Hello Everyone!

This is the next installment in the “Doctrine Concepts” series that I’ve been working on for the past few days. This moon’s theme is really interesting to me, and I hope y’all enjoy it just as much as I do! I am especially proud of the pixel art I made for The Lift. Speaking of which…

The Lift is the main center piece of the moon Doctrine. It is the primary way of traversal to get from the top of the ravine cliffs and down into the darkness where the Main Entrance & Fire Exit rest. The Lift is a large platform of steel sitting atop a gear track, which is then held up by unfathomably tall metal supports. Close to the middle of the platform lies the Control Box, which holds a lever Players can use to send The Lift down into the depths and back up again. At either entrance to The Lift are identical levers used to call The Lift back if it’s at the opposite end. Any of these three levers can only be activated once The Lift is still and resting at one end of the track.

Gears turning and creaking after decades of service, The Lift takes roughly ten seconds to make it from one dock to the other, small particles of salt floating in the wind all the way down (Yes, it’s not snow!) The Lift has no weight limit, and even entities can ride along. Many of them will most likely be Eyeless Dogs though, as they are extremely common in this moon.

This Lift is heavily inspired by a similar design from Akira, and is by far my favorite part of this project as of writing this. I can just imagine slowly riding down into the depths as gears creak and salt particles float through the ravine around me. I also think it would be a great gameplay mechanic that would inspire different strategies of how to more efficiently traverse depending on conditions. Doctrine’s Main Entrance & Fire Exit have no suitable patches of ground nearby for Cruiser landing, which paves the way for other forms of locomotion to be viable.

Beneath is a fan-made Sigurd Log that could be found atop the Control Box (The grammar is bad on purpose.) Enjoy!

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Sigurd’s Log:

Clumsy

October 3rd 1968

Mr. Doofus Lucas is back at it again. Desmond was doin some typing on the computer, and somehow routed us to a moon that weve never seen before! we only had one day to explore it and grab what we coulf but stupid Doofus Lucas was a total chicken. We had to take this weird platform thing down into the ground and Mr. Shakey Pants was laying in the middle of the thing looking like he was dying. it wasnt THAT bad!

It took us about an hour to get him to hop on it in the first place, and when we finally went back out at the end of the day to take off,, Mr. Doofus Lucas was so scared getting on he dropped the whole box of staples into the bottomless pit below!!! i hate him. that was one of the best hauls we couldve ever had but he gent spent all day being clumsy and hiding and slowing us down the only thing we managged to bring back was a moldy pillow.

and Desmond is saying its MY FUALT for yelling at him! I know ive been a little on edge recently, but were ALL going through stuuf and it feels like IM the only one working here!!

Maybe i am being too harsh on him. Ive been talking to Jess about trying to “find the silver lining” about things and she said the view on the new moon was pretty nice, and i have to agree with her. At least theres a little beauty in this horrible job.
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I hope you liked this concept!

This was very fun to make, and I hope you can see my vision with what I’ve shown here! I’ll be back with more fairly soon, and if you have any questions or criticisms, I’d love to hear them!

Thank you for your time.

Probably not expensive either way but I couldn’t find it anywhere online and wanted to know if it’s limited edition or something of the sort. Thank you!

Bestiary:

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ATTENTION: This broadcast transcript is for educational purposes ONLY.
Do NOT misuse.

Suspect has been known by local authorities for eighteen years and six months, and has been actively pursued for the last seven years and one month.

Suspect is accused of forty-nine counts of first-degree murder, twelve counts of attempted murder, fifty-eight counts of stalking, and is the primary suspect of more than two-hundred separate disappearances across multiple celestial bodies.

Suspect is presumed male and in his mid-sixties. Suspect’s appearance includes a black two-piece suit, trilby, and Oxfords, as well as an orange Ranunculus at his breast. As of this announcement Suspect has never been seen in any other attire. According to eyewitness accounts Suspect’s head is incredibly deformed and near-featureless, with shallow depressions in place of eyes, ears and other facial features. Suspect does not appear to have hands. Suspect has been seen rarely having room to stand up fully, but with optimal space Suspect’s height is estimated to reach just over twelve feet tall.

Suspect is known to stalk victims for up to three months, and will wait for nightfall on the day the victim is most isolated. According to captured surveillance footage, Suspect will then begin to move extremely incrementally, sometimes moving only once per hour, intentionally in the victim’s line of sight. Before each movement, Suspect will shake rapidly, then travel with surprising speed depending on shaking intensity.

