why is not obvious. The Drauven display mostly man-like muscle and bone structures, and have human-like tendencies, such as the use of tools and weapons, the construction of shelters, the coveting of treasures, and the use of obviously complex, but thus far indecipherable language. Drauven mating is a mystery; we assume, grudgingly, that it must happen.

The Drauven social structure is naturally tribal, as any group of them that grows too large tends to splinter off. Given to argument and dueling, some Drauvs appear born for chiefhood, crests of colored feathers forming beneath their jawlines, and upon their shoulders. There appears to be no gender bias in this development, nor indeed does gender seem to play a part in the taking of social roles. It would seem the Drauven are organized into a caste-system that distinguishes hunters and soldiers from tenders, though no particular caste seems valued or privileged above the others. Only the chief and the elders have been shown to have preeminence, the elders seemingly carrying some mystic power or significance.

As foes, the Drauven are organized and cunning, using stealth and intelligent tactics to achieve battle-goals. Their weapons and armor tend to be crude but well-made, purposeful and deadly. It would seem they move mostly as their chief directs them, and so can often remain unobtrusive in a territory, until some whim calls them to violent action.

It would be difficult for us to say for sure how or where the Drauven originated. One theory is that they are a kind of Gorgon or Gorgonoid; they became self-willed, self-propagating, and highly invariable (for Gorgons). The majority of our delving, however, mostly into those afore-mentioned legends, suggests starkly different origins: ancient origins, perhaps in the womb of creation itself. Whatever the case, they seem to keep little document of their own history, which further proves the inferiority of their culture.

The Drauven may regularly inhabit almost any landscape, though they appear to prefer swamps and wooded areas. This is perhaps because they are so ugly that they wish to hide themselves from sight. Their diets consist of plants and animals, with little detectable bias. They do display a despicable taste for human flesh. Though our studies reveal the Drauven to be an intelligent race, we must emphasize that they show little inclination towards empathy or moral rectitude, and take little account of the lives of those who do not belong to their tribe. For this reason, Drauven should be considered hostile on contact, and slain without compunction.

--These Informed Opinions submitted by the Order of Kralar on <Date>

Writer's Guide

2018-03-03T15:21:25Z

Tim: /* Monsters! */

All about writing for Wildermyth!

=Lore=
==The Yondering Lands==

[[File:YonderingLands.jpg|600px]]

The world goes through [[loops|cycles]]. Civilizations rise and fall, and threats to humanity wax and wane. Building ruins, powerful artifacts, the memories of great deeds all fade into myth or are lost to memory and are rediscovered time and again. The history of the lands are repeated patterns that are still never quite the same.

[[The Yondering Lands]] are sortof vaguely American. Or at least, if you have a choice between American and European, lean American. This applies mainly to flora and fauna, but also to little things like, we don't talk a lot about nobility, kings and queens, and we don't use a lot of the strongly-flavored medieval-fantasy words. No British accents or isms, unless it's a particularly foreign character. (People have been known to fall into the lands from time to time from other places, so.) But then also, we don't quite do banjos and cowboy hats. Guitars are maybe right on the edge. Fiddles are probably cool, right? I don't know.

==Monsters!==

[[File:MonsterBanner_deepist.jpg|600px]]

[[Deepist]]s are a minotaur-worshiping cult who live in cave systems. They put stone and fungi to creative use, and our heroes aren't sure whether their power comes from their own passion, or from something more sinister... Read some in-fiction lore [[Deepist Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_drauven.jpg|600px]]

[[Drauven]] are grouchy lizard-folk who primarily live in the trees of forests and swamps, or in trees within swamps, but are happy to descend to the ground to go raid a village and maybe snack on a villager. They decorate themselves and their environment with bird and dragon-like motifs. Read some in-ficiton lore [[Drauven Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_gorgon.jpg|600px]]

[[Gorgon]]s have been corrupting the local wildlife and turn them into raging tentacular monsters. They seem to be doing this experimentally, in pursuit of some deeper truth, but to call them "scientists" would tarnish the word. In the meantime, they continue to create the beasts as quickly as we can slaughter them. Read some in-fiction lore [[Gorgon Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_morthagi.jpg|600px]]

[[Morthagi]] are clockwork undead, created from bone and metal long ago to serve some dark master. Their creator may be long gone, but the Morthagi themselves have persisted, clanking and hissing in the dusty, forgotten corners of the world. Read some in-fiction lore [[Morthagi lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_thrixl.jpg|600px]]

[[Thrixl]]s are dreamlike and insectoid. Their powers are more subtle than those of a Drauv, but more frightening—they prefer to attack minds and souls directly. Read some in-fiction lore [[Thrixl lore|here]].

