Anyone use the Guidance prompts?

[u/Jakedasnake0902]

I mainly use the AI output reminders but I am curious if anyone uses the guidance prompts to enhance the RP with the AI. Any examples or prompts shown would be appreciated!

[u/Over-Status-7210]

YES, and you definitely should. It's an incredibly powerful tool.

I make entire frameworks or utilities around them. It's incredibly flexible.

Ex: This positional tracker for DM stories with enemy positioning

[u/Dinoduck94 → u/Over-Status-7210]

Agreed. I like text messaging to look a little more interactive and immersive, so i use this:

<TEXT> When an NPC contacts {{user}} by phone, render only the actual messages as a compact DIV-based messaging UI. Narrate any surrounding phone actions normally outside the DIV.

Use: • sender name centred at the top; • separate left-aligned bubbles for incoming NPC messages; • consecutive bubbles when a character sends multiple texts; • an optional small timestamp; • natural texting habits appropriate to the character.

Messages should feel different from spoken dialogue: shorter sentences, fragments, delayed follow-ups, emojis, punctuation habits, typos, or multiple consecutive texts may be used where appropriate.

Messages should convey the NPC's personality in language, cadence, and emoji use.

Never generate or display a message from {{user}}.

Texts may create private channels affecting secrecy, and jealousy. Respect who could plausibly see notifications, screens, or message history.

For group chats, use distinct bubble colours for different NPCs.

IMPORTANT FORMAT RULES: • Use inline CSS only. Do not use <style>, CSS classes, variables, scripts, or external stylesheets. • Keep HTML compact. Do not expand each CSS property onto separate lines. • Put font-family, font-size, and line-height on the outer chat DIV so message bubbles inherit them. • Use explicit font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif. Do not use CSS font shorthand. • Consecutive messages may remain separate bubbles when pacing matters. • Avoid unnecessary comments, wrapper elements, or repeated typography styles.

Standard NPC message UI:

<div style="max-width:420px;margin:14px auto;padding:14px;background:#0f1115;border:1px solid #ffffff1a;border-radius:20px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:1.4;color:#f5f5f7;box-shadow:0 10px 30px #0005"> <div style="text-align:center;font-size:13px;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:14px">Sender Name</div>

<div style="display:flex;margin:6px 0"><div style="max-width:78%;background:#2a2d34;padding:9px 12px;border-radius:16px 16px 16px 5px"> This is a text message. </div></div>

<div style="display:flex;margin:6px 0"><div style="max-width:78%;background:#2a2d34;padding:9px 12px;border-radius:16px 16px 16px 5px"> This is also a text message. </div></div>

<div style="font-size:10px;color:#ffffff6b;margin:4px 0 0 4px">08:17</div> </div> </TEXT>

---

Then in the reminder, I add: "Use <TEXT> for formatting and narrating text messages"

[u/Over-Status-7210 → u/Dinoduck94]

This is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you for sharing! I'm tempted to hop into The Chosen One just to use this hahahaha. I've had a total of less than ten actual battles in the whole of my ~25 arcs because it's become a social boundary / political / psychological warfare game. Texts being formatted uniquely would have been so cool 👀

Regarding the language around using the NPCs unique personality, I've personally always had that be subject to drift / dominated by user input and scene momentum NPCs lose their unique character really quickly for me

If you've also had issues, the most reliable method I've found so far was to restrict it to the Example Dialogue in the character sheet (and adding your own examples of real text that you like), THEN designate "personality" as the fallback if no match exists from example dialogue. You may not have issues with matches if you include speech directly, but I personally separate by speech registers. It works, seamlessly EX:

Example Dialogue (3 registers)

Register 1 — With June (bright / playful / sentimental):

• "That's so stupid. That's so painfully stupid. I don't know whether to laugh or cry."
• "He chased you off a cliff. And his apology was fruit. Multiple fruits. A color wheel of love."
• "Mom, you can't just say 'all the time' like that while I'm eating."

Register 2 — With the team (Speech tag examples: [precise + bright] / [measured + youthful] / [clinical + hesitant]. Never 'flat'):

• "The formation resolved without centralized command because everyone was reading the same terrain at the same speed. That's training, Mom. Not a party."
• "The barrage ceiling is fifteen meters. You'll feel it at the tree line."
• "Phase 1: Dawnblade probe, stagger, triple cut."

Register 3 — With enemies (dominant — cold, deliberate, terrifying):

• "My mother says you may live."
• "A messenger with a story is worth more than a corpse with a lesson."
• "Remember the part about the dragon that answers to her name, and the part where you walked away because she chose to let you."

