In other news I've been using Perchance to play around with my alternate random NPC tables. A nice thing about it is that it lets me generate a lot of people quickly and get a better feel for how my random table works.
I've got a generic person generator, making use of my name generator. I want to add a lot more traits and also maybe balance the frequency of some traits better, but I'm starting to be pretty happy with this direction.
@seedling ChatGPT can do similar, but it does not use fixed random tables, so the result could be anything. E.g.
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Please generate 4 random NPCs for a fantasy world, with a random names, two values, a distinctive physical trait, and a distinctive item or equipment.
Format the results as "[name] values X and Y. They [distinctive characteristic], who [distinctive item].
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Sure, here are four random NPCs for a fantasy world:
Garrick Stonefist values loyalty and strength. He has a thick beard and a scar over his left eye. Garrick wields a massive warhammer that he inherited from his grandfather, which he affectionately calls "Old Ironfist."
Lyra Moonglade values wisdom and independence. She has bright green eyes and a crescent moon tattoo on her forehead. Lyra possesses a magical...
@sgryphon It doesn't solve the problem I'm trying to solve - I'm trying to move away from those kinds of cliche characters and have combinations of traits that are more interesting, as well as do some worldbuilding. Also, the constrained set of values will have a mechanical effect.
Those ChatGPT examples are definitely not what I'm looking for, but at least the fact that the perchance generators are creating something different from ChatGPT reassures me I'm going in the right direction