How credits work
How you get credits, when they expire, what they're spent on, top-up packs and tipping creators.
Credits (shown with a 💎) are RPGCortex's in-app currency for extras. Your balance is on the Credits page (☰ menu → Credits), and inside an adventure under Now playing (tap the cover image).
Getting credits#
| Source | How much | Expires? |
|---|---|---|
| Novice starter grant | 100 credits, once, when you finish sign-up | Never |
| Paid plan grant | Your plan's monthly amount, each month | At the end of that month's billing period |
| Upgrade bonus | The difference between your old and new plan's monthly credits | At the end of your current billing period |
| Top-up packs | See below | Never |
| Tips from players | Whatever they send | Never |
Monthly credits don't roll over. Unused plan credits expire at the end of the period they were granted for, and the next month's grant arrives fresh. On 6- and 12-month plans you still receive credits once a month.
Which credits get spent first#
Credits that expire soonest are always spent first, and credits that never expire are spent last. In practice, your plan's monthly credits are used before any top-ups, tips or starter credits — so nothing you bought goes to waste.
Top-up packs#
Anyone can buy extra credits, on any plan. On the Credits page, under Buy top-up credits:
| Credits | Price |
|---|---|
| 500 | $4.99 |
| 1,200 | $9.99 |
| 2,500 | $19.99 |
| 6,500 | $49.99 |
| 14,000 | $99.97 |
| 75,000 | $499.99 |
Checkout is handled by Stripe. After paying you'll see Purchase Successful; the credits are added as soon as the payment is confirmed, which is usually within moments. Top-up credits never expire.
What credits are spent on#
| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| Context beyond your plan's free amount | 1 credit per 4,000 extra tokens (rounded up), per turn |
| Models marked ✦ ("Uses credits") | 1 credit per 2,000 tokens of context, every turn |
| Scene images (the See action) | 30 credits per image |
| AI-generated scenario covers and card portraits | 30 credits each |
| Narration — Expressive voice | 1 credit per narration |
| Narration — Max voice | 2 credits per narration |
| Narration — Device voice | Free |
The prices shown in the app (on the image model, narration and model pickers, and the context meter) are always the current ones.
- Standard models don't cost credits per turn. Your plan's free context is always free. Extra context is only used — and charged — when you have credits to spend, and you can turn it down with the Context length slider. See AI models.
- Nothing is charged in the Tutorial.
- Failed images and failed narrations aren't charged (failed narrations are refunded automatically).
Running out#
- Standard models: turns carry on using just your free context — you're never locked out of playing.
- Models marked ✦: turns are refused until you top up or pick a different model.
- Images and premium narration: you'll see an "insufficient credits" message.
Tipping creators#
Enjoyed someone's scenario? Send them some of your credits as a thank-you. Use Tip creator in the More menu on the scenario's page, or Tip Creator in a scenario card's ⋯ menu.
Choose 10, 50, 100 or 500 credits, or enter a Custom amount, and press Send. The creator receives exactly what you send, as credits that never expire. You can't tip your own scenarios, and credits can't be exchanged for money.