outline-supporting-cast

Start by listing the protagonist's gaps in skills, emotions, resources, and social access, then assign only the roles that fill those gaps. Each supporting character should teach, challenge, protect, or pressure the protagonist rather than exist as decoration.

Common functional types include mentor, love interest, benefactor, loyal subordinate, rival, antagonist, and partner. Each type serves a distinct purpose such as opening doors, creating emotional stakes, or blocking the protagonist's current stage goal.

Plan supporting characters only after the protagonist design exists, since every role must be derived from the protagonist's gaps and needs. Creating the cast first leads to characters with no clear narrative function.

Tie every character to a concrete function and delete or merge any role that serves no purpose. If two characters fill the same gap, combine them into one to keep the cast lean and focused on the mainline.

It produces a Markdown table with columns for role type, temporary name, the protagonist gap served, relationship to the mainline, and the character's purpose at first appearance. This format makes each character's narrative justification explicit.