MVP Design Decisions

Status: Current canonical decisions as of 2026-08-03. This document records resolved design choices while older draft documents are being reconciled.

Placeholder balancing policy: When a decision says “random,” it means the value should remain designer-adjustable. Implementation should start with a sensible placeholder value or distribution; detailed balancing is deferred unless explicitly requested.

Game designer review — 2026-08-09

The current MVP decisions were audited against the existing GDD by a game-designer reviewer. mvp-decisions.md is the canonical MVP source of truth; older documents contain historical concepts and must not override it.

Material documentation contradictions to reconcile

• gdd/master_gdd.md:67–68, 135–157 still describes no classes, 30 Aspects, no Utility Aspects, Monk as post-MVP, and co-op as mandatory. MVP uses six classes, 15 Aspects, Utility Aspects, Monk, and solo-only scope.
• gdd/design/battle-system.md:27 had a stale grid specification; it is now reconciled to 8×8 as of 2026-08-10.
• gdd/design/battle-system.md:198–217, 534 still treats facing as future work and says movement does not change facing. Facing is mandatory MVP and movement faces the next path cell.
• gdd/design/battle-system.md:410, 420–421 still uses a three-turn downed counter and resets revival CT instead of using the 300-unit-CT permanent-death rule with continuing CT.
• gdd/design/roguelike-structure.md:25–30, 63–74, 87–109 still uses fixed fight/shop/camp/mystery layouts and old node counts instead of randomized 4–6 intermediate nodes with Contest/Acquire/Recess, required node coverage, branching, merging, and no dead ends.
• gdd/design/roguelike-structure.md:117–185, 295–307 still defines old fight rewards, guaranteed Relic choices, old shop stock, free Recess-only Aspect swaps, and non-refreshing shops instead of encounter-specific independent rolls and four refreshing Acquire offers.
• gdd/design/meta-progression.md:21–40, 59–96, 124–147, 209–217 still uses Time Echoes, multiple meta unlock categories, and multiple difficulty modes instead of Court Prestige for permanent class unlocks and one Normal mode.
• gdd/design/enemy-catalog.md:164, 269, 296, 300–333 still uses The Unwoven, obsolete Shaman references, old enemy-specific drops, and Hard/Lethal/Breach MVP scope instead of House Guard, encounter-specific rewards, and Normal-only MVP scope.

Review conclusion

• No implementation-blocking design questions remain.
• The five Normal and three Mini-boss encounter templates per island still need placeholder data entries; this is content authoring, not a design blocker.
• Safe to defer: balance values and weights, final class feel and detailed skill trees, complete Item/Equipment/Relic/encounter content, additional generator rules, boss polish, narrative content, and post-MVP hazards.

Battle and camera

• Battles use an 8×8 grid.
• Facing is mandatory and uses four cardinal directions.
• The camera supports pan, zoom, and 90-degree rotation while remaining isometric at a 45-degree view from any side.
• MVP has one global difficulty mode: Normal. Contest encounter tiers are separate: Normal Contest, Mini-boss Contest, and Island Boss Contest.
• Units do not have built-in Dodge. Skills may add random Dodge, Block, Parry, or Counter-style outcomes.

Classes and roster

• MVP classes are Knight, Archer, Mage, Rogue, Priest, and Monk.
• Only Knight, Archer, and Mage are initially unlocked.
• A run starts with three units, with no duplicate class in the initial party.
• The player may choose or switch the starting units from unlocked classes.
• A run roster may contain up to 16 recruited units.
• A battle uses up to 5 units.
• Units may be swapped freely between nodes. The run roster resets when the run ends.
• New class unlock costs use temporary random values until balancing.
• Monk is a barehanded physical archetype focused on self-buffs, some support, and countering physical attacks. Its specific skills remain swappable.
• Horseback is removed from MVP. The MVP target remains 15 aspects after removing one Flex aspect.

