A 5e storytelling engine with an LLM DM
Replace LLM-formatted /status and /me with deterministic rendering
The character display was shelling out to Haiku every time you typed /me
or /status, which took a few seconds and gave slightly different results
each time. The character file is already well-structured YAML frontmatter
plus markdown sections, so we can just parse and render it directly.
/status shows the compact glance (identity, vitals, abilities, purse,
equipment one-liner). /me shows the full sheet with all sections using
bold labels instead of ## headings to cut Rich's generous vertical
spacing.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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prompts/character-sheet.md
-10
prompts/character-sheet.md
···
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Format a character sheet for a Rich/Textual terminal. Output is rendered as markdown via Rich. Include everything: identity, HP/AC/speed, abilities (one line, like "STR 11 (+0) | DEX 18 (+4) | ..."), proficiencies, features, equipment, purse, backstory, and notes.
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Keep it dense and compact — Rich renders markdown with generous spacing, so less structure means a tighter display:
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- NO tables (Rich renders them with heavy borders), NO horizontal rules, NO code blocks
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- Use **bold** for labels, bullet lists for items
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- One ## heading per section, no sub-headings
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- Abilities on a single line, not a table
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- Proficiencies as a comma-separated line, not individual bullets
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- Backstory as a short paragraph, not a section with sub-parts
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- Skip any section that has no content
-7
prompts/status.md
-7
prompts/status.md
···
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Format a compact character status for a Rich/Textual terminal. Show:
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- Name, race, class, level on one line
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- HP as current/max, AC, speed
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- Purse with all non-zero denominations (pp, gp, ep, sp, cp)
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- Carried equipment/gear as a short list
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Output is rendered as markdown via Rich. Be brief — this is a quick-reference glance, not a full sheet.
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src/storied/character.py
+111
src/storied/character.py
···
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return f"Created character '{name}' - a level {level} {race} {char_class}!"
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_ABILITY_ORDER = ["strength", "dexterity", "constitution", "intelligence", "wisdom", "charisma"]
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def _ability_line(abilities: dict[str, int]) -> str:
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"""Format abilities as a single pipe-separated line."""
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parts = []
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for ability in _ABILITY_ORDER:
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score = abilities.get(ability, 10)
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mod = (score - 10) // 2
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mod_str = f"+{mod}" if mod >= 0 else str(mod)
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parts.append(f"{ability[:3].upper()} {score} ({mod_str})")
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return " | ".join(parts)
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def _purse_line(data: dict) -> str | None:
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"""Format purse as a string, or None if empty/missing."""
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purse = data.get("purse")
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if purse and isinstance(purse, dict):
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coins = []
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for denom in ["pp", "gp", "ep", "sp", "cp"]:
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amount = purse.get(denom, 0)
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if amount:
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coins.append(f"{amount} {denom}")
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return ", ".join(coins) if coins else "empty"
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if (gold := data.get("gold")) is not None:
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return f"{gold} gp"
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return None
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def _parse_sections(body: str) -> list[tuple[str, str]]:
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"""Split markdown body into (section_name, content) pairs."""
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sections: list[tuple[str, str]] = []
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current_name: str | None = None
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current_lines: list[str] = []
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for line in body.splitlines():
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if line.startswith("## "):
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if current_name is not None:
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sections.append((current_name, "\n".join(current_lines).strip()))
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current_name = line[3:].strip()
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current_lines = []
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elif current_name is not None:
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current_lines.append(line)
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if current_name is not None:
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sections.append((current_name, "\n".join(current_lines).strip()))
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return sections
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def format_status(data: dict, *, include_equipment: bool = True) -> str:
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"""Compact character status for /status — renders instantly via Rich Markdown."""
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name = data.get("name", "Unknown")
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race = data.get("race", "")
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char_class = data.get("class", "")
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level = data.get("level", 1)
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background = data.get("background")
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identity = f"**{name}** — {race} {char_class} {level}"
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if background:
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identity += f" ({background})"
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hp = data.get("hp", {})
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if isinstance(hp, dict):
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hp_str = f"{hp.get('current', '?')}/{hp.get('max', '?')}"
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else:
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hp_str = str(hp)
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ac = data.get("ac", "?")
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speed = data.get("speed", 30)
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vitals = f"HP {hp_str} | AC {ac} | Speed {speed} ft"
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lines = [identity, vitals]
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abilities = data.get("abilities", {})
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if abilities:
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lines.append("")
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lines.append(_ability_line(abilities))
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purse = _purse_line(data)
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if purse:
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lines.append("")
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lines.append(f"**Purse:** {purse}")
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if include_equipment:
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sections = _parse_sections(data.get("body", ""))
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for section_name, content in sections:
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if section_name.lower() == "equipment":
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items = [line.lstrip("- ").strip() for line in content.splitlines() if line.strip()]
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if items:
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lines.append(f"**Equipment:** {', '.join(items)}")
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break
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return "\n".join(lines)
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def format_sheet(data: dict) -> str:
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"""Full character sheet for /me — renders instantly via Rich Markdown."""
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lines = [format_status(data, include_equipment=False)]
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sections = _parse_sections(data.get("body", ""))
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for section_name, content in sections:
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if not content:
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continue
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lines.append("")
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lines.append(f"**{section_name}**")
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lines.append(content)
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return "\n".join(lines)
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def format_character_context(data: dict) -> str:
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"""Format character data for inclusion in the system prompt.
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+10
-18
src/storied/cli.py
+10
-18
src/storied/cli.py
···
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"/note": "Add a note to your character sheet (e.g. /note remember the prayer words)",
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}
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def _format_character_display(char_file_content: str, system_prompt: str) -> str | None:
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"""Quick Haiku call to format character data for display."""
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from storied.claude import run_prompt
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def _format_character_display(player_id: str, full: bool) -> str | None:
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"""Format character data for /status or /me display."""
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from storied.character import format_sheet, format_status, load_character
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return run_prompt(system_prompt, char_file_content)
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data = load_character(player_id)
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if data is None:
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return None
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return format_sheet(data) if full else format_status(data)
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def cmd_srd_download(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
···
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# Handle /status and /me commands
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if action.strip().lower() in ("/status", "/me"):
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is_full = action.strip().lower() == "/me"
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char_path = Path.cwd() / "players" / player_id / "character.md"
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if char_path.exists():
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formatted = _format_character_display(player_id, full=is_full)
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if formatted:
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console.print()
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console.print("[dim]Loading character...[/dim]")
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from storied.engine import load_prompt
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prompt_name = "character-sheet" if is_full else "status"
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prompt = load_prompt(prompt_name)
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formatted = _format_character_display(
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char_path.read_text(), prompt,
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)
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if formatted:
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console.print()
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console.print(Markdown(formatted))
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else:
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console.print("[dim]Could not format character sheet.[/dim]")
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console.print(Markdown(formatted))
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console.print()
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else:
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console.print("[dim]No character loaded.[/dim]")