Data in the dungeon: Using IBM Granite for immersive tabletop roleplaying 

Down half-lit stone corridors, a trio of adventurers move with caution. Flickering torchlight throws wild, leaping shadows against ancient walls. At the heart of the ruin, a vast chamber looms.

Suddenly—movement.

On a raised dais stands a shadow-cloaked wizard, her hands twisting in the air, arcane energy crackling at her fingertips. A squad of enforcers grip their weapons as her spell nears completion.

Without hesitation, the knight raises his shield and surges forward.

"I tackle the wizard before she finishes casting!" he declares, bracing for impact.

Then—everything stops.

The torchlit chamber, the snarling foes, the tension of battle—all vanish beneath the glare of fluorescent lights. The grand dungeon is a conference room. The adventurers are players gathered around a table. Dice are scattered across a hand-drawn map, miniatures frozen in place.

At the head of the table, the game master frowns, flipping through a stack of thick rulebooks.

"One second," she mutters, thumbing through the pages. "I need to check the grapple rules."

The players shift in their seats. The anticipation drains from the room. The moment unravels in the air. Yawn. Time for a snack break.

If this scenario sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Narratives in TTRPGs thrive on momentum and every GM knows the struggle of pausing the action to dig up a crucial rule, double-check mechanics or improvise under pressure. 

Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) are collaborative storytelling experiences where players take on roles in a shared world, guided by a game master (GM) who sets the scene and calls for dice rolls when things get uncertain.

Now, imagine a world where rule checks happen instantly. No frantic page-flipping. No lost engagement. Just seamless storytelling.

Remember when IBM Watson® took on Jeopardy!? That was more than a game, it was a glimpse into the future. A showcase of artificial intelligence’s ability to process and retrieve complex information in real time. Now, with the evolution of large language models (LLMs) like IBM’s Granite® model, that same power is at the game master’s fingertips.

AI won’t replace human storytelling, but it can eliminate friction. It keeps the game flowing, empowers creativity and enhances immersion. Granite can surface rules, generate dynamic NPCs or manage player data so the adventure never needs to pause.

A single TTRPG session has a lot of moving parts for a game master to track. Everything from the moods of the players to the hit points of monsters. Every action a player takes needs to be judged against the rules to determine if they can succeed, how difficult it is and what consequences should follow in the case of failure or success.

In all this split-second decision-making, even the most seasoned GM can hit a speed bump. A player attempts something unexpected and suddenly the table is buried in books. The GM isn’t planning the enemies’ next exciting move because they’re scrolling through PDFs, searching for a specific house rule. 

With IBM Granite, the GM can ask in plain language, “What are the rules for flanking?” or “Who gave us the quest to find the cursed scepter?” Granite returns the answer instantly, pulling from core rules, house rules, campaign notes and game lore.

With Granite 3.2, GMs can ingest large volumes of information on the fly. Need stats for a high-level beholder for an old school Dungeons & Dragons campaign? Upload the entire Monstrous Manual, all 1,000 pages and Granite can surface what’s needed in seconds. 

Setting up Granite as a game assistant doesn’t require a computer science degree, either. With tools like InstructLab™ and retrieval augmented generation (RAG), GMs can quickly upload entire rulebooks, images, maps, campaign notes or homebrew rules, making them instantly searchable during gameplay. InstructLab offers the simplest entry point—no code required—while more technical users can serve Granite locally via tools like Ollama, to pull in models with a single command. Once loaded, the AI can surface relevant content, adjust to custom mechanics and incorporate new information in seconds. 

The flexibility is a literal game changer; if a new rulebook drops, the GM can ingest it and surface rules in a few minutes. Granite 3.2 even includes advanced “thinking” capabilities that help the AI reason through conflicting rules or evolving narratives, giving GMs dynamic support that grows with the story. 

In the enterprise, this same functionality supports on-demand access to ever-changing policies, procedures and proprietary knowledge. A team member can ask, “What’s our current compliance policy for customer data in Europe?” and Granite surfaces the relevant documentation without delay.

