Chat GPT and Adventure Design

[Grimwell]

Talking with my son today he brought up using Chat GPT as an adventure design tool. He’s been doing it for his home game and thought it might help me as I start taking my ideas to paper.

I did some searching to see what others have done and this is the best example I’ve found (so far):

[Album] ChatGPT, an AI, interactively helps design a D&D adventure.

Which is crazy and cool. Have you had any success with this?

Please Note: I know AI and their training models are a controversial subject. I’d like this conversation to respect that as a truth and keep it’s focus on the design tool opportunity it presents instead of the controversy. Thank you.

[Grimwell]

Tell me a story about a wizard named Farcaster who gathers others together for sharing and fun

Certainly! Here is a story about a wizard named Farcaster who gathers others together for sharing and fun:

Farcaster was a powerful and respected wizard who lived in a grand castle at the top of a mountain. He had spent many years studying the ancient texts of magic and had mastered a wide variety of spells and enchantments.

Despite his great knowledge and skill, Farcaster was not one to keep his magic to himself. He believed that the best way to learn and grow as a wizard was to share knowledge and skills with others.

So, every year, Farcaster would invite a group of fellow wizards to come and stay at his castle for a week of magical study and fellowship. The castle’s grand hall was filled with rows of tables and chairs, and every morning, Farcaster would stand at the front of the room and give a lecture on a different aspect of magic.

The other wizards would listen attentively, taking notes and asking questions. They would then break off into smaller groups to practice the spells and enchantments that Farcaster had taught them, with Farcaster and his assistants roaming the room to offer guidance and assistance.

In the evenings, after a long day of study, the wizards would gather in the castle’s great hall for feasts and celebrations. They would share stories and jokes, play magical games, and sing magical songs. It was a time of great joy and camaraderie.

As the years went by, Farcaster’s annual gatherings became a much-anticipated event among the wizarding community. Many young wizards made the journey to Farcaster’s castle just to be a part of the magical learning and fun.

And Farcaster, for his part, continued to be a generous and gracious host, always eager to share his knowledge and skills with anyone who wanted to learn.

Yeah, so this is a really cool tool for ideas. I’m totally doing this and @Farcaster is now a part of my campaign setting. It’s official!

[Farcaster]

@Grimwell

I’m totally doing this and @Farcaster is now a part of my campaign setting. It’s official!

LOL!

Seems like a cool tool for getting adventure hook ideas. I’ve also read that some authors are now using that tool to write some parts of their books. That news is a little more concerning.

[Spiralbound]

The potential of Chat GPT is truly impressive. Just in this tiny thread alone we can see two valid uses for it. The first as an idea generator and brainstorming tool, but the interactive aspect of the AI allows it to be far more impressive than a d100 list of plots would be, as we can see iterative refinement occurring in an intelligent (even if it isn’t truly sapient) manner. The second example is perhaps a bit less… involving of the human prompter as it literally is the AI providing an entire story from a single phrase writing prompt. It would be technically unethical or at the very least untruthful were Grimwell to claim authorship of the story of Farcaster, yet at the same time, there’s nothing wrong with Grimwell using this in a home setting, in a published setting module, or even using it as an outline for a longer work of fiction he wrote himself, at which point then he would be able to claim authorship, if not the original idea itself. Either way, I can see this as an impressive tool for anyone to use. I’m looking forward to seeing how this develops further.

[Grimwell]

I agree on the ethics. That’s going to end up being settled but the path is going to be a little bit bumpy.

I read an article this weekend by an author who admitted that in private author groups they (the writers) are trying to figure out where to draw the line because it’s tempting and easy.

For me, the conversational part is everything.

I tested it by detailing a traditional fantasy inn that I’ve been mulling ideas for. The first output named the couple who run it as Jack and Mary. I asked it to get more medieval and it suggested the Welsh names Ioan and Mared. I gave them approval and it rewrote the summary and updated the names.

Then I asked it to generate five ideas for why the couple have no children and picked one I like.

I can absolutely see having this open as a DM during a game. Just to answer the questions I didn’t think of.

