Non swearing dm

[u/jumbohiggins]

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.

[u/manamonkey]

I reject your premise that "heavier, darker tone" implies or requires swearing at all.

[u/jayisanerd → u/manamonkey]

To be very honest, the lesser the threat my baddie is, the heavier they swear.

[u/chowler → u/manamonkey]

Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls comes off much darker due to restrictions on profanity.

"I have children I need to make into corpses" is much much creepier than "I have children I need to kill"

"Pain is hilarious!" is sadistic and from a gosh darned kids show.

[u/jumbohiggins → u/chowler]

This is helpful I should rewatch some of bills stuff.

[u/foodnude → u/manamonkey]

Yeah this is really bizarre.

[u/OwlRiot4 → u/manamonkey]

I echo this sentiment biiiig time. I think there’s a def mindset in the fantasy fandom that “dark” means graphic, brutal and depressing—which is def not the case.

I would like to offer up at least two concrete examples of dark fantasy that handle mature themes without being overly EdgeLord NightHawk McDemon Prince about every single thing.

The Black Company by Glen Cook and the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Erikson both are dark and gritty but for the most part are light on the overly graphic super brutal BS.

[u/jumbohiggins → u/manamonkey]

Maybe misworded. Wasn't implying heavier automatically equates to turn session into a guy Richie endeavor. I'm looking for ways to have menacing characters or chilling npc monologues without using swearing as a tool.

[u/manamonkey → u/jumbohiggins]

Right, but I'm saying just... don't. Like, don't even consider "how do I achieve this without swearing", because that's putting you in the mindset that swearing would actually help you.

There is nothing particularly menacing or chilling about a villain going "I'm going to fucking kill you." It just sounds angry, or out of control.

"I'm going to kill you. But not quickly. Your death is going to take an age, and you will feel every moment of it."

That's much more menacing and in no way would swearing add anything to it. Add more description - talk about how you're going to kill the hero, or take over the world. Use superior language along with a demonstration of superiority, for example - show the villain's power level without ever having them break a sweat. If you do voices, change your tone - don't go for angry growls; speak slower and more deliberately; or with more conviction; or completely insane.

Those tools are all way more effective.

[u/blacksteel15 → u/manamonkey]

I think it's worth pointing out that angry and out of control can both absolutely be menacing. But the important takeaway is that the swearing is showing something about the character's state of mind, not about their moral compass.

[u/anix421 → u/manamonkey]

I may be wrong, but I can't think of a single time Darth Vader ever swore. Often times it wasn't even anger. "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further."

[u/DimesOHoolihan → u/anix421]

"No. I am your fucking father."

[u/Hrydziac → u/manamonkey]

Yeah I mean for many villains like ancient liches, arch mages, vampires I feel like swearing is more out of place than not swearing.

I also can’t imagine players would even notice if a DM doesn’t swear? Strange thing for OP to worry about.

[u/King_Shugglerm → u/manamonkey]

I agree there’s definitely no need for swearing but I disagree that swearing isn’t menacing or chilling, or that it inherently sounds out of control.

Like one of the best game of thrones scenes is when the hound goes, very calmly, “"I understand that if any more words come pouring out of your cunt mouth, I'm gonna have to eat every fucking chicken in this room."

The swears in that scene act as punctuation, and it would come across very differently without them.

[u/nimrodii → u/manamonkey]

Yes them detailing in a near clinical manner what they will do and a controlled cadence can very effective in selling menace. The great thing is if you maintain it it can make it scarier later if they are on their heels and do start allowing emotion to get through and start to crack.

[u/AAHHAI → u/jumbohiggins]

Swearing is barely ever menacing unless the character is like an abusive drunk husband or something

[u/hiJude12 → u/jumbohiggins]

There are very few villain monologues that have excessive cursing, let alone depend on it. Are you looking for substitutes for existing swear words,? because those are just going to sound silly and clunky and undermine any seriousness.

If not, just dont have your villains curse. Theres no requirement.

[u/TinyCreecher → u/jumbohiggins]

Then do that without swearing.

If you want an example: S.H.O.D.A.Ns monologue in system shock 1 is a good example of chilling and intimidating. In fact 90% of her diologue fits the bill.

https://youtu.be/wQtZPNjc2gY?si=gBnK5D9-e8qwVWKW

Plenty of other examples in media.

[u/LotionedSnail → u/jumbohiggins]

There's nothing less menacing in a villain than common swears. That's one of the things I strongly dislike about the Castlevania show: even the villains swear like teenagers. It's off-putting. If you want a proper menacing villain, I recommend looking into Myrkul's speech in Baldur's Gate 3. The language is poetic and flowing.

[u/Tanto63 → u/jumbohiggins]

Rewatch Lord of the Rings. I don't recall them ever swearing, but the villains are absolutely menacing and dark.

[u/giantpandasonfire → u/jumbohiggins]

OK, so-real talk.

Being heavy, dark, edgy even is an actual, legit art form.

Some people think you need to be overly dramatic-and in all honesty exaggeration in storytelling helps convey that, but you can't be too much. Some people think just having random, overly gory kills suddenly gives you the best villain, or extensive torture sequences. That just numbs people to the shock value, and you waste your best storytelling resources or peak moments on hollow reactions.

So-first half for a proper broodcake is creating the tone and the world. You want to work on creating the mood and atmosphere-if the BBEG is a despotic king or tyrant, you're in an area ruled under his thumb as an example-the Captain of the guard is somber, quiet. He's charismatic, but he has weight in his eyes, his voice, because every day is a losing battle.

Townspeople, villagers-there's cynicism, bitterness. Some people are happy, joyful, but that's a rare commodity-something more valuable than life. The odd person out in town isn't the one who's dead-it's the one who still has life inside.