All monsters are indeed monstrous. There may be shades of gray, but in aggregate monstrous life is incompatible with human life. Humans fight monsters to survive.

There are no demi-humanish creatures in the Yondering Lands: no elves, dwarves, orcs, or their kin. But I mean, we COULD have some badger-people or some other weird stuff. I mean, Drauven are kindof on the line, aren't they? But certainly none of the "stock fantasy races."

==Magic!==
Human magic is performed by [[mystic]]s who [[interfuse]] with objects to manipulate them.

But also, some [[monster]]s can perform magic and/or ARE magic.

==Equipment!==
There's lots of [[equipment]] in the game. Generally procedurally generated, but its history grows over time. Every piece of equipment has a description, some narrative insight that follows some [[Equipment Descriptions|general rules]].

TODO - The equipment design is in pretty heavy flux right now.

=How the Game Works=
This is a quick overview of how the game functions. It's good to have a handle on this so you know what you can do.
==Heroes==
[[Hero]]es are generated with [[History]], which drives [[Aspects]], which drive [[Stats]].

Hero History is generated as three lines, an Origin, and Anecdote, and a Motivation. These affect prime stats and personality stats, and also seed Hooks.

History lines leave behind a number of [[Hooks]] (usually 3 per hero), which are more specific character aspects and often take the form of a personality flaw or quirk. Hooks are great things to hang quests off of! They're also useful for letting a hero have a moment of badassery or weakness that's totally in theme for them. You can call out hooks when adding story roles, if you want to tell a whole story that hinges on one, or if you want to call out an optional character to provide an alternative path, that sort of thing.

[[Aspects]] are just facts about the hero. Stuff like "human", "female", "attractedToMen", "hunter", "missingLeftArm". Aspects can carry stat modifiers and [[Effects]]. Aspects are the workhorse of the dynamic content in the game, almost everything you need to know about a hero, site, anything really, can be accessed as an aspect (other than stat values). (History lines cannot be queried, but can apply aspects, which can be queried.) Hooks are just aspects with a special naming convention and some extra tooling around them.

[[Stats]] are divided into Prime and Secondary, and into Gameplay and Personality. You can use any of the stats when selecting targets and determining difficulty rolls for events. Some stats have different natural ranges, which is a bit awkward, but that's where we're at right now. Personality stats are a great way to make characters come alive.

==Overland Map==
See: [[Campaign]]

The overland map is randomly generated, and fits together like board game tiles. In between tiles, mountain ranges and rivers create barriers that restrict travel. Players explore one tile at a time, scouting the tile, fighting any lurking threats, and then defending and improving the tile over time.

About half of the tiles the player explores will have an enemy lair on them. Lairs must be cleared through combat. Attacking a lair triggers an ''Arrive at Site'' story. Empty tiles may trigger a ''Wilderness Scouting'' 'story. Monsters will occasionally attack tiles that the player controls. The player will be prompted to defend.

'''(NOT YET IMPLEMENTED):''' As play progresses through the [[chapter]]s , the player will gain access to more and more area, which means additional tiles will be accessible. Control of tiles is important to the player, because it provides benefits at the end of each chapter, and Tiles are a source of stories and advancement for characters as well.

==Mission Maps==
[[Missions]] take place on randomly generated maps. The way it works is there are a set of scripts, and each script builds one type of map, with some random variation. Mission maps are designed to break the encounter into 2-4 sections, so that the player has some control over the pace of the fight.

==Legacy and Unlockables==
A player's [[Legacy]] is a collection of their favorite heroes, and these heroes can rejoin playthrough after playthrough. Similarly we track things the player has done over time as [[Unlockables]], which are also stored in the legacy. Stories should be able to query this stuff.

