AI in PbP

Jul 6, 2025 2:07 pm
So i've been skimming through reddit's /r/pbp forum when i saw this post complaining about supposed prevalence of AI in discord pbp spaces. I knew that folk use it for character portraits and only recently, to my surprise, found out that it is also used to help write actual game posts or in rules/setting creation. So i wanted to ask:

How do you feel about AI in PbP? What are your thought on your players/ST's using it? Do you use it yourself or not and why?
My personal take can be summarized with question - why? I get using it for pictures, though i personally don't do that as i find algorithm-created images jarring - i look at them and i feel nothing. They can and do give general visual representation of locale or character, but if the feeling it gives is "hollow" or "dead", then the point of even making/using it is kinda lost on me. I suppose it can be useful for your more visual-oriented players.

The writing robots are the weirdest bit to me. The whole fun and enjoyment of PbP type game is to write, so why would you give the juiciest bit to someone else? Similarly with ideas and concepts - the problem (i honestly thought) of us "creative" types is that we have too damn many ideas. Why put robots working to rehash some old ones when i've got a headache thinking about all of mine?

What i do agree with is that these pseudo-ai's are good for manual stuff. Codes, templates, math, etc. That would be the general outtake - make robots do manual boring work, leave fun intellectual work for us to enjoy.
Anyway, i'd like to hear from everyone. I'm not a stubborn grump, nor am i antiAI, just looking to get the folk's perspective, as this is the first time i actually became interested in the topic.
Jul 6, 2025 2:30 pm
I am very hostile to the entire concept of generative AI.
In PbP I tolerate the use of AI for creating character portraits and such things, but I would rather sleep in a bed of rusty nails than use something like that myself though. I steal art from the internet myself, thank you very much!

As for text generation, I have not seen anyone use it for that yet. I think that might be a reason for me to never want to play with that person ever again. I play here to interact with humans. If I wanted to interact with a machine I would call any customer support. -.-
I also don't understand why anyone would want to use AI for things like generating ideas. I do a fair bit of solo RP as well and there are a ton of AI oracles/GM emulators out there. Rolling on the random tables is genuinely one of the most fun part for me. I don't even necessarily need to play a game. Sometimes I just bust out the old Mythic Emulator and roll up a little short story. Creating a machine that skips this step is utterly insane to me.
Jul 6, 2025 3:23 pm
Like any tool, there's a place for AI in gaming and it depends on the GM & players what that place might be.

I've used AI in art generation for characters (as a player) and for a great deal more as a GM. I get that there's ethical concerns with the sourcing of AI modeling and who/what profits from it. I do. It's a valid concern but, for me, it's not any less of a concern than re-using art scavenged from the Internet.

As for non-art uses of AI, I've used it to answer questions or find details in a text a lot faster than I could by going thru it myself. I do realize that AI can be prone to hallucinating so I'll at least verify things if I feel unsure if the answer. I've also used it to generate names for objects, NPCs, locations & the like if I need them quickly or are just stuck without good inspiration. I don't feel like that invalidates the creative process any more than using a random roll table.

AI GMs are a thing that I've felt have been in the works for a while now. A generative AI GM RPG experience would have a broad & deep market once it's matured but currently just isn't viable. I feel like using an AI GM is very similar to solo-gaming. Although I use AI in my games, I don't feel like using an AI GM is something I'd enjoy. I use AI to enhance a game I run for my players and the players are the point of running the game for me. Not having the social experience of playing with others obviates the point of RPGs, IMHO.
Jul 6, 2025 3:40 pm
I use AI for art generation. I also use ChatGPT for sparring.
For instance, this Daggerheart game I just put up
All the ideas are mine, but ChatGPT helped me ask some questions to further develop some elements. And it helped me come up with some names, an area where I struggle :D.
But that is the extent I use AI for pbp. I tried having it help me craft a Pathfinder 1e character, with all their feats, traits and such, but it hallucinated way too much to be useful.

I have tried a few times to make text posts, but they are never good enough, so I have stopped trying
Jul 6, 2025 3:51 pm
I personally steer clear of AI. I have nothing against people who do use it. My reason is two-fold:

1. I fear that using AI to assist me creatively will diminish my own creativity.

2. Both my "art" and ideas are so cheesy and weird people have asked me if I use AI, so I probably don’t need it if people can’t tell the difference.
Jul 6, 2025 4:24 pm
I try to avoid AI as much as possible (and it's becoming increasingly difficult these days), mostly because I have several artist friends who are militantly against AI due to unethical "training" practices.
Jul 6, 2025 4:32 pm
For starters
witchdoctor says:
I get that there's ethical concerns with the sourcing of AI modeling and who/what profits from it.
Environmental concerns as well. But it's not something that can be ignored, so I've dabbled in it to get a better understanding. My personal red line here is that as long as I'm not using it for derivate content that's being monetized a.k.a. making money off of other creative people's work, I'm ok giving it a go.

