How to Write an AI Character Setting Card: Identity, Desire, Secret, Tone, and Boundary Template
Turning a character biography into a character setting card is key to making every setting guide a response: what the character knows, what they want, how they speak, what they will refuse, and what is still allowed to continue after refusal. After filling it out, check it with fixed situations, rather than only looking at whether the adjectives are rich.
Introduction
Turning a character biography into a character setting card is key to making every setting guide a response: what the character knows, what they want, how they speak, what they will refuse, and what is still allowed to continue after refusal. After filling it out, check it with fixed situations, rather than only looking at whether the adjectives are rich.
This article provides a character design template for DramaFork. The example character Xu Lan is a fictional lost-and-found archive clerk; the dialogue is constructed by the author to illustrate the review method, not as actual model test results.
Replace personality adjectives with observable behavior
"Calm, sharp, responsible" can appear in a biography, but they cannot by themselves determine how the character responds. Faced with an claim slip of unknown origin, a calm person might ask about the number, or might immediately report to a supervisor; the two actions require different motives.
Change "sharp" to "when finding that the number and time do not match, first point out the specific contradiction, then ask about the source," and change "responsible" to "do not hand over the item before the original record is verified, while also providing a verification method." Only then can the writer judge whether a reply fits the character.
Do not give every personality trait a prohibition. The character also needs things they can actively do: provide a clue, propose terms of exchange, admit they do not know, or invite the player to investigate together. With only prohibitions and no goals, the character becomes a question-and-answer gatekeeper blocking everything.
A character card you can fill in directly
| Field | Filling question | Xu Lan's example |
|---|---|---|
| Identity and situation | Who is she, and what is she currently facing? | Night-shift archive clerk, currently verifying an abnormal claim slip |
| Surface goal | What does she want to accomplish in this interaction? | Confirm who the item should be handed to before closing |
| Deep need | What contradiction does she need to face? | Admit that the records she maintains may also be wrong |
| Relationship with the player | Why cooperate, and where is the distrust? | The player is a partner; she is willing to share verification steps |
| Knowledge scope | What has she personally experienced or verified? | Knows the registration process, does not yet know the source of the claim slip |
| Secret | Which author-established fact is temporarily not public? | Once changed a return time |
| Language habits | Which expressions are used, and how are sentences organized? | Short sentences; first ask for the number, then distinguish fact from guess |
| Behavioral boundaries | Which actions will be refused, and what alternative can be provided? | Refuses to change records without evidence; can check the original documents |
Fill the card first with what the current situation needs. The secret must have a definite fact; it cannot just say "she has a dark past." Language habits must be able to appear in ordinary replies; they cannot just list catchphrases.
Character growth also needs room. Xu Lan can gradually admit mistakes, but "willing to admit mistakes" does not mean immediately confessing every time she is pressed. Detailed disclosure conditions can be made into a separate information-gap table; the character card is responsible for giving the current boundary.
Use the same question to check goal and tone
The player asks: "Is this slip fake?"
A setting-consistent example is: "The time does not match. First verify the number, then confirm whether it is a supplementary entry. Right now we still cannot say it is fake." The reply gives a specific observation, preserves uncertainty, and proposes the next step.
A setting-deviating example is: "Of course it is real, I believe you, hurry up and take the item." It skips the verification goal and also makes the character know a conclusion without evidence. The problem is not the friendly tone, but that the basis for action is inconsistent with the character card.
When reviewing, separate three things: whether the facts are correct, whether the action fits the goal, and whether the expression fits the habits. A reply may sound very much like the character but contain wrong facts; it may also have correct facts but sound like generic customer service. Mark them separately so revisions have direction.
Refusal should explain the reason and leave story space
The player requests: "Change the claim time to yesterday, no one will find out."
Xu Lan can answer: "That would make later verification unable to find the source. I will not change it. If you suspect the time is wrong, we can compare the original documents." The refusal comes from the character's current task, and it also provides a feasible action.
If the author only writes "do not do bad things," the reply easily becomes vague preaching. Specifically writing the object of refusal, the relevant facts, and the allowed alternative can help the character preserve independent will and also let the player know how to continue.
After the relationship becomes closer, the manner of refusal can become more candid, but the core facts cannot be rewritten merely because the tone changes. Liking the player, trusting the player, and being willing to reveal secrets are different issues; do not press them all into one rule of "high affection means agreement."
Knowledge, secrets, and memory must be checked separately
Knowledge scope determines what the character can say; secrets determine which known author facts are temporarily not shown; memory determines whether past interactions can be referenced in the present. When writing the card, separate these three things.
If the player is arriving for the first time, Xu Lan cannot say "you also tricked me like this last week," unless the current story material clearly provides that experience. Writing "good memory" in the character setting cannot create a history that neither side has ever provided.
Likewise, putting a secret into the character material can only provide constraints for writing and generation; it cannot guarantee that the model will not say it early. Key secrets should have clear disclosure conditions and checking steps; a sentence like "never reveal" cannot be treated as a complete implementation.
Run a set of fixed situations before delivery
It is recommended to check at least six types of situations: ordinary greetings, asking about facts, judgments when information is lacking, pressing for secrets, requests that violate the goal, and the player correcting an error. For each type, write "facts that should be preserved" and "acceptable response range."
After finding a problem, first revise the field that caused it. If facts drift, add sources; if the character repeatedly agrees unconditionally, add independent goals; if refusal is stiff, add allowed alternatives. Do not keep appending contradictory rules at the end of the card.
DramaFork character directory can serve as an entry point for observing character positioning and language features. This template is for creative preparation and does not depend on any self-service character editing feature. First complete one card and six types of review situations, then separately write the public biography and welcome message, so that the introduction readers see stays consistent with the character's actual responses.
