How long before VTTs support TTRPGs with AI GMs?

[kermit4karate]

I don't know how much you've messed around trying to play TTRPGs with AIs like ChatGPT yet, but the experience is becoming shockingly realistic, and now with ChatGPTs voice mode you click a single button once and can then carry on a lengthy back-and-forth conversation with the AI using completely natural language. It's generally easier to communicate with than most humans, first because it always defers to you during interruptions. It immediately stops talking when the human it's conversing with starts speaking, which is something most humans won't do.

I tend to think we'll see at least one of the major VTTs offering fully AI GMs as options within one year. Two at the absolute outside. How about you, and how do you feel about it? Have you tried playing a TTRPG with an AI like ChatGPT yet? If so how has it gone?

FYI, for easy reference to the ChatGPT 5 D&D 5E solo gameplay example in this thread:

• Part 1 - Introduction (a one-shot adventure; AI plays the DM)
• Part 2 - Non-combat roleplaying
• Part 3 - Combat!
• Part 4 - Intimidation

 

[payn]

Could certainly help with the “GM shortage”. What will be really interesting is if AI starts shaping GM behavior of actual humans.

 

[The Firebird]

To be fair, I haven't tried it recently, only when the first models came out. But it doesn't strike me as a good use case. LLMs shine when you want to search through a lot of well known information and have the ability to check its responses. E.g., "I want to learn how to garden...what are good methods for this plant? Provide references".

With RPGs, most mods, settings, etc. have way too little information for it to be useful and it will have to improvise. In that case there are no references to check and hallucinations and consistency become greater issues.

 

[kermit4karate]

To be fair, I haven't tried it recently, only when the first models came out. But it doesn't strike me as a good use case. LLMs shine when you want to search through a lot of well known information and have the ability to check its responses. E.g., "I want to learn how to garden...what are good methods for this plant? Provide references".

With RPGs, most mods, settings, etc. have way too little information for it to be useful and it will have to improvise. In that case there are no references to check and hallucinations and consistency become greater issues.

Fair enough, but I'll say that it has gotten a lot -- tons -- better over the past two years. Today's AIs are like a different species from the LLMs a couple years ago. In print, during casual conversations, I think they're indistinguishable from normal humans who also often deceive or speak authoritatively about things they know very little about.

The AIs are still flawed, sure, but so are we. I think they're evolving much faster than we are.

 

[The Soloist]

Not me, but many soloist already use ChatGPT to replace the GM. The main problem for them is the AI forgets adventure details and forgets you are playing an RPG after a while. You have to remind it. They get better results when they upgrade to paid subscription but it's still not there yet.

 

[kermit4karate]

Not me, but many soloist already use ChatGPT to replace the GM. The main problem for them is the AI forgets adventure details and forgets you are playing an RPG after a while. You have to remind it. They get better results when they upgrade to paid subscription but it's still not there yet.

The paid premium plans seem to include more history/memory. In ChatGPT's case on their $20/month tier, you can stop and pick right back up exactly where you were months earlier. And what's more is it literally picks right back up as if not even a second has passed...unless you want it to. You can ask it to time skip, change the difficulty level, you name it. Changes like that are, of course, trivial.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I don't know how much you've messed around trying to play TTRPGs with AIs like ChatGPT yet, but the experience is becoming shockingly realistic, and now with ChatGPTs voice mode you click a single button once and can then carry on a lengthy back-and-forth conversation with the AI using completely natural language. It's generally easier to communicate with than most humans, first because it always defers to you during interruptions. It immediately stops talking when the human its conversing with starts speaking, which is a nicety most humans don't tend to do.

I tend to think we'll see at least one of the major VTTs offering fully AI GMs as options within one year. Two at the absolute outside. How about you, and how do you feel about it? Have you tried playing a TTRPG with an AI like ChatGPT yet? If so how has it gone?

I think you're right. Not convinced it's a good thing for the hobby or the population, but it probably will make the people doing it a lot of money.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The paid premium plans seem to include more history/memory. In ChatGPT's case on their $20/month tier, you can stop and pick right back up exactly where you were months earlier. And what's more is it literally picks right back up as if not even a second has passed...unless you want it to. You can ask it to time skip, change the difficulty level, you name it. Changes like that are, of course, trivial.

Of course, what you're describing is a new kind of video game with single and multi-player functionality.

 

[kermit4karate]

These AIs can also be used to playtest and demo systems and mechanics. When I make little homebrew systems of my own, I use ChatGPT as a sanity check tool to make sure I haven't created something ridiculous.

 

[The Soloist]

Another that thing that happens when you play solo with ChatGPT, it misattributes character names, gender and class after a while. You have to tell it it's wrong and tell it the correct info. When the story is too long the same thing happens with events and places. AI is not thinking, it's parsing info to give you the best answer. After a while it makes no sense.