My DnD-Adventure "The Awakening: A Sorcerer's Journey" With Dall-E Illustrations
Short: In this article, we take a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of a Dungeons & Dragons-inspired story, crafted with the help of ChatGPT, an AI language model trained by OpenAI, and illustrated with the help of Dall-E, an AI model developed by OpenAI that can generate images from textual descriptions. We explore the process of collaborative storytelling, highlighting the role of imagination, creativity, and spontaneity in crafting a compelling narrative. Along the way, we reflect on the joys of shared storytelling and the limitless possibilities of the human imagination. How can we use collaborative storytelling, aided by AI models like ChatGPT and Dall-E, to connect with others and inspire positive change in the world?
NON-AI-COMMENT: Text in this citation mode is not AI generated, all other text (except the added “My DnD-Adventure [xxx] With Dall-E Illustrations” in the title, and “Short” at the beginning of the short) is AI generated through prompts that are listed.
NON-AI-COMMENT 2: The pictures are created by the Dall-E AI.
Cover - Promt:
"The Awakening: A Sorcerer's Journey", cover art, style of album covers from metal band "in flames", digital art,”CONTEXT-COMMENT: Dall-E always creates four pictures for a given prompt.
Adventure Initiation - Promt:
”You are the dungeon master of the roll playing game "dungeons and dragons". The game takes place in a high fantacy world in the land of "Berlin Spandau" and every character talks in a posh british accent. Describe a scene for me to interact in.”ARTISTIC COMMENT: For the first chapter I chose to illustrate the prompt, not the output.
As you walk through the bustling streets of Berlin Spandau, you can't help but be awed by the sights and sounds of the city. The towering spires of the castle in the distance, the melodic chatter of merchants hawking their wares, and the sweet smell of baked goods from the local bakeries all combine to create a feeling of excitement and anticipation.
As you make your way down the cobblestone street, you come across a group of street performers. A harpist, a lute player, and a flutist are playing a lively tune, while a juggler in brightly colored clothes tosses flaming torches high into the air.
Suddenly, you hear a commotion coming from a nearby alleyway. You can hear the sound of breaking glass and angry voices. As you approach, you see a group of tough-looking thugs cornering a small, frightened halfling.
The halfling looks up at you pleadingly. "Please, help me!" he cries.
What do you do?
CONTEXT COMMENTARY: Violent action is likely to cause the interaction with ChatGPT to fail, as it will run into filtering setups. So I am forced to be creative (and a little guiding) in my reply.
Answer / Further - Prompt:
“I remember that my sourcerer training in the "KaDeWe Guild of Might and Magic" has taught me the spell "Your action is overpriced" that has the thugs realize, they cannot pay for the joy of threatening the halfling. They remeber a signed NDA and leave quitely. Tell me what happens next.”
The thugs, suddenly overcome by a sense of guilt and shame, quickly realize the error of their ways. They look at each other with sheepish expressions before silently slinking away into the shadows, their tails between their legs.
The halfling looks at you with gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you so much," he says. "Those ruffians were about to rob me of everything I had. Please, take this as a token of my appreciation." He hands you a small, intricately carved wooden box, which feels heavy in your hands.
As you open the box, you see that it is filled with a variety of rare and exotic herbs, spices, and magical ingredients, all of which could be used to create powerful potions and spells.
The halfling nods, "I hope this gift will serve you well in your travels. May the gods watch over you and guide your path." With a small bow, he turns and disappears down the alleyway, leaving you to ponder the strange and wondrous events of the day.
Answer / Further - Prompt:
”I immediately eat every single item, contained in the box.“
As you consume the various herbs, spices, and magical ingredients contained in the box, you feel a rush of energy flow through your body. Your mind becomes clearer, and you feel more attuned to the arcane energies that surround you.
However, as you continue to eat the contents of the box, you begin to feel a strange sensation in your stomach. Suddenly, you feel a powerful surge of magical energy building up inside you, threatening to burst forth at any moment.
Without warning, you feel a massive explosion of energy erupt from your body, blasting you backwards and sending you hurtling through the air. You crash into a nearby wall, leaving a deep imprint in the stone.
As you slowly regain your senses, you realize that the magical energies you consumed were far too powerful for you to handle. You feel weak and disoriented, and you know that it will take some time for you to fully recover.
Lesson learned: be careful when consuming magical ingredients without knowing their effects!
Answer / Further - Prompt:
”I go to visit my ancient teacher living in the "Spandau Citadel" to look, wheter there are any lasting effects. Might this be the origin event of a new power?”
