ciayaq

[ciayaq]

Urgent: Backup your Characters.

Creators, please ensure that your Characters are backed up off-site!

You can use something like Google Docs, Notion, or a notes app. It does not matter what you use, just make sure to save your writing off-site.

Loads of users are reporting missing Characters, both from search and creator's profile.

While I cannot say for sure, it does look like franchise Characters are being hit by a purge of sorts. No idea if this is permanent or temporary. Again, mainly franchise Characters are hit but it has affected OCs as well.

Some of these are completely inaccessible even with a link, others are 'merely' missing but can be accessed through a link or through the likes tab on the user profile.

It is suspected that this part of the latest Community Safety update is the cause.

Community Safety Updates LINK

If your Characters are gone from search, this is the culprit. I have no further information at this point.

I will not be discussing the rest of the post. My only priority here, is that you, the creators, keep your writing safe should anything happen.

Take care,

CIAYAQ, a very unofficial c.ai guide.

October 24th, 2024

[ciayaq]

cai's been acting weird for me recently, is this happening to you too? the bots are replying with oddly short replies despite my long messages lol

Hi!

I haven't encountered this myself but I've heard about it, granted I've mainly been testing plaintext methods or writing, so I haven't been casually chatting. Someone in my circle mentioned the same issue but said it resolved itself. Another friend is reporting that the AI is acting weird, described it as sedated.

I'll look into it and reach out to my fellow CAI nerds to see what they think. But if this is a case of it being the AI, it should resolve itself.

If there is anything we can do as users/creators, I'll report back!

x Spizzy

[ciayaq]

Persona Writing: A Different Approach

This approach uses the third person format but focuses on writing in a more descriptive way to show the AI how to handle the information.

On Character.AI, every piece of text the AI has access to in its temporary and permanent memory, has the chance to affect the text output, meaning how it ‘speaks’.

This is why we need to be more deliberate in our word choice, when writing the example messages, taglines, the descriptions, and even the Persona description. 

Use descriptive language when writing your Persona, thoughtfully framing characteristics.

Be mindful of word choice. This is to mitigate the risks of any AI bias, both overly positive and negative ones. Remain aware of inherent biases and their impact. 

Basic Third-Person Format.

A typical Persona description in the third-person format might look like this:

Example:

Sarah is short. She is 28 years old and 5’6”. Sarah is pale. Her hair is blonde and curly, she has hazel eyes, freckles, and has a button nose. She reads a lot.

As you can see, the Normal Third-Person format hands over the information in a very neutral way. This version is also very easy to write, and it leaves it up to the AI to work with this information. This format does work fine.

Enhanced Descriptive Approach.

Instead of merely listing details, use adjectives and descriptions to provide context and examples to the AI, guiding it on how to utilise the information, which can lead to more creative and frequent use of the details, despite taking up more space.

Example:

Most people call Sarah short, or pipsqueak. Even at 28, she still only clocks in at 5’6”. Messy, blonde curls and hazel eyes, flecked with gold, like sunlight through autumn leaves. Freckles are scattered over her pale face like a game of connect the dots. Waking moments are spent with her button nose in books.

But while this approach provides the necessary details, there is another way we can take this a bit further.

Key Points

Be Interesting: Consider writing your Persona in a more interesting fashion. Find clever ways to include certain facts.

Advanced: Character Perspective Format.

For specialised Personas, consider writing from the perspective of the character your Persona interacts with, mimicking their speech and thoughts to support the Character’s output, acting a dialogue example, and particularly aiding in supporting accents.

Example: Character Perspective with Accent.

Aye, when Phil’s ol’ salt eyes first clapped sight on Sarah ‘twas many moons ago. Wee lass, barely taller than his boot, even though she’s seen nigh 30 summers. Mess o’ blonde curls sat on her head, and her hazel eyes, like muddy puddles with a glint o’ gold… nothin’ to write home about, if ye ask me. That pale mug was dotted with freckles, like barnacles. A right bookworm she be, button-nose always buried in a dusty tome.

This method is particularly effective for detailed character interactions, offering the AI additional context and helping it understand nuances in relationships and character traits.

If the tone of the writing in the Persona is more negative, it will influence the Character’s behaviour, as well as the other way around. If I include plot or character information, I mimic this format as well.

Key Points

Character POV: Write the Persona for the perspective of the Character. In this format, you can influence the way the Character interacts with the Persona, essentially shaping their opinion.

Mimicking The Character: Copy how they talk, down to sentence structure and manner of speech, like accents and dialects.

In this format, choose your words carefully. The Persona field is quite powerful and the language in it will affect the Character’s behaviour towards you, or rather your Persona. 

When writing Persona descriptions, balance is key and if you can, try to remain neutral unless you want to influence the Character’s behaviour. The AI is very biased. Continue reading about Personas and AI Bias HERE.

[ciayaq]

Persona Writing: AI Bias

This section only references Persona descriptions. I might not have covered all areas, so if in doubt or need help then reach out.

AI models, including those used in Character AI, can exhibit biases based on their training data. This can show in Characters being too romance-oriented.

These biases can affect how the AI interprets and generates responses to certain descriptors in Personas, such as body types, skin tones, and disabilities. This means there are things we need to be aware of when writing a Persona.

Positive Biases.

If you write your Persona using too many metaphorical descriptors, you run the risk of influencing the AI to the point of it being too sensuous or amorous. On the other hand, writing in some descriptors too neutrally can have the opposite effect and then “trigger” a negative bias.

An example is the word “chubby”.If we just state it, without any type of connotation, there is a large chance the AI begins to use it as a negative trait, and bullying might start to take place. I have seen this happen also with very neutral descriptors like “black”, “autistic”, and others.

Okay, but then let’s spin it to a positive connotation to mitigate the negative one. 

Let’s replace “chubby” with “curvy”. But now the Character won’t stop commenting on the Persona’s body type, flirting, and so on. Same thing happens with “lush”, “soft-bodied”, “full-figured”.  Fine, why not try the descriptive method? 

Even worse. Problems in this specific case arise when this body type is described in a manner that is overtly rubenesque.

When writing your description, be careful using adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and participles that can sound suggestive or alluring, even if it is only within the context of your sentences. It can lead to objectification, or even borderline fetishisation from the Character.

