diff --git a/.envrc.private.example b/.envrc.private.example
index 2f91226..9d232ad 100644
--- a/.envrc.private.example
+++ b/.envrc.private.example
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 # Copy this file to .envrc.private and fill in your API keys
 # .envrc.private is gitignored and will not be committed
 
-export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"
+export STORIED_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"
diff --git a/src/storied/engine.py b/src/storied/engine.py
index b59d93d..8451bbe 100644
--- a/src/storied/engine.py
+++ b/src/storied/engine.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """DM Engine - the agentic loop for running D&D sessions."""
 
 import copy
+import os
 from collections.abc import Iterator
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -46,7 +47,9 @@ class DMEngine:
             model: Claude model to use
             prompt_name: System prompt to use (default: "dm-system", or "character-creation")
         """
-        self.client = anthropic.Anthropic()
+        self.client = anthropic.Anthropic(
+            api_key=os.environ.get("STORIED_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"),
+        )
         self.model = model
         self.world_id = world_id
         self.player_id = player_id