New GM and group... level of GM involvement?

[bigbad ratman 0]

So picked up the beginner game.  Long time table top gamer never been into RPG's before.  Great things is that wife and daughter actually like this system and it was the first that I picked up!  Doesn't seem that in this case seem that simple means less challenging or less tactical. 

My question is, that since I have been nominated the GM for no other reason than I am the gamer and I want to have a character that is involved in the group, what should that characters involvement be while I am also GM'ing?  I am thinking that for now, to keep wife and daughter going and to get my character going, I am thinking some kind of "guardian angel".  Gamewise, maybe a faulty droid that has to be told specifically what to do in the game so that he can be involved for now, repaired later when our group expands, so that he can be a full fledged PC.  Or, option B, make them spend a destiny or two to have my character give advice or participate in some manner, otherwise he "disappears", like a guardian angel may behave.

Comments, thoughts and/or suggestions?  So again, being both a GM and PC is temporary.  Has anyone done this before, or anything like it? 

[kaosoe 7,573]

When I play GM-PC in Star Wars, I prefer to play an Astromech droid like R2D2. A droid that doesn't talk but can still contribute to the story. It sounds like you want to have a character with more involvement than that. There is nothing wrong with that, just be careful to not have your character influence their story.

 

As for the second route, there's already a something you can pull from in the movies themselves, a Force Ghost like Obiwan. Are any of your Player characters Force Sensitive? Maybe an ancestor who was once one with the force has pulled away from the living force to guide the character through troubles to come.

 

If there aren't any force sensitives, I recommend a little remote droid like the one Luke trained with in Ep IV on the Falcon. It can have a holo projector on in with someone on the other end. That person could be monitoring the situation and you can use it as a device to offer help. The droid could have weaponry on it that can be initiated at certain times.

[MrHotter 32]

If you are playing the Beginner Box adventure you can always use the droid as a game master PC. He's a doctor type, and that will come in handy without stealing the spotlight from the other players. With a high intelligence he can help with mechanical and computer rolls if your players are not talented in those areas. As a droid there is also little objection to letting the other players do the talking and decision making since droids are used to being part of the background.

 

I did that with my family game to add some humor and a way to heal up. I made it so the droid was malfunctioning a bit and would sing nursery rimes while performing any medical tasks. He also ran around like C-3P0 when the blasters start shooting so I did not have to worry about his combat rolls. He spent half the adventure carrying one of his arms around after the Stormtroopers shot it off.