New draft update

🔧 Echoes of Elystrad – Developer Update: Warden’s Guide [MC (1)] Build

Hey Vault-Delvers and Bridge-Wardens —

This update marks a major milestone in the evolution of Echoes of Elystrad. The new file (Echos of Elystand - wardens guide MC (1).docx) includes deep mechanical expansions, better structure, and loads of new tools for longform campaigns and prototyping.

Whether you're running a one-shot funnel or planning a multi-year mythic echo-crawl, this version gives you the narrative scaffolding, modular tools, and weird-world depth to bring Elystrad to life.

              What’s New in This Build:

      Expanded Structure & Section Layout

Rebuilt table of contents for clarity and modular use.

All major systems are now broken into distinct sections (Character Paths, Calendar/Time, Society, Vault Design, Worldbuilding, and Endgame).

New subsections and cross-referenced content (e.g., 2.4, 3.3.1, 4.4).

  NEW: Vein & Blood Influence Chart (Section 2.4)

A new Warden cheat sheet overlay for Vein-based dungeon tone and Blood-based mood shifts.

Supports calendar-linked prophecy and reality distortions.

     Vaultborn Expansion (Section 1.5)

Fully developed Ascension Paths:

Memory-Eater, Living Relic, Twice-Walked, Bridge-Replacement.

Optional Timeline Reentry system and Paradox Effect Table.

Destiny mechanics and long-form transformation support.

 Toolbox & Vault Assets (Section 6.3)

Fully fleshed version of the 0-level funnel:

“The Gilded Guild’s Golden Offer” – now repeatable, portable, and brutal.

Vault templates, mutation webs, echo loop triggers, and emergency weirdness tables.

       Advanced Vault Mechanics

Vault mutation tables now deeper and more dynamic.

Added Echo Fragments, Vault Whisper tools, and spatial-memory traps.

Introduced living relic nests and dungeon-resonant personality effects.

   World Navigation and Region Tools (Section 5.2)

Sky Island vs. Surface-level hex mechanics.

Vault-buoyancy travel rules, inter-island drift events, flying ruins, and bridge fade-windows.

     Downtime & Economy Expansion (Section 5.3)

Revised barter system using Shards, Crowns, and Marks.

Fully integrated Debt Chip mechanics, smuggling encounters, and relic-haunted marketplaces.

Includes "Repo Agent Fallout Table" for bad credit decisions.

 Other Notable Additions:

Warden’s Master Cheat Sheet (Section 7.2) – rapid tools for weirdness, prophecies, NPCs, and on-the-fly Vault shifts.

New Skybearer legends, NPC templates, bridge-based hero paths, and mythic ascension options.

Improved flavor clarity across all character backgrounds, guild blurbs, and relic behavior.

Extra “Echo Prompts” and narrative generators for first-session sparks.

       Why Update?

This version is aimed at:

Judges running full campaigns or layered Vault systems.

Playtesters ready to stress-test Vaultborn mechanics.

DMs looking for a ready-to-run funnel + expansion hooks in one document.

It’s also the best version to use for future Player’s Guide drafting and formatting experiments.

 File Name:

Echos of Elystand - wardens guide (new draft)

Make sure you're using the updated file for access to new mechanics, tables, and campaign architecture.

As always:

> “The sky should have fallen. But it didn’t. And now the stories begin.”

Let me know what breaks, burns, or echoes back.

More tools (and the first official Player’s Guide) coming soon.

— Warden brom