Plenny starter cluster — First Steps

The starter cluster, cluster.first-steps, is the Walker’s onboarding slice of the passive tree. It sits at the centre of Plenny (region-local position {x: 0, y: 0}), is class-neutral (Plenny carries primaryClassId: null in this phase), and funnels into the keystone Krok Niezachwiany once Quest 001 — Pierwszy Trakt is complete.

Cluster overview

Field	Value
ID	`cluster.first-steps`
Region	`region.plenny`
Theme	`foundations`
Position (region-local)	`{x: 0, y: 0}`
Node count	20 (15 small + 3 notable + 1 mastery node + 1 entry small that is technically just another small)
Keystone	`keystone.unshaken-step` (Krok Niezachwiany)
Build-aware mastery	`mastery.pace-and-pacing` (3 picks)
Quest gate	`quest.001-first-road` unlocks the keystone

The cluster is built as three branches off a single entry, joined by two bridge nodes, with a build-aware mastery on top and the keystone above that.

Node layout

Cluster-local hex-ish coordinates. Y grows upward toward the keystone.

                          [KEYSTONE] keystone.unshaken-step  (anchor 0, 6)
                              |
                          [MASTERY] node.pace-and-pacing   (0, 5)
                              |
                          [S] node.lungs-echo              (0, 4)   [S] node.sevenday-stride (2, 4)
                              |                                       |
       [S] node.field-notebook (-3, 3.5)                            [S] node.hand-of-habit (3, 3.5)
              \\                                                     /
       [N] node.cartographers-eye (-2, 3)  [N] node.guild-pace (0, 3)  [N] node.steady-hands (2, 3)
              |  \\        /  |  \\          /  |
              |   \\      /   |   \\        /   |
       (W bridge) node.west-crossbeam (-1, 3.5)   node.east-crossbeam (1, 3.5)
              |              |              |
       [S] node.inked-boots (-2, 1.5)   [S] node.measured-pace (0, 1.5)   [S] node.margin-note (2, 1.5)
       [S] node.compass-habit (-2, 2)   [S] node.long-step    (0, 2)     [S] node.iron-heel  (2, 2)
              \\               |                /
        [S] node.surveyors-squint (-1, 1)  [S] node.deep-breath (0, 1)  [S] node.steady-grip (1, 1)
                                          \\  |  /
                                       [ENTRY] node.even-stride (0, 0)

The ASCII is approximate; the canonical positions live in data/src/content/nodes/*.ts.

Nodes by layer

Layer	Node ID	Type	Modifier(s)	Requires
0	`node.even-stride`	small	+5% step_efficiency	(entry)
1	`node.surveyors-squint`	small	+5% node_discovery_radius	`even-stride`
1	`node.deep-breath`	small	+10 energy_max	`even-stride`
1	`node.steady-grip`	small	+5% recovery_rate	`even-stride`
2	`node.inked-boots`	small	+10% cartography_yield	`surveyors-squint`
2	`node.compass-habit`	small	+10% map_drift_resist	`surveyors-squint`
2	`node.measured-pace`	small	+8% step_efficiency	`deep-breath`
2	`node.long-step`	small	+15 energy_max	`deep-breath`
2	`node.margin-note`	small	+10% quest_xp_gain	`steady-grip`
2	`node.iron-heel`	small	+8% guild_rep_gain	`steady-grip`
3	`node.cartographers-eye`	notable	+25% cartography_yield, +10% node_discovery_radius	`inked-boots` AND `compass-habit`
3	`node.guild-pace`	notable	+30% step_efficiency, +20 energy_max	`measured-pace` AND `long-step`
3	`node.steady-hands`	notable	+25% quest_xp_gain, +15% guild_rep_gain	`margin-note` AND `iron-heel`
4	`node.west-crossbeam`	small	+5% step_efficiency, +5% cartography_yield	`cartographers-eye` AND `guild-pace`
4	`node.east-crossbeam`	small	+5% step_efficiency, +5% quest_xp_gain	`guild-pace` AND `steady-hands`
5	`node.field-notebook`	small	+10% cartography_yield	`cartographers-eye`
5	`node.lungs-echo`	small	+15 energy_max	`guild-pace`
5	`node.hand-of-habit`	small	+8% guild_rep_gain	`steady-hands`
5	`node.sevenday-stride`	small	+10% walk_streak_bonus	`east-crossbeam`
6	`node.pace-and-pacing`	mastery	(build-aware — see Mastery section)	`lungs-echo`

Total: 20 nodes (1 entry, 15 small, 3 notables, 1 mastery node).

