Your personal profile page can always be accessed by clicking your icon in the upper right corner of most pages (but not inside the Gamespace). From your profile page, you can access all functions and data about your account.
Helpful Terms
Other members of the Diceweaver community to whom you have granted additional access to your account. This is akin to a "Friends List".
The image used to identify an account (or character).
A term to describe your digital "mask" that can hide your true identity. This replaces an Avatar.
A view into a member of the Diceweaver community.
A stream of messages from the Diceweaver system. Usually invitations, or notifications about events and activity.
An Asset is a singular, uploaded media file, or a file and its information. An image is an Asset, as is a Map (which is an Image plus some information), or a PDF.
A collection of Assets. Your account creates some automatically. Unless you are a Storyteller or want to be one, you don't need to care about this.
Sections
Your profile is your personal dashboard, where you can easily access the Tabletops, Circle, Assets, and Maps associated with your account.
Here, you can add or change your Avatar and profile cover image, change your password, or edit your profile.
The Edit Profile button allows you to make privacy setting changes, and to add your name, location, website, and/or a bio if you choose.
Information you enter here will be visible to other users only if your account is public or if you have added them to your Circle.
Stuff Other People Can See
These things are only visible if you have set your profile to public OR the person viewing your profile is in your Circle.
A small trophy case to show off the badges you've obtained.
If you've set your pronouns on your account, they'll be visible here.
If you've set your timezone, your local time will show.
If you've figured out how to join a House and have done so, it will display a small banner.
Flags are special values, such as "Staff" or "Alpha Tester".
If you're a Diceweaver subscriber (thanks!) a small banner will be visible here.
Stuff Only You Can See
These things are visible only to you, regardless of your privacy settings.
View and manage members of your Circle.
Your collections of Images, Maps, and Catalogs.
A list of all Tabletop groups that you are a member of.
Just a friendly reminder. You can increase this by subscribing.
View and manage folk that you've blocked.
Activities
Here you can change (most) everything about your account, such as privacy settings, pronouns, public data, and private data (birthday and email)
This option will allow you to edit your privacy cloak.
What it says on the tin.
On your profile page, the Edit Profile button contains a menu that allows you to adjust privacy settings, as well as Public Data, which is the information you would like to show to others on your profile.
This dialog is divided into four sections, each starting with the letter 'P': Privacy, Public Data, Pronouns, and Private Data
Privacy
Here you can control various settings about your account's visibility and access to it from others.
Please see the section on Privacy for more information about privacy settings.
Public Data
This section allows you to add, edit, or remove public fields about you. This information will appear on your profile page to those who can see it.
If you want to share your full name or a nickname, this is the place to do so.
A free text field.
If you set a timezone, your local time will be displayed on our profile page.
A link to your website, if any.
A larger text block that accepts formatting.
Pronouns
Diceweaver supports any and all pronouns, both for users and your characters in your games. These pronouns will be reflected in your tabletop action logs and other contexts as needed.
Please see the section on Pronouns for more information about setting your pronouns.
Private Data
Private data is information about you that is required by Diceweaver but isn't available to other users: your email address and your birth date.
Privacy settings can be accessed by navigating to your profile page by clicking Edit Profile from your profile page.
You have the ability to customize your preferred level of privacy by selecting any or all of the options regarding messaging, allowing your email address to be searched, and whether your profile is public.
There are four primary privacy options, and each one is set "on" or "off". Green - or toggled to the right - means "on".
Public Profile
By default, Diceweaver profiles are private. Private profiles hide (nearly) all information. Public posts by these profiles will still be visible to others.
Open Messages
By default, only people in your Circle may send you private messages or invite you to a Tabletop. You may choose to allow anyone to do so. If you set your profile to private, you must set "Open Messages" to on in order to recieve Tabletop invitations.
Looking for Group
Setting this to on will cause your account to appear in searches as being open to inviations to join other peoples' Tabletops. You do not need this setting to be on in order to be invited to a Tabletop; this setting controls your visibility.
Allow Email In Searches
Your email address stays private. However, you may allow your profile to appear in search results if someone uses your exact email address to find you.
Your Cloak is an alternate Avatar and username that can be displayed when you do not wish others to see your real Avatar image or username. Cloaks consist of two parts: a color and an animal icon. Your Cloak is randomly assigned at account creation.
Setting your account to Private will cause your cloak to be your Avatar.
Your Cloak will appear if:
Your account is private and the viewer is not in your Circle
You never set an Avatar
You have blocked the person who is viewing you
You can edit your by clicking the "Edit Cloak" button on your profile page. The icon for this will be your current cloak.
In the dialog that opens, you can change the color or animal.
No. Diceweaver staff are capable of connecting cloaks with their owners.
No. You can change the aspects of your cloak at any time, but this change happens across your account.
Not currently, but soon. This is a planned feature.
There are hidden cloak options you may be able to find.
Diceweaver supports any and all pronouns, both for users and your characters in your games. These pronouns will be reflected in your tabletop action logs and other contexts as needed.
You can select a pre-defined set of pronouns from a pull down (feminine, masculine, and four types of neutral or non-binary) or you can fill out sentences to set individual pronouns.
Yes.
Yes, but why would you want to?
If your profile is public, anyone can; they'll be listed there. If your profile is private, only people you have added to your Circle will see them.
Your Circle is a group of people that you trust. Including someone in your Circle allows them to access to your full profile and the ability to interact with you, regardless of your privacy settings.
If your profile is Public, not much changes from their point of view. However, if your profile is private, only those you include in your Circle are able to see all the information you include in your profile, such as your Avatar image, name, description, biography, and so forth, as well as any posts you make.
Circle inclusion is permissive. It is the opposite of the "block" list.
Members of your Circle will be able to:
See your Avatar image
See additional details about your account (such as your biography, if you have provided one)
View all of your posts
See the Tabletops that you are a member of, given certain permission criteria
Send you messages and invitations
On your end, members of your Circle will be included your default invitation and search list.
You can remove individuals from your Circle either from their own profile page or through your Circle page.
An Asset is a singular media file (or a file and its information). An image is an Asset. Assets can also be video files or PDFs
Your Assets are those that you have uploaded or added to your Diceweaver account. Assets can be shared with or included in a Tabletop in support of a Campaign.
Diceweaver currently supports the following types of files as assets:
Common image formats (gif, jpg, png)
Proprietary image formats (heic, or iPhone) and webp
Video formats (mp4 and webm)
Document formats (pdf)
All uploaded assets count against your disk space allotment. Free accounts include up to 100 MB of Asset storage; you can get more by purchasing a subscription.
You can get to your Asset library from your profile page by clicking the "Assets" button in the navigation.
From the Asset Library screen you can perform bulk operations (Deletions/Archives) on multiple Assets or click-to-view and edit the properties of individual Assets.
From time to time, it becomes necessary to cease contact with another user.
Blocked users cannot see anything about you except your user name. You will not show up in any lists; you will not appear in any chats.*
To block another user and prevent them from seeing anything about you, navigate to the user's profile and click Block and confirm.
To unblock a user, you can navigate to their profile and click Unblockor you can access your Block List from your Profile Page by clicking the Block List button.
From the Block List page you can unblock users by clicking the "Unblock" button in their entry.
* The one exception to this rule is that if you block the Storytellers of a Tabletop you are in, they will still be able to see you in the membership list so that they can kick you out of it.
Your Feed is a stream of invitations or other notifications about your account. Your Feed is located adjacent to your Avatar and can be expanded with a click.
In some cases, feed entries may have actions that you can take directly from them (such as approving Tabletop membership requests).
The search box at the top of the Lobby page can be used to search for your friends by username, real name, email address, or other criteria.
Entering a full email address will allow you to send an invitation to join Diceweaver to that address. If they already have an account, the invite will show in their Feed. If they don't have an account, they will be given the opportunity to join.
If you have a Tabletop that you would like to invite your friends to, the process operates the same way and is started with the Invite button on the Tabletop's dashboard. By default, this dialog will be populated with members of your Circle, but you can also search by email address or any other criteria just as above.
When you've found the user you're looking for, the search dropdown will show their privacy settings as well as whether you can invite them to a Tabletop or include them in your Circle. Private Account means that the user has elected to not receive messages or Tabletop invites.
For more information about privacy settings, click here.
A Map is visual representation of a logical or physical space. Maps have several kinds of data associated with them, but this data is static to the Map itself.
A Board is an instance of a Map and is used as a central play-space of your Tabletop. This is often shown as a map of some kind, and often with Tokens that represent Player Characters and Non-Player Characters. Some game systems or platforms may use the phrase "module" to describe what Diceweaver calls a Board.
Boards have unique state: deployed characters, flags, NPCs, and so forth, while Maps are "static". Boards are unique to a Tabletop, while Maps can be imported - used - in multiple Tabletops (or even multiple times in the same Tabletop).
Changes made to a Board are not reflected back upon their parent Map and vice versa.
Players are generally permitted to switch between Boards that have been shared with them. This allows for easy campaign or region map usage.
There are three main types of Boards: Battlemaps, Region Maps, and Scenes. Each have thier own strengths and weaknesses. Read More.
The color associated with Boards is green.
How Do I...
Inside the Gamespace, you select a Board from the Board Flyout.
Inside the Gamespace, open the Board Data panel and click the "Close Board" button.
Inside the Gamespace, open the Board Data panel and click the "Style" tab. From there, several options are available.
Read about this under Board Permissions.
Use the Whiteboard tool.
Use the Fog Machine tool. This is a Storyteller-only function.
Use the Cell Edit Mode tool. This is a Storyteller-only function.
Sections
Diceweaver supports three main Board types - designed around use - and has features specific for each.
Battlemaps
Battlemaps are designed for close-area displays, typically combat (hence the "battle"). They are the most flexible map type and the functionality they provide is very dependant on the type of grid.
With a Square Grid
Dungeons, Buildings, Combat
Tactical Combat
Regions, Towns, Sketches
With a Hex Grid
Regions, Combat, Tactical Combat
Dungeons, Vehicles
Buildings, Sketches
With an Isometric Grid
Isometric grid battlemaps work best with Pin tokens.
Dungeons, Buildings
Sketches
Regions, Town, Combat
Region Maps
Region maps are perfect for showing large areas, such as towns, forests and country sides.
Pin tokens, a hexagonal grid, and liberal use of flags and cell traits make region maps shine.
Regions, Tactical Combat
Vehicles
Combat, Buildings, Sketches
Scenes
Scenes are background content intended to set a mood or aid in telling stories without the use of a map. Scenes have slightly different behaviors than Battlemaps or Region Maps:
Scenes don't have grids, so character and threat tokens stack in the lower-left corner.
Because they don't have grids, Scenes don't support Fog-of-War or cell traits.
Flags, the Cartoscape, and the Whiteboard work as normal, so you can draw over the background or mark places of interest.
Boards are unique to the Tabletop they are created within. Boards are always instances of Maps, so if you create a new Board, you are also creating associated Map and Image Assets). These Assets will be owned by the Storyteller who uploaded them and will be private.
Existing Maps can be imported as Boards. Maps are often found in your personal gallery but can be found elsewhere. Maps can be imported as Boards into a Tabletop by a Storyteller. Imported Boards are divorced from their template Map. Changes made to the Board will not be reflected in the original Map. Imported Boards will be set as "Storyteller Only" until otherwise shared (See Board Permissions for how to change this)
Diceweaver also supports importing Maps and Boards in the Universal VTT file format. Universal VTT is a map file format supported by several different versions of map making software (such as Arkenforge, Dungeondraft, Dungeon Alchemist, etc.) that contains a map image as well as metadata about it (such as the grid).
