> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://srd.mousehole.press/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://srd.mousehole.press/components/playbook.md).

# Playbook

## Definition

> **A Playbook is a collection of content centred around an** [**Object**](/components/object.md)**.**

* An [Object](/components/object.md), [Creator](/components/creator.md), questions, suggested [Traits](/components/trait.md) and [Drawing](/components/drawing.md) instructions are collected into a **Playbook**—usually a single page.
* A *Lost & Found* game might have just one Playbook, or multiple Playbooks for different [Object](/components/object.md) archetypes.

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### Intention

If you've only got one type of [Object](/components/object.md) in your game, Playbooks are a simple way to bring all the relevant content into one place.

If your game supports more than one kind of [Object](/components/object.md), grouping content into a Playbook lets you create a tonally-consistent experience for each [Object](/components/object.md). You can tailor each aspect of the Playbook ([Creator](/components/creator.md), [Traits](/components/trait.md), etc) to be specific to that Object, making them feel distinct from one another.
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### Example

**In** [***Artefact***](https://mouseholepress.itch.io/artefact)**, where** [**Objects**](/components/object.md) **are different kind of magical items, there are nine Playbooks.** E.g. *The Weapon*, *The Shield*, *The Instrument*, etc.

**In** [***Bucket of Bolts***](https://mouseholepress.itch.io/bucket-of-bolts)**, where the** [**Object**](/components/object.md) **is a spaceship, there is just one Playbook**—*The Ship*.
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### Advice

The content that makes up a Playbook doesn't need to be entirely unique for each [Object](/components/object.md) in your game. You might repeat certain key questions, or they might share some or all of their suggested [Traits](/components/trait.md).

Deciding how many Playbooks to include with your game is a question of **variety** and **scope**:

Within the broad category of [Objects](/components/object.md) your game is designed around, **how many distinct archetypes do you think there are?** In [*Artefact*](https://mouseholepress.itch.io/artefact), the nine Playbooks all represent magical items, and (for example) a *Weapon* is clearly different from an *Instrument* in some fundamental ways that the game wanted to represent. But the difference between different kinds of *Weapons* (*e.g. axe, sword*) was not considered great enough to warrant unique Playbooks.

Also, of course, there is no hard stopping point for how many Playbooks you might create—**but at some point you'll run out of time, money or interest!**
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