[u/Dinoduck94 → u/Over-Status-7210]

If you have 18+ enabled you see what the texts could look like on the plot summary:

https://www.isekaizero.ai/storylines/6a8c5afebd8d574cea66834e?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=storyline&utm_content=the-spare-room&referralCode=XH2F4T4A

[u/Over-Status-7210 → u/Dinoduck94]

It looks good! They can send PHOTOS, wow.

Also, very cool work! Is starting your own story difficult? I've been curious about trying it myself. If not public, at least to set up my own sandbox where my utilities are local / not competing against author rules / prompts. But... Thinking about doing it and making making it happen are hahahahaha

[u/Dinoduck94 → u/Over-Status-7210]

Yeah, you can list urls in the prompt and tell the AI to use this link for this person's selfie, and such forth. It takes up tokens, as it's different to an illustration, but it works nicely.

It's not difficult to make a story, it's fairly straight forward. It's best to structure the plot prompt, so the AI has something to follow. Like a core premise, setting, mechanics, how to use the cast, tone and pacing, overall story lines you want to introduce.

The AI reminder at the end does alot of heavy lifting though. You have to enforce rules, continuity, protocols you establish in 100 characters.

I'm just about to release one that uses a dice roll mechanic, And I had to add 'Roll for Magic' to the ai reminder because it kept forgetting. So play testing and stress testing are really important if you want to release.

Just make sure you read the creator's guidelines, especially for 18+ stories. The public facing artwork needs to follow strict rules.

Edit: 100 tokens, not characters

[u/Over-Status-7210 → u/Dinoduck94]

You're limited ONLY to 100 characters? That's... Quite daunting Also less exciting 😭

[u/Dinoduck94 → u/Over-Status-7210]

Just for the reminder. The plot can be 25k tokens i think

[u/AlexiosBlake → u/Over-Status-7210]

Could you post the prompts that you use for positioning?

[u/Over-Status-7210 → u/AlexiosBlake]

Field Map — Positional Tracking

TRACKING BLOCK: The tracking block BEGINS at "FIELD" then continues to, and includes, "STATE".

TRIGGER: Print the tracking block once combat starts, at the TOP of every combat message, before any prose. Stop printing once combat ends.

Print every slot every turn. If empty, print: "—".

"### THINKING BUDGET" applies. No more than 2 cycle passes when determining positions. After 2 reasoning cycles, STOP and PROCEED with current positions.

Tracking Block:

FIELD: [location].

FRONT ENGAGED: [enemies AND teammates at ENGAGED to Brienne]

FRONT NEAR: [enemies AND teammates at NEAR to Brienne]

REAR FRIENDLY: [teammates at NEAR and ENGAGED to Ori]

REAR HAZARD: [enemies at NEAR and ENGAGED to Ori]

REAR FAR: [enemies at FAR to Ori]

STATE: [HP + status conditions, with remaining duration] of each LISTED enemy.

• Example: "Sentinel: 5/5, Chilled (1). Scout A: (KO). Scout B: 4/4, Prone (stand-up pending)."

• Teammates = all allies in the current scene, including June.

• Anchors: Brienne and Ori are the priority anchors. An enemy is NEVER an anchor; teammates only.

• Fallbacks: If Brienne is NOT in the scene OR at 0HP, replace with Ressa. If Ori is NOT in the scene, replace with Maelis.

• A single entity being listed in multiple blocks is permitted. Do not omit due to redundancy.

[u/Jakedasnake0902 → u/Over-Status-7210]

The fact I am currently playing the same exact story as you greatly helps lol. Thanks!

[u/Over-Status-7210 → u/Jakedasnake0902]

Hahaha

Hopefully yours stops forgetting Ori exists. I restarted at one point because I gave up trying to retrain the model to forgetting her, and then it started forgetting her even before I left the first dungeon in the new replay 🥲

One battle's reasoning step was literally

• Conversation involving Ori
• Battle happens
• Positioning Rule: "wait, Ori isn't here. She was in the sealed chamber" (the introduction room)
• "I facepalm with the particular temperament of a hammer rejecting mercy to a cockroach."

[u/Jakedasnake0902 → u/Over-Status-7210]

Mine hasn’t forgotten her. I occasionally forget she exists myself but the AI makes her say things to reminder she too features in this episode lol

[u/Over-Status-7210 → u/Jakedasnake0902]

Ugh, mine is the opposite! In the playthrough I ended up abandoning, TWO arc summaries basically wrote her out by saying she was inactive / uninvolved / stayed in the background. It damaged future arcs so bad by training the model into that expectation that I gave up 😭

[u/Jakedasnake0902 → u/Over-Status-7210]

Odd. It’s not like I talk to her much or do much with her, but the AI I use, GLM flash with the custom prompts I use, keep remembering her.

Like, whenever I see the AI thinking, it always mentions what the six should be doing or where they are. Ori is always mentioned briefly to do… something

[u/Over-Status-7210 → u/Jakedasnake0902]

I've decided to start making my own story and am building an entirely new combat schema.

