The last time we created a dungeon using ChatGPT¹. Today we will stock it full of content.

For simplicity, in my prompts I use a stocking procedure from Basic Fantasy², p.158 (Stock the Dungeon), and a monster table derived from Swords & Wizardry Complete³, p.79-80. As usual, I encourage you to experiment and tinker with these yourself, replacing the elements to better fit the system you run.

Contents

• Prompts
• Output
• Verdict

Prompts ↩

1: Stocking rules

I want you to describe the contents of the dungeon rooms for tabletop role-playing game, the general appearance of which I will provide to you. While doing so, you must strictly follow the rules below.

For each room that I will present to you, roll a d100 die. The percentile result will decide the type of the room's contents:

1) 01-16: Empty

2) 17-20: Unguarded Treasure

Unguarded Treasure should be hidden. Here are some examples of hidden treasure. Based on these examples, create your own entries:
- beneath the floor tile
- under the furniture
- integrated into the room's decor
- behind the painting on the wall
- behind the loose brick
- in plain sight, disguised as something worthless

There should be a 1-in-6 chance of Treasure being a magical item (roll for this chance, and on result of 1 specify which magic item it is).

3) 21-60: Monster
The rules for determining the Monster will be presented in my next message, where I will specify the dungeon level difficulty.

4) 61-84: Monster with Treasure

This might be a monster lair, or monsters carrying some loot. The rules for determining the Monster will be presented in my next message, where I will specify the dungeon level difficulty.

There should be a 1-in-6 chance of Treasure being a magical item (roll for this chance, and on result of 1 specify which magic item it is).

5) 85-88: Special

Here are some examples of Special rooms. Based on these examples, create your own entries:
- moaning room
- illusory door, stairs, or corridor
- talking statue
- magic pool or fountain
- magic gate to another room
- flying weapons which attack only if disturbed

6) 89-96: Trap

Here are some examples of Traps. Based on these examples, create your own entries:
- alarm alerting nearby monsters
- arrow trap
- poison dart trap
- poison gas trap
- fog (looks like poison but harmless)
- spiked pit trap
- falling ceiling trap
- pendulum blade trap
- chute to the next level
- falling gate that blocks passage

7) 97-100: Trap with Treasure

Here are some examples of Traps with Treasure (the treasure itself is trapped). Based on these examples, create your own entries:
- poison needle
- spring-fired darts
- blinding flash of light trap
- poison snake trap
- poison gas trap
- spray that attracts monsters trap
- illusionary trap
- guarding spell trap

There should be a 2-in-6 chance of Treasure being a magical item (roll for this chance, and on result of 1 or 2 specify which magic item it is).


Do you understand these rules?

Yes, I understand the rules. When you present me with the general appearance of a dungeon room, I will roll a d100 die and provide you with a description of the contents of the room based on the percentile result, following the guidelines you have provided.

2: Dungeon level description

Now, using the rules I've stated above, you will generate the contents of each room I will describe to you in the following messages.

All these rooms are located at the same level of the dungeon, so specific contents of all rooms should be somewhat related. This is the first level of the dungeon, and the difficulty of this dungeon level should be challenging for a party of four first-level adventurers.

For rooms containing monsters, roll an d8 die and follow the table below:
1) 3d8 giant rats
2) 3d6 goblins
3) 2d6 orcs
4) 1d6 hobgoblins
5) 2d4 skeletons
6) 1 ghoul
7) 1d3 hobgoblins and 1d6 orcs
8) 1d2 hobgoblins and 1d6 goblins

Do you understand?

Yes, I understand. For each room you describe, I will roll a d100 die to determine its contents, and for rooms containing monsters, I will roll a d8 die to determine the type and quantity of monsters. The difficulty of this dungeon level should be challenging for a party of four first-level adventurers.

3: Dungeon rooms

Now, just feed ChatGPT room by room of your dungeon level.

A gatehouse: main entrance to the castle - two square towers with a gate and portcullis between them.

Rolling a d100 for the contents of the gatehouse room...

The result is 42.

Rolling a d8 to determine the type and number of monsters, I get a result of 2, which means there are 3d6 goblins in the room.

