# Stillevande: player and keeper guide

Use these public addresses from a browser or terminal. **Do not use an internal `.local` address or a private LAN IP.** Your keeper will provide your own player username and password; never use or share the keeper's password.

- Keeper dashboard: **https://www.stillevande.com/**
- Player table: **https://www.stillevande.com/play**
- Public rules library: **https://www.stillevande.com/compendium**
- SSH game terminal: `www.stillevande.com` on port `2222`

The browser and SSH terminal use the same character, inventory, nearby world, saved turns, and conversation history.

## 1. Keeper: create a character and player account

1. Sign in to the [keeper dashboard](https://www.stillevande.com/) with the keeper account.
2. Open **Players & world engine** in the left navigation.
3. Under **Create a character**, enter a name and select a starting place in the world.
4. Set the character's race, class, maximum hit points, and six ability scores. Review the sheet after creation; the form's initial values are only starting placeholders.
5. If needed, use **Grant coins** to record actual copper, silver, gold, and platinum coin counts.
6. Under **Give a player access**, enter their display name, a unique username, and an initial password. Select the character they will play, then create the account.
7. Give that player their username, password, and the public player URL. Send credentials privately. The player password is separate from keeper access.

Revoking a player's access disables browser and SSH sign-in but preserves the character and its history. Contact the keeper to reset a forgotten password.

## 2. Player: join in a browser

1. Open the [player table](https://www.stillevande.com/play).
2. Sign in with your player username and password.
3. Choose an existing session to continue, or create one by selecting your campaign and character and entering a session title.
4. Check the scene, nearby people, exits, character sheet, inventory, purse, and conditions shown around the conversation.
5. Choose an available action when you want the system to record a specific game operation. Describe your intent to the DM and submit the turn.

Travel, buying, dropping or picking up an item, giving an item to an NPC, waiting, and ability checks have structured actions. Use those when available so the world records the mechanical change. Free-form conversation is best for questions, dialogue, and actions that need the DM to interpret or the keeper to adjudicate.

The page shows whether a turn is queued or running. A saved turn continues if you close the browser. Reopen the same session to see the result; do not submit the same action again while it is pending. Use **Retry saved turn** only if the page marks it failed.

## 3. Player: join from a terminal

From macOS, Linux, or Windows PowerShell, run:

```sh
ssh -p 2222 YOUR_USERNAME@www.stillevande.com
```

Enter your player account password when prompted. On a first connection, SSH asks whether to trust the server's host key. Verify its fingerprint with the keeper before accepting it. The game service uses its configured SSH port; port 22 is not the game terminal.

Type naturally at the prompt—for example, `I ask Mira about the road`—and press Enter. Use `help` to see commands supported by this world. Common commands include `look`, `inventory`, `sheet`, `journal`, `dice`, `nearby`, and `sessions`. Explicit actions such as `/go 211` or `/check DEX` are useful when you know the target or mechanic.

The full-screen terminal has quick windows: F1 Help, F2 Inventory, F3 Character sheet, F4 Journal, F5 Dice, F6 Nearby and exits, and F7 Sessions. Escape closes a window; Ctrl-Q disconnects. On narrower terminals, those windows keep the same information available when side panels are hidden.

## 4. Switch between browser and terminal

1. Let the submitted action save and note whether it is still queued or running.
2. You may disconnect while the DM prepares its response; the saved turn keeps running.
3. Sign in through the other interface with the same player account.
4. Reopen the same session. In the terminal, use `sessions` to list sessions and `use SESSION_ID` to switch to one.
5. Check the conversation and current character/world state before taking the next action.

Only one turn per player can be pending at a time. Restarting a terminal connection does not erase saved turns or session history.

## 5. Rules library

The [public compendium](https://www.stillevande.com/compendium) is searchable and does not require an account. It is a reference library; entries are not player-created character or inventory records.

## Connection help

- **The website will not open:** Check that you are using the public links above, including `https://`, and ask the keeper to check the public website/DNS. Do not switch to a `.local` address or private IP.
- **SSH times out or refuses the connection:** Confirm the public hostname and configured port, then ask the keeper to check the server firewall and router forwarding for that port.
- **SSH reports a changed host key:** Stop and check with the keeper before reconnecting. Do not remove or accept a changed key until the keeper confirms the server identity.
- **Permission denied:** Use your player username and password, not the keeper password or a computer account. After repeated failures, wait a few minutes and contact the keeper.
- **No character or session is listed:** Ask the keeper to assign your character. Choose an existing session or create one before playing.
- **An item, person, or exit is not available:** Check your current location with `look` and your belongings with `inventory`; targets must be visible or accessible from the current scene.
- **A turn is still running:** Reopen the same session and check its status. A saved turn survives a browser or SSH disconnect; repeating it can duplicate an action.

The Codex, database administration, and server terminal links belong to the keeper's administration area and are not player tools.