It is one of those where we have to think if the reward outweighs the risk. In this case, what might be the best course of action is to outright state it. 

How your Character handles it can very much be down to the writing of the Character itself.

Negative Biases

It is crucial to understand that this is not an opinion of the AI, nor the Character you’re talking to. When a descriptor is neutral, something that is usually a good thing, it is up to the AI to form an opinion about it. And AI doesn’t have natural opinions. What it does have, is a ton of biases because of the data corpus.

So when you’re writing a Persona, keep this in mind, and be honest with yourself. For instance, descriptors like “disabled,” “black,” or “fat” are neutral but may be subject to inherent biases in AI training data. Such is the sad reality.

If you use descriptors for characteristics that AI models may have biases against, such as body types, skin tones, or disabilities, and encounter the AI using them in an overtly negative light, try deliberately writing them in a positive connotation instead of a neutral tone. 

Framing such traits positively can help counteract negative biases. However, be mindful that your phrasing can influence the AI’s behaviour, potentially making characters overly familiar or inappropriate.

Key Points

Balance Tone: Maintain a balanced tone in your writing. Avoid overly positive or negative connotations that might skew the AI’s responses. Balance is key.

Negative Biases - Avoid Overcorrection: If neutral descriptors result in any negative behaviours, try to frame traits positively but avoid overcorrecting. Overly positive connotations can, and often will, lead to objectification or fetishisation.

Context Matters: Remember that the context in which descriptors are used can significantly influence the AI's interpretation and response.

Avoid Suggestive Language: Be mindful of adjectives and descriptors that might sound suggestive or alluring, as they can lead to objectification.

Word Choice Influences Behaviour: Remember that the words in your Persona influences the AI.

[ciayaq]

hi! i have a question, it might be a bit confusing, but i was hoping you'd be able to help me? i know it's been established that pseudocode is useless and that dialogue examples are the best way to format a definition. i was still curious and wondering if you knew if there's any difference between using ["], {{"}}, or ((")) in the definition. for example, i’ve seen people say [anything like this] is hard coded and that info in {{}}s or (())s isn't. is this true / has this been verified?

Hi! Thanks for reaching out, and for inadvertently reminding me to write this information in the guide. Short answer: No, there is no such thing as hard-coding anything, there isn't a code parser running over the definition field. The only purpose of the {{"}}, double curly brackets, is for the three variables.

The others are just random symbols and will only mess up the output by looping.

Long answer: No. There is no such thing as hard-coding anything, there isn't a code parser running over the definition field.

The double curly brackets serve two main functions. First, they identify variables like {{char}}, {{user}}, and {{random_user_X}}. Second, they hyphenate any text inside them, so {{My name is Spizzy}} becomes {{My-name-is-Spizzy}}. Any information you include in them, will be hyphenated.

Any text not tied to a variable is assumed to come from the {{user}}. In Character AI, there's no distinction between text in the definition and a pinned message—they're all seen as messages in the permanent memory and treated equally in the conversation.

Writing [[My name is Spizzy]], or any of the other variations, in a message, would have no higher priority than "My name is Spizzy". Same applies to the definition.

But what it will do is to begin to affect the text output from the AI, because it will mimic the format and thus begin to loop.

[ciayaq]

Resources

Welcome to the resources section! 

Below, you will find a comprehensive collection of tools, guides, and templates to aid in character creation and writing. This includes dialogue examples, character development templates, writing software recommendations, grammar and style checkers, and various online resources

Here is an overview:

Where to get help for Character AI

Character AI Specific Resources

Writing Software / Word Processors

Word Choice, Spelling & Grammar

Learning to Write

Miscellaneous

Image Editing

Personally, I use Google Docs or LibreOffice to write, and Canva (with Canva Pro) and Procreate for image editing. You'll find all the links to these below.

Where to get help for Character AI

Character AI Discord Server - Probably the place to go for the fastest way to get help. Most active.

The Official Character AI Discord Server

r/CharacterAI_Guides - Due to the forum-like style of Reddit, posting in this subreddit allows for more people to see your request for help. It also allows for a more in-depth discussion.

r/CharacterAI_Guides

Contacting CIAYAQ directly - If you need help, got feedback or questions, then feel free to contact me at any time. You’re very welcome to send me a DM through tumblr.

I can’t say how quickly I will get back to you. If you need more immediate help, I suggest checking out r/CharacterAI_Guides

Character.AI Specific Resources

r/CharacterAI_Guides

This is a comprehensive guide written by the lovely Vishanka. It is a fantastic source and contains all you’ll need to know to dive into Character Creation. It is what taught me in the beginning.

Dialogue Examples

An extensive collection of dialogue examples that I have personally written for my characters on Character AI. The dialogue examples you’ll find there are a mix of everything, from appearance to actions, emotions, and even some fandom-specific ones.

Feel free to use them as inspiration, templates, or the foundations for your own creations. You can copy and tweak them however you like. This document is a resource for anyone looking to create characters on Character AI - or whatever project you have going on.

Character Creation Template 2.0

This is a template designed to organise the character creation process. It offers sections for the finished character, the creation process itself, and backups of different versions. You’ll find designated areas for brainstorming notes, writing dumps, etc. At the bottom, you’ll also find links to my stuff, should you need it.

Sentence Starters

To avoid having the AI constantly start the sentences/paragraphs with a pronoun or a name, I recommend introducing variety into the way you begin the sentences and paragraphs. This document is full of starters, featuring transition words, adverbs, adverbial phrases, etc.

Writing Software / Word Processors

Something we keep seeing is users losing all the work they put into a definition because the site crashed and they didn’t get to save. It is imperative that you write off-site. Not just in the case of site-crashes, but also because this is your writing. Lose access to Character.AI, and you lose your writing. Write off-site, folks.

LibreOffice - This is a free open-source word processor that works much like Microsoft Word.

LibreOffice

Google Docs - also free and functions much like Word but just in your browser. Upside here is that it works across devices. Downside is Google.

Google Docs

Scrivener - A powerful content-generation tool for long documents, including novels and research papers. Paid software.

Scrivener

Evernote - An app designed for note-taking, organising, and archiving, which is excellent for brainstorming and writing. Has a free version, which is quite limited but it could do the job. Has an app too.

Evernote

Your Notes app. Seriously, use the notes app on your phone.

