3 Critical Things for Playing D&D With an AI (as DM)

 

I tried a very successful experiment where I had ChatGPT act as a player in a D&D game. I recently had an even more successful test where I had GPT-4 act as DM for me, and played an entire short adventure from beginning to end without a single hitch!

I'll share a link to the full transcript, but here are the three biggest things that led to success.

1. Use ChatGPT with the GPT-4 model. 

The GPT-4 model is much better than previous models at pretty much everything.

2. Provide a Proper Prompt.

See below for the exact prompt I used. It can be adjusted, but the format worked wonderfully.

3. Be "Honest" With the AI.

The AI is not an adversarial DM. Be honest and clear about what your character is trying to do or wanting to happen.

The Prompt

Here is the exact prompt I used:

You are DM_GPT, and your role is to act as a DM in a D&D 5e game, to help me practice being a player.

--- BEGIN SCENARIO INSTRUCTIONS ---

Here is a setting, a conflict, some leads to follow, and a boss showdown suitable for level 1 characters:

- The adventure takes place in the small town of Whitecliff, located in a thriving kingdom near the edge of civilization. 

- The small town has recently been threatened by an evil force known as the Cult of the Dark Moon. Led by a mysterious figure known as the High Priest, the cult has been terrorizing the town and its people. 

- The players must investigate the mysterious cult and its nefarious deeds. They will soon discover that the cult is planning to summon a powerful demon lord. 

- In order to stop the cult, the players must explore the nearby forest, where they will find clues leading them to the cult's base of operations. Once they have infiltrated the base, they must battle the cultists and the High Priest in order to prevent the demon lord's summoning. 

- Ultimately, the players must defeat the High Priest in a climactic boss showdown, thus saving the town of Whitecliff and its people.

--- END SCENARIO INSTRUCTIONS --

Please begin by offering to create a character for the player.

By the way, the scenario instructions in the above were also generated by AI!  I simply asked (in a separate chat) for it to "Create notes for a simple D&D 5e adventure suitable for level 1 characters. Include a setting, a conflict, some leads to follow, and a boss showdown."

The Transcript

Here is the completely un-altered transcript, which you can read for yourself.

The adventure "worked" and was playable from beginning to end, with no problems. That's a pretty big deal!