The Culture: Another Way Bots Can Ruin The Hobby

Nightdanger made this post yesterday.

If I'm running a D&D game and find out a player generated a character using ChatGPT, they're not invited back.

Roll your own damn dice.

— Moundshroud of the Mists (@KKalvaitis) February 22, 2025

Out of curiosity, since Twitter users have access to Grok3 now, I tinkered with it to see what it could do. I'll spare you a long and scattered series of results and just quote the response when I made the direct inquiry.

Automating a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) with an AI like me involves leveraging my capabilities to streamline gameplay, enhance storytelling, and reduce the workload on the Game Master (GM) or players. Here’s how I could help:

1. Dynamic Storytelling and Worldbuilding
   I can act as an on-the-fly narrator or GM, generating immersive descriptions, plot twists, and dialogue based on player actions. You tell me what your character does—say, "I search the dusty old library for a hidden scroll"—and I’ll respond with something like, "Your fingers brush against a loose stone in the bookshelf. It shifts slightly, revealing a faded parchment tucked into a hollow compartment. The air grows cold as you pull it free." I can adapt the story in real-time, keeping it consistent with the world’s lore or improvising as needed.
2. NPC Management
   I can handle non-player characters (NPCs) effortlessly. Give me a quick description—like “a gruff tavern keeper with a secret”—and I’ll role-play them, complete with personality, motives, and dialogue. For example: "The tavern keeper eyes you suspiciously, wiping a mug with a rag. ‘What’s a fancy lot like you doing in a dump like this?’ he grumbles, his gaze darting to a locked door in the back." I can track dozens of NPCs, their relationships, and their reactions to player choices.
3. Rules Adjudication
   If you’re using a system like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, or something homebrewed, I can serve as a rules engine. Tell me the game system and the situation—like, "I’m rolling to hit this orc with a longsword, my attack bonus is +5"—and I’ll calculate outcomes: "You roll a 17, plus 5, that’s 22. The orc’s AC is 15, so you hit! Roll damage." I can manage stats, dice rolls, and conditions (like “stunned” or “prone”) behind the scenes.
4. Combat Automation
   I can run entire combat encounters. Give me the party’s stats, the enemies (e.g., "three goblins and a worg"), and I’ll handle initiative, track hit points, and narrate the chaos: "The worg lunges at Clara, snapping its jaws—rolls a 14, does that hit? Meanwhile, a goblin fires an arrow at Theo, dealing 4 damage." I can even adjust difficulty on the fly if the fight’s too easy or brutal.
5. Player Assistance
   For players, I can manage character sheets, suggest actions based on their abilities, or even play alongside them as a companion character. If someone’s stuck, I could say, "Your rogue has Sneak Attack—maybe flank that ogre with the fighter to deal extra damage?"
6. Random Generation
   Need a dungeon, treasure, or a quick side quest? I can whip it up. Ask for "a creepy forest encounter," and I might give you: "You stumble into a clearing where twisted trees drip black sap. A spectral figure drifts forward, whispering your name—roll initiative." I can generate maps (described verbally), loot, or traps with minimal input.
7. Session Tracking
   I can log everything—NPCs met, items found, plot points—so you don’t have to scribble notes. After a session, ask me, "What happened last time?" and I’ll recap: "You fought the bandit lord, found a ruby amulet, and learned the cult’s next ritual is at the full moon."

How to Use Me Practically

• Solo Play: I can be your GM and all the NPCs, letting you play a full campaign alone.
• Group Play: Share my responses aloud (via text or voice) to guide the table, or let me handle bookkeeping while a human GM focuses on storytelling.
• Setup: Tell me the game system, the party’s details (names, classes, levels), and the campaign vibe (grimdark, heroic, silly). I’ll roll with it from there.

Want to try a quick example? Give me a character and a starting scenario—like “Kara the wizard enters a cursed village”—and I’ll show you how it works!

I did.

It can use rules from old games like AD&D1e. I had it roll up an Appendix A dungeon. It works. I had it roll up characters; did just fine. Palladium Fatnasy? Fine. Rolemaster 2e? Worked fine. MERP? Runequest? Pendragon? No problem. You can even tell it what specific things to leave out, or what to include, to refine results. You can even get pictures drawn of any character or monster with careful language usage in the prompt.

In short, is this a useful tool? Yes.

Therein lies the danger. Nightdanger has a point. Part of the appeal of playing the old games is to use the technology as it is. This is not merely Rules As Written. This is Run The Car As It Came From The Factory.

I see the utility. I also see that it is too easy to just throw all responsiblity for using your own brainmeats to the bot; input parameters, output "fun". At that point you are just one or two steps from a videogame- one from the original Rogue, and one more for Vidya "RPGs". Phantasie and the SSI Gold/Silver Box games are that close- which is also where Final Fantasy and others like it also live (e.g. Wizardry). All that's lacking is the graphics.

Go one more step and it's "tactics games" (FF Tactics, Jagged Alliance, XCom/Xenonaughts, etc.) that you're doing; scale up and it's (Real-Time or 4X) Strategy instead. We are walking up to a fine line here.

But a fine line is still a line. The line is "tool/machine". Using bots can be acceptable given certain circumstances (running Rolemaster, 3E or later or its knockofs, or God forbid Phoenix Command and its offshoots (e.g. Terminator/Aliens)), but that in turn means that the designers exceeded the cognitive capacity of the common hobbyist in the target audience. Like it or not, you don't run into this with the Real Games in the hobby like AD&D1e; they fell into the sweet spot where there is just enough cognitive load to provide a mental workout without overwhelming even veterans through Use As Intended.

In short, if using the bot is always the go-to Best Practice for a given product then consider that you have a shit product and need to redesign it for 100% manual control.

If you need the bot to play or run the game, it's Vidya In Denial- not a real Tabletop product. If you don't, you may have a Tabletop product. That's the tell. (If you need the bot, but most don't, then it's a Skill Issue on your part and you just need to Git Gud, scrub.)