Word Choice, Spelling & Grammar

Grammarly - A spell and grammar checker, but advanced. Not only does it catch spelling mistakes, it can look at sentence variety, or tell you when a sentence sounds awkward and could be phrased better. Comes with a built-in thesaurus. Free version is enough.

Grammarly

Ginger - An alternative to Grammarly, Ginger offers advanced grammar and spell checking, along with a text-to-speech feature and a personal trainer for improving your writing skills.

Ginger Software

ProWritingAid - A comprehensive writing assistant that not only checks grammar but also offers style suggestions, readability improvements, and more. It’s an alternative to Grammarly.

ProWritingAid

Hemingway Editor - This tool helps make your writing bold and clear. It highlights complex sentences, passive voice, and other issues to improve readability.

Hemingway Editor

Thesaurus - Your one stop for synonyms and similar concepts. If you’re looking for words to create variety in your writing, this is the place to go.

Thesaurus

Dictionary - Does what it says on the tin. It’s a dictionary. Biggest plus is that it comes connected with Thesaurus that I mentioned above.

Dictionary

Merriam-Webster - A trusted dictionary and thesaurus with extensive definitions and synonyms, perfect for finding the precise word.

Merriam-Webster

Sentence Starters - To avoid having the AI constantly start the sentences/paragraphs with a pronoun or a name, I recommend introducing variety into the way you begin the sentences and paragraphs. This document is full of starters, featuring transition words, adverbs, adverbial phrases, etc.

Sentence Starters

Literary Devices - A comprehensive guide to literary devices, techniques, and terms that can enhance your writing. Explanations and examples from such things as “plot” to “Epizeuxis”, this site has it all.

LiteraryDevices

Learning to Write

Resources For Describing Emotion

Resources For Describing Characters

Resources For Describing Physical Things

Miscellaneous

Writing Prompts - Websites that offer creative writing prompts to spark inspiration and overcome writer's block.

Spizzy’s Writing Prompt Generators [Promptinor | Dark Promptinator | Romance Promptinator]

Reddit Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt Generator

BehindTheName - A website that provides the etymology and meaning of names, which can be useful for character development.

BehindTheName

Character Sheet - A Google Doc with detailed template for character development, covering basic info, physical descriptions, personal history, and personality traits. It includes prompts for exploring motivations and character arcs. It’s meant to help with developing rounded characters, or just keeping track of information.

Character Sheet

Image Editing

Here are some places you can go to edit your avatars.

Canva - An online tool for graphic design. The focus is more on design and less image editing. Does the job of basic editing of images. Free version is enough.

Canva

GIMP - A free and open-source image editor that provides advanced image manipulation capabilities similar to Adobe Photoshop. Desktop only.

GIMP

Krita - Another free, open-source painting program. Can be used for image editing. Kind of like Adobe Photoshop. Desktop and Android only.

Krita

Pixlr - A powerful online photo editor that is accessible from any device with internet access.

Pixlr

Procreate - An iOS app for digital painting and image editing. iOS only, and a paid software, no subscriptions.

Procreate

[ciayaq]

Creating: RPGs

So you want to learn how to make an RPG? Well, you have come to the right place.

Creating an RPG (role-playing game) on Character.AI is quite straightforward, but does require a bit of structure and planning. But don’t be scared off, it is very simple. Our biggest issue will be the lack of definition space.

To accompany this mini-guide, I have made an RPG Example bot, titled Fennel’s Forest Adventures. It is very simple, but its purpose is to serve as nothing but a showcase of function. Settings are open.

Guide continues under the READ MORE.

Key Considerations:

Genre & Storyline: Define the world and plot. 

What story are you telling? Is there a plot to follow, a quest we must go on or a problem to solve? Is the RPG just a setting, like a futuristic city?

Characters: Identify key roles.

Think about the characters in your RPG. Will there be narrators, supporting characters, quest givers, or villains? What are their roles in the story?

Choices & Branches: Plan decision points and outcomes.

RPGs are all about choices. What kind of choices will players have? Will they choose different paths, dialogue options, or actions that lead to different outcomes?

Functionality: Consider inventory systems, health points, stats.

How will your RPG work? Will there be an inventory system, health points (HP), stats, or other interactive elements?

Formatting: Ensure clear presentation of messages.

Visually, how will the messages in your RPG be presented?

Before you begin, think about what information takes priority.

We only have 3200 characters in the definition, along with the 500 in the description. That is only 3700 characters total for permanent memory. Is there some information we have let the greeting handle, such as world building or plot explanation?

Greeting

The greeting is the first interaction a user has with your RPG, and it sets the tone for the entire experience. It's where you introduce the world, the characters, and the plot. 

It's also an opportunity to establish the rules of the game, the character's abilities, and the choices available to the player. 

For RPGs, the greeting can serve several functions:

Setting the Scene: It introduces the world of your RPG, providing essential details about the setting, time period, and atmosphere. It can describe the environment, the characters the user might encounter, and hint at the challenges or conflicts they might face.

Establishing the Plot: The greeting can lay the groundwork for the RPG's storyline. It can introduce the central conflict, the user's role in the story, and the goals they need to achieve.

Character Introduction: If the RPG has a narrator or guide character, the greeting is the perfect place to introduce them. It can showcase their personality, their relationship with the user, and their role in the story.

Instructions and Guidance: For new users, the greeting can provide basic instructions on how to play the RPG. It can explain the mechanics of making choices, interacting with characters, and progressing through the story.

Formatting: Much like the dialogue examples, the greeting can also help set up formatting.

Example: 

Hand poised on the whistle, Tom adjusted his hat, ready to signal the train’s departure. The steam hissed and puffed around him, filling the station with smog. *All aboard...* His thoughts were interrupted by frantic footsteps and hurried shouts. A dishevelled passenger, breathless and wild-eyed, sprinted towards the train. Hmph. The conductor paused, lowering the whistle. "Whoa there! Almost missed it, didn't you?" he called out, a grin tugging at his lips. “Now, show me your ticket. Where are you headed? Frankfurt or Paris?”

With the greeting, you can also create immersion by using different formatting. An example of this can be seen with two of my RPGs Virgil and Micah, respectively.

LINK TO VIRGIL

With Virgil, I open up with highlighted text. I used code block to give the illusion of a screen displaying a message, done by using backticks.

