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

[ECMO3]

Roleplaying is a spontaneous creative activity. Something has gone seriously wrong when people are asking third parties to do it for them.

Roleplaying is not improv and as a DM I spend more time prepping adventures then I spend running them. There is little that is spontaneous about being a DM, there is some things, but not a lot.

 

[ECMO3]

The way plagiarism is universally treated with scorn tells a different story.

What I stated was a fact. Some creatives steal and the alleged plagirism is not the only way things are stolen, by creatives or non-creatives.

"people like you" does not mean "you". I overal meant people who support Ai, vast majority of whom act like entitled bullies with vengeance against people posessing any creative skill, not you in particular.

I support AI. If you are not talking about me who specifically are you talking about? Does this theoretical person even exist in real life or is it a figment or dare I say strawman construct.

Strawman argument - you twist my point from "Using AI is a sign of lack of creativity" into "someone who uses AI even once is not creative, never was creative and never will be creative", which are completely different points. I beleive you once were a creative person. The moment you use Ai, you reject your creativity in favor of being lazy.

You did not say "Using AI is a sign of lack of creativity" what you said was "A DM who resorts to using AI is by definition never a creative DM."

Those are two very different things, with very different meanings (note underlined) and I am doing things right now that you claim both make me a creative and make be not be a creative at the same time.

Own up to what you actually said instead of trying to pretend you said something else!

Helps you running subpar, uninspired games, maybe.

Or maybe it helps me run the best games that have ever been run.

I can say my players like it, and those are really the only people that matter in this regard.

And people laughed at them and vilified them and told them they're wrong, only history vindicated them. Who is to say history won't vindicate us, who oppose the plagiarismbot 3000?

History did not vindicate the Luddites. They were correct about losing their jobs, but that is fundamentally different than being vindicated.

You do realize how naughty word evil thing you just said? You went out and said it's a good thing that people lost their jobs, ended on the street, freezing and starving, because in long run it gave us our era of abundance. Yikes, buddy. Such a vile, entitled, selfish thing to say.

Yes it is good this happened and far fewer people throughout history have frozen because of it. Far fewer people are freezing still today because of it.

Much of the clothing in the 3rd world is hand me downs from 1st world nations and that would not even exist without the textile industry that put the Luddites out of work.

When I say something I don't back down from it or try to pretend I did not say it!

 

[Charlaquin]

Yes. I wear clothing built in modern textile mills, and even if you are getting a tailor to custom make all your clothes they are still using fabrics manufactured in modern textile mills.

No one questioned that these things are convenient.

Who do you mean by "us"? If you are talking about the descendants of the luddites, it got them a lot better off. They aren't literally dieing of scurvy and malnutrition and they are not being worked to death 100 hours a week deseeding cotton.

Human society. That is what we were talking about, isn’t it? The modern conveniences you and I enjoy come at truly attrocious human costs. We are Marina Vendrell, existing in a tiny bubble of relative comfort that is sustained by the ongoing suffering of countless people outside that bubble, and that bubble gets smaller with every passing day. It’s only a matter of time before it only has room for the half dozen or so people who control very nearly all the world’s wealth.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

Not the way it works. But how about rather than you derailing a thread, how about you stay on topic? And if you don't have anything to add to the topic, then you don't post in the thread?

I like how you chickened out from shutting me up because it would make you admit being wrong, only to then demand I shut up the same way you demand it from only person who made a good point in this thread.

Roleplaying is not improv and as a DM I spend more time prepping adventures then I spend running them. There is little that is spontaneous about being a DM, there is some things, but not a lot.

I beg you, play better games than whatever you're running right now. Run a campaign in Powered by the Apocalypse or Forged in the Dark, it will change your life.

Some creatives steal and the alleged plagirism is not the only way things are stolen, by creatives or non-creatives.

However, AI only steals through plagiarism.

I support AI. If you are not talking about me who specifically are you talking about? Does this theoretical person even exist in real life or is it a figment or dare I say strawman construct.

What part of "I did not mean a specific person" you do not understand? Besides, go toany place where AI bros meet and you'll see it's full of bullies with resentment against real creatives. I had experiences with them many times already, and if you want to ignore it because it doesn't fit your worldview, it just proves you're not debating in good faith.

You did not say "Using AI is a sign of lack of creativity" what you said was "A DM who resorts to using AI is by definition never a creative DM."

Those are two very different things, with very different meanings (note underlined) and I am doing things right now that you claim both make me a creative and make be not be a creative at the same time.

Own up to what you actually said instead of trying to pretend you said something else!

Yes, I have said that a DM who commits act of using AI is never a creative DM. Because they choose to betray their own creativity for the sake of stupid toy. You are never creative when using AI, you could been creative when running games properly. You chose to betray your creative side. Which is tragic.

Or maybe it helps me run the best games that have ever been run.

That sounds like insecurity and imposter syndrome talking.