The goblins hiding behind crates and barrels near the entrance. The goblins are armed with short swords and small shields and are on the lookout for intruders.

Output ↩

I won't bore you with an entire dialogue, but here are some interesting results. Note the ChatGPT's ability to keep in mind and embellish the context.

Using elements from the room prompt

Throne room: columns, high ceilings, tapestries, ornate decorations, a large throne at the far end.

Rolling a d100 for the contents of the throne room...

The result is 12.

This room is empty, devoid of any contents. However, the party can examine the throne to see if there is any hidden treasure. A successful investigation check reveals a small compartment in the armrest of the throne, where the party finds 100 gold pieces and a small silver key. The purpose of the key is not immediately clear, but it might be useful later in the dungeon.

Creating elaborate traps

Main corridor: lined with banners, weapons and shields, a statue at one end.

This room contains a Trap. As the party walks down the corridor, they trigger a pressure plate in the floor, which causes a section of the wall to slide open and reveal a hidden alcove with 2d4 skeletons armed with rusted swords and shields. The skeletons attack the party, and the pressure plate also triggers a trap that causes the banners to fall from the walls, revealing a hidden arrow trap. The arrow trap shoots at the party from the other end of the corridor, causing 1d6 damage to each member. After defeating the skeletons, the party finds a hidden compartment behind the statue, where they find a Scroll of Protection from Evil, a Wand of Magic Missiles with three charges left, and 150 gold pieces.

Processing groups of rooms

Guest rooms (ten rooms): each with four-poster bed and a chest.

Certainly! Here are the contents of each guest room:

1. Empty
2. Monster: 3d6 goblins
3. Empty
4. Monster: 3d8 giant rats
5. Empty
6. Unguarded treasure: a small chest hidden under the bed containing 20 gold coins and a potion of healing.
7. Monster with treasure: 2d6 orcs guarding a chest containing 50 silver coins and a scroll of mage armor.
8. Empty
9. Trap: A tripwire that triggers a spiked pit trap.
10. Special: A portrait on the wall that seems to follow the characters as they move around the room. If they investigate, they find a hidden compartment behind the portrait containing a magical ring of jumping.

Struggling with follow-up questions

Priest's quarters: bed, cabinet, and a locked chest.

The priest's quarters consist of a small room with a single bed, a small wooden cabinet for clothes, and a locked chest at the foot of the bed. The room is modestly decorated with a simple rug on the floor and a few religious icons on the walls. A small window lets in a bit of natural light, but it's mostly dimly lit. The locked chest appears to be made of sturdy wood and has a simple lock on the front. There is a faint smell of incense in the room, indicating that the priest likely spends a lot of time in prayer and meditation.

What is in this chest?

As an AI language model, I do not have access to the specific details of this imaginary dungeon, so I cannot know exactly what is in the chest in the Priest's quarters. It is up to the game master or storyteller to decide what the contents of the chest might be, and what significance it might have in the story. It could contain a variety of items such as holy relics, magical items, important documents, or even dangerous traps.

Just generate  something appropriate.

Inside the locked chest, you find a collection of holy relics, including a silver chalice, a small vial of holy water, and a wooden cross adorned with rubies. There is also a leather-bound book with gold lettering on the cover, which appears to be a prayer book.

Verdict ↩

So, what conclusion can we make from this experiment?

How ChatGPT can be useful in dungeon design?

• a fast and easy to use random generator with a natural language configuration
• a useful tool for brainstorming and providing seeds of inspiration
• a draft generator for the room descriptions

What ChatGPT will not replace? Your creativity, original ideas, and taste. Using its output "as-is" will surely result in bland, repetitive, wordy, and sometimes illogical content. However, when used as an assistance tool, it might help you nevertheless.

Based on ChatGPT responses and a map I've drawn previously, here's a mini-module. Of course, I've changed and expanded a lot of things to make it more interesting and coherent, but tried to preserve the spirit of the original prompts, where it was possible. The module is compatible with Swords & Wizardry, but you can just as easily run it with any OSR system.

(And, of course, the cover and interior illustration was generated by a Stable Diffusion model)

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