What are alternate greetings on a character card?
Updated
Alternate greetings are extra first messages stored in a character card's alternate_greetings field (Character Card V2 and later). Each one opens a different scene with the same character, such as a first meeting, a reunion or a crisis, and you choose which one starts your story. UnsavedAI imports up to five and lets you switch openings before your first message.
Try it now, free, no account neededStart a story with Lucien AshmoreYour cheap new castle came with its vampire ownerHow they are stored
In a V2 card the main greeting stays in first_mes and the others go in a list:
"first_mes": "*The castle gate creaks open before you can knock.*", "alternate_greetings": [ "*You wake in a guest room you don't remember entering. Someone has left tea.*", "*Three months after you moved in, the lord of the castle finally asks you to dinner.*" ]
Each greeting is a full opening message, written exactly like a first message. The character, description and scenario stay the same; only the starting point changes.
How you pick one
In SillyTavern, a new chat shows the first message with swipe arrows. Swiping on the very first message cycles through the alternate greetings instead of generating new text. Once you send a reply, the greeting showing is the one you keep.
On UnsavedAI, while a story is at its start, the chat menu offers Different opening, which cycles through the character's greetings. You can also pick Start your own way and write the opening scene yourself.
Good uses
- Different relationship stages: strangers, friends, rivals, already together.
- Different moods: a cosy evening, a chase, a quiet confession.
- Different points in a plot, so returning players can skip what they have already played.
- A greeting written for a slower pace, for people who want a slow burn.
With a character like Lucien Ashmore, a vampire who came with a castle you bought, one greeting could be the first night, another the morning you find his rules nailed to the door.
Common mistakes
- Greetings that contradict the scenario. If the scenario says you just arrived, an opening set a year later confuses the model. Keep the scenario general or make each greeting explain itself.
- Ten near-identical greetings. Three distinct ones are worth more.
- Different writing styles across greetings. Whichever one you pick sets the style for the whole chat.
- Forgetting them on export. Some apps or older V1 tools drop the field, so check after converting a card.
In UnsavedAI and other apps
SillyTavern, Chub and most apps that read Character Card V2 support alternate greetings. When you import a card on UnsavedAI, up to five come across with the rest of the character, and they are written back into the V2 file when you export a character you made. For more on the main opening line, see what a first message is.
Questions people ask
Are alternate greetings the same as swipes?
They use the same arrows in SillyTavern, but swipes generate new text while alternate greetings are written ahead of time by the card's author.
Can I switch greeting mid-story?
Not usefully. The greeting is the start of the history, so changing it later rewrites the story's opening. Start a new story instead.
