Post/Author/DateTime	Post
unclemaure 07-20-07, 05:46 PM	Me and a friend are planning on dming The shackled city with a party of six.But we are wondering what the benefits are regarding two dungeon masters?
Drawdy 07-20-07, 10:07 PM	Split the work load. Two heads are better than one. Can give more individual attention to players. Balancing strengths & weaknesses. Lot's of cons including incompatible vision, confusion of who said who could do what, more potential scheduling conflicts, probably lots more.
unclemaure 07-20-07, 10:19 PM	Yeah thats what i was thinking. The cons seem to outweigh the pros.Thanks for your input.
MageOfDancingDragons 07-20-07, 11:02 PM	You could however have one DM and one assistant with the assistant serving to look up rules and stats for monsters, keeping track of experience, and keeping track of relevant modifiers for when the DM wants to make rolls the players shouldn't know about. Basically, one person does the story, and one person handles the machanics.
Infernostrider 07-21-07, 09:31 AM	You could however have one DM and one assistant with the assistant serving to look up rules and stats for monsters, keeping track of experience, and keeping track of relevant modifiers for when the DM wants to make rolls the players shouldn't know about. Basically, one person does the story, and one person handles the machanics. This is actually quite a good idea, imo, A lot of differences in playing style can occur between several DMs, but most noteable is that some DMs like action and some are more story based. This way one can direct the story, making sure its one where plenty of action happens (so the other DM has something to do, doesn't NEED to be fighting) and the second one can regulate all the rolls The first DM, the storyteller, would spend most of his time creating a campaign/adventure storyline, creating events and histories, and is occasionally helped by the roller DM who is more in touch with the players' actions to determine monsters used, traps used, items to be found etc etc etc. He would also draw all the maps, and when all the information has been gathered he can forward/give it to the roller so he can get the statistics for NPCs, monsters and other variables in order, incorporating those where necessary. Essentially the only rolls the storyteller needs to do are to create towns and dungeons, rolling props for dungeons, towns and other area's. hell, as i'm discussing it, i'm liking the idea more and more ^^
unclemaure 07-21-07, 05:07 PM	Well if you live near Lethbridge Alberta Canada I may be able to get you into a gaming group. Actually never mind just saw that you live in the netherlands. My bad.
Enlightened1 07-21-07, 07:16 PM	I've done a lot of gaming as one of two GMs, using different ways of approaching it: Two GMs can handle more players doing more different things, by dividing duties. Best example of this was our Shadowrun game, where I did magic and cybercombat and the other guy did regular combat. Since everything happened at once, it was a lot easier to keep things moving by splitting the work. Two GMs make splitting the party a *lot* easier to handle. With two GMs, one can run the table and the other can play NPCs. It makes for a lot better interaction when a GM can actually spare an extra minute or two to think about what an NPC is going to do and say, and if each GM takes different NPCs, you can get more varied and interesting personalities. You can stage larger battles if one GM is running the PCs and the other is running NPCs. It's amazing how much more effective NPCs get if a GM can give them a little more thought about good choices. I even did one campaign where I ran an adventure, then the other guy ran an adventure, with everyone playing the same characters (including each GM having a PC). Can add a little extra spice to the campaign, especially when each GM has his own campaign emphasis. The trick is to find someone you're compatible with, so you can agree on rules and tone. It also helps a lot to get together outside the game session and plan things beforehand. But it's great fun and can add a lot to a game.
mvincent 07-23-07, 04:34 PM	The cons seem to outweigh the pros.As an alternative, you can assist the DM in numerous ways while you are playing a character, take turns DM'ing, and step in as a DM if the current one cannot attend a session. I almost always co-DM, and it benefits our group considerably, but we never have two DM's at the same time (which I've seen tried before, always with poor results).
unclemaure 07-24-07, 01:57 AM	As an alternative, you can assist the DM in numerous ways while you are playing a character, take turns DM'ing, and step in as a DM if the current one cannot attend a session. I almost always co-DM, and it benefits our group considerably, but we never have two DM's at the same time (which I've seen tried before, always with poor results). Yeah i may try that since i do want to play in it also. Thanks.:D
mvincent 07-24-07, 12:57 PM	Yeah i may try that since i do want to play in it also. Thanks.:DSome tips: 1) Run the initiative board for your DM. Let people know when they are "on deck" (i.e. when their turn is about to be next). 2) Looks up rules for him 3) (With your DM's permission) open your MM to the correct page so that you can resolve the opponent's attacks (or other abilities) for your DM. 4) Important: keep player knowledge separate from character knowledge 5) Give impartial assistance: i.e. assist your DM with tactics or rulings even if it hurts the party or your own PC (trust is more important than your character's life anyways). 6) Get miniatures or scenery ready 7) Draw the maps 8) Calculate the XP and/or loot values. 9) Keep track of damage done to an opponent (best to write it somewhere on the battlemap, assuming it is wet or dry erase). Some of these things can even be delegated to other players.
Infernostrider 07-24-07, 01:13 PM	Well if you live near Lethbridge Alberta Canada I may be able to get you into a gaming group. Actually never mind just saw that you live in the netherlands. My bad. lol, good one, you just made my day ^^