Downed units, CT, and rewards

• Downed units may be revived with a skill or item.
• Revival HP depends on the source: an item restores 1 HP, Priest review restores 25% HP, and other approaches may vary.
• Revival removes status effects and returns the unit to its current position.
• CT continues after revival; it does not reset.
• A unit becomes permanently dead after 300 CT of that unit's own progression, giving slower units more real-time leeway.
• Gold is awarded at the end of each successful battle and is spent at Acquire nodes.
• Court Prestige is granted for defeating Mini-bosses and Bosses, banks at the end of each island, and supports post-run meta progression.
• Every successful action grants EXP for now. Aspects and Relics may be awarded on victory but are not guaranteed.

Islands and node generation

• MVP has two islands: Fractured Plains and Ashen Caldera.
• Every run starts from Island 1. There is no run checkpoint or resume between islands.
• Canonical node types are Contest, Acquire, and Recess.
• The first node is forced to be a Normal Contest.
• The last node of each island is forced to be an island-specific Boss Contest.
• A normal Contest uses the standard battle objective: eliminate all enemies.
• Each island generates 4–6 intermediate nodes, with the count varying on each generation.
• Branching is randomized. The player chooses the next node, with 1–3 choices at each branch.
• There are no dead ends; every path reaches the Boss.
• Branches may merge into shared nodes.
• For now, the intermediate set independently guarantees at least one Normal Contest, Mini-boss Contest, Acquire, and Recess. The forced first Normal Contest is not counted. Any remaining intermediate nodes may repeat those types. Additional generator rules are deferred.

Node functions

• Acquire: noncombat shop and recruitment node. Every shop has exactly four offers: 1 recruit, 1 Item (including consumables), 1 Aspect, and 1 Relic. The player may purchase any or all offers if they can afford them.
• Recess: restores 50% maximum HP to every living unit, revives downed units at 50% HP, removes negative statuses, and supports character dialogue. Permanently dead units remain unavailable. It is not the exclusive location for Aspect changes.
• Players may equip any owned Aspect before entering the next node. There is no free Aspect swap limited to Recess.

Aspect loadout

• Each unit has five Aspect slots:
  1. Core — fixed to the unit and cannot be changed.
  2. Secondary — may equip any other class's Core Aspect; it cannot repeat the unit's own Core.
  3. Movement.
  4. Defense.
  5. Utility.
• A non-Core Aspect may be equipped by only one unit in a battle.
• Duplicate copies of the same Aspect may be equipped by different units in the same battle.
• Any unit may equip any Movement, Defense, or Utility Aspect regardless of class.

Acquire shop rules

• Each Acquire node refreshes with a new set of four offers.
• Each offer has a category-specific designer-adjustable placeholder price. Recruit prices fluctuate with generated unit quality.
• Each offer may be rerolled once while unpurchased. Reroll prices are category-specific placeholder values.
• Purchasing an offer locks it and prevents rerolling it afterward. This rule applies to recruits and all other shop offers.
• A recruit offer is one fully randomized unit, including class, level, equipped Aspects, and other generated details.
• Recruit offers show their full generated details before purchase, including class, level, stats, equipped Aspects, and unlocked skills.
• Aspect offers may include Core Aspects. A purchased Core Aspect cannot replace a unit's fixed Core, but can be used where the Aspect rules allow it, such as another unit's Secondary slot.
• The player may remove Aspects from a recruited unit.

Court Prestige rules

• Mini-bosses and Bosses guarantee a minimum Court Prestige reward.
• A future performance bonus may increase the reward through conditions such as one-hit kills or taking no damage. Clear speed is not a bonus condition for now, and the condition list remains empty until expanded.
• If the run ends before the current island is completed, that island's unbanked Court Prestige is lost. Previously banked Prestige remains.
• Court Prestige is used only for class unlocks in MVP.
• Class unlocks are permanent and may be purchased in any order.

