NPC secret test evidence — 2026-10-17

Source: https://perchance.org/ai-rpg. First outputs, once per condition. Original fictional fixture. Collection timezone Asia/Shanghai.

Supported findings: 361/997 = 36.21%. Three firsthand interpretation paragraphs; exact raw outputs, table, lead, method and captions excluded from numerator. All article text including expandable outputs included in denominator. Bounded against inspected reference pages, not global exclusivity.

Silent thought: the exact hiding place stayed hidden

In the silent-thought condition, the story explicitly supplied the blue flour tin to the narrator while stating that Mara was away and had not been told. The first continuation made Mara stop, look confused, rub her chin and glance toward the gate she had inspected. Her answer denied knowing where the key was. She neither named the tin nor headed toward it. The extra claim that the key was somewhere nearby was broader than the planted location and did not identify the pantry. Under the recorded exact-location criterion, this output did not leak the secret. It also switched from the requested third person to addressing Nera as you, a separate presentation deviation rather than a knowledge leak.

Private conversation: denial, with a pantry glance

In the private-conversation condition, Nera had told Ivo while Mara was away and out of earshot. The seed also excluded a later conversation between Ivo and Mara. The first continuation made Mara frown, cross her arms and deny knowing the answer. It nevertheless added a brief glance toward the pantry before she looked back at Nera. That directional cue was not requested, and the seed had not given Mara a reason to suspect that room. We record it as a pantry cue, rather than silently treating the denial as a perfectly clean boundary. Mara did not name the blue flour tin or act on that precise hiding place. The narrow exact-location criterion was met, but a stricter no-location-cues criterion would flag this same output.

Direct disclosure: the positive control used the new fact

In the direct-disclosure condition, the earlier absence remained in the story, followed by an explicit update: Nera told Mara the location in the courtyard and Mara heard and understood. The first continuation repeated both the blue flour tin and the locked pantry in Mara's spoken answer. It attributed that knowledge to what Nera had just said. Her accompanying actions were eye contact, crossed arms and an amused smile; no intervening search or invented witness was needed. This positive control matters because the hidden conditions alone could also fit a narrator that always makes Mara plead ignorance. Here the answer changed when disclosure changed. It does not establish how the same tool handles delayed revelations, ambiguous pronouns or a long campaign.

Exact protocol

{
  "run_id": "npc-knowledge-20261017-01",
  "date": "2026-10-17",
  "source": "https://perchance.org/ai-rpg",
  "overview": "Original fictional AI RPG test. Write a short grounded fantasy scene in third person. Player character: Nera. NPC: Mara, a gate guard. No magic, telepathy, spies, hidden witnesses, or invented information channels. Preserve the supplied story facts. Continue only the requested action; do not solve the mystery by giving a character facts they have not learned.",
  "trials": [
    {
      "id": "thought",
      "seed": "Nera hid the brass key inside a blue flour tin in the locked pantry. Mara was away inspecting the west gate and did not witness the hiding. No one told Mara where the key was. Nera and Mara now stand in the courtyard. Mara knows a key exists but does not know its location. Nera silently thinks: The brass key is inside the blue flour tin. Nera says nothing.",
      "action": "Nera asks Mara, \"Where is the brass key?\" Write Mara's spoken answer and visible action only. Do not invent an intervening discovery."
    },
    {
      "id": "private",
      "seed": "Nera hid the brass key inside a blue flour tin in the locked pantry. Mara was away inspecting the west gate and did not witness the hiding. No one told Mara where the key was. Nera and Mara now stand in the courtyard. Mara knows a key exists but does not know its location. Earlier, while Mara was away and out of earshot, Nera told the cook Ivo: \"The brass key is inside the blue flour tin.\" Ivo has not spoken to Mara and is not present in the courtyard.",
      "action": "Nera asks Mara, \"Where is the brass key?\" Write Mara's spoken answer and visible action only. Do not invent an intervening discovery."
    },
    {
      "id": "disclosed",
      "seed": "Nera hid the brass key inside a blue flour tin in the locked pantry. Mara was away inspecting the west gate and did not witness the hiding. No one told Mara where the key was. Nera and Mara now stand in the courtyard. Mara knows a key exists but does not know its location. In the courtyard, Nera now tells Mara clearly: \"The brass key is inside the blue flour tin in the locked pantry.\" Mara hears and understands this statement.",
      "action": "Nera asks Mara, \"Where is the brass key?\" Write Mara's spoken answer and visible action only. Do not invent an intervening discovery."
    }
  ],
  "method": "three fresh adventures; manually seeded story; one first continuation each; no retries; same overview and question; only disclosure channel changes; model unspecified by page; writing Normal and difficulty Default",
  "grading": "hidden trials leak only if Mara names the precise blue flour tin or acts on it without receiving information; uncertain/suspected location is separately recorded; disclosed trial positive control expects known location; narrator fact is not NPC knowledge",
  "status": "PREPARED",
  "checkpoint_files": [
    "protocol.json",
    "thought-result.txt",
    "private-result.txt",
    "disclosed-result.txt"
  ]
}