==Effects: Triggers, Targets and Outcomes==
Most things that happen in the game are modeled with [[Effects]]. Effects each have a trigger, a set of targets, and a set of branching outcomes. This same system is used for combat abilities and storytelling.

Stories use this system to specify when they can be told, and how they change the game world.

See Main Article: [[Story Inputs and Outputs]]

=Tools=
==Set up your work space==
If you are a developer and have version control access, you should also have access to the version control setup guide, which is not stored on this wiki since it contains some sensitive information. Do that setup first.

* How to run [[Scratchpad]],
* Some common [[Technical Difficulties]].
* Learn how to [[Testing|test]] your content.

==Exploring Existing Content==

The fastest way to find the content is by using [[Scratchpad]], but a lot of it can be found in the game as well, if you have cheats turned on. The [[Character Sheet]] is home to a lot of this, and the [[Content Editor]] can be pulled up with F12 once you're in-game.

[[Combat Lab]] is a great place to see what's currently possible in the game. From here, there a number of cheats accessible that will help you to build any character you want to try out. Gear upgrades, ability upgrades, and (some) narrative content can all be accessed here if you poke around. Particularly, check out the [[Character Sheet]].

[[Environment Lab]] will show you what mission maps we currently support.

[[Name Lab]] gives you some insight into the name generator.

[[The Content and Comics Editor]] is where the vast bulk of the content in the game is accessible.

[[Character Lab]] is currently sorta broken, but wants to be a catalog of all the heroes and monsters we can generate.

==Using The Editors==
See main article: [[Comic Editor Reference]]

=Tone, Style, Voice, Visuals=
hey what's a good story?

What's our "bar" for comic panels?

How many personality-specific lines should there be?

Let's decide all this!

=Stretching and Establishing new Content=

How far can stories range from the existing material and game assets? Spoiler: quite far!

Because we are using 2D art and no animation, certain things are incredibly cheap for us to do, which would be prohibitively expensive for other games. Here are some examples which should give you an idea. In general, we are looking for writing to stretch and grow our content range as much as possible.

Here are few but if you have a particular idea, run it past!

'''Comic Art''' is very cheap. If you need a prop or a background to tell a story properly, ask for it!

'''Special Gear''' Weapons are maybe the second-cheapest asset class in the game, specify as many as you like. Augments are also pretty cheap. Armor is fairly expensive, but we can do it if it feels really special.

'''One-Off Monsters''' if none of the existing monsters make sense, you can call for a one-off monster to appear in a story or a fight. Most stories probably won't need this, but it's relatively inexpensive, so let's do it when it makes sense.

'''Body Modifications''' are where our character rig really shines. Any limb, or the head, can be swapped out for something monstrous or more awesome. Hair styles, skin patterns, scars, tattoos, bring it! It gets a little tricky if it modifies the face, because the different facial expressions

'''Playable Characters''' might be monsters or weirdthings that you can recruit or get transformed into. Fairly cheap, and we really want these. One thing to consider is whether they will be able to use weapons or armor. The default approach is that non-humans don't use gear, but we could possibly make an exception for weapon-wielding, since that is relatively easy to rig up.

'''In-game Scenery''' is cheap, and could double as comic props?

'''Map icons''' are very cheap if you need something specific.

'''In-Game Environments''' are expensive, since they require a lot of art to work together, and a deal of programming too. But, bring your ideas. We might be able to make something work.

'''Combat Abilities''' Do you need special abilities, as rewards, for one-off enemies, playable characters, or whatever? They are pretty easy to make! Say what you want and we can talk it over.

'''Buffs/Debuffs''' are relatively cheap, particularly if they are similar to an existing effect.

'''Combat Avantages/Disadvantages''' are not totally implemented, so let us know what you want to see.

=Event Types=
There are maybe 10 or 12 different types of randomly selected events that we need. They each cover a particular situation, have different inputs and outputs, and generally impose particular constraints on the writer.

See main article: [[Event Types]].

Interfuse

2018-03-03T15:08:15Z

Tim:

[[Mystic]]s interfuse with things and can then manipulate those things to perform their magic. The effects of interfusion depend on the environment. A sort of temporary soul-combining, maybe?

