In Their Words: Ellri and Sundered Echo talk about the relationship between Co-Gms with Sep
Sep: So, I'm going to try and do this interview as professionally as possible. One of the things I remember trying to do desperately trying to set up those first few roleplays is managing the stress of being a GM. Of course after a while I learned about the whole Co-Gm idea and I didn't try it for a while. So here is Ellri and SunderedEcho two people who have been working together as GM and CO-Gm before the Guildfall. So I will start with the generic question, what drew you both to the Guild?
SunderedEcho: Mass Effect: Nova, another RP that is still running, albiet in a revamped form, from before Guildfall.
Ellri: Someone we had RP'd with before invited us over. the old forum we were on did not have enough RPing and far too much dirt-flinging.
SunderedEcho Also In this particular case Ellri and i are equal in our Co-GMship, neither has any more influence or control than the other
Ellri: yup. Echo controls the "primary" NPCs, while we control more of the background stuff like ship layout. We direct the plot equally.
Sep: So you're equal partners in ownership of Coruscant Aftermath. Now I am sure like myself you have seen plenty off roleplays come and go over the years, with the exception of some of the bigger ones. So how did you two meet and decide you'd be good to work together on a roleplay?
Ellri: wasn't it revanchism, SunderedEcho?
SunderedEcho: Indeed it was
Ellri: We ended up creating common characters, a jedi each and a padawan each. For a twist, we had the padawans belong to the other
SunderedEcho: We were working very well together as players, and when Revanchism collapsed we eventually decided to create our own Star Wars Roleplay
Ellri: Found a period in the Old Republic era that had well-defined precursor events, but no clearly defined aftermath
Sep: and you felt that as you both understood eachother that it would be possible for you to work together effectively both of you taking control over the Roleplay? Bit of a leap from just being players together.
Ellri: neither was ready for solo GM, so it was only natural the level of cooperation involved in a 2+2 character control X was much higher than the normal for collab posting
SunderedEcho: I had wanted to GM something for a while on the Guild, but due to my relative newness to written RP I did not feel confidant on my own. The degree to which I could work with Ellri and the way our ideas flowed together inspired me. We got to discussing, and as these discussions of ideas often go, it spirraled out of control and after only a short time we were making plans to GM our own RP
Ellri: Star wars RPs are also easier to run. Either they tend to be long-lasting, or they fail early on
Sep: What do you think has been the hardest thing about joint ownership over a roleplay? Such as sometimes wanting to move in different directions.
SunderedEcho There have been some moments of disagreement, but strangely enough we only ever seme to disagree on the little and usually insignificant things. Ellri is incredibly stubborn though, so when we do argue it goes on for ages.
Ellri: We know a little about the knowledge strengths of the other. rather than argue over details that the other knows better, we tend to let the other decide and we both like claiming the other is harsher when judging character sheets
Sep: Well, I suppose with how long you have been working on this roleplay especially surviving the Guildfall - Congratulations on that by the way. You would know eachother well by now.
SunderedEcho: It helps that neither of us become emotional very quickly, and so any disagreement is settled calmly and logically
Ellri: yup.
SunderedEcho: indeed
Ellri: it was luck that made us back up almost all of the pre-guildfall RP from browser Cache just a day or so after the guild dropped off the grid, unfortunately three posts were lost in the process
Sep: Well you're lucky, I lost an entire Roleplay to the fall. So what would both of you define as your individual roles in controlling the Roleplay? Does one handle certain aspects over the other, such as specific NPCs or specific sides as in protagonist/antagonist?
Ellri: We each have our "own" NPCs that we make primary decisions for, but we generally discuss most actions for the most important ones, like Darth Nyiss. Echo knows her mind best, though
SunderedEcho: most aspects are joint though there are a few things exclusive. Ellri handles interest Checks as I am terrible with them.
Ellri: we draw the 3D models for say, the ship and the upcoming Korriban facility and echo takes care of keeping track of many things, like people. We're terrible with names when we don't have a list
Sep: So there is crossover but you each still have your own specific duties.
Ellri: yup. Anything related to lightsaber combat is Echo's territory.
SunderedEcho: due to our opposite timezones, it means there is almost always someone online to answer player questions
Ellri: since the RP is mostly collab-based, the pace is also fairly slow, sometimes many posts in a day or so, other times a week or three can pass between posts
Sep: So I've asked quite a bit, and have really no idea how long this has to be. So one of my last questions will be what advice would you give any new pairs that are trying to form a roleplay as successful? As a Co-GM relationship.
Ellri: Patience. Find someone you can work well with before making too many plans and don't give up or rush things
SunderedEcho: indeed. Communication is paramount
Ellri: initially, more critique is necessary for Character sheets, but later it will not need to be that strict
SunderedEcho: you and your co-gm need to be on the same page
Ellri: yup and don't try to eat the entire cake at once. A universe like star wars is too massive to cover in one RP. We chose to only allow Jedi/Sith NPCs
SunderedEcho: It is not as simple as picking someone and saying 'you are now my co-gm' a co-gm is worthless if they do not know the inner workings of the RP
Ellri: no bounty hunters, criminals, soldiers, etc.
Sep: Oh Naturally, I know from experience that it is tough to balance out a Star Wars Rp. Anyway, I did have something else to say but I have forgotten it. So I shall put my forcefield back on and take my departure from being so official.
Ellri: playing in a few star wars RPs before starting one helps
Sep: True that. Thankyou for answering my questions, I hope I can still chill out here.
Ellri: yup
SunderedEcho: I could probably write an article on Co-gmship, but I understand you probably don't want that right now, nor do I really have the time...
Ellri: heh
Sep: Well I will let people come bother you two with questions. Anyway.... officiality stops now.
Ellri: oh, and GMs should have a few secrets from the players, just not too many
Sep: God damnit. Officialism... stops... now. No more.Done.
SunderedEcho: NOOO You may never chill out here ever again! Blashpemer! - just kidding...
The Conversation: Just add ninjas-- A guide to unsticking your roleplays Sathanas Rex gives helpful advice and suggestions on how to "unstick" your roleplays
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