RPG Evolution: The AI DM in Action

How might WOTC launch an AI-powered DM assistant?

Picture courtesy of Pixabay.​

We know Wizards of the Coast is tinkering with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered tools for its multiple properties, including Dungeons & Dragons. But what might that look like in practice?

Interactive NPCs​

Large Language Model (LLM) AIs have been used extensively to create non-player characters of all stripes on Character.AI. It's not a stretch to imagine that Wizards might have official NPCs included as part of the digital purchase of an adventure, with the rough outline of the NPC acting as parameters for how it would interact. DMs might be able to create their own or modify existing NPCs so that the character drops hints or communicates in a certain way. Log outputs could then be available for DMs to use later.

There are several places today where you can create NPC bots powered by AI that are publicly available, although the DM might need to monitor the output in real time to record the conversation. Character.AI and Poe.com both provide the ability to create publicly available characters that players can interact with .

Random Generators​

There are already dozens of these in existence. What's particularly of note is that AI can go deep -- not just randomize what book is in a library, but provide snippets of text of what's in that book. Not just detail the name of a forgotten magic item, but provide stats for the item. For WOTC products, this could easily cover details that no print product can possibly encompass in detail, or with parameters (for example, only a library with books on necromancy).

AI RPG companion is a great example of this, but there are many more.

Tabletop Assistants​

Hasbro recently partnered with Xplored, with the goal of developing a "new tabletop platform that integrates digital and physical play." Of particular note is how Xplore's technology works: its system "intelligently resolves rules and character behaviors, and provides innovative gameplay, new scenarios and ever-changing storytelling events. The technology allows players to learn by playing with no rulebook needed, save games to resume later, enables remote gameplay, and offers features like immersive contextual sound and connected dice."

If that sounds like it could be used to enhance an in-person Dungeons & Dragons game, Xplored is already on that path with Teburu, a digital board game platform that uses "smart-sensing technology, AI, and dynamic multimedia." Xplored's AI platform could keep track of miniatures on a table, dice rolls, and even the status of your character sheet, all managed invisibly and remotely by an AI behind the scenes and communicating with the (human) DM.

Dungeon Master​

And then there's the most challenging aspect of play that WOTC struggles with to this day: having enough Dungeon Masters to support a group. Wizards could exclusively license these automated DMs, who would have all the materials necessary to run a game. Some adventures would be easier for an AI DM to run than others -- straightforward dungeon crawls necessarily limit player agency and ensure the AI can run it within parameters, while a social setting could easily confuse it.

Developers are already pushing this model with various levels of success. For an example, see AI Realm.

What's Next?​

If Hasbro's current CEO and former WOTC CEO Chris Cocks is serious about AI, this is just a hint at what's possible. If the past battles over virtual tabletops are any indication, WOTC will likely take a twofold approach: ensure it's AI is well-versed in how it engages with adventures, and defend its branded properties against rival AI platforms that do the same thing. As Cocks pointed out in a recent interview, WOTC's advantage isn't in the technology itself but in its licenses, and it will likely all have a home on D&D Beyond. Get ready!

 

[Thomas Shey]

What was the reason found in either?

Pathfinder 2 was an attempt to align with 5e, or get away from the OGL, or both?

If PF2e is written with anything regarding D&D proper in mind, its to be an alternative for people who find 5e undesirable, but in a different way than the OSR crowd would want. It's its own thing trying for a different play experience in a number of ways.

 

[Stormonu]

My wife, who has a learning disability I think would get a lot of help from AI that can write location descriptions and help populate her adventures (she can do it by hand, but it can take hours).

As for me, there are times I want to do some solo adventuring and short of booting up BG3, this might be a tool I can use for something such as that - I've invested in several randomizer books for solo play, but something that can automate that sort of thing so I don't have to have a half-dozen tabs to flip between things would be appreciated.

