settled-reach/docs/design/opening-hook-content.md

---
title: "Opening Hook Content Per Character"
description: "Authored monologue and dialogue content for each character's first 3-4 minutes across seed variants A-D"
type: design
status: draft
ticket: "#260"
decision_refs: [D-032, D-035, D-039, D-053, D-064]
author: "Paula"
created: 2026-02-19
updated: 2026-02-23
---

# Opening Hook Content Per Character

**Ticket:** #260 | **Priority:** High | **Sprint:** 12
**Status:** v0.1 Draft
**Owner:** Paula
**Blocked by:** #259 (First 5 minutes experience design — done)
**Source:** docs/design/first-5-minutes-experience.md (systems + narrative design)
**Decisions referenced:** D-032, D-035, D-039 (wow moment #1), D-053, D-064

---

## Overview

This document specifies the authored content for each character's opening hook — the first 3-4 minutes of play, before any investigation or conspiracy elements appear. Content is organized by seed variant (A-D per character) and includes authored monologue lines, NPC dialogue cues, and diegetic objective setup.

Authoring note: this document provides design spec and reference lines. Final authored YAML files go in the appropriate monologue pools per D-032 and D-035.

---

## 1. Smuggler Opening Variants

### Common Elements (All Variants)

All smuggler openings share:
- **Location:** The Terminal (Logistics Hub), dock floor or entrance
- **Ambient:** Station hum playing from frame 0; cargo machinery active in background
- **FRIEND:** Kael Davan is the first significant NPC — established within 90 seconds regardless of variant
- **Voice register:** Terse, sensory, first-name, operational-aware. No complete sentences unless they end in an operational note.

### Opening Line Pool (enter_location, Terminal, no prerequisites)

These lines fire when the smuggler enters The Terminal at session start. 3-4 lines available; engine selects one based on seed variant.

```yaml
- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_001
  character: smuggler
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Morning shift. Recycled air and cargo lubricant. Home sweet home."
  mood: [content, routine]
  tags: [opening_hook, canonical_anchor]

- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_002
  character: smuggler
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Span gate's been cycling all night. Can hear it in the walls."
  mood: [routine, aware]
  tags: [opening_hook]

- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_003
  character: smuggler
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Floor smells like a ship's hold. Someone ran a heavy cargo last night. Not ours."
  mood: [routine, observant]
  tags: [opening_hook]

- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_004
  character: smuggler
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Early shift crew's still clearing out. Good — gives us some runway before handoff."
  mood: [operational, content]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_c_d]
```

### Kael Sighting Lines (observe_npc, Kael, Phase 1 relationship)

These fire when the smuggler sees Kael on the dock floor. Critical FRIEND establishment lines.

```yaml
- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_010
  character: smuggler
  trigger: observe_npc
  target: npc:kael-davan
  prerequisites:
    relationship:
      target: npc:kael-davan
      state: friendly
  text: "Kael's already at the dock. Good. The day's better when he's on shift."
  mood: [content, fond]
  tags: [opening_hook, friend_phase_1, canonical_anchor]

- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_011
  character: smuggler
  trigger: observe_npc
  target: npc:kael-davan
  prerequisites:
    relationship:
      target: npc:kael-davan
      state: friendly
  text: "There he is. Same spot, every morning for two years. Some things you can count on."
  mood: [fond, content]
  tags: [opening_hook, friend_phase_1]
```

### Variant A: Quiet Morning

**Initial condition:** No deviations. Standard operational day. The run is scheduled for the transition window.

**Opening state:** Kael is at his station. Voss is present but not focused on the dock floor. Everything is calm.

**Operational context line (observe_anomaly — schedule board):**

```yaml
- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_020
  character: smuggler
  trigger: observe_anomaly
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Transition window opens in fifty minutes. Standard run — nothing complicated."
  mood: [operational, content]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_a]
```

**FRIEND Phase 1 dialogue cue (Kael, on approach):**
Kael greets the smuggler warmly. Asks about the weekend. Makes a dry comment about Voss's new clipboard system. Everything is normal.

