I tell Garro the ford isn’t his to sell, and that Oda will pay his men to clear off.
Garro’s face falls. Ashamed, he bows and leads his men away into the night. The ford is yours!
No roll, no cost, no story.
A solo tabletop RPG in the valley of Riverlight
Every roll is real.
Every choice
stays made.
An AI game master tells the tale and plays everyone you meet. The engine rolls the d12, sets the stakes before it lands, and keeps every coin, wound and promise.
Free to join, no card. Founding players get 50% off for life.
- The engine rolls every die, not the AI
- Grid fights with cover, morale and parley
- Every tale runs against a clock
Why it’s different
A chatbot says yes.
A table rolls the dice.
A storyteller that only wants to please agrees with whatever you type, so nothing you win feels won. Here the master names the stakes before you roll, the die decides, and the world keeps what it cost.
I tell Garro the ford isn’t his to sell, and that Oda will pay his men to clear off.
Risky. Roll Presence +1.Stakes, set before the roll: on a failure the clock moves two steps closer to nightfall.
Failure, with a gain4Presence +1= 5
“Oda’s copper? Oda can come and pay it herself.” Garro doesn’t budge, but the skinny one by the fire looks away when you say her name.
- Before nightfall1 → 3 of 16
- LearnedThe skinny brigand is scared
How a turn works
You talk. The master listens. The dice decide.
- Say it the way you’d say it at the table.No commands to learn. Type what you do. If you only want to ask the master something, ask: the story waits.
- The stakes come first.If it’s risky, the master picks the approach and what failure will cost: time, Courage or a condition. It’s set before you roll, and it can’t change after.
- You roll. The engine reads the die.d12 + approach + circumstance, never more than ±3 in all. The engine rolls when you click. The AI can’t fake it or take it back.
- Five outcomes. None of them a shrug.From a complete failure that costs you twice, to a complete success that earns a Quest Point. Even a failure can bring something useful.
- The world updates, and stays updated.Coins, items, Courage, conditions and the clock live in the engine, and the narration is checked against them. Your campaign saves after every step.
A real fight, with the game’s own rules
The Bandits of the Ford
Garro Spina wants five copper to let you cross. Mira Folco wants the ford free. Here is the first round on the real battlefield: cover, initiative, a d12 you roll yourself, and brigands who roll back.
- Youshort swordCourage 12/12
- Mira Folcocommon · spearCourage 6/6
- Garro Spinadangerous · short axeCourage 10/10
- Brigand with the clubcommon · spiked clubCourage 6/6
- Skinny brigandweak · knifeCourage 3/3
- Archer on the rockweak · short bowCourage 3/3
The path from the ferry hut ends on the wet stones of the Mill Ford. Mira walks a step behind you, spear on her shoulder. An overturned cart blocks the bank, an archer waits on the high rock, and two brigands get up from their fire.
Garro SpinaMira Folco, what an honour. And you brought a friend. The ford costs five copper today. Pay and cross, or go back to Oda and tell her the river is closed.
Mira FolcoOda wants the ford free, Garro. Not a toll. Your call, traveller. I’m with you.
What do you do?
A demo of the first round with the game’s own rules, numbers and dice. We wrote these lines; in the game the master writes every line, and every fighter acts.
Consequences
Choices stay made.
Every road out of the ford is real, and each one leaves the world different. Pick one. The engine keeps the receipt.
Pay the toll
Five copper, no blood.
- Copper6 → 1
- Free the fordstill open
- The bandstays at the ford
The payment is on the record. You and Mira are across, but the ford is still Garro’s, and Oda is still waiting.
And whichever road you take, the clock runs. Every check costs time; at 16, night falls on the river and you cross by lantern light.
The journal
What you learn and what you promise is written down.
Your journal keeps what you’ve discovered and every promise still open, and the terms of a promise can’t be quietly rewritten. The campaign saves after every step: close the tab, and the river is where you left it.
What you know
- Garro keeps the tolls he took in his own purse: fifteen copper.
- The skinny brigand flinches at Oda’s name.
- Past the willow path, something big has left paw prints in the mud.
Promises
- Oda Remi will pay eight copper, once, when the ford is free.
- You told Garro his men can walk away if they never come back to the ford.
Ask the master: how much copper do I have left?
Six. Paying Garro would leave you one. The story is waiting where you left it.
The tales
Three tales in Riverlight, each against a clock.
A river valley of small folk and big trouble. Every tale is handmade: real people with names, wants and secrets, a few places to explore, and a deadline that doesn’t wait for you.
