My AI Adventure

 

So I recently went to a seminar on how AI can help in the workplace. And it kind of inspired. It also really intrigued me to see what it could help me to do, if anything, in the RPG space.

I know this isn't new to many people, so I'll be brief. 

I asked it to create an RPG adventure, for a specific RPG that was not DnD, about a ruined castle.

That was all I gave it.

The results were interesting. It was VERY fast. And I was impressed by the fact that the document it  created opened with a set of hooks and a claim that this would appeal to different sorts of adventuring parties. I read them and I agreed, they would. 

The AI also claimed that there were several possible endings, and that the adventure could be resolved in a number of different ways, by magic, negotiation or combat. Here I kind of agreed: it could be solved by magic, negotiation or combat - in the Inevitable Climactic Encounter which the characters could not succeed without having. But that, to be honest, is a typical DnD thing and really does depend on one's interpretation of 'different possible endings'.  I didn't actually specify multiple endings, so the AI gets credit for partial success here, whatever you think about Inevitable Climactic Encounters. Another thing I did not specify was level specificity, but the document specified 3-5 characters of level 1-3 .

On the down side, the adventure was very generic. I mean SO generic. The title was 'Shadowheart Keep', which clearly is from Baldur's Gate III. The central figure (who may or may not be an antagonist) is Lord Ravencrest, a name that has at least been used before, in World Of Warcraft: Legion. So 'originality' is an issue, if you believe in that kind of thing (they are hardly 'original' names in the first place. The 'mook' NPCs were largely shadows and there were some haunted statues, dire ravens and other thematically appropriate stuff. But more importantly, you could play this game. Happily. It wouldn't be spectacular. There were only five locations, for a start, which is kind of limiting. And few surprises, if any, unless you were a beginner player.

At first, the document didn't include any stat blocks. When I asked for them, they came pretty quick, but were for 5e. I asked for something specific to the rules system I wanted to use and it said it didn't have access to that rule set. Which is cool. It's copyrighted, obviously. I resisted putting anything into the AI that wasn't my own and, in fact, didn't put anything that was my own in, either. Let's keep this relationship cordial for now... So I had to ask it to sniff around for something it could use and we settled on a good old 'OSR' system that fit the bill. 

Then things got interesting.

I asked the AI to expand the adventure into a multipart 'mini campaign' and it did. In seconds, it extrapolated the premise of the original adventure, ret-conned it where it needed to, and created a four-part adventure. Complete with NPCs which it now statted. To be honest, part four was, in itself, a four-parter, and was pretty sketchy at that. Very brief. And my plan is to go back and get it to do that. You see my original preconception was that I would get a sketched outline or something, and then develop it up myself. But no. No, not at all.

Because I wanted to tackle that generic feel.

First, I asked it to expand the number of locations, based on  what real castles were like, to include a well, and to create one subplot for every five rooms. It did that and now I know there was a conspiracy to undermine our Ravencrest character, long before the events that set this adventure in motion. There was already a plot of sorts to corrupt a spell he was trying to cast, which is why the adventure can exist. But now, there are a couple.

I then told the AI to rework some of the names. I got it to translate some of them into Old Norse, give me alternatives, explain how the names break down. Like this, I got rid of 'goblins' altogether.

The adventure is now looking very different from how it did originally; it has a different feel, a different implied setting, a bigger cast and stage. Now I've changed it all, I'll revisit the rest of the min campaign. I plan to visit those subplots and shore them up, see if I can't get some major consequences for the world written in there and even look back at the whole structure and ask myself if the Keep is even the best place to start.

And here's my big takeaway from all that:

It would have taken me tens of hour to do all this. As it was, it still did take hours. There's a lot of prompting etc involved in this. But. I can create a substantial campaign out of this in a fraction of the time it would have taken me on my own. I can keep my focus on my initial vision easily, because I don't have three hours of trying to assimilate a basic knowledge of Old Norse before I can give my characters cool names. I don't have to to and fro between and map and key, trying to strike the right balance between verisimilitude and fun. I don't have to spend hours draw a map, only to realise I need change it after I finish...

Anyway, if you want to see it, or a version of it, here's the link...

https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/a128284b-8b32-41bf-b39a-ade951754be2

Five Taverns

 

Below are five taverns for use with simple, one-room maps of fantasy taverns, whenever you don't have staff and taverner's names to hand or need a quick subplot. All system agnostic.

