Quartz 5

README

4 min read

Equipment Catalogs

This directory contains catalogs of equipment produced or used throughout the setting.

The goal is to provide a searchable inventory of products while avoiding a separate file for every piece of equipment.

Organization

Equipment is organized by manufacturer.

Each manufacturer has a single catalog listing all known products.

Example:

equipment/
    README.md
 
    catalogs/
        CATALOG_NAMS.md
        CATALOG_GALLAHAD.md
        CATALOG_NEWTON_SHIPYARDS.md
 
    cards/
        EQUIP_SENTINEL_DESTROYER.md
        EQUIP_TITAN_CLASS.md

Major or lore-important equipment may additionally receive a dedicated equipment card.

Catalog Structure

Each catalog begins with basic manufacturer information:

  • Unique ID
  • Manufacturer

example:

ID: CATALOG_NAMS
Manufacturer: CORP_NAMS

followed by a product table.

Product Table

ColumnDescription
IDGlobally unique equipment identifier
NameOfficial designation or commercial name
CategoryBroad equipment category
RoleIntended function or operational role
StatusDevelopment or service status
Unit CostApproximate unit price
CurrencyCurrency used for pricing
Primary UsersMain operators or customers
NotesAdditional information

Categories

Suggested categories include:

  • small_arm
  • sidearm
  • armor
  • ground_vehicle
  • walker
  • aircraft
  • spacecraft
  • warship
  • industrial
  • mining
  • construction
  • medical
  • consumer
  • electronics
  • software
  • reactor
  • shield
  • sensor
  • component

Additional categories may be introduced if needed.

Status Values

Suggested values:

  • prototype
  • limited_service
  • in_service
  • export_only
  • civilian
  • obsolete
  • cancelled

Equipment Cards

Create a dedicated equipment card only when an item:

  • has significant narrative importance,
  • appears repeatedly throughout the setting,
  • requires extensive technical description,
  • has multiple variants,
  • or serves as a major military or technological reference.

Routine equipment should remain catalog-only.

Naming Convention

Catalogs

Catalog files are named after the manufacturer.

Examples:

CATALOG_NAMS.md
CATALOG_GALLAHAD.md
CATALOG_NEWTON_SHIPYARDS.md

Each catalog begins with a unique identifier:

ID: CATALOG_NAMS

Platform Sub-Catalogs

A manufacturer with one chassis/platform that has grown a large family of specialist variants (rule of thumb: roughly 8 or more entries sharing that one platform) may split that family out into its own sub-catalog, rather than letting it dominate the manufacturer’s main catalog page.

Sub-catalog files live alongside the manufacturer’s main catalog and are named:

CATALOG_<MANUFACTURER>_<PLATFORM>.md

Examples:

CATALOG_ZALEWSKI_PANZERMAULWURF.md
CATALOG_ZALEWSKI_ONYX3.md
CATALOG_ZALEWSKI_ONYX4.md
CATALOG_ZALEWSKI_SPARTAN.md

Each sub-catalog carries its own unique identifier, following the same pattern:

ID: CATALOG_ZALEWSKI_ONYX4

A sub-catalog is structured like a normal catalog (manufacturer info + product table), but scoped to that one platform’s variants, and should open with a short paragraph on the platform itself — origin, chassis type, baseline armor, general niche — since that context would otherwise be repeated across every variant’s card.

The manufacturer’s main catalog keeps only a one- or two-line summary per platform (what it is, what role it fills) with a link to the sub-catalog, instead of the full product table. Platforms too small to warrant this split stay as an inline section (with their own small table) in the main catalog, as described under “Product Table” above.

Equipment Cards

Equipment card filenames should begin with the equipment category to improve readability when browsing the directory.

Examples:

WARSHIP_TITAN_CHRONOS.md
WARSHIP_DESTROYER_SENTINEL.md
WARSHIP_DE_HAWK.md
 
SPACECRAFT_PIONEER.md
SPACECRAFT_SHUTTLE_HERMES.md
 
GROUND_APC_BISON.md
GROUND_MBT_GRIFFIN.md
 
INFANTRY_RIFLE_M7.md
INFANTRY_SIDEARM_P12.md

The filename is intended for human navigation.

Each equipment card should contain a globally unique equipment identifier:

ID: EQUIP_TITAN_CHRONOS

Warship cards may use the dedicated warship template:

cards/TEMPLATE_WARSHIP.md

Use it for capital ships, escorts, or other naval classes that need detailed propulsion, reactor, heat, armament, and deck-layout data.

Ground vehicles, walkers, and similar non-warship hardware may use the dedicated ground equipment template:

cards/TEMPLATE_GROUND.md

Use it for IFVs, APCs, MBTs, walkers, and similar systems that need crew/capacity, mobility, protection, and armament data — including a DESIGNATIONS table for cases where an operator’s in-service name differs from the manufacturer’s catalog name, and a VARIANTS table for sub-models of the same family.

Cross References

Other files should reference equipment using the equipment ID, never the filename.

Example:

Primary equipment:
- EQUIP_TITAN_CHRONOS
- EQUIP_DESTROYER_SENTINEL

Likewise, manufacturers should be referenced using their organization IDs.

Example:

Manufacturer: CORP_NAMS

The corresponding corporation file is stored as:

canon/corporations/
    CORP_NAMS.md

This separates file organization from entity identification:

  • Filename → convenient for browsing the repository.
  • ID → stable identifier used for cross-references throughout the world bible.

Design Principles

  • One row describes one product.
  • Keep catalog entries concise.
  • Place detailed technical descriptions in equipment cards.
  • Prefer stable identifiers over product names.
  • Unit costs should specify the currency used.
  • Notes should capture exceptional information such as export restrictions, licensed production, major variants, or unusual capabilities.

The catalogs are intended to provide breadth, while equipment cards provide depth.

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