character-creation-modal-exit

Character Creation Modal Exit Protocol

Overview

This skill documents the mandatory exit protocol for CharacterCreationAgent modal mode to prevent premature story mode transitions.

Critical Principle

CHARACTER CREATION IS A MODAL DIALOG - The user CANNOT exit until they select a specific planning_block choice.

Modal Lock Mechanism

Entry Conditions

CharacterCreationAgent modal lock activates when:

custom_campaign_state.character_creation_in_progress == True
AND
custom_campaign_state.character_creation_completed == False

Lock Behavior

While locked:

• Classifier is BYPASSED - all user input routes to CharacterCreationAgent
• Other agents BLOCKED - StoryModeAgent, DialogAgent, CombatAgent cannot activate
• User input interpretation DISABLED - "Let's fight!" still goes to character creation
• Planning block choices MANDATORY - every response must include choices

Exit Conditions (ONLY)

Character creation modal can ONLY exit via these specific planning_block choice selections:

1. God Mode Review Stage:

{
  "planning_block": {
    "choices": {
      "start_adventure": {
        "text": "Start Adventure",
        "description": "Confirm this character and begin the story"
      }
    }
  }
}

2. Manual Creation Complete:

{
  "planning_block": {
    "choices": {
      "play_character": {
        "text": "PlayCharacter",
        "description": "Finish character creation and start adventure"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Character Creation Cancellation:

{
  "planning_block": {
    "choices": {
      "cancel_creation": {
        "text": "Cancel Character Creation",
        "description": "Exit without saving character"
      }
    }
  }
}

State Transition on Exit

When user selects an exit choice:

custom_campaign_state.character_creation_in_progress = False
custom_campaign_state.character_creation_completed = True
custom_campaign_state.character_creation_stage = "complete"

God Mode Review Stage Bug (FIXED)

The Bug

Symptom: God mode template campaigns skipped character review and went straight to story mode.

Root Cause: LLM was ignoring character_creation_stage: "review" and resetting to "concept" when user said "Let's create my character!"

Example Failure:

Initial state: character_creation_stage = "review"
User: "Let's create my character!"
LLM (WRONG): "Let me reset to concept stage..."
Result: Offered AIGenerated/StandardDND/CustomClass menu instead of review

The Fix

Enhanced character_creation_instruction.md with explicit protocol:

Key Changes:

1. Mandatory stage check - ALWAYS check character_creation_stage first
2. Forbidden actions - Explicitly list what NOT to do in review stage
3. Required choices - Must provide exactly "Start Adventure" and "Edit Character"
4. Clear semantics - "review" means character is ALREADY CREATED, just needs approval

Prompt Enhancement:

**? DO NOT RESET TO "concept" OR "mechanics" STAGES ?**
- Even if user says "Let's create my character!" or "I want to create my character"
- The character IS ALREADY CREATED - they just need to REVIEW and CONFIRM it

**MANDATORY BEHAVIOR IN REVIEW STAGE**:
1. ALWAYS check `character_creation_stage` FIRST before deciding what to do
2. IF stage == "review":
   - Present the PRE-POPULATED character for review
   - Use narrative tag: `[CHARACTER CREATION - Review]` (NOT "Concept")
   - Show character stats from `player_character_data`
3. REQUIRED CHOICES (exactly these two):
   - start_adventure: "Start Adventure"
   - edit_character: "Edit Character"

Verification

Created test: testing_mcp/creation/test_god_mode_skip_bug.py

Before fix: 0/1 passed (LLM reset to concept stage) After fix: 1/1 passed (LLM stays in review stage with correct choices)

Evidence: <evidence-root>/god_mode_character_skip_bug/iteration_002/

Testing Protocol

Test Creation Review Flow

cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
python testing_mcp/creation/test_god_mode_skip_bug.py

Expected Result:

✅ Has [CHARACTER CREATION] tag: True
✅ character_creation_stage: review (NOT concept!)
✅ Planning block choices: ['start_adventure', 'edit_character']
✅ Has finish character choice: True

