Side Passages

At Gen Con 2023 we interviewed Aaron Shanks, director of marketing for Paizo.  We discussed Rage of the Elements, their latest Pathfinder 2nd Edition release and as well as their plans for the new Starfinder 2nd Edition. 

We also delve into Paizo’s approach to world-building, with system-wide events that progress the story in both games and touch on ORC, the new open gaming license spearheaded by the company.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asZ1_Uu_iPA

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Cover art from Rage of Fury, a source book for Paizo's Pathfinder 2nd Edition tabletop role-playing game. Credit: Paizo.

Chapter 2 of our Cyberpunk RED actual play campaign ended with the edgerunners staring down the guns of a rapidly approaching Zetatech Aerocop. They had just seized the company's black box tractor tech from an experimental, self-driving tractor trailer at the "Iron Oasis" scrapyard outside of Night City. In order to get away with the loot, they'll have to deal with Zetatech ... either with words, or with guns.

Much to the edgerunners surprise, the corpos were there to talk. Unfortunately for everyone, Atlas - the group's solo - spoke best with rocket launchers...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS4XZW6rtTw

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Cover art for Chapter 3, generated using Adobe's Firefly software.

At Gen Con 2023 we interviewed Tomas Härenstam, one of the co-founders of Free League Publishing.

The company won big at the 2023 Ennies game awards, taking home seven Gold Ennies for everything from Best Cartography for the Blade Runner RPG Starter Set to Product of the Year for Vaesen RPG: Mythic Britain & Ireland.

We talk about those wins, as well as: 

Vaesen, the “cozy horror” RPG of the Nordic lore

The ALIEN source book Building Better Worlds

The One Ring’s Moria: Through the Doors of Durin expansion

Bladerunner’s cyberpunk noir

We also discuss Dragonbane, the English version of the long-running Swedish role-playing and ask the question … what’s with the ducks fighting monsters?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmUlpo6wd0w

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One of the famous (notorious?) ducks from Dragonbane. Credit: Free League Publishing.

In this episode of the Lair of Secrets podcast, we’re talking about generative AI as a tool in gaming! We’re looking at how the overhyped tech can assist game masters and players alike. We provide real-game examples of using ChatGPT prompts both during prep and in game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGCQGdfwCeA

Main topic: ChatGPT and Generative AI in RPG Prep

What do we mean when we talk about AI?

Limit to Generative AI (large language models, image generation, etc)

How does it work?

Kyle Hill explains

Generative AI in Gaming

Explanation of the role of AI in gaming history, and how generative AI models have changed the game. (This is for video games, however, tools for TTRPGs can be extrapolated)

Generative AI systems have been utilized in games like Dwarf Fortress and Deep Rock Galactic for procedural level and environment generation

Ubisoft's Ghostwriter AI assists scriptwriters in creating varied and engaging NPC dialogues, freeing their time for other core plot elements​​.

Generative AI systems are increasingly used in the gaming industry, including in voice synthesis and text-to-speech, but human creativity and judgment remain crucial in the development process​

Benefits of using Generative AI in RPGs

Benefits of Using Generative AI in RPGs 

Enhancing creativity: AI can generate content that is unexpected, creating a sense of novelty and exploration.

Reducing game master workload: AI can automate aspects of game management, such as NPC interactions and world generation.

NPC Dialogue Generation

Example Prompt: "Generate a dialogue for a suspicious tavern owner when players ask about the local rumors."

Plot Development

Example Prompt: "The players have just found a mysterious artifact in an ancient temple. What could be the implications or potential story arcs?"

World Building

Example Prompt: "Describe a bustling market in a futuristic cyberpunk city."

NPC Character Creation

Example Prompt: "Create a character profile for a rogue elf with a mysterious past."

Scenario Planning

Example Prompt: "What kind of challenges or obstacles could the  players encounter while navigating through a haunted forest?"

Campaign Backstory Creation

Example Prompt: "Provide a backstory for a campaign set in a world where magic is considered a crime."

Creating Unique Items or Spells

Example Prompt: "Create a unique magical item for a level 10 wizard."

Generating Puzzles or Riddles

Example Prompt: "Generate a riddle that the players must solve to unlock a hidden door in a crypt."

