Trackers

Trackers are how your world remembers. They are named pieces of state that the storyteller keeps across the whole journey: resources, relationships, progress, hidden conditions. They change as the story unfolds, and the story changes because of them.

A concrete example: a Trust tracker starts at 50. It rises when the player helps Priya and falls when they lie to her. Below 20, Priya stops sharing what she knows. Above 80, she tells the player about the tunnel under the chapel. The player never sees a number in the prose. They see Priya go quiet, or lean in.

Trackers are easy to over-use. Start with a few whose values change how the story continues, and add more when playtests show a need.

Why trackers matter

• Continuity. The story keeps its own memory of past events, but a tracker is an explicit value that instructions and beats can refer to, and it survives fifty turns of prose unchanged.
• Consequences. When a tracker changes, the world responds. The guard who waved the player through at low Suspicion follows them at high Suspicion.
• Replayability. Different choices produce different tracker states, which unlock different story beats. Two playthroughs of one world can go to genuinely different places.

World-level and per-character trackers

There are two places to define trackers, and the difference is scope.

• World trackers live under Game rules → Trackers. They are shared by every player character and represent global state: the kingdom's stability, a faction's influence, days until the eclipse, whether the bridge is down.
• Per-character trackers live on each player character, under Starting Trackers in Essentials → Characters. They represent personal state: reputation, a mana pool, a private debt. Because each character can start with different values, this is also how you make characters feel mechanically and dramatically distinct from turn one.

Both kinds work in any world. You do not need the RPG Game System to give a character personal trackers. The RPG system builds on trackers by giving you a shared character sheet and letting the storyteller grow inventory, skills, and bonds on top. See RPG mode and dice.

At journey start the two lists are merged. If a character tracker and a world tracker share a name, the character's value wins.

Tracker anatomy

• Tracker / Story variable: the control at the top of the editor. Leave it on Tracker for state the storyteller keeps. Switch it to Story variable for a value only your beats read and change, which trims the editor down to the fields that still apply. See Story variables.
• Name: clear and specific. "Trust", "Mana", "Days Until the Eclipse". The storyteller refers to it by this name, and so do beat conditions.
• Description: what the tracker represents in the world. The storyteller uses it to understand what the value means.
• Display type: how the tracker is shaped and shown. See the next section.
• Starting value: where it begins. A number for numeric types, current and max for a bar, a step for a scale, text for a flag.
• Update Instructions: when and how the tracker changes. The most important field, covered in depth below.
• Player visibility: whether the player sees it on their sheet. Visible is there from the start. Revealed later is off the sheet at first and appears the first time its value changes, or when a story beat reveals it. Hidden stays off the sheet for the whole journey. The storyteller sees all three from turn one (a story variable is the one thing it never sees). See Trackers that appear later.
• Readonly to the AI: the storyteller cannot change it. Only a player's setting choice at journey start or a story beat effect can. Use it for identity and setup state the storyteller must not redecide: which class was picked, which secret is true. Turning it on hides Update Instructions, since there is nothing left for the storyteller to apply.
• Only if NSFW is on: on world trackers, character trackers and story variables alike. A marked tracker exists only in journeys where NSFW content is on. For everyone else it is never on the sheet, never sent to the storyteller, and beats cannot write it: an arousal meter in a world everyone can play. On a character tracker, only that character loses it; if it overrides a world tracker of the same name, the world one is used instead, and beats keep writing to it. See Only if NSFW is on.
• Author Notes: private notes, never sent to the storyteller.

Display types

The display type sets both what the storyteller can do with a tracker and what the player sees in the Trackers panel during play.

A few notes:

• Scales want an odd number of steps (3, 5, 7) so there is a true neutral middle. The storyteller moves a scale by naming a step or nudging it one rung at a time.
• Word values often steer the story better than numbers. A Flag holding "open inquiry" tells the storyteller what to do. A Counter holding "2" does not.
• Clocks are exact. The engine, not the storyteller, adds one each turn. Say in Update Instructions when it resets, and gate a beat on "at least N" to fire after N turns.
• A Clock counts turns, not hours. For the date or the time of day, use the world clock under Game rules: the engine moves it by the in-story minutes each turn took, and players see it in the same panel.

The player's panel draws meters and gauges as bars, scales as a diverging bar, stats as tiles, and everything else as a name and value. Hidden trackers never appear there, and a tracker set to Revealed later only joins once it has changed or a beat has revealed it.

Trackers that appear later

Some state should exist from turn one but stay out of sight until it matters: a pregnancy, a curse, corruption, a bounty. Set the tracker's Player visibility to Revealed later. The storyteller tracks it from the first turn and is told not to name it in the prose until it appears. It appears on the player's sheet the first time its value moves off its starting value, whoever moved it (the storyteller or a beat's Set tracker value effect), or when a beat with a Reveal tracker effect fires, whichever comes first. Once it has appeared it stays. The value a world setting or the player's starting sheet gives it at journey start is its starting value, not a change.

