9.8 KiB
Moc - The Desert of Scarcity
Overview
Environment: Desert planet with few habitable zones
Core Theme: Resource competition creates diverse survival strategies
Climate: Extreme heat, limited water, dangerous weather patterns
Recruitment: Heroes shaped by scarcity and adaptation (4+ assigned characters)
Established Settlements
Slava - Crime-Ridden Party City
Character: Penumbra (Blade Dancer performer-assassin)
Culture: Drugs, entertainment, criminal underworld, escapist hedonism
Location: Built around major oasis or underground water source
Economy: Entertainment industry, black market trade, vice services
Details: Entertainment Districts:
- Performance venues where Penumbra works
- Gladiator arenas and blood sports
- Drug dens and pleasure houses
- Underground fight clubs
Criminal Networks:
- Smuggling operations across desert
- Information brokering between settlements
- Protection rackets for water access
- Assassination contracts (Penumbra's work)
Resource Strategy:
- Controls luxury water access through entertainment profits
- Imports resources by offering escapism to other settlements
- Criminal networks provide black market necessities
- Party culture masks serious resource trading
Cultural Motto: "Dance while the world burns - tomorrow we die anyway"
Strah - Suburban Conformity Zone
Characters: Umoya (nightmare-form girl), Visma (poison assassin)
Culture: Cookie-cutter suburban conformity, hidden darkness beneath surface
Location: Artificial oasis created by corporate/government control
Economy: Resource allocation efficiency, processed goods, social control
Details: Suburban Structure:
- Identical housing blocks with strict regulations
- Community centers for social monitoring
- Underground bunkers for resource storage
- Hidden facilities for Visma's poison operations
Conformity System:
- Mandatory participation in community activities
- Resource rationing disguised as "community sharing"
- Social pressure to maintain appearances
- Punishment for deviation from norms
Hidden Darkness:
- Umoya's nightmare transformation abilities
- Visma's poison assassination network
- Underground resistance to conformity
- Secret resource hoarding by authorities
Resource Strategy:
- Efficiency through standardization and control
- Collective resource management with authoritarian oversight
- Underground black market for forbidden items
- Strategic alliances with other settlements for stability
Cultural Motto: "Order brings prosperity - chaos brings death"
[Izar's Settlement] - The Mobile Bazaar
Character: Izar (role/background TBD)
Culture: Nomadic trading network, desert mobility specialists
Location: Mobile settlement following trade routes and seasonal resources
Economy: Inter-settlement trade, transportation, information brokerage
Proposed Details: Mobile Infrastructure:
- Caravan-cities that traverse desert routes
- Portable resource extraction equipment
- Mobile workshops and repair facilities
- Temporary trading posts at settlement borders
Trading Culture:
- Neutral ground for Slava-Strah conflicts
- Information merchants selling settlement secrets
- Transport services across dangerous desert
- Cultural exchange hub between settlements
Resource Strategy:
- Mobility allows access to temporary resources
- Trading profits from settlement resource needs
- Knowledge of desert survival techniques
- Neutral status provides safety and access
Cultural Motto: "Movement is life - stagnation is death"
Wasteland Zones - Unclaimed Desert
The Salt Flats: Crystallized desert where nothing grows
The Glass Fields: Ancient battle sites turned to melted sand
The Bone Valleys: Where failed settlements left only ruins
The Storm Reaches: Perpetual sandstorm regions with hidden resources
Cultural Framework
Scarcity Adaptations
Water Worship: Every drop sacred, complex sharing rituals
Resource Hoarding: Individual vs community survival strategies
Adaptation Innovation: Creative solutions for desert survival
Cooperative Competition: Alternating alliance and conflict
Settlement Relationships
Slava ↔ Strah Dynamic:
- Cultural opposites: hedonism vs conformity
- Resource tension: luxury vs efficiency
- Hidden cooperation: both need what other provides
- Character connection: Umoya and Visma from same settlement vs Penumbra from rival
Mobile Bazaar Role:
- Neutral mediator between settlements
- Essential for inter-settlement trade
- Information broker with knowledge of all sides
- Izar's background as cultural bridge
Three-Way Balance:
- No single settlement can dominate
- Each provides different survival strategy
- Resource interdependence prevents total conflict
- Competition drives innovation and adaptation
Character Integration
Penumbra - Slava Performer-Assassin
Performance Work:
- Blade dancing entertainment in Slava venues
- Theatrical assassination as performance art
- Rhythm-based combat using bladed cape
- Entertainment industry provides cover for contracts
Assassination Network:
- Hired by settlement leaders for political kills
- Elimination of resource competition threats
- Information gathering through entertainment access
- Cross-settlement contract work via mobile traders
Desert Skills:
- Performance adapted for extreme heat conditions
- Blade maintenance in sandy environment
- Navigation between settlements for contracts
- Cultural knowledge for infiltration work
Umoya - Strah Nightmare-Form Girl
Suburban Cover:
- Appears as perfect conformist citizen
- Innocent form during community activities
- Hidden nightmare abilities triggered by stress/control
- Psychological horror elements in conformity-obsessed society
Transformation Mechanics:
- Innocent form: community-friendly, helpful, normal
- Nightmare form: creature spawning, psychological terror
- Trigger: authoritarian pressure, resource stress, threats to autonomy
- Integration: how does Strah handle her dual nature?
