Co-Dming

[Mulletman258]

So I'm about to dm my first campaign. And since I'm very new to it, I've asked a friend to help me run the combat stuff and help keep everything smooth. How can I let him run an npc/pc type character effectively to help the other pcs?

[frost890]

The biggest problem with running a npc is that it can not seem like you are out pacing the players. Other then that you are just playing the char. As for the Co-DM I would say have ground rules on what you both do and what you can not do. You can not give out a epic blade of kill all without clearing it with the other DM. If he is just running combat is he also doing the enemy equipment. I found most of the ways I break the Dm is in how I use items and what i do, not just what my class says I can do. Clarify what each of you will be doing. Some people like to use maneuvers and trick options and others just hit something until it stops twitching.

[jjcrpntr]

I've never had a co-dm but when I first started dming in about the 3rd or 4th session we had a guy (who still plays) who had been dming 3.5 for a long time. He was a very valuable piece of information. In general if i wasn't sure on something I could ask him as pathfinder and 3.5 are so very similar.

He was just another player. Sometimes someone would try and do something and I'd say "how does that go?" and he'd be able to point out the rules that go with that. Was a big help getting started dming for me.

[OldTrees1]

One campaign I have helped my DM manage larger combat encounters when I was playing a PC. Despite Co-DMing in this regard, I was just another PC and was treated no differently. This required the other players to trust me to run the monsters impartially.

Likewise in the same campaign I helped my DM create interesting encounter compositions and unit stat blocks. However I never knew when or even if the DM would use one.

This is bare minimum Co-DMing but it has no problems or concerns.

[Keltest]

Well first thing is first, make sure you treat him like just another player. If he isn't involved in running the story elements at all, that is significantly helpful in that regard as there is no chance of him accidentally metagaming.

Having said that, if he is running the encounters and you run the other aspects, why don't you just have it so that you are playing his character during encounters? He might still be biased towards/against his character, but frankly that's a danger even when the DM is not controlling a character (he might take a liking to one character or another).