Step 3: Adding Characters
Our tea items need someone to sell them! We’ll create Master Chen, a friendly tea merchant who:
- Sells our tea items through his shop
- Provides educational dialogue about tea cultivation
- Unlocks through quest progression (shop appears after helping him)
This teaches you how NPCs interact with your items and create meaningful progression in your mod.
Why Master Chen Works
We’re designing Master Chen as a neutral character because:
Accessibility - All players can interact with him regardless of their cultivation path or faction choices
Shop integration - Neutral characters can run shops that sell your custom items to players
Quest connectivity - He’ll be the central figure in our restoration quest, making the story personal
Educational role - His dialogue will teach players about your mod’s tea system and benefits
Creating Master Chen
Create src/modContent/characters/teaMasters.ts:
import { Character, EventStep } from 'afnm-types';
import {
greenTeaLeaves,
jasmineTeaLeaves,
brewedGreenTea,
brewedJasmineTea,
} from '../items/teaItems';
export const masterChen: Character = {
name: 'Master Chen',
displayName: 'Master Chen',
allegiance: undefined, // Neutral - available to all players
bio: 'A wise tea master who has spent decades perfecting the spiritual art of tea cultivation. His knowledge of qi-infused brewing techniques is legendary.',
condition: 'discoveredTeaQuest == 1', // Only visible after quest starts
portrait: 'https://placehold.co/256x256/transparent/d98d00?text=Master Chen',
image: 'https://placehold.co/1536x1536/transparent/d98d00?text=Master Chen',
definitions: [
{
kind: 'neutral',
condition: '1',
realm: 'qiCondensation',
realmProgress: 'Late',
stats: [], // No combat stats - not sparrable
// Location - where players can find him
locations: [
{
kind: 'static',
condition: '1',
location: 'Liang Tiao Village',
},
],
encounters: [], // No random encounters
// What happens when players talk to him
talkInteraction: [
{
condition: '1', // Always available
event: [
{
kind: 'speech',
character: 'Master Chen',
text: 'Greetings, young cultivator. I see you found my old tea house... or what remains of it.',
},
{
kind: 'choice',
choices: [
{
text: 'What happened to this place?',
children: [
{
kind: 'speech',
character: 'Master Chen',
text: 'Years ago, I ran a thriving tea house here. But time and neglect have taken their toll. The qi has faded from this place.',
},
],
},
{
text: 'Tell me about tea cultivation',
children: [
{
kind: 'speech',
character: 'Master Chen',
text: 'Tea cultivation requires patience and spiritual awareness. Each leaf must be nurtured with qi to unlock its true potential.',
},
],
},
{
text: 'Farewell, Master Chen',
children: [
{
kind: 'speech',
character: 'Master Chen',
text: 'May your path bring you wisdom, young cultivator.',
},
],
},
],
},
],
},
],
// Shop - only available after quest completion
shopInteraction: [
{
condition: 'teaHouseUnlocked == 1',
stock: {
mundane: [],
bodyForging: [],
meridianOpening: [greenTeaLeaves],
qiCondensation: [
jasmineTeaLeaves,
brewedGreenTea,
brewedJasmineTea,
],
coreFormation: [],
pillarCreation: [],
lifeFlourishing: [],
worldShaping: [],
innerGenesis: [],
soulAscension: [],
},
costMultiplier: 1.2, // 20% markup from base prices
introSteps: [
{
kind: 'speech',
character: 'Master Chen',
text: 'Welcome to my restored tea house! Browse my finest leaves and brewed teas.',
},
],
exitSteps: [
{
kind: 'speech',
character: 'Master Chen',
text: 'May these teas serve you well in your cultivation.',
},
],
},
],
},
],
};
Why This Structure Works
Quest-gated visibility creates discovery gameplay. Master Chen only appears after the quest distribution event fires, making him feel like a discovery rather than just another NPC.
Dialogue matches the situation - His opening line acknowledges that players found his “old tea house” and its current abandoned state, which makes narrative sense.
Progressive unlocking through quest flags. The shop only opens after completing the restoration quest, giving players a reason to help Master Chen.
Neutral allegiance makes Master Chen accessible to all players regardless of their cultivation sect or moral choices.
Educational dialogue teaches players about tea cultivation in a way that fits the abandoned tea house context.
Registering the Character
export const allTeaCharacters: Character[] = [masterChen];
export function initializeTeaCharacters() {
console.log('👤 Adding tea master characters...');
allTeaCharacters.forEach((character) => {
window.modAPI.actions.addCharacter(character);
});
console.log(`✅ Added ${allTeaCharacters.length} tea characters`);
}
All characters must be registered with the ModAPI to appear in-game.
Connect to Your Mod
Update src/modContent/index.ts to include characters:
import { initializeTeaItems } from './items/teaItems';
import { initializeTeaCharacters } from './characters/teaMasters';
function initializeMysticalTeaGarden() {
console.log('🍵 Initializing Mystical Tea Garden Mod...');
// Items first - characters reference them in shops
initializeTeaItems();
// Characters second - locations will reference them
initializeTeaCharacters();
console.log('✅ Mystical Tea Garden Mod loaded successfully!');
}
initializeMysticalTeaGarden();
What We’ve Created
Master Chen demonstrates a proper quest-driven character discovery:
- Hidden until discovered through quest distribution events
- Contextual dialogue that matches the abandoned tea house situation
- Progressive unlocking where helping him leads to ongoing shop access
- Educational conversations about tea cultivation that fit the setting
The narrative flow now works: players discover the abandoned tea house and Master Chen through exploration, learn his story, help restore the tea house, and gain access to his restored shop.
How Character Interactions Work
Location conditions control when characters appear. Master Chen only becomes visible after the discoveredTeaQuest flag is set by the quest distribution event.
Dialogue context should match the story situation. Master Chen’s opening dialogue acknowledges the abandoned state of his tea house rather than welcoming players to a functioning establishment.
Shop conditions control when shops become available. Master Chen’s shop only opens after the teaHouseUnlocked flag is set by completing his restoration quest.
Character definitions let you create different versions of the same character for different story states if needed.
Next Steps
Master Chen needs somewhere to conduct his business! Let’s build the tea house location where players can:
- Experience the restored atmosphere after completing quests
- Use brewing facilities to transform raw tea leaves
- Access Master Chen’s newly opened shop
The location will tie together our items, character, and upcoming quest into a complete player experience.