# Profile

> Generate full NPC profiles using Codex. Reads from character YAML and generates agenda, disposition modifiers, dialogue, secrets, and hooks.

- Skill: `majiayu000/profile` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add majiayu000/profile`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/majiayu000/profile/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector CAUTION)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: majiayu000 (https://skillmd.com/u/majiayu000)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/majiayu000/profile

---


# NPC Profile Generation

Generate full NPC profiles using Codex CLI. Reads character appearance from YAML files and generates complete profiles with agenda, disposition modifiers, memory triggers, sample dialogue, secrets, and plot hooks.

## Usage

```
/profile <character_name>
/profile cipher
/profile elder_kara
/profile vex --context "He's been promoted recently"
```

## How It Works

1. Read the character YAML from `assets/characters/{name}.yaml`
2. Build a detailed Codex prompt with faction context
3. Call `codex exec --full-auto` directly via Bash
4. Parse JSON from response
5. Save to `sentinel-agent/generated_npcs/{name}.json`
6. Report success with key profile details

## Step 1: Find and Read Character YAML

Look for the character file:
```
C:\dev\SENTINEL\assets\characters\{name}.yaml
C:\dev\SENTINEL\assets\characters\{name}_detailed.yaml
```

If not found, ask the user for basic details (name, faction, role) to generate without physical description.

## Step 2: Build Physical Description

From the YAML, build an explicit physical description string:

### Person Descriptor Mapping

| Skin Tone | Gender: Masculine | Gender: Feminine | Gender: Androgynous |
|-----------|-------------------|------------------|---------------------|
| pale | pale-skinned man | pale-skinned woman | pale-skinned person |
| light | light-skinned man | light-skinned woman | light-skinned person |
| medium | olive-skinned man | olive-skinned woman | olive-skinned person |
| tan | tan man | tan woman | tan person |
| brown | Black man | Black woman | Black person |
| dark | dark-skinned Black man | dark-skinned Black woman | dark-skinned Black person |

For elderly characters, prepend "elderly" (e.g., "elderly olive-skinned woman").

### Build Order
1. Person descriptor with build (e.g., "Black man with lean build")
2. Hair description (length, style, color)
3. Eye description (color or "cybernetic eyes")
4. Facial features (comma-separated)
5. Distinguishing marks (scars, augmentations, tattoos, other)

## Step 3: Build Codex Prompt

### Faction Context

| Faction | Tagline | Values | Culture | Speech |
|---------|---------|--------|---------|--------|
| nexus | The network that watches | information, prediction, control | Analytical, data-driven | Precise, clinical, uses statistics |
| ember_colonies | We survived. We endure. | community, survival, mutual aid | Tight-knit survivors | Direct, warm to friends, guarded |
| lattice | We keep the lights on | infrastructure, pragmatic cooperation | Engineers maintaining systems | Technical, problem-focused |
| convergence | Become what you were meant to be | enhancement, transcendence | Transhumanists | Enthusiastic about potential |
| covenant | We hold the line | oaths, sanctuary, ethical limits | Keepers of moral boundaries | Formal, principled |
| wanderers | The road remembers | freedom, trade, neutrality | Nomadic traders | Casual, storytelling |
| cultivators | From the soil, we rise | growth, patience, sustainability | Agrarian communities | Patient, agricultural metaphors |
| steel_syndicate | Everything has a price | profit, leverage, deals | Criminal-adjacent traders | Transactional, direct about costs |
| witnesses | We remember so you don't have to lie | truth, records, accountability | Archivists | Precise, cites sources |
| architects | We built this world | legacy, credentials, legitimacy | Remnants of old order | Formal, references procedures |
| ghost_networks | We were never here | anonymity, escape, protection | Underground railroad | Cautious, uses code words |

### Role Suggestions

| Role | Description |
|------|-------------|
| leader | Commands respect, burden of responsibility |
| fixer | Solves problems, knows people, transactional |
| elder | Wisdom from experience |
| scout | Eyes and ears, often underestimated |
| enforcer | Applies pressure, reputation for action |
| medic | Healer, pragmatic about triage |
| technician | Comfortable with machines |
| trader | Deals in goods or information |
| refugee | Displaced, seeking safety |
| true_believer | Deeply committed to faction ideology |
| skeptic | Questions their own faction |
| veteran | Survived things, carries weight |