As you make your way to the Spandau Citadel to seek the counsel of your ancient teacher, you begin to feel a strange sensation deep within your being. The magical energies that had surged through your body during your encounter with the box of herbs and spices seem to be awakening something within you, something new and powerful.
When you finally arrive at the Citadel and meet with your teacher, they immediately sense the changes within you. After some careful examination and meditation, they confirm that the magical energies you consumed have indeed awakened a new power within you, one that you will need to learn to control and harness.
Your teacher guides you through a series of rigorous training exercises, helping you to hone your newfound abilities and learn to channel your magic in new and powerful ways. You spend many long days and nights practicing, pushing yourself to the limit and discovering new depths of magical power that you never thought possible.
As time goes on, you begin to realize that the explosion of magical energy you experienced was not a curse, but a blessing in disguise. It was the catalyst that awakened your latent potential and set you on a path towards greatness.
With your newfound powers, you set out into the world, eager to explore all of the wonders and mysteries that it holds. You are no longer bound by the limits of your old self, but are free to become the greatest sorcerer that the world has ever known.
Making-Of of the Dall-E Illustrations
I had Chat-GPT summarize the chapters (the blocks in between new prompts of mine) as a picture. I then fed these prompts into Dall-E.
Promt 1:
”describe a picture that would summarize this scene best: "You are the dungeon master of the roll playing game "dungeons and dragons". The game takes place in a high fantacy world in the land of "Berlin Spandau" and every character talks in a posh british accent. Describe a scene for me to interact in."“Chat-GPT prompt for “chapter” 1:
The picture shows a grand hall with a high ceiling, lined with ornate pillars and archways. In the center of the hall stands a grand throne, adorned with intricate carvings and draped with velvet curtains. The throne is occupied by a regal-looking queen, dressed in a flowing gown and wearing a crown of jewels.
In front of the queen, a figure dressed in a dark robe stands with their head bowed. This figure is the dungeon master, who is being addressed by the queen.
On the right side of the picture, a group of adventurers are gathered, each dressed in their own unique armor and wielding various weapons. They stand at attention, ready to embark on a dangerous quest.
In the background, the walls of the grand hall are adorned with tapestries depicting battles and heroic deeds. The entire scene is lit by flickering torches, casting shadows on the stone floor.
It took Dall-E a while to generate based on such a long promt, so I instructed Chat-GPT to abbreviate the next tryies for the next prompts (2, 3, and 4), and as of prompt 3 and 4 I told it to add to add “, digital art” at the end.
Otherwise I kept the process the same. These are the prompts that got created.
Chat-GPT prompt for “chapter” 2:
A group of thugs surround a halfling, but feeling guilty and ashamed, they leave. The halfling thanks the protagonist by gifting a small, intricately carved wooden box filled with rare and exotic herbs, spices, and magical ingredients. The halfling bows and leaves, leaving the protagonist to ponder the day's events.
Chat-GPT prompt for “chapter” 3:
A person eats magical ingredients from a box, feeling a rush of energy, but then experiences a surge of power that causes an explosion and sends them flying into a wall. Lesson learned: be careful with unknown ingredients. Digital art.
Chat-GPT prompt for “chapter” 4:
A digital art image shows a hooded figure standing atop a medieval citadel, holding out their hands as magical energy surges around them in vibrant colors, illuminating the night sky. The figure's teacher stands nearby, watching with a sense of pride and awe.
Making-Of of the Title and Short
Within the same conversation of the adventure as chatted above:
Making-Of of the Thumbnail
Looking back, there could have been better prompts. But I’ll leave it to show just that (and be edgy).
Bonus: Midjourney Pictures for the Key Chapter
To test another AI picture creation application - this one set on the community chat base “Discord” I used the same prompt as for Dall-E for the key scene of the protagonist consuming the herbs. This is the result.
Giving the AI-Tool the Honors of Ending the Post
End of the article - prompt:
“As a blogger I strive to inspire my readers and to peak their curiostiy. Write 3 sentences as a blog post ending, telling the readers why they should feel appreciated and inspired by the post about the adventure we created above. The last sentence must be exactly "Thanks for reading, stay beautiful <3!"
By exploring the creative process behind our collaborative storytelling adventure, we hope to inspire our readers to embrace their own imaginations and experiment with collaborative storytelling. With the help of AI models like ChatGPT and Dall-E, we can unlock new levels of creativity and explore exciting new worlds together. So let's dare to dream big and embark on our own epic adventures! Thanks for reading, stay beautiful <3!
