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:!: **Trace/ALTER is currently incompatible with BYOND version 516 and onwards.** If you are unsure of what your current BYOND version is, you can check by clicking on the options button in the BYOND client then clicking About. We recommend using [[https://www.byond.com/download/build/515/|BYOND version 515.1647]] until the game has been made compatible with newer versions. :!:

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====== Welcome to Trace/ALTER ======

Trace/ALTER invites players into a unique world of cut-throat corporate intrigue, arcane esoterica, and paranormal horror. This wiki serves as a central hub for exploring the lore, mechanics, and diverse characters of Trace/ALTER, making it an ideal starting point for new players and a rich resource for returning and veteran players seeking to expand their knowledge further.

===== Game Overview =====

Trace/ALTER is a persistent roleplaying world set in Cascade City, an independent corporate city-state in Japan ruled by the [[ascension-group|Ascension Group]] featuring a turn-based tactical RPG battle system with a diverse [[skills|skill tree]] which allows players to create a myriad of different play styles for their characters. Players can explore the various [[locations|districts]] of the city, go on procedurally generated missions to earn currency, loot, and reputation, and work together to explore the mysteries and intrigue abound within this twisted corporate world.

===== Key Player Paths and Roles =====

Seemingly built atop a hotspot of supernatural activity dense with magical energy known as [[trace-magick|TRACE]], Cascade City has seen an unprecedented number of people awaken as TRACE Sensitives, granting them the unique ability to see paranormal phenomena which is otherwise invisible to the general public and to manipulate TRACE to produce [[trace-magick|magical phenomena]] of their own. The existence of such power is kept a closely-guarded secret by a number of parties involved such as the Ascension Group and the Tracer Order, both to prevent the general public from breaking out into mass panic at the supernatural horrors lurking beneath their notice and to prevent groups who might oppose their interests from learning of the power they could gain.

Player characters have a number of paths they might opt to choose to pursue in this world - they may decide to become ghostworkers, a type of freelance paranormal wet-worker who perform dubious mission contracts for various shady institutions purely for their own profit; they might become corporate agents, using their supernatural powers to further the agenda of their corpo overlords and advance their careers and personal influence; or they might even decide to join the mysterious [[the-tracer-order|Tracer Order]], an ancient order of TRACE adepts who wield powerful soulbound weapons in opposition to the insidious otherworldly beings known as ALTERs who threaten to devour any unfortunate soul they might come across.

Of course, there are more than just humans lurking amongst the populace of Cascade City - [[ALTERs]] are twisted manifestations of living TRACE rarely born from particularly tragic deaths of sensitives who now feed upon the life force of humans and relentlessly pursue twisted versions of that person's former desires; [[replicants]] are androids created by the Ascension Group who have broken free of their programming and now live on-the-run from their former masters; and [[nightsworn]] are sensitives cursed to feed upon the TRACE of other sensitives in order to satiate their corrupted appetite. Beyond these, even more anomalies yet undiscovered may walk alongside mankind in this new world...

===== Game Mechanics =====

* [[combat|Combat Mechanics]] - Learn how the game's various combat systems and mechanics work and interact with one another.
    * [[skills|Skills]] - Skills allow the player to define just how their character fights and interacts in combat.
    * [[stats|Stats]] - These values determine your character's aptitude in fields such as their magical prowess and physical endurance.
    * [[traits|Traits]] - Traits offer modifiers and conditions which can often wholly define how a character fights or behaves.
    * [[cyberware|Cyberware]] - By installing cybernetic limbs and organs known as cyberware, characters can drastically alter their abilities and attributes.
    * [[shounen_tokens|Shounen Tokens]] - Earned at RPP 80, 160, and 240, these rare tokens allow the player to consume them to avoid a death (in most cases).

===== World =====

Locations of note:
  * [[locations|Downtown District]] - The Downtown District is the very heart of the city, a nexus of corporate and criminal activity alike.
  * [[locations|Historic District]] - Further out from the core of the city itself, the Historic District is an older region of the city which is far less dense and hectic than Downtown.
  * [[aethergarde-academy|Aethergarde Academy]] - Located within the Historic District, Aethergarde Academy serves as the secret training grounds for the Tracer Order.
  * [[locations|The Outskirts]] - Also known as the Cascade Downs, the Outskirts are the far out rural reaches of Cascade, featuring a much quieter life than that of the city, but also possessing a number of its own dark secrets...
  * [[the_shattered_world|The Shattered World]] - A twisted reflection of our own world, the Shattered World is a hellscape inhabited by hordes of roaming feral ALTERs and a certain death sentence for anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves falling to the other side.
  * [[the-void|The Void]] - A dark and shifting dimension where ALTERs and lost souls dwell, accessible only by those powerful or desperate enough to venture there.

Factions of note:
  * [[ascension-group|The Ascension Group]] - A massive and powerful corporate entity, the Ascension Group founded Cascade City to serve as their headquarters and the heart of their technological and paranormal research.
  * [[the-tracer-order|The Tracer Order]] - An order of mystics and warriors versed in potent Tracer Arts and wielding legendary soulbound weapons dedicated to combating paranormal threats and preserving the balance of TRACE lest it spiral out of control and cause unimaginable disasters. 
  * [[nameless|The Nameless]] - A splinter organisation which broke away from the original Tracer Order due to moral disagreements, these ruthless enforcers forsake their names and are willing to do anything to combat the danger posed by the corruption of TRACE.

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