my dilemma

[Gundark]

Ok my group is made up of 5 players

Player A- Comes for every game, and is a good player
Player B- Just like player A
Player C- Comes every game and is a good player. However is moving in a few months
Player D- Is a good player but has a job that requires he miss sessions, sometimes several at a time.
Player E- Is a good player but sometimes doesn't come, sometimes the excuses seem a little lame.

Okay I'm running the Age of Worms and we're half way through. However I'm planning out the next campign path that we'll be doing (if I start now then by the time we're done I'll be ready to go). I gave the group a choice.

Option 1 is the savage tide with a weird mix of Iron heroes and Iron Kingdoms. Woo-hoo pirates!!

Option 2 was my homebrew world. The gimmick is that the pc will have a title and land and will have to do the day to day tasks of running and maintaining the realm in addition to adventuring.

Players A & B chose the 2nd option. And players D & E wanted the 1st option. I didn't bother asking player C as he was moving. The vote was by email and people don't know who voted what.

Okay so I had a tie. After thinking it over I thought I should side with players A & B. They come all the time and I thought that they deserved a stronger voice. Done ....no problem

Well player C comes and tells me that he isn't moving (his employer sweetened his current job quite a bit)... and if I was smart I would have kept my mouth shut, but I gave him a choice...he chooses option 1.

So I'm at a bit of a delemma. OT1H I should keep the things the way they are as I informed players A & B my choice before player C told me he wasn't moving. OTOH I don't want to totally discount player C (who comes all the time) as well as players D & E (C, D, & E chose the same thing).

Thoughts? Opinions?

 

[Wild Gazebo]

Both games will be fun regardless. Pick the one you want to run. Happy gaming.

 

[Wild Gazebo]

Freaky! My wife and I were JUST talking about moving to Prince George! Hey, if I'm there in a year I'll join.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Do A-C like to game alot? If so, run both campaigns.

Set a regular schedule with A-C that you know they will keep. Have fun with them playing the campaign they want. (well, all but C, but the next part should pacify him, too) That game will always meet and you'll be happy.

Set up another game time where the agreement is that you'll only game if all but one is present. [In other words, either D or E has to come, since A-C is pretty much a given] That gaming session will always happen, but the game may not stay the same. If either D or E show, you play the option they wanted. But if both D&E miss, you revert back to the game that A-C are in and play that one instead, since they're there already.

Does that make sense ... or it is just mumbling? I think it'll work, and both games will advance at a pace natural to the gaming group. It does mean that you're DMing two groups, but your prep work through the A-C game will likely increase while your prep work for the A-E game will likely decrease.

 

[Gundark]

Freaky! My wife and I were JUST talking about moving to Prince George! Hey, if I'm there in a year I'll join.

LOL...that's great. Well I'm thinking D & E might back out anyways...so the seats might be open . If not there is a big rpg community here.

 

[Infiniti2000]

My opinion is not to do a private poll. It should either be a group decision or DM decision. I'd be wary of option 2 because it will require extremely dedicated gamers/bookkeepers and very few people are like that. I can imagine that the following scenario will make 99.9% of the gamers out there leave:

DM: Hey, Bob, are you ...
Bob: Give me ten minutes while I calculate the foodstuff purchases for Tuesday.
Other players: Zzzz....

Of course, you won't plan it to be that boring, but that would be my initial worry. The last thing I want to do is plan day-to-day operations, especially individually in a group setting.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

So, reading your post, you're going to finish Age of Worms first? What's the problem. Do what you and the majority of your players want.