# Local LLMs for NPCs

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689>\
**Category:** The Drawing Board\
**Created:** [April 27, 2025, 8:13am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689 "2025-04-27T08:13:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Pupker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@Pupker](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Pupker)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 8:13am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689/1 "2025-04-27T08:13:19Z")

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Now that reasonably powerful locally running LLMs are a thing, can NPCs be powered by them?  
Gemma3 model runs on basically any PC from the last five years, needs barely 8GB RAM total and doesnt even need a GPU, and can generate jsons if given sufficient context basically in a second, which is slow to use every turn, but fine during NPC dialogues or the like. And it can even accept ascii “screenpastes” as input and decipher what happens nearby and make appropriate decisions (e.g. that the house is on fire or that there’s a Zombear behind the player and so despite it being a slaver that wanted to ask you to give up it better run away). Nothing that I tried so far works 100% of the time though, but the few times it does work it feels like magic.

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**Author:** ![RenechCDDA](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/renechcdda/32/12231_2.png) [@RenechCDDA](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/RenechCDDA)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 8:19am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689/2 "2025-04-27T08:19:22Z")

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No. The game is not set up for this and never will be. [AI-produced content is unwelcome here.](https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/blob/5660fba9a41baa097c27ddec6fe9a7e534a640e1/doc/CONTRIBUTING.md#licensing-and-authorship)

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**Author:** ![Pupker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@Pupker](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Pupker)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 8:35am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689/3 "2025-04-27T08:35:36Z")

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I’m not asking to include AI-generated content or a whole LLM into the game, I’m saying if the game exposed some sort of API for NPCs then I could plug whatever I have installed on my machine, whether its a state machine or an LLM or whatnot.

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**Author:** ![RenechCDDA](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/renechcdda/32/12231_2.png) [@RenechCDDA](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/RenechCDDA)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2025, 8:49am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689/4 "2025-04-27T08:49:51Z")

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Again: No. The game is not set up for this and never will be.

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**Author:** ![luxiaotian](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/luxiaotian/32/12986_2.png) [@luxiaotian](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/luxiaotian)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 8:52am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689/5 "2025-04-30T08:52:48Z")

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On the contrary, I believe that introducing AI led decision-making or dialogue in NPC systems is the feasible way to get rid of the gradually boring later stages of the game, and it is also the future of all open world games, including CDDA

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**Author:** ![luxiaotian](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/luxiaotian/32/12986_2.png) [@luxiaotian](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/luxiaotian)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 8:55am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689/6 "2025-04-30T08:55:03Z")

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Agreed, this is absolutely necessary and significant, but first of all, due to the current technological bottleneck, we need people with sufficient ability to study it.

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**Author:** ![Maddremor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Maddremor](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Maddremor)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689/7 "2025-05-02T13:50:37Z")

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I find it hard to express what a bad idea this would be.

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**Author:** ![Profugo\_Barbatus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d26b3c/32.png) [@Profugo\_Barbatus](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Profugo_Barbatus)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689/8 "2025-05-02T14:43:09Z")

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Well hold on now, I’m sure there’s merit to the idea. After all, wouldn’t you want an AI companion in your CDDA game that speaks like the lowest common denominator Redditor that’s abusing a Thesaurus, has no long term memory, and can’t actually act upon or do anything you ask it to say because an LLM is not actually able to give commands to the CDDA AI agents?

Its a good thing that there’s nothing to a game AI other than being a passible Chinese Room, eh?

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**Author:** ![kevin.granade](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/kevin.granade/32/1316_2.png) [@kevin.granade](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kevin.granade)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 3:33pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689/9 "2025-05-02T15:33:48Z")

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You have a clear answer but I will repeat it for emphasis. LLMs are not fit for purpose for the kind of thing you’re describing, and in general are not fit for purpose for 99% of the use cases they are being used for and even if they were fit for purpose I wouldn’t allow them because of massive negative externalities related to their development and use.

> [@Pupker](#):
>
> Nothing that I tried so far works 100% of the time though, but the few times it does work it feels like magic.

The one thing LLMs are actually good at is tricking people into thinking they work. They’re a massive scam and you’re a dupe, stop it.

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**Author:** ![kevin.granade](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/kevin.granade/32/1316_2.png) [@kevin.granade](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kevin.granade)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 3:34pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/local-llms-for-npcs/29689/10 "2025-05-02T15:34:10Z")

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