Storyform Builder

The Storyform Builder is the 2025 evolution of Dramatica’s classic Story Engine Settings module. It gives you direct, modern access to the full set of 32,768 Storyforms available in the current Dramatica theory—so you can dial in a story from scratch and instantly see how every choice relates to every other.

TIP

Pick a Source of Conflict domain—whether you choose it or the Builder infers it—and the Builder “moves” that Throughline into its proper quadrant. An Objective Story (OS) Domain in Psychology appears in the lower-left, Physics moves to the upper-right, and so on. It is a fast way to visualize where conflict lives as you work.

What you will find

• Domains & Sources of Conflict – a deep dive into finding conflict, tracking inferred Storyforms, exploring examples, and navigating the Builder’s Domain-first workflow.
• Signposts & Temporal Flow – the full breakdown of Signposts, Initial Narrative Functions, Dramatic Circuits, Abstraction layers, Storybeat links, and the resulting Audience Experiences.

Use those dedicated guides whenever you want to zoom into the richer Domain or Signpost tooling. The rest of this page covers the shared controls that frame the entire experience.

Reading selection states

The Builder uses color to show how each Storypoint was determined:

• Blue = a choice you made directly.
• Orange = an inferred Storypoint (only one valid option remained).

This makes it easy to spot where you still have creative flexibility versus where the Storyform has already collapsed into a single path.

Dynamics

Pick your eight core Dynamics:

• MC Resolve, Growth, Approach, Problem-Solving Style
• Story Driver, Story Limit, Story Outcome, Story Judgment

With just these Dynamics plus a single OS Domain selection, you can arrive at a complete Storyform. From there, explore or fine‑tune any remaining items with confidence.

Sources of Conflict (Throughlines)

For each Throughline—Objective Story (OS), Main Character (MC), Influence Character (IC), and Relationship Story (RS)—choose the source of conflict at four levels of the model:

• Classes: Domain
• Types: Concern, Benchmark
• Variations: Issue, Catalyst/Inhibitor or Unique Ability/Critical Flaw
• Elements: Problem, Solution, Symptom, Response

As you choose or lock items, other areas narrow their options accordingly. Domain assignments shift into place and the Builder keeps track of inferred values when a slot has only one valid option. The Domains guide explains how to read the live counts, travel backward or forward in your decisions, and compare example Storyforms that share similar structural DNA.

Additional Storypoints

Round out the objective view with the storywide points:

• Goal, Requirements, Prerequisites, Preconditions
• Dividends, Costs, Forewarnings, Consequence

These align with your Dynamics and Throughline choices and update as the space of valid Storyforms tightens.

Layout and orientation

On larger screens, the Builder shifts each Throughline section into its quadrant of the Dramatica model so you can see the argument spatially (Objective Story, Main Character, Influence Character, Relationship Story). On mobile, the sections stack vertically for speed and clarity, but the same quadrant labels remain visible so you never lose orientation.

Using the controls

• Undo / Redo – Step backward or forward through your changes.
• Reset – Clear all unlocked choices and recalculate from your remaining locks.
• Lock – Freeze any selection to protect it while you explore or randomize.
• Random – Generate a Storyform consistent with your current locks.
• Copy – Copy a clean, labeled list of your Storyform selections for pasting into Narrova, Subtxt, or personal notes.
• Remaining / Progress – The header shows remaining Storyforms and progress (user vs. inferred picks) so you always know where you stand.

When a field is closed, the button shows your current pick. When you open it, the dropdown displays a live count of possible choices for that aspect and a fast search—just start typing to filter by term or definition.

Working with Narrova

Narrova and the Storyform Builder share the same Storyform context, so you can move between them without losing alignment. Use Narrova to ask questions about your current Storyform, request examples, or explore alternatives, then return to the Builder to lock or revise the structural choices. The two tools stay aware of each other, so you can keep building while still having a conversation-level view of what the Storyform means.

Share and export your Storyform

When the remaining Storyform count drops to 1, a Share button appears so you can hand off your finished structure.

Save as a new Storyform

Use the Share panel to save your current structure as a new Storyform in the platform. This creates a dedicated Storyform record, so you can jump straight into Narrova or Subtxt and keep working with the saved version the moment it appears in your Storyforms list.

Open in Narrova

Choose Open in Narrova to send the Storyform straight into the assistant. You can spin up a brand-new Story (perfect for a fresh project) or drop the Storyform into the Story you’re actively refining. Narrova keeps the Builder’s structure intact, so you can continue exploring perspectives, Storybeats, and notes without re-entering choices.

Coming from Narrova is just as easy: open the Storyform Context, then choose Open in Storyform Builder to adjust the Storyform with the full Builder experience.

Share to Subtxt (coming soon)

You’ll see a Share to Subtxt option soon. It will let you publish the finished Storyform directly into Subtxt, so your structural work moves with you into day-to-day drafting and analysis without manual export steps.

Download the NCP

Select Download NCP to grab a Narrative Context Protocol file—our open-source representation of a Dramatica Storyform. Use it to archive your structure, sync with other tools, or inspect the data model. The specification lives at github.com/narrative-first/narrative-context-protocol if you want to explore or contribute.

Signposts and act orders

Switch between your Throughlines’ sources of conflict and the Signpost act order to feel how the story unfolds in time. Use the Builder to dial in Domains, Concerns, Issues, and Elements, then flip over to the Signpost view to see how those selections shape the progression of each Throughline.

You’ll find a toggle labeled Domains/Signposts anchored along the bottom edge of the Builder. Tap s at any time to jump straight to the Signpost view, or press d to return to Domains and the Sources of Conflict. The toggle updates instantly so you can compare structural choices without losing your place.

The Signposts & Temporal Flow guide explains the available options, the current knowledge-based bias, how Initial Narrative Functions are generated, and how the Dramatic Circuit flows across every Storybeat.

IMPORTANT

Temporal aspects (Signposts, act order, progressions) are best treated as strong guidance rather than immutable facts. They are less finite than Storypoints and will often evolve as you Illustrate and Surface the story.

Tips for fast storyforming

• Start with Dynamics, then add one OS Domain to resolve quickly to a single Storyform.
• Lock anything you love before exploring alternatives or using Random.
• Watch the option counts: big drops signal high‑leverage choices.
• Use search in any dropdown to jump straight to a term.

That’s it—enjoy building rock‑solid Storyforms with a modern, responsive toolset that honors Dramatica’s full theoretical depth.