Inspired by
http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2011/03/on-never-being-able-to-find-table-when.html and
https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2015/01/d20-curses.html, I decided to see if ChatGPT was any good at generating random tables:
Me: What are 30 interesting OSR-style curses for use in my Dungeons and Dragons game?
ChatGPT: Sure! Here are 30 interesting OSR-style curses that you can use in your Dungeons and Dragons game:
The curse of eternal hunger: The cursed character is always hungry and can never be satisfied, no matter how much they eat.
The curse of constant thirst: The cursed character is always thirsty and can never quench their thirst, no matter how much they drink.
The curse of the broken heart: The cursed character is unable to love or feel love in return, causing them great emotional pain.
The curse of the unluckiest: The cursed character is constantly unlucky in all endeavors, causing them to fail at every turn.
The curse of the untouchable: The cursed character is unable to be touched or touched by others, causing them to feel isolated and alone.
The curse of the unbreakable: The cursed character is unable to be harmed or killed, causing them to live an immortal life filled with suffering.
The curse of the unseeing: The cursed character is unable to see, causing them to rely on other senses and be vulnerable to surprise attacks.
The curse of the unheard: The cursed character is unable to hear, causing them to rely on other senses and be vulnerable to stealthy approaches.
The curse of the unsmelling: The cursed character is unable to smell, causing them to be unable to detect danger or locate food and water.
The curse of the untasting: The cursed character is unable to taste, causing them to be unable to enjoy food or distinguish between different flavors.
The curse of the unspeaking: The cursed character is unable to speak, causing them to be unable to communicate with others or cast spells with verbal components.
The curse of the mute: The cursed character is unable to make any sound, causing them to be unable to speak or make noise to alert others to their presence.
The curse of the petrified: The cursed character is turned to stone, causing them to be unable to move or act until the curse is lifted.
The curse of the ghostly: The cursed character becomes a ghost, causing them to be unable to interact with the physical world and be vulnerable to attacks by ghost-hunting creatures.
The curse of the cursed: The cursed character becomes a vessel for curses, causing them to pass on curses to those they come into contact with.
The curse of the lycanthrope: The cursed character becomes a werewolf, causing them to transform into a wolf-like creature during the full moon.
The curse of the vampire: The cursed character becomes a vampire, causing them to have a thirst for blood and be vulnerable to sunlight.
The curse of the mummy: The cursed character becomes a mummy, causing them to be immune to physical damage but vulnerable to fire and magic.
The curse of the banshee: The cursed character becomes a banshee, causing them to emit a terrifying shriek that can stun or kill those who hear it.
The curse of the hag: The cursed character becomes a hag, causing them to have the ability to transform into a variety of monstrous forms.
The curse of the mermaid: The cursed character becomes a mermaid, causing them to have the ability to breathe underwater but be unable to survive on land.
The curse of the golem: The cursed character becomes a golem, causing them to be immune to physical damage but vulnerable to magic.
The curse of the giant: The cursed character becomes a giant, causing them to grow to immense size but be vulnerable to being [end of text]
That's only 23 options, and they're all pretty blah for gaming purposes, with the possible exception of the Curse of the Giant at the end, which is actually MORE interesting for being incomplete. Now I must use that gimmick in play: players take an artifact to a sage, who does some research and then comes back to report that "using this artifact can only be done once a year. It causes the wearer to grow to immense size, but be vulnerable to--[cough, cough, choke, fall dead]." The sage was poisoned. Why and by whom?!
Anyway, Goblin Punch's random curses are a lot better, so I tried to see if chatGPT could be directed to be more creative a la Goblin Punch. This did not work.
Can you give me 12 random curses in the style of Goblin Punch?
Certainly! Here are 12 random curses in the style of Goblin Punch:
The curse of the bloodthirsty: The cursed character becomes a vampiric creature, thirsting for the blood of the living.
The curse of the mindless: The cursed character becomes a mindless undead, controlled by the will of the caster.
The curse of the howler: The cursed character becomes a werewolf, transforming into a bloodthirsty beast during the full moon.
The curse of the shapeshifter: The cursed character becomes a lycanthrope, able to transform into a variety of monstrous forms at will.
The curse of the banshee: The cursed character becomes a banshee, emitting a deafening scream that can stun or kill those who hear it.
The curse of the mummy: The cursed character becomes a mummy, immune to physical damage but vulnerable to fire and magic.
The curse of the mummy lord: The cursed character becomes a mummy lord, able to control an army of undead minions.
The curse of the basilisk: The cursed character becomes a basilisk, able to turn others to stone with their gaze and a venomous bite.
The curse of the medusa: The cursed character becomes a medusa, able to turn others to stone with their gaze and venomous snakes for hair.
The curse of the dragon: The cursed character becomes a dragon, able to breathe fire and fly, but also attracting the attention of dragon hunters.
The curse of the demon: The cursed character becomes a demon, able to wield powerful abilities but also attracting the attention of holy knights and demon hunters.
The curse of the undead: The cursed character becomes undead, immune to physical damage but vulnerable to holy attacks and sunlight.
I hope these curses provide some inspiration for your game!
Compare these blah and repetitive curses with Goblin Punch's ideas (
https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2015/01/d20-curses.html), such as
Dog hatred. They will attack you, if given half a chance. Cured by living as a dog for 1 year, or doing 1 dungeon "as a dog".
And
Delicious. Monster that enjoy eating people will prioritize attacking you. Can be cured by eating an entire manticore.
And
Bad with money. 20% chance to lose all money when entering city (thievery, taxes, etc). Cured by sacrificing your most valuable possession.
You'd think ChatGPT would be good at generating random tables but apparently it just falls into a rut pretty quickly.