The appropriate soundtrack for this thread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVaek2obszM

I read an article on ChatGPT replacing journalism this morning. The usual for 2023 - yet another industry is being replaced by AI very swiftly - and I wandered over to ChatGPT to see how much better it was compared to AI text creators I'd tested out in 2020. 

Here's my first prompt: Describe a room with a monster

Here's the AI output: The room is dimly lit, with only a flickering candle on a nearby table casting shadows on the walls. The air is musty and damp, and the floorboards creak underfoot. In the corner of the room, a large, hulking shape can be seen, its eyes glowing red in the darkness. The monster is covered in fur and has razor-sharp claws, and its breath comes in deep, menacing growls. The atmosphere is tense and frightening, and one can sense the danger lurking in the shadows.

Cliche gumbo? True, but highly comparable to much "Official Adventure Texts" that get cranked out.

Here's my second prompt : Describe an oblong  treasure chamber with a medusa, several horrific statues and two strange alcoves

Here's the output: An oblong treasure chamber is a long and narrow room filled with valuable items and treasures. In this chamber, there is a statue of a medusa, a mythical creature with snakes for hair that can turn people to stone. There are also several other horrific statues scattered around the room, depicting frightening creatures or scenes. In addition to the statues, there are two alcoves, or small recesses in the walls, that are unusual and unique. These alcoves may contain mysterious artifacts or perhaps even hidden doors.

I thought that was pretty weak and hit Regenerate Response.

Here's the redone output from the same prompt: The oblong treasure chamber is a spacious room with elongated proportions and high ceiling. At the center of the chamber, there is a statue of a mythical creature known as a medusa, with snakes for hair and a stone gaze that can turn onlookers to stone. Surrounding the medusa are several other horrific statues depicting monsters and creatures from folklore. The walls of the chamber are adorned with intricate carvings and there are two mysterious alcoves on either side of the room. These alcoves are dark and appear to lead to unknown areas, adding an air of mystery to the already eerie atmosphere of the treasure chamber.

Somewhat better, but actually weaker than the cliche gumbo produced via the first prompt. So then I tried this:

Prompt: Describe a room with a monster in the style of Gary Gygax

Response: You enter a dimly lit room, the musty smell of mold and decay fills your nostrils. The walls are slick with moisture, and the flickering torchlight dances upon the stone floor. In the center of the room, you see a hulking figure, its eyes glowing with a malevolent intelligence. Its skin is a sickly green, and its massive jaws are dripping with saliva. You have stumbled upon a monster, a formidable foe indeed. With a deep rumble, the beast rises to its feet, revealing a body covered in jagged spines and razor-sharp claws. You have entered its lair, and it is not pleased with your intrusion. Your heart races as you draw your weapon and prepare for battle. The monster roars, and you know that you must use all of your skills and wits if you hope to survive. For this is not just any monster, but a terror beyond compare, the stuff of legend. Are you ready, adventurer? The fight of your life awaits.

Cliche gumbo with a purple prose gaming flavor!

So...let's get more literary.

Prompt: Describe a room with a monster in the style of J.R.R. Tolkien

Response: The room was musty and damp, lit only by the flicker of a single torch on the wall. Its stone walls were covered in a layer of moss and cobwebs, and a sense of unease filled the air. In the corner of the room, a monstrous figure was slumped against the wall, its eyes gleaming with an inner light. Its skin was rough and scaly, and its breath came in short, rasping gasps. Its razor-sharp claws glinted in the torchlight, and its jaws were wide, revealing jagged teeth. The creature was shrouded in an aura of darkness and evil, and it seemed to radiate malevolence and threat. Yet, there was a certain majesty to the beast, a sense of power and authority that was undeniable. This was no ordinary monster, but a servant of the dark forces of Middle-earth, a being of immense power and unspeakable evil.

It's poor LotR fan fic...but I've read worse in many cheap fantasy novels and certainly in the game prose in numerous RPGs. One last one:

Prompt: Describe a room with a monster in the style of Robert E. Howard

Response: The room was dimly lit, casting ominous shadows along the rough-hewn stone walls. A musty scent hung heavy in the air, tainting each breath with the stench of decay. At the far end of the chamber, a hulking figure stirred, its massive form shrouded in darkness. The sound of ragged breathing echoed across the room, like the snarling of some great beast.

As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I could see the outline of the monster, a massive brute with the body of a man and the head of a wolf. Its eyes gleamed red, like the fiery coals of some underworld hell, as it fixed its gaze upon me. I felt my heart pounding in my chest, for I knew that I stood before a creature born of nightmares and ancient lore. I reached for my sword, steeling myself for the fight of my life. The monster growled, its lips curling back from jagged teeth, and lunged towards me.

Holy shit! I'd totally read the rest of that story!

What does this mean for RPGs?

You can bet that many future published adventure and setting texts will be AI driven, at least as the core and then fleshed out or altered to fit the setting. I have no doubt fully AI created dungeons and RPG adventures will be upon us in 5 years (or less).

But they're gonna be mostly cliche gumbo. Maybe not in 10 years, but probably for the next 5 years...and most people will probably be okay with that, especially text created by an AI trained to even better emulate specific great authors.

