Is "finding the right players" a solvable problem, or just luck?

[Lanefan]

Solvable problem all the way, though the solving process might be a little bumpy.

First off, run games only for people you already know from somewhere else - work, school, the gym, ENWorld, wherever - rather than total strangers.

Second off, run in-person only. It's impossible for anyone to "read the room" over a VTT, even more so if you're not using actual video feeds (which hog bandwidth).

Third off, run only for people who are actually interested in playing. If Joe from work is keen, that's great; but if he insists on bringing his spouse who doesn't know D&D from M&Ms and isn't interested in learning, big red flag. Keep him, punt her.

Fourth off, expect there to be some arguments and in-game shenanigans while the players get used to each other. You'll have some player turnover in the early going, so be it - let it ride. This is the bumpy bit. Eventually you'll shake down to a more cohesive and stable group.

Fifth off, even if your table is full, always keep the next replacement player in mind and never truly stop recruiting. Better to have a "waiting list" than to run out of players.

I'll go a step further: The players you have XX months/years later aren't the same players you have at session 0.

Because people change. What people want out of a game changes. What people want out of their free time changes. Life changes.

In effect, player turnover without the actual people changing. Very good point.

Flip side is that you-as-GM will slowly change as well. You might go in wanting a deep-drama serious game and a year later real life's provided enough drama of its own and you're yearning for some gonzo silliness, but don't want to change campaigns as the current one is otherwise rocking hard.

 

[aramis erak]

In my experience, the right players are a mixture of luck and training...

 

[aco175]

I have had a different series of games based on life places. When we were kids we played with the neighborhood kids and everyone made up stuff and some of the kids liked it more than others and some became longer players and others played a few times or when it was raining or something. Later on in high school I had a few other from town that played and we ran a few things as my world grew and others from the next town could play as well. It was still small and most of the neighborhood kids stopped playing or moved away and such.

Then there was an Army group that I played with. Again mostly people in my direct unit and we mostly played when we ran out of money to go out on the weekend. Some had a more stable group and we played a year or so. There was also a semi-group at the local game shop that I tried playing with but could not commit due to being deployed. And MagicTG became a thing at this time.

After coming home, there was the old, local group that was still playing of some people I played with in high school and now my little brother was playing. Several people came and went from this group and we are now playing with my father, brother, and son. It has been an evolving group but dwindled over time. Never really looked for new players. Had a few one-offs that came for a week or two and faded away.

My point is that many times finding players depends on luck of where you are and where in life you are. Today might be easier to find players online and in groups at places instead of just the neighborhood kids, but these are the friends you have and like to do things with. In the Army, I could have reached out to a larger group of people instead of the 20 people in the barracks hall which most were the same rank and more friends than not. Today, I am not going to abandon my family that I play with, but I like playing with them anyways. Maybe someday my father will not be able to play anymore and my son moves away from college. Not sure how I will want to play at that time.

 

[cranberry]

Someone above dismissed session zero, but imo, it's the most effective way to convey what kind of game you'll be running, and give the potential players an opportunity to bow out if it's not what they're looking for. I tend to let everyone in unless they are an obvious red flag. What constitutes a red flag, of course, differs from GM to GM.

I don't take it personally if someone realizes after the fact that the game or my GMing style isn't for them and leaves.

So, I'm more of a big tent person, and willing to give people a chance before deciding they aren't right up front, and I'm willing to deal with issues as they arise.

If you set too strong a filter, and can't find enough players that are the perfect fit, you may be the issue....

 

[Cergorach]

...but only if the people showing up actually want the same thing from the game.

While that might seem to be the the most logical feature to want in a group, in my experience it isn't (just that). As @Deset Gled said, people change, while they can certainly over decades, they can also suddenly change due to experiences. What I find most important in players is a 'give and take' mentality, where they collectively don't just want to push their own agenda, but also respect each others ideas and time. Open and honest discourse helps with that a LOT! And while that might not work with folks with opposite 'demands', everyone vaguely going in the same direction is often good enough vs. everyone going on the same narrow straight path.

But also keep in mind that a very important factor is also local culture. Folks not showing up at the last minute is pretty anathema around here, unless they have a very important reason (I'm from the Netherlands). While such behaviour seems to be common for Americans. We're also known for brutal honesty (considered offensive by quite a few other cultures), and the ability to take such brutal honesty... Acting the same way around most American groups would offend quite a few of them.

As such, finding the 'right' people depends on where and how you're looking. A group dynamic would work quite different for someone in Brazil to someone in Poland, and if you're running an online VTT session with folks from all over the world keep cultural differences in mind. And even if you're running a local group, depending on where you live, you might still have different people from different cultural backgrounds...

 

[Tigris]

I think this problem can partially be solved by self improvement. Becoming a better person and better GM which can handle a broader range of different people and players.


If you expect all the players to want the same thing, or be the same kind of player type, thats a way higher hurdle than if you are fine as long as they dont openly hate you or the game.

 

[dragoner]

Considering being the GM, it is not terribly difficult, though I belong to a club.

 

[Umbran]

I've been thinking about this a lot and have started building something around it. Curious whether others have developed any reliable signals or methods for compatibility before session one, or whether it's mostly still vibes and luck.

Reliable?

You are talking about reliable methods of predicting the behavior of specific, poorly-known individuals.

Good luck with that.

 

[sevenbastard]

First off, run games only for people you already know from somewhere else - work, school, the gym, ENWorld, wherever - rather than total strangers.

I think the problem here is if those people are terrible players and you have to kick them out of the game that monday meeting is twice as awkward.

I see finding players like dating. Eventually you might break up so make sure its not socially awkward if you do.

 

[TwoSix]

No idea.

I don't have gaming tables; I have tables of friends where we choose to play RPGs as a fun activity. If those tables decided to just do board games instead, it's RPGing that gets punted, not my friends. I'm not that attached to the hobby.