Give the player one resource to spend before the conversation ends. They can use it to understand what the other person needs or spend it making their own case. If listening can reveal something useful for the next check, the first choice affects more than the next line of dialogue.
In the fictional Relay Rehearsal, a volunteer asks to use a community radio booth for a full rehearsal. The coordinator has an annotated plan that could help. The player can ask about it, make a request immediately, or accept a shorter soundcheck after a failed request.
Make a skill part of the conversation
The official Disco Elysium listing credits ZA/UM and describes a detective RPG with skills and dialogue. A 2016 development post about active skill checks discusses player-chosen checks in dialogue and the role of chance in that design.
Take the idea of an explicit attempt into a new scene. Relay Rehearsal uses a fixed score and threshold so a creator can trace why a check passed. The characters, request, dialogue, and scoring rules belong to this original example.
Decide what a spend changes
Start with Listening 2, Briefing 2, one Focus token, and no plan. A player can choose to spend Focus on one check for a bonus of one. Consume it when that check is attempted, even if the score falls short. If the player asks to spend a token they no longer have, reject the input and leave the attempt available.
| Choice | Score or requirement | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Ask About the Last Rehearsal | Listening plus optional Focus, against three. Available once before the full request. | Pass to receive the annotated plan. Failure leaves the plan with the coordinator and the request available. |
| Request Full Slot | Briefing, plus two if the plan is held, plus optional Focus, against four. Available once. | Pass for the full rehearsal. Failure opens Offer Short Soundcheck. |
| Offer Short Soundcheck | Available only after a failed full request. No check or Focus cost. | Accept a limited slot and end the scene. |
Give the two checks different jobs. Listening uncovers the schedule conflict and awards a plan that addresses it. Briefing turns that preparation into a stronger request. Show the base skill, any plan bonus, the optional Focus spend, and the threshold before committing the choice.
Replay three ways to spend or save Focus
| Replay | Scores and state | Where it leads |
|---|---|---|
| Spend Focus on listening | Ask scores 2 + 1 = 3. Gain the plan and spend Focus. The full request scores 2 + 2 = 4. | The full slot is granted. |
| Spend Focus on the request | Skip Ask. The full request scores 2 + 1 = 3 against four. Focus is spent. | The full request fails. Offering a short soundcheck grants the limited slot. |
| Try listening without Focus | Ask scores two against three. Gain no plan. Keep Focus. | The full request is still available. The Ask attempt has been used. |
Make a failed check and an unavailable action look different. Failure records an attempt and may change what the coordinator offers. A blocked repeat, missing token, or premature fallback should leave the conversation state unchanged. The player needs to know which kind of response they got before choosing again.
Give AI one scene with explicit checks
Start with the available choices and their state changes. SEELE’s prompt-led creation gives you a starting point for a browser prototype. Use a simple room and a visible check log while you compare the outcomes.
Make an original browser dialogue scene called Relay Rehearsal.
A volunteer asks a radio station coordinator for a rehearsal slot.
Start with Listening 2, Briefing 2, one Focus, and no plan.
Allow optional Focus on a legal check. It adds 1 and is consumed
even on failure. Reject the spend without a token.
Ask about the last rehearsal once before Request Full Slot.
Listening plus optional Focus must reach 3. Pass grants the plan.
Failure grants no plan and leaves the full request available.
Request Full Slot once. Briefing plus 2 if the plan is held,
plus optional Focus, must reach 4. Pass ends with a full slot.
A failed full request unlocks Offer Short Soundcheck.
That offer has no check and ends with a limited slot.
Reject repeats, missing-token spends, and premature fallback
without changing state. Stop accepting choices after an ending.
Reset skills, token, plan, attempts and outcome.
Show available options, score, modifiers and threshold before a check.
Use original radio station characters, dialogue, art and interface.
Test an early fallback attempt, the successful plan route, and the direct request that spends Focus but fails. Try the full request a second time and verify that the first result holds. Reset after each ending and confirm the plan, token and flags return to their initial values.
Change only the full-request threshold
Lower the full request’s threshold from four to three. Replay the same direct request with Focus. Its score stays three and now passes. The plan route still scores four and passes. A direct request with no Focus still scores two, so failure can still open the soundcheck.
The lower threshold gives the player a direct route to the full rehearsal. It also removes the need to listen first for that outcome in this fixture. Keep the scene and reward for listening fixed while you compare the rules. The guide to revising one rule and rerunning the loop shows how to keep the check focused.
Build one conversation worth replaying
Give the player a reason to prepare, a decision about when to spend, and a useful result after a failed request. Start your original dialogue RPG with SEELE’s AI Game Maker and check that each outcome follows from the choices the player could see.
Frequently asked questions
Should the first dialogue checks use dice?
Fixed checks are useful while you verify modifiers, resources, and endings. Add chance when uncertainty is part of the decision you want to test. Keep a way to replay known rolls so an unexpected outcome can be traced to a rule or a random result.
How much of a check should the player see?
Show enough to explain the decision they are making now. In this scene, show the skill, plan bonus, Focus spend, and threshold before committing. You can keep the coordinator’s eventual reply hidden while making the costs and available options clear to the player.
How can a failed check still move the story?
Let it change what the player can reasonably ask for next. A short soundcheck gives the volunteer a smaller outcome and gives the coordinator a reason to agree. The player can understand why the full slot was refused without having to restart the scene.
When should I add another skill?
Add one when it changes how a player approaches a conversation. Give it a distinct source of information or a different kind of request. Check that it creates a new decision instead of giving players another name for the same bonus.
