I dedicate this to our dear friends
Mauro Lúcio and Juliano Gasparini,
who are unfortunately absent but will always
be a part of our gaming memories.
Maurício Pinheiro
RPG and Me: 35 Years of Dungeon Mastering
One of my most cherished hobbies, although not mentioned in my biography on AI-Talks.org, is playing RPGs (tabletop Role-Playing Games), specifically the old Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D) by Gary Gygax, from the company TSR. These games, which combine storytelling, strategy, and character role-playing, have always fascinated me, offering a creative escape and a means of socialization among friends.
In the late 1980s, when I was a freshman at university, I was introduced to a group of seniors from the Computer Science Department (DCC) at UFMG, true Old School nerds. Among them were Beto and Carlos, affectionately nicknamed Crazy Pygmy. These seniors had a contagious enthusiasm for RPGs and had somehow managed to acquire from the USA, don’t ask me how, the three core books of the First Edition of AD&D: the Player’s Handbook (PHB), the Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG), and the Monster Manual (MM). At that time, RPGs were not as widespread in Brazil as they are today, and finding original material was a rarity (the internet, as we know it today, would only become popular five years later, and Jeff Bezos would found Amazon in that same period). Therefore, these books became true treasures for us, something like the Holy Grail for 80s nerds.
Now imagine the scene: young university students on a secret mission, rushing to the campus Xerox machines to arm themselves with clandestine photocopies of these precious RPG books. The adrenaline was palpable, as each copy represented a piece of the magic that allowed our imaginations to soar in fantasy worlds. In possession of these photocopies, I spent months deeply engrossed in reading these three volumes. These works were not just rulebooks; they were tomes of knowledge and creativity that fueled imagination and camaraderie among players, transforming each session into a collaborative journey to defeat various villains, dragons, and demons.
I vividly remember our first game sessions in the empty classrooms of the Physics Department at UFMG, every Friday, with tables overflowing with character sheets, hand-drawn maps, and dice of all shapes (Platonic polyhedrons, and some not so much, poor d10…) and colors.
The adventures we created were epic, filled with brave heroes, fearsome monsters, and intriguing puzzles. Most of my colleagues, like Kairam (the legend), Beth, Marcelo Cornelius, Luiz Otávio Juninho, Paulo Pelops, Luis Cláudio Pixote, Xykão, Fábio Smurf Ranzinza, and the Giant Juliano (in memoriam), were physics students, except for Flávio, a veteran RPG player from Rio de Janeiro, who was studying Mechanical Engineering. Each session was a unique journey, full of excitement, heated rule discussions, and shouting, where the only limitation was our imagination. All this happened in the year 1990. Good times!
These moments were not just entertainment; they were also a form of learning and growth. We learned to work as a team, to solve problems creatively, and to develop leadership and communication skills. Before starting the game, we used to spend an hour talking about various subjects. Additionally, these RPG sessions strengthened our friendships, creating bonds that endure to this day.
In retrospect, I see how these games influenced my life in profound and lasting ways. They fueled my love for reading, storytelling, and creativity, skills that continue to be central in my career as a university professor and in my personal interests. And, although times have changed and RPGs have evolved, I still cherish those days of adventure and discovery, always remembering the positive impact they had on my life.
Returning to the grimoires, I vividly remember my immediate fascination with the art and content of the Monster Manual (MM). Ah, what a marvel! Each page was a window into a world of fantastic creatures and epic stories, a kind of “zoo” of monsters that existed only in the fertile imagination of nerds. The detailed artwork and engaging text captured my attention and sparked a passion in me that would last more than three decades. The illustrations in the Monster Manual, with their detailed descriptions of monsters and their abilities, inspired me to create adventures filled with challenges and intrigue. Each monster was a challenge waiting to be overcome, each description a doorway to new plots and epic battles.
The Player’s Handbook provided a wealth of options for character creation, allowing each player to bring unique heroes with distinct personalities to life. There was nothing like seeing a group of young heroes debating whether to face a dragon or “Run to the Hills!”
The Dungeon Master’s Guide was my guide to building worlds, weaving stories, and managing the complex mechanics of the game. It was a kind of manual for creating entire universes, perfect for someone who prefers rolling dice to living in the real world.
