Side Effects

Magic is not clean. Every unit of mana generated, every nox summoned, every kinetic shaft spinning near a ritual — it all accumulates. In the chunk. Invisibly. Until it doesn’t.

The Meters

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Each energy type fills its own chunk-scoped meter:

One unit generated equals one unit added to the meter. The math is simple. The consequences are not.

Gremlins

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When the Tangle meter overflows, nearby machines stop working. Not broken — stopped. Halted by something living inside them.

Break the halted machine and find out what.

Gremlins are twisted Silverfish that pour out of flux-saturated machinery and go straight for the player. They drain the Tangle meter as they exist — the problem is self-resolving, if you survive it.

Management

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You cannot stop a side effect once it manifests. You can only prevent it from building up in the first place.

Ward — pushes your meter into adjacent chunks. Your problem becomes your neighbour’s problem.

Anchor — pulls meter from adjacent chunks into yours. Useful for centralising and managing side effects deliberately — or for draining someone else’s chunk.

Side Effect Tank — a placeable structure that captures meter from the chunk. Fill it with a Create pump. Move it with Silk Touch. Break it to release everything inside into the current chunk.

Pandora’s Box — not a storage device. A detonator. Opens to trigger the worst possible manifestation the current chunk’s meter can produce. Consumed on use.

The Upside

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Meteorites that crash from Wyrd overflow are destructive — and minable. Some side effects are worth triggering on purpose.