Scene Canvas

👑 Runekeeper

The Scene Canvas is where you build one scene at a time. A scene is the smallest unit of prep — a tavern encounter, a negotiation, a dungeon room, a flashback. You lay out its beats, pull in the NPCs and locations it needs, sketch the decision branches, and drop in the read-aloud text. One scene per canvas, as detailed or as sparse as you want.

Scenes are reusable. Build one once, drop it into as many sessions as you like through the Session Canvas.

📝Note

Skryrún's prep is structured as three canvases that feed each other: Scene Canvas (this page) builds one scene; Session Canvas arranges scenes into a session plan; GM Screen is where you run the session live. If you're new to this model, start with Session Canvas to see how the pieces fit.

Opening a Scene Canvas

From a campaign, open Session Prep in the sidebar.
Click + New Scene (or pick an existing one from the scene list).
The canvas opens with an empty grid and the node palette on the left.

You can also jump to a scene directly from the Session Canvas — click any scene node on a session plan and the Scene Canvas opens in place.

Node types

Entity nodes pull a world entity onto the canvas — NPC, location, item, faction, anything in your world. Drag the entity type from the palette, then search and pick the entity. The node shows portrait, name, and type. Click the node later to open the entity's full article in a side panel without leaving the canvas.

Narrative nodes are free-form text with four flavors — read-aloud, GM description, encounter note, general note. Pick the flavor from the node header; each has its own styling so a crowded canvas is still scannable.

Branch nodes are decision diamonds. Label one with a question ("Do they trust the contact?") and connect its outputs to the nodes representing each outcome path.

Checklist nodes hold prep tasks or in-scene beats — anything you want to tick through as the scene plays out.

Loot nodes track rewards attached to the scene — treasure, items, information drops.

Building a scene

Drag a node from the left palette onto the canvas, or click to drop one at the default position.
For entity nodes, search your world and pick the entity. For narrative nodes, type inline — the node grows with your text.
Connect nodes by hovering until small handles appear, then dragging from one handle to another.
Double-click a connecting line to label it. This is especially useful on branch outputs ("accepts", "refuses", "asks for more").

💡Tip

Drag the canvas to pan. Scroll to zoom. Use the mini-map in the bottom corner for large scenes — click anywhere on it to jump to that region.

Attachments panel

The right panel holds scene-specific media: images, audio tracks, external links. Attach a battle map, a villain theme, a player handout — anything you want to have ready when you run the scene. Audio attachments can be played directly from the GM Screen when the scene comes up.

Toggle the attachments panel with ].

Canvas templates

Use Templates (top bar) to apply a visual backdrop — a mood setter rather than a structural change. Templates affect tone, not mechanics; your nodes and connections stay intact when you switch.

Auto-save and unsaved changes

The canvas saves about two seconds after any change. A "Saved" indicator flashes in the top bar. If you navigate away with unsaved edits, a confirmation modal catches you — finish saving before closing the tab.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`⌘S` / `Ctrl+S`	Save scene immediately
`[`	Toggle left palette
`]`	Toggle attachments panel
`B`	Toggle the maps drawer
`Delete` / `Backspace`	Delete selected nodes
`Esc`	Close node context menu
`?`	Show the full hotkey list

Scroll zooms. Drag the background pans. Nothing is locked to the mouse — you can lean on either.

How scenes plug into sessions

A Scene Canvas is a freestanding artifact. It doesn't belong to any one session. You pick it up from the Session Canvas when you want to use it, and multiple session plans can reference the same scene. Editing a scene updates it everywhere it's referenced — handy for recurring encounters or revisited locations.

📝Note

The Scene Canvas does not drive Connection Gravity. Entity relationships (wikilinks, relationship entries on articles) drive Gravity — not canvas placement. Think of the scene canvas as stagecraft: it tells you what to reach for when the scene runs.

Troubleshooting

The Scene Canvas isn't in my sidebar. Scene Canvas requires the Runekeeper tier. If you're on Weaver or Chronicler, the option is hidden. See Pricing and tiers.

I dropped an entity node but no search popover appeared. Click the empty node once to focus it — the search popover opens on focus. If it still doesn't show, refresh the canvas.

My changes aren't saving. Watch for the "Saved" indicator in the top bar. If you see "Unsaved changes" for more than a few seconds, check your connection. Don't close the tab until Saved shows.

Audio attached to a scene doesn't auto-play at the table. The GM Screen doesn't auto-play — attaching audio makes it available, but you still hit play when the scene comes up. This is intentional, to avoid mid-session surprises.

Practical example

A tavern meet: a Location node for the Broken Oar → a Narrative (read-aloud) node with the entry description → an Entity node for the contact NPC → a Branch ("Do they offer the job outright?") with two outputs. One branch goes to a Narrative (encounter) node for a bar fight if things go south; the other to a Checklist for the clean negotiation path. Two minutes of sketching, and you've got a scene you can glance at when it comes up at the table.