ZONE & ASSET-SEGMENT BIBLE

STATUS: NEW — structural spec. Divides Starborne by ZONE (one per region/biome) and splits each zone's

assets into two segments — FIXED-POSITION (placed deterministically; only their look varies via 5 templates)

and RANDOM-POSITION (placed by seeded algorithms from per-zone pools). This is the contract the world-gen,

the starborne-zones worker, and the generative-seed system all build against. Canon: GAME1-ALIGNMENT.md (the

12-region/dungeon map), REGIONS.md, BUILDINGS.md, RESOURCES.md, ENEMIES.md, QUESTS.md, BALANCE.md.

Same dungeons / challenges / systems in every world — only which assets/tiles/equipment appear varies by

seed, within these per-zone pools. Forced conditions always hold (spawn at the cabin door by the Hearthvale farm).

Additive only; never delete. Recommend git/backup for design/.

0. WHAT IS A "ZONE"

A zone = one overworld region and the dungeon it gates (GAME1-ALIGNMENT §B/§C). Game 1 has 12 zones (Z1–Z12),

keyed to the 13 settlements + their biome theme. Every zone shares the engine's systems (survival, combat, day/night,

crafting, the taking-clock) and differs only in its asset segments below.

Overworld biome themes in play (engine CITIES[i].t): thorn, raven, frost, swamp, volcanic, ash, dusk, storm,

gloam, sable, concord. Minor settlements (non-shop, non-dungeon) may be skipped for lore if a seed prefers it.

1. THE TWO ASSET SEGMENTS (every zone has exactly these)

A. FIXED-POSITION assets — deterministic placement, 5 visual templates each

Things the story/progression needs to find in a known place. Their tile/coords are fixed (or rule-placed the same

each seed); only their visual template rotates. **A template changes art only — never function, collision

footprint, interact verb, or stats. Each fixed asset class ships 5 templates** (T1–T5), chosen per-zone (or

per-seed) for visual identity.

Fixed-position classes:

• Roads / paths — the route spine between settlements. 5 templates = cobble, dirt-rut, salt-lined, plank,

flagstone (visual only; same walkable width + connectivity).

• Main buildings — the home cabin, the forge-house, the shop/trading post, the Veil Shrine, the Ministry Office,

the dungeon mouth, the region landmark (BUILDINGS.md #1–#22). 5 templates = regional skins (e.g. cabin: log,

stone-base, turf-roof, lean-to, longhouse) — same door, same interact, same loop.

• Progression NPCs — the givers the main spine depends on (Gideon, the region's CORE giver, the shopkeeper,

the shrine-keeper). 5 templates = portrait/garb variants; same dialogue role, same quests, same position.

RULE: if removing/replacing it would break a main quest, a tutorial, or traversal → it is FIXED. Templates are

a tpl: 1..5 field on the asset; the renderer switches skin, nothing else.

B. RANDOM-POSITION assets — seeded algorithmic placement from per-zone pools

Things the world can scatter freely without breaking progression. Each has its own placement algorithm and a

per-zone pool (what's eligible here). Seed varies which and where; rules below keep them sane.

Random-position classes & their algorithms:

• Resources (ore veins, gem veins, heartwood, forage) — rule: spawn only on a valid host tile (ore/gem **on a

rock tile with an open face**; heartwood in groves; forage on grass). Tier/richness scales with distance-from-home

and zone tier. Per-zone pool = the metals/gems that zone allows.

• Trees / flora — rule: per-biome density (TREEDENS), never within the town-clearance radius, never on

farm/road/water tiles. Pool = the biome's tree/bush species.

• Monsters — rule: spawn table weighted by zone tier + day count + night/blood-moon state; pack rules per kind;

signature foes from the zone's ENEMIES roster (GAME1-ALIGNMENT §C/§C2). Pool = that region's bestiary slice.

• Random quest-buildings — rule: 1–3 per zone at rule-valid open sites; each holds a quest pool scaled to

the region level/difficulty (BOUNTY + SIDE + region-flavor from QUESTS.md). Pulls one quest at a time from the

pool; refreshes on completion / day-roll. Not required for the main spine (those are FIXED).

• Animals (non-hostile fauna) — rule: ambient herds/critters by biome; flee behavior; optional small drops.

Pool = biome-appropriate animals.

• World-gen tile pool — rule: each zone draws its ground/decor tiles from a pool, **each tile type with its own

algorithm** (e.g. water = lake-blob flood-fill; rock = mountain-range blob; road = Z-spline; farm = plot rect;

haze/snow/ash overlays = noise mask). Seed picks the mix + parameters within the zone's allowed pool.

RULE: if the world would still be completable with it moved, swapped, or absent → it is RANDOM. All random

placement runs through the seeded PRNG (srand(seed)), so a seed reproduces the world exactly.

