---
name: System Apocalypse
id: system-apocalypse
language: en
chapterTypes: ["Survival", "Combat", "Setup", "Transition", "Payoff"]
fatigueWords: ["delve", "tapestry", "testament", "intricate", "pivotal", "vibrant", "comprehensive", "nuanced", "embark", "foster", "underscore", "bolstered", "crucial"]
numericalSystem: true
powerScaling: true
eraResearch: false
pacingRule: "Early (ch 1-15): survival pressure every chapter. Mid (ch 15-50): power-up + faction politics every 3-5 chapters. Late: expansion and existential threats."
satisfactionTypes: ["Survival Against Odds", "Level Up", "Territory Claimed", "Faction Victory", "System Secret Revealed", "Societal Rebuild Milestone"]
auditDimensions: [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,24,25,26]
---

## Genre Prohibitions

- Day Zero that doesn't permanently change the world — no reverting to normal
- Early chapters without genuine survival danger — readers demand real stakes from page one
- System arrival with no in-world explanation (even a vague one)
- Ignoring real-world geography and consequences when set on Earth
- Factions that are binary good/evil — competing interests, not cartoon villainy
- MC becoming unstoppable too fast — power fantasy must be earned through survival
- Tech usage without addressing fuel, ammo, and infrastructure collapse

## World Rules

- Day Zero must establish in chapters 1-3: how a normal person reacts, first death or near-death, and that old rules are gone
- Infrastructure failure is real: food, water, electricity, medicine stop working
- Resource scarcity drives conflict: water, ammunition, medical supplies, safe shelter
- Factions form quickly: government remnants, criminal networks, cults, survival communities, warlords
- Real-world grounding: name real locations, acknowledge real infrastructure, maintain daylight cycles and weather
- System mechanics integrate logically — show why old-world tech fails or doesn't in a magical world

## Pacing Guidance

- Early (ch 1-15): Survival, confusion, learning system. MC is weak, struggles with low-tier threats. Shorter chapters (2-3k words)
- Mid (ch 15-50): Growing stronger, claiming territory, faction politics. Power fantasy increases; survival becomes strategic
- Late: Expansion, faction wars, world-scale threats. MC powerful but not unstoppable; challenges are existential/political
- Introduce new threat types as MC grows — defeating zombies leads to intelligent predators, rival factions, interdimensional invasions
- Balance survival pressure with power progression — desperation early, strategy mid, leadership late