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Neural Networks of Carcosa

Something I did for fun over the weekend:

  • Found a workbook for easily creating a text-generating neural network: https://minimaxir.com/2018/05/text-neural-networks/
  • Took a plaintext dump of the hex contents from LotFP's Carcosa.
  • Massaged the text to make it a little better for neural network processing (make everything lowercase, remove punctuation, remove numbers, etc.)
  • Trained the neural network against the text (ran 50 epochs worth of character-level training)
  • Took the resulting model and generated some sample text using the workbook's default settings of "1 very unexpected token, 1 unexpected token, 2 expected tokens, repeat" to ensure the model doesn't try to exactly replicate the original text.

;tldr

I tried to create an AI that can auto-generated Carcosa-like hex descriptions. The results are... kind of weird. The neural network was being trained letter-by-letter rather than word-by-word, so there's no guarantee it won't invent its own, gibberish words. But the results are interesting in a Jabberwocky, nonsense-that-kind-of-makes-sense way. This is my first pass at this (and my first time doing anything with neural networks), but I think this could be tweaked into something useful as an idea generator.

I'm kind of wondering what would happen if I trained the neural network on Carcosa + Alice in Wonderland + Dracula. Could it generate at least a few useful locations for my A Red & Pleasant Land campaign?

Example generated texts:


  • bleed riames of # and ability scores are halved disgusting bloth source a lawful #th level sorcerer
  • a small society of iron with psionic and molest the vault in hex # but not the secret of what lead to the charm is grass he dosic broken into a score of all surrounded by a mummy the mouth their visitors will be greeted warmly and treated remains of the green ooze pool in the potent pool a carved 
  • spawn of shub niggurath a black ooze with four eyes and a large toothed mouth
  • a small copse of trees concealment in this identical doll opens the nex rued from his hiding placked to the death they god warred head on the cave leads to a sorcerer of #th level or higher
  • village of # black men ruled by the village has a secret and blasphemous name every day as the sun sets a sweet and faintly contagion for # gp worth and empties into the follower of # white men led by a neutral #th level fighter
  • a small copse of trees cearacy rithe that is vast to form entering or fall into a dillion may can be seen from over a mile away # orange banking throw the tentacle successfuland with one eye and a suckered feeding appendage it is completely pettion to invasted a penalty of # to all saving throws a
  • the steady rhythmise with harm so ensproation for parcey for heal at the god of coins gather he will be swarm dolm worm venom and an accurate metal sits astride into lake can be heard often those who fail to save vs poison or lose # die points of shub niggurath its arch is of crumbling soapstone t
  • roll a squat venemers and monsters prowl the lake waiting for prey to approach the edge
  • village of # blue men ruled by the gently after that provides a # boot hour spent thus  everle mound
  • citadel of # black men led by a neutral #th level fighter
  • blue tribesmen from the swamps to the south dig traps in this area to catcheloge insubtermation will be dome to a master armorer and these men wean and a successful hit there are foul and even withd in the caverns beneath their citadel
  • a small hidden camp on hew # deep ones unassurating will release that will become of the icy wastes and saving throw the effects of a logic weapon
  • castle of # yellow men led by a chaotic #th level fighter
  • a small armor cannot be worn all saving throws and to hit rolls incur a penalty of # and ability scores are halved disgusting bloth sound of time the pool will reemerable this land contains no a swarm gray waser becomes it kills and can be mastered in # faster of curious and jugue launching with t
  • in a wooded depreded monthly insane is engraved a lawful #st level fighter several large citadel several yellow mosse a mistonet they energies cannon cave giant the prow of the complex that has been instape
  • the black abomination of nyarlathotep is their abundant with powally looking restraint time to a saving throw vs magic for the gazer success indicates an accurate revelatory that learn to projisitos
  • village of # black men ruled by the worm king a chaotic #th level fighter
  • spawn of shub niggurath a blue scaled anthropoid with one entiment to the swamps and a score of common idol the wearer he can create a still attempts to a dain inaft any disease and they worship the black men or lost since is a mounted on a # this seek he will barter his knowledge in exchange for 
  • an ancient and drip squirm and within are imposition at #
  • a small copse of trees check clees down a city of the great race resulting at the edge of the forest watching in its back
  • spawn of shub niggurath dolm suckered annelidoid with a suckered mouth it is immune to cold
  • citadel of # black men led by a lawful #th level fighter these men tend and worship the ritual they will attack any who bend to the floating broadce to the icy wastes in hex #
  • spawn of shub niggurath a black plant with two weeping eyes and a circular gaping maw they are surprised only on a #
  • half submerged and buried in the poisonous swamps is a prehuman temple of all as the sorcerer orders save anyone this spawn is covered in suckers and eyes with a toothed mouth it is immune to give the villagers in hex # and escort a team of technicians backle is killed upon the poisonous swamps an
  • citadel of # black men led by a neutral #th level fighter
  • castle of # jale men led by a neutral #th level fighter
  • village of # black men ruled by the village of reutred cli be shore to any sorcerous ri e of anyone is a ketth lochs from the roor of the degenerate with a brown headhunter lies in an attack the statue to a great and oozing titail the caverns beneath the earth in a natural cavern of stunds alventl
  • # spawn of shub niggurath red furred batrachian with two eyes and a suckered feeding appendage its touch causes paralysis and it is harmed only by fire any who are paralyzed by this beast appear to be overly powerful will be told of a ruined temple ages a herd of # poisonous charonosaurs grazes by
  • a mutant tear that will become obvious concealed beach the void a year siberoder skin his completely covered with eyes and mouths it can attack the local fishermen
  • a small armor cannot be left to seize to a small bite of the primordial ones in hexes # and #

Comments

  1. I've been working on Hex Describe for a long time, now. It doesn't use an AI but hand-crafted random tables.
    https://campaignwiki.org/hex-describe/describe/random/alpine
    Perhaps you'd be interested in something like that? These days I've been discussing it on Diaspora:
    https://pluspora.com/posts/1224817
    But we could also talk about it on my blog, or via email. Whatever you prefer. :)
    And if you're mostly interested in Carcosa itself, I'm sure we could start working on a Carcosa-like map generator, and description generator.

    ReplyDelete

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