ECHOES BEYOND THE VEIL: Religion, Secret Societies and Death
While we all can agree that religion is a core part of a lot of the people’s daily life, it is also true that is a divisive matter that sustains some negative connotations nowadays. With this in mind, we thought it would be a shame both not including a religious system of sorts but also making some peoples experience less welcoming. So, with this beign said and in order to avoid controversy and harsh feelings, we thought of “religion” as a complete overhaul fitted for Inzoi’s identity and world.
Overview
Part I – A Main Religion for InZOI: The Luminarch Path
The Luminarch Path teaches that all souls are bound to the Cycle of Echoes, a divine system of karmic balance where every action leaves a spiritual imprint. Life is a test of moral weight, and only those who achieve balance and perform righteous acts can transcend into the Eversky (the realm of peace and unity with the divine, that in reality is no other than trascending the parallel universe created by AR Company into the “real” world).
In this context, echoes are the spiritual residue left by every action, positive or negative, taken by a zoi.
Those how believe in the Luminarch faith are known as Lumineers or Accolytes of the Luminarch.
Key Concepts/Beliefs
- Echo: The spiritual residue left by every action (positive or negative).
- Wraithhood: A state of purgatory where corrupted souls wander until they can cleanse their karma and can be reincarnated or ascend to the eversky.
- Eversky: The divine afterlife for the pure-hearted.
Sacred Texts
- The Codex of Echoes: A holy book containing the teachings of the first Saint-Seer, parables on karmic law, and the path to spiritual ascension.
- The Mirror Verses: A set of meditative prayers and affirmations used to reflect upon one’s deeds and cleanse minor karmic stains.
Influence in the World of inZOI
- Most cities have a Lumenhouse, a temple where practitioners can find guidance and solace.
- Characters with good karma may receive blessings or passive buffs (e.g. protection, healing when going to the lumenhouse).
- Characters with low karma may have a chance to be haunted, targeted by wraiths, or suffer penalties.
- NPCs might consult temples before marriages, executions, or political decisions, believing karmic balance affects fate.
New Life Goals
- Life of Illumination: Achieving Supreme Good karma and maintaining it for a week through a life of good deeds.
- Life of Crime: Achieving Supreme Bad karma and maintaining it for a week through a life of criminality.
- Life of Catspiracy: Devoting your life to discovering all the mysteries of the many inZoi paralell universes (because they exist!).
Part II – Secret Societies
In a world of religion and moral causality, Secret Societies arise as a way of expressing different system of beliefs beyond the norm. This DLC introduces two secret societies with unique traits, thrilling secrets, and very different approaches to the Cycle of Echoes.
The Gato Nero Society
Highest rank: Sphinx | Innitiates: Strays
The Gato-Nero Society embraces ambiguity, trickery, and the rejection of rigid karmic law. They argue that fate is not divine but a construct used by the Luminarch clergy to control people. They celebrate cunning, survival, and the bending of rules to outwit destiny.
They believe the “Cycle of Echoes” is seen as a flawed loop; true freedom comes only by breaking it. Shadows are not stains of sin, but sources of hidden power.
Activities:
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Taking written exams and practical tests of valor to upgrade their status within the society. Higher status grants perks and interactions.
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Smuggling relics and forbidden texts.
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Studying the forbidden texts.
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Hosting clandestine masquerades where identities are hidden.
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Ascension rituals to celebrate the promotion of members to higher ranks.
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Perks: When a zoi reaches higher ranks inside the Society, they gain access to certain perks. Among them could be: the honor of officiating ceremonies, becoming the guarding of a relic, being taught particulay occult skills. At the highest rank, when the zoi is promoted to Sphinx, they would learn a skill that would allow them to swap their bad karma for the good karma of another person.
But don’t worry! You won’t find random weirdos in the wild trying to swap your precious zoi karma, for there can only be one Sphynx at a time, and in order to use the skill it has to be a playable character.
Reputation: Whispers call them charming but dangerous, street cats slipping through alleys, charming the desperate with promises of freedom, but leaving others in ruin.
RELICS
If you find a relic by mining the Gato Nero Society may pay you a visit. During this visit they either invite you to join them (you will have to pass a test) or ask questions about the relic and come back later to steal it. And don’t you dare try to stop them…
The Order of the Labrador
Highest rank: Labratore | Innitiates: Puppils
The Order of the Labrador values loyalty, service, and unquestioning protection of the innocent. They uphold that the Cycle of Echoes is sacred, but where the Luminarch clergy weigh judgment, the Order acts as its guardians and enforcers. They believe kindness must be active, not passive.
“No soul will ascend to the eversky until every soul is fitting to do so”
They not only believe in individual karma (as the Luminarch do) but also in a sort of collective Karma they call “the One Karma” that that ties all creatures of all realms together. For them, one must seek not only to achieve good personal karma, but also to change the world around them so that bad karma is slowly replaced by good karma until the Perfect Good is achieved.
As stated in their motto, Salvation is only possible when all the living being have good karma. Souls can be redeemed not only by prayer, but by acts of devotion to others. They see themselves as shepherds keeping spirits (and mortals) from straying into corruption.
