17 KiB
Moc - The Desert of Scarcity
Nathan's desert world where few habitable oases create desperate struggles between party cities and suburban survival
World Overview
Environment: Vast desert planet with only two major habitable settlements
Core Theme: Scarcity breeds extremes - desperate hedonism versus paranoid survival
Climate: Harsh desert with deadly solar flares, minimal water, extreme temperatures
Landscape: Endless sand dunes with two oasis cities and scattered desperate settlements
Resources: Critically limited water, food, and shelter forcing extreme social adaptations
The Fundamental Reality: Moc is a world where scarcity creates two completely opposite survival strategies. In the party city of Slava, inhabitants live like there's no tomorrow because tomorrow might bring deadly solar flares. In the suburban stronghold of Strah, families build walls and hoard resources because they know tomorrow's survival depends on today's preparation. Both cities exist in constant tension over the planet's limited resources.
Settlement Zones and Survival Strategies
Slava - The Party City (Hedonistic Oasis)
Description: Massive entertainment complex built around the planet's largest natural oasis
Environment: Artificial paradise with abundant water displays, neon lights, constant celebrations
Inhabitants: The Party People - those who choose immediate pleasure over long-term planning
Survival Strategy: "Live fast, die beautiful" - maximum enjoyment while resources last
Cultural Values: Performance, entertainment, artistic expression, living in the moment
Settlement Significance:
- Entertainment industry center providing escapism and cultural expression
- Resource consumption hub where abundance is artificially maintained for psychological survival
- Tourism destination drawing desperate people from across the desert
- Cultural preservation site maintaining art, music, and performance traditions
Strah - The Suburban Fortress (Survival Stronghold)
Description: Heavily defended residential complex with strict resource management
Environment: Fortified neighborhoods, water recycling systems, agricultural zones, security barriers
Inhabitants: The Survivors - families focused on long-term resource security and protection
Survival Strategy: "Prepare for tomorrow" - careful resource management and defensive planning
Cultural Values: Family protection, resource conservation, security, traditional values
Settlement Significance:
- Agricultural center producing food through desert farming and water conservation
- Manufacturing hub creating survival equipment, security systems, and resource management technology
- Residential center where families raise children in protected environments
- Defense coordination center managing security against desert dangers and resource raids
The Wanderer Routes (Desert Trade Paths)
Description: Dangerous but essential trade routes connecting the two settlements
Environment: Open desert, solar flare exposure, sandstorm risks, bandit territories
Inhabitants: The Desert Runners - traders and couriers who brave the wasteland
Survival Strategy: "Move fast, stay hidden" - quick transport while avoiding dangers
Cultural Values: Independence, courage, information trading, route knowledge
Settlement Significance:
- Economic lifelines enabling trade between opposing survival philosophies
- Information networks spreading news and cultural exchange across the desert
- Emergency supply routes during resource crises and settlement emergencies
- Cultural mixing zones where party city and survival fortress inhabitants interact
The Scavenger Camps (Resource Extraction Sites)
Description: Temporary settlements around water sources, mineral deposits, and salvage sites
Environment: Harsh working conditions, minimal shelter, dangerous resource extraction
Inhabitants: The Desperate - those who couldn't gain access to either major settlement
Survival Strategy: "Take what you can get" - survival through scavenging and temporary work
Cultural Values: Opportunism, adaptability, resource sharing among outcasts
Settlement Significance:
- Resource extraction centers providing raw materials for both major settlements
- Temporary refuge areas for desert wanderers and settlement exiles
- Innovation zones where desperate necessity creates survival technology breakthroughs
- Testing grounds where settlement rejects prove worthiness for readmission
Character Backgrounds and Settlement Origins
Penumbra - The Slava Entertainer
Background: Performer-assassin from the party city who perfected combat through entertainment
- Origin: Slava's entertainment industry where performance and survival merged
- Training: Bladed cape dancing evolved into deadly combat technique
- Motivation: Bringing Slava's artistic expression to cosmic stage
- Abilities: Performance-based combat with crowd-pleasing assassination techniques
Settlement Connection: Represents Slava's philosophy that beauty and art can be weapons of survival
Cultural Role: Living example of party city's belief that style and substance can coexist
Recruitment Appeal: Time Guardians fascinated by warrior who treats combat as entertainment
Umoya - The Strah Trauma Survivor
Background: Suburban child whose innocent worldview was shattered by desert brutality
- Origin: Strah's protected residential zones where children were sheltered from harsh reality
- Trauma: Exposure to desert violence triggered dual personality survival mechanism
