I didn’t go into this research simply for the sake of research. As players of D&D know, the hardest part of the age-old game of Dungeons and Dragons isn’t creating your character, the constant math mechanics or roleplaying–it’s finding time that fits into everyone’s schedule to actually play.

As of writing this, I have only been a part of a few campaigns as either player or a DM. I’ve done one shots, pregenerated stories, homebrews and campaigns–though the campaigns tend to fall apart after only a handful of sessions. I think, in total, I’ve been a part of…I think 7, maybe 8 groups? All of which have fallen apart due to scheduling conflicts.

We have so much on our plates: work, kids, romantic relationships, family obligations, chores, and other hobbies. There is an endless amount of things that can take our attention. It’s hard to find time to set aside designated time to play make believe with your friends.

So I had an idea.

I, personally, have never used ChatGPT before, but, like most people, I had heard of it. ChatGPT and other AI systems are becoming extremely commonplace. I am currently in a Master’s program for literature, and one of the opening…I guess warnings…that you get is one against using ChatGPT to complete your assignments. I’m also on “teacher TikTok”, where I hear about ChatGPT being used constantly on assignments. So I knew that, not only are people using AI for writing, but that they’re using writing in creative spaces.

(Which is both interesting and terrifying, depending on how you choose to view it.)

This made me wonder: could AI be used as a Dungeon Master in lieu of a person?

I did a little digging, and I found this article detailing, not only that it was feasible, but that there was a prompt available for it as well. I wasn’t the only one to think of it, and someone was kind enough to share their discovery as well! I was so excited. So I signed up for ChatGPT and started to play.

(Character was built on D&DBeyond using only what is available on that platform for free.)

Character:

Name: Kilbrin Augury (he/him)
Race: Human
Class: Fighter
Background: Noble
Level: 1

I figured a martial class would be the easiest to experiment with, because I didn’t know the capabilities of what AI could or couldn’t handle. I wanted to play the most stereotypical D&D character that I possibly could to make it as easy as possible on the AI. (And as a Paladin/Cleric main, I’ve never had the chance to do something that didn’t involve healing. I love my Warlocks and Barbarians, but as a forever support class, let’s normalize picking up a healing spell or two.) But as far as I know…Fighters can’t really do all that much sans stab and run. So my working theory was this might be a true neutral character to play with from a research perspective.

I didn’t think to start journaling my research and findings until I’d already gotten a decent amount of the way through the first arc of the story. As of writing this, Kilbrin is currently a level three fighter (2)/druid (1) multiclass. I think I’ve played…maybe 10 hours in total? I have to say, so far…I’m impressed. Let’s discuss the limitations and strengths.

(I recorded all of the playthrough and will add more as I go along; check out the “GPT” tab to see the original manuscript.)

Limitations:

1. I have to remind the AI once or twice per session to let me roll my own dice.
2. Characters know things that they have no business knowing.
3. The AI struggles to keep up combat scenarios with multiple combatants.
4. Sometimes the AI forgets the name of people or shops.
5. I have experience playing D&D, so I’m able to prompt for dice rolls, but if another player had less experience with rules, it would definitely affect the gameplay.

Strengths:

1. We’re playing D&D!
2. The AI has a depth of story knowledge and is able to pull from that data to create fun and engaging scenarios.
3. The AI has knowledge of different D&D species as well, so the NPCs are fairly diverse.
4. Sometimes the little blips in knowledge in the AI’s execution actually adds another element to the story.

I’m sure as I continue playing that there will be more findings, but as of right now I’m incredibly impressed. Check out the other tabs if you’re also curious about gameplay!

May your 20s be natural and your 1s be few,

Sage