These books became constant reads for me, and RPG groups quickly became a focal point in my university life, significantly improving my English language skills along the way. Who would have thought that Dungeons & Dragons manuals would be my best English teachers? Through the adventures and stories we created together, we formed friendships that extended beyond our college years. Each gaming session was an escape into a fantasy universe, where our choices and actions shaped the destinies of epic characters, or not so epic ones, and entire worlds. This introduction to RPGs marked the beginning of a journey that would enrich my life for over three decades.
One of my colleagues from that time, Kairam, still plays with me to this day. The persistence of friendships forged in the lands of Faerûn, Mystara, Ravenloft, and Athas is remarkable, isn’t it? I still keep the character sheets from the first group and remember our first campaign as if it were yesterday. I can’t forget the excitement of the first original adventure I dungeon mastered, and that’s why I recreated it with the help of ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion. Now, you can play it with your friends and experience all the charm of old AD&D campaigns, revitalized with a modern and creative touch from AI.
Since then, I’ve been playing RPGs for almost 35 years, mainly as a Dungeon Master. As a player, I’ve always enjoyed portraying genuinely chaotic characters, and my tendency to get the group into trouble even before the adventures began was, ironically, the same behavior that made me a good Dungeon Master, if I may say so. After all, if you can turn a friendly gathering into a chaotic race against time, why not?
My favorite campaigns have always been and will always be Ravenloft and Dark Sun. There’s nothing like the gothic and sinister atmosphere of Ravenloft to create that delicious tension between life and death, or the brutal and harsh reality of Dark Sun to challenge even the most experienced players.
Ravenloft, one of the most iconic settings of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, transports players to a world of gothic horror, where fear and mystery permeate every corner. This setting is situated in the demiplane known as the Dread Realms, a dark and cursed place ruled by powerful and sinister Dark Lords, each trapped in their own domain of terror and tragedy. The most famous of these lords is Strahd von Zarovich, the vampiric sovereign of Barovia, whose tragic and haunting story sets the tone for Ravenloft. The mists that shroud this world can bring adventurers from anywhere, dragging them to a land where hope is fragile and courage is constantly tested. In Ravenloft, the environment is a character in itself, with haunted castles, misty forests, and desperate villages that evoke a constant sense of unease and danger. Adventures in this setting are filled with encounters with creatures of the night, investigations into supernatural mysteries, and constant struggle against the forces of darkness. The atmosphere is laden with classic elements of gothic horror, including ancestral curses, dark secrets, and the eternal confrontation between good and evil. Players in Ravenloft not only face physical threats but also psychological challenges, as the Dark Lords manipulate and test their sanity and morals. The mysterious mists surrounding Ravenloft make escape nearly impossible, forcing adventurers to confront the horrors that reside both outside and within themselves. This setting offers a unique gaming experience, where survival depends not only on swords and spells but on cunning, courage, and determination to face the horrors lurking in the shadows.
In both settings, I’ve found the perfect balance between challenge, storytelling, and, of course, the opportunity to further complicate my players’ lives with my elaborate plots. Because, after all, controlled chaos is where the real fun happens.
The original setting of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dark Sun presents a desolate and brutal world called Athas, a devastated land marked by vast scorching deserts, relentless mountains, and city-states ruled by tyrannical sorcerer-kings. This post-apocalyptic environment arose from a magical cataclysm that drained the life from the planet, transforming it into an arid and inhospitable place where survival is a constant struggle. Magic, especially defiling magic, is deeply feared and hated, as it consumes the already scarce vegetation, further aggravating the world’s desolation. Resources are incredibly scarce; water, in particular, is a precious commodity fiercely contested. The fauna of Athas is relentless, with creatures adapted to hunt and survive in the extreme desert conditions. The inhabitants of Athas, including familiar D&D races such as elves, dwarves, and humans, have evolved to endure harsh conditions, often living in isolated communities or serving in the military forces of the sorcerer-kings. These despotic figures maintain a tight grip over their city-states, using powerful armies and magic to suppress any form of rebellion. In Athas, the concept of hope is rare, and most inhabitants live in constant fear, focusing their existence on simply surviving day to day. Dark Sun campaigns are permeated by an atmosphere of despair and resistance, where characters often become involved in political intrigues, battles for scarce resources, and confrontations with terrifying creatures. Morality is complex and ambiguous, with difficult choices to be made in a world where the struggle for survival can drive even the noblest to desperate actions.
