Premise and World Profile

The premise is why the world already has pressure before anyone arrives. Open World Profile > Premise to edit it.

This is not flavor text. Later scenes, images, phases, and player choices all read from these fields.

Begin with a proposition

Write a concrete statement about the pressure at the center of the world. Avoid a generic goal such as "the hero grows stronger."

A drowned empire sells its dead to the sea to keep ancient tide contracts alive.

This proposition should influence tone, conflicts, rules, and endgame.

Build two linked layers

Every durable premise needs both layers:

• Foreground: the conflict players encounter repeatedly, such as survival, cases, faction moves, romance, or debt.
• Background: the machine that keeps moving without the player, such as a conspiracy, systemic harvest, origin secret, or inherited obligation.

Link them causally. Foreground pressure should reveal or result from the background system.

Write the main fields

Story Description

Use two or three sentences to communicate the fantasy concept and systemic conflict. This is the primary hook, not a full history.

Backstory

Describe the foundational past of the world: catastrophes, myths, and prior orders that explain the present. Do not use this field for the protagonist's biography.

Hidden Truths

Write three to five truths that explain how the background system really works. A useful hidden truth remains true even if the player never appears.

World Rules

Define three to five laws with a cost, limit, and visible effect on daily life. Rules without consequences are decoration.

Detail Instruction

Explain how player actions convert into consequences. Meaningful choices should open paths and close others.

Starting Time

Use the fictional world time format hh:mm dd/mm/yyyy when possible. Character ages and historical dates should remain consistent with this value.

Define the end direction

Finish with one verifiable objective for the whole story. World Phases will later decompose this objective into smaller stage objectives.

Quality check

• Every major element has a cause.
• Every fantastical rule has a cost or limit.
• Hidden truths describe systems, not diary secrets.
• Foreground and background conflicts affect one another.
• The premise leaves room for player agency.

For assisted planning, use Premise Architect.