History did not vindicate the Luddites. They were correct about losing their jobs, but that is fundamentally different than being vindicated.

Yes it vindicated them because we now realize what was done to brute-force automation was EVIL and Luddites were 100% right to protest it. Progress is not worth destroying lives. I'd rather it was implemented slower but people did not free and starve after losing their jobs.

Much of the clothing in the 3rd world is hand me downs from 1st world nations and that would not even exist without the textile industry that put the Luddites out of work.

What a vile, selfish thing to day. It tells me you look down on people from 3rd world countries, that they should be grateful for getting hand me downs, as if the only reason they're 3rd world countries wasn't the principle of unequal exchange, in which their own natural resources were taken, forcefully or through coersion, at loos to them by the so-called 1st world countries. The "progress" and "prosperity" of the 1st world nations was built on exploitation of the 3rd world ones, to claim they should be grateful for "hand me downs" is deplorable.

Yes it is good this happened and far fewer people throughout history have frozen because of it. Far fewer people are freezing still today because of it.

And yet people have frozen as a result of forcing the change to make it happen. not only are you saying their lives are worthless as long as you can pretend more lives will be saved in the long run, but you also use this to justify destroying lives for the sake of a fancy toy that provides zero actual value.

 

[OptionalRule]

For me, TTRPGs are all about the banter and interaction at the table with other players. That's my core enjoyment of the hobby, plain and simple.

When it comes to AI in our games, I see it as a valuable helper tool - great for searching and summarizing rules, managing campaign lore we've created, taking session notes, and replacing traditional random tables. These practical applications enhance our gaming experience without fundamentally changing what makes it special.

I particularly appreciate how AI can handle the prep work I don't enjoy, freeing up more time for what I do love - those organic moments of player interaction at a live table.

While I'm also a video game player and can envision exciting possibilities (imagine Baldur's Gate 3 with even more responsive NPCs!), I approach these as narrative tactical games rather than true RPGs. Sure, there might be fascinating emergent gameplay elements that make them even more engaging, but they're still missing that crucial social component that draws me to TTRPGs.

The beauty is that we don't have to choose between these experiences. I enjoy both video games and tabletop RPGs for their distinct qualities. But they fulfill different needs, and I'll always want both in my gaming life because they offer fundamentally different experiences. The social dynamics of a live table simply can't be replicated by AI, no matter how sophisticated it becomes.

That's my take on it - AI as an enhancement to our hobby rather than a replacement for its core appeal.

 

[Distracted DM]

I dislike AI in the arts fields, but I'll admit that I was open to trying out an AI ttrpg note-taking program. It's an LLM that uses transcripts of your sessions to write synopses, highlights, etc. It's pretty new and far from perfect, but i am hoping that it'll help me where I often fail: taking notes of my sessions when I run online. I can do it in-person with a notebook, but online I am too pressed running the game.. I fail to type out a few notes here and there of names etc.

 

[Umbran]

I overal meant people who support Ai, vast majority of whom act like entitled bullies with vengeance against people posessing any creative skill, not you in particular.

...

Helps you running subpar, uninspired games, maybe.

Mod Note:
Now you are just being insulting.

I have issues with the ethics of generative AI. But I require our discussions about it be respectful, which you are not. You're done in this discussion.

 

[ECMO3]

No one questioned that these things are convenient.

Human society. That is what we were talking about, isn’t it? The modern conveniences you and I enjoy come at truly attrocious human costs. We are Marina Vendrell, existing in a tiny bubble of relative comfort that is sustained by the ongoing suffering of countless people outside that bubble, and that bubble gets smaller with every passing day. It’s only a matter of time before it only has room for the half dozen or so people who control very nearly all the world’s wealth.

We are talking about the Luddites specifically - i.e. the people in 19th century England who resorted to violence and destroyed and sabatoged textile mills because they did not want to lose their jobs to automation in the textile industry. They wanted to keep picking seeds out of cotton by hand. This was the example cited.

I am not saying those advancements they fought against are good because they are convenient, I am saying they are good for society. They clothe millions of people today that would not be adequately clothed without this technology.

Yes they are "convenient" for me, but the real boon is poor people in the 3rd world and on the balance it is a MASSIVE human boon, and a benefit that is not only good in some insubstantial way, but in fact saves lives.

You have this upside down. It is a "tiny bubble" of textile workers 150 years ago who lost their jobs so BILLIONS of people could be clothed for the last 100 years and will be for the next several hundred years!

 

[ECMO3]

I beg you, play better games than whatever you're running right now. Run a campaign in Powered by the Apocalypse or Forged in the Dark, it will change your life.

No it won't. I have played one session of Forged in the Dark briefly and for me it was not as fun as D&D. As someone who plays over 20 hours a week I don't have time to spend on something that is not as good.

Oh, and if I did referee Forged in the Dark I would use AI for my art anyway* .... which would necessarily mean it lacked all creativity right!


