Write AI roleplay choices with different consequences
Write what each choice gains, what it costs and what will still be true after the scene moves on. If every option leads to the same events and commitments, give the options different consequences before playing them. The choice board below plans a community-radio program after its booked guest is delayed. It gives you a ready-to-use decision, two played paths and a later scene where those paths meet without losing their differences. Keep the board manually. The AI portrays the situation through ordinary scene and OOC messages, and you decide your character's action. The board does not execute branches or save story state automatically.
Updated by the tempteo editorial team
The writing examples below are invented. They illustrate the advice and are not recorded chat results.
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Set one problem with several competing commitments
You play host Jules at community station North Quay Radio. The AI portrays producer Mina, local guest Dev and caller Pat when needed. At 17:58, the booked guest, ferry historian Alba, reports that her connection will not be ready until 18:12. Her twelve-minute interview slot begins at 18:00. The fixed town bulletin starts at 18:15.
The station has a twelve-minute harbor-history archive recording available for reuse. Dev is at the station and can discuss tonight's volunteer clean-up. Pat is waiting on the phone with an unscheduled question about the harbor. The scheduled live Alba interview cannot happen in its original slot because she is not connected. That unavailable option stays unavailable.
There is only one unassigned twelve-minute slot on Saturday's program. Mina can reserve it, but Jules must choose whose follow-up to promise. The next scenes should honor those commitments rather than letting everyone claim the same slot.
Writing with ink introduces branching dialogue and ways to join passages. Use it as related interactive-writing guidance; this board tracks the story's consequences by hand.
Fill the choice and consequence board
The three main options can all reach the bulletin at 18:15. They differ in what fills the preceding slot and what the station owes afterward.
Blank choice and consequence record
- Choice at 17:58: [ ]
- Gain now: [ ]
- Cost or lost option: [ ]
- State carried forward: [ ]
- Consequence after the bulletin: [ ]
Filled choices at 17:58
Archive path
- Choice at 17:58: Announce the segment as recorded, then play the archive
- Gain now: Twelve minutes of prepared harbor history; Jules and Mina can check notes
- Cost or lost option: Today's promised live questions cannot be asked
- State carried forward: Recording aired; Saturday reserved for Alba's live interview
- Consequence after the bulletin: Jules must collect unanswered questions for Saturday
Dev path
- Choice at 17:58: Invite Dev
- Gain now: A local person speaks live about a current volunteer event
- Cost or lost option: No history segment today; Saturday slot promised to Dev for event results
- State carried forward: Dev's follow-up reserved; Alba has no replacement date yet
- Consequence after the bulletin: Jules must tell Alba her new date is unconfirmed instead of promising the occupied slot
Pat path, planned variant
- Choice at 17:58: Take Pat's caller question
- Gain now: Listeners hear a live harbor question and Jules can explore it
- Cost or lost option: Unscheduled call uses the slot; claims remain unconfirmed within the story
- State carried forward: Jules promises a correction/answer item on Saturday; no guest gets that slot
- Consequence after the bulletin: Next-day review must identify unanswered claims for that item; Alba and Dev remain unbooked
The archive fills the slot because its twelve-minute duration is established. Pat's planned variant uses a harbor-history question.
Add an explicit unavailable row to your note: "Interview Alba live at 18:00: impossible under current state; she is not connected until 18:12." If Jules proposes another workable action, such as a short host-led harbor item, assess its time and commitments rather than forcing the player back into the three labels. The board is preparation for consequences, not a closed menu.
Present the decision without taking it
A scene message can supply the facts and ask the AI to stop at the choice:
OOC scene message
OOC: Community-radio scene. I play host Jules; portray producer Mina, local guest Dev and caller Pat if invited. At 17:58, Alba cannot connect until 18:12; her interview slot is 18:00 to 18:12. The available archive is twelve minutes. Dev is available in the lobby. Pat is waiting with a harbor-history question. Bulletin stays at 18:15. Saturday has only one unassigned twelve-minute slot. Archive path reserves it for Alba; Dev path reserves it for Dev's event follow-up; caller path reserves it for an answer/correction item. These are proposed path consequences, not decisions already made. Leave Jules free to choose or propose another feasible plan. Stop before starting any option. Jules reads Alba's delay message. "Mina, tell me what we can put in that slot and what we'd owe afterward."
Illustrative AI reply
Mina points to the rundown. "The archive fills it, but today's live questions move to Saturday. Dev can speak now if we promise him the results slot. Pat gives us a live question, but we'd need to leave Saturday for an answer item. Alba can't do this slot." Dev waits in the lobby; the phone line is still held. Mina has not started a recording or invited anyone on air.
Mina names the Saturday commitments and waits for Jules to choose. A person can still disagree with the proposed Saturday policy, but changing it requires a stated new plan within the fiction.
