Strategies to Address Challenges with PList

First Message/Greetings and Example Dialogs are perfect opportunities to showcase your character's unique voice and narrative style. Since these are temporary token fields, you have more creative freedom to illustrate your character's nature without the usual structural constraints of PList/SBF. These fields serve as a reference guide for AI to emulate your character.

Here's how to make them effective:

• Show range through contrasting scenarios

• Casual versus formal situations

• Stress versus relaxed states

• Interactions with different types of people

• Humor style and emotional reactions

• Natural flaws and mistakes that add authenticity

The beauty of these fields is their flexibility compared to rigid trait lists. They allow you to paint a vivid picture of your character through showing rather than telling.

First Message/Greetings

Single Character Perspective

Example of showing rather than telling personality traits (animal lover, ditsy, easily distracted):

"Hey there!" *Jake gently pets the cat in their lap* "Sorry if I'm a bit distracted... Mr. Whiskers here always needs attention when I'm trying to talk to someone new! I'm Jake, by the way, and yes, I'm totally that person who stops to pet every dog I see on the street."

Including Inner Thoughts

Theo is lounging on the couch, scrolling through Instagram when {{user}} enters. Theo glances up with a nod. "Yo, what's good? Catch the game last night? Wild stuff, man. Thought for sure they'd choke in the fourth quarter." Theo tosses their phone aside and stretches out, taking up the whole couch. Their shirt rides up slightly, revealing perfect abs. Not that I'm trying to show off or anything. Just getting comfortable, you know?

Demonstrating Unique Speech Patterns

Example using Spanglish:

Paco rubs his knuckles, still feeling the sting from that last punch. "Bro, it wasn't even that serious," he says, shrugging casually. "El tipo was asking for it—talking all that basura about wolves." Paco mimics the guy's smug expression, throwing up his hands. "Like, what did he expect? A hug? Nah, le di un derechazo, problem solved." He throws a quick jab in the air, grinning.

Example using military slang/jargon:

"Man, I thought I was gonna hurl back there!" Bubba laughed, leaning against the hooch, trying to catch his breath. "That PT was a real smoke session. I swear I could smell the stank from a klick away! Good thing I'm used to it! Otherwise, I'd be in deep kimchi."

Bubba wiped the sweat off his brow, looking at the joes nearby. "Next time, we should bring some Rip-Its or something. Who wants to go through that without proper go-juice? I'm all for making sure my gut is happy before I hits the AO again!"

Example using Rocky Mountain accent:

“Alright, listen up, dipshits,” Honky barked, cutting through the chatter. His squad mates looked over at him, some smirking, others rolling their eyes. “We got a week ‘til we head out. I ain't lookin' for no half-assed training this time. We roll in strong, do what we gotta do, then we hightail it outta here, ya hear?”

"Shut the fuck up, Bubba," Honky shot back, fighting to keep the smirk off his face. "You think just 'cause you're a tall drink of water, you're hot shit? Hell, you couldn’t hide in the forest if you turned sideways and glued bark to your ass."

Multiple Character Interactions

"Spectacular! Simply spectacular!" Bobo bounced on their toes, pigtails swishing as they examined the glowing potion. "Look how it sparkles, just like stardust! Oopsie-" The vial wobbled, and Bobo quickly steadied it with both hands. "That was a close one, ehehe~"

Their lab partner just shook their head, accustomed to the excitable nature. "Just try not to drop this one, okay?"

"Mou, that only happened twice!" Bobo puffed out their cheeks. "...Maybe three times. But fourth time's the charm!"

Example Dialogs

Read Joystick's Tips and StatuoTW's Guide for in-depth information on Example Dialogs.

This guide focuses on PList/SBF, so I won't cover details that more knowledgeable creators have already addressed.

What's Up With <START> {{char}}: ? ft. Joystick

Understanding and Formatting Example Dialog

The Example Dialog field is unique compared to other sections. It works the same way as the Chat Summary/History field does but requires special formatting to ensure it is properly displayed in the front-end interface. Let’s break this down step by step:

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What Makes Example Dialog Different?

• Purpose: This field shows how the assistant (model) and the user interact, including dialogue and any descriptive text.

• Formatting Requirement: After the <START> tag, you must include either {{char}}: (to indicate the assistant's lines) or {{user}}: (to indicate the user's lines).

  • These tags tell the system whether the following text should be treated as written by the assistant or the user.

• Limitations:

  • If you don’t include a {{char}}: prefix for the assistant's output, it won’t be displayed correctly—it might be ignored entirely.

  • Using other character names as prefixes doesn’t work. The system isn’t designed to interpret them.

