Vellum Despana

Use Vellum’s session engine through a dense, desktop-oriented browser workspace.

What it is

Vellum Despana is an optional browser frontend built into VellumFE. It is intended for desktop play: the Story feed stays central while movable panels keep room, character, combat, spell, inventory, and map information visible.

Despana is a presentation surface, not a separate game client. Vellum owns the connection, login, XML parsing, authoritative state, command dispatch, maps, reconnection, and authenticated web server. Despana renders that state and sends interactions back through Vellum’s public web protocol.

Despana has no dependency on a custom Lich script or companion service. It works with a Direct connection. A Lich connection adds whatever scripts and streams that particular Lich session provides, but none are required for the frontend to render normal game state.

Start it from the Launcher

1. Run vellum-fe with no arguments to open the native VellumFE Launcher.
2. Create a connection, or edit an existing one.
3. Choose Direct to log in through play.net, or Lich to attach to a detachable-client Lich port.
4. Open Advanced and select Vellum Despana under Frontend.
5. Save and launch the connection.

Vellum starts the session and opens an authenticated Despana tab after its web server has bound. Use the URL Vellum opens rather than constructing one by hand; it contains the actual port and pairing token for that session.

The canonical route is /despana.

Direct and Lich connections

Both connection modes use the same Despana interface and the same Vellum state model:

Selecting Despana does not change the connection mode or create a second login. The saved Launcher connection remains authoritative.

The workspace

Macros and hotkeys

Open Macros & Hotkeys in the menu bar to create, edit, delete, or run named command macros. Enter one command per line. A line such as s1.5 waits 1.5 seconds before the next command, using Vellum’s existing macro dispatcher. Lich commands such as ;bigshot are supported when connected through Lich. Saving does not execute the macro; the editor reports confirmation only after Vellum publishes the saved definition.

Multiline blocks can be pasted directly, including Windows-style line endings; blank lines are ignored. Without explicit sleep segments, commands are sent together, not paced by roundtime or game responses. This is a command-block editor, not an importer for Wrayth control codes or a full script language.

Assign a shortcut such as ctrl+shift+h, f7, or num_8, or leave Hotkey blank for a manually run macro. These bindings are Despana-specific, not replacements for desktop keybinds.toml. Commands still execute in Vellum, not in JavaScript. Duplicate hotkeys loaded from files are disabled and explained in the editor rather than choosing an arbitrary macro.

Hotkeys work while the Story command input is focused. They do not fire while editing other fields, during text composition, with a menu/dialog open, or while disconnected. Holding a key does not repeatedly execute its macro. Browser/clipboard shortcuts are reserved; additional shortcuts may be claimed by the operating system. For a clean test, use F7. Optional Confirm before running applies to both hotkeys and the Run button.

Editing together without rebuilding

Macros created here use Vellum’s existing per-character overlay:

<Vellum data directory>/profiles/<character>/macros-local.toml

The default data directory is ~/.vellum-fe; a custom data directory changes that root. For example:

[[group]]
name = "Testing"

[[group.button]]
label = "Look after a pause"
hotkey = "f7"
command = "look\rs1.5\rlook"
confirm = false

This is ordinary TOML, suitable for hand editing or help from a coding agent. After external edits, choose Reload from disk in the editor or enter .reloadmacros in Story. Reload before making further editor changes, so Vellum has the latest on-disk definitions. Successful reloads update connected clients immediately; no rebuild, relogin, or browser refresh is required. Vellum owns file persistence and error reporting in Story.

Hand-authored base macros.toml entries remain file-editable, not rewritten by Despana. The current editor handles command macros; menu, type-in, and client-action macros remain available through Vellum’s play-page editor. Use Lich scripts for branching, loops, matching output, or roundtime-aware automation. Macro sleep segments are fixed delays, not those features.

Implementation: macros.js handles browser shortcuts and activation; macro-editor.js handles authoring; session.js adapts the existing macros, macro, macro_save, and macro_delete protocol. There is no second script runtime or browser-local macro database.

The workspace is made from modules arranged in top, bottom, left, right, and center zones. Use a module’s menu to move or hide it, change a zone’s split direction, or restore hidden modules. Resize handles adjust neighboring zones and modules.

Layout changes are saved automatically per character. The browser keeps an immediate local copy, while Vellum stores the authenticated cross-port copy in that character’s profile. Reloading or using a different local Vellum port therefore preserves the most recent layout without putting workspace data in request cookies. Workspace → Restore default returns to the shipped layout without changing game or character settings.

The Injuries module starts by showing current wounds. Its header selector can instead show scars, or wounds and scars together.

Story, Room, and commands

• Story is the chronological game feed. It includes normal game output, room transitions, combat, conversations, and script output. It follows new text while you are at the bottom. Scrolling away or choosing Pause stops that follow intentionally; Bottom resumes it.
• Room is a current-state view. It replaces its contents as room state changes instead of accumulating history.
• The command input is attached to the bottom of Story. Press Enter or choose Send to dispatch through Vellum. Links, exits, and item action menus use the same command path.

Nested inventory

Enable Show Nested in the Inventory header to request a managed snapshot and render carried items as a nested tree. The preference is saved with the character’s workspace; when it is already enabled, Despana requests a fresh snapshot as the character view loads. Turning it off immediately restores the normal flat Inventory feed. Every container starts collapsed; expand only the containers whose contents you want to inspect. Room-floor trees, malformed parents, duplicate ids, and cycles are excluded. Incomplete or depth-limited snapshots are labeled instead of implying that every item has been shown.

Maps

The Map module offers two views of Vellum’s map data:

• Local draws the nearby room graph and follows the current room.
• Classic displays an available annotated map image and marks the current room on it.

Choose Local or Classic in the Map header. The map selector can display a different available map without moving the character, and Center returns the viewport to the current room. Drag to pan and use the mouse wheel to zoom. Map availability depends on the map data installed for the current game and location.

Closing a session

Closing the browser tab does not stop Vellum’s session process. Use .quit to disconnect and return Despana to its Launcher handoff, or .exit when you intend to close the session process completely.

Troubleshooting

The Launcher says it is waiting for Lich. Confirm the saved connection’s host and detachable-client port, and make sure Lich is listening there. If the profile has a custom launch command, check that it starts the same character on the same port.

The browser is denied or never connects. Launch Despana again from the native Launcher so Vellum can open a fresh paired URL. Do not copy a token from another session or port.

Despana says there is no active game session. Start or attach the character from the native VellumFE Launcher. The link to /play opens Vellum’s browser login in a separate page for manual recovery; Despana never embeds or owns a second login session.

Story stopped following new text. Choose Bottom. Scrolling away from the latest line or selecting Pause intentionally suspends follow mode.

A map view is empty. Try the other map mode and confirm map data is installed. Classic images are not available for every location; Local view also needs rooms in Vellum’s map database.

Lich script output is missing in Direct mode. This is expected. Direct mode does not run or attach to Lich. Edit the saved connection and choose Lich if you want to use that installation’s scripts.

See also

• The Launcher
• First Launch
• Browser Client — Vellum’s mobile and sidecar browser surface
• Map