The editor
The fifteen steps down the side of /create, what each is for, and which you can skip.
The editor is a rail of steps on the left, the current step in the middle, and the Prompt panel on the right. The rail is an order, not a wizard — you can jump to any step at any time and come back.
dddd> The /create editor with the three regions labelled: the step rail (left), the step body
(centre), and the Prompt panel (right).
The steps
Setup — the game's name, its setting and tone, and the toggles that decide which of the other steps you even see. Start here; some of the rail is hidden until you turn things on.
Factions — the groups that want incompatible things. Worth doing early: characters and locations both hang off them.
Locations — where the game happens. Each one carries its own description, its connections to other locations, and optionally its own ambient sound.
Items — what can be carried, worn, eaten or used. An item can have a rule attached
(see Hooks — onItemUse).
Abilities — what characters can do beyond a plain attack. Only shown when abilities are enabled in Setup.
Effects — statuses that land on someone and then wear off: poisoned, blessed, on fire.
Plugins — your own systems. Fields, hooks, dials and events bundled into something you can switch off or share. See Plugins.
Creatures — the things that fight you. Only shown when combat is enabled in Setup.
Characters — the NPCs, and the player character. This is where bonds, personality and knowledge live.
Loadouts — what a player starts with. Hidden entirely when Setup says players choose neither items nor abilities.
Story — the opening situation and the arc you want the game to move along.
Map — the spatial layout of your locations, if the game shows one.
Sounds — narration sound effects and location ambience. Always available.
Encyclopedia — long-form lore the narrator can look things up in. Only shown when the encyclopedia is enabled in Setup; with it off, lore written here would never be retrieved.
Finalize — validation and publish.
Steps disappear, and that is deliberate
If Creatures or Abilities vanish from the rail, you did not lose them: a toggle in Setup turned that system off, and the editor hides steps whose data nothing would read.
| Step | Shown when |
|---|---|
| Abilities | abilities are enabled |
| Creatures | combat is enabled |
| Loadouts | players choose starting items or abilities |
| Encyclopedia | the encyclopedia is enabled |
Turn the toggle back on in Setup and the step comes back with your data intact.
Image:
docs/setup-toggles.pngThe Setup step's advanced toggles — combat, abilities, encyclopedia, item selection — with the step rail visible alongside so the relationship is legible.
Two ways to edit everything
Every step accepts both. You can fill the form yourself, or ask the Prompt panel and let it fill the form for you. There is no mode switch and no penalty either way — the panel writes the same fields you would have typed.
The practical split most authors land on: prompt the content (places, people, things), hand-write the systems (rules, numbers, plugins). The AI is good at inventing a harbourmaster and bad at deciding how fast a fever should climb.
Next
- The Prompt panel — plans, undo, and what to ask for
- Plugins — building a system of your own