RoleGuides Review: Your AI GM Assistant for TTRPGs?

Let’s be honest. We’ve all been there. It’s 11 PM on a Friday night. Your D&D session is in less than 24 hours. Your players just finished the last arc, and when you asked them where they wanted to go next, they said, “We want to investigate the weirdly cheerful gnome who sells pies in the market. He seems suspicious.”

The pie-gnome. A character you improvised in three seconds last month. He has no name, no backstory, no sinister secret. He just sells pies. And now, your entire weekend of prep just went out the window. This, my friends, is the glorious, chaotic, and sometimes soul-crushing life of a Game Master. It's a job we love, but man, the burnout is real. The prep can be a second full-time job.

For years, we’ve relied on our wits, caffeine, and maybe a few hastily scribbled notes on a napkin. But now, there’s a new type of tool showing up on the scene: the AI GM assistant. I know, I know. For some, the very idea feels a bit… icky. Is a robot going to tell our stories for us? Well, I got a chance to look at a new contender called RoleGuides, and I’m here to give you the real-talk, no-fluff rundown from one forever-GM to another.

What Exactly is RoleGuides? The 30,000-Foot View

So, what is this thing? RoleGuides bills itself as an AI-powered GM assistant for tabletop RPGs. Think of it less like a full-on AI dungeon master trying to run the whole show, and more like a helpful little goblin familiar whispering ideas in your ear. It’s not here to replace you. It’s here to do the grunt work so you can focus on the fun stuff: the storytelling, the roleplaying, the dramatic reveals.

Its main purpose is to help you generate content for your campaigns—dialogue, encounters, and story beats—without you having to stare at a blank page for two hours. It’s a creativity-sparking machine, designed to get the ball rolling when you’re fresh out of ideas.

The Core Features: What's Under the Hood?

RoleGuides isn't bloated with a million features you’ll never use. It’s surprisingly focused, aiming to solve a few of the most common GM headaches.

Generating NPC Dialogue That Doesn't Suck

You know the pie-gnome? He needs a voice. And so does the grumpy city guard, the flirtatious bard, the paranoid librarian, and the 17 other NPCs your players will inevitably decide to interrogate. Giving them all unique personalities is exhausting. This is where RoleGuides first steps in. You can feed it a basic prompt—something like, “A tired, old wizard who is sick of adventurers asking him for quests”—and it spits back some tailored dialogue.

(Hypothetical RoleGuides Output): “Oh, by the Nine Hells, another one. Let me guess, you seek a legendary sword? Or perhaps a map to a dragon’s hoard? Here’s a quest for you: find the door and use it. The world has enough heroes. What it needs is a decent plumber.”

It's a starting point. It gives you a flavor, a tone, that you can then run with. Much better than every NPC sounding suspiciously like a slightly modified version of your own voice, right?

Building Random Encounters on the Fly

“I want to go explore that spooky forest you mentioned off-hand three sessions ago.” The seven words that strike fear into the heart of an unprepared GM. RoleGuides has a random encounter generator. This isn't just a boring old table from a sourcebook. The idea is to create dynamic, context-aware encounters. You’re in a swamp? It won’t just say “3 giant frogs.” It might suggest a scene with a territorial frog-person who has lost their favorite shiny rock, offering a roleplay opportunity instead of just a fight. A real lifesaver for those unexpected detours.

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Untangling Your Plot with Story Recommendations

Writer’s block is a killer. You have your villain, you have your heroes, but you have no idea how to connect Point B to Point C. This feature is essentially a brainstorming partner that never needs a coffee break. You can plug in details about your current campaign situation, and it will offer a few potential plot hooks or next steps. It's not going to write your whole adventure, but it might just give you that one little nudge you need to get the story moving again. A real gem for homebrew campaigns that can sometimes meander.

The Good, The Bad, and The AI

Okay, so it sounds neat in theory. But how does it hold up in practice? No tool is perfect, and RoleGuides is no exception. It’s got some seriously great points and a few things that made me raise an eyebrow.

First, the good stuff. The biggest win, hands down, is the time-saving. I’m not even kidding. The hours I’ve spent trying to come up with interesting loot for a bandit captain or a unique personality for a throwaway shopkeeper… it adds up. Being able to offload some of that mental-load is huge. It frees you up to think about the big, epic moments. The ideas it generates are genuinely practical, too. It’s not just abstract nonsense; it’s usable content that you can drop right into your game, maybe with a little tweaking.

Now for the not-so-good. The platform relies on Gmail for authentication. For some, thats a non-issue. For others who are more privacy-conscious or just don't want to tie everything to their Google account, it’s a bit of a pain. A small gripe, but a valid one.

