Going Public
Audience
Audience members are the followers of your public realm. They watch the story unfold, cheer on your sessions, and hear about new ones, without taking a seat at the table.
Guest
Signed in and browsing, but not following. Loses access if the realm goes private.
Audience
Following the realm. Can applaud, gets notified, and keeps access.
Member
Part of the party. Can chat, play live, and use the full table.
Audience is only available on public realms. Anyone with a free Realms of Shod account can follow one in two ways:
From the preview page
The Become Audience button on your public preview page. Visitors who aren't signed in are asked to sign in or create an account, then land inside your realm as audience.
While browsing as a guest
Guests see a banner reading "You're browsing as a guest." with a Become Audience button.
Your audience doesn't count toward your party's member limit, so there's no cap on how many people can follow. Share codes are separate: someone who joins with a share code becomes a full member, not audience.
Audience can
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Follow the story | Browse the Gamestream and the parts of your Compendium that are Public to Realm or shared with them. |
| Applaud | Hold the applaud button on finished sessions and backstory explorations. |
| Export | Export the Compendium entries they can see. |
| Read transcripts | Only when session rumors are turned off. |
Audience cannot
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Play | Chat in the Gamestream, join live sessions or video, roll dice, or keep character details. |
| See behind the screen | Read Notes, use story tools, see the party roster, or change realm settings. |
Audience members all share the same gray color and see an AUDIENCE label in the realm header. For the complete breakdown, see Permissions.
Following a realm is what makes it show up in your notifications. Audience members hear about:
Sessions that end in the realm
New backstory explorations
Changes to their own role
In the H.U.B.
The bell icon lights up when something new has happened. Open it to read the list or mark everything as read.
Weekly email
Every Friday, a digest rounds up the week's activity in each realm you belong to, with a button to jump back in.
Turning email off
Uncheck Realm Notifications under Email preferences in User Settings, or use the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of any digest.
Followed realms appear in your H.U.B. alongside the realms you play in, marked with an Audience chip. To find new realms, look for creators sharing their preview page or creator profile links; every creator profile lists all of that creator's public realms.
Realm admins and the owner can manage the audience from the Party Members panel. The Audience row shows how many people are following. Choose View Audience to see the list.
Promote to Member
Invites a follower to the table. They get a unique color and full member access. Promotion needs a free spot in the party.
Kick
Removes a follower from the realm.
Moving members to audience
Edit anyone in the party list and set their Realm Role to Audience. It's a good fit for a player who is stepping back but still wants to follow along.
In your H.U.B., open the menu on the realm's card and choose Abandon Realm. You'll stop receiving its notifications and can follow again later from its preview page, as long as it's still public.