Spindrift in 30 Seconds
You play a character of influence in a persistent world driven by its players, through messages on Discord. Follow events through the website and world news, talk with other players, and put your plans into motion through Deeds and Endeavours as the Spindrift weeks unfold. Work with the GM to resolve your actions using your Identity, Qualities, Bonds, and Assets. What you achieve—and how you achieve it—is up to you.
01
How to Play
1 real-life week1 Spindrift month
CalendarOne real-life week advances the world by one Spindrift month.
1 Spindrift month4 Spindrift weeks
4 DeedsComplete one Deed for each of the four Spindrift weeks in a Spindrift month.
Every 4 real-life weeksEach Spindrift season
1 EndeavourPursue one more ambitious Endeavour by working on it each Spindrift month.
Use your character’s stats for Deeds and Endeavours
1d20 ≤ RatingRoll equal to or under the relevant Quality or Bond to succeed.
The Core Loop
In Practice
Discover the World and News
Follow world updates and news on the website and Discord, then talk with other players about what is happening. Look for people, places, problems, and opportunities that matter to your character. What you learn gives you a starting point for deciding what to do.
Create and Enact Your Goals and Plans
Choose what your character wants to achieve and how they intend to pursue it. Talk with allies, negotiate support, and consider the Qualities, Bonds, and Assets you can bring to bear. Turn those intentions into specific actions; larger goals may require several Deeds or a sustained Endeavour.
Submit Your Deeds and Endeavours
Submit your intended Deeds and Endeavours to the GM through Discord. Explain what you want to accomplish, how your character will attempt it, and any people or resources involved. Give the GM enough context to understand your intention and resolve the action within the current situation.
Resolve Actions and Consequences
Work with the GM to establish what your action can accomplish and what stands in its way. When an outcome is uncertain and matters, the GM uses the relevant rules and ratings to resolve it. Your Identity, Qualities, Bonds, and Assets help establish what you can do and how; the result determines what happens and what consequences follow.
Players Change the World
The outcome becomes part of the persistent world. Relationships may change, resources may be gained or spent, and new opportunities or difficulties may emerge. Other characters can respond to what happened. Learn from the changed situation, revise your plans, and begin the loop again.
Roll Types
In Practice
When an action is uncertain and its outcome matters, the GM frames the stakes and the relevant roll. A roll does not always label the outcome a success or failure; it can also indicate general performance and help shape the consequences. These elements show how support, risk, and critical results affect resolution.
- Core Roll
- Roll a d20 against the relevant rating. A result at or below the rating succeeds; a d20 result exactly matching the target rating is a critical success. Identity tests →
- Advantage Dice
- When earned support applies, add one Advantage Die (d4) to a directly relevant action or Identity test. How Identity grants advantage →
- Complication Dice
- A Complication Die is a d4. It represents added risk or interference the GM has framed as part of the action’s stakes.
- Critical Success
- On a direct test, a d20 result exactly equal to the target rating is a critical success. Its effect depends on the test.
- Critical Failure
- A maximum result on any die in a direct test is a critical failure: 20 on the d20 or 4 on a d4. It takes precedence over a matching d20 result; follow the test’s consequence.
- Opposed Rolls
- When a rule calls for opposing tests, resolve each side using the relevant rating and that test’s specific rules.
02
What You Play
You play a Character who is part of a Faction and a House. Each has its own kind of Identity but shares the same core aspects. Use these aspects to guide your decisions, negotiate trades, draw on Bonds, exercise Authority, and put Assets to work. When an outcome is uncertain, roll against the relevant Quality.
Characters
Personality
An individual’s outlook, instincts, and habits, expressed through opposing Traits.
Qualities · Bonds · Prestige · Authority · History · Assets
Factions
Ethos
An organization’s shared values and approach to pursuing its purpose.
Qualities · Bonds · Prestige · Authority · History · Assets
Houses
Traditions
A noble family’s inherited customs and ways of exercising its influence.
Qualities · Bonds · Prestige · Authority · History · Assets
For Factions and Houses, Authority represents the institution’s recognized rights and jurisdiction. Characters exercise that authority through the offices and roles they hold.
What They Share
Identity
Personality for Characters, Ethos for Factions, and Traditions for Houses.
Qualities
The skills and capabilities a Character, Faction, or House can bring to an action.
Bonds
Relationships and connections that shape influence, commitments, and consequences.
Prestige
How much weight a name, reputation, or institution carries.
Authority
The recognized right to direct assets within a defined scope.
History
What has happened, what has been accomplished, and what the world remembers.
Assets
Assets tell us what exists; Authority tells us who is allowed to use institutional resources. Use does not imply ownership.
Holdings
Places and fixed property: lands, estates, buildings, workshops, temples, docks, businesses, and fortifications.
Personnel
People under your direction: troops, retainers, workers, clergy, agents, crews, specialists, and dependents.
Possessions
Tangible things: money, equipment, vessels, trade goods, heirlooms, relics, legendary artifacts, and other physical property.
03
What Playing Means
Spindrift is a persistent, player-driven world-shaping game. You follow events, build relationships, set goals, and pursue them through Deeds and Endeavours. Your choices and the GM’s resolution shape a shared world that continues to change.
Your Pace
Play When and If You Want
Spindrift isn’t played in person around a table, and there is no required weekly session. Join scenes, pursue plans, or submit actions when it suits you. The shared world and campaign calendar continue whether or not you participate.See the campaign calendar →
Player-Driven
Choose Your Goals and Methods
Players decide what their Characters, Factions, and Houses pursue and how they act. The GM uses the fiction, relevant stats, and circumstances to resolve uncertain actions and their consequences.
Asynchronous Play
Discord Play
Discord is where most shared play happens: write scenes, exchange letters, coordinate plans, and interact with other players’ Characters and the NPCs the GM portrays.
Resolution
Fiction First
Roll when the outcome is uncertain and matters. The GM and player use the result to determine what changes in the shared world.
04
Reference
A quick lookup for the concepts you will use most often during play.
I Want To…
Create a Character →Check the Campaign Calendar →Understand Personality / Ethos / Traditions →Make an Identity Test →Inspire Another Character, House, or Faction →Understand Bonds & Social Appeals →Understand Prestige & Prestige Sources →Read Action & Bond Outcomes →Develop a Bond at Season's End →Browse Qualities →Make a Roll →Browse Common Deeds →Send Correspondence →Travel →Influence Someone →Start an Endeavour →Understand My Faction →Understand My House →Look Up Asset Types →Understand Authority →Read the Character Sheet Guide →Icon Legend