Playing with No DM - is Collaborative play viable?

[mirzabah]

Some comments on what I have read of ERGO so far...

There is no adversarial gamesmaster whose evil plans need to be thwarted and adventures need to be beaten.

So, we are supposed to believe that "traditional" RPGs require a gamesmaster who is somehow opposed to the players?

Similarly, the comment that ERGO is

Free from the need to win...

further suggests that the author of ERGO has some troubling misconceptions about the nature of "traditional" RPGs.

These comments shouldn't be taken as a criticism of ERGO per se, or even of the style of roleplaying that such games promote, but you really have to wonder about how good a game system can be if the author feels it necessary to beat up non-existent flaws in other games in order to advance his own.

 

[1StrangeFellow]

Most of the players I have gamed with like taking one character and improving or developing that character. Switching between characters randomly or even floating between several, even with a parent character, doesn't sound very exciting.

In a long session today I discovered five new spells (two scrolls found earlier, one purchased and advancement) and added them to my spellbook, acquired a damaged and inoperative construct that I might someday figure out how to repair or reproduce and got to use one of my catch-phrases I always direct at the paladin (usually peeking around the corner and pointing from behind concealment) - "It's evil! You'd better get in there and kill it!" (My character is not exactly this one-dimensional, but several times it seems that I have to remind the paladin of her ideals and code of conduct in combat. Not really a coward, either, just not a fool - we have a paladin that I spend good time and money creating decent armor for around for a reason.) I also came up with several new tactics or uses for spells. Naturally, as is standard with D&D, this was done with one character.

With multiple characters, or character swapping, I don't think I would have had as many opportunities in roleplaying and rollplaying, as much familiarity with the character to experiment on tactics and spell uses, or as much satisfaction in our successful incursions into the ruins - because the character, who is an extention of myself (or at least something I created and developed), achieved something.

I think I would much prefer having a DM/Gamemaster and players rather than 'collaborative play', at least this version of it.