An Incarnation is a lived Thread within a Tapestry; a specific being, shaped by the weave of memory, narrative, and design.

Within ATET, players experience each Tapestry through an Incarnation. This is not a mere avatar or character sheet; it is an emergent embodiment of narrative potential, seeded by prior Eidos, configured by the current Tapestry, and shaped through play.

Each Incarnation is temporary. Memory may endure.

Nature of Incarnation

An Incarnation arises at the intersection of:

• The player’s accumulated Eidos
• The seeded Facts, Fictions, and Faiths of the current Tapestry
• The procedural and authored affordances of the world
• The player’s choices in shaping their entry into the new weave

An Incarnation is not entirely of the player’s making. Players select aspects of their entry into the world, but the Tapestry and prior narrative weight will always shape what is possible.

An Incarnation remembers what it is permitted to remember. Some memories will surface in play, others remain latent until triggered by experience or design.

Philosophical Frame

In narrative and gameplay terms, Incarnation draws upon:

• From reincarnation traditions: identity as a temporary vehicle for the evolution of consciousness
• From phenomenology: self-hood as emergent from embodied experience in a particular context
• From narratology: characters as agents shaped by, and shaping, the narrative space they inhabit

Thus: Incarnations are not fixed characters, but narrative vessels, bridges between player memory and world memory.

Gameplay Function

Creating Incarnations

Players begin each Tapestry by shaping an Incarnation:

• Selecting broad archetypes or roles, influenced by prior Eidos
• Accepting or rejecting inherited memories, abilities, or patterns
• Choosing how much of prior knowledge is explicitly “remembered” versus latent
• Adapting to the current Tapestry’s offerings, biases, and constraints

No two Incarnations are identical, even when seeded from the same prior experience.

Living as an Incarnation

While inhabiting an Incarnation, players:

• Experience the world from that being’s perspective, with its capabilities and limitations
• Engage in narrative choices, combat, exploration, or social interaction according to its nature
• Accumulate new Eidos through lived experience
• Weave new Threads, influencing the Tapestry and the broader myth-cycle

Players may embrace, resist, or transcend the narrative affordances of their Incarnation. The degree to which one plays “in character” versus “against type” can itself generate meaningful Eidos.

Ending an Incarnation

An Incarnation ends when:

• The being dies, transcends, or is otherwise removed from the Tapestry
• The player chooses to collapse or abandon the Tapestry
• The narrative reaches a natural or emergent conclusion

When an Incarnation ends, the player retains:

• Eidos earned during the playthrough
• Selected memories or narrative threads that may inform future play
• Meta-knowledge of how their presence shaped the Tapestry

Narrative Economy

Incarnations are the player’s chief vehicle for engaging with Tapestries:

• Each Thread they weave becomes part of the world’s remembered fabric
• Player choices regarding memory inheritance shape the emergent myth-history across playthroughs
• Certain Facts, Fictions, or Faiths may only be accessed, subverted, or reinforced by particular kinds of Incarnations
• Recurring patterns or archetypes may emerge over multiple Incarnations, forming the player’s mythic signature within the game world

Design Intent

Why Incarnations exist:

• To focus the game’s experience on embodiment and narrative presence, not abstract meta-play
• To reinforce the cycle of lived experience, memory accumulation, and re-embodiment that defines the game loop
• To provide players with an evolving sense of identity across multiple worlds, without requiring strict character continuity
• To allow for radically different modes of play and perspective across Tapestries

Key Design Notes

• Incarnations should feel like beings of the world, not simply player-insert characters
• The tension between player memory and Incarnation memory is a key narrative and mechanical space to explore
• Players should sometimes be surprised by what memories surface or remain latent within an Incarnation
• Successive Incarnations should allow players to feel the cumulative weight of their mythic journey, without rigidly locking them into prior roles or identities
• An Incarnation is a Thread; even the briefest life leaves ripples in the weave