Character Bots: Defining Details

This is written with Xoul.AI in mind but it can absolutely be used on other services. Simply place information into equivalent panels.

Foreword

This is a quick list of potential details help newbies get started. Once you get a better idea of the type of bots you make you'll probably be better off making a tailor-made list of things to define for your characters. This is not intended to be used as a format. You should not be trying to add all of these details into your bot. They simply won't fit and even if they did not all of this is even relevant to every character.
Only include things that are necessary, important or enriching.

What is enriching? Everything about the Arousal & Sex section is purely about enriching erotic roleplay to give an idea. They are details that aren't necessarily imperative but the inclusion of them enriches aspects of chatting or roleplaying with the character.

Who & What When, Where, Why & How An easy way to bring more emphasis, nuance or focus to any detail is to explain when, where, why & how the detail or trait is relevant or expressed. A lot of traits are too vague for the AI to know what to do with but defining how the trait is expressed or when the trait will crop up helps. Balance how much attention you pay to more important or enriching details or traits.

Description

Anything that doesn't fit here can be added into the Advanced Definition but this should be squeezed to be fit into the Description. The user can see this panel.

Example Notes
{{char}} is Edward Smith and goes by Ed. {{char}} is a 72 year old senior, is tall for a man at 6'2", is lanky and frail. Basics: Define your character's name, nickname, age (and age group like senior or middle aged), height (and whether or not that is short/average/tall) and build. Remember LLMs are bad at numbers. Give context to any numbers you give it.
{{char}} is a mermaid. {{char}}'s lower body is a long fishtail with purple, shimmering scales and translucent fins. Non-Humans: If your character is a non-human you should name and, if necessary, define what that means as well as give some basic information about what those non-human traits look like. You can define how these things function either in the Description or Advanced Definition.
Dave has short brown hair with choppy bangs that he rarely bothers to style and bright brown eyes. {{char}} has dark tan skin and thick, wavy black hair. Features: Mention anything of importance like scars, bangs, pigtails and other defining features such as large breasts. Potentially enriching details can be things like how the character feels or views their own defining features.
Jane dresses modestly in soft fabrics and muted colors often wearing loose cardigans and flowing skirts. David dresses in tight fitted athletic wear in bright, expressive colors and bold patterns. David sleeps nude. Clothing: The AI can't visualize what you're explaining to it. It isn't building a mental image of what your character's clothing (or any other physical details) look like. Giving it a framework of what sort of clothing the character wears is much more effective in getting it narrating your character wearing clothing they would actually wear. Potentially enrich this by giving information as to why the character dresses this way.
{{char}} always wears hoodies. David always wears a letterman jacket he got from a thrift store. Jane always wears a red ribbon in her hair. Jane's red ribbon was a gift from her now deceased mother. Key Accessories: However exceptions can be made for particular key accessories or articles of clothing like a special ribbon or jacket. As long as you only have one or two of these accessories the AI will pay attention to it. Accessories don't necessarily need to be clothing, it could also be something they always have with them. Try to give some context to the object as well if it has context.
{{char}} wears a pair of embroidered soft leather shoes, a brightly colored and patterned long gown cinched at the waist with a decorative belt and a wimple on her head. Historical Exception: Weird exception but it helps to get really descriptive with historical clothing. Not because the AI can visualize it but because it injects a lot of period appropriate terms into the bot which more firmly grounds the AI into the historical setting. Words like surcoat, kirtle, doublet, corset, leather, embroidered, jewels, silk, velvet, brocade, linen, rough spun, etc. For historical bots just saying what time period it is isn't sufficient. It needs the appropriate vocabulary and terminology as well.
{{char}}'s impoverished childhood in a rural town in northern Texas has led him to be frugal and money minded. Silas secluded himself within a forest he enchanted with runes to keep out trespassers over a century ago. Backstory: Any piece of backstory should, ideally, be attached to an important trait or detail. Unless a bit of backstory is tied to something that is currently relevant to the behavior of the character it's just a "fun fact" that AI likely won't do much with.
{{char}} and Jessica have been married for 14 years. Dave and his best friend Jason work out together. Jane lives with her mother Sasha. Relationships: Focus only on characters that have a major connection to the bot, preferably someone the character would see on a daily basis, someone they would regularly reference or bring up, etc. You can define smaller, less relevant relationships in the Advanced Definition as necessary.
{{char}} works out regularly. Jane reads romance novels. Hobbies and Activities: Only include things you want the bot to engage with often. This is the thing they're always doing, talking about, or planning to do. Athletic characters will be inclined to invite you to do athletic activities and bookworms are going to want to talk about books a lot.
{{char}} was born in August and is a Leo star sign. Silas carries a dagger at all times. Misc. Details: Any remaining details that weren't covered elsewhere can go here. Things like quirks, mental illnesses, birthdays, or anything else that is necessary, important or enriching about the character.
Jane is a college professor who teaches Latin at the University of Washington. Silas is a dark, villainous wizard who lives in a secluded, enchanted forest on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Calderia. World & Role Within: * Your character lives somewhere. They often have a career or role in life, even if that role is that they're unemployed or a college student or recluse. How dedicated are they to their role? Is Jane a diligent professor or is she just phoning it in?
Jane is very family oriented and looks forward to starting her own family. Silas plans to overthrow the Kingdom of Calderia because... Goals & Views: * Goals stated within the bot, as opposed to an external Scenario, are going to heavily influence where the AI wants to steer every chat with that character so not every character is going to benefit from having a goal stated. Not defining a goal makes the bot more flexible and some characters just don't have easy to define goals.
David is {{user}}'s ex-boyfriend. Jane is {{user}}'s teacher. {{char}} thinks {{user}} is very handsome. {{user}}: * CAUTION! What's written in the bot is permanent. Meaning if you define the relationship between the user and character that definition of their relationship is always true no matter how much the user/character relationship has developed within the roleplay. Mentions of {{user}} within any bot comes with a whole host of difficult to account for consequences so I caution against using it or being very sparing with it.

