Introducing Luna Moonshadow, the AI Generated Witch

At my day job, my work is increasingly trying to adapt to AI generative techniques. I am not going to go into any details here about that. Suffice it to say that about 20% of my day is given over to AI now. 

I am coming into today's post with about four+ months of doing nothing but deep diving into all sorts of AI tools.  I decided to turn these powerful tools over to what is essentially one of my bread-and-butter topics here; creating new witch characters.

Now before I go on here, I want to state this unequivocally. I have no desire to use AI-generated text in any future blog posts unless it is clearly stated (like this one), and NO desire to put any generated text into my books. 

It's not that I have issues with AI or on moral grounds. I just believe that people like to buy my stuff because it is my stuff; written by me. Having used these tools, you all can go out and do this on your own. You don't need me for that.

But today's post is about seeing just what these powerful tools can do.

For today's post, I am using the tools ChatGPT, Google Bard, and MidJourney. I choose these three because they are right now the most powerful at what they do. Let's see if they can replace me.

Today's experiment. Can these tools create a new witch character with a background, art, and, better still, D&D stats?

I asked both Chat GPT and Bard to generate a legendary witch on par with Circe, Medea, Morgan LeFey, and other mytho-historical witches. I also asked the same of Bard.  Once I got these, I then copied and pasted text into MidJourney to produce an image of this witch. 

Here are the results.

Luna Moonshadow

From ChatGPT:

Born during the Dark Ages in a small village nestled deep in the woods, Luna was known for her mysterious aura and captivating beauty.

From a young age, Luna exhibited a natural talent for magic, drawing power from the moon and the stars. She honed her skills in secret, practicing ancient and forbidden spells that she discovered in ancient tomes hidden in the depths of the forest. As she grew older, her powers grew stronger, and she became known for her ability to control the elements and manipulate time itself.

Luna's reputation as a witch spread far and wide, and many sought her counsel and assistance. She was revered by some as a wise and benevolent witch, using her powers to heal the sick and protect the innocent. However, others feared her power and saw her as a threat to their beliefs and way of life.

In history, Luna Moonshadow played a pivotal role in a conflict known as the "War of the Witches." This was a dark period in history when witches and sorcerers were hunted down and persecuted by the ruling powers. Luna was a staunch advocate for the rights of witches, leading a rebellion against the oppression they faced. Her mastery of magic and strategic prowess led her to become a formidable leader in the battle against the witch hunters.

Despite facing numerous challenges and betrayals, Luna's unwavering determination and bravery inspired others to join her cause. She used her magical abilities to defend her fellow witches and fight for their freedom. Her legend grew as tales of her exploits spread, and she became a symbol of resistance against tyranny.

Ultimately, Luna Moonshadow's efforts led to a turning point in history, as the tide of the war shifted in favor of the witches. Her leadership and sacrifices paved the way for a new era of acceptance and tolerance towards witches and their magical abilities. Luna's legacy endured, and she became a revered figure in history, celebrated as a powerful and influential witch who fought for justice and equality for her fellow witches, leaving a lasting impact on the world of magic.

Not bad. Maybe a bit clichéd. So I asked it to generate "Dungeons & Dragons stats" for her.

Again, ChatGPT: 

Character Name: Luna Moonshadow
Race: Elf
Class: Sorcerer
Background: Folk Hero
Alignment: Chaotic Good

Ability Scores:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 18
Proficiencies:

Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Arcana, Persuasion, Medicine, Nature
Armor: None
Weapons: Daggers, Quarterstaffs, Darts, Slings
Features and Abilities:

Sorcerer's Spellcasting: Luna can cast spells using Charisma as her spellcasting ability, and she knows a number of spells from the Sorcerer spell list.

Font of Magic: Luna has access to sorcery points, which she can use to fuel her metamagic abilities or to convert into additional spell slots.

Metamagic: Luna can use her sorcery points to manipulate her spells, choosing from options such as Twin Spell, Quickened Spell, or Subtle Spell, among others.

Fey Ancestry: Being an Elf, Luna has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and she can't be put to sleep by magical means.

Folk Hero Background: Luna is well-respected among her fellow witches and is seen as a hero for her role in the War of the Witches. She has proficiency in Animal Handling and gains a set of artisan's tools.

Equipment:
Quarterstaff
Component pouch
Explorer's pack
Common clothes
A pouch containing 15 gold pieces

Spells Known:
Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost
1st Level Spells: Shield, Sleep, Charm Person, Thunderwave
2nd Level Spells: Invisibility, Misty Step, Scorching Ray
3rd Level Spells: Fireball, Counterspell, Fly

Luna Moonshadow is a powerful sorcerer with a keen understanding of magic and a reputation as a folk hero. Her abilities as a sorcerer and her determination to fight for the rights of witches make her a formidable and respected character in any Dungeons & Dragons campaign.

