Dialogue Nodes

Dialogue nodes are the most common node type. They represent what a character says and optionally what the player can respond. Each dialogue node can be as simple as a single line of text or as rich as a fully configured screenplay-style beat with speaker, stage directions, audio, and branching responses.

Writing dialogue

Select a dialogue node to open the side panel. You will find the following fields:

• Speaker – link to a character sheet from your project. The character’s name and avatar appear on the node in the canvas, and the speaker context is used for localization extraction and screenplay export.
• Text – the dialogue line itself. This is a rich text field with formatting (bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, links). Supports character mention variables for dynamic text.
• Stage Directions – optional acting or staging notes that accompany the line (e.g., “sighs heavily”, “turns to face the window”). These appear in screenplay exports.
• Menu Text – a shorter version of the line for choice menus, used when the full dialogue text is too long to display as a player option.

Screenplay editor

Double-click a dialogue node (or click the settings button in the toolbar) to open the screenplay editor – a full-screen writing mode that shows all dialogue fields in a focused layout. This is the fastest way to write and edit dialogue content without the distraction of the canvas.

Audio and technical fields

• Audio – attach an audio asset for voiceover. When an audio file is linked, an audio indicator icon appears on the node in the canvas.
• Technical ID – a unique identifier for engine integration. Click the generate button in the toolbar to auto-generate one based on the flow shortcut, speaker name, and node position (e.g., tavern_quest_bartender_3). You can also type a custom ID.
• Localization ID – auto-generated when the node is created. Used by the localization system to track and extract translatable text.

Image override

If the speaker’s character sheet has a gallery with images, an image picker appears in the toolbar. You can select an image to override the default speaker portrait for this specific dialogue line – useful for showing different expressions or poses.

Player responses

A dialogue node can have multiple responses – the choices a player makes. Each response gets its own text and its own output pin on the node, so you can connect different responses to different paths in the flow.

Click Add response to create a new response. The order you define them is the order they appear in the Story Player.

When a dialogue node has no responses, it acts as a simple line of dialogue with a single output pin. The first time you add a response, the existing output connection is automatically migrated to the new response pin.

Response conditions

Each response can have a condition that must be true for it to appear as a valid choice. Conditions are defined using the same visual Condition Builder used by condition nodes.

Example: “[Strength > 15] Break down the door” If the player’s strength is 15 or less, this option does not appear (in Player mode) or appears greyed out with a strikethrough (in Analysis mode).

A condition indicator appears on the response in the canvas, so you can see at a glance which responses have conditions attached.

Response instructions

Each response can also carry instructions that modify variables when that response is chosen. These use the same Instruction Builder as instruction nodes, supporting all operations: Set, Add, Subtract, Toggle, Set true/false, and Clear.

Example: Player picks “Accept the quest” -> sets quest.tavern.accepted to true

This keeps simple logic close to the dialogue without needing a separate instruction node after each response branch. For complex cases with multiple variable changes or shared logic, use a dedicated instruction node instead.

Speaker assignment

Linking a dialogue node to a character sheet provides several benefits:

• The character’s name and avatar appear on the node in the canvas, making it easy to identify who is speaking at a glance
• Localization extraction includes speaker context, so translators know which character is speaking
• Screenplay export correctly attributes lines to characters
• Technical ID generation includes the speaker name for meaningful identifiers
• You can track which characters appear in which flows across your project

To assign a speaker, select a sheet from the speaker dropdown in the side panel or toolbar. Any sheet in your project can be used as a speaker – character sheets, NPC sheets, or any entity you want to associate with dialogue.

Quick playback

Click the Play button in the dialogue node’s toolbar to start the Story Player from that specific node. This lets you quickly preview how a dialogue exchange plays out without having to navigate from the Entry node.