Cores

Cores (Santesh) Copy link

Santesh Cores are living repositories of memory and knowledge. Rather than reading a written work, a Core absorbs and preserves it, capturing its contents in their entirety.

Absorption does not grant immediate understanding. Knowledge held within a Core must be accessed and unlocked before the Hero can meaningfully use what has been preserved.

ABSORBING KNOWLEDGE Copy link

A Santesh Core may absorb books, scrolls, records, maps, and other compatible sources of written knowledge.

When a source is offered to the Core, its surface shifts and unfolds around it. Light moves across the material as its contents are drawn inward and preserved.

Absorbing knowledge requires no Time.

The Core remembers what it has consumed, but the Hero does not yet understand it. Absorbed knowledge remains dormant until the Hero chooses to unlock it.

TOPICS Copy link

Knowledge unlocked from a Santesh Core becomes a Topic.

A Topic represents information the Hero has brought forward from the Core and made available to their own understanding.

Topics may be broad or specific, depending upon the material absorbed.

Examples include:

Ruins Beneath the City

Voice of the Gatekeeper

Signs of Wither Corruption

Corvian Trade Routes

History of a Lost Settlement

Structure of an Ancient Ritual

A Topic may be unlocked to one of three Depths: Surface, Layered, or Core.

KNOWLEDGE DEPTH Copy link

Knowledge must be unlocked progressively. A Hero cannot move directly from dormant knowledge to Layered or Core understanding.

When information is simple, familiar, or encountered without meaningful pressure, the WorldKeeper may allow Surface understanding without advancing Time.

RUSHED KNOWLEDGE Copy link

A Hero may attempt to access knowledge before they have the Time necessary to properly unlock it.

Rushed access grants only Surface understanding.

Information gained this way may be incomplete, unstable, lacking context, or vulnerable to misunderstanding.

Rushing cannot be used to skip a Depth.

CORE CAPACITY Copy link

A Santesh Core may preserve vast amounts of dormant information, but only a limited amount can be actively integrated into the Hero's understanding.

This limit is represented by Slots.

Dormant knowledge requires no Slots. A Topic begins occupying Slots when it is unlocked.

Increasing the Depth of a Topic increases its total Slot requirement.

A Surface Topic upgraded to Layered therefore occupies 2 Slots, not 3.

CORE TYPES Copy link

The quality of a Santesh Core determines how much knowledge it can actively maintain and how deeply that knowledge may be understood.

Basic Core Copy link

A Basic Core offers limited but efficient access to stored knowledge. It cannot maintain Topics at Core Depth.

Refined Core Copy link

A Refined Core provides greater capacity and allows a Hero to unlock knowledge at Core Depth.

Masterwork Core Copy link

A Masterwork Core represents exceptional Santesh craftsmanship. Its greater capacity allows a Hero to maintain a broader collection of accessible knowledge while retaining access to Core Depth.

MANAGING KNOWLEDGE Copy link

Knowledge held within a Core can be erased or reorganized as the Hero's needs change.

Erasing a Topic Copy link

A Hero may release an unlocked Topic to recover its Slots.

Once erased, the Hero loses the understanding provided by that Topic. If the original knowledge remains preserved within the Core, it must be unlocked again before it can be used.

Resetting a Core Copy link

A Hero may spend Time reorganizing the knowledge held within their Core.

A Reset may be used to reorganize Topics, clear unstable or rushed understanding, and prepare the Core for new knowledge.

USING TOPICS Copy link

An unlocked Topic may be used whenever its knowledge meaningfully applies to the situation.

A relevant Topic may allow a Hero to:

Lower a Difficulty by one tier.

Reveal additional information or hidden details.

Support an unusual or creative approach.

Influence an outcome or another character's response.

Prevent one relevant complication once per Scene.

The connection between the Topic and the action must be clear within the fiction.

If the Hero can meaningfully explain how the Topic applies, the Topic may be used.

SANTESH CORES & TIME Copy link

The Core can preserve knowledge instantly.

Understanding requires Time.

This distinction is central to the Santesh Core. A Hero may carry an enormous archive of dormant knowledge without possessing immediate mastery over it.

Time determines what the Hero chooses to bring forward, how deeply they understand it, and what knowledge they are willing to make part of themselves.

QUICK REFERENCE Copy link

THE SANTESH CORE Copy link

A Santesh Core can remember far more than its bearer can understand at once.

Knowledge may remain dormant within it indefinitely, waiting for the Hero to decide that it matters.

The Core remembers.

The Hero chooses what becomes understanding.