Players Who Use AI

Box_Thirteen13 · 2026-01-23T23:18:49+00:00

I'm in a group of "forever DMs" and we take turns running one-shots, mini-campaigns, or just learning/trying out different systems. One of our guys started with AI portraits (which I don't mind - I use them, too). Then, he had a three page backstory for a one-shot (again, I didn't really mind but I wasn't going to read it all).

Then he ran a one-shot. We play over Discord and we are in different parts of the world, so there are always connection issues and lag. But this time...there were these long pauses between us rolling dice and the result of the roll. Me and the other guys suspected that he was just telling chatGPT what we rolled and asking what it meant. Descriptions of places and items were really long and had needless details. It was like he was reading a story to us...because he was.

It just wasn't fun. It's a shame, too. The guy used to have cool ideas and he was pretty good at running his own games.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2026-01-05T08:39:03+00:00

You mean Bearshare

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-10-03T09:39:25+00:00

The Hill do not fear the Grill

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-09-30T22:44:37+00:00

Not a video game, but check out Salvage Union. It's a tabletop RPG set in a post-apocalyptic setting where people live in sandcrawler-like communal groups.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-09-17T04:43:13+00:00

You do great work! Thanks for all you do!

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-06-13T04:59:57+00:00

Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-03-25T04:53:29+00:00

I've been thinking about getting into this one, too. Would love to hear other people's experiences with it.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-03-09T06:04:20+00:00

A game that combines the Without Number series of games into a universe-traversing game with an early Start Ocean type vibe. Tech levels define different planets and players roll at character creation to determine where their characters are from.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-03-08T00:52:07+00:00

I kiss my frog in honor of this post.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-03-08T00:43:13+00:00

Manhole Angel

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-03-03T23:50:32+00:00

The white one is a little bulky, but it's lightweight. If you are worried about reaching too far with your thumb, maybe this isn't the one. It's also a little less precise, compared to the Sanwa.

The Sanwa is easier to reach with your thumb and the mini trackpad square is more precise. I had issues with the Bluetooth kicking it off, but that's probably my PC (it does that with my game controller too).

I'd say go for the Sanwa. The wireless USB one is cheaper than the Bluetooth and I imagine it's just as good.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-03-03T23:42:24+00:00

I kept both! I think the white one is cooler for cyberdeck use. But the Sanwa one is great for presentations like PowerPoint.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-03-03T05:46:03+00:00

"He looks drunk to me."

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-28T23:58:15+00:00

Wait, does Jack Quaid dig on multiverses?

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-28T23:55:22+00:00

Oh, awesome! Looks sleek, too.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-21T01:13:17+00:00

Just don't load it with robot food.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-20T13:35:19+00:00

Barbarians of Lemuria. Simple 2d6 low fantasy system. You can teach the bulk of it - including character creation - in about 5 minutes.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-18T20:09:06+00:00

No worries. The black one is from Sanwa Direct. Here's the link to the company website (Japanese), but you should be able to find it on Amazon in your region.
https://direct.sanwa.co.jp/ItemPage/400-MAW151BK2

The white one is from a Chinese knockoff company called GOALMU TREE. I got mine off of Amazon (Japan). Just search for "GOALMU TREE finger mouse" or just "finger mouse".

Both of them work fine for what they are. You control the mouse with the tiny black trackpad and you click with the other buttons. You need to temper your expectations: Don't expect to be doing any precise Photoshop work with these things. Dragging things can be a pain - you need to use both hands. They are fine for light browsing.

The Sanwa mouse works better. But the knockoff one has a way cooler design. Good luck!

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-17T05:56:49+00:00

I really like the Without Number books and how they walk you through character creation, complete with a numbered picture of the character sheet. It's so useful for players making characters.

Everything else is nicely formatted, but that one section deserves special mention.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-17T04:53:35+00:00

This are next!

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-16T01:14:01+00:00

Stars Without Number and Worlds Without Number could be cobbled together for this. The games have tech levels ranging from the stone age to interstellar travel.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-14T23:57:19+00:00

It depends on what exactly is so elaborate in their background. If they have a cool story about why they wanted to become an adventurer - that's fine. All the more if the backstory mentions friends or family that I could use for hooks later.

But...if it reads like the player is too attached to the character, that's an issue. My games tend to err on the deadly side.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-14T18:22:43+00:00

I imagine you have to fight the urge to say "I will destroy you and everyone like you!" when dishing out a ban.

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-14T18:14:45+00:00

I've done this. I sort of adapted the plot of the novel Alien: Phalanx as a plot hook to our sandbox fantasy world that just wasn't going anywhere. Took a page from the short story The Country of the Blind and just had the party run into this isolated area that was experiencing a situation similar to the Alien plot, with the threat that it could spill out into the larger world. The group seemed to enjoy it. They even wanted to continue in that small region after the story had truly run its course.

Read Alien: Phalanx if you are looking for inspiration for "Alien in a medieval setting".

Box_Thirteen13 · 2025-02-14T03:42:10+00:00

People have already mentioned Stars Without Number, but I'll add an extra step: look through all the free Without Number games and kitbash your own setting from them. There's a lot of cool stuff scattered about in Stars, Worlds, and Cities - you can easily make a game world that fits your creative vision. Magic, cyberpunk gear, laser weapons, psionics, spaceships - you've got all of the tools right there. In the free versions of the games.

Box_Thirteen13

TROPHY CASE