THE LAUGHING OGRE

A large tavern, with no guest rooms. 

Decent food in the local style, nothing fancy but always reliable. Beer from all three of The City’s breweries. Standard prices.

Run by Annaloy Taverner, a large, blonde woman with a loud voice. Quick to laugh but also sharp when annoyed. Won't tolerate overt sexism. Popular with regulars and locals. Her man Hunter keeps order with a cudgel. Or with a crossbow if necessary.

Festival days, main bar room becomes a dormitory after hours.

Khyle, Lantice and Comcille work the bar most evenings, all women in their twenties.

Khyle is somewhat argumentative, wears a nose ring and is unremarkable in appearance, with nondescript brown hair.

Lantice is shamelesslt flirtatious and will occasionally sleep with customers for money. This infuriates Khyle and Annaloy would sack her if she knew.

Comcille is very outspoken but homeless at defending her ill-though out points and always loses to Khyle. She is extremely pretty but has obvious scars on her forearms which she doesn't try to hide.

Comcille's brother Grefyth is a member of the Thieves' Guild, knows Thieves' Cant and works with the smuggler's band The Horny Hand.

The cellar is shallow and more like a half-basement, reached via five steps down, to the side of the bar. In fact, the original floor was much lower and was filled in to hide a mysterious doorway.

THE BEDRAGGLED DRAGON

A modest-sized building with 1 twin room and 4 singles, in a higgledy-piggledy layout.

Food is simple but wholesome, beds are clean and comfortable, beer is good and reasonably priced.

Claymore, the tavern owner, is rumoured to be a dwarf but may just be short. Red beard, bald on top and the rest shaven. Forearms 

Came to The City from The Mines, a decade ago, to carve out a life for himself among humans.

Honest. Barely waters his beer. Always charges at least a fair price.

Druma the barkeep is a mute woman of indeterminate age and everybody wonders why Claymore keeps her on.

Keeps a (comparatively) clean establishment.

“I had a shipment of ale due this morning. Didn’t come. Not the first delivery to vanish of a mornin’. Streets ain’t safe n’more.  In the last half dozen weeks, as many places have had their beer stole afore it e’en arrived. Now, I got customers an’ a reputation to think on. I need me beer back.”

I’ll pay you out me own purse, as far as me delivery’s concerned. Fifty gold coin. But the Guild’s of a mind to pay more, if’n the whole shebang can be put a stop to.”

THE REDCAP'S REVENGE

Medium-sized tavern, no guest rooms but tap-room used as a common room. Poor quality, cheap food (turnip pottage, potato peeling soup, 'meat' pie with not enough 'meat', bread with sawdust added to bulk it out - none of this is illegal, just bad...).

Tresis. Short, skinny man with a hard, pinched face. Quick to laugh at the misfortunes of others.  Not trustworthy.

Tresis is a former thief, and still clips coins, sometimes blaming the last tavern the customer was in. Acts as a fence for local thieves and can do so for player characters.

Beer is from Halberdier Brewery: 'Halberd Ale' and 'Victory Beer'. 

Tresis has a steady turnover of staff, most of whom are Guild members who need to lay low or prove themselves. He knows Grefyth, from the Laughing Ogre, but doesn't particularly like him.

Regulars 

Garan, a disillusioned watchman. Lose lipped, so Tressis gives him credit to keep him coming in. Missing an ear. Considers Tresis a like-minded man who he can trust. He has been drinking in the Revenge for years, despite his comrades warning him not to. Regularly defends Tresis. If he ever finds out the man was clipping coins, he may lose his temper. 

Sellit, a rat-catcher and herbalist who has a good idea what goes on in the Revenge and always checks any coins she is given there. She's getting on now, in her sixties, but still quick-witted with fast reflexes.

Petron, a stevedore at the dock. Big and dull and for hire. Addicted to Lotus and so needs to earn more money, doing more dangerous things, if necessary. Balding but otherwise long hair.

THE SPARROWGLASS

Medium-sized inn. Common Room can sleep a dozen people, plus six twin rooms. Food is good to excellent if a little expensive. Half a dozen staff (human). Named for a stained-glass window in the porch, of a small bird in flight.

