Other Collaberative GMs?

[cran]

I was thinking on this and wondered if anyone had experience running a game/campaign collaboratively. As in, have you ever had an RP where both you and another person were GMs and ran the game together? I was thinking it could be a good way to operate if, for example, one GM had a busy schedule and couldn't update as much as they'd like. Co-moderators could compare ideas with one another and work together to build the world and story.
Has anyone ever tried this? Or participated in a game where this was the case? Does it sound like something you'd be interested in trying, or does it seem too complicated to run an RP headed by two people?

 

[duegxybus]

This is actually common. I've had co-GMs in the past, and I've been a co-GM myself in RPs that have 3 or 4 GMs. If I were you I'd try to keep that number to 2 (3 if you have a bigger project), or else you could have too many GMs.

A good way to operate it is what you mentioned - GMs can share ideas together for an RP, check each others' content to make sure that there aren't plot holes or inconsistencies, or just have more stuff in your campaign.

There are a few drawbacks though. There will be debating and players might feel as though they're out of the loop with the GMs talking amongst themselves all the time. Members might also feel like multiple GMs means the plot is already decided on and may feel like the roleplay is similar to walking along a wall.

Is there anything in particular you want to know about how to handle more than one GM? Maybe I can check your case out and help you decide how to handle multiple GMs, or if you need it.

Drop me a message and we can talk!

 

[cran]

This is actually common. I've had co-GMs in the past, and I've been a co-GM myself in RPs that have 3 or 4 GMs. If I were you I'd try to keep that number to 2 (3 if you have a bigger project), or else you could have too many GMs.

A good way to operate it is what you mentioned - GMs can share ideas together for an RP, check each others' content to make sure that there aren't plot holes or inconsistencies, or just have more stuff in your campaign.

There are a few drawbacks though. There will be debating and players might feel as though they're out of the loop with the GMs talking amongst themselves all the time. Members might also feel like multiple GMs means the plot is already decided on and may feel like the roleplay is similar to walking along a wall.

Is there anything in particular you want to know about how to handle more than one GM? Maybe I can check your case out and help you decide how to handle multiple GMs, or if you need it.

Drop me a message and we can talk!

Thanks for your response! I suspected there might already be some cases of this but I'd never heard of it in any of the (admittedly small) circles I RPd within. I don't have any specific plans for co-modding right now but it's something I've just been generally thinking about.
I love to run RPs but a lot of times I run into issues with scheduling and keeping up my motivation, and also being a GM makes me feel isolated sometimes because I feel like there's sort of a divide between me and the players. That in particular is something I think I really need to remedy if I'm going to be a good GM, and I wondered if maybe having someone to chat and brainstorm ideas with mid-game would help.
I think I'll definitely consider this going forward, though I don't know when next I'll be running anything.

 

[Idea]

Yep, as D duegxybus mentioned, it's actually a pretty common thing to happen. Co-Gms are a tactic many adopt not simply for schedule reasons, but sometimes to distribute work or to allow the GM to experience surprises as well. There are many kinds of co-GMs too. In one case, a Co-GM is a parallel Gm in equal footing to the original GM: Both share about the same power over decisions in the RP and wield the same authority, player favoritism aside. There are also strategies where a co-GM is more like a secondary GM, not that they are less worthwhile for it, but simply they don't exert as much influence.

I myself ran one such RP. I appointed co-GMs who could help second-guess some of my decisions, as well as do some very necessary but not as heavy tasks for the RP. If you try this, though, remember to keep healthy communication and share tasks with the co-GM in a way that doesn't feel like their being treated "like second best" so to speak.

Lastly of sustainable models, is the delegated GM team. It's a group of GM that exert more or less the same influence, but not over the same part of the RP. For instance, one GM might be in charge of characters and have full authority in what regards to characters and their approval, whereas another will have authority over what in the OOC constitutes and infringing of the rules etc...with of course, a head GM who manages the team itself, plus any leftover tasks.

 

[duegxybus]

Thanks for your response! I suspected there might already be some cases of this but I'd never heard of it in any of the (admittedly small) circles I RPd within. I don't have any specific plans for co-modding right now but it's something I've just been generally thinking about.
I love to run RPs but a lot of times I run into issues with scheduling and keeping up my motivation, and also being a GM makes me feel isolated sometimes because I feel like there's sort of a divide between me and the players. That in particular is something I think I really need to remedy if I'm going to be a good GM, and I wondered if maybe having someone to chat and brainstorm ideas with mid-game would help.
I think I'll definitely consider this going forward, though I don't know when next I'll be running anything.

I'm sure that the divide you experience between yourself and the players isn't all that uncommon, but it did stand out to me. I've done my fair share of GMing and it does get lonely, mostly because you're the one responsible for projecting your creations onto your members. It's hard to tell how much they know or feel the world as much as you do.

You don't even necessarily need co-GMs if you're looking for someone to chat and brainstorm ideas with, though. You could just have members who are familiar with your plot, and you could bounce ideas off of them. Or, better yet (if you're doing a small group RP), bounce ideas off of everyone. You could do the community approach if you have a tighter group. That might ease up the divide between you (the GM) and the players since everyone has a say in the plot.


Oh! And I'll throw in this lil' bit of random advice for GMing. I think it kind of relates to the whole divide between the players & the GM.

-Don't GM-down. Bring the members up.

What this means is basically don't try to be a "down-to-Earth" GM by talking to members about input. Not only does that feel super awkward, but it also kills the vibe. I've made this mistake several times in the past and it's really made my past RPs suffer. Instead, just try to bring the players up. Keep them in the loop and don't be afraid to divulge necessary information. Show, don't tell is a good rule but... some things need to be told.

Members have just as much a part in the story as the GM does. The GM builds the bones and the body, sets up the necessary connections, and lays in some muscles. But the members are the ones that have to make it move and throw in the rest of the "meat."

Personally I'd like to be as close to the GM as possible as a member in an RP. Even if it's not GMing, I'd want to know that the GM is there to have a good time just like us, and isn't just there to please their members. ^^

 

[Onmyoji]

I ran a rp with multiple GMs (I think 3 or 4). And they were responsible for different things. The rp we had was location-based. So the plot was divided into several plot lines that happened simultaneously in differenr locations, because there were many people playing and we had to manage them somehow. Each GM was reponsible for one location. When we needed to do something global, that would affect the whole metagame in all locations, we agreed on that and introduced to each respective location.

Granted, I don't do group RPs anymore, but I doubt organizational things changed much since I last did.

 

[deer]

hello there!
yes! a 1000x yes! i've been a GM and co-GM on and off! i'm currently GM-ing two roleplays and i have co-GMed about [three] roleplays that were on-going at once! i find it easier to split up the "work load" among the GMs only because one; you won't get burnt out easily and two; sometimes two heads is better than one! of course the main ingredient is communication and organisation! at the same time, i've collaborated with at least [four] people before when it came to world-building and the world is still being processed and worked upon!

i find that roleplays that involved a lot of lore is much more enjoyable when you have at least one or two more heads to help keep you motivated, like your very own support system! at the same time, you can separate "task" to your other GMs such as one deals with character sheets, one deals with organisation, and etc. but, in essence, all of you work together to go back and forth with your ideas! it does wonders to make sure everyone is on the same page so that if one of you aren't online for a certain amount of time, the other GM can come and fill in and vice versa!

it's quite a neat idea to have and it helps so much, especially for those who are new to GMing, this is a great way to get your feet wet!
at the same time, i prefer to co-GM and GM with those i personally know so i build a lot of interpersonal relationships with those i meet in various group roleplays!
having people you click, connect, vibe, or what have you, does wonders!