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New games are pretty hard to get into on these boards and I have noticed that sometimes we, the game masters, start new games just because we would like to play something, but we can not get into any games that are forming. So, since I am on a business trip and most of my books are unavailable to me right now I have started to think on that problem and an idea came to me: How about Game Masters Only game? Are there enough game masters out there who would like to play something for a change? We could decide on a game world/campaign setting and rotate our GM duties monthly, or by level or however. I am ready to be the first to run the game, if needs be.
So, any takers?
I'm have been trying to join a pbp game myself for sometime. I'm already playing a Kingmaker game and GMing a homebrew PF game, but have time to join another game, and am willing to rotate turn as GM. Hope we are talking of PF.
I am possibly interested.
I am GMing Dresden Files and Saga Star Wars. I do get to play in one Pathfinder Realms game and one Saga Star Wars game.
I am not sure that I am fully your target audience because I do get to play in both PbP gaming and RL gaming (while GMing both too).
I have the same dilema. I have been tempted to run another game, even though I'm running 2 at once. Curse of the Crimson Throne and Pathfinderised Realms one which Smerg is a part of.
I am a player in two games, however one runs really slow and one seems to have paused after the DM said "Roll for inititive" and it looks like everyone rolled but he hasn't posted since thursday. I also play in one RL game campaign, set in the realms though unortunatly aquiring magic items is difficult and just about as impossible as finding a specific magic item off the next NPC you meet that you have no knowledge of.
I have realised, so many people want games and whenever someone advertises one it's either a "first come, first serve" which I didn't see soon enough or it has rules that make me want to pull my eyes out.
The idea of interchangable DMs sounds interesting, however it would be difficult not to metagame certain things, then again it would be a fun experiement.
I like this idea. Like many DM's I've run many games and played in only a few.
Your idea might also tie-in with one an idea I had a few days ago: avoid the Adventure Paths and focus on standalone adventures, while also shifting to different PCs and levels at times.
For example, the first adventure might be a 1st level affair, while the 2nd was a 14th level thing, using different PCs with the same players. The third adventure might return to the PCs from the first adventure, but now 2nd or 3rd level but in an unconnected adventure. This provides a bit more variety for the players and allows them to explore different builds and concepts. It's also a lot easier for DM's to run standalone adventures vs. a path in terms of prep time and record keeping.
Anyway, I thought this might work well for your idea of rotating DMs.
My only drawbacks are that I've never DM'd PbP and have only just signed up for my first as a player. I'd need to see the process from a player's perspective before I took the leap as DM. Otherwise, I've been DM'ing for almost 30 years, and would love to be part of a group of my peers.
This sounds like it would be very interesting. Perhaps run only relatively short adventures? Say, two or three encounters per DM-turn? Using some contrivance (private investigators, roving bounty hunters, special government agents) the same group of characters could have episodic action that wouldn't require a great deal of continuity. Just a thought.
Rogue Trader looks pretty neat, but I have never played Warhammer in my life. Strange, I know, it has just passed me by for some reason.
The World Serpent Inn looks very interesting. Reminds me a bit of the 90's television program Sliders. Hmm...
I also think people should post to the recruitment thread with their DM backgrounds and how they never get to play, rather than a character concept. :-)
"I started DM'ing at the age of 5 when I ran "Slave Pits of the Undercity" for my little sister and 3 of her dolls. The group completed the A-series and half of the G-series before it split up due to real-life concerns and the fact that the dog chewed up the My Little Pony. Since then, I've run many games, but have only played in one session when my college roommate promised not to be drunk for the afternoon. It was fun and I'm looking forward to the next opportunity. I even have that original cleric I played, complete with 142xp, though I've statted him out to 18th level just in case, and he's a recurring NPC in my homebrew campaign."
There are enough people for interest. How would you want to proceed with this idea?
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Yes, there are more than enough interested people.
Now, the question is - where do we want to play? Does anyone have a favorite published setting? I think that some sandbox homebrew is not the best of options, since we plan to have rotating DMs. I think that we need a setting large enough to accommodate all of ours DMing styles. Any suggestions? There is always Golarion, of course, but I tend to prefer more exotic settings, such as Midnight or Scarred Lands or something like that. What do you all think?
Sorry for not posting here for some time...still here and still interested.
Any hope for a game in The Elder Scroll settings *_* ? I suppose not ?
If we go with 'multiple' lands type of approach then I suggest a 'home base' inside some Wizard's Guild.
The players are a mixture of 'guinea pigs' and 'recovery experts' that the guild dispatches through the 'Wizard's Gate' or 'Eye of Odin' (Don't want to infringe upon Stargate or Fringeworthy too badly ;>).
