by icycalm » 18 Nov 2022 19:07
So here's some info on what's happening with the West Marches campaign and why I might want or even need an assistant GM to start with, and maybe even a full second GM later on.
I need two computers to run this, because one of them will be streaming the game from the players' viewpoint. We can't have the players playing on their computers because fog-of-war isn't in yet, and may never go in because the devs have a hell of a time trying to code it. It's TaleSpire's biggest fault, but it is workable. After all, that's how it works on a tabletop: there's no fog-of-war, and you just use cardboard or something to hide and reveal the terrain. This functionality in TaleSpire is taken up by so-called hide volumes, but those can be hard to use especially in narrow areas, corridors, irregular areas like caves etc. I will certainly master them in the long run, but even then, the ability of every player to move the camera wherever they want without me knowing is almost a killer of drama. So the most dramatically strong option is for the GM to control the camera, like a cameraman in a movie. However, to do this you need two computers, and they need to be comparably strong. You can't have one of them being a potato while trying to run one of the massive boards we'll be using. You can launch two instances of the game in one computer if it's very strong, and I will give that a try with my 3080 laptop, but even if it works well, it will be cumbersome and not smooth for me to keep switching between the two instances on the fly. Plus, I'll also need Fantasy Grounds, plus streaming the desktop without revealing things in FG or TS the players shouldn't see. It might not even be doable at all.
So since we have so many people, and since several of them want to try GMing, it would make sense to give this a go with an assistant GM helping out.
Note that if I stayed in one location, I could have two PCs: my 3080 laptop and my 3070 Shadow (it's actually A4500, which is stronger than 3070 Ti but sub-3080). However, I plan to be moving for the next few weeks, and would rather just take only my laptop along. So I would very much appreciate an extra hand GMing this. The second GM could stream his screen and move the camera and the players, while I move the NPCs and plan ahead, or spring encounters etc.
Keep in mind that Fantasy Grounds doesn't allow multiple GMs, but TaleSpire allows many. You could have true simultaneous multigroup play with several GMs in TaleSpire. And the first stepping stone in that direction is someone assisting me with the camera. Note it's actually not an easy job because the way the camera moves in TaleSpire and the building pieces move out of the way to reveal indoor areas is the most complex such controls in any game ever. It's actual work to get good at this, but at least you won't have to worry about the story or the NPCs and the encounters and the rules. I do all that (with Fantasy Grounds' help), and you do the camera and the players' orders to start with, and then assume more and more responsibilities as the campaign progresses, perhaps eventually running a second team if the party splits or more players/parties join etc.
My ONLY reservation is that depending on how many people play to start with, I'd rather not lose a player to GMing. If all our 15+ players played, I wouldn't mind losing one (or two or three for that matter), but say 5-6 play, then losing one is quite a blow. So it's quite hard to make this decision without knowing who will play. At the same time, you don't want to twist people's arms to commit. We do have some committing right away, but possibly more will join once they see some streams. But there's no way to tell beforehand how many.
So perhaps the best thing to do is to START the FIRST session with an assistant GM, who will know next to nothing about the plot, but only the first couple of areas, so that if he has to go back to playing he won't be able to reveal anything, he will just have whatever knowledge a local NPC is supposed to have.
Now out of the people who have volunteered for GMing, I am guessing Chev would be best for this position, at least to start with, mostly because he tends to be more available than other people, and availability will be an issue here because we NEED both GMs to play. We won't be able to play with one, if we play the way I envision. Saf isn't very available, schaden is on the move and I am not sure when he'll be back into games, and shock has his own group he's GMing so he's already GMing so the job should rather go to someone who wants to GM and isn't at the moment. So correct me if I am wrong, but at least for the first few sessions of West Marches, if I do end up taking an assistant, it looks to me like it should be Chev, assuming he wants to of course. As I said, it's not a binding position. We're just trying things out here to see what will work and what won't. Consider the game being in alpha. We're just experimenting.
Let me know what you think Chev, and anyone else who has an opinion on this or anything to add.