Run by Kaylum. Elf. Fair hair and bright eyes that are blue in most lights but sometimes look hazel in shadow. Wears autumn reds a lot, except when he wants not to be noticed. Middle-aged for an elf (depends on your setting). Knows a few things. Remembers the Moon Goddess cult and mourns its passing.

Kaylum has lovers across the City but one is Verona, the daughter of a wealthy merchant.

THE STANDING STONE

A small tavern on a street that climbs a hill. Views from the back are nice.

Single bar room. Serves stew and home-baked bread. 

Four staff: Clapham, Treg, Fulnice and Purt.

Run by Dreeslum, quiet man who mainly keeps to himself. Wife Marnie does all the talking, book-keeping and negotiating. Dreeslum took an injury in the head years ago when he was an adventurer and relies on Marnie and the good will of his regulars.

Gets his beer from the Lantern House and Halbardier Breweries.

The Standing Stone is in the back yard and part of the wall.

Whilst Dreeslum did, indeed, take a head injury years ago, that isn't what causes his problems. During the same escapade (a fight with some gnolls in the Forest of Far-flung), he was cursed by one of the enemy. The curse can be detected by certain magic-users, but shouldn't be easy or it would have been detected before now. Gnoll blood or an item of the original curser's should be necessary to get rid of this. The curse makes Dreeslum forget things, makes him hesitant and lose track of what is going on. He is fine when serving customers as this is all deeply ingrained, but anything out of his routine is tricky.

Tales Of Argosa Session Report

 What follows is a report of how it went, including how the rules came up in-game and were resolved, combined with a more general review of the book and rules.

A couple of months ago, I downloaded the free Playtest PDF of Tales of Argosa and read it on my phone in lunchbreaks and spare time. I figured there were some things I did and didn't like about it and thought I'd never run it. But something about it, combined with a favourable report I heard in a podcast, niggled away at the back of my mind and eventually I just bit the bullet and bought the damn book. I bought the soft cover for £26 on Drivethru.

I first saw Tales Of Argosa when I began looking for a system that was  lighter than those we had been using, but not as light as a full-on OSR D&D clone. I had grown tired of D&D 3.5 years ago and persuaded my group to switch to Modiphius' 2d20 Conan, a system I still have an enormous amount of love for but which is crunchy enough that it isn't always what I want to use online. I knew the friends I was thinking of wouldn't want to learn a whole new system and would find something like Black Sword Hack or Barbarians Of Lemuria unsatisfying and we had tried DCC, but some of us just didn't enjoy race as class (though it has to be said, if you play in an all human setting, such as the world of Conan, that becomes irrelevant. I am also tired of 'high magic' systems, but that deserves a post of its own.

I was running this at short notice as a player in our regular campaign couldn't make it. I was running it on Roll 20, for two players, and I grabbed a map on there that I've never used and decided who the bad guys were. Done. My players rolled up characters in about half an hour. Lucky Luca, the Rogue, and Black-eyed Jasper, the fighter. They're on a road. They come across a turned wagon and a dead horse and tracks leading into the forest.

Jasper and Luca notice an odd chap watching them (eventually - I didn't have them roll for it but I didn't point it out, either. It was right there on the screen) and fail a Perception (Detect) check to see his mate hiding. This ultimately leads to a knife fight when they don't accept an invitation to go with the two strangers to see the people they 'rescued' from the wagon accident. They PCs win, but one of them only has a single hit point left by the end of a combat that lasted a single round. I'm using basic 'Human Bandit' NPCs here, nothing fancy. This is dangerous combat, and it set the tone for the rest of the game. The other player looks around for some herbs, as he has the Apothecary skill, and uses Perception (Detection) to find them and treat his friend.

Around this time, the Rogue asks if he has heard any unusual stories about the area. I call for a General Lore (Cha) check, Charisma reflecting that a socialite such as Luca will spend more time in bars than reading books. He succeeds and has indeed heard tales of 'Goblin Men' in the hills hereabouts - people who have given themselves to the darkness in moments of anger or despair. (I could have just told the players this, of course, but we were learning the system).