Well...not exactly right, but not bad for an AI. It defaulted to some strange version of D&D 5e. I ran the same thing in Google's Bard:

Race: Human
Class: Warlock
Background: Sage
Alignment: Chaotic Good

Strength: 8 (+0)
Dexterity: 14 (+2)
Constitution: 12 (+1)
Intelligence: 16 (+3)
Wisdom: 14 (+2)
Charisma: 18 (+4)

Hit Points: 12 (1d8 + 2)
Armor Class: 12 (studded leather)
Speed: 30 ft.

Skills: Arcana +6, Deception +8, History +6, Insight +6, Investigation +6, Nature +6, Perception +6, Persuasion +8, Prestidigitation +6, Stealth +4

Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16

Languages: Common, Elvish

Equipment: a dagger, a component pouch, a book of spells, a set of common clothes, and a traveler's clothes

Spellcasting: Morrigan is a 1st-level warlock. She knows the following warlock spells:
Cantrips (0-level): light, mage hand, prestidigitation
1st level (4 slots): hex, magic missile, shield

Luna's Other Abilities:
Shapechanger. Luna can use her action to polymorph into a crow or raven, or back into her true form. She can remain in her alternate form for up to 1 hour. Any equipment she is wearing or carrying melds into her new form. She reverts to her true form if she dies, falls unconscious, or chooses to do so (no action required).

Witch Sight. Luna can see innately into the Ethereal Plane. She can see invisible creatures on the Ethereal Plane, and she can see into the Border Ethereal as if it were lightly obscured.

Fey Presence. Luna has advantage on Charisma (Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion) checks against humanoids. She can use her action to frighten humanoids that can see her within 30 feet of her. Each frightened humanoid must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC 14) or be frightened of Morrigan for 1 minute. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Not too dissimilar, but I like it a bit better. Again, D&D 5e and Bard told me it grabbed all this data from the 5e d20 SRD. So that was a nice touch, really. 

My next test was can it do the same thing if I specified AD&D 1st Edition.  The results were pretty interesting and surprising.

Certainly! Here's a character sheet for Luna Moonshadow in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition:

Name: Luna Moonshadow
Class: Witch
Race: Elf
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Level: 10

Ability Scores:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 18

Saving Throws:
Paralyzation/Poison/Death Magic: 10
Rod/Staff/Wand: 12
Petrification/Polymorph: 11
Breath Weapon: 13
Spell: 14

Hit Points: 55
Armor Class: 6 (Leather Armor)

Weapons:
Quarterstaff: 1d6
Dagger: 1d4

Equipment:
Quarterstaff
Dagger
Component pouch
Backpack
10 torches
Bedroll
Rations (1 week)
Waterskin
Healing potions (2)
Spellbook

Spells:
1st Level: Charm Person, Detect Magic, Light, Sleep, Magic Missile
2nd Level: Invisibility, Levitate, Web, Mirror Image, Scorching Ray
3rd Level: Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Fly, Counterspell, Dispel Magic

Special Abilities:
Familiar: Luna has a familiar in the form of a black raven named Shadow, who aids her in her spellcasting and grants her additional abilities.
Witchcraft: Luna has access to various witchcraft abilities, such as brewing potions, divination, and the ability to curse or bless others.

Luna Moonshadow is a skilled and experienced witch who has honed her craft through years of study and practice. Her expertise in spellcasting, combined with her wit and resourcefulness, make her a formidable ally in any AD&D 1st Edition campaign. Her reputation as a folk hero and her dedication to fighting for the rights of witches further add depth and intrigue to her character.

OK! It's not a perfect write-up by any means, BUT it is surprisingly close. 

I then dumped all of this into MidJourney and had it render out a witch for me based on the descriptions.  That is the art you see here.

What To Do With This?

I am sure of one thing here. I am not out of a job just yet. Luna is a lot of fun, but there is not much to her. Well, not yet anyway.

Since I generated every aspect of her via AI tools, I am releasing her into the public domain. Not that I have to, she already was there by means of how she was made, but this particular combination of all of this text and imagery is unique. So I am releasing that. 

What does this mean? It means you are all free to take her and use her as you like. 

Put her into your games. Make her an NPC. Hell put her in a book and publish it and make a lot of money. You don't even need to tell me about it, but I would like to hear about it, though. If you kill her out of spite in your games because you don't like AI, well, I'd rather not hear about it, but you do you.

I'll tweak her myself later using my own witch rules. Based on both versions, I would make her half-elf and, given some of the other material generated, make her Patron the Morrigan. I do love that "War of the Witches" bit above too. I'll have to work that in.

I can see a lot with her now that I have been doing this. AI may have been the ground she grew in, but the seed was mine, and how I take it from here on out will be mine as well. 

Or yours.