Throughout all these years, I have primarily played as a Dungeon Master. The responsibility of creating worlds, plots, and challenges for my players has become a constant passion. Each session was a new opportunity to surprise and challenge, to weave complex stories, and to see the players’ characters grow and evolve. And, of course, there was always that subtle pleasure in seeing their reactions when they realized that the situation they were getting into was much more complicated than they had imagined.
Over these 35 years as a Dungeon Master, I’ve become almost a professional. I even made money from it, which I promptly invested in more RPG books. After all, what could be more important than expanding the collection of spellbooks and adventure manuals? Along with some friends, we founded the Dragon’s Cave Club (DCC) in the largest bookstore in Belo Horizonte, in the most prestigious location: Leitura Savassi (ironically, DCC is also the acronym for the Department of Computer Science at UFMG where we began our RPG initiation). It was at the Dragon’s Cave Club where I made numerous friends, including Carlos the Boss (the store manager), Mauro (in memoriam), Ézio, Dudu, Fred, Léo Bopp, Samurai, Chacal, Marcus (a great artist who, besides plastic modeling, also started painting miniatures), Rubens, Gustavo Bracher Brachiola, X-Men, Kari, Maurício “the White” (I was Mauríco the “Black”, on the wrong side of the force), and even the enigmatic Lich with his flannel suit and green shirt.
One of my apprentices from that era has become a close friend, Pedro, who now resides in Iceland. He has authored, edited, and translated numerous RPGs. Together with my friends Kairam and Mauro, Pedro translated the renowned H.P. Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulhu into Portuguese. Witnessing Pedro surpassing his mentor fills me with pride. His annual participation in Gen Con in Indiana has become a cherished tradition for him.
Ah, the days of glory! We had our moment of fame, giving interviews for TV and the magazine Veja, participating in RPG events in São Paulo, organizing events at DCC, and even painting metal miniatures. Although, I must admit, my artistic skills were not the best at the time – they looked more like ink stains with a slight intention of form.
Our base at the Dragon’s Cave Club was a true nerd sanctuary. We organized events that attracted players from all over, promoting epic gatherings that lasted the entire weekend. We became a reference in the local RPG scene, and even nationally, something that seemed like a distant dream when I started rolling dice and telling stories in the late 80s. These 35 years as a Dungeon Master not only shaped my way of playing and creating, but also reinforced the idea that with imagination and a good dose of camaraderie, anyone can be a hero in their own epic saga.
Over time, I needed to focus on my PhD in Physics. I moved to Germany, returned to Brazil, then back to Germany as a visiting scientist, and finally settled back in Brazil until I attained my permanent position at UFMG in 2004. Nevertheless, I always maintained this hobby with my friends Kairam, Dunga, Pedro, and my brother Sérgio. Naturally, we lost some of our best friends from our gaming table over time, but we also made new friends, like Cláudio, Lippe, Vitão, Marceba, Dunga, Taquinho, Joamzim, among others.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we migrated to the Roll20 platform and continued battling dragons and seeking magical artifacts and gold pieces every week, with only a few interruptions.
Eventually, we returned to the table with real polyhedral dice, pizza, and Coca-Cola. We still use the old TSR AD&D because I’m a traditional Dungeon Master and not a fan of the “softened” versions by Wizards of the Coast. The untranslatable jokes are the same as thirty years ago: Onde estão seus dados? Você não tem dado em casa? LOL
Note to English Readers: In RPGs (Role-Playing Games), “dados” refers to dice. The question is asking where the person’s dice are, implying they should have dice with them for playing. The second part of the joke plays on the similarity in sound between “dado” (dice) and “dado” (given). The joke humorously implies that those who don’t bring dice may also not have anything “given” (dado) at home. AI still struggles to accurately translate regional jokes, and I don’t think it will ever master that skill.
The RPG of the XXI Century – Oh Tempora, Oh Mores!
Note: Cicero’s “Oh Tempora, Oh Mores!” is a Latin phrase that translates to “Oh the times, Oh the customs!” It expresses a sentiment of lament or criticism about the current state of affairs compared to the past.
In my opinion, the modern versions of Dungeons and Dragons produced by Wizards of the Coast (WotC), after acquiring TSR in 1997 and being acquired by Hasbro in 1999, dilute the essence of storytelling by granting excessive power to characters. They eliminate crucial elements such as stress, fear, and anxiety associated with potential character losses and frustrations caused by unmet objectives. These elements are actually what drive a good game, encouraging careful planning of coordinated player actions focused on preservation and survival. Moreover, by overly empowering players, the role of the Dungeon Master (DM) becomes passive, reduced to a mere facilitator rather than a true storyteller who guides the narrative dynamically and engagingly.
