What is a West Marches game?

[Mannahnin]

For clarity, I meant multiple GMs, not just one GM running multiple groups.

Gotcha. Yeah. My Open Table/West Marches game had just me running it. The West Marches/Shared World server I played in online was a multi-DM affair, all running OSE/B/X in a shared setting with characters allowed to hop around.

 

[Reynard]

Gotcha. Yeah. My Open Table/West Marches game had just me running it. The West Marches/Shared World server I played in online was a multi-DM affair, all running OSE/B/X in a shared setting with characters allowed to hop around.

Do you know how they managed to coordinate?

 

[Mannahnin]

Do you know how they managed to coordinate?

I think they MOSTLY kept to running their own dungeons/areas. So each only had a limited territory in the game world they had to be responsible for and keep track of. What other kinds of coordination are you thinking?

 

[Reynard]

I think they MOSTLY kept to running their own dungeons/areas. So each only had a limited territory in the game world they had to be responsible for and keep track of. What other kinds of coordination are you thinking?

What I would want to do is allow multiple groups to explore and engage in the larger sandbox, and to have their antics change those locations as they explore them. If Team Murderhobo burns down Threshold because the guard looked at them funny, then Threshold should be burnt down for everyone. So mostly I am thinking about how to keep on the same timeline.

 

[LordBP]

What I would want to do is allow multiple groups to explore and engage in the larger sandbox, and to have their antics change those locations as they explore them. If Team Murderhobo burns down Threshold because the guard looked at them funny, then Threshold should be burnt down for everyone. So mostly I am thinking about how to keep on the same timeline.

I think you are going to need to look at project management software and use the timeline feature.

Each GM would have to update what went on in whatever areas they were playing in and then the other GMs would have to consult before playing in those areas.

The only problem I foresee is if you had more than one GM playing the same area at the same time. No idea how that could be handled.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

I see a lot of online play through Discords use this model for obvious reason. They'll thematize the Discord around the hub (a village, a town, a region) from which all the adventurers are. DMs (there's often multiple ones) will put up some tentative dates for availability and random players sign up. It's solves the scheduling problem in a bit of a different way.

What excites me the most bout models like this are the emergent storylines. You might have players of different levels grouping together. One group might hear rumors or just witness the consequences of the adventures of another group. It's an idealist view and I know that the reality is a bit closer to awkward silences in a channel with four other strangers, but still, it's something I'd like to try one day.

 

[timbannock]

At its most basic, multiple GMs simply need to know their region (which could be as simple as their dungeon(s)), and what PCs are available and up-to-date. The players manage their stable of characters. So if a particular group of players wants to go to Tim's Dungeon, they can pick from any of their characters that aren't still stuck in Matt's Dungeon.

If there are multiple towns/regions, then it's slightly more complex, but still the same principle: the PCs for today's specific adventure need to be available in within travel distance of today's specific adventure.

That's 4 columns on a spreadsheet: Player-Character-Town-Status (alive/dead/other long-term condition) w/ Date

(Or maybe add a "last used" date or something?)

Keep in mind, this is operating under the idea that there's no actual adventure in the town. If the GMs are juggling the same towns with NPCs, the same wilderness and dungeons, then things are gonna get messy. Even then, though, you could have "side treks" that allow the players to all pick Tim's Dungeon for this session, but Tim's not free, so Matt takes over as GM and runs a side trek (wilderness "random" encounter). Next time Tim's free, though, and those players are, then they do Tim's Dungeon, possibly skipping the initial journey.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What excites me the most bout models like this are the emergent storylines. You might have players of different levels grouping together. One group might hear rumors or just witness the consequences of the adventures of another group. It's an idealist view and I know that the reality is a bit closer to awkward silences in a channel with four other strangers, but still, it's something I'd like to try one day.

It did work that way on the Pirate Borg Discord, but that's an extremely rowdy bunch of theater kids to begin with, as you might imagine.