Friends & Fables: AI Game Master for D&D-Style Campaigns
Friends & Fables is a browser-based, text-first role-playing game in which an AI Game Master named Franz narrates adventures and helps run the rules. You can join a public world, create your own setting, or invite friends into a campaign. Its focus is D&D 5e-style fantasy play, including tactical, turn-based combat—not just free-form character chat.
The official site is fables.gg, with the play experience at play.fables.gg. An older address, friendsandfables.com, is outdated; use the current official site instead. As of 2026-10-31, Friends & Fables describes itself as being in open beta, so expect that features and behavior may change and that bugs can occur.
What you can do
A campaign begins with a world and characters, then develops through conversations with Franz. You describe what your character tries to do, talk to other characters, explore locations, and make decisions. Franz responds as narrator and game master, portraying non-player characters and moving the adventure forward. The platform also supports multiplayer campaigns, so a group can play together rather than each person running a separate solo story.
The product combines several parts of a tabletop-style game:
- AI Game Master: Franz narrates scenes, plays NPCs, and responds to player actions.
- D&D 5e-style combat: Encounters use turns and can involve battlemaps, abilities, spells, and monsters.
- World-building: Tools help you create or customize a setting and provide lore for Franz to use.
- Group play: Campaigns can include up to six players on supported plans; the free plan supports three-player campaigns.
- Text-to-speech: TTS can read narration aloud, offering an alternative to reading every response on screen.
These features make Friends & Fables more structured than a general-purpose AI chat. The trade-off is that a structured game asks the AI to remember details and apply rules consistently. Treat Franz as an interactive game master that may need guidance, not as a guaranteed rules authority or a human DM with perfect continuity.
How a campaign works
You can start from an existing public or featured world, or set up a world of your own. After creating a character, you enter the campaign and interact with Franz through messages. For a group game, invite your friends to the campaign; Friends & Fables says invited friends can play for free, though campaign size and other plan limits still apply.
World-building is useful both for people who want to write a setting from scratch and for groups that already have material they want to bring into a game. The goal is to give Franz context about the places, characters, and assumptions that should shape the adventure. Clear, concise instructions are usually more practical than giving the AI an enormous lore document and expecting every detail to remain salient throughout a long campaign.
For an ongoing story, consider keeping a short “story so far” note with important events, character goals, and unresolved threads. You can also write down how you want the game paced—for example, whether you want more time for travel and conversation, or a faster route to encounters. These notes give you a way to correct course when Franz loses track of a detail or takes the story in an unwanted direction.
Combat and D&D 5e-style play
Combat is a distinguishing feature: Friends & Fables aims to support tactical, turn-based encounters with battlemaps, spells, abilities, monsters, and other familiar elements of D&D-style play. That gives a campaign more structure than a purely narrative exchange. Players can take turns acting within an encounter rather than simply describing an uninterrupted sequence of events.
“D&D 5e-style” should not be read as a promise that the platform will reproduce every tabletop rule exactly. An AI-driven encounter may need clarification or correction, particularly when a situation depends on a precise rules interpretation, a character’s resources, or earlier campaign details. If something appears inconsistent, restate the relevant character ability or rule and tell Franz how you want to handle it. Groups that require strict rules adjudication may prefer a human DM or a conventional virtual tabletop.
What counts as a turn?
A turn is a response from Franz: each message the AI Game Master sends counts as one turn. Your own messages do not count as turns. This matters most on the free plan, which allows up to 25 turns per day. A short exchange can use turns quickly if Franz replies several times, while a longer player message does not itself consume one of those Franz turns.
The daily limit makes the free plan a useful way to try the product and see whether its style suits you. It is not the same as unlimited daily play: if you regularly run lengthy sessions, you may reach the cap and need to wait for the allowance to reset or consider a paid plan.
Pricing
Pricing was checked against the official Friends & Fables pricing page on 2026-10-31. The listed monthly prices are in USD:
| Plan | Listed price | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Up to 25 Franz turns per day; supports three-player campaigns. Friends can play free. |
| Starter | $19.95/month | Paid tier; the pricing page presents paid plans as including unlimited turns. |
| Pro | $29.95/month | Higher-priced tier with expanded plan allowances. |
| Legend | $39.95/month | Highest of these listed monthly tiers, positioned for more extensive play. |
The site markets yearly billing as two months free. Plan limits and inclusions can change, and the names alone do not explain every difference between tiers. Check the current pricing page and confirm the exact plan, billing period, and terms at checkout before subscribing. The free plan is not a paid trial: it is listed at $0, with a daily turn allowance and a smaller campaign-size limit.
Who it may suit
Friends & Fables is worth considering if you want to:
- Play a fantasy adventure without arranging a human DM.
- Invite a small group to a shared, text-led campaign.
- Build a setting and see how an AI GM uses your lore.
- Try tactical encounters rather than limiting play to open-ended storytelling.
- Experiment with campaign ideas before bringing them to a human-run table.
It is a less obvious fit if your group expects exact rules adjudication, reliable recall of every detail in a long-running campaign, or the flexibility of a human game master reading the room. The open-beta notice is another reason to approach it as an evolving service rather than a finished tabletop replacement.
Is it the same as Fable Fiesta?
No. Fable Fiesta is a different product, not another name or version of Friends & Fables. If you are looking for the AI Game Master Franz and multiplayer D&D-style campaigns, the relevant product is Friends & Fables at fables.gg.
FAQ
Is Friends & Fables free?
Yes. The official pricing page lists a $0 plan with up to 25 Franz turns per day and three-player campaigns. Friends can play free. Paid plans are available for people who want more capacity; check the current pricing page for their limits and confirm the details at checkout.
What is Franz?
Franz is Friends & Fables’ AI Game Master. It narrates scenes, portrays NPCs, and helps run campaigns and encounters. Because it is AI, you may need to remind it of important details or correct its interpretation of the rules.
How many players can join a campaign?
The platform supports parties of up to six players on supported plans. The free plan supports three-player campaigns. Check the current plan details if party size is a deciding factor.
Does Friends & Fables use D&D 5e rules?
It offers D&D 5e-style tactical combat, with turn-based encounters and familiar elements such as battlemaps, spells, abilities, and monsters. That describes the style of play; it does not guarantee perfect implementation of every 5e rule.
What counts as a turn?
A turn is each message Franz sends. Your own messages do not count toward the free plan’s daily allowance.
Is Friends & Fables the same as Fable Fiesta?
No. They are different products. Fable Fiesta is not the Friends & Fables campaign platform.
What is the official site?
Use fables.gg or the play experience at play.fables.gg. The older friendsandfables.com address is outdated.
Bottom line
Friends & Fables brings AI narration, world-building, group campaigns, and D&D 5e-style tactical combat into one browser-based experience. Its free plan provides a low-commitment way to try Franz, though the 25-turn daily limit and three-player campaign cap define what that tier can support. For longer campaigns, the main question is not only which plan to choose, but whether you are comfortable guiding an AI GM when it needs a reminder or correction.