Likewise, I've experimented with ChatGPT to get me past some writer's block in adventure design I've been doing for building my Secret City campaign. It isn't great at the moment for the likes of taking a summary and expanding on it, but it at least gets the ideas flowing and a fair editor to help me reword my run-on sentences and bad grammar. And point out any confusing blocks of text in my own writing.

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

I feel, from where I stand now, AI will be a huge asset as a DM ASSISTANT. It's ability to free-think like a human, I have doubts about.

We've all had sessions where the DM has to pull random stuff out of his/her/their butt and make it cohesive and 'true' to their world. I can't see AI being able to do it.

Now, asking an AI to write you the setup for a Forgotten Realms campaign set in Sembia? Or Vaasa? I think it would be amazing at bulletpointing a narrative out for you to go from

 

[Not a Decepticon]

What was the reason found in either?

Pathfinder 2 was an attempt to align with 5e, or get away from the OGL, or both?

The survey wasn't about the reason, it was asking people playing how many of them also GM and if they do know at least one person who plays and also gms. Original survey did it for 5e and OSR on Questing Beast's youtube channel, someone repeated it on Pathfinder 2e subeddit. Results for 5e and 2e had majority percentage of people who only play but don't run not do they know anyone who plays and runs, while for OSR it was an even split. Granted, the number of people who voted on Pathfinder survey was smaller, but it's the best we got.

 

[LesserThan]

The survey wasn't about the reason, it was asking people playing how many of them also GM and if they do know at least one person who plays and also gms. Original survey did it for 5e and OSR on Questing Beast's youtube channel, someone repeated it on Pathfinder 2e subeddit. Results for 5e and 2e had majority percentage of people who only play but don't run not do they know anyone who plays and runs, while for OSR it was an even split. Granted, the number of people who voted on Pathfinder survey was smaller, but it's the best we got.

So same old same old. It takes less people to GM, therefore there are less GMs.

It should have had multiple choice question for why you dont GM

Too much work.
Boring.
Not enough time to prepare.
Too expensive.
I am always the GM, I never get to play!

 

[Reynard]

A lot of you are clearly not using LLMs currently, based on the limits you assume apply. You absolutely can tell Claude3 to respond in a specific character manner,from an angry Reddit poster to a Shakespearean fool etc. The memories get longer with each iteration, as well, and you can feed specific documents into them to ask questions about or use as reference.

Even people in the field are regularly shocked at just how good the LLMs are. If all you know about AI is that Midjourney still can't draw hands, you are a year out of date and that's an eternity.

All that said, the LLMs aren't AGI, and I think you would need AGI to create a real workable AI GM.

 

[LesserThan]

A lot of you are clearly not using LLMs currently, based on the limits you assume apply. You absolutely can tell Claude3 to respond in a specific character manner,from an angry Reddit poster to a Shakespearean fool etc. The memories get longer with each iteration, as well, and you can feed specific documents into them to ask questions about or use as reference.

"Can", being the key word. Do you think WotC is willing to develop such a LLM, that it can keep Ravenloft seperate from Forgotten Realms, as well as maintain the databases to apply house rules for individual games for little to no cost?

From what I understand Beyond can not even handle house rules or custom content well.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Given the choice between run it yourself vs get an AI for it, many would choose the AI even if it was massively flawed.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Yes, from what I have seem online the "D&D crowd" not only targets other D&D players, but other games players as well.

These are "players" of WotC and OSR both.

I rarely see Palladium Fantasy or Warhammer Fantasy, Cyberpunk or Vampire players making demands of the whole TRPG hobby. "D&D crowd" will make demands of EVERYONE. It is rather disgusting the way D&D "players" behave these days.

I think that this is less a D&D thing and more a YouTube thing. YouTube seems to go out of its way to promote content dissing on other content and that generally promotes angry reactions. It is not confined to D&D fans.

 

[Umbran]

If D&D moved away from a "forced perspective" and allowed more acceptance of differing views without an onslaught of the internet piling on people like a pack of wild dogs to tear them apart...

This sounds a lot like many "dog whistles" we hear these days. I refer you to our inclusivity policy, in the Terms and rules, before you go very far down that road.