diff --git a/src/talemate/agents/world_state/__init__.py b/src/talemate/agents/world_state/__init__.py
index 19d55c39..9e2acce0 100644
--- a/src/talemate/agents/world_state/__init__.py
+++ b/src/talemate/agents/world_state/__init__.py
@@ -133,6 +133,15 @@ class WorldStateAgent(MemoryRAGMixin, CharacterProgressionMixin, AvatarMixin, Ag
                         description="When on, Look at and Investigate messages also count as part of the current moment and can show inline highlights.",
                         value=False,
                     ),
+                    "examine_length": AgentActionConfig(
+                        type="number",
+                        label="Investigate length",
+                        description="Token length for the Investigate result when taking a closer look at a highlighted entity. Shorter lengths also tell the model to keep the description briefer.",
+                        value=256,
+                        min=32,
+                        max=1024,
+                        step=32,
+                    ),
                     "inject_as_scene_memory": AgentActionConfig(
                         type="bool",
                         label="Pin to context",
@@ -236,6 +245,10 @@ class WorldStateAgent(MemoryRAGMixin, CharacterProgressionMixin, AvatarMixin, Ag
             "update_world_state", "include_context_investigation"
         )
 
+    @property
+    def update_world_state_examine_length(self) -> int:
+        return self.resolve_config("update_world_state", "examine_length")
+
     @property
     def update_world_state_durable_snapshot(self) -> bool:
         return self.resolve_config("update_world_state", "durable_snapshot")
@@ -498,7 +511,8 @@ class WorldStateAgent(MemoryRAGMixin, CharacterProgressionMixin, AvatarMixin, Ag
         entity. Takes the 2-3 sentence snapshot text and expands it into
         grounded prose describing what the player observes about the entity
         at this moment in the scene. Output length is governed by the
-        `create` kind's token budget via response-length.jinja2.
+        `examine_length` config, which both caps the tokens and scales the
+        auto-appended response-length instruction.
 
         Returns the synthesized text. Caller is responsible for surfacing it
         in the UI — typically as a ContextInvestigationMessage anchored to
@@ -509,10 +523,12 @@ class WorldStateAgent(MemoryRAGMixin, CharacterProgressionMixin, AvatarMixin, Ag
         if not snapshot_text or not snapshot_text.strip():
             raise ValueError("examine_entity requires non-empty snapshot_text")
 
+        response_length = self.update_world_state_examine_length
+
         _, extracted = await Prompt.request(
             "world_state.examine-entity",
             self.client,
-            "create",
+            f"create_{response_length}",
             vars={
                 "scene": self.scene,
                 "max_tokens": self.client.max_token_length,
diff --git a/src/talemate/client/presets.py b/src/talemate/client/presets.py
index ec2b612a..3b4db2a9 100644
--- a/src/talemate/client/presets.py
+++ b/src/talemate/client/presets.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ __all__ = [
     "set_max_tokens",
     "set_preset",
     "preset_for_kind",
+    "preset_name_for_kind",
     "make_kind",
     "max_tokens_for_kind",
 ]
@@ -84,6 +85,11 @@ PRESET_SUBSTRING_MAPPINGS = {
     "visualize": "creative_instruction",
     "visual": "creative_instruction",
     "world_state": "analytical",
+    # Must stay after "create"/"creative": preset_for_kind takes the LAST
+    # matching substring, so this lets a parametric kind like
+    # "creative_instruction_256" resolve to the creative_instruction preset
+    # instead of being captured by the broader "create"/"creative" entries.
+    "creative_instruction": "creative_instruction",
 }
 
 PRESET_MAPPING = {
@@ -105,11 +111,14 @@ PRESET_MAPPING = {
 }
 
 
-def preset_for_kind(kind: str, client: "ClientBase") -> dict:
-    # Check the substrings first(based on order of the original elifs)
-
-    preset_name = None
+def preset_name_for_kind(kind: str) -> str | None:
+    """
+    Resolve a kind string to an inference preset name.
 