Following the tracks leads the PCs to a set of stairs straight down through the forest floor. They quickly find themselves inside a series of rooms and passages lit with braziers, that resemble the cellars to a building no longer there. Jasper and Luca proceed to sneak about, trying to find the 'rescued' wagon party. Luca picks the lock to a room. Luca's target is 19 because his Dexterity is 17 and his has the Traps and Locks skill and its an easy lock. He rolls 2 which is 17 below target which is less than half and so is a Great Success. I decide to reward Luca with a +1 bonus to all future attempts at lock-picking down here, as he understands the locks they use.  Inside the room is a lit brazier, and the PCs rifle through old, unused belongings in the detritus of what looks like a very troubled and squalid life. A successful Perception (Detect) check reveals an item of interest and a quick roll on the Uncommon Gear table reveals it to be a holy symbol, in this case filthy  and left to rot on the floor.

On a stair, Luca failed to find a tripwire with a Perception (Detection) check and then failed to evade it with a Luck (Dex) save and took the kind of damage other games laugh off, but which in this context could mean the next fight is your last. Crouched before a large door with lit showing beneath, the PCs listen in on snatches of a conversation that seems to centre around captive and if they will 'turn' given the right 'incentive'. The Rogue opens the door a crack, catches a glimpse on some unnaturally unpleasant-looking individuals and a woman who seems to be in charge as well as being a magic-user. 

They decide (wisely) that discretion is the better part of valour and retreat, discovering, in the process, a side door leading to well-furnished chambers that include a desk. The desk contains scraps of letters, mostly int eh same hand and mostly to the same person, somebody called 'Cassandra', who it seems might be related to the writer. The letters tell of despair and grief and clearly never got sent. A few more of the sort of Traps and Locks and Perception checks described above lead tot he discovery of a minor treasure, but I use the Rare Gear table instead of treasure - partly because I have already determined that the real treasure is elsewhere and partly because its an interesting table - and as a result, the PCs end up with several vials of Poppy Milk, which they fail to identify with an Apothecary (Int) check. It is worth noting that I could have made that an Apothecary (Perception) check instead and that this may have altered the outcome, but I figured Jasper the fighter had probably never seen poppy milk before. This flexibility around attributes and skills I find really refreshing and easy to improvise with.

And that was where we left it. The PCs are deciding whether to keep searching or take out what NPCs they can, some of whom they detected in a nearby room while stealthing earlier. The rules for surprise mean they will get a free attack if they kick the door in. NPCs all use d8s for Hit Dice, so single Hit Dice NPCs will probably have about 4 or 5 HP, to the PCs'  6 and 16 respectively. The combat rules mean that under those circumstances, the PCs will likely kill a few immediately.

We shall see.

Tales of Argosa Review

 Recently, I ran my first session of Tales Of Argosa, from Pickpocket Press, written by Stephen Grodzicki. This  is my review of the rule system. A report will follow soon, including how the rules came up in-game and were resolved.

Physical Product.

The book is beautiful. I love black and white illustrations in RPG books, I find them more evocative than colour. This book is monochromatic, with a wine red used for headings and tables. It is well laid out and really clearly formatted and organised. I have had no trouble at all navigating it. It was a far more enjoyable read in book form than it had been on my phone (no surprise)! The illustrations look better, obviously. But what really struck me was that a full-page spread really brings home the quantity of useful tables to roll on for the GM Tools. This is where this book excels, in my opinion, but more on that later. There is an index and some 'decorative' maps by Dyson. Its basically a really nice book and a pleasure to read and practical at the table/online session.

The Basics

With the exception of combat, this is a roll-under-attribute system, with a +1 bonus if a character has the relevant skill. Attributes are rolled on 3d6 with some room for alleviating a complete lack of decent scores and some finagling, so it isn't raw attributes as rolled (although you could always do that of course) but it isn't a full-on build either. Attributes include the usual, plus Perception, Initiative and Luck. These three are all interesting choices which I'll explore in a moment. If you roll half or less of the target number, you get a Great Success and failing by half the target number again is a Terrible Failure. It is up to the GM what the consequences of this are. This leaves room for your GM-ing style, which I like. 

Personally, I love the Luck mechanic: players all start with the same score but it reduces every time you make a successful Luck check. These can be modified by other attributes, according to the situation. So avoiding a trap could be a Luck (Dex) save. Initiative is also a winner for me - an attribute derived from the average of Dexterity and Intelligence. Initiative is used more than many other attributesin most d20-style games and might as well be an attribute. Perception is sometimes contentious. I know some people feel that if the GM wants the character to see something, they should just let them see it. But I disagree. I am not a very observant person in real life. Friends point it out fairly often ( I notice people not  things...). So I think having a Perception attribute is perfect. It is also used for ranged attacks, which I also like, because I like separating picking locks and pockets from shooting bows and arrows!

