worlds_planes_overworld_wiki

Gnosis Worlds, Planes, and Overworld Wiki

This page has been reviewed against the current terminal/server build and the latest portal documentation surfaces. For exact live catalogs and tuning values, use the source-driven...

Updated

2026-04-19T11:06:55+00:00

Gnosis Worlds, Planes, and Overworld Wiki

Documentation Freshness (2026-04-19)

This page has been reviewed against the current terminal/server build and the latest portal documentation surfaces.
For exact live catalogs and tuning values, use the source-driven portal compendiums:
- /bestiary
- /spell-omnibus
- /technique-omnibus
- /item-omnibus
- /recipe-omnibus
In-game references are available through the W wiki menu (including generated spell/component compendiums).
World/floor map reference is in-game via P; the website map page is intentionally hidden.
Multiplayer host/deployment details live in docs/multiplayer_server_wiki.md and docs/server_portal_setup.md.

Current Build Delta (2026-04-19)

Deep floors now have a depth-scaled chance to spawn Lizard Kingdom Gates (FeatureLizardKingdomGate).
Using a Lizard Kingdom Gate enters Lizard Kingdom side sites (SiteLizardKingdom) with lizard society-biased populations.
Lizard Kingdom floors use dedicated cave themes (Outer Warrens -> Royal Sinkhalls) and integrate with map/examine/senses/clairvoyance text.
This update is live in terminal mode and server mode; hosted clients inherit the behavior from the game build.

This page documents how world structure currently works in the Go terminal build.

1. Scope

Primary code:

internal/game/worlds.go
internal/game/topology.go
internal/game/overworld.go
internal/game/plane_echo.go
internal/game/themes.go
internal/game/secret_dungeon.go
internal/game/portal.go

2. Persistent World Model

The game world is a persistent site graph, not a one-run stack of disposable floors.

Sites (tower, dungeon, vault, etc.) are nodes.
Each normal site has 5 local floors (floorsPerRegion).
Going past a site edge can open a linked parent/child site, so depth is effectively unbounded.
Some links are sealed dead ends by design.

State is saved per world profile and survives restarts.

3. Infinite Up/Down Progression (Implemented Form)

Current implementation of “infinite floors” is:

effectively infinite depth through linked sites
each site contributes a fixed local floor count
ascents create higher branch sites; descents create deeper branch sites

So the infinite part is the site chain, not one single endless floor-index array.

4. Theme Bands, Guardians, and Djinn

Depth is grouped into 5-depth bands.

Every band has a deterministic theme/archetype from the world seed.
Depth polarity changes flavor:
higher/negative depths bias angelic/choir pressure
deeper/positive depths bias demonic/pit pressure
Band position 5 is the guardian cadence point (group boss floor).

Djinn system:

one themed Djinn can exist per band
chamber reveal depends on full survey progress for that band
defeating Djinn increases long-term elemental mastery.

5. Secret Dungeon Chains

Per root+band plan, hidden chains are seeded deterministically.

Spawn chance per band: 36%
Chain length: 3..5 floors (default fallback 4)
Structure: linear mini-chain with miniboss progression and final boss reward roll
Oracle guidance: Oracle Ember gives warm/cold hints to nearest chain.

Rare true-name path:

secret final has 45/1000 name-tablet roll

6. Rebirth Pillars and Spawn

Every generated world tries to maintain a rebirth pillar pair near UpStairs.

Pillars are stamped around the local spawn anchor where geometry allows.
New/reincarnated vessels enter at the site entry stair and therefore appear between/at the rebirth gate structure.

7. Overworld (Floor 0)

Overworld is a dedicated site kind:

local floor index 0
route-node destinations to known roots
travel can trigger encounter maps before destination handoff
O enters overworld from floor 1 up-stair context
G opens route menu on overworld

Overworld nodes are physically represented with stair markers and pillar framing.

8. Plane Layering

Supported planes:

Material
Astral
Shadow

Shifting:

keys [ / ] in normal mode
focus cost: 3
requirements:
Astral: Spellcraft 20, Insight 2
Shadow: Spellcraft 35, Insight 4

Important behavior:

plane position is remembered per region/floor/plane
moving in astral/shadow does not move your material position
returning to material restores your remembered material location

9. Echo Synchronization Across Planes

For loaded same-region/floor plane copies, the engine mirrors:

tile kind and many tile flags
features (with portal preservation caveat)
ground items

Actors are simulated separately per plane. This is why plane-specific threats can exist even when geometry echoes.

10. Portals (House of Doors)

Portal network unlock gate:

known table: Yesod
known form: Step
known element: Void

Anchor weave requirements:

must be in sanctum
Scrap 3, Herbs 2, Obols 10
focus cost 5

Travel:

use e at/near anchor context
focus cost 4
anchor list persists on soul and survives reincarnation.

11. Determinism and Persistence

World-level determinism is driven by selected world seed.

world catalog supports multiple named worlds
world creation accepts either numeric seeds or freeform seed phrases; phrase input is deterministically hashed into the internal numeric seed
each world has its own save file under data/worlds/
saves flush during resolved turn simulation (persistCampaign() in turn loop)

This is what allows stable revisits, archaeology, and long-running base/route development.

12. Practical Notes

Floor maps are fixed size (72x28) in current build.
Plane traversal is progression-gated; you do not start with full cross-plane mobility.
Overworld, secret chains, and final seals are special site kinds with distinct generation rules.

13. Side Sites and Gate Rules

Current world generation mixes root-site routing with depth-gated side-site gates:

Overworld root destinations include normal roots plus dedicated Goblin Fortress and Vampire Mansion roots.
Goblin Tunnel entrances can appear on material floors at |depth| >= 8 (outside overworld/secret/seals/goblin-fortress sites).
Demon Castle Gate entrances can appear on material floors at positive depth >= 6 and themed band pressure (outside overworld/secret/seals and side-site kinds).
Lizard Kingdom Gate entrances can appear on material floors at |depth| >= 10 (outside overworld/secret/seals/lizard-kingdom sites).
Secret Gate entrances are band-seeded and begin at |depth| >= 61.

All gate chances are further scaled by world configurator spawn-rate multipliers, so server/world setup directly changes how often side-site entrances appear.