Unless it;s 5e or PF are players actually interested in other systems?

[Martin153]

I have been running 5e for sometime now on FG and have a I regular group.

I tried to branch out into another game I love, Traveller. I had zero interest and had to abandon the game despite spending ages setting up MoreCore and prepping a campaign. I am not going to make that mistake again!

So Savage Worlds, another system I love. I would love to run a game, but before I spend ages (and money), is anyone interested in a regular SW campaign? I am happy to run 50 Fathoms, Deadlands, Weird Wars II, HellFrost, The Last Parsec, Rippers, Weird War II, One shot Pulps. Anything!

So would anyone be interested (times to be agreed) in playing any of these before I commit time and money? Or should I just fall into the realm of D20 and lump it?

Wye

[Trenloe]

I tried to branch out into another game I love, Traveller. I had zero interest and had to abandon the game despite spending ages setting up MoreCore and prepping a campaign. I am not going to make that mistake again!
Did you advertise your Traveller game outside of the FG boards? i.e. in Traveller orientated forums? Over the years GMs running less mainstream games have found they've had to do this to get a group together.

Anyway, I've seen a few Savage Worlds campaigns get off the grounds over the last few months (based off continued forums posts for the games). Good luck getting a group together.

[Stuart]

You may be right Martin (any other night than Sunday and I'd have been begging to play); I have wanted to run Rolemaster or SW but never really got much interest and plumped instead for 5th Ed Middle-earth - but here too, I'm struggling a little for players (could do with one or two more to add to the other four committed players). But, my point is, any game night other than Saturday or Sunday and I'll happily have a go at anything. If I had the time, I'd run Weird Wars Rome or Deadlands ... but ... hint, hint !

[Martin153]

Did you advertise your Traveller game outside of the FG boards?

I tried the Traveller Facebook Group but post was met with the usual rubbish about Online TableTops...I just fancy a break away from 5e for a change but fear that's where all the players are ;(

[Martin153]

I guess its just a reflection of the market Stuart. I would guess that 5e and PF account for 90% of it. That means that we are trying to attract a very small amount of players.

Yes I could try another place, but (my opinion) FG has a better standard of DM and players. In short I would rather run my games on a superior system with a much higher quality of reliable players....

[Trenloe]

5E and Pathfinder covered 70% of games ran on FG last year: https://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?3507-Who-s-Playing-What-on-Fantasy-Grounds#.WTW1oGjyuZR

[Martin153]

Thanks for that Trenloe. A few surprises there!

[Stuart]

5E and Pathfinder covered 70% of games ran on FG last year: https://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?3507-Who-s-Playing-What-on-Fantasy-Grounds#.WTW1oGjyuZR

Trenloe - out of curiosity, how is that data collated? The number for 5th Ed Dungeons and Dragons at 180,492 ... is that players? Threads? Games on the Campaign Calendar? I'd be really interested to know.

[Trenloe]

Trenloe - out of curiosity, how is that data collated? The number for 5th Ed Dungeons and Dragons at 180,492 ... is that players? Threads? Games on the Campaign Calendar? I'd be really interested to know.
These are total number of GM sessions. From Doug: "The stats are only generated from games launched which use the alias system but they don't feature any games run with the alias feature turned off (i.e. External IP games.)"

[Stuart]

Thanks - quite an interesting insight into what is being played ... do we have any idea about global location? My not so clever thinking is that the vast majority of 5th Ed and Pathfinder are US but I'd love to see the Rolemaster stats ... bet there's a fair number of Antipodean players.

[Trenloe]

Thanks - quite an interesting insight into what is being played ... do we have any idea about global location?
No idea. That would require analysing the GMs IP address, and would only tell you the GM's location, not the players.

[Martin153]

Trenloe. I have over a dozen 5e campaigns.. A total of 20 other campaigns that I start. Today for example I must have opened and closed a 4 or 5 SW campaigns over a dozen times. Does this mean this is registerd as actually being played as far as the stats are concerned. My alias is registerd in every campaign I open...

[Honken]

I myself is mostly interested in anything not D&D or PF. But the biggest problem for me is that between 2 IRL groups, and a huge load of work i don't have time for much else.

/H

[Trenloe]

I think they changed it recently so that data is collected for games that have players join. But I can't find Doug's post on that. You'd need to ask him.

[LordEntrails]

I think they changed it recently so that data is collected for games that have players join. But I can't find Doug's post on that. You'd need to ask him.
This is what I remember Doug saying.

[Martin153]

Has anyone ever had any success posing a game that starts immediately either here or on discord? Interested to know if I posted a one shot starting now if it would get any interest...

[Trenloe]

The Fantasy Grounds community is not used to pickup games, so few people are ready just to jump into a game for a few hours with little notice. I've seen a few pickup games posted, I think one or two of them have happened. One way to find out... :)

[Ram Tyr]

I am interested in seeing SW in action! No real SW experience. I have just been in a SW session and played in a few back when the system was new... but no prolonged experience.