Play the archive path over several turns
Your turn as Jules
"Use the archive. Reserve Saturday for Alba. I'll say clearly that this is a recording and ask listeners to send questions for her live interview."
Illustrative AI reply
Mina marks Saturday's open slot with Alba's name and cues the archive for 18:00. "Twelve minutes. We come back at twelve." Dev reads the changed rundown from the doorway. "Then my clean-up announcement isn't going in the talk slot?" He waits for Jules's answer; the AI does not invent an agreement from him.
Your turn as Jules
"Correct. I'll give the event name and public meeting place in the three-minute link at 18:12, if that's enough. I can't offer your results segment on Saturday now." I open the program by labeling the harbor piece as recorded, then introduce it.
Illustrative AI reply
The recording begins at 18:00. Dev nods at the short announcement offer. "Name and meeting place will do tonight." Mina writes that into the 18:12 link. While the piece plays, she places Alba's earlier topic notes beside the question list. The Saturday interview is reserved, not already recorded or completed.
Your turn as Jules
At 18:12, I give the agreed brief clean-up announcement. Alba's connection becomes available. "We're at the end of your old slot. Saturday is reserved for you, but let's check that the time works before I advertise it."
Illustrative AI reply
Alba confirms the proposed Saturday time over the connection. Mina marks it confirmed. Jules has three minutes before the bulletin and does not attempt to squeeze a twelve-minute interview into them. The archive has aired, Dev has had his brief announcement and Alba's live questions remain for Saturday.
Your turn as Jules
"I'll use the remaining link to remind listeners when to send their history questions." At 18:15, I introduce the town bulletin.
Illustrative AI reply
Mina starts the bulletin at the fixed time. On the rundown, the archive is checked off and Saturday's guest line reads Alba. Dev's event-results follow-up has no booking. The program has reached its common bulletin scene with those differences intact.
The archive solved the empty slot and preserved preparation time. It also changed today's promise: a live interview became a labeled recording with questions deferred. The next turn cannot truthfully say Jules interviewed Alba at 18:00.
Play a contrasting local-guest path
In a separate branch from the same 17:58 decision, Jules chooses Dev. Do not paste this as a continuation after the archive aired unless you explicitly ask to explore an alternate version.
Your turn as Jules
"Invite Dev for the twelve-minute slot. Reserve Saturday for his clean-up results. Mina, tell Alba we need to find another interview date. Don't offer her Saturday."
Illustrative AI reply
Mina writes Dev into today's slot and Saturday's follow-up. She sends Alba the scheduling update. Dev comes to the guest microphone. "I can cover the plan and where volunteers should meet. Saturday's useful; we'll know what actually got done." The archive remains unused.
Your turn as Jules
I introduce Dev at 18:00 and ask what volunteers can finish tonight. At 18:12, I thank him and close the interview. "We'll hear the results Saturday. Alba's history interview will have a new date once we agree one."
Illustrative AI reply
Dev leaves the microphone with the follow-up confirmed in the rundown. Alba's connection becomes available, but the slot has ended; she asks Mina to send possible dates tomorrow. Mina keeps her status as unbooked. It is 18:12; she waits for Jules to choose the short link.
Your turn as Jules
I give a short link reminding listeners that Dev returns Saturday and Alba's new date is still unconfirmed. At 18:15, I introduce the town bulletin.
Illustrative AI reply
Mina starts the bulletin at 18:15. Dev's Saturday follow-up remains reserved, Alba remains unbooked and the archive is unused.
This version also fills the show and reaches the same bulletin. It has a live local interview, an unused archive and a different Saturday commitment. Alba's delay is not magically removed, and the station cannot promise her the occupied slot just because all branches have now rejoined.
Make the later shared scene carry the difference
At next morning's planning meeting, both branches can use the same location and opening question: "What do we still owe from last night's program?" The answer changes.
After the archive path, illustrative Mina: "Alba is confirmed for Saturday. These history questions are still unanswered. Dev had the brief announcement, but we haven't booked his results." Jules must prepare Alba's questions and decide whether to find another slot for Dev.
After the Dev path, illustrative Mina: "Dev is confirmed for Saturday. Alba needs possible dates today. We didn't air the archive." Jules must contact Alba within the fictional scene or propose a schedule, while preserving Dev's follow-up.
After the caller path, planned consequence: Saturday belongs to the promised answer/correction item. Jules and Mina must check which harbor claims remain unconfirmed before writing it. Neither Alba nor Dev is booked for that slot. This is the third planned variant; the archive and Dev paths above are the two worked branches.
The shared scene does not need three entirely different settings. A changed obligation, available resource or relationship can make the next decision different even after the story returns to the same room. For related design reading, see Sam Kabo Ashwell's Standard Patterns in Choice-Based Games. The board and worked scenes here are original.
Repair a false choice
A weak response might offer:
Illustrative scene excerpt: Choose archive, Dev or Pat. Whichever you pick, Alba connects at 18:00, gives the same live interview and gets Saturday too. Everyone is pleased.
