// the independent publication for AI RPGs
Arcanum is an independent publication covering AI RPGs — the platforms that turn a language model into a real game master. We play every one of them first-hand and score it on a single published rubric, so you can tell which ones hold up over a long campaign, and which quietly fall apart.
ArcQuill put your whole world in one document and shows every change the AI makes to it. Taverna opened a web editor and gave every world a map, Voyage rebuilt its State Editor, Fable Forge delayed its update and announced a 3D world map with fast travel, AI Dungeon limited its safety filter exceptions to five, and Isekai Zero published the plan for moving 18+ stories to KAGESEKAI. The week in AI RPGs for players, 6 to 12 October 2026.
A RisuAI lorebook entry is added to the prompt when one of its keys appears in the last five messages, and only while the lorebook's 800-token budget has room. This guide covers where lorebooks attach, how key matching really works, the budget and insert order, recursive scanning, the @@ decorators, importing a SillyTavern lorebook, the four long-term memory options with HypaMemory V3's numbers, and a checklist for entries that never fire. It is built from RisuAI's source code, read on 12 October 2026.
RisuAI and SillyTavern are both free front ends that connect your characters to an AI model with your own key. The main difference is where they run: SillyTavern is a server you install, and RisuAI also runs in a browser tab with nothing installed. This comparison covers installation, phones, where your data is stored, model connections, lorebooks, memory, extensions and moving your characters between the two. It is built from both projects' code and documentation. We did not score either one.
RisuAI is a free, open-source app for AI roleplay that runs in a browser, on a desktop or on your own server, and you connect it to an AI model with your own key. This guide covers what it costs, the three ways to run it, what is true about the Android and iPhone apps today, the first-run setup, the default settings a new install starts with, importing character cards, where your chats are stored, and the errors new users meet. It is built from the project's source code and websites, read on 12 October 2026.
OpenRouter, NanoGPT and Chutes all give you an API key for Janitor AI, SillyTavern or Chub, and they charge in three different ways. This comparison covers the fees, what one roleplay session costs on each, what is still free, how the two subscriptions compare, which models each one has, privacy, and the limits you will meet. Built from each provider's own pricing pages, documentation and public model lists, read on 11 October 2026. We did not test speed or quality.
NanoGPT is a pay-as-you-go AI service that puts hundreds of models behind one API key, with an optional $12 monthly subscription. This guide covers what it costs for roleplay, what the subscription includes and what it leaves out, how to connect it to Janitor AI and SillyTavern, the two addresses that confuse people, how to cap your spending, and what the common errors mean. Built from NanoGPT's own pricing page, documentation and model list, read on 11 October 2026.
Chutes was the free DeepSeek source for Janitor AI, Chub and SillyTavern players. It is not free any more. This guide covers what Chutes is today, the dates when each free option ended, the 14 models it hosts and what a roleplay session costs on each, how the monthly plans and their usage caps work, how to connect it to Janitor AI and SillyTavern, and what each error message means. Built from Chutes's own pricing page, announcements and public source code, read on 11 October 2026.
// the benchmark
Every AI RPG platform you can actually play, scored on the same seven axes from first-hand play — not from marketing copy, not from a press kit. 28 platforms, one rubric, every score published with its working.
Two of the seven axes have no top score anywhere in the field. Nobody has solved Memory & Continuity and Longevity — not one platform on the board.
| Axis | Field average | Highest reached |
|---|---|---|
| Signature Design | 3.27 | 5 |
| NPC Fidelity | 3.16 | 5 |
| Memory & Continuity | 2.94 | 4.25 · unclaimed |
| Player Agency | 2.79 | 5 |
| Determinism & Fairness | 2.71 | 5 |
| Longevity | 2.66 | 4 · unclaimed |
| Mechanical Depth | 2.61 | 5 |
field average · ceiling reached · outer ring = 5
// how these numbers were made
News, features, guides and interviews — what launched, what changed, and how to get the most out of the games you play.
270 articles →Janitor, Friends & Fables, AI Dungeon and the rest — every roleplay platform played and scored, so you know what's worth your time.
37 platforms → Compare them side by side →The best AI RPGs you can play right now — published GPTs, Gems, and Claude projects — rated and sorted by model and genre.
16 games →Free browser tools for running better campaigns — prompt builder, character cards, context budget, campaign memory. No signup, nothing sent anywhere.
4 tools →// from our workshop
Besides the coverage, Arcanum builds two things: open research on the field, and free tools that run entirely in your browser.
Arcanum RPGs is an independent publication about AI roleplaying games — the platforms and games where a language model runs the story as your game master. We publish news, hands-on reviews, guides and features, and we maintain the Arcanum AI RPG Benchmark, which scores every released platform we have played on the same seven axes. Every rated platform is played first-hand, commercial relationships are disclosed, and scores are never sold.
Arcanum also builds research and tools: the benchmark is published as an open dataset with a permanent DOI, and our free tools help players run better campaigns without sending anything anywhere. Browse the complete AI RPG directory to see every game and platform in one place.