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Okay so I like DnD and yesterday my buddy and I got started on a backrooms themed campaign (I was allowed/supposed to be alone for this part so the other party members weren't necessary) and apparently I just picked every option that noped me the fuck out of danger every time.
The DM was trying to get me to open a hole in the floor to open the void (or level -1) and I just. Didn't.
They described an almond water cooler a little too suspiciously for my taste, so I skipped it and came to a fork in the endless hallways, where I heard a baby crying on my left and a woman screaming on my right, so I just went back to the water cooler.
After having my drink I went back to the fork, where both annoying human(?) noises had stopped so I just looked around and saw a door that ended up leading to a ladder and went up that for apparently 15 minutes before seeing another door that lead to a water cooler again and had another drink of almond water.
I returned to the ladder which seemed to distress the DM so I figured I was doing the right thing in player terms.
I eventually got to Level 1 and was told there was a water fountain a mile away, which my usually mathematically inclined DM estimated that I could make it in 10 minutes if I ran. Mind you a specific description of my character boils down to a mechanic that's built like a pole. I said fuck it and did a dead sprint, and about halfway there I saw a Hound that luckily didn't notice me and I got my drink.
Yeah I did the usual player thing of doing whatever the hell the DM didn't plan for.
Then at almost 10 AM I message my DM:
So yeah, one of my first DnD sessions went pretty good.
WEIRDLY SPECIFIC BUT HELPFUL CHARACTER BUILDING QUESTIONS
What’s the lie your character says most often?
How loosely or strictly do they use the word ‘friend’?
How often do they show their genuine emotions to others versus just the audience knowing?
What’s a hobby they used to have that they miss?
Can they cry on command? If so, what do they think about to make it happen?
What’s their favorite [insert anything] that they’ve never recommended to anyone before?
What would you (mun) yell in the middle of a crowd to find them? What would their best friend and/or romantic partner yell?
How loose is their use of the phrase ‘I love you’?
Do they give tough love or gentle love most often? Which do they prefer to receive?
What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity?
If someone was impersonating them, what would friends / family ask or do to tell the difference?
What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!
When do they fake a smile? How often?
How do they put out a candle?
What’s the most obvious difference between their behavior at home, at work, at school, with friends, and when they’re alone?
What kinds of people do they have arguments with in their head?
What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?
Who do they love truly, 100% unconditionally (if anyone)?
What would they do if stuck in a room with the person they’ve been avoiding?
Who do they like as a person but hate their work? Vice versa, whose work do they like but don’t like the person?
What common etiquette do they disagree with? Do they still follow it?
What simple activity that most people do / can do scares your character?
What do they feel guilty for that the other person(s) doesn’t / don’t even remember?
Did they take a cookie from the cookie jar? What kind of cookie was it?
What subject / topic do they know a lot about that’s completely useless to the direct plot?
How would they respond to being fired by a good boss?
What’s the worst gift they ever received? How did they respond?
What do they tell people they want? What do they actually want?
How do they respond when someone doesn’t believe them?
When they make a mistake and feel bad, does the guilt differ when it’s personal versus when it’s professional?
When do they feel the most guilt? How do they respond to it?
If they committed one petty crime / misdemeanor, what would it be? Why?
How do they greet someone they dislike / hate?
How do they greet someone they like / love?
What is the smallest, morally questionable choice they’ve made?
Who do they keep in their life for professional gain? Is it for malicious intent?
What’s a secret they haven’t told serious romantic partners and don’t plan to tell?
What hobby are they good at in private, but bad at in front of others? Why?
Would they rather be invited to an event to feel included or be excluded from an event if they were not genuinely wanted there?
How do they respond to a loose handshake? What goes through their head?
What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?
If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be?
What do they commonly misinterpret because of their own upbringing / environment / biases? How do they respond when realizing the misunderstanding?
What language would be easiest for them to learn? Why?
What’s something unimportant / frivolous that they hate passionately?
Are they a listener or a talker? If they’re a listener, what makes them talk? If they’re a talker, what makes them listen?
Who have they forgotten about that remembers them very well?
Who would they say ‘yes’ to if invited to do something they abhorred / strongly didn’t want to do?
Would they eat something they find gross to be polite?
What belief / moral / personality trait do they stand by that you (mun) personally don’t agree with?
What’s a phrase they say a lot?
Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting?
Who would / do they believe without question?
What’s their instinct in a fight / flight / freeze / fawn situation?
What’s something they’re expected to enjoy based on their hobbies / profession that they actually dislike / hate?
If they’re scared, who do they want comfort from? Does this answer change depending on the type of fear?
What’s a simple daily activity / motion that they mess up often?
How many hobbies have they attempted to have over their lifetime? Is there a common theme?
Dialogue Punctuation Cheat Sheet
This is just a friendly little guide on how to use punctuation in dialogue since (at least for me) this isn’t something that I was taught in school and had to learn on my own. That being said, I am not an expert! I don’t have an English degree or anything like that! I’m just an avid reader and writer and wanted to share what I have learned in a concise format.
A lot of this information is from “How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript” by James Scott Bell, “The Best Punctuation Book, Period” by June Casagrande, and “The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation” by Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, and Tom Stern. If you’re able to get these books, I highly recommend them!
(Also, yes I used Disney quotes for most of my examples lol)
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Rule 1: Dialogue punctuation includes the following:
Period
Comma
Question mark
Exclamation point
Em-dash
Ellipsis
All dialogue will include some sort of punctuation before the closing quotation.
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Rule 2: Punctuation goes inside the quotes.
Correct
“Do you want to build a snowman?” Anna asked.
Correct
“You can’t marry a man you just met,” Elsa said.
