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BigPapaSmurf
2008-08-26, 01:21 PM
So Ive always wanted to play with two DMs but have never had the numbers to accomodate my wishes,

the idea is that while the primary DM stops to roll this or check on that, Co-DM can use the time to describe the surroundings in detail or add other flavor to the game during downtime (having gone over the area ahead of time with the Primary). The Co-DM would ideally "Play" the non-PC types during the session preventing the Primary DM from railroading and manipulating battles with pre-thought out strategies. The Primary will never really even need to look at the MM except to determine treasure/exp. The Co-DM only needs to know the treasure results ahead of time so that it may use the items it has at it's disposal, no more finding unused healing potions on a guy who should have used them.

The Co-DM doesnt need to play all the opponents, perhaps just the bosses, the Primary can then take instructions for the subordinates from the Co-DM.

Anybody ever play a game along these lines?

Thorosofmyr
2008-08-26, 02:08 PM
I was a co-gm for one game in the past, and it really was a good idea.

In addition to lightening the work load for the GM in determining what's what and which rule where, it also proved very valuable in the creation of the story. With the two of us, it was basically a writer and editor bit. He had the story, but didn't know how to put it down into an RPG. I knew the rules well enough, but couldn't create a world nearly that detailed. We were two halves making a whole.

From the post, it looks like the two of you are using a setup that is much more balanced. You both know the story and the rules and function together to help with book-keeping and saving time. Less downtime for everyone sounds pretty awesome in my book, especially for a 3.x dnd game (which it sounds like you're running).

My only advice is to stay on the same page as often as possible. Confusion between the two of you can grind the game to a screeching halt. Players in my situation also looked towards the more lenient dm for favorable rule calls. Not accusing any of your players of anything, simply be on the lookout for that.

Also, make up euphemisms that are encoded as often as you can. Then watch as your players start dreading whatever you two are hinting at to each other. Do your best to make them cringe whenever you ask your co dm about "the thing" that happens "later".:smallsmile:

Gorbash
2008-08-26, 02:37 PM
Well, it kinda seems boring to me to be a Co-DM. And it somehow seems odd. I mean the whole point of D&D is One DM to rule them all, right? There is only one DM and he does not share power and all that. I really wouldn't like it if somehow I have to make DMing decisions with someone else. Or describe stuff.

As for sharing the load, I always have one PC keep track of initiative list and one keeps track of spells in effect.

Tengu_temp
2008-08-26, 02:42 PM
I mean the whole point of D&D is One DM to rule them all, right? There is only one DM and he does not share power and all that.

I hope that's written with a pinch of salt.

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The general idea is very good, if you manage to find someone who'd enjoy being the co-DM, and if you two are good in communicating with each other (otherwise the co-DM might accidentally say something that's against what you planned for the campaign). There are some games that even mention playing like that in the rules and encourage it.

This is of little use for me, though, as I play mostly PbP anyway.

Thrud
2008-08-26, 09:32 PM
I have never done the co-gm thing, but I have done tag-team gm, and that was a lot of fun too. In that system, each DM would run one session. We only played every other week, and we took turns being a round robin. So each DM had a couple of weeks to plan out what was going to happen from the point where the game left off. If you are all a group of friends who are decent DMs, then this can be a great way to spread the load around. The problem is if you have powergamers or people who can't separate themselves from their characters when they are GMing, then the whole thing is doomed to failure. But this one was great because there were 5 of us, and we all have different styles of play. The guy that started us liked classic superhero games. The next guy who took over liked fantasy, and added a magic element to the game. The next guy (me) was on a sci-fi kick, and added aliens infiltrating the planet. The next guy was into time travel stories and had fun with those convoluted plotlines, and the last guy was really good at melding all those disparate threads together before passing it back to the first guy. That was some of the best fun I have ever had gaming, and it was with Champions (Hero system), the worlds buggiest and most powergaming prone system.

Anyway, if both of you are on the same page there, you could try sharing the load that way, one of you runs the game for the night, the other plays the NPCs, then switch off. I played in a game like that once, where one guy just played NPCs all the time. It helped things out enormously, coz the DM was great at keeping things organized, and the other guy was great at improvisation, accents, etc. He wasn't so much a co-dm though, because though he knew some detailed stuff about his character, he didn't really know what was going on in the world.

Dunno if that helps any, but they were both positive experiences for me.

BigPapaSmurf
2008-08-27, 11:58 AM
I didnt mean to imply it would be a 50/50 deal. The Primary DM should handle all arguments and have the last word on all issues, the Co-DM is only there for non-essential details, reference checking and NPC controlling, players can not try to press an issue with the CoDM if they don't get their way for the Primary.

Another thing I used to do is give my friends brother a list of things NPCX can do and have him play the NPCX, you don't need to know exactly how to play to direct an NPC.