RPG Mechanics

This page covers six built-in plugins that make the story feel more like a game: Dice Check, point buy at the start, quests, inventory, affinity, and hidden story events. Each plugin section explains what you will see, when it is on, what you can change, and what world authors can preset.

Plugin	In short
Dice Check (dice-check)	Risky actions roll dice first, and the story is then written to match the result.
Tabletop Rules (tabletop-rules)	Assigns attribute points to the player character at the start, and lets the player start checks.
Quest Log (core-quest)	Records quests, objectives and rewards automatically.
Inventory (inventory)	Records items gained, lost and equipped automatically.
Affinity (affinity)	Records how close you are with each NPC.
Hidden Story Events (story-events)	Story plots set up by the world author. They happen when their conditions are met.

All six are optional and are not turned on automatically. For which worlds include them by default, see the overview at the end of this page.

Dice Check and Tabletop Rules: what is different

Both plugins involve dice, but they do different jobs. You can use one, or both together.

	dice-check	tabletop-rules
What it handles	Risky actions during play	Point buy at the start, and checks the player starts
Who triggers it	The story has the player character do something risky, and the model decides automatically	The player clicks a button in the right-hand panel
Who sets the attribute and difficulty	The model	The player
Dice	Three d20s are rolled before each turn. The model can only use them in order	Settled on the spot after the player submits
Has a start-of-game form?	No	Yes, a point-buy form

When used together:

• At the start, tabletop-rules lets you assign points to attributes.
• During play, ordinary risky actions are decided automatically by dice-check.
• A check you start yourself from the "Attribute checks" panel is settled by tabletop-rules. In that turn, dice-check steps aside and does not roll again.

For full setup steps, see Point buy and dice checks.

Dice Check (dice-check)

When the player character does something with a risk of failing, such as picking a lock, climbing a wall, or persuading a guard, the result is not left to the model's guess. The dice are rolled before the story is written. The model can only read the result under the rules, and the success or failure it writes must match the dice. If it does not match, the text is sent back for a rewrite. Actions without risk do not roll dice.

Check modifiers use the action’s actor’s attributes, falling back to the primary seat’s current character.

What you will see

• A check block in the story text: the action, the calculation, and the result, for example 14 + 4 = 18 vs DC 12. Critical successes and critical failures are highlighted.
• A "Check Log" panel on the right, listing every check with its turn number and the attribute used (by the world's name for it). The panel has two quick buttons, "Roll d20" and "Roll 2d6".
• You can roll dice yourself by typing /roll in the input box. /roll 2d6 rolls two six-sided dice. If you do not write a dice expression, it rolls 1d20. /r is a short form. Dice are written as NdM: 1 to 100 dice at a time, each with 2 to 1000 sides.

Dice you roll yourself are shown as a result only. They do not change the checks in the story.

Difficulty

The model picks one of four difficulty levels. Each one has a target number (DC):

Difficulty	Target number
easy	8
normal	12
hard	16
extreme	20

If the d20 plus the attribute modifier reaches the target, the check succeeds. A natural 20 is a critical success. A natural 1 is a critical failure.

If a numeric attribute of the player character is in the abilities category and has minimum and maximum values, the plugin scales it to a modifier from 0 to +10 and lists it for the narrator. Values such as health or trust (stats, social) are not used for checks. So put the attributes checks use in abilities and give them proper min and max values. If no ranged ability is available or character data is missing, checks still roll with modifier 0 and show no attribute label.

When it is on

Optional. No built-in gameplay pack includes it, so a world has to include it.

World	How it is included
lantern-barrow	"Classic Tabletop" gameplay pack, on by default
emberback	"Emberback Rescue" gameplay pack, on by default

For other worlds, you can tick it on the session-prep screen, or the world author can add it to pluginPolicy. See Point buy and dice checks.

It has no settings you can change.

What world authors can preset

It takes no world data. What a world can do is define the player character's numeric attributes, and write a clear description for each one. The model uses these descriptions to decide which attribute applies.

Works with

• To use a different check system, such as d100, you can replace this plugin with another plugin that provides the same kind of function. Most players do not need to think about this.
• The narrative plugin in the gameplay pack (such as narrator) reads the check results. Without a narrative plugin, the checks have no effect.

Tabletop Rules (tabletop-rules)

Adds one step after character creation: assigning points to the player character's attributes. During play, you can also start a check yourself, choosing the action, the attribute and the difficulty.

Point allocation and checks follow the action’s actor, falling back to the primary seat’s current character.