AI art in my experience tends to come out quite convoluted. Don't know why, but as soon as it picks up certain words, especially the fantasy related ones, it deems it appropriate to insert weird d20s everywhere. That's just the tip of the iceberg, I've used AI for character and NPC portraits but even when they don't seem too soulless and dead inside, it usually takes a couple of re-typings of the prompt to get something at least passable. And by that point, I'd rather just put that energy into surfing the net for some actual, human made art to use.

I haven't used the language aspect of it in any of my PbP games, and nor would I want that. It's taking all the fun and creativity out of my hands, which in turn makes the actual posting feel like a drag I just need to get done. I play PbP to enjoy myself, not to add obligations to my plate, especially not when I already have work and so many other things in my daily life.

I have, however, used it as part of an experiment in another forum where we turn our logs of a pro wrestling manager game into narratives, writing out the matches and interview segments. It seemed interesting at first, but very repetitive and soulless after the first couple of shows, plus as the content went on, it lost track of previous information and began contradicting itself. It was a bad enough experience to push me away from even thinking about using it in any other creative writing endeavours.
Jul 6, 2025 5:34 pm
It's very good to handle rule questions/check past histories in a long term campaign and improve posts.
Honestly NotebookLM has been a boon.
Jul 6, 2025 6:19 pm
AI is the future if you ask me. No use resisting it.

I used AI for art, and as a sparring partner. AI is also great to spell check bigger posts.

In the end, the creative design of a character/world/post is always with the actual person.
I put in my ideas, but AI really helps.
Last edited July 6, 2025 6:21 pm
Jul 6, 2025 7:50 pm
Honestly? It's lazy.

We had a campaign a while back that one player dropped as soon as he realized another player was relying on AI for their posts. Arguably the harshest response I've personally witnessed regarding AI in PbP.

I'm not that against it, but it strikes me as the height of laziness. Much like using the word "very." To paraphrase, "Language was invented for one reason, boys—to tell stories—and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do."
Last edited July 6, 2025 7:51 pm
Jul 6, 2025 7:57 pm
I use AI only as a GM. Mostly it is for random event generation (traps, random encounters, etc) an occasional filler content . Sometimes the party wants info on something that is not plot important and I will use AI to generate fluff. I tailor the prompt and still proof it to match the existing story but find it useful for things like this. I know some say no to any AI content but I have limited play time and do not always have time to generate descriptive content. I often have to re-write the text but just getting a block of text as a writing prompt helps speed my writing.
Last edited July 6, 2025 8:51 pm
Jul 6, 2025 8:29 pm
I use AI a lot. I use it to gather ideas, compile information, simplify my thoughts and double check my conventions of writing.

My brain is a chaotic mess of disorganized of thrown up knowledge of random not important bull-shit.
My writing skills are of that of a uneducated middle schoolers with visions of grandeur.
I am not ever close to be an award winning author.
I not pretending to be. I don't have the energy to work that hard.

AI is a tool I use to make sure my ideas are flavorful and understandable to those who play with me.
It is a tool I heavily rely on to help reduce my stress and decrease the amount of energy I need to put forth to make a campaign good.
Jul 6, 2025 8:36 pm
I do pbp as I like writing and being creative, so I just don't get using AI for posts as writing is the point, I won't get better if I rely on a tool. I would be pretty disappointed to learn I'm putting in a lot of effort and finding out someone else just isn't and is throwing it through AI in the same game. It's also brings up problems like not reacting to others posts (which I have suspected as a sign of it before), getting facts wrong and such.

Including with rules, as its predictive instead of actually 'knowing' - for example Gemini often answers wrong for pathfinder rulings as it gets confused and mixes up 5e.

However Notebook LM can be fun to mess around with to see its response on games, and as others have mentioned finding details quickly. You just need to be aware it could be incorrect.
Jul 6, 2025 9:02 pm
Okay, so as someone who has literally never touched art-robots before - can someone explain (or show with a specific post) how they use it for responses? Do you have to feed it previous game posts to than prompt it with a short order, like "write a response how Zeke the Troll does X while battling monster Y" or do you write basic responses for AI to expand/improve upon? It'd be great to see the prompt used->AI output-> final post.

