2019/05/07

GPT-2 Plot Generator

You may have heard about the GPT-2 language model. It's one those fancy new programs that generates reasonable-sounding paragraphs, essays, or news articles from a single prompt. Adam King (@AdamDanielKing) has created Talk to Transformer, a fun little site where you can enter a prompt and let a (weak) version of GPT-2 fill in a paragraph or two.

The responses don't make a lot of sense but sometimes they make excellent plot hooks or setting fodder for D&D-type games. Text in bold was my prompt; all other text is the response.

Let's just say I'm at sea...

Putting in "This promised to be an excellent [weird adjective] adventure" usually generates something good.



See what I mean? I suspect this thing could eventually give a few RPG publishers a run for their money.
You can see why the authors were worried their model could be used to create plausible but vacuous papers, newspaper articles, reviews, etc.
On the other hand it still has a ways to go...
Suddenly, Nixon!
Now that's how you introduce a psychic apocalypse.
Can any Lord of the Rings fans confirm if this is canon? /s
Seems it can do occult horror too.

It can even generate dialogue if it's given a prompt with the right format. Nobody told it what dialogue is. It just figured it out.

Anyway, give it a try! It's a fun little tool. Post links to really good ones in the comments or create a blogpost of your own.


EDIT: Folks, we're all out of work.

Yup.

24 comments:

  1. And so the Knight of Dusk went forth and rode through the Forest of the Dead and through the Nightingale's Forest, and he wandered through the Land of Life and the Land of Death, and when he came to the Mountain of the Sun, he climbed that mountain. Now all those who looked on him as he went could see the light that shone therein, and they said he appeared to be of a noble quality of body, and the way to him led far and wide. (11:3)

    "What is that?"

    "Now, when the knight reached where he had been riding, he saw the Light and saw who he was."

    "What's the Light?"

    "Now when the knight saw it he felt it, and his spirit moved with it and said to his soul, 'Be thou light, then, for my Light is near.'"

    (11:4-6)

    But there was not a one who answered him of that kind. Then he said: "My soul's Light is as light to thee that I can behold, and I behold it." So he strode, and he went through the Nighting

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  2. Machine stole my ideas!

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  3. In a similar vein, for those who haven't seen it: gpt-2 powered text adventure/dungeon crawl [1]

    http://aidungeon.io/

    [1] Well, the typical surreal approximation you get from machine learning.

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    Replies
    1. Oh my goodness, this is awesome/stupid/crazy/trippy!

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  4. Fascinating. Here's mine:

    He walked into the room and drew his sword. Inside was a man's man. They both looked at one another. "What's wrong?" the man asked. It wasn't the same guy; this was different.

    "The boy, sir, is really a spy for the city."

    "What?" the man said. This man and I are the same. We are just different places in the world.

    "I'm going to help your son," Nardieu said. "You see, he told you he could. He told you that there really was…someone in the city."

    "And so I told you what."

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  5. Deep in the Rust Waste, there is a warped mountain. Enter the mountain, and you find the city of Lodeback, a forgotten metropolis in the wilderness. Lodeback, like the name implies, is a fortress. Lodeback's castle, located in one of the hills, is inhabited by a strange race of dwarves. To the outside world they are unknown beasts, but to the dwarves they are friends of the mountain, and they spend their spare time learning magic. For generations, their power has been growing, and with it the power of the fortress, which allows dwarves to travel to the land of the dead. At first, the dwarves tried to avoid being captured by the people who dwelled upon Lodeback. Their only refuge was the tunnels beneath it, but eventually they gave in and accepted slavery if they could do so. Once the slaves learned to use magic, however, something changed for them.

