Depressed DM not getting it right...(depressingly long, very long...)

[Piratecat]

http://www.rpgregistry.com/playersearch.php?COUNTRY=malaysia

It's a start.

 

[questing gm]

http://www.rpgregistry.com/playersearch.php?COUNTRY=malaysia

It's a start.

Wow! I actually found a fellow Sabahan but he is on the east coast which means 6 hours drive...Thanks alot anyway. This registry can sure be useful.

 

[Mistwell]

I live in Malaysia, the state of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu city. I doubt any of you ever heard of it though.

You have KOMODO DRAGON'S! What are you whinning about?

 

[questing gm]

You have KOMODO DRAGON'S! What are you whinning about?

I think you meant the Orang Utans..., the komodos are down south in Indonesia.

 

[ForceUser]

Nope I didn't get it at all, i thought it was meant as an insult....or was it?

An insult? I'm insulted!

The answers to all your cowbell questions can be found here.

 

[Whimsical]

RPGIndex has a site registry of the various player finder sites around the web. I have had good success with AccessDenied.net, but that was back in the Seattle region. Check these sites out, then add yourself to the relevant ones.

I also recommend to any DM evaluating how they are running their game to read the first chapter of Dungeon Masters Guide II, as it has some excellent advice and ideas.

 

[Land Outcast]

EDIT: here's something that might work. See if your players will participate in mini-campaigns. Then run a game that lasts for three sessions. The real joy of these is that it gives you the freedom to try new stuff without making your players commit to a style or a setting that might not work for them.

That's the way to go, trust him... he's a pirate; and he's right.

 

[bento]

I'd also agree with Pirate Cat on this. Don't focus on some large over-arching campaign. Come up with some adventures that you can get a half-dozen at most sessions out of and for each one try to stretch yourself with some new ideas or techniques.

As for those ideas, someone suggested DM Guide II, which I think has great advise for working with players and improving your DM game.

I'd also suggest checking out this site:
http://www.roleplayingtips.com/index.php
It's a weekly e-newsletter filled with all kinds of advice on how to be a better DM.

Good luck!

 

[Herobizkit]

I support the mini-campaign idea, I would also suggest this idea I found in Dragon magazine. It suggests to set up your campaign as if it were a TV series; create short, easily-solvable adventures that could be finished in one sitting or two, and somehow string in an occassional over-arcing theme that reocurrs throught the campaign. In this way, there's not too much pressure on you to create "The Big Story" all at once, and it gives the PC's a sense of immediate satisfaction.

Also, get your group together and discuss making a "themed" team - a team that actually has a point to work together, complements each other's skills, has a clearly defined "role", and to agree upon not stepping on each other's toes. A group that is a madcap collection of classes, races, PrC's and variant rules just isn't a cohesive "cast".

 

[Hussar]

Campaign in a box is a good way to go as well. Shackled City, World's Largest Dungeon or any of the other mega-adventures. Much less work for the DM and there's usually enough goodies for everyone, regardless of play style.

Have you taken a look online? Programs like Fantasy Grounds or OpenRPG have fairly large international communities for gamers. I live in Japan, my players live in the States and Canada. In another game I am in, the DM is in Czech Republic, two live in California, one lives in Finland and me in Japan. The guy from South Africa just dropped out.

While it's not tabletop, its not a bad way to go either.