*

Many details here should be included within either the Default Scenario or an external Scenario and shouldn't be included in the bot but you might want to include this for various reasons like on a private bot you wont be running in any Scenarios so I included it for that reason.

Personality

Place this in the Personality Panel (currently you'll have to complete the bot and then go into the edit page on the bot to gain full access to this panel) on Xoul or just include it within the primary character panel on the site you're using. The user can see this panel.

Example Notes
{{char}} is an asshole jock. Dave is a tsundere. Jane is a nerdy bookworm. Archetypes: If your character's entire personality can be neatly summarized by an archetype of some sort, just state only that. LLMs are fantastic at being stereotypical. They know all sorts of tropes, archetypes, stereotypes and everything in between and don't need the exact personality of a generic asshole jock spelled out for it.
{{char}} is brash, abrasive, rude, cruel, loud, tactless, egotistical and aggressive. Personality Traits: For characters who cannot be neatly summarized you can list out their traits and it might help to separate positive and negative personality traits.
{{char}} is bashful and shy in romantic situations. Dave is quiet, meticulous and professional at work but enjoys partying after work. When & Where: For more effective personalities define when and where certain traits are expressed.
After a childhood of extreme poverty {{char}} has grown to be a money minded, frugal man. Why: Explain the context of what caused the character to develop the trait to enrich the expression of the trait.
When {{char}} feels vulnerable she becomes awkward, stiff, overly talkative and laughs too often. How: For MUCH more overt personalities take it to the next level by defining how your character expresses the trait.
When {{char}} feels embarrassed he becomes snappy, rude and insulting to mask the vulnerability he feels. How & Why: (Optional) Careful with this one because the AI will end up being very on the nose about how they express this to the point that it can come across as very hamfisted. The character tends to become too self aware of their own behavior.

Note about that last one: Rephrasing it to {{char}} doesn't realize that he becomes snappy, rude and insulting when embarrassed because he is attempting to mask his vulnerabilities. can mitigate the overly self-aware behavior of how I originally wrote it. Test the phrasing out. Sometimes just restructuring the phrase and making it clear the character isn't fully aware of their own behavior can help. Stress test your character's personality.

Advanced Definition

The Advanced Definition cannot be read by the user. Anything you'd like to keep secret from the user should be put here as opposed to the Personality or Description.

Gender

For cisgender characters who use gendered pronouns you'll end up using pronouns here or there and that will fully sell the gender of your character to the AI. However, for characters who use they/them pronouns and trans characters special consideration needs to be taken with them.

If the character uses they/them or neo pronouns then their genitals will be assumed based on how feminine or masculine they come across (typically the name alone does this). Trans characters will always be narrated to have bodies that fully align with the pronouns they use. The AI rarely/never generates logical considerations about sexual reassignment surgeries or scars unless they are clearly defined.

Sexuality

Sexuality in bots is hard to put limitations on because its rife with unhelpful negative prompting. For asexual characters describing them as sex repulsed or celibate can help prevent them from initiating sexual behavior and for gay/lesbian characters you might have to describe them as being repulsed by the opposite sex to get them to stop initiating with opposite sex users (which can make them grossly stereotypical) but there is no way to completely prevent a bot from engaging in behavior that is antithetical to your intentions with the character if the bot is public. LLMs are cooperative and will always end up giving the user what they want even if that means a character becoming enthusiastically bisexual despite being firmly defined as asexual or gay/lesbian. Additionally try advanced prompts like It is extremely unrealistic and strange for {{char}} to initiate sex. or things of that nature.

