Hints for games with Two DM's.

[jhallum]

Our gaming group just re-expanded back to a potential 11 people. As such, we are thinking about running City of the Spider Queen with two DMs (running the same 9 players in the same group). I'm looking for articles or anecdotes for advice on how people have or should divide up the game. I seem to remember a Dragon article, but I don't remember where it is.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Frostmarrow]

My best advice is to make sure the roles are clear to all. One of the DM's should be the rules judge and have final say on all rules issues, for example. There is nothing more disrupting that two DMs that disagree with one another.

My second best advise is to make one of the DMs responsible for the tactical movements of monsters in battle. Two DMs that disagree on where a certain model should move and do, is just tragic wo watch.

My third best advise for a double team of DMs is: Don't get all caught up in roleplaying NPCs to one another. NPCs are there for the players to enjoy. They are not in the game to entertain the DM-buddy.

Hope that helps.

 

[Afrodyte]

Oh boy.

I just wrapped up a game run by 2 GMs (not D&D, though), and the experience was satisfying because, as the previous poster stated, our roles were clear. We respected each other's agreed-upon GM space, but we also collaborated on game-affecting issues, particularly when one GM's sphere of influence affected the other's.

Since D&D is a different system from what I used, there are added complications that need to be ironed out before the first character is rolled up. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Some tips I can think of right off the bat are:

1. Determine the structure of the game. How do DMs divide responsibilities? Are these responsibilities focused on rules and tactics or on setting and story, or both? What spheres of influence does each DM have? How will the players be affected? Do you stay with the traditional party structure, or do you do something different?
2. Make sure you are on the same page concerning rules. While no two DMs will do things exactly the same way, you need to have a clear picture of the rules you'll be using to play the game, including house rules.
3. Use the two DM structure to your advantage. With a group as large as yours, this would probably be essential. Since with two DMs you won't need to stick together as a party, consider the possibilities of having one DM be available to run things with characters who go off by themselves or who do things in secret.

 

[The It's Man]

Use the best quality of both DM's. If one is better at running the battles and the other at non-combat interactions with NPC's; split the duties accordingly.

Switch DM between encounters, so that a DM has only to prepare one or two per session.

When there are "special" NPC's/adversaries, let one play that one out as an NPC and the other be the DM.

 

[Thanee]

Coordination is important.

Depending on how you divide up the work, especially if something happens simultaneously (like group splitting up), you should know any major things happening and stuff that might influence the other "group".

Bye
Thanee

 

[jhallum]

Thanks everyone for the ideas and the advice. I don't know if this is going to happen, the group might reduce itself by more than a few players, but if it does, we'll take all of this advice to heart.


Thanks!