Mystery of the Shrouded Mansion (An Interactive ChatGPT-4 + DALL-E Text-Based Roleplaying Campaign) — Part 1

Inspired by Obie Fernandez post on Medium, My kids and I just played D&D with ChatGPT4 as the DM I’ve been exploring using ChatGPT for creating “dungeon crawler” roleplaying text-based campaigns too. Also check out The Brykman Predicament post We asked ChatGPT to be the Dungeon Master in a game of D&D as well. Both are very good reads. But, what about imagery to visually show what you are exploring in the campaign?

Those who have a premium subscription to ChatGPT-4 you may have noticed that DALL-E (also by Open AI) is also included. DALL-E’s tag line is that you can turn your imagination into imagery which works perfect for depicting a text-based roleplaying campaign like the classic Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) book written by Edward Packard and often illustrated by Paul Granger. With the incorporation of DALL-E into ChatGPT-4 my process is much easier than a previous post of mine, Creating Generative AI CYOA Text-Based Campaigns with ASCII Maps and MidJourney AIart. In the previous post I used ChatGPT to 1) create a campaign with decision points based on a CYOA book, 2) draw an ASCII Map showing character movement, and 3) create prompts for generating AIart using Midjourney. In this post I’ll show how I skipped the ASCII Maps because they were not that accurate and also had DALL-E generate the images rather than taking the time to work with the images separately in Midjourney. I must say…. I like this process much better and I hope you enjoy reading on.

As expected, you will read below that the experience was not perfect. For example, some of the DALL-E images didn’t seem to bet depict visually what was in my imagination but many were spot on! Please share your feedback and ideas. I’d love to improve upon my process. Perhaps you have a suggestion for other features I should include in my ChatGPT-4 CYOA Campaigns?

Ask ChatGPT-4 to Generate A CYOA Campaign

First, choose the CYOA story that you would like to go on an adventure. You will be surprised at how well ChatGPT will create a story inspired by the CYOA story. But please know it won’t be the exact CYOA story, but similar! Visit List of Choose Your Own Adventure books for a great list to choose from.

For my campaign I was hoping for something spooky since I was attempting this campaign around Halloween, I went with The Mystery of Chimney Rock. Great interactive story. I highly recommend.

Prompt:
Are you familiar with the Choose Your Own Adventure Story, The Mystery of Chimney Rock?

ChatGPT:
Yes, I’m familiar with the concept of Choose Your Own Adventure stories, and “The Mystery of Chimney Rock” is one of the titles in that series. These books are interactive, allowing the reader to make choices that affect the outcome of the story. “The Mystery of Chimney Rock” involves a series of decisions that lead the reader through different scenarios in a mysterious, possibly haunted house with a variety of endings based on the reader’s choices. It’s an example of a gamebook where the reader becomes the protagonist and decides the direction of the story.

Prompt:
I’d like to go on a similar interactive adventure based on the “Mystery of Chimney Rock.” Can you guide me and provide me decision options in Option A, Option B, Option C, etc. format? Can you also provide me with

ChatGPT:
Absolutely! Let’s embark on an interactive adventure inspired by “The Mystery of Chimney Rock.” I’ll set the scene for you, and you’ll be making the choices. Remember, each decision can lead to a different path, so choose wisely!

Getting Started On The Mystery of the Shrouded Mansion

You are standing in front of the old, ivy-covered Wickwire Mansion, a grand yet neglected structure that looms against the backdrop of a stormy sky. Local legend tells of a hidden treasure within, guarded by the spirit of the eccentric last owner, Lady Wickwire, who disappeared many years ago. As the wind howls, a cat darts past your feet, disappearing into a small opening in the mansion’s side. Your curiosity piqued, you approach the mansion.

Option A: Follow the cat through the small opening.
Option B: Search for the main entrance to the mansion.
Option C: Circle around the mansion to observe any peculiarities before entering.

DALL-E Prompt: A large, old, ivy-covered mansion under a stormy sky. The mansion is grand but appears neglected, with broken windows and overgrown garden. The surrounding atmosphere is eerie, with dark clouds looming overhead and occasional flashes of lightning in the distance. A small opening is visible on one side of the mansion where a black cat is just about to disappear into it. The scene is set in the late evening, providing a spooky ambiance.

As you can see, I selected the bolded Option A from the available options. The remainder of this post is my journey through the shrouded mansion. I hope you will enjoy and also try out your own interactive CYOA Campaign on ChatGPT-4 and use DALL-E to illustrate your campaign with generative AI imagery.