Boards can be imported or created in several ways:
From the Tabletop Profile Screen
Drag a background image into the Board list. This will immediately create a new Board with default values (which you can change later by editing it), or
Drag a Universal VTT file (.dd2vtt, .df2vtt, and .uvtt) into the Board list. This will immediately create a new Board with the values defined in the UVTT file (which you can change later by editing the Board), or
Locate the list of Boards and click the "New Board" button, opening the "New Board/Map" dialog (see below), or
From the list of Boards, click the "Import Boards" button. This will start the Import Boards workflow.
From within the Gamespace
Drag a background image into the Gamespace, which will immediately create a new Board with default values (which you can change later by editing it), or
Drag a Universal VTT file (.dd2vtt, .df2vtt, and .uvtt) into the Gamespace. This will immediately create a new Board with the values defined in the UVTT file (which you can change later by editing the Board), or
Open the Board Flyout and click the "New Board" button, opening the "New Board/Map" dialog (see below), or
Open the Board Flyout and click the "Import Boards" button. This will start the Import Boards workflow.
New Board Dialog
The "New Board/Map" dialog is the same no matter how you access it. This method will allow you to select the type of Map or Board that you want to create from several options. Each option will have a preset type, grid (shape, size, color), Fog of War color, and background color (which really only matters if you're drawing from scratch).
Once you've selected your template, you will be asked to give the new Map a name and provide a background image (if needed).
Universal VTT Files
Universal VTT is a map file format supported by several different versions of map making software (such as Arkenforge).
Three major things: Positioned lighting, Line of Sight, and Portals/Doorways. However, we are working on getting those into our MapSurface engine. Lighting/Portal data from imported UVTT files is not deleted and will be used when the features become available.
Diceweaver's grid options are far more robust than UVTT supports. UVTT only supports square grids and doesn't allow for grid color changes. UVTT files don't have defined Fog options or Flags.
Absolutely! Once imported, you can change anything about the map, including its grid or type.
The specific methods for exporting a UVTT file depend on the software. Consult your map making tool's manual. Here is a short guide.
Not Yet! This is on the roadmap. We will have to expand the specification to support our extra features.
mport UVTT files just like any other map: Drag and drop, into a library or the Gamespace.
Univeral VTT file extensions are .dd2vtt, .df2vtt, and .uvtt
Boards have a single permission bit: They are either visible only to Storytellers or they are visible to all Members of the Tabletop.
To reveal a Board to the Tabletop, open the Board's Settings Panel, click the "Information" tab, and then choose one of the buttons:
Activate Board sets the Board as the "current" Board for the Tabletop. This will make the Board visible to all Members as well as forcing their focus to this Board. This action can be done at any time; subsequent uses will not reveal the Board but will force focus on the Members.
Reveal Board will add the Board to your Player's lists of available Boards. It will not force focus. Confirmation is required.
Hide Board will hide the board from the Tabletop's Players (but not Storytellers). This does not delete the Board. Both NPCs and PCs deployed to it will remain. Confirmation is required.
Delete Board will delete the Board from the Tabletop. It will delete any NPCs deployed to it, and undeploy any Player Characters on it. This will not affect the source Map. Confirmation is required.
Future Thinking
Whiteboard editing privileges should probably be set to a permission bit.
The Board Flyout shows the list of Boards that are available to you.
Storytellers will see all Boards that have been imported into the Tabletop. Players will see only those Boards that have been deployed and shared with them.
The primary action for a Board is to focus the Board in the center. Other actions may be available.
Boards may be marked as favorites. If so, quick access to the Board will appear at the top of the flyout.
Future Thinking
What the primary action for the Board flyout should do has been a back-and-forth since the first time this was coded. Focus or window?
To focus a Board for the players of the Tabletop, click on the Board Tools menu located just above the Zoom Controls on the Map, and click "Activate Board". This will do the following:
Make the Board visible to the players, if it wasn't already, and
Force all connected players' maps to focus on that Board.
Additional tools for editing Boards are available from within the Gamespace. These are "edit modes" and entering any of them prevents access to other aspects of the interface (e.g., you cannot move tokens while drawing in the Whiteboard).
Each of these tools activate one or more toolbars on the right edge or top of the Gamespace. These toolbars allow you to modify a Board in several ways, depending on the mode.
Some modes will display a grid while active even if the grid is set to be "invisible".
Clicking on the toolbar's "X" button or hitting the ESCAPE key will exit the mode.
Accessing these tools is done through a button menu at the bottom right of the Active Board. Storytellers have a menu button that allows access to the Cartoscape, the Whiteboard, the Fog Machine, and the Cell Edit Mode, while regular Players will only have a button to enter Whiteboard mode.
Sections
Boards can be customized in several ways, including the way grids are displayed, the colors used, and the behavior of tokens.
Additionally, there are several actions that can be performed on them.
Storytellers can change the settings of a Board by accessing the palette through the Board Tools Menu, located above the zoom tools.
Information and Actions
The Information Tab allows you to change basic metadata about the Board as well as perform actions.
All metadata here is visible to players from the Board Data panel.
A simple name. Visible to players.
Put some useful context clues in here. Players can see this.
Useful for organizing Boards and Maps. Visible to players.
This action will reveal the Board to all players (if it is hidden), set it as the default Board, and force all players to switch to it.
This action changes the visibility of a Board so that players can see it and switch to it.
This action hides a visible Board from the players, making it Storyteller-only.
This removes the Board from the Tabletop. It does not delete its source Map or any assets associated with it.
Style
The Style tab sets basic behaviors for the Board.
Change the Board's basic type
Changes the shape or behavior of the tokens used for player characters or threats.
Background color is only seen with Boards that don't have background images.
Set the color of Fog-of-War. This option is also available in the Fog Machine tool.
Grid
Change aspects of the grid display. Note that grid's display can change within certain contexts (such as dragging tokens).
Choose the shape of the grid's cells. Hexagons can be oriented vertically or horizontally.
How large should individual cells be (in pixels)
What color should the map grid be?
How opaque should the map grid be?
Sets the horizontal distance from the edge of the background that the grid starts.
Sets the vertical distance from the edge of the background that the grid starts.
Sets the scale of the map grid. Options include "inches", "feet", "meters", "kilometers", "miles", and "au" (for space!)
The Cartoscape is an advanced and flexible set of drawing tools that allow Storytellers to enhance existing Boards or scratch-build maps in minutes.
Cartoscape changes are visible to all players immediately, so the Cartoscape is great for drawing maps as-you-go.
All Boards have a Cartoscape layer automatically. Access to it is done through the Board Tools flyout in the lower-right corner of the Gamespace.
Tools
The following tools are currently available for use in the Cartoscape. Select a tool by clicking on its icon in the central toolbar. Once selected, a tool will remain selected until changed (so you can continue to draw rectangles if that's your plan).
More tools will become available in the future.
Draws a rectangle object. Starts in the upper-right corner.
Draws a circle object. Starts from the center.
Draws an ellipse object. Starts from the center.
Draws a straight line.
Allows you to draw an arbitrary shaped object by setting points. Close the loop to set the object. Double-click a path object to edit points.
Draws a freehand pencil line - any shape, any direction.
Allows you to insert text objects.
Allows you to insert an image object. Defaults to the most previous image used; the image can be changed after positioning.
All Shape Options
These options apply to all objects, though how they are specifically handled may change or have unexpected results (e.g., fill colors on the freehand pencil tool).
Sets the background or fill color for the object.
Set the opacity of the background fill.
Set the color for the stroke or border of the object.
Set the thickness of the stroke or border.
Set the opacity of the stroke/border.
Text Options
Change the font size of the selected text object
Change the selected text's font family. Currently available fonts are:
Monospace (Courier, Monospace)
Serif (Georgia, Times New Roman, Serif)
Sans-Serif (Helvetica, Arial, Sans-Serif)
Futura Book
Montserrat
Valencia
Mistlock
Change the side of the text box that its included text aligns to.
Bold
Italic
Underline
Strike-Through
Overline
Image Options
Images only have one option, but general shape options affect them as well (as much as can be).
Change the image used. You can also upload a new one.
Actions
Increase the z-index of the selected object by 1 place
Decrease the z-index of the selected object by 1 place
Lower the z-index of the selected object to the bottom of the stack.
Raise the z-index of the selected object to the top of the stack.
Keybindings
Deselect all objects, then exit mode if no selection
Delete selected objects
Select all objects
Copy selected objects
Paste selected objects
Cut selected objects
Persist/force save
Undo last action
Redo last action
Nudge selected objects by 1 px
Nudge objects selected by 10 px
Switch to the Select tool
Switch to the Rectangle tool
Switch to the Circle tool
Switch to the Freehand tool
Switch to the Polyline or Path tool
Switch to the Text tool
Switch to the Line tool
Switch to the Image tool
Future Thinking
Drag and drop images
Add a library of draggable "battlemap dressing" images
Add a library of pre-built dungeon development objects (doors, stairs, etc.)
Merge shapes/layers/points
The Cell Edit mode allows Storytellers to add or remove traits to individual cells on a Board. You can do this individually with taps or quickly using a "paint" method.
When active, a grid will be displayed on the Board, regardless of the Board's grid display settings.
Clicking on the toolbar's "X" button or hitting the ESCAPE key will exit the mode.
Select a cell trait from the types on the right.
Tap any cell to add (or remove) the trait from the cell.
Hold down the SHIFT key and move the mouse to quickly 'paint' the trait into Cells.
The Whiteboard allows all Players to draw on the surface of the Board. You can select the weight of the pen or eraser as well as the color of the ink used.
Note: When this mode is active, click-and-drag on the Board will not work.
Clicking on the toolbar's "X" button or hitting the ESCAPE key will exit the mode.
Toggles between Pen and Eraser.
Determines width of line.
Determines the color of the Pen.
Determines the color of the Stroke's Shadow.
Clears the Whiteboard of all images
Hold the SHIFT key for straight lines.
Use this mode to add or remove Fog-of-War from the Board. Fog-of-War will hide content from the Players: Tokens, Flags, and even Whiteboard text.
The color of a Board's Fog-of-War can be set from the Board's Board Settings tool.
When active, a grid will be displayed on the Board, regardless of the Board's grid display settings.
Clicking on the toolbar's "X" button or hitting the ESCAPE key will exit the mode.
Fill the entire Board with Fog.
Remove all Fog from the Board.
Enter tap-and-paint mode for adding Fog.
Click or tap on a cell to remove it's Fog.
Hold down the SHIFT key and move the mouse to quickly remove Fog.
Enter tap-and-paint mode for removing Fog.
Click or tap on a cell to add Fog to it.
Hold down the SHIFT key and move the mouse to quickly paint Fog into place.
Future Thinking
The ability to edit the color of the Fog should be included in the toolbar. This is currently included in the Board Settings screen.
Sections
A Player Character is an entity that is controlled by a Member of the Tabletop who is not the Storyteller (characters controlled by the Storyteller are called non-player characters).
The Party is the group of all Player Characters in the Tabletop. A single player or member of the Tabletop may own or control multiple Player Characters.
A Player Character's "owner" is best described as "the Member of the Tabletop who most often operates that character" but we shall use "owner" for sake of convenience. The owner is granted all permissions by default.
The color associated with a Player Character is blue.
Sections
Player Characters are unique to the Tabletop they are created within. Games can have multiple playable types of characters and these can be given different names (e.g., "Robot", or "Animal", as opposed to simply "Character").
Storytellers are able to change the permissions of a Tabletop to prevent Players from creating Player Characters. If you are unable to find the correct "New Character" buttons, ask your Storyteller to create one for you.
Player Characters can be created in several ways:
From the Tabletop Profile
Scroll to the Character list and click the button labeled "New Character". This will open a dialog that asks for the title of your new Character. This will open a new, untitled Character Window. This character will not be saved until it has been modified (e.g., given a name, or any other content).
The label for the button may be different, depending upon the Game, or there may be multiple buttons if there are multiple kinds of playable entities.
