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STARBORNE — RAPID DESIGN PIPELINE (work order)

Phase shift: we are NOT integrating code right now. We are **designing the resource
lists rapidly** as markdown design docs in design/. Code integration (the old
starborne-autobuild) stays PAUSED until these lists are filled. Overall difficulty target:
HARD. Progression must feel like a satisfying grind (Minecraft-style chase for better gear)
— fun, challenging, earned.

Two scheduled workers run this phase:

per run, not one line). Self-disables when every list hits its done-criteria.

Canon is authoritative: BOOK-CANON.md, 00-LORE.md, REGIONS.md, SERIES-BIBLE.md.

World = Eldoria · surname Starborne · hero Gideon · daughter Lyra · magic = blood/nail/counting

ritual · antagonists = the Ministry ("auditors"/"takings") · finale = Black Glass Observatory vs Alex.

PRIORITY ORDER (dependency-aware)

The user's seven items are covered below. Enemies + Equipment are front-loaded because Balance

and Dungeons both depend on them; Dungeons go last because each one assembles the others.

  1. Enemies → ENEMIES.md (foundation)
  2. Equipment → EQUIPMENT.md (foundation for progression + rewards)

2b. Items master taxonomy → ITEMS.md (4 categories: Equipment [→EQUIPMENT.md] · Consumables · Crafting Materials · Miscellaneous; one home for every pack item)

2c. Resource crafting chain → RESOURCES.md (the RESOURCE tag — 13 base resources: Leather + 6 metals + 6 gems; all non-unique equipment is craftable from them)

2d. Ore caves → CAVES.md (5 tiered instanced cave scenes + ore-generation algorithm + overworld veins/mouths)

2e. Procedural equipment → PROCGEN-EQUIPMENT.md (template×material×gem generation + equipped/used visuals — design; flagged for the build pass)

2f. Quests → QUESTS.md (main spine + side + bounty + companion + faction; book-aligned)

2g. Book-aligned cast propagation → take the region rosters in GAME1-ALIGNMENT.md and ADD the new

characters/bosses/enemies into NPCS.md, ENEMIES.md, BUILDINGS.md (and note in BOOK-CANON.md), so the

game data matches the book. Reconcile to the new dragon/Order/Veil-purgatory macro.

  1. Puzzles → PUZZLES.md
  2. NPCs (Core + Side) → NPCS.md
  3. Special Buildings → BUILDINGS.md
  4. Dungeons + Finale → DUNGEONS.md (composes 1–5, increasing difficulty)

(Balance — item 1 in the user's list — runs continuously every 12 h via its own worker, below.)

Each list carries a STATUS: line at its top: filled X / target Y. A list is done when it

hits target and every entry has all required fields. Mark progress each run.

1. ENEMIES — ENEMIES.md · target = 50 full specs

Roster already has ~12 detailed. Fill to 50. Each entry needs:

name · level band (1–50) · region/biome gate · archetype (skirmisher/caster/swarm/bruiser/ambusher/flyer/boss-minion) · behavior · attack TELL (colourblind-safe, shape+timing) · attack + on-hit effect · warm/cold read · drops (materials/gold band) · POWER value (set with BALANCE.md scale) · 1-line dread flavor (book-canon).

Spread evenly across the 12 regions and the difficulty curve. Reserve the strongest for dungeon bosses (see Dungeons).

DONE when 50 entries exist, each with all fields + a POWER value.

2. EQUIPMENT — EQUIPMENT.md · satisfying HARD grind

Tiers (weak → endgame): Scavenged → Forged Iron → Smith-Steel → Veil-Touched → Starborne (set).

Categories: Weapon · Tool · Light source · Armor · Trinket · Material.

Each item: **name · category · tier · POWER value (from BALANCE scale) · what it does (verbs > numbers) · how it's earned (craft recipe / dungeon drop / boss / vendor) · the grind step it gates**.

Progression rule: every tier should clearly beat the last, but the jump must be earned (rarer mats,

harder dungeon, more grind). Light sources matter (light = weapon vs the dark). Mark which items are

the chase items players grind for.

DONE when every tier has a full weapon/tool/light/armor/trinket line + the material chains that feed them.