It is also interesting that both here and on reddit AI-users cite increased efficiency and time saved, while anti-AI folk feel like they are the ones wasting their time playing with people using AI.
Heyde says:
AI is also great to spell check bigger posts.
I've seen people say that a couple of times, but i don't get. What's wrong with regular spell-checking built-in the browser?
On a side note: goddess, do i hate the word "content" and how widespread it became.
Jul 6, 2025 9:58 pm
Depends on the table. I'm fine with not using them, and I'm fine with players who want to use them. I love using it for art.

It's very easy to spot AI usage when people use it to write 90%+ of the post. I have nothing against it, but when I spot it, it does make me feel like the player isn't fully engaged with their character. I used it for a few posts in the past, and then dropped it because it didn't feel like my character any more.

That said, I don't understand the anti AI movement. It's just a tool.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, not everyone sees PbP as a way to express creative outlet by writing. Some people play it because they have no other way to get their RPG fix. Maybe they're not good writers or they're not confident at it. If it helps them communicate their point across by using AI, so be it, let people have fun.
Last edited July 6, 2025 10:01 pm
Jul 6, 2025 10:12 pm
Honestly I have mixed results with AI art and more often than not just search form images on the web. That said I have tried several image generators and they all seem to have different "best approach" text prompt methods. Some just take key words while others allow multiple nouns with adjectives to blend them and others take full on sentences or paragraphs.

As for AI text generation, as a user or it I do have to point out that it has it's own weaknesses. The most common is that it does not always separate official systems, house rules, settings, historical records etc. Thus a request for rule or details on a specific setting or game system is not guaranteed to be accurate. But for just spewing out an mostly coherent string of words to use as a writing prompt, for those of us that have limited time/skill/creativity, it can be useful. Good for scenery or help with transitions. I often have plot points in games but sometimes have trouble encouraging the story to go from A to B. But with an AI prompt for 3 possible methods to get from A to B when I am stuck then picking the best or mixing results I seem to get players to move with less difficulty. I enjoy writing but seems to think in ways not common to others so getting an "2nd" opinions can help.

I can see how players, and GM can dislike any who simply copy past posts to generate responses then drop those into the game. Especially as all LLM has flaws as noted above. If we wanted to play with AI that's what we would do. But I see no harm in someone using AI to expand text. As I mentioned I do not use AI as a player, it never gets an NPC "voice" the way I want any time I try it as a GM so I do not trust it with my own characters, besides the fact that having AI pay me character would negate the point of playing.
Last edited July 9, 2025 8:24 pm
Jul 6, 2025 10:31 pm
I have very mixed feelings about the generative AI in general, and mostly negative ones towards its usage.

I like the concept, I'm fond of AIs and I love neural networks, but the current state of ethics - or lack thereof - surrounding generative AI is abysmal. I'm an artist, and I'm not going to use something that is actively harming the field I love. And I don't exactly see the point either, in most cases; it's a creative hobby, why would you leave the creativity to someone or something else?

I can tolerate it when people use AI for generating avatars - I get the appeal, obviously not everyone can draw their own avatars, and it is something more or less essential for games. However, in my personal opinion, grabbing an image off the internet and using it with credit is significantly more respectful to the artist than using a tool which plagiarizes their work with no credit whatsoever. Yes, both are done without permission; but at least in one case you are acknowledging who made the work or where you sourced it from, while generated AI art/writing/music is just pure blatant plagiarism, at least in my eyes. (Theoretically, there can be an ethically trained AI. But is there? Unless someone trained it themselves, they have no guarantee that it is.)

Anyway, I firmly believe that generative AI usage should be disclosed in the game information, or by the player who is doing it. In this case, I can simply not interact with them, and we will stay in our spheres with no conflict. Discovering that someone's been using AI without mentioning it... feels unpleasant.

And if someone uses it to generate non-essential art - landscapes, for example, ambiance pieces - then I am gradually growing more and more disinclined to ever play with this person with every new case. I don't begrudge it (well, maybe a little), everyone picks their own stance on these tools. But if they don't care enough to not do it in games we share after I voice my dislike of it, then we really just shouldn't be paying together.

