holonovel

Condition Management

manage_condition

Destructive

Apply, remove, or list mechanical or narrative conditions on entities, with optional round expiry and duplicate warning. Use it to track conditions; record combat state elsewhere.

Instructions

Manage mechanical or narrative conditions on entities. apply attaches a named condition to one entity; rounds is a positive round count, and omitting it (or passing 0) leaves the condition without an expiry. Re-applying an active condition warns instead of duplicating it, and remove deletes the condition and its round counter. apply and remove require the GM or Editor badge, persist to the Novel, and are undoable via manage_history (action: undo); list is read-only. Use when: applying, removing, or listing conditions. Do NOT use when: recording damage or combat state — use manage_combat (action: init/advance).

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`action`	Yes	apply, remove, or list.
`rounds`	No	Optional duration in rounds (apply).
`condition`	No	The condition name (apply/remove).
`entity_id`	No	The entity to affect (apply/remove).

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`text`	No	Human-readable text envelope mirroring the structured result (REQ-001, REQ-548a).
`status`	Yes	Machine-readable result status: OK, NEED_INPUT, WARNING, PARTIAL, or an error category (REQ-002, REQ-548c).

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Addedv1.0.3Sep 29, 2026

TDQS

A4.9/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Beyond the annotations, the description discloses important behavior: re-applying an active condition warns instead of duplicating it, remove deletes the condition and its round counter, apply/remove require GM or Editor badge, changes persist to the Novel, and they are undoable via manage_history. It also clarifies that list is read-only. These details are consistent with the destructive mutation annotations.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is compact and front-loaded: it starts with the tool's purpose, then operation details, permissions, persistence, undo behavior, and finally explicit use/exclusion guidance. Every sentence contributes information needed to select and invoke the tool correctly.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a mutable condition-management tool with an output schema and annotations already present, the description covers the critical operational context: permissions, persistence, undo path, re-application warning, round-expiry behavior, read-only listing, and the main sibling alternative. Nothing essential for correct invocation appears to be missing.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the schema already defines the four parameters at a baseline level. The description meaningfully supplements that by explaining that rounds is a positive round count and that omitting it or passing 0 leaves the condition without expiry, which is behavioral semantics not fully captured by the schema.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description states a specific verb and resource ('Manage mechanical or narrative conditions on entities') and enumerates the supported operations: apply, remove, and list. It also distinguishes the tool from manage_combat, which handles damage or combat state, so an agent can identify its scope without opening the schema.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It gives explicit when-to-use guidance ('Use when: applying, removing, or listing conditions') and an explicit exclusion with an alternative ('Do NOT use when: recording damage or combat state — use manage_combat'). This directly routes the agent between sibling tools.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.