skyrim-dialog-system

name

skyrim-dialog-system

description

Pure reference for how Skyrim's (TES5) dialogue, voice, and quest systems work — every record type (DIAL, INFO, QUST, DLBR, DLVW, SCEN, VTYP, IDLE), its binary layout, field meanings, enums, the condition (CTDA) system, the voice-routing pipeline, and a checklist of everything required for dialogue to fire in-engine. Use when authoring, reading, or debugging Skyrim dialogue/quest/voice records, when reasoning about how a topic reaches an NPC, or when you need the exact structure of any of these records. This is a description of vanilla Skyrim only — it contains no conversion/import logic.

Skyrim Dialogue, Voice & Quest System

This skill is a pure reference for how vanilla Skyrim (TES5) routes dialogue. It describes only how the game itself works — it deliberately contains no conversion or import logic.

It is built from two authoritative, grounded sources in this repo:

1. xEdit Core record definitions — references/xEdit/Core/wbDefinitionsTES5.pas (the binary layout of every record; verbatim field names/sizes/enums).
2. Real Skyrim.esm data — references/Skyrim.esm (dumped via tools/tes5_esm_reader.py), giving real field values.

When the answer needs an exact byte layout or full enum, open the matching reference file rather than guessing:

• references/records.md — every record's complete subrecord-by-subrecord binary layout, field types, sizes, and full enums (DIAL, INFO, QUST, DLBR, DLVW, SCEN, VTYP, IDLE).
• references/conditions.md — the CTDA condition system: 32-byte layout, operator/flag byte, OR-chaining, and the function indices that matter for dialogue (GetIsVoiceType, GetIsID, GetStage, GetQuestRunning, GetInCell…).
• references/checklist.md — the full "everything that must be true for a line to fire" checklist, plus the most common failure modes and their fixes.

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The mental model (read this first)

Skyrim dialogue is a filtered query system, not a script. When an actor needs something to say (player greets them, combat starts, player picks a topic), the engine collects every INFO whose conditions all evaluate true, in priority order, and speaks the first valid one. Conditions are the only gate. If you want a line restricted to one NPC, the restriction must live in a CTDA condition on the INFO.

The record hierarchy, top to bottom:

QUST (Quest)            owns dialogue; must be running/enabled for its topics
 │                      to be eligible. Holds stages, objectives, aliases, and
 │                      quest-level dialogue conditions.
 │
 ├── DLBR (Branch)      groups topics into a conversation flow. Points at its
 │    │                 owning QUST (QNAM) and its first DIAL (SNAM). Flags say
 │    │                 whether it's Top-Level (appears in the menu) or Normal
 │    │                 (only reachable by being linked to).
 │    │
 │    └── DIAL (Topic)  a prompt + a bucket of INFOs. Has a Category + Subtype
 │         │            that classify it (Topic / Combat / Detection / Misc…),
 │         │            a 4-char Subtype code (SNAM), and points back at its
 │         │            QUST (QNAM) and branch (BNAM).
 │         │
 │         └── INFO     ONE actual spoken exchange: one or more Responses
 │                      (lines of voiced text), the conditions (CTDAs) that
 │                      gate it, optional VMAD script fragments, and "Link To"
 │                      (TCLT) entries that chain to follow-up topics.
 │
 └── DLVW (View)        Creation-Kit-only UI metadata listing a quest's branches
                        and topics. Not gameplay-critical but vanilla has them.

VTYP (Voice Type)       the routing key. Every speaking NPC has a voice type
                        (VTCK). Almost every INFO carries a GetIsVoiceType
                        condition so the engine plays the right recording.

SCEN (Scene)            scripted multi-actor sequences (cutscene-like). Drives
                        DIAL topics through phases/actions. Not needed for
                        ordinary NPC chatter.

IDLE (Idle Animation)   referenced by INFO responses (SNAM/LNAM) for speaker /
                        listener gestures while a line plays.

Voice routing in one paragraph

A speaking NPC_ has VTCK → a VTYP record (e.g. MaleNord). When the engine picks an INFO to play, it needs the audio file recorded for that voice type. The standard way an INFO is bound to a voice type is a GetIsVoiceType(VTYP) == 1.0 CTDA condition (function index 426). Multiple voice types are expressed as an OR-chain of GetIsVoiceType CTDAs. Voice files live at Sound\Voice\<plugin>\<VoiceType>\<infoFID>_<respNum>.fuz. An INFO with no GetIsVoiceType condition will (a) be eligible for every NPC and (b) try to export an audio file for every voice type — both almost always undesirable.

