Are Co-GMs Useful?

[Zagreus]

I'm fairly new to GMing over freeform RP PbP (although I've GMed plenty with tabletop). One thing that got me thinking was if it would be a good idea to include Co-GMs or some sort of assistants to help keep the RP moving.

Has anyone had any experience with this? Did things turn out okay? What's the best way to go about including them?

[Derpestein]

It's best to get a co-GM if you aren't online that much like only on weekends.

Let's say a guy can only use Roleplayerguild for two days a week because of their job. The Co-GM would help with every other day.

If you can get on everyday, however, then it's not that helpful anymore. But assistance never hurts.

[Jorick]

Co-GMs can be useful for a lot of things, though it depends on the scope and needs of your roleplay.

If it's a small group thing then it's not really that useful unless you're frequently absent and need someone to hold down the fort when you can't be around.

If you're running with something larger, say getting up into the double digits for player count, it can be nice to have someone else to answer questions and deal with issues so you don't have to do it all yourself.

If your roleplay covers a huge area with tons of characters, co-GMs can be great to have to play some important NPCs and such. It adds a different feel to different NPCs, which is nice for the player side, and that means the GM workload is shared, which is nice for the GM side.

If you're bad about reminding people to post, having a co-GM just for whip cracking purposes can be nice. I've played that role myself a couple times, and having someone whose job is to tell people they should post whenever they're holding things up tends to be pretty helpful for pacing.

It all depends on the RP and your availability, really. Some people can manage massive games with tons of people without any issues, others need the helping hand of a co-GM. Some people are great co-GMs, some people suck at it. There's no single answer for any of it that'll apply to all games or people.

[Dervish]

Given the amount of players I have and the fact that everyone burns out or needs someone to run ideas by to act as a second opinion/ judgement call, a co-GM is incredibly invaluable. Just make sure it's someone you're comfortable with who shares a similar vision and wants the same thing out of the game, or you may lead to conflict with them.

Either way, I can't imagine my one game lasting as long as it has without the help of my co-GM.

[Rilla]

They can be, if they know the backstory and nearly everything you need them to know. It can't be someone who doesn't have any experience in it. For instance, I can run something that got as big as Allaria by myself, but I also have mbl, and Reonen, and sometimes MDK, who know enough to pick up the slack if I'm away from the computer and can't answer.

Personally, I'm a crappy Co-Gm. xD. But Co-Gms can be a huge help with keeping everything running smoothly.

[Dervish]

Oh, MAJOR thing if you are thinking of a co-GM:

Make sure they're on board before you even post the interest check and iron out all the details for the game with that person, otherwise things will be rocky as shit. It's both of your ideas, bear in mind.

[Kaga]

Personally, I think that you should only recruit a GM once you know that you need one (meaning, after the RP has already started).

Assigning a co-GM before the RP even gets off the ground can be tough, especially if you don't know the co-GM in question super well, because they haven't had the chance to establish much dedication to the RP yet. Nobody has. Also, you have to teach them everything they need to know about running it from scratch.

Generally, when I feel like an RP is getting a little tough to manage and I want another thinking mind to help me organize it, I'll pick someone out from the crowd I already have. That way, I'm able to single out someone that I feel has already proven themselves to be dedicated to the RP, and they already know a fair amount about the RP due to having participated in it for so long. After that, you don't need to teach them as much.

In the meantime, don't worry about recruiting a co-GM you may or may not need. At worst, having two minds where you only need one could potentially overcomplicate things. Best thing to do is just start the RP on your own and if it works out fine that way, then great. If it proves to be a little much and you want a co-GM, go get yourself one.

[Jig]

I was once a co-GM in an RP with a billion characters and players and was pretty helpful (I think) since the GM couldn't get on as frequently as a GM normally has to. While I didn't strictly 'do' anything, I was basically the real GM's prophet, interpreting his will and giving it as semi-official suggestions to players, especially those admitting sheets late, indicating whether they'd be likely to be accepted or whether their sheet might need revision.

On the whole, I think a co-GM is a situational role depending on the needs of the RP. Most RPs probably don't need them, but where the GM is otherwise occupied, or needs help bumping the story along, co-GM's do have their uses.

[Fox of Spades]

Co-GMs can be really helpful ^^

At the moment, I have two pals who help me out with my RP. They usually take care of things when I'm away, help with the scene setups, play important NPCs with me, and help out with the plotting. Their help has definitely been invaluable :D.