So Savage Worlds, another system I love. I would love to run a game, but before I spend ages (and money), is anyone interested in a regular SW campaign? I am happy to run 50 Fathoms, Deadlands, Weird Wars II, HellFrost, The Last Parsec, Rippers, Weird War II, One shot Pulps. Anything!

So would anyone be interested (times to be agreed) in playing any of these before I commit time and money? Or should I just fall into the realm of D20 and lump it?

Wye
I would be down for some sci fi, so Last Parsec sounds good to me! :)


You may be right Martin (any other night than Sunday and I'd have been begging to play); I have wanted to run Rolemaster or SW but never really got much interest and plumped instead for 5th Ed Middle-earth - but here too, I'm struggling a little for players (could do with one or two more to add to the other four committed players). But, my point is, any game night other than Saturday or Sunday and I'll happily have a go at anything. If I had the time, I'd run Weird Wars Rome or Deadlands ... but ... hint, hint !

How about an afternoon start for the UK? I would love for a game that started at noon (BST) [11am UTC] on Saturday or at 4pm (BST) [3pm UTC] on Sunday. I put them in BST because you are in UK. (They are 7am (US Eastern) on Saturday and 11am (US Eastern) on Sunday.) I would love the opportunity to play alongside my old friend Stuart! :) (I will get up early for it!)

[sim181]

I have been playing around with hosting a Weird Wars Rome game for my friends. I have 0 experience with SW and FG and a very small amount of experience with table top gaming (only touched on D&D 4e). but I have been keeping an eye out for any SW games that I may be able to Join. Mostly because the SW ruleset looks really great but also just to see the play style and flow.

[PhorgottenSon]

I have been running 5e for sometime now on FG and have a I regular group.

I tried to branch out into another game I love, Traveller. I had zero interest and had to abandon the game despite spending ages setting up MoreCore and prepping a campaign. I am not going to make that mistake again!

So Savage Worlds, another system I love. I would love to run a game, but before I spend ages (and money), is anyone interested in a regular SW campaign? I am happy to run 50 Fathoms, Deadlands, Weird Wars II, HellFrost, The Last Parsec, Rippers, Weird War II, One shot Pulps. Anything!

So would anyone be interested (times to be agreed) in playing any of these before I commit time and money? Or should I just fall into the realm of D20 and lump it?

Wye

I was interested in your Traveller game, but two things held me back. One, I don't have any of the mongoose 2nd edition stuff, and two, I could not commit to that time on Sundays until late July. I do hope you find a crew and play the games you love. Some of these other systems just may take more time to get booked. Not everyone looks at the forum daily, just keep bumping your post every 3 or 4 days with updates until you get enough bites. It could take weeks to get filled up.

[Trenloe]

Damned gives good advice around getting less mainstream games going - start with 2 or 3 players - and post game recaps on the forums after each session. If people see you're playing and like the sound of the game then you'll get some interest. But it'll be over some time...

Online gaming isn't easy - even if you get a full party, some of the players won't gel and will drop out; or try to force the style of play and you may have to ask them to leave. It takes time to get a group of reliable players who like the same play style and you enjoy playing with.

What's great about Traveller is that usually you don't have to have a big party - it's easy to fill out the ships crew with NPCs (if you're running a ship based campaign).

[gagsmith]

@Martin153 I was also interested in your Traveller game but the scheduled times didn't work for me. I wish you luck!

[Litvyak]

I've played in one 5e game, other than that all the games I've played on FG have been non-D&D/PF. So people interested in other games systems definitely exist, because I am one of those people and I have played games with many others. In fact I remember seeing your Traveller game and being interested, but there was no way I could make the time slot work (Sadly, with balancing work, family and other gaming commitments, that happens all too often).

Anyways getting a non-D&D game going can take considerable time and effort. Other people have given great advice... recruit elsewhere (google+ has a particularly active RPG community in my experience), and set reasonable expectations such as 2-3 solid and dependable players (I've seen more than one game not get off the ground because the GM insisted on 4+ or bust).

[vodokar]

It can take a while to gather players for a non d&d game, that's for sure. But, have some patience. I remember when you first posted about your game. It hasn't really been that long. Move on to something else for right now, but bump your thread occasionally and hopefully you will find some interest eventually. Frankly, I think one of the main issues is that you are on UK time, which puts you at a pretty big disadvantage. For example, I would have been interested in playing in your game, but, if I remember correctly, I am still at work during your play time. You are not only drawing from a lesser crowd due to a lesser played game, but also from a lesser crowd of players being available in your time frame, but I'm sure you are used to that. No one can make promises, but, keep on trying. I feel your frustration. We have all been there, from time to time. I'm running a Champions game and could only gather about 3 players, but, it's still worth it.

