"Dath ilan's eroLARPs, according to Keltham, have paying player characters and paid non-player-characters, both assigned background stories.  The player characters act freely not knowing the story's possible ends, and the non-player-characters act in secret conspiracy to keep overall developments on course for a satisfying ending."

"We're not inside one of those.  At least, not so far as I can tell.  What we're inside instead -"

"In some worlds, according to Nethys, there are games that are like magical books, books containing choices.  You go to the store - a metaphorical store, because books like that aren't physical enough to be contained in a physical shop or handed over when you buy them - but you go to the metaphorical store, and you buy a metaphorical novel-game.  You metaphorically read it, and you get to the point of the book where the novel-game offers you a choice, and you choose an action at that choice-point, and then new pages appear in the novel-game and you keep reading."

"In some worlds, the artistic idiom of the novel-game is manifested in their versions of dath ilan's 'computers', with illusions of people's heads talking and text flowing, and players who 'click' to make choices.  In other worlds, a novel-game enchants the player into feeling like they're inside the world it describes, and if the novel-game is cursed you might die there for real."

"Dath ilan's eroLARPs, according to Keltham, have paying player characters and paid non-player-characters, both assigned background stories.  The player characters act freely not knowing the story's possible ends, and the non-player-characters act in secret conspiracy to keep overall developments on course for a satisfying ending."

"We're not inside one of those.  At least, not so far as Nethys can tell.  What we're inside instead -"

"In some worlds, according to Nethys, there are games that are like magical books, books containing choices.  You go to the store - a metaphorical store, because books like that aren't physical enough to be contained in a physical shop or handed over when you buy them - but you go to the metaphorical store, and you buy a metaphorical novel-game.  You metaphorically read it, and you get to the point of the book where the novel-game offers you a choice, and you choose an action at that choice-point, and then new pages appear in the novel-game and you keep reading."

"In some worlds, the artistic idiom of the novel-game is manifested in their versions of dath ilan's 'computers', with illusions of people's heads talking and text flowing, and players who 'click' to make choices.  In other worlds, a novel-game enchants the player into feeling like they're inside the world it describes, and if the novel-game is cursed you might die there for real."

"Dath ilan's eroLARPs, according to Keltham, have paying player characters and paid non-player-characters, both assigned background stories.  The player characters act freely not knowing the story's possible ends, and the non-player-characters act in secret conspiracy to keep overall developments on course for a satisfying ending."

"We're not inside one of those.  At least, not so far as Nethys can tell, if Nethys is being truthful.  What we're inside instead -"

"In some worlds, according to Nethys, there are games that are like magical books, books containing choices.  You go to the store - a metaphorical store, because books like that aren't physical enough to be contained in a physical shop or handed over when you buy them - but you go to the metaphorical store, and you buy a metaphorical novel-game.  You metaphorically read it, and you get to the point of the book where the novel-game offers you a choice, and you choose an action at that choice-point, and then new pages appear in the novel-game and you keep reading."

"In some worlds, the artistic idiom of the novel-game is manifested in their versions of dath ilan's 'computers', with illusions of people's heads talking and text flowing, and players who 'click' to make choices.  In other worlds, a novel-game enchants the player into feeling like they're inside the world it describes, and if the novel-game is cursed you might die there for real."

"Dath ilan's eroLARPs, according to Keltham, have paying player characters and paid non-player-characters, both assigned background stories.  The player characters act freely not knowing the story's possible ends, and the non-player-characters act in secret conspiracy to keep overall developments on course for a satisfying ending."

"We're not inside one of those.  At least, not so far as I can tell.  What we're inside instead -"

"In some worlds, according to Nethys, there are games that are like magical books, books containing choices.  You go to the store - a metaphorical store, because books like that aren't physical enough to be contained in a physical shop or handed over when you buy them - but you go to the metaphorical store, and you buy a metaphorical novel-game.  You metaphorically read it, and you get to the point of the book where the novel-game offers you a choice, and you choose an action at that choice-point, and then new pages appear in the novel-game and you keep reading."

"In some worlds, the artistic idiom of the novel-game is manifested in their versions of dath ilan's 'computers', with illusions of people's heads talking and text flowing, and players who 'click' to make choices.  In other worlds, a novel-game enchants the player into feeling like they're inside the world it describes, and if the novel-game is cursed you might die there for real."