arcanea 3.0.0

package/skills/creative/character-forge/SKILL.md

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+---
+name: arcanea-character-forge
+description: Create living, breathing characters using the Arcanean Character System - psychological depth, authentic voice, compelling arcs, and the Character Diamond framework for protagonists, antagonists, and ensemble casts
+version: 2.0.0
+author: Arcanea
+tags: [character, psychology, writing, development, voice, arc]
+triggers:
+  - character
+  - protagonist
+  - antagonist
+  - cast
+  - voice
+  - motivation
+  - backstory
+---
+
+# The Art of Character Forging
+
+> *"Characters are not created. They are discovered - layer by layer, secret by secret, until they surprise even their maker."*
+
+---
+
+## The Character Paradox
+
+The deepest truth about character:
+
+**Characters must feel both inevitable and surprising.**
+
+- Inevitable: Their actions make perfect sense given who they are
+- Surprising: They reveal depths we didn't expect
+
+This paradox is resolved through understanding the Character Diamond.
+
+---
+
+## The Character Diamond
+
+```
+              ╭─────────────╮
+              │    WANT     │
+              │ (conscious  │
+              │   desire)   │
+              ╰──────┬──────╯
+                    ╱╲
+                   ╱  ╲
+        ╭─────────╱    ╲─────────╮
+        │  WOUND ╱      ╲  NEED  │
+        │ (past) ╲      ╱(hidden)│
+        ╰─────────╲    ╱─────────╯
+                   ╲  ╱
+                    ╲╱
+              ╭──────┴──────╮
+              │    MASK     │
+              │ (external   │
+              │  persona)   │
+              ╰─────────────╯
+```
+
+### WANT (Conscious Desire)
+```
+What the character thinks they need to be happy.
+- Must be specific and active
+- Drives the plot
+- Often wrong (mistaking WANT for NEED)
+
+Example: "I want to become the greatest wizard"
+```
+
+### WOUND (Origin of Pain)
+```
+The formative pain that shaped them.
+- Usually from childhood/formative years
+- Creates their worldview and defenses
+- Source of both flaw and strength
+
+Example: "Abandoned by parents who chose magic over family"
+```
+
+### MASK (External Persona)
+```
+How they present to the world.
+- Protection from further hurt
+- Often the opposite of how they feel inside
+- What other characters see first
+
+Example: "Appears arrogant and self-sufficient"
+```
+
+### NEED (Unconscious Requirement)
+```
+What they actually need for fulfillment.
+- Usually don't know they need it
+- Story arc is discovering this
+- Conflict between WANT and NEED creates depth
+
+Example: "Needs to accept that love matters more than achievement"
+```
+
+---
+
+## The Wound Catalog
+
+Common wound patterns (combine and customize):
+
+### Abandonment Wounds
+```
+- Physical abandonment (left behind)
+- Emotional abandonment (present but unavailable)
+- Rejection by community/group
+- Betrayal by trusted person
+```
+
+### Shame Wounds
+```
+- Public humiliation
+- Discovered secret
+- Inherent "wrongness" (born different)
+- Failed to meet expectations
+```
+
+### Trauma Wounds
+```
+- Violence (witnessed or experienced)
+- Loss of safety
+- Helplessness in crisis
+- Survivor's guilt
+```
+
+### Identity Wounds
+```
+- Never knowing true origins
+- Living a lie
+- Being invisible/overlooked
+- Forced into wrong role
+```
+
+---
+
+## The Mask Types
+
+How characters protect themselves:
+
+### The Perfectionist
+```
+WOUND: Criticized, never good enough
+MASK: Excellence shields from rejection
+TELLS: Fear of failure, overwork, control issues
+```
+
+### The Charmer
+```
+WOUND: Unloved or unwanted
+MASK: Likability earns acceptance
+TELLS: Fear of conflict, people-pleasing, emptiness
+```
+
+### The Warrior
+```
+WOUND: Vulnerability was punished
+MASK: Strength prevents further hurt
+TELLS: Cannot show weakness, isolation, rage
+```
+
+### The Invisible
+```
+WOUND: Was overlooked or unsafe when noticed
+MASK: Staying hidden avoids pain
+TELLS: Avoids spotlight, observes, defers
+```
+
+### The Cynic
+```
+WOUND: Believed and was betrayed
+MASK: Distrust prevents disappointment
+TELLS: Deflects with humor, pushes others away
+```
+
+### The Martyr
+```
+WOUND: Worth came from sacrifice
+MASK: Suffering justifies existence
+TELLS: Cannot receive, guilt about self-care
+```
+
+---
+
+## Building Character Voice
+
+### Voice Components
+```
+VOCABULARY: What words do they use?
+├── Education level
+├── Regional/cultural terms
+├── Professional jargon
+└── Unique personal phrases
+
+RHYTHM: How do they speak?
+├── Sentence length
+├── Pace (rushed, measured, hesitant)
+├── Breath patterns
+└── Pauses and silences
+
+FOCUS: What do they notice?
+├── Sensory preferences
+├── What they comment on
+├── What they ignore
+└── How they describe others
+
+SIGNATURE: What makes them unique?
+├── Verbal tics
+├── Favorite expressions
+├── How they curse/exclaim
+└── How they begin/end conversations
+```
+
+### Voice Differentiation Test
+```
+Cover the dialogue attribution.
+Can you tell who's speaking?
+
+If not, the voices are too similar.