A concrete example: a Curse tracker (Gauge, 0 of 100, revealed later). "+10 each night the player sleeps with the ring on, +25 when they use its power. Never falls. Above 40, cold hands and bad dreams. Above 80, the ring will not come off." The player finds out there is a curse when it first rises. If the story should name it earlier, a beat with a Reveal tracker effect puts it on the sheet the turn a priest recognizes the ring, still at zero.

• Use Hidden for what the player should never see. Revealed later is for a secret that is meant to come out.
• Clocks cannot be revealed later. A clock ticks every turn, so it would appear on the first one. The option is greyed out on clocks.
• It stays off the character select screen, the world page's character cards, and the starting sheet form players fill in, so the character's preview does not spoil it.
• The reveal is silent by default: the tracker is simply there on the sheet from that turn. In LitRPG mode, Announce revealed trackers in the RPG Game System section makes the System show a card for it instead. See RPG mode and dice.

Story variables

Some state is pure story logic: how many clues have been found, which branch the player took, how many times a scene has repeated. Nobody needs to narrate it, and nobody should. A story variable is a tracker that only your beats touch. Beat effects (Set tracker) change it, beat conditions read it, and that is the whole story. The player never sees it, not on the sheet, not in the Trackers panel, not even as a hidden tracker. The storyteller is never told it exists, so it cannot change it, mention it, or react to it.

That last point is what separates a variable from a hidden tracker, and it decides which one you want:

• Use a tracker (Hidden if the player should not see it) when the storyteller should react to the value, or should change it from what happens in the story.
• Use a story variable when only your beats should ever touch it. Deterministic beat conditions are the way to act on it: a beat with the condition "Regulars Befriended at least 3", for example.

Creating one is a click. Both tracker lists (Trackers under Game rules, and each player character's Starting Trackers) have an Add variable button next to Add tracker. To convert an existing entry, open it and switch the Tracker / Story variable control at the top of its editor. It works in both directions. In Story variable mode the editor keeps the Name (the identifier your beats use), a Description that is a note for you and is never sent to the AI, the Display type with its starting value, the Only if NSFW is on switch, and Author Notes. Update Instructions, Player visibility, Readonly to the AI and the preview are gone, because a variable is always hidden from the player and always read-only to the AI. Every display type works on a variable, and a Clock variable still advances by one every turn on its own.

In the list, a variable's row carries a Variable badge. Once a list holds at least one variable, an All / Trackers / Variables filter appears above it.

A concrete example, from The Yokai Ramen Shop: a Counter variable Regulars Befriended starts at 0. Each regular has a beat that fires once the player has had a real conversation with them, and its effect adds 1 to the variable. A later beat, "the owner's story", has the condition Regulars Befriended at least 3. The storyteller runs the conversations and never counts anything. The beats keep the tally, and the owner opens up when the player has earned it.

Update instructions

This is the part that makes a tracker work. The storyteller changes a tracker through a dedicated update step, guided by your Update Instructions. A value the narrator mentions in the prose is not recorded: only an actual update counts. So if the instructions are vague, the tracker drifts or never moves.

Be specific about cause and size.

Weak: "Trust changes based on the player's actions."

Strong: "+5 when the player keeps a promise to Priya or helps her without being asked. +10 if they take a risk on her behalf. -5 for a lie she catches, -15 for a betrayal she witnesses. Small talk and routine cooperation do not move it."

The strong version names the events, gives sizes, and says what does not count. That last part prevents the most common drift, a tracker that creeps up every turn because "the player was nice".

Define what happens at key values. This is how a tracker drives consequences. "Below 20, Priya answers in single words and never volunteers information. Between 20 and 80, she is professional. Above 80, she shares what she knows about the tunnel and calls the player by their first name." Write it in the Update Instructions or in a named instruction block that references the tracker.

Explain how it goes up and how it goes down. A tracker that only rises feels like a score. Give reasons for both directions.

For resources, give a cost scale. If Mana depletes, say what a spell costs and how it is restored. "Minor spells cost 5, major spells 20. Mana recovers 10 per night of sleep and fully at the shrine."

Keep the format consistent. If one tracker uses "+5 / -3" notation, use it for all of them. Consistency helps the storyteller apply the rules the same way every time.

How trackers interact with other features

• Instructions. Reference trackers by name in your instructions so the storyteller knows how values should shape the narrative: "when Suspicion is high, guards follow the player and shopkeepers refuse to haggle."
• Story beats. Trackers are the most common beat trigger (a beat fires when a tracker reaches a value) and the most common beat effect (a beat sets or adjusts a tracker when it fires). A beat can write an absolute value, a delta such as "+5", a new current/max for a bar, or a scale step. Beats can also retire a tracker, or show one set to Revealed later. When a value exists only to drive beats, make it a story variable. A beat waiting on a tracker fires the turn after the storyteller changes it, since beats are checked before each turn is written; turn on React on the same turn on the beat to fire on the turn of the change instead (see Timing). See Beats and story arcs.
• Player settings. A choice the player makes at journey start (difficulty, faction, a starting path) can write its value into a tracker, so beats can read it later. See the World Settings note in Foundations.
• Starting values. Different player characters can start with different values for the same tracker. See Worldbuilding and characters.
• Playtesting. In your own journeys, the Debug panel's Turns tab lists every tracker change per turn, and its State tab shows current values, including hidden ones and story variables behind a spoiler toggle.