As for the generated writing, that would turn me off playing with someone completely. Except, I suppose, in games where it is the entire point: I'd play with an AI, as long as I am fully aware of it being AI. :D (Edit: and, of course, assuming that AI is not doing literary writing, only decisions; otherwise it's plagiarism issue again.) But if it's a case of someone having a machine calculate their post and then claim that they fully wrote it? That would make me cease interacting with the person immediately.

Generative AI is fun, but currently it's really difficult to use ethically, and I don't like witnessing it being used, so I steer clear of games and players which mention using generative AI.
In short: I think using generative AI in PbP for anything but basic planning or avatars is in bad taste and I would rather not play with people who do it. Also, disclose if you are using AI, please - finding it out during the game is just awkward.
(And this is leaning into a rant territory, but AI art is not that good. Abstract one is, yes, but most landscapes or portraits fall apart the moment someone looks at them closely. I've seen AI art here in Games Tavern - and I can't take a piece intended to be atmospheric seriously when I see mutant animal amalgamations or floating architecture which blends into the sky. Also AI art always feels so samey, it's hard to get excited about for me. If you draw a stick figure for your recruitment post I'd be more into it than whatever generated nonsense AI will offer. XD)
Last edited July 6, 2025 11:00 pm
Jul 7, 2025 9:42 am
I consider it to be a practical tool that helps me improve the player experience of my game.

I have used it,
- to produce character portraits based upon descriptions where none was provided,
- to correct and improve the narrative of my GM posts,
- and to produce visual impressions of described scenes,
- I also use Dungeon Alchemist to create and screen capture tailored maps and images,

My one regret so far is that I have yet to find a simple method of creating bespoke artwork depicting the characters from my game in actual situations they experienced during the gameplay. That would have been the icing on the cake as far as I was concerned, as it would have allowed me to illustrate events from the game. But despite getting close, I have yet to find an AI program that can take an image and recreate it in a different situation. e.g. Depict Moli Brandysnap being blown up in a sewer explosion.
Jul 7, 2025 12:11 pm
FlyingSucculent says:
If you draw a stick figure for your recruitment post I'd be more into it than whatever generated nonsense AI will offer. XD)
I had to illustrate a fight scene for my players recently, so that they understood where everyone is at, and, well, this is what me, The Artist, came up with..
[ +- ]
Jul 7, 2025 12:23 pm
There are several free VTT you can use as well as a couple map told integrated with this site, notably On the fly Battle map, that can be used to quickly map things out better than an AI can result generate without allot of skill
Jul 7, 2025 12:42 pm
Psybermagi says:
On the fly Battle map
I've seen a thread about them recently, but it all seemed a bit.. intimidating. Maybe a should give them a go.
Jul 7, 2025 12:59 pm
It can be simple and get more complex if you like. The simple format can do a stick drawing like what the AI did but if you already have a map all the GM has to do it drop some PC/NPC tokens onto it by coordinates. The more advanced form has a background image, with overlays, objects, fog of war, colored, sized, or even image tokens.

Personally I use a VTT with some generic token and screen shot it then post the image to the games. While this does require an external tool it is much quicker for me as the VTT makes placement easy for tokens, objects, drawings, map, etc. I use Tableplop or Roll20 for VTT
Last edited July 7, 2025 1:01 pm
Jul 7, 2025 2:29 pm
I am against the use of AI in creative contexts. It doesn't think; it rehashes. There is a place for AI in other areas, though.

I have used AI once to create a post as a joke - but the post was supposed to be dialogue from an AI.

There is a place that I do use AI, however. I use it to do research, as in, 'give me a list of all the variants of orcs in TTRPGs'. There's nowhere online that I've found that has that type of information, and AI is a good data compiler.
Jul 7, 2025 4:40 pm
If it becomes too difficult to explain the combat situation in writing, I will sometimes revert to uploading the battle map into World Anvil or Paint 3d and then superimpose the player's character tokens onto it to show where everyone is standing. Can't say it happens that often
https://i.imgur.com/WxRzKRf.jpeg
This was a particularly complicated and crowded combat encounter in the Chaos Shrine under Grunewald Lodge during our last game. The shrine had already been modelled in 3D using Dungeon Alchemist, so it was just a question of taking a top-down screenshot of the layout and then adding the character tokens in the appropriate places.
Last edited July 7, 2025 4:51 pm
Jul 7, 2025 5:22 pm
Never used it. But if I did, I’d check it over to make sure it’s a readable and engaging post, and if necessary I’d make my own edits first. By time I do all that though, I guess I could do it all myself anyway. It’s just a tool, gotta know how to use it.
Jul 7, 2025 7:24 pm
WhiteDwarf says:
Never used it. But if I did, I’d check it over to make sure it’s a readable and engaging post, and if necessary I’d make my own edits first.
I would say, if you simply must use AI, at least do this. I agree with FlyingSucculent in that it is jarring and removes you from the immersion to read a post that has obviously been generated using AI (and it's really pretty easy to tell, if unedited).
Jul 7, 2025 8:50 pm
reversia.ch says:
I had to illustrate a fight scene for my players recently, so that they understood where everyone is at, and, well, this is what me, The Artist, came up with..
[ +- ]
This is beautiful. I especially like phone that rings and big man escape plan. XD

