I don’t have any specific resources to offer, but I’ve been navigating this sort of transition recently myself. My long-time group (~2.5 years) wrapped up the campaign I was GMing, and one of the players in that group has now started running a “sequel” campaign set in the same world maybe 50 years later, with mostly the same players and me as a player. The new GM is an experienced GM, but this is his first time running a PbtA game.
The game is actually a game I wrote/designed (a hack of Dungeon World), which is great (I get to play in my own game) but it just enhances how awkward the transition can be.
The toughest part of the transition, IMO, is not learning to be a player, it’s navigating the shift in authority and roles. I no longer should be the defacto authority figure at the table, nor do I want to be. But the inertia of having been the GM for so long (and in my case, having designed the game) is pretty powerful. And there’s some stuff I want to see in the game as an active, engaged player that the new GM doesn’t naturally do. And the new GM is still learning the tricks and best practices for running this particular type of game.
So I’m walking this tightrope between wanting to prop up and defer to the GM and wanting to give him feedback and advice on running the game, between wanting to step back and let him have the reins and wanting to dig into stuff that other players say and ask all sorts of questions about them, and that’s tricky. Kinda stressful, actually.
Things I’ve been doing to try to help:
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Making myself useful by taking on the role of note-taker; if nothing else, it keeps me occupied during the game and I’ve got less time/mental energy to devote to kibbitzing or nitpicking
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Tabling feedback until after the session. If there’s something the GM is doing that I don’t like, I’ll try to make a note and then address it after play, so as not to derail the session
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Trying to point out rules to the GM rather than explain them. E.g instead of describing how Discern Realities works, suggesting that maybe this is Discern Realities and pointing out where they can find that rule.
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Being a fan of the other characters. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with one player being an active fan of another player, and asking questions about “what that looks like” or “how are they feeling about __”, or suggesting scenes with each other, etc. That’s something I do aggressively as a GM (and the new GM less so), and as a player I’ve been trying to continuing doing it but from a stance of fandom and interest. I’ve definitely stepped it down a notch from when I’m GMing, but I still do it and I think it’s a good thing for any player to do in moderation.
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Do what I can to lighten the GM’s cognitive load. Especially since it’s a new-to-this-system GM, unfamiliar with this style of GMing, everything I can do to make him have to think about less stuff makes the game go more smoothly. So while I’ll try not to interject rules stuff while he’s talking to someone, I’ll (of course) answer any questions posed to me, and I’ll try to answer questions other players have about their character sheets, moves, etc. on the side or during breaks or whatnot. And, again, taking notes helps.
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Actively remind myself that everyone GM’s differently, and that’s cool. It sometimes takes very conscious thought, and I still sometimes get that "but that’s not how I would’ve done it! moments, but it helps me if I relax and chill out about that.
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Try to focus on portraying my character. Seems like it should be obvious, but it’s not. Because I’m so used to being the GM, focusing on one character, and really getting into that character, doesn’t come so naturally to me. I tend to be thinking more about the big picture than just what my character is doing or thinking or feeling, and it helps to narrow my focus to just me and my I am going to do next.
I don’t always successfully do these things, but I’ve been trying. And it’s helped. Still a little stressful, but getting better.
Interested in what others have to say.
