LitRPG System Rulebook Builder

Keep your system's rules, limits, and exceptions in one short reference you can copy, print, or save as a project file.

Start from

ExampleA made-up system to show how the worksheet fills in. Change any answer and the rulebook updates as you type.

Jump to the finished rulebook

Worksheet

Rulebook name

What is this system, in a sentence or two?

What do characters grow in, and what stops them?

Unit 1

What do they advance in?

What is the range?

How is the next step earned?

What stops it?

Unit 2

What do they advance in?

What is the range?

How is the next step earned?

What stops it?

Your rulebook

Example · 7 sections

System rulebook

The Ashfall Ledger

After the Ashfall, the System lends power to survivors and keeps the books. Every skill is a loan, and the Ledger always collects.

Progression units

Level

Range: 1 to 40
Earned by: Finish a Contract while the balance is at 0 or above.
Limit: No level-ups while in the red.

Class Tier

Range: Novice, Journeyman, Master
Earned by: Offered at Levels 10 and 25.
Limit: A default withdraws the offer for three levels.

Resources and refills

Credit

Holds: 20 + 5 per Level
Refill: Half the pool after a full night of sleep.
Limit: No refill inside a Sealed Zone. The balance can fall below 0.

Stamina

Holds: 10 + VIT
Refill: Full after ten minutes of rest.
Limit: Cannot fall below 0.

Ability costs

Borrowed Strike

Cost: 8 Credit
Limit: Twice per fight.
Effect: Doubles the damage of one hit.

Ledger Sight

Cost: 2 Credit
Limit: Once per target.
Effect: Shows a target’s Level and balance.

Second Wind

Cost: 5 Stamina
Limit: Once per hour.
Effect: Clears one bleed or stagger.

Foreclose

Cost: All remaining Credit
Limit: Once per day. Needs 30 Credit or more.
Effect: Seizes one enemy skill until the fight ends.

Failure conditions

Credit falls below 0

Result: In the red: -2 to every stat and no level-ups.
Ends when: The balance returns to 0 through sleep or a Contract payout.

Credit falls to -20 or lower

Result: Default. A Collector spawns within the hour and hunts the debtor.
Ends when: The Collector dies, or the balance returns to 0 before it arrives.

Stamina reaches 0

Result: The character collapses for one minute.
Ends when: The minute passes.

Rarity meanings

Common

Means: Issued to every survivor and replaced free if lost.
Limit: None.

Rare

Means: Earned from a Contract. Carries the name of whoever earned it.
Limit: Two equipped at most.

Unique

Means: Only one exists, and the System refuses to copy it.
Limit: Cannot be sold. Passes on only at death.

Exceptions

Pre-Ashfall skills

Bends: Every skill costs Credit or Stamina.
Why allowed: The System can only bill what it issued. Skills learned before the Ashfall were never on its books.
Worked consequence: Mara has 6 Credit when she uses Borrowed Strike (8 Credit). Her balance drops to -2 and she is in the red. Her field surgery, learned before the Ashfall, still costs nothing, so she can keep her partner alive even though she cannot afford another strike.

Unresolved questions

Can Credit be gifted between party members?

Note: Leaning no. Decide before the guild arc.

Does a debt pass to heirs when the debtor dies?

Note: Needed before Book 2.

Add a “Made with WriteIDE” line to the exports

No blanks in the entries you started

This only looks for blanks and unnamed rows. It cannot tell whether your rules agree with each other.

When a rule becomes a real change to a character, log it in the stat tracker or test the math in the damage formula sandbox.

Where this lives: nothing is uploaded and there is no account or share link, so your rules never end up in a URL. Your draft stays in this browser, which is not a backup: clearing browser data or changing device loses it. Save project downloads a file you can keep and open here again. That file includes any sections you switched off, so send readers an export instead. Loading an example or starting blank clears the browser copy.

Questions about this tool

Does this check whether my rules are consistent?

No. It looks for blanks and rows with no name. It cannot tell whether two rules contradict each other or whether your system is balanced. That judgment stays with you.

Where is my rulebook kept?

Your draft stays in this browser so a refresh does not lose it. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account. Browser storage is not a backup: clearing site data or changing device loses it, and a private window may not keep it at all. Save project downloads a JSON file you can keep and open here again.

Can I get a PDF or a Word file?

Not directly. You can copy or download Markdown, download a printable HTML page, or use Print and choose your browser's Save as PDF option if it has one. How the page looks depends on your browser and printer. Markdown formats itself only in apps that understand it; anywhere else you will see the symbols.

Can I import the rulebook into WriteIDE?

No. WriteIDE does not read rulebook files, so this stays a separate reference. Once a rule becomes a real change to a character, you can log it in the stat tracker here or record it by scene in WriteIDE, and carry over any formulas by hand.

How do I share it with a co-writer or my readers?

Send a Markdown or HTML export, or post the exported text yourself. There is no share link, so your rules never end up in a URL. Remember that a rulebook often contains spoilers: switch off any section readers should not see before you export. A saved project file still holds the sections you switched off, so send that only to someone who may read all of it. The Made with WriteIDE line is optional and off by default.