The War Within
Unity is an oppressor’s fiction.
Core Concept
A being that was an Ensemblant, but has suffered a permanent schism. It is no longer a unified swarm, but two or three warring factions trapped in a single, unstable body. Each faction controls different limbs, aspects of the personality, and has its own core Belief. The “self” is a constant, violent internal negotiation for control.
Physiology & Biology
Their physical form is visibly fractured and asymmetrical. One arm, controlled by a “loyalist” faction of the swarm, might be armored and militant. The other arm, controlled by a “pacifist” faction, might be delicate and withered. Their body is a patchwork of the competing wills that constitute it. They might speak with multiple, overlapping voices.
Psychology & Society (Faith / Fiction)
Core Faith: Having experienced the collapse of their own collective, they are profoundly cynical about the possibility of true harmony. Their only guiding principle is the temporary dominance of the strongest internal faction.
Core Fiction: Their only shared story is the “Memory of the Sundering,” a traumatic, fragmented recollection of the event that broke their ensemble. Each internal faction tells a different version of this story, blaming the others for the schism.
Gameplay Hooks & Tensions
UI as Civil War: Playing as a Legion means confronting their internal fracture directly through the Subjective Interface. The player’s Needs and Goals are split into competing lists on-screen, flickering for dominance. A player might accept a quest, only for a “rebel” faction’s Goal to appear: [Sabotage this Mission]
. Acting on one faction’s Goal might cause a temporary debuff to the attributes associated with another faction’s controlled body parts.
Quests are internal. The player must negotiate with, dominate, or attempt to reconcile the warring factions within their own mind. A Ritual might be the only way to temporarily force a truce.
Eidos Generated
[fracture]
[civil_war_of_the_self]
[dissonance]
[broken_unity]
[competing_wills]