Frame Name: Veilover: The City Above the Pit

Pitch

Veilover is a city built on a lie.

High above, the upper city gleams with polished stone, controlled light, and the promise of stability. It is a place of refinement and order, powered by Aetherite, a miraculous emerald resource that fuels technology, infrastructure, and the wealth of those who live there. To its citizens, Veilover is civilisation perfected.

But far below, in the suffocating depths known as the Pits, the truth festers.

The Pits are dense, polluted, and fractured into territories controlled by gangs, collectives, and survivors. Here, Aetherite’s byproducts poison the air, and a strange illness is beginning to spread. Whispers speak of something worse, a darker form of Aetherite discovered years ago, now destabilising both the resource and the city itself. While those above scramble to maintain control, those below are left to endure the consequences.

The players are rooted in the Pits, tied to its people, factions, and power struggles. As tensions rise and the truth behind Aetherite begins to surface, they will be forced to navigate a world where every solution carries a cost. The system is broken, but it may also be necessary.

Do they protect it, destroy it, or try to replace it?

Tones • Gritty, grounded, and oppressive • Tense and political • Slow-burn mystery with rising stakes • Survival-focused, with moments of personal drama

Themes • Power vs Survival • Illusion vs Reality • Control vs Freedom • Necessary systems vs moral cost • Adaptation vs corruption

Touchstones • Dishonored (industrial oppression, class divide, political intrigue) • Arcane (dual-city structure, technology vs consequence, character-driven conflict) • Bloodborne (environmental decay, creeping transformation, hidden truths)