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Activities:
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Taking written exams and practical tests of morality to upgrade their status within the society. Higher status grants perks and interactions.
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Actively looking for zois with bad karma to try to steer them into the right path.
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Running hidden sanctuaries for wraiths seeking redemption.
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Performing rituals to help the passing of wraiths.
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Searching for relics related to the Cycle of Echoes and protecting them.
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Reputation: Considered noble but naïve by their rivals. Their enemies say they are “loyal dogs” chained to the very system that oppresses souls.
Tension Between The two Societies:
Both secretly recruit among the common folk, creating a quiet war in the shadows beneath the Luminarch Path.
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The Gato Nero Society undermines the authority of the temples, claiming the karmic system is a cage.
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The Order of the Labrador sees them as reckless tempters who endanger souls with false promises of freedom.
Part III. Occultism, Shamanism and Catspiracy Theorists
3.1 The Occultists & Channelers
With their own system of beliefs and folklore, occultist zois spend their time furthering their practices, taking care of their altars, brewing different kind of quite useful teas to cover different necessities or even crafting special crystals and seeking forgotten knowledge.
In the world of inZOI Channelers are individuals who are gifted with the ability to see through the Veil. Legend has it that they can see ghosts, talk to them and even peek into the past and the future of other zois at will.
Usually, zois would go to the Channeler when they want to know whether they will be succesful in a certain area of life, or whether they will have a lucky day or not. Also, to contact with their deceased ones or solve any issue related to the ones that are no longer here with us.
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1. Read fortune via Tarot: About their day, About romance, About work, About money, About family. This already exists in the game, but in the current system zois read their fortune themselves. With this DLC, tarot reading can become a group interaction triggered by the menu “Get tarot read by…” And "Read tarot to…". Only playabale character and NPCs with Tarotmancy skill 7 or Charisma skill 7 can read tarot to others.
[Reading your own fortune yourself would still be available as an interaction.]
When fortune is read, either by yourself or by a Tarotmancer, the game randomly generates either good, bad or neutral luck for your zoi. This luck lasts only a day, and will be specific of the area the zoi asked about. For example, if the zoi asks about their love prospects and they get a bad luck reading as a result, the zoi gets flagged as love_unlucky for a day. This means every romantic interaction during that day has a 95% of possibility to go wrong, but hey! You can always cling to that 5%. Hope is the thing with feathers…
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- Séance: the Channeler and at least another zoi gather around a table with a crystal ball to be able to start the seance. Seances can be used to pass a message to Beyond the Veil, or to contact “Wraiths”. It has a chance to go wrong (nothing happens, or an unknown identity is summoned, or the wrong deceased is summoned) when the channeler’s channeling skills are too low) or right (the desired ghost is summoned).
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One job: two paths? To be a succesful channeler, you can choose to develop two different set of skills. One will allow you to become a True Channeler, the other one will turn you into a Con Channeler.
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True channeler: Needs to develop the Tarotmancy and Channeling skills to be able to do their job properly. These skills allows them to actually perform reading and séances for their customers.
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Con channeler: Needs to develop the charisma and trickstery skills to be able to convince their customers that they are gifted and that the readings and séances they are performing are real.
When you put your first freelance advertisement and customers start coming your way, you will have to face different situations via pop up text. The pop up text will tell you if you are skilled enough in Tarotmancy or Channeling to help a customer, and will give you two options:
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Take the case anyway using your charisma or trickstery skill to compensate for the lack of the other skills. Depending on the level of charisma and a random chance, this could end up with a happy or an angry customer.
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Reject the case because you are not ready. You loose the juicy money, but your reputation is safe!
When you choose the option to con the customer three times, a pop up will appear asking you whether you want to choose the path of the con channeler.
3. New craftable and sellable items: Amulets, Crystals, Incense and Candles
With a different set of skills, zois that are interest in the occult can also craft these four items and sell them at the Tea Shop & Crystals shop in their city or through the sales table that is currently in game.
Different types of amulets, crystals, candles and incense would come with different sets of buffs that affect the mood or the luck of the zois around them/wearing them.
Examples:
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Amulet 1: Decreases bad luck for love. While a zoi is wearing it, the percentage of probability that their romantic interactions would have a bad response decreases.
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Amulet 2: Increases bad luck for love. While a zoi is wearing it, the percentage of probability that their romantic interactions would have a bad response increases.
4. Tea brewing
Tea brewing is a new skill that allows zois to brew different kinds of teas. Teas also have an effect in the mood or the needs of zois.
For example:
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5. Tarotmancy
The ability to read the future through tarot. At the lower skill levels, only simple readings like “fortune for the day” are available. As the zoi develops this skill, other types of reading like romance, work, etc get unlocked.
[Contact Board: a board during seances to contact those Beyond the Veil. It can also be used individually].
6. Channeling
Zois can channel on their own with a Contact Board or together with other zois through a seance table. The seance table is only available at higher skill levels. Higher skill levels would also unlock other actions.
