How Kanka Handles Player and Co-GM Collaboration

Updated

Kanka lets you invite players and co-GMs into a campaign and then control exactly what each person can see and edit, so secrets stay hidden until you choose to reveal them. This works for a full table — one GM, several players, or a mix of players and co-GMs — and it applies whether you run D&D 5e, another published system, or a homebrew world.

What collaboration looks like in practice

Kanka is built around entries (characters, locations, organizations, families, timelines, calendars, maps, and 20+ other categories) that link to each other. Collaboration means giving other people access to those entries without handing over your whole world.

The core mechanics described by Kanka:

  • Invite players and co-GMs to a campaign so the whole table works in the same place.
  • Control what each person sees and edits — visibility and editing are set per person, not all-or-nothing.
  • Keep secrets hidden until you are ready to reveal them.
  • Link entries automatically — @mention a character in a session log and it links, so one click takes you from a city to its ruler to the war they started.

That linking matters for collaboration specifically: when a player looks up a location, they can follow links to connected entries, but only to the ones you have made visible to them.

Why this fits a live session

Kanka's stated goal is that everything lives in one place and everything connects, so when a player asks a question you did not prep for, the answer is one search away on any device. For a shared table, that means players can search their own visible content mid-session instead of asking you to read notes aloud.

Choosing between player access and co-GM access

Kanka does not publish a fixed list of permission levels in the material available here, so treat the split below as the practical distinction the product describes rather than a named role table.

If you want to… Give access to… What to watch for
Let players read world lore and their own character info Players Set visibility so unrevealed plot and NPC secrets stay hidden
Share prep and worldbuilding workload Co-GMs Editing rights are broader, so confirm what each co-GM can change
Run a reveal mid-session Either group Change visibility when you are ready, not before

The condition to check before inviting anyone: decide per entry what should be visible, because the control is described as per-person visibility and editing rather than a single campaign-wide switch.

Practical setup order

  1. Create the campaign and add the entries you want the table to share.
  2. Invite your players and co-GMs.
  3. Set what each person can see and edit, keeping unrevealed material hidden.
  4. During play, let players search and follow links within what they can see.
  5. Reveal secrets by adjusting visibility when the story calls for it.

Expected result: everyone works from the same linked world, and you stay in control of when hidden information becomes visible.

Common sticking points

  • Assuming invites are all-or-nothing. The point of the feature is per-person control, so configure it rather than inviting everyone with the same access.
  • Forgetting that links expose connections. Because entries link automatically, check that a visible entry does not point to something you meant to keep secret.
  • Treating it as GM-only. Kanka is explicitly designed to be run with your whole table, including co-GMs.

Cost and access

Kanka states the free tier is not a trial: it includes all core features, unlimited campaigns, and unlimited entries, and most GMs never need to pay. A premium tier exists (the site references pricing and a premium campaign), but the specific premium features are not detailed in the material available here, so check the pricing page before assuming what it adds.