Embers May 2026 Update

Embers May 2026 Update

At a Glance

In April, we launched a major new feature for campaign prep in Embers Play, expanded the rule authoring tools in Embers Vault, and shipped the first version of our native iOS app.

Session 0 + Safety Tools

Embers Play now includes a full Session Zero workspace for every campaign.

Game Masters can build custom questionnaires, assign prompts to specific players, and collect responses in one place. Each campaign also includes Logistics for scheduling and table info, Safety Tools with a Safety Contract that aggregates everyone’s comfort levels by topic, and a live X-Card that any player can raise during a session.

Markdown is supported throughout, prompts and answers stay in sync in real time, and players can revisit and update their answers anytime.

Platform Updates

Vault Improvements

  • New rule types for Classes, Backgrounds, and Species
  • Equipped-slot tracking and automatic defenses sync for 5.5e characters
  • Foundational work on the rule authoring system to power auto-updating character rules (now partially live) an upcoming character creation wizard
  • Weapon mastery authoring (first pass) and a new “Add to Actions” flow that pulls character actions directly from equipped weapons and rules

Play Improvements

  • House rules support extended to Classes, Backgrounds, and Races/Species/Ancestries
  • Session Zero prompts in player and collation views support Markdown
  • General sync and reconnect reliability improvements

Imagine Improvements

  • Tighter response shape on public World pages
  • Better handling of bot probe traffic on custom World domains
  • Smoother CORS error responses

Platform and Infrastructure

  • Numerous performance and security updates
  • Continued improvements to real-time sync, socket reconnect, and out-of-sync recovery
  • General stability improvements across all services

Native iOS Support Now Live

The native iOS version of Embers is now live in the App Store for anyone who wants to try it out. This first release covers the core character tools from Vault, tabletop tools from Play, and read-only access to Worlds in Imagine. We don’t have full parity yet, but if you use our tools mostly for your characters, it’s worth a look.