AI models
The story models available on RPGCortex, which plan unlocks each, and how context and credits work for standard and credit-based models.
Different AI models write in different ways — some are quick and light, some are richer and more literary. You can switch model at any time, even mid-adventure.
Choosing a model#
In an adventure, press Switch model (the brain icon in the header), or go to Settings → Gameplay → Models → Switch Model. The Choose a model window lists:
- Adventure default — the model this adventure was started with, based on the plan you had at the time.
- Included with your plan — models you can use freely.
- Uses credits — models that need both your plan and credits every turn.
- Higher plans — models you'd unlock by upgrading, shown with a lock and the plan they need (for example Hero+).
Your choice is remembered for that adventure on this device.
The models#
| Model | Style | Plan needed | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wandering Bard | Included on every plan — a capable, genuinely free story model. | Novice | Standard |
| Hearth Scribe | Fast, dialogue-focused storytelling. | Novice | Standard |
| Wayside Sage | Steady, instruction-following prose. | Adventurer | Standard |
| Fireside Teller | Sophisticated prose with real character depth. | Adventurer | Standard |
| Twilight Chronicler | Refined pacing with less atmospheric clutter. | Adventurer | Standard |
| Quickwit Herald | Light and responsive storytelling. | Adventurer | Uses credits |
| Deepwood Oracle | Sharper dialogue and novel-like scenes. | Hero | Standard |
| Ravenquill | A distinctive voice with strong story-card coherence. | Hero | Uses credits |
| Starweaver | Grounded, highly coherent storytelling. | Champion | Uses credits |
| Ironbound Loremaster | Confident, stable long-form narration. | Champion | Uses credits |
| Master Chronicler | Our strongest writing model, bar none. | Paragon | Standard |
Wandering Bard is the default on every plan. If another model is ever unavailable, your turn falls back to Wandering Bard automatically and you'll see "Using a backup model for this turn".
Each model also has a maximum context size. Most go up to 32K tokens, but some are smaller — for example Ravenquill (20K), Starweaver (8K) and Master Chronicler (4K). The picker shows each model's limit on its card.
Standard models: your plan's context is free#
Standard models don't cost anything per turn. Each turn:
- Your plan's free context is used first — 4K on Novice, 8K on Adventurer, 16K on Hero and 32K on Champion and Paragon (or the model's own limit, if that's smaller).
- If your story needs more room and you have credits, the turn automatically goes beyond the free amount, at 1 credit per 4,000 tokens (rounded up). You're only charged for what the turn actually used.
- If you have no credits, the turn simply stays within your free context.
Want to stay within the free amount? Lower the Context length slider in Settings → Models → Context Usage, or press its Reset button. See Memory, context and the story summary.
"Uses credits" models#
Quickwit Herald, Ravenquill, Starweaver and Ironbound Loremaster work differently. They need both:
- the plan that unlocks them, and
- credits for every turn — every token of context is billed at 1 credit per 2,000 tokens. There's no free portion.
Their cards in the picker show Up to NK context and 💎 1 / 2K tokens. If you don't have enough credits, you'll see "This model uses credits for every turn — top up credits or pick another model".
Multiplayer#
By default, a shared adventure uses the model of the plan its host had when creating it. If you pick a specific model yourself, your own plan decides whether you can use it, and any credits come from your balance.