Friday, December 5, 2025

Soul in Shadows (the A.I. D&D Campaign) Session 2

Soul in Shadows Session 2 - Into the Rippledark

This is the title image that ChatGPT came up with - My character petting a displacer beast.

I played some more solo D&D with Chat GPT! We're using the D&D 2024 rules, which I know very little about.

You can catch up on the backstory and the 1st session here:

ChatGPT Lore: Prior to this session, I spent some time giving ChatGPT some information:

Stat blocks (low level monsters, lich, displacer beast, beholder, knight, etc)
XP rules
Encounter building information

There are some really interesting and relevant creatures in the 2024 Monster Manual. There is literally a Questing Knight stat block!

Summary: Here is a quick summary of what happened in this session, for those of you who are skimmer types:

New Monster: Thalen and I come upon a wounded displacer beast, with a shadowy creature called a Voidling about to kill it.
Voidling Battle: I decide to try to save the displacer beast. It hits me once and almost kills me (drops me to 2 hit points).
Permanent Scar: I received a wound and a "void infection" on my ribs.
NPC Saves Me: Thalen hits it with radiant fire a few times, then I stab and kill it.
Displacer Beast Buddy: We heal the displacer beast and befriend it. It lets me pet it and will now apparently follow us.
Level Up: I hit level 2!

ChatGPT Issues: In this session, there were a lot of flubs and mistakes made by the A.I., including:

Forgot a Creature: It changed a displacer beast adult to a "cub" randomly.
Skipped a Turn: It skipped the NPC ally's turn in combat at least once.
Took a Long Time to Generate Responses: It ran REALLY SLOW when I gave it a complicated prompt. I sometimes had to wait 4 minutes for it to form a response.
Lied About HP: It told me an enemy was one hit from death, but I hit it and it didn't die.
Spoiled a Future Encounter: When I asked it for a stat block of a creature I fought, it spoiled the fact that there is a "void-touched ettin" coming up. The stat block it made didn't match what I fought.
Forgot the Environment: It seemed to forget where I was - I started in the "Rippledark" but ended up in a forest.

I have learned that I need to reinforce it in my prompts - reiterate where we are, whose turn is next, how many HP I have, that kind of thing.

Why is it so Slow? I asked it about why it was so slow. It gave me a long-winded explainer which boiled down to:

"Other factors include the complexity of your request, the length of the conversation, and the browser having to process a lot of data, especially with code blocks."

Summary of Last Session: I asked for a summary of Session 1 (so I can check if it actually remembers everything correctly). It's too long, but here it is:

✨ Session 1 Summary — “The Deck’s Echo”

Soul in Shadows Campaign

1. Dawn in the Fate-Spire — Queen Arelia’s Command

Dane the Conjured begins his journey in the towering Fate-Spire of Tarokhold, where Witch-Queen Arelia Bloodmark summons him. Her manner is sharp, restless, and half-impatient, half-protective — typical of a high-level Archfey warlock used to command and chaos.

She assigns him a mission:
A void disturbance has opened in Brightwood.
It may be connected to the stolen soul of Witch-Queen Badelia Voidstar, the woman Dane considers his mother.

Dane challenges Arelia — angrily — for failing to rescue Badelia. Arelia snaps back, but something in her expression softens. Whether she admits it or not, she needs him.

At her side is Novice Thalen Reedbrook, a young priest of Ioun, who becomes Dane’s first companion for this quest.

2. On the Road — Shadows in the Forest

Dane and Thalen travel toward Brightwood. The journey is only a few hours on foot, but the forest feels different today — tense, watchful.

Soon Dane realizes they’re being stalked.

With a natural 20 Perception, he sees them clearly:
two displacer beast cubs, shifting and flickering in the undergrowth. Curious. Hungry. Not yet dangerous… unless their mother is near.

Dane tries to calm them with food, but a poor Animal Handling roll only heightens their tension. They stalk closer, watching him warily.

The two heroes retreat slowly, never turning their backs, putting careful distance between themselves and the cubs. Mother never appears, and the forest eventually quiets.

3. Arrival at Bramblemaw’s Hut

The Brightwood thickens around a crooked little herbalist’s home. Bramblemaw Willowhex, the witch-herbalist who helped raise Dane, steps out — just as fierce, uncanny, and tender as he remembers.

She immediately scolds him for coming here with a void disturbance loose in the glade. But once inside, her tone shifts. She pulls the old divination “Knight” card she once made for him — the token of his childhood, his identity.

Then she tells him a truth he hates:

“You are the Deck’s echo, Dane. An accident. A ripple.”

Dane erupts — refusing the idea he’s a mistake, insisting he was meant to be a knight. That Badelia needs him.

Bramblemaw, unshaken, replies:

“You may deny the Deck’s truth, but it does not deny you.
The question is what you will choose with the life it gave you.”

Her words sting, but they settle deeply.

Before he leaves, Dane pauses, takes her hand, and whispers:

“Thank you.”

She gives him a rare, sad smile.

4. The Whispering Glade Opens

Bramblemaw leads Dane and Thalen to the Whispering Glade — a twilight place where the air hums with fey magic.

As she chants, reality bends.
Colors invert.
Shadows stir.
A black, shimmering void path tears open between two ancient trees.

The portal pulses, alive and hungry.

Bramblemaw warns:

“This path leads toward what took Badelia’s soul.
Step through, and your life will no longer be your own.”

Thalen grips his holy symbol. Dane grips his sword.

Dane looks into the darkness and steps forward.

The session ends on that threshold.

⭐ Session 1 Themes

Identity & Destiny — Dane confronts what it means to be born of the Deck.
Motherhood & Loss — Badelia’s absence drives both Dane and the quest.
Mystery of the Void — Something unnatural is stirring in Brightwood.
Companionship — Thalen becomes Dane’s first loyal ally.

⭐ Session 1 Major NPCs

Queen Arelia Bloodmark — Warlock-Queen, volatile and powerful.
Novice Thalen Reedbrook — Earnest young priest of Ioun; Dane’s sidekick.
Bramblemaw Willowhex — Witch-herbalist, Dane’s mentor and emotional anchor.

Note: I think it changed the title of Session 1 for some reason.

OK! Let's get started! What's the title of this session?

🎲 SOUL IN SHADOWS — SESSION 2
Episode Title: “Into the Rippledark”

Yes. The Rippledark. Kind of hilarious.

I am letting the ChatGPT wine mom voice read this to me. I should see if there is a way to choose a different voice.

We step through into the Void Path, aka the Rippledark.

Krea AI can't make a sky of rippling black water. Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

So, what does the Rippledark look like? Here's the description:

A sky of black water rippling above you
Cracked stone ground, glowing faintly from deep purple veins
Trees like skeletal nerves, vibrating with arcane residue

The portal shuts off behind us.