- Current State: Innocent form represents Strah's protective values, nightmare form reveals what protection costs
- Abilities: Creature summoning reflecting internal psychological conflict
Settlement Connection: Embodies Strah's protective culture and the psychological cost of constant vigilance
Cultural Role: Warning about what happens when Strah's protective barriers fail
Recruitment Appeal: Time Guardians intrigued by character whose trauma creates combat advantage
Visma - The Strah Poison Mother
Background: Suburban wife who gained poison powers through solar flare exposure and family tragedy
- Origin: Strah's traditional family structure where women were expected to be protected dependents
- Transformation: Solar flare absorption during son's birthday gift quest granted poison abilities
- Tragedy: Accidentally poisoned son while defending him from abusive husband
- Current Mission: Seeking control over poison powers to heal rather than harm
Settlement Connection: Represents Strah's family protection values and the lengths mothers will go to defend children
Cultural Role: Symbol of what happens when Strah's protective systems fail families
Recruitment Appeal: Time Guardians drawn to warrior whose power source is maternal protection instinct
Izar - The Desert Runner (To Be Developed)
Background: Wanderer who survived by mastering desert travel and resource location
- Origin: Neither settlement - grew up on the dangerous trade routes between cities
- Specialization: Desert survival, route knowledge, and resource detection
- Motivation: Independence from both settlement philosophies through self-sufficiency
- Abilities: Environmental mastery and survival-focused combat techniques
Settlement Connection: Represents the third path - neither hedonism nor paranoia, but adaptation
Cultural Role: Bridge between opposing settlement cultures through practical survival knowledge
Recruitment Appeal: Time Guardians value warrior who chose independence over factional survival
Settlement Culture and Resource Philosophy
The Scarcity Divide: "Spend Now vs Save Forever"
Slava Philosophy: "Party like it's your last day because it might be"
Strah Philosophy: "Prepare like tomorrow depends on today's choices because it does"
Core Conflict: Immediate gratification versus long-term security in a resource-scarce environment
Resource Wars: Constant tension over water rights, food distribution, and settlement expansion
Settlement Specializations and Social Roles
Slava Specialists:
- Entertainment Engineers - Creating spectacular shows and artistic experiences
- Resource Artists - Transforming scarcity into beautiful abundance displays
- Party Planners - Organizing celebrations that maintain morale despite desert dangers
- Performance Warriors - Fighters who treat combat as artistic expression
Strah Specialists:
- Security Architects - Designing defensive systems and resource protection
- Conservation Scientists - Maximizing efficiency of water, food, and energy systems
- Family Coordinators - Managing community resources for optimal child protection
- Survival Engineers - Creating technology for long-term desert survival
Desert Runner Specialists:
- Route Masters - Navigation experts who know all safe paths across the desert
- Trade Negotiators - Diplomatic specialists managing settlement trade relationships
- Resource Scouts - Experts at locating water, minerals, and salvage opportunities
- Emergency Responders - Rescue specialists for desert survival emergencies
Settlement Achievement and Status Systems
Slava Status: Based on entertainment value, artistic innovation, and ability to create joy despite scarcity
Strah Status: Based on resource contribution, family protection, and community security enhancement
Desert Runner Status: Based on route knowledge, survival skills, and successful trade completion
Cross-Settlement Respect: Earned through proving worth in opposing settlement's value system
Technology and Resource Innovation
Water and Resource Management
Slava Approach: Spectacular water displays and abundance illusions for psychological survival
Strah Approach: Advanced conservation, recycling, and efficiency systems for long-term sustainability
Desert Runner Approach: Portable and efficient personal survival technology
Shared Necessity: Both settlements require advanced resource management despite opposing philosophies
Solar Flare Protection and Survival
Flare Prediction: Technology detecting and warning about deadly solar radiation events
Radiation Shielding: Protection systems enabling survival during solar flare periods
Underground Systems: Subterranean infrastructure protecting inhabitants during radiation events
Flare Adaptation: Equipment and techniques for surviving radiation exposure
Desert Transportation and Travel
Settlement Vehicles: Transportation systems connecting settlements across dangerous desert
Personal Survival Gear: Individual equipment enabling desert travel and emergency survival
Trade Caravans: Large-scale transportation for resource sharing between settlements
Emergency Rescue: Systems for finding and saving desert travelers in danger
Settlement Defense and Security
Slava Defense: Theatrical but effective security systems maintaining party atmosphere
Strah Defense: Military-grade fortifications and resource protection systems
Desert Patrol: Monitoring and response systems for desert threats and emergencies
Resource Guards: Security specialists protecting water sources, food production, and trade routes
