The lack of available and willing GMs is a chronic problem when searching for games to play. For groups who run with a rotating GM, what kinds of incentives can be offered to get someone into the GM seat?
The lack of available and willing GMs is a chronic problem when searching for games to play.
The lack of available and willing GMs is a chronic problem when searching for games to play.
I feel like, if you don’t already love GMing, there really are no incentives. I would love to say that there are, but I sure can’t think of anything that would lure someone into running a game that doesn’t prefer doing so. Some people just don’t enjoy it. I really prefer it over being a player.
That being said, increasing frequency of GMs that enjoy it could be a thing. That could definitely utilize some incentives. I know there is a lot of talk of monetizing the GM role, which I am researching myself.
Speaking as a player with limited, specific availability, I’d much rather pay a DM to run a game that fits my timeframe than flail about on forums or Roll20’s LFG tool.
Time. Time is usually my only reason for not running a game. Whether through hangouts or in person. My time and commitments are what keep me from GMing as much as I like.
I love being a GM but other responsibilities come first.
Rainforest Giant Agreed.
Hmm. How about “New DMs welcome”? That sets the expectation that you don’t have to be as brilliant as your usual DM, taking some pressure off. Bribing might help also, in more ways than one. As would mentoring, especially with tools like Roll20.
Also, open up to different games (e.g., not just DW) or styles.
A flexible group that is willing to share some of the load helps. When I play my at home DW game the players really step up. They worked out the religion between themselves. I barely needed to ask any questions. The fighter came up with at really interesting idea that fleshed out Dwarven society etc.
I would love to have a rotating GM with a solid group.
I don’t have rotating GMs but every DW group Ive made at least one person become a GM for a different group.
I do think the simplicity of the game and that way the rules of what you should do are encoded in the book. I think pushing people a little bit and encouraging them that you can do a good job is the way i have done it.
I think of it as, the GM is just another seat at the table. So you have to actually want to sit in that seat if you and everyone else is going to have fun. Incentivizing that won’t really create a good game space any more than, say, bribing someone to play a healer when they really want to play a thief.
That said, the reason most people don’t GM is because it’s an intimidating position to be in. So the best way to get more people to GM is to be really supportive on their first time out, so they don’t get scared off of it forever. Be energetic, be forgiving and constructive, jump on what they throw at you, have fun!
Basically: carrots won’t work, but putting your sticks away will.
On the time commitment thing: that is a concern in many systems, but not so much in Dungeon World. You should probably do a bit of between session work to update your Fronts, but it’s mostly improv by design. That’s one of the main reasons I like running it; you don’t need to do any homework unless you want to.
Minor tangent, but I also take minor issue with the assumption that players don’t need to devote any time to the game when not playing. You should take at least a little time to think about your character’s goals and personal story, stuff you’d like to do to make the game more awesome, that kind of thing. Basically, about the same amount of effort as a Dungeon World GM (though, yeah, not as much as someone GMing a game of 3.5 or something).
All the more reason to not think of the GM seat as being so intimidating, really!
Dungeon world is heavily created by the players. Is it possible to not have a GM? Some kind of random table with broad terms and titles to run with as players?
I don’t see how. There needs to be someone to know what the fronts are doing and to create the scenery. I feel DW is still very much a gm world with the players adding some bits. There are secrets in DW adventures
Honestly there isn’t much incentive aside from loving the creative side of it, and to a lesser extent, ensuring a game happens at all! Someone has to do it!
In my IRL game, I would love to play a character (even have a few in mind) but I don’t see any of the other players being terribly interested in GMing.
james day just offering ideas, I haven’t tried any of this yet.
What about having each player bring a handful of fronts and lay them in a stack where everyone can pull one out when the time comes?
Maybe a deck of monsters when one is needed?
Perhaps a random move generator like http://www.jellysaw.com/dw/gm-moves.html ?
Or what about ‘Mythic’?
For GMless Dungeon World, my recent thoughts have been that each player at the table could handle a different part of what the GM would normally do. I was thinking that you could potentially give each player a second playbook with GM-style abilities, so e.g. one player would be The Environment, one would be The Monsters and so on.
It could be a pretty cool way to escalate the campaign as time goes on if the GM playbooks leveled up along with the players. Definitely needs refinement, though, to make sure that everyone has a way to push the scene forward at any given time.
Fellowship, that new game that Jacob Randolph is doing on Kickstarter, looks to have a lot of the GM duties decentralized. There’s still one player who doesn’t have a hero character (they play the Big Bad and their minions), but I’m most certainly going to pick it up as a toolkit to ape some ideas from if nothing else. Also it just looks kinda cool, even if there’s nothing to take away from it.
Cool, I’ll have to check that out
Not havi ny to chip in for food that night. :p my players are awesome and think if the gm spends time preparing a game, using prep and such (since this is an IRL game). They don’t have to pitch in for food/drinks.
Its not much, but it is a big plus for me.