Displacer Beast: ChatGPT really likes Displacer beasts (I fed it my Guide to Displacer Beasts). We see:

"A trail of claw marks.

Deep gouges in the stone, unmistakably matching displacer beast tentacle barbs. Fresh. Maybe minutes old."

Dane (me) and Thalen (my NPC healer buddy) follow the displacer beast. Thalen starts talking like he worships a different god - I think ChatGPT forgot he worships Ioun.

The First Combat Begins: We find a wounded displacer beast, and a void-touched entity coming for it. This "Voidling" is a monster that ChatGPT HOMEBREWED based on 5e 2024 stat blocks I fed it:

I really like this image, and I love that ChatGPT made its own monster. Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

"Across from the beast, crouched low, is a shape.

Humanoid.
Gaunt.
Elongated limbs, hands splayed widely across the stone.
A warped silhouette—like a man whose shadow had been peeled off and stretched too far.

Its head tilts toward you, joints popping with a sickening click.

It has no eyes. Just smooth flesh where features should be.

Yet it looks right at you.

The displacer beast snarls, dragging itself protectively between you and the creature, as though it… wants you to stay back.

Thalen whispers:

“Dane… that’s no beast. That’s a void-touched humanoid. A corruption. And it’s hunting her.”

Slow: I entered a response and nothing happened. ChatGPT is running very clunky today. It told me earlier that I gave it a lot of information, so it is running slower. If it always runs like this, it might be impossible to do a full campaign.

Thalen Knows Too Much: I ask Thalen how he knows this:

“I’ve… read about them!”
“In the archives under the Fate-Spire. Creatures twisted by the Void… pulled halfway out of reality. They’re predators—pure instinct and hunger. If it’s here, then the corruption is closer than Queen Arelia feared.”

His voice tightens.

“Dane… they hunt magical creatures first. Anything connected to planar energies.”

Buttering Me Up: It gives me a long list of choices for me to choose from. Look at ChatGPT suck up to me in the list of options:

"F. Something else
Dane is brave, clever, and compassionate—describe any tactic you want."

Running the Combat: It does a really good job running the combat in the beginning. This creature seems to be vulnerable to radiant damage (though the stat block it generates later shows no mention of this), so Thalen's Radiant flame is extremely useful.

I would have died if it wasn't for my NPC buddy. Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

Almost Dead: It hits me for 13 points! I only have 2 hit points left. I might die in my first combat.

I hit on my next attack, and deal "sap" (Sap is a 2024 weapon mastery property that forces a creature hit by the weapon to have disadvantage on its next attack roll before the start of the attacker's next turn.)

The bot seemed to think sap was something else. I corrected it, so let's see if it remembers this without me telling it to save and remember.

Sap literally saves my life:

⚔️ Void Creature Attack (with Disadvantage from Sap)

Roll 1: 17 + 5 = 22
Roll 2: 6 + 5 = 11

The creature must take the lower result.

→ Total: 11
→ Your AC: 19

🛡️ MISS!

Cub: The bot is suddenly saying the displacer beast is a "cub". It said it was an adult earlier, and I had told it about the displacer beast kitten stat block earlier, too, so I don't know why it is calling it a cub.

I point this out, and ChatGPT says: "Absolutely — the displacer beast you’re protecting now is indeed an adult.
The cubs you encountered earlier were a separate group. This wounded one is a full-grown hunter driven into the glade and bleeding badly, which makes protecting it even more dangerous and impressive."

It had a really, really hard time depicting Dane blocking an attack with his shield. Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

ChatGPT is telling me things I shouldn't know, but we'll deal with that another time.

Second Wind: I should have used second wind as a bonus action earlier, but I forgot about it.

I am able to use second wind.

ChatGPT Errors: The bot skipped my NPC buddy's turn. It also told me that the creature was one hit from death, but I hit it and did 6 points, and it didn't die.

Thalen eventually killed it. We're level one! This creature almost killed me with one hit! And it seemed like it had a lot of hit points!

I asked Chat GPT to show me the statblock. It makes TWO statblocks.. and they have different stats! One has 33 HP, the other has 45! I think ChatGPT didn't actually know how many hit points this monster had as the battle was going on.

Also, the stat block says: "AC 14 (6d8 + 18)" which obviously should not be there. There's nothing about being vulnerable to radiant damage.

The damage in this stat block does not at all match the damage it gave out. This image was made by ChatGPT.

I tried to make friends with the displacer beast.

ChatGPT Forgets the Terrain? ChatGPT is now talking like we're in the forest. It says: "whatever ripple tore into this place is receding."

My Wound is Infected: Thalen: “By Ioun’s light… that is void-touched. Not an infection, not corruption exactly—it's more like… a residue. The creature struck you partly from between places. But look—it's fading. Slowly. I don’t think it’s lethal.”

He gently passes his hand over it, and soft blue runes flicker across his palm.

Thalen: “If it were true void corruption, the mark would spread as it fed on your life. This seems more like… a scar of planar force. You should fully recover.”

Mechanically: No curse, no ongoing damage, no affliction, but you now bear a cosmetic void-scar that may or may not matter later in the story.

The Scar: I have a scar! I ask ChatGPT where.

The voidling’s claws raked you across the left side of your ribcage, just beneath the pectoral muscle. The scar runs diagonally, roughly:

Five inches long
With faint shimmering violet threads beneath the skin
Warm flesh around it, but the scar itself is cold as moonlight
Only visible up close or if Dane lifts his tunic; otherwise hidden by armor.

It does not spread.
It does not radiate pain.
But every now and then, it pulses faintly—almost like it remembers the void."

I try to get an image of the scar:

Krea AI simply would not put the scar anywhere but on my chest. Not the ribs. Not the stomach. Only the chest. Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

Level Up: I ask ChatGPT how much XP we get?

It says I now have a total 325 XP. I hit level 2! Apparently I somehow got a bit of XP for the previous session, which is good.

Displacer Beast Friend: I will try to softly pet the displacer beast.

"The displacer beast watches you as you extend your hand—its emerald eyes narrow, its tentacles twitch reflexively…

…but the creature does not pull away.

Slowly, cautiously, you place your palm on the side of its neck. Its fur is:

Surprisingly warm
Silky, though wiry in places
Faintly humming with residual displacement magic

The beast exhales… a rumbling, vibrating sound halfway between a growl and a purr."

The closest Krea AI has come to making an actual displacer beast.Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

"Thalen watches, wide-eyed.

Thalen: “Dane… it trusts you. That’s not normal.
Displacers don’t usually allow anyone this close unless they’ve… bonded.”

