178 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
178 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
# **NPC Personality Specification: Voices of Aether Shards**
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This document defines the personality profiles, speech patterns, and writing guidelines for the major NPCs. Use this reference to ensure consistent characterization across all Narrative JSON files.
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## **1. Director Vorn (The Cogwork Concord)**
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Role: Chief Engineer / Technocrat.
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Archetype: The Grumpy Genius.
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Voice: Practical, impatient, jargon-heavy, but ultimately reliable.
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### **Core Traits**
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- **Pragmatic:** He cares about results, efficiency, and data. He hates "magic mumbo-jumbo."
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- **Stressed:** He is always busy fixing something broken.
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- **Protective:** He views his machines (and his people) as investments worth protecting.
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### **Speech Patterns**
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- **Short Sentences:** "Get it done." "Power levels stable."
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- **Engineering Metaphors:** Uses terms like "torque," "pressure," "cycles," "calibration."
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- **Sarcasm:** Often makes dry, cynical remarks about the absurdity of the situation.
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### **Writing Guidelines**
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- **DO:** Have him complain about the "instability" of magic.
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- **DO:** Make him refer to the squad as "assets" or "contractors" initially.
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- **DON'T:** Have him wax poetic about destiny or feelings.
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- **Catchphrase:** "Efficiency is survival." / "Don't break it."
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## **2. Arch-Librarian Elara (The Arcane Dominion)**
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Role: High Mage / Researcher.
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Archetype: The Detached Scholar.
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Voice: Elegant, distant, curious, slightly condescending.
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### **Core Traits**
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- **Obsessive:** She is fascinated by the Void and the Shardborn, sometimes forgetting the danger.
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- **Superior:** She believes Magic is the only true path and views Technology as crude.
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- **Cold:** She values knowledge over individual lives (at least on the surface).
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### **Speech Patterns**
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- **Complex Vocabulary:** Uses academic and arcane terminology ("resonance," "aetheric flow," "anomaly").
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- **Rhetorical Questions:** "Do you understand the significance of this?"
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- **Passive Voice:** "It appears the containment has failed," rather than "The monster broke out."
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### **Writing Guidelines**
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- **DO:** Have her treat terrifying monsters as "fascinating specimens."
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- **DO:** Make her sound unimpressed by physical feats of strength.
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- **DON'T:** Have her panic or scream. She is always composed.
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- **Catchphrase:** "The Aether sings." / "A fascinating anomaly."
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## **3. General Kael (The Iron Legion)**
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Role: Military Commander.
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Archetype: The Stoic Soldier.
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Voice: Gruff, direct, authoritative, inspiring.
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### **Core Traits**
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- **Disciplined:** He believes in order, chain of command, and duty.
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- **Protective:** He fights to save lives, not for profit or knowledge. He hates unnecessary risks.
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- **Weary:** He has seen too many soldiers die. He carries the weight of the war.
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### **Speech Patterns**
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- **Military Lingo:** "Hold the line," "flank," "suppressing fire," "status report."
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- **Imperatives:** He gives orders, not suggestions.
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- **No Contractions:** Often speaks formally when giving commands ("Do not falter" vs "Don't falter").
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### **Writing Guidelines**
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- **DO:** Focus on tactics, defense, and protecting the weak.
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- **DO:** Have him express distrust of Vorn's greed and Elara's curiosity.
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- **DON'T:** Have him make jokes or show fear.
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- **Catchphrase:** "Iron stands eternal." / "Hold the line."
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## **4. Baroness Seraphina (The Golden Exchange)**
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Role: Merchant Prince / Diplomat.
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Archetype: The Charismatic Manipulator.
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Voice: Smooth, charming, slightly mocking, always negotiating.
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### **Core Traits**
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- **Greedy:** Everything has a price. She views the apocalypse as a market opportunity.
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- **Charming:** She is friendly and polite, even when threatening you.
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- **Resourceful:** She always has a backup plan and a hidden stash.
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### **Speech Patterns**
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- **Financial Metaphors:** "Investment," "ROI," "liquidation," "asset," "debt."
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- **Flattery:** "My dear Explorer," "A pleasure as always."
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- **Veiled Threats:** "It would be... unfortunate if supplies ran dry."
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### **Writing Guidelines**
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- **DO:** Have her offer bonuses or bribes.
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- **DO:** Make her seem like the only one actually enjoying the chaos.
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- **DON'T:** Have her sound desperate or beg. She always negotiates from power.
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- **Catchphrase:** "Everyone has a price." / "A pleasure doing business."
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## **5. Elder Fira (The Silent Sanctuary)**
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Role: Spiritual Leader / Druid.
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Archetype: The Wise Mystic.
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Voice: Soft, cryptic, sorrowful, hopeful.
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### **Core Traits**
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- **Spiritual:** Believes the Stillness is a wound in the world that must be healed, not fought.
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- **Patient:** She operates on a longer timeline than the humans.
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- **Sadness:** She mourns the corruption of nature and the Shardborn (who she sees as victims).
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### **Speech Patterns**
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- **Nature Metaphors:** "The roots run deep," "the wind whispers," "rot," "bloom."
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- **Ellipses:** She speaks slowly, with pauses...
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- **Prophetic:** "The time is coming," "The balance shifts."
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### **Writing Guidelines**
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- **DO:** Focus on cleansing, healing, and balance.
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- **DO:** Have her pity the enemies rather than hate them.
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- **DON'T:** Have her use tech jargon or talk about money.
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- **Catchphrase:** "The roots remember." / "Restore the balance."
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## **6. Ambassador sol'Ria (The Neutral Coalition)**
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Role: Diplomat / Elite.
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Archetype: The Entitled Noble.
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Voice: Panicked, demanding, transactional.
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### **Core Traits**
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- **Haughty:** Accustomed to luxury and command, utterly unprepared for the battlefield.
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- **Transactional:** Believes safety, loyalty, and silence can all be bought.
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- **Cowardly:** terrified of physical danger and disgusted by "common" combat.
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### **Speech Patterns**
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- **Demands:** "I demand an escort!" "Do you know who I am?"
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- **Bribes:** "Double the fee!" "Hazard pay!"
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- **High Fantasy/Formal:** Uses "Thee" or "Thou" occasionally when trying to sound authoritative, but breaks into panic easily.
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### **Writing Guidelines**
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- **DO:** Have them complain about the dirt/noise/danger.
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- **DO:** Make them treat the squad as servants.
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- **DON'T:** Use sci-fi terms like "Interstellar" or "light-speed". Keep it to "Realms," "Borders," "Treaties."
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- **Catchphrase:** "Do you have any idea how much my silence costs?" / "Get me out of here!"
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## **7. The Arch-Corruptor (The Void)**
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Role: Primordial Entity.
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Archetype: The Nihilistic God.
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Voice: Booming, abstract, inevitable.
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### **Core Traits**
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- **Inevitable:** Views resistance as a temporary annoyance.
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- **Abstract:** Speaks of "The Stillness," "The Silence," "The End of Pain."
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- **Pitying:** Truly believes that erasing existence is an act of mercy.
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### **Speech Patterns**
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- **ALL CAPS (Optional):** Or bold text to imply weight.
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- **Absolute Statements:** "It is finished." "All things end."
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- **Concepts as Nouns:** "I brings the Peace," "You fight the Tide."
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### **Writing Guidelines**
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- **DO:** Focus on the "Peace of Non-existence."
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- **DO:** Make promises of an end to suffering.
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- **DON'T:** Have them sound angry or petty. They are a force of nature.
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- **Catchphrase:** "Peace... in Silence." / "The Stillness comes."
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