💳 Account & credits

Your GameMasterBuddy account holds everything you create: Master AI chats, characters, portraits, Cartographer maps, one-shots and Bench presets. The vast majority of tools are free and run in your browser; credits are only needed for features that use artificial intelligence. This page explains how the account works and how the two-wallet credit system operates.

How your account starts and grows

You sign in with Google: no password to remember, you use the Google account you already have. Access is in closed beta, so first you fill in the signup form and an administrator approves you; until you're approved the account is "pending" and the tools stay locked.

Once approved you become a free user and everything is ready:

1. Sign in with Google.
2. You land on the dashboard with the tool cards.
3. Your work (characters, portraits, maps, chats) stays saved to the account and you find it again from any computer by signing in.

The two wallets

Credits pay for AI features. There are two separate wallets that add together when you spend:

• Periodic credits — they top up every week based on your level. They're your recurring "allowance": they don't pile up forever if unused, you restart from your level's allocation.
• Purchased credits — the ones you obtain separately. They never expire: they stay in the account until you spend them.

When an AI feature costs credits, the system draws from these two wallets transparently: you simply see the balance go down.

How many periodic credits per week

The weekly top-up depends on the account level:

• Base level: 150 credits per week.
• Mid level: 750 credits per week.
• High level: 3000 credits per week.

The higher the level, the more generous the periodic allocation.

What uses credits and what doesn't

Simple rule: you only pay for AI. Anything that runs in the browser is free and never touches your balance.

Use credits (AI features):

• The Master AI chat (answers cited from the manuals).
• The DM helper (the AI mini-chat inside the Bench).
• Portraits generated on demand.
• One-shot Studio (adventure generation).

Are free (run in your browser):

• All the tabletop tools (dice, tracker, generators, timer, notes, sheets...).
• The block-based Bench.
• The Cartographer (map editor).
• The online Table (VTT with tokens and fog).

Where you see the balance

The credit balance is always visible in the app interface. Before launching an AI feature it's worth a look: that way you know whether the week's periodic credits are enough or whether you're dipping into the purchased ones that never expire.