In our upcoming Forgotten Realms game I’ll be DMing, I’m also going to be playing a PC. Also known as a DMPC, the debate has sprung up for years on the forums of both wizards.com and enworld.org: Should a DM also play a PC?
The question is raised because in a lot of cases, the DM will favor the character, using him more as a chance to power trip and get all the loot that the players should be getting.
Not so, in my case. In the first campaign I ever ran at 16, I ran a PC as well as GMed our Star Wars game, and no one was bothered by it. Then again, none of us had ever played an RPG before, so none of us knew any better.
In our upcoming game, the reason I intend to play a character as well as DM is twofold: One, because I never get to play, so it will allow me to develop this one character and enjoy playing the role. Two… To tell the truth, I think that’s my only reason.
A few things I’m doing to make sure that I don’t show favoritism to him is to eliminate the DM screen from our game so that the players don’t feel like I’m fudging the rules for him to help him out. Also, I’m taking a backup role in the group so I don’t dominate the scene. For a while, I was considering playing a Rogue assassin-type of character, but the Rogue’s main focus is his ability to detect traps, and if I’m the one who placed the traps as a DM, it would be difficult for me to be the one trying to find them as well.
I’m considering having my character do a little multiclassing over into warlord so as to gain some support abilities as well, so as to boost the other player’s abilities.
What do you all think? Is a DMPC a good thing or a bad thing?
6 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 24, 2009 at 11:24 am
Swordgleam
I don’t think DMPCs are inherently bad things. That said…
Running a game is hard and requires a lot of multi-tasking. Running a character well requires a lot of focus. You want to do both at once? You’re insane. I have a hard enough time keeping track of all my monsters and NPCs, especially during combat.
Technical difficulties aside, I’m not sure you’ll achieve your goal. I’ve never run a DMPC, so I can’t speak with authority, but I find it hard to imagine that you can pursue your goals as a character untainted by your control of the world as a DM. I don’t mean stuff like “My warlord really wants that +2 sword.. I wonder if there’s a good reason for the red dragon to have one?” More like character development, which happens when the character interacts with the world. If you control both sides of the interaction, I think it would be a little hard to do a good job of either. Novelists can do it, but novelists don’t also have four other people sitting at the table trying to pull the story every which way.
When I play, the things I enjoy about it that I don’t get from DMing are the ability to relax and not worry about the world as a whole or the path ahead, and the ability to play selfishly (to an extent) in that I focus soley on my character’s stats and his or her story, and advancing my goals in both those ways. I can’t see getting either of those benefits from running a DMPC.
Anyone who isn’t an idiot should be able to run a DMPC ethically and without pissing off the party. (Many people in our hobby are idiots.) I don’t think it’s wrong for you to try. I just don’t think it’s worth it.
But just because I know it wouldn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for you, so go ahead and give it a shot. Let us know how it goes.
January 24, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Lurkinggherkin
Swordgleam makes some good points. It is hard work running a DMPC while also running all the NPCs/monsters. That said, I *do* have experience of running a DMPC – being in the DM’s seat about 90% of the time means it’s the only way I get a slice of player action a lot of the time.
Playing a DMPC isn’t as much fun as playing a PC without the hassle of DMing as well. But…..it’s better than not playing at all, IME. As long as you can maintain impartiality (including being willing to be harsh to your own character at times) and as long as you can take the ribbing you get from players when there just happens to be some piece of loot that’s ideally suited for your character’s use – despite the fact that you’ve given out goodies for their characters enough times.
I wrote a post about this myself recently, but it never made the feed as I wasn’t on the network at the time:
http://www.covengaming.org/wordpress/?p=79
Maybe I’ll bump it as it looks like becoming topical
January 24, 2009 at 12:48 pm
TheLemming
Greetings,
I have to admit I’m not particularly fond of DMPC’s – doesn’t matter on which side I am of the table, I think a good dungeon master has so many things to focus on, a dmpc shouldn’t be an additional burden for him to carry. on the other hand I can see the point when you’re the only dungeon master (especially over longer periods), it might be a little boring and if you’re as much fan of creating characters and playing them as most of your readers probably are, then I totally see your point.
Still, I was wondering if you would agree with, this being just a sideline to be able to participate more in the interactions and developing something? Have you considered telling the other players about it – I mean in a straight way, that it’s pretty demotivating to be the only one regularly on the dm side of the table?
January 24, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Josh
I feel your pain on never getting to play, and for that very reason I have run DMPCs on several occasions. To my knowledge, it has never irritated my players. However, logistically it is a lot more difficult than one would think at first glance.
You need to make the DMPC relevant but not the spotlight. If he steals the spotlight, players begin losing interest. If he isn’t relevant, you might even forget that he exists. In fact, I often forget that my DMPC is even in the game, especially in combat when my brain is crunching too many numbers and considering too many tactics already.
It can be okay… but it only partially satisfies the “playing” urges and it can be a headache. I hope it goes well for you.
January 25, 2009 at 1:10 am
PrecociousApprentice
I have to admit that I have also considered a DMPC recently. I play PbP mostly, and I figured that I might be able to run a PC under a different login in a game I was running. The players would not even have to know. I am not sure if this is too evil, and so I have not done it yet.
I think that it is possible to run a DMPC well. I can run multiple deep NPC characters at the same time, I can run a fully fleshed out villain and a couple of fleshed out flunkies, so I see no reason that I could not run a DMPC along with the rest of my game. Really, a DMPC is just an NPC that is more intimately connected with the party that other NPCs, and more cmpletely developed.
If you stick to character development, and make sure to put the rest of the characters in the spotlight, then there is no reason not to develope an NPC character as a full member of the party. I think that this would be incredibly fulfilling, and if you are into it, it could provide many excellent plot hooks for the rest of the party. Not by leading them by the nose to your character’s aims, but maybe he dies in a heroic way, leading to plans for revenge by the PCs. Maybe he turns out to be abducted. Maybe he betrays them. There are tons of plotlines that are available to a full member of the party, and many players don’t want to take that role in the party.
Your idea of a warlord is great. Backup is a perfect role for the character. Prodigious use of Commander’s Strike would make other players very happy, and put them in the spotlight during your actions. I just might try this.
January 28, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Rartemass
The DMPC is a good idea and I use one in the majority of my games.
I find it a great way to move the party in the correct direction, or to give an important piece of information that they missed. I generally let them come up with the ideas, but if they are stuck I get my DMPC to say something; notice something; or think of an idea that points pushes the party into a new thinking mode. It helps to stop the game grinding to a halt.
I always make the DMPC a support character. My current one is a Warlock with Rogue multiclass. His powers are all focused around fleeing melee combat and hiding so he can strike from range.
As long as the DMPC stays in the background and isn’t the most obvious choice as party spokesman/leader then it should work. In 3.5ed the Bard worked fairly well in this role. I’m keen to see the 4ed Bard for this purpose.
The main thing to look out for with regards to treasure is that you are fair. I ask the players what equipment they want over the next 4 levels. I throw some of them into the loot. As part of this I include items I want for the DMPC. This way it is sprinkled fairly for everyone.
As was said previously, you will need to be able to handle the jokes at your expensive when an item specifically for your DMPC shows up in treasure, or when a monster misses hitting the character with an area attack. Last night my DMPC was involved with a dozen area attacks and only got hit twice. Rolling the dice in front of everyone showed no bias, but the jibes kept flowing freely. Just part of the territory.