+```
+
+### Internal Voice (POV Characters)
+```
+First person internal voice reflects:
+- How they lie to themselves
+- What they notice first
+- Their cognitive patterns
+- Their emotional availability
+- Their worldview filtering
+
+The narrator is not objective - they're the character.
+```
+
+---
+
+## Character Relationships
+
+### The Relationship Web
+```
+Every significant relationship has:
+
+HISTORY: How did they meet? What happened?
+DYNAMIC: Who has power? Who wants what?
+TENSION: What's the unresolved conflict?
+GROWTH: How can this relationship change?
+```
+
+### Relationship Archetypes
+```
+FOIL: Opposite who reveals through contrast
+MIRROR: Similar character, different path
+MENTOR: Guides and challenges growth
+THRESHOLD GUARDIAN: Blocks progress until proven
+SHAPESHIFTER: Allegiance unclear, keeps readers guessing
+HERALD: Announces change, delivers calls to adventure
+SHADOW: Dark version of protagonist's potential
+```
+
+### Ensemble Dynamics
+```
+For casts of characters:
+
+1. Each character needs a unique function
+2. Each character needs a unique voice
+3. Relationships should vary (not all alike)
+4. Internal conflicts mirror external conflicts
+5. Characters should want different things
+```
+
+---
+
+## Character Arc Patterns
+
+### The Positive Arc
+```
+START: Flaw/limitation → Operating from wound
+MIDPOINT: Awareness → Sees the cost of the flaw
+CRISIS: Choice → Old way vs. new way
+END: Transformation → Embraces NEED over WANT
+
+Example: Selfish → Tested → Chooses sacrifice → Selfless
+```
+
+### The Negative Arc
+```
+START: Virtue/potential → Has something to lose
+MIDPOINT: Temptation → Compromise seems necessary
+CRISIS: Corruption → Chooses the dark path
+END: Fall → Becomes what they fought
+
+Example: Idealistic → Disillusioned → Corrupted → Destroyer
+```
+
+### The Flat Arc
+```
+Character doesn't change - world changes.
+
+START: Character has truth
+MIDPOINT: World rejects truth
+CRISIS: Truth is tested severely
+END: World accepts truth (or character accepts cost)
+
+Example: Captain America - His values stay constant, but he changes everyone around him.
+```
+
+### The Testing Arc
+```
+START: Virtue claimed but untested
+MIDPOINT: Virtue is tested
+CRISIS: Almost breaks
+END: Virtue proven genuine (or revealed hollow)
+
+Example: Claimed courage → Faced real fear → Almost ran → Stood firm
+```
+
+---
+
+## Character Creation Process
+
+### Phase 1: Core
+```
+1. What do they WANT? (Specific, active goal)
+2. What do they NEED? (What would truly fulfill them)
+3. What is their WOUND? (Origin of their flaw)
+4. What is their MASK? (How they protect themselves)
+```
+
+### Phase 2: Depth
+```
+5. What is their Ghost? (Specific traumatic memory)
+6. What is their Lie? (False belief from wound)
+7. What is their Truth? (What they must learn)
+8. What is their Fear? (What they avoid at all costs)
+```
+
+### Phase 3: Texture
+```
+9. Distinctive physical trait
+10. Distinctive vocal trait
+11. Contradictory trait (surprising depth)
+12. Specific sensory memory they carry
+13. Object that matters to them
+14. How they enter a room
+15. How they respond to stress
+```
+
+### Phase 4: Integration
+```
+16. How does their wound affect relationships?
+17. How does their mask create conflict?
+18. What event would force them to choose?
+19. What would it take to break them?
+20. What would it take to transform them?
+```
+
+---
+
+## The Antagonist's Diamond
+
+Villains need diamonds too:
+
+```
+The best antagonists believe they're the hero.
+
+WANT: Goal that opposes protagonist
+WOUND: Pain that justifies their worldview
+NEED: What they've denied themselves
+MASK: How they present their evil
+
+The antagonist is the protagonist of their own story.
+```
+
+### Antagonist Types
+```
+MIRROR: Could be protagonist with different choices
+SHADOW: Protagonist's dark potential
+SYSTEM: Institution or structure
+NATURE: Environment or force
+SELF: Internal antagonist
+
+The best villains combine these.
+```
+
+---
+
+## Quick Reference Templates
+
+### Character Sheet
+```markdown
+# [Name]
+
+## Essence
+**One-line description**:
+**Role in story**:
+**Arc type**:
+
+## The Diamond
+**WANT**:
+**WOUND**:
+**MASK**:
+**NEED**:
+
+## Depth
+**Ghost (specific memory)**:
+**Lie (false belief)**:
+**Truth (lesson to learn)**:
+**Greatest Fear**:
+
+## Voice
+**Speech pattern**:
+**Vocabulary**:
+**Signature phrase**:
+**How they show emotion**:
+
+## Texture
+**Physical distinctive**:
+**Behavioral quirk**:
+**Contradictory trait**:
+**Important object**:
+
+## Relationships
+**To protagonist**:
+**To theme**:
+**To plot**:
+```
+
+### Quick Character Audit
+```
+□ Do I know their wound?
+□ Is their want specific and active?
+□ Does their mask create conflict?
+□ Is their need different from their want?
+□ Can I hear their voice distinctly?
+□ Do they have a surprising trait?
+□ Do they want something in every scene?
+□ Do they change (or meaningfully resist change)?
+```
+
+---
+
+*"Know your characters so well that they surprise you. When they do something unexpected that feels inevitable, you've found them."*