[Zoi with high channeling skills can befriend ghosts]
3.2 NEW CAREER PATHS: SHAMAN & SHAM- ANN
Veiled in charms and painted sigils and seals, these figures stride between the psyshical and the whimsical, carrying messages of ancestry and shadows, foreshadowing, cursing and aiding equally… as long as they are legit, of course.
The Shaman career can take two forms, just the same as it is with the Channelers:
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Shaman: true connection with unspeakable forces, provides guidance, blessings, seals and even curses for an affordable donation.
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Sham-Ann: Let’s say they can do as much and even more than Shamans, for a much less affordable price… and that the only contact with the ancestors they have are most likely forged inheritances. A new career opportunity in the criminal path for your zois
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Foreshadowing, Fortune Telling and Prosperity/Disadventure Rituals.
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Birth Related Rituals: Among others, legends has it the Shamans can perform rituals to predict and even influence the outcome of your zois’ pregnacies. With an special ritual in which your zoi might choose between two different incenses, the Shaman might influence the forces that be in order to give your zoi a girl or a boy.
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Luck Related Rituals: If visiting a strange neighbourhood place or even chatting with people whose initials shall bring you bad luck, reaching out to a Shaman and booking a luck related ritual might be the smartest zoi.move. And if the issue is that you are kind of green with envy about Charle’s new car… well, you could ask for a ritual to do something with *his* luck… if you catch my drift.
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Warding off evil spirits, curses, or misfortune. Shamans can craft talismans that are then used on walls to keep the rooms protected from ghosts and the Returned. Ghosts and other spirits cannot enter rooms that are protected by a talisman (or can they?). But talismans deteriorate with time! Make sure your zoi calls the shaman again to renovate it.
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**Candle Crafting: **The Shamans can craft candles for different purposes, with the two most popular ones being.
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1. The Spirit Warden Candle. This candle can only be crafter by shamans who have mastered the candle crafting skill. While the candle is light up and in the center of a room, that room will be protected.
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2. The Reverse Warden Candle. his candle can only be crafter by shamans who have mastered the candle crafting skill. While the candle is light up and in the center of a room, everyone who is in the room would have incredibly bad luck, and bad things would happen.
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Holistic Medicine: Is your Zoi feeling under the weather… but not so trustful of modern medicine? Their ailments more spiritual than terrenal? You might want to check in on with the Shaman for some herbal medicine to help… as long as the Shaman is legit, of course.
[Sham- Anns will most likely craft and give herb ailments and cures that give an undesire moodlet such as “Uncomfortable”, “Nauseous” etc].
- Seals & Charms: From containing the worst roaming that abandoned school out of town to protecting your zoi from their coworker off energy, including the most mundane matters, the Shaman not only has a small shop with very convenient charms you can carry or seals and sigils you can plaster at home, but can also craft one specially for you!
[Sham-Anns also sells these charms, although they will be mostly useless and overpriced. But hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day! Sham-Anns have a very slight chance of crafting a seal or a charm that actually works!]
NEW BUILDING IN TOWN: Addition of a shaman house in each city, where zois can go either as customers or be hired as shamans. Owning a Shaman House would be possible by getting to the top of the Shaman career.
3.3 New Career Path: Catspiracionist
The Catspiracionist or Catspiracy Theorists is a new career aspiration for those zois that believe that there is Plus Ultra.
The Catpiracionist spends countless lives chasing the hidden truths beneath the sadhows of the Inzoi Multiverse, convinced that the stars are winking secret codes, the Library is a portal to another world and that the shadows whisper forbidden secrets kept by the See All AR Company. Catspiracionist Zois will never stop until every unknown is unraveled.
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Catspiracy-Con: Schedulable conventions where zois with this aspiration can meet and exchange catspiracies with each other, and even meet some famous authors of these topics.
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Catspiracy Writer: A writting career dedicated to catspiracy theories and the unraveling of the Truth.
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Paralel Investigator: A catspiracionist career consisting on the investigation of the Paralel, or all the unexplainable fenomena that populates Inzoi’s worlds… have you ever seen a chair moving on itself? They can stay over cursed abandoned places, craft special gear to detect the unseen etc.
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Haunted Museum of the Paralel and Antiques: This is a favorite of not only Catspiracionist Zois but even curious “normies”. A place that hosts the most haunted, cursed and coveted objects from all around the Inzoi Multiverse, where curious ones can come and observe, sell and buy. Any strange dolls you might have scavenged at the beach? No problem, the Haunted Museum of the Paralel and Antiques will buy it from you. And if you need some accs and nacks, that would be your place too. [Beware: You should never take a picture of the Two Headed Cat Doll without asking for permission first, shall you be forever haunted if you fail to do so!].
- Catspiracy Forums of the Unknown: A new place to post and scroll on the internet but remember: the older the computer, the safer from unwated eyes.
Other Additions:
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Midnight Stakeouts: Sometimes at old abandoned buildings, sometimes nearby a library or even at the forest, stakeouts are the most important part of catspiracionism… after all, what better way than to keep and eye out in order to uncover the secrets out there?
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Stargazing: sitting on a windowsill, eyes glowing, watching the stars for “cosmic signals.
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Note Surfing: jot down, compare, prepare… nothing is enough when it comes to gathering forbidden information.
