The Game Master buys Quill & Compass once, for £39. The first 200 licences are £29. Players never pay.
No subscription, no per-seat charge, no recurring payment of any kind.
The prices
| Who | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Game Master licence | £39, once | A perpetual licence to the Quill & Compass desktop app for Windows. One licence covers one Game Master, on their own devices, running as many campaigns and tables as they like. |
| The first 200 licences | £29, once | An introductory price: exactly the same software, on exactly the same terms, for less. One per person, in the order purchases land. Nothing extra is attached to it. |
| Players | Free, always | A free account in a web browser, with nothing to install: make characters, roll their own dice, keep notes and join their Game Master’s game from a web browser. A phone is only for checking your character between sessions, not for playing at the table. |
Running the game takes the Game Master’s desktop app. Players join it from a browser.
What you receive
- Delivery is immediate. On payment you receive a download link for the Windows installer and your licence key by email. Nothing is shipped and there is no waiting period. The browser version is free for everyone and is for players; a licence adds the desktop app that runs the game.
- It is yours to keep. A one-time purchase of a perpetual licence. We may change the price of the software in future, but we will never change the price of something you have already bought, and you will not be asked to pay again for the same app.
- Your work stays yours. Your characters, campaigns, maps and notes belong to you, and you can take them with you.
If we ever build something that costs real money every month to run for you — hosting your maps on our servers, say, or an AI service we pay for by the request — that would be a separate, optional thing you could ignore. What you bought stays complete and stays yours.
What “bought once” promises
- The desktop app is yours to keep and keeps working.
- Every update to version 1 is free. If a paid version 2 ever exists, we will announce it at least six months ahead, and version 1 will keep working.
- Joining, sync and invite links run on servers we pay for. We will run them for as long as Quill & Compass is on sale and for at least 24 months after. If we ever close them, you get 12 months’ notice and, before anything is switched off, a way to export your campaigns.
- Fair use for ordinary play. If we ever set limits, we will publish them and set them generously.
That is the promise as made on 9 October 2026. The full wording is in the terms.
How payment works
- Prices are in pounds sterling and include UK VAT where it applies. Your payment provider may convert to your own currency at their rate.
- Payments are handled by our payment provider, who acts as merchant of record and appears on your statement. We never see or store your card details.
Thirty days, no questions
If Quill & Compass is not for you, ask within 30 days of buying it and you get all your money back — at £29 or £39 alike. A refunded licence stops running games; your campaigns, characters and notes stay in your account. The details, and your statutory rights on top, are on the refunds page.
Getting started
Players can start free in the browser today. If you run the game, leave your address and we’ll write the moment Game Master licences open: tell me when licences open.
Questions about any of this: hello@thequillandcompass.com