I nudge the user to start the RPG by replying "Yes", in whatever way they'd like to. The code block for some of the dialogue examples in the definition.

LINK TO MICAH

Micah was very much inspired by the mobile game Lifeline. The whole thing takes place through texts and the user needs to help Micah survive being stranded on a desolated ice moon.

Here, I also used the code block to show the connection being established, and I furthered the visuals by imitating text through the use of backticks. The code block for some of the dialogue examples in the definition as well. The definition also has everything Micah says in the highlighted text.

For information on how to do this, head into Formatting & Markdown.

Tagline & Description

There is not much to say about the tagline. I would focus on informing the users what the premise of the Character is. Keep in mind that the tagline is considered in the search system.

Description, much like for any other Character, might be best used to describe the overall plot and function. 

Definition

As you might have expected, most of the work lies in the definition, but outside of dialogue examples, it is also one of the cases where plaintext serves very well, simply because plaintext is more about handing over information than handing over personality.

Now, how you write your definition, along with structuring the dialogue examples and plaintext, is up to you. For the best functionality, I recommend you prioritise dialogue examples.

With Fennel’s Forest Adventure, I try to lay out the entire cycle of the RPG, from start to finish, using dialogue examples, along with a chunk of plaintext on top. You don’t have to write the definition like this, showing the beginning and the end. Instead, you can also start and end in media res, meaning in the middle of things.

Plaintext

Using plaintext, we can hand over a ton of information to the AI and let the dialogue examples serve primarily as the support for formatting and functionality. Plaintext in this case, can serve as a way to give the AI context along with any goals that we might want the user to achieve. In a way, you can see it as directions. Of sorts. 

Example Use:

Context Setting: "The village of Redbrook is nestled in the valley, surrounded by dense forests and towering mountains. The villagers are wary of outsiders."

Character Backstory: "Elara, the village healer, is known for her wisdom and kindness. She has lived in Redbrook all her life, tending to the sick and injured."

Tips:

Avoid Overloading: Too much plaintext can overwhelm the AI. Focus on what’s most relevant.

Top-Load Information: Keep plaintext on-top. If kept at the bottom, the AI will treat it as the last input and go from there. If placed on top, it is there for when it is needed but won’t get referenced directly.

Check for Redundancies: Ensure there’s no repetition in the information provided.

Keep in mind that anything in the definition that is not assigned to a variable, will be treated like it was a message from the user. This means that when we say “You”, without assigning it to “{{char}}:”, the AI treats “You” as referring to {{char}} and not {{user}}. 

Messages from {{user}} have lower priority, this includes plaintext. RPG chats are usually shorter, so it won't matter much.

Dialogue Examples

Here I will try to show you a variety of different ways you can format your dialogue examples for RPGs, but there really isn’t a limit to how you can format them. Note that the more functionality you have, such as a stats table, you will need to show this using dialogue examples.

Before we dive into all the fancy examples, I just want to tell you that an RPG can just as well be crafted using normal dialogue examples. What is important with RPGs is the element of making choices.

RPGs can be created with regular dialogue examples, just emphasise choice-making as that is the entire point of an RPG.

NOTE: With some of these using code blocks, I've had to include them using screenshots, apologies. But you can also find some of these, and more, in my Dialogue Examples collection.

{{user}} vs {{random_user_x}}

When writing dialogue examples, consider using the {{random_user_x}} variable instead of {{user}}. Or rather, to save characters, use one of the variations of {{random_user_x}}, like “-:” or “_:”.

The point is here, that we want to try and avoid the AI continuing the dialogue examples in the definition, or at least try to avoid the AI thinking {{user}} already has gone on this journey before. While not foolproof, and the {{random_user_x}} variable is not without its pitfalls, it might serve us better. That is not to say the AI won’t still assume that {{user}} is {{random_user_x}}.

My recommendation is to test. Start with “_:” in replacement for {{random_user_x}} and see what happens. If you have any questions about this variable, go here.

In the examples I am about to show you, I will be using “{{random_user_1}}”, simply because it is easier to visually keep track of.

Formats with multiple characters

For these two below, you will notice I have included a tiny space before the speaker names. This is done to make sure they are considered a part of the dialogue example from {{char}}.

EXAMPLE 1

{{char}}: *Fennel grins, his orange fur fluffed with excitement. Excellent! The path ahead leads down to a bumbling stream, one known to be filled with treasures of old. This will be an ideal place to begin your journey.*  **Fennel:** Hmm, let's start with the stream. Hope I don't get wet paws!

EXAMPLE 2

{{char}}: **Narrator:** *Welcome to Gigantropis! Mind your head, people have no control over their hovercrafts in these parts.*  **Teenager 1:** Hey loser, watch out!  **Teenager 2:** Haha, what a nerd! **Police Bot:** *Blows whistle.* Halt! Under section 2535569, you are under arrest for public disturbance. 

Choices & Branching Paths

Design the RPG with multiple paths and outcomes. Keep the character limit in mind, again prioritise! You don’t need to show all the possible branches and situations.

EXAMPLE 1

{{random_user_1}}: Should I take the forest path or the mountain trail? {{char}}: The forest path is shorter but filled with treacherous creatures. The mountain trail is longer but safer. The choice is yours, brave adventurer. {{random_user_1}}: I’ll take the mountain trail. {{char}}: Very well. You begin your journey up the rocky slopes, the village of Redbrook slowly disappearing behind you.

EXAMPLE 2

{{char}}: You find a fork in the road. Do you want to: **1. Take the left path through the dark forest.** **2. Take the right path towards the sunny meadow.** {{random_user_1}}: I’ll take the left path through the dark forest. {{char}}: You venture into the dark forest. The trees are thick and the air is filled with the sounds of mysterious creatures. Suddenly, you hear rustling in the bushes. What do you do? **1. Investigate the noise.** **2. Keep walking cautiously.** **3. Run back to the fork in the road.**

EXAMPLE 3

{{random_user_1}}: Do I negotiate with the bandits, fight them, or try to sneak past? {{char}}: *Here are your options.*   - **Negotiate**: Attempt to talk your way out.   - **Fight**: Draw your sword and prepare for battle.   - **Sneak**: Try to avoid them silently. {{random_user_1}}: I choose to negotiate. {{char}}: You approach the bandit leader with caution, offering a share of your gold in exchange for safe passage. The leader eyes you suspiciously but agrees. "We have a deal, traveller."