Character Generation

Characters take a Background during generation which gives then a skill and an attribute bump. This provides a sketch of a backstory. Classes are familiar but a lighter touch than some games. There are no subclasses (which I didn't miss) and very little magic except for Magic Users (which is a single class, not a group of them), Cultist (which replaces Cleric) and Artificer (which the book suggests isn't suitable for all settings). One notable feature is that most classes get a class ability at Level 1 which develops every level (exceptions are Barbarian, Bard and Magic User - though new spells at each level is a close match). For example, Fighters get Adaptability, which brings a new 'Stance' each level, which is rolled for and brings a bonus under certain conditions. There is an equivalent for each class. I wasn't sold on those of the Ranger, to be honest. They felt a little contrived and relied too much of imposing conditions on enemies without what I considered to be a strong anchor in the fiction. But the rest all look great. And there are also new, more typical Class Abilities as characters progress, too. Every third level, characters get something called a Unique Feature, which players are supposed to negotiate with the GM which might be a great way to customise a campaign, or might be a pain if you have a the wrong group. But there is a decent list of suggestions.

Hit Points begin equal to Constitution. So one of my players began with 4, until he remembered the 'you can swap any two attributes' rule. But each time they level up they only gain their new level multiplied by 1-3 depending on class. So the hit point curve is going to be flatter over the long run. This, in my view,  makes planning ahead easier and reduces the yawning gap that can occur between characters' robustness. It also prevents the whole campaign becoming ridiculous. 

Combat is the usual d20 roll over AC, with the usual modifiers. Weapons have slightly different damage dice from some other games, usually higher, but the main difference is in NAt 20 and Nat 19. Natural 20 is a critical but delivers maximum weapon damage plus half your level, so doesn't require rolling dice or multiplying or any of that. A NAtural 19 on the other hand, often delivers trauma, based on weapon-type. There are a  few OSR-type bells and whistles, too, such as Morale checks and rules for a full party retreat, chases and a bunch of manoeuvres. Exploits allow players to attempt 'Mighty Deeds' type actions. 

Magic Users are simplified but also less fragile, when compared to crunchier systems. You get a spell per Intelligence bonus at generation, plus one spell per level and you can cast a number of spells equal to level per adventure. That's it. But you do get to use weapons and light armour, so you're not useless. I'd personally take a leaf out of DCC with this and possibly allow more spells to be learned as a result of a quest and possibly even cast, as a result of magical items gained on similar quests. But magic in Tales Of Argosa is 'dark and inherently dangerous,' so every time a spell is cast (and for one or two other things) a die is rolled on the Dark and Dangerous Magic (DDM) table. The die size depends on the level of the caster, so the higher their level, the more unpleasant some of the options become. I haven't seen this in action yet, as we didn't have a Magic User in the party. 

Encumbrance is via slots. Currency is in silver. Some prices are a dice roll. There are tables and tables of GM support, so that with the slightest forethought, a session can come to life. GM tools include Diseases and Parasites, Dungeon Crawling rules, 'Hexploration' rules, rules for Hirelings, Mass Battle, Naval Combat, Solo Rules, Traps, Treasure, etc. Tons of it, but all fairly light, simple and accessible at the table.

Tone

Tales of Argosa is intended to be a sword and sorcery style gam. It isn't aimed at creating a power fantasy for players. It isn't dripping with magic or enchanted bling. There isn't a lot of 'rules armour' and probably some characters will die. Encounter tables are not 'levelled' and you could as easily roll up an encounter with 2d12 giants as with a couple of blokes arguing in the street. So there is a distinct 'Old School' vibe without it feeling at all 'old'.

I really like this game. I'm not sure it will ever rival the big name TTRPGs, as it doesn't have the massive marketing engine behind it that some of those games have, but its a fun, well-developed game with a real tone of its own and a ton of support available in the form of adventures. Tales Of Argosa's predecessor was Low MAgic Gaming and I get the impression Pickpocket Press are re-writing much of their old support material for the newer version. Which is great because their setting material, 'Midlands' includes fifty adventures. Yes, Fifty... Between those and the GM Tools in teh core book, you'll have enough material for years of gaming...