What are entities and how do they work in SwiftPrep?

Entities are the building blocks of your campaign in SwiftPrep. Every NPC, location, item, and story thread is an entity. This guide introduces all eight entity types and explains how they work together to create a cohesive campaign world.

The Eight Entity Types

SwiftPrep organizes your campaign into eight types of content:

Each type has specialized fields. NPCs have personality and combat stats. Locations have sensory details. Items have rarity and magical properties. You fill in what is useful and leave the rest.

Common Features Across All Entities

All entities share these features:

Name and Description

Every entity has a name (required) and description (optional). The name is how you find and reference it. The description can be as detailed or sparse as you need.

Tags

Organize entities with tags:

• Character roles: "villain", "ally", "shopkeeper", "questgiver"
• Story arcs: "arc-1", "strahd", "dragon-plot"
• Locations: "neverwinter", "underdark"
• Status: "needs-prep", "player-favorite"

Tags make filtering easy. Click a tag to see all entities with that tag.

Visibility

Control who can see what:

• DM Only (default) - Only you see this content
• Player Visible - Content you can share with players

Use Player Visible for handouts, public NPC information, and lore the party has learned.

Relationships

Connect entities to each other:

• NPCs know other NPCs (ally, enemy, family)
• NPCs live and work at locations
• Items are owned by characters or found at locations
• Plot hooks involve NPCs and factions
• Everything interconnects

[!TIP] Relationships create depth in your world. When you view an NPC, you immediately see their connections to locations, factions, and other characters.

AI Generation

On Companion and Power tiers, text fields support AI generation:

1. Click the sparkle button next to any text field
2. Provide optional guidance
3. Select tone and creativity
4. Generate content

Creating Entities

All entities follow the same basic workflow:

1. Navigate to the entity type in the sidebar (NPCs, Locations, etc.)
2. Click Create [Entity Type]
3. Enter a name
4. Fill in additional fields as needed
5. Click Save

You can also use Super Swift generators to quickly create NPCs, encounters, locations, items, and plot hooks with AI assistance.

Entity Type Details

NPCs

Characters controlled by you during the game, from the mysterious bartender to the dragon at the end of the dungeon.

Key fields: Name, role, personality, goals, appearance, voice/mannerisms, secrets, combat stats

Use for: Recurring characters, villains, allies, shopkeepers, anyone the party might interact with

Special features: Stats block for combat, faction affiliations, current location tracking

Locations

Places in your world, from continents down to individual rooms.

Key fields: Name, type, atmosphere, sensory details (sights, sounds, smells), features, dangers

Use for: Taverns, dungeons, cities, wilderness areas, any place the party might visit

Special features: Parent location hierarchy (room to building to district to city), inhabitants list

Items

Objects the party finds, buys, or uses, including weapons, armor, potions, treasure, and magical artifacts.

Key fields: Name, type, category, rarity, properties, lore, value, attunement requirements

Use for: Magic items, important mundane objects, treasure, quest items

Special features: Rarity color-coding, owner and location tracking

Encounters

Challenges for the party including combat, social confrontations, puzzles, and exploration challenges.

Key fields: Name, type, difficulty, creatures involved, location, rewards, resolution options, DM notes

Use for: Planned combat, social scenes with stakes, puzzles, skill challenges

Special features: Usage tracking, environmental factors

Factions

Organizations, guilds, governments, and groups that shape your world.

Key fields: Name, type, goals, methods, influence level, resources, secrets, leader, headquarters

Use for: Guilds, governments, cults, criminal organizations, noble houses, religious orders

Special features: Member NPC tracking, ally/rival faction relationships

Plot Hooks

Quests, mysteries, and story threads that drive your campaign forward.

Key fields: Name, type, description, stakes, urgency, status, related entities

Use for: Quests, mysteries, rumors, events, story threads the party can engage with

Special features: Kanban-style status workflow (dormant to available to active to resolved), quest chains via parent hooks

Session Plans

Plans for upcoming game sessions, plus records of past sessions.

Key fields: Name, session number, scheduled date, objectives, key scenes, prepared content, DM notes, outcomes

Use for: Session preparation, linking relevant content, tracking what happened

Special features: Status workflow, linked entity checklists, post-session fields

Player Characters

The heroes controlled by your players.

Key fields: Name, player name, class/level, race, backstory, goals, personality, ability scores

Use for: Tracking party members, their goals, their relationships with your world

Special features: Ability scores, equipment, NPC relationships, faction affiliations

Connecting Your World

Entities become powerful when connected. A standalone NPC is useful. An NPC who:

• Lives at a location
• Leads a faction
• Knows another NPC
• Is connected to a plot hook
• Was featured in a session plan

...is part of a living world.

Building Connections

Create relationships as you build entities:

1. Open an entity
2. Scroll to the Relationships section
3. Click Add Relationship
4. Select target entity and relationship type
5. Save

Visualizing Connections

The Graph view shows your entities and relationships visually:

• Nodes represent entities (color-coded by type)
• Edges represent relationships (color-coded by sentiment)
• Click nodes to view entity details
• Find patterns and gaps in your world

Tips for Getting Started

Start with what you need next session Do not try to build your entire world at once. Create the NPCs, locations, and encounters you need for your next game. Expand from there.

Link as you go When you create an NPC who works at a tavern, link them immediately. Building relationships as you create entities is easier than trying to connect everything later.

Use tags consistently Decide on a tagging scheme early. "villain" or "antagonist"? "arc-1" or "strahd-arc"? Consistency makes filtering useful.

Import existing content If you are migrating from Fantasy Grounds or another tool, use the import feature. Do not recreate what you have already built.

Let the graph reveal gaps Periodically check the graph view. Orphan entities (no relationships) might be forgotten content worth connecting to your world.

Related Articles

• How do I create and manage NPCs?
• How do I define relationships between entities?
• How do I use the relationship graph visualization?
• How do I create and balance encounters?