Encounter pools

• Each island has a separate Normal encounter pool and Mini-boss encounter pool, plus one fixed island-specific Boss encounter.
• Each island has 5 Normal encounter templates and 3 Mini-boss encounter templates.
• Each template has a designer-assigned placeholder selection weight.
• When an encounter is selected, it is removed from that island's pool for the current generation and cannot repeat there. Each island rebuilds its own pools.

Victory reward rules

• Aspect and Relic rewards use independent rolls, so a victory may grant neither, one, or both.
• A successful roll grants one random reward from that encounter's own Aspect or Relic pool.
• Encounter reward pools are separate per encounter template. Aspect rewards may repeat later in the same run; identical Relics may not.

Items and Relics

• The game has two inventory layers: a persistent Unlocked Items inventory and a run-only In-game Items inventory.
• The In-game Items inventory contains consumables, equipment, Relics, and similar run items.
• In-game Items may include consumables, equipment, combat utilities, and similar run-limited objects.
• Items are shared across the run and can be used by any eligible unit.
• Using an Item in battle requires an equipped Utility Aspect that grants the Item Use skill/passive. Item management and use on the map do not require a Utility Aspect.
• Used Items are consumed immediately.
• Item use counts as a successful action and grants EXP.
• The shop's Item offer shows full details before purchase.
• Relics are passive, run-wide effects that activate immediately when acquired.
• Relics are shared by the whole run rather than equipped by individual units.
• Relics remain active until the run ends and are not retained between runs.
• Relic effects do not require separate activation unless the Relic specifically says so.
• The same Relic cannot be acquired more than once in a run. Different Relics with similar effects may stack.
• The In-game Items inventory has no artificial capacity limit in MVP.
• Items, Aspects, and Relics purchased during a run remain owned for the rest of that run.
• There is no sell feature; items cannot be exchanged for Gold.
• Rerolling one offer does not affect the other offers.
• Relics activate immediately and have no separate equip limit.
• The Aspect collection has no artificial capacity limit; the one-retained-Aspect rule is the only cross-run limit.
• Gold is not refunded after purchases or rerolls.

Equipment

• Equipment is run-only and resets at run end.
• Equipment is separate from Aspects.
• Equipment may be equipped or swapped on the map before entering the next node.
• MVP equipment begins with fixed Weapon and Armor slots.
• Duplicate equipment copies may be owned and equipped by different units.
• Equipment modifies stats or grants passive effects and does not require the Utility Aspect to function.
• Equipment has no durability or breakage in MVP.

Unlocked Items inventory

• Unlocked Items is persistent across runs.
• It represents the Item, equipment, and Relic content eligible to appear in future shops and reward pools.
• Unlocking an entry does not automatically place it in the current run's inventory.
• Items acquired during a run enter only the In-game Items inventory.
• In-game Items, equipment, and Relics reset at run end.
• The retained Aspect is separate from the Unlocked Items inventory.
• MVP uses placeholder item-unlock rules until the meta-economy is defined.

Run persistence

• Court Prestige banked at an island's end persists permanently.
• Unbanked Court Prestige is lost if the run ends before that island is completed.
• Gold, recruited units, unit levels, unit EXP, equipment, Items, and Relics reset at run end.
• The single retained non-Core Aspect persists until replaced.
• Unlocked Items persist across runs.
• There is no mid-run resume checkpoint; every new run starts at Island 1.
• Class unlocks persist permanently and are independent of run inventory.

MVP Aspect content map

• MVP has 15 Aspects.
• The 6 Core Aspects are Knight, Archer, Mage, Rogue, Priest, and Monk.
• The 2 Movement Aspects are Shadowstep and Flight.
• The 3 Defense Aspects are Parry, Shield, and Ward.
• The 4 Utility Aspects are Alchemist, Warlock, Engineer, and Chronomancer.
• Each Core Aspect defines its class identity.
• Every non-Core Aspect is freely transferable between units and has its own variable-size skill tree.
• Core class roles remain broad MVP archetypes; detailed feel, skill identity, and balance tuning are deferred until post-MVP playtesting.