From the Tabletop Player Character Library
You can get to the Player Character library by clicking the "Characters" button from a Tabletop profile page or the "View Library" link in the character list.
Click the button labeled "New Character". This will open a dialog that asks for the title of your new Character. This will open a new, untitled Character Window. This character will not be saved until it has been modified (e.g., given a name, or any other content).
The label for the button may be different, depending upon the Game, or there may be multiple buttons if there are multiple kinds of playable entities.
In the Gamespace
Open the Party Flyout and click the appropriate "New Character" button. This will open a new, untitled Character Window. This character will not be saved until it has been modified (e.g., given a name, or any other content).
Player Characters have two permissions each: Operate and Edit.
The Operate permission allows a Tabletop Member to Operate the character. This includes making die rolls, tests, and engaging in combat on behalf of the character, and editing any fields or attributes on the character that the Game has marked as "volatile" (such as initiative or current health).
The Edit permission grants the ability to make changes to any and all fields in the character as well as all rights granted by the Operate permission (this obviates said permission, but they are seen atomically).
To edit a Player Character's permissions, you click on the "Edit Permissions" button in that character's Character Window or from the Character's Profile page.
The Party Flyout lists all the Player Characters that are in use in the Tabletop. Additional information is provided for each (such as the operating Member).
Some fields may be defined by the specific Game being played, or are left as access for a Player Character's short description attribute.
Depending on Member role or permissions, additional actions, such as commands to operate the character.
Character Profile Screen
Outside of the Gamespace, every character has a profile page, which also serves as a character sheet.
In the Gamespace
Inside the Gamespace, a character sheet can be opened as a window that docks to the sidebar.
A Player Character Window is a docked window that serves as the single-view "character sheet" for the character in question. The specific configuration of this sheet depends on the Game in question.
In Operation
When operating a character, the character sheet is integrated into the virtual tabletop interface. See the section on Character Operation for how this works.
Player Characters may be deployed to a Board by dragging the avatar of the Player Character in question onto the Board from the Party Flyout.
Player Characters can only be deployed to one Board at a time.
Actions within the appropriate "ondrop" triggers will fire for dropped tokens.
Documents and handouts are an important part of any game experience. Documents can be rich-text files or uploaded PDF documents.
Documents have fine-grained permissions. When created, Documents have restricted permissions by default and other players must be granted the ability to see them. This can be done within the Gamespace via the Document Window.
The color code for Documents is purple.
Document Types
There are multiple types of Documents that can be created:
A Rich Text document consists of formatted text.
A Scratchpad is a simple drawing surface.
A PDF document is an uploaded PDF file.
A Structured document follows a specific format, much like a Character Sheet, and is defined by the individual needs of a Game (for instance, a "headquarters" sheet).
Sections
Documents are unique to the Tabletop they are created within. Some Games will automatically import Documents (such as handout images) upon creation of a Tabletop for them.
Storytellers are able to change the permissions of a Tabletop to prevent Players from creating documents. If you are unable to find the "New Document" buttons, ask your Storyteller to create one for you.
New Documents are created with restricted permissions: only Storytellers and owners will be able to see and edit them.
If the New Document button is missing, then the Tabletop is set to disallow Document creation by Players (Observers may never create Documents). See Document Permissions for how to change this.
Documents can be created in several ways:
From the Tabletop Profile
Scroll to the Document list and click the button labeled "New Document". This will open a menu that allows you to choose the type of Document you want to create. Selecting a Document type will then open a dialog that asks for the title of your new Document. Once you've given the Document a title, you will be brought to the Document edit page.
Dragging and dropping an HTML file or PDF into profile page will also create a new document (text or asset, depending).
From the Tabletop Document Library
You can get to the Document library by clicking the "Documents" button from a Tabletop profile page or the "View Library" link in the document list.
Click the button labeled "New Document". This will open a menu that allows you to choose the type of Document you want to create. Selecting a Document type will then open a dialog that asks for the title of your new Document. Once you've given the Document a title, you will be brought to the Document edit page.
Dragging and dropping an HTML file or PDF into profile page will also create a new document (text or asset, depending).
Click the button labeled "New Document". This will open a dialog that asks for the title of your new Document. Once you've given the Document a title, you will be brought to the Document edit page.
Dragging and dropping an HTML file or PDF into the library page will also create a new document (text or asset, depending).
From within the Gamespace
To create a new Document, open the Document Flyout and click the button labeled "New Document". This will open a menu that allows you to choose the type of Document you want to create. This will open a new, untitled Document window. This Document will not be saved until it has been modified (e.g., given a name, or any content)
Documents have the following basic permissions attached to them:
The ability to create a Document is typically granted to all Members, but Storytellers can disable this functionality at the Tabletop level.
The ability to view a Document is granted by Storytellers or the Document owner. This can be set to as "All Members".
The ability to edit a Document is granted by Storytellers or the Document owner. This can be set to as "All Members".
This is included in the "edit" permission.
To change an individual Document's permissions, open its Window from the Document Flyout and click the "Change Permissions" button. If the button does not exist, you do not have the authority to modify its permissions.
The Documents Flyout opens to contain a list of Documents that the viewer has visibility to.
Each line can show the following information:
The title of the document itself
The Document's basic permissions (if it's Storyteller only)
Any tags applied to the Document
A control to add the Document to your favorites (or remove it).
Clicking on the Document's title will open that Document's Window.
Clicking the Star icon will mark it as a favorite and create a shortcut to the Document at the top of the Flyout.
Like other Flyouts, the contents can be filtered using the search box or by clicking on a tag.
A Document Window allows you to read or edit a Document or handout.
If the viewer has "edit" permission, the window will show the Document in a rich text editor. Otherwise, it will display as an HTML document.
Storytellers and owners will have the following controls:
Forces the Document open on all Member screens. This also sets permissions to "all view".
Opens the permissions edit platter.
Begins the Document deletion workflow (requires confirmation).
Sections
The Gamespace is the full virtual tabletop engine and where the bulk of the action in your play sessions will occur.
Sections
This page describes various parts of the Gamespace and their functions. We'll start with a general overview of the Gamespace's functional ideology and then describe sections in more depth.
Layout Overview
The Gamespace interface is laid out in functional sections:
Tools that describe or can affect the current status of the Game and/or its encounters.
In Diceweaver, characters are "operated" - this is where those controls are.
Controls and data elements that can manipulate or describe the current environment.
Collections of several types of information that is not immediate.
What's happened before, in the far-and-recent past.
The map is not the terrain.
The Top Bar
The Top Bar contains several widgets and controls. Some may or may not be present, based on the Game being played, or the permissions of the viewer.
Exit and Help
In the extreme upper left of the Gamespace are two buttons. The purple one exits the Gamespace and returns you to the Lobby. The "help" button does exactly that: it opens a menu with options for reading the full and detailed Manual and a "tell me about this bit" system.
The Turn Tracker
The Turn Tracker can be present in Games that have a turn order, initiative order, or list of actions that can happen. The Turn Tracker manages the current number of that turn, as well as sorting all active characters (those deployed to the Board) by their position in that order.
For more information, see the section on the Turn Tracker
The Target Pane
Many actions that a character can do require a Target to be focused. These actions are not limited to combat; for instance, many games require opposed skill actions, or casting a healing spell may need to be targeted as well.
For more information, see the section on the Target Pane
The Actions Flyout
The Actions Flyout is a Storyteller-only menu widget that includes actions that can be taken on the current Board, such as starting or stopping combat, rolling initiative for the entire Board, and so forth.
For more information, see the section on the Actions Flyout
Operations Center
In Diceweaver, players operate and inhabit their characters. This is true for Players and Storytellers alike: Players can operate characters they have been given control to, while Storytellers can operate any character.
For more information, see the section on the Character Operation.
Tabletop Log
The Tabletop Log will show a running log of activity within the Tabletop and its sessions. This is typically die rolls or gameplay tests, but also chat and other actions appear in the feed.
Posts
A Tabletop Log Post marks a singular event in the Tabletop Log. There are many kinds of Posts that can appear, and each may have its own appearance or message. Common types are:
Chat text, in or out of character.
A notification of a private chat message.
The results of a singular die test.
A die roll used to test versus a value, such as skill ranks.
A die roll used to test in combat, which may have a damage workflow.
A post that may or may not have additional steps, such as a combat roll being followed by a damage roll.
Action Items
From time to time, you may find yourself with an Action Item, such as making additional rolls. When this happens, a sidebar flag will appear. Clicking on this flag will scroll the sidebar to the location of the post that requires attention.
The specific actions available inside a post that requires action depend on the Game that is being played. There are usually two options, one of which is Game-related, and the other simply resolves the workflow without further action.
Storytellers have access to all of these posts and can resolve them in any way they choose. There exists an action to clear all unresolved one.
Alert Box
The Alert Box will let you know if a Character on the Board that you control can take a turn. You may immediately switch to operating this character by clicking the "Operate" button.
Storytellers will always be alerted to character turns, including Player Characters.
Chat
The Chat Input Pane is a text input field at the bottom of the sidebar. You can enter chat or execute various commands, such as dice rolling or private messaging.
See full list of chat macros and commands for more information.
Settings Menu
The Settings Menu allows you to make small adjustments to how the Gamespace operates, to taste.
Adjust to taste.
Scrollwheel zoom functionality can conflict with certain touch controlled mice so disabling it may be desirable.
Alters the current Gamespace to be Projection Mode.
Dice Trays
Some Games have been configured to include one or more Dice Trays. Dice Trays open as Windows and are usually configured to roll dice according to the Game being played. Dice Trays can be configured as "Personal" - where only the one who opens the Tray can contribute to it, or "Public" - where anyone in the Tabletop can contribute to it.
For more information, see the section on Dice Trays
Window Dock
You may find that you open many windows and want to quickly find them again. All windows will stack along the edge of the Sidebar where they are able to be quickly seen.
When minimized, hovering the mouse near the window's icon will reveal its title.
There are many types of windows, including but not limited to: Documents, Players, Character Sheets, NPC Templates, Catalogs, Dice Trays, and even Help Documents.
Library Flyouts
Along the bottom are a series of Library Flyout buttons. These provide access to Tabletop-level items, such as Documents, Characters, Catalogs, Boards, and so forth. Storytellers may have additional Library options.
For more information, see the section on Flyouts
Board Data
The Board Data panel shows the name of the currently focused Board as well as providing a brief description to the Players when expanded.
The "Close Board" button will close the current Board (revealing a Hexstorm). Storytellers can access the Board Settings via a button here as well.
Vaporizer
When dragging a Token or a Flag, the Vaporizer will appear. Drop the dragged item into the Vaporizer and it will be removed from the Board.
Flags and Non-Player Characters will be immediately annihilated - gone forever, consumed by the void. Player Characters will be undeployed.
Only Storytellers can vaporize Player Characters or Non-Player Characters, but anyone can vaporize a Flag.
Zoom Controls
The Zoom Controls allow you to increase or decrease the magnification of the focused Board.
The top button, with a "plus" sign, increases the visible magnification, while the "minus" button decreases it. The center button - a focus crosshair - will cause the map to center and set its zoom level to 1.
It is not possible to zoom out beyond the borders of the map surface - that is, zooming out is disabled when the entire map is contained within the Gamespace window.
In Diceweaver, players operate and inhabit their characters. This is true for Players and Storytellers alike: Players can operate characters they have been given control to, while Storytellers can operate any character.
When operating a character, the Gamespace reconfigures slightly to show the abilities, actions, and attributes associated with the character being operated. The content of various Character Flyouts will change as well as the Slug and Avatar.
