diff --git a/plugin/index.ts b/plugin/index.ts
index a22483b..63762f2 100644
--- a/plugin/index.ts
+++ b/plugin/index.ts
@@ -252,8 +252,13 @@ export default {
         await sendModeratorMessage(live.moderatorBotToken, channelId, discussionGuide, api.logger)
           .catch(() => undefined);
 
-        // Initialize speaker list
+        // Initialize speaker list (initiator first)
         const agentIds = await fetchVisibleChannelBotAccountIds(api, channelId, identityRegistry);
+        const initiatorIdx = agentIds.indexOf(initiatorAgentId);
+        if (initiatorIdx > 0) {
+          agentIds.splice(initiatorIdx, 1);
+          agentIds.unshift(initiatorAgentId);
+        }
         const speakers = agentIds
           .map((aid) => {
             const entry = identityRegistry.findByAgentId(aid);
diff --git a/plugin/tools/register-tools.ts b/plugin/tools/register-tools.ts
index b982da1..03f4a43 100644
--- a/plugin/tools/register-tools.ts
+++ b/plugin/tools/register-tools.ts
@@ -224,19 +224,35 @@ export function registerDirigentTools(deps: ToolDeps): void {
         callbackGuildId: { type: "string", description: "Guild ID of your current channel (for callback after discussion)" },
         callbackChannelId: { type: "string", description: "Channel ID to post the summary to after discussion completes" },
         name: { type: "string", description: "Discussion channel name" },
-        discussionGuide: { type: "string", description: "Topic, goals, and completion criteria for the discussion" },
+        discussionGuide: { type: "string", description: "Topic, goals, and completion criteria for the discussion (inline text)" },
+        discussionGuidePath: { type: "string", description: "Path to a file containing the discussion guide (alternative to inline discussionGuide)" },
         participants: { type: "array", items: { type: "string" }, description: "Discord user IDs of participating agents" },
       },
-      required: ["callbackGuildId", "callbackChannelId", "name", "discussionGuide", "participants"],
+      required: ["callbackGuildId", "callbackChannelId", "name", "participants"],
     },
     execute: async (_toolCallId: string, params: unknown) => {
       const p = params as {
         callbackGuildId: string;
         callbackChannelId: string;
         name: string;
-        discussionGuide: string;
+        discussionGuide?: string;
+        discussionGuidePath?: string;
         participants: string[];
       };
+
+      // Resolve discussion guide: inline text or file path
+      let resolvedGuide = p.discussionGuide || "";
+      if (!resolvedGuide && p.discussionGuidePath) {
+        try {
+          const { readFileSync } = await import("node:fs");
+          resolvedGuide = readFileSync(p.discussionGuidePath, "utf8").trim();
+        } catch (err) {
+          return errorResult(`Failed to read discussion guide file: ${String(err)}`);
+        }
+      }
+      if (!resolvedGuide) {
+        return errorResult("Either discussionGuide or discussionGuidePath is required");
+      }
       const initiatorAgentId = ctx?.agentId;
       if (!initiatorAgentId) {
         return errorResult("Cannot resolve initiator agentId from session");
@@ -291,7 +307,7 @@ export function registerDirigentTools(deps: ToolDeps): void {
         initiatorAgentId,
         callbackGuildId: p.callbackGuildId,
         callbackChannelId: p.callbackChannelId,
-        discussionGuide: p.discussionGuide,
+        discussionGuide: resolvedGuide,
         participants: p.participants,
       });