{"tab":"other","section":"locationArchetypes","title":"Location Archetypes (Advanced)","summary":"These strings go to the AI when it needs to describe or expand a location. Write them as tone directions, not encyclopedia entries - the AI doesn't need a lore summary, it needs to know what makes this type of place feel distinct.","kind":"schema","uiLocation":"Other → Advanced → Location Archetypes","uiSubtitle":"\"Location archetypes for Location Details generation\"","editor":"JSON only (key → string map)","related":[{"section":"locations","note":"archetypes are referenced when generating Location Details"}],"wikiUrl":"/other/locationArchetypes","schema":{"_type":"record","domain":"string","codomain":"string"},"sizeLimits":[],"blocks":[{"type":"example","lang":"json","code":"{\n  \"Power Asymmetry\": \"Atmosphere:\\n- Someone here holds authority that others cannot openly challenge\\n- Deference is performed, not felt\\n- The gap between official rank and actual leverage is visible if you know where to look\\n\\nTensions:\\n- Every interaction carries the question of who is watching and what will be reported\\n- Requests that look like requests are actually orders\\n\\nPatterns:\\n- People speak carefully and move with purpose\\n- Waiting is treated as a show of deference, not inefficiency\\n\\nSecrets:\\n- The visible authority figure is not the one making the real decisions\",\n  \"Transit Point\": \"Atmosphere:\\n- People here are passing through, not staying\\n- Relationships are brief and transactional\\n- The place exists to facilitate movement, not to be a destination\\n\\nTensions:\\n- No one is accountable to anyone else here; the normal rules of social consequence do not apply\\n- Someone is always watching the exits\\n\\nPatterns:\\n- Strangers share tables but not names\\n- The people who work here know everything about everyone passing through\\n\\nSecrets:\\n- One regular here is not what they appear to be\"\n}"},{"type":"prose","md":"## Authoring tips\n\n### Write tone directions, not lore\n\nWrite each entry as a short thematic atmosphere direction, not an encyclopedia entry or location-type description. The AI doesn't need a lore summary; it needs to know what makes this type of place feel distinct.\n\n### Four-section entry structure\n\nA well-structured entry uses four sections: `Atmosphere` (the mood and sensory register), `Tensions` (what social forces are active and unresolved), `Patterns` (observable behaviors that repeat in this type of place), and `Secrets` (one thing true here that isn't visible). Not every section needs the same length — Atmosphere typically gets 3 bullets, the others 1-2 each. The four-section structure gives the AI distinct material for description, NPC behavior, and hidden content simultaneously.\n\n### Use thematic keys, not location types\n\nKeys should be thematic labels (\"Power Asymmetry\", \"Sanctuary\", \"Uneasy Alliance\") not location-type labels (\"Capital City\", \"Forest\", \"Dungeon\"). Since one archetype is randomly applied to any location, thematic labels produce useful flavor regardless of what kind of place is being generated. (`visualTags` are used for image caching, not archetype targeting.)\n\n### Do not leave empty\n\n> **⚠️ Warning:** Leaving this section empty causes a hard engine crash when `generateLocationDetails` fires (which happens for locations with `detailType: \"basic\"` when the player first visits them). Worlds where every location has `detailType: \"detailed\"` and pre-authored basicInfo will not invoke this code path, but defining at least one entry is recommended as defence-in-depth against later content additions.\n\n> **📋 Note:** To override or fully ignore the engine-selected archetype inside `generateLocationDetails`, see [Behavior suppression and archetype override](/appendix/ai-advanced-techniques#behavior-suppression-and-archetype-override) in the Advanced AI Techniques appendix."}],"body":"## Example\n\n```json\n{\n  \"Power Asymmetry\": \"Atmosphere:\\n- Someone here holds authority that others cannot openly challenge\\n- Deference is performed, not felt\\n- The gap between official rank and actual leverage is visible if you know where to look\\n\\nTensions:\\n- Every interaction carries the question of who is watching and what will be reported\\n- Requests that look like requests are actually orders\\n\\nPatterns:\\n- People speak carefully and move with purpose\\n- Waiting is treated as a show of deference, not inefficiency\\n\\nSecrets:\\n- The visible authority figure is not the one making the real decisions\",\n  \"Transit Point\": \"Atmosphere:\\n- People here are passing through, not staying\\n- Relationships are brief and transactional\\n- The place exists to facilitate movement, not to be a destination\\n\\nTensions:\\n- No one is accountable to anyone else here; the normal rules of social consequence do not apply\\n- Someone is always watching the exits\\n\\nPatterns:\\n- Strangers share tables but not names\\n- The people who work here know everything about everyone passing through\\n\\nSecrets:\\n- One regular here is not what they appear to be\"\n}\n```\n\n## Authoring tips\n\n### Write tone directions, not lore\n\nWrite each entry as a short thematic atmosphere direction, not an encyclopedia entry or location-type description. The AI doesn't need a lore summary; it needs to know what makes this type of place feel distinct.\n\n### Four-section entry structure\n\nA well-structured entry uses four sections: `Atmosphere` (the mood and sensory register), `Tensions` (what social forces are active and unresolved), `Patterns` (observable behaviors that repeat in this type of place), and `Secrets` (one thing true here that isn't visible). Not every section needs the same length — Atmosphere typically gets 3 bullets, the others 1-2 each. The four-section structure gives the AI distinct material for description, NPC behavior, and hidden content simultaneously.\n\n### Use thematic keys, not location types\n\nKeys should be thematic labels (\"Power Asymmetry\", \"Sanctuary\", \"Uneasy Alliance\") not location-type labels (\"Capital City\", \"Forest\", \"Dungeon\"). Since one archetype is randomly applied to any location, thematic labels produce useful flavor regardless of what kind of place is being generated. (`visualTags` are used for image caching, not archetype targeting.)\n\n### Do not leave empty\n\n> **⚠️ Warning:** Leaving this section empty causes a hard engine crash when `generateLocationDetails` fires (which happens for locations with `detailType: \"basic\"` when the player first visits them). Worlds where every location has `detailType: \"detailed\"` and pre-authored basicInfo will not invoke this code path, but defining at least one entry is recommended as defence-in-depth against later content additions.\n\n> **📋 Note:** To override or fully ignore the engine-selected archetype inside `generateLocationDetails`, see [Behavior suppression and archetype override](/appendix/ai-advanced-techniques#behavior-suppression-and-archetype-override) in the Advanced AI Techniques appendix."}