Adding every dimension to a story; where does yours fit in?

Fabula defines what a story is about before anyone begins to write. It establishes the narrative shape, themes, and tensions that give shared creation direction without dictating outcomes.

Fabula sits at the center of Scripti as both origin and outcome. It is the place where the overarching story is articulated before any individual action takes place. Rather than defining plot or prescribing events, Fabula establishes orientation: what this story is about, and why it exists.

Fabula (the tool) defines the narrative structure within which a fabula (the story itself) can unfold. This is where the fabulist outlines the main narrative arc, thematic concerns, and philosophical tensions that shape the experience. A selected or partially constructed mundi anchors the story in a specific world, while Fabula surfaces the elements that give that world narrative meaning, such as its central philosophical knot, its counterfactual mechanics, and its primary axes of tension.

Fabula does not tell users what will happen. Instead, it creates a structural script within which events may unfold. It is the guiding light that precedes play, and the illuminated manuscript that results from it.

User entrypoint

Fabula is the first shared narrative surface that users encounter. It functions as an invitation rather than an instruction set, offering a bird’s-eye view of the story space they are about to enter.

By presenting the narrative landscape as a whole, Fabula allows users to situate themselves in relation to the story before they choose a role or take action. It provides a common frame of reference that all participants can return to, ensuring coherence even as individual paths diverge.

In much the same way that Mundi maps physical space, Fabula maps narrative space. It supports orientation at the beginning of a journey and recalibration as the story progresses.

Narrative structure and progression

As the game unfolds, Fabula also becomes the place where narrative structure is made visible. It holds the evolving shape of the story without dictating its content.

Fabula surfaces the segmentation of the fabula into phases, along with deadlines, submission windows, and structural expectations, so contributors understand how their work fits into the whole.

Fabula thus bridges meaning and action: it preserves the story’s intent while providing the framework through which it is collectively written.