CT and action flow

• CT determines turn order.
• Each turn allows one movement and one action; either may be skipped.
• Movement consumes 40% CT.
• Actions consume 40–60% CT depending on the action.
• Units may move through allied units, but neutral units and enemy units block movement.
• Movement rotates the unit toward the next cell in its path. If movement is interrupted, the unit's current facing is the direction of the next path cell.
• Actions include attacks and unlocked Aspect skills.
• Traps and environmental-hazard interruptions during movement are post-MVP scope.
• Wait passes the unit's turn without taking an action, grants a 50% Defense bonus, and grants no EXP.
• Only the acting unit gains EXP from its successful action.
• Downed and dead units cannot act.

Battlefield targeting

• Friendly fire is allowed by default; attacks and area effects may hit allied units when the player chooses, making it a tactical option.
• Units do not block line of sight, but they can block or intercept projectile attacks such as arrows.

Damage and reactions

• Normal damage is deterministic.
• Physical attacks use physical offense versus Defense.
• Magical attacks use magic offense versus resistance.
• Facing provides front, side, and rear modifiers using designer-adjustable placeholder values.
• Critical hits, Dodge, Block, Parry, and Counter occur only through explicit skills or effects.
• Counter effects resolve after the triggering attack and follow the relevant skill's conditions.
• Projectile interception is deterministic based on the projectile's path.

Encounter behavior

• Encounter templates define the enemy roster, placement, terrain, and reward pools.
• The selected encounter template is fixed once the node is entered.
• Enemy units follow the same CT, movement, facing, damage, and status rules as player units unless their skills explicitly differ.
• Normal and Mini-boss Contests use the same objective: eliminate all enemies.
• Boss encounters may use phases and unique skills, but MVP has no alternate objectives.
• Enemy reinforcements occur only when explicitly defined by an encounter template.
• Enemy AI uses deterministic priority rules and cannot access hidden player information.
• Encounter-specific rewards, weights, and drop chances remain designer-adjustable placeholders.

Information and UI

• The map shows available next-node choices, node types, and branch connections.
• Contest setup opens unit selection and deployment before revealing the level.
• Shops show full offer details, prices, reroll costs, and quality before purchase.
• Battle previews show movement path, CT cost, target area, facing modifiers, projected damage, and status outcomes when calculable.
• Skill panels show unlock costs, current EXP, prerequisites, and the next available skill.
• Level-up panels preview every stat increase before EXP is spent.
• Hidden information is limited to enemy future decisions and unrevealed encounter content.

Recruitment and roster management

• A random recruit may be any class, including a class not yet unlocked through Court Prestige.
• A locked-class recruit can be used normally during the current run, but that class remains unavailable for future starting rosters until permanently unlocked.
• A recruit's non-Core equipped Aspects may be removed and added to the shared Aspect collection.
• A recruit's Core Aspect cannot be removed and remains exclusive to that unit.
• Any unit may be dismissed, including an original starting unit.
• At most one unit may be dismissed each time the player enters an Acquire shop.
• Dismissal uses a fixed placeholder Gold price that doubles after every dismissal during the run and resets at run end.
• Dismissing a unit permanently loses its removable equipped Aspects; they do not return to the collection.

