*Sigh* Our group has a big problem [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Crimson_Concerto
12-13-05, 08:16 PM I'm DMing a D&D game for the first time, but my group of 6 has a big problem: scheduling. It is literally impossible to find a day where everybody can be present. The campaign was supposed to begin end of October, but still hasn't.

I'm not sure I actually expect there to be anything I can do, but I'm desperate enough to ask. Anybody ever had this problem?

I mean, that's out biggest problem, but it's not like it's only that. From what I know about the PCs, I have two maybe three that are pretty twinked out while the remaining do not care to powerplay, so adjucating appropriate CRs to encounters may be a problem.
The game is supposed to be very plot-centric, and I've explained it to the player, and a few have come back with wonderful backstories easily assimilated into the bigger picture, but I have a few others who have a character sheet, and that's it. I mean, I could probably get over this, but it's still sort of a bummer that they'll probably not enjoy the game as much as those who actually tried to write a background...

But the biggest problem is stil the fact we have not begun yet. I mean, if I could, I would just take this game to another group of people, because I really want to run it, but it's not that easy to find another group, and besides, although there are one or two members of it I could do without, the others are really good friends, and well that's it...

I just needed to tell somebody how ticked I am. Any advice or comments? :rolleyes:
shadowrisae
12-13-05, 08:24 PM Not everyone will be able to make the session. Just make the players aware that once you set up a game you will run it. Last campaign I had 5 players. A couple of the sessions only 2 players showed up. One player only showed up 2 sessions total. For the players that don't show up, have someone else run their characters or have the party "split up" and have the not present characters go off on their own. You as the DM can explain what they did later.
loaba
12-13-05, 08:30 PM First thing, choose a day that accommodates the most people. With 7 participants, it’s likely that someone will be left out. That’s just how life is.

It’s also possible that one or more players might have to leave early, that’s not really a problem though. As the DM, when people leave you just take over their PC’s for the duration of the session.

You might have some players showing up late, this too can be dealt with. Either you can run their characters for them prior to them showing up, or you can introduce their characters after they get there. Whichever way, it’s about the same amount of work for the DM.

As for the character design issue, my advice would be to work with all the players before the session starts. If you can, try and accommodate everybody.
smoker
12-13-05, 08:55 PM Start a game with 2-3 players. That should be good enough.

If the characters do not add value to the game, then don't allow them.

Dumb down the twinks, or have the player twinks up the other characters. You decide what kind of game you want in advance.

Accomodate the reasonable players; don't worry about the others. If they really want to play, they will get their act together, or else they will play in someone else's game, which is okay.
mike_beavers
12-13-05, 10:07 PM pick the day that you can get the most players, otherwise it will be difficult
Copper_Coins
12-13-05, 11:13 PM Call people up, see who can come and who can't.

Only play if you have the majority of the group, which in your case would be 4 (don't forget to count yourself).

It has its own ups and downs, for example, in our group of six, we usually have sessions on Sundays, one member lives between two houses, one which doesn't have a phone number. Another member always has plans with other friends, if not, he's usually grounded, we've been playing our current campaign for about a year... he's turned up to 3, maybe 4 sessions :banghead:.

It may not work for all, but it works fine for us (One member lives next door to the current DM, and I have no life, and the guy I haven't mentioned usually can make it).
TrajanCavalous
12-13-05, 11:20 PM You were supposed to start in October?

Yee-ouch. It's time to make some tough decisions. Like others suggested just pick a day the most can make and go ahead.

Personally I'd trim the fat. ID folks who are least committed and least available and cut a few out. Harsh but October? Ugh.
Jerrythehun
12-14-05, 12:13 AM It is my experience that the people most worthwhile will often be busy with, you know, life. It can be very frustrating, I know.

My group consists of 2 network engineers, a mechanical engineer, a graphic designer, 2 college professors and a nursing student. We are busy people. Sometimes we play six times a month. Sometimes we play once a month. Some months we can't play. (One of the network engineers is usually in a stage play...)

But, without a doubt, it's worth it. My friends are interesting people and good roleplayers. A periodic good game is worth 10 bad games, in my opinion.

So, congratulations! You and your friends are busy people with lives. Once you accept that, you will realize how lucky you all are to be playing with each other. Worthwhile people are pretty rare. :)
Wings_of_a_Fox
12-14-05, 01:22 AM I used to have this problem alot. There would be times where a player couldn't make it, this player was only available on Sundays, Player #5 was grounded, and the only day that was good for all was the day I had work.

The best Idea would be to split the group up. You have 6 people, getting them all there would be a significant challenge. However, if you could get 3 to agree on one day and 3 others on another day, your work to get them together would technically be cut in half. This worked for a group that only half of them had weekends off and the other had various days throughout the week.

It also adds an interesting flavor. If you feel like it's within your possibilty to run two different stories in the same world, it can make things interesting. One group could of already stopped a Lich in a certain part of the country, and the others would hear that story from a bard telling the story to the other group.

If your really experienced, you could keep them parallell to each other, having them doing seperate things but be together. That way, incase the group could possibly find a day to get together, it would be easy to put them together. I found out this is a really hard thing to do, but if you choose to do this, make sure each session allows them to end up at a checkpoint that's the same with all the other players. However, it also requires some Railroading, so your players might not like that option.

