One Campaign, Multiple GMs

[Machination]

Long time watcher, first time poster.

 

I've been tinkering with the idea of a "shared campaign" for a while now, and wanted to know if anyone's run anything like it before, and what it was like. I'm trying to go beyond simply "collaborative worldbuilding", "assistant-GM", or taking turns as being the GM (rotation).

 

Rather, I'm thinking of having two dedicated GMs running, each with a separate and distinct group, but the GMs are using the exact same world as reference. So the two groups of players are playing in the same world together, and can influence the other group's story (as allowed by the 2-GM council , and perhaps even cross paths on occasion.

 

A cursory search of the compendium of truths (google search), revealed nothing about this style of campaign Anyone seen something like this before?

 

Happy Hunting,

-Machination

[Pshaw]

I've been involved with a 4 GM game once, while I was not a GM myself my brother was. However this was a Vampire the Masquerade game where every player or group of players got their own sessions with one of the GMs to prevent the players from obtaining OOC information. The were also I think something like 12 or so players in this game. I think it worked lovely for a game like VtM because everybody was out to screw each other over so the secrecy helped us never know what everybody else was up to at any given time. This is the most successful multi-GM game I was ever a part of. Otherwise I find that 1 GM is always in more of a assistant role or fills in when the main GM can't make it.

 

So since you seem to be going with separate parties I think you'll be able to do some great interactions. Personally if it was me I'd set them on the same task but with different clues so that they each keep missing each other and thinking somebody else is working against them. Then in the end (if they don't kill each other first) you can bring both groups together for a climactic ending over coming some challenges that would crush either group by themselves.

[TheDogProfessor]

I'm currently working a campaign setting for Traveller with my girlfriend who's new to RPGs. Our idea is that I'll act as the main GM and she'll primarily play NPCs and then GM quests that she either creates or wants to run. It's kind of like GM work experience. I think it's going to work really well.

[Machination]

Personally if it was me I'd set them on the same task but with different clues so that they each keep missing each other and thinking somebody else is working against them. Then in the end (if they don't kill each other first) you can bring both groups together for a climactic ending ...

 

Hah, I love the context there. That'd be a really nice application of a multi-GM campaign. You've just set the gears turning in my head on all sorts of crossing of paths that could occur.

[melkathi]

In World of Darkness it is in a way what White Wolf had tried to accomplish with HunterNet - an online mailing list that could be accessible to players all around the world in any campaign the Storytellers allowed. Sadly it was based on the assumption that players and GMs would be mature and was soon flooded with werewoofs, elder vamps and silver katana wielding delta force. When we broke off into HunterUK we had a blast. I think there were about 4 standard groups using the list for some added roleplaying (and hating my Innocent )

 

The problem with groups playing in the same campaign is how you handle actions that affect each other. It can be rather annoying to appear at your gaming session and be told that xyz happened and you cannot react because the other goup did a weekend gaming marathon and is a month ahead.

And the possible meeting of groups can be worse. We had quite a bit of trouble handling that in a AD&D campaign.

[JayDGee]

would this be 2 groups competing against each other? If so the head of Vecna rings a bell http://www.blindpanic.com/humor/vecna.htm