Operating a character can be done in several ways:
By selecting the character from the Actor Palette
By clicking the "Operate" button for the character in the Party Flyout or the Actors Flyout
Clicking the "Operate" button in the character's Window
Selecting "Operate" from the character's Token Menu
Selecting "Operate" when prompted in the Alertbox
Character Slug
The character Slug provides quick access to basic and important information about the character that you are currently operating. The slug consists of three major elements:
The Character Avatar, which is the image of the character being operated.
The Character's Name plate. Clicking on this will open the character's sheet window.
The Status Row, which includes various important attributes about your Character. These status elements are variable and change depending on the game you are playing. They are often directly editable.
The Avatar
This is the token image of the character you are currently operating. If you are not currently operating a character, this area will display your personal avatar.
Favorites Panel
The Favorites Panel allows you to quickly access "bookmarked" actions for the currently active character.
Different games allow for different actions or items to be marked as Favorite. To toggle an item or action as a Favorite, simply click the item's Star icon from the appropriate collection flyout or on the character sheet.
Favorites are stored per-character. They require edit permission to add or remove but operate permission to use.
Character Flyouts
Weapons, spells, skills, gear, and other items that are considered part of a "collection" (a character can have more than one of the items) can be added to characters in multiple ways.
Depending on the Game and its configuration, the actions available within a specific collection flyout can change. Some items will allow for actions directly (such as running tests).
Some items may be added to the Favorites Panel for quick access. Click the star on the item's entry to add the item to your Favorites.
Individual items can be edited by clicking on the Pencil icon.
Adding Items
Collection items can be added to characters in multiple ways:
By opening the appropriate Catalog Window and then dragging the item to the corresponding flyout
Opening the Character Window, scroll to the section in question, and then click "Browse Catalog", which will open a docked version of the appropriate Catalog
Clicking "Add Item" (if available) from the appropriate Collection Flyout
Catalog Windows for collections can be opened from the appropriate Collection Flyout (a "Browse Catalog" button in the footer), or from the "Catalogs" tab in the Document Flyout.
Actor Palette
The Actor Palette allows you to quickly switch operating characters that you control.
Hovering over the control will cause it to expand, revealing all available characters. For most players this will be one or two characters; however, Storytellers have the ability to operate any character, so their list is comprehensive.
Only Non-Player Characters who are deployed on the current Board will appear in this list, but all Player Characters will.
A button at the bottom, labeled "Release," will cause you to stop operating any character.
Releasing Characters
If you want to release operation of any character, open the Actor Palette by hovering over the area and then click the "Release" button.
A Flag is a lightweight pointer that can be placed on a Board to mark and/or label a location on the Board.
A Flag can have a color, icon, and short text. Colors and icons are selectable from pre-defined swatches.
Any Player may create, edit, or delete a Flag. There are no permission distinctions as they are extremely lightweight.
Creating a Flag
Creating a Flag is simple and requires no special permissions:
Double-click anywhere inside of the Board. A Flag will be immediately created, with default text, which will be automatically focused.
Editing a Flag
The text of a Flag may be changed by double-clicking the text area of the Flag and entering new text.
You can open the Flag Menu by double-clicking the Flag's icon on the Gameboard. This will enter
Changes the Flag's color scheme.
Change the Flag's icon.
Sets a colored circle around the flag equal to a number the map cells.
Makes this Flag visible and editable to Storyteller's only.
Prevents the Flag from being edited.
A Storyteller function, this will center the Flag on the member's screens.
Removes the Flag from the Board
Storyteller Notes
Flags have some Storyteller-only fields, useful for helping define future encounters, like in a hexcrawl. These fields are not visible to non-storytellers.
The current fields are spread over three tabs:
Two fields, Description and Features.
Two fields, Inhabitants and Hazards.
A single field, Treasure
Deleting Flags
Flags can be deleted in the following ways:
Open the Flag Edit Panel and click the "Delete" button. This will be immediate and will have no confirmation step, or
Drag the Flag into the Vaporizer, which will appear while the flag is dragged. This will be immediate and will have no confirmation step.
Focusing Flags
A Storyteller can cause all connected players to focus their Gamespace on a specific Flag. If the player has the current Board as their focus, they will scroll and pan to the center the Flag. If they do not have the Board as their focus, the Board will become focused, and then the Flag will be panned to.
Flags can be focused in two ways:
Open the Flag Menu and click the "Focus Players" button, or
Open the Flag Flyout and click the "Focus Players" button next to the Flag you wish to focus.
Flag Flyout
The Flag Flyout provides quick access to all Flags placed on the current Board. Clicking on any entry will quickly zoom to that location.
Storytellers have the ability to force the Tabletop to focus on a Flag from the Flyout.
Like other Flyouts, the contents of the Flag Flyout can be filtered using the searchbox at the top.
Checking this option will cause all Flags to be visually hidden. It will not delete them.
Future Thinking
There are many planned improvements and additions to the Flag system:
They should probably not have text by default.
Actionable Flags (e.g., Flags that have menus of actions)
Triggerable Flags (e.g., Flags that can cause other things to happen)
Tokens are the representation of a controllable character (or entity). Tokens represent both player- and non-player controlled characters.
Tokens can be moved on the Board by those who have operating permissions for the character.
Deploying Tokens
Tokens may be deployed to Board by dragging the avatar of the character in question onto the Board.
Player Characters are dragged out of the Party Flyout. Player Characters can only be deployed to one Board at a time.
Non-Player Characters are pulled out of the NPCs Flyout. When an NPC is dropped onto the Board, a new instance of the Template it is based on is created.
Actions within the appropriate "ondrop" triggers will fire for dropped tokens.
Moving Tokens
Move a Token on the Board by clicking (or tapping) and holding, and then dragging the Token to its new place on the Board. You can only move Tokens for characters that you have Operate permission for.
Removing Tokens
Tokens can be removed from a Board in the following ways:
By clicking "Remove" on the token's Menu (below); or
By dropping a token into the Vaporizer; or
By clicking the "Clear Tokens" button (if available) from the Actions Flyout
Token Menus
Some Games define menus and secondary actions for tokens. Clicking or tapping on a token will open the menu and/or status blocks for the Token. Some items in the menu are only available to the Storyteller.
Token Properties
Access to the Token Properties dialog is available from the Token Menu. There are two tabs: Conditions and Size.
Setting a Condition will add an icon to the token. You can set multiple conditions on a token.
Setting a Size changes the, uh, size of the token. If multiple sizes are set, the larger one overrides.
Token Images
You can change a Token's image in the following ways:
By clicking "Change Image" from the token's Menu; or
By Operating the entity and clicking the "Change Image" button in the Slug image; or
By opening the entity's Character Sheet and then clicking "Change Image" in the character sheet window icon
Along the bottom are a series of Library Flyout buttons. These provide access to Tabletop-level items, such as Documents, Characters, Catalogs, Boards, and so forth. Storytellers may have additional Library options.
Each type of Flyout has its own page that can be visited for more information.
Members Flyout
This flyout panel allows interaction with the Tabletop's other Members. Clicking on a Member's name will open a window for private messages.
Storytellers have additional options to invite new members or to quickly 'ping' a Player (causes their screen to flash).
For more information, see the Members Flyout Section
Party Flyout
The Party Flyout lists the Player Characters who are in the Tabletop. Clicking on a Character's name will open its Character Sheet as a Window. If you have permission, you can quickly switch to operating the Character.
Storytellers are also capable of deploying Characters to the current Board by dragging on their token and pulling it into the Board.
For more information, see the Party Flyout.
Documents Flyout
The Documents Flyout shows the Documents and handouts that are visible to the viewer. Clicking on a Document's name will open its view and edit window.
For more information, see the page on the Document Flyout
Catalogs Flyout
Players can view the various Catalogs that they have permission to see. Viewing a Catalog or Collection can be done by clicking on its name, which will open it in a Catalog Window.
The Catalog Flyout has two tabs: one for a "Collection" view and one for a "Catalog" view.
For more information, see the page on the Catalogs Flyout
Boards Flyout
Players can view the various Boards that they have permission to see. Switching to a Board is done by simply clicking on its name.
Boards can be marked as a favorite and will appear at the top of the Flyout for quick access if so.
For more information, see the page on the Boards Flyout
Flags Flyout
The Flags Flyout shows the Flags that are visible on the current Board. Clicking on a Flags's name will center the Board on its location.
For more information, see the page on Flags
Threats Flyout
The Threats Flyout is only available to Storytellers. It displays non-player character templates.
Like the Party Flyout, a threat can be deployed to the current Board by dragging and dropping its token onto the Board. Doing so will create a fully-realized instance of the Threat as a Storyteller controlled character.
Threats can be marked as a favorite and will appear at the top of the Flyout for quick access if so.
For more information, see the page on the Threats Flyout
Most roleplaying games have a concept of "combat" or other turn-based activity. Managing this is done through the Turn Tracker.
The Turn Tracker can be present in Games that have a turn order, initiative order, or list of actions that can happen. The Turn Tracker manages the current number of that turn, as well as sorting all active characters (those deployed to the Board) by their position in that order.
If "combat mode" is not active, the Turn Tracker has no options for anyone other than the Storyteller: the ability to start combat mode. Clicking the "Start Combat" button will bring the Board into combat mode. This will automatically roll initiative for every token or character present on the Board already and load their turns into the display.
All tokens that are added to the Board (by dragging and dropping them from the flyouts) will have their initiative automatically rolled.
Outside of combat mode, the Turn Tracker has the following primary elements:
This displays the number of the current turn. Storytellers may set the turn directly using this box.
This displays the characters and when they act in the current round, with the most current acting character (the one whose turn it is) is shown largest, with the next person shown slightly smaller and to the right, with the remaining order following.
Only visible to Storytellers, clicking this button exits combat mode. Scrolling to the left or right reveals the full list. A Storyteller can increment or decrement the Current Turn by clicking on either Arrow button on the sides.
Storytellers may quickly advance the turn forward or backwards using one of the two arrow buttons. Players whose turn it is are shown an Alert Box immediately preceding their turn and during.
Many actions that a character can do require a Target to be focused. These actions are not limited to combat; for instance, many games require opposed skill actions, or casting a healing spell may need to be targeted as well.
The Target Pane shows the character that is being targeted by your current character.
You can switch or select a target by:
Double-clicking on any token in the Board; or
Opening the Actors Flyout (click the masks icon) and selecting an entry as a target
Deselect your target by clicking the "x" icon inside of the Target Pane.
The Actors Flyout button opens to a list of all the characters (player- and storyteller-controlled) that are present on the current Board.
The Actors Flyout opens from within the .
There are interactive elements in this flyout. Access to them is based on permissions.
Can be directly edited by a Storyteller
Makes this entity the target of the operated character.
If you have permission, you can directly operate the entity.
Future Thinking
It would be great to drag-and-drop actions around.
Future plans for this mostly lie around turning this list (and some other Board level items) into an additional column on the right side of the Gamespace if the screen real-estate allows.
The Actions Flyout is a Storyteller-only menu widget that includes actions that can be taken on the current Board, such as starting or stopping combat, rolling initiative for the entire Board, and so forth.
Which actions the menu contains -- and even if the menu is available at all -- depend on the Game's configuration settings.
Commonly included actions are:
Removes all deployed Tokens from the active Board
Removes all deployed Flags from the active Board
If there are any unresolved actions (they can stack up) this will close them all out.
Enter (or exit) "combat mode", depending. This only appears if the Game defines that it has combat.
Players can send Private Messages to one another. This is most often used by the Storyteller to co-ordinate secret actions or conversations with other players.
When you receive a Private Message, it will appear as a clickable prompt in the feed. Clicking on the prompt will open a Window for communications with the sender, where the message can be read or responded to.
Private conversations can be most easily initiated simply by opening the Window for the Player you wish to talk to from inside the Players Flyout. They can also be started using the Chat Bar.
Future Thinking
Private conversations between multiple users, rather than one-on-one, would be useful.
