How to motivate players to play?

[Lavinia Teeblatt]

Hi all,

actually my boyfriend and me are playing in two different parties.
One party are 6 members and the other party are the same members plus two more.

Both parties stopped playing in the end of november as nobody had time before christmas.
We understood this because the time before christmas is always a busy time and also for us it would have been difficult to find time to play.

Now in the new year we would like to continue playing but it´s the same as before christmas, nobody has time and e-mails about finding an appointment to play even are not answered.

I dont´t know why but I have the feeling that both parties are dieing because the players have only low interests in continue playing. I think the players are not motivated enough.

Has anyone ideas to prevent that the parties are dieing?


Thanks all!!

Lavinia


P.S.: Sorry for my bad english!!!

 

[Radiant]

I found it really taxing to keep groups alive then the players aren't motivated anymore. I'd take the ones who show interest from both parties and see if it is enough to form one new group.

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

Good idea Radiant.

You might want to try to shock them out of their complacency, saying "Look I'm not hearing from anyone so apparently you want to stop the game. Unless I hear differently consider the game cancelled." If they don't respond to that I think you need to find a new group.

 

[Nightfall]

Put the player's feet into a vat of seawater with electric eels.

 

[diaglo]

tell them you are throwing a gala. invite them over for food, drinks, & fun.

turn it into a session instead.

 

[Nightfall]

tell them you are throwing a gala. invite them over for food, drinks, & fun.

turn it into a session instead.

Still think my previous post idea has merit. I mean hey what's a little torture between players?

 

[Hand of Evil]

It happens and the larger the group, the chances are you are going to have a hard time getting people together, it happens with business meeting. The best thing to do is to reduce the number of players OR plan further into the future picking a date.

 

[Nightfall]

It happens and the larger the group, the chances are you are going to have a hard time getting people together, it happens with business meeting. The best thing to do is to reduce the number of players OR plan further into the future picking a date.

Or you could just kidnap them, leave clues pointing to someone else and make darn sure to keep the bodies hidden.

 

[Shazman]

I'm in the same situation. Though it seems that one of my groups may be getting back together. I definitely think you should form a new group composed of the few players that still show interest plus new players if you need them. If you wait on people to get motivated enough to make the time to play, you'll probably just end up twidling you thumbs at home instead of playing.

 

[WizarDru]

Rather than a 'Scorched Earth' solution, try to find a middle ground. My players are very motivated...but we also have busy lives, especially with newborns added into the mix(!).

Instead of giving all the players an ultimatum, which could drastically backfire on you, try for a compromise or an alternate solution.

1) "Beta" game. My group has more than one game running. Our primary game, chronicled in our story hour, is the one we normally play. However, some weeks there are family obligations, other social events, real world problems or work requirements that interfere. For that, we run the much looser Beta game, where attendance is strictly catch-as-catch-can. We're much more flexible with both rules, scheduling and story, as it's more of a freewheeling game.

2) Split the party. Conventional wisdom holds that you shouldn't do this, but truthfully, you can and perhaps even should, on occasion. Take a look at Destan's story hour (linked in my sig). His players live in several different states, so getting together can be a chore. He has split them up on occasion, and run games when they're available (as some friends are nearby, others several states distant). This can be more work for the DM, but very rewarding.

3) Plan further in advance. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Coordinating seven adult's schedules can be difficult, especially if some work long hours, have kids, are working towards an advanced degree, live a good distance away or more than one of the above at the same time. Being unavailable may not be a lack of enthusiasm, just a lack of time. A person who's just pulled their third night with 3 hours of sleep may not respond that quickly. That programmer who's on his second week of crunch time, and has to release a prototype of the code for QA testing by Sunday afternoon may just simply forget to reply. Set the date at least a week in the future, and try to get a sense of future avaiable dates. For that matter, try and get people to commit to what days are good for them, and which aren't.

In the case of my group, we play on either Friday or Saturday, and it looks like we may be making a shift to mostly Friday night games soon, because of several players work schedules.

Of course, you may have some players who are rude, inconsiderate or just plain unenthused at this point. If you're unsure, ask them. If they don't answer after a reasonable period of time, and you're sure they got the question, then move on without them. But make sure first, and be willing to compromise (assuming they're not just jerks. If they're jerks, drop them like a sack of potatoes).

Also, make sure that they're enjoying the game, and ask if there are things they'd like to see changed. Make sure that your game types are compatible. A hard-core 'Gygaxian' player and an amateur thespian are not going to enjoy the same game, unless one or both are unsatisfied part of the time. If you have players who want different things out of the game, then the center will not hold. Find what game you want to be in, find out which the DM is willing to run, and move on from there.