As Dungeon Masters (DMs), we strive to create an engaging, captivating world for our players, allowing them to experience unparalleled adventures. Just as a writer uses words to craft a tale, we DMs rely on campaigns, modules, and encounters to tell our stories. To help understand this structure better, imagine that the campaign is a book. Within this book, modules are akin to chapters, and encounters are the intricate puzzle pieces that players navigate to weave their own narrative that writes the story.
With the advent of AI, building a campaign can be streamlined, ensuring an adaptive and dynamic experience for your players. In today's blog, we will explore the campaign, module and encounter relationships to help GMs create and build your campaign.
To leverage AI to the fullest, the answer lies in crafting the perfect prompt, a blend of persona, context, task, example, and tone. What I refer to as the PCTET Method.
I use the PCTET prompting methodology to build out each layer of my story. Lets dive into the details for each layer.
Campaigns: The storybook approach to your game.
Definition: A campaign is a series of connected adventures that form a broader narrative. It's the overarching story that contains the heroes' journey, major plot twists, and the resolution.
Designing a Campaign: Think of it as crafting a novel in real-time, where the end may or may not be known, but how the players reach that destination is up to them. This includes setting the stage, introducing major antagonists, and establishing core themes.
Duration: Campaigns can last from a few sessions to several years, depending on the depth of the story and frequency of play.
AI: The Campaign overview is the first thing the AI should be trained on. Think of it like the cliff notes of your campaign.
Once the AI is trained on the campaign overview, I then use structured prompting to further develop my campaign.
Campaign Overview Template
Campaign Prompt Example
Gamemasters Platform View of the Campaign Object and Trained AI Assistant
Modules: The unfinished chapters within your story.
Definition: A module can be a self-contained adventure or a set of adventures that can be played independently or as part of a larger campaign. They represent significant milestones or chapters within the broader narrative.
Designing a Module: While creating a module, DMs predefine objectives, introduce key NPCs, and set up challenges. The story within a module is often left open-ended, allowing the next module or player choices to dictate its direction.
Adaptability: Modules can be plugged into different campaigns or used as standalone adventures. They offer flexibility to DMs to craft stories that align with the interests and strengths of their players.
AI: I use specific prompts to drill into what is going to happen in the module. See the 5 Room Dungeon example below.
5 Room Dungeon Prompt 1 Example
5 Room Dungeon Prompt 1.1 Example
Here is the Module & Associated Encounters with the Trained AI Assistant
Encounters: The building blocks of the module where playing the game directs the story outcome.
Definition: An encounter can be a combat challenge, a puzzle, a role-playing scenario, or any situation that demands player interaction. They are the individual scenes within the chapter (module).
Designing an Encounter: Effective encounters challenge players, engage them in the story, and drive the narrative forward. It could be a battle against goblins, negotiating with a city official, or deciphering an ancient rune.
Dynamic Outcomes: The beauty of encounters is in their unpredictability. The choices players make, and the outcomes of their actions will direct the course of the story, ensuring each game is unique.
AI: At the encounter level I am focusing on the details, the foes, NPCs, encounter elements and items. This is where AI helps to fill in the details of the game.
NPC Prompt Example
DMs View of the Session for the First Encounter
Dungeon Masters (DMs) craft immersive adventures for players using campaigns, modules, and encounters, akin to how a writer structures a book. With AI, this process is enhanced, making storytelling adaptive and dynamic.
This blog has delved into these storytelling structures and introduced the PCTET Method – a guiding principle in using AI for story building. By leveraging this method, DMs can intricately design each story layer for a richer player experience.
Reach out to me if you want to learn more about The Game Masters Platform.
Happy DMing!
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