Finer grained functionality around allowing private messages at all within a Tabletop
Public Tabletops should have message threads visible to others than just the recipients (e.g., Storyteller) for safety
Same for games with minors, or set as such, to prevent players from harassing each other
Message timeouts (for the same reason)
The built-in chat system that has several macro commands.
Chat
Simply enter text into the Chat Input Pane and it will be broadcast to other players in the Tabletop. This text can be formatted or focused as well.
Inside a chat message, text can be formatted:
_text_ "text" will be italicized
*text* "text" will be bolded
~text~ "text" will be struck through
To speak as the character you are operating, begin your text with a backtick (`) character.
To turn your text into an action, begin the text with /a, /act, /action, or /me.
Message
You can send private messages directly to another Player. Doing so will additionally open the Player Window.
@username <private message text>
/msg username <private message text>
/s username <private message text>
/m username <private message text>
Dice
Dice can be automatically rolled from the chat input. The dice will be rolled as the operated character or if there is none, as the user.
Several die commands have alternate versions.
or Rolls a pool of dice, where $X is the count and $Y is the size of the die pool. This returns all of the dice individually. By default, the value will be the Sum of the die pool.
or Rolls a pool of dice, where $X is the count, $Y is the size of the die pool, and the optional argument $Z is the success threshold (if not provided, assumes the maximum value of the die face). This returns the rolled pool and returns the "success count" in the pool.
or Roll a standard Fudge or Fate pool of 4 dice
or Executes a die roll. If the $DIE is a defined die, it will roll the definition. Otherwise, it will parse "dX" where "X" is the number of sides in the die, and can be any number.
Rolls $DIE as a pool with Advantage. This also accepts the following keys: aadadv
Rolls $DIE as a pool with Disadvantage. This also accepts the following keys: ddisdisad
Future Thinking
Many things are planned improvements for the dice system:
/request username test command
API access
Macro support
Better handling of URLS
Redactable text
Editable chat message
Projection Mode is a view of the Gamespace designed to be broadcast for group and in-person gaming, such as a large television. Projection mode is "display only" and the interface is limited to the Log, the Turn Tracker, and the Tactical Board.
Projection Mode can be accessed from the Tabletop Profile Page or the Gamespace Settings Menu.
Follow the instructions for your casting or projection device to put the window up.
Some Games have been configured to include one or more Dice Trays. Dice Trays open as Windows and are usually configured to roll dice according to the Game being played. Dice Trays can be configured as "Personal" - where only the one who opens the Tray can contribute to it, or "Public" - where anyone in the Tabletop can contribute to it.
Dice Trays will have one or more tabs of dice types that can be added to the Tray. These collections are defined by the Game being played.
Group Dice Trays
When a Group Tabletop Tray is opened a notification is sent to everyone in the Gamespace, inviting them to open the window and add to it. Players (and the Storyteller) can add dice to the pool. Each die is marked with who added it, and can be removed by clicking the "x" button.
Group Trays can be rolled by the person who opened it or the Storyteller. If the pool isn't configured for a specific test, it will return all dice added.
The Lobby is where you first arrive after logging in - it's the home page, and you can get there at any time by clicking the Diceweaver logo in the upper left.
A Member is a participant of the Tabletop whose role is not "Spectator". Member roles can be "Storyteller" or "Player". Storytellers effectively have complete control and vision into the Tabletop.
All Tabletop Members are unique Diceweaver users.
The color associated with Members is orange.
Membership Management
Tabletops can have multiple Storytellers! Players can be promoted to being a Storyteller and Storytellers can be demoted to being players again. See the section on Storytellers for more information.
Removing Members
Players may be removed from a Tabletop in several ways, but only by a Storyteller. If the Tabletop is private, removing a player will end their access to any information about the Tabletop. Removing a player does not prevent them from accessing Observer mode.
Any characters, Documents, or other Assets assigned to the removed player will be re-assigned to a Storyteller.
In the Gamespace, the player's window provides an option, or
From the Tabletop profile screen, a Storyteller can remove a player directly from their entry in the Player list, or
If the invitation to the Tabletop is still unclaimed, it may be revoked from the player's entry in the Player list.
Pinging Members
In the Gamespace, If a Member appears to be absent and their input is needed, a Storyteller may send a "ping" to them in order to attract their attention. This action creates a light flashing effect on the Member's screen.
Players may be pinged in two ways:
From the Members Flyout, you can click on the "Ping" action next to the Member's entry, or
From the Member's window, as an action in the footer.
Future Thinking
Members should be able to set per-Tabletop cloaks.
Additional roles beyond "Storyteller," "Player," and "Observer" are planned, starting with "Manager". Additionally, the concept of the Tabletop "Founder" (the person who created the Tabletop) as being distinct from its manager or Storyteller is also planned.
Players should be able to be blocked from a Tabletop by a Storyteller.
Sections
The Members Flyout opens to display a list of the Tabletop's Members. Each line can show the following information:
Displayed member roles are either Storyteller or Player.
If the Member's profile is private, this will be marked.
A dual-circle icon that indicates the Member's relationship with your Circle and them yours.
Clicking on the Member's username will open that Member's Window.
Additional actions, such as Messaging or Pinging, may be available, depending on Role within the Tabletop.
The Member Window can be accessed by through the Players Flyout by clicking on the member's name or by clicking the "Message" button in their entry.
This window allows users to share private messages with each other.
Storytellers have the following options as well:
Sends a screen flash.
Promotes or demotes.
Begins the removal process.
Future Thinking
This window will get further fleshed out with additional controls, such as Adding or Removing from your Circle, and other social mechanisms.
Members may be messaged privately in several ways. The easiest is through the Member window, which can be accessed by clicking on the Member's name in the Members Flyout.
Alternatively, a private message conversation can be started through the Chat Input Pane using a key macro:
@username <private message text>
/msg username <private message text>
/s username <private message text>
/m username <private message text>
Non-Player Characters, or NPCs, are characters that are controlled by the Storyteller. These characters are often, but not always, antagonists to the Player Characters. Nearly every game has the concept of an NPC.
Mechanically, NPCs usually have access to the same statistics, powers, and abilities of Player Characters. However, they often have additional fields that help the Storyteller understand the type of NPC they are working with.
Sections
Storytellers can create new NPC Templates from the NPC Flyout. In the flyout footer, there will be one or more buttons to start the template creation process (some games have multiple kinds of actionable characters, so there will be a button for each).
Clicking the appropriate button will open a small dialog, which will ask for a name for the NPC template. Once this is entered, the Template is created, and a Template Window will be opened for more direct editing of the NPC template.
NPC Templates have additional metadata beyond what is defined by the game engine. These include:
A character's politics is given in relation to the party
This allows you easily gauge the combat prowess of a given NPC at a glance.
It is useful to have tags for large catalogs of NPCs
NPC metadata is editable via a button on the footer of a NPC template window.
Future Thinking
You should be able to edit metadata on deployed instances.
The NPC Flyout is a list view into the entire catalog of NPCs available.
A Non-Player Character can be deployed to the current focused Board from this flyout.
The information listed can vary each entry depends on the Game being played. but common items include Tags, Politics, and Threat level (which are meta attributes.
Threats may be marked as favorites. If so, quick access to the NPC will appear at the top of the flyout.
The NPC Template Window allows a Storyteller to examine and edit a particular NPC template.
NPC Templates are not the same thing as the character sheet of a deployed NPC: deployed NPCs are instantiated and completely divorced from their templates at that time. Editing a Template will not change any existing instances of the NPC.
NPC Templates cannot be operated, so drag-and-drop collection management is not available for them.
An NPC's template is most quickly opened from the NPC Flyout by clicking on the name of the NPC.
A Storyteller may deploy or place new NPC instances by dragging the NPC's Avatar from the NPC Flyout. The NPC Avatar will change shape to a circle and show grip dots to indicate that it can be dragged onto the board.
Upon drop, a fully-realized instance of the NPC Template will be created on the Gameboard. These are now "real" characters who have their own character sheets and can be operated.
If the game defines any actions for token drops (such as rolling initiative), these will happen at this time.
Future Thinking
Some ideas about token deployment in the future include:
Set tokens to be player-invisible until the Storyteller flips a switch
A Tabletop is a group of people who are playing a Game (Games are rules system, such as "Dungeons and Dragons", "Prowlers and Paragons", or "Tales from the Loop") together. Tabletops typically have a focus story, called a campaign, that serves as the main plot for the Players and the Storyteller. There are often Assets, such as Documents and Boards, that are shared with or included in the Tabletop in support of the Campaign.
Tabletops are social structures. They have their own privacy and membership rules. You must always be invited to join a Tabletop by one of its Storytellers - even public ones that are looking for players.
The Storyteller
A Tabletop's Storyteller is the member that is generally in charge with running the game. "Storyteller" is a role: they are the person who manages the Tabletop's membership, creates the story, manages non-player characters, Boards, Catalogs, Documents, and so forth - pretty much everything.
Tabletops can have multiple Storytellers.
More information about the Storyteller role can be found in the Storyteller section.
Further information about a Tabletop's membership roles can be found in the Membership section.
Tabletop Profile Screen
Every Tabletop has its own dashboard that shows the assets that have been included or imported into it, such as Documents, Boards, Characters, Catalogs, and so forth.
As Storyteller, Tabletops can be customized here by adding a description, uploading images and documents, and changing settings.
View and edit rights to the various assets obey all the permissions as set inside of the Gamespace
Helpful Terms
The rules or system of the game that the Tabletop is playing.
A story or module that the Tabletop is currently exploring. A Tabletop can explore multiple campaigns and modules.
Notes and possible warnings about your Tabletop's storylines so that your Players know what to expect.
The person or persons responsible for shepherding the Tabletop's storyline. Storytellers have extra permissions in the Tabletop. Usually this is also the Tabletop's founder.
Any person who is a Storyteller or Player in the Tabletop.
A member of the Tabletop who is not the Storyteller.
The person who originally created the Tabletop. This is usually but not always the Storyteller.
A person who is browsing a Tabletop that has Spectator Mode enabled, but is not a Member.
A play surface - usually a map - used within a Tabletop. Tabletops can have many Boards. Boards have state.
A handout, PDF, or other text document that has been created within or shared with the Tabletop.
Sections
Every Tabletop has an associated profile page that displays information about the Tabletop. What's visible and actionable depends on if the Tabletop is public or private, has Observer Mode enabled, or if the viewer is Member of the Tabletop or not.
Possible Actions
Loads the Gamespace for this Tabletop.
Opens a version of the Gamespace that is designed for group view (e.g., no characters, flyouts, etc.)
Opens the "Leave Tabletop" process.
Only if the value for this has been set.
Only if the viewer is a Storyteller.
Only if the viewer is a Storyteller.
Permission Variants
What's visible and actionable on a Tabletop profile page depends on if the Tabletop is public or private, has Observer Mode enabled, or if the viewer is Member of the Tabletop or not.
Members
Members (both players and Storytellers) are able to view all data. Storytellers are able to edit anything. Players may edit only the Characters or Documents they have permission to.
Additional actions are present for Tabletop Members: Connect and Play, Project Gamespace, Leave Tabletop
Storytellers
Storytellers have access to all data and actions that Players have (above), with the addition of the fact that any data can be edited.
Further, Storytellers have additional actions: Invite Players and Edit Settings.
Public Tabletop, Observer Mode
If the Tabletop has Observer Mode enabled, the Tabletop profile will show the public information (Description, Tags, Privace/Experience Settings, Founding Information, and Content Flags).
Additionally, viewers will be able to see the lists of Player Characters, Documents, Boards, Catalogs, and Members. They will be able to navigate between galleries, but will not be able to edit or change any data.
They will not have access to information that is not public to all players in the Tabletop.
