How to Play

This Is a Chat Game

By Bitter Flame is a freeform text adventure — not a choose-your-own-adventure with buttons to click. There are no menus, no pre-written options, no right answers. You type what your character does, and the Game Master (GM) responds.

That means you can do anything: “I try to bluff my way past the guard,” “I search the room for a hidden door,” “I run.” The GM will handle the rules, roll the dice, and tell you what happens next.

The Game Master

The AI Game Master runs the game rules on your behalf. It generates the world, plays every NPC and monster, and adjudicates outcomes — exactly as a human GM would at a table. You don't need to know the rules; the GM handles all of that behind the scenes.

NPCs you meet — in town, on the road, or deep in a dungeon — can be persuaded, hired, or rescued into joining your party as persistent companions with their own stats, personalities, and loyalties.

Dice & Fate

The GM rolls dice constantly. Monster attacks, trap triggers, NPC reactions, random encounters — all resolved by the game rules. Some rolls the GM will narrate openly: "The orc swings and rolls a 14 — it connects." Others tumble away into the impenetrable mists, their outcomes known only through what happens next in the story.

When you need to roll — an attack, a stat check, a saving throw — the GM will tell you exactly what to roll and what number you're aiming for. At that point you have two options:

• Reach for your real dice and report your result to the GM
• Use the in-game Dice Roller

Either way, tell the GM what you rolled and the story continues.

Your Choices Are Always Yours

The GM describes the world and the consequences of your actions, but what you do is entirely up to you. The GM will never present you with a list of options or decide your actions for you. Just say what you do — “I attack” works just as well as a paragraph of vivid description. If the GM ever offers numbered choices, you can ignore them entirely and do something else.

Out of Character Prompts

At any point you can step outside the fiction and give the GM a direct instruction using square brackets. These are called OOC (Out of Character) prompts. The GM will acknowledge and adjust immediately — no in-game justification required.

Use OOC prompts freely whenever you want to adjust the pacing, tone, or style of play.

A Few More Things

• Sessions persist. Your character and world state are saved automatically after every GM response. Come back days later and pick up exactly where you left off.
• Torch & time. By Bitter Flame uses real-time torches — your light burns down in actual minutes. The torch timer in the sidebar tracks this. Don't get caught in the dark.
• The character sheet in the left panel updates live as the GM tracks your HP, inventory, and XP.
• Death is real. If your character dies, you may have options — but there are no guaranteed saves.

Cost & API Keys

By Bitter Flame uses the Anthropic API to power the GM. Your first 20 turns are free to start — no setup required. After that, you'll need to bring your own Anthropic API key.

API keys are free to create at console.anthropic.com. Each GM response costs roughly 5–7 cents, so a 20-turn session runs about $1. Add your key in Account Settings (sign in to access) and it will be used for all future turns.

Usage is billed directly by Anthropic to your Anthropic account — not by By Bitter Flame. Your key is stored encrypted and only ever used to make requests on your behalf.