Anything can happen in a TTRPG session. The players might decide to ignore the dungeon entirely and investigate the criminal guild’s front operation instead. Now the GM needs to get them on track with a custom-generated tavern keeper, complete with a tragic past and ties to the criminal underworld.

Granite can create that NPC in seconds, complete with motivations, personality quirks and game stats. Load it with homebrew rules, campaign settings or custom class PDFs, and it can immediately use that information to generate encounters or translate old mechanics into new ones. If the players ditch the main quest to infiltrate a desert fortress instead, Granite can spin up a squad of elite guards and an underground network of catacombs in seconds. As new information comes in, Granite incorporates it and updates—it understands when new rules should supersede old rules. 

In business contexts, that same adaptability powers use cases like persona development, HR training simulations and client profile creation. If a team needs a detailed CMO persona for a high-growth startup, Granite can generate it on demand, complete with pain points and behavioral insights.

The GM keeps track of everything: character progression, unresolved quests, NPC relationships and world events. The real magic happens when the story loops back on itself, when an offhand decision from three sessions ago suddenly matters or a forgotten NPC returns with new information.

Granite can also go a step further by answering how often players revisit certain locations, how relationships are evolving and which plot threads generate the most engagement. By analyzing trends across sessions, the GM can spot patterns and better anticipate player behavior from session to session.  

That sense of continuity deepens immersion, rewards player investment and builds trust in the narrative.

In business it’s no different. Stakeholder conversations, project pivots and strategic decisions often resurface months later. An AI assistant that remembers, contextualizes and analyzes past interactions helps teams stay aligned and focused. Like in a good campaign, they build on the story instead of restarting it. 

Even with Granite humming at the GM’s side, able to summon NPCs, rules and generate content instantly, there are moments only a human can handle.

The rogue turns to the GM and says, “I approach carefully.”

No dice have been rolled, no abilities invoked. An AI might narrate the rogue’s approach. A human GM says, “Roll a Stealth check,” understanding the intent.

That’s not just knowledge, it’s intuition. It’s the ability to interpret tone, subtext and timing in the moment. 

Later, the party splits. One group descends into a haunted crypt, the other attempts tense diplomacy with a local cleric. The GM shifts the focus between them weaving parallel moments into one cohesive arc. The GM feels when to cut a scene short, when to linger, when to raise the stakes. 

When the bard delivers an impromptu monologue to redeem a former enemy, the GM understands the moment for what it is and adjusts the world to let it live.

The best GMs don’t just apply the rules. They know how to break them.

AI can follow complicated prompts, but a human knows when the table is holding its breath waiting to see the outcome of a die roll. 

And in the enterprise world, it’s no different. AI can inform, assist and accelerate. But it can’t lead.

It can’t catch the hesitation in a junior team member’s voice or see the opportunity hidden in a tense client call. It doesn’t know when to throw out the slide deck to follow an instinct.

AI might be the torch lighting the way, but humans decide where to go. Together, they can create something far greater than the sum of their parts.

Recent research shows that large language models can meaningfully enhance TTRPG experiences—especially when used to support GMs, not replace them.

SHARI is a proof-of-concept AI GM using LLMs, but scaling it to match the nuance, improvisation and emotional intelligence of human game mastering will require significant advancements in technology, particularly in memory handling, complex world modeling and narrative pacing.

One study found that an AI-powered GM using ChatGPT could boost players’ positive emotions, suggesting real potential for enhancing mental well-being through collaborative storytelling.

LLMs also serve as creative assistants. In a Dungeons & Dragons chatbot project, AI made rule navigation easier and helped increase immersion and player connection. When prompts were strong, the AI provided valuable roleplay inspiration and helped players make richer character choices. 

Systems like Flamel.AI, built with IBM Watson, have cut prep time for GMs by as much as 75%. With instant generation of maps, characters and narrative elements, these tools let facilitators spend more time playing and less time planning.

Players are noticing. Some report running full one-shots using AI with minimal hallucinations and strong content, especially when humans handle the mechanics and structure inputs in advance.

From faster prep to richer sessions and more inclusive storytelling, LLMs are proving themselves as valuable companions in the world of TTRPGs. But they shine brightest when working alongside human creativity and judgment.