> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rathforge.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Content model

> FORGE ships content in two tiers: neutral framework defaults you can keep or remove, plus your own themed content.

FORGE separates **mechanism** from **content**. The packages provide the mechanisms (an inventory,
an effect engine, a crafting system); content is the data those mechanisms operate on (a specific
item, a specific buff, a specific recipe). Content lives in two tiers.

## Tier 1: framework neutral defaults

Each content-bearing package ships a **small, generic, recognizable** default set so a fresh fork is
playable out of the box, with no theme attached. These defaults live in editable `shared/data/*.lua`
files (plain data, no code), the same ergonomic as QBCore's `shared/items.lua`.

| Package            | Ships                                                            |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `forge-attributes` | 6 generic attributes (STR/DEX/INT/CON/WIS/CHA)                   |
| `forge-items`      | starter items: bandage, bread, water, cloth, simple dagger, coin |
| `forge-equipment`  | 12 paper-doll slots                                              |
| `forge-effects`    | `effect:well_fed` (timed +2 Constitution)                        |
| `forge-crafting`   | `recipe:bandage` (2× cloth → bandage)                            |
| `forge-economy`    | `coin` currency + 100 starting balance                           |

The remaining packages (`forge-abilities`, `forge-loot`, `forge-interactions`, `forge-factions`,
`forge-quests`, `forge-instancing`, `forge-health`, `forge-gameplay-rules`, plus `forge-combat` and
`forge-progression`) are **mechanism-only**: they ship no content, because a neutral baseline needs
no default abilities, factions, or quests, and shipping any would impose a theme.

### The `ShipDefaults` switch

Every tier-1 package has a `Config.ShipDefaults` flag (default `true`):

<CodeGroup>
  ```lua Keep defaults (default) theme={null}
  -- shared/config.lua
  ShipDefaults = true,   -- the shipped neutral set registers
  ```

  ```lua Blank slate theme={null}
  ShipDefaults = false,  -- ship nothing; only your own content registers
  ```
</CodeGroup>

At bootstrap each package merges its shipped defaults into its config list, gated by this flag:

* **`true`**: shipped defaults register, merged *under* any creator entries. A creator entry with
  the **same id wins** (overrides the shipped one).
* **`false`**: only creator content registers. This is the blank-slate / distribution path.

You can also just trim the `shared/data/*.lua` file to drop individual defaults while keeping others.

## Tier 2: your themed content

Your content is registered through each package's public API (`RegisterItem`, `RegisterAbility`,
`RegisterRecipe`, …) or its config list, never hand-authored into the runtime config table.

The reference example, `forge-examples/forge-example-content`, is exactly this: a themed
magic-academy slice (an apprentice wand, a firebolt, an instructor with a lesson quest) layered on
top of the neutral baseline. It registers **only** themed content and demonstrates the boot ordering
a creator package should follow.

<Note>
  Tier-1 defaults and tier-2 content register through the **same** APIs. The `shared/data/*.lua`
  files are simply the framework's own editable default set, there's no special "defaults" code path.
</Note>

## Removability

Two independent removability guarantees:

* **Drop the example**, delete `Scripts/forge-examples/` and the framework still boots clean on the
  neutral baseline. Nothing exports *to* the example, so there is no dependency cascade.
* **Drop the defaults**, set `ShipDefaults = false` (or trim the data files) and the framework boots
  with empty registries, ready for your content.

<Card title="Next: the fork model" icon="code-branch" href="/concepts/fork-model">
  How to turn this into your own server.
</Card>