who needs a GM?

[RPGnut]

Now as much as the title might make it sound as if I'm looking for work as a gorups GM I'm not.  Instead I'm curious as to everyone's thoughts on an idea I had a few moments ago while reading a link a guy pointed me towards.  The link was talking about the duties of a GM versus the duties of a player in various differing games, and as I read i began to think to myself..."What if you did away with the 'GM' all together?  Why does there need to be a single guiding force to RPGs?"  Now I know this seems like a silly question afterall the GM provides the backstory, the environment, the action, the adventure, and arbitrates all the rules in a game.  But what if there was no need for a GM? I know from years of being my groups only GM that I've gone through periods of wanting to just be a player, but i still enjoy GMing.  What if each player was a part of the GM as a whole...perhaps a improvised tale told by several players?  Years ago when I was in a comedy troop we had a skit like this where 5 of us would tell a story and randomly switch people throughout the story, they rarely made much sense but was always a highlight of the evening and usually the closing act, so why not? Would it be too chaotic?  Would it be too unpredictable? could it work? even slightly?

PS I'm a noob so Hi everybody

[Eric Provost]

Hiya RPGnut and welcome to the Forge!  BTW, what's your name?

Well, I've got a shocker for ya.  There are quite a few very good GM-less games out there.  Pretty darned good ones too.  Check out Tony's Capes! sometime.

So, the bad news is you're behind the curve.  The good news is that you've found yourself in a growing community that discuss just that kind of thing.

-Eric

[Andrew Morris]

Yep. Some others are Universalis, Breaking the Ice, and Scarlet Wake (still in playtest). So, to answer your question, yes it can (and does) work.

[lumpley]

Hi RPGnut, welcome! I'm Vincent, what's your name?

Games for you to check out:
Universalis
Polaris
Capes
Breaking the Ice
Under the Bed

These all distribute the GM's traditional duties among the players. Most interesting to me personally are the various ways they arrange opposition.

Threads for you to check out:
What are the GMs responsibilities?
the value or uselessness of a game master
Why would anybody want to GM?
and followup: History of theGM?

In each of those threads, don't miss the posts by Ron Edwards.

My own thinking on the matter, as of a couple of years ago:
Roleplaying Theory, Hardcore: Doing Away with the GM

My own co-GMed actual play:
Adventures in Improvised System 03 Oct 2003
more adventures in improvised system: techniques 17 Nov 2003
Adventures in Shared Character Vision 07 Dec 2003
Further More Adventures in Improvised System 09 Dec 2003
Adventures in RGFA Simulationism 30 Dec 2003
More Adventures in Shared Character Vision 09 Jan 2004
Adventures in Dramatic Drama 06 Apr 2004

Boy that's a lot. Of course you don't have to internalize it all before we can talk about the subject. Just, you should know up front that we have a solid body of thought here about GMs, pro and con, to draw on.

Maybe consider this post of mine to be a bibliography for the conversation we're about to have.

-Vincent

[RPGnut]

DOH!!! Guess I'm not as forward thinking as I thought. thats fine though I'm use to being behnd the curve on things, guess I'll just have to ponder other preconvcied notions on gaming and figure out why things are teh way they are...perhaps I should attempt to read every post ont he boards before throwing out any more "new" ideas of mine to be sure no one else has already done so and ascertained answers to my quesitons.

Matt

[Andrew Morris]

"Doh!" for me as well. I was in such a rush to be helpful, I forgot to say, "Welcome to the Forge, Matt."

[Halzebier]

perhaps I should attempt to read every post ont he boards before throwing out any more "new" ideas of mine to be sure no one else has already done so and ascertained answers to my quesitons.

Don't be down on yourself, Matt. Reading some of the essays in the Articles section or some of the stuff Vincent suggested is a good idea - and much of it is a fascinating read -, but I don't think you have to read all or even most of it right away.

The Actual Play forum is an especially good place for newcomers, as the regulars will analyse your game and offer helpful suggestions, if you want.

(And if that sounds as if you're being put on the dissecting table: that's not the case at all. It's more like finding people who are genuinely interested in hearing about that cool (or horrible) session last night. Just keep an open mind, as they'll have all sorts of questions for you. =)

Finally, there's a phenomenon called "say it for yourself". Some of the theory around here may be hard to grok --- which is why people often use metaphors or similes (e.g. "X is like playing in a band"). Such expression is often personal, i.e. it's won't work for everyone. Yet, finding a way that works for yourself (and maybe a few others - who knows?) is a worthwhile quest, so don't hesitate to state things in your own words, even if they may not be new.

Regards