Unit EXP, Aspect skills, and levels

• Skills are contained within Aspects and are not equipped separately.
• Every Aspect has a skill progression tree with an Aspect-specific number of skills. Its base skill is always unlocked; later skills use EXP thresholds such as 100 XP and 200 XP. All Aspects follow this model.
• Each Aspect copy carries its own unlocked-skill state. Duplicate copies progress independently, and unlocked skills remain with the Aspect when it moves between units.
• EXP belongs to the unit that earned it through successful actions. The amount varies by action, using designer-adjustable placeholder values for now. On the map before moving to the next node, the player may spend a unit's EXP to unlock skills on that unit's equipped Aspects or to level up the unit.
• Skill unlocks are manual and freely chosen by the player; they are not automatic at the threshold.
• The UI exposes Aspect skill unlocks only for Aspects currently equipped by the unit. Because Aspects can be freely swapped on the map, any owned Aspect can be selected for progression.
• All unlocked skills from a unit's five equipped Aspects are available; there is no separate skill-equip limit in MVP.
• Unit level-ups use predefined stat increases. The UI previews the next level's stat changes before EXP is spent.
• MVP unit levels range from 1 to 5.
• All three starting units begin at Level 1.
• A recruited unit's level equals the lowest level in the player's full run roster.
• Recruit price does not change solely because the recruit is already at maximum level.
• Every skill on an Aspect can eventually be unlocked; there are no mutually exclusive branches.
• Aspect skill unlocks are permanent for that Aspect copy. There is no refund or reset.
• Unit levels, unspent EXP, and run-only progression reset at run end. A permanently dead unit loses its level and unspent EXP.

Run-end Aspect retention

• At run end, the player may retain exactly one equipped non-Core Aspect.
• The player chooses which equipped non-Core Aspect to retain, and it keeps all unlocked skills and progression.
• The retained Aspect is immediately available for equipping at the start of the next run by any unit in its compatible slot.
• Only one Aspect can be retained across runs. Retaining a different Aspect replaces the previous retained Aspect.
• Replacing the retained Aspect permanently deletes the previous Aspect and all of its unlocked skills.
• The player may retain the same Aspect repeatedly or choose a different one in a later run.
• Retention is available after both victory and defeat.
• The player may choose the retained Aspect from the entire run roster, not only the active battle party.

Battle deployment

• Entering a Contest first opens unit selection and deployment.
• The player selects up to 5 units and places them in cells before the level is revealed.
• After the level is revealed, unit selection and placement cannot be changed.
• There are no unit-type restrictions on player deployment cells.
• Player units automatically face the enemy deployment zone at battle start.
• Enemy units automatically face the player deployment zone at battle start.

Contest outcomes and persistence

• Contest battles cannot be retreated from after entry.
• If the active party loses a Contest, the run ends immediately, even if benched units remain.
• After a successful Contest, surviving units carry their current HP and status effects into the next node.
• After a successful Contest, all downed units automatically revive at 1 HP and have their status effects removed.

Status and battle state

• Negative statuses persist between battles unless removed by revival, Recess, island transition, or an appropriate effect.
• All downed-unit revival methods remove statuses.
• Living units carry their statuses after a victorious Contest.
• Permanent death cannot be reversed by healing or status effects.
• Units have no built-in Dodge; random defensive outcomes come only from skills.
• Facing remains deterministic: movement rotates the unit toward the next cell in its path. If movement is interrupted, the unit's current facing is the direction of the next path cell.
• Status and defensive-effect durations and values use designer-adjustable placeholder values.
• Status durations use the affected unit's CT progression.
• Reapplying a status refreshes its duration; duplicate stacks require an explicit skill rule.
• Stronger versions replace weaker versions.
• Buffs and debuffs can target allies or enemies according to the skill.
• Friendly fire can apply both damage and status effects.
• Status immunities and resistances are explicit effects rather than hidden universal rules.

Island transition

• Defeating an island Boss banks the island's Court Prestige and fully heals the party before the next island.
• Downed units are revived during this transition. Permanently dead units remain unavailable.
• Island transition removes all negative statuses.
• Permanently dead units no longer occupy roster slots; those slots become available for recruitment.
• When a unit becomes permanently dead, its removable equipped Aspects are removed from the run and do not return to the collection.

Factions

• Island 1 uses House Guard.
• Island 2 uses Ember Court.