AI best practices

Goal: Learn how to write better prompts and get more useful AI output Requirements: An AI subscription (Companion or Power; beta testers have Power-level access)

The core principle

AI doesn’t read your mind. The more specific your prompt, the more useful the output. A vague request gets generic fantasy. A specific request gets something you can actually use.

Step 1: write prompts that work

Be specific about what you want:

Include the key details:

• Who or what is involved
• The mood or atmosphere you want
• Any constraints (“no magic,” “must be in the city,” “connected to the cult”)
• Connections to existing content (“knows about the missing prince”)

Leave room for surprise: You don’t need to specify everything. “A tavern with a dark secret” lets the engine surprise you with what that secret is. Over-specifying kills the creative value.

Step 2: use the creativity slider

The creativity slider runs 0-100%, from Conservative (left) to Creative (right). It controls how predictable or surprising the output is:

Rule of thumb:

• Low creativity for things that should fade into the background
• High creativity for things that should stand out

Step 3: match tone to content

Choose the tone preset that fits what you’re creating:

Campaign consistency: If your campaign is dark and serious, use Dark Fantasy or Gritty for most content. Save Comedic for intentional contrast.

Per-Creation variation: Even in a heroic campaign, your villain might use Dark Fantasy while the mentor uses Heroic. Mix tones for depth.

Example: creating a memorable villain

Let’s see the difference specificity makes:

Weak prompt: “A villain”

Output:

Lord Malachar is an evil sorcerer who seeks to conquer the realm. He commands dark forces and will stop at nothing to achieve ultimate power.

Generic. Forgettable. You could have written that yourself.

Strong prompt: “A charming noble who secretly leads a cult, genuinely believes he’s saving the world, and has a soft spot for children”

Tone: Mysterious Creativity: High

Output:

Lord Castellan Varen presents himself as the city’s most generous philanthropist, funding orphanages throughout the lower wards. Behind closed doors, he leads the Hollow Circle, a cult convinced that only through controlled sacrifice can the coming darkness be averted. He genuinely believes he’s doing what must be done - and he’s terrifyingly reasonable when he explains his logic. The worst part? His predictions about the darkness have been accurate so far.

Notice the difference. The specific prompt produced a nuanced antagonist with internal logic, visual hooks (orphanages, secret meetings), and a reason the party might hesitate before attacking.

Step 4: edit instead of regenerate

AI rarely produces perfect content on the first try. But regenerating spends another generation and might not get you closer.

Better approach:

1. Accept the output even if it’s not perfect
2. Edit the parts that don’t fit
3. Add your own ideas on top
4. Cut what doesn’t work

AI is a starting point, not a finished product. A mediocre result you spend 2 minutes editing is usually better than burning several generations trying to get perfection.

Step 5: choose the right tool

Campaign Familiar offers two AI tools. Use the right one for the job:

Use on-demand generation when:

• You need content for a specific field (NPC personality, location description)
• You want structured output that fits a Creation’s fields
• You’re filling in details during prep

Use the Session Companion chat when:

• You want to brainstorm and iterate
• You need back-and-forth conversation to develop ideas
• You’re asking “what if” questions
• You’re roleplaying NPC dialogue during a session
• You need help mid-game

Step 6: maximize context

AI considers your campaign when generating content. This makes a huge difference.

Keep campaign context on in generators: Drafted material references your existing NPCs, locations, and factions. The output fits your world instead of being generic fantasy.

Context is automatic in the Session Companion: You don’t hunt for an “attach” button. As you type, the Session Companion watches for the Creations you mention and, after a short pause, pops up a suggestion modal of relevant ones to add - picked Creations appear as context chips above the input. To add context it didn’t suggest, click the Add context chip.

More context = better results: The more you fill in your Creations with good descriptions, create relationships, and use consistent tags, the better AI understands your world and generates relevant content.

Common mistakes to avoid

Too vague: “Make it good” -> Be specific about what “good” means for this content

Too long: Three paragraphs of requirements -> Focus on 2-3 key details. Let the engine fill in the rest.

Wrong tone: Using Comedic for a villain in a serious campaign -> Match tone to both the content and your campaign

Chasing perfection: Regenerating 10 times looking for the perfect output -> Edit what you have. Your creativity combined with AI is better than AI alone.

Ignoring context: Turning off campaign context -> Keep it on. It’s the difference between generic and useful.

Tips summary

Next steps

• Importing from Fantasy Grounds - Bring in existing content
• AI generation reference - Complete AI generation guide
• Session Companion - Full chat companion documentation