Ruins & Loot System
Relevant source files
The following files were used as context for generating this wiki page:
The Ruins & Loot System in ChapterMaster governs the discovery, acquisition, and management of specialized wargear, ancient technologies, and Chapter artifacts. This system interfaces with planet exploration, Chapter traits, and the forge mechanics to determine how a Chapter recovers lost equipment from the "Dark Age of Technology" or the "Horus Heresy" era.
Players interact with this system primarily through exploration of planetary ruins or as a result of specific Chapter-wide advantages and disadvantages. The recovered items range from standard-issue Bolters to unique artifacts like "The Thief of Secrets" or "Sword of Sanctity," often possessing enhanced stats or unique properties compared to forged equivalents.
Artifact & Loot Classification
Looted items are categorized by their origin and quality. Items found in ruins often carry the ancient or artifact tags, distinguishing them from modern equipment. Artifacts are unique items tied to a Chapter's history or recovered from significant locations.
Item Tiers
Equipment stats—including attack values and armor protection—scale based on the item's quality tier.
| Tier | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Mass-produced equipment found or forged. | weapons.json, armour.json |
| Master Crafted | Enhanced versions of standard gear with improved stats. | weapons.json, armour.json |
| Artifact | Unique or extremely rare items with the highest stats. | weapons.json, armour.json, 37.json |
Sources: datafiles/data/weapons.json:10-14, datafiles/data/armour.json:11-15
Acquisition Logic
Loot acquisition is heavily influenced by Chapter-specific traits. Certain advantages increase the frequency or quality of items found during planetary operations.
Trait-Based Loot Modifiers
- Tech-Scavengers: Grants a periodic discovery of items and wargear, which are automatically added to the Chapter Armamentarium.
- Ancient Armoury: Chapters with this trait start with substantially higher amounts of Heresy-era wargear.
- Crafters: Increases the quality of starting gear and the ease of maintaining recovered artifacts.
Sources: datafiles/main/chapter_advantages.json:44-55, datafiles/main/chapter_advantages.json:165-175
Discovery Flow
The following diagram illustrates how loot is processed from discovery to the Armamentarium:
The discovery process checks for Chapter advantages before rolling on randomized loot tables to determine item quality and type.
Technical Data Structures
Recovered loot and artifacts are defined by complex JSON structures that specify their combat effectiveness, forge requirements, and rarity tags.
Weapon Loot Schema
Looted weapons contain varied profiles based on their quality. For example, an Archeotech Laspistol is flagged with the ancient and artifact tags, indicating it is likely found rather than forged.
"Archeotech Laspistol": {
"attack": {
"artifact": 80,
"master_crafted": 60,
"standard": 40
},
"tags": ["pistol", "ancient", "las", "energy"]
}
Sources: datafiles/data/weapons.json:3-20
Armor Loot Schema
Ancient armor marks, such as the MK4 Maximus or MK3 Iron Armour, have specific maintenance costs and stat modifiers that reflect their "relic" status. Many of these are explicitly marked buyable: false, necessitating recovery through exploration or specific Chapter starting conditions.
Sources: datafiles/data/armour.json:120-150, datafiles/data/armour.json:155-170
Artifact Management
Artifacts are specialized loot items often pre-assigned to Chapter leadership or found in unique locations. Unlike standard loot, they often have unique descriptions and cannot be easily replaced.
Examples of Chapter Artifacts
- Sword of Sanctity: A Heavenfall Blade utilized by the Consecrators Chapter.
- The Thief of Secrets: A psychically active power sword used by the Deathwatch.
- Malius: A customized Stalker Pattern Bolter wielded by Lias Issodon of the Raptors.
Sources: datafiles/main/chapters/37.json:144-150, datafiles/main/chapters/33.json:148-154, datafiles/main/chapters/36.json:145-151
Forge Integration & Tech Loot
Looting is not limited to physical items; players can recover or unlock technologies that allow the forge to produce once-lost equipment. The "Relictory" system manages this progression.
| Technology | Purpose | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Relictory Assembly Lines | Enables production of basic relic gear. | armour_1 |
| Expand Relictory Production | Enables production of advanced marks (MK3/MK4). | relic_1 |
Sources: datafiles/data/technologies.json:54-63, datafiles/data/armour.json:138, datafiles/data/armour.json:173
Forge Requirement Flow
Recovering a physical item (e.g., MK3 Armour) does not automatically grant the ability to forge it. The Chapter must meet specific technology milestones:
Blueprint recovery and technology research are required to transition from finding loot to mass-producing it within the Chapter Forge.
Sources: datafiles/data/technologies.json:54-63, datafiles/data/armour.json:173
Summary
The Ruins & Loot System provides a layer of strategic progression and Chapter customization. By balancing physical discovery through planetary exploration with Chapter-wide traits like Tech-Scavengers, the system ensures that high-tier "Artifact" and "Ancient" equipment remains rare and impactful. The integration with the technologies.json framework further links loot discovery to long-term forge capabilities.