Rules Clarification

Example Prompt: "What are the rules for casting a spell using a bonus action in D&D 5e?"

Improvisation Assistance

Example Prompt: "The players have taken an unexpected turn and decided to ally with the villain. How could this affect the storyline?"

Personalization: AI can adapt the game to individual players' styles and preferences.

Accessibility: AI can make RPGs more accessible for those who might not have a human game master or a group to play with. (Solo RPG enhancement)

Examples of using ChatGPT in Role-Playing Game Prep

Examples of things we have done

Chris’s Dresden Game

Individual plot paths for players

Enhanced search and extrapolation as fodder 

Riddles and poems

Mashups

Rules crunching

NO MATH

David’s steampunk game

One shot game

Starting with a description of the setting

Helped with the title of the setting

Created character stats for the player characters

Not perfect, but good enough for a one shot

Worked with creating character descriptions

Used those descriptions to create character portraits in Midjourney

Names - overkill for a name generator

Descriptions of locations

Helped with different plot ideas

Ken’s Elemental Apocalypse game

Brainstorming fire-themed character ideas for an evil adventuring party.

When the players decided to find a safe place to hide/recover after a big combat, Ken used ChatGPT to quickly brainstorm a hidden cave protected by a sentient, knowledge-obsessed waterfall.

Ken’s Cyberpunk RED game

Create a screamsheet for Cyberpunk RED  that includes 5 stories of less than 50 words each. Include the day's lottery numbers and three day forecast for Night City.

Challenges with AI and RPGs

Challenges and Limitations of Generative AI in RPGs 

Unpredictability: AI-generated content can sometimes be nonsensical or inappropriate.

Lack of understanding and empathy: AI doesn't truly understand human emotions or the context beyond the data it was trained on.

Arbitrary (and sometimes transient) limitations. In one thread, ChatGPT said it wasn’t allowed to roll dice. In another, it would not generate 10 insults for tieflings (because it has to respect people regardless of background) … but would happily generate 10 insults for elves.

Potential to overtake human roles: Discussion on the fear of AI replacing human game masters.

Ethical considerations: Who is responsible when an AI creates inappropriate or harmful content?

Other areas where AI is being discussed in reference to RPGs

Oracle RPG: Solo DM Guide Part 3 – ChatGPT as assistant AI Dungeon Master

Make Use Of: 6 Ways to Make ChatGPT Your Perfect Dungeon Master Assistant

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A ChatGPT response for generating a screamsheet. Credit: Ken Newquist

Our Cyberpunk RED actual play campaign continues with Chapter 2: Iron Oasis! Technical issues with recording this podcast that caused the video to glitch and the audio to get messed up near the end. We're releasing a summary of this episode so future episodes make sense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKb_0fHMTX4

Previously ... on Cyberpunk RED

The edgerunners were hired by the Maker Enclave, a group of throwback techheads that aggressively void warranties, to acquire some new black box tech from Zetatech. The corporation's farming subsidiary developed the next iteration of its farm tractors which - of course - have no user serviceable parts and software that can't be modified by the end user. The Makers are looking to crack the software and liberate a few Southern California farms from Zetatech's technological yolk.

The edgerunners learned the black box containing the new tractor controller was being shipped to test bed farms in Southern California via Stormhold Transport's new self-driving cargo rig. Rather than try and steal the black box from the Zetatech warehouse, they decided to hit the rig ... with a little help from the extended family of Omen - the crew's Nomad (and an agreement with the Nomads to turn the rig over to them once the edgerunners had the black box).

Mission Brief: Iron Oasis

With the crew set on hijacking the Stormhold truck, they did additional research into the prototype. They determined it was a Titan 1X, an autonomous vehicle with an onboard AI and self-contained network that controlled its myriad features:

Propulsion: Hybrid motive power: electric for the city, CHOOH2-based engine for overland driving.

Cargo Bay: A modular bay capable of different configurations depending on the job's needs.

Weapons: The Titan's carries two mini air drones for scouting and to repel attackers.

Onboard Architecture: The onboard control system is a nine level net architecture. Access to the network's data port is protected by a locked external service node.