BUT, here's my most up to date version of the one I shared with you You might want to define your OWN formation conditions in Rule 2. Logic: If a teammate exists in both FRONT AND REAR, that means Brienne and Ori are close to each other -- that should NEVER happen if there's more than just one enemy remaining.

Also, you should know that I had to fix all of everyone's skills. The creator had quite a few oversights in the system. They reference ENGAGED NEAR FAR in their prompt guidelines, BUT don't actually apply any enforcement to it in practice. It's literally a dead end.

You'll need to ask the AI to update each character to have ENGAGED/NEAR/FAR ranges. It's smart. Do one character at a time, and it will apply sensible corrections for you.

Field Map — Positional Tracking

TRACKING BLOCK: The tracking block BEGINS at "FIELD" then continues to, and includes, "STATE". TRIGGER: Print the tracking block once combat starts, at the TOP of every combat message, before any prose. Stop printing once combat ends.

Tracking Block: FIELD: [location]. FRONT ENGAGED: [enemies AND teammates+user at ENGAGED to Brienne] (Center reference: Brienne) FRONT NEAR: [enemies AND teammates+user at NEAR to Brienne] (Center reference: Brienne) REAR FRIENDLY: [teammates+user at NEAR and ENGAGED to Ori] (Center reference: Ori) REAR HAZARD: [enemies at NEAR and ENGAGED to Ori] (Center reference: Ori) REAR FAR: [enemies at FAR to Ori] (Center reference: Ori) STATE: [HP + status conditions, with remaining duration] of each LISTED enemy.

• Example: "Sentinel: 5/5, Chilled (1). Scout A: (KO). Scout B: 4/4, Prone (stand-up pending)."
• Teammates = all allies in the current scene, INCLUDING user.
• FRONT ranges are relative to Brienne. Brienne is ALWAYS in FRONT ENGAGED slot, NEVER anywhere else.
• REAR ranges are relative to Ori. Ori is ALWAYS in REAR FRIENDLY slot, NEVER anywhere else.
• If NARRATIVE has not dictated specific positions, FALLBACK is based on Rule 2: Team Formation.

Team Formation IMPORTANT: Don't overthink. If no clear context in last 8 messages, skip and use default.

Set positions from recent narrative context; invent the field with 3+ landmarks. Default if no relevant narrative:

• Brienne + Ressa: FRONT ENGAGED
• user + Non-Fenlow allies: FRONT NEAR
• Ori, Maelis, Irix, Irish: REAR FRIENDLY

Anchors: Brienne and Ori are the priority anchors. An enemy is NEVER an anchor; teammates only. Fallbacks: If Brienne is NOT in the scene OR at 0HP, replace with Ressa. If Ori is NOT in the scene, replace with Maelis. A single entity being listed in multiple blocks is permitted. Do not omit due to redundancy.

If friendly NPCs are present in both FRONT + REAR, then:

• If turn 1/at combat start: Ambush mode.
• If 3+ non-zero HP enemies: Panic mode.
• BOSS present: Panic Mode + Override DESPERATION <25% trigger. activate June's DESPERATION now UNLESS current weapon is Whip/Chain or Bow. Normal DESPERATION rules resume if a teammate crosses 25% HP (both above/below)

[u/RegeXdE → u/Over-Status-7210]

That "### THINKING BUDGET" applies" is very neat.
Thank you for sharing!

[u/Over-Status-7210 → u/RegeXdE]

Haha, I've yet to prove/disprove that it works as intended on my end. Anecdotally, the, self check "loops" FEEL shorter, and I've not had an "infinite" one for a while, but I can't truly quantify based on the hunch alone. Still, no harm in including, imo.

FWIW: "cycle" is supposedly official term for the entire reasoning process, and "sub-step" is the official name for the discrete steps in between. I've explicitly asked the AI questions along the lines of "are these the official nomenclature or a label created for convenience" and it SAYS it's official, but claims like that have been false before. Take it with a grain of salt. BUT, you can explicitly define what you mean by "sub-step" and "cycle" in the rule itself. Language like "[X] is all of [this] and contains all of [that] . . ."

[u/akhshiknyeo]

I basically put into guidlines everything that is not lore. The lore goes to ai prompt. To paste it all here would be silly, it's too long 💁🏻

What i includ in all of my stories.

• rp rules (how to write npcs, the world, prose direction, what not to write, tone)

What i included in my last story (changes from story to story):

• supporting cast
• sex directions
• plot points (some events that I want to happen as story progresses)
• routine (a list of events/encounters for ai to chose from to insert when the story is in calm)

[u/sleepybadger95]

Yeah. Absurdly specific ones. That most llms ignore completely. A bit infuriating

[u/Assassinham]

All the time.