Kneeshaw Developments
0
← Back

The Codex · in development

The first hour

The manor falls. You run. Then the world starts.

Titan Saga doesn't open at a character-creation screen. It opens with you escaping a burning manor while the world tells you things you'll only understand later. Character mechanics come fifteen minutes in — once the game decides you're invested.

This page is your first-hour map. Hand-curated from the vertical-slice design docs and validated against the playtest script.

Character creation

Four fields define a new character. Race + Background + Aspect set at the start; Name is collected in dialogue ten minutes in.

  • Race

    11 options across the major bloodlines — humans, dark elves, elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, the Rendrown, and the rarer Titan-touched. Each shifts the stat-roll ranges and what cultivation paths feel natural. Permanent.

  • Background

    Where you came from before the manor fell — noble heir, guild apprentice, exile, scholar, rural-born. Sets your starting equipment and which NPCs greet you in the first city by name.

  • Aspect

    The Titan domain your latent essence leans toward (Forge, Wild Growth, Knowledge, Chaos, Order, Dominion, Mercy, Death, Dream). Doesn't restrict — but it tilts which essences feel like home in the first 20 ranks.

  • Name

    Set in dialogue, not on the character-creation screen. The Guard Captain asks. Whatever you type becomes your name in every line of dialogue going forward.

The first hour, beat by beat

  1. The opening — escape from the manor

    0–5 min

    The game opens cold. A scrolling prologue → slideshow → forest cinematic → the manor falling. You don't pick a face yet; you're getting hit by the world.

    • ▸Movement tutorial threads in during the city flight
    • ▸Varn shows himself — you witness, you don't fight
    • ▸Mira choice: save her or leave her. The save flag carries the whole prologue forward
    • ▸Ends at the temple gates

  2. Gates → Temple — naming and orientation

    5–10 min

    The Guard Captain meets you. He asks who you are — first naming input. If you saved Mira, she's here for a reunion. The temple gives you a bed and an objective: "Go to the Guild Hall in the morning."

    • ▸Rest at the temple — first time-skip to morning
    • ▸Temple attendant gives morning guidance
    • ▸Objective tracker activates

  3. Awakening — your first essence

    10–25 min

    The Guild Hall is the first piece of the cultivation system that's actually yours. An inspector reads your latent essence; you see your aspect. Then the Guildmaster offers a contract — debt, structured, no fine print hidden.

    • ▸Essence display + inspector cinematic → you see what you bond toward
    • ▸Debt contract decision: accept and begin questing now, decline and find your own way
    • ▸Accepting sets essence_awakened + guild_contract_active
    • ▸Declining costs you the starter quest line — you'll have to find work yourself

  4. Mission board — your first quest

    25–40 min

    The Guild's mission board shows 3 starter quests plus city need bars (food / order / supplies — what the city actually wants right now). Pick what fits your read. Combat, resource, or trade — all three have routes through.

    • ▸Quest accepted → tracker updates → route to objective
    • ▸First combat triggers the battle tutorial
    • ▸Reward on completion: gold + faction reputation + essence XP

  5. The city opens up

    40–60 min

    Post-first-quest, the city stops being a tutorial and starts being a place. Mira (if saved) has a follow-up. Varn's plot hook is visible on the board but locked. You can walk freely.

    • ▸Optional herb-quest unlocks if Mira is alive
    • ▸Compendium begins tracking lore + NPCs
    • ▸City needs shift after your first quest's resolution — supply chain reads your inputs

Three things to know before you start

  • Decisions stick. The game doesn't auto-save before a branch. Mira lives or doesn't. The contract is signed or refused. Be deliberate.
  • Combat is turn-based. Energy gates your spikes; abilities chain through essence bonds. The first combat is a tutorial; the second is real.
  • The world reads you. City need bars on the mission board reflect actual supply chains. Your quest output shifts which quests appear next.

FAQ

▸ Can I skip the prologue?

Not in alpha. The prologue plants the world's three biggest hooks (Varn, Mira, the manor) and the design treats it as load-bearing. Future builds may add a skip for replays.

▸ What happens if I refuse the guild contract?

You skip the structured starter quest line. The city stops feeding you objectives — you have to find work the hard way. It's harder, but several factions only respect you if you came in this way.

▸ Are decisions reversible?

Most aren't. Mira lives or doesn't. Contract accepted or refused. Essence choice persists. The game does not auto-save before branches; it autosaves at chapter transitions.

▸ How long is the playable build right now?

Roughly the first 2 hours of vertical-slice content as of this writing. The validation script in the Vault tracks every flag from prologue through Day 2 morning.

Where to read next

Source: Titan-Saga-Vault design docs (FIRST_HOURS_DESIGN, FIRST_2_HOURS_PLAYTHROUGH, OPENING_SEQUENCE_SPEC, PLAYTEST_NPC_DESIGN, DEBT_SYSTEM_DESIGN).