Builder's Manual · Chapter 2

Read the Creator Examples

Heartline ships non-canonical Example ... records directly inside the regular file-type folders so every type has a concrete teaching record where creators expect to find it. These are normal files of their actual types and documentation expressed through the real schemas: inspect them, follow their references, then replace or remove them when building a World. They are not a setting, and the Example Characters are not playable by default. The Example Game Start intentionally has no active playability metadata.

Start with Example Lead and Example Rival, then follow the graph through Example Relationship, Example Secret, Example Leverage, Example Scandal, and Example Memory. Example House, Example Ballroom, Example Event, and Example Episode show how social context creates pressure around those relationships. Example Keepsake demonstrates a socially relevant prop. Example Archetype and Example Social Drama show how to author reusable system-facing definitions. The Example Rule and Example Conditional Guidance files demonstrate writing style only and explicitly mark themselves as inactive creator examples.

Do not copy the example names into a finished World. Copy the structural idea: give every field a job, keep private truth separate from public rumor, preserve directional relationship state, and use references whenever two records are meant to share canonical state.

Manual updated Aug 14, 2026.