Campaign Arcs

Arc detection

The engine continuously analyzes accumulated state to detect 10 narrative arc kinds:

Arc Kind	What triggers it
rising-power	Growing faction influence, territory control, political capital
hunted	Multiple factions hostile, bounties placed, allies turning
kingmaker	Holding balance of power between competing factions
resistance	Fighting against dominant faction from a weaker position
merchant-prince	Economic dominance through trade, contracts, resource control
shadow-broker	Intel accumulation, rumor network manipulation, hidden influence
peacemaker	Resolving conflicts, building alliances, reducing faction tensions
outcast	Rejected by all factions, operating independently
revelation	Uncovering hidden truths, following belief provenance chains
betrayer	Breaking alliances, abandoning obligations, faction-switching

Arc detection is on-demand — signals are computed from current state each time, not stored incrementally. Each signal carries a momentum value: rising, steady, or fading.

Use /arcs during play to see your current trajectory.

Endgame triggers

When accumulated state crosses specific thresholds, the engine fires endgame triggers. These are one-shot events representing pivotal narrative moments. There are 8 resolution classes:

Resolution Class	Condition
victory	Dominant faction control with high stability
exile	Expelled from all territories with no allies
overthrow	Faction leadership change driven by the player
martyrdom	Sacrifice for a cause (high influence spent on final action)
corruption	Power gained through betrayal and manipulation
revelation	Major hidden truth exposed to all factions
stalemate	All factions locked in unresolvable tension
exodus	Abandoning the setting entirely

Endgame triggers appear as contextual suggestions: “A turning point approaches — type /conclude to see your legacy.”

Campaign conclusions

/conclude renders a structured epilogue:

1. Deterministic outline — the engine builds a FinaleOutline from faction states, NPC fates, district conditions, arc trajectory, and endgame triggers
2. LLM epilogue — Claude narrates the outline as a campaign-closing scene with the tone matching your resolution class
3. Campaign status — the session is marked as completed

The epilogue covers:

• Faction fates — who rose, who fell, who survived
• NPC outcomes — key character resolutions based on their final cognitive state
• District conditions — how neighborhoods changed
• Player legacy — what your arc meant for the world
• Unresolved threads — loose ends the engine detected

The deterministic outline ensures the epilogue is grounded in simulation truth. Claude adds literary quality but can’t change what happened.