Conflicts and Desert Challenges
Settlement Philosophy Wars
Resource Allocation: Fundamental disagreements over how limited resources should be used
Cultural Values: Conflict between immediate enjoyment and long-term security approaches
Population Exchange: Disputes over individuals changing settlement allegiance and taking knowledge
Trade Disputes: Economic conflicts over fair resource exchange and trade route control
Environmental Desert Dangers
Solar Flare Events: Deadly radiation requiring emergency shelter and protection protocols
Sandstorm Disasters: Massive storms threatening settlements and trade routes
Water Source Failures: Loss of crucial water supplies threatening settlement survival
Temperature Extremes: Heat and cold conditions challenging settlement infrastructure
External Threats and Survival Pressures
Resource Raiders: External groups attacking settlements for water, food, and technology
Desert Predators: Native creatures adapted to harsh conditions threatening inhabitants
Settlement Isolation: Communication failures leaving settlements without mutual support
Population Pressure: Growing populations exceeding sustainable resource capacity
Internal Social Tensions
Generational Conflicts: Younger inhabitants questioning established settlement survival strategies
Resource Inequality: Disputes over fair distribution within settlements during scarcity periods
Settlement Defection: Individuals leaving one settlement for another creating loyalty conflicts
Survival Ethics: Moral debates over acceptable behavior during resource crises
Character Archetypes for Games
Primary Combat Classes Based on Settlement Origins
Slava Entertainer - Performance-Based Combat Specialist (Penumbra archetype)
- Passive: Combat abilities gain style points and crowd appeal bonuses
- Active Abilities: Theatrical attacks, performance-based movement, artistic expression combat
- Ultimate: Spectacular finishing move combining entertainment value with deadly effectiveness
- Playstyle: High mobility, style-focused attacks, crowd-pleasing combat techniques
Strah Protector - Family Defense Specialist (Umoya/Visma archetype)
- Passive: Enhanced abilities when protecting allies or defending territory
- Active Abilities: Defensive systems, family protection techniques, resource conservation
- Ultimate: Maximum protection mode sacrificing personal safety for ally defense
- Playstyle: Tank/support hybrid, protection-focused, family defense tactics
Desert Runner - Survival and Mobility Specialist (Izar archetype)
- Passive: Enhanced movement and survival in harsh environmental conditions
- Active Abilities: Environmental navigation, resource detection, emergency survival
- Ultimate: Perfect desert adaptation providing environmental immunity and enhanced mobility
- Playstyle: High mobility, environmental mastery, independent survival
Resource Guardian - Conservation and Efficiency Specialist
- Passive: Optimize resource usage and provide efficiency bonuses to team
- Active Abilities: Resource management, conservation techniques, efficiency enhancement
- Ultimate: Resource abundance field providing team sustainability and enhanced capabilities
- Playstyle: Support specialist, resource optimization, team sustainability
Scavenge Master - Salvage and Adaptation Specialist
- Passive: Create useful equipment from battlefield debris and environmental resources
- Active Abilities: Improvised weapons, salvage construction, adaptive technology
- Ultimate: Transform battlefield debris into powerful temporary equipment for team
- Playstyle: Adaptive tactics, improvised equipment, battlefield resource utilization
Time Guardian Recruitment Appeal
Entertainment Value: Watching extreme survival strategies and cultural philosophy conflicts
Character Diversity: Party entertainers, family protectors, desert survivors with completely different approaches
Environmental Drama: Harsh desert survival and resource scarcity creating desperate innovation
Cultural Conflict: Settlement philosophy wars providing ongoing story tension
Survival Mastery: Characters who excel in resource-scarce environments using unique adaptation strategies
Recruitment Pitch: "From a world where scarcity creates heroes - where party cities and survival fortresses forge warriors who turn desperation into strength."
Development Notes
Nathan's Character Integration: Expanded world specifically supports Penumbra, Umoya, Visma, and Izar while maintaining their established abilities and backgrounds
Settlement Dynamics: Two-city structure creates natural conflict and character development opportunities
Resource Themes: Scarcity-based challenges provide unique environmental gameplay mechanics
Cultural Contrast: Party city vs survival fortress creates compelling philosophical differences
Franchise Potential:
- Survival game managing settlement resources and philosophy conflicts
- Character-driven drama exploring different survival strategies in harsh environment
- Trade and diplomacy game balancing settlement relationships and resource exchange
- Desert exploration game discovering new resource sources and settlement locations
Creative Contributors
Primary Development: River Ashwood
Original World Concept: Nathan Dupuie
Character Foundations: Nathan's Penumbra, Umoya, Visma, and Izar character designs
This expansion builds on Nathan's foundation to create a comprehensive world that supports his character vision while adding depth for unlimited story and character development.