A Collage of Living Philosophies
The Mosaic Accord is a complex, dis-integrated Tapestry born from the collapse of a once-unified reality. In this world, consensus shattered into a patchwork of living philosophies: each region, law, and even the land itself shaped by the dominant Eidos of its ruling Fragment. The Accord is not a peace, but a tense, creative standoff: a world where every truth is provisional, and every Incarnation is both a product and a challenger of the Accord’s living debate.
High-Level Design Philosophy
The Mosaic Accord explores the beauty and peril of pluralism. It is a setting where meaning is negotiated, not given; where the player’s journey is shaped by the interplay of competing worldviews, and where the only constant is change.
Core Mechanical Differentiators
1. Fragmented Domains (Philosophical Territories)
- Mechanic: The world is divided into Domains, each governed by a unique Fragment’s Eidos. Crossing boundaries alters available actions, narrative logic, and even the metaphysical rules of play.
- Design Intent: The player must adapt to shifting realities, learning to read and exploit the logic of each Domain; or risk being rewritten by it.
2. The Living Accord (Dynamic Consensus)
- Mechanic: Fragments are not static NPCs but active, evolving forces. Through narrative choices, players can broker alliances, incite schisms, or even fuse Fragments into new hybrid Eidos. The balance of power is always in flux.
- Design Intent: Factional politics are core gameplay. The player’s Thread can become a new Fragment, or dissolve into the Accord, leaving a legacy that reshapes the world for future playthroughs.
3. Ideological Resonance (Narrative Mutation)
- Mechanic: Prolonged exposure to a Domain’s Eidos imprints new beliefs, compulsions, or abilities on the player. These can be resisted, synthesized, or weaponized, but never fully erased.
- Design Intent: Identity is fluid. The player’s agency is tested by the need to navigate, harmonize, or subvert the world’s competing logics.
Player Experience & Goals
- From Unity to Plurality: The player’s journey is not to restore lost consensus, but to survive, thrive, or transform within a world of irreducible difference.
- Narrative Diplomacy: Mastery comes from understanding, mediating, or transcending the Accord’s living debate; sometimes at the cost of one’s own coherence.
- Dynamic Worldbuilding: Every playthrough redraws the map: new Fragments rise, old ones merge or vanish, and the player’s legacy echoes as a new Eidos in the Accord.
Integration into the Broader Game
The Mosaic Accord can be entered through:
- The shattering of a powerful Artifact or the collapse of a utopian project.
- A questline involving the negotiation or dissolution of a major Domain.
- As a late-game challenge for players seeking to test their narrative adaptability and philosophical resolve.
Its purpose is to dramatize the game’s core themes of Fact, Fiction, and Faith as living, competing forces, and to provide a setting where the player’s choices can reshape not just their story, but the metaphysical rules of the world itself.