Templates and instances

The Core Pattern

ScryRPG uses a template/instance pattern throughout the system. Understanding this pattern helps you work more efficiently with items, shops, and loot.

Items: Templates and Instances

Item Templates

An Item Template defines what an item IS:

• Name, description
• Weight, value
• Stack size, rarity
• Game system

Templates can be private, public, or unlisted. Public templates appear in marketplace discovery after approval; private templates are visible to their creator, and unlisted templates are not listed for discovery. You can fork an available template to make a separately owned copy, with its origin tracked.

Archiving hides a template from active template lists and prevents new forks. If items, shop entries, loot entries, or forks still depend on it, deleting the template archives it so those references remain usable. A template with no dependents can be deleted permanently.

Item Instances

An Item Instance is a specific copy in YOUR inventory:

• Has a quantity (how many you own)
• Lives in a specific container
• Can have custom notes
• Is stored in a container owned by a character or party

Why This Pattern?

Consistency

When you add a “Healing Potion” from the marketplace, you get the same item everyone else gets: same weight, same value, same description. No transcription errors.

Reusability

Create a custom magic item template once and reuse it when adding items to characters or parties. You can also create items by hand and set their quantities in inventory.

Flexibility

Instances can be customized without affecting the template. Rename your “Longsword” to “Grandfather’s Blade” without changing the underlying item definition.

Attribution

Forked templates track their origin. If you modify someone’s item, the original creator still gets credit.

Shops and Loot

The same pattern applies to shops and loot:

Shop Templates

Define a shop’s:

• Name and description
• Inventory (which items to sell)
• Pricing (markup/markdown percentages)
• Restocking behavior

Shop Instances

When you “deploy” a shop template to a party:

• Creates a specific shop instance
• Shops start hidden by default; reveal them before players browse and buy
• Inventory is tracked separately from the template
• Can be removed without affecting the template

Loot Templates

Define a loot drop’s:

• Items that can appear
• Quantities and probabilities
• Distribution rules

Loot Instances

When you “drop” loot for a party:

• Creates a claimable loot instance
• Loot starts hidden by default; reveal it before players claim under the selected claiming mode
• Encounter completion attempts to deploy attached loot revealed
• Tracks who took what
• Remains until a GM or manager deletes it, even when emptied

Card Views

Supported templates can be opened as visual cards from their detail pages. Item, creature, spell/ability, and encounter cards use the same fixed renderer as print and export. Shop and loot templates/instances remain responsive container summaries, but Print full set sends authorized contained-item cards to Print Studio using current item details or the exact deployed item snapshot. Deployed-shop currency/till rows are omitted. If cards are present, choose Replace Deck, Add to Deck, or Cancel. See the Printable Cards guide for the complete workflow.

Shared Inventory

Use /share in Discord to get a public read-only link to your active Discord character’s non-private inventory. The account-owned link resolves current data on each visit, including a different character if you switch your active Discord character. Party Settings provides party invitations, not public inventory snapshots.

Practical Implications

For Players

• Items you add are linked to their templates
• Template updates don’t affect existing instances
• You can fork public items to create variants

For GMs

• Create shop/loot templates once, deploy many times
• Each deployment is independent
• Deleting a template with dependents archives it, preserving the items and deployments that refer to it

For Creators

• Publish templates to the marketplace
• Get attribution when others fork your work
• Build a library of reusable content