You can write a perfect character card and still lose the scene the moment they speak out loud, because TTS is unforgiving in a way text isn't. A slightly-too-cheerful "I missed you" makes the line impossible to take seriously. A pitch that's half a step off makes the character sound 20 years younger than they are.
Reverie gives you a lot of control over how a character sounds. This is a guide to using it well - which engine, which voice, and when emotion is worth reaching for.
The three engines: Edge, MiMo, and MiniMax
Reverie ships with three TTS providers:
Microsoft Edge TTS (free, default). A workhorse. 17+ languages, multiple voice options per language, gender-specific defaults, fast generation. The catch: it's a steady-state reader. It says lines clearly but doesn't dramatically act them. Excellent for most scenes; underpowered for high-emotion ones.
MiMo (free for now). The Voice Studio default, and free while the current promotion runs. Like MiniMax, it can carry an emotional register instead of reading flat - which makes it the obvious first thing to try. It costs nothing today and it acts the line rather than announcing it.
MiniMax (premium). Higher fidelity, multiple voice IDs per language, and the feature that actually matters: emotion support. The synthesis can carry an emotional register - tenderness, anger, hesitation - in a way Edge cannot. It needs an active subscription, and it bills per character of text, so length is the thing to watch: a long monologue costs more than a short line.
The right mental model isn't "free vs. paid." It's: Edge or MiMo for everyday lines, MiniMax for moments you want to remember.
If you're running a long arc where the character is mostly bantering, the free engines will carry it. The moment you hit the scene where the character finally says the thing they've been holding back, switch. It's the audio equivalent of paying for the premium model on a key reply - cheap insurance for the lines that matter.
How voice selection actually resolves
Reverie picks the voice for a character using this hierarchy: