Help & Getting Started

Browse Scenarios

Your starting point is the Dashboard or the Scenario Library page. Here you'll find a collection of scenarios to explore — each one is a unique setting with its own characters, world, and story possibilities. Featured scenarios appear first, followed by the newest additions. Simply click on any scenario card to see its full description, then hit Play Scenario to jump in.

Search & Filter

Use the search bar at the top of the scenario grid to find scenarios by name, tagline, or description. You can also click Filter by tags to narrow things down by genre or theme — for example, "mystery", "sci-fi", or "romance". When filtering by multiple tags, only scenarios that match all selected tags are shown, so you can get very specific about what you're looking for.

Getting Started

When you start a new story, some scenarios will ask you to name your character before the story begins. Enter a first name (and optionally a last name) to personalize the experience — this is the character the AI will assume you're playing as. Once you're ready, click Start The Story and the AI will set the scene with an opening message.

The Message Flow

Stories unfold as a conversation: the AI writes a scene or dialogue, and then it's your turn to respond. Type what your character does or says in the input field at the bottom and press Send. Don't overthink it — even simple, short inputs work great. The AI picks up on your intent and weaves it into the narrative.

Story Suggestions

After each AI response, you'll see up to three suggested actions appear as clickable chips above the input field. These are contextual ideas for what your character could do or say next. Click any suggestion to use it as your response, or ignore them and write your own.

You can toggle suggestions on or off using the lightbulb icon in the input area. Your preference is saved automatically, so it carries over to all your stories.

Editing Messages

Every message (yours and the AI's) has an edit button in the bottom-right corner. Click it to open an inline editor where you can adjust the text. This is useful if the AI took the story in a direction you didn't expect, or if you want to tweak your own response to steer things differently. Hit save when you're done and the story continues with your changes.

Regenerate & Delete

On the most recent AI message, you'll also see a regenerate button. Click it to discard that response and have the AI generate a completely new one — handy if the response didn't quite land right.

Similarly, you can delete the most recent message (yours or the AI's) if you want to rewind and take the story in a different direction.

Story Summaries

As your story grows, TaleSmith automatically generates summaries to keep track of what's happened. These are created every 100 messages or so and capture the key events and developments. To read them, open the sidebar (the toggle on the right edge of the screen) and click Story Summary. It's a great way to catch up on where your story stands, especially for longer adventures.

Viewing Characters

Open the sidebar and click Story Characters to see everyone involved in your story. You'll find two types of characters here:

• Original characters (purple border) — pre-written characters that come with the scenario
• Added during story (amber border) — characters the AI introduced naturally as the story progressed

The character list updates automatically after every 100 messages, just like story summaries, so new characters that appear in the narrative get tracked over time.

Changing Your Character (Play As)

Want to experience the story from a different perspective? Click the Play As button on any playable character. From that point on, the AI will assume you're playing as that character and adjust the narrative accordingly. Your current character is highlighted with a cyan border and a "Playing As" badge. You can switch perspectives as often as you like.

Editing Characters

Click the edit icon on any character to modify their details — name, role, age, personality, background, and more. This only affects the current story, not the original scenario. It's a great way to adjust a character to better fit your vision of how the story should unfold.

Removing Characters

If a character isn't working out or you want to simplify things, click the remove icon to hide them from the story. They won't appear in future AI responses. Don't worry — this is reversible. Removed characters appear grayed out at the bottom of the list, and you can restore them anytime with the restore button.

Start with Your Ideas

Head to the Scenario Library and click the Create Your Own card. You'll land on a brainstorming page with a large text area on the left where you can type out your ideas in free form — there's no rigid structure to follow. Describe the world, the characters, the mood, the conflict, anything that inspires you.

AI-Assisted Brainstorming

As you type, the AI Feedback panel on the right will analyze your ideas and offer suggestions to make your scenario richer. It might prompt you to think about things like: who are the main characters? What's the emotional tone? What kind of world is this set in? This back-and-forth helps you flesh out a concept that might start as just a spark of an idea.

The status indicator in the top-right corner shows where things stand: Waiting (start typing), Analyzing (AI is thinking), Needs More (add some detail), or Ready (good to go).

Generate Your Scenario

When the AI has enough to work with, the status changes to Ready and a Generate Scenario button appears. Click it and watch as the AI transforms your brainstorm into a fully-formed TaleSmith scenario — complete with a name, description, characters, AI behavior instructions, and more. A progress indicator keeps you updated as it works through each part.

If you're eager and the AI says it needs more detail, you can always click Generate Anyway to proceed with what you have.

Refine & Customize

After generation, you're taken to the scenario editor where you can fine-tune everything. Edit the description, tweak the AI behavior instructions, adjust character details, add or remove characters, and change settings like visibility and tags. Each text field has an Improve with AI button if you want the AI to help polish a specific section. All changes save automatically as you work.

Add a Scenario Image

Don't forget to give your scenario a visual identity! Click the Change Image button in the header of the scenario editor. You can either generate an image using AI (it creates an image prompt automatically based on your scenario) or upload your own. A good image makes your scenario stand out in the library and sets the mood for players.