I think maps like this can make games better than a generated map would. Not to say there isn't a place for detailed, every-cell-defined maps, but in games with theatre of the mind approach I love seeing hand-drawn plans like this. :D
Jul 7, 2025 11:49 pm
I've played with AI a fair bit. At first it was just art generation when I couldn't find similar work on the Internet. That's how they get ya, get you in their hooks and reel you in.

I've used it extensively for research, asking questions that could only be answered by someone who has read extensively the text of a RPG system and splat books. As mentioned above, sometimes AI hallucinates, but you can ask for sources.

Later I tried having it write content, but I dislike the results - when you write something yourself you know it better than reading or skimming something you got elsewhere. As a GM you have to know what you've given the players. Tried it, abandoned it as a bad idea.

Where I find the most utility is in cohesive idea generation. There are no random tables that can come up with the unexpected yet internally consistent results that a LLM can deliver.

Here's a recent example, my prompt then the beginning of ChatGPTs response.
https://i.imgur.com/6wFz7bk.jpeg
The results that came back are great but they're just a start. The fun is in fleshing them out, and as soon as any complexity enters, you need to be writing this yourself. As I claimed above, if I didn't write it, I don't really know it.

Now, if you keep asking ChatGPT it will drill down and try to generate content for you as well, but what I like are the bullet points it comes up with. That gives me the barest skeleton from which to write and evolve the project.
Jul 8, 2025 7:06 am
The ethics and the stolen IP used to train many (but not all) of the models makes me ill, but these technologies are here to stay and will be widespread across most applications you use on a daily basis very soon. Better regulations and controls are desperately needed, but in the meantime I've gotten good image results out of ChatGPT / Dalle, and frankly amazing results out of Midjourney. Both can now keep characters more or less consistent from scene to scene. I vastly prefer work from real artists, but I cannot draw and *love* having the ideas and characters in my head actualized. I've commissioned several hundred pieces of character art over the years and will continue to do so, but will use the AI tools when I don't have the time or money to commission someone, or I can't find a suitable piece on Pinterest or what-have-you.

The LLMs can be a great muse or sage -- the writing partners / sparring partners some mention above. I've seen great results both at work and with RPGs on this front, but I'll also admit I don't particularly care for the writing style if often uses. And when I spot that style in a player or GM's posts, I do fine it jarring and more than a little off-putting.

Complex subject. Going to get more so.
Jul 8, 2025 7:34 am
Harrigan says:
The ethics and the stolen IP used to train many (but not all) of the models makes me ill, but these technologies are here to stay and will be widespread across most applications you use on a daily basis very soon. Better regulations and controls are desperately needed, but in the meantime, I've gotten good image results out of ChatGPT / Dalle, and frankly amazing results out of Midjourney. Both can now keep characters more or less consistent from scene to scene.
My reasoning is similar. I'm still not happy to trust my life to a driverless car, or sit in an aircraft without a pilot, but there are times when lacking the skill in drawing I still need a character portrait that matches the NPC description in the adventure I'm running.
https://i.imgur.com/QImEsZS.png
Hanna the mutant from the adventure 'Mutant Murderers' pg 85 WFRP 2e Spires of Altdorf.

'Her neck is two feet long and highly flexible.'

When it comes to research, I am a lot more cautious about using AI. I happen to be quite interested in history and so I'm used to doing my own research, but some of the historical posts I read on Facebook Groups and Historical Forums are woefully inaccurate and some are almost laughable, where the author has allowed AI to fact scrape information from random sources to formulate answer that is legibly plausible but factual rubbish. Like the US Marine Corps fighting on the battlefield of Waterloo.

That being said I'm dubious about trusting AI to accurately fact-scrape the lore for my WFRP game. I'd rather do it myself so I know the information is reliable. AI can create anything and make it look plausible, but it doesn't mean it's right.
Last edited July 8, 2025 9:30 am
Jul 8, 2025 9:29 am
That's a really interesting question, not only insightful but also relevant to Gamers` Plane.