Sometimes the Guild will send the group through the gate to 'test the waters' and find out what is on the other side and see if it something they can exploit. In this situation the wizards sending out the group won't know too much on what is on the other side or whether the group will even be able to make it back.
Sometimes the Guild will already know what they want from the other side of the gate and is send the group to retrieve that item, make an alliance, or do some other business for the guild.
Each adventure can stand alone with it's own rules and goals.
If the game should get stymied at some point then the remaining players can easily 'reboot' the game with a quick paragraph or two of how they got back to the tower and start a 'fresh' mission.
It also allows cutting out all the equipment and travel time. One trip through the 'Eye of Odin' and you are at the mission. The guild supplies all the gear on 'credits' earned from mission performance (so need to loot the door frames for the brass ware ;> ).
Get in, adventure, and get out.
How does that sound?
If there is a wizard guild , it could be in a world based on a more traditional fantasy setting, which i'ld love...Elder's Scroll for example :)
That would depend on the settings i think. I mean, no sense i roll a medieval fantasy fighter and then i discover we are aboard a heart federation battleship in orbit 'round some planet.
Anyway in a fantasy setting which uses PF i'ld like to try the bard.
If we do PF then the classes Alchemist, Summoner, and Oracle are of interest for me to try out.
That would depend on the settings i think. I mean, no sense i roll a medieval fantasy fighter and then i discover we are aboard a heart federation battleship in orbit 'round some planet.
Anyway in a fantasy setting which uses PF i'ld like to try the bard.
I meant Earth...not Heart.
Bard or fighter were my favored classes in 3,5 and i'ld like to stick with them in PF ( if it is PF we are going to use ) but am already playing a fighter in a CoT game, so would really like to try the bard
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I too am interested.
An interesting contrivance would be that we are a collection of anima... spirits that have yet to be made flesh. That way, you can kind of "Quantum Leap" it and have us wake up in these new bodies and go.
Differing mental quality could do with the host body's ability to sustain a certian metnal accuity. That way, a person who "manifests" as a wizard one session could easily be a fighter in the next. Everyone would have the ability to play something different if they wanted to. If you wanted a twist, you could provide the bodies that we "leap" into so that we test our player skills in roles that are not nessasarily in our respective wheel houses. :)
This would also allow for a variety of settings as we "leap" from place to place. It could also provide for a variety of objectives that we need to accompilsh either individually or together to "leap" on to the next encounter and encourage some RP.
Kind of a "Quantum Leap" meets Michael Moorecock's "Eternal Champion" if you will...
Thoughts?
I like that idea Eric.
Oh, I was listening to Shark Bone 32 and just heard and interesting idea.
All the players could be a 'retirement squad' who's mission is to 'retire' adventurers. I think it is a nice twist on us being GMs to have 'Advatars' hunting adventurers and attempting to put all those 'rule breaking' munchkin adventurers out of the game.
Our group's mission is to make a 'better' world by removing these troublesome adventurers.
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Perhaps we can have Sygil as our base and then planehop to other locations?
I am a fan of The City of Doors for sure. That would also b an easy setup and though it would make us a little more bound to our selected roles and characters. For what it's worth, I have never played a rogue in my tabletop games so being able to stretch myself by another role that I don't normally do and having the freedom (should I be really bad at it) to do something different the next session would certianly be of interest to me.
If it is set in Sigil, then perhaps we should raise the starting character level? That would allow some monstrous characters to reflect the cosmopolitan nature of the setting. Or perhaps an adapted version of the Savage Species rules from 3.5 could be used. There is a racial class that I have wanted to try for a long time. ;)
The City of Doors and the Lady of Pain is fine with me.
I am rusty on the talk of the town but enjoyed the setup.
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If it is set in Sigil, then perhaps we should raise the starting character level? That would allow some monstrous characters to reflect the cosmopolitan nature of the setting. Or perhaps an adapted version of the Savage Species rules from 3.5 could be used. There is a racial class that I have wanted to try for a long time. ;)
Though the Savage Species rules are b-b-b-b-broken (as a GM who has adjucated over ghaele and Rakshasa characters [In the same campaign no less], trust me).
The GM running it could have us be varying levels based on the situation we "leap" into so, if one run we are low, the next we could be 20th. Would provide some variety IMO.
I would say that if we do PFRPG (which I am a big fan of) then we go with core. That's not to say that you can't play a Kenu or Bugbear character... those are accounted for in the bestiary.
I also prefer PFRPG core stuff only
Pathfinder is good for me.
Core Rule book, Advance Player's Guide, GM Guide, Bestiary are the books that I consider as 'in play' when I GM pathfinder.