It helps that we've known each other for a long time. If you're gonna get a co-GM, knowing them beforehand is a good idea. Kaga's idea works well too. Don't just pick the person who wants to be co-GM off the bat, pick someone you know you can plan with, someone who's dedicated to the RP and reliable. It helps when there's some level of trust and friendship there ^^

[AlteredTundra]

Co-GMs, in my opinion, are really useful.

In large group RPs, such as Bleach or Naruto-based roleplays, there is a lot of ground to cover. You have the amount of people that will eventually join your rp and the amount of character sheets you will have to read. Then there's the fact that some people will get out of hand sometimes, so there's something that a co-gm could help with. There's a lot of little things that Co-gms could help with. Added to that, I think having someone to collaborate on ideas with is another great one, especially if you can't come up with some good plot twists and they do.

On the flip side of things, if you're in a small group rp, Co-gms can sometimes complicate things. If too many people are in on the grand scheme of things, like GM-wise, then there will be shit that will have to be explained or changed later on. Of course, I think having Co-gms just really depends on the type of rp and what the head-gm feels about the notion of having co-gms.

[Kestrel]

I am a terrible co-GM. That's all I can say about it.

[Zagreus]

Wow, I had forgotten about this thread and just got back to it, and look at all of this fantastic advice! Thank you all so much. :)

[Ellri]

Co-GMs are useful if you know you can get along with the person. While it limits the pool, we would highly recommend going with someone you've RP'd well with in the past. That way, you have an idea of how you work together, of what each other's quirks are.

As for detailed advice, rather than writing a lot here that has been said before, we'll send you to the guild newsletter we were interviewed about having a Co-GM.
You'll find that here

[vancexentan]

It depends on how dedicated they are, how many people there are in the roleplay, and how skilled they are. You could have a really dedicated co-gm but does nothing useful is is more or less a glorified roleplayer, a person who is really good but does nothing, or a have a good co-gm who helps a lot but there's barely any people in the roleplay so it kinda is redundant. It's all on circumstances really.

[Brovo]

I usually just let the role evolve dynamically out of a group. In any particular group of players you have leaders and followers, builders and dreamers, etc etc. I like to simply categorize players between varying scales of "active" and "passive". Active players take the lead, prefer to have the reigns over moving the plot forward, like to add content of their own, etc. Passive players prefer to follow instructions, get suggestions, work in a team, etc.

Active players will naturally begin to fill in the co-GM role for passive players by answering any questions they might have or offering suggestions to them as they learn about your universe. They'll also do this with each other, though due to their nature, might engage in a conflict over who's right, so you gotta keep an eye on that. Other than that? After a few months, it's fairly clear who's inserted themselves into the co-GM role, and so long as you've done a good job nipping problem players in the bud and encouraging the good ones, you will still have the power, but they'll be there to gladly help you with any new players.

[BBeast]

In my experience, having co-GMs in my roleplay has been invaluably helpful.

These co-GMs weren't picked so much as helpers, but are instead collaborators in the RP itself. We had RP'd together a lot before, so we knew and trusted each other. We had RP'd in the previous instalments of the series, so we all knew what was going on. From the advice above, this matches up with good choices for co-GMs.

If you have a co-GM, it is important to be in constant communication with them. Have a dedicated Conversation thread. All the GMs need to be in on the plot and what twists you have involved for everyone, or else they can't be helpful. If you are not in agreement, you will have a hard time moving forwards, so be sure to settle any outstanding issues.

Co-GMs help in many ways. They share the responsibility of the GM, meaning less demands on you. If something pops up in real life and you can't post, or can't post regularly, then they can carry the RP along without you (another important reason for them to be 'in' on the plot and direction). If your timezone is out of sync with the rest of your RPers (a common problem for me), then your co-GM may be in a better position to make immediate responses if need be. They can answer questions for you. Co-GMs not only fulfil administrative roles, but also roleplaying roles too. If you have characters/groups which are important plot elements (and not controlled by normal players), then assigning some of them to each co-GM (and yourself) will grant each character/group a unique voice and make interactions less limited by your personal writing skill. If you need help deciding on how to move the plot forwards, having a chat with your fellow GMs can brainstorm good ideas and even develop ideas you did even not think of on your own. Co-GMs would also prevent you from becoming a dictator that ruins everything for the players. You keep each other in check, and ensure that everything done is good.

There is the matter of how many players you have. I would suggest that it is a bad idea to have more GMs than players. Because you plan with your GMs what you intend to do with the story, having more GMs than players can change your RP from feeling like a roleplay to something more like a collaborative novel. The whole point of GMing is to develop a story with players and characters who respond genuinely and often in unexpected ways to the events you throw at them. RPing is very much an organic process.