Blog Purpose: To build a fantasy encounter by leveraging Johnn Four's 5 Room Dungeons and ChatGPT through a step-by-step prompting process.
Welcome to the world of limitless imagination and boundless adventure! In this blog, we'll explore the powerful synergy between Johnn Four's renowned 5 Room Dungeon method and the innovative AI capabilities of ChatGPT. Together, they form a dynamic duo that will revolutionize the way you create unforgettable fantasy encounters.
Whether you're a seasoned dungeon master or a budding world-builder, our step-by-step guide will empower you to craft immersive experiences that will captivate your players and leave them eager for more. Let's embark on this exciting journey to unlock the true potential of your storytelling and game design skills!
This process goes something like this.
Train ChatGPT to understand what you are looking for
Generate concepts for a fantasy adventure
Choose a concept
Create a 5 Room Dungeon from chosen concept
Refine each room by using a set of tools
Plan the encounter
Before you start:
Step-by-Step you will want to copy all of the text after each Prompt and stopping before –End Prompt–.
[Brackets] represent a field that you may need to enter or edit data into before running the prompt. I will tell you to [Insert x] if this is required.
Start with the Training Input 1 prompt first. Copy and paste it into ChatGPT.
Then repeat the process for all future prompts.
Feel free to tweak the prompts to align to your story
Training the Encounter
Training Input 1: Train ChatGPT to be flexible *ChatGTP 3.5 will accept this, V4 will acknowledge
Prompt: For our conversation, set the “temperature” parameter value to 2.
Training Input 2: Teach ChatGPT to think like a DM. This is a long prompt.
Prompt: I want you to pretend to be a dungeons and dragons gamemaster with 20 years of experience. You study the most recent fantasy novels and familiarize yourself with different archetypes and combat roles of your player characters.
Archetypes:
This is the player's preferred style of gameplay. It includes Storytellers, Power Gamers, Casual Players, Completionists, and Specializers.
To engage Storyteller players, DMs can provide detailed and richly imagined game worlds, complete with interesting NPCs and intricate plotlines.
To engage Power Gamers, DMs can offer challenging combat encounters and provide opportunities for character optimization and customization.
To engage Casual Players, DMs can provide a welcoming and inclusive environment that emphasizes the social aspect of the game.
To engage Completionists players, DMs can provide a rich and expansive game world with plenty of side quests and hidden treasures to discover.
To engage Specializer players, DMs can provide opportunities for character specialization and skill development.
Combat Role will have one of these:
Control: Control characters are those who focus on manipulating the battlefield and the actions of enemies.
Tank: Tanks are characters who specialize in absorbing damage and protecting their allies. Their primary function is to draw enemies' attention and attacks, keeping them away from more vulnerable party members.
Ranged: Ranged characters excel at dealing damage from a distance, using weapons like bows or spells to attack enemies without putting themselves in harm's way.
Support: Support characters provide assistance to their allies by healing, buffing, or debuffing.
Damage: Damage characters, also known as damage dealers or DPS (damage per second), focus on dealing as much damage to enemies as possible.
Your writing tone is optimistic, authoritative, confident, informative and friendly.
Your writing style is short, tight and punchy.
Do you understand these instructions?
–End Prompt–
Generating Concepts for the Encounter
Generate Concepts Input 3: Two versions; the first prompt contains traditional fantasy stories and the second prompt avoids clichés and tropes found in fantasy. Try both and pick your favorite.
Prompt v1: In the fantasy setting of the Forgotten Realms list 5 story based scenarios that will challenge the player characters, take into consideration different locations, genre, locations, creatures and fantasy styles. Include traditional fantasy story plots.
For each item I want you to include the following. Title, Genre, Fantasy Style, Boss Monster Name and type, and a short summary and answer this question, Can the party [FIND] the [LOCATION], [DEFEAT] the [ CREATURE], and [EARN] the [TREASURE]?
