Okay, I couldn't think of a Title for this, but! I have an amazingly awesome idea for a game/ game style.
This also includes new DMs or those wishing to try out DMing.
SO my idea!
A groups of DMs that all have a character. (Like at least 5 DMs)
And they essentially take turns DMing the group.
And while they are DMing their character is a NPC that travels with the group.
So everyone gets a chance to play, and to DM. Each session is DMed by a different person in the group, and the Sessions go on the individual DM's path of what they think would be a really good Story Arch for the Characters.
Some of the really important factors to think about for this idea is that the DM's work together while not telling the group what their Arch path is. So you have to set up for the next DM to pick up and continue.
This allows the story to go in any array of directions. And shows a different DM style.
This style also allows DMs to be players and still DM.
I would LOVE To do a game like this. SO if you're a DM or want to be one, And you think this would be super cool
Leave a comment.
Even If you don't think It would work or you think this idea is stupid- leave me a comment and tell me why.
"..And the first enemy of the campaign is a goblin....you killed it! It dropped a spellbook with every wizard spell in D&D in it...Looks like your npc is the only wizard. lucky me!"
Cute, but ineffective, DasAmigo. A: the warlock could still exploit the book and so could a bard. B: so you have all the spells. That does not get rid of your limitations of how many you can prepare or cast per day.
As for you, Mhadiex, the concept is fun in theory, but you then have 5 DM's that are all working toward their own goal. It confused the world AND the story. Sorta like the sentence game where you say a word and the next person says the next word and so on until the sentence is complete.
Bare in mind: it may still be fun to try, but overall I do not think this GM round robin would work as you predict.
I think this is a great idea, my weekly group is trying to do this right now (more to give other players a chance to dm and practice without being self-conscious), the only limitations currently are that some people don't take the time to prepare anything for the weekly meetup. As long as you had like-minded DMs that were just getting together to have fun playing, I don't think this would be an issue of, "This is where the party is going now." It would be more of a set of one-shots with all the characters moving between adventures. I think an overarching plot would help to keep them all somewhat connected.
What if the base world was designed by the group and the limitations for the world are addressed in a pre-session meet up of the group. Each session would be like a new quest that the party can go on that eventually leads to an end game. a different end game for each DM and the quests they lead lead people there.
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Head of Play By Post Westmarch Myuelta - Always welcoming players and DMs with open arms
Forever DM for 10 years | Player for 9 | Too Many TTRPGs
Establish boundaries. And if anyone crosses them, speak up. If they don’t listen, there’s always cloudkill … -Tasha
I don't know if it really adds anything to the concept, but I think this would be fun if it were setup like all the characters are sitting around a fire, old and gray, and time a new DM takes over it's their character going, "You remember that one time..."
Could be called Campfire Adventuring. If a character dies however there would have to be explanation as to how they come back.
I really like the concept of trading off DMing. The only problem is it is very hard to make the same party complete 5 overarching campaigns at the same time. This is the perfect opportunity to run one shot adventures just instead of changing the characters, you keep using the same ones.
I've done something similar before. We didn't switch each session we switched after short arcs (varied but maybe 4 sessions). I feel like switching each session would make it hard to plan cohesive events. DMs would often prep maps or events that just aren't used because of time.
It could work and i suppose it depends on how long a session is. Could also be part of the fun to keep it very sandbox and improve style.
I would say the only issue we ran into when we did this was routine.
As a DM you get used to prepping some stuff for a weekly game. but when it's is every 4 or 5 weeks if you aren't paying attention it can creep up on you. Some peoples sessions were very loose and certain DMs were much stronger bringing the story together. The clash of styles can feel odd. Even though everyone may be friendly and may like playing in other peoples games in general It felt like some of the players were looking forward to certain DMs more than others. The odd pacing eventually just had DMs writing longer arcs to get their ideas in and then some players not showing up or using a DM switch as a jumping off point to skip a few weeks.
Don't want to be discouraging just my experience with something similar.
I've also Co-DMed a couple of games and found that worked much better. It's easier to find 1 other DM who has a style that meshes and is consistent about level of work they put in and you can still switch off responsibilities in a way that lets you play when the other is heading things.
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Okay, I couldn't think of a Title for this, but! I have an amazingly awesome idea for a game/ game style.
This also includes new DMs or those wishing to try out DMing.
