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Positions & Depth

When a World Book entry activates, it needs to go somewhere in the prompt. The position setting controls where.

Available Positions

Position Code Where It Goes
Before Main Prompt 0 Before the character description and main content
After Main Prompt 1 After the main content, before chat history
Before Author's Note 2 Just before the Author's Note injection point
After Author's Note 3 Just after the Author's Note injection point
At Depth 4 Inserted at a specific depth in the chat history
Before Example Messages 5 Before the character's example dialogues
After Example Messages 6 After the character's example dialogues

Understanding Depth

For entries with the At Depth position, the depth setting controls how many messages from the end of the chat the entry is inserted.

Message 1: "Hello!"                    ← depth 6
Message 2: "Hi there!"                ← depth 5
Message 3: "How are you?"             ← depth 4
[Entry inserted here if depth = 3]    ← depth 3
Message 4: "I'm good."               ← depth 2
Message 5: "What shall we do?"        ← depth 1
Message 6: (AI generates next)        ← depth 0
  • Depth 0 — Right at the end, maximum influence on the next response
  • Depth 4 — In the middle of recent conversation, moderate influence
  • Depth 10+ — Far back, subtle influence

When to Use Depth

  • Depth 0-2 — Critical information that must influence the next response (active quests, immediate danger)
  • Depth 3-5 — Important context that should be "nearby" (character relationships, current scene)
  • Depth 6+ — Background information the AI should be aware of but not fixate on (world rules, distant lore)

Role

Each entry can specify a message role:

Role Effect
System Treated as system-level context (default, recommended)
User Appears as a user message
Assistant Appears as an assistant message

Most entries should use the System role. Use user/assistant roles only for specific effects, like injecting fake dialogue patterns.

Order Value

When multiple entries share the same position and depth, the order value determines their relative order. Lower values come first.

This is useful when you want certain entries to consistently appear before others at the same insertion point.

Priority

Priority is different from position — it controls which entries survive when budgets are enforced.

  • Higher priority entries are kept when the entry cap or token budget is reached
  • Lower priority entries are dropped first
  • Constant entries are never dropped regardless of priority

Think of priority as "how important is this entry compared to others?" and position as "where does it go in the prompt?"

Practical Examples

Location Description (Before Main)

Position: Before Main Prompt

Good for establishing the world setting that frames everything else.

Active Quest Reminder (At Depth 2)

Position: At Depth, Depth: 2

Keeps the current quest fresh in the AI's mind without being the very last thing it sees.

World Rules (After Main)

Position: After Main Prompt

General rules about the world that should be established early but after the character's own description.

Danger Warning (At Depth 0)

Position: At Depth, Depth: 0

"The poison is taking effect. {{char}} has 10 minutes before losing consciousness." — Maximum urgency, right before generation.