Dungeons and Dragons has been a creative outlet by so many over the course of its long existence. Many authors such as myself have used it as an exercise to better our storytelling skills through the use of its various tools. After all, what could possibly be better than creating a narrative within the darkness of the seemingly endless dungeons of the D&D multiverse? Nothing. The answer is nothing. However, there is something that has plagued many would-be table top adventurers for a long time, and something I even struggle with similar table top experiences, and that is actually finding people to play with.
Not finding people to play with can be from a variety of things. No one around you is interested, you live in a remote area where there simply just isn’t anybody to play, or you’re just too nervous to be around people. If you do happen to get together a small group of people, good luck convincing one to play as the dungeon master. I get all of that. This led to the creation of D&D solo play. Yeah, like literally playing a social game solo. Now, a few D&D fascist would say this can’t be done, but I disagree. I’ve tried it before testing out 5th edition back in the day, and it was kind of an enjoyable experience, however, as you can expect there’s a major aspect that is missing. The socialization of the experience.
We are now at the forefront of gaming. The advancements in artificial intelligence have paved the way for the next evolution in table top storytelling games. There have been quite a few apps out there recently claiming to be storytelling games that are Ai generated, but they are all pretty bad. And I mean bad. However, recently Meta (Facebook) announced to creation of Ai assistance on their messaging app, and one of those is literally called Dungeon Master.
The Dungeon Master, which picture is awkwardly similar to Snoop Dogg, is an Ai persona who’s only reason to exist is to give you the best D&D experience as possible, and it does it quite well. It works just like you’re messaging in the app, but it just lays out the narrative, then asks you what you would like to do next. It’s the most interactive, and most in depth reactions to any Ai I’ve tried for this sort of thing, and honestly the story I’m currently in isn’t that bad.
So, I’ve a common dude from a village that is approached one night at the local tavern by a strange man named Grimgold who had a weird obsession with a nearby forest. He asks me if I am interested in a bit of treasure hunting, and of course I am, because why else would I be playing D&D? Anyway, we go to these ruins where we’re jumped by some goblins who actually almost brutally murder us. We escape with our lives and are approached by a mysterious wizard named Eira who tricks us into breaking into these ruins to “defeat an evil wizard” who is threatening the area with evilness. Well, big shock, it was a ruse. She steals some hidden amulet form the ruins and straight up whips us up and down the halls of those ruins. We barely escape, and head back to town where we formulate a plan to gather some powerful artifacts to dispel her evil magics.
Super in depth, right? I’ve even attempted to trick the system by doing something that normally an average player wouldn’t do. The Ai asked me what we should do next before looking for the artifacts, and I said I want to ask Grimgold for a favor. He said of course, and I explained I wanted to go to my home in a small village some ways away, and grab my Wand of Magic Missiles to aid us in our quest. Instead of deflecting as I thought was going to happen, Grimgold agrees and now my player actually has it for the story, and Grimgold remembers. Before we left my house I asked Grimgold if he was hungry, and that I’d make him some hard tack for the road. He actually told me thank you, and he and my character shared a meal and stowed some for the road. It blew my mind.
This technology has truly changed my perception of what Ai can do fro humanity. I’ve been having such an incredible time with this, and it’s so good it feels almost like I should be paying for this service. don’t get any ideas Zuckerberg…I highly recommend that any D&D fan give this a try, and recommend this even more to authors who are looking for an exercise with their storytelling. The Ai only reacts to what you write which has truly gotten my writing cogs turning in my head. This is an incredible tool, and I hope you all enjoy it just as much as I have.
Until next time readers!
–John McCool
John McCool 