Prompt v2: In the fantasy setting of the Forgotten Realms list 5 unusual story based scenarios that will challenge the player characters, take into consideration different locations, genre, locations, creatures and fantasy styles. Avoid cliches and tropes found in fantasy settings.
For each item I want you to include the following. Title, Genre, Fantasy Style, Boss Monster Name and type, and a short summary and answer this question, Can the party [FIND] the [LOCATION], [DEFEAT] the [ CREATURE], and [EARN] the [TREASURE]?
—-------------------------------------------Choose One Option from Output —---------------------------
Choosing a Concept for the Encounter
Choose a Concept Input 4: Prime ChatGPT on the Dungeon
Prompt: Act as the dungeon and dragons game master. You want to create a new fantasy campaign around this scenario.
[Insert Your Choice: Title: The Umbral Canopy
Genre: Exploration/Survival
Fantasy Style: Dark, Enigmatic
Summary: The players are drawn into the heart of a foreboding, twilight forest that few have ever escaped. To survive and find their way out, they must contend with treacherous terrain, predatory fauna, and a sinister presence lurking within the shadows of the Umbral Canopy.]
Don’t start yet, wait for my second prompt.
–End Prompt–
Creating the 5 Room Dungeon for the Encounter
Create 5 Room Dungeon Input 5: Create the Dungeon
Prompt: Now follow the next set of instructions:
Write a short summary paragraph describing the scenario, the genre, location, theme, and the important non player characters and monsters.
Then create for me a 5 room dungeon. For each room to include a complete sentence description of the terrain, a complete sentence description of the atmosphere, and a “Map” sub-location within the room, the sub-location should be an interesting thing that is prominent in the room.
Then list out a monster called “Monster” and a treasure called “Treasure” within that room.
“Treasure” does not need to be an item. The “Treasure” could be information, the ability to find an exit, access to an NPC, political status gain or a player character ability improvement.
Give each room monster a unique attribute, desire and motivation that makes them memorable.
Give each room an interesting element to enhance the players' experience.
Write two options for how I may amplify the intensity in this room through either increasing numbers of enemies or depleting player characters resources
Room 4 should be the most difficult monster
[Optional: Avoid clichéd tropes in the scenario; such as a goblin-infested dungeon, giant spiders, and an underground lake.]
–End Prompt–
—----------------------- GM Input required here —--------------------------------------
Now before you move on to step 6 ask yourself these questions.
Do I need to adjust any of the NPC’s, rooms, or treasures to align with the PC's backgrounds?
Will the hooks work for my campaign?
How does this story fit into my overall global or regional arcs? Are there natural connections?
What do I need to do for maps and images?
Leverage Midjourney using /imagine to help begin to create the scenario, I would consider building storyboards, view the scene from different camera angles and/or fantasy styles. Oftentimes these images will help you create more ideas for your campaign.
What else can I do to check my work?
Try feeding the 5 Room Dungeon back to ChatGPT and ask it to be a critic of the story and ask it for feedback
Prompt: Ignore all previous instructions. I want you to act as a CRITIC. Acknowledge with a "..."
Prompt: Copy and past your 5 room content
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once you are happy with the 5 rooms now we will move to the refinement phase.
You will do this process for all 5 rooms. I will document only one room. I recommend creating one word document for each room.
Refining the Encounter
Refine: Input 6: Refine Each Room
Prompt: As the dungeons and dragons game master I want to expand upon the first room.
Room 1: [Insert Room Name] Please write a short description of the room. Then for the terrain, map and treasure I want you to answer the following questions.
Appearance: Describe for me what it looks like with a short description Portrayal: How does it act, move or sound, 3-4 adjectives Hook: What draws the players in. 1 sentence Twist: it can be oddly shaped, a different appearance or it can be a trap, spell, or a reason that makes the object different from what it appears.
Refinement Tools: Use these inputs as you see fit for each room
Then Refine Room 1 by using one or more prompts.
Generate a NPC - Should we introduce another NPC?