The bigger concern, and one that the developers seem to be aware of, is the potential for future changes. They mention that they might switch to a subscription model down the line. We’ll get to the current pricing in a moment, but this does create a little bit of uncertainty. And of course, there’s the philosophical debate: are you becoming dependent on AI for your creativity? My take? Nah. A master chef uses a food processor. A carpenter uses a power saw. This is a power tool for GMs. You’re still the one making the final dish.

Let's Talk Money: The RoleGuides Pricing Model

Alright, this is where things get really interesting. In a world where every single service wants a piece of your monthly budget—streaming platforms, software, coffee subscriptions—RoleGuides is doing something wonderfully old-school.

As of right now, it’s being offered for a one-time payment. You buy it once, you own it. That’s it. No recurring fees.

I have to say, I find that incredibly refreshing. Subscription fatigue is a real thing, and the TTRPG hobby can already be expensive enough with books, dice, and miniatures. A one-and-done price for a useful tool is a massive plus in my book. The actual price might vary, so you should check their official website for the current cost, but the model itself is a huge selling point. It makes it feel less like a service you’re renting and more like a book you’re adding to your collection. But remember what I said earlier—this might not last forever, so if you're interested, it might be worth looking into sooner rather than later.

Who is RoleGuides Actually For?

So, should you rush out and get it? It depends on what kind of GM you are.

• For the Overwhelmed New GM: Absolutely. This could be an incredible tool to help you get over that initial mountain of “how do I even start?” It lowers the barrier to entry significantly.
• For the Time-Crunched Veteran: This is my category. I’ve been running games for over a decade. I have a job, a family, and a desperate need for more sleep. A tool that cuts my prep time in half without sacrificing quality? Yes, please.
• For the World-Builder with Writer's Block: If you love crafting the big picture but get bogged down in the tiny details, this is perfect. It can fill in the gaps while you design kingdoms and create pantheons.

Who is it probably not for? The purist who genuinely loves spending 20 hours a week meticulously prepping every detail of their campaign from scratch. And you know what? That’s totally fine. If that’s your jam, more power to you! But for the rest of us mortals, a little help can go a long way.

The Elephant in the Room: Is AI Ruining TTRPGs?

Let's just tackle this head-on. There's a lot of chatter in the community about AI art, AI writing, and what it all means for our hobby. It's a valid concern. But I honestly don't think a tool like RoleGuides is the villain here. It's not a story-replacement machine. It's an idea-generation machine.

Think of it like this: a drum machine can lay down a solid beat, but it takes a real musician to turn that beat into a song. RoleGuides can give you a beat—an NPC’s dialogue, a monster encounter—but you are the musician. You decide how to use it, how to perform it, how to weave it into the beautiful, chaotic music of your campaign. The heart of a TTRPG is the human connection around the table, and no AI is going to replace that anytime soon. It just helps make sure the person running the game doesn't burn out before the story is over.

In the End, It’s Your Call

Look, RoleGuides isn’t some magic bullet that will instantly make you a legendary GM. The craft still takes work, passion, and a willingness to have your best-laid plans wrecked by a kleptomaniac rogue.

But what it is, is a genuinely helpful, thoughtfully designed tool that solves some of the most tedious problems we face behind the screen. It saves time, it sparks ideas, and its one-time payment model shows a respect for its customers that is all too rare these days. It helps you focus your energy on what truly matters: creating an unforgettable story with your friends.

And for this time-crunched, pie-gnome-hating GM, that's more than worth a look.

Frequently Asked Questions about RoleGuides

Does RoleGuides replace the Game Master?

Not at all! It’s designed as an assistant, not a replacement. It provides ideas and content, but the GM is still 100% in control of the story, rules, and pacing of the game.

What TTRPG systems does RoleGuides work with?

While it seems to be system-agnostic, most of its outputs are geared towards classic fantasy settings, making it a natural fit for games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, or other similar fantasy RPGs. You can easily adapt the generated content for any system.

Is RoleGuides free? What's the pricing?

RoleGuides is not free, but it currently operates on a one-time payment model, meaning you buy it once and have access without a subscription. For the most current price, you should visit their official website.

Do I need to be a tech expert to use it?

Nope. The interface is designed to be simple and intuitive. If you can write a sentence in a text box, you have all the technical skills you need to use RoleGuides.

Is my data safe if it uses Gmail to log in?

Using a third-party login like Google is common for web apps to simplify the sign-up process. However, if you have concerns, it's always a good practice to review the platform's privacy policy to understand how they handle your data.

Can I use the generated content in my TTRPG stream or podcast?

This is a great question. Typically, content generated by AI tools for your personal use is fine, but for commercial purposes like a monetized stream, you should always check the platform's Terms of Service to be sure about the usage rights.

Reference and Sources

• The official RoleGuides website: https://roleguides.com/
• A good discussion on AI tools in TTRPGs can often be found on communities like the r/DMAcademy subreddit.