Get off my equilibrium!

Central to previous versions of Kult was Mental Balance (MB), both as a concept and a character stat. The MB started at zero, and could, at least in theory, go up and down. It had a dual function as a measure of psychological well-being and as a measure of enlightenment, or closeness to the forgotten god-state that humans are normally separated from. The game posited two ways to approach awakening our god-nature: The Dark Path (physical, filthy, reveling in separateness from human society, and based on MB going down) and  The Light Path (harmony-seeking, spiritual, empathetic but non-physical, and based on MB going up).

In reality, MB went down almost exclusively. it was a Sanity stat in the vein of Call of Cthulhu. The journey towards enlightenment generally did not figure into the game. While I enjoyed Kult as a fairly straight-forward horror-mystery game, this felt like a missed opportunity.

Leonardo da Vinci is named as a person who achieved enlightenment.


As I'm working on my Resistance-hack, I'm trying to include a way to pursue enlightenment that does not feel like a complete waste of time. I'm slowly realizing that it's kinda hard. I am considering using the layered ability advances (Low, Medium, High) as a mechanical way of engaging with a path to enlightenment.

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