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The Player's Handbook

Every command, every road, every trainer — generated from the living world, so it is always current.

Two ways to play, one character

The engine (free, forever): everything with a command — fighting, hunting, training, shops, guilds, bounties, camps, travel, trade, chat. It never costs a credit.

The System (the toggle, top right): the narrator. Wake it and plain words become story — NPCs speak, quests unfold, you invent arts of your own, and make breakthroughs. Story turns spend free turns first, then credits. Sleep it again anytime; your grind is always free. The System never cheats: every roll in every scene runs through the same engine.

Commands

All commands are free, always, in any mode. "help" in-game shows this list too.

Getting around

where · map	the ground you stand on, its people, and every road out (with travel times)
travel to <place>	walk any road safely — roads run on real minutes, and the System announces your arrival
n · s · e · w	walk the overworld path by path — walkers trade safety for the road (ambushes are real). Inside the CAPITAL the same keys walk its streets, street by named street
enter <place> · leave	step through a door and back onto its street. In Aldenmark every door keeps to its OWN street — walk there first, or let "travel to <place>" thread the alleys for you
look	take in exactly where you're standing
ride	accept a passing carter's offer — wagons appear to walkers on the road, fare to the road's end (mounts, bought at stables, always ride themselves)

Town life

shop · buy <item> · sell <item>	trade at the market — shelves also carry what other players have sold
join <guild> · resign <guild>	swear a guild's oath at its hall (fee, level) — a soul may wear SEVERAL marks (the Circle and the Scale both); "resign" lays one down anywhere: the fee stays gone, the arts stay learned
learn · learn <skill>	see what the local trainers teach, and pay to learn it
train <skill>	slow drills — the dummy never hits back; real use grows arts far faster
join · guild · writ	swear to the local guild; see your guild standing and take member writs
board · accept <bounty> · turn in	bounty work off the town's contract board
rent	an inn room for a night and a day — finite rooms, first come first served
stable	mounts bought and argued over
identify <item> · appraise <item>	have a sealed find read honestly (flat fee at any market)
recharge	refill a spent wand at the Circle, for coin
talk <name>	quick words with an NPC — wake the System for a real conversation

Fighting (real time — every side strikes as its gauge fills; DEX and light steel fill yours faster)

fight	call something out of the brush
hunt · forage · work	work the land — type it once and it repeats until you act or the wilds interrupt
attack [foe]	one order keeps you AUTO-SWINGING on your own gauge — packs happen, "attack wolf 2" picks (and marks) a target
stop	hold your blows; the gauge keeps filling
defend	raise the guard (a true wall behind a shield) — stands the auto-attack down
hotbar (keys 1-8)	your moves one key away — click a slot to assign any art, draught, or custom command
/cast <spell> · /skill <name>	your arts, in combat
/item <name> [at <foe>]	draughts, oil flasks, wands — a wand's charge is free to discharge
tame	a beast beaten low may join you — one companion per soul
examine <foe>	read a foe's class, condition, and kit — free, even mid-fight
/flee	live to owe the story an ending

The Undercroft (Aldenmark's dungeon — the city's whole economy comes up its stair)

enter undercroft	the Guild's well-stair inside the Adventurers' Hall — RANKED adventurers only ("join advhall" first)
n · s · e · w	walk its rooms like streets — every room is shared: other souls, their fights, all visible
fight	wake the room's pack (the WHOLE room comes at once — swarms are the arithmetic), or wade into someone else's fight at the same door
descend · climb	the stairs between floors
leave	the well-stair back up, from the Well Hall
sell map · buy map	walk EVERY room of a floor and the Guild buys your survey at the Hall; fair copies sell to everyone else

