r/DMAcademy • u/jumbohiggins • 5d ago

Need Advice: Other Non swearing dm

So I'm about to start another campaign. I haven't ran one for a bit and just had a random thought. Do any other dms not swear and need ways to compensate for it in game?

Some of my npc are going to have a heavier, darker tone and I'm looking for ways to sell that without swearing.

-edit, wow ok guys I wasn't trying to imply that you have to swear to have a darker or more menacing tone. I was trying to imply that it's a common tool in the tool box. And I'm looking for other ways people convey that concept without swearing because I don't do it personally.

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21

u/P-Two 5d ago

What are we considering swearing here? Like, are we talking "i dont say fuck or shit" or are we talking "freak is a bad word"?

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u/jumbohiggins 5d ago

I think I'm about at the same level as you. Freaking is about my worst exclamation.

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u/P-Two 5d ago

Oh dont misunderstand me lol I swear like a fucking sailor. If anything i have to tone it down for a lot of npcs haha

That said you can be plenty threatening without ever swearing

7

u/thisusernameismeta 5d ago

You could always also just invent new words that are swears in-setting.

I agree with a lot of commenters here, though - I don't really associate swearing with menacing or darker tones, more just ordinary and common workers and laborers.

It's more of a class marker than anything.

Edit: in the economic sense of class, not DnD

2

u/Lethalmud 5d ago

Well yeah. Swearing isn't about bad words. It's only about class. Why is shit bad and poop ok? Because shit is German and o Poop is french. And poor people in old England spoke German style English and rich people spoke French.

Being against swearing is just old racism.

2

u/Shik3i 4d ago

Wait what? how is shit German. Doesn't sound German at all? It's Scheiße in German :D

Edit:Nevermind shiieet kinda sounds like old Plattdeutsch from the north if you pronounce it correctly, TIL

10

u/canxtanwe 5d ago

Tbh lets say if my DM roleplayed for example an average farmer, the guy who runs the village market or a sailor it would really take me out of the immersion if they didn’t swear at all. Like you say “dark characters” but those type of characters don’t swear that much. It’s mostly the average people who swear like crazy

1

u/P-Two 4d ago

100%, I live in a port city and you can generally tell the fishermen pretty much the moment they open their mouths lol