[sim181]

It can take a while to gather players for a non d&d game, that's for sure. But, have some patience. I remember when you first posted about your game. It hasn't really been that long. Move on to something else for right now, but bump your thread occasionally and hopefully you will find some interest eventually. Frankly, I think one of the main issues is that you are on UK time, which puts you at a pretty big disadvantage. For example, I would have been interested in playing in your game, but, if I remember correctly, I am still at work during your play time. You are not only drawing from a lesser crowd due to a lesser played game, but also from a lesser crowd of players being available in your time frame, but I'm sure you are used to that. No one can make promises, but, keep on trying. I feel your frustration. We have all been there, from time to time. I'm running a Champions game and could only gather about 3 players, but, it's still worth it.

I was looking at your champions game seemed full lol. Wish I would have known it had spots.

[crankdawg47]

Not sure about anyone else but I have interest in trying out 4e, Fate, Numanera, and Exhalted. Right now I run a 5e campaign on saturday nights and it's going well but I am curious about what other systems have to offer.

[Arkham81]

Hey Martin, I feel your pain. I never got into D&D when I was a kid and the older I get, the more I move away from games with long, drawn-out combat and complex rules...I've tried to play D&D/PF on here and it just isn't my thing.

I was lucky enough to find a great FG group that plays a variety of non-D&D/PF stuff; we're doing Trail of Cthulhu right now. We meet every Wednesday but are full at the moment. I do suspect that alternate rules systems that are more focused on roleplaying than tactical combat encourage/reward player cohesion and are therefore more likely to be played by long-running groups that aren't advertising on the forums.

All that is to say that I've been looking very closely at Savage Worlds lately and would be interested in giving that a try. My other interests are FATE and PbtA games, incidentally. The SW settings that most appeal to me are Weird Wars Rome and probably Deadlands. I'm in the UK and free on weekdays other than Wednesday if you want to give something a shot, even if it's just to try out a rules set.

[chanceboon]

I think its already been touched on, but other forums can be a boon in finding players as well. I have a Star Wars game that I run in Cypher Systems that I posted here and got a pair of players, on a reddit board dedicated to Cypher which yielded one player and I even managed to pull two players from the Roll20 board. Check out Reddit, Google+ and any other place you can think of to give yourself an edge in finding players.

[Talyn]

Finding a group for anything is difficult. There are the forums here, the game calendar (not the most intuitive thing in the world but whatever) and the #looking_for_group channel on the FG Discord. Plus whatever other general online gathering places might be out there -- Facebook, G+, forums and Discords for specific games (like Pathfinder Society has its own official Discord), Google Groups, you name it.

Plus D&D is the World of Warcraft of tabletop. Some people only want their 800lb vanilla ice cream-flavored game and aren't willing to taste anything else. Other people like more nuanced flavors and vanilla is just a last resort. :)

[Mellock]

Martin153, I don't know if we're something you'd be interested in, but I made this post: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?38708-LF-SW-DM-Sat-GMT-timezone and sent you a PM to boot. Let me know in that thread if you feel like it.

[Martin153]

Hi Mellock

Thanks for thinking of me. Unfortunately 14.00 and afternoons are pretty much impossible for me. Having wife and kids, my play time tends to be GMT evenings after family time.

It's a shame as I am just about ready to run some Last Parsec. I really hope you find a GM, and if your times change I would be happy to run any setting for you..

Martin

[Mellock]

Hey Martin, no worries, I understand. :) I hope you find a suitable group soon :) I'll ask my group if they would be comfortable shifting to a later time. Unfortunately Sunday is a workday for 2 of them.

[rabbedrabit]

there are still peaple playing ad&d (1st ed) but i think they are all playing f2f. i know a writer that makes 1e adventures and sells quite well so there are peaple playing that edition still.

[JSpade85]

I would be very interested in playing SW settings: Deadlands, Hellfrost, Rippers, the last parsec! PLease let me know if you sert something up!

[Zyrus]

I would be, if I could actually get some time in with a 5E group. I only started trying to play 5E recently, and would like to actually have time playing it.

[VonKyrin]

I've mostly wanted to get away from D&D and the last two Fantasy Grounds games I played in were GURPS, which is probably the system I most prefer. But I find it difficult to even find a D&D or Pathfinder game here, let alone one for another system. But that's probably because I only check the board about once a month or less to see what's opening up. Now it's been so long since I've played I'm kind of wanting to just play 5th edition since I haven't played D&D since 3rd edition. I'm not sure I've ever played D&D on Fantasy Grounds.

[Trenloe]

Yep, if you want to get into a game you need to be proactive and keep visiting the forum regularly.

[Green Spectre]

You may be right Martin (any other night than Sunday and I'd have been begging to play); I have wanted to run Rolemaster or SW but never really got much interest and plumped instead for 5th Ed Middle-earth - but here too, I'm struggling a little for players (could do with one or two more to add to the other four committed players). But, my point is, any game night other than Saturday or Sunday and I'll happily have a go at anything. If I had the time, I'd run Weird Wars Rome or Deadlands ... but ... hint, hint !

So you actually in a 5e Middle-Earth game? I've been looking to play, but no luck.

[wolfhound68w]

God I am. Would love to get down on some Rogue Trader or similar FFG Warhammer 40k game.