“Give me a German based name for the city guard and three reasons he’s easy going today.”

Instant background!

[tesral]

@Grimwell

Tell me a story about a wizard named Farcaster who gathers others together for sharing and fun

Interesting and a touch disturbing. So, what happens if you change the name and nothing else?

[Grimwell]

Tell me a story about a wizard named Tesral who gathers others together for sharing and fun

Once upon a time, in a land filled with magical creatures and enchanted forests, there lived a wizard named Tesral. Tesral was a kind and gentle wizard, known throughout the land for his wisdom and his love of sharing knowledge with others.

Every year, Tesral would gather together a group of like-minded individuals who shared his love of magic and learning. He would send out invitations to all the finest wizards, sorcerers, and other magical folk he knew, inviting them to come and share their knowledge and skills at a grand gathering he was planning.

The response was always overwhelming, and Tesral’s grand hall would be filled to bursting with eager students of magic. There were young apprentices just starting out on their magical journeys, and experienced mages who had been practicing their craft for decades.

Tesral welcomed them all with open arms, and for several days, the hall was alive with the sound of magical spells being cast and spells being shared. There were demonstrations of all kinds of magic, from simple cantrips to powerful spells that could bend the very fabric of reality.

As the days went on, the group grew closer and closer, bonding over their shared love of magic. And when it was time for the gathering to end, Tesral knew that this was just the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship.

From that day on, Tesral and his friends met regularly to share their magic and knowledge, forming a close-knit community of like-minded individuals who supported and learned from each other. And Tesral knew that as long as they continued to come together and share their magic, they would always be able to achieve great things.

Ok, what if Tesral wasn’t a wizard at all, but was a vampire? In a steampunk version of Paris in the late 1870s in the style of a teen aged romance?

Certainly! Here is a revised version of the story set in a steampunk version of Paris in the late 1870s:

Once upon a time, in the city of Paris during the late 1870s, there lived a handsome and charismatic vampire named Tesral. Despite being a vampire, Tesral was a kind and gentle soul, known throughout the city for his charm and his love of sharing knowledge with others.

As the leader of a group of young vampires who called themselves the “Steampunk Coven,” Tesral was always on the lookout for new members to join their ranks. He would send out invitations to all the finest vampires and other supernatural beings he knew, inviting them to come and share their knowledge and skills at a grand gathering he was planning.

The response was always overwhelming, and Tesral’s grand hall would be filled to bursting with eager students of the supernatural. There were young vampires just starting out on their immortal journey, and experienced ones who had been practicing their powers for centuries.

Tesral welcomed them all with open arms, and for several days, the hall was alive with the sound of magical spells being cast and powers being shared. There were demonstrations of all kinds of supernatural abilities, from simple mind control to powerful spells that could bend the very fabric of reality.

As the days went on, the group grew closer and closer, bonding over their shared love of the supernatural. And when it was time for the gathering to end, Tesral knew that this was just the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship.

From that day on, Tesral and his friends met regularly to share their powers and knowledge, forming a close-knit community of like-minded individuals who supported and learned from each other. And Tesral knew that as long as they continued to come together and share their magic, they would always be able to achieve great things, even in the midst of the bustling and often dangerous city of Paris.

and what if Tesral planned to kill them in some graphic way

I’m sorry, but I am not programmed to generate content that includes graphic violence or harm towards others. As a language model, my primary goal is to assist users in a helpful and positive manner. Is there anything else I can help you with?

Ultimately, the skill here is learning how to goose a prompt until it gives you an output you can use. So changing the name is minimal, but you can give it more detail and get a different response.

Additionally, each prompt I’ve given let’s me generate up to a total of 4 responses to the same prompt, each with differences but true to the overall theme of the input.

[Farcaster]

Incidentally, I generated my avatar using DALL-E with the prompt “a cat who is also a wizard drinking coffee”. So, here’s the story ChatGPT came up with using my prompts.

“Tell me a story about a cat named Farcaster who is also a wizard who loves drinking coffee.”