* Note: when I talk about AI with Forged In the Dark, I mean real AI generated images, not the Forged in the Dark AI rules for developing NPCs.

What part of "I did not mean a specific person" you do not understand? Besides, go toany place where AI bros meet and you'll see it's full of bullies with resentment against real creatives. I had experiences with them many times already, and if you want to ignore it because it doesn't fit your worldview, it just proves you're not debating in good faith.

So you meant a Strawman. Either there are real people this applies to or there aren't.

The only bullies I see are those claiming I am "stealing" by using AI art.

I don't ignore anyone. The people you refer to just don't actually exist IRL among people I talk to or associate with.

Maybe I will meet one of these mythical AI technobullies sometime, but until I do I am certainly not taking your word for it.

Yes, I have said that a DM who commits act of using AI is never a creative DM. Because they choose to betray their own creativity for the sake of stupid toy. You are never creative when using AI, you could been creative when running games properly. You chose to betray your creative side. Which is tragic.

I didn't betray crap and there is still the logical inconsistency, because I am doing both the thing that you claim make me never be a creative DM while at the same time doing the "act" which makes me "never creative"

As I said a few posts ago, either I am a creative DM or I am not, you can't have it both ways.

That sounds like insecurity and imposter syndrome talking.

Like I said, my players love my games and that is the only thing that matters?

I play in 5 games a week, 2 as a DM. All of them are fun. All of them use AI.

How many games a week do you play in?

Yes it vindicated them because we now realize what was done to brute-force automation was EVIL

The Luddites were the evil ones, resorting to violence in an effort to styme progress.

Progress is not worth destroying lives. I'd rather it was implemented slower but people did not free and starve after losing their jobs.

Stopping progress is what destroys lives. Many more people worldwide would have and still would be freezing if the Luddites had been succesful ..... but suire they would be ok and comfortable, because when you get down to it those standing up to progress do it from a position that "it is all about ME"

What a vile, selfish thing to day.

Stopping progress and hurting people to protect your job is vile and selfish.

It tells me you look down on people from 3rd world countries,

Those in 3rd world countries are the ones who benefit most from the failure of the Luddites. They would literally be freezing today without clothes on their backs if the Luddites had won.

That they should be grateful for getting hand me downs

As a point of fact many of them are pretty grateful.

as if the only reason they're 3rd world countries wasn't the principle of unequal exchange, in which their own natural resources were taken, forcefully or through coersion, at loos to them by the so-called 1st world countries.

What the heck does this have to do with the Luddites?

The Luddites were not fighting for people in 3rd world countries. They were being selfish and fighting for themselves.

There are a lot of reasons there are 3rd world countries, and you point out one of them, but it has nothing to do with this conversation.

And yet people have frozen as a result of forcing the change to make it happen.

Please provide an example.

 

[Mecheon]

Stopping progress and hurting people to protect your job is vile and selfish.

The luddites broke machines so they wouldn't face mass unemployment in the wake of widespread disruption and not be held at the whims of factory owners, the type of people who, y'know, would lock fire escapes so people died in terrible factory fires

Like, are we forgetting '1800s factory owner' is pretty evil in terms of occuaptions? I'm unsure we particularly want to be jumpiong to their defence

Roleplaying is not improv and as a DM I spend more time prepping adventures then I spend running them. There is little that is spontaneous about being a DM, there is some things, but not a lot.

Roleplaying is improv with dice. I'm gonna tell you the secret: you don't have to spend all that much time preparing adventures, you can just do a basic outline of them, prepare some set-pieces if they're needed, and let the players drive things around. There's plenty spontaneous about being a DM and that's where half the fun is, seeing how far off the rails your players have thrown things

I play in 5 games a week, 2 as a DM. All of them are fun. All of them use AI.

What are they using AI for? Like, as far as I can see, AI has impacted exactly three markets

1: Making pictures, which universally give off cheap and lazy vibes because that's the reputation of AI artwork: Cheap and lazy. Like, I think people are more receptive of Poser artwork than they are of AI artwork, and if you've been around you know how 'well' Poser artwork tended to be perceived. Weren't there a few RPGs who did the whole Poser art thing?
2: Writing stuff false information, which has resulted in lawsuits from people shoveling fake plant and mushroom identification books on Amazon and folks getting poisoned by mushrooms, telling people to glue cheese to pizza, two instances of lawyers trying to use AI to write cases for them (which ended Poorly for everyone involved) or multiple cases in the World of Warcraft server I'm in where people have been banned for it due to AI being stupid and not the Oracle of Delphi, able to solve the ongoing Felcycle puzzle
3: Written pornography, where you have to learn how to trick the AI model into giving you the smut you want and is entertaining for how much they have to break the model

I do not use AI for my home game because if I need a monster icon or something, I either have a stupid large folder of them or I can just grab an old video game sprite, edit it by myself, and throw it on the table and at least get the oldschool jrpg appreciation