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

[Mr Ali K]

AI I find is a game changer for running or playing in RPGs. I've used it to help develop adventures, art, campaign settings. I can turn a half-baked idea into something cool with AI just by asking questions and then developing upon the answers.

This is how I use it, and why I'm excited about it. It can really help speed up fleshing out an idea and getting something down 'on paper'.

What do you use?

 

[Guest 7037866]

Have you found it easy to make battle maps? If so what do you use, it's something I find hard to do with midjourney

Easy? No, lol. And I hope it will get better sooner than later. But I just use Image Creator (Microsoft Designer - Stunning designs in a flash).

Here are a few examples:




But generally I either make my own battle maps or find ones online if AI doesn't give me something I can work with.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

1. Do you also discuss other waste of power and water, or is the focus currently on AI because of it's doing?

I though you might be interested in this.

The carbon emissions of writing and illustrating are lower for AI than for humans - Scientific Reports

As AI systems proliferate, their greenhouse gas emissions are an increasingly important concern for human societies. In this article, we present a comparative analysis of the carbon emissions associated with AI systems (ChatGPT, BLOOM, DALL-E2, Midjourney) and human individuals performing...

www.nature.com

The ratio is even worse between midjourney and human illustrator working on computer (for both India and the US).

 

[dave2008]

Sure. It’s just that when someone tries to claim they understand arguments against AI replacing artists in the same breath that they say they’re using AI for art for their home games… sorry, but no, it sounds like you don’t in fact understand those arguments.

well, you can understand the argument and still choose to use AI art for personal use. Understanding doesn't mean you agree or sympathize in part or in whole with the argument.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

I understand the argument of AI replacing artists (or, actually, lots of workers... do you think surgeon will still be in hot demand when an AI-operating machine can do surgery by moving a robotic instrment better and more accurately than a human hand can ? Or that cab driver will outcompete self-driving car when they are advanced enough to be mass deployed?). It's probable that secretaries are already in much less demand than 50 years ago. I have had coworker (now retired) who would read out report to a secretary to type it. Nowadays, all new employees do their reports on computers and the amount of secretaries employed has dwindled considerably, and I expect this move to be quite common worldwide. Also, I understand the argument that industrial fashion is certainly replacing a lot of tailors. But understanding arguments doesn't mean being convinced by them.

On the individual leveI, I have a few bespoke shirts, because in some case I want (have...) to be dressed both smartly and comfortably and ready-made shirts aren't comfy enough for my body. But I also own industrial garments, when I don't need to wear a suit and looser clothes are appropriate, so I don't feel the need to get the higher quality item. Same with AI. In my game, I don't have the need for the higher quality of human-made drawings, and I won't pay for bespoke art for random orc #41. I can however pay the electricity cost of generating a sufficent image, or "slop" as it is often called, numerous examples of which can be found in the 500+ page of AI art in the other thread.

On the more general level, I think the disappearance of jobs is a societal problem that should be solved by other means than banning technological progress, like we did with automation and agriculture.

 

[GMMichael]

I though you might be interested in this.

View attachment 386631

The carbon emissions of writing and illustrating are lower for AI than for humans - Scientific Reports

As AI systems proliferate, their greenhouse gas emissions are an increasingly important concern for human societies. In this article, we present a comparative analysis of the carbon emissions associated with AI systems (ChatGPT, BLOOM, DALL-E2, Midjourney) and human individuals performing...

www.nature.com

Let's note that the human "footprint" here is for all human activity, not just writing. I think the logical conclusion for this is that ChatGPT should just replace all humans. That would minimize carbon emissions.

"Or maybe you shouldn't bring me every piece of trash you happen to pick up."

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Let's note that the human "footprint" here is for all human activity, not just writing.

That's why they also show the discrepancy for just laptop/desktop usage by the human doing the writing.

I think the logical conclusion for this is that ChatGPT should just replace all humans. That would minimize carbon emissions.

That's the direction many developed countries are going to even before or without AI anyway, with fecundity rate being lower than 2 per woman in a lot of places. Future lack of humans could very well be filled by something with increased productivity to maintain overall production levels.

 

[Charlaquin]

well, you can understand the argument and still choose to use AI art for personal use. Understanding doesn't mean you agree or sympathize in part or in whole with the argument.

I mean, ok, but in that case starting your thread off with “I understand the arguments about AI, but it’s just so darn useful” comes across as actively saying “eff your concerns” instead of “I’m sympathetic to your concerns but have a different stance, and here’s why.”

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

I have also tried to use ChatGPT to help me finalize an adventure. I generally find LLM to be "intern-level". You can ask a few things from them, but nothing critical, because you never know when they'll do something weird... "I didn't need to read the safety measures, I read on the Internet that putting my tongue in power plugs is safe..." So the most they can do is thing that you'd be able to do, so you can check the results, but quicker. They are more an efficiency-enabler than a replacement for prep work. Asking to summarize pros and cons of an idea is usually interesting, so it helps turn a quick idea into a working adventure in much less time. There is no engine trained on specific data to be effective at encounter design and balancing, but that's something that coud be, I feel, done better by an AI than a human GM.

 

[jayoungr]

A question just to stir the pot:

In a home game that nobody is going to profit from and no outsiders are going to see, is there an ethical difference between generating AI art for various characters and using copyrighted images from the internet?