What you will see

• After you create a character, an "Opening point allocation: distribute N points" form appears. Each attribute that can be adjusted has a starting value and a maximum. You must use up all the points exactly, then click "Finish allocation". If you enter something wrong, the form tells you what is wrong, and you can change it.
• An "Attribute checks" panel on the right. Click "Request an attribute check", fill in "Attempted action", choose "Attribute" and "Difficulty", then click "Resolve check". The result comes with a dice record, and retrying or restarting does not roll the dice again.
• Ordinary turns do not show this check form.

If the world has no attributes to assign points to (for example, a dialogue-only world), the point-buy step is skipped. The button in the panel tells you that this world cannot run checks.

When it is on

Optional, and not turned on automatically.

World	How it is included
lantern-barrow	"Classic Tabletop" gameplay pack, on by default

For other worlds, tick it on the session-prep screen.

NOTE

If you turn it on partway through a game, the existing player character is not rebuilt, and the point-buy form is not shown again. Only later checks become available. After turning it on, continue one turn so the plugin can finish setting up, then start a check.

It has no settings you can change.

What world authors can preset

Data	File	Notes
Point-buy rules	data/tabletop-rules.json	The total points budget, and for each attribute a starting value base and a maximum max

If this file is missing, the plugin uses every numeric attribute in the world (category abilities, with min and max) for point buy, and adds 4 extra points. Resources such as health and stamina are not included automatically.

Each attribute id must match the one defined in world.yaml. pnpm validate:world identifies attributes that do not meet these requirements; session import also checks them. For how to write and check the rules, see Point buy and dice checks. For how data gets into a world package, see World data.

Quest Log (core-quest)

When the story clearly gives a commission or an objective, it is logged as a quest automatically. When objectives are completed, or a quest ends in success or failure, it is updated automatically. You do not need to record anything yourself.

What you will see

• A "Quest Log" panel on the right. You can search it, or filter by "All", "Active", "Completed" and "Failed". Each quest shows its objective, the person who gave it, and the reward. Status badges use the same localized names as the filter tabs.
• In a turn where a quest changes, a "Quest Log" block appears in the story text, marked "New", "Progress", "Completed" or "Failed". If nothing changed, it shows "No quest changes this turn."
• The session summary also includes a short overview of the quests.

When it is on

Optional, and not turned on automatically.

World	How it is included
lantern-barrow	"Classic Tabletop" gameplay pack, on by default
emberback	"Emberback Rescue" gameplay pack, on by default

It has no settings you can change.

What world authors can preset

Data	File	Notes
Starting quests	data/quests.yaml	The main quest, plus up to a few side quests. status is active, completed or failed. Each objective has text and done.

Quests are matched by name, so quest names and the names of people who give them must match what the setting says. For how to write them, see Starting content.

Inventory (inventory)

Items that the story clearly gives you, takes from you, or equips are recorded in your bag automatically. You can check it on the right at any time.

Bookkeeping applies only item changes held by the action’s actor, falling back to the primary seat’s current character. Other player characters’ item changes do not enter the bag.

What you will see

• An "Inventory" panel on the right, with two sections: "Equipped" and "Backpack". Items have "Equip", "Unequip" and "Drop" buttons.
• In a turn where items change, an "Inventory changes" block appears in the story text, marked "Gained", "Lost", "Equipped" or "Unequipped".
• Type /bag (or /inventory) to see your current bag and open the panel.
• The session summary says "Your bag contains N item entries."

During a purchase, trade or gift, the narrator can change the bag before writing the story. An unaffordable purchase is refused. If a staged change cannot be applied when the turn is saved, you see a notice and the story is still saved. If a purchase fails, other bag changes from that turn may be skipped. Changes made through the bag tool are not counted again from the story.

Only item changes that clearly happen in the story are recorded. Inventory dataset records are checked when the turn is saved. An invalid record skips that bookkeeping step for this turn; the story is still saved.

When it is on

Optional, and not turned on automatically.

World	How it is included
lantern-barrow	"Classic Tabletop" gameplay pack, on by default
emberback	"Emberback Rescue" gameplay pack, on by default

It has no settings you can change.

What world authors can preset

Seeded items must pass the dataset’s set and record-schema checks. Sync may delete seeded items removed from their authoritative source.

Data	File	Notes
Starting items	data/items.yaml	Things the player starts with. quantity is a number. Players see the tags, so write them in the world's language, and give currency a tag that says so. Worn items get equipped: true.

Keep the list short. Items gained during play are recorded automatically. For how to write them, see Starting content.

