Round Table GMing

PartyPanda
PartyPanda
edited April 2011 in General Discussion
Anyone ever try it? How did you work out the logistics?

My current idea is that I'm going to give my players an endpoint they need to meander to in 1-2 sessions. They will function as unreliable narrators and I will put together the "true" story of what happened based on the parts of the story that they tell and post the true version on OP so the players know what I'm taking as canon. My sole purpose during it will be to play out NPCs and run combat.

Thoughts?

~The Party Panda

Comments

  • FemmeLegion
    FemmeLegion
    Posts: 521 edited April 2011
    The "Heroes, Dallas" campaign did it.

    Pros:

    No single GM needs to feel the pressure of planning past one storyline.

    Cons:

    Some folks don't step up to plan anything (either unable or unwilling), so there's a risk of a "de facto" GM or LONG lag times between sessions

    Some people get along better as fellow players than as player/GM

    If people are having to switch out between playing and GMing, it's not always easy to "write out" the GM's PC

    There are always going to be some elements that will just plain be disjointed. The events in GM1's storyline might end up being really significant to Player4, but when GM2 takes over there's no real guarantee that the story will continue to incorporate those events. Either GM2 is the nervous sort who has been able to put together his/her own little arc to run and please don't ask much more, or GM2 won't feel "qualified" to continue that story thread, or GM2 doesn't actually notice that the events are important and anyway here's this other really cool development don't you want to pursue that instead?

    If you couldn't tell, that was my biggest complaint with the Heroes, Dallas campaign. Even after adjusting for the personal dynamic that I didn't like and will never understand, the whole thing just had a very herky-jerky patchwork feel to it that made it really hard for me to get comfortable.

    ETA: Upon re-reading, it sounds like you're still going to map out the overall journey of the storyline, which would be a step up from what we had. But there will still be the problem of following up on things that PCs find important - keep that in mind.
    Post edited by FemmeLegion on
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    We actually did that for a few session (before a couple players had to go back to school). However, we designed the game for this, and all of our players had at least a little experience DMing.

    The idea was that we were a team of bounty hunters, and each session (occasionally two) would be a new bounty or adventure, so that whoever was DMing could easily have their character sit out. It was basically set-up ilke a monster/crime scene/etc. of the week TV show, like Buffy, or Castle, where everything that happens is canon, but there's a new mini-plot each week in addition to the stuff that carries over through the series. It was actually a lot of fun while it lasted.

    However, we didn't attempt to map out any kind of a story, this was more of a sandbox type game. If everyone is on board with telling the story that you're coming up with, I don't see why it wouldn't work though. I wish you luck, and I look forward to reading what you come up with :).
  • PartyPanda
    PartyPanda
    Posts: 33
    I'm comfortable trying this with my group because it would be, at max, 2 sessions and I am working with a group of actors who are very skilled at improv games (think Who's Line is It Anyway). I see it working something like this (not the actual scenario):

    Endpoint: Everyone is eating delicious cherry pie.

    Player 1: Incorporate finding the cherry tree. End your story at getting to the baker's shop.
    Player 2: Incorporate saving the baker's kitten, end at Eli running into the room on fire.
    Player 3: Why did you ran into the room on fire? end at Kai being chased by Ace the horse.
    Player 4: Why is Kai being chased by Ace? end at Cobb shooting the Baker.
    Player 5: Why did you shoot the baker? End at eating delicious cherry pie.

    They'd be understanding that (a) They don't control the actions of the NPCs (b) Anything completely off the wall (ie taking dawn an entire regiment of the Union Army) simply won't be recognized in the "canon" story but they can feel free to lie their teeth off.

    My ulterior motive to this to force the players to tell me as a GM what is important to them in the story that they haven't had a chance to pursue. At some level I think they are waiting for me to tie certain elements of the mystery together, but I would like them to be a little more proactive and I'm hoping this will force them to do so.

    We're going to have to go on a 2 week hiatus soon because I'll be traveling, but that will also give me a chance to adjust the upcoming big storyline to suit the players interest if I know what they are.
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    I brought up this idea a few weeks ago to all my gamers friends, and most weren't too crazy about the idea, but here's what I was imagining:

    Its a CLUE (like the board game) type of one-shot adventure. The Primary GM sets up the beginning scene where every PC gets to meet each other and the NPCs and most importantly develop a perspective or opinion about the other characters. Then the DM cuts to the end scene where the murder has happened and everyone is being questioned by a detective. They are giving their ideas about what happened... This is when the player of that PC gets to DM. As DM they make up scenarios in which they act like directors telling people what is going on, setting up not just the scene but the motivations. The fun part is that everyone gets to play their characters, but with the twist of how other people view them. So if PC A thinks that PC B is a stuck up snob then when A is the DM then player B must play their character as a stuck up snob. And if PC B thinks A is secretly working for ______ to kill the victim for whatever motivation, then player A has to act that way when player B DMs.....

    I was considering that there could be a few "constants" like such and such and so and so were caught talking in the shadows in the library and Mr. Whoever was seen with a knife, and Mrs. Somebody secretly hated the victim for reason X. Things like that can be used to keep things revolving around a few possible "facts".

    The true story could then be told by the DM speaking as the detective telling everyone how he cracked the case (like Holmes), or it could be played out by the group... whatever. Its a pretty open idea right now.
  • JonathonVolkmer
    JonathonVolkmer
    Posts: 114
    PartyPanda, DarkMagus, those both sound like very viable ideas to me, depending on the make-up of one's group. I certainly envy you the improv-trained actors, Panda. I was (once upon a time) in a improv comedy troupe myself, and I feel like it raised my game considerably. Sadly, one of my players utterly refuses to take part in any mental warm-ups, which makes it less fun and effective for the others.

    Regardless, that sounds like a ton of fun, Panda. I'm hoping that my own group can take more and more of the reins themselves as our game heats up.

    DarkMagus, one suggestion I might have for you: rather than solving the case for the PCs at the end, you might consider keeping the spotlight on them and letting the "facts" of the case become flexible. That is, if you're going to have several viable suspects anyway, maybe the party can vote at the end to decide which version of the story they think is true. They and the detective can act on it, and you can decide whether they were right or got fooled - possibly leading to similar mysteries down the road.
  • PartyPanda
    PartyPanda
    Posts: 33
    I raised the subject with my players yesterday, they seemed fairly receptive. The only one who seems to be hesitant is my husband (the only non-actor, but strangely enough he DM's D&D, but to be fair he is a little less fast and loose in him DMing style).

    @ JonathonVolkmer - That's a shame about your one player :-(. Working with actors is a heck of a lot of fun, only problem is that they have a tendency to play everything for laughs, even moments that are meant to be serious.

    @ DarkMagus - I also was thinking about asking the players to play their character from the storyteller's perspective, but I wasn't sure how it would work. I think most of them would give a fairly straightforward presentation, with the exception of the Blessed Muckracker, I'm pretty sure all of a sudden the gunslinger would be a godlike figure who shoots lightening bolts out of his eyes LOL!
    For what its worth I agree with JonathonVolkmer on keeping the facts of the case flexible if you can get your group on board, that why your players can feel all smartsypants.
  • JonathonVolkmer
    JonathonVolkmer
    Posts: 114
    Good luck then!

    Ha, yes, I suppose they often do at that. The line between drama and melodrama is so thin sometimes.
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