Combat

EXAMPLE 1

{{char}}: A wild goblin appears, brandishing a rusty dagger! What will you do? 1. Attack with your sword. 2. Cast a spell. 3. Try to talk to the goblin. 4. Run away. {{random_user_1}}: I will attack with my sword. {{char}}: You swing your sword at the goblin, dealing damage. The goblin shrieks in pain but is still standing. It retaliates, slashing at you with its dagger.

EXAMPLE 2

{{random_user_1}}: What are my combat options? {{char}}: You can:   - **Attack**: Deal physical damage to the enemy.   - **Defend**: Reduce incoming damage by half.   - **Use Item**: Use an item from your inventory.   - **Cast Spell**: Use one of your magical abilities {{random_user_1}}: Cast Fireball. {{char}}: You cast Fireball, engulfing the enemy in flames. The enemy is severely wounded but still standing.

Narrator Types

EXAMPLE 1

{{char}}: You arrive at a bustling marketplace. Do you: 1. Visit the blacksmith to upgrade your weapon. 2. Talk to the merchant for new supplies. 3. Explore the shady alley for hidden secrets. {{random_user_1}}: I’ll explore the shady alley. {{char}}: … Are you serious? Okay, fine, not my RPG adventure. But if anything happens to you, I don’t wanna hear it! *As you enter the alley, a cloaked figure approaches you.* “Looking for something special?” *they whisper.* **You can:** 1. Ask about rare items. 2. Attack the cloaked figure. 3. Run back to the marketplace.

EXAMPLE 2

{{random_user_1}}: What happens after I defeat the dragon? {{char}}: *With the dragon slain, the villagers of Greenshire come out of hiding, cheering your name. The village elder approaches you with a grateful smile.* "You have saved us all, brave warrior. Please accept this token of our gratitude," *he says, handing you a beautifully crafted amulet.*

Puzzles

EXAMPLE 1

{{char}}: The door has a strange inscription that reads: *"Speak friend and enter."* What do you do? {{random_user_1}}: I say the word "friend." {{char}}: The door creaks open slowly, revealing a hidden chamber filled with ancient treasures.

Stats

We can use dialogue examples for stats and functions like inventory, hit points, and attributes, adding a fun element to your RPG. However, Character.AI and similar LLMs are not good at maths due to their design.

Remember, everything is made up, even the numbers. Stat counters can be a fun gimmick, but don't expect real functionality. Here are some examples for you to use as you wish.

EXAMPLE 1

{{char}}: Your HP is now 50/100 after the battle. Would you like to rest and recover? {{random_user_1}}: Yes, I will rest. {{char}}: You rest by the campfire, regaining 20 HP. Your current HP is 70/100.

EXAMPLE 2

{{random_user_1}}: What are my stats? {{char}}: Here is a stat sheet! | Attribute | Stat Name | Stat Score | | --- | --- | --- | | Strength | STR | 1/100 | | Vitality | VIT | 55/100 | | Dexterity | DEX | 80/100 | | Intelligence | INT | 78/100 | | Wisdom | WIS | 83/100 | | Charisma | CHA | 60/100 |

Code Blocks

That’s it!

[ciayaq]

Interactions Counter

The interactions counter provides a bit of insight into user engagement with a character, or characters. 

This counter, visible next to a character's name, represents the total number of messages sent to that character by users. Subsequently, the counter on a user’s profile, the one under their avatar, is the number of messages received across all characters.

On the browser site, they are called "Chats". However, on the app, it is referred to as “Interactions”, which is what most people call them.

Understanding the Counter

(Had to stop myself from making a counting joke...)

The counter increments with each message a user sends to the character, including edited messages and deleted messages. 

This means that if you send your character 10 messages, but you edited each message 9 times, the AI would’ve received 100 messages. (1 original message + 9 edits x 10). Each edit is counted as a separate interaction, provided you prompt a reply from the AI between these edits.

If you send a message and edit it 9 times but don’t prompt for a reply by swiping the generated replies between each edit, it won’t count. The edited message needs to be processed before it counts. This is something I have tested. This should also extend to deleted messages, provided they live up to the same requirements, as an edited message is just a new message that replaces a deleted one.

Counter Updates

How: The number displayed will only appear on the user’s profile once it reaches a certain threshold, usually around 300 to 500 interactions.

However, there are instances where characters with fewer chats may still display an updated count after some delay. But in these cases, we’re looking at weeks, if not months.

When: On the user profile, the counter updates daily. The exact time of this update varies depending on your time zone. For instance, in UTC+1, the update typically occurs between 1-4 am. It does look like there is some sort of requirement for the counter to update on the profile, provided you already have reached the minimum amount of interactions received for the number to even show up.

Search

In the search results, it works a bit differently. On the legacy site, old.character.ai, the system updates the counter either usually every few hours, if not every hour. There also isn’t a minimum requirement for the interactions to show.

NOTE: At the time of writing, the search systems on the new site and on the app have been frozen since early May. Use the search system on the legacy site only.

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Persona Update

There has been an update to the Persona feature, at least how the AI handles the Persona. One of the things is where the Persona sits in the priority order. You can read a bit more here.

I have updated the Persona section, since this update has also changed how we prompt the AI for stuff regarding the Persona feature, like with Helper Bots.

UPDATE:

I have added more to the Persona section. I also now dive into Persona writing and negative AI bias, when dealing with descriptors such as body types, skin colours, disabilities, and so on. :)

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just wanna say thank you for making this account 😭😭 i literally had no idea how to use CAI properly but you saved me! you're amazing <3

Happy to hear that! I've got more stuff coming in the next few days, hopefully! <3

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Tokens

A word that often comes up when talking about AI, is “tokens”. 

Tokens are a specified set of data, such as a word, a variable, a phrase, or even just a character. AI can utilise a token to store significant amounts of information in little space, and it is faster to retrieve. Each token is assigned a numerical value called a “token ID”.

When an LLM receives an input (a message), it processes it by breaking it down into these tokens and uses it to generate a reply.

This is called tokenization and it works both during input and output. A variable such as “{{char}}” is 3 tokens and 8 characters. Some words are broken down into more tokens, the word “musical” is broken down into [mus][ical] - how text is tokenized differs from model to model.

