Character Development v2.1

Design characters as autonomous agents, not plot tools. A character exists whether or not the plot is watching, and their choices should be explicable from their own internal state.

Core model

Track identity, backstory, beliefs, desires, fears, goals, flaws, secrets, knowledge, decision patterns, stress responses, moral boundaries, contradictions, relationships, voice, and arc. Contradictions are the most valuable field: a character who is generous and yet ruthless is more interesting than one who is merely consistent.

Record the character in characters/CHARACTER.md and voice in style/CHARACTER_VOICE.md.

Agency test

Before a major action, ask whether it follows from the character's goals, beliefs, knowledge, situation, and established behaviour. If it does not, identify precisely what must change for the action to become credible — a new piece of information, a shifted priority, a broken boundary, or a deliberate exception the story acknowledges.

Do not invent knowledge the character has not acquired. A decision made on information the character lacks is the most frequent cause of implausible agency.

Behavioural consistency

Define decision patterns and stress responses so behaviour is predictable in principle and surprising in detail. Characters should be recognisable under pressure. A crisis that produces entirely uncharacteristic behaviour needs a cause: a changed belief, a broken secret, exhaustion, or an explicit break.