Game logistics

[Lord Zardoz]

This thread has nothing to do with a given edition or rule set. The question is about how and when you actually manage to run your games.

For the past 3 years, I have had a mostly stable group of 4 to 5 players. I try to run the game once a week. In a concession to the real world often being a total buzz kill with respect to running a game, I do the following.

- Games run on Sunday afternoons. Sunday from noon until about 5 pm is the one block of time that most adults consistently have as an open / unplanned block of time.
- E-mail is sent out on Thursday asking who is available.
- If I get 3 people to commit to the game by Saturday evening, we play. If not, we skip the game.
- Players who were present last week but are absent this week are simply missing. No explanation is ever given or expected for why the character was not active.
- Players level up in lockstep.
- Experience is determined by the players present for the game.

This has mostly worked for me, though lately it has broken down due to otherwise uncontrollable factors.

What about the rest of you.
For the DMs
How often do you try to run a game?
What will prompt you to cancel the game?

For the Players
How often does your DM try to get the game to run?
How far in advance do you typically know if your going to make it to a game?
What will prompt you to bail / cancel on the game?

END COMMUNICATION

 

[ender_wiggin]

Before the campaign, I try to make it clear to the players how long the campaign will last and how frequently and on what day(s) we will play. I generally expect everybody to be there when we play and will cancel/reschedule unless this is the case. Most sessions are scheduled loosely, but I try to schedule the final session about a month in advance, as this is the most important session to commit to (schedule-wise), in my opinion.

 

[samursus]

We try to play every Sat...although because of a new player we are switching to Sun. We are all childless so we usually play between 3:30-11 ish (sometimes end earlier or later). A good hour or two is spent on socializing, character upkeep (3 neophytes to RPG's) and meal and smoke breaks.

We (my GF and I) just started playing in the fall with another couple we met through the Wizards LFG forums. Since then we have added my cousin and this week we have another player gleaned from yet another online source. And today I found out there is another player (friend of the couples) has moved to town and wants to play!

We generally won't play if any of the core group (the 2 couples) can't make it. But this may change at some point in the future, as we have 2 campaigns going (alternating DM's) and 2-3 more players than we originally had. Because I am not sure I want to DM for 6 players, the other DM may start a mid-week campaign for those who are interested and for the new guy. My GF has already said 1/week is enough for her, and the other DM's GF probably can't spare the time, but who knows. Right now, our group is 3 women and 3 men, with the new guy being, you guessed it, a guy!

Me and the other DM keep in touch during the week by phone and email (we have become fast friends) and co-ordinate our schedules. He keeps in touch with our 2 newest players and his GF and I represent my cousin and my GF.

Oh yeah, and as far as cancelling, we are pretty flexible...life sometimes happens with little notice, so we find something else to do. The nice thing about playing every weekend, is you don't feel deprived too badly if you miss a few games. And as far as advance notice... sometimes things only come together the day of ...

 

[darjr]

Aye, Sunday is my day. Some weekends it's till about 9pm. Usually starts about noon or 1:30.

Lately I have had no trouble with players showing up, the opposite in fact.

I would recommend not skipping a day if less than three players are going to make it. Run something else or do a little bit of gaming focused for those two or that one player. Play a board game. For me, skipping days is usually the beginning of the end, so I try to avoid it.

Luckily I'm in several games and RPGA so the occasional fade has been extra curricular stuff, and some of that has taken off lately.

 

[weem]

I found that people are too busy on the weekends, but on weeknights it's easier for them because, well, where else are they going to go... they work tomorrow, hehe.

So let's see...

For the DMs

How often do you try to run a game?

>> Every other Wednesday night.

What will prompt you to cancel the game?

>> 2 of the 4 unable to make it. If one is missing, I work the story around their absense - it has happened one time in 9 games for this, my second 4e campaign.

For the Players

How often does your DM try to get the game to run?

>> I play in 2 campaigns, one of which runs every other Wednesday night (alternating with mine) the other every other Tuesday night.

How far in advance do you typically know if your going to make it to a game?

>> I know well in advance - I can be counted on to be there, hehe.

What will prompt you to bail / cancel on the game?

>> Nothing really once I commit, and I generally commit 2 weeks prior. In the two big 4e campaigns I am in, one has run 17 games, the other 18 (so 35 games) I missed one game - and the DM was aware I would be absent about a month in advance.

 

[samursus]

I would recommend not skipping a day if less than three players are going to make it. Run something else or do a little bit of gaming focused for those two or that one player. Play a board game. For me, skipping days is usually the beginning of the end, so I try to avoid it.

Good advice. A few times we have watched a movie or played a neat little Hobbit/LotR boardgame and had a blast. (I would recommend the game if I could remember the name of it)

 

[Starfox]

I guess I am a bit odd for someone my age (born '66) because I still devote quite a bit of time to gaming. I am retired (health) so I got the time to spend. I am also single without kids.

I run one game Wednesday nights (4E) and another Saturdays (3.5). I also play in one game Thursdays (M&M). All these games play at my apartment, as I have a decent parlor laid out for gaming. There is some overlap, but most of these groups are different people.

We also have a bimonthly (approximately) group where we meet and play boardgames, mainly German games.

We generally run the game as long as there is no more than one person missing. We don't have the problem with lapsed games if we take a break (so far). My city has a very active gaming community, running a yearly games convention, so the pool of players is pretty good.

This sounds like gaming heaven when I write it out. I guess it would be except I am actually ill quite a lot - health retirement is no free lunch.

 

[wedgeski]

For the DMs
How often do you try to run a game?
What will prompt you to cancel the game?

Very similar to you. We play every week, Sunday afternoons, 1pm-5pm. Organisation is done via a Google group. After every game I post to the group with the next game's date, and everyone who can attend replies to the thread. If we're short too many players, the game gets bumped, but we'll occasionally still get together for board games and general laughs, even if D&D is off the table.

If we roleplay with absent players, we don't make a huge effort to write their absence into the game. It's a needless complication that just puts more pressure on the DM and is likely to result in more missed sessions, in my opinion. However, I have had occasions where the game is intersecting with one of the PC's back-stories, or a bit of plot aimed directly at one of the PC's is playing out. On those occasions, by mutual consent, if that PC's player is absent, the game is much more likely to get bumped.

 

[S'mon]

I GM fortnightly on Sunday afternoons, 12.30-5.30pm.

Almost nothing will prompt me to cancel a game - I have been GMing at the London D&D Meetup since July 2008 and I've never cancelled yet. The time I got swine flu last October was during a scheduled hiatus, though, that would have required me to cancel if a game was scheduled during the worst part of the flu. I had been planning to play in a game and obviously I had to cancel that.

I don't cancel for missing players, and me sticking to the schedule encourages players to do so, too. My current 'season' (January-March) has had excellent attendance, usually 7/7.

 

[S'mon]

IMC absent player = absent PCs. Absent PCs gain no XP, on the upside they don't die either, which can be a significant risk IMCs. With my 3.5e game lower level PCs earn more XP per RAW so they'll catch up. With my 4e game I give lower level PCs double XP, so if you miss games you might be temporarily down a level, but can catch up later.