Interfuse

2018-03-03T15:07:48Z

Tim: Created page with "Mystics interfuse with things and can then manipulate those things to perform their magic. The effects of interfusion depend on the environment. A sort of temporary soul-combi..."

Mystics interfuse with things and can then manipulate those things to perform their magic. The effects of interfusion depend on the environment. A sort of temporary soul-combining, maybe?

Interval

2018-02-14T20:32:59Z

Tim: Created page with "A “lull” in the action, during which a specific span of “peaceful” years pass; intervals separate chapters and propel time forward, affecting domain and heroes..."

A “lull” in the action, during which a specific span of “peaceful” years pass; intervals separate [[chapter]]s and propel time forward, affecting domain and [[hero]]es, without forcing the [[player]] to endure time’s passage

Chapter

2018-02-14T20:32:15Z

Tim: Created page with "A section of playable time, involving goals whose fulfillment signals the chapter’s end. Chapters, together with intervals, form a campaign."

A section of playable time, involving goals whose fulfillment signals the chapter’s end. Chapters, together with [[interval]]s, form a [[campaign]].

Writer's Guide

2018-02-14T20:31:25Z

Tim: /* Overland Tile Map */

All about writing for Wildermyth!

=Lore=
==The Yondering Lands==

[[File:YonderingLands.jpg|600px]]

The world goes through [[loops|cycles]]. Civilizations rise and fall, and threats to humanity wax and wane. Building ruins, powerful artifacts, the memories of great deeds all fade into myth or are lost to memory and are rediscovered time and again. The history of the lands are repeated patterns that are still never quite the same.

[[The Yondering Lands]] are sortof vaguely American. Or at least, if you have a choice between American and European, lean American. This applies mainly to flora and fauna, but also to little things like, we don't talk a lot about nobility, kings and queens, and we don't use a lot of the strongly-flavored medieval-fantasy words. No British accents or isms, unless it's a particularly foreign character. (People have been known to fall into the lands from time to time from other places, so.) But then also, we don't quite do banjos and cowboy hats. Guitars are maybe right on the edge. Fiddles are probably cool, right? I don't know.

==Monsters!==

[[File:MonsterBanner_deepist.jpg|600px]]

[[Deepist]]s are a minotaur-worshiping cult who live in cave systems. They put stone and fungi to creative use, and our heroes aren't sure whether their power comes from their own passion, or from something more sinister... Read some in-fiction lore [[Deepist Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_drauven.jpg|600px]]

[[Drauven]] are grouchy lizard-folk who primarily live in the trees of forests and swamps, but are happy to descend to the ground to go raid a village and maybe snack on a villager. They decorate themselves and their environment with bird and dragon-like motifs. Read some in-ficiton lore [[Drauven Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_gorgon.jpg|600px]]

[[Gorgon]]s have been corrupting the local wildlife and turn them into raging tentacular monsters. They seem to be doing this experimentally, in pursuit of some deeper truth, but to call them "scientists" would tarnish the word. In the meantime, they continue to create the beasts as quickly as we can slaughter them. Read some in-fiction lore [[Gorgon Lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_morthagi.jpg|600px]]

[[Morthagi]] are clockwork undead, created from bone and metal long ago to serve some dark master. Their creator may be long gone, but the Morthagi themselves have persisted, clanking and hissing in the dusty, forgotten corners of the world. Read some in-fiction lore [[Morthagi lore|here]].

[[File:MonsterBanner_thrixl.jpg|600px]]

[[Thrixl]]s are dreamlike and insectoid. Their powers are more subtle than those of a Drauv, but more frightening—they prefer to attack minds and souls directly. Read some in-fiction lore [[Thrixl lore|here]].

All monsters are indeed monstrous. There may be shades of gray, but in aggregate monstrous life is incompatible with human life. Humans fight monsters to survive.

There are no demi-humanish creatures in the Yondering Lands: no elves, dwarves, orcs, or their kin. But I mean, we COULD have some badger-people or some other weird stuff. I mean, Drauven are kindof on the line, aren't they? But certainly none of the "stock fantasy races."

==Magic!==
Human magic is performed by [[mystic]]s who [[interfuse]] with objects to manipulate them.

But also, some [[monster]]s can perform magic and/or ARE magic.