Works with

Both Narrator (narrator) and Dialogue Narrator (chat-mode-narrator) use the bag lookup and change tools when Inventory is active. Without Inventory, they continue telling the story as usual.

Affinity (affinity)

Records your relationship with each NPC. When you have a clear interaction with an NPC, such as chatting, giving a gift, helping, a conflict, or a betrayal, that NPC's score changes.

What you will see

• An "Affinity" panel on the right, with one row per NPC showing the score and level. Scores range from -100 to 100, and 0 is neutral.
• In a turn where a score changes, an "Affinity changes" note appears in the story text.

Affinity dataset records are checked when the turn is saved. An invalid record skips that bookkeeping step for this turn; the story is still saved.

The narrator can read committed current scores directly, including seeded records that have no tier yet. This read adds no model call. Scores and tiers are not romance-route stages; an omitted NPC is not assumed to have a score of 0. Turning the plugin off also removes this context.

Levels are set by score:

Score	Level
-100 to -60	Hostile
-59 to -20	Cold
-19 to 19	Neutral
20 to 59	Friendly
60 to 84	Close
85 to 100	Devoted

Worlds can seed starting affinity; during play, new records are created only for named NPCs you actually interact with. Passersby and people who are just present are not. A routine interaction changes the score by 1 to 5. A major event can change it by up to 20.

When it is on

Optional, and not turned on automatically.

World	How it is included
lantern-barrow	"Classic Tabletop" gameplay pack, on by default
emberback	"Emberback Rescue" gameplay pack, on by default
haruka-academy	"Campus Romance · Visual Novel" gameplay pack, on by default

NOTE

It makes one more model call per turn to decide score changes, so it costs a little more money and time. If you want to save money, do not turn it on.

It has no settings you can change.

What world authors can preset

Seeded affinity records must pass the dataset’s set and record-schema checks. Sync may delete seeded records removed from their authoritative source.

Data	File	Notes
Starting affinity	data/affinity.yaml	Key NPCs who already have a relationship with the player at the start. score is an integer from -100 to 100. notes explains the score in a sentence or two.

The id and name must match the NPC's character setting. Later updates are matched by name. For how to write them, see Starting content.

Hidden Story Events (story-events)

World authors can set up plots that happen only when certain conditions are met. Until the conditions are met, neither the model nor the player can see the content. In the turn when the conditions are met, the narrative works the event into the story naturally.

What you will see

There is no dedicated panel. You only meet these events in the story, as if they were turns the story took on its own.

If the narrative leaves an event out, a reminder is sent on the next turn. Each event gets only one reminder.

When it is on

Optional, and not turned on automatically.

World	How it is included
lantern-barrow	"Classic Tabletop" gameplay pack, on by default
emberback	"Emberback Rescue" gameplay pack, on by default
mistport	"Mistport Investigation" gameplay pack, on by default
haruka-academy	"Campus Romance · Visual Novel" gameplay pack, on by default

If a world has no hidden event data, turning this on does nothing.

What you can change

Setting	What it does	Default
Story planner (planner)	Every 3 turns, calls the model to set up hidden events behind the scenes that happen later, based on the story	Off

Turning it on adds model calls. The worlds lantern-barrow, emberback and mistport have already turned it on for you.

What world authors can preset

Data	File	Notes
Hidden story events	data/hidden/story-events.yaml	Each event has a trigger condition when and a short hint for the narrative, payload

This data must be imported as hidden data, or players could see it. A condition can check dimensions, world time, whether another event has happened, or the turn number. You can combine them with all, any and not. Write payload as a short hint for the narrative, not as finished text. Do not reveal later events in it. For how to import data, see World data.

A misspelled dimension ID, an invalid path inside a dimension, or a candidate in equals / notEquals / in that does not satisfy the dimension schema produces a dimension-reference error. Both pnpm validate:world and session import check these fields; see world data.

Overview of when they are on

Plugin	lantern-barrow	emberback	mistport	haruka-academy
dice-check	Yes	Yes
tabletop-rules	Yes
core-quest	Yes	Yes
inventory	Yes	Yes
affinity	Yes	Yes		Yes
story-events	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

None of the three general gameplay packs (Traditional Story, Dialogue Mode, Low Cost) include these six plugins. To use them in other worlds, tick them on the session-prep screen.

Next

• Point buy and dice checks: turn a world into a tabletop game
• Starting content: preset quests, items and affinity for a world
• World data: how data files go into a world package
• Built-in plugin overview