*Authored dialogue line for Kael (for content pack):*
> "There you are. Voss has a new form now — cargo intake manifest version four. Apparently version three had a column in the wrong place. The man has opinions about spreadsheets."
> `access: [peer, insider], trust: surface, situation: [greeting, shift_start]`

---

### Variant B: Kael Is Late

**Initial condition:** Kael has not arrived at his expected time. His station is empty. The smuggler starts without their anchor.

**Opening state:** Dock floor has other workers but Kael's absence is visible. A small operational tension — where is he? — without any real alarm.

**Absence lines (observe_npc, failed — Kael's station empty):**

```yaml
- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_030
  character: smuggler
  trigger: observe_anomaly
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Kael's station is empty. He's always here before me. Maybe I was early."
  mood: [routine, mildly_concerned]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_b]
  notes: "Phase 1 tell: Kael's routine is so established that absence is noted before alarm."

- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_031
  character: smuggler
  trigger: time_idle
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Still no Kael. Probably caught something. He'd have sent a message if it were the run."
  mood: [mildly_concerned, operational]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_b]
  notes: "Fires if player is near Kael's empty station for >60 seconds."
```

**Kael arrival (late, within 5 minutes of session start):**
Kael arrives slightly disheveled, slightly out of breath. Brief explanation — nothing alarming, just late. But the explanation is slightly vague. This is the first hairline crack from the very start: Kael's lateness is the beginning of Phase 2 tells.

*Authored dialogue line for Kael (late arrival):*
> "Yeah, yeah, I know. Had a thing. Don't give Voss a reason to look at the timestamp."
> `access: [peer, insider], trust: surface, situation: [greeting]`
> *Notes: "a thing" is characteristically vague but reads as personal, not operational.*

---

### Variant C: Heat from Voss

**Initial condition:** Voss is monitoring the dock floor more closely than usual. Something has him on edge — Commission liaison spotted yesterday, or a scheduling discrepancy from last week that hasn't been explained.

**Opening state:** Kael is present but body language is professional-not-warm. Voss is visible and attentive. The usual operational openness is compressed.

**Environmental read lines:**

```yaml
- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_040
  character: smuggler
  trigger: observe_npc
  target: npc:voss
  text: "Voss is on the floor. Not his usual post. Something's up."
  mood: [aware, cautious]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_c]

- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_041
  character: smuggler
  trigger: observe_npc
  target: npc:voss
  text: "He's watching the floor. That's the third time he's passed that section. Something put him on edge."
  mood: [operational, cautious]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_c]
  notes: "Fires after player has been on the dock floor for 2+ minutes."
```

**Kael adjustment (operational caution):**

*Authored dialogue line for Kael (in variant C):*
> "Normal morning. Don't give him a reason to notice you." [Kael says this quietly, without looking directly at the smuggler]
> `access: [insider], trust: real, situation: [shift_start]`

---

### Variant D: Container Held

**Initial condition:** Operational container 4471 has been in temp storage longer than routing protocol specifies. Not a crisis — a logistical anomaly that the smuggler needs to address.

**Opening state:** Everything looks normal, but the first interaction with the freight system surfaces a held container.

**Container flag lines:**

```yaml
- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_050
  character: smuggler
  trigger: observe_anomaly
  location: the-terminal
  text: "4471 is still in temp. That was supposed to move yesterday afternoon."
  mood: [operational, concerned]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_d]

- id: pc-smuggler_m_s_051
  character: smuggler
  trigger: observe_anomaly
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Scheduling held it. Voss's call. There's a reason, I just don't know it yet."
  mood: [operational, analytical]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_d]
  notes: "Fires on approach to freight terminal display. Teaches the player that containers are trackable."
```

**Kael conversation (operational problem-solving):**

*Authored dialogue line for Kael (variant D):*
> "I saw. Voss pulled it from the schedule. He'll explain or he won't. Just don't touch it until he does."
> `access: [insider], trust: real, situation: [shift_start, investigation]`

---

## 2. Detective Opening Variants

### Common Elements (All Variants)

All detective openings share:
- **Starting location:** Varies by variant (see below)
- **Ambient:** Station hum playing; institutional feel — cleaner, more structured than the bar or corridors
- **Social temperature:** No warm greetings. NPCs are polite and guarded.
- **Voice register:** Complete sentences. Analytical. "Filing it." "Note it." "That's interesting."