Public Tabletop, Non-Observer Mode
If the Tabletop is public but without Observer Mode, the Tabletop profile will show the public information (Description, Tags, Privace/Experience Settings, Founding Information, and Content Flags).
No navigation elements will be visible, since assets are only visible to Members or Observers.
Private Tabletop
If the Tabletop is set to private, it will return a "not found" error if non-members attempt to view it.
From the global navigation bar, you can access the Tabletops silo. The Tabletops silo is a focused hub for Tabletops - but not usually yours.
Future Thinking
This page is really schizophrenic. There should probably be access to your own Tabletops - but then doing that makes it a clone of the Lobby in many ways.
This help page sucks. It speaks to the schizoid and mostly useless nature of this page. It's existence is almost entirely based on a logical completion rather than need.
There are several routes to creating a Tabletop, but the primary way is from the Lobby.
Note that Games that are in "Early Access" or "Pre-Release" status require a subscription to create Tabletops from.
Via the Lobby
There are many ways to create a Tabletop from within the Lobby (the Diceweaver homepage):
From a button at the top of the Lobby screen
By searching for a specific Game using the Search
By clicking on a "get started" banner.
Via the Tabletop Silo
A Tabletop creation button is also available on the Tabletop Silo Page.
Via a Game Listing
Anywhere there is a list of Games, the entries will have "Create Tabletop" buttons.
Via a Game Profile Page
On individual Game Profile Pages there will be a button to create a Tabletop.
The Tabletop Creation Dialog
Once you've gotten to the Tabletop Creation Dialog, it's only a few steps:
Select the Game you wish to play from the list (if you start the dialog from a Game list entry or profile screen, this will be pre-selected). Note that you can change the selection.
Give your Tabletop a name.
Poof! You've created a Tabletop!
Closing the dialog will dump you into the Tabletop's profile page. and automatically open a dialog for inviting members.
Tabletops are locked down and private upon first creation, so your next step (after inviting some friends) is to make changes to its settings, add Boards or Documents, or invite friends to join.
For most settings, you change them from within the Tabletop's profile screen Clicking on the Edit button on the right side of the profile page toolbar will open a dialog that allows you to customize your Tabletop, organized by section.
For the Tabletop's background "hero" image, click the "Change Image" button from within the hero image on the Tabletop profile screen.
Information
This section covers basic informational elements about the Tabletop. These fields are searched against. Unless you are planning to make the Tabletop public or searchable, you don't need to change anything. You don't need to include the name of the Game you're playing anywhere; this is already in the search criteria.
All things need names.
Tell us when you're going to play. This is free form field for things like "Every other Sunday at 4:00PM EST"
On average, how long will sessions last?
Don't describe the game rules you're playing; talk about your story.
Targeted tags are better than broad tags.
External Sites
This is the link for your audio/video connection, such as your Zoom meeting, Google Hangout link, or Discord room.
If your Tabletop has a stream site, enter it here.
If your Tabletop has a podcast, enter its location here.
Player Permissions
By default, non-Storytellers can create Documents and share them with the Tabletop. This prevents that.
By default, Players can create their own characters and party members. This box prevents that.
Privacy and Experience
These flags are all optional to set, and only of interest if you wish to make the Tabletop public and searchable. By deafult, Tabletops are private.
When checked, makes the Tabletop public and thus searchable.
Whether or not your Tabletop is appropriate for people who are looking to learn a game system, or even if they want to play games at all.
Experience is measured in joy.
This is to help the other Players feel comfortable.
Determines if its members must be of 18 years of age or older to join.
Looking for Players
See the section on Looking for Players.
Content Flags
See the section on Content Flags.
Deletion
Tabletops are not deleted; they are archived. If you archive a Tabletop, its members will be notified.
A Tabletop's Storyteller is the member or player that is generally in charge with running the game. "Storyteller" is a role: they are the person who manages the Tabletop's membership, creates the story, manages non-player characters, Boards, Catalogs, Documents, and so forth - pretty much everything.
A short list of a Storyteller's powers includes:
Storytellers can set any field of the Tabletop. See Tabletop Settings for more information.
Storytellers control who can and cannot join their Tabletop. See Tabletop Membership for more information.
Storytellers can create, import, and edit Boards. They can also grant or remove visibility to a Board to the whole Tabletop (but not individiual players). See Boards for more information.
Storytellers set visibility and edit rights to handouts and documents. See Documents for more information.
Storytellers are able to set visibility to Catalogs, import Catalogs, create Catalogs, edit or override existing Catalogs. See Catalogs for more information.
Storytellers handle most - but not all - aspects of Player-controlled characters. They can grant control and edit access to players as well as control or edit any PC. See The Non-Player Characters for more information.
Storytellers handle all aspects of NPC characters. See The Non-Player Characters for more information.
This includes things like activating combat, setting initiative turns, and managing action logs.See The Gamespace for more information.
A Note On Terminology
Different Games have different terms for this role, such as "Dungeon Master", "Game Master", "Keeper", or other names. Diceweaver has settled on "Storyteller" because we need a singular term and prefer to avoid imperialist and oppressive language.
Multiple Storytellers
Tabletops can have multiple Storytellers. Any member can be promoted to being a Storyteller by another Storyteller - simply click on the "Promote to Storyteller" button in the member's entry in the Player List or, in the Gamespace, in the player's window.
Tabletops need Players! Storytellers can invite other people to join your Tabletop in several ways.
From the Tabletop's profile screen, you can click the "Invite" button in the Tabletop Control Buttons, or
From the Tabletop's profile screen, you can click the "Invite Players" button in the Player List header, or
From inside the Gamespace, open the Members Flyout and click the "Invite Members" button in the footer.
Whichever way you get there, a dialog will open that will allow you to search for and invite others to join your Tabletop.
You can search for people by name, username, email, or any other criteria.
* (asterisk) returns all users.
Click the "Search Circle" button to immediately load your Circle (or use the keyword :circle).
Click the "Find Tabletop Searches" button to restrict your search to users who are looking for Tabletops to join (or use the keyword :lfg).
If you don't know if your friends have a Diceweaver account, enter their email address to send them an invitation. If they don't have a Diceweaver account they'll be prompted to make one; if they do have an account we'll route the invitation correctly.
Only a Storyteller can invite people to join a Tabletop. Some people may appear in your search results who cannot be invited for some reason or another. In order to be invitable, someone needs to have set their account to public or have you in their Circle, or have enabled open messages.
Direct Invite
You can directly invite a Diceweaver user to your Tabletop from their profile page, if their account is public or they have set their account to accept messages.
Clicking on the "Invite to Tabletop" button will open a dialog that lists all of the Tabletops that you are a Storyteller in. Clicking the "Invite to Tabletop" button will immediately send an invitation to that user.
Future Thinking
There needs to be a way to bulk invite folk, ideally by email address.
When a Tabletop is looking for players, a notice is visible and a button to request an invitation appears on the Tabletop's profile page.
If your Tabletop is looking for players, you can set a flag that will make it show up in searches as such. Additionally, you can choose to set an advertisement for your Tabletop.
When checked, will allow other players to request an invitation to join.
When checked, allow an advertisement for your Tabletop to be shown in various places.
Optional title for the ad. If blank, we'll use the Tabletop's name.
Optional copy for the ad. If blank, we'll use the Tabletop's description.
Tabletop Advertisements
Tabletop Advertisements are just that: ads for people to join your Tabletop! If enabled, Tabletop advertisements will help potential players find your Tabletop easier.
There are two places: Sidebar locations (like in the Lobby) and vertical block placements (like in the Tabletops silo).
Nope.
Observer Mode is a feature designed for folk who like to stream their games on other services (such as Twitch) or to share updates with friends.
Observer mode allows non-members (Observers) to load a Tabletop's Gamespace in a read-only, non-privileged capacity. This allows them to view character sheets (both PCs and visible NPCs), see Boards, read hand-outs, browse catalogs, and read the activity log.
Enabling (or disabling) Observer Mode is done through the Tabletop's Edit Settings dialog. Observer Mode can only be enabled on public Tabletops.
Go to your Tabletop's Profile Screen
Find and click the "Edit" button in the sidebar.
When the dialog opens, scroll down to the section labeled "Observer Mode".
Switch "Enable Observer Mode" to green.
Scroll down to the section labeled "Privacy and Experience".
Switch "Public Tabletop" to green.
You can share your Tabletop's view or profile link with anyone! The only limitation is that they need to be logged into Diceweaver. During the testing phase, there is no limit to the number of concurrent observers, though this may change in the future.
Absolutely not! Observers have a very limited set of permissions: they can only see things (such as Maps or Documents) that have been shared with all players. They cannot make any changes or leave messages or reveal any secrets.
Nothing! There may bugs which are by definition unforseen. Finding a bug is the point - and nets you a Bughunter badge. We want to know what controls and limits you want to put on this as well as what other options may be useful.
Nothing! In the future, we may need to charge for larger instances, but for now the impact is light.
Future Thinking
Players should be able to be blocked from a Tabletop by a Storyteller.
Keeping our community safe is our focus and several of Diceweaver's features were designed with that in mind. One of the systems we're proud of is our system of Story Content flags, a way for potential Tabletop members (or observers) to get an idea of what they're getting into.
Every Tabletop played in Diceweaver has a "Story Content" section displayed font-and-center on its profile page. These content flags let potential players know at a glance what they can expect in the game.
Content flags are set by the Storyteller and are done from the Tabletop profile screen.
Content flags operate on a sliding scale for their values. The most common set is:
The Storyteller has simply not set this value.
The stories told in this Tabletop will not include this topic in any way.
Issues about the topic may be discussed, but never as part of an active scene.
It’s possible that this topic could be the subject of a scene, but it’s not typically what the story is about.
There is no way to avoid this topic. It’s part of the basic premise of the game.
Some flags (such as "Violence Type") use a different scale (None/Cartoon/Moderate/Graphic). These differences are easily understood in context.
Future Thinking
The list of Content Flags is subject to change as we learn more about how to use them or new areas of concern arise.
There are several planned improvements for this system:
In the (near-ish) future, players will be able to set their own preferences for content flags, and the Tabletop search system will automatically take these preferences into account when weighting responses.
We’ll be adding some style changes to make certain values (such as inherent) called out more clearly.
A list of content flags can itself sometimes trigger undesirable responses so we’re looking at an easy-to-use mechanism for obscuring the flags until they’re specifically looked for.
A Catalog is a list* of item definitions that are used by a Game. Anything of which a character can have multiple items - something that fits one of the Collections - is an entry from a Catalog.
Catalogs are seen differently by Players and Storytellers. Players see a collated version of all the Catalogs of a type that have been included in a Tabletop; the Storyteller sees the individual Catalogs and their sources. Regardless of the source, the entry and creation of a Catalog are the same.
(*Actually a dictionary)
Character definitions are three dictionaries, two of which are of primary importance. NPC versions of these are templates (unless deployed to a Board). The version included in the Game definition will have a Primer but exported or deployed versions will not.
Primer
Only in the Game definition, acts as a map between attributes and system-aware variables. This is a lookup table, where the key is the system term for the thing, and the value is the local character attribute term. In the example below, the equivalent value for "maxhealth" is set to "wounds", and "currhealth" is set to "curr_wounds". Those could be "max_hit_points" and "curr_hit_points" - or any other term that indicates character health.
Only exists in instanced applications of the definition (e.g., PC, NPC, or NPC Template). This section contains values that are not intended to be addressed by the Game engine parser. They are things like avatar icons, creator information, update information, etc.
Attributes
There are one-to-one values; that is, a character can only have one of them, such as a "Strength" score, or an "Attack Bonus". These can be of several data types and may be calculated or derived rather than hard set. Some attributes (such as "description") will always exist.