Build-aware mastery — Pace and Pacing

mastery.pace-and-pacing offers three picks at allocation time. The player picks one; backend may surface the option that matches the player’s existing allocation more prominently, but content-wise all three are available.

Pick	Modifier	Best after
Cartographer’s Pace / Krok Kartografa	+15% cartography_yield while in `region.plenny`	`node.cartographers-eye`
Guild Pace / Krok Cechowy	+10% quest_xp_gain on `faction.unfinished-guild` quests	`node.steady-hands`
Long Pace / Długi Krok	+20 energy_max, +5% step_efficiency	`node.guild-pace`

Keystone spec — Krok Niezachwiany

Field	Value
ID	`keystone.unshaken-step`
Cluster	`cluster.first-steps`
Visibility	`public` (visible-but-locked from session start)
Unlocked by	`quest.001-first-road`
Exclusive with	(none yet — no other keystones authored)

Modifiers (powerful, with a real downside):

+50% step_efficiency
+25 energy_max
energy_regen_idle is set to 0 — the Walker no longer refills by resting; only steps return energy

The downside is the “unshaken” part: there is no resting your way to fullness. The Walker is measured in motion. This locks Pillar 1 (Steps = Energy) into the early build of any player who finishes Quest 001, and at the same time reshapes the day-cadence: an idle account stops recovering.

Flavour (PL)

Bertranda Kropka-Wieliska, kiedy wreszcie kończy zdanie, mówi tylko: „Krok niezachwiany — to ten, którego nie da się odpoczynkiem nadrobić.” Po czym przybija drugą pieczątkę i odsyła Walkera na ulicę. Walker dopiero wieczorem zauważa, że energia, która przedtem wracała sama pod karczmianym stołem, teraz wraca dopiero, kiedy on znowu rusza nogami. To nie jest błąd. To jest premia.

Suggested allocation order

Quest 001 grants 4 points. The first ~10 player levels grant ~6 more (assumption — to be ratified at the points-economy phase). That gives the Walker roughly 10-14 points to spend before the cluster is exhausted.

A canonical opening path (any branch is viable; this is just one read):

even-stride (1)
deep-breath (2) — opens the pace branch
measured-pace (3) — first small step efficiency
long-step (4) — Quest 001’s four points end here OR start of the player’s level-up points
guild-pace (5) — first notable allocated
lungs-echo (6)
pace-and-pacing (7) — mastery (pick Long Pace if no other notable allocated yet)
After this, the player chooses a side: extend into cartography (surveyors-squint → inked-boots → compass-habit → cartographers-eye) or guild (steady-grip → margin-note → iron-heel → steady-hands). A second notable adds the bridge node options and reshapes which mastery pick is best.

The keystone is the top of the cluster but is allocated separately (it does not consume a tree point in the same way — backend will decide; see open questions). It is gated entirely on Quest 001 completion.

Open balance questions

Keystone cost — does allocating a keystone consume tree points? The current schema does not put a cost field on KeystoneSchema. Tech-architect should decide; a sensible default is 0 points (the quest itself is the cost). Tracked for phase 8.
Mastery branch gating — backend may want to gate which mastery picks are even shown based on which notable the player has allocated, vs. show all three and let the player pick. Mechanics-designer recommends “show all three”; this keeps respec lightweight.
Idle regen baseline — Krok Niezachwiany sets energy_regen_idle to 0 via mul: 0. This presumes a non-zero baseline exists. The base stat curve has not been authored. If the baseline is also 0 by default, the downside vanishes and the keystone becomes pure upside. Backend should treat mul: 0 as “subtract the entire passive trickle”, and a follow-up phase should set the baseline. Tracked as a follow-up for tech-architect.

Status

Draft. Naming on the cluster, the three notables, and most small nodes is mechanics-designer placeholder English with literal Polish translations — narrative-designer round 3 polishes. The keystone name is canon in Polish (round 2) and uses a working English transcreation.