### Opening Line Pool (enter_location, no prerequisites)

Lines that fire when the detective enters their starting location. Selection based on seed variant.

```yaml
- id: pc-detective_m_d_001
  character: detective
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Sova Transit District. Third day on station. The briefing said routine compliance review."
  mood: [professional, observant]
  tags: [opening_hook, canonical_anchor]

- id: pc-detective_m_d_002
  character: detective
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-terminal
  text: "The briefing is always wrong about something."
  mood: [analytical, wry]
  tags: [opening_hook, canonical_anchor]
  notes: "Companion line to open_001 — these fire in sequence on Variant A/B/C."

- id: pc-detective_m_d_003
  character: detective
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-last-shift
  text: "The bar at 08:30. Sera suggested it. The district has its own rhythms — find them before imposing mine."
  mood: [professional, curious]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_a_bar]

- id: pc-detective_m_d_004
  character: detective
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Manifest discrepancies clustered around the freight hub. Start there. Watch the shift change."
  mood: [analytical, operational]
  tags: [opening_hook]
```

### Sera Sighting Lines (observe_npc, Sera, Phase 1 relationship)

Critical FRIEND establishment for the detective.

```yaml
- id: pc-detective_m_d_010
  character: detective
  trigger: observe_npc
  target: npc:sera-venn
  prerequisites:
    relationship:
      target: npc:sera-venn
      state: friendly
  text: "Good to know Sera's here. At least someone in this district speaks my language."
  mood: [relieved, warm]
  tags: [opening_hook, friend_phase_1, canonical_anchor]

- id: pc-detective_m_d_011
  character: detective
  trigger: observe_npc
  target: npc:sera-venn
  prerequisites:
    relationship:
      target: npc:sera-venn
      state: friendly
  text: "Sera. Same as always — looks like she grew up in a place like this. I'll get there."
  mood: [warm, mildly_isolated]
  tags: [opening_hook, friend_phase_1]
```

---

### Variant A: Bar First (Warm Arrival)

**Initial condition:** Sera has been contacted ahead of time and suggested meeting at The Last Shift to brief the detective on the district.

**Starting location:** The Last Shift

**Opening state:** Sera is at her usual booth. The bar is opening for morning service — Lera is present but focused on setup. The bar is mostly empty.

**Bar arrival line:**

```yaml
- id: pc-detective_m_d_020
  character: detective
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-last-shift
  text: "The bar at 08:30. Only place in this district that doesn't smell like freight lubricant. Marginally."
  mood: [wry, observant]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_a]
```

**Lera read (public NPC, establishing social texture):**

```yaml
- id: pc-detective_m_d_021
  character: detective
  trigger: observe_npc
  target: npc:lera-sessik
  text: "Bar owner. Lera Sessik — Sera mentioned her. Watching me decide whether I'm going to be trouble. Fair assessment."
  mood: [observant, professional]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_a]
```

**Sera orientation dialogue cue:**
Sera gives a brief district overview — who the regulars are, what the Terminal is like, what to expect from the shift supervisors. This is the detective's social tutorial through their friend's eyes.

*Authored dialogue line for Sera (opening orientation):*
> "The Terminal crew is tight. They've seen Commission before. Voss will give you what he's required to give you and nothing else. Maret's different — she worries about compliance more than the others. That might be useful."
> `access: [peer], trust: real, situation: [social, investigation]`

---

### Variant B: Terminal First (Cold Arrival)

**Initial condition:** No pre-contact. The detective enters the Terminal directly.

**Starting location:** The Terminal entrance

**Opening state:** The dock floor is active. Dock workers register the Commission presence and adjust. Voss is visible and approaches.

