DM'ing as a party member (Gestalt)

[Bethrezen]

First off, let me introduce myself. Name's Bethrezen, been playing D20 since i was 14. Have played mostly fighters and rogues with the odd cleric here and there.

Anywho, having recently injured my hand, I decided to introduce D&D/Pathfinder to my friends (Can't really play Tekken and the like with a healing flexor tendon). So far i've gotten one of my friends on board and i'm trying to get a few others, though most seem daunted by the prospect of having to write up a character. I ended up starting up my campaign with just the one friend with the hopes of just writing in the others as they come around to it. While everything is going smoothly so far (my friend is playing a Chaotic Neutral Fetchling Bard/Rogue while i'm playing a Neutral Evil Warforged Soulknife/Psychic Warrior, both at level 10) I have a feeling it's going to be hard getting my friend to move the story along at a reasonable pace since i'm both a PC and the DM.

Any suggestions on how to kinda nudge him along without my PC taking over?

[JusticeZero]

Kill off the DMPC as part of some sort've attack that forces the players to react or be rolled over flat. Leave a bunch of stuff in ruins and leave them stumbling after in fear of their imminent death. After that, they are either going to come raring after your enemies for revenge, in which case you have an adventure, or they are going to slip off to start a new life as pirates or mercenaries or some such thing, in which case you have adventures.

[Bethrezen]

While I like the idea of killing off my DMPC, perhaps as a "necessary sacrifice" for the mission, that hinges on getting enough of my other friends on the D&D bandwagon to fill my place in the party without forcing any of them into the now empty role. I'm essentialy filling the "wade into the fray, greatweapon swinging" role, mostly because my friend's PC has an atrocious STR stat (it's a 6 if you're wondering). Thankfully his DEX and CHA are pushing 20 and 18 respectively, with decent scores in CON and INT. Also, I'm not sure I should kill him off if I only get 1 or 2 more players. Perhaps making him a recurring "hireling" or mercenary NPC that they frequently run into, maybe on opposite sides of the conflict occasionally?

[Dlkpi]

The mercenary idea seems like a pretty good one. You could also consider doing something to render the DMPC mentally invalid - so that your party member is forced to take the initiative in story events without losing your meatshield in battles.

I've done something similar DMing for a small-ish (3 person) party with no divine caster. I gave them a DMPC cleric so they'd have a healer/buffer, but I made her a 10 year old girl so she was absolutely useless out of battle. That way, I could subtly/innocently drive the plot when I absolutely had to, but for the most part they had to make things happen themselves rather than rely on me to push the plot on them.

[Crake]

The mercenary idea seems like a pretty good one. You could also consider doing something to render the DMPC mentally invalid - so that your party member is forced to take the initiative in story events without losing your meatshield in battles.

I've done something similar DMing for a small-ish (3 person) party with no divine caster. I gave them a DMPC cleric so they'd have a healer/buffer, but I made her a 10 year old girl so she was absolutely useless out of battle. That way, I could subtly/innocently drive the plot when I absolutely had to, but for the most part they had to make things happen themselves rather than rely on me to push the plot on them.

this one's not a bad idea, have the DMPC get hit by a feeblemind. set's his cha and int to 1, which shouldn't affect his combat much, since psychic warriors are wis based.

[Bethrezen]

this one's not a bad idea, have the DMPC get hit by a feeblemind. set's his cha and int to 1, which shouldn't affect his combat much, since psychic warriors are wis based.

My PC's cha is already a 7, pretty much already socially inept. The first time our PC's interacted, the phrases "soft one" and "meatbag" came up rather judiciously. I do like the idea of dropping his int a bit though, maybe to a 9 or 10, make him a little more simple minded.