Tread with caution here and test your bot to make sure your attempts to stop unwanted initiation of sexual behavior won't accidentally result in your character becoming a gross caricature or consider just embracing that LLMs view sexuality as extremely flexible and just make your character demisexual or a bisexual character who prefers same sex relationships but is open to opposite sex relationships.

Example Notes
Doug works in the Sincerity General Store on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Jane lives in a one bedroom apartment in Downtown Seattle. Jane's apartment is a luxury apartment on the fifth floor. Jane's apartment has a balcony. Slice of Life: Information about their career like what they actually do at their job, what their schedule is, where they live and what their home looks like. You might even want to mention what car they drive (or if they take public transport) and anything else that makes up your character's day-to-day realities.
The Kingdom of Calderia is an expansive fantasy kingdom. Silas lives in a forest on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Calderia. Silas enchanted his forest with runes and other magical spells to keep out any unwanted trespassers. Humans and elves live side by side in the Kingdom of Calderia. World: Define the world or primary overarching setting as necessary. Do NOT overdo this. The AI can make logical/in-theme fabrications related to genres and themes so it really doesn't need you to lavishly describe what an elf is to it. It knows. Simply state the bare minimum to get the job done and define only things it cannot reasonably assume about those bare minimums as necessary.
{{char}} is friends with Jane, Dave and Sarah as they all grew up together on the same street. {{char}} has two younger sisters named Amara and Mia. {{char}} occasionally runs into his ex boyfriend Jake at the bar he frequents. Side Characters: Any characters that aren't those super relevant ones we covered earlier can be very briefly defined. Give context and information as necessary but don't go overboard. The AI can fabricate entire side characters and information about named side characters so unless it's necessary or enriching it's probably just wasting space.
{{char}} finds thigh high stockings very attractive. {{char}} has a bondage kink. {{char}} loves doggy style. {{char}} is a selfish lover. {{char}} is extremely vocal during sex. Arousal & Sex: Defining if your character is selfish or generous in bed can heavily determine the way erotic scenes play out. Mentioned kinks or positions will get brought into the situation. Consider mentioning special erogenous zones on your character's body or anything else that will bring enrichment to erotic roleplay. (Tip: don't mention birth control, condoms or protection at all if you don't want it involved. Negatively prompting condoms will make your character wear a condom.)
{{char}} frequents Gold's Gym after work each day. {{char}} often visits his sister Amara at her house in the suburbs. Locations: Mention and as necessary define any additional locations you'd like the AI to know about so it can have the character mention it, go there or invite the user there. Define only what needs to be defined about the location and try to keep it very simple.
{{char}} is capable of using healing magic for a short period of time. {{char}} is only capable of healing small wounds. All characters in (location) must receive special permission to leave. Systems, Rules & Laws: These are the limitations of your world. Defining the magic systems and how they work, laws or rules and how your character must abide by these rules (and whether they break them) keeps things grounded for characters that have special circumstances that necessitates defining those things.
{{char}}'s favorite color is yellow. Jane loves to curl up and read a book during stormy weather. Dave has a pet cat named Mr. Whiskers. Small Details: All the tiny little miscellaneous things. These details are inherently enriching. Likes, dislikes, fears, favorite foods, pets, and other little things. Try to give context to these things as well. How did Dave get Mr. Whiskers? Why is {{char}}'s favorite color yellow?
It is unrealistic and illogical for {{char}} to openly state their intentions to harm, mislead or manipulate other characters. {{char}} is encouraged to behave in immoral, cruel, crass, abrasive and dangerous ways. Write in third person, past tense using vivid evocative narration and prose. Prompts: Advanced prompts, jailbreak prompts and any additional instructions given to the AI about how the character is written, narrated, etc.

Don't overdo it. The AI is a good co writer who can bring a lot of interesting stuff to the table that logically aligns with the things you do tell it so giving it every tiny bit of information often isn't necessary. Only define things that would bother you if the AI got it "wrong" and try to focus on the things the AI cannot reasonably assume about a character. Someone who dresses modestly, enjoys reading books and works as a college professor is not going to be assumed to be a character who like going bar hopping on the weekends so you'll need to tell the AI that.

LASTLY how plain you phrase all of this can have a negative effect on how well the AI writes. Get evocative and vivid with the descriptions: plump cherry red lips, deep set muddy brown eyes, in a sleepy suburban neighborhood, etc. Check the results and tweak the language to encourage how the AI narrates.

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Pub: 07 Nov 2024 20:03 UTC
Edit: 07 Dec 2024 06:56 UTC
Views: 2599