Recently I came across a pretty interesting open‑source project and wanted to share it with fellow forum members who also enjoy tinkering with LLMs and role‑playing.
What is this?
In a nutshell: A self‑hosted LLM RPG engine that can turn long‑form novels into interactive game worlds.
The author originally built it to run their own 4.85‑million‑character novel, and later open‑sourced it. It sits somewhere between SillyTavern and AI Dungeon, but leans more toward "world‑driven" experiences rather than pure character‑card chatting.
Project repo: https://github.com/felixchaos/rpg-roleplay-platform
License: AGPL‑3.0 (server side must remain open source; commercial licensing can be arranged with the author)
What makes it stand out?
It's not just another ChatGPT wrapper. A few things really caught my eye:
- Git‑style save system: commit / ref / checkout – you can branch off at any time to explore different plot directions, and checkout back if you don't like them.
- Built‑in BM25 + pgvector retrieval: Feed in the original text directly; the AI actually "remembers" the setting when continuing the story, instead of falling apart when the context window fills up.
- D&D 5E rule set: Comes with an encounter system and inventory – solid enough for running tabletop RPGs.
- Three‑panel Markdown editor: File tree + editing area + AI side panel, with ghost‑text continuation and per‑block accept/reject – writers and tool enthusiasts will love it.
- Tavern mode: Supports drag‑and‑drop import of SillyTavern character cards, branch conversations, and editable system prompts per turn.
- BYOK encryption storage: Keys are AES‑256‑GCM encrypted, with support for 10+ providers (Anthropic / OpenAI / Gemini / DeepSeek / DashScope, etc.)
Tech Stack
| Layer | What's used |
|---|---|
| Backend | Python 3.12 + FastAPI + uvicorn |
| Database | Postgres 16 + pgvector + Redis |
| Frontend | React 19 + Vite + Cloudscape Design |
| Deployment | Docker / bare‑metal scripts / Desktop App |
Three deployment options – pick what suits you
- Desktop app (recommended for beginners): Signed macOS / Windows apps with built‑in Postgres + Python – double‑click to launch, fully offline.
-
One‑click script:
git clonethen run./scripts/setup.sh– venv, DB, migrations all in one go. - Manual deployment: About 8 steps – good for those who want to host it on their own VPS.
How does it compare to SillyTavern?
| SillyTavern | RPG Roleplay | |
|---|---|---|
| Core unit | Character card | Novel + world setting |
| Retrieval | Needs extensions | Built‑in BM25 + vector |
| Save system | Export chat logs | Git‑style branching |
Simply put: SillyTavern feels more like an "AI waifu chat app", while this is more of an "AI game master + novel co‑writing workbench".
Who is it for?
- People who have a favourite novel and want to create fan‑made spin‑offs.
- Those who want to set up a private AI‑powered tabletop RPG table.
- Web novel authors looking for AI assistance with outlines / continuations.
- Anyone who enjoys SillyTavern but finds its memory too limited.
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