DM wants to play too

[SimiD]

Hi Playgrounders.

First time long time and all that.

I am DMing a 5e game for my son and his friends, but, well, I want to play too. I have some recurring NPCs but they are not scratching the itch. This got me thinking. Has anyone heard of a way to run a cooperative adventure where everyone has a character in the game and the DMing is shared around the table? Maybe another system? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

[TurboGhast]

I've done DMing in a round before, where the DM changes after the conclusion of each adventure. This might not exactly be what you're looking for, however.

[weaseldust]

If it's not necessary for everyone to play at once, as long as you all get a turn, you could have the characters be members of an adventurer's guild or similar organisation. For each quest, the guild sends out only so many of the people on their books, and whoever DMs that day is the one whose character isn't sent on that particular mission.


If you want everyone to play at once and DM cooperatively, you can make it work, but it will either require a simple campaign or a complicated DMing system.

You can use this generator (http://donjon.bin.sh/5e/random/#type=encounter;n_pc=4;level=1;difficulty=any;envi ronment=Underdark) (not my work) to create encounters. There are other generators on the same site for quests, locations, and even whole adventures (http://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/adventure/). But in all but the simplest game, the DM has other tasks you'll have to find a way to cover.

For instance, even after you create a combat encounter, you have to decide who is targeted by which monster. One way is to have markers for the characters, pick a die for each monster, then scatter the dice on the table and have each monster attack the nearest character. If you want an overriding plot, you can also generate that randomly - e.g. you have a hat full of bonds like 'works for the villain', 'is the villain in disguise', 'falsely believes you are the villain', and then for each random encounter you pick one from the hat to determine its relationship to the plot.

Non-combat encounters (e.g. traps) can also be generated randomly, of course. More interesting encounters (e.g. trying to put out a fire in a munitions factory, trying to escort the drunk duchess home without causing a scandal) are harder to generate. There are two methods I know. One is just to have a hat into which each player puts suggestions for things that could go wrong in the current circumstances. Once or twice per day, you pick one at random. Or you can create your own templates, like "[Random friendly NPC] is kidnapped by [Random evil NPC] and turned into a [random beast]". You can have several of those templates in a hat and every so often pick one out, then fill in the blanks at random. You can also use this to generate plots - it just depends how much time you have on your hands.

It's also possible to just agree on what should happen without determining it randomly. If everyone agrees that the villain will make sure her study is guarded day and night, that's what she does.

Two minor suggestions if you go the cooperative route: 1) anyone can give anyone else inspiration at any time, and 2) whenever an event occurs, any player can call for a plot development - then everyone writes down a way the situation could be explained, solved, or made worse (depending on the circumstances), and one is picked from a hat. In particular, the latter helps for fleshing out plots or NPCs (e.g. if there is a call for an explanation as to why the blacksmith would assault the sheriff, and the explanation that gets picked is an ancient feud between their families).

[JBPuffin]

If you want to try something new, look up the Mythic GM Simulator. Its quite the catch and is meant in part for just this sort of thing.

[Malifice]

Hi Playgrounders.

First time long time and all that.

I am DMing a 5e game for my son and his friends, but, well, I want to play too. I have some recurring NPCs but they are not scratching the itch. This got me thinking. Has anyone heard of a way to run a cooperative adventure where everyone has a character in the game and the DMing is shared around the table? Maybe another system? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

The 'Plot point' variant in the 5E DMG does just this. Cant remember the page number though.

[McNinja]

Hi Playgrounders.

First time long time and all that.

I am DMing a 5e game for my son and his friends, but, well, I want to play too. I have some recurring NPCs but they are not scratching the itch. This got me thinking. Has anyone heard of a way to run a cooperative adventure where everyone has a character in the game and the DMing is shared around the table? Maybe another system? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.If you want to play, just create a character and play too! Hell, I'm running a campaign and I'm playing two different characters - a life cleric (that is actually an ancient brass dragon) and a death cleric.

[McNinja]

The 'Plot point' variant in the 5E DMG does just this. Cant remember the page number though.
Page 269. There's also some more options if you decide to use the Plot Points.

[Laserlight]

Why do you want to play?