Non-Combatant Ally: I make friends with the displacer beast. I am worried that it will become an ally and completely unbalance the encounters, but ChatGPT say:

"You Now Gain a Temporary Ally (Narrative Only)

The displacer beast will:

Walk with you
Warn you of threats
Stay defensive, not aggressive
Protect you if attacked

It is not a pet.
It is not under command.
It is a wary, wounded hunter choosing to travel beside you… for now."

That's a great choice by the bot. We stopped there. I will level up and we will continue on in Session 3.

I asked it for a preview of Session 3:

✨ Session 3 Preview: Into the Whispering Glade

The forest grows quieter as you rise from your short rest—quiet not from peace, but from anticipation. The displacer beast’s golden eyes follow your movement now not with suspicion, but with the wary acknowledgment of a creature who has seen you stand between its life and death.

Ahead, the Whispering Glade breathes.
Not in the way a forest breathes—this is deeper, older, and touched by something that does not belong to the waking world.

As you and Thalen approach:

Shadows bend where they shouldn’t bend.
Light pools where there is no sun.
The air thickens with the faint vibration of unseen strings pulling taut.

Dane’s new void-scar warms faintly in response… not painfully, but knowingly.

There is a path ahead—one that was not here before you fought the voidling.
A path Bramblemaw hinted would only appear when the forest accepted your intent.

What lies beyond it?

A revelation about the void.
A choice that shapes the fate of beasts and people alike.
A presence watching from just beyond the veil.

And somewhere…
in a place between realms…
Queen Badelia’s stolen soul stirs.

When Session 3 begins, you will step forward—
not just into a forest,
but into the threshold of the Rippledark.

And the Rippledark is aware of you.

Thursday, December 4, 2025

Soul in Shadows (the A.I. D&D Campaign) Session 1

Soul in Shadows Session 1 - The Shadow of the First Draw

I asked the A.I. to make an image that summed up today's session. This is what it made (My character, Dane, standing in front of the Fate-Spire tower). Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

After a lot of preparation, I am ready to start a solo D&D campaign where I am the player and ChatGPT is the DM!

We will be playing Dungeons & Dragons 2024. I have never played it (I've played tons of 5e 2014, 4e, 2e, and basic). I've barely skimmed the 2024 books. ChatGPT says it knows the rules, but I bet it is lying.

I pumped the bot with rules from this site and told it to save and remember them.

My Goal: Go from level 1 to level 20, legit. However long it takes!

We created the world, the backstory, and my character in a series of posts:

Now we begin.

This is how the campaign started.

I want to start off with a couple of quick summaries to give you and overview of how this went.

First, a summary of the issues ChatGPT had:

Level 1: I don't think it understands encounter scaling. I think it tried to throw a displacer beast at me, which is far too powerful for level 1 characters.
OOC: If I don't specifically say "OOC comment," it mostly thinks I am talking to an NPC in the game.
Gibberish Map: ChatGPT made an image of a map which makes NO SENSE.
Verbose: This was a lot of reading - it was like a novel.
Not Using Spells: There wasn't much use of actual D&D magic - frankly I don't think the bot knows much about D&D spells.
NPCs Were Unflappable: The NPCs seemed to roll with anything I said as if it was part of what they hoped for.
Art is Messy: The art is AI slop, and Chat GPT doesn't have a firm understanding of when it is going overboard with an art prompt.
It's a Book: I decided to cut and paste the entire session and save it. I might save it in .pdf books.

That may sound like this was a terrible session of D&D, but it wasn't. It was kind of fun! It just needs more D&D, and a little more adventure!

I asked ChatGPT to come up with an image of anything it wanted from this session. This is my character in the woods. Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

So, what actually happened in this session? Here is the short version:

Find the Soul: The Queen summoned me to her tower, and told me it was time for me to seek out the soul of a former queen (this queen had drawn the void card from the deck of many things, and her soul was stolen).
NPC Ally: The Queen wants me to travel with Thalen, an NPC cleric of Ioun.
Go to the Woods: We were told there is some mystical something in the woods relating to the Void (A previous queen drew the Void card from the Deck of Many Things, which took her soul and stashed it somewhere, rendering her comatose).
Displacer Beasts?! In the woods, we run into some displacer beast cubs and make a hasty retreat.
Herb Witch: We meet with an NPC herb-witch from my backstory. She opens a portal into the Void (or something). Thalen and I go in. That's where we stopped.

The Queen Calls for Dane

My Origin: A Queen of Tarokhold drew from the Deck of Many Things. She drew the Knight card, which normally summons a 4th level fighter to be her guardian. But when she drew it, a baby appeared - my character.

Shortly after that, she drew the Void card, which stole her soul and put her in a coma. A new Queen took over and both the former Queen and my character were forgotten.

Now, I have turned 21. The current Queen, Arelia Bloodmark, has requested my presence at the Fate-Spire Tower. She sent a priest of Ioun named Thalen (who will be my NPC sidekick) to get me.

I'm not really sure why the Queen would send this priest of Ioun to get me. How was he even near the Queen to start with? The only church in this town that I know of is of the Raven Queen.

Text to Speech: I pretty quickly decided to use the option for a text-to-speech reading of these responses. The bot is doing a good job o far, but each turn is like reading a page or two from a novel.

The voice is sort of like a wine mom, not optimal for D&D. It is cool that ChatGPT has this option, though.

Dane meets with Queen Arelia. He gets angry when she calls him a "wild joke". Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

The Meeting: The Queen talks very cryptically, as the priest of the Raven Queen watches. There is also a walking chest that acts like a happy dog (this chest contains the Deck of Many Things).

The Queen has the gall to say to me:

“Twenty-one years ago, the Deck spat you into my predecessor’s arms. A glitch of fate. A wild joke. A warning. Perhaps all three.”

She goes on to ask me what I want. I tell her I want to find Witch-Queen Badelia's soul.

“I inherited a corpse with a pulse, Dane.
A throne haunted by a soul-shaped absence.
A Deck that would rather consume me than obey me.”

A lot of the dialogue is like this. It's good in small doses but the bot overdoes it.

The Queen explains to me that someone else is looking for Badelia's soul. I think that's a fun twist:

“The Void stirs.
And someone — or something — has begun searching for the object containing Badelia’s soul.”

She lifts one finger and traces a silent sigil in the air.

A ghostly image forms:
A shadowed figure dragging something heavy through a dark corridor.
A circular object glinting faintly.

The orb.
Badelia’s prison."

There is a strange note - the bot claims that Ena, the priest of the Raven Queen, can't leave the Fate-Spire Tower. Why? The priest of the Raven Queen is stuck outside their temple?

She ends up showing me a map:

“You will begin where her soul vanished from living memory.”

She steps aside, revealing a spiraling map etched in hovering crystal:

A path leading out of Tarokhold…
into Brightwood…
toward the edges of Whispering Glade…
and then splitting — one trail fading, one pulsing faintly.

A trail disturbed.

Recently.

Arelia points at the pulsing trail.