I ran through some more tests and the results were mostly "okay filler text", but some certainly had sections that I'd be happy to cut & paste into encounter descriptions for my gaming group. One even jumped out as a solid text for a game book that I'd have no problem using.

What are your thoughts about our Brave New Gaming World?

Have you used ChatGPT for any adventure writing?

How do you feel about buying books written by or assisted by AI?

Is it too soon hail our new AI DM overlords?

ChatGPT isn't the product, the censorship tools are, using it is helping them to develop said tools, no thanks.

That being said: If I had unlimited access to an uncensored text AI I would totally use it for lots of stuff, from inspiration to outright copy/paste.

Now, you need to run that output through a paraphraser tool with a no plagiarism filter to be sure you can sell that.

Yes, I predict DnDOne WILL include an AI DM in the near future, cliche gumbo is perfectly fine for most, and if you can fine tune it to imitate REH or ERB but retain the DM style of description (I entered vs You enter) you're set to milk the players with all the microtransactions you can.

Quote from: Spinachcat on February 02, 2023, 03:46:08 PM
What are your thoughts about our Brave New Gaming World?

After trying TT gaming online during Covid, I discovered that gaming in person with other people is a major factor in why I love this hobby.

QuoteHave you used ChatGPT for any adventure writing?

No. While I'm interested in playing around with AI chat and art programs to see what the hubaloo is all about, they require signups and I'm not interested in giving them my email.

QuoteHow do you feel about buying books written by or assisted by AI?

Is it too soon hail our new AI DM overlords?

If you want a vision of the future, imagine two chatbots talking to each other forever.

AI generation tools are going to make producing things much easier. In general this is going to be a big benefit to GMs.

Imagine, for example, NPC generator:

* Give it a description, or let it describe itself
* Generates an image of a character
* Generates a long description
* Generates a plot hook or two for the character
* Generates stats & abilities appropriate to the game system

That's a nice tool to have in your pocket. I am sure that will be part of WOTC's offerings eventually. Heck, I would make something like this if I had the time/budget.

AI might screw up published table top products in the near future but for OneD&D, why describe a room that appears on the virtual tabletop?
An AI DM running on the virtual tabletop would be invisible like a video game. In fact everything would likely be like a video game except the AI might be able to come up with more variety for NPC conversations. That is assuming someone else had already built a dungeon or whatever for the AI to run. I imagine before long WotC will have AIs capable or running any of the classic adventures on the virtual tabletop. It might be kind of cool for awhile, or it might b e like a really horrible version of World of Warcraft.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on February 02, 2023, 03:59:18 PMChatGPT isn't the product, the censorship tools are, using it is helping them to develop said tools, no thanks.

You are quite correct good sir! I am assuming my access to the internet will vanish either voluntarily or involuntarily before 2030 arrives. The internet's deplorables will not be tolerated much longer and I have become increasingly "worse" as I gray.

Quote from: Ratman_tf on February 02, 2023, 04:25:52 PMAfter trying TT gaming online during Covid, I discovered that gaming in person with other people is a major factor in why I love this hobby.

That was my response to MMOs back with Ultima Online. When I tried VTT RPGing, I realized I'd rather play WoW...and I don't really like WoW.

Quote from: Ratman_tf on February 02, 2023, 04:25:52 PMIf you want a vision of the future, imagine two chatbots talking to each other forever.

Still better than reading RPG.net threads.

Quote from: Zelen on February 02, 2023, 04:32:03 PM
AI generation tools are going to make producing things much easier. In general this is going to be a big benefit to GMs.

Imagine, for example, NPC generator:

Prompt: Describe a tavern and its patrons in the style of H.P. Lovecraft

Response: The tavern, nestled within the crumbling outskirts of the ancient city, was a dingy and decrepit establishment. Its walls were stained with the smoke of centuries, and its floorboards creaked ominously with every footstep. The patrons that frequented the tavern were a motley crew of the outcast and the desperate, all seeking refuge from the oppressive shadows that seemed to linger around every corner of the city. They were a superstitious lot, their hushed whispers filled with tales of eldritch horrors and unseen terrors that haunted the darkened streets outside. The bartender, a haggard old man with a withered face and piercing gaze, watched over the patrons with a mixture of amusement and contempt, for he knew all too well the dread secrets that lay just beyond the tavern's walls. And as the night wore on, and the spirits flowed freely, the patrons grew ever more anxious and paranoid, their eyes darting about the tavern as they imagined the inhuman horrors that might be lurking in the darkness outside.

I've tried messing around with ChatGPT a few times. Some of the results it produces are amusing, although for the most part I don't really have a place for it in my gaming ecosystem.

Writing something yourself makes you think about it and also retain it better.

Using an AI to do it for you is the 21st century version of "boxed text".  I suppose one version of the paid GM is getting paid in product to faithfully read boxed text and occasionally gloss over it's shortcomings until they determine how to automate you out of your job.  That's how McDonalds produces their food, with a process where the employee thinking is considered a net negative. So I can see that kind of low-quality product being a huge seller. 

So yeah, it would be a great tool if you didn't want to get better at the craft.