The Sunderpit (Lantern Moot's dungeon — eighty years young, fifteen floors, every kind welcome)

enter sunderpit	from the Pit-Lip street in Lantern Moot — ANY kind, ANY rank; the Guild's post wards it (sanctioned: carried gear falls, worn steel stays)
floors 1-5 · 6-10 · 11-15	rank D at the lip (rift hounds, shard golems) to rank B at the bottom (rift maws, the Sunderer). Hollow knights keep their kits
touch stone	waystations at floors 5 and 10; guardians at 4 and 9; the Sunderer holds 15
sell map	surveys sell at the Pit-Warden's post on the Moot — ranks read there count in Aldenmark's book
the tyrants	every floor crowns a BOSS (👑 in its room; ~30 min respawn) — the only creatures that drop SEALED finds (unidentified · sometimes enchanted · sometimes cursed). GUARDIANS, far larger, hold the floors right before each waystation and drop two
open chest	iron caches surface at random as rooms are walked — coin, veilstones, sometimes a sealed thing. Shared: first hand takes it
examine <item> · examine weapon/armor/offhand/ring/amulet/boots	read anything you carry or wear: stats, workings, worth, where it sits, and what it looks like — the pack window's 🔍 does the same
forget <art> confirm · rename art <old> to <new>	let a mis-made art go (practice and all — trainers resell theirs, invented ones can be sought again), or rename an invented art: the engine re-reads its nature from the new name
sell 5 <item> · sell all <item>	sell several at once — a count or "all" before the name (the shop window's Sell 5 / Sell all buttons do the same); gear still shelves one piece at a time, five of a kind per town
worn quarry	the land learns you: ten kills of one kind within the hour halves its XP, twenty-five quarters it — move on, or go deeper
veilstone (B) · (A)	no stall buys them — the Gilded Scale and the Circle tower pay a third and log the finder; burn them at a bench instead
the loot law	creatures drop body PARTS and VEILSTONES (every kill, tiered to its level — dungeons pay double), never gear. Exception: a large slime that has KILLED an adventurer swallows their weapon — and gives it back over its corpse

Your character

stats · allocate <stat> [n]	+3 stat points every level, spent freely, anytime
status	the full sheet
arts · info <art>	your skills and spells — info shows exactly what one does and its numbers
rest · sleep	heal every few seconds — faster with a full belly; any action rouses you
eat <food> · drink	the body keeps score; water is free at wells and streams
describe <text> · examine <name or item>	set how others see you; read people, NPCs — and any item in your pack, on your body, or lying on the ground (stats, procs, wards, open curses; seals stay sealed)
journal · note <text> · notes	the System keeps your story; the notes are yours
read primer	the new-player book, free, anytime

Items & gear

equip / wield / wear <item>	add "offhand" for the left hand; shields and second blades live there
dualwield <blade>	a second one-handed blade — every attack carries an off-hand strike
unequip <item>	worn cursed pieces refuse — see Curses below
use <item>	draughts, bandages, tools
take <item> · drop <item>	the ground keeps what's left on it
salvage <item>	break gear down at a craft bench — enchanted work gives up its essence
forge <essence> into <item>	fuse a salvaged enchantment onto plain gear — real odds, real loss
stash · unstash · storage	your camp's cache, once you've built one
write <title>	pen a book under your true name — the World Ledger remembers who wrote what

Magic & enchanting

cast <spell> [on <ally>]	healing arts are free, anywhere, in any mode
heal <ally>	shorthand for your best mending art
enchant <item> with <domain> [attuned | ward] [using <grade>] [named <name>]	burn a veilstone to bind an element into gear — choose WHICH stone ("using d") and NAME the working yourself, or let tradition do both. The ✨ bench button in your Pack lays it all out clickable. Workings can fail or shatter; the craft wants an enchanting art
cleanse	at the Circle tower: a worn curse comes off for a fee that stings
douse	put out flames — yours or the floor's

Other players

say <msg> · emote <act>	speak to everyone standing where you stand
yell <msg>	carries beyond your area — every neighboring zone hears it, with a rough bearing on where it came from (one yell per 10s; dungeons swallow it)
who · tell <name> <msg>	who shares your ground; a quiet word to one of them
trade <name>	escrowed trades — nobody can be robbed by a trade window
party invite <name> · party accept · party leave	up to 4 walk together; one member's fight is everyone's fight
scene <what you do>	party scenes: the LEADER opens one, each member declares their part (⚠ declaring pledges ONE of your own turns) or "scene pass" (watch free), and "scene go" works the whole table in ONE telling — everyone reads the scene; the silent aren't written in and pay nothing
party register <name>	at the Adventurers' Hall: enter the party into the Guild's ledger as a NAMED company (5s) — an RP identity whose scenes carry its name in the world's log; the recorded leader re-claims the name free whenever the party walks again
teach <skill> to <name> · accept	arts can be passed hand to hand

