Advice/Help GM’ing a group?

[Yunalescaa]

Back in the day when I was much younger, I used to run a fair share of group roleplays. As I got older I notice a lot fizzle out almost right away even if the plot itself is good and the players are moving things along.

I’ve had an idea rattling around for a relatively small group of no more than 10 based off Supermassive’s game The Quarry. The only probably is I haven’t run a group in a VERY long time.

Maybe I’m overthinking things and trying to think around roadblocks, but I genuinely worry I’ll put in all this effort and after a few posts it’ll die. Does anyone have any advice for getting back into the GM scene? How do you keep RPs from dying before they’ve reached their potential?

 

[Murdergurl]

I don't have any advice to your conundrum. But I can offer you some solace in reinforcing your observation. I'm not sure why, but it seems like in more recent years, groups just don't hold water like they used to. People are too ready to quit. Or they express interest and then disappear, or take foooooooorever to get their characters made and submitted, etc. And then you have the immediate dropouts once it gets started. So, you're not alone in noticing that the new blood in the RP scene has some sort of dysfunction in their ability be able to cohere themselves into cooperative group storytelling.

 

[Yunalescaa]

I don't have any advice to your conundrum. But I can offer you some solace in reinforcing your observation. I'm not sure why, but it seems like in more recent years, groups just don't hold water like they used to. People are too ready to quit. Or they express interest and then disappear, or take foooooooorever to get their characters made and submitted, etc. And then you have the immediate dropouts once it gets started. So, you're not alone in noticing that the new blood in the RP scene has some sort of dysfunction in their ability be able to cohere themselves into cooperative group storytelling.

I get life comes first and I respect that as a chronically ill person going through it irl right now. But it does make me super...wary to start one up. Especially when I got rejected from a group that's had an RP going for 121 pages on their forum. Not that I see this RP going super long but I'd like to start one and have confidence that it'll go somewhere for a while.

 

[Trektek]

I recommend running a game like that on a mix of the Forum itself and on Discord. Discord is great for being able to quickly resolve issues, roll dice and even for OOC chats. Then you use the forum for your actual posts and fluff leading to much more satisfying posts on the forum.

I use these methods in order to run my Nation builders and I have gotten them to last for about 6 to 8 months. Plus, this format makes it easier to have players come and go for having large groups.

 

[Yunalescaa]

I recommend running a game like that on a mix of the Forum itself and on Discord. Discord is great for being able to quickly resolve issues, roll dice and even for OOC chats. Then you use the forum for your actual posts and fluff leading to much more satisfying posts on the forum.

I use these methods in order to run my Nation builders and I have gotten them to last for about 6 to 8 months. Plus, this format makes it easier to have players come and go for having large groups.

Definitely wanted to use a combination of forum and discord.

Also that's awesome you've had it run that long! That's honestly just goals for me. I would do anything to reach that level some day. Even if it's like, everyone writes a few sentences every few days to keep the plot going.

 

[Murdergurl]

I get life comes first and I respect that as a chronically ill person going through it irl right now. But it does make me super...wary to start one up. Especially when I got rejected from a group that's had an RP going for 121 pages on their forum. Not that I see this RP going super long but I'd like to start one and have confidence that it'll go somewhere for a while.

121 pages? that's pretty commendable. How old was the RP, if you can remember? And was there a lot of people involved or just a tight knit group? Continual narrative, or drop-in/drop-out? I'm Just curious as to what kind of dynamic leads to that kind of longevity?

 

[Trektek]

Thanks. I'm sure you'll get there some day. My first effective nation builder went on for 3 Months and they've improved since there.

Once you start showing off what you have, sometimes you can collect a following who want in on the next thread. So don't give up!

 

[mother of sorrows]

i've been running grps for quite a while, around 4 years and a lot of them failed - but i think i did pick up quite a bit of advice that works decently well! i've had a few very fun grps and while they don't usually get to the end of the plot, they do at least get somewhere and we get some fond memories from it. in no particular order, here is some advice will hopefully help you!

point one. the grp, in all likelihood, will die in the first run - but that doesn't mean its doomed. i know it can get you down when you put all the work in to getting a grp up and running, posting, plotting, and then it just - bleh. dies a terrible and unjust death. but honestly? if you expect it to happen, the less it hurts and you can learn from what went wrong. if there's anything you liked about this run, write it down so you can remember it! and if there's something that wasn't great, well, now you know not to repeat it. the thing is, you can always revive a grp! sometimes its a strike of bad luck, sometimes it's one person ruining the roleplay for everybody, sometimes its real life - but if you're persistent and are passionate about an idea, it was be very worth it. ^^​

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point two. have a co-gm if you have a friend/roleplay partner you trust! you can ask on the forums if anybody would be willing to co-gm, but i think knowing the person makes it far easier. they can help with announcements, get posts up if you happen to get sick, help write lore - overall, my co-gms have helped tremendously and i know half of my rps would have died without them. if any of my co-gms are reading, yall saved me fr.​

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point three. involve everybody! this is honestly the main thing that will keep a rp alive in my opinion. if you see somebody get ignored, talk to them. send a little message after they join welcoming them! think of what you like about their character and post and bring it up. obviously don't take this as just flattering people or lying, but if you let them in the rp, that means you must have liked their character/ideas - be genuine ofc. don't wait for plots to come to you, but dm others and try to think of plots specific to their character! people like knowing that they're a part of things and might often be shy at first since they don't want to step on the gm's toes. but making sure their characters matter will make the group much more fun for everybody.​

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point four. waiting for ppl to post or finish their cs is going to kill the rp. set a deadline and stick to it - if somebody hasn't finished their cs by then, they can always join later. but if you sit around and wait for something that might not even get finished, the rp is going to die so fast. same with a post! if a writer is sick or won't be able to post, write out a npc post of their character walking away from the scene or something along those lines.​

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i have a few more, but i don't want to make this longer than it is. but hopefully this helped at least a little bit. good luck with your rp! the quarry is such a fun concept that i think you'll definitively get interest.​

 

[Yunalescaa]

This is some amazing advice and I super appreciate it!