Research completed, the edgerunners used old satellite maps to identify where they should try and take down the transport. They decided on the "Iron Oasis", a privately owned junkyard located at the junction of a junction of State Route 101 and County Road 13 a 25 south of Night City. Across the road from the Oasis was the Mirage Fuel Stop, a CHOOH2 refuel station.

Before traveling they debated specific strategies for dealing with the Titan 1X, settling on two options:

Using a "Roadrunner" approach to trick the truck AI into driving down a fake road

Setting up some sort of a roadblock to force the truck to stop.

They also secured a number of magnetic harpoons so they could attempt to board the truck while it was moving. Atlas, the team Solo who was always looking for a something packing a bigger punch, secured a rocket launcher. "Just in case," he said, admiring the weapon as they walked out of his weapon dealer's shop in Night City.

Heading to the Iron Oasis

With gear secured, the edgerunners picked up their road car from Omen's extended Nomad family and sped out to the Iron Oasis, intent getting there before the self-driving truck. Once there, they spoke with Remy "Rusty" Navarro, owner of the Oasis, and his right-hand operator, "Lockjaw" Lucy Harper. The edgerunners offered 400 Eurobucks - and an agreement to introduce them to Omen's Nomad family - if the two of them would leave them the keys to the facility for a few hours.

They also spoke with Matt Rameriz and his wife Samantha, owners of the Mirage Fuel Stop located opposite the junkyard. For 100 eurobucks, the couple agreed to take that weekend getaway to Night City they always talked about. They locked up the shop, then headed out.

The Ambush

With the non-combatants dealt with, the edgerunners got to work. They used they strategically placed wrecked vehicles on the road to force the transport rig to slow down ... and to move closer to the junkyard. From that position, the rig would be within range of the massive crane - complete with massive electromagnet - that the facility used to maneuver scrap in and out of the yard.

APT hacked the crane's controls and prepared to go fishing for transports. Meanwhile, Omen and Angry Bob - in the Nomad vehicle - prepared to chase the transport rig. Atlas took to the high ground of the fuel station roof, making sure that his assault rifle and rocket launcher were within easy reach.

The plan went off beautifully: the rig appeared, thundering down State Route 101, then slowing as it approached the blockade of wrecked cars. As the onboard artificial intelligence tried to navigate the obstacle, APT snagged the machine with the electromagnet and hoisted it partially off the ground. The crew then moved to secure the Stormhold transport, with Omen jumping into the truck's empty cab while APT deftly bypassed the security on the rig's network access port. The netrunner jacked into the vehicle's network ... and found it oddly empty. The electromagnetic pulse badly scrambled the network, leaving it undefended. APT quickly secured the network and the necessary files, then jacked out.

The edgerunners popped open the back of the rig and secured the Zetatech black box. As they prepared to load the black box into their own car, they caught sight of an unwelcome visitor: a Zetatech AeroCop air assault vehicle ... and it was coming directly toward them.

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Chris Birch, co-founder of Modiphius Entertainment, joins us to talk about his company's upcoming slate of games including the hopepunk scifi game Dreams and Machines and the Roman Empire-era Cohors Cthulhu (a prequel to their popular Achtung Cthulhu! role-playing game). We also discuss Modiphius' Via Modiphius and other programs to foster and promote upcoming RPG designers.

Want to learn more about Dreams and Machines? Check out our unboxing of the new starter set.

This Modiphius interview took place at GenCon 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syQpgFGRcb0&t=10s

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Cover art for the Dreams and Machines Starter Boxed Set. Credit: Modiphius.

GenCon 2023 - the mega game convention in Indianapolis, Indiana - is the focus of this episode of the Lair of Secrets podcast. During the show we rundown our impressions of GenCon (David was there in 2022; Ken hadn't been back since 2014) and talk about all the cool RPGs we bought and played at the convention.Included in our wrap up: Marvel Multiverse RPG, Trail of Cthulhu, Mutant Crawl Classics, Dungeons & Dragons (because, of course), Cyberpunk RED, Pathfinder, Solo RPGs, Star Trek Adventures, Hero System, and dice. So many dice...

You can also listen to our GenCon 2023 interviews!

S3E22 Gen Con 2023 – Modiphius Interview

S3E25 Gen Con 2023 – Free League Interview

S3E27 Gen Con 2023 – Paizo Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niDTOofZ-sg&list=PLY5SrwsZEIB_0TPD3bc6uvGPR6Mq5UTHv

Main Topic: GenCon 2023

Impressions of GenCon

It’s huge. 70,000 attendees.