3. PUZZLES — PUZZLES.md · 20 main types + 13 signature

e.g. light/torch routing, counting/tally locks (canon!), weight/pressure plates, block-push (sokoban),

mirror/beam redirect, sequence-memory, timed gates, companion-swap (Gideon strength / Lyra arcana),

water/flow, ice-slide, sound/echo, day-night state, nail-placement (canon), key-ledger, etc.

Each TYPE: name · core mechanic · player verbs used · difficulty knobs · why it's fun.

Observatory. Each: dungeon/region · the trick · which main types it fuses · the "aha" · the reward gate**.

The Observatory signature ties to the counting/ledger finale.

DONE when 20 main types + 13 signature puzzles are specced.

4. NPCs — NPCS.md · two classes: CORE + SIDE

12 town anchors who carry the spine, key quest-givers. Each: **name · role · region · book tie ·

what they want · quest(s) they drive · arc across Vol. 1**.

Each: name · role · location · service or side-quest · 1-line voice.

DONE when every region has its CORE anchors + a healthy SIDE pool (label each NPC CORE or SIDE).

5. SPECIAL BUILDINGS — BUILDINGS.md

Beyond the basics (forge-house, shop, well, anvil, furnace, Observatory), design the **special

buildings that give regions identity + function: e.g. Ministry office (the taking), Shrine/Veil

altar (medal use), Apothecary, Library/Records, Stable/fast-travel, Bathhouse-rest, Smithy upgrade,

Black-market, Chapel, Watchtower. Each: name · function (player verb) · where it appears · how it

ties to a loop (craft/heal/travel/quest/save) · book-canon flavor**.

DONE when ~10–14 special buildings are specced and assigned to regions.

6. DUNGEONS + FINALE — DUNGEONS.md · 12 dungeons + Observatory, increasing difficulty

One dungeon per region (1 = easiest near Hearthvale → 12 = hardest near Concordia), then the

Black Glass Observatory as the capstone. Each dungeon: **name · region · level band · theme/hazard ·

its SIGNATURE puzzle (from PUZZLES) · enemy set (from ENEMIES) · miniboss + BOSS (POWER from BALANCE) ·

Veil Medal granted (a verb/traversal unlock used later) · equipment reward (from EQUIPMENT) · the book

chapter it dramatizes**. The Observatory: the finale ledger-duel vs Alex (already built) + its signature

puzzle + seal/claim stakes. Difficulty + rewards must climb monotonically.

DONE when 12 dungeons + the Observatory are fully specced with non-decreasing difficulty.

BALANCE WORKER — BALANCE.md (every 12 h)

Make the numbers coherent and the grind HARD-but-fair.

  1. Define a single POWER metric for both heroes/equipment and enemies (e.g. effective DPS ×

effective survivability), so anything can be compared on one scale.

  1. From player base stats (Gideon fixed; Lyra scales — see mkGideon/mkLyra) + the level curve,

chart the player power curve L1→L50.

  1. Assign each equipment tier a POWER band that sits a deliberate step ahead of the content of

its act — a satisfying chase, but gated behind grind (rarer mats / harder dungeon). Output the

tier→POWER table + the recommended craft/drop rarity that paces it.

  1. Audit enemy POWER vs their level/type/region: flag any beast that's too strong/weak for where

it appears; recommend fixes. Bosses should spike, trash should not.

  1. Keep overall difficulty HARD (player should need the right gear + skill, not out-level by grind alone).
  2. Write/refresh BALANCE.md: the POWER formula, player curve, equipment tier table, enemy audit

table, and a short "tuning changes recommended" list. Do NOT edit game code — design only.

WIKI (kept in sync — public, full mirror)

Every spec is published to a public wiki at the website /wiki/ (Forgefront Studios/wiki/index.php).

Local XAMPP reads this design/ folder live (always in sync); the starborne-wiki worker mirrors all

design/*.md (+ book chapters) into Forgefront Studios/wiki/content/ + manifest.json so the deployed

forgefrontstudios.com server stays current. Rule going forward: a spec exists in BOTH the game and the wiki —

authoring a bible automatically reaches the wiki via the live read (local) and the sync worker (server).

NOTES

1051 linked entries · source: content · living wiki, auto-synced from the game's design.