2. THE KEY-ITEM ARC (per-zone progression contract)

Each zone's dungeon hides exactly one KEY ITEM (a Veil Medal or region relic):

• It is a core reward placed ~70% through the dungeon (after the zone's signature challenge, before its boss).
• Its verb/power is REQUIRED to clear the final ~30% of that zone (the boss approach + the gate to the next

zone). E.g. the Lantern (Z1), Frostbrand Nail (Z2), Mirror Shard (Z3) … Concord Key (Z12) — see QUESTS.md §B.

• Key items are FIXED (the dungeon always yields its key at that beat); they live in the menu's Key Items

region (MENU.md), never consumed, never sold.

• This makes every zone a self-contained arc: *enter → survive to 70% → claim the key → use the key to finish →

unlock the next zone.*

3. PER-ZONE ASSET TABLE (skeleton — the starborne-zones worker fills/expands each)

Format per zone: FIXED {roads, main buildings, progression NPCs} · RANDOM {resources, monsters, trees,

quest-buildings, animals, tile pool} · KEY ITEM. Seeds vary RANDOM within the pool; FIXED only re-skins (T1–T5).

Z1 · Hearthvale (thorn/meadow) — tutorial home

• FIXED: home road spine; cabin · forge-house · Emberfall shop · Veil Shrine · Ministry Office · D1 mouth; NPCs

Gideon [CORE], Mara Thatch (inn/rumor), Old Bemis (farm tutor), Sister Wren (shrine).

• RANDOM: resources {iron, copper(rare), gem(rare)}; monsters {Gloomwolf, Husk Villager, Tithe-Clerk elite, Crow};

trees {meadow/thorn forest}; quest-buildings {Bemis field, bounty board}; animals {hare, songbird}; tiles

{meadow grass, forest, dirt, water-pond, road, farm}.

• KEY ITEM: Lantern (Veil Medal) — light that sears the dark; gates the cellar's final dark stretch.

Z2 · Eisengrave (frost) — the North

• FIXED: ice-road; longhouse (jarl) · forge · shrine · Ministry Office · D2 mouth; NPCs Jarl Hakon [CORE], Halvard

[CORE], Sigrún (runes), Olek (scout).

• RANDOM: resources {iron, copper, gold(rare), gem}; monsters {Frost Lynx, Husk Miner, Counting Wind hazard,

grey-coat auditor}; trees {snow-pine, sparse}; quest-buildings {ice-lake watch, bounty}; animals {elk, snow-hare};

tiles {snow, ice, rock, frozen-lake, road}.

• KEY ITEM: Frostbrand Nail — the warding nail; gates the ice-ledger crossing.

Z3 · Whispering Forest / Nymiria (thorn/raven) — Gael's arc; Vol.1 pivot

• FIXED: root-road spine (packed thorn-earth, lantern-posts at staggered spacing — the light never quite closes the gap between posts); fixed buildings — Shadowfern Longhouse (King Edrik's court, never visibly aging; the political anchor) · Order Waystation (the Quiet Hand's drop-point; also the SIDE-quest board) · Ministry Drain-Hall (the Glass Cradle's antechamber — dungeon mouth D3, glass-pillared, blood-threaded) · Veil Shrine (mossy, half-choked by thorn-root, hums the wrong note) · Ministry Office (taking-clock; nailed ledgers, crows on the lintel) · Apothecary (a bark-walled brew-shop run by a Shadowfern elder who doesn't name her medicines). NPCs — The Quiet Hand / the Order's Contact [CORE, quest giver; Gael's handler, never names the principal]; King Edrik of Nymiria [CORE, the court that never ages — dragon seed revealed in Vol.2]; the King's Daughter [CORE, doomed; tethered to the cradle by the dungeon's 70% mark]; a Shadowfern Elder [SIDE, shrine-keep; speaks in third person about whomever the forest is watching this season].
• Road spine (T1–T5 visual templates): T1 packed-thorn-earth (ruts filled with grey ash), T2 mossy flagstone (green between the cracks, black at the joins), T3 split-plank (wet rot smell, lantern-hook nails every 8m), T4 salt-lined mud (the Order's travel-route; salted against husk-trails), T5 bone-chip gravel (pale underfoot; the forest floor composted to something older).
• Shadowfern Longhouse (T1–T5): T1 dark-oak longhouse (carved raven-and-nail lintel), T2 vine-covered stone keep (ivy thick enough to hide arrow-slots), T3 high-thorn palisade hall (living thorns trained into the walls), T4 antler-and-slate court (angular, mid-ruin, deliberately maintained that way), T5 black-glass inlay hall (Observatory influence — the King entertains Ministry visitors here).
• Order Waystation (T1–T5): T1 unmarked timber lean-to (the sign says nothing), T2 stone alcove with iron door (the lock changes each se