Despite Suspect’s lack of hands, all victims have been found split in half directly down the middle, within millimeters of perfect accuracy.

All attempts to capture and/or dispatch of what some have come to call “The Patriarch” have been unsuccessful. A small portion of the public believe that authorities are intentionally letting Suspect roam freely, especially when Suspect’s usual movement speed is quite slow. The Province of [REDACTED], as well as many other jurisdictions assure that they are doing everything in their power to contain this monster.

WARNING: NEVER REFER TO SUSPECT BY NAME. IF YOU EVER ENCOUNTER SUSPECT, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ENGAGE OR ATTACK. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DEFEND YOURSELF. DO NOT CALL THE AUTHORITIES. STAY INSIDE AND UNLOCK YOUR FRONT DOOR.

ALL WILL BE CALM.

[BROADCAST TERMINATED]

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The Patriarch is an entity that is part of my 11-Doctrine concept art collection, and is in fact the most common spawn of the moon!

The Patriarch is an extremely tall anomaly that looks similar to an old man in a suit. The Patriarch is completely stationary and docile, but will move slowly once every in-game hour towards the closest player, instantly killing them on contact.

The Patriarch isn’t actually that dangerous if you play your cards right. By default The Patriarch will move about seven feet within three seconds each movement. It can only kill players when moving.

The Patriarch is so tall that you can actually crouch under him if he’s blocking the way, but this will add one tick onto his Anger Meter.

Speaking of which, the Anger Meter determines the speed and amount of steps taken each movement, resetting each hour. The Anger Meter is shown in-game by the amount of shaking The Patriarch does just before each movement. The Anger Meter maxes out at five ticks.

+ 1 Anger Tick: Crouching under The Patriarch, Standing near The Patriarch for an extended amount of time, death of any kind occurring nearby, and loud player voices.

+ 2 Anger Ticks: Attempting to damage The Patriarch and/or touching The Patriarch in any way.

At full speed, The Patriarch can move faster than a Coil-Head, and will keep this speed for eight seconds. The Patriarch can go outside.

Other Info:

Health: Unkillable
Max Spawned: 1
Stun: Immune
Power Level: 2

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For this guy, I was heavily inspired by Little Nightmares (I played “The Man In The Hat” the entire time while making his art). I wanted him to feel unique compared to the other supernatural entities (The Girl & The Barber), and I think I did a fairly good job.

Watching this guy run up to you and stop just feet away, or seeing him slowly stand up to full height or crawl through a door would be terrifying and awe-inspiring.

Let me know what you think! For the next addition in the 11-Doctrine Concepts, expect art for the Elevator or Ward map!

Thank you for your time.

Risk Level: S++

Cost: 1500 Credits

Likely Interior Layout: Ward

Map Size Multiplier: 1.60

Scrap Amount: 18 - 24

Max Indoor & Outdoor Power: 10 & 6

Weather: Stormy, Foggy, Heatwave, Flooded & Eclipsed

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11-Doctrine

POPULATION: Abandoned

CONDITIONS: Formerly an ocean moon, a single vast salt flat now covers the surface. Enormous fissures lead down into small hospitable caverns.

HISTORY: Overflowing with salt, many settlements were made in the caves and into the sides of the moon’s ravines to take advantage of the abundant resource. All have been deserted.

FAUNA: Most species have adapted to life deep underground to find solace from the unstable weather of the surface.

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WARNING: INCLUDES SPOILERS FOR LATE GAME.

11-Doctrine is a concept that I’ve been thinking about for the past 2 years. Inspired by Paradise Falls from Up, both of The Hourglass Twins from Outer Wilds, salt flats, & Akira.

My goal for this late game moon is one of quality over quantity. As an alternative to Artifice to encourage more strategy in the late game, Doctrine would compensate for its surprisingly low scrap count with much higher scrap value. The moon is also less dangerous on the inside because of its much more lethal outside.

Doctrine is also the “Cruiser isn’t mandatory” moon. I love The Cruiser, but it often feels like it overshadows everything else and is absolutely necessary for late game. I want other forms of locomotion to be viable. The Akira-inspired elevator was partially made for this purpose!

For more variety and strategy in the late game, another concept I’ve thought about was that when you discover all the secret moons, you can travel between them for free once you’ve bought the trip for a single one of them for 1500 credits. This resets each quota. Would that be balanced?

