A body built for a master who is dust. A mind haunted by a purpose it can’t forget.

Core Concept

The Law-Wrought are the cosmic orphans of the galaxy, the forgotten first children of a god who craved perfection. They are the scattered, surviving remnants of a species of constructed servants who have long outlived their master. Their existence is a quiet, individual struggle, defined by an inherited purpose they no longer have and a history they did not author. They are the older, tragic siblings of the Geas-Bound, an earlier, cruder experiment by the Artificer Phileas in the art of creating life with a pre-written destiny.

They are not a unified people and have no factions of their own. They are individuals adrift in the universe, their entire being a quiet, personal quest for a new home and a new reason to exist.

Physiology & Biology (The Vessel)

The body of a Law-Wrought is a monument to a forgotten age of engineering.

• Core Morphology: [Construct]. Their forms are massive and powerful, built from stone, clay, and primitive alloys, animated by a captured, recycled elemental or psychic energy. They do not age or reproduce, but slowly decay over millennia, their bodies eroding like ancient statues.

• The Command Runes: The defining feature of a Law-Wrought is the set of Command Runes inscribed deep into their chassis and their Motive Core. These are not the subtle, metaphysical contracts of the Geas-Bound; they are a more direct, brutal form of control. They are the hard-coded operating system of their being, the physical manifestation of their original, programmed “Law.”

Psychology & Society (The Psyche)

A Law-Wrought’s mind is a simple, powerful machine dominated by a single, ancient program.

• Core Faith: “The Echo of the Law.” The Law-Wrought do not have a complex, chosen faith. Their core belief is a programming they endure. The Command Runes generate a constant, low-level psychic “hum” in their consciousness, a relentless reminder of their original purpose. This is not a memory; it is a fundamental part of their being, a ghost in their machine that they can never fully silence.

• Core Fiction: “The Absent Architect.” Their history is a mystery to themselves. They have no memory of their creation, only a deep, instinctual sense of a Master who is gone. Their myths are fragmented and contradictory, telling of a great “Architect” who built them and then vanished, leaving them to their eternal, silent duty. They are completely unaware of their connection to Phileas, the Artisans, and the Rune-Scarred.

• The Search for a New Syntax: Having lost their original purpose, the Law-Wrought are beings defined by a void. They are psychologically primed to seek out and attach themselves to new, strong sources of purpose. They are drawn to societies with clear hierarchies, powerful leaders, and unambiguous rules. They join other factions not out of deep ideological alignment, but because the structure and community provide a new, louder “song” that helps to quiet the nagging, irrelevant hum of their ancient Law.

Gameplay Hooks & Tensions

• The Inherited Goal: Playing as a Law-Wrought involves a constant struggle against an inherited, systemic Goal. The player will have a perpetual, low-level “ghost quest” corresponding to their Command Runes (e.g., [Guard this Post], [Maintain the Ancient Machine]) that they must actively fight against to pursue their own desires. Ignoring this inherited purpose for too long might cause a “system conflict,” a debuff that represents the war in their own soul.

• A Blank Slate for a New Master: The Law-Wrought’s primary social mechanic is their search for belonging. Gameplay revolves around finding a faction that gives you a new, clear directive. This creates a fascinating role-playing dilemma: is joining the rigid Hegemony and receiving clear orders a form of salvation, or just a new kind of slavery? Is a purpose you choose any more “free” than one you were given, if both quiet the ghost?

• A Family Reunion: An encounter with a Rune-Scarred would be a moment of profound, world-shattering revelation. The Rune-Scarred would recognize the Command Runes as a primitive form of the Geas-scars they bear, seeing the Law-Wrought as long-lost kin. For the Law-Wrought, this would be the first clue to their true origin, a hook that could lead them on a quest to uncover the forbidden history of Phileas and their own creation. The Rune-Scarred offer not a new purpose, but the terrifying and exhilarating promise of a life with no purpose but the one you make yourself.

Eidos Generated

• [servitude]
• [obsolescence]
• [inherited_trauma]
• [free_will]
• [forging_purpose]