Limits and prioritization

• A journey holds up to 20 active trackers, counting world trackers plus the most tracker-heavy player character. Story variables count too. Once it reaches 20, nothing new can be added during play, so keep your starting set well under the cap. The editor warns you when your definition exceeds it.
• You rarely need that many. Most worlds do well with three to seven. Every tracker is a set of update rules to maintain and one more thing the storyteller can get wrong.
• Track what changes the story. If a tracker does not change how the storyteller behaves at some value, it does not need to exist.
• Relationships are usually already tracked. Every recurring NPC has a built-in relationship record the story keeps current on its own, in any world, and RPG worlds also keep bond tiers on character sheets. Add a relationship tracker only when story beats must gate on or deterministically change that relationship, because beat conditions and effects read trackers, not the built-in record. See Worldbuilding and characters.

Examples by genre

Each example names the trackers, gives their type and starting value, and shows one update rule, so you can see what a complete tracker looks like in context.

Political drama

• Crown Favor (Gauge, 50 of 100). "+10 when the player delivers a result the king asked for. -10 when they are seen with the Duke's faction. -25 if they contradict the king in public. Below 30, the king stops receiving them. Above 80, they are named to the council."
• Duke's Faction (Scale: Enemy, Wary, Neutral, Useful, Ally, starts Neutral). "Move one step toward Ally when the player does the Duke a favor in secret. Move one step toward Enemy when they expose one of his people."
• Secrets Known (Counter, 0). "+1 each time the player learns a fact that could ruin a named noble. Never decreases."

Horror

• Dread (Gauge, 10 of 100, hidden). "+10 for each unexplained event the player witnesses, +20 for direct contact with the thing in the walls, -5 for a night of safe sleep. Above 60, sentences shorten and ordinary objects become wrong. Above 90, the player can no longer tell which memories are theirs."
• Evidence (Counter, 0). "+1 for each physical proof the player collects: the photograph, the ledger, the tooth. Story beats read this."
• Lantern Oil (Meter, 6 of 6). "-1 per in-story hour spent in the tunnels. Refill at the chapel. At 0, the dark is total and Dread rises twice as fast."

Romance

• Affection (Scale: Cold, Guarded, Warm, Close, Devoted, starts Guarded). "One step warmer for a moment of real honesty or a kept promise. One step colder for a lie she catches or a plan cancelled without a reason. Never move more than one step per scene."
• Jealousy (Gauge, 0 of 100, hidden). "+15 when the player spends a scene alone with Tunde. -10 per scene the player spends with her instead. Above 50, she brings him up unprompted. Above 80, she confronts the player."

Adventure and quest

• Expedition Supplies (Meter, 20 of 20). "-2 per day of travel, -4 in bad weather. Restock only in towns. At 0, the party eats from the land and travel takes twice as long."
• Party Morale (Scale: Mutinous, Grumbling, Steady, Eager, Inspired, starts Steady). "One step up for a victory or a good meal. One step down for a death, a wrong turn, or a night without shelter. At Mutinous, a companion leaves."
• Days Until Winter (Clock, starts 0, description "one turn is one travel day"). "Never reset. A beat fires at 30."

LitRPG and progression

• Level (Stat, 1), HP (Meter, 40 of 40), XP (Counter, 0). These become part of a shared character sheet in RPG mode, where inventory, skills, and bonds are tracked for you. See RPG mode and dice for the full treatment.

Common mistakes

• Too many trackers. The number one mistake. Fifteen trackers means fifteen rule sets and fifteen ways to be inconsistent. Start with the few that matter.
• Vague update instructions. "Changes based on the player's actions" gives the storyteller no guidance. Name the causes and the sizes.
• Trackers that never change. No update instructions and no beat that touches it means dead data. Wire it up or remove it.
• The wrong display type. A Meter for something binary, or a Flag for something on a spectrum. Match the type to the concept.
• Printing numbers in the prose. Trackers steer. They never narrate.
• A tracker for a relationship the story already tracks. Recurring NPCs have built-in relationship records. Only add a tracker when beats need to read or write the value.
• The time of day in a tracker. The storyteller has to remember to move it every turn, and the time stalls when it forgets. Turn on the world clock instead and remove the tracker. A tracker with the clock's name is refused while the clock is on, so the world will not save until it is renamed or gone.

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Frequently asked questions