So, for planning purposes, how many players (minus the one GM) are we looking at?
So, for planning purposes, how many players (minus the one GM) are we looking at?
This is the list of people that have posted responses to this thread.
Nightflier
Gandal
Smerg
DM Aron Marczylo
ubertripp
Tanner Nielson
Alexander Kilcoyne
KenderKin
Eric the Wicked DM
I think, in a situation like this, I'd like to play some sort of NPC - preferably a nemesis of the protagonists, some sort of ultra-smart scheming type of dude.
If someone got a game going, and then the party did some stuff, and then I could think about who might be ticked off by what the party did and run that person behind the scenes for awhile and then in front of the curtain as appropriate - THAT would be a fun thing to do.
If anyone wants to take me up on this at any time, email me at jeremymillzz at the gmail dawt cawm.
So, for planning purposes, how many players (minus the one GM) are we looking at?This is the list of people that have posted responses to this thread.
Nightflier
Gandal
Smerg
DM Aron Marczylo
ubertripp
Tanner Nielson
Alexander Kilcoyne
KenderKin
Eric the Wicked DM
It might be a nice thing for other DMs interested in this thread to be engaged as NPC voices. That way the GM could (with minimal instruction) have NPC's that are dynamic and further the GM's agenda. I would encourage the GMs that spot this thread to post interest even if they are not PC's... that way we involve more people.
BTW, I would volunteer to GM the first installment... just to get things going.
That sounds like a pretty good offer.
BTW, I would volunteer to GM the first installment... just to get things going.
Did you have something in mind?
I think we should first decide what settings to play ; for example, i find easier to GM epic fantasy D&D style, but "steampunk" "cyberpunk" "modern" and the likes i just don't have the right head for that kind of things
I'm fine with Fantasy and whomever wants to get this going.
P'Aye De T'Aime said something about being willing to DM one of the first tries.
What did you have in mind, Nightflier?
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P'Aye De T'Aime said something about being willing to DM one of the first tries.
What did you have in mind, Nightflier?
I would suggest Planescape or Golarion as default setting, and then hopping to other settings to visit and slay some monsters. Perhaps we can create a set of different characters based on the adventure or level of play. I suggest shorter games, something along the lines of PFS scenarios.
You suggested that you would DM first Nightflier. What characters do you need people to make for your scenario or what specification should we craft characters to fit?
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Sorry, yeah, I posted under P'Aye (a PBP alias) but I am happy to run the second installment after Nightflier. Nightflier looks to be ready for the first one so I will let him run with it.
Regarding setting, honestly, we can do whatever setting we want. The main thing that would help is some kind of agreed upon "mcguffin" so that we can have a reason to switch settings, players, roles, and style yet keep a certian kind of continuity.
We could do Golarion and, for those who want a change of pace, an alternate version of Golarion.
Want to "steampunk" up a setting? Go for it... imagine a Golarion where the Numerian automations in the Silver Mountian start to propigate themselves and their technology spreads or where the secret to firearms (damn, can't remember the nation that has that) grows so that fusilliers and blunderbusses are common. That could easily lead to a more "steampunk" type of setting. Or a Gm could go all "Keep on the Borderlands" for a more "modern" style as well. It would be similar geography but with twists.
Want to introduce a deity? Have one ascend in an alternate reality that the party goes to.
Want a low magic (a la Iron Player)? Kill off a few gods in the alternate reality so divine magic is rarer or bump off Nethys to alter the mechanics of magic.
The trick is, the more you change the setting, the more work it is for you as the GM. The onus is on the GM to explain the setting so the players can interact with the environment and not bog the game down with overlong back and forth as they try to grasp the world or altered mechanics. Really, how much work you want to do is really up to whomever runs it.
That said, since we are going with Nightflier I will let him set the first one and we can go from there. As we have a lot of interest Nightflier, who do you want to participate in the first one as players and who will be your NPC's?
I would also request that the selection be qualified to peoeple willing to post. Nothing against casual posters but nothing bogs down a PBP game more than people who are essentiallly ghosts and only post every once in a while.
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I would suggest Planescape or Golarion as default setting, and then hopping to other settings to visit and slay some monsters. Perhaps we can create a set of different characters based on the adventure or level of play. I suggest shorter games, something along the lines of PFS scenarios.
100% agree here. A simple "kill X" or "obtain Y" engagement would be a good way to get things rolling. If it evolves into something that the players want to be more persistent, we can ask for it. If something is really beloved, it can spin off into it's own PBP if need be but, for the purposes of this assemblage, I think K.I.S.S. is in order.