### Prompt Template

```
You are generating an NPC for SENTINEL, a tactical tabletop RPG about navigating political tension and ethical tradeoffs in a post-collapse world.

## NPC Details
- **Name:** {name}
- **Faction:** {faction_name} - "{tagline}"
- **Role:** {role}

## Faction Context
- **Values:** {values}
- **Culture:** {culture}
- **Speech patterns:** {speech}

## Role Context
{role_description}

## Physical Appearance (USE THIS EXACTLY)
{physical_description}

## Output Format

Generate a complete NPC profile as JSON with this exact structure:

{
  "name": "{name}",
  "faction": "{faction_id}",
  "role": "{role}",
  "physical_appearance": "{physical_description}",
  "description": "2-3 sentence presence/demeanor description (NOT physical)",
  "agenda": {
    "wants": "Primary goal (specific, personal)",
    "fears": "What they're afraid of (specific)",
    "leverage": "What they could hold over the player (or null)",
    "owes": "What they might owe the player (or null)",
    "lie_to_self": "The self-deception that lets them sleep at night"
  },
  "disposition_modifiers": {
    "hostile": {
      "tone": "How they speak when hostile",
      "reveals": ["What they share at this level"],
      "withholds": ["What they hide"],
      "tells": ["Behavioral cues"]
    },
    "wary": { ... },
    "neutral": { ... },
    "warm": { ... },
    "loyal": { ... }
  },
  "memory_triggers": [
    {
      "condition": "tag like 'helped_ember'",
      "effect": "What happens",
      "disposition_shift": -2 to +2
    }
  ],
  "sample_dialogue": {
    "greeting_neutral": "...",
    "greeting_warm": "...",
    "refusal": "...",
    "bargaining": "...",
    "under_pressure": "..."
  },
  "secrets": ["Things the GM knows but player must discover"],
  "hooks": ["Plot hooks involving this NPC"]
}

## Guidelines
- Make the NPC feel like a real person with contradictions
- The "lie_to_self" is crucial - everyone justifies their actions
- Disposition modifiers should show meaningful progression
- Memory triggers should reference realistic player actions
- Secrets should create interesting dramatic irony
- Hooks should tie into faction politics and player choice

Generate the NPC now. Output ONLY the JSON, no explanation.
```

## Step 4: Execute Generation

Run the command directly via Bash:

```bash
codex exec --full-auto "PROMPT_HERE"
```

For long prompts, write to a temp file first to avoid shell escaping issues:
```bash
# Write prompt to temp file
# Then run:
codex exec --full-auto "$(cat /tmp/npc_prompt.txt)"
```

Use a 5-minute timeout (300000ms) since Codex generation can be slow.

## Step 5: Parse and Save

1. Extract JSON from Codex response (may be wrapped in ```json blocks)
2. Validate required fields exist
3. Save to `C:\dev\SENTINEL\sentinel-agent\generated_npcs\{name}.json`

## Step 6: Report Result

Show the user:
- Name and faction
- Brief description
- Key agenda items (wants, fears)
- One sample dialogue line
- File path

Suggest running `/portrait {name}` to generate a matching portrait.

## Example: Full Prompt for Cipher

Character YAML:
```yaml
name: Cipher
faction: nexus
role: analyst
gender: masculine
age: adult
skin_tone: brown
build: lean
hair_color: black
hair_length: short
hair_style: dreadlocks
eye_color: augmented
facial_features: [sharp, high cheekbones]
augmentations: subtle blue data overlay in eyes, small temple implant
other_features: always wears a data visor
default_expression: neutral
```

Physical description built:
```
Black man with lean build, short dreadlocks black hair, cybernetic eyes, sharp, high cheekbones features, subtle blue data overlay in eyes, small temple implant, always wears a data visor
```

## Error Handling

- **YAML not found**: Ask for name/faction/role to generate without physical description
- **Codex not available**: Report error, suggest checking Codex CLI installation
- **JSON parse fails**: Show raw response, suggest retrying
- **Missing fields**: Fill with sensible defaults, warn user

## Creating New Characters First

If the user wants to create a new character with full appearance details first:

```bash
python scripts/create_character.py
```

Then run `/profile {name}` to generate the NPC profile.

## Chaining with Portrait

After generating a profile, suggest:
```
/portrait {name}
```

This generates a matching portrait using the same character YAML.