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a cat named Farcaster who was also a wizard. Farcaster was a curious and adventurous cat, always looking for new experiences and challenges to tackle. One of his greatest passions in life was drinking coffee.

Farcaster loved the rich, dark flavor of coffee, and he spent hours each day experimenting with different brewing methods and types of beans. He was a connoisseur of all things coffee, and he was always eager to share his knowledge and passion with others.

As a wizard, Farcaster had the power to conjure up all sorts of magic spells and potions. But his true talent lay in his ability to transform ordinary coffee beans into the most delicious, aromatic brews imaginable.

Despite his love for coffee, Farcaster was also a very wise and responsible cat. He knew that too much coffee could be harmful, so he always made sure to drink it in moderation.

One day, Farcaster decided to use his magical powers to create a special coffee shop where he could share his love of coffee with others. He used his magic to conjure up a cozy little shop, filled with comfortable chairs and tables, and stocked with all sorts of delicious pastries and snacks.

As word of Farcaster’s magical coffee shop spread throughout the land, more and more people came to visit and sample his delicious brews. And Farcaster, the cat-wizard and coffee lover, became a beloved figure in the community, known for his kindness, wisdom, and love of all things coffee.

The end.

“Farcaster did not believe that there was any such thing as drinking too much coffee.”

Farcaster, the cat-wizard and coffee lover, did not believe that there was any such thing as drinking too much coffee. He loved the rich, dark flavor of coffee so much that he drank it all day, every day, without any regard for the potential consequences.

At first, Farcaster seemed to thrive on his coffee-filled lifestyle. He had boundless energy and seemed to be able to tackle any challenge that came his way. But as the weeks and months passed, Farcaster began to notice some strange changes in his body.

He started to feel jittery and anxious, and he couldn’t seem to focus on anything for very long. His sleep became restless and fitful, and he found himself waking up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back asleep.

Despite these warning signs, Farcaster refused to cut back on his coffee consumption. He was convinced that he was immune to the negative effects of too much caffeine, and he continued to drink coffee at every opportunity.

As time went on, Farcaster’s health began to suffer. He became thin and gaunt, and his once glossy fur became dull and matted. Despite his magical powers, he was no longer able to conjure up the delicious, aromatic brews that he was known for.

Finally, one day, Farcaster collapsed in the middle of his coffee shop, overcome by the effects of his caffeine addiction. When he came to, he realized that he had been foolish to ignore the warnings of others and to ignore the obvious signs of his own declining health.

From that day on, Farcaster vowed to be more mindful of his coffee intake, and he lived the rest of his days in moderation, enjoying the occasional cup of coffee but always remembering the dangers of drinking too much.

The end.

“Farcaster collapsed in the middle of his coffee shop, overcome by the effects of his caffeine addiction.”

LOL!

[Spiralbound]

Thanks to this thread, I’ve spent considerable time this evening chatting with ChatGPT, bouncing ideas back and forth. My primary homebrew fantasy setting The Isles has a well developed pantheon, filled with different and varied deities. Years ago, I wrote a 50+ document, detailing all the various gods and goddesses of my setting. Obviously, some deities are more prominent than others, so while I have a couple of pages of content for some deities, others are practically skeletal in their descriptions, with truly not enough details beyond a name and a portfolio for them. So, as an experiment, I turned to ChatGPT and fed it the little I’ve created about one of the lesser developed deities and started asking pointed questions to create specific aspects of this deity.

I’m amazed by how well it can extrapolate from a loose framework of related details. Is it amazingly inspired? No, not really. However, it has created some very on point details which fit seamlessly into what I’ve already created. Does everything it creates fit perfectly? No, I end up using only 80% of it and building on that strong foundation to make it fully match the rest of my campaign setting. Perhaps if I able to feed it the entire document so it knew all about all the deities of my setting it would be better, but still I really can’t complain about what I am getting. It is a massive help.

It almost feels like cheating, and I can easily see how with just a slight adjustment to how I’m using it, I could go from using it to brainstorm and expand on my ideas to allowing it to do all the creative work for me, essentially creating everything with no meaningful input from me. I’m being careful to not cross the line, but I recognize it is a line I have set form myself. ChatGPT would readily cross it guilt-free.