If you like being the party Face and figuring out what the DM's villains are up to, then I'd expect problems. The DM-NPC shouldn't outshine the characters.

If you want the tactical combat....well, I'd just look at creating more interesting combinations of monsters for the fights, and figure out your own victory conditions. "These hobgoblins will all die, but I'm going to try to hold the gate for three turns."

That said, I've read of a system where the players developed the dungeon themselves. The schtick was that they were talking to the local ranger sergeant, priest, librarian, etc, and finding out the floor plan and what sort of monsters lived there, but the effect was "Alice drew up a map, Bob created the troll tribe who control the north part, Candace built a BBEG necromancer and his minions for the southeast, Doug designed some traps, Ed made up some wandering monsters." The DM makes some changes--"turns out that corridor has collapsed", or "the troll shaman can make Fire Resist potions"--which the party finds out about during the adventure. If I were trying the player-DM route, I'd make up several options (eg 1d20: 1-8 the trolls have Fire Resist potions; 9-15 the trolls have another caster; 16-20, the trolls have more Regenerate than expected; or 1d20: 1-14 the room is as expected, 15-19 there has been a collapse or other change, 20 a trap) and roll the die when you get to it.

[SimiD]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for the replies.

One of my worries, and the reason I don't just run a DMPC, is that I want the kids to find their own path, rather than just follow the DMPC.

I was hoping for some sort of cooperative situation. I haven't worked it all out yet, but I'm thinking that there could be some sort of resource, like a fate point. Each player would have one, and when a player thinks of something, they would use their fate point and then narrate that 'scene', and the other players would react to that. The other players would use their fate points to narrate other scenarios, until everyone had used theirs. Then give out a new batch and keep going.

I think maybe I will try it on a limited basis, sort of like inspiration, and see if they take to it.

I will also have a look at the DMG and see if I can use what is there. And the encounter generator. And the mythic thing.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

[McNinja]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for the replies.

One of my worries, and the reason I don't just run a DMPC, is that I want the kids to find their own path, rather than just follow the DMPC.

I was hoping for some sort of cooperative situation. I haven't worked it all out yet, but I'm thinking that there could be some sort of resource, like a fate point. Each player would have one, and when a player thinks of something, they would use their fate point and then narrate that 'scene', and the other players would react to that. The other players would use their fate points to narrate other scenarios, until everyone had used theirs. Then give out a new batch and keep going.

I think maybe I will try it on a limited basis, sort of like inspiration, and see if they take to it.

I will also have a look at the DMG and see if I can use what is there. And the encounter generator. And the mythic thing.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Like I said I play 2 DMPCs in my campaign, and they are, for the most part, silent, unless the players are really missing something I want them to see or may be crucial to the story. They (the other players) always make the big decisions, my characters just follow along.

[Laserlight]

One of my worries, and the reason I don't just run a DMPC, is that I want the kids to find their own path, rather than just follow the DMPC.

I have avoided being the leader by playing characters who were incapable, either through lack of INT or through lack of sanity. (The Bard--"We can either stay in town and try to talk to the countess, or we can head north and try to deal with the problem ourselves. What do you think?" Me--"I think...butterflies are pretty!")

I think Mythic has some good concepts but I think it's a bit more complicated than it needs to be. This (http://tinysolitarysoldiers.blogspot.com/2012/04/solo-rpg.html) suggests:


For each question, roll a d6 and read the following result (If your Hero has a significant advantage, roll a second d6 along with it and choose the result. If a significant disadvantage, roll the second D6 but take the worst result for the hero):

1-No And
2-No
3-No But
4-Yes But
5- Yes
6-Yes And

("and" means it's a stronger-than-expected success or failure, "but" means it's limited--for example "you successfully knocked the door down but you fell and are prone or disarmed")

In addition, roll a different colored D6. This is the Twist Die.. If it comes up a 1, there is a twist to the scene.

What is the twist? Take 2 different colored D6, declare which one is "first" and roll them, then consult the following chart:

1st d6
1-NPC
2-PC
3-Organization
4-Physical event
5-Emotional event
6-Item

2nd d6
1-Appears
2-Alters the location
3-Helps the hero
4-Hinders the hero
5-Changes the goal
6-Ends the scene