D&D (2024) Using AI for Your Home Game

[NaturalZero]

There's been a lot of talk about AI on this board lately. I get the arguments against using AI to replace artists but it's a pretty powerful tool for world-building a home game, from custom art for every PC, to cityscapes and custom monsters. I've recently fallen down the hole of AI generated music and realized that I can make a theme for every NPC, tavern, or anything.

Last night, I whipped up a barbarian subclass for a new campaign; the Path of the Dreadnought. Then I thought, "Why not make a theme song for every piece of homebrew I make?"

The theme song: Dreadnought by @conflagrantmodern9313 | Suno

 

[aco175]

I like the picture, guessing it is AI? Nowhere did I find it saying for the barbarian class though.

 

[ezo]

I've been using AI to make artwork for NPCs and locations, as well as maps for the game.

The drawback is you can't often get exactly what you want. I am happy to use it for my own things, and as place holders for concepts for commerical works until I think I can actually make some money from it--then I will hire actual artists to get replace the AI art.

 

[NaturalZero]

I like the picture, guessing it is AI? Nowhere did I find it saying for the barbarian class though.

Yeah. I just put something together quick for my group and was struck by how easy it is now with AI. Image, music, save as PDF in OneNote, and it's much faster than when I first started DMing 20 years ago.

 

[aco175]

I have not tried using it anywhere, but I can see where it can help with prep and images for a home game.

 

[NaturalZero]

I've been using AI to make artwork for NPCs and locations, as well as maps for the game.

The drawback is you can't often get exactly what you want. I am happy to use it for my own things, and as place holders for concepts for commerical works until I think I can actually make some money from it--then I will hire actual artists to get replace the AI art.

I'd definitely want real artists if I ever made a commercial product. There are people who make character portraits in Midjourney that are really good at getting specific results, and I'm not that guy. I'm not half bad with doing things digitally though and I've grabbed some AI originals and changed them to fit a concept.

I made a Orichalcum Genie Kin character for a pathfinder game and needed an image of a person that looked like rose gold. The image on the right was some AI pic I found and then I edited it to look metallic, on the left side.

 

[el-remmen]

I have occasionally used ChatGPT to help me with a raw basis of something I then edit. For example, the names of the Thirteen Gods and their various syncretic manifestations for my new homebrew were developed from several lists I asked it to generate. Though at this point after edits very few would be recognizable as from those lists. Sometimes it is just easier to work from something even if it is not quite right, than it is to develop it from scratch.

I use an art generator less often. Just a couple of times for important NPCs and a location or two but I find that with art getting what I want is much more important for me (since I don’t have the skills to edit) thus making it a lot more difficult and often not worth the effort of repeated prompts when I can could just use that prompt as a description I read or paraphrase to players. I can’t imagine ever getting a useful map out it since I tend to draw or redraw my own maps, rarely satisfied with what I find online or even what comes in a module!

 

[Stormonu]

I've been using AI for pictures and help me get past a couple of writer's block issues on adventures and whatnot. It's also not a half-bad editor for wordy text blocks I've made.

I've also experimented with an app that's tuned for Solo gaming, but so far I've found it's a middling to unexciting DM.

 

[Horwath]

I've been using AI to make artwork for NPCs and locations, as well as maps for the game.

The drawback is you can't often get exactly what you want. I am happy to use it for my own things, and as place holders for concepts for commerical works until I think I can actually make some money from it--then I will hire actual artists to get replace the AI art.

I would say that to me AI is great tool for us with no artistic talent.

AI generates base idea that you would not think of and then if you have skills in photo editing you can customize it to your preferences.

goes for battlemap also.

 

[GMMichael]

The theme song: Dreadnought by @conflagrantmodern9313 | Suno

Whoa! Now I know what it sounds like when an Icelandic Eurovision band gets put out of business.

Where was that generated, by the way?