The validation report, the trial run that explains why a choice is hidden, the adventure's settings and the publication of an immutable version.
This chapter is a reference: come back to it when an adventure needs it. If Fatum is new to you, start with the first step of the path: What the engine can do
Validation
The report sorts its findings into three levels: blocking, warnings and information. Only the blocking ones prevent publication. A warning deserves a look, but it does not stop you from putting the adventure online. Findings from the in-depth analysis also appear in the report, tagged "In-depth analysis", and never block publication. To uncover more of them, click "Start the in-depth analysis": several runs of the draft are then played through automatically.
Each finding names the element it concerns and takes you there in one click, straight to the right field. A bar then appears at the bottom of the screen: it lets you move on to the next finding without going back to the report. Each finding is written to say what to do: "This fight offers no attacks: add at least one".
When several elements share the same problem, the report gathers them into a single entry. The "By element" view groups findings by element rather than by type. A filter separates structural findings, which are independent of language, from those about the text of a given language. That is what lets you sort out the graph without drowning in missing translations.
The playtest
Aperçu plays your draft with the same engine, the same rolls and the same rendering as a real run, and saves nothing. The left panel decides where you start and with what: any scene, and a starting amount for items, values and resources.
Why is this choice hidden?
Under the playtest, a list shows every choice of the scene, the offered ones and the ones that are not. Each hidden choice names the check that failed, and unfolds into the detail, row by row, in the very sentences you wrote the rule in.
A row can be "not met" or "impossible to evaluate", and those are not the same. The first is the game working; the second is a rule the engine cannot read, and it says why.
The adventure's settings
The "Settings" page gathers what concerns the whole adventure rather than one scene. Each panel saves on its own: a line at the top of the panel says "Autosave", then "Saved at" followed by the time. The left menu divides two families: "Adventure", which applies right away, and "Game rules", which applies at the next publication.
- General information. The title, required, and a short description, optional.
- Cover. One image per adventure language, in JPEG, PNG or WebP format. A language with no cover displays the default language's, and a missing cover never blocks publication.
- Ambience music. Your playlist, chosen from those the site offers, played "In order" or "Shuffle". Music never starts on its own: the reader presses the play button. A change also applies to runs in progress, and as long as the list is empty, no music is offered.
- Ratings and comments. Two checkboxes, "Allow ratings" and "Allow new comments and replies". Unchecking a box erases nothing: already-published ratings and comments stay visible.
- Address and visibility. The adventure's public address shows here, ready to copy. It follows the title and the author's name while nothing is published, then is fixed at first publication and never changes, even if you rename the adventure. The choice between "In the catalogue" and "Out of the catalogue" is in the same panel (see below).
- Theme. Eight themes to choose from: Parchment (the site's own), Dark fantasy, Inquiry, Horror, Warm, Modern horror, Neon and Simple reading. A theme changes the colours, the typography and the mood, without touching the rules or the results.
- Character creation. The place of classes in creation: "No class", "Optional class" or "Required class". For the creation screen to show, the start scene must have the role "Character creation". Trait groups set in the library.
- Inventory. What the character can keep: "No limit" (the starting setting), a fixed number of "Slots", or a maximum "Bulk", each item having its own. Limits per tag (for example two weapons at most) add to this choice, and exempted tags take an item out of the count.
Four themes open in dark mode for a reader who has not chosen theirs; their card carries the note "Dark mode by default.". The "Preview in" selector (Default, Light, Dark, Contrast, Dark contrast) lets you see the eight themes in each mode before publishing.
Save points and cheating
Two aids are set in the settings, in the "Save points and cheating" panel of the "Game rules" group: returning to a save point, and cheating, that is, succeeding at a test without rolling the dice or skipping a combat. By default, an adventure offers both, with points created by the reader and three returns per run. For an adventure that is already published, these settings apply at the next publication.
- The reader creates the points. They create one whenever they like, from the run menu, and each new point replaces the previous one. Creating a point costs nothing: you only limit the number of returns, from 1 to 5 per run. When the run ends, the reader can also return to their point from the end screen.
- The author chooses the scenes. You check "Save point" in the inspector of each scene concerned: a point is created when the reader arrives there, and it replaces the previous one. Returns are unlimited. The checkbox is not offered on a combat scene. The third choice, "No save point", turns the feature off.
- Cheating. With the "Allow cheating" checkbox, the reader can succeed at a test without rolling the dice, and skip a combat at any time. The reader never sees the word "cheating": they see "Succeed without rolling" at the moment of the roll and "Skip the combat" during a combat. A skipped combat counts as won. The reader is warned: as soon as they use either one, they earn no more achievements in that run. The endings they discover still go into their collection.
- The exceptions. Each test has its "Can be passed without rolling the dice" checkbox, and each combat has its own, "The combat can be skipped", both checked by default. Uncheck the second for a combat the reader must lose, a capture for example: they must not be able to skip it as a victory. On a test with a results table, also choose the "Outcome of a success without rolling": without this choice, cheating is not offered for that test.
Publishing
Publication mode shows three checks, each with its state ("Checked", "To fix", "To review" or "Not checked yet") and, when there are findings, their count. The first two check what can block publication: "No blocking error", which gathers all the errors in the report (a missing start scene, an adventure with no playable path to an ending, an invalid reference…), and "The published snapshot compiles", which also checks that the default language is among the published languages. The last one, "Warnings and analysis findings", is placed under "Optional review": it never blocks publication.
The confirmation before publication announces what is going to happen: the languages that will be published, those left aside and why, the number of warnings still present in the report, and the version that new runs will use (runs already started keep theirs). On the first publication, the confirmation also states whether the adventure will appear in the catalogue or stay out of it, reachable only by its direct link.
Versions
Publishing never overwrites anything. A published version is frozen: publishing creates a new one and retires the previous one. The left panel lists them, from newest to oldest, with their number, their state ("Active version" or "Retired"), their date and their languages. Selecting a version opens its sheet, with the number of scenes, choices and endings.
Catalogue, deletion and copy
By default, "In the catalogue" is selected: your adventure appears in the public catalogue from its first publication, and anyone can find it. To keep it out of the catalogue, choose "Out of the catalogue" before publishing, in Publication mode or in the "Address and visibility" panel of the settings. As long as the adventure has not been retired, you can change this choice at any time afterwards, in the same places.
Mind the exact meaning: taking an adventure out of the catalogue does not unpublish it. It stays playable at its address, which only a direct link can reach, and runs in progress continue: only its presence in the list disappears.
Delete the adventure is another action. It is the last entry in the settings menu and, under the name "Delete", on the "My adventures" page, in both cases after a confirmation. The scenes, the choices, the rules and the definitions disappear, the published version too, and runs already started cannot be resumed. There is no trash.