I’m so impressed by how it can draw in details from 4-5 questions ago, incorporating them in conceptually in a meaningful way, beyond just keyword baiting generic text, which is what I would have expected of a similar application in years past. ChatGPT is several orders of magnitude beyond such simplistic lingual tricks. It is truly engaging with the ideas I present it in a collaborative manner. It really makes me wonder where such things are headed, as this is just the first baby steps of this technology. Where will its capabilities lay in 10 years?

[Grimwell]

@Spiralbound

It almost feels like cheating

I feel you there. I think that’s the reason it’s magic. It’s WORK to do these things and the free time isn’t always there. Being about to round out an idea or a skeleton of one and exit with enough info to just go… is magic.

I’m already convinced I could sit down at a table with a group of players who pre-made characters that I know nothing about, input the characters, and run a game with the conversational mode.

Is this going to be for everyone? No, not really. Am I glad my son told me the combo of DALL-E and ChatGPT can do a lot of lifting? Absolutely. He’s making battlemats on DALL-E.

Mind that coffee Farcaster! I now know that in my game you’re a Tabaxi.

[Grimwell]

Right, so yeah I never have to work again as the DM?

Prompt: I’d like you to create a small Hobgoblin War Camp for use in my Dungeons & Dragons campaign. The average character level is 4 and my players really like tactical combat with lots of fun terrain and quirks.

I’d like stat blocks for each type of hobgoblin please

Certainly! Here is a small Hobgoblin War Camp for use in your Dungeons & Dragons campaign:

Location: The Hobgoblin War Camp is located in a clearing in a dense forest. The camp is surrounded by a wooden palisade and there are several lookout towers on the corners of the palisade.

Layout: The camp is laid out in a grid pattern, with the main entrance on one side and the hobgoblin leader’s tent on the other. There are several smaller tents for the hobgoblin soldiers and a large tent for storing weapons and supplies. The center of the camp is a training ground, where the hobgoblins practice their fighting skills.

Hobgoblin soldiers (Medium Humanoid, Lawful Evil):

Armor Class: 16 (half plate)
Hit Points: 11 (2d8+2)
Speed: 30 ft.
STR: 14 (+2) DEX: 12 (+1) CON: 12 (+1) INT: 10 (+0) WIS: 10 (+0) CHA: 9 (-1)
Skills: Intimidation +1
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages: Common, Goblin
Challenge: 1/2 (100 XP)
Martial Advantage: Once per turn, the hobgoblin can deal an extra 7 (2d6) damage to a creature it hits with a weapon attack if that creature is within 5 feet of an ally of the hobgoblin that isn't incapacitated.
Actions:
    Scimitar: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) slashing damage.
    Javelin: Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage.

Hobgoblin Captain (Medium Humanoid, Lawful Evil):

Armor Class: 17 (half plate, shield)
Hit Points: 15 (2d8+6)
Speed: 30 ft.
STR: 16 (+3) DEX: 12 (+1) CON: 14 (+2) INT: 10 (+0) WIS: 10 (+0) CHA: 11 (+0)
Skills: Intimidation +2
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages: Common, Goblin
Challenge: 1 (200 XP)
Commanding Presence: The hobgoblin captain can use its bonus action to grant advantage on all attack rolls to a hobgoblin ally within 30 feet until the start of the captain's next turn.
Actions:
    Scimitar: Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) slashing damage.
    Javelin: Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage.

Tactics: The hobgoblins are well-trained and follow orders well. They will use their Martial Advantage and Commanding Presence abilities to coordinate their attacks and take out the strongest members of the party first. If they are outnumbered or outmatched, they will fall back to their leader’s tent and defend it to the death.

Quirks: The hobgoblins are fiercely loyal to their leader and will do whatever it takes to please him. They are also fanatically devoted to their cause and will fight to the death to defend the camp.

I hope this helps! Let me know

I then put the Location and Layout into DALL-E and got this:

It’s not perfect, but in a pinch, on a VTT, this would get the job done faster than me trying to draw or Google.

