diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index b659595..654fe1a 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -15,6 +15,16 @@ ENGINE_PORT=8088
 ORACLE_TEMPERATURE=0.5          # 0=cautious, 1=imaginative
 ORACLE_TIMEOUT_SEC=180
 
+# ── Swarm persona models (optional) ──
+# Override the LLM model used for individual swarm personas during deliberation.
+# Each persona can use a different model suited to its lens. When unset, the
+# persona falls back to the main LLM_MODEL. Useful for running a reasoning
+# model on the Skeptic while keeping faster models on other personas.
+# SWARM_MODEL_STRATEGIST=qwen2.5:32b
+# SWARM_MODEL_ECONOMIST=qwen2.5:32b
+# SWARM_MODEL_NATURALIST=gemma3:12b
+# SWARM_MODEL_SKEPTIC=deepseek-r1:14b
+
 # ── Predictions ──
 HORIZONS=24h,week,month,year    # time horizons to forecast
 PREDICTIONS_PER_HORIZON=3
diff --git a/engine/config.py b/engine/config.py
index 6ab3e3c..20adf77 100644
--- a/engine/config.py
+++ b/engine/config.py
@@ -80,6 +80,16 @@ class Config:
 
     # ── Swarm (a council of LLM personas deliberates each forecast) ──
     swarm_enabled: bool = field(default_factory=lambda: _b("SWARM_ENABLED", True))
+    swarm_persona_models: dict[str, str] = field(default_factory=lambda: {
+        name: model
+        for name, model in [
+            ("Strategist", os.environ.get("SWARM_MODEL_STRATEGIST", "")),
+            ("Economist", os.environ.get("SWARM_MODEL_ECONOMIST", "")),
+            ("Naturalist", os.environ.get("SWARM_MODEL_NATURALIST", "")),
+            ("Skeptic", os.environ.get("SWARM_MODEL_SKEPTIC", "")),
+        ]
+        if model
+    })
 
     def summary(self) -> dict:
         return {
diff --git a/engine/oracle.py b/engine/oracle.py
index 597d7e1..362ac05 100644
--- a/engine/oracle.py
+++ b/engine/oracle.py
@@ -94,8 +94,8 @@ async def predict(self, brief: WorldBrief, on_stage: StageCB = None) -> list[Pre
     async def _chat(self, user: str) -> str:
         return await self._complete([{"role": "system", "content": SYSTEM}, {"role": "user", "content": user}], 1400)
 
-    async def _complete(self, messages: list[dict], max_tokens: int = 900) -> str:
-        body = {"model": self.model, "messages": messages, "temperature": CONFIG.temperature, "max_tokens": max_tokens}
+    async def _complete(self, messages: list[dict], max_tokens: int = 900, model: str | None = None) -> str:
+        body = {"model": model or self.model, "messages": messages, "temperature": CONFIG.temperature, "max_tokens": max_tokens}
         async with httpx.AsyncClient(verify=HTTPX_VERIFY, timeout=CONFIG.request_timeout) as c:
             r = await c.post(f"{self.base}/chat/completions", json=body,
                              headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {self.key}"})
diff --git a/engine/swarm.py b/engine/swarm.py
index 7f30651..cdbc145 100644
--- a/engine/swarm.py
+++ b/engine/swarm.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 import json
 import logging
 
+from .config import CONFIG
 from .models import AgentView, Prediction, WorldBrief
 
 log = logging.getLogger("pythia.swarm")
@@ -50,8 +51,9 @@ def _persona_messages(name: str, lens: str, brief_text: str, preds: list[Predict
 async def _ask(oracle, name: str, lens: str, brief_text: str,
                preds: list[Prediction]) -> tuple[str, dict[int, tuple[float, str]]]:
     """Run one persona; return its {prediction_index: (probability, note)} map."""
+    persona_model = CONFIG.swarm_persona_models.get(name)
     try:
-        text = await oracle._complete(_persona_messages(name, lens, brief_text, preds), max_tokens=1300)
+        text = await oracle._complete(_persona_messages(name, lens, brief_text, preds), max_tokens=1300, model=persona_model)
     except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001
         log.warning("swarm persona %s failed: %s", name, e)
         return name, {}