From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd


It's rare that I get to talk to younger D&D players these days.
They're just not the sort of people I normally get to hang around
with. So it was a lot of fun when --during a long wait in a hospital
waiting room where both of us, I think, we're happy to get our minds
off the real reason we were there-- I got into a conversation with
another player. I call him a 'young D&D' player, but don't let that
put images of some up-and-coming 'tween DM into your head. This
gentleman was probably in his mid-twenties.

We started with the usual stuff; how long have you been playing (about
five years), what edition do you use (5E), are you player or GM
(mostly GM), do you play in-person or with virtual tabletops
(virtual), etc. He seemed just as interested in my long history with
the game as I was with his new discoveries. It was, overall, an
engaging discussion between gamers of different generations, and I
hope he walked away with as many new ideas as he inspired with me.

But there was one area that... well, I guess the best thing I could
say was that it /disturbed/ me. Not in any immediate way that I could
put into words, and not so much that I think he was doing anything
wrong, but it made me re-evaluate what D&D was to these newer
generations; how he was playing it in a way that seemed so alien to
what I wanted to get from the game.

It started when I asked him if he ran campaigns or solo adventures (a
mix of both). Did he mostly use pre-written adventures or make his
own, I asked? (Again, a mix but he was leaning more and more into
writing his own). Oh, I said; good for you. It's a lot of work, but
worth it. But here he disagreed.

It's not a lot of work, he said. No, he just fed the basic ideas into
an AI and it output the adventure. He gave it a few prompts to clean
up some areas, and then used the output. He also had it create the
stats for the NPCs, a map and pre-generated the characters for
players. Furthermore, while playing he utilized AI for dice rolls and
also to help him generate combat-patter and to help give voice (not
literally, but as pre-written prompts for him to read) when the
players asked the NPCs any questions. No, it wasn't difficult to
create and run an adventure at all.

To which all I could respond was: I wonder if your players are doing
the same thing, and it's just AI playing against AI. Which, he
conceded, they might actually be doing too.

Our conversation faded after that, partly because shortly after that
he had to go visit the family member he'd been waiting for (we were in
a waiting area for family members of a person in surgery), but equally
because I couldn't figure out a polite way to ask him the question I
really wanted to ask him:

If you're using AI to do all the work for you, why the
heck are you playing the game in the first place?

And, look: I get it. Everybody plays D&D for different reasons, and
gets different rewards for doing so. Certainly my biases make this
young gentleman's method seem exceptionally weird to me. I play D&D
--and GM-- largely because it's a wonderful creative outlet (and
secondarily because its a fun social experience). Creating the world
and fitting the players and their adventures into that world are the
most enjoyable thing about D&D to me. The actual game --the
dice-rolling, the skills, managing hit points, etc.-- are just a
necessary tool towards my getting that creative high. And not
everybody is focused on the story like I am.

But to abandon all the creativity to a computer algorithm? Where your
input into the game is just a few brief statements at the start and
some tweaks as you hammer the program's output into something halfway
decent? I can't imagine writing an adventure and not custom-tailoring
the NPCs, or whether the overall balance works with my players'
particular style, or worrying about whether the loot is appropriate to
the overall campaign setting, or a hundred other little things that
make my adventures fit together perfectly. It's a lot of work, but
when that work is rewarded with a successful session, it's just such a
rush.

Does this new generation of 'prompt-the-AI' get that same sense of satisfaction? What exactly are they getting out of the game when they
don't use their imagination, their problem-solving, or their social
skills?

I don't want to condemn this young man for his take on the game.
Certainly I misunderstood some aspects of his methodology; we didn't
go into too much detail and I'm sure his description was very
abstract. I've no real idea of how much of himself he put into his
adventures; if it really was as superficial as his description made it
seem. And like I have said, he was obviously enjoying himself so who
am I to second guess how he has fun.

But when I read about Hasbro pushing AI and virtual-tabletop and
drip-feeding subscription based licensed IP, I have to wonder:

Are they right to do so?

Do I look upon these new ventures by Hasbro with horror only because I
am too old-school? That Hasbro's ideas fill me with terror because
they run counter to how I play, but that's not what D&D is to newer
players anymore? That the new generation will accept Hasbro's take on
D&D because it better fits their AI-powered idea of what the game
should be?

I hope not. I hope Hasbro's ideas are rejected out-of-hand by the
player-base, and that the young man I talked to was an outlier amongst
people who play D&D.

But I really don't know.