==Equipment!==
There's lots of [[equipment]] in the game. Generally procedurally generated, but its history grows over time. Every piece of equipment has a description, some narrative insight that follows some [[Equipment Descriptions|general rules]].

TODO - The equipment design is in pretty heavy flux right now.

=How the Game Works=
This is a quick overview of how the game functions. It's good to have a handle on this so you know what you can do.
==Heroes==
[[Hero]]es are generated with [[History]], which drives [[Aspects]], which drive [[Stats]].

Hero History is generated as three lines, an Origin, and Anecdote, and a Motivation. These affect prime stats and personality stats, and also seed Hooks.

History lines leave behind a number of [[Hooks]] (usually 3 per hero), which are more specific character aspects and often take the form of a personality flaw or quirk. Hooks are great things to hang quests off of! They're also useful for letting a hero have a moment of badassery or weakness that's totally in theme for them. You can call out hooks when adding story roles, if you want to tell a whole story that hinges on one, or if you want to call out an optional character to provide an alternative path, that sort of thing.

[[Aspects]] are just facts about the hero. Stuff like "human", "female", "attractedToMen", "hunter", "missingLeftArm". Aspects can carry stat modifiers and [[Effects]]. Aspects are the workhorse of the dynamic content in the game, almost everything you need to know about a hero, site, anything really, can be accessed as an aspect (other than stat values). (History lines cannot be queried, but can apply aspects, which can be queried.) Hooks are just aspects with a special naming convention and some extra tooling around them.

[[Stats]] are divided into Prime and Secondary, and into Gameplay and Personality. You can use any of the stats when selecting targets and determining difficulty rolls for events. Some stats have different natural ranges, which is a bit awkward, but that's where we're at right now. Personality stats are a great way to make characters come alive.

==Overland Tile Map==
The overland map is randomly generated, and fits together like board game tiles. In between tiles, mountain ranges and rivers create barriers that restrict travel. Players explore one tile at a time, scouting the tile, fighting any lurking threats, and then defending and improving the tile over time.

About half of the tiles the player explores will have an enemy lair on them. Lairs must be cleared through combat. Attacking a lair triggers an ''Arrive at Site'' story. Empty tiles may trigger a ''Wilderness Scouting'' 'story. Monsters will occasionally attack tiles that the player controls. The player will be prompted to defend.

'''(NOT YET IMPLEMENTED):''' As play progresses through the [[chapter]]s , the player will gain access to more and more area, which means additional tiles will be accessible. Control of tiles is important to the player, because it provides benefits at the end of each chapter, and Tiles are a source of stories and advancement for characters as well.

==Mission Maps==
[[Missions]] take place on randomly generated maps. The way it works is there are a set of scripts, and each script builds one type of map, with some random variation. Mission maps are designed to break the encounter into 2-4 sections, so that the player has some control over the pace of the fight.

==Legacy and Unlockables==
A player's [[Legacy]] is a collection of their favorite heroes, and these heroes can rejoin playthrough after playthrough. Similarly we track things the player has done over time as [[Unlockables]], which are also stored in the legacy. Stories should be able to query this stuff.

==Effects: Triggers, Targets and Outcomes==
Most things that happen in the game are modeled with [[Effects]]. Effects each have a trigger, a set of targets, and a set of branching outcomes. This same system is used for combat abilities and storytelling.

Stories use this system to specify when they can be told, and how they change the game world.

See Main Article: [[Story Inputs and Outputs]]

=Tools=
==Set up your work space==
If you are a developer and have version control access, you should also have access to the version control setup guide, which is not stored on this wiki since it contains some sensitive information. Do that setup first.

* How to run [[Scratchpad]],
* Some common [[Technical Difficulties]].
* Learn how to [[Testing|test]] your content.

==Using The Editors==
See main article: [[Comic Editor Reference]]

=Tone, Style, Voice, Visuals=
hey what's a good story?

What's our "bar" for comic panels?

How many personality-specific lines should there be?

Let's decide all this!

=Stretching and Establishing new Content=

How far can stories range from the existing material and game assets? Spoiler: quite far!

Because we are using 2D art and no animation, certain things are incredibly cheap for us to do, which would be prohibitively expensive for other games. Here are some examples which should give you an idea. In general, we are looking for writing to stretch and grow our content range as much as possible.

