Story arcs catalog

This catalog describes all 7 hand-authored story arcs in vanilla X4. Per arc: what happens, where, which factions/sectors/NPCs it touches, what your mod must NOT disturb.

At-a-glance table

Arc	Script	LoC	DLC	Touched factions	Touched sectors
Paranid civil war	story_paranid.xml	20,236	Base	argon, paranid, holyorder, antigone, alliance, teladi, buccaneers, trinity	7 (see below)
Buccaneers	story_buccaneers.xml	540	Pirate	buccaneers, ownerless	Argon Prime adjacent
Ventures	story_ventures.xml	499	Ventures	(ventures-specific)	Player HQ sector
Diplomacy intro	story_diplomacy_intro.xml	~3K	Kingdom End	hat (Hatikvah faction)	argon space
Embassy research	story_research_embassy.xml	~2K	Kingdom End	various	Player HQ
Welfare research	story_research_welfare_1.xml	~5K	Base	argon, paranid, civilian, criminal	Multi-sector
Xenon equipment research	story_research_xen_equipment.xml	~3K	Base	xenon, player	Player HQ

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Paranid civil war

Script: story_paranid.xml (20,236 lines — the largest narrative script)
DLC: Base game (vanilla)
Page reference: 30220

What happens

The Paranid civil war centers on the Holy Order vs Godrealm split (vanilla pre-existing schism) and the player’s role mediating it. The arc spans multiple chapters with bifurcating outcomes — universe path (story_paranid_uni_*) vs escape path (story_paranid_esc_*).

Major beats:

1. Discovery of a Paranid derelict in Lasting Vengeance (cluster_35_sector001)
2. Encounter with the Cardinal (Holy Order leader) in Cardinal’s Redress (cluster_36_sector001)
3. Investigation of cipher/conspiracy in cluster_25_sector002
4. Trinity homeworld involvement in cluster_22_sector001
5. Plot revelation at Nopileos’ Fortune II (cluster_04_sector001)
6. Player choice affecting Paranid faction balance

Sectors touched

Sector macro	Vanilla name	Story role
cluster_04_sector001	Nopileos’ Fortune II	Chapter 2 hub
cluster_04_sector002	Nopileos’ Fortune V (adjacent)	Plot sector / Buccaneer overlap
cluster_11_sector001	Paranid sector w/ Monument	Paranid Monument location
cluster_22_sector001	Trinity Sanctum	Trinity home / plot sector
cluster_25_sector002	(Cipher sector)	Conspiracy investigation
cluster_35_sector001	Lasting Vengeance	Derelict discovery
cluster_36_sector001	Cardinal’s Redress	Cardinal encounter

Persistent characters

The story anchors several NPCs that persist across save/load:

• Cardinal — Holy Order leader, Cardinal’s Redress sector
• Boso Ta — Reappears across multiple arcs (also in HQ research)
• Dal Busta — Antagonist
• Trinity Honour Guard Leader — Anchored to Trinity Sanctum
• Various Holy Order officers — Sector-anchored

These actors are typically stored as md.Plot.Actors.$X for cross-arc reuse.

Relation effects

The arc directly modifies:

• faction.player ↔ faction.paranid
• faction.player ↔ faction.holyorder
• faction.player ↔ faction.godrealm (Trinity outcome)
• faction.player ↔ faction.trinity (chapter 4+)

Mod conflict risks

• ❌ Don’t destroy Cardinal’s Redress sector content — story will hang if Cardinal can’t be found
• ❌ Don’t set faction.player.relationto.{faction.paranid} to max early — arc gates progression on specific tier transitions
• ❌ Don’t spawn-replace the Paranid Monument in cluster_11_sector001
• ❌ Don’t make Trinity Sanctum (cluster_22) hostile to player at game start — Chapter 4 hooks dialog requires neutral entry
• ⚠ Custom missions in cluster_36 risk briefing-cue collision during Cardinal encounters

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Buccaneers arc

Script: story_buccaneers.xml (540 lines)
DLC: Pirate (x4ep1)
Faction: buccaneers (Riptide), ownerless

What happens

Short Pirate-DLC arc introducing the Buccaneers / Riptide pirate faction:

1. Player encounters a buccaneer flagship (Helianthus per code reference, page 20101 line 120901)
2. Buccaneer captain proposes player join their cause
3. Player either joins (unlocks Pirate subscription path) or rejects (Buccaneer hostility)
4. Buccaneers establish presence in Argon-adjacent space

Mod conflict risks

• ❌ Don’t replace the Buccaneer flagship macro — story references a specific macro via find_object
• ⚠ Buccaneer relation changes affect arc availability — your mod making Buccaneers hostile-by-default skips the introduction
• ⚠ Pirate DLC presence required — see Wiki: DLC handling

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Ventures arc

Script: story_ventures.xml (499 lines)
DLC: Ventures

What happens

Introduces the Ventures NPC station traveler at the player HQ. The traveler explains the Ventures system (sending ships to other players’ games for rewards). Short tutorial-like arc.

