AI/LLMs How are you using AI in your gaming?

[trappedslider]

A couple of years back, I used one of the LLMs to go over some setting fluff, I had developed a few decades previously and it had pointed out an error in the document that I didn't pick up on and asked how I wanted it fix and then it actually improved on the setting by rounding stuff to make it more believable.

Recently,however I haven't used any of the LLMs or other generative AI tools for my gaming needs since I'm running a D20 Modern game. How has the raise of such tools impacted your gaming either as a player or as the G/DM?

 

[The Firebird]

Currently, I use it mostly for formatting. It's quite easy to generate a nice looking document for Overleaf or something like that.

Then, I have a workflow to make 'monster tear sheets'--basically a condensed spreadsheet with stats for the monsters I'll use in a session, so I don't need to reference the book. I had a version for this for 5e that I wrote by hand, pulling from the SRD. I used AI to clean it up substantially and make it easier to use.

I played around with AI as a campaign setting assistant. They were useful in some ways. For example, I'll often tie things in my world to real history. I can describe a vague idea, look up historic parallels, read into those further, and then develop that.

I imagine the state of things is much stronger now than when I did it. I've had an idea to try again seriously, but I'm not running anything actively and haven't had the time. I think it could quite sophisticated, because you could store your random tables, longer-term memory files (npcs, locations, campaign history &c), other details about style preferences.

One thing that is lacking here is the ability of AI to process pdfs. Ideally, I would want to be able to store modules in the same directory for easy reference, and I'd want the AI to be able to read and reference material from those. It can, but it is token intensive and more error prone than reading markdown files. PDFs are a hard problem, but I think it would be cool if some creators started offering less structured markdown files along with the pdfs. I don't think it would be too big a challenge because the formatting is minimal.

 

[Morrus]

Note--we are not going to be supporting the use of [+] threads to compel agreement with the use of generative LLMs, any more than we would any other ethical stance. [+] threads are not a way to circumvent ethical challenges. I have removed the + from the thread title.

 

[cranberry]

In my private free games that I do not profit from or represent as my own, I've used AI to fill out/add more meat my ideas. I've also used AI to create monster pics. I've used AI for spelling and grammar checks as well as suggestions for flow.

 

[aiouh]

Sometimes when I'm bored at work I ask Gemini to run a solo game of D&D for me (we're encouraged to use AI at work, so not even a strange sight) but I figured that all the stories I liked are part of some conversation where I as a player get to have choice in the adventure or what happens next and risky outcomes hinging on a dice roll I make IRL. So I think it is a very nice engine for filling out blanks, but I don't rely on it creatively, because it is trained on such a range of works of fiction, that it always turns out extremely bland if you just let it do its thing.

In terms of campaign prep I don't use it at all, because writing your own stuff in your own words is a useful memory technique. I've tried letting it generate dungeons before but it just felt like it was mish-mashing a bunch of previously published materials and video game FAQs together without really critically thinking about it.

I really dislike Art generation for games, because it almost always ends up as some generic 4K ahh fantasy image that is neither here nor there. You can always delude yourself into thinking that's what you wanted, but you basically just play roulette until it hallucinates something passable. At that point you might as well just trace someone else's fanart.

As far as I am concerned, Role Playing Games are something deeply (inter)personal and opinionated and AIs/LLMs are just not good at doing the truly heavy lifting required to make good game material. I'd even be wary to use it as a random generator, because those are opinionated as well. Not all random tables are created the same or create the same kind of adventure.

One thing it IS good at, is rules questions or pointing you to the right pages.