# ORIGIN DOSSIER ## Deep dive [Watch Origin Dossier: The Name She Chose](https://chummer.run/media/horizons/origin-dossier-the-name-she-chose.mp4). ## The problem A runner can be legal and still feel unfinished. Players often start with attributes, skills, gear, and a strong visual idea, but the character still has no grounded reason to exist in the campaign. The GM may have constraints too: a clinic favor, a restricted piece of ware, an addiction hook, a magical requirement, a faction debt, or a table-specific starting premise. That context matters. It should not vanish into chat history, and it should not secretly rewrite the character sheet. ## What it would do Origin Dossier turns a blank-state concept or active runner into approved origin canon and a bounded full-story and media pipeline. It helps the table answer: * who this runner was before the first job * why this build makes sense in the campaign * what the GM allowed or required as story context * what the player approved as canon * which parts can later guide ALICE follow-up * which parts are only media, flavor, or presentation The point is not to make a prettier export. The point is to give the runner a durable identity that can travel through build help, campaign play, recap, and presentation without becoming a second rules engine. The split is explicit: ```text Custom Chummer code: runner dossier truth, rules legality, source validation, origin lineage, receipts, export, approval gates Subscribr: full chaptered origin story manuscript from the approved source packet, plus bounded scene lists, hooks, titles, and production planning First Book ai: optional premium long-form packaging after the full story manuscript and Chummer approvals are already complete ``` Magicfit is the preferred visual lane after manuscript approval for: * fitting cover art * a three-portrait shortlist * the one chosen cinematic scene with the selected character visible in it ## Flagship flow The flagship flow is a full private story edition. It should work like this: 1. Chummer freezes approved origin canon and source snapshots. 2. `Subscribr` drafts the real full story manuscript from the approved packet. 3. Chummer runs continuity review, humanization, and publication checks. 4. `Magicfit` prepares a fitting cover from the approved story. 5. Chummer packages and hands over the finished ebook with that cover. 6. Each runner gets a link code that another player can redeem to create consented shared-history context for the next manuscript pass. 7. `Magicfit` prepares three portrait options that fit the story and runner identity. 8. The player picks one portrait. 9. After ebook handoff, the player can request an audiobook in the voice they choose. 10. Chummer presents chapter or scene summaries from the approved book. 11. The player chooses one scene for a bounded cinematic render with the character visible in it. Every step after canon approval stays downstream from Chummer truth. No cover, portrait, audiobook, or cinematic render may mutate the runner, the sheet, or GM approval state. ## What is live now The desktop ALICE workbench already exposes `Origin Dossier` as a named mode beside `Build help` and `Rules coach`. The shipped slice can: * draft an origin from a blank-state or active-runner context * accept GM steer, allowances, and hard requirements as advisory context * freeze approved origin canon after review * create the source-bound root for the private origin edition * branch an approved source packet into the full story manuscript, ebook with fitted cover, three portrait choices, optional audiobook request, chapter-scene summaries, one selected cinematic render, and local media-factory request * issue a runner link code and accept another runner's code as consented shared-history context * hand an approved origin-story audiobook request to EA's governed audiobook lane when the player asks for it * open the finished audiobook through a player- and runner-scoped EA reference instead of broad Audiobookshelf access * keep the creative and long-form branches source-bound and Chummer-owned even when downstream provider lanes are used * let later ALICE suggestions read the approved origin canon What is still not launch-complete: * live Subscribr story generation still needs current provider receipts * real cover, three portrait renders, audiobook render/import, and chosen cinematic render/import still need current proof * multi-runner shared-history links need live group proof before they can become a launch claim * the ebook-with-cover -> three portraits -> chosen portrait flow still needs live end-to-end delivery proof * chapter-scene summaries and the single chosen cinematic render still need provider-backed receipts before gold claims That makes Origin Dossier more than a subfeature of ALICE. ALICE is the coach and rules-facing conversation surface. Origin Dossier is the runner identity, approval, story-edition, and media-follow-through lane that ALICE can reference after the player or GM approves it. ## What it feels like A player starts with: > Build me an SR4 troll decker from scratch. ALICE helps shape the build, but the player wants the runner to feel real. The GM adds: > A clinic contact quietly fronted restricted starter ware and one over-availability deck part. The runner also needs an illegal-drug addiction hook, a magical-active requirement, and Logic or Intuition at 2 or higher. Origin Dossier turns that into a draft story: * the clinic favor becomes a debt and contact pressure * the restricted part becomes a table-approved exception to explain, not a silent entitlement * the addiction hook becomes a story risk that still needs normal sheet handling * the magical-active requirement becomes campaign premise, not hidden rules mutation * the mental-attribute minimum stays visible as a GM requirement The player reviews it. The GM signs off. The canon is approved. Later, when the player asks ALICE what to add next, ALICE can remember the clinic debt and the decker identity while