DALL-E Prompt: A close-up view of a small, intriguing opening on the side of an old mansion. The opening is overgrown with ivy and cobwebs, suggesting it’s been unused for a long time. The edges are worn and the brickwork around it is crumbling, with the dark interior of the mansion just visible beyond the threshold. The opening is just big enough for a person to squeeze through, and the faint glow of a black cat’s eyes can be seen disappearing into the shadows inside.

Entering The Shrouded Mansion

You decide to follow the black cat and squeeze through the small opening in the wall. It’s a tight fit, but you manage to get through and find yourself in a dusty, cobweb-filled corridor that seems to lead into the heart of the mansion. The cat is nowhere to be seen, but you can hear a faint meowing echoing off the walls. The corridor branches off in two directions.

Option A: Follow the sound of the meowing to the left.
Option B: Ignore the meowing and take the right path, deeper into the mansion.
Option C: Call out to see if anyone (or anything) responds to your voice.

DALL-E Prompt: An image of a mysterious black cat sitting on top of a heavy wooden desk in an old library. The cat is intently staring at a large, open, ancient book. The library is dimly lit, with shelves of dusty books in the background. There’s a large fireplace that’s not lit, and papers are scattered across the desk. The scene conveys a sense of mystery and age, as if the cat and the book hold secrets waiting to be discovered.

You turn left, following the soft meowing that echoes through the dimly lit corridor. The sound guides you to a slightly ajar door from which a sliver of light spills. As you push the door open, the meowing stops abruptly, and you step into what appears to be an old library. The room is filled with shelves of dusty books, a large fireplace, and a heavy wooden desk with papers scattered about. The cat is sitting atop the desk, staring at a large, old book that lies open.

Option A: Approach the cat and examine the book.
Option B: Search the rest of the library for clues or hidden passages.
Option C: Try to find a light source to better see your surroundings.

DALL-E Prompt: An ancient book open on a desk, with yellowed pages showing detailed illustrations of a mansion’s interior. The illustrations include a grand staircase, a secret room behind a fireplace, and a detailed floor plan with hidden passages. The book appears to be very old, with ornate, mysterious symbols and writing on the pages surrounding the illustrations, suggesting secrets and history. The style of the book should resemble that of medieval manuscripts, with intricate borders and a sense of age.

You approach the cat carefully to avoid startling it. As you draw closer, the cat looks up at you with luminous eyes, then back at the book, as if inviting you to take a look. The book is old, its pages yellowed with age, filled with strange symbols and writing that you can’t immediately understand. Among the text, you notice a series of illustrations that seem to depict different parts of the mansion, including a hidden room behind the library’s fireplace.

Option A: Try to decipher the symbols and text in the book.
Option B: Investigate the fireplace for a possible hidden room.
Option C: Pet the cat, hoping it might guide you further.

DALL-E Prompt: An image of a black cat sitting by an unlit grand fireplace in an old library. The cat has an expectant look as it turns to face the viewer, as if waiting for them to discover something. The fireplace is ornate and seems to have been unused for years, with a cold ash bed and intricate carvings on the mantlepiece. The ambiance of the room is mysterious, with books and shadows filling the space around the cat and fireplace.

You reach out and gently stroke the cat. It purrs contentedly and then hops off the desk, its tail high in the air. It walks over to the fireplace and sits down, looking back at you expectantly.

It seems the cat wants you to follow it or to inspect something about the fireplace. The hidden room depicted in the book might be just a touch away.

Option A: Examine the fireplace closely, searching for a way to access the hidden room.
Option B: Open the book to the page showing the fireplace and look for any instructions.
Option C: Follow the cat if it moves again, trusting its instincts.

DALL-E Prompt: Close-up of an ancient book page showing a detailed illustration of a grand fireplace. The page is yellowed and the edges are frayed, indicating its age. The illustration is finely drawn, depicting an ornate fireplace with many stones. One of the stones in the lower right corner of the hearth is subtly marked with a small ‘X’. The mark is not immediately noticeable and appears to be part of the illustration’s details, hinting at a secret mechanism within the fireplace’s design.

You return to the desk and flip through the ancient book to the page depicting the fireplace. As you study the illustrations, you notice that one of the stones in the hearth is marked with a subtle X. It seems to suggest that this stone may activate the mechanism to reveal the hidden room.

Option A: Press the stone marked with an X in the fireplace.
Option B: Look for similar markings in the actual fireplace that correspond with the book.
Option C: Take the book with you and continue to search the library for more clues.

Find out what happens next in Mystery of the Shrouded Mansion (An Interactive ChatGPT-4 + DALL-E Text-Based Roleplaying Campaign) — Part 2