Sometimes we have a lot to share with each other. Today is one of those days where The video and the blog post will end up being completely different. Video synopsis: there are so many other content providers and RPG enthusiasts participating in RPGaDAY to share with each other. I picked one that really stood out to me this year. But I could have shared many more. However, as Tim Harper said, “I loved RPG story time with François!” JdrD30 does RPGaDAY

Anyhow, this blog post isn’t about that…

Instead I’ll talk about something that really took some adjustment to be comfortable with. At least the idea took some getting used to, and to be honest I had to experience it to appreciate it.

I had always played games with a single game master. However, when we assembled a group to play All For One, Anthony introduced the concept of a rotating game master chair to me. Each person plays from the GM chair for a session or two, and then hands over the reins to the next person. I have to say I was really taken aback at first. There were too many logistical things that didn’t seem possible. I won’t take the time to list them all but you could probably figure them out.

I found out when one had a good group that was willing to communicate, that sharing the time spent in the GM’s chair and as players has worked just fine, and this rotation has also presented new opportunities and experiences. I won’t call it sharing the burden because it really doesn’t feel like that. Instead I would call it sharing the opportunity to be the game master and sharing the opportunity to be a player. Put another way, it really isn’t about sharing responsibilities so much as it is about sharing the opportunity to have different experiences.

Since that initial experiment I have had the opportunity to play in other games with a rotating game master chair and they have always been fun. I have also had the good fortune to be in a small group of gamers online who all have cool ideas and are willing to take a turn running a game. It’s a bit different than the rotating game master chair, but in a very similar way we share the opportunity to have experiences playing in different roles.