I’m glad we finally got to discuss the Karma system, because back then it was hidden and the silence felt like a heart hit.
What bothers me is the direct dependence of luck on karma. I’m recalling Lucia answering in prison, “Do you know why you’re here?” “Bad luck, I guess”, but still, I’d like to see both a bad lucky and a good unlucky, and in the end for consequences to come for bad deeds, but at what moments?
To solve this task, I turned to classic game mechanics, both computer and board games, particularly D&D, with Dice Roll or RND (random number generator). In our case these are simplified schemes, indirectly connected to the classics.
Karma + Luck
Karma
= an internal counter of consequences. Its role is to determine the probability of different types of events:
Good karma → bright deeds, more stable opportunities, support / trust / coop, fair play, sustainable growth
Bad karma → shady deeds, more risky opportunities, betrayal, manipulation, shortcuts, temporarily profit
→ doesn’t punish or reward directly, only shifts the balance of probabilities
Luck
= the randomness of outcomes (RNG+modifiers – (un)lucky trait, (de)buff). Decides how an event that has already happened will end. Karma doesn’t control luck directly, but it influences what kinds of events can occur.
Good karma → an event like participating in a lottery. Luck decides whether Zoi wins.
Bad karma → an event like participating in an illegal deal. Luck decides whether Zoi manages to avoid punishment.
Intervention
= social action that temporarily changes luck (e.g., for 24 hrs), influence Karma indirectly:
Compliment → increases luck but may lower karma if the compliment is insincere.
In a criminal context, this could mean that praise temporarily increases the chance of success. But since the compliment is insincere, karma decreases, and Zoi more often ends up in shady situations.
Scold → decreases luck but may increase karma if the reprimand is fair.
In a criminal context, this could lead to conflict. But if the scolding is justified, karma increases, and Zoi encounters bad situations less often in the future.
The player balances: short-term luck ↔ long-term karma.
Hidden Effects of Karma
Good Karma
Positive Failures: even when Zoi loses (e.g., lottery), the outcome can be softened (friends support you, or new stable opportunities appear)
Bad Karma
Negative Successes: even when Zoi “wins” (e.g., a shady deal works out), hidden traps appear later (e.g., betrayal)
Karma Trajectory
= the direction in which the balance of karma moves
If the player maintains good karma for a long time, the trajectory of events gradually shifts toward more stable scenarios. If bad karma – toward more chaotic ones.
Sacred Redemption
The player can attempt to “atone” for bad karma through rituals or offerings.
Lucky Chain Reactions
= events start to influence each other through luck
A success in one event can increase luck in the next (the streak effect). A failure can lower luck
Example: Zoi wins the lottery (luck ↑). Next is a job interview. Thanks to the “streak” luck is higher, but if karma is bad, the interview may turn out shady (e.g., the company is fraudulent)
Lucky Charm
Item/buff that increases luck
Twist of Luck
The player can increase the luck value in exchange for karma (manipulating fate).
Example: Zoi almost wins a deal but is short by one point → the player “twists” the luck, gains success, but karma drops
Dice Shortcut Actions
Unlike default actions, Dice shortcut actions are resolved by a hidden dice roll that determines the outcome – luck + modifiers (traits, abilities, buffs). Ref: D&D, Disco Elysium, Paralives
Example: A police officer comes to arrest Zoi. Instead of going through a long legal process, the game triggers a hidden dice action. Zoi’s Luck, combined with their Authoritarian trait and Confidence, modifies the roll. The outcome decides whether their bold reply “You can’t arrest me, I haven’t done anything” convinces the officer to back off, or whether the situation escalates into a confrontation
Luck + Reputation
= the external reflection of Zoi in the eyes of others. Reputation provides a modifier to luck
Example: Zoi has good karma but low reputation. They attend a meeting. Luck decides if they manage to persuade the people (Dice shortcut action). Even with good luck, success will be limited because of reputation.
Karma + Ghost Play
The thing I’d also like to clarify for now is how you see Ghost Play at different karma rating during life? According to the text in the ghost karma need hint:
Zoi’s actions in this life will leave results and accumulate as karma. The karma accumulated in life will act as a condition for reincarnation after death, determining the form and fate of the next life.
Put simply, the karma rating you accumulated determines the form (omg oO) and fate you’ll get in reincarnation (Fate Engine in action?).
But Ghost Play was also in the pre-Early Access version. Back then, when Zoi passed away, a message from Psycat would show up:
They have become a ghost, meow!
Looks like this Zoi is stuck with extra studies because of a bad karma rating, meow!
In other words, when playing as a ghost, you needed to earn the missing karma points to get a normal fate upon reincarnation, and Zoi shouldn’t turn into a ghost if their Karma is good?
Additionally, Ghost Play allowed you to switch to living Zoi family members, and for them Zoi ghost became invisible, and their gameplay loop and mission take place in parallel. As this concept felt more metaphysical, I’d like to know and explore more of its legacy mechanics.