An Attribute definition is a dictionary that describes several values:
label: A string, but will be passed through the localizer
type: Enumeration: "meta", "attribute", or "derived_attribute"
type: Functionally, "meta" and "attribute" behave the same but may or may not appear in certain list views. "derived_attribute" means it is calculated at run time.
value: "Number" values are checked to be sure that they are numbers. "String" means "never try to treat this as a number". "Paragraph" implies a large text field that may include Rich Text. This should have minvalue, maxvalue, default, but it doesn't yet.
calculation: If present, the value is derived, and uses the calculation provided (see below for syntax).
volatile: If present and true, then players who only have OPERATE permissions may edit these values. Otherwise, only those with EDIT permissions may change things.
generate: Tell us how to generate this [ NOT IMPLEMENTED YET]
In a calculation, the following attributes get expanded:
attribute[name]: Get character attribute
d[die]: Roll a die
\dd[die]: Roll a die x times
global[name]: Global variable (game level)
party[name]: Party-level game variable (e.g. Profit Factor) [UNIMPLEMENTED]
tabletop[name]: Tabletop variable (a setting) [UNIMPLEMENTED]
target[name]: Selected token attribute
map[name]: Attribute of the map (x, y, currcoords, coords)
self[name]: Refers to attributes on the self, used in things like collection calculations("attribute[ballistic_skill] + self[bonus] + target[rangemod]")
collectionitem[name]: [poorly implemented]
character[name]: [poorly implemented]
Character Collections
In the character definition, the collections dictionary shows what the character has in its pocketses. Often empty by default ("gear"), and often pre-populated at creation ("skills").
Character sheets are defined outside of the Game's definition because Tabletops (and eventually players) may choose to override these without changing the rules. This would normally get attached to the Tabletop, but there needs to be a default, and it's easiest to think of this outside of the entity type nest.
Games should have as many Sheet definitions as they have entity (character) types defined. If the entity or character can be put on a map and manipulated or operated, it should have a sheet defined. It's okay to re-use the same sheet.
This is a dictionary of interactive content blocks. Content blocks are either atomic elements laid out in a pattern, or templates applied to Collections, or a combination of both. Templates are Layout Code.
Templates should be designed around common intent or group. A template for "skills" should not also contain blocks for attribute editing, for instance. The same content can be used in multiple templates (A flyout may use tabs over scrollable sections, and thus want a different template for the same items).
A block that displays entries of a Collection. Individual "rows" are described with Layout Code.
A block definition that can contain multiple templates, either Layout or Collection.
Full Sheet
This describes the display of the "full" character sheet - the one that appears in a window or a character profile page. Currently only a "sections" array is used. This is a simple array of template ID keys. The order in which they are listed is how they will display on the sheet.
Describes the appearance of elements for the Slug in the virtual tabletop interface. This is the section that appears in the upper right corner that includes the character avatar. The Slug definition is Layout Code.
Panels
This describes the display of the Operator flyouts - the buttons that appear on the side of the screen when operating a character. This is a simple array of template ID keys. The order in which they are listed is how they will display in the Operation interface.
"panels":[
"vitals",
"skills",
"items"
]
This is the core rules engine that defines a lot of things. It has many sections, each with their own dictionary of values, and each section may have separate documentation.
Entities
This game supports these types of player (or NPC) characters and this is what they look like. The default is usually just "character" but think also "ground_vehicle", "air_vehicle", "voidship", etc. If two entities can't use the same character sheet, they should be different sheets.
This defines complex objects that are used by the game, such as a "spell" or "weapon". These are things that characters may have 0 or more of, and the thing they have can be pulled from a list.
Collection Identifiers (collectionId) is important. They must be unique and simple. When a module or catalog is imported, it may include additional entries for the collection. Sometimes you may have to say "use these items as this type of collection" which will force the Game engine to see the data as that type of object.
Collections define a bunch of things, they are the meat of content in many ways. They are used in many ways. Collections are defined at the engine level (so that it knows what to do with them), and later they are also referenced in the Character definition as well.
Collection definitions have many possible keys. They describe both how a thing, such a a Skill or Weapon, looks and behaves inside the Game, as well as how its Catalog windows and Flyouts can behave. Some Games may say "this collection contains only these items, and cannot be modified" (like with a skill tree).
Not all collections have all traits, and some traits are exclusionary to each other. We shall discuss them in sections.
Basic Attributes
The basic attributes of a collection definition are:
id: String, the same ID
label: String, this is run through Babel for translation/localization
itemname: String, run through Babel, this is the single unit name of the item ("skill" vs. "skills").
type: "complex_object" - you only ever want this, but it's important, there's vestigial stuff about arrays
default: Boolean - Is this granted to the character by default? Not sure this works or is needed anymore
static: Boolean - If true, this Catalog does not have child elements and is a definition only (like "armor points")
testable: Boolean - Can you test this item?
targetable: Boolean - Can you target this item? [UNIMPLEMENTED]
defaultvalue: Variable; depends on the data type
default_action: Testname (if present, this is the action for the item when it is executed
Value Attributes
'When I ask for the value of this item, what are you sending me?' This can have several meanings depending on the Game. For a Skill, we could be returning the total value of it, or the ranks, or the dice to be rolled - it depends.
value: Enumeration, described below
calc: A calculation, and only used if value = "calculation".
ranked: Boolean, only present if item is ranked (ranked only)
ranks: A dictionary of values that show how the value can change based on the rank (ranked only)
The values that can given to the value field are:
raw: Just the raw value of the collection item. Do no processing or lookup (reads "value" field).
calculation: Take the value of "calc" and run it against this item
rank_calculation: With ranks, return the value of the rank's calc
$fieldname: Return the value of the field in the collection item (similar to raw)
Ranked Items
For ranked items, we have an addition sub-dictionary that can describe different effects at different ranks. This field, ranks, is only used if both ranked is true the value of value is "rank_calculation".
additem: Boolean (if false, the catalog won't allow you to add items from it)
canfavorite: Boolean (Can these items be favorited?)
singular: Boolean (If true, the same catalog items cannot be added twice. This is for things like 'skills'.)
Catalog Values
The catalog field describes what to show in this field when viewing the catalog.
catalog: Enumeration, see below
Values for the catalog field can be:
value: Give me the value of the field, parsed through the language dictionaries
raw: Give me the value of the field, no parsing
lookup_value: For enumerations, give me the value from the options
Fields
The collection definition's fields dictionary describes the Collection Item and what it looks like. Some fields (such as description) exist whether you define them or not.
Each field in an item can have the following attributes:
name: String, the name of the field, machine readable
label: String, the label of the field, run through the dictionary lookup (human readable)
type: Enumeration, values: string, meta, int
default: Variable, what to use if no value
catalog: Enumeration
value: Enumeration
values: Dictionary, only present if value is "enumeration"
These are really atomic parts of interactivity. Before you think "why not balkanize these," a lot of these actions are system-dependent - for instance, not every game has "initiative".
Actions are passed actors and targets by context. These then execute the test, or have it executed on them, etc. They are not defined here but are passed as arguments.
- You cannot have both eachactor and eachtarget
targeted: Boolean (needs a target attribute)
isattack: Boolean (is an attack) [poorly implemented]
eachactor: Enumeration, see below
eachtarget: Enumeration, see below
test: Which test [see above] to execute inside this action
message: message_key (Use this message in the Table Log)
prefertoolmessage: Boolean (If there is a tool and the tool has a message, let it override)
special: Special_action_name (use a special action, see below)
metrics: Dictionary (additional metrics to include when displaying)
The values for eachactor and eachtarget can be:
map_entity: "Living" tokens on the map, both player and storyteller
map_corpse: "Dead" tokens on the map
map_player: Player-controlled tokens on the map
player: Every player-controlled entity
map_npc: Every storyteller-controlled entity on the map [UNIMPLEMENTED]
Special Actions
These are special actions, and handled by the system.
"special" : "view_character_sheet"
view_character_sheet: Pop open the feather
edit_permissions: Open the edit perms dialog for an entity
clear_map_tokens: Clear all tokens from the current map
start_combat: Start the combat sequence
end_combat: End the combat sequence
take_control: Take operational control of an entity
remove_from_map: Remove an entity token from the map
Describes how Gamespace components behave. [This isn't well implemented]
: []
: []
: what to do when tokens drop
: token actions and status
: partyflyout columns
: combat servitor columns and config
Containers vs. Elements
Layout Code describes both containers and elements.
A container is just that: it contains other things (containers and/or elements). An element is an atomic item that displays values about the parent object (character, document, etc.).
Containers
The primary signifier of a content block is the inclusion of a content array. All other keys are optional (the layout is assumed to be "stacked").
The items in the the content array can be either element definitions or additional containers (which can also have their own child containers, ad infinitum).
Definition Format
alignvalues: 'right' or 'left'.
blocklabelAdds a block label element. Really needs to be in a "stacked" layout. Value will be passed through the localization parser.
fluidIf true, try to fill the available space (vertical or horizontal), regardless of the parent layout.
layout
mobilehideIf true, don't display this on small screens.
mobilewrapIf false, don't automatically wrap the elements in this container on small screens.
scaleChange the default size of the element (poorly supported)
showlabelIf true, always display the label, even in contexts where it is usually hidden (e.g., collection rows)
sizeDefines the size of this container (see below for sizes)
vertalignAligns content items in a block vertically. Values can be top, bottom, or center
wrapIf false or none, don't allow content to wrap. If true or wrap, allow content to wrap (it may not).
Style Elements
Container blocks also support a small set of CSS element values. These should be used sparingly as support is primitive at this point in time (e.g., there's no text color changes, etc.).
styleValue is a single css class and is applied to the element.
bgcolorSets the background color of the block. This should not be anything extreme.
bordercolorAdds a border of the given color (technically an inner box shadow, so it doesn't increase the size of the block).
marginTakes css margin values. Should be in rem.
paddingTakes css margin values. Should be in rem.
Container Sizes
Container sizes are only applied to the container's width. Content can almost always grow verticall unbound, so constraining it doesn't make sense.
stretchGrow this block to fill as wide as it can be.
shrinkMake this block as small as it possibly can be.
fullSize the block to 100% wide of the parent.
threequartersSize the block to 75% wide of the parent.
twothirdsSize the block to 66% wide of the parent.
bigSize the block to 66% wide of the parent.
halfSize the block to 50% wide of the parent.
thirdSize the block to 33% wide of the parent.
quarterSize the block to 25% wide of the parent.
Container Layouts
stackedLays out content vertically, aligned to the top.
spreadstackedLays out content vertically, spreading out items.
rowLays out content horizontally, aligned to the left by default.
horizontalBehaves exactly as "row"
listrowBehaves exactly as "row"
bigboxrowBehaves exactly as "row", with content spread apart, and assumes larger scaled content.
Except for special elements (below), elemental data must be addressed. Data is either an attribute or a field on an item in a collection
itemPoints to either an attribute or a Collection item. If collection is provided, then this is a Collection Item (see "collection" below), else it refers to the value of an attribute on the parent object (usually an entity). Thus a value of strength will return the value of the attribute, "strength".
collectionIndicates that this element points to a Collection. If present, the "item" value will address a specific item in the Collection by name. Sometimes - often - this is useless, as those Item ids are going to be randomly generated.
fieldLook at a specific field on a collection (Skills[Search][ranks])
Behavior Parameters
These parameters change the default behavior of an element or override its values.
editableIf false, don't allow editing for this element even if the user has permission to edit it.
valueDon't bother with item or a collection, just use this value.
calculationDon't bother with item or a collection, just use the results of this calculation as the value.
keylessDon't give this element a key (prevents it from being updated automatically).
classesAn array of css classes that can be applied to the element.
