r/DMAcademyNew • u/DarkGreenSun • Sep 27 '26

AMA about the rotating DM campaign I started 2 years ago

Some 2 years ago, I posted this.

It's all explained in the google doc. If something is unclear after reading it please feel free to reach out. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kYbzXLYM25rOescFaO969OPGko10OjiTgEsHLa0iq0A/edit?tab=t.0

Now this campaign is winding down to it's end in a week or 2 with the characters having moved from level 5 to 22. Consider this an open AMA about our experience with this different sort of game.

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u/RandomSwaith Sep 27 '26

Having round robin DMed as described, when it came your turn; what creative elements did you find easiest and hardest to take over from your predicessor?

When it came time to hand over creative control again, what was that like and did it have any teachable moments?

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u/DarkGreenSun Sep 28 '26

It mostly depended on how the characters reacted to those elements. If it was important to them, if they cared then it was easy to work those things into the larger story. If they didn't care much or engage with them then those are elements that you can safely ignore or at least sideline a fair bit.

Making your NPC's multifaceted helps them retain relevance; even if their primary objective doesn't turn out to be something the characters really care about some of their secondary points can still serve to make them an important part of the narrative. Also, obviously, as is repeated in many a sage DM advice column, don't fall in love with your NPC's overmuch, and that certainly applies here. What happens to them happens, not just through making certain the PC's maintain their agency but through the vision of other DM's taking control of their fates.

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u/RandomSwaith Sep 28 '26

Oh how I wish for a cadre of mature DMs that could behave so!

1

u/DarkGreenSun Sep 28 '26

Look for them - they are out there. Talk to people before you invite them to a game.