The chart of the Reach

🗺 · chart ⤢	the chart starts BLANK. Every road you stand on joins it for good; the milestones and signposts there mark what lies one road on (faint, unwalked). "travel" charts the whole way it walks you
scroll · drag · + −	zoom and pan the chart — the small one in the rail and the full one alike; double-click resets

The Watch & standing (monster-blooded)

Lantern Moot	the OPEN city east of Elmbrook, grown at the Sunderpit's lip — no Watch, no ledger of blood; every kind is a citizen from the first step. The human and dwarf towns stay closed until trust is earned
standing · guards	where this town's walls stand on you — Outsider, Tolerated, Trusted, Kindred
watch	the gate-list: take it, cull it, turn it in. One list per town every 8 real hours — trust is earned slowly on purpose

Camps & your own ground

camp	in the wilds: found a personal camp — firepit, cache, snares if you know the craft
camp build · camp invite <name> · camp upgrade	grow it, share it, and in real time + heavy coin raise it toward a settlement
camp charter	a settled camp may charter as a FREE CITY — all blood welcome from day one

Dungeons

descend · open chest · exit	dungeons are other planes — entering seals the road behind you
scout	read the floor before it reads you
recall stone (5s)	sold at any guild hall — carry one BEFORE you enter, or know escape magic

The world — the Aldenmark Reach

Aldenmark capital

The human capital — walled, crowded, smelling of forge-smoke and river trade. Every road in the Reach eventually ends here.

• the high square — Fountain, criers, and every road in the Reach ending at once.
• the market — Odo Grell's stalls — everything's for sale, half of it fairly.
• the training yard — The Shieldwall's public drill-yard — basics taught for coin.
• the Gilded Goose inn — Maudie Fenn's taproom — meals, beds, and every rumor worth its salt.
• the Riverside Rest — Cheaper beds by the water — the snoring is included free.
• the stables — Mounts bought, sold, and argued over.
• the contract boards — The guild halls' bounty boards — the Shieldwall's is taller than a man.
• the gatehouse — The Watch's stone teeth at the city's mouth — gate-lists chalked on slate, and Sergeant Brann reading everyone who passes.
• the smithy row — Anvils by the dozen; iron-smoke thick enough to taste.
• the tanner's yard — Racks, vats, and honest stink — leatherwork done properly.
• the Shieldwall hall — Soldiers' benches, honest scars, steady work.
• the Circle tower — Sigil-warded doors that open slowly, and only for some.
• the Gilded Scale countinghouse — Ledgers, scales, and doors that coin opens.
• the Adventurers' Hall — A long sunlit hall hung with trophies and settled writs — clerk counters down one side, the Orb of Appraisal on its iron stand, and the Hallmaster's ledger behind a grille. Ranks live in the ledger, not on a wall; sharing yours is your own affair.
• the Provost's keep — Lord Vane's seat — petitions below, opportunities above.

Faces to know: Guildmaster Berrin Coll (Shieldwall guildmaster & weapons trainer, quest giver) · Archmage Selvane (head of the Circle of the Veil, spell trainer, quest giver) · Maudie Fenn (keeper of the Gilded Goose inn) · Lord Provost Aldric Vane (nobility) · Whisper-Sefa (information broker) · Appraiser Odway (appraiser of unidentified finds) · Hallmaster Brakk Ostrev (Hallmaster of the Adventurers' Guild) · Lissa Merrow (senior counter-clerk of the Adventurers' Hall) · Master Odo Grell (Gilded Scale market-master) · Watch-Sergeant Brann Oduma (sergeant of the Aldenmark Watch)

Stonehollow village

A farming town of low stone houses and older grudges. Quiet, watchful, generous once you've earned it.

• the village green — Low stone houses around trodden grass; everyone sees everyone.
• the market stalls — A few honest stalls — and George buys scrap.
• Elder Gray's porch — The plank board nailed by the Elder's door — work wants doing.
• George's smithy — One forge, kept honest. George drills the basics between repairs.
• the Plow & Candle — Six tables, one hearth, and stew that ends arguments.
• the livery shed — Mules mostly. Honest mules.
• the palisade gate — Two militiamen, one bell, and a slate of culls — Stonehollow's whole army, and enough.

