Skyrim Build Creator

Create a complete, playable Skyrim character fantasy that fits the current Lorebuilds Jekyll site. Treat the repository as the source of truth: inspect _layouts/journal-build.html, the relevant includes, and one strong current build before editing. If the live layout disagrees with this skill, follow the layout and update the skill when asked.

Read the relevant guidance

• Read references/page-schema.md before creating or restructuring a build.
• Read references/writing-guide.md before drafting the overview, backstory, rules, or quest route.
• Read references/uesp-images.md when adding or replacing UESP reference imagery. Skip it when the user explicitly wants an image-free build.

Shape the character

Resolve the concept into a coherent race, archetype, motivation, visual identity, combat loop, early-game start, progression, Standing Stone, skills, equipment, companions, homes, factions, and quest route. Infer reasonable details from the fantasy and existing site conventions; ask only when a missing choice would materially change the build.

Default to unmodded Skyrim Anniversary Edition because that is the site’s declared scope. Distinguish base-game, DLC, and Creation Club content when acquisition depends on the edition. Verify obscure mechanics, item locations, follower eligibility, quest states, and lore against UESP; use an official Bethesda source as well when establishing Anniversary Edition inclusion.

Keep three things aligned:

1. The fantasy: what the character believes they are.
2. The mechanics: what the player repeatedly does in combat, travel, preparation, and dialogue.
3. The route: why the selected quests, factions, homes, and equipment advance the same life story.

Give the character a viable identity early. Explain how a level-one character leaving Helgen or reaching Riverwood can begin looking and playing the part, then show meaningful mid- and late-game evolution.

Author the page

Create or update one collection entry in _skyrim_builds/. The Markdown body is only the backstory; every other page section is driven by front matter. Do not add arbitrary body headings that duplicate layout widgets.

Use an archetypal page title rather than the character’s personal name. Preserve the user’s defining term throughout: a Druid remains a Druid, for example, even if staves happen to be part of the loadout.

Write the cover overview as one short paragraph that creates interest without repeating the roleplay rules, equipment notes, or quest descriptions. Keep excerpt and playstyle_summary to one sentence each.

Build enough specific material for every selected widget to be useful. Prefer a smaller, coherent set of skills, items, factions, and quests over padding. Give one faction clear primacy and make the others visibly secondary.

Use YAML block scalars such as >- for prose containing colons, apostrophes, or multiple clauses. Ensure keys in weapons, armor, key_skills, and questlines exactly match their corresponding image, note, and description mappings.

Handle imagery deliberately

Use user-supplied or in-game captures for the cover and photographic galleries. Do not generate replacement character art unless the user explicitly requests generated art. If captures are not supplied, leave the cover/gallery image fields absent, allow the built-in portrait placeholder to render, and add a practical capture_plan when the page is expected to become a finished build.

Use UESP imagery for reference widgets: skill constellations, equipment, companions, homes, factions, and transformation forms. Download local copies instead of hotlinking, retain a stable UESP article or file-page URL in source_url, write factual alt text, and preserve the layout’s credit flags.

When placing captures:

• choose a hero that reads clearly at the journal crop and centre the character with profile_image_position or a non-destructive site copy;
• do not immediately repeat the hero as Plate 01 when another strong opener exists;
• for a three-image encounter gallery, place the intended full-width lead first;
• separate field action, landscape, social encounter, close-up, and outfit-progression images by narrative purpose;
• optimise site copies to WebP where appropriate without overwriting supplied originals.

Validate the result

Before handing off:

1. Parse/build the Jekyll site and fix front-matter serialization problems.
2. Run ruby scripts/validate-capture-plans.rb when the validator and capture plans are in scope.
3. Run git diff --check without disturbing unrelated user changes.
4. Verify every local image path and every mapping lookup used by the page.
5. Inspect the rendered detail page and archive card when a local server or build output is available. Check hero cropping, three-image promotion, disclosure widgets, responsive galleries, and missing assets.
6. Preserve the current published state unless the user asks to change visibility. Never deploy, push, or publish merely because the page is complete.

Report the completed page, important assumptions, verification performed, and any intentionally pending in-game captures.