Test Manual Creation Flow

python testing_mcp/creation/test_character_creation_three_flows_real.py

Expected Result:

• AIGenerated flow: character created → review → PlayCharacter choice → story
• StandardDND flow: race → class → abilities → background → PlayCharacter → story
• CustomClass flow: custom class design → PlayCharacter → story

Firestore Investigation Protocol

Check if Campaign is in Character Creation

custom_state = game_state.get("custom_campaign_state", {})
in_progress = custom_state.get("character_creation_in_progress")
completed = custom_state.get("character_creation_completed")
stage = custom_state.get("character_creation_stage")

if in_progress and not completed:
    print(f"? Modal locked in stage: {stage}")
elif completed:
    print(f"✅ Character creation complete")
else:
    print(f"❓ Ambiguous state - check for bugs")

Check Story Entries for Planning Block

# Get first LLM response
story_ref = campaign_ref.collection('story')
entries = story_ref.order_by('timestamp').stream()

for entry in entries:
    data = entry.to_dict()
    if data.get('actor') == 'gemini':
        debug_info = data.get('debug_info', {})
        raw_response = debug_info.get('raw_response_text', '')
        if raw_response:
            parsed = json.loads(raw_response)
            planning_block = parsed.get('planning_block', {})
            choices = planning_block.get('choices', {})

            # Check for exit choices
            has_start_adventure = 'start_adventure' in choices
            has_play_character = 'play_character' in choices

            if has_start_adventure or has_play_character:
                print("✅ Exit choice available")
            else:
                print("⚠️ No exit choice - user is stuck!")
        break

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Assuming User Input Means Exit

# WRONG
if "let's start" in user_input.lower():
    character_creation_completed = True  # NO!

User saying "Let's start" is ambiguous - they might mean:

• "Let's start creating my character" (enter creation)
• "Let's start reviewing" (god mode)
• "Let's start the adventure" (exit creation)

CORRECT: Only exit when user SELECTS the planning_block exit choice.

Mistake 2: Skipping Review for God Mode

# WRONG
if god_mode_template and character_data:
    character_creation_completed = True  # NO!
    # User never saw the character!

CORRECT: Always show review step, even for god mode templates.

Mistake 3: No Planning Block Choices

# WRONG - No way for user to exit!
{
  "narrative": "[CHARACTER CREATION] Your character is ready!",
  "planning_block": {
    "thinking": "Character is complete",
    "choices": {}  # EMPTY!
  }
}

CORRECT: ALWAYS provide at least one exit choice when character is ready.

Related Files

• $PROJECT_ROOT/prompts/character_creation_instruction.md - Character creation prompt (lines 97-141)
• $PROJECT_ROOT/agents.py - Modal lock logic (lines 2793-2805)
• testing_mcp/creation/test_god_mode_skip_bug.py - Bug reproduction test
• testing_mcp/creation/test_character_creation_three_flows_real.py - Comprehensive flow test

CLAUDE.md Integration

Added to project CLAUDE.md:

## Character Creation Modal Exit

Character creation is a MODAL DIALOG - user cannot exit until selecting specific planning_block choice:
- God Mode Review: "Start Adventure" choice
- Manual Creation: "PlayCharacter" choice
- Cancellation: "Cancel Character Creation" choice

See this skill (above) for the complete protocol.

Evidence Locations

Bug Reproduction Evidence:

• Before fix: <evidence-root>/god_mode_character_skip_bug/iteration_001/
  • Pass rate: 0/1 (LLM reset to concept stage)
• After fix: <evidence-root>/god_mode_character_skip_bug/iteration_002/
  • Pass rate: 1/1 (LLM stays in review stage)

Production Campaign with Bug:

• URL: https://<preview-service-url-s7>/game/<campaign-id>
• Campaign ID: <campaign-id>
• Owner: <redacted> (UID: <redacted>)
• Issue: Character creation completed immediately without review
• Root cause: Pre-PR #5225 code without explicit review stage protocol