AI has a particular style — using unusual characters such as em dashes and single character ellipsis (…) not found on keyboards; "not only… but also…" constructions; and groups of three (for what I tell you three times is true?).

Would you like me to suggest how you can use LLMs in your PbP games?
Yeah - we're seeing more of it. I think AI can be a useful tool to spark creativity - a sounding board for brainstorming ideas, or to add some polish to a lacklustre description in an emergency. But it also has a flavourless flavour that means I often find my eyes skipping over it rather than reading it.

But, as Griff says, it depends on why the players are at the table. If they're there to roll dice and kill baddies, and writing narrative is a cost they have to pay then, sure, get chatgpt to write the bit you find a chore. Provided there are some players at the table with the quirky, interesting posts to provide my narrative fix, then I'm happy.

I do worry a little that games will enter the "dead internet theory" zone, where there are games with only AIs at the table, using humans to post for them in some weird matrix-like dystopia.
Jul 8, 2025 12:03 pm
I see AI in PbP much like I’d see a spellchecker or a thesaurus - just that: tools. Sometimes I use them, especially for the "boring work" like formatting, brainstorming scenes, or helping me untangle a messy paragraph. Like Griff and Adam said, it really depends on why you’re at the table and what you want out of the experience.

I find the ethics and the use of potentially stolen creative work in the training of many models troubling, but, in general, chatgpt and similar tools are more like limited, slightly naive assistants that can be useful but need guidance.

I also fully agree with the sentiment that unedited AI content has this weird, "flavourless flavour" that can be jarring. If people at the table are sensitive to that (and many are), I think it’s totally fair to bring it up in recruitment threads or have an OOC conversation about what’s acceptable or not at all.
What I’d like to add - and I haven’t seen mentioned yet - is that for some of us, especially on a free-to-play site, these games are also a place to learn. Whether it's improving writing, getting better at GMing, or even learning how to use new tools like AI more thoughtfully.

If AI is going to be part of the landscape moving forward, it makes sense that people might want to practice using it here, with care and transparency, so they can figure out how to use it well.
reversia.ch says:
Okay, so as someone who has literally never touched art-robots before - can someone explain (or show with a specific post) how they use it for responses? Do you have to feed it previous game posts to than prompt it with a short order, like "write a response how Zeke the Troll does X while battling monster Y" or do you write basic responses for AI to expand/improve upon? It'd be great to see the prompt used->AI output-> final post.
When using AI for writing, you usually give it some context and then a prompt based on what you need help with. The context might be the previous scene, a character summary, or relevant details (like who’s present, what’s going on, the mood of the moment, etc.). Then you ask the AI for something specific - like rewriting a rough draft, suggesting ideas, or fleshing out a part you’re not in the mood to write.

Here’s a rough example of the process:

Context:
Quote:
"Zeke the dwarf is fighting a fire-breathing chimera in the ruins of a forgotten temple. He’s already been burned once but is determined to protect the unconscious wizard lying behind him."
Prompt:
Quote:
"Zeke the dwarf is fighting a fire-breathing chimera in the ruins of a forgotten temple. He’s already been burned once but is determined to protect the unconscious wizard lying behind him. Write a dramatic paragraph showing Zeke hurling a chunk of broken pillar at the chimera and shouting a challenge."
AI Output:
Quote:
"With a guttural roar, Zeke tore a hunk of shattered stone from the temple floor. Flames licked at his shoulders, but he didn't flinch.'You want fire? Try this!' he bellowed, heaving the chunk through the smoky air toward the chimera’s snarling heads."
Final Post (after some editing):
Quote:
Zeke, his hands already blistered, grunted through the pain as he tore a slab of stone from the floor.

"You want fire? Try this!"

The chunk spun through the smoke, aimed straight at the chimera’s middle head.

The trick is: the more clear and focused your context, prompt and examples, the better the result - but you almost always want to edit the output to fit your style and the tone of the game. Think of it like a creative springboard or a writing buddy who throws you rough drafts you can shape into something better.

I’ve also noticed that after using AI for a while, I’ve started writing more like it - with dashes - and it, in turn, has started sounding more like me, as long as I give it better prompts. I’m not a native English speaker, so in some situations, it helps me get past those moments where I know what I want to say, but not quite how to write it in the right tone.