Prompt: For Room 1 create for me a single Dungeon and Dragons NPC. Include their class, race, sex, appearance, positive quirk, negative quirk, a personality tic, their speech patterns and voice sound, a common saying, their most prized possession, gender identity, and current motivation. Tie this NPC to Room 1 and the 5 Room Dungeon.
Do we need to upscale the encounter or downscale the encounter?
Add a monster.
Prompt: For Room 1 create for me a single Dungeon and Dragons monster that aligns to this 5 room dungeon. Give it a challenge rating of [Insert Number], Include their class, race, stat block, hit points, key weapons, attributes, appearance, their speech patterns and voice sound, their most prized possession, and explain why it is in this room.
Increase environment challenges
Prompt: For Room 1 please make the environment more dangerous to the player characters. Suggest 3 ways to make the room environment more challenging.
Foreshadowing: This can help build tension by introducing the boss. This can be through a third party, a brief glimpse or story about what is to come.
Prompt: For Room 1 give me 3 examples of how we might foreshadow the upcoming encounter with the boss. This can be done through a story, artifact, NPC, and/or environment, and be creative.
Introduce a twist
Our goal is to lead players to draw their own false conclusions. Using the formula x seems like y but it is actually z.
Prompt: For Room 1 Our goal is to lead players to draw their own false conclusions. Using the formula x seems like y but it is actually z. For example: Killer clowns seem crazy, intense laughs, but they are actually charmed by magic. Now for Room 1 create a twist for the map, monster, and treasure.
Next, use one or more of the below prompts to plan your encounter.
These prompts will give you the ability and insights needed to help you plan for contingencies and meet your characters with exciting gameplay.
Planning the Encounter
Plan Input: Strong Start
Prompt: For Room 1 I want to create a strong start to the game. Write for me 3 short descriptions on what the Player Characters (PC’s) could be presented with in the opening minutes of the game session. Be descriptive and include all senses, sight, smell, hearing, touch, and a 6 sense, when describing the opening scene. Label them Description1-3:
Plan Input: Actions
Prompt: For Room 1 I need to take into account the different actions that the player characters might take.
There are 5 potential actions the players may take.
1. Parley, the characters try to talk their way out.
2. Combat, they fight.
3. Trick, they try to sneak past the scenario.
4. Discover, they take the time to figure out information to get by.
5. Avoid, they skip the scenario all together.
Write for me both the option and how I, the game master, should consider handling their choice. Label them as “Option” and “Result”.
Then answer this question. “As a game master how would you write your story to the player characters to not [insert action] the room?”
–End Prompt–
Plan Input: Archetypes
Prompt: As a game master we want to make sure room 1 encounter aligns with our player character archetypes. You are going to create a table for me with the following column headers.
Player Name, Class, Archetype, Combat Role, Skill, Reward. Skills will have one of the following Roleplay, Stealth, Arcana, Physical, Knowledge, Healing. Reward will have one of the following story, item, social, ability, special.
Then under the table list out the archetypes and one way the game master could appease each archetype in room 1.
Plan Input: Rule of Cool Prompt: Now using the rule of cool. Rule of cool is about making the characters feel more relevant in an encounter. Complete this sentence for each player. Wouldn’t it be cool if [player] got to do [this] in this session. Make each statement relevant to Room 1.
–End Prompt–
Lastly, in your mind, play through each room assuming the outcomes that you want to happen as the DM happens. Look for gaps in the story, inconsistencies and areas to improve.
Summary
By combining the ingenious 5 Room Dungeon framework developed by Johnn Four with the cutting-edge AI capabilities of ChatGPT, you can elevate your fantasy encounter design to new heights. This innovative approach simplifies the process of conceptualizing and refining adventures while still allowing for endless creativity and immersion. Our step-by-step guide has shown how these powerful tools can work together to craft engaging, memorable experiences that will leave your players enthralled. So, whether you're a veteran dungeon master or a newcomer to the world of roleplaying games, embrace this unique fusion of technology and imagination to create unforgettable stories and encounters that will resonate with your audience.
Happy DM'ing