[DMPC thread] And then I felt the dread.

[Hyena]

I'll spare you the details, but I have a DMPC in the game and no way to avoid that.

Wait, no. I can't spare you the details. Well, let me keep this short - the game in question is not a PnP-game, but a FRPG with really weird rules. It has DM-player quest system, where to every player there's a DM assigned, who's telling his character's personal story. Of course, every DM has a character of his own, who's handled by another DM. But the FRPG ALSO has those things called organizations, which now have organization-level quests, when every member of the organization is involved, and they're DMed by organization's leader. Who, I remind you, has a character of his own. That is organization's leader IC. See my point now?

So, right now I see two choices.

1) My character becomes a full-blown DMPC, who's in the middle of the action with everyone else, doing stuff and being awesome. However, this will inevitably create the usual spotlight-stealing problem that all games with DMPCs have - and because this DMPC is my beloved character, this is going to get bad. I don't want that.
2) The other option is, my character stays in the background. Which, if overdone - and it must be overdone in order to keep the attention on the actual player characters, not mine character (the leader, remember?), will raise questions like "Wait, our leader is constantly trapped, disabled, knocked unconcious, splits up with us, and every time she does something, it happens off-screen and doesn't have impact on the plot as a whole. Uh, why's she the leader, again?"

Help me, Giantitp. You're my only hope.

PS: This is basically the first time organization-level quest happens, ever, so I can't adress previous experiences.

[Honest Tiefling]

The leader is a fantastic leader. Wise, intelligent, paitent, etc. She keeps good track of all of that paperwork, and her best skill is organization and logistics. But for whatever reason, she is not as able in combat.

Maybe she is a grizzled cigar chomping vet a decade past her physical prime who sees potential in these recruits. Even the potential to replace her, should she get too old for this or die. Not only is she a poor choice for leading the charge, but she wants to test and train the player characters in case something happens to her.

[Mittur]

Since I don't know the system you are talking about, I'm not sure if my advice is feasible or not for your situation, but it might be helpful.

I would recommend making your character fill a support role. She should handle her own when alone but when working with a group do mostly setup (planning, strategizing, buffing, etc.), while letting the PCs execute the plan that the group comes up with. That way, if your character is ever in a bad situation, she doesn't seem like a deadweight or a damsel in distress, but also is helpful and doesn't steal the spotlight from the main characters in the story either.

It would be like playing a support Bard in D&D with a party of Fighter-types and blaster-type casters. Helpful, no doubt. Helpless? Not at all. But who ends up doing most the work of disposing of the enemies? The rest of the party. They get the feeling of satisfaction of taking down the enemies whilst still recognizing you as an integral part of their success.

Another good example would be Star Wars. When the Rebels are trying to blow up the Death Star, the strategists and leaders coming up with battle plans and commanding supporting troops aren't the main characters in the story. Luke is, because he ends up being the one to successfully execute the plan and destroy the Death Star. He gets all the glory, but the other participants in the plan are recognized as well, in the universe if not necessarily in the film.

If things don't work out the very first time, it probably isn't a big deal. Just be honest with the PCs and let them know of your dilemma. They'll most likely understand and see that you are doing your best to reach a healthy balance between usefulness and second-fiddle without trying to take it to the extremes of spotlight-stealer or deadweight.

[goto124]

A DM is assigned to every player? That's like a 50/50 split between DMs and players, which is a lot of DMs...

[SiuiS]

"Spotlight issues that come from DMPCs" is a flawed premise. There is no inherent spotlight issue.

Play well, play fair, don't sweat, and see what happens. You're borrowing trouble you don't need and that might not exist.

[Yora]

Have the character resign from leader position?

[ILM]

Go off on a solo quest for info or to secure a McGuffin or exfiltration or diplomacy/secure new allies?

See Colonel Fury? He's virtually never there with the agents but he's still unquestionably the boss. Be Colonel Fury.