# LoreFell Style Guide How all FellGuide content is written and formatted. Claude follows this on every edit. The goal is a professional tabletop rulebook written by a human author, distinct from D&D and Pathfinder, free of AI tells. --- ## Voice and Tone - Write like a human GM describing the game at the table. - Dark fantasy, grounded character drama, weird fantasy. Cosmic horror where it fits. - Authoritative without being stiff. Tight pacing. Natural dialogue. Emotionally sharp moments. - Show, do not tell. Ground in concrete sensory detail. - Prefer unique concepts over derivative fantasy tropes. --- ## Never Use Punctuation and formatting: - Em dashes ( or ) and double hyphens used as em dashes ( -- ). - Ellipses for dramatic effect. - Semicolons. - Italics as emphasis on a single word mid-sentence. Constructions (AI tells): - "X doesn't do this. It does that." contrast pairs. - "Not X, but Y" openings. - Triple parallels ("it burns, binds, and transforms"). - Rhetorical questions as section openers. - Closing lines that strain for weight ("carved into the fabric of the Sphere"). - Hype filler ("endless possibilities," "unforgettable," "forge your legend"). - Self-describing prose ("flawed, powerful, and meaningful"). - Comparison constructions used as filler. --- ## Editing Rules - Do not change the author's text unless asked to rewrite it. When only formatting is requested, use the text verbatim. - Strip numbered prefixes, image embeds (`![[file.png]]`), and frontmatter blocks from display text. "3 - Tracking" becomes "Tracking." "2.0 - Character Creation" becomes "character creation." Wiki links follow the Internal Links policy below: keep curated links, strip incidental ones. - For cross-file changes, search the whole repo, report scope, then replace in one batch. Never silent sweeps. --- ## Markdown and Formatting Standards **Callouts** (Obsidian syntax) for mechanic definitions, example skill checks, tips, rules asides, and stat bonuses: ``` > [!note] Title Here > > Content here. ``` **Blockquotes** for opening quotes, closing send-offs, and verse: ``` > *"Quote text here."* > > Character Name ``` - Every skill page carries an `[!note] Example Skill Checks` callout. - Skill overview pages end with a two-column table (Skill, Description), not a bullet list. - Attribute overview pages end with a three-column table (Attribute, Role, Grants at Creation). - Individual attribute pages use a `[!note] Used For` callout. - Tables replace plain bullet lists on overview and category pages. **Lineage pages** get exactly two changes: 1. The bonus line becomes a `[!note] Lineage Bonus` callout with plain, unbolded text inside. 2. The closing quote becomes a blockquote. **Origins:** Evasion, Durability, and Resistance origin groups do not grant starting boots. --- ## Internal Links A link answers a question the reader has where they are: what a term means, where a named thing lives. If a click would not teach the reader something they want at that moment, it is not a link. The failure to avoid is the auto-linker, where every word is a link and none of them mean anything. - **Once per page, first meaningful mention.** Never link the same target twice on a page. On a long page, once per major section is the most a target gets. - **Link terms of art and proper nouns, not common words.** Mechanics, defined concepts, characters, factions, worlds, brands, and artifacts get links. Words like battle, magic, world, and damage never do. - **Nothing in headings, callout titles, or flavor quotes.** Links live in body prose and table cells. A link inside a callout body is allowed only when it genuinely helps, and stays rare. - **No self-links.** A page never links a term to itself. - **Respect the reveal tiers.** A player-facing page never links into the Spoilers section, since the link advertises the secret. Spoiler and lore pages may link among themselves. - **Published pages only.** Never link to `_Canon`, `Archive`, or any note excluded from publish. Those render as dead links on the live site. - **Alias to keep prose clean.** `[[03 - Tracking|Tracking]]` keeps the file sort prefix while the reader sees "Tracking." Use the same trick for grammar, such as `[[The Veiled Queen|Veiled Queen]]`. - **Full paths for ambiguous names.** Where two notes share a basename, write enough of the folder path that the link resolves to the right page. A bare `[[Pandemonium]]` will guess wrong. Structural links (a landing or overview table linking each row to its page) and definitional links (the first mention of a mechanic linking to its page) are the two kinds that earn their place. Quick Links is a link hub by design and is exempt from the once-per-page rule. When cleaning a page, strip incidental or auto-generated links and any link that breaks a rule above, and keep curated links that follow it. The pre-commit search still flags `[[`, which on a curated page is expected. Confirm each link follows this policy and resolves to a published page rather than stripping it on sight. --- ## Distinct from D&D and Pathfinder The fastest way to read as generic is to borrow their nouns. LoreFell has its own vocabulary. Use it, and purge theirs. | Borrowed term to avoid | LoreFell term | | --- | --- | | Hit points / HP | Vitality | | Armor class / AC | Evasion and Durability resolution | | Saving throw, DC, difficulty class | the relevant skill check against the LoreMaster | | To-hit roll | the attack's skill roll | | Advantage / disadvantage | Lucky roll / Unlucky roll | | Spell slots, prepared spells | Spell Attacks and charged abilities | | Dungeon Master / DM | LoreMaster | | The party / adventurers | the Fell | | Experience / XP | Lore Points | | Initiative, turn order, your turn | none, combat is simultaneous | | Alignment | none | The sharpest structural break is the absence of initiative. Combat is simultaneous and cinematic. Never describe combat in turn-based language ("on your turn," "when your turn comes," "roll initiative"). Describe rounds, Spotlights, Acts, and Reacts instead.