Dungeons & Ground

An English-first private web alpha for asynchronous text TTRPG campaigns. Players create private worlds with an AI coauthor, submit actions into shared rounds, and play alongside persistent AI companions. The rules engine—not the language model—owns dice and mechanical state.

Local start

cp .env.example .env
pnpm install
pnpm dev:all

Open http://localhost:3000. pnpm dev:all starts the Nuxt site and the AI worker in one terminal. To run them separately, use pnpm dev in the first terminal and pnpm dev:worker in the second.

To verify the complete hosted-Supabase multiplayer path (two temporary email accounts, invite, AI character draft, persistent AI companion, shared readiness, AI resolution, and the next round), keep dev:all running and execute pnpm smoke:multiplayer in another terminal.

Before starting either process, the root commands check the Supabase schema. If it is missing and SUPABASE_DB_URL is configured, they transactionally create all D&G tables, functions, triggers, indexes, and policies from supabase/bootstrap.sql. Copy the Session pooler URI from the Supabase Dashboard Connect panel into the root .env and replace the password placeholder with the URL-encoded database password. The database URL is server-only and must never use a NUXT_PUBLIC_ prefix.

The web and worker commands both load this root .env file explicitly. Environment variables supplied by Railway or CI take precedence over values in the file.

The UI can be built without credentials. A running Nitro server and every worker process require SUPABASE_URL, SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY, NUXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL, and NUXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY; startup fails with a clear error when required server credentials are missing. Redis is optional: when REDIS_URL is absent, the worker safely claims jobs from the Supabase ai_jobs outbox using short database leases and retries failed jobs up to three times.

Both legacy JWT service-role keys and current sb_secret_… Supabase keys are supported. Keep either form server-only; never expose it through a NUXT_PUBLIC_ variable.

Select OpenRouter or the official DeepSeek API with AI_PROVIDER=openrouter|deepseek and provide the matching API key. OpenRouter retains JSON Schema structured output; DeepSeek uses its official JSON mode, followed by the same Zod validation.

Use Node.js 18.20.5 or newer. The lockfile pins the web toolchain to the Node 18-compatible Nuxt 3.15, Nitro 2.10, and Vite 6 line; CI verifies the project on Node 18.20.8.

Workspace

• apps/web — Nuxt SSR UI and Nitro API
• apps/worker — BullMQ worker for AI world and round jobs
• packages/shared — shared Zod contracts and domain types
• packages/game-engine — deterministic d20 rules and state transition guards
• supabase/migrations — PostgreSQL schema, indexes, triggers, and RLS policies

Alpha safety

• Worlds are private by default.
• Content is limited to 13+; explicit sexual content and sexual content involving minors are rejected.
• AI responses are parsed against strict schemas.
• AI can propose checks and events, but cannot directly set dice outcomes or mechanical values.
• SRD-derived work must retain the attribution in LEGAL.md.

Production services

1. Copy the Supabase Session pooler connection URI from Connect into SUPABASE_DB_URL. pnpm dev:all now detects an empty project and creates the complete schema automatically. pnpm db:ensure runs the same guarded bootstrap without starting the app. Manual SQL Editor installation remains available through supabase/bootstrap.sql.
2. In Supabase Auth settings, enable the Email provider and disable Allow anonymous sign-ins. In Auth URL Configuration, set the Site URL to http://localhost:3000; add http://localhost:3000/auth/callback and http://localhost:3000/auth/reset-password as Redirect URLs. Configure SMTP before external testing so confirmation and recovery email is delivered reliably. CAPTCHA and Auth rate limits remain recommended.
3. Run pnpm dev:worker alongside the web process. Provision Redis only when BullMQ delivery is desired; otherwise the worker polls the Supabase outbox.
4. Configure either OPENROUTER_API_KEY (default model deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash) or set AI_PROVIDER=deepseek with DEEPSEEK_API_KEY (default model deepseek-v4-flash, endpoint https://api.deepseek.com/chat/completions).

If the worker reports POST /rest/v1/rpc/claim_ai_job 404 and /rest/v1/profiles also returns 404, the base schema was never installed. Run the generated supabase/bootstrap.sql in the SQL Editor and restart pnpm dev:all. Do not run only 0002: it depends on the tables created by 0001.

Weeks 3–4 flow

1. Click Enter the Alpha to open registration. Every account requires a display name, email, password, and 13+ confirmation. Existing users sign in with email/password; forgotten passwords use the email recovery flow.
2. Create a world in the dynamic coauthor chat. Unfinished conversations and generated drafts appear on the dashboard and resume after a reload.
3. Review every starting-world field, including the owner-only hidden threat, then confirm it.
4. During world creation, the coauthor also creates three editable, universe-specific AI companions. A new campaign starts immediately with those companions and an owner-controlled hero. Additional players create a human character manually or ask the coauthor for an editable draft; owners can add more AI companions the same way.
5. The owner creates an expiring private invite link. Signed-in email users join through /join/:token.
6. Players save actions and mark them ready. The final ready action queues the round automatically; the owner can also continue without waiting.
7. The worker resolves server-owned rolls and state, publishes narration, and opens the next round. Visible campaign tabs synchronize every two seconds and immediately when the tab regains focus.