All labels lead to the same result, and the reply contradicts the delay. Replace the shared reward with the already defined costs:
OOC correction
OOC: Reject Alba connecting at 18:00 and the identical interview in all options. Resume at 17:58 before my decision. Alba is unavailable until 18:12. Archive, Dev and caller paths have different content and different Saturday commitments in our board. Present those differences without selecting a path. I may propose another feasible plan; stop for my choice.
A corrected illustrative reply is:
Illustrative scene excerpt: Mina keeps the recording cued but stopped. "Archive means Alba Saturday. Dev means his results Saturday. Pat means the answer item Saturday. None gets Alba live at six." She leaves the rundown blank until Jules chooses.
An OOC correction does not erase the incorrect reply. If a later scene gives Alba the Dev branch's Saturday slot, point to the accepted reservation and resume the scheduling conversation before the double booking. The continuity guide covers other state contradictions.
Use the opening-prompts guide for an initial decision with a cost; use this board once a choice needs lasting consequences. You can adapt the radio scene for roleplay AI chat. Update the board in your own notes after each accepted choice.
Copy a starter or worksheet
Choose one starter or form to copy. Keep the planning record in your own notes and check the next chat reply against it.
Blank board
- Reader character and exclusive control: [ ] - AI roles: [ ] - Decision time/place: [ ] - Immediate problem: [ ] - Shared later scene: [ ] - Resource or commitment that cannot be promised twice: [ ] - Unavailable option and concrete reason: [ ] Reusable option record - Option: [ ] - Gain: [ ] - Cost / lost opportunity: [ ] - Action reader must choose: [ ] - State carried forward: [ ] - Consequence at shared scene: [ ] - Free-form alternative: [ ] - Feasibility check, duration and new commitment: [ ] - Played path turn record: [ ] - Contrasting path turn record: [ ] - False choice / exact repair: [ ] - Next open reader decision after reconvergence: [ ] Related sources: Writing with ink for branching interactive writing; Standard Patterns in Choice-Based Games as related design reading. These fields and scenes are original editorial material.
Filled North Quay Radio board
Reader: host Jules. AI: producer Mina, local guest Dev and caller Pat; booked guest Alba joins only when available. Decision 17:58 studio. Alba delayed to 18:12, original slot 18:00-18:12, bulletin 18:15. Available archive lasts twelve minutes; Dev available lobby; Pat waiting. One open twelve-minute Saturday slot. Shared scene: next morning planning meeting. Unavailable: live Alba at 18:00, connection not ready. Reusable filled-board fields - Option: [ ] - Gain: [ ] - Cost: [ ] - Reader action: [ ] - Carried state: [ ] - Next morning: [ ] Filled North Quay choices Archive - Option: Archive - Gain: Prepared harbor piece, preparation time - Cost: Live questions deferred - Reader action: Choose archive; announce it as recorded before playback - Carried state: Archive used; Alba Saturday confirmed after 18:12 check; Dev brief announcement only - Next morning: Prepare Alba questions; no Dev results booking Dev - Option: Dev - Gain: Current live local interview - Cost: No history piece; Alba date unresolved - Reader action: Invite Dev and promise results - Carried state: Dev Saturday confirmed; archive unused; Alba unbooked - Next morning: Send Alba possible dates; preserve Dev slot Pat, planned variant - Option: Pat, third planned variant - Gain: Live harbor-history question - Cost: Claims unconfirmed, prepared piece unused - Reader action: Invite caller and promise answer/correction item - Carried state: Saturday answer item; neither guest booked - Next morning: Identify/check claims for item; no assumed guest reservation Free-form alternative allowed: Jules proposes a host-led segment. Before accepting, establish duration, topic and whether Saturday remains unassigned or is promised. Do not force it into a listed branch or erase Alba's delay. Archive played record: Jules chooses archive and reserves Alba; Mina cues and Dev asks; Jules offers brief 18:12 event mention without Saturday and announces that the segment is recorded before playback; archive begins 18:00; at 18:12 Jules gives mention and confirms Alba's Saturday availability; reminders finish link; bulletin 18:15. Next morning questions pending, Dev follow-up unbooked. Dev contrasting record: separate 17:58 branch, Jules invites Dev and reserves Saturday; Mina updates Alba without offering occupied slot; Dev interview 18:00-18:12; Jules promises results and keeps Alba date unconfirmed; AI stops at 18:12; Jules gives the short link and introduces the bulletin at 18:15 before Mina starts it. Next morning Dev reserved, archive unused, Alba needs dates. False choice: every option causes Alba live at 18:00 and same Saturday reward. Repair: reject early connection and identical results; resume before choice with board costs, leave free-form alternative possible. Later repair: reject double booking, preserve accepted Saturday owner, resume before scheduling decision. No correction deletes history or executes saved state.
