Hey, I've been a player for a while but I'm new to 5e. Our DM lives out of town so we only get to play when he can make the trip.
I've decided to start a side campaign and I've asked a good friend to co-DM with me to help me with this and that. He will play a character but he will know what to expect basically. Has anyone done this in the past? If so do you have any tips that make having a "DM aid" succesful and still fun for him to play?
I'm open to any and all ideas and suggestions, I want everyone to have fun and I think having him on my side will help me through our campaign.
As a person who DM's Adventure League games and also like to play in them from time to time, as long as your Co-DM/DM Aid is both excited about the adventure and also understands not to spoil things for everyone else, then everything should be fine. The problem comes up when the Aid ruins things for the other players by knowing all the twists and forcing things to follow how they thing the adventure should play out.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
If the Co-DM makes many of the large decisions and influences the group too much and leads them into planned encounters and stuff... it probably will not be as fun for the rest of the players... If the Co-DM is acting out a scripted role (basically more like controlling an NPC) just to help them as additional support and not influencing the situations at hand then it probably would be okay, though a bit boring since he is not really a player or a DM at this point...
Part of having fun as a DM is having to improvise based on the player's decisions... If you already know how everything will play out because the Co-DM is staying on script and basically leading everyone down the same path... it'll be a very linear story... then that's no fun for you either...
I wouldn't recommend this only because I feel D&D should be a living and ever-evolving story based on the actions and reactions of the players and the DM ... So having your Co-DM also be a player would be a challenge since he already knows the planned story and events to come...
With that said though, in the end of the day it's really about having fun and a good time with your friends. So, if you and the Co-DM can pull it off and everyone is still having a blast. Then go for it! ;)
I think I'll try to keep him as close to a player as possible. Maybe I can ask him to double check rules, take care of initiatives and help the less experienced players with things they run into without having to stop completely.
Can you think of any other smaller rolls that an experienced player could take on that wouldn't really be considered DM duties? Some things I can give to him to organize and take care of that don't impact the gameplay too much?
Can you think of any other smaller rolls that an experienced player could take on that wouldn't really be considered DM duties? Some things I can give to him to organize and take care of that don't impact the gameplay too much?
Some of the issues I run into with new players when I DM is getting them to stay in character while making decisions and speaking. New players tend to always ask me (the DM) questions... like if they can do this or that... the answer usually is that they can do anything, and if they want to do it, then go for it. :) Also, if a player is not okay with a decision made by another player they don't know how to react in character... for example:
Player A says he wants to kill the Orc prisoner by stabbing him in the face because he hates orcs. Player B says "OMG why would you do that?! He probably has some more information! I wouldn't kill him." Player A decides to stab him in the face anyways. Player B says "Why!?! We should keep him alive. That's stupid!" DM describes Player A stabbing the Orc through the eye and he dies... Player B says "Omg.... "
Situations like this happen often. If Player B really wanted to stop Player A from killing the Orc prisoner. He/she could have stepped in to grab that player's arm, shield the orc or even try to disarm the other player. Staying in character makes for better story-telling overall and it feels more natural.
Meta-Gaming can also cause issues like when players ask each other "Who has higher persuasion / investigation... etc." before talking to a merchant or looting... this takes the fun out of the role-playing if you base every decision off of stats. Or during an encounter with say a Displacer Beast and the meta gamer who's read the Monster Manual says "Oh, someone has to land a hit on him first and then we will not get disadvantage on our attack rolls because he will be visible.". But instead in this situation the players could have rolled a history check and see what information the DM decides to give out regarding the beast. Things like this ruin the game for other players.
So as a DM, in the middle of a session it's hard to tell your players how to play the game. But if your Co-DM player can lead by example how to better make decisions (role-play) the other players will get better over time.
I dunno if this is considered helping with DM duties but I think since your friend will be more experienced it will keep the session smooth and fun for everyone thus helping you, the DM, tell your story. :)
Sorry for the long ass reply... haha.
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"Lawful Good does not always mean Lawful Nice."
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Hey, I've been a player for a while but I'm new to 5e. Our DM lives out of town so we only get to play when he can make the trip.
I've decided to start a side campaign and I've asked a good friend to co-DM with me to help me with this and that. He will play a character but he will know what to expect basically. Has anyone done this in the past? If so do you have any tips that make having a "DM aid" succesful and still fun for him to play?
I'm open to any and all ideas and suggestions, I want everyone to have fun and I think having him on my side will help me through our campaign.
Thanks for your feedback!
As a person who DM's Adventure League games and also like to play in them from time to time, as long as your Co-DM/DM Aid is both excited about the adventure and also understands not to spoil things for everyone else, then everything should be fine. The problem comes up when the Aid ruins things for the other players by knowing all the twists and forcing things to follow how they thing the adventure should play out.
If the Co-DM makes many of the large decisions and influences the group too much and leads them into planned encounters and stuff... it probably will not be as fun for the rest of the players... If the Co-DM is acting out a scripted role (basically more like controlling an NPC) just to help them as additional support and not influencing the situations at hand then it probably would be okay, though a bit boring since he is not really a player or a DM at this point...
Part of having fun as a DM is having to improvise based on the player's decisions... If you already know how everything will play out because the Co-DM is staying on script and basically leading everyone down the same path... it'll be a very linear story... then that's no fun for you either...
I wouldn't recommend this only because I feel D&D should be a living and ever-evolving story based on the actions and reactions of the players and the DM ... So having your Co-DM also be a player would be a challenge since he already knows the planned story and events to come...
With that said though, in the end of the day it's really about having fun and a good time with your friends. So, if you and the Co-DM can pull it off and everyone is still having a blast. Then go for it! ;)
"Lawful Good does not always mean Lawful Nice."
You guys have some good points.
I think I'll try to keep him as close to a player as possible. Maybe I can ask him to double check rules, take care of initiatives and help the less experienced players with things they run into without having to stop completely.
Can you think of any other smaller rolls that an experienced player could take on that wouldn't really be considered DM duties? Some things I can give to him to organize and take care of that don't impact the gameplay too much?
Thanks for the input!
Player B says "OMG why would you do that?! He probably has some more information! I wouldn't kill him."
Player A decides to stab him in the face anyways.
Player B says "Why!?! We should keep him alive. That's stupid!"
DM describes Player A stabbing the Orc through the eye and he dies...
Player B says "Omg.... "
"Lawful Good does not always mean Lawful Nice."