Quick Start

Get up and running with PlotCraft in under 5 minutes. This guide walks you through setting up your OpenRouter account and generating your first story.

Step 1: Create an OpenRouter Account

PlotCraft uses OpenRouter to access AI models. OpenRouter acts as a unified gateway to multiple AI providers, letting you choose the model that best fits your needs and budget.

  1. Go to openrouter.ai
  2. Click "Sign Up" and create a free account
  3. Navigate to your dashboard and add credits (minimum $5 recommended to start)
Why OpenRouter? You pay only for what you use, with no subscriptions. A typical story costs between $0.08 and $0.50 depending on your quality tier choice.

Step 2: Connect to PlotCraft

  1. Sign in to PlotCraft using your preferred authentication method
  2. Navigate to your account settings
  3. Click "Connect OpenRouter"
  4. You'll be redirected to OpenRouter to authorize PlotCraft
  5. Once authorized, you're ready to generate stories

Your OpenRouter connection is securely stored and encrypted. PlotCraft never has direct access to your OpenRouter credentials.

Step 3: Generate Your First Story

Choose a Theme

Start by selecting a story universe. Each theme comes with specialized agent personalities and knowledge:

  • SCP Foundation — Anomalous entities and containment procedures
  • Fantasy — Magic systems and mythical realms
  • Romance — Love stories and relationship dynamics
  • Cyberpunk — Dystopian futures and technology
  • Noir — Mystery and crime fiction
  • Sci-Fi — Space exploration and hard science
  • Free Writing — No constraints, any genre

Write Your Prompt

Describe the story you want to create. Good prompts include:

  • A clear premise or scenario
  • Key characters or entities
  • The tone or mood you want
  • Any specific elements to include

Example prompt: "A containment breach at Site-19 involving a reality-bending anomaly that makes researchers forget they're scientists. The story follows a junior researcher on her first day who notices something is wrong."

Select Your Mode

For your first story, we recommend Express Mode — it's the fastest way to see results. Later, try Standard Mode for higher quality with agent collaboration.

Learn more about modes in the Generation Modes guide.

Choose Quality Tier

  • Budget (~$0.08) — Gemini Flash, great for testing ideas
  • Recommended (~$0.20) — Claude Sonnet, best balance of quality and cost
  • Premium (~$0.50) — Claude Opus, maximum creative quality

Generate

Click "Generate" and watch your story come to life. In Standard Mode, you'll see the agents conversing in real-time as they collaborate on your story.

What's Next?