Frustrated. :cry:

[Aniond]

How do you guys go about recruiting people to play your games? People seem to drop like flies. Just stop showing up. I could really use some advice on this?:cry:

[CrawlingChaox]

Unless you’re very lucky, you won’t start with the perfect group right away. Play with as many different people as you can: over time, you’ll be able to sort out the best and most committed ones.

This is an excellent place to start, in any case: I can spoke highly of every single player I’ve found on these forums.

[LordEntrails]

Read this blog; https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/entry.php?241-How-to-Build-a-Successful-Long-term-Gaming-Group

IMO, in short, don't post a game and accept the first group of players to come along. Don't be in a rush.

Run a dozen one-shots, or setup an "Open Table" type campaign for a couple of months. Then, after you have had a dozen or two different players and you have taken note of the ones who fit your style the best, then look at your notes and see which 6-8 of them you think would work well together. Then email them all saying you are looking to start a campaign in x number of weeks. Outline your campaign, when you want to run it, and see if they are interested.

You will then have 4 or so players that you like playing with and since you have taken time to get their buy in to the campaign they will hopefully be committed to it as well. You can then post for the 1 or 2 open spots knowing that you have a strong core and you can be selective about who you accept to help fill out the group.

Again, don't be in a rush. If you find the right group, you might be gaming with them for years to come. A few months difference in the start time won't even be a blip on your histogram :)

[dulux-oz]

Read this blog; https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/entry.php?241-How-to-Build-a-Successful-Long-term-Gaming-Group

IMO, in short, don't post a game and accept the first group of players to come along. Don't be in a rush.

Run a dozen one-shots, or setup an "Open Table" type campaign for a couple of months. Then, after you have had a dozen or two different players and you have taken note of the ones who fit your style the best, then look at your notes and see which 6-8 of them you think would work well together. Then email them all saying you are looking to start a campaign in x number of weeks. Outline your campaign, when you want to run it, and see if they are interested.

You will then have 4 or so players that you like playing with and since you have taken time to get their buy in to the campaign they will hopefully be committed to it as well. You can then post for the 1 or 2 open spots knowing that you have a strong core and you can be selective about who you accept to help fill out the group.

Again, don't be in a rush. If you find the right group, you might be gaming with them for years to come. A few months difference in the start time won't even be a blip on your histogram :)

Echoing what Lord E has said - also, check out my threads recruiting for players. (See Below) I run each of these games on alternate weekeneds, and I took my time in advertising, stating clearly what my expectations were, what I expected from my players and what my players could expect from me. Lord E is actually one of my players, so he can give you the player's-perspective on the method I used.

But above all, remember this: there are always *always* more players then there are good GMs, so it is only a matter of time before the word gets out that there is a good GM recruiting. As I tend to play more-obsecure games, and I take my time, I tend to self-select against those PITA players who just want to treat this hobby as a "drop in once in a while thing". Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that, its just that I prefer the slow, exquisit story build over months (if not years) - and a lot of the current crop of 5E players just want a quick one-shot. Having said that, if I get some new RPGers who want to expereince the longer version of the hobby then I'm more than happy to take them on.

Anyway, here are the two threads which I used to recruit for my current games:

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?38028-Terrorists-Aliens-Megacorps-Politicians-A-New-Campaign-Of-An-Old-Classic

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?42817-A-Tale-O-Terror

[DwightLee]

I have had fantastic sucuess at players, but you have to be picky. When I advertise ( only done so twice ) I am very careful about looking for like minded players, and I look for enthusiasm for what I am presenting.

I also work hard to be a fair and good DM. Running a homebrew campaign of about 14-16 3 hour sessions. Re-running the same campaign to hone it, and fine tune it, and my own skills as a DM

[LordEntrails]

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?38028-Terrorists-Aliens-Megacorps-Politicians-A-New-Campaign-Of-An-Old-Classic

I look at the first "diary" type entry (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?38028-Terrorists-Aliens-Megacorps-Politicians-A-New-Campaign-Of-An-Old-Classic&p=342879&viewfull=1#post342879) I made for this game I'm playing in, June 19th, 2017. So almost 2 years ago. We are still playing today. Not all the players are the same, but we have 3 or 4 of the original players and have only had perhaps 3 players drop out over that time. Pretty good record, imo.

[Lexfire]

All excellent points. I started with FG as a player in several JohnD campaigns and found a great source of dedicated players to invite. Ran for 2 years with very good attendance and minimal player churn.

[Trenloe]

@dlaselle - do you have an Ultimate license or standard? The reason I ask is that some GMs in the community have a better experience when their players have to buy a license as well. It puts a little bit of investment in playing the players hands and whereas it won't guarantee they'll stick with your game, it probably makes them a little less flaky.

A lot of things to consider have already been mentioned - essentially don't accept the first few people who ask to play. I know most of us want to start our game as soon as we can, but just taking a little more time to have some form of application process is worthwhile in the long run.

Players will leave your game for all sorts of reasons - some you can control, some you can't. The biggest reasons you can control are your GM style and the group player make-up. Then, once you start playing your game try to be aware of player styles and how involved they are in the game. If someone's quiet it may be that is just their style, but it may also be that they're not enjoying the game or feel overwhelmed with one, or more, of the other players. It will take you a while to get a group that fits together - that you enjoy playing with and that enjoy your GMing style. We can modify our style a little to fit in with a group, but in the end you don't want to change it too much (unless you find you enjoy that change). Basically, if one or more players don't fit into the group, don't be afraid to communicate with them offline - let them know your concerns and if they're not willing to moderate the things you don't like then ask them to leave. I've had a few campaigns fall apart because of one player who didn't fit in - and the GM tried to work with that one person way beyond what the other players felt was reasonable, and rather than just ask them to leave it resulted in the main bulk of the group leaving.

Ask the players how they're enjoying it - is there anything you can do to make it more enjoyable for them. Everyone won't fit into your group - if they're not enjoying it and you're not prepared to make changes they may ask for (if you're lucky enough to get constructive feedback), then agree to part ways. Don't take it personally, just because we all enjoy the same hobby doesn't mean that we're going to get on and fit well into a group.

Then, as your campaign progresses, be pro-active about letting people know when the next game is. Get the email addresses of all players and send out reminders a few days in advance (I usually send a reminder around 3 days in advance, then 24 hours) - push people to let you know if they can/can't make the game. Even if you're using some online campaign management portal, make sure you send email reminders. This is especially vital at the beginning of the campaign, as it's easy for busy people to forget when the next session is.

Gaming can be a complex social environment and we have to work at it. Unfortunately, playing online makes it all too easy for people to just drop without even letting you know. It takes time and effort to get a good group together and then to keep it together - beyond just making sure you're prepped for the session itself...

[DwightLee]

What Trenloe said is very true, on the flip side, make sure the players, are your kind of players. I personally despise rules lawyers, or anyone that constantly tries to out rule the DM. My games are very story driven, and Meta-gamers totally ruin that experience. So I make it very clear up front what kind of player I am looking for, and even them I live chat with them a while, even run a mini-game first to see how they react to game elements. Once I have a good set of players, I am very accommodating, and work like mad to make sure their experience is one to remember.

[Xydonus]

Also consider other sources for finding players.Most of my players have come from reddit, couple of others came from knowing them in other games. The LFG section on reddit is where I found some of my best players who are still in my group 5 years on. So use multiple platforms to look for players, and always be mindful of the type of player you're letting in.

[DwightLee]

Very true, I found some on these forums, some I found in the Fantasy Grounds Discord also

[QueDaPayne]

If you need a player hit me up! I just signed up on FG and am dying to get started.