**Terminal read line:**

```yaml
- id: pc-detective_m_d_030
  character: detective
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Logistics hub. Standard prefab, heavy foot traffic. Let's see what the shift change tells me."
  mood: [analytical, professional]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_b]
```

**Voss approach (first adversarial NPC):**

```yaml
- id: pc-detective_m_d_031
  character: detective
  trigger: observe_npc
  target: npc:voss
  text: "There's the shift supervisor. Saw me come in. He's deciding whether to approach or wait. Approaching. Good — I was going to find him anyway."
  mood: [analytical, professional]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_b]
```

**Voss opening exchange (institutional friction):**

*Authored dialogue line for Voss (territorial greeting):*
> "Commission liaison. Right. I was told you'd be coming by. I've got the manifest copies from last quarter ready. Standard compliance package."
> `access: [authority], trust: surface, situation: [greeting, investigation]`

*Detective response cue (not authored — player choice from dialogue options):*
Standard question options: "Thank you, I'll need those." / "Tell me about your shift crew." / [Observe without responding]

---

### Variant C: Evidence in Hand

**Initial condition:** The detective has reviewed additional case file data overnight and arrives with two specific manifest discrepancies already flagged — container 4471 and one other.

**Starting location:** The Terminal, arriving at the manifest terminal directly

**Opening state:** The detective enters with a purpose they didn't have on day one. Something from the overnight analysis sharpened the investigation.

**Investigative focus line:**

```yaml
- id: pc-detective_m_d_040
  character: detective
  trigger: enter_location
  location: the-terminal
  text: "Container 4471. Three separate appearances in the anomaly cluster. Same container ID, different cargo entries. That's not clerical error."
  mood: [analytical, focused]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_c]

- id: pc-detective_m_d_041
  character: detective
  trigger: observe_anomaly
  location: the-terminal
  text: "The manifest terminal. Maret's territory. She processes the corrections here. I want to see what corrections look like in the unfiltered log."
  mood: [analytical, investigative]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_c]
```

---

### Variant D: Institutional Escort

**Initial condition:** A Commission compliance officer accompanies the detective for the first 10 minutes — standard procedure for new postings. The escort is Torek Lintar.

**Starting location:** Terminal entrance, arriving with Torek

**Opening state:** The district sees the badge + escort together. Social walls go up faster than normal. Torek is helpful but slightly evasive about district social dynamics.

**Escort read lines:**

```yaml
- id: pc-detective_m_d_050
  character: detective
  trigger: observe_npc
  target: npc:torek-lintar
  text: "Lintar. Commission compliance, four years on Sova. He'll know the social texture better than any case file."
  mood: [professional, curious]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_d]

- id: pc-detective_m_d_051
  character: detective
  trigger: observe_npc
  target: npc:torek-lintar
  text: "He's being helpful but steering me away from something. Not sure what yet. File it."
  mood: [analytical, suspicious]
  tags: [opening_hook, variant_d]
  notes: "Fires after 3+ minutes with Torek. The detective is already reading Torek as slightly off."
```

**Torek orientation dialogue cue:**

*Authored dialogue line for Torek (escort mode):*
> "The Terminal's well-run. Voss has been here eight years — knows his people. Maret handles scheduling, she's thorough. Drin does inspections, solid record. You'll find it's a tight operation."
> `access: [authority], trust: surface, situation: [social, investigation]`
> *Notes: The complimentary framing is slightly too smooth. The detective's monologue (open_051) flags this.*

---

## 3. Cross-Character Notes for Content Authors

### What both characters encounter in the first 3-4 minutes

| Element | Smuggler | Detective |
|---------|---------|-----------|
| Station ambient | Active from frame 0 | Active from frame 0 |
| Entity color landscape | Green (Kael), teal (other known NPCs) | Grey/teal (mostly Unknown/Known) |
| First NPC interaction | Kael (warm, first-name) | Voss or Sera (institutional or pre-established) |
| First insert use | Schedule board (operational) | Case file (investigative) |
| First monologue chime | Within 15 seconds | Within 15 seconds |
| Emotional tone | Comfort in familiarity | Alertness in unfamiliarity |

### What the opening must NOT do

- Use the name "Kael" before the player has LOS to Kael (smuggler)
- Use the surname "Davan" when the smuggler addresses Kael (always first-name)
- Use the first name "Sera" before the detective has established visual contact
- Reference operational facts the smuggler knows ("the ring") in any way that reads as exposition
- Reference investigation facts the detective knows (manifest discrepancies) in opening lines before arriving at the manifest terminal
- Have any NPC behave unexpectedly in the first 90 seconds — baseline must be established before deviation

---

*Ticket #260 — Opening hook content per character. v0.1 scope. Unblocked by #259.*