Rules Index Rules not directly tied to actions (see the Actions Index) or scenes (the Scenes Index). What are rulebooks?  ; What are activities?  ; Moving or abolishing rules

Procedural rules 

Procedural rules are super-powerful, controlling how all other rulebooks are read. Like any drastic solution, a procedural rule should only be used when all else fails.

The top level 

An Inform story file spends its whole time working through these three master rulebooks. They can be altered, just as all rulebooks can, but it's generally better to leave them alone.

Rules added to the sequence of play 

These rulebooks are the best places to put rules timed to happen at the start, at the end, or once each turn. (Each is run through at a carefully chosen moment in the relevant top-level rulebook.) It is also possible to have rules take effect at specific times of day or when certain events happen. Those belong to no rulebook, but are indexed here for convenience. Rules taking place when scenes begin and end can be found in the Scenes index.

How commands are understood 

'Understanding' here means turning a typed command, like GET FISH, into one or more actions, like taking the red herring. This is all handled by a single large rule (the parse command rule), but that rule makes use of the following activities and rulebooks in its work.

How actions are processed 

These form the machinery for dealing with actions, and are called on at least once every turn. They seldom need to be changed. To change the effect of actions - say, 'taking or dropping something' - write an Instead rule, or something similar: see the Actions index for these. (The rulebooks here are the ones that consult those rules and deal with the results.)

How accessibility is judged 

These rulebooks are used when deciding who can reach what, and who can see what.

Light and darkness 

These activities control how we describe darkness.

How things are described 

These activities control what is printed when naming rooms or things, and their descriptions.

New rulebooks and activities in the source text 

New rulebooks and activities from Conversation Nodes by Eric Eve 

New rulebooks and activities from Conversation Suggestions by Eric Eve 

New rulebooks and activities from Conversation Responses by Eric Eve 

New rulebooks and activities from Conversational Defaults by Eric Eve 

Rulebooks and activities other than those in the Standard Rules are indexed according to their origin.