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Outside:

11-Doctrine is definitely a spectacle moon. A vast flat landscape of off-white. An enormous fissure in the in the earth, with a slow and megalophobia-inducing elevator ride down to a structure carved into the side of the ravine wall.

The gameplay loop of scrap hauling here is focused primarily around the elevator. The trip across the thousand-foot drop takes roughly 10 seconds, and can be called from either end. There are also small pillars of rock joined together by rope bridges leading back and forth, but is decidedly slower. To optimize time, about halfway through the elevator’s journey, you can jump off the platform and onto one of the pillars below, giving a shortcut to the Fire Exit.

Eyeless Dogs rule over the night. Depending on Dog placement you can then decide to either take the thin bridges to safety or risk taking an elevator ride up with an unaware Dog, hiding behind the control box if you’re lucky.

Flooded only makes the salt flat surface become reflective and beautiful, essentially making for another clear day. Heatwave makes standing still or out of cover for too long dangerous.

This more linear layout makes travel more strategic. Do I take the Jetpack for the few single-handed items? Do I pile all of the scrap onto the elevator and take one big trip to the ship at the end of the day, or many smaller ones instead? There’s one Dog on the elevator, but two on the lower part of the bridge path. Do I take the elevator and hop off half way to make it to the ship, or use the other of the two bridge paths and hope the Dogs don’t take it? All things I’d love to strategize about in the moment!

I’d also love to see the small terror new players get from realizing they have to leave the bright surface and take an elevator ride across a deep ravine and down into the darkness.

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Inside:

As said before, Doctrine has higher value scrap with less individual scrap to find overall. The entities aren’t actually too horrible to compensate for the outside’s conditions (which I want to be the main challenge of the moon.) The moon can sometimes have The Factory or Mineshaft, but the most common layout is The Ward.

The Ward

A hospital of sorts, comprised of three smaller floors instead of one or two big ones. Rooms include Patient’s Rooms, Tiled Hallways, Doctor’s Offices, Medicine Storage, Waiting Rooms, Padded Cells, and more.

Scrap is, as mentioned before, higher end, and a few themed items can be found here too.

Less valuable scrap includes Bandages, First Aid kits, Stethoscopes, & Bottles of Medicine. More expensive items include Small Wheelchairs, Iv Poles, Iv Bags, Needles, & Surgical Equipment.

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I will most likely be back with more on this concept, but for now I hope you enjoyed it! The third picture above is an alternative color pallet, but I feel the first version fits more. If you have any questions, ideas or concerns, please ask, and thank you for your time!

 I’m not too well versed on Indie Cross, but I really respect and admire the idea and its ambition.

I have wondered for quite a while about the possibilities of a Rain World rep, and although Survivor is more popular, someone like The Watcher or especially Saint would be a marvel to see alongside the others.

Once Saint is fully-attuned, they hold the power to “ascend” (permanently kill the soul of) any living creature with just one action, no matter the strength or size (which is a huge deal in Rain World because life and death are a canonically endless cycle for nearly all creatures).

Of course the extremely overpowered ability of being a pseudo-grim reaper is one of Saint’s only upsides. They’re fragile, small, needs to rest after attempting to use their ascend ability for too long, and said ascending ability is fairly hard control especially when aiming for faster targets. They do have their grappling hook-like tongue, but it’s mostly used for avoiding danger and reaching food. A true glass canon.

I could imagine Saint as a sort of “precious cargo” that our main cast needs to find/protect so they can use them to ascend a large threat. Saint is yet another “quiet and aloof little guy”, so I’m not sure of their chances in making an appearance, but it would be absolutely amazing to be able to see them in action.

People with much more insight and knowledge than I: What do you think? Is a Saint cameo possible?

Sigurd’s danger level: 40%

Scientific name: Naja-cuniculus

Found on nearly any moon with standard earth beneath, Fissure Eels are an offshoot of the Cape Cobra of Earth, adapted to live most of their lives underground.

Despite clearly having the attributes of a cobra, the deadly Fissure “Eel” has made a name for itself with the sheer number of annual incidents caused by its territorial nature.

Fissure Eels primarily feed on Eyeless Dogs, and to compensate for their subpar venom, use their extremely pronounced, spear-like tail tips to impale their prey. To accomplish this safely, the Fissure Eel buries its 15ft-long body headfirst. Once only its tail tip is left barely above ground, the Fissure Eel then waits for their prey to walk above, and then strikes with almost no delay. If the initial strike fails, the cobra will unearth itself entirely, leading to a short-lived and slow chase.

