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campaign-mode

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ADR-CM-007: Plugin-Based Distribution

Field Value
Decision ID ADR-CM-007
Initiative Campaign Mode
Proposed By Chris Barlow
Date 2026-02-14
Status Accepted

WH(Y) Decision Statement

In the context of distributing Campaign Mode to Claude Code users,

facing the limitation that clone-and-copy installation creates friction (requires git knowledge, no update path, no marketplace discoverability) and the absence of per-session campaign guidelines that establish cross-cutting conventions,

we decided for packaging Campaign Mode as a Claude Code plugin distributed via the marketplace, with a CLAUDE.md guidelines file auto-copied to the user’s project via a /campaign-setup command, while retaining .claude/skills/ for clone-and-use fallback,

and neglected plugin-only distribution (breaks existing clone users), embedding guidelines in skill files only (duplicated across three skills, loaded per invocation instead of per session), MCP-based distribution (wrong abstraction — NPCs are instruction-based personas, not tool providers), and the status quo (does not resolve installation friction or convention enforcement),

to achieve frictionless installation via marketplace, automatic skill discovery through plugin infrastructure, per-session convention establishment via CLAUDE.md, and backwards compatibility for clone users,

accepting that maintaining two distribution paths increases maintenance surface, CLAUDE.md adds to every session’s context window, and marketplace publishing introduces a dependency on Anthropic’s plugin ecosystem.

Context

Campaign Mode currently distributes three NPC skills (Gandalf, Dragon, Guardian) via clone-and-copy. Users must git clone the repo or manually copy .claude/skills/ to their project. This creates friction: requires git knowledge, no update mechanism, no marketplace discoverability.

ADR-CM-004 chose skills over plugins because the plugin ecosystem was immature. That ecosystem has since matured — Claude Code now supports plugins with marketplace distribution, auto-discovery, commands, and hooks.

Additionally, there is no CLAUDE.md establishing cross-cutting campaign conventions. Individual SKILL.md files define NPC behaviour, but nothing ensures Claude follows campaign-wide rules (context isolation, archetype constraints, user-as-protagonist) consistently across sessions.

Design Decisions

Decision Answer
Target interface Claude Code CLI and Claude Desktop (see ADR-CM-012)
Packaging Claude Code plugin, distributed via marketplace
CLAUDE.md Include in plugin, auto-copy to user’s project via /campaign-setup command
Install paths Plugin-first (primary), clone-as-fallback (secondary)

Options Considered

Option 1: Plugin-Based Distribution with CLAUDE.md Guidelines (Selected)

Package Campaign Mode as a Claude Code plugin. Skills are auto-discovered via the plugin’s skills/ directory. A CLAUDE.md file establishes per-session campaign conventions. A /campaign-setup command copies guidelines to the user’s project.

Pros:

Cons:

Option 2: Plugin-Only Distribution (Rejected)

Why rejected: Breaks existing clone users. The .claude/skills/ directory pattern is already documented and in use. Removing it forces a migration with no fallback.

Option 3: Guidelines Embedded in Skill Files Only (Rejected)

Why rejected: Cross-cutting conventions (context isolation, archetype constraints, user-as-protagonist) would need to be duplicated across three SKILL.md files. Guidelines are loaded per invocation instead of per session, so conventions are not established until an NPC is invoked.

Option 4: MCP-Based Distribution (Rejected)

Why rejected: MCP servers are designed for tool integration (file access, API calls, database queries). NPC agents are instruction-based personas, not tool providers. An MCP server would be a poor architectural fit.

Option 5: Status Quo — Clone-and-Copy Only (Rejected)

Why rejected: Does not resolve installation friction (requires git knowledge), provides no update mechanism, and does not address the absence of per-session campaign guidelines.

Dual Distribution Model

Path How skills are discovered CLAUDE.md Who uses this
Plugin install skills/ auto-discovered by plugin infrastructure Loaded per session from plugin Users adopting campaign-mode in their projects
Clone repo .claude/skills/ auto-discovered by Claude Code Loaded per session from repo root Contributors developing campaign-mode itself

Both paths coexist. skills/ serves plugin users, .claude/skills/ serves clone users. No duplication conflict because a user does one or the other.

Specifications

Spec ID Title Description
SPEC-CM-007-A Plugin Structure Plugin manifest, directory layout, installation methods
SPEC-CM-007-B Campaign Guidelines CLAUDE.md content spec, auto-copy mechanism, /campaign-setup command

Dependencies

Relationship ADR ID Title Notes
Part Of ADR-CM-001 Campaign Mode Architecture Parent initiative
Extends ADR-CM-004 Skill-Based Implementation Adds distribution layer, does not replace skills
Relates To ADR-CM-003 NPC Context Isolation CLAUDE.md reinforces isolation conventions
Relates To ADR-CM-005 Campaign Mode Selection CLAUDE.md codifies mode-aware conventions
Extended By ADR-CM-012 Plugin Desktop Compatibility Supersedes “Claude Code only” target interface constraint

References

Reference ID Title Type Location
REF-001 Claude Code Plugin Documentation Technical Reference docs.anthropic.com
REF-002 ADR-CM-004: Skill-Based Implementation Decision Record docs/2_adrs/ADR-CM-004
REF-003 Campaign Mode North Star Vision Document docs/north-star.md

Governance

Review Board Date Outcome Action Review Cadence Next Review
— — — — Quarterly —

Status History

Status Approver Date
Proposed Chris Barlow 2026-02-14
Accepted Chris Barlow 2026-02-14