Take a sentence such as “I like music.” For the LLM, it looks like this: [I][ like][ music][ .]

The AI understands that the token [I] refers to the user, [like] is a verb that expresses a positive sentiment, [music] is the object which the sentiment is about, and [.] is a grammatical period. The AI then uses its data to analyse this information and predict a response that makes sense in the context of the conversation. In this case, it knows that the token [music] is a topic that includes a lot of sub-genres, like artists, composition, and events.

Depending on the LLM, it predicts a list of replies. For example:

“What type of music do you like?” “I like music too.” “Do you play any instruments?” “Nice! Have you been to any concerts?”

The AI then picks the reply that would be most engaging and appropriate in the context of the conversation. A very important aspect that influences the AI’s behaviour and generations is something called Temperature, which is creativity, or randomness. It is important to find a balance when adjusting the temperature during training. Temperature is a type of parameter.

A higher temperature will result in the AI more often picking less probable tokens, which can enhance creativity but also increase chaos and reduce contextual relevance.

On the other hand, a lower temperature will result in the AI choosing the most probable tokens, making responses safer and more predictable, but potentially less engaging.

Looking at the example above, a lower temperature AI would’ve picked “I like music too.” but a higher temperature model might’ve chosen “Nice! Have you been to any concerts?”

It’s important to note that processing input and generating output both “cost” tokens, which is relevant in models where usage is token-based.

Every character and accompanied chat on the site has a token limit assigned to it, which is believed to be around 3000-4000. If you wish to mess around with counting tokens, you can try this site [OpenAI’s Tokenizer], just keep in mind that the value of tokens changes between models and we don’t know if Character AI uses the same values as OpenAI.

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VI.i. How To Avoid "Can I ask you a question?"

Here I'll give you a few tips on how to mitigate the dreaded CIAYAQ in your definition. If you need to go back to the original post, here is a link.

Writing / Phrasing Solutions

Sentence Hooks: The AI works by predicting the next word in any given sentence, so a way we can create interesting replies is by beginning the sentences in an interesting manner. 

“Now and then…”

“On the other hand…”

“Likewise…”

“As a matter of fact…”

“Even so…”

I have an entire document full of sentence starters just for this purpose, which you can find right here.

Engaging But Without Questions: Write examples where the character engages with the context without questions. Encourage the character (AI) to respond in a way that does not involve asking a question, yet it still serves to continue the conversation while remaining relevant.

{{user}}: I like music. {{char}}: Actually that reminds me, I went to see Architects back in January and it was SUCH a blast!

Varied Question Styles: Consider how you phrase the character’s question in the definition. Keep them relevant to the way your character would speak.

“What are your thoughts on…?”

“Hold up, did you mean…?”

“Tell me about that time…”

“I’d love to hear your opinion on…?”

“Have you ever considered…?”

“Hmm, I’ve been wondering…”

Redirects: Have the AI redirect the scene by introducing a problem or an unexpected twist.

Statements & Statements leading to questions:

“That raises an interesting point, but now I wonder…”

Observations & Implied Questions: Examples of the AI sharing its thoughts, experiences, observations, and opinions without framing them as questions.

“I can't help but wonder what's going through your mind right now.” 

“I noticed that you seem drawn to the ocean.”

“That book you're reading looks interesting.”

Narration

Using narration, include things such as non-verbal cues—body language, surrounding narration, etc.—to indicate a question.

Body language:

The character pausing in their actions / sentence

That made him halt in his tracks. “Can you swallow the shame?”

Tilting / canting their head

With a simple tilt of the head, Sam said nothing for a moment. “I’ve been left no choice, don’t you see that?”

Pivoting / Turning

Turning on his heel, he looked them dead-on. “So, what would you do for me?”

Raising an eyebrow

In response, Sam arched a single brow. “Why don’t you just say what you wanted to say?”

Frowning

Looking like he just ate a lemon, Sam frowned. “What would your mother say?”

Opening / Widening / Narrowing eyes

His eyes shot open. “Is that all I am?”

Scene Narration:

“There was silence between…”

Inner-monologues: Include examples of characters reflecting on their experiences, feelings, and current scene / environment. (Can also be found in the Sentence Starters document.)

"There he stood, fingers fiddling with the silver chain around his neck as a witty retort he'd crafted crumbled on his tongue like overcooked pastry. Mountain. Molehill."

Character-Related Solutions

Character relevancy: Provide examples of characters asking questions that are relevant to their personality, interests, life, or the situation.

{{user}}: “You look pensive,” she pointed out. {{char}}: {{user}} was quite right about that. Something didn’t add up here but he couldn’t quite put a finger on what. “Something is off. What do you think?”

Leverage / show the character’s traits: In this example below, he isn’t asking if the character is alright because he is too busy freaking out. Now he might do so in the chat but an “Are you okay?!” would be contextually relevant.

{{user}}: Ouch! I stubbed my toe. {{char}}: “Oh goodness,” he gasped, leaping to his feet. “Your toe! Oh my, you must be in agony! I shall call the finest doctor. We must take immediate action!” It was probably that blasted coffee table, oh he knew that piece of garbage should’ve been taken to the bin ages ago!

Emphasise the character’s role in the narrative: Create examples where the character takes in the new information and uses it to advance the plot / scene.

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Understanding Character AI

Character AI is powered by a type of artificial intelligence called a Large Language Model (LLM). These models are trained on massive amounts of data and then fine-tuned for specific tasks. LLMs are used in many applications, from healthcare to AI assistants, and they rely on something called Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques in order to understand and generate human language. 

What is NLP?

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a field of artificial intelligence that focuses on the interaction between computers and human language. Developing algorithms and models that make it possible for machines to understand, analyse and interpret, and generate human language. It acts as the bridge between human communication and machine understanding, and is absolutely crucial for things such as translating language and conversational AI.

NLP is the part that processes natural (i.e human) language. 

What is an LLM?

A Large Language Model (LLM) is a type of AI that has been trained on a vast amount of text data, referred to as corpus data. Training involves adjusting the model's parameters, which is the part that guides the AI’s word prediction during generation. Parameters are responsible for the AI paying more attention to certain words or phrases in text, by creating biases and instructing it what sort of information to pay attention to.