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What must be true for a line to actually fire

(Full version with fixes in references/checklist.md. The essentials:)

1. The owning QUST is eligible — Start Game Enabled (0x0001) (and usually Starts Enabled 0x0010) so it's running, OR the quest is started by other means. Dialogue-only quests in vanilla use DNAM Flags = 0x0011.
2. Every DIAL has a QNAM pointing at a running quest. A topic with no quest owner is ignored.
3. The branch (DLBR) is correct — Top-Level (DNAM 0x01) for things that appear directly in the menu; Normal (DNAM 0x00) for chain/linked topics.
4. The INFO's conditions all pass — including a GetIsVoiceType so the right voice says it, and (for conversation topics) an identity gate such as GetIsID so it doesn't appear on every NPC.
5. The INFO has at least one Response (TRDT + NAM1) with valid response text.
6. A SEQ file exists for Start-Game-Enabled quests (since game v1.7) or their dialogue/scenes won't initialize.
7. Voice audio exists in .fuz (or .xwm+.lip) at the right path for the NPC's voice type, or the line plays silently / not at all.

---

Quick subrecord cheat-sheet

Exact bytes, enums, and edge cases are in references/records.md. This table is for fast recall only.

Record	Key subrecords (in order)	Notes
DIAL	EDID, FULL, PNAM(float priority, dflt 50.0), BNAM(→DLBR), QNAM(→QUST), DATA(4B), SNAM(U32 4-char code), TIFC(U32 info count)	DATA on-disk = TopicFlags(U8)+Category(U8)+Subtype(U16) (the xEdit order — swapping it crashes at startup; see records.md ⚠). Subtype NUMBERS come from real data, not xEdit's shifted display enum (real Hello=73). SNAM raw LE ASCII (e.g. CUST,HELO) mirrors the subtype and is what the engine keys on.
INFO	EDID, VMAD, ENAM(4B flags+reset), TPIC(→DIAL), PNAM(prev INFO), CNAM(favor U8), TCLT[](→DIAL/INFO links), Responses[(TRDT 24B + NAM1 + NAM2 + NAM3 + SNAM/LNAM idle)], CTDAs, RNAM(prompt), ANAM(speaker)	A child INFO references its parent topic via the GRUP. ENAM flags incl. Goodbye(0x01), Random(0x02), Say once(0x04).
QUST	EDID, VMAD, FULL, DNAM(12B general), ENAM(event 4B), QTGL[], FLTR, quest CTDAs, INDX/QSDT stages, QOBJ/QSTA objectives, ANAM(next alias id), ALST/ALLS aliases, NNAM, QSTA targets	DNAM = Flags(U16)+Priority(U8)+FormVer(U8)+Unknown(4B)+Type(U32).
DLBR	EDID, QNAM(→QUST, req), TNAM(category U32: 0=Player,1=Command), DNAM(flags U32: 0x01 Top-Level, 0x02 Blocking, 0x04 Exclusive), SNAM(→DIAL starting topic, req)	One branch per conversation flow.
DLVW	EDID, QNAM(→QUST), BNAM, TNAM, ENAM(view category U32), DNAM(show all text U8)	CK UI metadata only.
VTYP	EDID, DNAM(flags U8: 0x01 Allow Default Dialog, 0x02 Female)	The routing key. ~143 in Skyrim.esm.
SCEN	EDID, VMAD, FNAM(flags U32), Phases[(HNAM/NAM0/conditions/NEXT)], Actors[(ALID/LNAM/DNAM)], Actions[(ANAM type/…)]	Multi-actor scripted sequences.
IDLE	EDID, conditions, DATA, anim event	Referenced by INFO response SNAM/LNAM.

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CTDA conditions (the heart of routing)

Every condition is exactly 32 bytes. Critical offsets (full detail in references/conditions.md):

• byte[0] = operator + flags. Bit 0 (0x01) = OR with the next condition.
• byte[0] (bit 2, 0x04) = Use Global (comparison value is a GLOB FormID).
• bytes[4:8] = comparison value (float). 1.0 = 00 00 80 3F.
• bytes[8:10] = function index (U16 LE).
• bytes[12:16] = param1, bytes[16:20] = param2.

Function indices you will see constantly in dialogue:

Func	Name	Use
426	GetIsVoiceType	Route line to a voice type. On nearly every INFO.
72	GetIsID	Restrict line to a specific NPC (conversation topics).
71	GetInCell	Location gating (city-specific greetings/gossip).
58	GetStage	Gate by quest stage.
56	GetQuestRunning	Gate by whether a quest is active.
67	GetCurrentAIProcedure	AI-state gating on barks.

OR-chain rule: to mean "voice type A OR B OR C", set OR on every CTDA in the chain except the last; the last is AND. A trailing OR flag leaks into the following (unrelated) condition.

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How to use this skill

• Understanding a record → references/records.md for the exact layout, then check a real example in references/Skyrim.esm/<TYPE>.txt.
• Reasoning about why a topic reaches (or doesn't reach) an NPC → walk references/checklist.md; it's almost always a condition (GetIsVoiceType or GetIsID) or a quest not running.
• Reading/understanding a CTDA → references/conditions.md for offsets, OR-chain rules, and function indices.
• Inspecting real data → python tools/tes5_esm_reader.py references/Skyrim.esm --types DIAL INFO QUST DLBR DLVW VTYP --outdir temp/skyrim_dialog_dump.