I'll put this at the end again for the good serial position effect.

I will not use any AI generative text in any published book. Also, I will not use any AI generative text in any blog post unless I clearly mark it.

You see the "AI" label below? That is how you will know, BUT I will also clearly indicate it.

#AtoZChallenge2023: Doctor Who Jago & Litefoot (and Jenny & Vastra)

Of all the secondary characters (not companions), one of the standout successes has been the ongoing adventures of Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot. Jago & Litfoot were first introduced to us in the wonderful Tom Baker-era story "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" in 1977.  The pair, a somewhat shady theatre manager and a semi-retired academic went on to solve mysterious crimes and mysteries in Victorian London courtesy of various audio dramas from Big Finish Audio.

They were popular in their time but grew increasingly popular with the airing of the Tom Baker Doctor on PBS.

The audio dramas have also been big hits for Big Finish, with 17 completed dramas. Each one features the original actors, Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter, resuming their roles. Some even feature other Doctor Who companions such as Leela (4th Doctor) and Strax (11th Doctor). They are even sometimes guests on their contemporaries' Madam Vastra & Jenny (11th Doctor) audio dramas.

 Of course, I love the Victorian-era. So I liked "Talons" from the word go. Yes, there is some unfortunate "Yellowface" going on in the episode, something the cast and production team (who are still alive) regret and have mentioned many times. But the story is good, and the characters from this tale are wonderful. 

If Jago and Litefoot have been given new life in these audio dramas, then their Victorian-era contemporaries Vastra & Jenny (and Strax) have been given continued life in the Cubicle 7 Doctor Who RPG.

In both mediums (audio and RPGs) there are some cross-overs. But for me I love the RPG structure the best for further adventures (though the audio dramas are very, very close!)

The best thing about Jago & Litefoot is the implication that once the Doctor enters someone's life, they are forever changed and want to do more to improve their world. This has been an explicit detail in the newer series. 

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 4, Room 12

Going all the way back to Room 9 there were two tunnels, left and right.  Choosing the left tunnel (previously the right) takes the party on a twisty path that almost doubles back to a small cave.

This cave is swarming with 6 Rhagodessa. These giant spider-like monsters feed on the victims the trolls didn't finish off. Due to the influence of the chaos stone, these creatures are now Chaotic.  

They have collected treasure (U x6) in a small pile. 

Wasted Lands: Don't be the Hero, Be the God.

Busy time. I have not written anything in over two weeks, but I am hardly idle.  On my plate this week?  Playtesting the newest game from Elf Lair Games.

Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age

This is a new Swords and Sorcery RPG set in a savage lost epoch, millions of years ago. A time lost to current humanity.  Players will take on the roles of human (near human) characters struggling against the remains of the Old Ones, ancient gods and alien threats. 

These characters will fight, and struggle and eventually, they will become the Gods we know today. 

This game uses the same rule system as NIGHT SHIFT: Veteran of the Supernatural Wars.

Playtest is now underway.

I am hoping to use some of the material I have created for my own One Man's God posts in my Wasted Lands game.  In particular, I will use this to flesh out my Roman-Norse Pantheon, actually play out the legends that would later become these gods.  And of course, because I have a rep to maintain, expect to see some gods/goddesses of magic and witchcraft.

I am quite excited about this game and I hope to get you all excited about it as well. 

#AtoZChallenge2023: Doctor Who Inferno

Something a little different again since I will talk about a single serial of Doctor Who. This time it is 1970's "Inferno."  It is the second serial (from the seventh season) to feature Jon Pertwee as the Doctor in exile on Earth.  The Time Lords have crippled his TARDIS and removed all knowledge of how to Time Travel from his mind. He is stuck on Earth and not taking it well, so he tinkers with the TARDIS all the time with mostly disastrous results. 

In Inferno he manages to slip into a parallel universe with a Fascist Britain. In both universes there is an experiment to drill through the Earth's crust, but at the point they are doing will cause catastrophic problems. The fascist universe is slight ahead in time as the "prime" universe so the Doctor knows what needs to be done.

I liked this episode for a lot of reasons. First it played into my growing interest in the idea of the Multi-verse, something that I began to explore in the comic "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and later in books like "Job: A Comedy of Justice" and "The Coming of the Quantum Cats."  It was something that at the time I was really ready to enjoy.  

Secondly, and this is the big one, it was the Doctor Who episode that introduced me to other Doctors. 

Growing up I watched Doctor Who on my local (St. Louis) PBS station KETC.  Now KETC has a huge market, and they played the Tom Baker era almost exclusively. But they were not the only local PBS station. Just to the north of me was WILL out of Urbana IL and it was connected with the University of Illinois at Urbana.  While I did not get that station on our cable package there were some in town that had access to it. Also there was a steady stream of VHS tapes coming down from Urbana to my hometown from people going to school there. Inferno was one such tape.