Here are few but if you have a particular idea, run it past!

'''Comic Art''' is very cheap. If you need a prop or a background to tell a story properly, ask for it!

'''Special Gear''' Weapons are maybe the second-cheapest asset class in the game, specify as many as you like. Augments are also pretty cheap. Armor is fairly expensive, but we can do it if it feels really special.

'''One-Off Monsters''' if none of the existing monsters make sense, you can call for a one-off monster to appear in a story or a fight. Most stories probably won't need this, but it's relatively inexpensive, so let's do it when it makes sense.

'''Body Modifications''' are where our character rig really shines. Any limb, or the head, can be swapped out for something monstrous or more awesome. Hair styles, skin patterns, scars, tattoos, bring it! It gets a little tricky if it modifies the face, because the different facial expressions

'''Playable Characters''' might be monsters or weirdthings that you can recruit or get transformed into. Fairly cheap, and we really want these. One thing to consider is whether they will be able to use weapons or armor. The default approach is that non-humans don't use gear, but we could possibly make an exception for weapon-wielding, since that is relatively easy to rig up.

'''In-game Scenery''' is cheap, and could double as comic props?

'''Map icons''' are very cheap if you need something specific.

'''In-Game Environments''' are expensive, since they require a lot of art to work together, and a deal of programming too. But, bring your ideas. We might be able to make something work.

'''Combat Abilities''' Do you need special abilities, as rewards, for one-off enemies, playable characters, or whatever? They are pretty easy to make! Say what you want and we can talk it over.

'''Buffs/Debuffs''' are relatively cheap, particularly if they are similar to an existing effect.

'''Combat Avantages/Disadvantages''' are not totally implemented, so let us know what you want to see.

=Event Types=
There are maybe 10 or 12 different types of randomly selected events that we need. They each cover a particular situation, have different inputs and outputs, and generally impose particular constraints on the writer.

See main article: [[Event Types]].

Legacy

2018-02-14T20:30:17Z

Tim: Created page with "The past history of the player. A data store for the player’s accomplishments, including achievements, heroes, and equipment. Anything that can be unlocked is n..."

The past history of the [[player]].

A data store for the player’s accomplishments, including achievements, [[hero]]es, and [[equipment]]. Anything that can be unlocked is notionally stored in the player’s Legacy, and the Legacy can be queried during the game for purposes of unlocking content, providing relevant legends, etc..

Comic Editor Reference

2018-02-14T20:29:13Z

Tim: /* Other Targets */

This is a collection of reference material that explains how to use the Comic Editor to tell stories.

=Make a New Event=

Todo add pictures to help!

* Open up [[Scratchpad]]
* go to the Content and Comics Editor
* Click on the [[Effects]] tab at the top or press Control+2
* Click the '''New...''' Button or press Control+N
* Select the [[Event Types|type of event]] you are creating, for example ''Arrive at Hostile Site'' or ''Mission Victory''.
* Enter a name (in plain english, with spaces) for the event. The tool will create an ID automatically.

Event is now exist! Maybe save?

=Codestuff=
Read this first: [[Story Inputs and Outputs]]

'''General Advice:''' Use the STUB fields to document intent, and leave notes about what SHOULD happen, especially if you don't know how to do something. It's totally fine to STUB out complicated effects or fiddly details that you're not sure how to handle. That's what programmers are ''for'' after all, right?

You ''CAN'' edit all this stuff, if you want to, but it's not necessarily recommended. If you're tempted, you can search for other effects that use the functionality you're interested in, and see if you can just do the same thing.

==Story Roles==
Now that you have an event, it's time to add targets for the important people, which is generally the heroes. The easy and right way to do this is to press the '''New Story Role''' button, which can be found on the same row as the '''targets''' header. You will need to mouse-over '''targets''' and the buttons will show up on the right. The ''New Story Role Dialog'' will pop up:

[[File:ComicEditorNewStoryRoleDialog1.png|holy moly]]

There's a lot here, but let's just look at the first dropdown box. Expand that down and you'll get a list of possible ''roles'' for this new target. The easiest and most common thing to do is to pick a personality stat, like greedy. This will automatically populate the dialog so that the greediest hero will be picked for this role, which is almost what you want, right?