The Bell Before the Flood
The alarm bell has lost its clapper, and the river is rising.
Mara keeps the bell and will pay to hear it ring again. Tess knows where the clapper is stuck. Orrin sells rope, or lends it, if you promise to bring it back. Someone knows more than they’re saying.
- Clock
- Before the flood · 12
- You’ll meet
- Mara Venn, Tess Reed, Orrin Pike
- The pay
- four copper, once
The Missing Cart
Three crates of food are late, and the carter hasn’t come back.
Pera counts before she accuses. Bram’s cart is stuck by the willow bridge, and it won’t move until someone frees the wheel. Out at the old mill, a camp of strangers is cooking supper.
- Clock
- Before nightfall · 14
- You’ll meet
- Pera Fenn, Bram Velo, Lio Serra, Tobia Ganzo
- The pay
- six copper, once
The Bandits of the Ford
A band holds the ford and asks a toll.
The tale you just played. Free the ford with Mira, any way you can: beaten, bound, persuaded or gone. The willow path north has its own danger.
- Clock
- Before nightfall · 16
- You’ll meet
- Mira Folco, Garro Spina, Oda Remi
- The pay
- eight copper, once
On the willow path
A grey wolf, thin and hungry.
Dangerous: Courage 10. It’s fast, so you need a 9 to act before it, and it won’t parley. It wants your food, not your copper. Every creature in Riverlight has its numbers, and its reasons.
Why not just use a chatbot?
A chat window tells a story. A table keeps the rules.
A chat as your game masterUpon Tales
Who rolls the diceThe AI says what happenedThe engine rolls when you click. The AI can’t fake it or take it back
The stakesDecided after, if at allSet before you roll, from a fixed menu: time, Courage or a condition
Coins and itemsWhatever the story needsOnly what exists, changing hands between people who are there
A fightA paragraphA grid with cover, initiative, morale, parley and a way to flee
TimeThere is always moreEvery check costs time, and every tale has a deadline
SecretsThe narrator knows everythingHidden from the narrator until you find a source in the scene
The peopleElara, againA handmade cast with names, wants and secrets
Your gameA long scroll of chatSaved after every step, with a journal of what you know and promised
Questions
Before you sit down.
Do I need a group, or to know the rules?
No. It’s made for playing alone. Say what you do in plain words: the master tells you when something needs a roll, and you can ask about any rule without moving the story.
Can the AI cheat on the dice?
No. The engine rolls every die when you click, and the stakes are fixed before the roll. The AI decides whether something is risky and tells you what the result means, but it can’t roll, reroll or change a result, and it can’t spend your Quest Points.
Is it just ChatGPT with a fantasy prompt?
No. A rules engine holds the game: dice, coins, items, time, fights and secrets. AI steps plan each turn, check it against the rules and the state, and only then a separate narrator writes it, without seeing the secrets.
Where exactly do you use AI?
To understand what you mean, to judge what’s risky and pick its cost from a fixed menu, to play the people you meet, to check each turn, and to tell the story. The illustrations are made with image AI and chosen by hand. The dice, the numbers, the rules and your save are ordinary code.
Does my character level up?
Not yet. Every tale starts you as a prepared traveller: Courage 12, three Quest Points, six copper. What changes is the world: what you spent, learned and promised.
Where can I play?
In your browser, on a computer, a phone or a tablet. Nothing to install.
When can I play?
We’re in closed testing. People on the waitlist get in first, in small groups, before everyone else.
What will it cost?
Prices aren’t set yet, and nothing is charged now: no card, no trial to cancel. Founding players get 50% off any plan, for life, and we’ll show you the prices before you pay anything.
What does “50% off for life” mean?
Everyone who joins the waitlist before launch is a founding player. When paid plans open, you pay half price on any plan for as long as your subscription stays active.
What do you do with my email and my answers?
Your email is for your invitation and a few notes along the way. Your answers shape your preview and help us plan the first invitations. We never sell or share them, and you can leave with one click.
Founding players · 50% off for life
The ferry is waiting. Take your seat at the table.
Three tales in Riverlight, a d12 that means it, and a master who keeps the books. Join now and you’re among the first in.
Free to join, no card. Founding players get 50% off for life.
- TodayYour seat is saved. No card, nothing to pay.
- Until the doors openWe write rarely: your invitation, and a few notes from the workshop.
- When the doors openFounding players get in first, in small groups, and pay half price on any plan for as long as they stay subscribed.