Would you use a shared character registry that lets PCs move directly between different GMs?
I am developing a concept for an organized RPG campaign interface built around persistent and portable player characters.
The core idea is simple: every approved character would exist in a shared campaign database rather than being stored only inside one GM’s private game.
Players would create and maintain their characters through the platform, while registered GMs could run sessions, award XP, record purchases, injuries, equipment, narrative consequences, Duty/Obligation/Morality changes, and other campaign developments.
After a session, the character would remain updated in the shared system and could later be used directly in a game run by another authorized GM.
The intended workflow would be:
- A player registers a character.
- A GM reviews and approves the character for the organized campaign.
- The character participates in a session.
- The GM submits the session results and character progression.
- The character sheet is automatically updated.
- Another registered GM can invite that same character into a different session without rebuilding or manually importing the sheet.
The interface could include:
- A central character registry;
- Player and GM accounts with different permission levels;
- Verified XP and advancement history;
- Session logs linked to every character;
- Equipment, credits, injuries and narrative status tracking;
- GM approval for major purchases or character changes;
- Character availability and current assignment;
- Campaign faction, organization and location;
- Temporary character locking while a session is active;
- Audit history showing who changed each field;
- Export or synchronization with Foundry VTT and other character-management tools;
- Support for crossover sessions and rotating GMs.
The main objective is not to remove GM control. It is to make characters portable, persistent and trustworthy across a larger campaign community.
A GM receiving a visiting character would immediately know:
- Who owns the character;
- Which GMs previously ran sessions for them;
- How much XP they earned;
- Which talents and equipment were acquired;
- Whether the character is injured, captured, indebted or involved in an ongoing mission;
- Whether the sheet has been validated by the campaign organizers.
This could make open-table games, convention campaigns, living campaigns and shared-world communities significantly easier to manage.
The difficult questions seem to be:
- How much authority should each GM have over a visiting character?
- Should XP and equipment changes require player confirmation, GM confirmation, or both?
- How should conflicting edits be handled?
- Should characters be locked to one active session at a time?
- How much of the character history should other GMs be allowed to see?
- Would a universal database be preferable to importing and exporting character files between individual Foundry worlds?
Would you use a system like this?
What features, restrictions or safeguards would be essential before you allowed a character from another GM’s table into your game?