Spot Contributions

[Ruby]

I was recently PMed and asked if I wanted to be in a game. (Hey, big news for me.) And while I had to decline (I'm a horrible person) due to not feeling as if I have the time/energy to be active in said RP, it did get me thinking about that RP. "Wouldn't it be neat if I the GM would call me in to write a one-shot short story arc for the game? Or even better!!--how cool would it be if fellow GMs I know called me in to play a villain or two for their game?"

So it breaks down into two; would you ever consider having a 'guest GM'? (Presumably one you enjoy working with and one whose writing you really enjoy.) Although I suppose the mechanics behind it would be no different than having a Co-GM who did a very specific contribution to the game. But then why make them an actual Co-GM? Why not just have them come in and let them write with the authority of a GM for the extent for their specific contribution?

The second is more focused; would you ever consider inviting a RPer into your game (presuming the same as the above) to do 'spot work'; a villain here, an NPC there? If so, why? If not, why not?! I'd absolutely love to do 'spot work' for other peoples games. Especially if life gets too busy to continue to GM my own games. But is there something I'm not taking into consideration, something I'm overlooking that would make this non-feasible?

Thanks!

[Kestrel]

Ruby said would you ever consider having a 'guest GM'?

I've found that I'm horrible at sharing GM-ship. However should I consider it, this would require a large amount of trust and familiarity. As for the first, there are only very few people I've seen capable of keeping an RP alive and a lot more claiming they can but ultimately failing to do so. Also the picking up the pieces-part isn't something that terribly excites me. As far as familiarity goes, you establish a style in a long-standing game; something players are used and drawn to. For example, I couldn't take over Kadaeux' Star Wars game, and I don't think he'd be able to substitute for the Library. Our styles are simply too different.

The second is more focused; would you ever consider inviting a RPer into your game (presuming the same as the above) to do 'spot work'; a villain here, an NPC there? If so, why? If not, why not?! I'd absolutely love to do 'spot work' for other peoples games.

This would moreso be an option because it doesn't deal with power or as much responsibility. I've not done it, but it'd take some strain off the invitee in comparison to the guest-GM-ship. There would still be trust and familiarity requirements, but you'd work closer with these persons rather than just throwing them in the deep and expecting everything to go well.

[Ruby]

Kestrel said
I couldn't take over Kadaeux' Star Wars game, and I don't think he'd be able to substitute for the Library. Our styles are simply too different.

Very true. I've done long standing games, and that's why I think the idea struck me: would it NOT be fun as a reader/roleplayer to see a Kestrel SW game story arc, or a Kad Library story arc? Say something that'd last a few weeks at longest. Like earlier, presuming you liked and could work with the person. As by 'guest GM' I don't mean an actual GM, but someone that can write storytelling posts for the game separate from the GM. Just for a limited story arc.

(I've always wanted to do 'seasonal' arcs of the same size in a game. Example: a Halloween scene where people become their costumes. Having to save Santa Claus. Etc.)

The power and responsibility aspect of it is completely in the storytelling, in the writing NPCs (friend or foils). I don't mean to suggest letting someone come in and run your game. Just limited run writers, essentially, for your game. That's what I mean by 'guest GM'.

Whereas the 'spot writer' idea is more writing a certain NPC (like a big bad) within the story and framework of the GM. It'd be giving the players a different style, and the unease of the unfamiliar. I doubt I'm the only GM that encourages their players to take up NPCs too powerful or plot heavy or specific to be any one player's character. And I'm probably not the first to suggest having someone even outsider your players coming in and doing it.

But the Guild is just so talent rich, I had to ask and see what the feedback was. And I'm a geek for creative collaborating. ^_^

[Zacharius]

I think it works under the assumption of activity, otherwise such spot storylines would undoubtedly get bogged down, otherwise the idea is an exciting one (in fact, I've done it before yeeeears ago, went quite well).

That may sound a bit redundant when it comes to roleplaying, but I think the point is that it's even more important to make sure it concludes satisfactorily in the allotted time.

[Kestrel]

Certain GM-styles attract and repel certain players. There'd need to be at least some overlap for it to work. When I was in Kadaeux' games for example, a big deal was that players controlled a ton of NPC's and had a dozen of resources to manage which gives them the freedom to create and pursuit their own character arcs (albeit within a system with a number of dices.) A lot of my players in the Library would likely be confused with such a style. Meanwhile, for the Library I like to work with smaller, more intimate scales which focus more on putting down one-at-a-time challenges to tackle, which might make people who flock to Kad's games feel limited. We'd both just be working with storytelling posts, but the implications made by these go beyond the writing style. If our playerbases were the same, they'd probably be able to switch without a hitch, but because they're so different it'd take a lot of trial and error. Past what I think is doable in a few weeks.

I think guest-GM'ing would require a certain amount of overlap in style. You wouldn't let a free GM randomly switch it up with an advanced GM because their players have completely different expectations. With storytelling posts you give your players. besides plot, a certain amount of space and a number of expectations. Familiarity, as mentioned before, would also be a huge boon. It could work and I agree it could be interesting, but I can't help but be kinda sceptical when I try to come up with concrete examples.