We have been discussing the start of a rotating GM game set in the Pathfinder role playing system. The idea is that we have one continuous plot (more or less) that each person expands upon as they GM.
From a single night's discussion, we walked away with three big rules to live by that will hopefully make this work. I think these rules are somewhat obvious, but they make it clear to everyone what we are trying to accomplish.
I know we are not the only ones running rotating GM games. Most LARPs run that way in addition to a few PnP groups. If you find yourself in one of these rotating GM environments, these rules may be useful. Once again, they may be obvious, but sometimes that is what people need - the obvious to be stated on a piece of paper.
1. Don't be a dick.
2. Engage the shared plot.
3. Don't take matters into your own hands.
1. Don't be a dick.
Take the game seriously. Respect the work of every GM that came before you and will come after you. Respect your own work as a GM.
When you are GMing, you have total control over a communal plotline. Don't mess with that plotline just to be a dick or to fart around. Do mess with that plotline if you think what your are doing is a fun, effective, and interesting direction for the game to go.
Don't be a dick.
2. Engage the shared plot.
A GM should always be mindful of the importance of focusing on the main plot of the game. With the potential of a half-dozen GMs, the game will quickly become unmanageable if each GM tries to focus on their latest side-plot they have been cooking up. A reasonable amount of tangents make sense, but the game should have an overall directed plot that the players can follow and become attached to.
Nothing you do as a GM is owned by you. The world, plot, and NPCs are all shared among all GMs, regardless of who first introduced them.
Any other GM is allowed, and actually encouraged, to use NPCs, locations, events, and anything else brought into the game by a previous GM.
If the quantity of any element in the game is getting out of control (NPCs, locations, events, etc...), try to reuse existing elements instead of introducing new ones. There is probably a character that is close enough to what you intended to introduce, and using that character might put an interesting spin on things you wouldn't have thought of otherwise.
3. Don't take matters into your own hands.
If someone is being a dick, there is only one way we handle it: We approach each other as a group and resolve the situations as adults. Everyone can be mature about this, including the offending party, and we get back to having fun.
We are all grown men, so there is no reason for vendettas, in-fighting, or other behind the scenes drama. If you take matters into your own hands, then YOU are the one causing the drama, not the person being a dick. Examples of things NOT to do:
Someone is a dick, so you dick them when you GM.
Someone does something being a dick, so you undo what they did when you GM.
People don't agree with you that someone was being a dick, so you decide to be a dick when you GM.
Will these rules get us everything we ever wanted out of this game? We'll have to wait and see on that one. What I am sure of though, is that they will encourage healthy doses of trust, effort, and respect. Sounds like a good start to me.
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