Modern gamers are drowning in subscriptions, and AI roleplaying hasn't escaped it. Popular platforms like AI Dungeon, Friends & Fables, and RoleForge run on monthly plans, often $10 to $50 a month, and many cap your actions or meter your "energy" on top of it.

"Tabletop roleplaying is about infinite freedom. When you attach a monthly subscription fee to your game master, your creative freedom is metered by a billing cycle."

Why an AI game master doesn't need its own subscription

The expensive part of an AI game master is the AI model, not the app around it. Subscription platforms buy model access, add their markup, and resell it to you as a plan. The Weaver skips that step. It runs on your computer and connects to a model you already have access to, so there is nothing to subscribe to with us. The model provider bills you directly, and for the options below that can mean nothing at all.

Your options, cheapest first

  • A ChatGPT account (recommended). Sign in with ChatGPT right inside the app and The Weaver runs on the plan you already have. OpenAI openly supports connecting a ChatGPT subscription to third-party apps like ours. Even the free ChatGPT plan works quite well, though the most advanced models are reserved for paid plans. The Weaver picks models that your plan can actually run.
  • A free Google AI Studio (Gemini) key. Google's AI Studio gives out API keys with a free tier, enough to play. Getting one takes a few minutes, and our YouTube video walks through it step by step. The app also links you to the key page during setup.
  • A paid API key. If you'd rather pay per use, paste an OpenAI or Anthropic API key. You pay the provider's raw usage rate, with no markup from us.

What about a Claude subscription?

Claude Pro and Max subscriptions can't be used to power third-party apps like The Weaver. Anthropic doesn't allow it, so we don't offer it. You can still use Claude through a pay-as-you-go Anthropic API key, which is billed separately from any Claude subscription. If you want a no-cost start, the ChatGPT sign-in or a free Gemini key is the way to go.

Your campaign stays on your computer

Cloud-hosted platforms keep your campaign on their servers. If the developer shuts down or changes the rules, your years of campaign history go with them. The Weaver is local-first: adventures, characters and session history live in a file on your own machine, with no account with us and no cloud save. Your keys and sign-ins are stored encrypted with your operating system's secure storage and go only to the provider they belong to. The scene and your action text do go to your chosen model provider, as they would if you typed them into that provider's own website. Our Privacy Policy spells out who sees what.

What The Weaver costs

The Weaver is free to try on itch.io during early access testing, and the itch page is pay-what-you-want with a $0 minimum. There is no subscription to us, no artificial energy limits, and no per-session fees. Whatever you spend on the AI side goes to the provider you chose, and with a free Gemini key or a free ChatGPT account that can be nothing.

Tabletop roleplaying has always been about gathering around a table and sharing immersive stories. The Weaver is designed to keep that magic going as an always-ready game master, without a monthly bill.