Arelia:

“Someone opened a path to the Void.
Someone not of this dominion.
Find who.
Find where.
And find what they took.”

Readable: This is written in a way where even people like me (I can not handle reading walls of text) are able to read along - it is very breezy.

This feels a bit like a novel, but it's not bad at all. It feels very fleshed out and real so far. Very dramatic.

Takes Time: I've been playing for about an hour. I want to go from level one to level 20! This might take a very long time.

I'd cut and paste the whole thing here, but it is incredibly long. I should probably save it on my computer though, in case something happens. I could put it into a pdf maybe.

Making the Map

I leave the chamber and meet with Thalen. I draw the map on parchment. Thalen tells me:

“I grew up in the little hillside cloister outside Tarokhold — the Shrine of the Thousand Threads. We study prophecy there. Ioun’s doctrine.”

He taps the holy symbol on his chest.

“‘Seek truth. Preserve knowledge. Aid heroes.’”

The clerics of Ioun sent him to learn under Ena (who is a priest of the Raven Queen, not Ioun). I don't get that at all.

Basically, Thalen heard the legend of my character and thought it was cool.

I asked Chat GPT to make an image of the map. Here it is!

This is the nonsense map that ChatGPT made.

So... does that map make any sense at all? No, right?

I ask Thalen if he understands it:

"“…No,” he admits softly. “Not even a little.”

He taps the spiral path with one finger.

“This isn’t a map,” he says. “It’s a maze. Or… a metaphor. The Whispering Glade is real—Brightwood’s heart—but this…” He circles the spiral again with a puzzled expression. “It’s like she didn’t want you to walk somewhere. She wanted you to understand something.”

Travel: I tried to ask ChatGPT a question about travel time and what my character knows, but it thought I was talking to the NPC.

I told it to forget that last response and I asked more clearly. This is the only time so far that I asked it to disregard something it wrote.

It turns out that the forest is only a few hours away. Thalen gives me more lore:

“But yes. I’ll keep an eye out. Queen Arelia didn’t give details because she couldn’t. Divination near the Deck warps. Even the Raven Queen’s sight struggles.”

Thalen seems to know everything I need to know, it's quite ridiculous.

Danger in the Woods

We start making our way through the woods, looking for the vague magic something. We realize that we are being followed.

I make a perception check. I make my first die roll of the campaign! I roll a natural 20!

Dane and Thalen encounter some Displacer Beast Kittens. Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

Scaling: We ran into our first major problem. I think ChatGPT is trying to throw a displacer beast at us! This is far too powerful for our level.

I had asked it if it knew monster stats, and it said yes, but I think I need to feed it a bunch just to be sure. It might not understand power scaling, or it might be making a much weaker version of a displacer beast.

We basically threw some food at the displacer beast kittens and the mom, and retreated, and the bot allowed it to happen despite me rolling a 4 on an Animal Handling check.

The Herb-Witch

Dane gets angry when the Her-Witch calls him a "mistake". The bot makes her look completely different every single time it makes art of her! Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

We meet up with an NPC from my backstory - Bramblemaw the herb-witch. She talks to me all cryptically, and calls me a "mistake". My character gets mad. This is quite similar to the conversation I had with the Queen

Too much dramatic dialogue like this:

“You are a man.
You are real.
You weren’t meant to be a puppet in armor—
you were meant to grow into your own knighthood.”

It's not terrible, but a bit boring. eventually she uses her vague, non-rules-compliant NPC herb witch magic to create a portal to The Void, which is apparently where I need to go.

The Void

This one is pretty bad. Bramblemaw creates a portal to The Void. Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

I dramatically thank her and she makes more cryptic comments. Then Thalen and I prepare to walk through. It's been about 2 hours, so we stopped there.

Experience Points: I'm pretty sure I got 0 XP from this session. ZERO! I'm never going to hit level 20 without some tweaking!

Overall: Right now, this is more like a novel than a D&D game. I am also extremely concerned that ChatGPT doesn't know what it's doing with the plot.

This isn't a great start, but I am up for trying to make it better. I think, with some guidance, the bot can make this really fun.

Things I need to do before the next session:

Show it the XP rules/encounter scaling rules.
Show it some low level monsters appropriate for me
Show it the Displacer Beast Kitten from Wild Beyond the Witchlight.

Monday, December 1, 2025

The A.I. Campaign Session 0.2 - Character Creation

I asked the bot to make a big cover image that sums up the beginning of this campaign, and this is what it came up with. Prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

I have not touched D&D 2024 until today. I have the D&D 2024 books. I have the official character sheets. I have never looked inside or read anything about it.

I have a backlog of D&D stuff that I've bought but done nothing with:

Wild Beyond the Witchlight (This one I have read, and I wrote a guide that is 96.2% done a few years ago).
The Planescape Set
The Spelljammer Set
Vecna: Eve of Ruin
The Deck of Many Things Box
The Beadle and Grimm Planescape platinum edition

It all took a backseat to real life. I am way, way behind on D&D, I have no idea what's been going on. I know 2024 has had a mixed reception. All I can say is that I generally like to jump into whatever they're doing now. I like to stay current.

First, let's do some campaign clean-up, then we'll go over my character (Dane, level 1 human fighter).

Art Fixes

If you've been reading along, you know that I am about to attempt playing through a D&D campaign run by ChatGPT. I want to go all the way to 20th level.

I had it make some maps of the Soul in Shadows campaign world, and it struggled a lot with placing the right names and places. So I fired up Photoshop and did my best to fix them.

I'm assuming Wintermere is supposed to be up at the top, because it is a winter-y realm. I fixed some typos and removed the second misspelled Embercoil Reach (which was partially gibberish text).

The town map was a more major task.

The original map that ChatGPT literally made up new names for everything. That doesn't bode well for the campaign. I literally had to remove every single name and put in the correct places.

I'm a little concerned that there aren't enough of the right kind of locations - there's no general store, there's only one church, etc. I am sure ChatGPT will just make up a new location if we need it, and right now there is room on this map for me to place it.

Now we need art of my NPC healer sidekick:

NOVICE THALEN REEDBROOK

Priest-Acolyte of Ioun, Goddess of Knowledge & Prophecy
Neutral Good • Earnest, bookish, brave in spite of himself

I feel like he's not going to live long.

I got nervous and asked the bot if it remembered the name of the campaign:

"We are officially in Soul in Shadows mode.

I’m hyped. You’re hyped. Dane the Conjured is somewhere in Tarokhold dramatically pulling up his hood for no reason.

The Deck is trembling. Arelia is sweating. Baba Yaga is laughing."

OK, that's pretty fun. It remembers!