[[File:ComicEditorNewStoryRoleDialog2.png|it will all makes sense some day]]

But the point of all this mess is to help you select the most appropriate hero for a particular story role. In the end it all boils down to a Score Function, which you can see by playing around with the controls and seeing how it changes.

A few other notes:
* If a '''Required Role''' is not present, the story won't happen. This is usually what you want. This way you can be sure that if the story is being told at all, the right characters are in place. Sometimes you have a role that's not too important, and you can make it optional.
* '''The Not Already Matched As''' checkbox is actually disabled if this is your first story role, but for number two and on, it makes sure that this person isn't the same person you selected for a previous role, because then it might seem like they were arguing with themselves, which is only ''sometimes'' what you want.
* Remember, targets are selected in order, and by the time you get to number three or four, it's unlikely that the Romantic is really an iconic romantic, so put your most important/iconic/identifiable roles first.

Create as many roles as you need. Usually that means one per speaking role, and remember there are never more than 5 heroes in a party, but there can be more than that in the company. So, it depends what kind of story you're telling.

==Other Targets==
In addition to Story Roles, you can create other targets. One useful template is LEGEND, which allows you to pick NPCs that have been generated at the start of the game, and/or maybe if we get around to it, pulled from the player's [[legacy]]. Use the legendId field to specify who you want.

TODO explain more.

==Choices==
Some events call for choices. In this case, there's generally a prompt, which is a set of comic panels, and then a choice, which is several panels, some of which might only be present under certain circumstances. Anyway to add a choice, do this:
# expand '''targets'''->'''choiceTarget...'''
# expand '''Domain....'''
# See '''options''' down at the bottom.
# Click on the '''New Option''' button
[[File:ComicEditorNewOptionButton.png]]
# to bring up the ''New Option Dialog''
[[File:ComicEditorNewChoiceDialog1.png|Yeah this thing makes sense, right?]]

This lets you pick a tag (which is not too important except that the outcome will use the same tag). Then you can pick who will be speaking, and you can make the choice optional, so that if that character is not present, the choice won't show. Then you can choose if you want to add any branching, like a dice roll with a chance of multiple outcomes. Most commonly you will pick "simple" or "event roll."

TODO more explain.

==Outcomes==
Specify what should happen as a result of choices, or chance.

use the STUB field!

We need to add more functionality here, like, probably a lot. For now it is STUB City.

=Comic Editor Basics=
* Each box on the left holds text for a different section of the story: a prompt, a choice, or an outcome.
* Plain text (none of those Microsoft Word special apostrophes and ellipses if you please...)
* Press the save button!
* Undo should work, but sometimes need to press it more than once.

==Making Panels==

Use '''<panel>''' tags to separate text into panels. It's pretty easy to specify panel sizes and add actors with facial expressions and basic functionality.
<pre><panel>Use panel tags to separate text.
<panel|bookish>if there's an actor, they will speak the line.
<panel|poet thinking>Or maybe you want them to think it instead.
<panel|goofball joke>Or make a funny face!
<panel sixth left|bookish grim size:1.75>
<panel half left|snark sad >Nobody actually likes your face.</pre>

[[File:ComicTool example1.png]]

Everything about a panel is stored as text, in the panel tag. These examples show how to use [[panel styles]] (left, sixth, half), how to add actors ( |rolename ), and how to add [[actor styles]] (thinking, joke, grim). Panel styles are convenient for quickly making panels, but panel tags can get cumbersome fast. Good thing is, we have a visual editor so you don't need to edit all this stuff by hand.

To open up the [[Panel Editor]], click on a panel in the Comic Editor display. You can use the visual panel editor to do almost everything, including adding actors, setting their facial expressions, really everything except creating new panels and modifying the text that goes in them.

:''Protip: Panel tags can be copied and pasted around as a quick way to duplicate a scene.''
==Using Tags to Control Text==

See : [[Tag Reference]]

Each event can specify a number of targets, which are often heroes, selected for a particular personality, relationship, etc.. These targets are assigned to [[Story Role|roles]]. Roles are easy-to-remember words like ''leader'', ''target'', ''hero'', ''hothead'', ''friend'', etc..

