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The Story Engine Deck

Character Dynamics Story Expansion Set

Character Dynamics Story Expansion Set

Regular price $54.99
Regular price $60.00 Sale price $54.99
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Our most requested expansion set is now available for pre-order!

The Character Dynamics Expansion Set for The Story Engine Deck system features:

  • Inner Truths & Outer Trials: Character Questions Expansion
  • Best Friends & Bitter Rivals: Relationships Expansion
  • Written in Love & Longing: Romance Expansion

Get deep into character development and dynamics with three NEW 60-card expansions for The Story Engine. Whether you’re developing a character’s personality, exploring plots powered by interpersonal dynamics, or preparing a story with love or romance at its heart, this expansion set offers endless ways to prompt new ideas.

CAPTIVATING PROMPTS
➡️ 180 cards for creating rich interpersonal dynamics, shaping any character’s inner world and for creating romantic tales

INSTANT IDEAS
➡️ Generate complex character relationships, personality traits and ignite sparks during writing or live at the table

LEVEL UP YOUR SKILLS
➡️ Drive the plot forward with character-based dramatic tension, write fictional characters that feel like real-life individuals and hook readers with complicated love triangles, enemies to lovers, and other romantic tropes

BEAUTIFUL & FUNCTIONAL
➡️ Compact boxes are easy to carry and store  

BUILT TO LAST
➡️ Printed on heavy 350gsm artpaper cards 

⭐ COMBINE WITH OUR OTHER DECKS
➡️ Each new expansion combines seamlessly with a variety of our existing decks. Scroll down to learn more.

    View full details
    • Character Questions Expansion

      Write characters that feel real using open-ended questions to help you flesh out your character, from formative memories and core beliefs to petty grudges and personality quirks.

      Pre-order as a single expansion 
    • Relationships Expansion

      Write relationships and develop character dynamics that power page-turning plots with an expansion focused on exploring motivations and conflicts that link characters.

      Pre-order as a single expansion 
    • Romance Expansion

      Developed with bestselling romance author Maggie K. Black, Written in Love & Longing is been our most requested expansion ever. Write stories featuring motivations, conflicts, and characters that regularly top the bestseller list.

      Pre-order as a single expansion 

    Character Questions Expansion Preview

    Example cards from the Character Questions Expansion
    • ✅ Can be used on its own like a set of flash cards with questions to help you further develop your existing characters.

    • ✅ Combines seamlessly with The Story Engine Deck to create deeply developed characters from scratch.

    • ✅ Combines seamlessly with other story expansions and boosters to develop emotionally rich characters in any genre.

    • ✅ Combines well with Lore Master's Deck to further explore the inner worlds and backstories of your world's figures.

    • ✅ Can be combined with Deck of Worlds to add detail to characters that that appear as you build your world.

    Relationships Expansion Preview

    Example cards from the Relationships Expansion
    • Designed to work with all Agent cards from The Story Engine Deck (or any story expansion/booster) to create plots powered by character dynamics.

    • Combines well with Figure cards from Lore Master's Deck (or any lore expansion) to develop a wide variety of dynamics, backgrounds and lore links. Also works with many Faction cards.

    • ❗ This expansion is designed to be used in conjunction with either The Story Engine Deck or Lore Master's Deck. It is difficult to use without Agent or Figure cards.

    Romance Expansion Preview

    Example cards from the Romance Story Prompts Expansion
    • ✅ Can be used on its own to create entirely romance-focused stories.

    • ✅ Combines seamlessly with The Story Engine Deck to create trillions of potential story ideas that go beyond the core tropes of romance.

    • ✅ Combines seamlessly with other story expansions and boosters to add romantic tension to genre stories (e.g., a sci fi epic with a slow-burning romance at its heart).

    • ✅ Combines seamlessly with other story expansions and boosters to create popular romance genre blends (e.g. romantic suspense, romantasy, or paranormal romance).

    • ✅ Has synergy with Lore Master's Deck, especially for writing romantasy stories featuring transformed tropes from modern romance.

    • ✅ Can be combined with Deck of Worlds. See the Deck of Worlds guidebook for details on combining our story/worldbuilding deck systems.

    New expansion launch FAQ

    When will pre-orders be delivered?

    Pre-orders of the new Character Dynamics Expansions will be delivered between July and September 2026 depending on your region.

    When will the final PDFs be released?

    The final PDFs will be released in May/June 2026. They are not currently available to order.

    How will the alpha PDF release work?

    When you pre-order the full expansion set, you'll automatically have alpha access to the PDFs of the new expansions added to your cart for free.

    Pre-orders will able to participate in the exclusive alpha, with PDF access from March 2-31.

    Early VIP pre-orders placed before 10am ET on February 6 will be able to download the alpha PDFs one week early.

    Alpha PDF download access will be provided via email notification from our digital downloads platform Filemonk.

    Download access will be removed when the alpha period concludes on Mar 31.

    What is an "alpha"?

    An alpha is an early, non-final version of a game.

    We will be releasing a printable PDF of the 3 new expansions as an alpha to give pre-order customers a first look at the expansions.

    Our alpha PDF may feature cards and artwork that do not appear in the final version of the expansions. The prompts will not yet have been reviewed by sensitivity readers and will have only received a preliminary round of proofreading.

    You will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the alpha via a survey link that will be provided.