Clever click-bait. I aint even mad.

@BlindRambler

3 ай бұрын

Yeah got me too

@YoJesusMorales

3 ай бұрын

My thoughts as well, but I actually was expecting it as a clickbait or a twist to it.

@monomakes

3 ай бұрын

Always that ol' bait'n.

@sinisterthoughts2896

3 ай бұрын

Agreed, this one was at least clever. He's beennkilling my enthusiasm eith a lot of them lately, but this one was clever.

@darcyw156

3 ай бұрын

Yeah , you might say he is a master

I learned to just play with whoever comes. I ain't cancelling for crap

@Frederic_S

3 ай бұрын

Words of wisdom! 😎

@Birdmanesp92

3 ай бұрын

If anything if they were dedicated make them want to attend and regret missing.

@Frederic_S

3 ай бұрын

@@Birdmanesp92 Amen!

@seanfaherty

3 ай бұрын

Agreed, tougher if in the middle of a dungeon or combat but perfect if in a town or city. A Westmarch campaign is the perfectly answer. Then the players do not feel compelled to play but will come and go as they please with an open heart.

@TheMyrmo

3 ай бұрын

You learn to write around that. I mean, at the end of the day, it's EVERYONE'S story.

Bigby's Baited Click cast at ninth level this episode.

@FabioBittar

3 ай бұрын

Yep. Kind of sad.

@imissnewspapers

3 ай бұрын

The Professor just took a Level in Bard, College of Twisted Phrasing.

@whitleypedia

3 ай бұрын

He has the feat Professor Clickbait. :)

@stevenisonline

3 ай бұрын

This was exactly what I expected and I love it 😂 If you watch Dungeon Craft, you should have known what the super-mega-ultra click bait style thumbnail would mean. I take it as tongue in cheek.

@NefariousKoel

3 ай бұрын

Certainly an experimental Professor. 😉

I did have an interesting experience as a DM back when I was in the Marine Corps in the 90's: The store where I ran my game every Saturday for two months had abruptly closed, and I only found out about this upon arriving where it was (and I could not run my game on base due to restrictions concerning non-military personnel on base). Instead of cancelling, we (the eight of us) decided to lay siege to the local Denny's. We were escorted to a large rear room where were wined, dined, and entertained, and there we had a fun time over the course of about six hours. The Denny's was quite accommodating as we ordered a large lunch and dinner there, and left a nice tip for the servers; they even invited us back if we so desired. All this is to say, be flexible as a DM, for you never know how things might turn out. That Denny's became a regular meeting place for gaming - I miss those days.

@randydoffing3204

3 ай бұрын

Very classy. I use to work as bus boy in my late teens. I know there is nothing more annoying for a waitress than for a large party over many hours which requires a lot of attention and then get stiffed for the tip. In other words, not all large groups are easy to serve. I'm sure that's why management invited you back. Nicely done sir!

@NefariousKoel

3 ай бұрын

@@randydoffing3204 - Tipping well certainly helps grease the wheels. Although not always in ways you could foresee. I recall, also in the late '90s, a group (usually 4 to 6) of us early 20-somethings would always go to the same bar & grill to kick off our Friday night bar-hopping every weekend with a little pre-festivity food and beers. We were overworked young folks, with more money than time on our hands, looking to get quickly sloshed and yammer edgy jokes. We tipped very well and got along with the servers. They would keep a table open in the same spot for us without the need to request one. The manager would occasionally come over and briefly chat, but one time it was different. He told us that although he's always glad to have us, he had begun to dread seeing us pulling up in the parking lot. We tipped so much better than other customers, the waitresses had begun fighting each other for who would get us when they, too, saw us pull in. Poor guy had to regularly had to interpose himself in that mess. Even said it had gotten physical before. Guess I learned that the best intent sometimes has unforeseen consequences. 😄

@FornaxusCrucible

3 ай бұрын

Also, that flexibility should also be extended to your players. They play in these games to have fun - if greater fun is to be had elsewhere once in a while, so what? Let them do their thing, without jumping down their throat about it, and they'll be back next week ready to rock and roll. Denny's has particularly good gaming memories for me, too. Without telling a long, boring story about it, "Ill Conceived Plan" is some of the best fun RPing that I've had in gaming. Finally, Semper Fi, Marine!

@ShonicBurn

3 ай бұрын

i ran a game in the gym while working out because it was the only place that would be open at the same time for everyone in the military. It was played through phones.