Wizards of the Coast (WotC) seems to have adapted its system to appeal to consumers of the new generation, who often question the authority of the Dungeon Master and are largely hypersensitive to a variety of stimuli, both positive and negative. This is a generation that grew up with RPG video games rather than traditional tabletop RPGs, and they also value immediate rewards. These modern adaptations appear to reflect a contemporary need for self-affirmation and constant validation, common characteristics in social media culture.
In addition, there is a significant influence of ‘woke’ culture within WotC (some say Wokes of the Coast), bringing along several changes that, in my opinion, could compromise the essence of the game. This includes alterations aimed at making the text politically correct. For instance, the concept of a kind-hearted orc is seen as a reflection of societal pressures on fantasy creatures (oh, the old Romantic Fallacy!). Racial bonuses are out of the question; elves, dwarves, halflings, and humans are all the same… This change can be interpreted as an attempt to incorporate values from a progressive agenda into the game’s narrative, but it can also be viewed as a dilution of the depth and challenge that characterized the classic editions from TSR, moving the game closer to the direction of video games. This issue raises debates about the authenticity and integrity of the implemented changes, especially when confronted with the expectations of traditional players who value fidelity to the RPG’s roots.
RPG and AI
You might be wondering what this has to do with AI. Let me explain. Much of a Dungeon Master’s (DM) work in RPGs involves creating a cohesive world, developing engaging storylines, animating non-player characters (NPCs), crafting detailed maps, designing villains with compelling motivations, and preparing a variety of adventures. It is a complex process that demands time and creativity. However, today, all of this can be facilitated with the help of generative artificial intelligence.
Imagine being able to use AI to automatically generate entire cities with unique histories, cultures, and details, ready to be explored by players. An AI system can quickly create NPCs and monsters with distinct personalities, based on specific archetypes or even from basic descriptions provided by the game master. These NPCs would not only have varied personality traits but also pre-established life stories and relationships, making their interactions with players richer and more immersive.
Furthermore, AI can assist in the dynamic generation of plots, responding to players’ actions in an intelligent and adaptive manner. For example, if players decide to explore an ancient ruin instead of following the main storyline, the AI could adjust the course of the story according to their choices, creating challenges and revelations that fit organically into the established context.
Another powerful application would be in the creation of detailed and visually stunning maps. With AI-assisted procedural generation techniques, game masters can quickly create varied yet coherent landscapes based on specific parameters like climate, geography, and local culture. This not only saves time but also allows for precise customization for each gaming session.
In addition to facilitating content creation, AI can act as an assistant during game sessions, offering contextual suggestions or even dynamically portraying NPCs, adapting their responses based on players’ interactions.
In summary, the integration of AI in RPGs can not only simplify the Game Master’s work and enrich players’ experience with diverse and personalized content, but also open up new creative possibilities that were once limited by human processing and imagination. It’s an exciting evolution that promises to significantly transform how RPGs are played and enjoyed. However, while AI holds the potential to advance RPGs to new levels of creativity and realism, it’s crucial to maintain a balance between technological potential and the human essence that makes RPGs such a special and unique experience.
Conclusions
Role-playing games (RPG) are a universe of imagination and fantasy that provide an escape from reality into grandiose, cooperative adventures. With the emergence of artificial intelligence, the question arises whether the role of the Game Master (GM) could be replaced by systems capable of creating worlds and characters automatically. However, it’s crucial to remember that the essence of RPG lies not only in rules and characters, but in human interaction and creativity involved in building stories and settings. While AI can enhance the gaming experience, it’s essential for players and GMs to preserve their central role in creating and narrating the game, as they ensure the emotional depth and originality that make each session unique and memorable.
#DnD #AI #TSR #WotC #ArtificialIntelligence #RPG #TabletopRPG #OldSchool #DungeonsAndDragons #WokeWotC
Below, you will find some links about AI tools and references that explore the impact of AI on RPGs:
How Good Is The AI Dungeon At Narrating Roleplaying Games?
RPG: When AI Takes On The Role Of Dungeon Masters
How role-playing a dragon can teach an AI to manipulate and persuade
To teach an AI to pursue goals, scientist made it play an RPG
Dungeons & Dragons franchise bans artists from using AI to draw characters, scenery
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