Progression

{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "id": "progression",
  "name": "Progression",
  "aliases": [],
  "summary": "Frequent modest gains within an authored hero, with narrower equipment and permanent-stat tradeoffs.",
  "details": [
    "Progression should feel more continuous and satisfying than traditional Zelda without Elden Ring's class and build sprawl.",
    "Major authored tools can punctuate the smaller gains; whether respec exists remains open.",
    "Growth uses a renewable resource earned from enemies, in the spirit of souls or experience, spent on permanent stat choices. Where in the village it is spent is undecided.",
    "Kilnrath gadgets supply Kip's early-game item discoveries, Zelda-style, and the first real weapons are found in the world: the miner's pick in the mine, the woodsman's axe at the Lamp Road cutting.",
    "First leveling is introduced at the village hub after the mine level, not before."
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "kind": "related-to",
      "targetRef": "ref:combat"
    }
  ],
  "supersededByRefs": [],
  "history": [
    {
      "id": "progression-gameplay-builds",
      "at": "2026-09-08T01:44:55.907Z",
      "summary": "Chose contained weapon-and-power paths around one authored Kip.",
      "reason": "Kip should not become an arbitrary collection of unrelated classes.",
      "mentions": [
        "ref:kip"
      ],
      "source": {
        "kind": "review-migration",
        "label": "Prototype review: gameplay-builds",
        "locator": "archive/migrations/2026-09-08-prototype-review.json#review.answers.gameplay-builds"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "progression-genre-framework",
      "at": "2026-09-08T19:00:00.000Z",
      "summary": "Made permanent stat choices the main form of smaller specialization gains.",
      "reason": "Steady investment is desirable, while grinding is not assumed.",
      "mentions": [
        "ref:kip"
      ],
      "source": {
        "kind": "conversation",
        "label": "Atlas planning conversation, September 8, 2026"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "progression-resource-and-items",
      "at": "2026-09-13T22:00:00.000Z",
      "summary": "Confirmed the souls-like growth resource, Kilnrath gadgets as early items, and the first found weapons.",
      "reason": "The owner wants a real sense of growth and reuse of mechanics without a pile of unrelated odd jobs; found weapons and Kilnrath side-effect gadgets keep progression authored and thematically tied to the conflict.",
      "mentions": [
        "ref:miners-pick",
        "ref:woodsmans-axe",
        "ref:kilnrath",
        "ref:cinderfolk-village"
      ],
      "source": {
        "kind": "conversation",
        "label": "Kilnrath sweetener and next-levels discussion, 2026-09-13"
      }
    }
  ],
  "kind": "mechanic",
  "categories": [
    "progression-economy"
  ]
}