Hm. Dialogue systems are hard, yo.
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3719/defining_dialogue_systems.php?print=1

And they don't even mention the granddaddy of dialogue systems, Ultima.

Which is I think what I'm going to imitate. You'll walk up to an NPC, hit T, type a few words, and they'll respond.
#gamedev