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!

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

I don't even know who you are.

I'm an enworld poster, just like you and everyone else here.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

In a hypothetical situation in which it is impossible to tell the difference between AI generated content and human generated content, and companies are under no legal obligation to disclose how it was generated, does the "artist" in this case matter to the consumer?

Yes, it matters. It matters if this work actually put food on real artist's place or is stolen from very artists from who it took away the paycheck.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Yes they do. Because every school teaches art - or practically every one. We all know how art is created. We've all the seen the gamut created by the combination of talent, skill, practice, ideas and so on.

Are you under the impression that more than a fraction of the public has been in an art class as a teenager or adult? Because if so, that doesn't seem to fit my experience at all.

You seem to be under a bizarre misapprehension that an even slightly trained (including self-taught) artist will just randomly churn out terrible pieces that they secrete away in their studios or something.

Given the artists I've know talked about the pieces they discarded all the time, I deny its particularly bizarre or a misapprehension. How terrible were they? Since they don't exactly show them around, that's difficult to assess.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

does the "artist" in this case matter to the consumer?

Yeah absolutely it does, for the same reason you want to know the ethics of production of other goods where you can.

I will absolutely not knowingly give money to a company which prefers AI art to employing real artists, and frankly any company that "doesn't disclose" who did the art - 100% they used AI art. So that'll be really, really easy to tell. Everyone else, even those using paid-for art libraries rather than commissioning pieces will be saying where they got it from.

 

[ART!]

I wonder if it would be feasible and worth their time to add AI features that make DMing easier for neurodivergent folks.

Obviously, there are lots of ways one can be neurodivergent, but the example I can think of is making it easier to run combats by - on a turn by turn basis - make it clearer what the NPCs/monsters could do at that point. The more powerful the monster, the more actions, legendary actions, legendary resistance, etc. options they have. I have ADD, and I have found it nearly impossible to keep track of all that.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Are you under the impression that more than a fraction of the public has been in an art class as a teenager or adult? Because if so, that doesn't seem to fit my experience at all.

Ok, general question - Americans and Canadians (and others who wish to answer), do you guys not have art classes in your schools? I'm assuming you're one those two nations Thomas, apologies if not.

Because in the UK, at certainly 90% of schools, we have art classes from starting school to at least 14 for pretty much everyone. My American wife had art classes the whole way through school in rural Indiana. My American best friend likewise, in upstate Massachusetts - I could go on, but I think pretty much every American I know IRL (which is going to be selective sure) did art classes at school - it's the sort of thing I'm interested in, because I nearly went into art professionally (I mean, I've been paid for it as a job - not paid very much though! That was part of why I stopped!). My brother, who lives in Australia and has 4 kids with his Australian wife assures me that it's the same there.

Given the artists I've know talked about the pieces they discarded all the time, I deny its particularly bizarre or a misapprehension. How terrible were they? Since they don't exactly show them around, that's difficult to assess.

As a trained artist, who did art at GSCE, A-level, and degree level (though I didn't complete the degree - also really dating myself with those qualifications probably), whose mother was an illustrator, who knows countless artists, who grew up around artists, who has seen the work and working methods of I would guess literally hundreds of artists, I would personally say it is both bizarre and a misapprehension. People discard pieces - but if a normal person saw a lot of those pieces, they'd be generally impressed - sometimes you can understand why, next to the artist's other pieces, they didn't feel this measured up - but a lot of the time it's obviously good, but they just didn't think it was worth the continued effort as compared to changing to another piece - or it'd given them a much better idea for what they should do (this is a pretty common on). It's not usually just random trash unless your hand slips or something.

Can I ask a question if it's not too impertinent? Have you ever done any art beyond like, er... what it's called in the US - we'd say primary school - i.e. up to about age 10? Or even never? Ok if you don't want to answer.

 

[Oofta]

Ok, general question - Americans and Canadians (and others who wish to answer), do you guys not have art classes in your schools? I'm assuming you're one those two nations Thomas, apologies if not.

Because in the UK, at certainly 90% of schools, we have art classes from starting school to at least 14 for pretty much everyone. My American wife had art classes the whole way through school in rural Indiana. My American best friend likewise, in upstate Massachusetts - I could go on, but I think pretty much every American I know IRL (which is going to be selective sure) did art classes at school - it's the sort of thing I'm interested in, because I nearly went into art professionally (I mean, I've been paid for it as a job - not paid very much though! That was part of why I stopped!). My brother, who lives in Australia and has 4 kids with his Australian wife assures me that it's the same there.


As a trained artist, who did art at GSCE, A-level, and degree level (though I didn't complete the degree - also really dating myself with those qualifications probably), whose mother was an illustrator, who knows countless artists, who grew up around artists, who has seen the work and working methods of I would guess literally hundreds of artists, I would personally say it is both bizarre and a misapprehension. People discard pieces - but if a normal person saw a lot of those pieces, they'd be generally impressed - sometimes you can understand why, next to the artist's other pieces, they didn't feel this measured up - but a lot of the time it's obviously good, but they just didn't think it was worth the continued effort as compared to changing to another piece - or it'd given them a much better idea for what they should do (this is a pretty common on). It's not usually just random trash unless your hand slips or something.

Can I ask a question if it's not too impertinent? Have you ever done any art beyond like, er... what it's called in the US - we'd say primary school - i.e. up to about age 10? Or even never? Ok if you don't want to answer.

The last "art" class I had was in grade school when we made Thanksgiving turkey drawings using our hands. That or something involving glue and macaroni.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Ok, general question - Americans and Canadians (and others who wish to answer), do you guys not have art classes in your schools? I'm assuming you're one those two nations Thomas, apologies if not.

