Creating Relationships

MythTapestry provides three methods for creating relationships, each suited to different workflows.

Method 1: Entity relationships tab

The most detailed method. Open an entity’s page and go to its Relationships tab.

1. Click Add Relationship.
2. Choose the direction — outgoing (this entity is the source) or incoming (this entity is the target).
3. Search for the target entity using the autocomplete field. Picking one closes the results; type again to choose someone else.
4. Select a relationship type from the dropdown (filtered to valid types for this entity pair). Types are grouped by category, alphabetically, so Allies comes before Rivals under Social.
5. Optionally select a subtype if the type supports them.
6. Optionally set temporal bounds — valid from and valid to dates using the world date picker. Each can carry a time of day too, if the change happened partway through a day: Maren joins the Confederation at Bell 13 rather than at the start of the day.
7. Optionally set strength — a slider from 0% to 100%. The relationship card shows the same percentage.
8. Optionally fill in any extended properties defined by the relationship type.
9. Click Create Relationship.

Once saved, the relationship appears on the tab as a card:

This method gives you access to all relationship fields including temporal context, strength, subtypes, and extended properties.

When no relationship type fits

Each relationship type lists the entity types it joins: its Allowed Source Types and Allowed Target Types. An empty list allows any type. The dropdown only offers types that allow both ends of the link, so linking two entity types that no type allows gives you a notice instead of a list: “No relationship type joins Airship and Character yet.”

This happens most often with an entity type you made yourself. Say you add an Airship type: none of the built-in relationship types list Airship, because it didn’t exist when they were written. Open Relationship Types (the notice links there, in a new tab, so your half-filled dialog stays put), edit a type such as Located in, and add Airship to its allowed types. Back in the dialog, pick the target again and the type appears.

Method 2: Graph view edge creation

A quicker method for connecting entities visually in the graph.

1. Open the Graph view (world graph or entity graph).
2. Right-click a node and choose Create Relationship From Here.
3. A banner reads Click a node to connect from …. Click the target node. (Press the × on the banner to give up.)
4. The Create Relationship dialog opens with both ends filled in. Optionally swap direction with the arrow between them.
5. Select a relationship type — the chips are grouped by kind and filtered to the types that join these two entity types. None is chosen for you, so Create stays greyed out until you pick one.
6. Click Create.

Note

Graph-created relationships are timeless by default — they don’t include temporal bounds. You can add temporal context later by editing the relationship from the entity’s relationships tab.

Method 3: Relationship matrix

For bulk relationship management between a set of entities.

1. Open Manage in the sidebar and choose Bulk Relationships.
2. Select entities to include in the matrix (up to 20). The search list closes after each pick so you can see the matrix fill in; start typing to add the next one.
3. The matrix shows an N×N grid with entities as both rows and columns.
4. Click a cell to open the relationship dialog for that entity pair. Its header names the pair, e.g. Maren Saltwick → Pirate Confederation, so you know which cell you’re editing.
5. In the dialog, view existing relationships or create new ones by selecting a type.
6. Optionally add metadata.
7. Save changes — creates and deletes are batched for efficiency.

Each cell reads from its row to its column, in your world’s wording: Elara’s row shows “Parent of” under Valentina’s column. A one-way link such as Parent of is drawn once, in the cell for the way it was made, so Valentina’s row has nothing under Elara.

The matrix is useful when you need to establish many relationships at once — for example, setting up the political relationships between a group of factions, or the family ties within a dynasty.

Matrix features

• Relationship badges in cells show existing connections at a glance
• “+” indicator for empty cells invites new connections
• Batch operations — changes are applied together for consistency
• Delete toggles — remove relationships directly from the cell dialog

Method 4: From the content editor

While writing, you can create a relationship directly from an entity link in the editor:

1. Right-click on any linked entity in the editor
2. Select Create Relationship from the context menu
3. The relationship creation dialog opens with that entity pre-filled as one end

This is useful when you’re writing a scene and realise a relationship you’re describing doesn’t exist in your graph yet — you can create it without leaving the editor.

See Editor Context Menu for the full list of editor right-click actions.

Editing relationships

To modify an existing relationship:

1. Go to the entity’s Relationships tab
2. Click the pencil on the relationship’s card (the bin next to it deletes)
3. Adjust any fields: subtype, temporal bounds, extended properties
4. Save changes

Ending relationships

For temporal relationships, you can end a relationship rather than deleting it. This preserves the historical record while marking the relationship as no longer active. The “End relationship” action sets the valid_to field to the current date, so the relationship still appears when viewing the world’s history but is filtered out when viewing the current state.

When a date doesn’t line up

If you record a connection that sits outside how long one of the things it joins was around — a parent listed three months before the child is born, or a membership that starts before the guild was founded — MythTapestry will say so.

It won’t stop you. Worlds have prophecies, resurrections and secrets that were always true in hindsight, and only you know which of those you meant. The note simply tells you what it noticed, so you can fix it or leave it.

You’ll see it as a message after saving, and on the review card when the assistant drafts a connection for you.