I’ve been away for a bit due to reasons I may get into in a future post, but today I wanted to discuss how I used ChatGPT to help develop my next character in our new Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
What is ChatGPT?
If you are unfamiliar with ChatGPT, the way I might describe it is “the scary AI the media has been warning you about,” though that may or may not be fair. It is a very smart computer who can learn things. It can write code, tell stories, write summaries, draw images, provide information about any topic you could search for online, generate ideas, and many (many!) other tasks. In this case, I had it help me with my next Dungeons and Dragons character. Note: I do have the subscription, so I may have some functionality free users do not have.
Check out the Wikipedia article here.
The Background
My first ever character in Dungeons and Dragons was a fighter, and I’ve not tried one again for a campaign since, so I aimed fighter. I decided to go Jedi, because obviously, so I selected a psi warrior. And what better Jedi to copy a bit from than Ahsoka? So my backstory involved a powerful magic order, a big brother master/teacher, and a devastating betrayal.
I completed the basic character sheet and wrote down some ideas for the backstory in Word. Then I uploaded both of those documents, as well as a campaign setting document from my DM, into ChatGPT.
But Why Though?
I’ve played in several campaigns, and in each, I crafted a character ahead of time and thought I knew how it would go. It never worked out like I’d planned, as while I had all the statistics for a new character, I did not fully understand what they wanted or why, or what they feared and why.
As a result, I’ve always ended up going with the flow and my characters have almost always been chaotic good with few flaws. Why would I want flaws or problems?
My DM recently pointed out my characters usually don’t have a lot of growth, and I took that as a challenge. Growth? Flaws? ON IT.
The Basics
I asked ChatGPT to use the uploaded documents to help me further develop my character, Arwen. It suggested languages, tools, and some stats to change on my character sheet. It also provided other ideas on her motivations and fears.
Then I asked it for ideas for short stories from Arwen’s past that would help me find more details about her and her story. I wrote a few short stories, and then added these documents into ChatGPT.
ChatGPT also provided a picture of Arwen, based on her description.
One of my short stories:
Nine
Nine years had passed since the death of her parents and the Guardians of the Weave. Nine years since Aestos had changed her name to Arwen and made her way to the Moonshae Isles. The Weave was strong there and the people hardy and close to nature. Eladrin even roamed the islands, though she did not speak to them much to avoid detection.
She’d heard news of Dambrath’s fall to Talos, with fleeting rumors about a great Lord leading Talos’ forces to victory. Someone else was pulling the strings, though. She wondered if it was even about Talos, or if these intelligent but misguided criminals simply used the god to attain their own goals. Or thought they were using him; it never worked that way.
Arwen meditated on this near the moon well. She came here yearly and spent a week meditating to clear her mind. After, she’d find work to head to Waterdeep to see if there was any more information about Dambrath.
She knew she should just let it go and lose interest in the happenings of her former home, but she couldn’t bear the thought. There was also a good chance she was still wanted there, and while any bounty wouldn’t cover coming to the Isles and bringing her back, it was better to know than not know.
Still, these frequent meditations had eased her fears and eliminated her anger. The people of the Isles were mostly peaceful, even if they did have their small battles and moderate wars. Such was the way of life in Faerun and not indicative of a larger evil.
She’d done some good here, rescuing a drowning child. Helping harvest food. Helping defend against petty attacks. This was a good life; one she could continue.
She returned to her meditation, soaking in the power of the Weave at the well.
Emotion, yet peace.
Ignorance, yet knowledge.
Passion, yet serenity.
Chaos, yet harmony.
Death, yet the Weave
Advanced Development
I told ChatGPT that I wanted to think through various situations that could arise where Arwen would need to make impactful decisions based on the provided documents. Then I asked for character arc ideas; what direction might Arwen go in this particular setting?
When my DM suggested we all roll for a trinket, or pick one on our own, I asked ChatGPT for a list of possibilities tied to her backstory.
I used it to generate a list of personalized Q&A’s for me to answer.
1. How does Arwen handle conflict?
- What is her default reaction in combat? Does she prefer to take a leadership role, or does she work quietly from the shadows?
- How does she react to unexpected violence or betrayal? Would she be quick to fight back, or would she assess the situation for alternative strategies first?
2. What are her boundaries around trust?
- How easily does she trust new people? Is she open to new relationships, or does her past make her more cautious and guarded?
- How would she respond to betrayal by someone close? Given her history with Knight Bellator, would she be more cynical about loyalty, or would she try to see the good in people?
Arwen worships the Weave, not Mystra, which is not accurate to Lore. I asked ChatGPT to develop a list of beliefs Arwen might have about the Weave based on Jedi philosophy.
The Weave as a Sentient Being
- Arwen’s Belief: Arwen may believe the Weave is sentient, with its own desires, intentions, and emotions, guiding her personally and actively influencing the world according to a larger, unknowable plan.
- Arwen’s Belief: She views the Weave as sentient, with its own will and intentions, much like the Jedi believe the Force has a “will” and guides certain actions or events for balance in the galaxy.
- Standard Lore: The Weave is generally viewed as a neutral conduit for magic, maintained by Mystra, but not a sentient force in itself. While Mystra has agency, the Weave itself is more of a magical fabric that underpins reality without conscious will.
- Jedi Parallel: The Jedi often talk about following the will of the Force, suggesting it has a consciousness or purpose, similar to how Arwen might see the Weave as guiding her life and decisions.
After uploading all of this back into ChatGPT, I had it make up scenarios for me, much like a DM creating the story. I spent several hours replying to it like I might in game, to get more comfortable with my character before ever sitting down for our first live session.
Scenario 1: A Stormy Encounter at Sea
Arwen is aboard the Sea Queen, returning from a supply run to Waterdeep. The weather has been worsening for the past few hours, and the ship’s captain, Dean, has ordered the crew to prepare for a storm. The wind howls through the sails, and waves crash against the hull with increasing intensity. As the storm intensifies, a crew member spots a small, nearly submerged lifeboat adrift in the distance. The boat appears to contain a single figure slumped over the side.
Captain Dean, struggling to maintain control of the ship in the storm, shouts orders to the crew to stabilize the vessel. Then, he turns to Arwen, knowing her experience with navigation and her ability to keep calm under pressure.
“Arwen, you’re the best navigator we’ve got on board. We need to decide fast—do we risk diverting our course to rescue this person, or do we focus on surviving the storm? What do you think?”
How does Arwen respond?
The Payoff
During the first three sessions of our campaign, I’ve had no “burn in” period for Arwen. I understood her motivations and fears well before we started talking, and I’ve been able to quickly decide how she would react in each situation we’ve encountered so far.
More importantly, I’m having a lot more fun since I’m not worried about making my character consistent on the fly. I’m engaging more with the other players, since I feel confident and settled in my approach to my psi-warrior Jedi fighter.
Finally, as I don’t intend to reveal any of her magical abilities to the party until Arwen needs to do something truly amazing, understanding her so well makes my cover story as a simple blade for hire easier to maintain. I know what she can do as a fighter and what she has in her back story if pushed.
Or scared… did I mention flaws? Right now she’s calm and steady and a good person to have in a battle. But we all know what fear can lead to!
Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
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