I vaguely remember them in elementary. If they were present in high school it was as electives, and they didn't seem any more occupied than other electives. They certainly weren't mandatory, and competing with things like music and drama.

(And yes, I'm in the U.S.)

Just asked my wife and she took one as an elective in her senior year (and she's significantly younger than me, and from Texas rather than California) and had not had one any of her prior high school years.

Because in the UK, at certainly 90% of schools, we have art classes from starting school to at least 14 for pretty much everyone. My American wife had art classes the whole way through school in rural Indiana. My American best friend likewise, in upstate Massachusetts - I could go on, but I think pretty much every American I know IRL (which is going to be selective sure) did art classes at school - it's the sort of thing I'm interested in, because I nearly went into art professionally (I mean, I've been paid for it as a job - not paid very much though! That was part of why I stopped!). My brother, who lives in Australia and has 4 kids with his Australian wife assures me that it's the same there.

I'd be interested to hear other people, but I do know the presence of things like art, music and other related classes has been very hit or miss in large parts of the U.S. for big chunks of my life.

Can I ask a question if it's not too impertinent? Have you ever done any art beyond like, er... what it's called in the US - we'd say primary school - i.e. up to about age 10? Or even never? Ok if you don't want to answer.

No, its a reasonable question. Not beyond the mandatory ones in elementary. I had a neurological injury as a child that made anything I did with my hands (and far as that goes, overall body), shall we say, sub-standard. It wasn't until I was in my twenties that my brain had apparently worked its way around it. As such, my interest in the arts tended to be in drama and literature (and to a limited degree, at one time, music--I had a period where I was an at least a competent keyboardist and could read music).

 

[Dire Bare]

Ok, general question - Americans and Canadians (and others who wish to answer), do you guys not have art classes in your schools? I'm assuming you're one those two nations Thomas, apologies if not.

Because in the UK, at certainly 90% of schools, we have art classes from starting school to at least 14 for pretty much everyone. My American wife had art classes the whole way through school in rural Indiana. My American best friend likewise, in upstate Massachusetts - I could go on, but I think pretty much every American I know IRL (which is going to be selective sure) did art classes at school - it's the sort of thing I'm interested in, because I nearly went into art professionally (I mean, I've been paid for it as a job - not paid very much though! That was part of why I stopped!). My brother, who lives in Australia and has 4 kids with his Australian wife assures me that it's the same there.


As a trained artist, who did art at GSCE, A-level, and degree level (though I didn't complete the degree - also really dating myself with those qualifications probably), whose mother was an illustrator, who knows countless artists, who grew up around artists, who has seen the work and working methods of I would guess literally hundreds of artists, I would personally say it is both bizarre and a misapprehension. People discard pieces - but if a normal person saw a lot of those pieces, they'd be generally impressed - sometimes you can understand why, next to the artist's other pieces, they didn't feel this measured up - but a lot of the time it's obviously good, but they just didn't think it was worth the continued effort as compared to changing to another piece - or it'd given them a much better idea for what they should do (this is a pretty common on). It's not usually just random trash unless your hand slips or something.

Can I ask a question if it's not too impertinent? Have you ever done any art beyond like, er... what it's called in the US - we'd say primary school - i.e. up to about age 10? Or even never? Ok if you don't want to answer.

As a teacher in the US . . . no, not every student has an art class in K-12.

Kids in elementary usually do art as a part of their broader lessons, but a dedicated art class has become increasingly rare. At the middle and senior high levels, art classes are usually electives. Some kids take them, some don't.

You seem to be immersed in art . . . good for you! That is not the experience of many folks in the US.

 

[Dire Bare]

I understand why many folks are uncomfortable with the rise in AI generated art. I'm super uncomfortable with the increasing prevalence myself. The ethics of how most (all?) art generation apps is highly problematic.

But the fact that AI art can be "good-looking" art and/or hard to distinguish from human-created art? Why is that so hard to accept?

Personally, I feel like I've developed a fairly decent eye for identifying AI generated art. But it took time, when AI art was first finding its way into RPG products on DriveThru and DMsGuild, I didn't even realize it was happening at first! And even now, I've labeled a piece as "that's totally AI generated!" only to be wrong. Or vice versa, convinced a piece is human-created, but again, wrong. And the tools are getting better.

If you are convinced that your own eye for distinguishing between AI-generated art and human-created art is nigh perfect . . . well, good for you! We all don't have your expert and discerning eyeballs.

And . . . it's not really super relevant to the OP article! Which is about using AI tools to create "DM assistants" or perhaps down the road, truly virtual DMs! I'm sure some of the ethical problems with AI art generators overlap with such virtual assistants, but . . . we are talking about different uses of similar technology.

Are you angry about Siri? Alexa? Or Google? When I ask Alexa to set an alarm for me . . . I'm using an AI virtual assistant. WotC is exploring expanding that sort of tool into the RPG game space.

Imagine if you could ask Siri how grappling works in D&D 3E during a live game, rather than looking it up yourself. Is that unethical?

What if you ask Google to create a fully fleshed out tavern, NPCs and all? You could do the same on your own, or by using a book that offers some random tables and example taverns, but is using an AI virtual assistant to create this sort of thing unethical?

Now . . . someday we are going to have to grapple with fully virtual DMs. Not today, the tech isn't there yet, but perhaps this time next year? (shudder) But as long as what feeds the virtual DM app is ethically sourced or created . . . what's the problem? I'd rather play with a live DM myself and if none of my friends want to "step up", I'm aware of lots of LFG (looking for group) apps and services to solve that problem, but . . . for someone who is perhaps cripplingly shy or struggles with social anxiety or has problems with social interactions . . . why not?