A friend asked me recently what player roles I use when I run games. For those unfamiliar with the concept, games with a single person controlling or facilitating most aspects of the world (GM, Referee, Warden, etc.) can assign roles to all the players at the table. These roles are typical GM responsibilities, but there is no real reason that the GM has to do everything. When players take on these responsibilities it makes it a lot easier to run games.
Player Roles
Decide as a table which role(s) each of you will take on or roll a d6 in turn, re-rolling when a result has already been taken. Continue until all roles have been taken, even if some players have multiple roles.
- Cartographer: Responsible for recording location names, customs, and their placement in the overall world. They also make diagrams or maps if necessary.
- Chronicler: Responsible for recording the session’s events, decisions, or general plot. This can be in-game content and out of game content too (such as plans for a heist next session).
- Quartermaster: Responsible for tracking consumables and shared party equipment such as wagons or hirelings. This could also mean tracking temporary conditions, such as the impact of weather, in some games.
- Socialite: Responsible for recording the names, allegiances, and descriptions of new NPCs. It is also helpful to record how they relate to existing PCs and NPCs.
- Timekeeper: Responsible for tracking the passage of in-game time if that becomes necessary for a mechanic. This person should also keep track of time out of the game and emphasize breaks and when a session is running out of time.
- Meal Wizard: Responsible for food, drink, and breaks in real life. They are the one who brings the six-pack or calls the pizza place. They are always reimbursed. In online play, they are still in charge of making sure people have time to eat and drink.
Using Player Roles
At the start of a session, the chronicler, socialite, and cartographer should provide a short recap of what happened last session, and show any relevant notes on key NPCs or locations. The chronicler should go first and provide a brief account of what occurred, and then the socialite and cartographer can fill in any specifics on the world or NPC interactions.
The timekeeper and meal wizard have to keep track of real-life elements such as notifying the GM when they think it’s a good time for a break, or letting the GM know that it’s getting fairly late and now might be a good time to cut the adventure short.
It takes a few minutes to set up, but I’ve never regretted using player roles myself, even for oneshots. Lastly, I’m not the first person to come up with the concept or even exact names. Most of them are stolen from someone else, but I particularly like this collection of roles. I hope you steal them too.
The Dolent Chronicle is an RPG blog produced by Dante Nardo. If you liked this post, please consider sharing it on whatever doomed planes you reside.