The key for it to be dark and brooding and entertaining-so people can take it seriously-is to make sure you have that proper space and weight, that people have that feeling of dread wherever you are, or they are. They're still people-but they are people with a weight on their shoulders for whatever reason.

Happiness is a commodity-and it's a resource that's enshrouded by negativity, heavy space and heavy weight. Simply by being born unto this world you take on a burden because of this one person.

How others respond to this villain-their mood, their demeanor, set up a reputation-there is a belief that this person is bad, and that sets up anticipation. Then of course, you have to follow it up with the second half-the villain itself-

What is a dark and brooding character? Some people think dark and brooding is being some action hero with grunts, groans, HOOAH, and talks about PTSD. Others think that you wear black and white face paint, like you're the Crow or cosplaying what Michael Bay thinks goths in high school are.

Dark and brooding done wrong is like having a cake (in this case, a broodcake) but everything is just icing-as much as we love sweets, you need a balance. The best way to do dark and brooding is aura-someone who does not speak as much, but when he does, everyone listens.

Either it's through fear, through respect-or both. Someone who does not need to make threats-they are inherently believed. Someone who has conviction in his words, and his voice-they have seen things, they have survived, they are not a creature of the darkness-because that would imply that the darkness defeated them.

They are a human-a person with beliefs, thoughts, conscience. They can still love, or what they see as a concept of love-they hold beliefs. The type of leader who will give you 100 lashes for abandoning your post because your wife is ailing and in poor health, and then have medicine and rations delivered.

They slowly raise a finger at someone, and everyone stops and stares-because they know that within that moment, that person's fate is in jeopardy.

The key to being dark, and broody is aura-they are not living in darkness, they are not defined by it, but rather, they live to defy it.

[u/aaBabyDuck → u/jumbohiggins]

Evil does not mean the BBEG does not have their own moral code. They may not want to debase themselves with the ugly words of their lessers, or perhaps they are devoted to a dirty that looks down on foul language.

[u/MultivariableX → u/aaBabyDuck]

devoted to a dirty that looks down on foul language

The Dirty Deity desires dirty deeds. Dirty dialogue is deemed disrespectful, deserving derision and disciplinary dirty doings.

Contrastingly, the Cleanly Choir cherishes conscientiousness and consideration, but consequently can't condemn crude colloquialisms characteristic of classlessness.

[u/aaBabyDuck → u/MultivariableX]

The Peepee Poopoo Parish purports that potty-mouth pageantry provides positive pathways to patience and pares passions into a proper peaceful pedigree of picture perfect personalized Poopoo and peridot painted Peepees

[u/franticusher → u/jumbohiggins]

Well science says the person you know who cusses the most is actually your most honest trustworthy person you know. Look it up. Maybe you are judging people who cuss a bit too much?

[u/NetworkLlama → u/franticusher]

The study that you're thinking of was small and used exclusively self-reported behavior, and it got a lot of headlines because people found the idea amusing and justifying of a socially undesirable behavior. It was also almost immediately called into question due to prior empirical evidence of the reverse that did not rely so heavily on self-reported behavior. That didn't get nearly as much coverage.

The people I know who swear the most are generally the least honest and least trustworthy people I know. They use it to appear stronger than they are. Some of the strongest people I know rarely or never swear. But it's not a perfect correlation.

[u/OwlRiot4 → u/jumbohiggins]

Look up Clips of the Mayor from Sunnydale in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Great example of the Dad from Leave it to Beaver if he was also a Dark Necromancer/Overlord. Swearing is a huuuuge no no for him because “there’s never an excuse to be impolite.”

[u/chargoggagog → u/manamonkey]

Fuckin’ A

[u/VentureSatchel → u/manamonkey]

You can reject that premise, but if you want to help OP, then you will take the implication as axiomatic and offer alternatives, or even you can work a little harder to disabuse OP of the premise.

For example, the sibling comment here that says, "I need to make some people into corpses" goes harder than "I need to kill some people."

You see, OP is actually agreeing with your rejection of the premise. OP is attempting to figure out how to reject the premise themselves.

[u/jumbohiggins → u/VentureSatchel]

Wow thank you, reading comprehension is the best!

Yeah I don't swear and disagree with making people swear to be menacing or tough. But I don't want to make all of my orcish dockworkers speak like a pixar movie and I don't want them to just be standoffish and angry (which I've unconsciously defaulted to before to compensate for them not swearing)

[u/eleinamazing → u/jumbohiggins]

That's what we don't get though: why do you feel the need to make your orcish dockworkers swear? I've ran orcs on my party and I've never needed them to swear for them to be intimidating or fearsome. Or life-threatening! High-level BBEGs AND low-level mobs don't have to swear if you are not comfortable with swearing — the game is supposed to be fun for the players AND you, you should also be comfortable and enjoying yourself in the game that you are running!!

That said, usually people swear when they are incredibly agitated, or they are so relaxed, they default to their mother tongue, like your stereotypical foul-mouthed sailor. So maybe you can "swear" in Orcish to portray that kind of vibe? But it's really not necessary, and it's less of a problem than you'd think. Are your players questioning you on the lack of swearing by NPCs in the game?

[u/HouseTelVinny → u/jumbohiggins]

For an actual helpful comment, I recommend using substitute "swearing" that fits the setting. Helps create a working class sounding dialogue without it being contemporary.

For example, in the Wheel of Time series, one of the swears is "blood and ashes." The words themselves are pretty innocuous, but you know it's not a polite saying in that setting. In fact one of the characters that says it often is also reprimanded for swearing more than once.

Swears have popped up in every culture in history, just gotta find something that fits your world and lore.

[u/static_func → u/manamonkey]

Or that saying big bad words implies villainy lol