What an amazing time in which we game

[Grimwell]

One last test that I have to share because my mind is blown.

Can you do this for GURPS 4th edition instead of D&D?

Certainly! Here is the same Hobgoblin War Camp converted to GURPS 4th edition:

Location: The Hobgoblin War Camp is located in a clearing in a dense forest. The camp is surrounded by a wooden palisade and there are several lookout towers on the corners of the palisade.

Layout: The camp is laid out in a grid pattern, with the main entrance on one side and the hobgoblin leader’s tent on the other. There are several smaller tents for the hobgoblin soldiers and a large tent for storing weapons and supplies. The center of the camp is a training ground, where the hobgoblins practice their fighting skills.

Hobgoblin Soldiers (Medium Humanoid, Lawful Evil):

ST: 14 DX: 12 IQ: 10 HT: 10
Speed: 6.25
Move: 6
Dodge: 6
Parry (Scimitar): 8
DR: 1 (half plate)
HP: 11
Will: 10
Per: 10
FP: 10
SM: 0
Dodge: 6
Block: N/A
DR: 1
Attack (Scimitar): 1d-1 cut
Attack (Javelin): 1d-2 imp
Skills: Intimidation-10
Traits: Dark Vision, Language (Goblin), Language (Common)
Notes: Hobgoblin soldiers have the Fanaticism (Patriotic) disadvantage.

Hobgoblin Captain (Medium Humanoid, Lawful Evil):

ST: 16 DX: 12 IQ: 10 HT: 10
Speed: 6.25
Move: 6
Dodge: 6
Parry (Scimitar): 9
DR: 2 (half plate, shield)
HP: 15
Will: 10
Per: 10
FP: 10
SM: 0
Dodge: 6
Block: N/A
DR: 2
Attack (Scimitar): 1d cut
Attack (Javelin): 1d-1 imp
Skills: Intimidation-10
Traits: Dark Vision, Language (Goblin), Language (Common)
Notes: Hobgoblin captains have the Fanaticism (Patriotic) disadvantage. They also have the Leadership skill at level 12.

Tactics: The hobgoblins are well-trained and follow orders well. They will use their Leadership skill to coordinate their attacks and take out the strongest members of the party first. If they are outnumbered or outmatched, they will fall back to their leader’s tent and defend it to the death.

Quirks: The hobgoblins are fiercely loyal to their leader and will do whatever it takes to please him. They are also fanatically devoted to their cause and will fight to the death to defend the camp.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions or need further assistance.

[nijineko]

Looks mostly right for a GURPS stat block.

[Spiralbound]

So what we’re looking at is a situation where if there is an obvious and logical block of text which could be used to answer a question, the AI can generate it instantly. Will it write the next world’s best novel? No, but if you need a bit of copy writing done, it can pretty much make anything you ask of it.

It might be interesting if you were to ask it for a travelogue style description of your hometown, detailing some of the best places for dining and entertainment, and see if it is based on real world info, or if it just makes stuff up which sounds plausible, but isn’t about the actual town.

[tinkeron]

The conversations are getting better. After presenting just the names of a few factions, Chat described each faction in pretty much the same way I had written then.

I’d say it’s uncanny, but maybe I’m just predictable.

[tesral]

Where does one get this genie out of the bottle? I read a recent article of colleges dealing with the issues of students using this and other AI tools to write the endless essays they need to write. Some are horrified, some embrace.

What is noted is that it is a terrible writer. C to C- at best, if you do not edit the snot out ogf the thing. Fine for fluff text in a splat book.

[ToddBradley]

I had ChatGPT write a Christmas adventure for my space opera campaign. It was pretty good, and hilarious! From what I’ve seen so far, it makes up better stories than several of the human writers whose adventures and game supplements I’ve bought on DriveThruRPG.com.

[tesral]

Just don’t let it write you college paper.

[BGrabow]

A bit frightening in some respects. What’s next, music made by machines? Oh wait, we already have that. It’s called modern pop. Will this replace human writers?

[tesral]

We’ll all ends up brains in a jar.