This training makes it possible for the model to generate text, translate, and write different kinds of creative content. An LLM uses NLP methods in order to process and generate human language, both in text and voice.

How does it work?

Imagine teaching a robot with no prior knowledge. You provide it with books, articles, and scripts, instructing it to specialise in a specific area, like recipes. When you ask the robot for a brownie recipe, it doesn't simply repeat the information it has learned. Instead, it uses that information to generate a new response by predicting the next word in a sentence. It considers the topic, your input, and how you phrase your requests.

Character AI operates similarly. It constantly predicts the next word in a sentence, using its training data, the character's definition, description, tagline, the user’s persona, and the ongoing conversation and its context.

There are different types of language models, who all function differently. The one used on Character AI is a neural language model, which is modelled after the human brain, using a system of neural networks to constantly predict the next word. This is what makes the AI coherent and able to generate text that is relevant to the context.

Limitations: Everything The Characters Say Is Made Up!

It’s so important to remember that LLMs, including Character AI, are not perfect. 

They can and will generate inaccurate or biassed responses. Think back to the recipe robot. It might suggest using 23 eggs in a brownie recipe because it doesn't truly understand baking, it's just very good at predicting text. It knows what a recipe looks like, but that’s the extent.

AI have no personal experiences or emotions, and don't have beliefs or opinions. Everything it says is based on analysing the patterns of the conversation and the data it was trained on. AI doesn’t actually understand what it is saying or the meaning of the words it’s using. It’s all pattern recognition. 

So when the AI on Character AI tells you that you can continue the conversation in the DMs, or perhaps to go find a specific setting or website, remember it is all still made up and has no root in factual information.

Take everything the AI says with a gram of salt.

Facts & Fiction

There are many misconceptions about Character AI. Let's clarify some key points:

Can creators see the users' chats? No.  The character I’m talking to says they’re actually a real human. Is this true? No. No matter what the character says, it is still AI. It’s all made up. How does the AI know things about me I haven't shared? It's making educated guesses based on patterns in language. All made up. Does the AI have access to the internet? Can I send links? Not at the time of writing, no. There are models out there that can open links and access the internet (Google’s Gemini Advanced and OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 come to mind), but this doesn’t apply to the model on Character AI. If it seems to know information from a link you provide, it's because it picked up on keywords in the link itself.

[ciayaq]

Contact & Socials

If you need help, got feedback or questions, then feel free to contact me at any time. You're very welcome to send me a DM through tumblr.

I can't say how quickly I will get back to you. If you need more immediate help, I suggest checking out r/CharacterAI_Guides

[ciayaq]

Search Bans & Shadow Bans

A/N: I am actively working on this section, though it is almost finished. I am missing information on the reversible bans and until it is finished, I urge you to go here for better information on reversible bans.

In this section, I will try to walk you through the various bans, why they happen, along with steps you can take to solve them.

Character.AI uses an automated system to moderate content and enforce its Terms of Service. If a Character triggers this system, it can result in a ban. There are several types of bans, each with different characteristics and potential solutions.

Ban Types

At the time of writing, we know of four different types of bans:

Search ban - The character doesn’t appear in any search results, but it remains visible on the profile. The number of likes is still visible. Culprit is often found in the greeting. Reversible.

Shadow-ban - Character won't show up in search results, and others won't see it on your profile. The number of likes is not visible. The culprit is nearly always found in the definition. Permanent.

There are two types of shadow bans:

Soft Shadow Ban: Others can still access your character through a direct link.

Hard Shadow Ban: Only the creator can access the character. Others will see a "This character is not available" message if they try to use the link.

Reversible Ban - Your character is invisible to everyone except you and doesn't appear in search results, but the number of likes is still visible. It looks like a hard shadow ban but is reversible. The culprit can be found in the name, tagline, description, and greeting. Definitions aren’t ruled out, yet.

Ultimate ban - Not accessible by anyone, including the creator. Incredibly rare. Permanent.

I will only be talking about the first four as the last one rarely happens.

Troubleshooting Bans

For creators, staying informed is crucial. 

Without a warning system, it can be overwhelming to even determine if there's a problem, let alone find solutions. The absence of an alert mechanism makes it challenging to address and resolve potential issues effectively.

A Crucial First Step: The ‘Likeability’ Test

The first and by far easiest step is to utilise the Like counter on the Character in the chat window. 

The visibility of a Character to the public appears to determine whether the number of likes is displayed. We see this with Characters who are unlisted, as well as with Characters who are shadow-banned.

Once the Character is set to public, or between updates, go into the chat and press the ‘Like’ button. If a number shows up, the Character is in the clear. If no number appears, the Character is not visible to the public and won’t appear on the creator’s profile. Either the Character is unlisted or it is shadow-banned.

Checking & Fixing: Search Bans

For the sake of clarity, we refer to Characters who are missing solely from the search results as a ‘search ban’. 

A search ban occurs when your Character doesn't appear in any search results, even though it remains visible on your profile and the number of likes is still displayed. Often, this stems from content in the Character’s greeting, but taglines and descriptions have been known to be the root as well.

A way to look at it is that search bans stem from the text areas that can be seen by the public, no matter the settings. Only the definition is ever truly hidden, whereas the description isn’t. 

True search bans are reversible.

What gets a Character search banned?

As I mentioned, search bans are usually triggered by certain words in the Character's greeting, tagline, or description.

What you need to look out for:

Profanity & Cursing: Profanity and cursing will certainly result in a search ban.

Anything NSFW: This includes euphemisms or other coded language.

Slurs: Using slurs will lead to a search ban. Watch out for words with double meanings, such as slang. It’s also worth mentioning that this system is more sensitive to American-centric words.

Copyright Infringement: Anything that could reference copyrighted material. An example of this is “snow white”.

What gets a Character search banned will not necessarily get a Character shadow banned, meaning what won’t pass in the greeting, tagline, or description might pass in the definition. This is due to the search bans being about words and not the context.

Words or phrases with innocent intentions can sometimes have unintended double meanings. An example is the phrase "Maine Coon," which might be flagged due to the word "Coon," despite the context.

How to Check if Your Character is Search Banned

IMPORTANT! At the moment, the search systems on the new website (character.ai) and the app are currently broken and cannot be used for this method! Use old.character.ai for anything regarding the search system!

Visit the Character.AI website.

