If, like me, you want to play more tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), there is a perfect AI tool, especially if you plan on playing as a Dungeon Master.
I recently watched Alien Romulus and loved it, so much so that I wanted to dive back into it by any means possible. One of the best experiences I've had with this universe is the TTRPG Alien. I found the game to be immersive and my last campaign was a roller coaster of immersion and fun, even when a Xenomorph rugby player tackled me out of the ship my group was escaping in.
However, planning and playing a TTRPG can be stressful, and running one as a DM is even more so. There are so many things that go into creating an adventure that it can be a real-time sync that turns many people off. However, that's where LoreKeeper comes in, and in my time playing it I've found it to be a real game changer, even though it's still in beta.
What is LoreKeeper?
The first question that needs to be answered is what LoreKeeper actually is. Luckily, I had the chance to speak with two of the developers, Ali and David, about LoreKeeper and what it can do for aspiring Dungeon Masters. When asked to describe it, David replied, “LoreKeeper is a system that allows you to upload your own rules, your gods, your monsters, your homebrew, whatever, your own little world and then you can turn it into an AI, a private AI that you can interrogate.”
LoreKeeper is the perfect tool for any DM, it can create adventures and characters with ease and even answer questions about player characters. LoreKeeper takes a lot of the stress out of being a DM, no matter what game you're playing. It can even help you create your own homebrew and streamline the whole process.
However, the AI focuses on helping the DM, rather than replacing them, which was important to the developers. David said, “We think the game is the game,” and then added, “It's about being with people and talking and doing silly voices and not trying to take that away from them, but being a help, because a lot of the weight is on the Dungeon Master.” Lorekeeper is designed to make the DM's life easier and saves hours of prep time, making it much easier to get a game started.
However, the real question for any aspiring or seasoned DM will be how good the experience of using LoreKeeper is and whether the game can really do everything it promises. I had the chance to test out the current beta of LoreKeeper, which included several pre-built game systems. One of these was the Alien RPG, which I'll be focusing on.
How LoreKeeper Helps You Create a Campaign
I chose Alien because I love the series and the latest movie piqued my interest. So I wanted to see if I could use AI to create a deep journey that I could adapt and change based on my players’ actions. So I asked him to write an adventure in which Weyland Yutani would seal a habitation block after placing several Xenomorph eggs inside. This block would be filled with characters from different backgrounds, including the player characters. This simple description formed the basis for “The Hive Within,” which was the AI-generated title.
First off, LoreKeeper couldn't be easier to use once it's fully set up. All you have to do is ask a question or request a scenario. You can be as specific as you want about what you want in the story and setting, and LoreKeeper will create a detailed adventure. In this case, it created three acts, some sample characters, and even sample encounters. It's a great base for a DM to start a game and gives players a good framework to work from. However, LoreKeeper can go even further.
Let's say I want to add a new villain or event, I just have to tell the AI to include it in the current plot. LoreKeeper will then rewrite the original scenario with the new parameters while keeping the basic story. This means that the DM can easily add changes on the fly without having to suddenly rewrite everything and make the players wait for weeks. If you've played a TTRPG you've experienced this, I know I have.
In my last Dungeons and Dragons campaign, I made the mistake of blowing up a warehouse. On its own, this wouldn't have been a problem, but this warehouse also contained vital plot points and was a crucial focal point for the entire campaign. Now, to be fair to my DM, the chance of my fireball blowing up this warehouse was about 1 in 100, but this action completely derailed the campaign. This meant that the poor Dungeon Master had to essentially rewrite the entire campaign, which is a very time-consuming process. However, with LoreKeeper, this only takes a few moments because all the DM will have to do is tell the AI to adapt the plot to account for this.
LoreKeeper can do more than just write a campaign, it can also write dialogue. So for example, I added a scientist Weyland Yutani to “The Hive Within” and mentioned his obsession with Xenomorphs. I could even have the AI write a speech for him with some notes from myself about the character's personality, the speech Lorekeeper created is as follows:
“Ah, there you are, my little lab rats. Welcome to the grand experiment. I am Dr. Victor Lang, your supervisor and the architect of this magnificent chaos. You see, my dear Xenomorphs, these humans are here to serve a higher purpose. They are the vessels of your perfection, the stepping stones in the grand design of evolution. “Humans, consider yourselves honored. You are blessed to host the ultimate life form. Painful? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely. Your suffering is but a small price for the birth of perfection. So hurry, try to survive if you can. Every move you make, every scream you let out, I will be watching. Learn. Enjoy your fleeting moments. Welcome to your destiny and the future of life itself.”
As you can see, this is a great foundation for the DM to work on and add their own twist to, especially if they want to develop their voice acting skills. There is no doubt that writing dialogue is one of the trickiest skills, so including it is a big win for any DM.
Overall I found LoreKeeper to be great, it certainly made my life easier, although I have to say that having to pay for credits can be a bit off-putting for some. However, if you play a lot of board games, it's definitely a great tool to save time and add new variations. I should also mention that LoreKeeper will still require you to purchase the companion books for the main game systems, so you'll need to own them to get the most out of LoreKeeper. It can also be a bit of a hassle to get started, but luckily there's a helpful Discord where users and developers are happy to offer a helping hand.
I also like the number of game systems you can set up in LoreKeeper. For example, I was able to create a campaign in Imerpium Maledictum, a game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, where the entire party was Orks masquerading as humans. The addition of the ability to add homebrew is another fantastic feature, and opens LoreKeeper up to people who may not play games, but who may want to write novels or screenplays and need a place to bounce ideas off each other.
While there is no free plan, you can purchase credits for $5, $10, or $15 and use what you need. You can also pay for a monthly subscription that is set in tiers and can cost $10, $20, or $50 and offers unlimited credits and downloads for your worlds, with the amount you can download limited by the tier you select. While this is a bit pricey, you can split the cost with your entire group of players and it is still cheaper than renting a space to play each month.
So if you're looking to speed up and improve your DMing, create interesting adventures, or plot out a world for that fantasy novel you're working on, then LoreKeeper is a great place to start.