init mod

locale/en.properties

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+mod_starter_party_name = Starter Party
+mod_starter_party_desc = Seeds the default starter party (Marao) and the slave_master skill after mod resources are ready, and restores it on NewGameStartedEvent. Split out of visual_novel_core so the base content mod stays pure content.

locale/ru.properties

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+mod_starter_party_name = Стартовая партия
+mod_starter_party_desc = Выдаёт стартовую партию (Марао) и умение slave_master после готовности ресурсов модов и восстанавливает её на событии новой игры. Вынесено из visual_novel_core, чтобы базовый контент-мод оставался чистым контентом.

manifest.json

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+{
+  "id": "starter_party",
+  "name": "Starter Party",
+  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "author": "ct",
+  "description": "Seeds the default starter party (Marao) and the slave_master skill after mod resources are ready, and restores it on NewGameStartedEvent. Split out of visual_novel_core so the base content mod stays pure content (scenes/dialogs/quests/data) with no C# gameplay logic.",
+  "category": "engine, library",
+  "sources": [
+    "src/**/*.cs"
+  ],
+  "depends": [
+    "visual_novel_core>=1",
+    "skills_base>=1"
+  ],
+  "ui": []
+}

src/StarterPartyInitializer.cs

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+using Cthangover.Core.Events;
+using Cthangover.Core.Mods;
+using Cthangover.Core.Settings;
+using Cthangover.Mods.Skills;
+
+namespace Cthangover.Mods.StarterParty
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Populates the initial player party with the default starter
+    /// character <c>"Marao"</c> when the starter_party mod finishes loading.
+    ///
+    /// The party can only be populated during <c>OnModResourcesReady</c>,
+    /// not earlier. <c>OnModLoaded</c> and the constructor fire inside
+    /// <c>ModRegistry.Initialize</c> → <c>ModCompiler.LoadModCode</c>,
+    /// where mod JSON resources are not yet guaranteed to be accessible.
+    /// <c>AddCharacterToParty</c> chains into <c>CharacterFactory.Get</c>,
+    /// which triggers the shared entity resolver's first scan — this requires
+    /// file providers to be fully set up, which only happens after the
+    /// entire <c>ModRegistry.Initialize</c> pipeline completes.
+    ///
+    /// <c>OnModResourcesReady</c> is invoked by <c>ModInitializerRegistry
+    /// .NotifyResourcesReady</c> at the end of <c>SceneManager.Initialize</c>,
+    /// after <c>ModRegistry</c> finishes discovery, <c>SceneEventRegistry</c>
+    /// is primed, and scene definitions are collected. At that point all
+    /// factories can safely read mod JSON data.
+    ///
+    /// Mods that introduce additional starter characters should implement
+    /// their own <c>IModInitializer</c> and call <c>AddCharacterToParty</c>
+    /// from <c>OnModResourcesReady</c> for their character IDs.
+    /// </summary>
+    public class StarterPartyInitializer : IModInitializer
+    {
+        private static bool newGameHookInstalled;
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// No-op: cross-mod lifecycle notifications are not needed for
+        /// starter party setup. Each mod's <c>OnModResourcesReady</c>
+        /// handles its own default characters independently.
+        /// </summary>
+        public void OnModLoaded(string modId) { }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Adds the starter_party mod's default starter character <c>"Marao"</c>
+        /// to both <c>Characters</c> and <c>BattleSet</c> via
+        /// <c>CharacterData.AddCharacterToParty</c>. Called once, after
+        /// all mod file providers and JSON resources are guaranteed to
+        /// be accessible. Also installs the one-time
+        /// <see cref="NewGameStartedEvent"/> hook so the starter party is
+        /// restored after <c>ResetRuntime</c> wipes it at the start of a
+        /// new game. Both operations are idempotent.
+        /// </summary>
+        public void OnModResourcesReady()
+        {
+            SeedStarterParty();
+
+            if (newGameHookInstalled)
+                return;
+
+            newGameHookInstalled = true;
+            ModEventBus.Subscribe<NewGameStartedEvent>(_ => SeedStarterParty());
+        }
+
+        private static void SeedStarterParty()
+        {
+            GameData.Instance.Runtime.CharacterData.AddCharacterToParty("Marao");
+            SkillService.GrantSkill("slave_master");
+        }
+    }
+}