Mod conflict risks

• ⚠ Player HQ required — arc gates on HQ existing; mods that skip HQ delay or replace HQ may break the trigger
• ⚠ Ventures NPC anchor — don’t remove ventures-tagged NPCs

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Diplomacy intro arc

Script: story_diplomacy_intro.xml
DLC: Kingdom End
Linked module: x4ep1_gamestart_intro (Wayward Scion start)

What happens

The Wayward Scion start introduces this arc via HAT (Hatikvah Free League) broadcast:

1. Game start fires HAT broadcast 30 seconds in (see gs_intro.xml)
2. NPC named Reen opens the diplomacy storyline
3. Player introduces themselves to the diplomacy system
4. Embassy / first contact mechanics unlocked

Sectors touched

Initial Wayward Scion sectors:

cluster_29_sector001, cluster_29_sector002,
cluster_14_sector001, cluster_07_sector001,
cluster_08_sector001, cluster_34_sector001,
cluster_13_sector001, cluster_12_sector001

These are pre-uncovered on the map at game start.

Mod conflict risks

• ❌ Don’t disable the HAT announcer NPC at start — story can’t begin
• ⚠ Kingdom End DLC presence required
• ⚠ Custom game starts must signal md.Story_Diplomacy_Intro.Pt_1_Call_Initial_Delay if you want the diplomacy intro available

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Embassy research arc

Script: story_research_embassy.xml
DLC: Kingdom End

What happens

HQ research line that unlocks Embassy mechanic — players can establish embassies with factions for relation bonuses + content access.

Mod conflict risks

• ⚠ HQ research progress required — gates on terraforming-system research nodes; don’t break research dependencies
• ⚠ Don’t add custom factions WITHOUT embassy support — diplomacy UI will list them but interactions break

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Welfare research arc

Script: story_research_welfare_1.xml (~5K lines)
DLC: Base game

What happens

HQ research line that culminates in Welfare module unlock. Multi-step:

1. Argon civilian rep approaches player (relation-gated)
2. Research mission chain (deliver wares, build prototypes)
3. Criminal interference subplot
4. Paranid involvement in mid-stage
5. Welfare module recipe unlocked

Touched factions

argon, civilian, criminal, paranid, faction.list (for general checks), faction.player

Mod conflict risks

• ❌ Don’t max relations with civilians by mod side-effect — arc gates on reaching specific relation
• ❌ Don’t disable criminal faction at game start — antagonist arc breaks
• ⚠ HQ welfare-research node alteration breaks arc

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Xenon equipment research arc

Script: story_research_xen_equipment.xml
DLC: Base game

What happens

HQ research line that unlocks Xenon-derived equipment (Xenon-tech mining lasers, scanners, modules). Story-gated on player encountering Xenon hostilities and recovering wreckage.

Mod conflict risks

• ❌ Don’t make Xenon non-hostile — wreckage-recovery missions can’t generate
• ⚠ HQ research node dependency — custom research mods must not displace this node

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Persistent characters — vanilla anchors

These characters persist across save/load and across story arcs:

Character	Script	Anchor location
Boso Ta	story_paranid.xml + terraforming.xml	HQ / Skipper context
Cardinal	story_paranid.xml	Cardinal’s Redress sector
Dal Busta	story_paranid.xml	Cipher sector
Trinity Honour Guard Leader	story_paranid.xml	Trinity Sanctum
Reen	story_diplomacy_intro.xml	HAT broadcaster
Buccaneer Captain	story_buccaneers.xml	Buccaneer flagship

Your mod must not destroy_object or despawn any of these. If you spawn NPCs near them, use NPC Placement Manager $slottags rather than fixed positions to avoid clash.

Common mod-vs-story conflict patterns

Sector-ownership mods

If your mod changes sector ownership early (e.g. “Player starts with Cardinal’s Redress”), story arcs that find_sector + check_owner will fail. Test: load mod, watch debug.log for Property lookup failed near story scripts.

Faction relation mods

Many arcs gate progression on relation thresholds. Mods that:

• Set player ↔ faction relations at game start
• Apply auto-rep-gain
• Add relation events on game start

…all risk firing arc conditions out-of-order. Pre-flight test: walk through the affected story with your mod active.

NPC spawning mods

Mods that bulk-spawn NPCs (admiral arcs, character mods, etc.) compete for NPC slots on stations. Story arcs may fail to place their NPCs if your mod has filled the slots. Use $slottags=[tag.npc_generic] + low spawn priority.

Mission template mods

If you add new gm_* templates, vanilla catalogues (gmc_*) won’t pick them up unless you diff the catalogues. Conversely, vanilla missions WILL keep firing — your custom missions just compete for offer slots.

Code references

Concern	File
Paranid arc full content	story_paranid.xml
Sector references catalog	All story_*.xml (search find_sector macro=)
Persistent actor pattern	plot.xml (storage) + story_*.xml (creators)
Custom-gamestart skip flags	story_paranid.xml:15-40 ($story_paranid_uni_* / _esc_*)
HAT broadcast trigger	gs_intro.xml:30s delay → md.Story_Diplomacy_Intro.Pt_1_Call_Initial_Delay

Related

• Vanilla content index — landscape
• Game starts catalog — which starts unlock which arcs
• Terraforming catalog — HQ research interactions
• Story missions (technical) — how to write your own
• Wiki: Mod compatibility — broader compatibility discipline

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Vanilla story arcs are X4’s bedrock content. A mod that respects them coexists silently; a mod that breaks them ships the worst kind of bug — invisible to mod author, devastating to player save.