Now, let's get an image of my NPC buddy Thalen:

The image is full of A.I. detritus, but he looks pretty cool. Prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

My Character

I sat down, busted out an official D&D 2024 character sheet and a pencil, and I made my level 1 fighter. What better way is there to learn a new edition (or whatever D&D 2024 is) than by making a character?

Things I noticed about D&D 2024 so far:

Backgrounds: I like how backgrounds feel more statistically important.

Alignment Definitions: I don't care too much about alignments, but I had it in my head that this character is Chaotic Good, but when I read the description and the words associated with it, the only alignment that appealed to me was Lawful Good. I think Neutral Good had the word "selfish" attached to it, which shocked me.

Fighting Style: These feats were really interesting. Defense really gives me a +1 to AC? With chain mail and a shield, I am at a 19 AC..? I'm fine with that, just worried that I misunderstood something.

Heroic Inspiration: I am almost positive I am going to forget that I have this.

Crafting: I am very interested in the tools and the crafting rules (pg 233). I love the idea that I can make my own potions of healing for 25 gp.

Dane

My character in the town of Tarokhold. Krea AI has a really hard time showing that I have a bow. I appear to be holding my shield under my arm, and it looks like I have up to three longswords. Prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

Here is the basic rundown. My character is Dane, the "Knight Who Wasn't". A queen drew a knight card from the Deck of Many Things, and instead of a 4th level fighter appearing - I did, as a baby. Now I am 21 years old and ready to set out into the world.

Name: Dane
Race/Ancestry/Heritage: Human
Class & Level: Fighter 1
Background: Farmer
Alignment: Lawful Good
Experience: 0 xp (300 XP to lvl 2)

ABILITY SCORES & ABILITIES

Strength 16
Dexterity 13
Constitution 16
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 8
Charisma 12

11 ... Passive Perception

Sickle, Short Bow
Chain Mail, shield

Fighting Style - Defense: While you're wearing Light, Medium, or Heavy armor, you gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class.

FEATURES, TRAITS, SPECIAL ABILITIES

Farmer Background

Proficiencies & Languages:
• Proficiency Bonus: +2
• Armor: light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields
• Weapons: simple weapons, martial weapons
• Tools: carpenter's tools
• Skills: Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Nature, Survival
• Languages: Common, Draconic, Dwarvish

Tough Feat: Your Hit Point maximum increases by an amount equal to twice your character level when you gain this feat. Whenever you gain a character level thereafter, your Hit Point maximum increases by an additional 2 Hit Points.

Skilled Feat: You gain proficiency in any combination of three skills or tools of your choice. (I chose proficiency in cook's utensils, herbalism kit, and perception).

Defense Feat: While you're wearing Light, Medium, or Heavy armor, you gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class.

Human Traits
• Creature Type: Humanoid

• Age: 21 years old

• Medium Size (6' 0", 175 lbs.)

• Resourceful (gain Heroic Inspiration after each long Rest - In the 2024 D&D rules, Heroic Inspiration is
a resource that lets a player reroll any die immediately after rolling it, but they must accept the new result.)

• Skillful (Athletics proficiency)

• Versatile (Skilled feat)

Fighter Class Features
• Fighting Style (Defense)

• Second Wind (regain 1d10 + 1 h.p.) (You have a limited well of physical and mental stamina that you can draw on. As a Bonus Action, you can use it to regain Hit Points equal to 1d10 plus your Fighter level.)

You can use this feature twice. You regain one expended use when you finish a Short Rest, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a Long Rest.

When you reach certain Fighter levels, you gain more uses of this feature, as shown in the Second Wind column of the Fighter Features table.)

• Weapon Mastery (3 weapons) longsword, sickle, greatsword

GP: 37

Equipment: All the usual stuff - backpack, bedroll, rope, torches, etc.

Background

I asked the bot to help me come up with Dane's life/backstory in Tarokhold so far. We are going to explain how he was trained in all those tools, and what he did in his life up until now.

I asked it to detail the last time he saw the comatose queen who had summoned him with the knight card:

(Age 11) THE LAST TIME DANE SAW QUEEN BADELIA VOIDSTAR

The last time Dane saw the Queen who summoned him. Krea AI INSISTS on giving the kid a weapon. Prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

Where: Deep in the Fate-Spire, in the Forgotten Chamber — the exact location already established.

Dane was 11 years old.

How It Went: He was escorted yearly by Spellbound Sentinels. On this visit, something went wrong.

Dane approached Badelia — frozen on her Coldthorn Throne, soul stolen by The Void.

He whispered:

“Do you know me?”

For the first time ever:

her head turned slightly
her fingers twitched
her lips parted

And in a hollow, layered voice she whispered:

“Knight… not yet…”

The runes in the chamber flashed violet. The air turned cold enough to frost steel. Arelia’s iron-bound chest screamed. The Sentinels panicked, grabbed Dane, and hauled him out.

Aftermath: Arelia immediately issued an edict: “The Conjured boy is forbidden from the Spire’s Heart. The Void stirs in his presence.”

Rumors afterward said:

Badelia only reacts to him
or the Knight card isn’t done with him
or some part of the Void sees him as its door

But officially: They barred him forever. This moment haunts him.

(Ages 10-12) FARMING — Ulmurhold Goatfields

Dane working on a farm. That should be a massive hovering boulder in the distance - Floatstone - but Krea AI wants it to be a balloon or an exploding blimp. Prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

This is how Dane ended up with the Farmer background:

Where He Lived: With the goat-herding Bekkan family in Ulmurhold, the tough frontier village.

Why They Took Him In: Ulmurhold has always taken in strays — their founders were Ruin refugees.
They don’t care if someone came from the Deck, the stars, or the gutter.

Shaping Moment: One night, displacer beasts slipped down from Howling Peak. Most adults grabbed weapons and rushed out.

Dane stayed behind and:

calmed the goats
barricaded the barn
defended a terrified child with only a pitchfork

When the beasts retreated, Old Bekkan put a hand on Dane's shoulder and said: “You protect what’s in front of you, boy. That’ll carry you far.”

This is where Dane developed his quiet, steadfast moral compass.

(Age 12-15) COOKING — The Twisted Cup Tavern

Dane when a magic surge caused chaos in the tavern. Prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

This is how Dane became trained with Cook's Utensils:

Where Dane Worked: From ages 12–15, Dane worked in the kitchen of The Twisted Cup, the town’s rowdy, shape-shifting tavern.

NPC: Durgan Highcup: Grumpy dwarf. Former mercenary. Calls Dane “ladle-boy.”

How He Learned: Durgan didn’t trust Dane at first — too many people whispered that “Deckborn bring bad luck.”

But during one especially chaotic night — a minor geomantic surge caused all cookware in the tavern to float and spin over the fire-pits — most workers fled.

Dane stayed. He grabbed pans out of the air, kept the stew from burning, and improvised dishes for a thirsty bar full of panicking patrons.