+    Exact matches in PRESET_MAPPING win first; otherwise the LAST matching
+    substring in PRESET_SUBSTRING_MAPPINGS is used (so more specific entries
+    placed later override broader ones). Returns None when nothing matches.
+    """
     preset_name = PRESET_MAPPING.get(kind)
 
     if not preset_name:
@@ -117,6 +126,12 @@ def preset_for_kind(kind: str, client: "ClientBase") -> dict:
             if substring in kind:
                 preset_name = value
 
+    return preset_name
+
+
+def preset_for_kind(kind: str, client: "ClientBase") -> dict:
+    preset_name = preset_name_for_kind(kind)
+
     if not preset_name:
         log.warning(
             f"No preset found for kind {kind}, defaulting to 'scene_direction'",
diff --git a/tests/prompts/test_world_state_templates.py b/tests/prompts/test_world_state_templates.py
index 53a5d8a1..cec1c76f 100644
--- a/tests/prompts/test_world_state_templates.py
+++ b/tests/prompts/test_world_state_templates.py
@@ -733,6 +733,20 @@ class TestWorldStateAgentExamineMethods:
                 entity_name="X", entity_kind="item", snapshot_text="   "
             )
 
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_examine_entity_uses_configured_length_in_kind(self, active_context):
+        agent = active_context
+        agent.actions["update_world_state"].config["examine_length"].value = 128
+        agent.client.send_prompt = AsyncMock(return_value="A short look.</EXAMINE>")
+
+        await agent.examine_entity(
+            entity_name="The Silver Dagger",
+            entity_kind="item",
+            snapshot_text="A worn silver dagger with an etched pommel sigil.",
+        )
+
+        assert agent.client.send_prompt.call_args.kwargs["kind"] == "create_128"
+
 
 class TestWorldStateAgentReinforcementMethods:
     """Tests for world_state agent reinforcement methods."""
diff --git a/tests/test_client_presets.py b/tests/test_client_presets.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..61f62c07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_client_presets.py
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+"""Tests for kind -> preset/token resolution in talemate.client.presets."""
+
+import pytest
+
+from talemate.client.presets import (
+    max_tokens_for_kind,
+    preset_name_for_kind,
+)
+
+
+class TestPresetNameForKind:
+    def test_exact_match_wins(self):
+        assert preset_name_for_kind("create") == "creative_instruction"
+        assert preset_name_for_kind("conversation") == "conversation"
+
+    def test_substring_fallback(self):
+        assert preset_name_for_kind("narrate_512") == "creative"
+        assert preset_name_for_kind("create_256") == "creative"
+
+    def test_unknown_kind_returns_none(self):
+        assert preset_name_for_kind("totally_unknown") is None
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("length", [128, 256, 512])
+    def test_creative_instruction_parametric_kind_keeps_preset(self, length):
+        # A parametric creative_instruction kind must resolve to the
+        # creative_instruction preset, not be captured by the broader
+        # "create"/"creative" substring entries.
+        assert (
+            preset_name_for_kind(f"creative_instruction_{length}")
+            == "creative_instruction"
+        )
+
+    def test_create_parametric_kind_unaffected(self):
+        # The narrower creative_instruction entry must not change how plain
+        # create_/creative_ parametric kinds resolve.
+        assert preset_name_for_kind("create_256") == "creative"
+        assert preset_name_for_kind("creative_256") == "creative"
+
+
+class TestMaxTokensForKind:
+    def test_trailing_digit_is_used(self):
+        assert max_tokens_for_kind("creative_instruction_256", 8192) == 256
+        assert max_tokens_for_kind("create_128", 8192) == 128
+
+    def test_callable_budget_mapping(self):
+        # "create" caps at min(1024, budget * 0.35)
+        assert max_tokens_for_kind("create", 1000) == 350
+        assert max_tokens_for_kind("create", 100000) == 1024