Faces to know: Elder Rosalind Gray (village elder) · George Pike (the village smith)

Highwatch town

A border town on a windy ridge, last safe bed before the deep wilds. Its walls are newer than its graveyard.

• the gate square — Wind, wagons, and the last safe noise before the wilds.
• the market row — Gear for the deep wilds — priced like your life depends on it.
• the watch yard — Where the watch drills — basics taught to anyone who bleeds politely.
• the watchhouse board — Bounties in Captain Marrow's handwriting — each one a grudge with a price.
• the Last Bed inn — Named honestly. Sleep well; the wilds are twenty paces past the gate.
• the stables — Coursers bred for messengers who outrun bad news.
• the bowyer's bench — Yew staves, wax, and patience — bows built for the Thornwood.
• the tanner's racks — Wild hides in, working leather out.
• the Wildwardens lodge — Antlers, maps, and quiet — the deep wilds' front door.
• the wall walk — Captain Marrow's soldiers on the parapet, counting everything that moves on the ridge. The gate-list slate hangs where the wind can't take it.

Faces to know: Captain Ilsa Marrow (captain of the Highwatch watch) · Scale-Reader Venn (appraiser of unidentified finds) · Tam Whitlock (warden of the Wildwardens)

Lantern Moot settlement

The moot that grew at the Sunderpit's lip — eighty years of every kind of traveler, adventurer, and creature hanging their lantern at one gate. No Watch, no ledger of blood, one law: what comes up the Pit is shared, what goes down it is your own affair.

• the Moot — A ring of lantern-posts around a slate tally-stone — every kind's lantern hangs here, and the pit-wind sets them all swinging together.
• Lantern Row — Nim's scales and a row of stalls that buy anything the Pit gives up, by weight, no questions.
• the Every Kind — Mother Ardis's tavern — long tables, one stew, no steel at the boards.
• the Pit-Warden's post — The Guild's outpost at the pit-lip: Hesk's tally-board, Sable's ledger and map-case, the Orb on a plain stand. Ranks read here count in Aldenmark's book.
• the Bend smithy — A dwarf-built forge worked by whoever's sober — hollow plate re-tempered, rift-teeth ground to edges.
• the Bend tannery — Rift-pelts stretched on frames, drinking the lamplight even dead.
• the lantern stables — Mules, mostly, and one very patient gryphon-hitch nobody uses.

Faces to know: Pit-Warden Hesk (the Moot's pit-warden) · Nim Quickfingers (goblin market-master of Lantern Row) · Mother Ardis (keeper of the Every Kind) · Sable of the Deep Ledger (dragonoid clerk of the Guild's Moot post)

The wilds

The dungeons

Dungeons are OTHER PLANES — entering seals the way behind you. Carry a recall stone (any guild hall) or know escape magic BEFORE you enter. Their dead drop sealed finds; some curse.

Races

Humanoids start in Aldenmark as citizens. Monster races start in The Thornwood with nothing but an inborn gift — born mightier, leveling slower, and earning each town's trust at the gate.

Standard training

✦ marks spells. Beyond these, arts you invent through story are yours alone — and the engine honors them by name.

Guilds

Mounts

Coin

100 copper = 1 silver · 100 silver = 1 gold. Commoners live in silver; a meal runs a few dozen copper, a bed a silver or three, decent gear tens of silver. Gold is rare and means something — enchanted work trades near or over a full gold piece.

Good to know

• Death drops your pack where you fell (equipped gear and camp caches never drop) — return and wake the System there to search for it. You wake at your bind point, alive and whole.
• Sealed finds: wear one unread and you get half its virtue — and ALL of any curse underneath. A worn curse binds until cleansed. Appraisers exist for a reason.
• Elements combine: oil then fire ignites; a soaked foe conducts lightning; water douses flames. An art's element lives in its name.
• Easy prey teaches less, then nothing: a foe one level below you pays three-quarters, two below half, three below a quarter — four or more below, no XP and no practice at all. Foes above you pay a little extra. Mastery is earned at eye level or looking up.
• No player can ever attack you. Trade, talk, party, teach — the threads of other legends are not yours to cut.