I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragons for over six years now, and sometimes, I feel like I’ve exhausted all my best ideas. After so many campaigns, settings, and NPCs, it can be hard to come up with something that doesn’t feel like a variation of something I’ve done before. That’s where AI comes in—not as a replacement for creativity, but as a way to shake things up when my brain gets stuck in the same loops.
When I prep for a game, I’ll sometimes use AI to generate random tables, brainstorm names, or put together lists of possible encounters or magical items. I don’t use anything exactly as it’s given to me, but it helps me see possibilities I might not have considered otherwise. Maybe an unexpected prompt sparks an idea for a side quest, or an AI-generated name feels like the perfect fit for a mysterious merchant. It’s less about the tool doing the work and more about it nudging my imagination into new territory.
I’ve also used AI for character art, mostly to help flesh out NPCs in my campaigns. I never use AI art for anything that’s going to be published—whether that’s for my podcast, blog, social media, or any official content—but it’s useful for personal reference. Sometimes, seeing an image helps me refine details, like the way an elven ranger carries themselves or the expression of a villain just before they betray the party. It’s a way to solidify a vague concept before introducing it to my players.
At the end of the day, AI is just another tool in my kit. It’s not my storyteller, my world-builder, or my creativity, but it helps me break out of familiar patterns and approach things from fresh angles. And in a game like D&D, where originality and immersion are everything, finding ways to keep things new and exciting is always worth it.