SO my idea!
A groups of DMs that all have a character. (Like at least 5 DMs)
And they essentially take turns DMing the group.
And while they are DMing their character is a NPC that travels with the group.
So everyone gets a chance to play, and to DM. Each session is DMed by a different person in the group, and the Sessions go on the individual DM's path of what they think would be a really good Story Arch for the Characters.
Some of the really important factors to think about for this idea is that the DM's work together while not telling the group what their Arch path is. So you have to set up for the next DM to pick up and continue.
This allows the story to go in any array of directions. And shows a different DM style.
This style also allows DMs to be players and still DM.
I would LOVE To do a game like this. SO if you're a DM or want to be one, And you think this would be super cool
Leave a comment.
Even If you don't think It would work or you think this idea is stupid- leave me a comment and tell me why.
I'm very interested in what you guys think!
Head of Play By Post Westmarch Myuelta - Always welcoming players and DMs with open arms
Forever DM for 10 years | Player for 9 | Too Many TTRPGs
"..And the first enemy of the campaign is a goblin....you killed it! It dropped a spellbook with every wizard spell in D&D in it...Looks like your npc is the only wizard. lucky me!"
Cute, but ineffective, DasAmigo. A: the warlock could still exploit the book and so could a bard. B: so you have all the spells. That does not get rid of your limitations of how many you can prepare or cast per day.
As for you, Mhadiex, the concept is fun in theory, but you then have 5 DM's that are all working toward their own goal. It confused the world AND the story. Sorta like the sentence game where you say a word and the next person says the next word and so on until the sentence is complete.
Bare in mind: it may still be fun to try, but overall I do not think this GM round robin would work as you predict.
I think this is a great idea, my weekly group is trying to do this right now (more to give other players a chance to dm and practice without being self-conscious), the only limitations currently are that some people don't take the time to prepare anything for the weekly meetup. As long as you had like-minded DMs that were just getting together to have fun playing, I don't think this would be an issue of, "This is where the party is going now." It would be more of a set of one-shots with all the characters moving between adventures. I think an overarching plot would help to keep them all somewhat connected.
Just my two cents.
What if the base world was designed by the group and the limitations for the world are addressed in a pre-session meet up of the group. Each session would be like a new quest that the party can go on that eventually leads to an end game. a different end game for each DM and the quests they lead lead people there.
Head of Play By Post Westmarch Myuelta - Always welcoming players and DMs with open arms
Forever DM for 10 years | Player for 9 | Too Many TTRPGs
I don't know if it really adds anything to the concept, but I think this would be fun if it were setup like all the characters are sitting around a fire, old and gray, and time a new DM takes over it's their character going, "You remember that one time..."
Could be called Campfire Adventuring. If a character dies however there would have to be explanation as to how they come back.
I really fancy that as a concept.
Head of Play By Post Westmarch Myuelta - Always welcoming players and DMs with open arms
Forever DM for 10 years | Player for 9 | Too Many TTRPGs
I really like the concept of trading off DMing. The only problem is it is very hard to make the same party complete 5 overarching campaigns at the same time. This is the perfect opportunity to run one shot adventures just instead of changing the characters, you keep using the same ones.
I've done something similar before. We didn't switch each session we switched after short arcs (varied but maybe 4 sessions). I feel like switching each session would make it hard to plan cohesive events. DMs would often prep maps or events that just aren't used because of time.
It could work and i suppose it depends on how long a session is. Could also be part of the fun to keep it very sandbox and improve style.
I would say the only issue we ran into when we did this was routine.
As a DM you get used to prepping some stuff for a weekly game. but when it's is every 4 or 5 weeks if you aren't paying attention it can creep up on you. Some peoples sessions were very loose and certain DMs were much stronger bringing the story together. The clash of styles can feel odd. Even though everyone may be friendly and may like playing in other peoples games in general It felt like some of the players were looking forward to certain DMs more than others. The odd pacing eventually just had DMs writing longer arcs to get their ideas in and then some players not showing up or using a DM switch as a jumping off point to skip a few weeks.
Don't want to be discouraging just my experience with something similar.
I've also Co-DMed a couple of games and found that worked much better. It's easier to find 1 other DM who has a style that meshes and is consistent about level of work they put in and you can still switch off responsibilities in a way that lets you play when the other is heading things.