The Modes

Every campaign runs in one of three modes. They all write the same kind of story into the same journal — what differs is who drives. (That’s a separate question from a campaign’s style of play, which decides the rules.)

Each mode has a plain-language name; its classic label is kept as a quiet subtitle, and a short form is used on the in-Play mode toggle.

You tell the story — Assistant · short: You

The classic solo-RPG loop, with the busywork lifted away:

  1. Type what your protagonist does in the composer and send it.
  2. When you’re unsure what happens, ask the oracles — 🎲 Omen for yes/no questions, 🔤 Meaning for inspiration, ⚡ Event for a twist.
  3. You interpret the results; Soliloquest scribes the beat into journal prose in your chosen style.
  4. When it senses a new thread or character emerged, it proposes rather than writes — you confirm with ✓ or dismiss with ✕.
  5. You decide when a scene is done and wrap it yourself.

Best for: players who want full authorship with a tireless scribe and rules-keeper.

You and the Storyteller tell the story — Game Master · short: You + Storyteller

The Storyteller frames vivid scenes and presents charged situations; you play your protagonist:

  1. A fresh campaign opens with the Storyteller’s interactive setup — it suggests settings and protagonists (or you write your own, or let the oracle decide), shows you a summary to confirm, then frames Scene 1.
  2. Each beat ends with a posed decision — pick a suggested action, describe your own, or let the oracle choose.
  3. The Storyteller reads the omens behind the scenes, narrates consequences, and advances to new scenes on its own, shifting the entropy dial as fortunes rise and fall.

Best for: players who want to be surprised — closest to sitting across from a human game master.

The Storyteller tells the story — Auto · short: Storyteller

The same engine, but the Storyteller also plays the protagonist. Actions appear as they’re decided, then get narrated and journaled.

  • Review cadence — a small dial beside the mode toggle: pause for your review each turn or each scene.
  • At each pause you can simply Continue, or type a steering note — “head back to the derelict” — and the story folds it in.

Best for: watching a story grow, kicking off a campaign you’ll take over, or just enjoying the engine at work.

Which modes you see

The modes available to you are the ones you turned on in first-run setup (or later in Settings → How you play). If you only enabled one, you won’t see the others’ chrome at all; enable more and every campaign can flex between them.

Switching modes mid-campaign

When more than one mode is enabled, a compact mode toggle (You / You + Storyteller / Storyteller) sits near the top of the Play screen. Switch anytime — the story (threads, cast, scenes, journal, entropy) is shared, so nothing is lost:

  • Switch a You-driven campaign to You + Storyteller and the Storyteller picks up the existing world — open threads and cast inform its scenes.
  • Switch back, and you resume where it paused; any pending question waits for your return.
  • Storyteller-driven play can take over any established campaign, and you can take it back at the next review pause.