Settlement Role:
- Represents hidden rebellion against conformity
- Psychological pressure valve for community stress
- Secret weapon against external threats
- Symbol of what lies beneath perfect surface
Visma - Strah Poison Assassin
Poison Sources:
- Desert plants and creatures adapted for toxins
- Solar flare radiation creates unique poison types
- Underground chemical processing in suburban basements
- Trade network access to rare poisonous materials
Suburban Integration:
- Perfect neighbor cover for assassination work
- Community position provides access to targets
- Conformity system helps avoid suspicion
- Underground network for disposal and alibi
Assassination Style:
- DoT-focused: slow, undetectable poisoning
- Stealth operations using suburban cover
- Environmental poison deployment
- Cross-settlement contract work
Relationship with Umoya:
- Both from Strah but different responses to conformity
- Complementary hidden skills: psychological vs chemical
- Potential cooperation or competition?
- Shared understanding of suburban facade necessity
Izar - Mobile Bazaar Trader (Proposed)
Trading Specialization: [Define based on role assignment]
Cultural Bridge: Knowledge of all settlement customs
Desert Navigation: Expert in wasteland survival and route-finding
Information Network: Broker of settlement secrets and resource locations
Resource Economy
Water Management
Slava: Luxury consumption, waste tolerance, entertainment priority
Strah: Efficient rationing, recycling systems, conservation regulation
Mobile Bazaar: Flexible access, trading for water rights, seasonal following
Wasteland: Hidden caches, emergency reserves, scavenging techniques
Trade Networks
Slava Exports: Entertainment, vice services, criminal solutions
Strah Exports: Processed goods, organization, stability services
Mobile Exports: Transportation, information, cultural mediation
Wasteland Resources: Rare materials, archaeological finds, emergency shelter
Survival Strategies
Individual Hoarding: Personal resource accumulation for security
Community Pooling: Collective resource management for efficiency
Mobile Flexibility: Movement and trade for resource access
Criminal Acquisition: Theft, smuggling, and black market for necessities
Environmental Challenges
Climate Extremes
Daytime Heat: Deadly surface temperatures, underground activity
Nighttime Cold: Rapid temperature drops, shelter necessity
Sandstorms: Visibility loss, equipment damage, transportation halt
Seasonal Patterns: Resource availability changes, migration triggers
Geographic Features
Oases: Settlement locations, conflict points, sacred sites
Salt Deposits: Valuable trade materials, dangerous extraction
Underground Rivers: Hidden water sources, tunnel systems
Ancient Ruins: Archaeological sites, possible resources, dangerous exploration
Survival Necessities
Water Sources: Natural springs, underground rivers, recycling systems
Food Production: Limited agriculture, desert hunting, preserved supplies
Shelter Construction: Heat protection, sand resistance, portable options
Transportation: Desert crossing, equipment maintenance, route knowledge
Action Items
- Define Izar's role and settlement details - complete the triangle
- Develop inter-settlement politics - cooperation vs competition dynamics
- Map desert geography - trade routes, resource locations, dangers
- Clarify character relationships - how do the 4 heroes connect?
- Establish resource flow - what each settlement needs/provides
- Create wasteland details - dangers, opportunities, hidden secrets
Most populated world - make it rich with interconnected survival strategies