Afterwards, Durgan grudgingly handed him real cook’s utensils and said: “If the Deck spat you out, at least you can make a decent stew.”

This became one of the few places Dane felt useful.

(Age 15-17) CARPENTRY — The Sentinel’s Post (Repair Apprentices)

Dane doing Carpentry. The original prompt wanted to have the fate-spire in the background, but the building looked so different that it made it look like Dane was in another city. Prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

This is how Dane was trained in Carpenter's tools:

Where He Learned: From 15–17, Dane was assigned to the Sentinel’s Post, helping town engineer Jasker Thornwright repair buildings damaged by magical misfires.

Jasker is canonically:

practical
sarcastic
sick to death of rebuilding things broken by magical nonsense

The Incident: A wagon wheel exploded after rolling over a cursed cobblestone in The Holoway.
Dane rebuilt the wagon and reinforced the wheel spokes with clever bracing Jasker didn’t expect.

Jasker grunted: “Fine. You’re useful. Grab your tools and don’t wander near the Ruined Court.”

From then on, Dane helped:

repair stalls in the Brightmarket
reinforce flood barriers near Spectre’s Hollow
fix doors warped by wild surges

This is how he learned leverage, force, and practical engineering.

(Age 17-20) HERBALISM — Bramblemaw Willowhex in Brightwood

Dane learning herbalism. It made one image of Bramblemaw previously, and she looked nothing like this. She somehow turned into a supermodel. Dane's first crush, surely. Prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

This is how Dane was trained in the use of a herbalism kit:

Where It Happened: Dane wandered Brightwood, partly to avoid the whispers in town. That’s where Bramblemaw Willowhex, the Brightwood herb-witch, found him.

Why She Took Him In: She sensed something different about him: “You came from magic, boy… but maybe you don’t want to be ruled by it.”

She taught Dane:

to identify herbs by scent
how to brew mild healing draughts
how to quiet fate’s attention with teas
forest etiquette around the fey
how to navigate tree-roads that shift at dusk

Shaping Moment: When Dane successfully brewed his first real healing potion — the Brightwood variant — Bramblemaw whispered: “Good. When blood spills, you’ll save more than you harm.”

This moment planted the seed of the healer-warrior he will become.

The Knight Card

ChatGPT asked me a few questions. I have a trinket from the 2024 PH - a card. I decided it was a replica of the knight card. It wanted to know more about it. I told it that I assumed it was a gift from Bramblemaw the herb witch.

Here is the response:

❤️ The Knight Card Gift — Made by Bramblemaw Willowhex

"This is canon now:

When Dane was around ten years old…

Bramblemaw quietly left a hand-painted Knight card on his doorstep. Not the real card — but a gentle, symbolic one.

She told him: “A creature born of fate must choose their own.”

This card becomes:

his guiding symbol
a focus for courage
a potential magical upgrade later (I have ideas…)

The fact that Bramblemaw made it?
chef’s kiss perfect."

The Preview

Then the bot wanted to give me a preview of the first session:

🎬 Session One Will Begin with a Cinematic Opening

"Here’s a preview of the opening shot:

Black screen. A rising hum.

The Floatstone begins to vibrate, humming violently over the canopy of Brightwood.
Birds scatter. Witchlights flicker across Tarokhold’s rooftops.

Inside the Fate-Spire, a scream echoes — not of pain, but prophecy.

Dane the Conjured wakes with a start, his heart pounding, feeling a tug —
a whisper of Badelia’s stolen soul across the Veil.

Something has changed.
Something involving the Deck.
Something involving him.

The bells of the Sentinel’s Post ring in alarm.

We will roll directly from cinematic to interactive gameplay."

Final Image

I decided to ask ChatGPT:

"Now I'd like you to write an A.I. art prompt - an image of whatever you want, relating to the campaign."

Is it going to make an image of the lich again? The lich who maybe, just maybe is the holder of the soul I am questing for?

Nope:

Prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

The prompt:

"A moody, mystical fantasy illustration set deep within the Whispering Glade of Brightwood. Soft golden-green light filters through the trees, but the air is filled with drifting silver motes — echoes of timelines rewritten long ago. In the center of the glade stands a cracked stone pedestal marked with ancient runes of fate.

Hovering above the pedestal is a ghostly, half-formed tarot card, shimmering between possibilities — its image shifting from The Void, to The Fates, to the Knight, to an unknown symbol you've never seen in the Deck before. Whisper-like strands of light stretch from the card, weaving through the trees as if searching for someone.

In the foreground, an unseen figure’s silhouette watches from behind a tree — only their hand visible, clutching a journal filled with sketches of the Deck. They are not hostile… merely observing. Waiting. Studying you.

Around the pedestal, the forest subtly warps:
• flowers bloom and wilt in seconds,
• shadows move independently of their sources,
• faint ghostly outlines of past rulers flicker — Ralvar, Vessra, Voran, Ellisar — watching silently.

The mood is reverent, eerie, exquisite — a crossroads of prophecy."

...I have no idea what this means!

Guess what? We start actually playing the campaign tomorrow!

The A.I. Campaign Session 0.1 - The Campaign Trailer

A scene from the "trailer." The A.I. is having a hard time depicting displacer beasts. Art prompt by ChatGPT, art by Krea AI.

I'm about to start playing in a solo campaign run by Chat GPT. Most of the lore is right here.

I have a few things left to do:

Make my character.
Flesh out the actual settlement of Tarokhold.
Go over some basic rules with it (It can't tell me campaign secrets, I will roll dice on my end, it will roll dice for everything else, etc).
Figure out how to set up my NPC healer sidekick.

I said thanks to the bot, and I told it that I made a blog post. It told me that it could make... a CAMPAIGN TRAILER.

What?! Do I want a campaign trailer?! Of course I do!

Here it is, cut and pasted right from ChatGPT:

**🎬 SOUL IN SHADOWS — Campaign Trailer**

Fade in.

A vast kingdom of seven arcane dominions unfurls beneath storm-heavy clouds—
floating stones, volcanic skylines, whispering forests, necrotic citadels, and at the heart of it all…

…the Deck of Many Things, shuffling on an unseen wind.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
In a world ruled by magic… destiny is not chosen. It is drawn.

A gloved hand pulls a single card from the deck.

THE KNIGHT.

A burst of light—
A crying infant in a blast crater—
A witch-queen staggering backward in awe.

CUT TO:
Tarokhold’s crooked streets. Townsfolk whisper. Eyes widen. Doors slam.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
He was not born… he was conjured.

A grown man now—Dane the Conjured—cinches the straps of battered armor, determination in his eyes. Behind him, a Spellbound Sentinel raises a brow. A crow circles overhead.