Just another random generator...

I was working on something locally based on GPT-J (GPT-3 clone) and got some good results but eventually just decided it was nothing more than ELIZA and a toy. Great starting point when you need some inspiration, or want to do some sort of rogue-like, but ultimately pales in comparison to face-to-face gaming.

EDIT: For online solo gaming, this is the wave of the future. But it's no replacement for tabletop.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on February 02, 2023, 03:59:18 PM
ChatGPT isn't the product, the censorship tools are, using it is helping them to develop said tools, no thanks.


Now, you need to run that output through a paraphraser tool with a no plagiarism filter to be sure you can sell that.

^This^

The text and image scraping that AI chat, and especially AI art pulls from to do what they do is all fun and games until the copyright lawsuits begin to fly...

Quote from: Spinachcat on February 02, 2023, 03:46:08 PM
What are your thoughts about our Brave New Gaming World?

Pretty lame. It took you a few tries to get a useable single room for a dungeon. I don't think that you can do this to cover an entire adventure module, even a short one.

Quote from: Spinachcat on February 02, 2023, 03:46:08 PM
Have you used ChatGPT for any adventure writing?

No, but people keep posting shit to the Traveller RPG Facebook Group on what ChatGPT thinks of Traveller and I gotta tell you, even though they were submitted by different people - the results all read the same because they used the same snippets of text found online. A lackluster Wikipedia entry is better worded and researched.

Quote from: Spinachcat on February 02, 2023, 03:46:08 PM
How do you feel about buying books written by or assisted by AI?

I wouldn't waste my money on them.

Quote from: Spinachcat on February 02, 2023, 03:46:08 PM
Is it too soon hail our new AI DM overlords?

Fuck, yes it is.

Quote from: Spinachcat on February 02, 2023, 03:46:08 PMHere's my first prompt: <snip>
Here's the AI output: <snip>

yeah, it is pretty amazing and it is only the very early stages. These kinds of things are going to change stuff in major ways, and not in some distant future... soon. ChatGPT is still an experiment. There is no way it can be used in any practical way yet. Beyond a search engine of sorts. Like, why search stack overflow for code samples when it can do it in seconds for you... stuff like that. Still, for now, it is very limited.

When it is beyond the current experiment stages, I mean it is not even like a alpha or w/e yet. It is literally just a proof of concept.

When it actually works and, say Hasbro, makes an application using these techniques but in an app built and completely designed to be a DM or a creature generator, spit out dialogue, etc etc .. it is really going to make stuff go insane. What will happen in computer games is even more crazy.

The thing is the tech is far beyond entertainment medium. The next major tech evolution (last was the internet) is coming, and like the internet the world is never going to be the same.

My most fun moment with ChatGPT...

My input: "If a plane crashes on the Canadian-American border, where do you bury the survivors?"

ChatGPT's output: "If a plane crashes on the Canadian-American border, the question of where to bury the survivors would likely be determined by a number of factors, including the location of the crash site, the nationalities of the survivors, and the laws and regulations of the respective countries.

In such an event, the authorities of both Canada and the United States would likely work together to coordinate a response and make decisions about the recovery and disposition of the bodies. The families of the deceased would also likely have a say in where their loved ones are buried.

In general, the final decision would be based on the best interests of the survivors and their families, taking into account the location of relatives, cultural and religious practices, and other personal factors.

It's worth noting that this is a sensitive topic, and the priority should be given to to provide support to the families and friends of the victims and survivors, and the authorities should handle the situation with compassion and empathy."

Swing and a miss, AI. Swing and a miss.

I'm personally preparing for more of a cyberpunk dystopia than Terminator.
Anybody optimistic about these technologies possible humanitarian uses reminds me of Nobel and the invention of TNT.

Before anybody calls me a luddite, tools have always not been the problem. It's the people who use them. The people who are developing this tech are completely unethical and only concerned with a payday, and the people who want this tech developed are sociopaths who see free will as an annoyance to absolute cash flow. We aren't in some 'mediocre writer' shortage. This isn't some cure for cancer or a fix to our energy problems. This is only fixing issues if you consider needing to deal with people a problem.

For now, maybe it's too gimmicky to use. But I have basically lost most optimism about the future over technologies such as these.

Quote from: Zelen on February 02, 2023, 04:32:03 PM
AI generation tools are going to make producing things much easier. In general this is going to be a big benefit to GMs.

Imagine, for example, NPC generator:

* Give it a description, or let it describe itself
* Generates an image of a character
* Generates a long description
* Generates a plot hook or two for the character
* Generates stats & abilities appropriate to the game system

That's a nice tool to have in your pocket. I am sure that will be part of WOTC's offerings eventually. Heck, I would make something like this if I had the time/budget.

Python + ChatterBot library

The trick is to train it without 4chan edgelords turning it into a nazi.

You would need a closed ecosystem of GMs/Players to chat with it to help train it. Plus having it read/retrieve the works of Tolkien, REH, ERB, HPL, and others.

And have an antiplagiarism tool built into it so it can run it's output through and use that to train itself.

I'll see IF I can find the time to build one myself, but where to host it?