News Roundup: AI Researchers Test Its Ability to Experience D&D Combat

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This week’s issue takes a closer look at new research from the University of California that attempts to evaluate the capabilities of large language models aka the technology powering AI like ChatGPT with Dungeons and Dragons combat. It’s both interesting from a technology angle as well as illustrative of the technology’s limitations.

AI At the Table: University Researchers Force ChatGPT to Play D&D

Generative AI within the TTRPG community is a tumultuous topic that regularly sparks controversy and draws the ire of fans. That hasn’t stopped AI researchers from using Dungeons and Dragons to test AI’s ability to obey rules and act in-character.

The University of California-San Diego published a new paper from its Department of Computer Science and Engineering detailing an initiative to test whether large language models can play TTRPGs and act in a way that allows them to make good decisions, act in-character and

“Dungeons & Dragons is a natural testing ground to evaluate multistep planning, adhering to rules and team strategy,” Raj Ammanabrolu, the study’s senior author and a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego, said in a press release. “Because play unfolds through dialog, D&D also opens a direct avenue for human-AI interaction: agents can assist or coplay with other people.”

So, how did this project work?

1. The researchers developed a “fully automated D&D combat simulator where multiple LLM agents engage in battle under authentic game rules.” Certain LLMs were assigned roles as players while others acted as DMs.

2. The models were given a set number of parameters and conditions to operate within that requires them to “interpret” the broad descriptions of the DM but also operate within the mechanical limits of the game. For example, the DM LLM might say that a bandit shot at a player, but the player LLM has to interpret that through the in-game mechanics (rolling a dice to beat the set armor-class of the character.)

3. The designers introduced a “prompting scheme” that require the LLMs to fulfill their roles and collaborate. The models were basically talking to each other.

4. The gameplay was limited to combat, which allowed the study to focus specifically on the mechanical elements of D&D 5e rather than, say, improvisation or roleplay. The researchers said they wanted to try this with campaigns in the future.

The interactions were run multiple times and evaluated based on six metrics:

• Function Usage (the ability of the LLM to interact with the rules)

• Parameter Fidelity (the accuracy of operations within the set rules)

• Acting Quality (How ‘in-character’ the LLMs acted)

• Tactical Optimality (The LLMs’ ability to make smart combat decisions)

• State Tracking (how well the AI tracks the state of their character, such as HP or spell slots)

• Function Efficiency (the AI’s ability to optimize and keep going.)

The researchers found that while LLMs provided a “promising result in rule-based conversation simulation", nearly all of them exhibited “progressive degradation in long-horizon scenarios.” In other words, the models tested can operate within the ruleset of D&D for a time, but they get worse at it the longer they operate. Their memory begins to degrade, and they start forgetting what happened at turn 1.

Why Does This Matter? AI DMs are a growing marketplace, as developers and startups strive to make AI run D&D for you if you want it. There’s a plethora of AI-powered D&D tools on the market, though quality can vary depending on a number of factors. So I do believe this space is important to watch as more and more people try to use this technology to supplement and even replace their DMing.

At the same time, studies like this reflect the limitations of the models themselves. They can operate within rulesets like D&D, but they start to lose memory the longer they go. There’s also evidence that they struggle to generate meaningfully interesting, consistent content that aligns with the past. I’ve spoken to people who have tested AI’s ability to supplement prewritten campaigns. The bot may start making certain parts of gameplay easy, but it went completely off the rails and forgot key facts of the story despite being provided the source text to do so.

That’s to say nothing of the economic, ethical, environmental and copyright questions related to LLMs and AI. There’s a reason I embrace an AI-skeptical position at TTRPG Insider. But coverage of the technology and how TTRPGs are being used within it will remain an important part of what I do going forward.

DriveThruRPG’s Print-on-Demand Books to Increase in Price in February

DriveThruRPG, arguably the largest TTRPG distributor online, announced that it is increasing the price for all “print-on-demand” texts starting in February. These specifically affect books that DTRPG prints from its own presses.

Books printed in the United Kingdom or Australia will increase by 3% regardless of content. Books published in the United States may show slight variations. Standard color books will cost 4% more, while premium color and B&W books will now cost 5% more.

The price increase isn’t an attempt to increase profits but to cover the growing costs of publishing overall, according to GeekNative.

DTRPG adopted similar price increases in Dec. 2025, when it announced that the cost of POD cards would increase.

Book prices overall have been on the rise for several years, according to Book Riot. That is mostly due to rising raw costs of physical publishing for a variety of economic reasons, though tariffs may further escalate those costs in the long term.

SoulMuppet Publishing Launches Orbital Blues Month, Joining the Wave of “Backer Months” on Backerkit

SoulMuppet Publishing, the people behind Paint the Town Red, Inevitable and other TTRPGs, announced that it will host Orbital Blues Month in April as the latest “Backer Month” over at Backerkit.

The campaign will center around Orbital Blues: Outlaws and Corporation, an expansion for the “lo-fi space western RPG” that SoulMuppet published in 2022. Outlaws and Corporation “is filled with new setting and adventure content, showcasing the best and worst that both the corporate elite and outlaw miscreants have to offer. This book is printed in an unusual head-to-foot style, with its two companion halves bound together into a double-covered book.”

The book will be accompanied by at least seven additional projects, including supplements written by Plus One EXP’s team and an audio drama produced by AP performer Dillin Apelyan of One Shot Network.

This is the third “Month” scheduled for 2026 so far. Goodman Games has partnered with several publishers to release several “megadungeons” on Backerkit in April, while Necrotic Gnome is intending to host Old School Essentials Month in May.

The Month trend, as we covered in our interview with Backerkit’s CEO, is an opportunity for third-party companies to team up with a major publisher and release projects that relate to the same system at the same time. It saw initial success in 2024 and 2025, but the novelty is wearing off for those of us who closely watch the space.

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Did you miss the big D&D news of the week? D&D’s coming to Fortnite, Doug Bowser’s coming to Hasbro and third-party content is coming to D&D Beyond. I got a roundup from earlier for your consideration.

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