Tickets sold by game (Source: En World)

Dungeons & Dragons (all flavors) was huge, with 10K+ tickets sold. But a lot of other games ran as well.

The New Stuff We Played

Marvel Multiverse RPG

Mutant Crawl Classics … and it wasn’t even a funnel!

We also lived!

Trail of Cthulhu

Messed up, time-splintered family dealing with an extradimensional incursion. 

Dresden’s Irregulars with the Hero System (Infinite Imaginations)

The Stuff We Bought

Ken

Marvel Multiverse RPG

Danger Gal Dossier (Cyberpunk RED)

Pathfinder: Rage of Elements

Star Trek Adventures: Captain’s Log Solo RPG

Solo Game Master’s Guide

Dice!

David

Was good this year and only influenced Ken to buy things.

Dreams and Machines by Modiphius 

Marvel Multiverse RPG

David gave Ken his Space Hulk game with the Deathwing expansion

Have fun in those narrow corridors!

The People We Talked To

Modiphius (Dreams and Machines, Cohors Cthulhu)

Free League (Alien, Dragonbane, The One Ring, Bladerunner)

Evil Genius Games (Everyday Heroes - Pacific Rim, Rambo, Kong: Skull Island)

Paizo (Pathfinder, Starfinder 2.0, ORC)

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When schedules don't align or when real-life intervenes in our Cyberpunk RED actual play campaign, we venture down a Side Passage! On this episode, we feature the kick off of a second actual play campaign with David Moore's dimension hopping, steampunk-powered Sundered Horizons: Navigating the Nexus. It's powered by Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE).

In the first chapter, "The Most Expensive Adventure", our heroes are drawn together for the gala debut of a device capable of opening portals to distant worlds.

Visit our campaign page to learn more about Sundered Horizons and its cast of characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrS_ksDpb2U

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Cover art for the Savage Worlds Adventure Deck. Credit: Pinnacle Entertainment Group.

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On this episode, we answer the question "what is Savage Worlds"? We review the basics of Savage World's "fast, furious, and fun" rules including character creation, hindrances, and feats. We delve into how to use the core book and the various supplements to build your own campaign world. Overlord Emeritus Chris Miller, who built his own takes on Savage Dresden Files and Savage Amber, joins us for the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEWp_3vjSpE

Main Topic

What is Savage Worlds?

Game overview

Initiative

Wild Cards and minions

Exploding dice & multiple successes

Bennies

Edges

Hindrances

How do you do magic?

Powers?

What sort of options for different magic systems can we do?

How do you run a campaign?

Setting Rules

Savage World Adventure Edition p. 136

How to get your players to spend bennies?

What is a bennie?

Settings we’ve played with

Savage Amber

Savage Dresden

Savage Ringworld

Savage Weird Pulp

Savage Stargate

Realms of Cthulhu

The Day After Ragnarok

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Cover art for the Adventure Edition. Credit: Pinnacle Entertainment Group.

Our Cyberpunk RED actual play campaign kicks off with Chapter 1: Made to Order. The edgerunners are hired by the Makers Enclave to secure some black box tech from the Zetatech.

The target - a sealed box approximately 1' x 1' x 2' - is part of a new line of self-directed farming equipment. It's being held in a Zetatech warehouse in Night City's Heywood Industrial Zone district awaiting shipment by a third party, Stormhold Shipping. The destination is a corporate test bed farm in Southern California, outside of Los Angeles.

What do the Makers want with it? Well, the Makers aggressively void warranties, and despise corporations like Zetatech that lock consumers into proprietary solutions. So they want to secure the box, crack it open, discover its secrets ... and then share their hacks with the people cursed with using that tech.

Cyberpunk RED Chapter 1 Cast of Characters

Amelie Penelope Thibault aka APT (Chris)

Bram Van Brogan aka Angry Bob (David)

Nohea Kaapana aka Omen (Erin)

Shay Ken Baker aka Atlas (Josh)

Your game master is Ken Newquist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd9H0I-05-M&t=1s

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Cover art for Chapter 1 prev, generated using Adobe's Firefly software.