One DM for the campaign please

[Giddeon]

Has anyone ever ran a campaign where a player used to be a DM?

I recently started a campaign with 8 players, which 5 of them are more or less new to the game. Two of the experienced players I have been gaming with for 10 years now and friends even longer. The 3rd experienced player was the DM for 4 of the new players. I consider them new due to instruction they have received. This is the first campaign they have played.

Their previous DM ran a loose ship and relatively inexperienced himself. I give him credit to take on the challenge of being a DM but it was the blind leading the blind. Since absorbing this fresh meat into the game I get a slew of "expert" advice. I run the game more or less by the books with a few house rules. This way, it keeps the bickering to a minimum over the rulings that I make. Does anyone else have a problem with player DM's trying to call the shots?

 

[Crothian]

I've taken over DMing for the current group that I used to PC for. Heck, years back I took over another DM's homebrew and still use it today. It has never caused problems for us. People understand that different DMs have different styles nad strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Herremann the Wise]

Does anyone else have a problem with player DM's trying to call the shots?

I DMed last weekend for our group. Four of the players also DM for our group. We don't exactly have problems, just a few instances of lively debate about a particular rule or circumstance. On the whole, we play by the rules as written so there is consistency there and very little genuine argument.

However, in terms of running the game, we all have our idiosynchrocies and expectations or "style" if you will. This can cause issues.

For example, in an effort to stop a player metagaming, I gave him information that was deliberately very broad. He was scouting out an old stone manor house when he spotted (37 check [+17 and rolled a 20]) a "strange flying creature" out of a broken window. It was actually a gargoyle but since his character had no ranks in any of the requisite knowledges, I gave him the "bland" information. Had he of related this information to the Diviner in the group, they would have realised very quickly it was a gargoyle - what I saw to be the "value" in the enormous spot check. However, I refused to give this out until that point.
Obviously there were a few complaints that a 20 on a spot check should give you something. However, he was too annoyed about the ruling to think further about it and actually ask the knowledge guru.
This was sorted out after the game and everything was cool. It was just how I interpreted the situation that caused the "problem".

In terms of rules lawyering, we're all pretty quick to pounce if one of the DMs has forgotten something. This ends up being more a laugh than a distraction. Although we did have a big hullabaloo over massive damage and temporary hit points one time. In fact, that debate is still ensuing.

All in all though, we just have a lot of fun.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[Andre]

In my current group, everyone has been a GM at one time or another (the last holdout is GMing now). The only thing I worry about is myself - it's easy to fall into the trap of trying to help the novice GM, or cross the line from offering rules knowledge to making actual in-game rulings.

Fortunately, none of us has a problem being assertive - making our own calls, regardless of what the players/former GM's say - so it's not an issue.

 

[IronWolf]

I haven't had any trouble with this. I just passed the DM chair off to another certain someone else and though he is extremely experienced as a DM he never caused any issues for me while he was a player. This despite the fact he has a much firmer grasp of the rules and it being my first time DM'ing again after a rather long absence from the game. I was quite comfortable DM'ing for him even with the experience gap between us. So I really don't think it has to be an issue to DM for other DMs.

 

[Jdvn1]

If GMing styles differ too much, it can cause problems since everyone expects different things out of the game. If there are issues, explain to them how you're going to run your game. They have the option to stay or leave.

 

[TheGM]

If GMing styles differ too much, it can cause problems since everyone expects different things out of the game. If there are issues, explain to them how you're going to run your game. They have the option to stay or leave.

I couldn't agree with this more. I have been primary GM for my groups for a very long time. Twice I have allowed others to run in one of my homebrews. Once went horrendously and we stopped it after two sessions, the second time went stupendously and I'm recruiting the player to run regular games for our growing number of online-primary members.

The difference in our case isn't just DM styles, it is also worldview. I won't go into it here, but one of them wanted to "imprint" his views on the world even when they didn't fit the world concept, the other just wanted to run games in a fleshed-out setting he was intimately familiar with.

Slightly different problem than you have - I'm a pretty laid back player, so DM calls were not my purvue in either case unless they asked me directly.

 

[pogre]

I have three DMs in my game and they are pretty good at staying out of the way. They try to weasel things out of me every great once in a while and I just say, 'would you let that in your game?' That usually ends the discussion with a smile.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

I usually DM so when someone else finally decides to take a turn behind the screen I have to be careful not to get in the way, I usually don't.

But one time the DM decided to have us encounter kobolds, that looked just like standard ones, but he added 20 extra HP and game them 14 strength scores (and we were only level 4 characters and he'd toss about 5-10 of these at us at a time in the dungeon). So during a break during the session I told him I thought it was a bad idea to call those things 'kobolds' and to throw so many at a low level party. It worked out alright. Unfortunately he didn't learn his lesson about throwing too many critters at a party at once and the party was TPKed 3 sessions later by a bunch of leveled up elves (non-good elves mind you).

 

[MonsterMash]

In both groups I play with there are several of us that DM, in fact with the group where I'm playing most regularly on our last session with only 3 of the 5-6 regular players present all three players also GM.

I don't normally find it a problem, but it can occasionally devolve into rules debates, but I do still believe GM's word is final.