PUBLIC ROADMAP · AUTOMATED VALIDATION FIRST

From playable to clear on the first read.

Blood & Spice has playable tabletop rules, a trilingual SRD and two short digital contracts. The public site is release 79. The local M1-rc2 candidate integrates the arrears commission into Tide Bell’s full story and trading flow. Next come publication, a reusable contract framework and a cross-contract company ledger.

Current public build v0.5 · PT1.4-rc12026-09-07

A roadmap is not a date promise

These stages show development order, not delivery dates. Reproducible test results set priorities; community feedback may also prompt revisions, but it is not a prerequisite for the next stage.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM

More than a text revision: a mercenary world built to keep moving

The active work lane is the digital prototype and automated validation, while the whole project still tracks characters, bloodlines, company warfare, spice logistics, markets, politics, campaigns, and the public rules. Each lane names what works now and its next executable engineering milestone.

Second regression batch passed

Core checks and first play

Available now: Direct cases cover pool building, Attunement, groups, all Paths, four Echo levels, the seven-die cap, and rejection of damaged saves.
Next milestone: Add difficulty effects and carry the shared check core into the E2.0 reusable contract runtime.

Second regression batch passed

Heroes, bloodlines, and fate

Available now: Fixed cases now cover Fate, manifested Blood Debt, earned Deeds, and the complete four-ending truth table.
Next milestone: Carry named Debts and Deeds into cross-contract advancement data.

B2/B5 complete

Company, morale, and battle

Available now: The complete squad procedure and fixed scenario are operational. Browser acceptance also covers enemy control isolation, locked combat dice, and reload persistence.
Next milestone: Advance B3 manual battle rulings, then build the B4 blank-battlefield editor.

Character and market cases live

Spice, magic, and logistics

Available now: Four battlefield spice uses have direct tests; M1 also turns Mist Cardamom and Crying Cinnamon into tradable lots.
Next milestone: Add sources, processing, blending, bulk purchase, and wartime supply chains.

M1 candidate playable

Markets and the price matrix

Available now: The second digital short contract has a 1–5 track with two spices, three phases, twelve events, and all 64 seeded sequences. It starts with 8 cash plus two old lots worth 5, for a total asset baseline of 13; selling old stock is conversion, not automatic profit.
Next milestone: First show cash, cargo value, net change from 13, and departure provisioning separately; then use E2.0/E2.1 to connect market, battle, and endings to the reusable framework.

Scenario-ready

Politics, contracts, and factions

Available now: Red Canyon has three factions, leverage, clocks, and multiple outcomes.
Next milestone: Build generic faction creation, relationship tracks, and debt across contracts.

Sites release 79 published

Campaigns, setting, and tools

Available now: The trilingual SRD, search, fiction, scenario, feedback, Chinese creator, battle tool, M1, and local character/contract library are public. Desktop/mobile acceptance is part of the release baseline.
Next milestone: Publish M1-rc2, then advance E2.0, E2.1 and the cross-contract company ledger in order.

M1-rc2 · release candidate

Standalone digital prototype

Available now: The arrears commission, investigation, four delivery choices, trading, second-box branches and legacy saves are integrated. Accounts distinguish market results, contract payments and political income.
Next milestone: Publish the validated candidate, then build the E2.0 reusable contract runtime.

MARKET SYSTEM FOCUS

Price is not a lookup: it is a path moved by war and player action

M1-rc2 uses the 1–5 price track. Starting assets are 8 cash plus stock worth 5. Accepting pays an advance of 1 and charges journey provisions of 2 once; delivery pays a balance of 0–2. Market results, contract payments and political income are reported separately. Legacy rc1 saves retain their rules. The 5×5 matrix below remains future M2 Alpha work.

5×5 price-matrix structure

17161514131854312196121120789102122232425

Centre: base priceGold: sample current price

Provisional M2 pressure

Harvest/new source: −1 or −2
Ordinary demand increase: +1
War/major blockade: +2
Escort restores a route: −1
Cut route/destroy stock: +1
Ban/monopoly/tax: ±1 or ±2 from public fiction

Shared alpha rules

Routine trade needs no roll; risky intelligence, escort, negotiation, or sabotage may require one
Show cash, cargo value, and net change from starting assets separately
M1-rc2 charges provisions of 2 once per journey, not daily; cross-contract upkeep and the M2 long-term economy remain planned
Goods bought this phase cannot be sold until a later market phase
After combining events and player action, net movement is capped at −3 to +3
A session normally has no more than three market phases

01Publish market news
02Investigate the pending event
03Buy, sell, or stockpile
04Escort, disrupt, negotiate, or use spice
05Total pressure and move the marker
06Settle cargo value and political consequences

Development sequence

M1 · Price track 1–5

The core candidate is playable. The next pass first fixes the impression that conversion equals profit by showing cash, cargo value, net change, and departure preparation before evaluating provisioning purchases.

M2 · Spiral matrix 1–25

Add Cargo Value, fixed pressure, and intervention; players must explain, forecast, and alter price.

M3 · Market structure

Only if M2 is clear, add support, resistance, ring crossing, and scarcity at 25.

M4 · Campaign market

Only then link all eight spices across contracts, sources, supply, factions, and war.

Automated retention rule: every fixed case settles within its step budget, each price move traces to a public event or action, and exhaustive batches reveal no risk-free instant arbitrage. Whether people can understand, explain, and operate a market phase within ten minutes cannot be proven by simulation; it remains an optional feedback question. If only the Groundkeeper can move the marker arbitrarily, return to a simple price track.

