Group Dissolved

[Banshee16]

So...the last few weeks, we've been trying to get our regular game going, as I'd been out of commission for two weeks, while on honeymoon. We had just started a Midnight campaign, with two new players.

For 3 weeks, the game has been missed each gameday, as people were busy with other things....meetings, school, family events, etc.

Friday past, the two new players, and one of my old players all withdrew from the game, claiming they're too busy right now. Plus, the two new guys had a difference in play style...they're far more "roleplay" focused than some of my other players (particularly our resident powergamer).

So now, I've got two players left, one of whom is a powergamer that has resulted in me losing other players in the group over the last year or so. I've had at least three people express dicontent with his playing style, and leave. And the remaining guy always has to leave early, though I do like having him in the group. The two new guys sent me an e-mail a day or two ago asking me to join a group they're forming, but as a player, in a new campaign etc. And they've already expressed in their e-mail that the evening we had set as gameday didn't work for them...but it's one of the only days that works for me, so I'm not sure there's a future joining their group. I was really keen on running Midnight.

Are there any good online resources for finding and building groups? WotC used to have a player finder in their website, but unfortunately it no longer seems to be around.

Banshee

 

[Edheldur]

I feel your pain. I'm having a really hard time finding players for my games, since they all seem outraged by such notions as "I want to meet you before allowing you into my house" or "I'd like to know about your prefered playstyle", and I don't even want to mention what happens when I mention that I expect players to, you know, appear regularly and... play *GASP*.

Good luck finding a group!

 

[Oryan77]

Are there any good online resources for finding and building groups? WotC used to have a player finder in their website, but unfortunately it no longer seems to be around.

It's still around, you just have to post in the appropriate forum (your location) and follow the title rules so your post keeps itself in alphabetical order by your state.
http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=347

There's also the forum here on Enworld:

http://www.enworld.org/forumdisplay.php?f=49

 

[Cyronax]

Well depending on how you go about things, its probably a good idea to explicitly tell potential players about your DM style and the style of any of your players.

EN World has a Gamers Seeking Gamers forum.

RPG.net has a good forum as well.

They probably grab the attention of as many people as WotC's does, but that's conjecture. Both sites have a great nationwide (and worldwide) viewership.

In the end, I'd say be as flexible as possible as a DM. Try to please your players, but don't pander to power gamers. I know from experience how destructive a power gamer is in a group of relatively mature gamers. In the end, I'd advise you to ditch the power gamer and start fresh .... stick with Midnight if you can, but a lot of people find that setting oppressive.

My two cents,

C.I.D.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Sorry to hear that.

I hope you find some more players (good ones) soon.

 

[MadMaxim]

It always sucks when a group dissolves for whatever reason. Personally, I'm down to two players with myself as a DM. I was scheduled to play in one of my former player's campaign, but he ditched me for his cousin who he claimed he hadn't spent a lot of time with over Christmas. I found it to be an incredibly lame excuse, especially since he had been planning his campaign for half a year and I was onboard until he finally kicked me off the team a couple of weeks before the campaign were to start. It's fair enough that he wants to spent time with his cousin, but I don't see why they can't meet over a beer or a cup of coffee instead of D&D... And I still don't get it, and I still don't like him for pulling that one on me...

 

[carmachu]

Try playing a play by post game.....easier to keep together...

 

[Banshee16]

It's still around, you just have to post in the appropriate forum (your location) and follow the title rules so your post keeps itself in alphabetical order by your state.
http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=347

There's also the forum here on Enworld:

http://www.enworld.org/forumdisplay.php?f=49

Hmm...found one possibility on the WotC boards, so e-mailed him. Will see if anything comes about from it. Some of my longest-running players came from the old TSR/Wizards database. I found two players through it, who remained in my group for about 8 years. One has gradually drifted out, as he got married, had a child, and found he had little free time. The other left after he brought a buddy into the group, and ended up not liking his play style.

Banshee

 

[Banshee16]

Well depending on how you go about things, its probably a good idea to explicitly tell potential players about your DM style and the style of any of your players.

EN World has a Gamers Seeking Gamers forum.

RPG.net has a good forum as well.

They probably grab the attention of as many people as WotC's does, but that's conjecture. Both sites have a great nationwide (and worldwide) viewership.

In the end, I'd say be as flexible as possible as a DM. Try to please your players, but don't pander to power gamers. I know from experience how destructive a power gamer is in a group of relatively mature gamers. In the end, I'd advise you to ditch the power gamer and start fresh .... stick with Midnight if you can, but a lot of people find that setting oppressive.

My two cents,

C.I.D.

Well, to be fair, I think I've always been pretty clear about my GM-style. I send extensive e-mails and instructions regarding what I'll be running, how I like to run the game etc. But I'm finding myself stuck where I've got older (ie. 29-32) gamers in my age range who are settling down, starting to have families etc. and are becoming unreliable with respect to attendance, and then University students who are willing, and often great players, but have no way to transport themselves, and are entirely inconsistent with their ability to attend...sometimes yes, sometimes no, depending on classes, exams, what pub crawls are going on that night, etc.

I think powergamers are a part of the problem. One in my group has been problematic...he's the most likely to dispute rules interpretations, causing the game to grind to a halt. And he can be negative at times....he helped end my Swashbuckling Adventures game. I really just want to get back to having a group of guys who are in it to have fun, and are relatively casual, and want a good mix of role playing, action, and adventure. Lately it seems there have been so many times where I'm all prepped and psyched to go to the game, and then 2-3 guys drop out for various reasons at the last minute, at like 3 pm on Friday, leaving the 2-3 of us who are left scrambling to make alternate plans for the evening. I don't think it's fair to the others in the group to cancel that late in the day.

Banshee

 

[Nyaricus]

That sucks man, and I feel your pain. Just had another player drop out of my Saturday-night game, which is about the 15th person to leave my group in the 2 years I've been DMing.

Now, however, I have 5 really keen players who are ready to get going, so I'm still in the good. I know what it's like though...

meetups.com has a D&D section which I used to find some players for my group back last year. Maybe try using that.

hope all goes well!

cheers,
--N