There is confusion as to why Fissure Eels are diurnal, when their favorite prey is, for the most part, nocturnal, but some theorize that Fissure Eels are simply so effective in their niche that barely any diurnal Eyeless Dogs remain.

Fissure Eels are often poached for pest control, but hatchlings are even more commonly hunted for the sake of harvesting their still-developing tail tips, which at this stage are incredibly easy to remove and modify into jewelry. Luckily for the species, juvenile and adult tail tips are extremely hard to differentiate when buried, consequently leading to countless incidents of both illegal poachers and hired exterminators alike getting impaled by an adult Fissure Eel that was mistaken for a near-harmless hatchling.

If you see a patch of Fissure Eel tails in the ground, stay far away from all individuals as any one of them could be a lethal adult. If you must pass through a patch of Fissure Eels, remember to always hop on the empty spaces between the tails, as adult Fissure Eels will only attack if prey is standing extremely close.

As you may know, Phoenix is one of the charismatic colossi cut during development. And unlike the unofficial fan names attuned to the original 16 colossi, the more recent names made up for the cut colossi feel much less fitting and attractive.

By far the worst offender in my opinion is Phoenix’s unofficial name: “Adar Flam”.

Not only does it not roll off the tongue well, it really doesn’t fit with the other unofficial names, including the other cut colossi names.

My goal (as with Spider whose multi-fan name will be revealed soon) is to decide with the larger SOTC fandom on a more fitting name. Instead of just one person deciding on name for everyone else to use, I want more people to have a say in a fan name to get attached to. Even if it’s just a handful of people, it’s better than just one.

The chance of this catching on is near zero, but just maybe this could be important to people’s opinion on our chunky firebird. After intensive research I have collected a few mostly-Latin-word names I feel would be much more fitting for Phoenix than “Adar Flam”. If you have an idea of a fitting name, please don’t be afraid to recommend! After a month, I’ll tally up both comment-likes and individual comments to decide on an official-unofficial fan name! Here are the names and their origins:

Ignis - Latin for fire, light, flame, beacon, etc.

Foculus - Latin for fire pit, brazier, fire, etc.

Ardeat - burn, scorch, singe, etc.

Igneus - fiery, of fire, burning, etc.

Lucerna - pronounced “Lucherna” - Latin for light, lamp, candle, etc.

Aestus - heat, surge, agitation, etc.

Calidus - warm, hot, impetuous, etc.

Ortus - birth, rise, origin, source, etc.

Cortus - *birth, breaking out, rising,*etc.

Amyntor - Father of the king of the Dolopians; Pheonix; from Greek mythology.

Cinis - ash, ember, grave, ruin, etc.

Fraxinus - ashen spear, ashen javelin, ash, ashen, etc.

Effusus - poured forth, shed, poured out, etc.

Vulcan/Vulcanus - Roman god of fire

Ardeat - Latin meaning “let it burn”

Vesta - Roman goddess of the hearth, home, and family.

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Note: This discussion is by no means official, even by fandom standards. You are completely welcome to stick with Phoenix or Adar Flam as a name, I have no intention of forcing you to jump ship on a name you’re already fond of.
But, if you happen to like and want to use the name derived from this topic, you are more than welcome to.

Spider has always been my favorite of the cut Colossi, but I wish it went by a less... on the nose name.

I'm not quite sure how the original 16 got their common names, but I just wanted to do this little experiment, even if the name chosen here most definitely won't catch on.

Here are a few names I cam up with! I've tried to find names that sound similar and would fit in with the original 16. Comment which one you think fits best, or suggest your own! I just want to feel more connected to this big guy, don't you? My personal favorite names are highlighted in bold and italics.

Key:

L means the name is Latin in origin translating into words such as cut, stab, hit, thrust, wound, scratch, etc.

Otherwise, the name's origin will be stated.

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Erigo - A Latin word meaning to raise, erect, build, rouse, excite, etc.

Arrigo - A name of Italian origin meaning "Ruler of the estate".

Subrigo - A Latin word meaning to raise, lift up, straighten, get up, rise, arise, etc.

Altus - A Latin word meaning high, lofty, tall, profound, etc.

Vulnus - L

Volnus - L

Ictus - L

Cubitus - A Latin word meaning elbow, bend, rest, forearm, curve, etc.

Lapsus - A Latin word meaning slip, fall, lapse, downfall, etc.

Aranea - A Latin word meaning spider.

Araneus - A Latin word meaning of the spider.

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Original art without the name tag by u/Trinteium.art-2025