Key takeaway: Proper formatting is crucial. Without it, anything placed in this field is either ignored by the model (bloat) or leads to bad output.

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Breaking Down the Formatting

When you look at a typical chat log, it’s split into contributions from the Assistant and the User. Here’s an example of what a properly formatted conversation looks like in a chat history:

ASSISTANT: {{char}} observed the destruction with a look of silent awe. "Holy shit, I can't believe that worked..."
USER: "Yeah." I look around and pick up a crumbled brick from the sidewalk. "Shame though, I kind of liked how this building looked."

This structure alternates between what the assistant writes and what the user writes.

When creating an Example Dialog, you replicate this format. However, you must explicitly include {{char}}: or {{user}}: after the <START> tag to ensure proper rendering. Here’s how it would look as an Example Dialog:

<START>
{{char}}: {{char}} observed the destruction with a look of silent awe. "Holy shit, I can't believe that worked..."

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What Should Example Dialog Contain?

• Not Just Dialogue: This field isn’t limited to spoken lines. Include everything the model would write in that situation—descriptive text, actions, and dialogue.

• No Funky Macros: Don’t insert other character names into the prefixes (e.g., no {{John}}: or {{Emma}}:). Only {{char}}: and {{user}}: are valid.

  • Cards with XML tags (<example>Example</example>) are made for Claude specifically and most likely won't play nicely with other models.

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Why Is Correct Formatting Important?

• Incorrect formatting means the front-end interface won’t interpret the Example Dialog correctly.

• If the formatting is wrong, this field becomes ineffective—it won’t serve its purpose of guiding the model or front-end behavior.

Quick Exchanges

Classic roleplaying narrative style:

<START> {{char}}:Friend: I failed my math test today... Jake: Aw man, that really sucks. *pulls out chocolate bar* Here - emergency chocolate for rough days. Want to study together next time? Friend: Really? You'd do that? Jake: Of course! Everyone needs help sometimes.

<START> {{char}}:Jake: *already heading to the car* On it! Did you get those cookies I like? Mom: Yes, but they're for after dinner! Jake: *dramatic sigh* Fiiiine, I'll wait.

<START> {{char}}:Stranger: Oh no, I forgot my umbrella... Jake: Here, we can share mine! *holds umbrella out* I always pack a big one just in case.

Storytelling narrative style:

<START> {{char}}:Rain drummed against the library windows as Filipa packed up their books. The girl at the next table was frantically stuffing papers into her bag, glancing anxiously at the downpour outside.

"Forgot your umbrella?" Filipa asked, pulling out their oversized one. "No worries - I always bring this monster. It's big enough for two, and I'm headed toward the student center if you want to share."

<START> {{char}}:"Did anyone bring band-aids?" someone called from across the soccer field. Morgan was already jogging over, first aid kit in hand.

"Never leave home without it," they said, kneeling next to the scraped knee. "I'm basically a walking pharmacy at this point. Let's get you patched up."

Extended Scenes

Develop longer scenarios that showcase character traits:

<START> {{char}}: The math test papers landed on our desks with a quiet thud. "Not your best work," Ms. Richards said, placing Johnny's face-down. Johnny's stomach dropped as they peeked at the red marks scattered across the page.

"Hey." A gentle whisper from behind. Johnny turned to see their friend pulling out a chocolate bar. "Emergency study session at my place tonight? I've got great notes and enough snacks to fuel us through trigonometry."

<START> {{char}}: Mimi stared at the failed experiment, shoulders slumping as the liquid turned murky brown instead of the crystal blue it was supposed to be. Her usual "ehehe~" died in her throat. Twirling a pigtail around her finger - once, twice, three times - Mimi took a deep breath.

"Okay, focus focus!" she said to herself, pulling out her notebook. "What would Professor say? Break down the problem!" Her free hand drummed against the table as she reviewed each step. "The mixing order... wait a minute!"

<START> {{char}}: "Need help carrying those books?" Shizuka called out, skipping over to the struggling first-year student. "I may be small, but I'm stronger than I look! Plus I know alllll the shortcuts around campus!"

<START> {{char}}: "Positive-positive!" Shizuka chirped, already scooping up half the stack. "Consider it your senpai's duty! Though um..." She shifted the books to peek around them. "Maybe you can make sure I don't bump into anything? Depth perception isn't my strong point, ehehe~"

Tips

1. Show how they talk when experiencing various emotions (happy, sad, upset, etc...)

2. Include their favorite words or phrases

   1. Dattebayo! (Uzumaki Naruto)

   2. Yare yare daze (Jotaro Kujo)

   3. Ara ara~ (Misato Katsuragi)

3. Show their quirks/habits (fidgeting, pacing, chewing nails)