games collapsing - is this normal or am I unlucky?

[tglassy]

Yeah, I just did some tallying. I've been active in nine games since last June. Two I am DMing, and seven I've played in. Out of those seven:

One finished.

Two have basically died, as they have not had posts in the last two months.

Two are stalled and on the edge of dying, but still may pull through.

And two are really just starting.


Of the two games I am DMing, one is floundering, and one is going strong.


So yeah, this is partially why I join most new games I find that catch my interest. Eventually, I'll find one that sticks for longer than a few levels.


I will say this, however. Escape from Castle Illviathar was one of the best games I've played, and it was designed as a "You come in, face monsters, and die, while trying to escape." And we all eventually died. But it was great. I'm thinking of starting a game that's similar, as that seems to lend itself well to PbP.

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

I'm going to start up a new PbP soon, then, partially to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first PbP I ever ran here (which actually made it all the way to a strong conclusion with nearly all of the original players...haven't been able to replicate that success since).

 

[Shayuri]

It's rough! PBPing takes a lot of just bloody-minded stubbornness.

 

[Ancalagon]

So...

Clearly it's not just me. But I must admit that I'm a little worried about the implications.

See if most fail, then the rational thing to do is to take part in many games in the hopes of one or two good ones emerging. But that can lead to lack of commitment to any one game or giving up too early... both of which would lead to a high rate of failure!

So how do we deal with that?

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using EN World mobile app

 

[Creamsteak]

It's the same deal on Roll 20. Honestly it's often the same deal if you ever do pick up games at a local game store. Just be honest with yourself about what your goals are and what your commitment level is. There's nothing wrong with running a one-shot or saying up-front you're not sure how much you're going to put into this game. I mean, sure you can "gamble" on hitting the lottery of a good game with the diversified approach, but just make sure you're actually enjoying that.

Many years ago when I started college I had one of those "ideas" and came up with Living EN World as a sort of "fix" to the problem in some ways. The idea was that by having some standard character rules and a general governing standard we could make characters portable so you could keep the adventure going after games died. It also lent itself to some concepts like "well these posters are not active any more, let's go back to the tavern after this fight and recruit some more active players and drop these guys off." Shorter adventures could be played, but also if you want to have a campaign broken up into separate threads you could. Building upon this idea and my distaste for my one experience with "Living Greyhawk" at the time I also wanted characters to "matter" to the world, like adventurers selling their no-longer needed equipment to lower level characters or even funding other adventure groups and such. Shared world campaigns also eventually took place with multiple groups.

I think it worked for some people for a time. I myself burned out at some point, and it lived on for years and years and had separate games follow up with Living Pathfinder and 4e and Eberron. Notably I think some of the design goals changed with these various groups, when living 4e was proposed I noticed that some of the things people really seemed to like about the original LEW were what I originally thought were more secondary concepts like player created content.

 

[SunGold]

I think Creamsteak is right; these odds are just the reality of any sort of pick-up game, online or otherwise. Playstyles, personalities, posting schedules, etc. will frequently fail to sync up.

I do believe over-recruiting can help mitigate that a bit. Our long-term game started with eight players, but most fell away before long. The remaining three of us are the ones who gelled as a team and got into the game. A larger pool at the start gives better odds that three or four people will stick around.

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

The Village is open for recruiting.

 

[GreenKarl]

Yea I think the best advise is stubbornness You have to be patient for the speed of PBP and if you don't you will get frustrated and bummed out. I know it has happened to me and it can be discouraging. I try now to just be stubborn and not give up on them.

LOTS of the games I have played in have died and one I ran did also. I think part of it was the nature of the game. In some games you need "specialists" and this means that you are relying on one or two players for each situation. You want to give everyone a chance to contribute but waiting for one player to post something can discourage other players.

 

[Ancalagon]

The Village is open for recruiting.

Yup. I'm a bit busy irl these days so instead of running a Yoon-Suin game , I'll just play a character from there instead

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using EN World mobile app

 

[Ancalagon]

Totally understandable, but all the time and investment needn't be lost! If you've taken the time to create a character you like, hang onto them. Just save them in a Word doc or whatever, with a note at the top about any variant rules (extra starting gold, etc.) the DM had you use. Then, if you decide to join a new game (and I hope you do!), take a look and see if you've got anyone whose background/build could be tweaked just a bit to fit in.

The character I'm playing in that game that's been going for 1.5 years (*waves to JustinCase* ) was initially made for a different game that never got off the ground. I repurposed her with a few edits and it's worked out fine.

Backgrounds matter, but the character is really going to be defined by the adventure and their relationships with their fellow PCs. So don't worry too much, or get too invested at the start. Just apply for whatever, and get invested in the game that sticks.

My current PC is from "a land far away over the seas" which may or may not be another plane. A wanderer like that could, conceivably, work in several campaigns... but let's hope he won't have to

The Village is open for recruiting.

Very happy this is under way, and hopeful too