Narrative Design

Conditions & Instructions

Branch your narrative with conditions and modify game state with instructions.

Conditions read your variables to make decisions. Instructions write to your variables to change game state. Together, they are how flows interact with your world data – the bridge between narrative and game logic.

A condition node connected to two dialogue branches (True and False outputs)

Condition nodes

A condition node evaluates rules against your project’s variables and routes the flow to different outputs based on the result.

The Condition Builder is a fully visual interface – no code needed. Double-click a condition node (or click the settings button in its toolbar) to open the builder panel. Each rule follows three steps:

Pick a variable – select a sheet and variable (e.g., mc.jaime.health)
Choose an operator – the available operators depend on the variable’s type
Set a value to compare against

Operators by variable type

Different variable types support different comparison operators:

Variable type	Available operators
Number	equals, not equals, greater than, greater than or equal, less than, less than or equal, is not set
Text / Rich text	equals, not equals, contains, starts with, ends with, is empty, is not set
Boolean	is true, is false, is not set
Select	equals, not equals, is not set
Multi-select	contains, does not contain, is empty, is not set
Date	equals, before, after, is not set

Logic groups

Combine multiple rules with All (AND) or Any (OR) logic:

“Match all of the rules: Jaime has more than 50 health AND has the key” Both must be true for the condition to pass.

“Match any of the rules: Player is a Mage OR has the spell scroll” Either one is enough.

You can also group rules into blocks for more complex nested logic. Select multiple rules and click Group selected to combine them into a sub-group with its own AND/OR toggle.

The Condition Builder panel showing grouped rules with AND/OR logic toggles

Output modes

Condition nodes support two output modes, toggled from the toolbar:

Boolean mode (default)

The condition evaluates to True or False. The node has two output pins, and the flow follows whichever one matches. This is the most common setup for simple yes/no branching.

Switch mode

Each rule (or block of rules) creates its own labeled output pin. The flow follows the first matching output. This is useful for multi-way branching – like checking a character’s class with separate outputs for Warrior, Mage, and Rogue.

In switch mode, each condition block gets a label field that becomes the output pin’s name on the canvas. The toolbar shows a split icon when switch mode is active.

A condition node in switch mode with three labeled output pins (Warrior, Mage, Rogue)

Instruction nodes

Instruction nodes modify variables when the flow passes through them. Double-click a node (or click the settings button) to open the Instruction Builder.

Each instruction is a natural language sentence that reads like a command:

Operation	Sentence	Effect	Variable types
Set	Set `mc.jaime` . `health` to `75`	Assigns a value	All types
Add	Add `100` to `mc.jaime` . `gold`	Adds to current value	Number
Subtract	Subtract `25` from `mc.jaime` . `health`	Subtracts from current value	Number
Set true	Set `quest.door` . `unlocked` to true	Sets boolean to true	Boolean
Set false	Set `quest.door` . `unlocked` to false	Sets boolean to false	Boolean
Toggle	Toggle `quest.door` . `unlocked`	Flips boolean value	Boolean
Clear	Clear `mc.jaime` . `notes`	Removes the value	Text, Rich text

A single instruction node can contain multiple assignments that execute in order. Click Add assignment to create a new row.

The Instruction Builder with three assignments: Set health, Add gold, Toggle quest flag

Variable references in instructions

By default, instruction values are literal – you type a number or string directly. But you can switch any value slot to a variable reference, which reads the current value of another variable at execution time.

Example: Set mc.jaime . health to mc.jaime . max_health This copies the value of max_health into health.

Click the toggle icon next to the value input to switch between literal value and variable reference modes.

When to use inline vs. dedicated nodes

Dialogue responses support inline conditions and instructions for simple cases (see the Dialogue Nodes guide). Use dedicated Condition and Instruction nodes when:

The same condition is checked by multiple paths in the flow
The logic involves multiple rules with complex AND/OR grouping
Several variables need to change together as a single logical step
You want the logic to be visible on the canvas for easier debugging and collaboration
You need switch mode for multi-way branching

As a rule of thumb: if the logic belongs to a specific response choice, put it inline. If it belongs to the flow structure, use a node.