Write Rules & GM Guidance

Rule files are canonical explanations players and the Game Master may read: resolution, combat, travel, language, faith, relationships, time, memory, and any project-specific mechanics. Keep one authority for each topic. Link related definitions instead of copying the same rule into many files.

GM Instructions are operational and selective. One always-loaded core should define agency, authority, continuity, consent, and repair. Smaller instructions should activate only for relevant phases or file types: character creation, scene continuity, combat, travel, faith, relationships, maps, or persistence. Do not build a card maze where eighty tiny instructions compete to control one sentence.

Good guidance says what to inspect, what owns the truth, what order to perform updates in, what must never be inferred, and how to recover from disagreement. It does not dictate a single genre voice or force dramatic escalation.

When you add a new mechanic, update its definition, state, Rule, and GM routing together. Test the empty case, a typical case, a changed tier, and a contradiction between narration and stored state.