| name | character-build |
| description | Use when a player's Imperium Maledictum character JSON comes in and needs validating + deploying, when building a new IM character from scratch, or when backfilling backstory onto an existing sheet. Validates budgets/formulas/psyker powers/augmetics against the active profile, writes data/party/<player>.json, generates the PDF sheet, and proposes (confirm first) the merge into the session characters.json + aliases. |
Build / validate / deploy a character (SL side)
The player-facing self-service interview already exists in docs/character-creation-prompt.md
(point-buy + psyker + augmetics → one JSON). This skill is the game-master side: take a
character in, make it rules-correct against the active profile, and deploy it. Never trust the
numbers blind — recompute them.
Sources of truth (read, don't hardcode — they can drift):
- Profile
data/systems/imperium_maledictum.json — point-buy budget, origin table, weapon
list, psyker catalog (psyker.powers), augmetics catalog (augmetics).
- Rules
docs/character-creation-prompt.md Teil 2 (the build rules) — kept in sync with
docs/how-to-create-a-character.html.
- Schema
docs/character-template.json; the code that actually consumes it is
Character.from_dict in dmbot/rules/characters.py (mechanical fields read; everything else
lands harmlessly in raw).
Three entry modes (all converge on Validate → Deploy)
- (A) Incoming JSON — the player ran the self-service prompt and sent a JSON. Main case.
- (B) From scratch — no JSON: run the interview (Teil 1 of
character-creation-prompt.md,
small batches, German, grimdark), then build the JSON yourself.
- (C) Backstory backfill — stats already exist, only narrative fields (goals/connections/
age/...) missing → fill just those; skip the budget rebuild.
Validate (the core — recompute every number)
Fix on failure, or flag it back to the player; summarize the result in the JSON's _note.
- Characteristics: exactly 90 points distributed over the 9 stats, each +4…+18
before origin (start 20 → 24–38); then origin +5 fixed / +5 chosen added correctly per
the origin table. Bonus = tens digit.
- Skills: ≤ 6 increases total, max 2 per skill; endwert = ruling characteristic +
increases×5. (Psyker package skills below are separate from these 6.)
- Wounds:
StrB + 2×TghB + WilB; set wounds == max_wounds.
- Psyker (if
psyker: true): Psi-Meisterschaft = Wil+10, Disziplin (Psi) = Wil+5;
exactly 5 known_powers, each an exact key in the profile psyker catalog (English
names), Smite mandatory; a talents entry Psioniker present.
- Augmetics: each name an exact key in the profile augmetics catalog; count ≤ Toughness
Bonus (soft limit).
- Weapons:
damage/test match the profile weapon list (test = Nahkampf for melee,
Fernkampf for ranged).
Deploy
- Write
data/party/<player>.json (committed — .gitignore allowlist; one JSON per
player). Keep German text, grimdark tone.
- Generate the sheet:
uv run python tools/fill_character_sheet.py data/party/<player>.json --out <dir>
→ the PDF is a bought-sheet derivative, stays local / git-ignored. Send it to the player.
- Session merge — confirm before touching the live file. The session
data/sessions/<id>/characters.json is what the bot actually loads, so do NOT write it
silently. Show the planned change first:
- target channel id (default circlejerk
1343673766487654464; a different channel needs
the file copied into its own <id>/ folder),
- the
characters[] entry and the new alias (Discord/display name → character name),
- whether
state.json / recap.md must be cleared (yes when replacing the party, so the
first !join seeds fresh from the new sheet).
Apply only after the user's OK.
- Sanity + commit:
uv run --with pytest python -m pytest (schema loads via
Character.from_dict); commit per repo norm (scoped, imperative).
Gotchas
- Catalog names must match the profile exactly — a typo'd power/augmetic key silently drops
it from the
<<MANIFEST>> flow / effect resolution. This is the #1 failure.
- German skill/characteristic names must match the German edition; flag any you can't confirm.
player becomes the alias — without it the DM can't map a Discord speaker to their character.