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  6. Random encounters on the Wilting Sea:
    1. One Kraken, tentacles writhing, swallowing ships
    2. Three longship, full of raiders armed to the teeth
    3. Five hobgoblin merchants, selling suspicous potions

    3a. One pirate captain, armed with a whip with a needle inside that can easily penetrate deep into the flesh
    3b. Fungus and rotting flesh, the only flesh left of hundreds. Each is full of dead sailors. They wear chains, leather, chains, and rope
    You have been given all these items from this island. You have never seen or used them before. As long as you are careful, you will find some things easy to obtain.
    After a short moment (20 seconds), the sun will be up with a huge amount of steam rising out of the earth. It has already reached the horizon where you are. You don't need to go out and hunt this thing, but if your luck is bad, you can still come across one of its tentacles that will turn into a longsword, which

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  7. **And KETER, the artificial god, spoke to his Disciples. And he said** unto them: Go then and make war upon all men that live here on earth, that ye do me injury in any thing that you shall undertake, for the life of this kingdom is at stake, and the living must live. Then came all the disciples, and went their way. And in that day they called to KETER: What is your name? he would not take the Name of the Master. KETER said unto them: My name is King, and Master of the faithful. And as one goeth before him, so should all of you; and if thou canst make peace with man and wife, then come unto me, and let us go, and we will make all men peace. Then KETER spoke unto His Disciples for to be healed. And he spoke unto them many things; and they made peace according to his word. And the disciples went, and they made peace. And they saw that they were healed.


    And KETER spake unto them: Behold the time comes

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  8. Some components are easier to come by than others...

    "Components to complete the ritual:
    1. heart of a once dear friend" or someone you have lost
    2. a small piece of paper which has either a name (with or without a date) or a link to a profile of a potential friend and/or co-worker
    3. an envelope, perhaps similar to the instructions for the other ritual, which will arrive by the same plane and will hold the heart of your beloved for the duration of the ritual
    4. the ritual itself
    6. a small wooden box with a hole on the side
    1) A message to the recipient's parents
    2) Information about the time, place, person, and destination of the next ritual
    3) The information about the person to send the heart of a friend or co-worker. It should say whom he/she is going to call, as well as what they are going to do, why they are going to do it, and why he/she should trust a heart of a friend or co-worker.
    4) The heart of a stranger.
    The ritual is as follows:
    1

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    1. "Consecrated Curiass

      armor class: as plate, damage adsorption: 0, death save +2

      rusted breastplate pulled from a holy font. angelic chimes ring when armor is struck."


      Havoc

      armor class: shield, life regen: 1, resistance to acid: 0, vulnerability to cold: 0

      cave-made armor.


      Gloves of the Master

      armor class: shield, spell resistance(16): 0, resistance(20): 0, cold save -2

      nasty leather gloves with magic, but with 1% chance of melting while worn (cold)

      Delete
  9. Treasure Table for the Lunatics Lounge
    1. An opium pipe, half full
    2. A dagger with a pearl handle
    3. A vial of horse's blood
    4. A half dozen bowls of opium
    6. A cup of opium
    7. A flask of opium
    8. A bowl of human fat and hair
    9. One of several jars full of opium
    10. One of many jars full of blood
    11. One of several jars full of human fat and hair
    12. One of many jars full of heroin
    13. One of several jars containing opium
    14. 1 gold coin
    16. One hundred thousand gold pieces
    19. One hundred thousand gold pieces
    24. One jar full of blood
    31. 1 jar full of horse's blood
    44. One of many jars full of horse's blood
    60. 1 jar of horse's blood
    74. 2 jars of horse's blood
    81. 2 jars of human fat and hair
    88. 1 jug of oil
    89. 2 jars of horse's blood
    97. 3 jars of horse's blood "The Last of The Blood Angels"

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  10. President: I want to invade Russia.
    Aide: Why Mr President?
    President: Because Russia invaded Ukraine.
    Aide: Why Mr President?
    President: Because I don't want to go to the UK, Mr President.
    Aide: Why Mr President?
    President: Cause we're going to get killed.

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  11. ‘You’ve been arrested but the Invincible Overlord of the Grand Empire, and are being dragged to the gallows for execution when’ the authorities decide to try us for treason! If we aren't found guilty by the authorities we can be executed after the day is up because of us‮!‰‬

    I am so scared. I didn't trust even the Invincible Overlord because of this sudden change in the situation. At any cost if I tried to help the group I'm trapped, and there are others as well, and even more people are in danger! I can only sit here and hope that there isn't an assassin with my appearance there.

    "There's no way for me to stop this! I still have my own life! I'm still innocent! I'm just a member of this group."