The final question is... did I write this post alone, or did an AI help me with it? 😉
[ +- ] answer
Last edited July 8, 2025 2:35 pm
Jul 8, 2025 2:46 pm
Adam says:
AI has a particular style — using unusual characters such as em dashes and single character ellipsis (…) not found on keyboards; "not only… but also…" constructions; and groups of three (for what I tell you three times is true?).
I use dashes and ellipses in my writing a lot.

I type out posts in a stream-of-thought fashion, and I utilize dashes and ellipses to denote pauses and emphasis and things.

Furthermore, I often type out pbp posts over the course of hours in a word processor, before copy pasting them into the thread so that I don't lose the post to a Wi-Fi or data signal reset. Which that word processor automatically converts dashes to (and this was a new-to-me term until this post) "em dashes" if the dash is followed by a space and a alpha-character. It also converts three periods strung into an ellipse into a single character ellipses if followed by a space.

I've never once copy pasted AI generated text into a post, but I wonder if ppl think I do?
Last edited July 8, 2025 2:53 pm
Jul 8, 2025 3:43 pm
Yeah, yeah, yeah, M^2 (Machine Man?). You aren't fooling anyone.

https://i.imgur.com/AKH9qSG.png
Jul 8, 2025 4:02 pm
👀
😆
😅
😬
https://media.tenor.com/YGV1m0f5oOAAAAAM/homer-simpson-hide-in-shrubs.gif
Jul 8, 2025 6:09 pm
Honestly I like AI for making character art, but I don't use it to write my posts... But it is nice for bouncing around ideas
Jul 8, 2025 6:10 pm
You should try an AI assisted word processor like Lex
Jul 9, 2025 1:21 am
AI can also be good for helping to write journal entries, research notes, etc. Stuff that you wouldn't be easily able to do.
Jul 9, 2025 11:02 am
AI is here to stay, in all aspects of our life, so better adapt and use the good things from it.

For writing i use occasionally to review my text as english is my third language, its not any different than using grammarly before in my opinion. However I write the entire post first, and its from my own creativity.

At work i use it for analytic financial models, its a revolution in the field. I can do the work of ten persons since i adopted.
Last edited July 9, 2025 11:03 am
Jul 9, 2025 11:23 am
Adam says:
AI has a particular style — using unusual characters such as em dashes and single character ellipsis (…) not found on keyboards; "not only… but also…" constructions; and groups of three (for what I tell you three times is true?).
Oh wow, I never thought about this! This is totally the writing style we were taught in school for our non-english language. One of my initial struggles with English writing is that things like describing something three times with similar, equivalent and identical adjectives for no other reason than to show off your mastery of vocabulary - or at least skillful use of dictionaries - doesn't really work no does it? The other one is adverbs... we use them... a lot ...

I thought "AI" was trained mostly from English, but maybe it picked up a lot of other language structures on the way...
Last edited July 9, 2025 11:24 am
Jul 9, 2025 2:51 pm
CESN says:

Oh wow, I never thought about this! This is totally the writing style we were taught in school for our non-english language. One of my initial struggles with English writing is that things like describing something three times with similar, equivalent and identical adjectives for no other reason than to show off your mastery of vocabulary - or at least skillful use of dictionaries - doesn't really work no does it? The other one is adverbs... we use them... a lot ...
Yea, I have a lot "formal" writing and technical writing and "persuasive" writing education and training and jobs in my background, and I use a lot of these same devices (and more).

No surprise that LLM's were trained with formal and technical writing techniques.
Jul 9, 2025 3:09 pm
I've actually picked up emdashes from AI! I like them better than an overuse of commas. I'm also someone who loves using semicolons, so it's not that weird.

Like others have said, I enjoy using AI as a tool and not as a finished product. NotebookLM helps me find notes and connect pieces in massive setting books, and ChatGPT help me make lists and absolutely helps me with GP coding for fancy posts; I was able to use it to make a complex WFRP skill list for sheets.

I've started shying away from image generators. Not for an ethical reason (after all, in my eyes it isn't that different from stealing images from the Internet, and just as harmless in our uses here), but because I've grown weary of its flaws. It's fun to tinker around with and help folks realize their characters, but I just haven't been happy with the end results.

That said, I'd rather my players use AI images than anything from HeroForge. If you want a soulless portrait, that's where they have mastered the art.
Jul 9, 2025 6:11 pm
Yep, some of us, well—we’ve been using the em dash for years! Semicolons and proper ellipses, too…

(Great enablers for some top-shelf run-on sentences, too!)