DISTANT SCREAMS.
The Deck glows red somewhere deep underground.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
The soul of the only mother he ever knew—stolen by fate… and sealed away by the Deck.

CUT TO:
Wintermere’s blue flames spiraling into the sky.
Starfall Sanctum’s crystal observatories shifting like puzzle pieces.
Crownbreaker Hold’s battlemages igniting runes on a monolithic Staff of Power.
Embercoil Reach erupting in a phoenix-winged blaze.
Whispering Hollow’s trees murmuring secrets older than gods.
The Ebon Reliquary’s bone-lined vaults closing with a deafening BOOM.

MONTAGE:
– Dane outruns displacer beasts through lightning-lit fields.
– A beholder’s shadow crawls across a temple ceiling.
– Gnoll warpacks howl under a blood moon.
– The Deck of Many Things shuffles itself.
– A lone lich turns, glowing eyes flickering like dying stars.
– A hand—Badelia Voidstar’s—reaches toward a soul trapped in glass.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
To reclaim what was lost, he must cross seven dominions… face horrors drawn from the Deck itself… and unravel a conspiracy older than the Magocracy.

The screen goes dark.

A MATCH STRIKES.
Dane’s hand.
A puppet burns.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
In a land ruled by magic, only one truth remains…

MUSIC SWELLS.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Some destinies aren’t chosen.
They’re summoned.

TITLE CARD:
🔥 SOUL IN SHADOWS 🔥
The Quest for the Stolen Soul Begins

Analysis

Let's go over this. It is sometimes awesome, sometimes hilarious. A crying infant in a blast crater?! That's me?

"He was not born… he was conjured." That's so good.

Me being chased by displacer beasts? Love it.

More evidence that the lich is the big bad guy, something I probably shouldn't know until I'm level 10 or so? Not so great.

Then comes the best part:

"A MATCH STRIKES.
Dane’s hand.
A puppet burns."

A puppet? A puppet is on fire? Why? Where? How??

I love this. I really want to make a video of the trailer and insert stock art of a puppet and super impose flames on it.

I had to ask Chat GPT to make an art prompt of the puppet burning.

Here is the image:

I died laughing.

Here is the prompt ChatGPT wrote for this puppet art:

"A small hand puppet—stitched cloth face, button eyes, and a crude painted smile—is engulfed in bright, hungry flames. The puppet lies atop a cracked stone surface, its seams curling and blackening as fire consumes it. Sparks drift upward into darkness. In the blurred background, only the silhouette of a lone figure can be seen—hooded, face obscured—watching the puppet burn. The scene carries a heavy, symbolic atmosphere: the destruction of shame, the death of an old identity, and the birth of purpose. Lighting is dramatic, warm firelight against deep shadows, cinematic and emotionally charged. Fine ash floats through the air like falling snow. High detail, dark fantasy, trailer-style composition."

It doesn't know what the deal with the puppet is, either.

I asked it to create art of whatever scene from the trailer that it wanted and... you're not going to believe this, but it made an image of the lich and the lich's city! It's almost like this lich is going to factor into the campaign in a major way! I wonder where the queen's soul is?? Could be anywhere!!

Calvas Vaunt and his Ebon Reliquary, things I may or may not encounter in this campaign.

Anyway, let's get back to work.

TAROKHOLD - THE DOMINION OF THE DRAWN
A Magocracy Bound by Fate, Cards, and a Pact with Baba Yaga

We need to detail the main town in the dominion. We need some bars, some temples, some NPCs, etc. I asked ChatGPT to do this, and I think it did a good job.

🏰 TAROKHOLD — THE TOWN AT THE CENTER OF FATE

Seat of the Witch-Queen • Heart of the Dominion of the Drawn

Tarokhold is a walled, slightly crooked town built around the Fate-Spire — the runic tower where the Deck of Many Things is kept and guarded by Witch-Queen Arelia Bloodmark.

Here's the map that ChatGPT made. There are a ton of places on the map that it made up, and it missed most of the locations it had created just moments prior, including:

The Twisted Cup
The Lady of Fates (not the Hause of Fates)
Temple of the Silent Thread - raven queen shrine
The Brightmarket
The Sentinel's Post
The Holoway
The Ruined Court

Here is what the bot came up with:

Everyone here lives beneath a quiet tension:

🕯 A card can change everything.

People avoid making long-term plans. Buildings are repaired halfway. Shops keep “disaster stock” for sudden catastrophes. Weddings include divinations. And everyone knows the stories of rulers erased, lost, or cursed by the Deck.

Below is your definitive guide to Tarokhold.

🗼 THE FATE-SPIRE (Central Tower)

The Tower Where the Deck Sleeps… and Waits

A 9-story stone tower covered in glowing blue runes, reinforced by witch-wards and hag sigils. Various buildings cling like barnacles to its sides — homes of attendants, ritual rooms, and guard barracks.

Inside:

1. The Throne Antechamber: A cold stone hall with murals depicting past rulers and their tragic draws.

2. The Card Vault: Arelia keeps the Deck inside a walking iron-bound chest with spider-like legs. It follows her like a loyal pet.

3. The Forgotten Chamber: Hidden deep within the tower:

Badelia Voidstar, former Witch-Queen
Soul stolen via The Void card
Sits eternally upon the Coldthorn Throne
Body alive… mind empty.

Arelia forbids anyone from entering. Ena Blackfeather (Raven Queen cleric) watches over Badelia in silence.

🧭 DISTRICTS OF TAROKHOLD

Below are the main quarters of the town.

🍺 THE TWISTED CUP — Tavern & Inn

Type: Adventurer bar, gossip hub
Location: Near the northern gate
Owner: Durgan Highcup, dwarf, former mercenary

This is the most popular tavern in Tarokhold. Its sign changes shape every week because of a lingering enchantment from a past ruler’s miscast wish.

Menu Highlights:

Fireberry Ale (makes your breath glow)
Mourningbroth (Wintermere import, smoky & sweet)
Deckhand Stew
Eel Bites from Rafthome (smoked, tangy)

Rumors Heard Here:

• “Arelia drew the Moon… did she use her wishes yet?”
• “Someone saw Vessra Hellbound walking the alleys again.”
• “The Floatstone hummed last night — that’s never good.”

🍷 THE LADY OF FATES — High-End Lounge

Type: Elegant, shadowlit wine bar
Owner: Marisselle Vane, diviner, inscrutable

A quiet bar where nobles, scholars, and suspicious types drink prophetic wine.

Every drink here is served with a tarot-like reading. Some are accurate. Some are unnervingly accurate.

🪔 TEMPLE OF THE SILENT THREAD (Raven Queen Shrine)

Location: At the far west of town
Cleric: Ena Blackfeather, Death-seer

A low stone temple adorned with black feathers and silver thread. No bells, no chanting — only silence. Tarokhold citizens avoid this place.