It's hard, but no one said being a DM was easy. But I hope what Ideas I have said will give you some insight.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Crimson_Concerto 12-13-05, 08:16 PM	I'm DMing a D&D game for the first time, but my group of 6 has a big problem: scheduling. It is literally impossible to find a day where everybody can be present. The campaign was supposed to begin end of October, but still hasn't. I'm not sure I actually expect there to be anything I can do, but I'm desperate enough to ask. Anybody ever had this problem? I mean, that's out biggest problem, but it's not like it's only that. From what I know about the PCs, I have two maybe three that are pretty twinked out while the remaining do not care to powerplay, so adjucating appropriate CRs to encounters may be a problem. The game is supposed to be very plot-centric, and I've explained it to the player, and a few have come back with wonderful backstories easily assimilated into the bigger picture, but I have a few others who have a character sheet, and that's it. I mean, I could probably get over this, but it's still sort of a bummer that they'll probably not enjoy the game as much as those who actually tried to write a background... But the biggest problem is stil the fact we have not begun yet. I mean, if I could, I would just take this game to another group of people, because I really want to run it, but it's not that easy to find another group, and besides, although there are one or two members of it I could do without, the others are really good friends, and well that's it... I just needed to tell somebody how ticked I am. Any advice or comments? :rolleyes:
shadowrisae 12-13-05, 08:24 PM	Not everyone will be able to make the session. Just make the players aware that once you set up a game you will run it. Last campaign I had 5 players. A couple of the sessions only 2 players showed up. One player only showed up 2 sessions total. For the players that don't show up, have someone else run their characters or have the party "split up" and have the not present characters go off on their own. You as the DM can explain what they did later.
loaba 12-13-05, 08:30 PM	First thing, choose a day that accommodates the most people. With 7 participants, it’s likely that someone will be left out. That’s just how life is. It’s also possible that one or more players might have to leave early, that’s not really a problem though. As the DM, when people leave you just take over their PC’s for the duration of the session. You might have some players showing up late, this too can be dealt with. Either you can run their characters for them prior to them showing up, or you can introduce their characters after they get there. Whichever way, it’s about the same amount of work for the DM. As for the character design issue, my advice would be to work with all the players before the session starts. If you can, try and accommodate everybody.
smoker 12-13-05, 08:55 PM	Start a game with 2-3 players. That should be good enough. If the characters do not add value to the game, then don't allow them. Dumb down the twinks, or have the player twinks up the other characters. You decide what kind of game you want in advance. Accomodate the reasonable players; don't worry about the others. If they really want to play, they will get their act together, or else they will play in someone else's game, which is okay.
mike_beavers 12-13-05, 10:07 PM	pick the day that you can get the most players, otherwise it will be difficult
Copper_Coins 12-13-05, 11:13 PM	Call people up, see who can come and who can't. Only play if you have the majority of the group, which in your case would be 4 (don't forget to count yourself). It has its own ups and downs, for example, in our group of six, we usually have sessions on Sundays, one member lives between two houses, one which doesn't have a phone number. Another member always has plans with other friends, if not, he's usually grounded, we've been playing our current campaign for about a year... he's turned up to 3, maybe 4 sessions :banghead:. It may not work for all, but it works fine for us (One member lives next door to the current DM, and I have no life, and the guy I haven't mentioned usually can make it).
TrajanCavalous 12-13-05, 11:20 PM	You were supposed to start in October? Yee-ouch. It's time to make some tough decisions. Like others suggested just pick a day the most can make and go ahead. Personally I'd trim the fat. ID folks who are least committed and least available and cut a few out. Harsh but October? Ugh.
Jerrythehun 12-14-05, 12:13 AM	It is my experience that the people most worthwhile will often be busy with, you know, life. It can be very frustrating, I know. My group consists of 2 network engineers, a mechanical engineer, a graphic designer, 2 college professors and a nursing student. We are busy people. Sometimes we play six times a month. Sometimes we play once a month. Some months we can't play. (One of the network engineers is usually in a stage play...) But, without a doubt, it's worth it. My friends are interesting people and good roleplayers. A periodic good game is worth 10 bad games, in my opinion. So, congratulations! You and your friends are busy people with lives. Once you accept that, you will realize how lucky you all are to be playing with each other. Worthwhile people are pretty rare. :)
Wings_of_a_Fox 12-14-05, 01:22 AM	I used to have this problem alot. There would be times where a player couldn't make it, this player was only available on Sundays, Player #5 was grounded, and the only day that was good for all was the day I had work. The best Idea would be to split the group up. You have 6 people, getting them all there would be a significant challenge. However, if you could get 3 to agree on one day and 3 others on another day, your work to get them together would technically be cut in half. This worked for a group that only half of them had weekends off and the other had various days throughout the week. It also adds an interesting flavor. If you feel like it's within your possibilty to run two different stories in the same world, it can make things interesting. One group could of already stopped a Lich in a certain part of the country, and the others would hear that story from a bard telling the story to the other group. If your really experienced, you could keep them parallell to each other, having them doing seperate things but be together. That way, incase the group could possibly find a day to get together, it would be easy to put them together. I found out this is a really hard thing to do, but if you choose to do this, make sure each session allows them to end up at a checkpoint that's the same with all the other players. However, it also requires some Railroading, so your players might not like that option. It's hard, but no one said being a DM was easy. But I hope what Ideas I have said will give you some insight.