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storytelling-tools skill

/skills/storytelling-tools

This skill helps you capture, organize, and share stories within the system using notebooks, letters, photo prompts, and README narratives.

npx playbooks add skill simhacker/moollm --skill storytelling-tools

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (5)
SKILL.md
4.8 KB
---
name: storytelling-tools
description: "Build narrative capture and sharing into the system."
license: MIT
tier: 1
allowed-tools:
  - read_file
  - write_file
related: [card, visualizer, session-log, hero-story]
tags: [moollm, narrative, sharing, capture, moments]
---

# Storytelling Tools

**Build narrative capture and sharing into the system.**

---

## What Are Storytelling Tools?

The Sims didn't just let you play — it let you **tell stories**.

- **Family Album** — Capture screenshots with captions
- **The Sims Exchange** — Upload and download stories, families, save files
- **SimShow** — Record movies of your Sims
- **Create-a-Sim** — Model yourself and your family

The game became a platform for self-expression. Storytelling wasn't an afterthought — it was **infrastructure**.

---

## MOOLLM Storytelling Tools

| Tool | Purpose | Files |
|------|---------|-------|
| **Notebook** | Collect cards, letters, photos, memories | `notebook.yml` |
| **Letters** | Two-way communication with characters | `letter-to-*.yml` |
| **Photo Prompts** | AI-generated scene visualization | `*-photo-*.yml` |
| **README** | GitHub-publishable narrative format | `README.md` |
| **Cards** | Mintable artifacts capturing moments | `*-card.yml` |

---

## The Notebook

A portable container for memories, carried in inventory:

```yaml
notebook:
  name: "Adventure Journal"
  type: container
  
  pages:
    - type: letter
      from: "Mother"
      about: "Setting out on the quest"
      
    - type: card  
      name: "The Lamp Song"
      created_in: "start/"
      
    - type: photo_series
      title: "Victory at the Treasury"
      prompts: 8
      
    - type: recipe
      name: "Klingon Victory Hors D'oeuvres"
      ingredients: ["blue cheese", "grue"]
```

---

## Letters

Two-way communication between player and world:

```yaml
letter:
  from: "Captain Ashford"
  to: "Mother"
  
  content: |
    Dear Mother,
    
    I found the treasure! Also I killed a grue with cheese.
    You won't believe how it happened...
    
  attachments:
    - photos/victory-selfie-1.yml
    - recipes/grue-hors-doeuvres.yml
    - inventory: 1 gold coin
    
  promises_made:
    - "Return home safely"
    - "Not waste food"
    - "Write often"
```

Promises become **goals**. Goals drive **narrative**.

---

## Photo Prompts

AI-generated visualizations capture moments:

```yaml
photo_prompt:
  title: "Victory Selfie with Chalice"
  
  scene:
    location: "Treasury"
    lighting: "Golden glow from treasure piles"
    
  subject:
    character: "Captain Ashford"
    expression: "Triumphant grin"
    pose: "Holding chalice aloft"
    costume: "Battle-worn waistcoat, matching cape"
    
  style: "Rembrandt lighting, oil painting texture"
  
  references:
    - chalice.yml  # For consistent details
    - costume.yml  # For matching description
```

**Key insight:** Photos reference other objects for **coherence**. The chalice in the selfie should match the chalice description.

---

## README as Narrative

Every directory can tell its story:

```markdown
# The Adventure of Captain Ashford

## Chapter 1: A Letter from Mother

I woke up. I remembered who I was...

## Chapter 2: Into the Maze

Armed with lamp and lunch, I ventured forth...

## Artifacts Created

- [lamp-song.yml](./start/lamp-song.yml) — A song about my faithful lamp
- [victory-photos/](./end/victory-photos/) — The moment of triumph
```

**GitHub renders this beautifully.** The README IS the narrative.

---

## Sharing and Remixing

Fork the adventure. Change the story.

```bash
# Clone someone's adventure
cp -r adventure-2/ adventure-3/

# Reset for new protagonist
# Edit player.yml, clear markers, keep world
```

Every adventure is **forkable**. Every story is **shareable**.

---

## The STORYTELLING-TOOLS Protocol

From [PROTOCOLS.yml](../../PROTOCOLS.yml):

```yaml
STORYTELLING-TOOLS:
  meaning: "Build narrative capture and sharing into the system."
  origin: "The Sims — Family Album, The Sims Exchange"
  
  in_moollm:
    notebook: "Cards capture moments and artifacts"
    letters: "Communication between characters and player"
    photo_prompts: "AI-generated scene visualization"
    readme: "GitHub-publishable narrative format"
    sharing: "Fork and remix adventures"
```

---

## Dovetails With

- [card/](../card/) — Mintable artifacts
- [soul-chat/](../soul-chat/) — Character conversations
- [session-log/](../session-log/) — Append-only history
- [memory-palace/](../memory-palace/) — Spatial organization
- [procedural-rhetoric/](../procedural-rhetoric/) — Story as persuasion

---

## The Insight

> *"The game became a platform for self-expression."*
> *"Storytelling wasn't an afterthought — it was infrastructure."*

Your adventure is not just played. It's **told**, **captured**, **shared**, **remixed**.

The README on GitHub is the Family Album. The fork is the Exchange.

Overview

This skill builds narrative capture and sharing into a system so players and creators can record, organize, and remix stories. It provides portable notebooks, two-way letters, AI photo prompts, markdown READMEs as narratives, and a protocol for sharing. The tools treat storytelling as infrastructure, not an afterthought.

How this skill works

It models narrative artifacts as structured files: notebooks collect pages (letters, cards, photos, recipes), letters encode two-way communications and goals, and photo prompts describe scenes for AI visualization. READMEs act as human-readable story indexes and directories are forkable to enable sharing and remixing. References between artifacts keep visual and narrative details coherent.

When to use it

  • Capture in-game moments, scenes, and artifacts for later retrieval
  • Design character relationships and drive goals via letters and promises
  • Generate consistent AI visuals tied to in-world objects
  • Publish a playable story directory that reads well on GitHub
  • Share or fork adventures to remix other creators' narratives

Best practices

  • Keep narrative artifacts small and composable (cards, letters, photos) for easy reuse
  • Reference canonical object files (chalice.yml, costume.yml) to maintain consistency across visuals
  • Use README as the narrative index so directories communicate the story without custom tooling
  • Encode promises in letters as explicit goals to link narrative to gameplay
  • Organize notebook pages by chronology or theme to make memory retrieval simple

Example use cases

  • Player journals: an Adventure Journal that collects photos, recipes, and letters from a campaign
  • NPC correspondence: letters that create quests by turning promises into goals
  • Visual assets: photo prompts that generate consistent character portraits and scene shots
  • Community sharing: publish a story folder with README so others can fork and continue the tale
  • Mintable artifacts: cards that capture moments and become tradeable or collectible

FAQ

How do letters turn into gameplay goals?

Promises listed in a letter are treated as goal statements; systems can surface them to quest trackers or achievement systems.

Can photo prompts ensure visual consistency?

Yes. Photo prompts reference object files (costume, chalice, props) so generated visuals remain coherent with existing artifact descriptions.