DM guide

From first idea to published world: the build order that works, screen by screen. Budget an hour for a first small playable world — and a lifetime to grow it.

The recommended order is this guide's order: stats → classes & races → items → monsters & encounters → quests → lore → scenes → publication. Each layer rests on the previous one: an encounter references monsters, a scene choice references items.

1. Create the world

From the studio, "New world". Three structural decisions:

The content language — your world is written in French or English; the interface follows each player's own preference.
Visibility: private (invitation only), unlisted (reachable by link), public (in the catalog). Start private; publish when it's ready.
Solo play: leave it on so players can progress without waiting for you.

The world is born as a draft with an invitation code and the classic stat preset. Nothing is visible until you publish.

2. Statistics

"Classes & Races → Stats" tab. The classic preset (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma) fits most worlds — keep it to start. Each stat defines a minimum, a maximum and a default value (the starting point of the players' budget).

Careful: a stat's code (str, dex…) cannot be changed after creation — races, classes, monsters and your scenes' conditions reference it. Keep it short and lowercase.

3. Classes & races

A class defines: base HP, HP gained per level, base defense, the stat that carries attacks, and abilities — one per line, in the Name | description | effects format. Recognized combat effects: damage:2d6, heal:2d4, uses:3 (uses per combat).

A race applies stat modifiers (+2 Dexterity, −1 Constitution…). Optional: a world without races works fine.

Three contrasted classes (a tough one, a fragile powerhouse, a clever one) already give real replayability.

4. Items

Five types: weapon, armor, consumable, quest item, misc. Their combat-relevant effects: damage (equipped weapon dice), defense (armor bonus), heal (consumable healing). A quest item has no mechanical effect: it works as a key in your scenes' conditions.

5. Monsters & encounters

A monster: level, HP, defense, attack bonus, damage dice (1d6, 2d8+1…), XP granted, loot (each item with its % chance), and optional abilities like classes have.

An encounter groups monsters (with counts) and sets what follows the fight: a victory scene, a defeat scene (otherwise: character death), a flee scene (otherwise: no escape).

The "Test this fight" button runs the encounter with a throwaway character: balance before hurting real players. The difficulty indicator gives you a first estimate.

6. Quests

A quest has a name, a description and rewards. It doesn't start or end on its own: your scene choices' effects move it to active, done or failed. Active quests show in the player's sidebar — your best tool for giving direction.

7. Lore

History, regions, cities, factions, NPCs, deities, notes: the Lore tab is your internal encyclopedia, with hierarchy (a city inside a region). Players don't see it — feed what they must know into the scenes.

8. The scene graph ⭐

The Scenario tab is the studio's heart: every node is a scene, every arrow a choice. Three scene types:

Narrative — text and choices.
Combat — tied to an encounter; the graph resumes on its victory/defeat/flee scenes.
Ending — ends the game (plan several!).

Create a scene with "Scene", link scenes by dragging a choice to its target, mark the start scene (green border).
Convergence is native: several choices can aim at the same scene — two roads meeting again.
Mouse wheel to zoom, drag to pan; each scene can carry a mood image (side panel).

9. Choice conditions & effects

This is where your world becomes a game. Every choice can carry:

Conditions (all must be true)

Statistic	"Strength ≥ 12" — a required profile.
Item owned	The bronze key opens the door.
Quest in a state	Visible only while "Cleanse the crypt" is active.
Flag	Something already lived: `met_ondine`, `door_opened`…
Class among…	Mage only, Rogue only…
Dice roll	d20 + stat against a difficulty (DC) — with a failure target and a failure text: failure tells a story, it doesn't block.

Display policy for an unmet choice: hidden (secret) or greyed out (the player sees they're missing something — fertile frustration).

Effects (applied on click)

HP	Narrative damage or healing, full heal.
XP / gold	Reward exploration, not just combat.
Items	Give or take away (the key is spent in the lock).
Flags	Remember an event for later.
Quests	Activate, complete, fail.

The winning trio: a flag set early, a condition that reads it late, and a failure text that makes replaying tempting. That's 90% of the art of branching stories.

10. Validate, test, publish

The Overview lists problems: blocking (no start scene, choice without target, combat without encounter) and warnings (unreachable scenes, no reachable ending).
"Test play" creates a throwaway character and walks you through your world as a player — even as a draft.
Publish when it's clean; a public world appears in the catalog, an unlisted one is shared by link.

11. Players & moderation

The Players tab lists members and their characters. You can kick (the person may come back), ban (final), promote a co-DM (they edit the world alongside you) and handle reports about your content.

12. Save, share, import

Export (JSON), in the Overview: your whole world in a file — backup and sharing.
Import, from the studio: recreate a world from a file, or merge a pack (bestiary, module…) into an existing world.
The library offers official ready-to-use packs.

And to fill those files without facing a blank page: the creative prompts — including templates for AI assistants that output directly importable packs.