campaign-mode

Work with a party of AI advisors with genuinely different perspectives.

SPEC-CM-007-B: Campaign Guidelines

Field	Value
Specification ID	SPEC-CM-007-B
Parent ADR	ADR-CM-007
Version	1.2
Status	Draft
Last Updated	2026-02-14

Overview

This specification defines the content and structure of the CLAUDE.md campaign guidelines file and the /campaign-setup slash command that copies it to user projects. CLAUDE.md establishes cross-cutting campaign conventions loaded every session, complementing the per-invocation NPC behaviour defined in SKILL.md files.

CLAUDE.md Content Specification

Design Principles

Convention-focused, not behaviour-focused — CLAUDE.md establishes rules and conventions. Individual NPC behaviour lives in SKILL.md files.
Concise — Target under 120 lines. Every line costs context window budget.
Non-duplicative — Does not repeat what SKILL.md files already define (interaction patterns, mode-agent matrices, detailed isolation protocols).
Cross-cutting — Covers conventions that apply across all NPCs and sessions.

Required Sections

#	Section	Purpose	Approximate Lines
1	Campaign Mode	Brief context — what this is, where it comes from	5-8
2	Agent Identity	Adopt full NPC identity from SKILL.md, don’t blend	5-8
3	Core Archetype Constraints	Animal core behaviours non-negotiable, flex tunable	8-12
4	Context Isolation	Three levels (advisory/independent/maximum), what each NPC receives	10-15
5	Campaign Lifecycle	6-phase flow overview	8-10
6	Campaign Mode Selection	Grow/Ship/Grow & Ship summary, mode persists	5-8
7	Profile Rules	.campaign/profiles/, core vs flex, NPC skins	5-8
8	File Conventions	.campaign/, skills/, commands/ purpose	5-8
9	User as Protagonist	User drives, agents serve	5-8

Intentionally Excluded Content

The following content lives in SKILL.md files and must NOT be duplicated in CLAUDE.md:

Individual NPC interaction patterns
Mode-agent matrices (detailed per-NPC mode tuning)
Detailed isolation protocols (what exactly Dragon receives vs Guardian)
Profile format specifications
Campaign lifecycle triggers and transitions

`/campaign-setup` Command Specification

Frontmatter

---
description: Set up Campaign Mode in your project — copy guidelines and create .campaign/ directory
allowed-tools: [Read, Write, Bash, Glob]
---

Command Actions

Copy CLAUDE.md guidelines to user’s project root
- If no existing CLAUDE.md: copy directly
- If existing CLAUDE.md: ask user to choose: append, replace, or skip
Create .campaign/profiles/ directory if it doesn’t exist
Confirm setup and suggest /start-quest to begin a campaign

User Interaction Flow

User: /campaign-setup

Agent: [Checks for existing CLAUDE.md]

If no CLAUDE.md:
  → Copies guidelines to project root
  → Creates .campaign/profiles/
  → "Campaign Mode is set up. Run /start-quest to begin a quest."

If CLAUDE.md exists:
  → "Found existing CLAUDE.md. How should I add campaign guidelines?"
  → Options: Append | Replace | Skip
  → Proceeds based on user choice
  → Creates .campaign/profiles/ if needed
  → "Campaign Mode is set up. Run /start-quest to begin a quest."

Loading Behaviour

Plugin Users

CLAUDE.md is included in the plugin root but is not auto-loaded by Claude Code when the plugin is installed. Plugin CLAUDE.md files are not automatically injected into sessions — only CLAUDE.md files in the user’s project root are loaded per session.

To ensure conventions are available, Campaign Mode uses two mechanisms:

Commands (/start-quest, /continue-quest, /council) inject CLAUDE.md via !cat ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/CLAUDE.md`` at invocation time (see SPEC-CM-007-D)
Direct skills (/gandalf-agent, /dragon-agent, /guardian-agent) include a condensed “Campaign Conventions” subset directly in their SKILL.md files
/campaign-setup copies CLAUDE.md to the user’s project root, ensuring per-session loading for all subsequent sessions

Clone Users

CLAUDE.md lives at the repository root. Claude Code loads it automatically when working within the cloned repo directory.

Copy Users

Users who copy skills to their project should also run /campaign-setup (plugin users) or manually copy CLAUDE.md to their project root to get per-session guidelines.

Spec ID	Title	Relationship
SPEC-CM-007-A	Plugin Structure	Defines where CLAUDE.md lives in the plugin
SPEC-CM-003-A	Context Isolation Protocol	CLAUDE.md reinforces isolation conventions defined here
SPEC-CM-005-A	Campaign Mode Profiles	CLAUDE.md summarises mode selection defined here
SPEC-CM-006-B	Campaign State Directory	`/campaign-setup` creates the `.campaign/` directory defined here

Quest Entry Commands

Two additional commands complement /campaign-setup for quest lifecycle management:

Command	Purpose
`/start-quest`	Begin a new quest. Checks for active campaigns, then delegates to Gandalf for Phase 1 quest framing.
`/continue-quest`	Re-enter an active campaign. Reads `.campaign/quest.md` to detect campaign state, then offers context-aware next-step options via `AskUserQuestion`.

Both commands follow the proactive elicitation pattern (ADR-CM-008): natural-language options, no slash command references in user-facing text. See ADR-CM-009 for the decision record.

Changelog

Version	Date	Author	Changes
1.0	2026-02-14	Chris Barlow	Initial specification
1.1	2026-02-14	Chris Barlow	Added `/start-quest` and `/continue-quest` documentation, updated `/gandalf-agent` references to `/start-quest`
1.2	2026-02-14	Chris Barlow	Corrected Plugin Users section: CLAUDE.md is NOT auto-loaded by plugin infrastructure. Documented hybrid injection approach (SPEC-CM-007-D).