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Documents

Documents are reference content you attach to your ruleset for players to view—either PDF files or markdown text. They're perfect for rulebooks, quick reference guides, character creation instructions, and any other written content.

What are Documents?​

Documents allow you to include PDFs or markdown in your ruleset that players can view while playing. This is useful for:

  • Rulebooks - Full game rules and mechanics
  • Quick reference sheets - Combat rules, spell lists, condition effects
  • Character creation guides - Step-by-step instructions for making characters
  • Lore and worldbuilding - Setting information, maps, histories
  • Supplemental content - Additional rules, optional systems, expansions

Creating Documents​

To create a document:

  1. Navigate to the Documents page in your ruleset
  2. Click the "New" button
  3. Provide a title, description, and optional category
  4. Upload a cover image (optional but recommended)
  5. Upload a PDF file
  6. Click "Create"

Document Properties​

Each document has:

  • Title - The name displayed to players
  • Description - Brief explanation of the document's contents
  • Category - Optional grouping (e.g., "Rules", "Lore", "Reference")
  • Cover Image - Visual thumbnail to help identify the document
  • Content - Either a PDF file or markdown (see Markdown content); a document cannot have both

Markdown content​

Documents can use markdown instead of a PDF. This is useful for short reference text, house rules, or content you prefer to edit as plain text.

  • Either/or: A document has either a PDF or markdown content, not both. Adding or saving markdown for a document clears any existing PDF; uploading a PDF clears markdown.
  • When you can use markdown: If a document has no PDF, you can add or edit markdown from the Documents page by opening the document and using the edit (pencil) action, or when creating a new document without uploading a PDF.
  • Rendering: Markdown is rendered with standard formatting (headings, lists, bold, links, etc.). Links support data: and blob: URLs so you can use embedded images.
  • Editing: In the markdown editor you get an Edit / Preview toggle. Use Cmd+Enter (Mac) or Ctrl+Enter (Windows) to save. Saving markdown replaces the document’s content and removes any PDF that was previously attached.

Documents with markdown are opened in the same viewer as PDFs; the content is shown as rendered markdown instead of a PDF.

Viewing Documents​

From the Ruleset​

When editing a ruleset, you can view documents by:

  1. Going to the Documents page
  2. Clicking on any document card
  3. The document opens (PDF viewer or markdown view, depending on content)

From Character Sheets​

Players can access documents while viewing their characters:

  1. Open a character
  2. Click the documents icon in the sidebar
  3. Browse available documents
  4. Click to open and view

Pinning Documents​

Characters can pin frequently-referenced documents to their sidebar:

  1. Open a document while viewing a character
  2. Click the pin icon
  3. The document remains in the sidebar for quick access during play

PDF Viewer Features​

The built-in PDF viewer includes:

  • Page navigation - Browse through pages with next/previous buttons
  • Zoom controls - Adjust the view size for readability
  • Download - Save a copy of the PDF to your device
  • Search - Find specific text within the document (browser-dependent)

Document Categories​

Organize documents into categories to help players find what they need:

  • Rules - Core mechanics and systems
  • Reference - Quick guides
  • Lore - Setting information and stories
  • Character - Creation and advancement guides
  • Supplemental - Optional rules and expansions

Categories appear as filters on the documents page, making navigation easier.

Best Practices​

  • Use cover images - Visual thumbnails help players identify documents quickly
  • Keep PDFs focused - Break large rulebooks into smaller, topic-specific documents
  • Descriptive titles - Clear names help players find what they need
  • Optimize file size - Compress PDFs to improve loading times
  • Organize with categories - Group related documents together
  • Include a "Quick Start" - A brief getting-started guide for new players
  • Update regularly - Keep documents current with your ruleset version

Documents vs. Content Components​

Use Documents when:

  • You have existing PDF content or short markdown reference text
  • You need multi-page formatted text (PDF) or simple formatted text (markdown)
  • You want players to download or print content (PDF) or read in-app (PDF or markdown)
  • Content is primarily reference material

Use Content components (in windows) when:

  • Information should be visible on the character sheet
  • Content is brief and specific to a character
  • Information changes per character
  • Players need to update the content in game

Exporting Documents​

When you export a ruleset:

  • Document metadata (title, description, category, and markdown content when present) is stored in application data/documents.json
  • PDF files are stored in a documents/ folder with their original formatting
  • Cover images are stored in the images/ folder

This makes it easy to:

  • Share complete rulesets with all reference materials
  • Back up your content
  • Transfer documents between rulesets
  • Edit PDFs externally and re-import