Agree about HeroForge portraits. No thanks.
Jul 9, 2025 7:13 pm
Nebula says:
AI is here to stay, in all aspects of our life, so better adapt and use the good things from it.

For writing i use occasionally to review my text as english is my third language, its not any different than using grammarly before in my opinion. However I write the entire post first, and its from my own creativity.

At work i use it for analytic financial models, its a revolution in the field. I can do the work of ten persons since i adopted.
So you get ten times the pay, right?
Jul 9, 2025 7:34 pm
Dirigible says:
So you get ten times the pay, right?
More like ten times the work, probably.
Jul 10, 2025 12:32 am
AI is a tool.

Use it to compose and it will sound like a tool.

Use it to enhance composition and it will amaze.

Primarily the generative AI of the 1970's and today produce about the same quality content. Modern AI does it faster.

It was never meant to replace the human element, only t enhance it.
Jul 10, 2025 12:33 am
Dirigible says:
Nebula says:
AI is here to stay, in all aspects of our life, so better adapt and use the good things from it.

For writing i use occasionally to review my text as english is my third language, its not any different than using grammarly before in my opinion. However I write the entire post first, and its from my own creativity.

At work i use it for analytic financial models, its a revolution in the field. I can do the work of ten persons since i adopted.
So you get ten times the pay, right?
I wish! :) Fortunately part of our compensation is based on how well our region is doing, so it improved the pay.
Last edited July 10, 2025 12:44 am
Jul 10, 2025 12:35 am
reversia.ch says:
Dirigible says:
So you get ten times the pay, right?
More like ten times the work, probably.
Doing same amount of working hours.

Why would it be ten time the amount of work, AI is making the work easier, not harder if i understand properly?
Last edited July 10, 2025 1:58 am
Jul 10, 2025 1:48 am
I will admit I go back and forth from being too reliant on AI to not using it at all. Ideally I usually write up 4-5 sentences of a prompt then turn that into a post. I would then reread and proof it.

On good days, I manually edit but will admit to have also tried just prompt adjustments on less than ideal circumstances.

I have also used it for speech mannerisms if I am going for a certain dialect or something I am unfamiliar with.

I usually also use NotebookLM for review My irl games I also record audio and upload to give them a "podcast" of the play session with the audio recap generation. I have done that in pbp as well, literally copying an entire thread text and pasting.

Edit: this is as a GM. As a player I try and not use it at all other than for maybe a character introduction post.
Last edited July 10, 2025 1:52 am
Jul 10, 2025 8:07 am
Nebula says:
reversia.ch says:
Dirigible says:
So you get ten times the pay, right?
More like ten times the work, probably.
Doing same amount of working hours.

Why would it be ten time the amount of work, AI is making the work easier, not harder if i understand properly?
The boss sees you doing more work in the same amount of time. Boss Brain activates - must mean that they can do even more work! Here's an additional load for you, enjoy! The pay? Same, of course!
Jul 10, 2025 10:02 am
I see hahaha... such is life! :) Thats why most people in Japan work at 50% capacity, they afraid to get more work.
Jul 10, 2025 3:04 pm
Nebula says:
I see hahaha... such is life! :) Thats why most people in Japan work at 50% capacity, they afraid to get more work.
That's not just Japan. I had to learn to work "slow" at my last place. Was pretty jarring.
Jul 10, 2025 3:31 pm
Repeating things three times is also magickal incantation. Politicians use it all the time (as did dark magician, Jimmy Saville)
Jul 14, 2025 7:41 pm
Camilla says:
It's very good to handle rule questions/check past histories in a long term campaign and improve posts.
Honestly NotebookLM has been a boon.
Thought I would share my experience with this tool as well. I have a game that is hybrid in-person and PbP. I have used NoteBookLM to weave a "recap" for my party for both of them using the Audio Overview feature:

Here

This Audio Overview functionally spans (functionally) 2 sessions, one in person that was recorded and a thread of PbP. The LLM then took both sources and melded them into a single recap overview. This has proven really great for my players especially if they get lost in the narrative or just want to hear everything that has happened so far or (since we only do in-person every couple months) I need a recap of everything. It also has great analysis tools and finding tools for details you might have forgotten.

Unfortunately I didn't record the in-person session before the start of this one but I do plan on doing that forward. As for the Gamersplane threads, I literally just copy and paste the page with all of the pages expanded and it seems to work great
Last edited July 14, 2025 7:41 pm

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