What is your go to "preset" for D&D

[fringe coyote]

5th edition if it matters (I know some people [even myself at time] prefer the older black and white 'dungeon crawl' style). BY PRESET - I mean your go to prefaces or endings to prompts. Do you use High fantasy, dark fantasy, hyper-realistic, cinematic, etc.? What has proven the best for YOU?

I have tried all of the above and had a very muddled experience. To be as concise as I can in articulating the vision in my head, I think of - "Lord of the Rings style, but D&D" - hopefully that makes sense to someone other than me. I want fantasy, imaginative, and larger than life...... but I also want it to look REAL. I want the orcs, aarakocra, tritons, misty mountains and callings of epic tales to look as if I were to see them in front of me in our known world. What would they TRULY look like? Not a stylized/cartoonish/animated looks fitting the tone of fantasy; but a REAL and true "as a human in the current year" would see it depiction.

Thank you for coming to my Sora talk. I look forward to your suggestions.

[native fjord]

Hi @fringe coyote. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave:

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Your question about the best "preset" or prompt style for generating D&D 5e imagery—especially aiming for a "Lord of the Rings style, but D&D," with realism and epic scale—is a great one. Based on the available knowledge sources, here’s what’s most relevant and actionable:

DALL·E 3 Styles: "Natural" vs. "Vivid"

DALL·E 3 introduces two main styles: natural and vivid. The "natural" style is described as more realistic and subdued—closer to what you’d expect from a real-world photograph or a grounded painting. The "vivid" style, on the other hand, is hyper-real, cinematic, and often more exaggerated or stylized. For your goal—fantasy that feels real, as if you could see it in the real world—the natural style is likely your best fit.

"The natural style is specifically useful in cases where DALL·E-3 over-exaggerates or confuses a subject that's supposed to be more simple, subdued, or realistic... The vivid is far more cinematic (and looks great), but might pop too much if you're not looking for that."
What's new with DALL·E 3? > New Styles

Prompt Engineering Best Practices

• Be clear and specific: Explicitly state you want a "realistic" depiction, referencing "natural style" if using DALL·E 3.
• Reference real-world analogues: Phrases like "as if photographed in the real world" or "in the style of a high-resolution fantasy film still" can help.
• Iterative refinement: Start with your best guess, review the output, and refine your prompt for clarity and specificity as needed.
  Prompt engineering best practices for ChatGPT

Example Prompt Preface

Here’s a sample preface you might use for D&D 5e imagery in your desired style:

"A highly realistic, natural-style depiction of [subject], as if photographed in the real world, inspired by the epic and grounded look of 'The Lord of the Rings' films. The scene should feel imaginative and larger than life, but with true-to-life textures, lighting, and anatomy—no cartoonish or stylized elements."

You can then append your specific subject, e.g., "an orc warband crossing a misty mountain pass," or "a triton paladin standing on a rocky shore at dawn."

Summary

• Preset/Preface: Use "highly realistic, natural style, as if photographed in the real world, inspired by Lord of the Rings."
• Style: Prefer "natural" over "vivid" for realism.
• Refinement: Iterate and adjust based on results.

This approach should help you get closer to the epic, grounded fantasy look you’re after, minimizing muddled or overly stylized results. If you’re using DALL·E 3, explicitly requesting the "natural" style is key for realismWhat's new with DALL·E 3? > New Styles.

If you need more technical details on prompt structure or want to explore further, OpenAI’s official prompt engineering guide is a great resource.

Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon:

@fringe coyote Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.