Open the M1 market prototype (Traditional Chinese UI)

DEVELOPMENT AND AUTOMATED VALIDATION

Separate production from reproducible verification

“Built” means that material is available. “Automation passed” means fixed cases, batch simulations, and browser flows reproduce reliably. Development advances on engineering exit conditions rather than waiting for live readers or tabletop sessions; automation still cannot prove fun, learnability, or human balance.

Built

Playable core and public entry points

Established an integrated build that people can obtain, read, and bring to a table.

Core check using multiple d6s and six Thoughts
Three officer modes for 1–4 players plus one Groundkeeper
Red Canyon player and Groundkeeper packs with pregenerated characters
Chinese, English, and Japanese SRDs, fiction, search, and feedback forms
Traditional Chinese captain creator with local backup

Exit condition

Every public entry point works, and version labels and player/Groundkeeper boundaries agree.

Candidate built · baseline frozen

PT1.4 · Lower the first-read barrier

The text and PDFs are complete and now provide a fixed baseline for automated comparison and later development.

Move the full exchange of play ahead of terminology
Add natural character-check and player dialogue
Layer plain language before formal terms
Add spice use, captain orders, and trade situations
Separate current rules from untested market concepts

Exit condition

All three language entrances, anchors, images, fixed terms, and core examples pass static audit with no repeating P0/P1 contradiction.

Node and browser regressions passed

AV1 · Automated integration validation

Character schemas, save migration, Blood, spice, tabletop-mode data, and endings now have direct cases. Live reading and tabletop sessions are not release gates for this stage.

Shared deep parsing rejects damaged creator and contract saves while preserving legacy seed, cursor, and scene
Manifested Blood enters as a fixed elemental die and always records a named Debt; earned Blood requires a matching elemental Thought
All four battlefield spices verify cost, effect, and non-negative inventory
Creator data preserves all three tabletop modes while E1 is labelled solo digital; all eight Red Canyon ending inputs are covered
Desktop and 390px acceptance covers creator import/reload, the local library, E1 resume, M1 cross-phase persistence, battle control boundaries, and scene positioning

Exit condition

130 Node tests and 26 Chrome flows pass; AV1 is included in Sites release 77.

Core and browser candidate complete · adapter integration pending

AV2 · Second digital short contract and M1 market prototype

The Tide Bell short contract now connects a minimal verifiable market under different political pressure.

Two spices, three phases, and twelve event cards are operational
Starting pay, four-lot capacity, bid/ask spread, and no same-phase resale are enforced
The intelligence roll reuses the character-check core and officer aid
Six political responses change three faction standings and price pressure
All 64 event sequences settle into four endings with traceable movement logs

Exit condition

Core enumeration and desktop/mobile browser flows for all four M1 ending routes pass. The next gate is the shared contract, battle, and ending adapter.

Later alpha

v0.6 · From campaign spine to long-term markets

Expand in dependency order instead of adding every long-term wish at once.

First build pay, supply, recovery, contract cadence, generic factions, and relationship change
Use cross-contract fixed scripts to verify persistence of consequences, Injuries, stock, debts, and relationships
Then add M2, one anointing for one hero, and limited advancement
Only then advance M3/M4, sources and processing, territory, reputation, and a 6–10 contract campaign
Prioritise officer exchange, cloud ledgers, and the full market simulator by system dependencies, maintenance cost, and automated coverage

Exit condition

Cross-contract replays reliably change markets, factions, and the company; new abilities do not bypass the core, and save migration and state records remain reproducible.

BUILT CHANGES · AUTOMATED COVERAGE

The text and prototype have changed; reproducible checks now guard consistency

These changes are already in the candidate rules. Automation can confirm that content exists, terminology agrees, and rule branches replay; it cannot prove that readers pause less, the game is fun, or human balance holds. Those questions remain optional community feedback.

Show play first

Early evidence: Early feedback finds the premise compelling, but first-time reading did not translate smoothly into table procedure.
Current status: The exchange of play now precedes formal terms; static checks prevent the entry path, order, and links from regressing.

Make dialogue sound played

Early evidence: Short examples did not show when people ask, clarify, or roll.
Current status: Questions, corrections, stated risk, actual dice, hesitation, and consequences are included. Trilingual static audits preserve the chapters and examples, while separate browser acceptance covers desktop/mobile tool flows.

Reduce term density

Early evidence: Special terms arrived before the reader had table experience.
Current status: The text now says “a group of matching dice” before Thought Group; fixed-term scans prevent old names and redundant synonyms from returning.

Deliver on trade

Early evidence: Trade draws interest, but market conflict did not yet feel playable.
Current status: The M1 candidate provides intelligence, trade, stockpiling, faction responses, and 64 event sequences in a second contract. All four ending routes and cross-phase reloads now pass desktop/mobile browser acceptance; integration with the E2.0 reusable contract adapter comes next.

NOT YET

Good ideas remain behind the current development line

These ideas are not abandoned. They are ordered by system dependency, maintenance cost, and automated coverage. Community self-play and feedback may influence priority, but do not unlock development.

Real-time officer exchange and multiplayer sync
Cross-device accounts and server saves
Cloud character sheets and campaign ledger
Complete M2–M4 spice-market simulator
Large ability sets without regression coverage
Setting encyclopaedia with no play use

Reproducible evidence before core changes

Automation supports probability, state transitions, and rules consistency; it cannot prove fun, learnability, or human balance. Core changes need versioned cases and an explicit rationale.

One concept, one name

Do not add a synonym when plain language works. Keep formal terms only when they improve reference.

Every promise reaches the table

War, trade, bloodlines, and spice must each create a real choice in rules or situations.

PLAYTEST

Community feedback remains welcome, not required

You may report a reading problem or share self-directed character creation, play, or facilitation. Feedback can shape priorities and revisions, but it does not unlock the next milestone.

Send optional feedback Read the current SRD Return to the home page