Once you have a target assigned to the role, you can insert the target into your text using a ''role tag'' like this.

<pre><panel twoThirds |leader narrating|hothead pained>
<leader> takes a long, appraising look at <hothead>.
<leader.mf:He/She> wipes a fleck of bluish ooze off <leader.mf:his/her> nose.</pre>
[[File:ComicEditor simpleTags1.png]]

This is a simple example but we can get a lot more sophisticated, and tags can be nested as well. That can get really confusing. Maybe we should build some better tools?

One of the key uses of tags is to give heroes different lines depending on their personalities. This works by embedding the stats you care about in the tag.
<pre><panel |leader talking>
<leader.goofball/bookish:
Surprise everyone! It's fightin' time!
/Ahem. Our foes appear to have arrived.></pre>
[[File:ComicEditor personalityTags.png]]

You can embed tags within tags. The most common use case will be putting gender tags inside personality tags. But you can go further if you want to. You can even use tags to select whole panels, like this:
<pre><bookish.poet/snark:
<panel|bookish joy>
This will make an excellent song!
/
<panel|bookish skeptical>
What is it about me that attracts trouble? Is it my hair?
></pre>
[[File:ComicEditorPersonalityTagsPanels.png]]

This can get out of hand very quickly, but might be useful for reaction panels, or whatever? I don't know. Be careful out there.

Tags can do a lot more! For a full list of available tags see : [[Tag Reference]].

==Style Markup==
See: [[Text Styles]]

Text in a comic panel gets a style automatically depending on if the TextBox is set up as narration, speech, thought, etc.. The Style can be modified using square brackets. Generally, text-style markup is similar to html markup, in that you have a starting and ending tag, BUT! our style format doesn't require the end tag to have anything in it.

It looks like this:
[bold]'''bold text''' [italic]'''''Bold italic text'''''[]'''bold again'''[] regular again.

'''TODO add some pictures of styled text here'''

You can set the size, color, and font of the text. See Main article on [[Text Styles]] for a full list of available fonts, styles, and colors.

==Other Details==
TODO document all the buttons!

Defeat

2018-02-14T20:27:46Z

Tim: Created page with "A set of rules defining what failure in a battle. Category: Battle"

A set of rules defining what failure in a [[battle]].
[[Category: Battle]]

Victory

2018-02-14T20:27:12Z

Tim:

[[Category: Battle]]
A set of rules defining what counts as success in a [[battle]].

Victory

2018-02-14T20:27:01Z

Tim: Created page with "Category: Battle A set of rules defining what counts as success in a battle."

[[Category: Battle]]

A set of rules defining what counts as success in a [[battle]].

Flanking

2018-02-14T20:25:59Z

Tim: Created page with "An instance of a hero attacking a monster who has already been attacked from an opposing angle of 90 to 270 degrees. Category: Battle"

An instance of a [[hero]] attacking a [[monster]] who has already been attacked from an opposing angle of 90 to 270 degrees.

[[Category: Battle]]

Stunt

2018-02-14T20:24:38Z

Tim:

A “critical hit” that produces different effects against different [[monster]]s

An example is being [[stunned]].

[[Category: Battle]]

Stunt

2018-02-14T20:23:29Z

Tim:

A “critical hit” that produces different effects against different [[monster]]s

An example is being [[stunned]].

Stunt

2018-02-14T20:22:53Z

Tim: Created page with "A “critical hit” that produces different effects against different monsters"

A “critical hit” that produces different effects against different [[monster]]s

Category:Monster

2018-02-14T20:22:18Z

Tim:

The enemies your [[hero]]es want to defeat. Heroes can encounter them on the fight them on the [[world map]] and fight them on [[battle map]]s.

Monsters may also be called enemies or foes.

The Yondering Lands

2018-02-14T20:20:41Z

Tim: Created page with "The setting for our game. The Yondering changes every time you visit it, but it seems to have always been that way. A dreamlike place full of unexplained mystery, where storie..."

The setting for our game. The Yondering changes every time you visit it, but it seems to have always been that way. A dreamlike place full of unexplained mystery, where stories are the major currency. There are no Kings, no governments, and the people are fairly simple, if wise, in their own quasi-medieval way.