Co-DM Guide

What kind of campaign is this?

The traditional model for a D&D campaign involves a single DM that builds a world and a group of players that interacts with it through a series of sessions that play out a plot arc. On this server, that model has been adjusted. I, Blukat, am the DM that is responsible for the main world and some plot hooks and plot arcs that take place on it. In addition to the DM, there are players that can attend games flexibly in an open-table format(whoever signs up plays), and they can do whatever they want inside the world. This fits into the typical west-marches style of play where a party goes out, does some adventuring, and then comes back at the end of each session. Where this departs from a typical west-marches campaign is the introduction of the co-DM.

What is a Co-DM?

As a co-DM, you've got most of the creative freedom that comes with DMing, but without a lot of the upkeep. A co-DM hooks into the world, characters, and player base of the main DM in order to run their own worlds. Co-DMs are free to define their style, either hosting one-shots, worlds with singular arcs, or large and open worlds. Their worlds are considered secondary, as (generally) the players that enter your world will return to the DM's world. This offers a number of benefits to the Co-DM:

Tap into an existing group of active players

Don't need to run sessions on a schedule

Get experience DMing and access to a group of peer DMs

Free to experiment with ideas that couldn't work in other campaigns

Switch conveniently between DM and player roles by playing in sessions hosted by others

Don't need to manage downtime

In addition to this, having a group of co-DMs gives me some perks as well:

• Increase size of active player base without running more or larger sessions
• Ensures my players have ample access to play time
• Allows me to conveniently switch between DM and player roles by playing in co-DM sessions
• Gives me an opportunity to learn from other DMs without dedicating to multiple traditional campaigns

With great power comes great responsibility

I'll do my best to give you as much creative freedom as I can, and there's a lot of gray area in DMing and social situations. I won't have a bunch of hard and fast rules, but I will give some guidelines here. If there's a problem, I'll make sure to let you know as soon as I'm aware, and to work with you as best as I can.

Rulings

I rule that "rulings, not rules" are paramount. Your rulings are allowed to differ from mine, from what the players would expect, from what "most DMs" would do, and even from the official rules. Please use this freedom to keep the game moving and keep people having fun. If a player wants to discuss rules at length during a session, please politely tell them that they can discuss rules and rulings at length after the session has ended in public chat.

Respect

Being respected is a requisite for having fun, and I want everyone to have fun. This server is LGBT friendly, and all sorts of diversity are welcome. I will not tolerate disrespecting others in public chat. If you intend to include anything that might be disturbing to players in your sessions, please bring it up with them ahead of time so that they have an opportunity to suggest an alternative or opt out of your session. If, during a session, a player says that they are uncomfortable with what's going on, please accommodate them to the best of your ability. After the session is over, please bring it up with me and we can figure out what to do from there.

Risks

Making character death a real possibility is encouraged as a means to keep the game interesting and to make players feel that their choices are important. If you are running a session that has deadly encounters, please let them know in advanced so that they are on their toes. Please avoid "save or die" scenarios when possible. 

Rewards

Loot is an important component of this server. If you are going to drop a large amount of gold or experience on a party (like 10,000 XP or 800GP for a Tier I party), please pass it by me first. If you would like to introduce homebrew items, please give me at least a week before your session to take a look. Items that accepted will get their own article to reference in the future. If you make your homebrew items in such a way that they cannot be taken home with the adventurers, you do not need to pass them by me. To summarize, I don't mind if you reward characters for their successes, but please avoid Monty Haul levels of rewards.

The Logistics

Here are some of the logistical considerations for connecting your world to Tandris.

The Portal Device

Tandris is a walled region that has a bunker deep below it. In this bunker is a portal(not unlike a stargate). 

Traveling Through the Portal

Players willingly enter through this portal and appear from a portal in your world. When they head home, they return to the portal in your world to cross over.

Coming Home

A portal only stays open for up to 24 hours at a time. When it closes, there is no reliable way to know when it will open again(if ever). This means your portal only has to open when you are willing to run a session. By default, players will return to Tandris at the end of every session(even if that means the portal suddenly spits them out regardless of where they were). If you ask the players in your party and they agree, you can end a session with your characters inside your world. This can be used if you would like to depart from the open-table west-marches format that I generally use. If characters are in your world and you become inactive (1 month unless special circumstances say otherwise), the characters might just be spit back out into the Tandris bunker.