Advice/Help How long to wait to start rp?

[Lilliana2]

I just started my first group rp and we need more characters before we start I plan to keep it open since it would be easy to write in new characters. My question is is it better to start a group RP with less people than you wanted but close enough or is it better to wait a while so you have plenty of characters and maybe some extra? Also from your experiences about how long does it normally take for you to have what you would consider a sufficient amount of characters to start?

 

[rae2nerdy]

Depends, how often are the people you have now available?

Are there any specific plot specific roles that need to be taken on?

 

[Lilliana2]

I’m not too sure how often they will be available I’m new to the site and haven’t gotten to know anyone yet there are positions in the group that I would like mostly filled but they aren’t plot specific

 

[rae2nerdy]

I meant how often do you expect them to post? You can just ask them outright when they’ll be available but you are going to want to wait until you have a selection of people that can either all post at the same time or post in shifts.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Also I would make sure you have a plan in place to make sure that no one is left behind if they can’t be online at the same time as everyone else.

As well as a plan to keep the story moving forward so you don’t lose momentum and your players get bored.

Lastly have some policy in place for when players drop out. How to write them out of the action or let them know their characters will be turned into NPCs to keep the story moving if they drop.

 

[Lilliana2]

I’d have to ask the group but I was really hoping for at least once a day

 

[rae2nerdy]

I’d have to ask the group but I was really hoping for at least once a day

Then yeah I would most definately have all your current players at least share their time zones and when they’re available to post.

This way you can calculate what each “day” in the roleplay will be.

As depending on how the schedules line up you could have some people posting in the afternoon, some in the evening, some at like 5am the following day.

So that’s why having some idea of hours of availability as well as time zones are important. You don’t want to have one person whose out of sync get left behind just because their in a different time zone.

Plus knowing what each person is dealing with in terms of real life will give you some idea of what to expect in terms of absences, etc.

As some people might be working a job for most of the day and only be able to have a narrow window to post each day. Others might be in school so they might have days when their swamped with homework and can’t get online. Others might have nothing but free time and have to be monitored so they don’t leave everyone else in the dust.

Also schedules are just a good ice breaker for OOC chat. The more your players talk to you and each other the stronger their connection will be to your roleplay. I have stuck out plenty of roleplays that got dull or boring just because I was friends with the players and we got along great.

I have also dropped out of roleplays where I felt it was just kind of mechanical post wait reply format with no connection between players or with the GM.

 

[Idea]

As a rule of thumb, try to have more players than the ones you absolutely need. I say this because "ghosting" is an unfortunately virtually inevitable occurrence in roleplays, and you have to account for it. You're going to loose players, and if you loose players at a time when you otherwise don't have enough to keep the roleplay going, you're going to end up stalling and boring the roleplayers you do already have, which may in turn result in the loss of interest from those players.

Furthermore, it can be pretty upsetting for people who take their time to think through their character sheets if you up and start the roleplay leaving them in the dust, after a very short amount of time. Of course, you can't wait forever for that couple of people who keep putting it off either. Considering the post requirements as well as the level of detail and complexity you set for character sheets and the like.

If you're worried that your players will be bored by the wait, try encouraging OOC discussion and planning. A healthy OOC is an important element of a healthy RP, and encouraging them to connect with each other, talk about stuff they want to do in the roleplay, maybe even arranging some character relationships like making their characters siblings or something can improve and expand the hype while also killing time until everyone is ready. The strategy does have...variable results, in the sense that it is much harder to pull off than it seems, but it's a good one from my experience especially if you have cooperative players.

Also from your experiences about how long does it normally take for you to have what you would consider a sufficient amount of characters to start?

Depends on the group, but I tend to wait on my first batch of players before I start, or as many of them as I can expect to have within a reasonable amount of time. For small groups I wait until everyone is ready, for larger groups I wait for most if not all of the ones that expressed interest by the time I made the OOC and character sheet threads.

As for how many interested it would take...I'm afraid it really, really depends on the RP.

Hope this helps, best of luck and happy RPing!