    Even if he was innocent like most innocent citizens, even if he had been the one to kill Yuigahama with her own hands and not me, I wouldn't be the only innocent. If I was an

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  12. Sweet. I've asked TtT to complete AD&D spells. The results are...special. I want that Wartoad and Golden Vizier, though: https://thethingswedoforxp.blogspot.com/2019/05/neural-network-spells.html

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  13. Aaaaah yes, the true four classes: Fighter, Wizard, Sparrow, Aerobater. The truest of editions!

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  14. You could put this further - don't just use it for adventure design, use it for everything! Let it decides what your character does!

    GM: So... erm… yeah that's what's going on. Player 1, what do you do about this?
    Player 1: Oh boy. so...
    Tarkol attacked the goblin with his axe.

    "I am the first-time victim of the Mender Plague! My skin has turned blue and I cannot fly! It is so dangerous!"

    "It's going to come to bite you in the face!" said Tarkol, and the hobgoblin leapt off the cliff. "But wait!" he shouted, and his axe landed in Tarkol's hands. "Come on, there's bread in that chest," said the goblin. "Eat it," Tarkol replied and he got in the chest.

    Tarkol then went home and got a bucket of milk and eggs. He then took the bucket of milk and the eggs to the village, threw them in the chest and went to the Goblin King.

    "I am so sad," said the king, "for our dear brother, and he has no friends! I hope he will find the one who helped him to become a man.

    Tarkol then went straight to his bed. "It is a mistake, king," he laughed.

    Next morning he woke up happy and felt healthy and strong again. "No


    GM: ... wow.

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  15. The Forest of Kraarg is fucking metal

    Random Encounter Table for the Forest of Kraarg:
    1. A giant spider, spinning a web to catch deer.
    2. A hollow tree filled with blood.
    (generator starts here)
    3. A small village of people that have fallen to the evil sorcerer.
    4. 3 large skeletons in a hollow tree.
    5. 2 small skeletons in a hollow tree - they are in need of blood.
    6. A wooden door that says:
    "I'll give you my blood!"
    7. A skeleton holding a sword . If you talk to it, it will give you the blood of a man.
    8. A skull with a skull on it - you have to get it to open it.
    9. A zombie on top of a pile of bones.
    10. A zombie with a knife in its hand.
    11. A small skeleton holding a dagger.
    12. A black spider with spikes sticking out of its back.
    13. An empty room surrounded by burning ashes and rubble.
    14. Alligators, giant snakes and even humanoids are everywhere.
    15. An empty, damp cave in the jungle.
    16. The village of Kraarg.

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    Replies
    1. How to slay a dragon:
      Step 1: Buy a sword
      Step 2: Find an evil dragon and make him fight your dragon

      Step 3: Kill it to get the dragon, kill it to get your dragon back
      Step 4: Find your Dragon in the forest and ride it home to save your soul... but that is not easy.
      Step 5: Kill the Evil dragon, then return to town and kill Evil Dragon #2

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    2. That seems like entirely too many steps... and dragons.

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    3. Then again, riding a dragon home to save your soul is no easy task

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    4. Every time I tried this (the prompt goes up to "find an evil dragon") the number of dragons you had to slay increased

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  16. I ended up making a dungeon with it, The Tomb of the Daughter...
    https://eldritchfields.blogspot.com/2019/05/adventure-tomb-of-daughter.html

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  17. Prompt shamelessly stolen from another of your posts... I absolutely LOVE the Lethal Armguard!


    Artificial Leg: Reduces Movement by 2. Can include a hollow compartment that can hold 1 dagger, 1 wand, or 1 vial of liquid poison. You can use this trick on your armor or you give it to one of your companions and let them choose which leg you'd like to use. If your companion takes the vial, you must wait as long as it takes you take all damage. This trick has a duration of 1 turn.

    Lethal Armguard: If you roll a d6, your arm can become your partner instead of your foe. Your arm becomes unarmed and has resist poison. As normal, this is a 1 move action on your turn. (While you are armed, your movement is limited to 1 mile per round.) You can use this trick one target per day without penalty. Your limb only ends when the trick wears off.

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