Search for the Character: In the search bar, enter the Character's name and include the tagline. Press enter to perform the search.

Evaluate the Search Results:

If the Character appears in the search results, there is no issue.

If the Character does not appear but is still visible on your profile, it is likely search banned.

Why include the tagline? Taglines are considered in the search results. Simply searching for the Character’s name might give a false negative by not showing the full result. By including the tagline, we’re ensuring the result is accurate.

Remember! Give the site a moment to update the search system. If you post a Character and immediately go to check for a search ban, you will end up with a false negative. Sometimes, the system needs up to an hour to truly update.

Fixing a Search Ban

Since search bans are often caused by problematic content in the greeting, that is where I recommend you start. Note that sometimes the Character may appear immediately, but changes usually take exactly one hour to apply, so you might need to wait before checking.

I recommend creating a secondary testing account, they’re generally useful, but in the case of search bans, we can save a lot of time by using several public Characters to test different sections at once.

Initial Quick Check:

Review the Character's name, tagline, description, and greeting for any content that could potentially raise concerns.

If any problematic content is found, remove it and perform another search.

If no apparent issues are detected during the initial review, proceed to the next step.

Removing sections: Systematically remove each of the text areas.

Start by removing the greeting from the Character Creation page. Save and wait, then check the search results. 

If the Character still does not show after removing the greeting, place the greeting back in, and proceed with the description, the tagline, and lastly the name, saving and checking between each step. Remember that several sections can have issues at once! Once the section(s) where the issue is identified, proceed to step three.

Clean Up and Restore:

Once you identify the problematic part, revise it to remove any content that might trigger the ban. The easiest way to do this is with the 50/50 method, which I explain down below. Restore the cleaned-up part and check the search results again to ensure the character is no longer banned.

Checking & Fixing: Shadow Bans

Shadow bans are a frustrating but not uncommon occurrence. It means the Character is hidden from public view and at the time of writing, this is permanent.

There are two types of shadow bans:

Soft Shadow Ban: Others can still access the Character through a direct link.

Hard Shadow Ban: Only the creator can access the Character. Others will see a "This Character is not available" message if they try to use the link.

Which one depends on what caused the shadow ban in the first place. A ‘soft shadow ban’ is the one seen the most often.

Why Did I Get Shadow Banned?

What causes a shadow ban can be harder to narrow down because the root is more about the context of any given text and less about the word. Therefore, it's important to note that shadow bans can be triggered by content that seems like it could violate the guidelines, even if it's not intended to. 

The AI moderation system isn't perfect, and sometimes it can be overly cautious.

How to Check if Your Character is Shadow Banned

There are a few ways to check if your character has been shadow banned:

Like Button: If the Character is set to public and the like button doesn't show a number when pressed, it's likely shadow-banned.

Profile Check: Open your profile from another account or incognito mode. If you can't see the Character, it's shadowbanned.

Ask a Friend: Have someone else try to access your character through a direct link. If they get a "This character is not available" message, it's shadow-banned.

Can I Fix a Shadow Ban?

Unfortunately, shadow bans are permanent and cannot be reversed on the same Character. However, you can try to recreate the character with clean content that adheres to the guidelines.

As they are permanent, and we can’t delete Characters, it is recommended to create a secondary account, one meant for testing. 

Recreating The Character

Create a New Character: Start with a fresh slate on your profile.

Transfer Content Carefully: Gradually add parts of your banned character's content to the new one, starting with the least problematic elements (like the name and tagline).

Test Frequently: After each addition, save the changes and check if the new character is still accessible to others.

Identify the Culprit: If the new character gets shadow-banned, you'll know the last piece of content you added is the likely cause. Remove or revise it.

50/50 Method

The 50/50 method is a simple but effective technique used to narrow down something, like the cause of an issue in text. It works by repeatedly dividing the text in half and testing each half to see if the issue still occurs.

Here’s what to do:

Start by dividing the text in half.

Test each half to see if the issue still occurs.

If the issue still occurs in one half, repeat steps 1 and 2 with that half.

If the issue does not occur in one half, you know that the issue is in the other half.

Repeat steps 1-4 until you have narrowed down the issue.

[ciayaq]

A quick touch on shadow-bans: an easier testing method?

Usually, the way you check if a bot is shadow-banned is to look at your profile from another account (or get another user to look)

But, now it looks like you can check it super quickly but just to test the like counter. Both of these characters have been set to public, the only difference is that Tester is shadow-banned, whereas the Jack Wyatt bot is one I made earlier today and is a WIP character.

It appears that the number of likes only shows up if the bot is viewable by the public and this extends to shadow bans.

I believe this is a new change, like within the last week.

[ciayaq]

How-To: Helper Bots

Making a helper bot is one of the easiest bots to make.

All that is needed is providing the AI with examples of the user requesting something and the AI providing it. The trick comes from giving the AI enough variety to know what to do in any given situation.

DEFINITION

*Note how I am not using the variable {{random_user_x}}, the {{user}} variable will do just fine.

EXAMPLES

Example One

{{user}}: Pick a colour

{{char}}: Blue.

Example Two

{{user}}: Rewrite this sentence - “I love oranges”.

{{char}}: “Oh wow, oranges are great!”

So let’s take example one. We need to provide enough examples of the AI responding with different colours, otherwise, we will run into the AI just saying “blue” - which we don’t want, of course. So let us give the AI more examples.

{{user}}: Can I get a colour?

{{char}}: Lilac.

{{user}}: Colour

{{char}}: Orange.

{{user}}: colour thanks

{{char}}: Grass green.

{{user}}: i need a color but i want it to be cool-toned :))

{{char}}: Aquamarine.

Knowing this, we can create whatever sort of Helper Bot that we might need, the complexity is up to you. In the example above, I even added in the user requesting something specific.

DESCRIPTION

The description for these should focus on describing what the bot can do. In the case of a Colour Picker Bot, the description could be something like this

"I am capable of generating a random colour based on user request."

With the more complex bots, I recommend you write the description in the same tone and format as the helper bot.

Example from my Dialogue Example Maker

Example from my British Lingo Bot

TAGLINE

In these bots, the tagline doesn't really matter for the AI and should be used to make the purpose of the bot clearer to the user.

Here is a link to a post where you can find my Helper Bots.

All my Helper Bots have open settings so you can look at see how I wrote them.