Incorrect
“Do you want to build a snowman”? Anna asked.
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Rule 3: Don’t capitalize a pronoun used for dialogue attribution.
Correct
“I was hiding under your porch because I love you,” he said.
Incorrect
“I was hiding under your porch because I love you,” He said.
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Rule 4: Capitalize for action beats.
Correct
“A llama? He’s supposed to be dead!” She slammed her fist on the table.
Incorrect
“A llama? He’s supposed to be dead!” she slammed her fist on the table.
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Rule 5: Use a comma when introducing a quotation, such as when dialogue attribution comes at the beginning. The first word of the dialogue is capitalized.
Correct
Scar leaned forward and said, “Run away, Simba.”
Incorrect
Scar leaned forward and said. “Run away, Simba.”
Incorrect
Scar leaned forward and said, “run away, Simba.”
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Rule 6: Use single quotation marks for quotations within quotations. Punctuation goes inside both quotations (I’ve heard this can vary depending on country).
Correct
“My father said, ‘Everything the light touches is our kingdom.’”
Incorrect
“My father said, ‘Everything the light touches is our kingdom’.”
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Rule 7: If there are two or more sentences, the speaker attribution should be put before or after the first complete phrase.
Correct
Grandmother said, “Great. She brings home a sword. If you ask me, she should’ve brought home a man.”
Correct
“Great,” Grandmother said. “She brings home a sword. If you ask me, she should’ve brought home a man.”
Incorrect
“Great. She brings home a sword. If you ask me, she should’ve brought home a man,” Grandmother said.
(Note: This is a rule I break all the time, but I thought I would include it in this list anyway! Usually when the first sentence or two are very, very, short and go together, but they still need that “breath” of a dialogue tag in between. But it’s a good thing to be aware of!)
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Rule 8: Use commas to interrupt a complete sentence with a dialogue attribution. Don’t capitalize the next word after the comma.
Correct
“Aren’t you,” Hercules said, “a damsel in distress?”
Incorrect
“Aren’t you,” Hercules said, “A damsel in distress?”
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Rule 9: Use ellipses to illustrate a character trailing off, showing hesitation, or a pause.
“Aren’t you… a damsel in distress?”
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Rule 10: Em-dashes can be used for interruptions, indicating simultaneous actions that do not cause an interruption, or a change in thought/tone. Don’t use dialogue attribution after an em-dash.
Another Person Interrupts
Correct
“He would never do anything to hurt me. He—”
Hades threw up his hands. “He’s a guy!”
Correct
Meg said, “He would never do anything to hurt me. He—”
Hades threw up his hands. “He’s a guy!”
Incorrect
“He would never do anything to hurt me. He—” Meg said.
Hades threw up his hands. “He’s a guy!”
Self Interruption
“I—” Hercules reached into his pocket and pulled out a small doll. “I’m an action figure!
Simultaneous Action
“I am surrounded” — Scar dragged his paw over his face — “by idiots.”
Change In Thought/Tone
“It’s not that you’re awkward. I’m awkward. You’re gorgeous — wait, what?”
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Other Notes (these might just be my personal preferences, feel free to ignore)
Don’t use semi-colons in dialogue. Use a period instead.
Use exclamation points sparingly. Extremely sparingly. Maybe once per 10k words or even less.
After using an ellipsis, saying “he/she trailed off” is redundant. Just skip to the next action. The ellipsis already implies someone trailed off.
New speaker (or character action that serves as a response) = New paragraph.
“Said” should be your most commonly used dialogue tag. Any dialogue tag other than “said” or “asked” will stick out to the reader, and should be used sparingly.
If there is anything I missed, got wrong, or should add, PLEASE KINDLY LET ME KNOW! Again, I don’t have an English degree, I’m not a professional, and I’m actually a bit of a pea-brain, but these are the general rules that I know of and follow in my writing.
Ways to solve the Why Can’t They Use Magic To Fix Everything problem:
•Magic has a cost. The more powerful the spell, the more it drains the caster’s life.
•’We tried that ages ago.The gods grew angry at our arrogance and stripped most of our powers away.’
•Magic is tied to the stars and planets. Its full potential can only manifest on certain astrological events.(And these are once-in-a-millennia type events)
•Only one will a pure heart and selfless intentions can use their full power.
•All magic users are descendants of a (god/spirit). As the years have gone by, the blood has become more diluted, and magic has grown weaker as a result.
•Spell casters can only cast (finite number of spells). They end up using their gift on trivial matters.
•’After the war, we realized the dangers that magic presented. And so we sealed it away, lest it destroy the world.’
•Everyone has magic. Trying to solve one problem is futile as it can be easily undone(often violently and with much destruction)
•inverse of the above: everyone has magic, but their powers are limited and (mostly) harmless.
•Individual, company, or nation has a monopoly on the only substance that can negate magic. As they rule the world, they have installed anti-magic devices everywhere.
•Individual, group, company, or nation has a monopoly on magic. To insure their grip on power, all magic users that do not submit to them are killed.
•An act of good will spawn one of evil. The use of fire will cause somewhere to grow cold and dark. And to save a life, one must sacrifice another.
•The only magic people have access to is Chaos Magic. No one uses it, for obvious reasons.
—••• •• ——• ——• • ••• —•• •• —•—• —•— ••— •••
DO NOT DO THIS!!!
If a website has a paywall, like New York Times, DO NOT use the ctrl+A shortcut then the ctrl+c shortcut as fast as you can because then you may accidentally copy the entire article before the paywall comes up. And definitely don't do ctrl+v into the next google doc or whatever you open because then you will accidentally paste the entire article into a google doc or something!!!! I repeat DO NOT do this because it is piracy which is absolutely totally wrong!!!