Element Display Parameters
These parameters affect how an Element is displayed. None are required. Not all are well-supported in all layouts ("labelposition") or are outright ignored ("labelless")
layoutElements have MANY layouts (see below). Defaults to status_box.
typeSome elements (particularly pull-downs/enumerations, rich text elements, and booleans) require being defined as special type. See below.
alignvalues: 'right' or 'left'.
fluidIf true, try to fill the available space (vertical or horizontal), regardless of the parent layout.
labellessIf true, don't display a label.
labelposition"interior" or "exterior"; default "exterior". Rarely useful.
mobilehideIf true, don't display this on small screens.
scaleChange the default size of the element (poorly supported)
showlabelIf true, always display the label, even in contexts where it is usually hidden (e.g., collection rows)
sizeDefines the size of this container (see below for sizes)
Action Parameters
When present, these parameters indicate that the element is an actionable affordance (a button that can be clicked and something happens).
clickWhat to do when clicked: action, valuetest, rankedpool.
actionUpon being clicked, execute the action defined (see below).
valuetestUpon being clicked, execute the defined Action.
rankedpoolUpon being clicked, roll the appropriate ranked pool.
actionWith click = action, execute the named action (defined in the engine'sactions.
nonactionableIf true, even if there is an action available, do nothing if this is clicked.
exits
Special Elements
Some elements are special and have slightly different behaviors.
textMakes a text block, with the value given as the text.
iconSets a simple icon. plus, minus, or equals
dividerCreates a vertical line to separate content.
headerMakes a header element, with the value given as the text.
Element Layouts
layout
Element Sizes
Elements size themselves in more concrete measurements than percentages of their parent.
nano1rem
micro2rem
tiny4rem
small6rem
medium8rem
large10rem
huge12rem
button15rem
gigantor16rem
tyrannosaurus20rem
Exclusion
This is a dictionary of terms that is used by the Game, its Sheets, and its Catalogs that are specific to the Game (such as "Hit Points" or "Wounds" or "Warp Factor").
Entries are simple key = value pairs - and can be seen that way - but there is a language to them that can be used for pluralization, variable interpolation, and even pronoun usage in messages.
Messages are parsed as standard internationalized (i18n) messages ($1 as well as going through a context processor (see below). Arguments are resolved $1, $2, $3, etc.
(Note that the localization system is not online so all keys need to be in 'en', but the instant there's a localization it goes up in priority.)
Message Parsing
In addition to i18n processing, messages go through an addressing system. Each fragment is passed an entity and possibly an item. Addressing follows this format, in this order of seeking:
$[actor] A context-relevant interactive element for the Actor. In the Gamespace, $[actor] will display the actor's name as a hot link, which highlights the actor's token if visible, and clicking will zoom to them/open a sheet view.
$[actor.field] Gives the raw value in the context of an Actor
$[actor.collections.id.field] - Gives a deep look into the context of an Actor
$[tool.field] Gives the raw value in the context of a tool (weapon, spell, etc.)
string can be looked up with BABEL.string();
A workflow understands the context of its execution. This context is provided to any kind of messaging. Not all elements are present in a workflow; a workflow shouldn't have "empty" values for things it doesn't need and these should not be in the dictionary.
$[datestamp] Spits out a span of the "from now" time. Tooltipped to show the full time.
$[resolutionstamp] If the workflow is resolved, spits out when it was, as above
$[user] is the user doing the thing. Nearly _always_ present. Not static or forgeable.
$[targetuser] Targets user of an action, if needed
$[user|targetuser.namestring] Returns hot/active name string
$[tabletopinvite.hotavatar] Avatar image that links to the Tabletop profile page
$[document] References a document from the Tabletop
$[flag] References a pointer flag on a Tabletop's Board
$[tool] A Catalog item used in the action
$[metrics] Optional, defines additional ways of looking at the response
$[metrics.namestring]
$[metrics.successes]
$[metrics.successcount]
$[test] Which test to execute inside this action
$[test.die] Die result from the test
$[test.pool] Dice pool results from the test
$[test.poolstring]
$[value] The value part contains a lot
// The value part contains a lot.
$[value.namestring]
$[value.finalvalue]
$[value.diestring]
$[value.diename]
$[value.modifier] Value of a roll modifier
$[value.resultstring] Returns the raw value string of the object
$[value.resultclasses] Returns an array of classes
$[value.result]
$[value.rollresult] same as result, but calculated from pool
$[value.bonus] Returns the value of a bonus
$[value.difference] Represents the calculated difference between final value and result value.
$[value.success]
Any other elements given to the message compiler will remain, but they will not have anything special done with them; they will just be addressable as:
flow.magick['elementkey'];
Diceweaver is an online platform and community for playing tabletop role-playing games anywhere, anytime, and with anyone, on any device (laptop, desktop, tablet, or phone).
A group of people who play a game together is called a Tabletop. Someone - possibly you - serves as the Tabletop's Storyteller while everyone else's role is that of a Player. The Tabletop has a focus, which is the particular Game that you are playing.
Most Games have characters, dice, maps, and handouts - but the specifics of how these things work depends on the Game that you are playing.
Sections
Characters
Player Characters are unique to the Tabletop they are created within. Games can have multiple playable types of characters and these can be given different names (e.g., "Robot", or "Animal", as opposed to simply "Character").
Creating Characters
Player Characters can be created in several ways.
From the Tabletop Profile
Scroll to the Character list and click the button labeled "New Character". This will open a dialog that asks for the title of your new Character. This will open a new, untitled Character Window. This character will not be saved until it has been modified (e.g., given a name, or any other content).
The label for the button may be different, depending upon the Game, or there may be multiple buttons if there are multiple kinds of playable entities.
From the Tabletop Player Character Library
You can get to the Player Character library by clicking the "Characters" button from a Tabletop profile page or the "View Library" link in the character list.
Click the button labeled "New Character". This will open a dialog that asks for the title of your new Character. This will open a new, untitled Character Window. This character will not be saved until it has been modified (e.g., given a name, or any other content).
The label for the button may be different, depending upon the Game, or there may be multiple buttons if there are multiple kinds of playable entities.
In the Gamespace
Open the Party Flyout and click the appropriate "New Character" button. This will open a new, untitled Character Window. This character will not be saved until it has been modified (e.g., given a name, or any other content).
Editing Characters
Items can be added to characters in multiple ways:
By opening the appropriate Catalog Window and then dragging the item to the corresponding flyout
Opening the Character Window, scroll to the section in question, and then click "Browse Catalog", which will open a docked version of the appropriate Catalog
Clicking "Add Item" (if available) from the appropriate Collection Flyout
Catalog Windows for collections can be opened from the appropriate Collection Flyout (a "Browse Catalog" button in the footer), or from the "Catalogs" tab in the Document Flyout.
Operating Characters
In Diceweaver, players operate and inhabit their characters. This is true for Players and Storytellers alike: Players can operate characters they have been given control to, while Storytellers can operate any character.
When operating a character, the Gamespace reconfigures slightly to show the abilities, actions, and attributes associated with the character being operated. The content of various Character Flyouts will change as well as the Slug and Avatar.
Operating a character can be done in several ways:
By selecting the character from the Actor Palette
By clicking the "Operate" button for the character in the Party Flyout or the Actors Flyout
Clicking the "Operate" button in the character's Window
Selecting "Operate" from the character's Token Menu
Selecting "Operate" when prompted in the Alertbox
The Avatar
This is the token image of the character you are currently operating. If you are not currently operating a character, this area will display your personal avatar.
Favorites Panel
The Favorites Panel allows you to quickly access "bookmarked" actions for the currently active character.
Character Flyouts
Weapons, spells, skills, gear, and other items that are considered part of a "collection" (a character can have more than one of the items) can be added to characters in multiple ways.
Depending on the Game and its configuration, the actions available within a specific collection flyout can change. Some items will allow for actions directly (such as running tests).
Some items may be added to the Favorites Panel for quick access. Click the star on the item's entry to add the item to your Favorites.
Individual items can be edited by clicking on the Pencil icon.
The Gamespace: The Virtual Tabletop
The Gamespace is Diceweaver's full virtual tabletop experience. In most cases, you'll want to load the Gamespace when playing - but you don't have to, as most features (Documents, Characters, etc.) can be used "outside" of the Gamespace.
You can access a Tabletop's Gamespace by clicking any button that says "Connect and Play" from pages associated with the Tabletop (like the profile page) or from your Tabletop list in the Lobby.
Chatting
Combat and Turns
Outside of the Gamespace
On Your Phone
A Tabletop's Storyteller is the member or player that is generally in charge with running the game. "Storyteller" is a role: they are the person who manages the Tabletop's membership, creates the story, manages non-player characters, Boards, Catalogs, Documents, and so forth - pretty much everything.
Some groups have a person who is usually the Storyteller; others switch or share the role.
Creating A Tabletop
A Tabletop is a group of people who are playing a Game (Games are rules system, such as "Dungeons and Dragons", "Prowlers and Paragons", or "Tales from the Loop") together. Tabletops typically have a focus story, called a campaign, that serves as the main plot for the Players and the Storyteller. There are often Assets, such as Documents and Boards, that are shared with or included in the Tabletop in support of the Campaign.
The full list of the games that Diceweaver natively supports can be accessed by clicking the "Games" link in the upper toolbar. You can browse through the list or search for tags or other keywords. If you see a game you want to play, you can click the "Create Tabletop" button there - or on the Game's profile page.
You can also create a Tabletop from the Lobby by clicking one of several "Create Tabletop" links. In this case, the "Create Tabletop" dialog will ask you to select your game - if you haven't already.
Give your Tabletop a name and we're good to go.
(Diceweaver is continually adding new games to its library and we take requests! Connect with us on our Discord Server)
See Creating Tabletops for more information.
Inviting your Friends
Tabletops need Players! Storytellers can invite other people to join your Tabletop in several ways.
When you create your Tabletop, you'll be shown the invite dialog when you go to the Tabletop's profile after creation. If you miss that, you can get to it from several places.
From the Tabletop's profile screen, you can click the "Invite" button in the Tabletop Control Buttons, or
From the profile screen, you can click the "Invite Players" button in the Player List header, or
From inside the Gamespace, open the Members Flyout and click the "Invite Members" button in the footer.
Whichever way you get there, a dialog will open that will allow you to search for and invite others to join your Tabletop. By default, this dialog opens having restricted the list to the members of your Circle.
If you don't know if your friends have a Diceweaver account, enter their email address to send them an invitation. If they don't have a Diceweaver account they'll be prompted to make one; if they do have an account we'll route the invitation correctly.
See Inviting Players for more information.
Deploying Tokens
Tokens may be deployed to Board by dragging the avatar of the character in question onto the Board.
Player Characters are dragged out of the Party Flyout. Player Characters can only be deployed to one Board at a time.
Non-Player Characters are pulled out of the NPCs Flyout. When an NPC is dropped onto the Board, a new instance of the Template it is based on is created.
Actions within the appropriate "ondrop" triggers will fire for dropped tokens.
Running Combats
Most roleplaying games have a concept of "combat" or other turn-based activity. Managing this is done through the Turn Tracker, which keeps track of which character's turn it is (both player and non-player).
To enter combat mode, simply click the "Start Combat" button inside of the Turn Tracker interface. This will automatically roll initiative for every token or character present on the Board already and load their turns into the display.
All tokens that are added to the Board (by dragging and dropping them from the flyouts) will have their initiative automatically rolled.
Storytellers may quickly advance the turn forward or backwards using one of the two arrow buttons. Players whose turn it is are shown an Alert Box immediately preceding their turn and during.
Adding Maps and Boards
In Diceweaver, we use the term Board to refer to maps that players can interact with. There are several types of Boards - battlemaps, region maps, and scenes (the page on Board Types has more information).
The quickest and easiest way to add a Board to your Tabletop is by dragging and dropping the background image into the center of the screen. This can be done pretty much anywhere you see a list of the Tabletop's Boards.
See Creating Boards for more ways to quickly create Boards and Maps.