still using Chummer-owned mechanics truth for legality, cost, availability, ware, qualities, and attributes. ## The bundle An Origin Dossier bundle can include: * approved origin canon in markdown and JSON * mechanics snapshot hash and public or private projection metadata * Subscribr-ready source packet and accepted full-story manuscript with source hash * ebook and archive exports with fitted cover art * three portrait candidates and the selected portrait * accepted runner story links from redeemed link codes * chapter and scene highlight summaries * optional approved-story audiobook in Audiobookshelf, exposed to Chummer through a player-scoped EA reference after voice choice * one chosen cinematic scene request * video storyboard and bounded scene render request * media-factory render request * optional First Book ai premium chaptered dossier book, anthology, or player-facing manual after separate approval * receipts for source, approval, selected assets, and render state The media is downstream. It can make the character easier to understand, pitch, and remember, but it does not own the character. Subscribr and First Book ai belong only on that downstream creative branch. They may narrate or package approved Chummer canon into richer artifacts, but they must stay optional, rejectable, and non-canonical. No external script or book tool may create runner truth, mutate the sheet, or bypass player and GM approval. If the player asks for it, the approved origin story can also become an audiobook through EA's governed audiobook lane. After the ebook handoff, the player chooses from the approved voice options, EA renders the approved text, imports the M4B into Audiobookshelf storage, and gives Chummer only a scoped reference for that player and runner. That reference is not a global Audiobookshelf login, admin token, raw pCloud path, or access to another player's library. ## Relationship to ALICE ALICE helps with build questions, rules coaching, and follow-up. Origin Dossier gives ALICE approved identity context. That distinction matters: * ALICE may say why an approved origin makes a future upgrade feel coherent. * ALICE may point out that the clinic favor creates story debt. * ALICE may explain that a GM allowance still needs normal sheet edits before mechanics change. * ALICE may open the player's scoped origin-story audiobook when the approved dossier has one. * ALICE must not treat dossier prose as permission to auto-apply ware, nuyen, qualities, addiction, magic, or availability exceptions. Origin canon can guide suggestions. It cannot overrule the engine. ## What it does not do Origin Dossier does not: * silently rewrite the character sheet * turn GM narrative steer into automatic mechanics * treat a portrait, scene, narration, or video as character authority * invent legal exceptions without GM/player approval * let media providers become source of truth * publish private character context without review * blur player-safe material with GM-only constraints * expose a global Audiobookshelf library, vendor token, or raw media path to the desktop client ## Before it grows Before this lane widens, Chummer needs durable confidence that: * approved origin canon, mechanics snapshot, and bundle lineage are stable * `chummer.content_source_packet.v1` exists for every provider handoff * GM steer stays advisory until normal mechanics edits happen * the full-story ebook is the real first-class deliverable instead of a teaser artifact * the fitted cover ships with the ebook instead of landing as a detached late asset * selected portraits, scenes, narration, and videos carry provenance * the three-portrait shortlist stays visually consistent with the approved runner identity * Subscribr exports stay source-bound and do not change facts, legality, or privacy scope * origin-story audiobooks carry the same approval lineage and scoped-access receipt as the rest of the bundle * the player-facing voice choice happens after story delivery and before audio render burn * chapter or scene summaries stay tied to the approved manuscript before cinema is requested * runner link codes add only consented relationship summaries and never grant access to another player's private ebook, audio, portraits, or campaign material * accepted runner links enter the next source packet as `shared_history_links` with link id, linked runner ref, alias, relationship summary, consent receipt, and `origin_story_context_only` scope; providers never receive linked-runner artifact URLs or private campaign payloads * media and book outputs can be rejected without harming the runner dossier * First Book ai outputs stay optional, review-gated, and non-canonical until publication approval * later ALICE follow-up can use origin context without confusing story truth and rules truth * private and GM-only context stays scoped ## Why it remains bounded The first playable slice is live, but the full horizon is larger. The flagship version should make a runner feel like a person with history, pressure, obligations, and presentation-ready artifacts while still preserving the table’s authority. It is not flagship-ready until the full story edition, fitted-cover handoff, portrait choice, audiobook voice choice, and chosen-scene cinema all work through the same approved-source boundary. That requires careful approval, media retention, export, deletion, and media-lineage work. Origin Dossier is ready to be named as a Chummer horizon because it has a real desktop foothold and a clear product boundary. It should stay bounded until the ebook-first media-follow-through loop proves it can be beautiful without becoming fake truth. The full canon-first book architecture now lives in `products/chummer/ORIGIN_BOOK_STUDIO.md`. The rule does not change: ```text Subscribr and First Book ai may narrate the origin. They may not change the runner. ``` The shared gold-production promotion gate for this lane and `Runbook Press` lives in `products/chummer/RUNBOOK_AND_ORIGIN_PROVIDER_GOLD_PRODUCTION_GATE.md`.