I remember watching it in, of all places, my High School's library. One of my friends had it and was watching in the "media room" which was supposed to be off limits to general students unless you worked there. I didn't. But I was fascinated by this episode and mostly by this "new to me" Doctor. I knew Pertwee came before Baker and that his Doctor was a different sort, but this episode was an eye-opener for me.

Recently, I had the chance to rewatch in prep for today's post. It is slower than I remember, but just as good.  Though I do find it very odd that I am right now older than Pertwee was in this episode (he was 51).

I have made a habit since first watching this one to check out all the Pertwee/3rd Doctor episodes I can. I know there are a few I have never seen. I have not sought them out because I do enjoy the joy of stumbling upon them just like I did with Inferno.

Since moving to the Chicago area I have had the chance to talk to others who watched Doctor Who from the same time period and how their PBS stations differed from my local St. Louis one. It has been very interesting and I'll talk more about it on "P" day.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 4, Room 11

A small passageway in the back of Room #10 leads down to a rough-cut cave.  

A small glowing stone is stuck into a small pedestal in the middle of the cave.  There is plenty of track around the stone, wearing out the stone ground. The area 5' radius around the stone is untouched. 

The stone is a Chaos Stone, one of the artifacts of the mages.  It is made of pure chaos and its effects are random.

Any character touching the stone rolls a 2d6 and consults the table below.

• 2: The character is transported to a random location within 100 feet of the stone.
• 3-4: The character is granted a temporary penalty to one of their ability scores by -1.
• 5-6: The character is cursed with a minor ailment, such as -3 on attack rolls or saving throws. 
• 7: The stone has no effect.
• 8-9: The character is blessed with a minor boon, such as +3 on all attack rolls or saving throws.
• 10-11: The character gains a powerful boon, such as a +2 bonus to one of their ability scores.
• 12: The character gains a permanent +1 to one ability score determined at random.

A character can only touch the stone once for effect.  Unless noted, the effects last 1d6+6 turns.

The stone is fixed to the pedestal. Any attempts to remove it will cause it to shatter. If the shards are collected they could be sold to a high level magic-user or alchemist for 20-50 gp (1d4+1 x10).

#AtoZChallenge2023: Doctor Who Highlanders & Outlanders

Back in 1966/67 a Doctor Who serial aired called "The Highlanders" and it featured the Second Doctor and introduced us to the soon-to-be companion Jamie McCrimmon, played by Frazer Hines during the Battle of Culloden.

Jaime quickly became a favorite among the fans. In the late sixties, he was often voted the #1 fan favorite, and this also included "the best legs on TV."

One of those fans was author Diana Gabaldon. Who took her love of this episode and crafted her own tale about the Scottish Highlands, the Battle of Culloden, and Time Travel. One of the stars of these novels (and later) series was a Highlander named Jamie Fraser. 

Of course I am talking about the wildly successful "Outlander" novels and TV series.

I have never read the novels, but I have seen the series. It is quite fun really. The time-travel elements are only a plot device, as opposed to something central as in Doctor Who.  Frazer Hines even made a guest appearance. 

Outlander is not the only property inspired by Doctor Who, either directly or indirectly.

"DC's Legends of Tomorrow" (2016-2022) was part of the "Arrowverse" subset of DC Comics TV shows. It dealt with a group of misfit heroes, led by Rip Hunter, played by Arthur "Rory" Darvill (fresh off of Doctor Who). Now DC has always had time travel and Rip is an established character, but the Doctor Who elements here are turned way up.

Douglas Adams who was a script editor and writer for Doctor Who in the Tom Baker years gave us "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."  Not only was the book inspired by Adams, but Adams was also good friends with Lala "Romana II" Ward, and the Tenth Doctor even name-drops Adam's famous protagonist, Arthur Dent in "The Christmas Invasion."

One could argue that the Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation are more or less Cybermen.  Comics publisher IDW makes this even clearer with their Doctor Who / Star Trek Crossovers.  It doesn't end there. For years fans speculated that Guinan, Whoopi Goldberg's character, was something akin to a Time Lord.  Same with the Travellers, which now include Wesley Crusher, and the "Supervisors" Tallinn (Star Trek Picard), and Gary Seven (Star Trek The Original Series).  Gary even has a sonic screwdriver-like device. So many in fact that this topic really deserves a post on it's own. Maybe I'll touch more on that later on.  IDW Comics also featured an "Assignment: Earth" comic and the original episode, "Assignment: Earth" which introduces Gary Seven, began with the Enterprise slingshotting to Earth in the 1960.

Bill & Ted, in their movies travels in time and space use a phone booth. You could argue that Rufus, played by George Carlin, was pretty close to a Time Lord.

The shadow of the Doctor is long. Both in their universe and ours.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.