How to Play

Your First Session

When you join a session, you'll see a chat window with a sidebar on the right showing the players, the world, and the session status. The host runs the show — they trigger the AI Dungeon Master (called the Adventure Machine) and manage encounters. Your job is to play your character.

The large text box at the bottom is for in-character (IC) messages. Write what your character says or does — talk to NPCs, explore the environment, pick a fight, whatever feels right. Press Send (or Enter) to submit it.

Below that is a smaller out-of-character (OOC) box. Use it for table talk, questions, or jokes — anything not part of the story. The Adventure Machine ignores OOC messages when narrating.

After the players have said their piece, the host triggers the Adventure Machine. It reads everything that's happened, advances the narrative, and may call for skill checks along the way. Then you respond, the host triggers it again, and the story unfolds.

Skill Checks

Sometimes what your character attempts is risky — picking a lock, leaping across a chasm, persuading a guard. When the host triggers the Adventure Machine, it decides whether any player actions require a skill check before narrating.

If a check is called, the system rolls a d20 (a random number from 1 to 20) and adds your character's origin bonus for the relevant skill. The total is compared against a DC (difficulty class) — a target number representing how hard the task is. Meet or beat the DC and you succeed; fall short and you fail.

How Origins Affect Your Rolls

When you created your character, you gave them origins — backstory traits like "Forest Tracker" or "Street Urchin". Each origin has a bonus (positive or negative) that reflects your character's strengths and weaknesses.

Before every roll, the system evaluates which of your origins are relevant to what you're attempting. At most one positive origin can apply to a given roll (the strongest relevant one), but all relevant negative origins always apply. Your total bonus is the sum, clamped between -5 and +5.

For example: your character has "Veteran Swordsman (+4)" and "Old War Wound (-2)". In a fight, both are relevant — your bonus is +2. Trying to charm a merchant? Neither applies, so your bonus is +0.

Crits and Fortuna

A natural 19 or 20 (before any bonus) is a critical success. A natural 1 or 2 is a critical failure. Both are dramatic — and both charge your Fortuna (more on that in the combat section).

Some failed skill checks can deal damage to your character if the situation is physically dangerous. The Adventure Machine decides this based on context — failing to dodge a collapsing ceiling hurts more than failing to read an ancient inscription.

Combat

When Combat Starts

Combat can start at any time. The Adventure Machine might narrate enemies into the scene, or the host might set up an encounter directly. Either way, when combat begins, a combat bar appears below the chat with your action choices, and the sidebar shows enemy names and health bars.

Every player starts combat with 6 Resolve (your hit points). If your Resolve hits 0, you're downed and can't act until another player revives you.

Your Turn

Each round, you pick one action from the combat bar:

• Attack — Pick an enemy from the dropdown and strike. The system rolls a d20, adds your origin bonus, and compares it to the enemy's DC.
  • Hit (total ≥ DC): Deal 1 damage.
  • Powerful hit (total ≥ 21): Deal 2 damage.
  • Critical hit (nat 19-20): Deal 2 damage, no retaliation, charges Fortuna.
  • Devastating crit (nat 19-20 and total ≥ 21): Deal 3 damage, charges Fortuna.
  • Miss (total < DC): Deal 0 damage and take 1 retaliation damage.
  • Critical failure (nat 1-2): Deal 0 damage and take 2 retaliation damage. Charges Fortuna.
• Heal — Pick a player from the dropdown (including yourself) and attempt to restore their Resolve. A d20 + origin bonus determines the amount:
  • Weak (low roll): No healing.
  • Normal (total ≥ 8): Heal 1 Resolve.
  • Strong (total ≥ 21): Heal 2 Resolve.
  • Critical heal (nat 19-20): Heal 2 Resolve, charges Fortuna.
  • Miraculous (nat 19-20 and total ≥ 21): Heal 3 Resolve, charges Fortuna.
  • Critical failure (nat 1-2): No healing. Charges Fortuna.
  Reviving a downed player always succeeds — no roll needed. They come back at 3 Resolve.
• Pass — Skip your turn. Enemies won't target you this round with their abilities, so passing can be a survival tactic when you're low on Resolve.

There's also an emote field next to your action buttons. Use it to describe how your character fights — "lunges low with a sweeping slash" or "desperately channels a healing spell." The Adventure Machine weaves your emotes into its narration of the round.

Fortuna

Fortuna is a comeback mechanic. It charges whenever you roll a natural 1-2 or 19-20 on any roll — combat or skill check. When it's charged, a glowing Fortuna button appears in the combat bar.

Toggle Fortuna on before choosing your action. It skips the dice roll entirely and guarantees the result:

• Fortuna Attack: Deals 2 guaranteed damage. No retaliation.
• Fortuna Heal: If there are multiple alive players, heals everyone for 1. Otherwise, heals your target for 2.

Fortuna doesn't charge more Fortuna — it's a one-shot spend. You'll need another crit to charge it again.

How a Round Resolves

1. All players submit actions — The round waits for every alive player to pick Attack, Heal, or Pass. Order doesn't matter.
2. NPC allies act — If the party has any NPC companions, they choose their own actions automatically (they prioritize healing downed allies, then attacking the weakest enemy).
3. Dice roll and resolve — The system rolls a d20 for each action, applies origin bonuses, and calculates all hits, misses, damage, and healing. You'll see a round summary in the chat.
4. Enemy abilities — After player actions resolve, enemies with special abilities may use them. These can be single-target (hitting one random player) or AOE (hitting everyone for 1 damage). Players who passed are safe.
5. The Adventure Machine narrates — All the dice results and emotes are woven into a dramatic narrative passage.
6. Next round — The sidebar updates enemy health bars and the round counter. Pick your next action and go again.

How Combat Ends

Not every fight has to end in bloodshed. You can still send IC messages during combat — try talking to your enemies, intimidating them, offering a deal, or pleading for mercy. The host can trigger the Adventure Machine between combat rounds to narrate these interactions, and it evaluates whether enemies still want to fight based on what's happened — both mechanically and narratively. A well-timed bit of roleplay can end an encounter without swinging another sword.

• All enemies defeated — Every enemy's Resolve hits 0. Victory. All players are fully restored to 6 Resolve.
• Enemies flee or surrender — The Adventure Machine evaluates enemy morale after each narration. They might flee the battlefield, surrender, or change their minds about fighting based on how the battle is going or what you've said to them.
• Enemies become allies — Occasionally, an enemy's disposition shifts and they join your party as an NPC companion for the rest of the session.

Quick Reference