Just as worlds can collide, they can also shatter. Domain Splitting is the fracture of a single reality into multiple, smaller "Daughter Domains." This is often a tragic event, born of conflict or decay.
The Fracture Points
Why Domains Break
A domain is held together by its Willpower and its defining Concept. When these are challenged, cracks appear.
Common Triggers:
- The Schism of Belief: The inhabitants fundamentally disagree on the domain's purpose (e.g., a Library domain where half want to preserve books and half want to burn them).
- Willpower Collapse: If Willpower hits 0, the domain doesn't always vanish—it might shatter into survival shards.
- The Count's Foreclosure: The Count seizes a portion of the domain as payment, physically ripping it away.
- Exalted Death: If a domain's ruler dies without an heir, the land may divide among rival lieutenants.
Mechanics of Division
The Splitting Process
- 1. The Cracking (1-30 Days): Physical fissures appear in the ground and sky. "No-man's-lands" of absolute nothingness form between regions.
- 2. The Separation: The fissures become impassable voids. Travel between regions now requires Portals; walking is impossible.
- 3. Resource Division: Willpower: Divided evenly (rounded down). Blessings: Each daughter domain keeps one aspect of the original blessing. Curses: Often multiply. Each new domain gets the full original curse.
Daughter Domains
The resulting fragments are called "Daughter Domains." They are often caricatures of the original—more extreme and less nuanced.
Example: The Kingdom of Gold
Original: A wealthy, prosperous trading hub.
Daughter A: The Vault
Paranoid, enclosed fortress. Wealth is hoarded, never spent.
Curse: "Miser's Touch" (Cannot let go of gold).
Daughter B: The Market
Chaotic bazaar. Everything is for sale, including souls. No safety.
Curse: "Everything Must Go" (Items vanish if not traded).
Reunification
Conquest
One daughter domain militarily conquers the others, forcing submission.
Diplomacy
Forging a new "Constitution of Reality" that satisfies all factions.
The Keystone
Recovering the lost artifact that held the original domain together.