holonovel

Forged in the Dark

resolve_forged

Destructive

Roll Blades in the Dark-style action checks with position and effect, mark or resist stress, and handle downtime recovery; all state persists to the Novel.

Instructions

Resolve Blades in the Dark-style actions: action rolls with position and effect, stress and trauma with resistance, and downtime recovery. Rolls and state changes (points, stress, momentum, progress) persist to the Novel; a roll with no following write is flagged as an uncommitted roll. action_roll with dice 0 rolls the lower of two d6; stress name labels the resist consequence or the trauma mark. Rolls and their state writes are recorded and are not individually reversible. Use when: rolling an action against the highest die, marking or resisting stress, or recovering during downtime. Do NOT use when: tracking a progress clock — use manage_countdown (action: set).

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`op`	No	Sub-operation: stress (mark, clear, resist, list), downtime (recover, indulge_vice, list).
`cost`	No	Stress cost to resist (stress); defaults to 2.
`dice`	No	Dice pool size (action_roll); defaults to 2.
`name`	No	Action name (action_roll) or consequence label (stress resist).
`seed`	No	Deterministic seed (action_roll).
`action`	Yes	action_roll, stress, or downtime.
`amount`	No	Stress to mark or clear (stress/downtime); defaults to 1.
`effect`	No	Effect (action_roll); defaults to standard.
`position`	No	Position (action_roll); defaults to risky.
`entity_id`	No	Entity or NPC id (stress/downtime).

Output Schema

TableJSON 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

A4.8/5.0

Behavior5/5

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

Annotations already flag destructiveHint=true and non-idempotency, but the description adds substantial context the annotations cannot carry: rolls and state changes persist to the Novel, a roll with no following write is flagged as uncommitted, and rolls/state writes are not individually reversible. It also clarifies the odd dice-0 case and what the stress name label applies to.

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

Conciseness4/5

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

The paragraph is front-loaded with purpose, then behavior, then usage guidance, with no filler sentences. It is dense but every clause carries information; only minor tightening is possible.

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?

With an output schema present, return values need not be described, and the description still covers persistence, the uncommitted-roll flag, reversibility, and routing to alternatives. For a 10-parameter, destructive, stateful tool this is complete enough for correct invocation.

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 baseline would be 3, but the description adds meaning beyond the schema: 'action_roll with dice 0 rolls the lower of two d6' and 'stress name labels the resist consequence or the trauma mark.' These clarify ambiguous parameters (dice, name) that the schema documents only generically.

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 names a specific verb (resolve) and resource (Blades in the Dark-style actions) and enumerates the three action families: action rolls with position/effect, stress/trauma with resistance, and downtime recovery. This distinguishes it cleanly from siblings like resolve_fate and resolve_ironsworn without opening any 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 provides explicit 'Use when:' conditions (rolling an action against the highest die, marking/resisting stress, recovering during downtime) and an explicit 'Do NOT use when:' routing the agent to manage_countdown for progress clocks. Both the trigger and the exclusion name the alternative, leaving nothing to inference.

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