--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

Spalls Hurgenson wrote in article <3j06al17m0m1o4rsggdrha2hvn9iled5df@4ax.com>:

Do I look upon these new ventures by Hasbro with horror only because I
am too old-school? That Hasbro's ideas fill me with terror because
they run counter to how I play, but that's not what D&D is to newer
players anymore? That the new generation will accept Hasbro's take on
D&D because it better fits their AI-powered idea of what the game
should be?

I wonder that as well. I see some really good uses of generative
AI, such as a fan-made episode of Doctor Who I just watched, but
I also see an alarming number of people outsourcing their brains.

I'm aware that every aging generation has fretted that the kids
are being dumbed down. I'm not sure it means the perception must
be wrong. It could just as easily mean each generation is getting
worse.
--
The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
United States of America - North America - Earth
Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:07:48 -0400, The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> said this thing:

I'm aware that every aging generation has fretted that the kids
are being dumbed down. I'm not sure it means the perception must
be wrong. It could just as easily mean each generation is getting
worse.

I think the kids are alright. I do worry about the environment we're
pushing on them. If all you give the next generation unsharpened
scissors and crayons to work with, you shouldn't be surprised if they
aren't creating magnificient works of art and engineering.


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

Spalls Hurgenson wrote in article <7ae8ald8trllfnr02eenr09f4i5gste5kf@4ax.com>:

On Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:07:48 -0400, The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> said this thing:

I'm aware that every aging generation has fretted that the kids
are being dumbed down. I'm not sure it means the perception must
be wrong. It could just as easily mean each generation is getting
worse.

I think the kids are alright. I do worry about the environment we're
pushing on them. If all you give the next generation unsharpened
scissors and crayons to work with, you shouldn't be surprised if they
aren't creating magnificient works of art and engineering.

That's a problem, though. We gave them unsharpened crayons *and*
tools which would draw pictures for them. Each generation is more
reliant on external tools than the previous one.

I used to think that civilization was doomed but would outlast me
at least. I'm no longer so sure. It seems like a race to the
bottom.

However, today is D&D day. My players are already en route to my
house, so everything's okay for today at least. :-)
--
The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
United States of America - North America - Earth
Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On Sat, 12 Sep 2026 13:53:18 -0400, The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> said this thing:

Spalls Hurgenson wrote in article ><7ae8ald8trllfnr02eenr09f4i5gste5kf@4ax.com>:

On Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:07:48 -0400, The True Melissa
<thetruemelissa@gmail.comNOSPAM> said this thing:

I'm aware that every aging generation has fretted that the kids
are being dumbed down. I'm not sure it means the perception must
be wrong. It could just as easily mean each generation is getting
worse.

I think the kids are alright. I do worry about the environment we're
pushing on them. If all you give the next generation unsharpened
scissors and crayons to work with, you shouldn't be surprised if they
aren't creating magnificient works of art and engineering.

That's a problem, though. We gave them unsharpened crayons *and*
tools which would draw pictures for them. Each generation is more
reliant on external tools than the previous one.

I used to think that civilization was doomed but would outlast me
at least. I'm no longer so sure. It seems like a race to the
bottom.

I'm slightly more sanguine about the next generation. There are times
when I deal with some of the younger set and their awareness of how
fucked they are --and their attempts to escape these problems-- are
heartening. There is a lot of energy and intelligence in some of them
and I think --had they been put in a better environment-- they could
create wonders.

Not all the youngsters, of course. Some are irretrievably lost to
TikTok or whatever the latest fad is. But I compare their generation
to mine, and I think they are --given the opportunity-- the better of
the two.

Sadly, I also think the odds are too weighted against them for all
their talent and aspirations to amount to much. But I admire their
energy and I hope they persevere despite all the shit we're weighing
them down with.

However, today is D&D day. My players are already en route to my
house, so everything's okay for today at least. :-)

Awesome. Give 'em hell!!! Make them WORK for those XP ;-)




--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

Spalls Hurgenson wrote in article <7gldaltk1oh6far1d8430hjsh83jamd17t@4ax.com>:

I'm slightly more sanguine about the next generation. There are times
when I deal with some of the younger set and their awareness of how
fucked they are --and their attempts to escape these problems-- are heartening. There is a lot of energy and intelligence in some of them
and I think --had they been put in a better environment-- they could
create wonders.

I'm rooting for Gen Z. I think they're trying, or at least some
of them are. They're trying to recreate third spaces and simply
leaving the house regularly. They're ditching D&D Beyond for
OSRIC and Pathfinder and others. They're rejecting universal
irony and seeking authenticity and reality.

I just don't think they can do it.

Sadly, I also think the odds are too weighted against them for all
their talent and aspirations to amount to much. But I admire their
energy and I hope they persevere despite all the shit we're weighing
them down with.

--
The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
United States of America - North America - Earth
Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2