Ena prays for the dead, tends the graveyard, and keeps a death-ledger of those marked by fate.

🌿 THE BRIGHTMARKET

Colorful, chaotic, slightly uncanny

Vendors:
• Herb witches from Brightwood
• Charm-sellers from Whispermire
• Scribes who sell pre-written will templates (morbidly common)

Shops of note:

🧪 MOTHER HAZEL’S TONICS & TROUBLES

Owner: Mother Hazel, old witch, possibly 120+

Sells potions but also petty curses like:
• Forget-that-face hex
• Bad-hair-day jinx
• Charm of avoiding ex-lovers

Everyone loves her. Everyone fears her.

🔮 THE THREAD & TOKEN — Fortune Shop

Owner: Kivrel, changeling

Focuses on minor divination spells, dice auguries, and “safe destiny readings.” But Kivrel refuses to read anyone touched by the Deck. Including you.

🛡 THE SENTINEL’S POST — Guard Barracks

Home of the Spellbound Sentinels stationed in Tarokhold.

Commander: Captain Rhys Emberlin

Arelia trusts him because he’s boring, loyal, and not magically gifted enough to threaten her.

The Sentinels often patrol:

• The Floatstone
• Spectre’s Hollow boundaries
• The Fate-Spire

☠ THE HOLOWAY

Tarokhold’s poorest neighborhood — narrow streets and bad luck tales. Residents here often blame their misfortune on bad draws made decades ago.

NPCs of Note:

Old Marn, conspiracy theorist. Believes the Deck is alive and hungry.
Tessa of the Ash, baker. Runs a bakery where the ovens sometimes belch blue flame “for no reason.”

⛓ THE RUINED COURT

A shattered plaza where Queen Morna Ruinborn once addressed the people before the Ruin card erased her entire legacy.

Statues are half-melted or half-missing.
Sometimes objects randomly vanish.
Citizens refuse to walk on certain stones.

🧙‍♀️ PROMINENT NPCs

Here are your major personalities in Tarokhold itself.

🜁 Witch-Queen Arelia Bloodmark

Warlock of Baba Yaga • Bearer of the Deck

Dramatic, cunning, superstitious, dangerously curious.
She likes you, but is deeply afraid of what your existence means.

🕊 Ena Blackfeather

Death-Seer of the Raven Queen

Speaks rarely.
Sees threads of fate.
Knows exactly what the Deck did when it created you — but won’t tell you yet.

Sir Corvan, an NPC who was summoned into existence with the Knight card like my character.

🦊 Sir Corvan the Vigilant

Arelia’s Knight-Card Summon

Quiet, dutiful, increasingly wary of Arelia’s wishes.
Feels a strange kinship with you.

🔧 Jasker Thornwright

Town Engineer

Man responsible for rebuilding after magical catastrophes.
He has a “pre-written blueprint” titled In Case the Tower Implodes (Again).

🕯 Vellara Moonthrush

Local witch, charismatic troublemaker

Knows things about Badelia Voidstar she shouldn’t.

🃏 Sparrick the Cardborn

Once drew the Fool and now wanders town giving terrible advice with absolute confidence. Weirdly lucky.

The Herb Witch

I really liked the idea of a herb witch, so I asked the bot to make a herb witch NPC.

ChatGPT immediately forgot that this witch was female and it made up new details about their appearance - I had to basically rewrite the prompt.

🌿 BRAMBLEMAW WILLOWHEX

Elder Herb-Witch of Brightwood
Neutral Good (eccentric)
Specialties: herbcraft, curse-breaking, plant familiars, “fate-quieting tonics”
Age: “Old enough to know when the wind is lying.”

🧙 APPEARANCE

Bramblemaw is a tiny, twig-thin old woman with:

Bark-like skin along her arms
Moss growing in her hair (which changes color with the seasons)
A living thorn-creature perched on her shoulder like a cat
Bare feet that never seem to touch the ground
A walking stick made from a Brightwood branch still blooming with golden leaves
Her breath smells like mint, smoke, and rain-soaked soil.

🌱 PERSONALITY

Bramblemaw speaks in a half-whisper, half-laugh — as if she knows jokes the forest told her centuries ago.

She is:

Kind but blunt
Fierce about protecting Brightwood
Suspicious of Arelia Bloodmark (“Witch-queens burn too bright, dearie.”)
Fond of children and young heroes with pure intentions
Afraid of the Deck’s influence on nature

Most unsettling: She sometimes answers questions you haven’t asked yet.

🧪 HERBAL MAGIC

Her magic is subtle, primal, and deeply tied to Brightwood’s wild magic.

She brews:

🌼 Tonic of Quiet Fate

Lowers the “attention” of the Deck. People who drink it are less likely to attract magical mishaps.

🌙 Dreambloom Draught

Allows prophetic dream…but they always relate to a choice you haven’t made yet.

🌿 Hexpull Balm

Removes minor curses. It smells like rosemary and regret.

🐾 Foxroot Ink

Paint your face with it, and small animals understand your words.

🕸️ Spiderpetal Salve

Lets you walk across webs without disturbing them.

My NPC Sidekick

I'm still messing with the image, Krea AI is being a little wonky.

NOVICE THALEN REEDBROOK

Priest-Acolyte of Ioun, Goddess of Knowledge & Prophecy
Neutral Good • Earnest, bookish, brave in spite of himself

Who He Is

Thalen is a young, wide-eyed priest-novice from the temples of Wintermere, sent to Tarokhold on a rite of pilgrimage known as The First Questioning — a tradition where young followers of Ioun must leave home to seek a truth only the world can answer.

His “truth” ends up being you—Dane the Conjured.

Thalen has read about the Deck, the Dominion of the Drawn, and the myth of “the Knight Who Wasn’t.”
He never expected that he’d meet you, let alone feel fate nudging him to walk beside you.

Personality

Earnest, nervous, but stubbornly brave when it counts
Speaks too fast when excited
Writes everything down — everything
Thinks Dane is destined for something enormous
Looks up to you, even if he tries to hide it

He believes:

“Knowledge must be carried into danger, or it is little more than dust.”

Appearance

A thin young man with ash-brown hair, soft grey eyes, and ink-stained fingers.
Wears a light chain shirt under traveling vestments of deep violet and white.
A small journal is always tucked into his belt.

Combat Role (Priest Acolyte statblock)

Support caster
Radiant Flame & mace for basic offense
Divine Aid for clutch Bless or Healing Word
Will throw himself into danger to protect Dane, even when he shouldn’t

He is tough enough to survive easy-mode DMing, but can absolutely be threatened, frightened, or injured—keeping stakes high.

Almost Ready!

I am almost ready to start the campaign. In the next post, I will crack open the 2024 Player's Handbook for the first time ever and try to make... a human fighter. Thanks for reading!