Session mode
The session screen is your cockpit while you play: the session journal on the left, and a reference panel on the right that puts all your content one click away — scenes, PCs/NPCs, tables, dice, clocks and the AI assistant.
Starting a session
From a Playthrough page: "Start a session" button (or "Resume current session" if one is open). Each session carries an In progress / Ended badge and its start date.
Faster access to play (beta)
On the campaign home, the Play block adapts its action:
- active session: Resume session, showing the session and playthrough names;
- no active session: select a playthrough if there are several, then Start session;
- no playthrough: Create a playthrough first.
The tree also lists Playthroughs under Play. The main menu's Session in progress shortcut opens the active session directly. With several sessions, it opens a contextual list; with none, it is hidden. On mobile, it is in the top bar.
The journal
The main column is a timestamped timeline. Each entry is typed:
- Note 📝 — prep, reminders
- Event ✨ — what happened in play
- Dice roll 🎲
- Player action ✓
The entry form sits at the top, the timeline reads from newest to oldest. Since entries are timestamped, you can also log retroactively.
Once a session is ended, its journal can no longer be modified.
The pinned scene
In the "Scenes" tab of the reference panel, every scene has a pin button: "Pin as current scene". A "Current scene" banner then shows at the top of the journal with the scene's name, its location 📍 and timing 🕒, plus a "Show player narration" button to unfold the read-aloud text without leaving the session screen.
The banner also lets you open the full scene in a new tab, or unpin it.
The "previously on…" recap
The "“Previously…” recap" button asks the AI to write a recap of the previous session of the same playthrough, "previously on…" style: 4 to 8 sentences in a narrative tone, ending on the situation where the players left off. The AI relies strictly on the journal of the previous session (plus the quest states and active facts) — it doesn't make things up.
The text shows in a "Previously (session name)" box; the "Add to journal" button logs it as a Note entry 📜.
The recap needs a configured AI provider and at least one previous session in the same playthrough. If the AI service doesn't respond, a clear message shows: "Recap failed. Is the Brain (AI) running?".
The reference panel
Eight tabs in beta (seven in stable 1.0.3) keep content within reach:
| Tab | Contents |
|---|---|
| Play | Clocks and Facts of the playthrough (see below) |
| AI | Live assistant chat (world, campaign, rules, journal in context) |
| Rules (beta) | Associated system rules, search and pinned sections (see below) |
| Dice | Dice roller with modifier and history |
| Tables | Your random tables, ready to roll |
| Items | The item catalogs (shops, loot) |
| PCs/NPCs | Character sheets, collapsible by folder |
| Scenes | The Arc → Chapter → Scene tree, sorted in play order, with the pin |
The Play tab only has content if the session is attached to a Playthrough.
Consult rules during a session (beta)
The Rules tab reads saved rules from the campaign's associated game system. Reading and searching do not require AI. This does not query Workshop PDFs.
- Contents opens and jumps to a section; sections can be collapsed.
- Search the rules… filters passages and highlights terms, ignoring case and accents. Words of at least two characters are used; multiple words narrow results.
- A matching section title can show its whole section, while body matches show relevant passages. Clear or Escape restores the full view.
- Pin keeps sections handy: outside search, pinned sections move to the top and are opened when the panel next loads.
Pins are remembered per system and browser, without syncing between PC and tablet.
Ask AI switches to the AI tab with a question drafted from the search or section title. It is not sent automatically: complete it and send it yourself. This uses your usual AI provider.
Without an associated system, Choose the campaign system opens the campaign setting in a new tab. For an empty ruleset, Add rules to the system opens its editor. Edit system rules also opens that editor without leaving the session.
Clocks & fronts
Segmented clocks (Blades in the Dark style) materialize the threats advancing in the background. They are managed in the Play tab during a session, or in the "Progress clocks" section of the Playthrough page.
A clock is:
- a name (e.g. "The cult completes its ritual");
- a number of segments — 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12;
- an auto trigger:
- Manual — you advance/roll back the clock by hand (+ / − buttons);
- When a Fact becomes true — advances one segment when the fact flips;
- When a quest completes — advances when the quest reaches "Completed";
- At session end — advances one segment every time a session is closed;
- optionally, a front to attach it to.
Fronts group several clocks that advance together (e.g. "The rise of the Cult"). Clocks without a front appear under "Loose clocks". Deleting a front doesn't delete its clocks: they become loose again.
When a clock nears its end, the session prep warns you: "nearly full!" badge at 75%, "full!" at 100%. Bringing the consequence into play is up to you.
Auto triggers only advance the clock one segment at a time. A 4-segment clock on "At session end" thus fills up in 4 sessions — size the number of segments to the pacing you want.
Facts
Facts (flags) are the true/false switches of the playthrough (the_king_is_dead, bridge_destroyed…). In the Play tab ("Facts" subsection), each one flips with a simple toggle.
They are discovered automatically: a fact appears as soon as it is referenced by a "When a fact is true" condition — as a quest prerequisite or as a clock trigger. There is no free-form fact creation: that's intentional, to avoid orphaned facts.
Ending, then preparing the next one
At the end of the session, close it. The Playthrough page then offers the "Prepare the next session" section: where the players are, what content they will likely go through, what remains to fill in and which threats are moving — see Guided prep.
Clocks, fronts, facts and quest progression belong to the Playthrough (one table's game state), not to the campaign. Two tables playing the same campaign each have their own clocks and facts.
Visual reference and quick entry
Ctrl + Enter adds the journal entry being composed. Finish your notes before ending the session. For clock creation and trigger details, see Clocks and threats.