Plot threads are your campaign's quests, and they have a guide of their own. This one is about how they fit together: what has to happen before a quest opens, where the party's choices lead, and how to see the whole story at a glance.
Open the all-in-one edit page
Gates and branches live on a thread's all-in-one edit page. Press a thread on your Plot threads list, press Edit, then Edit all on one page.
Edit plot thread
i
← Plot threads
Changes save each time you press Next. Edit all on one page
1. Basics
2. Story
3. Antagonist & rewards
4. Player-facing
5. Linked entities
6. Review
Title
What shows in your plot threads list. Keep it short enough to spot at a glance.
The drowned quarry
Status
Where this thread currently stands.
Not started▾
Quest tier
Which line this thread belongs to: the main throughline, a side quest, or a sub-side quest branching off a side quest. Drives the quest map grouping and which thread shows on the dashboard.
Side quest▾
Next
Edit plot thread, with Edit all on one page at the top
Gates
Open Gates. A gate is a condition that keeps the thread locked until it's met. There are four kinds: the party has an item, an NPC has a status, another thread is completed, or the party has visited a place.
Choose the kind, pick what it points to, and press Add gate. Here, the drowned quarry waits until the party holds the quarry master's key.
Conditions that lock this thread: the app shows why it’s blocked. Satisfied is toggled by hand. 0 of 2 met.
WAITINGthread
The ash road caravan
Remove
WAITINGitem
Quarry master’s key
Remove
New gate: condition type
Party has item▾
Item+ New item
Choose an item…▾
Add gate
Gates, with two conditions waiting
Mark a gate as met
Each gate shows Waiting until you mark it. Critsmith doesn't guess what happened at your table, so when the party gets there, press Waiting and it turns to Met. You stay in charge of the story.
METthread
The ash road caravan
Remove
WAITINGitem
Quarry master’s key
Remove
One gate met, one still waiting
When every gate is met, the thread shows Ready to unlock, here and on your Plot threads list, where ready threads sit near the top. So you always know which quests the party can take on next.
On your Plot threads list
Main questThe Cinderfall Conspiracy
Someone in the council is feeding the Cinderfall cult. Find out who before the next burning.
Active
Delete
The drowned quarry
Find out who opened the old sluices, and why the Cinderfall cult wants the quarry drowned.
gated · 2 of 2 conditions met
Ready to unlockNot started
Delete
The ash road caravan
A caravan bound for Havenreach went silent on the ash road.
Completed
Delete
A ready thread on the Plot threads list
Branches
Branches are the choices that lead from one thread to another. Open Branches and press Add branch. Write the choice the way the party would make it, like Corner the foreman, then pick the thread it leads to.
Then choose how they connect. Leads to is the next step along the same line. Branches off starts a side quest. Loops back to main line brings a side quest home to your main story.
Player choices that lead from this thread into another, e.g. “Side with the guild” → a different thread.
Corner the foreman ↳ The quarry foreman
Remove
Add branch
Branches, with one choice added
The quest map
Now press Plot threads, then Quest map. Every thread is a box, with its status under the title. The main quest sits on the top row, side quests on the row below, and sub-side quests below those.
Grey arrows lead on, blue dashes branch off, and the amber dotted arrows up the right-hand side loop back in, each in its own lane so they never overlap.
Main quest (1)Side quest (2)Sub-side quest (2)
Branches (text)
Press one to pick it out of the diagram
The Cinderfall Conspiracy · Ride with the caravan (Branches off (side quest)) → The ash road caravan
The Cinderfall Conspiracy · Ask about the flooded quarry (Branches off (side quest)) → The drowned quarry
The ash road caravan · Sift the burnt wagon (Leads to) → The burnt wagon
The drowned quarry · Corner the foreman (Branches off (side quest)) → The quarry foreman
The burnt wagon · Carry the brand to the council (Loops back to main line) → The Cinderfall Conspiracy
The quarry foreman · Name the foreman to the council (Loops back to main line) → The Cinderfall Conspiracy
The quest map, with its three rows of threads
Follow one path
Under the diagram, the same branches are listed in words. Press one to pick it out: everything else dims, so you can follow a single path. Press Show everything to bring the map back, or press any box to open that thread.
Branches (text)
Show everything
The Cinderfall Conspiracy · Ride with the caravan (Branches off (side quest)) → The ash road caravan
The Cinderfall Conspiracy · Ask about the flooded quarry (Branches off (side quest)) → The drowned quarry
The ash road caravan · Sift the burnt wagon (Leads to) → The burnt wagon
The drowned quarry · Corner the foreman (Branches off (side quest)) → The quarry foreman
The burnt wagon · Carry the brand to the council (Loops back to main line) → The Cinderfall Conspiracy
The quarry foreman · Name the foreman to the council (Loops back to main line) → The Cinderfall Conspiracy
The branches in words, with one picked out
Lock your quests until the time is right, let the party's choices shape the story, and see it all in one place.