@MarkMcMillen2112

3 ай бұрын

Excellent advice and story! Sort of like a D&D adventure, no? The party showed up at an inn, but it was closed, so they traveled to nearby tavern and continued their quest.

THIS led me to a the most brutal GM burnout in my life - TWO YEARS with no ttrpgs. Now that I am back, I made TWO GOLDEN RULES to never burnout again: I. Never prepare a single thing for the game. Oracles are my best friend. 100% improvised on the spot and all my players are warned they may encounter "landing screens". Turns out it works so impressively well I may end up running games this way for life. Paradoxically it is 90% less pressure opposed to well prepared game. II. I run the session if even only ONE player shoes up. "One on One" became my new favourite type of sessions. And it is like crack cocaine for the Player. Will never miss a game after that. This two GMing rules fixed all my problems.

@lordbiscuitthetossable5352

3 ай бұрын

I can confirm. Took part in a couple of short games with my GM and one other player a couple of times. Simply incredible and being entirely in the steering wheel as a player is a really addicting feeling.

We have a 5 player table. If there are two cancellations, we postpone that week. We are all busy adults with families and demanding jobs. We plan ahead for "piano recitals" and the like, but sometimes we have emergencies at home or work that come up on very short notice. Or someone will be questionable due to illness and still sick on game day, resulting in their cancellation. A missing player still gets experience points. There are no problems and hard feelings if there is a cancellation. We love playing together so cancellations are not due to not wanting to play. We are in our second decade with multiple game systems, lengthy campaigns, and rotating DMs.

@lotrotk375

3 ай бұрын

I agree, missing out on the game is bad enough for my players. There's no need for extra punishment

@evilDMguy

3 ай бұрын

This is also my thought on it. I'm friends with my players and they find missing punishment enough. We also have family and lives outside of the game. 😮 but it's true. Things happen.

@Satchmojones

3 ай бұрын

I dont see the sense in missing when your sick, ive ran games when im sick....i have to go to work when im sick, bills dont stop...how hard is it to sit in a chair when your sick, of course this is online...in person is different.

@Socialdogma

3 ай бұрын

@@Satchmojones We played online during COVID lockdown, in person all times other than that.

@AquaLunaDesigns

3 ай бұрын

This is how my favorite table is run too. We've gone with as few as two players. Shit happens and we all want to be there but it's not always possible and sometimes we can only give an hours notice. We all trust each other that we're trying our best and our DM scales encounters as needed. We've ultimately had very few cancelled games, or games with missing players.

I’ve recently started a 2 player, DM-less, co-op campaign with a friend because I got tired of running for large groups that keep canceling. It’s really fun! Everything is determined by random charts and a yes/no oracle. So far, we’ve been investigating an abandoned dwarf stronghold, scared off an aberration, found signs of a dragon attack from years ago (and evidence that the dragon may still be there) and got ambushed by giant rats. We play whenever the two of us are free. I will eventually go back to running for a party, but this is a nice break from the headache of scheduling.

@BTLOTM

3 ай бұрын

That sounds super cool! What system are you using with all the charts?

@Lyubomir.K

3 ай бұрын

LOVE IT. After two years of no games due to GM burnout I oped out for the exact same approach. It works like magic. Players don't mind that I am a co-player. Or that I generate the whole adventure on the fly. It just works. Not sure I ever had so much fun Gaming or playing before. It requires a few changes in design philosophy but once adjusted it is phenomenal. :)

@DeGreyChristensen

3 ай бұрын

@@Lyubomir.K Definitely. You take on more of a role of the author of your character's story than playing the character itself. You know what is around the corner, but your character doesn't so you have to watch and play the character through and see how they would survive. Not just me either. Everyone takes on this role and it becomes more of a co-operative story telling session with dice making many decisions rather than the players just trying to win.

@DeGreyChristensen

3 ай бұрын

@@BTLOTM I’m using my own system and a set of charts I made for it.

@ShonicBurn

3 ай бұрын

I did this for a while as well.

One suggestion you didn't cover for more established campaigns is to let one of the other players play the missing PC (with the missing player's blessing of course). This is especially helpful in sessions full of combat, because the party isn't handicapped by the healer being absent for example

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Good point.

@seanfaherty

3 ай бұрын

That has always been our policy but if down to one or two I will go Westmarch.

@voinuppla

3 ай бұрын

I don't play with non dedicated players. But if anyone geta sick, I'd rather have that player sit it out. Since I'm GM'ing PF2e, it's easier to have a player missing even if it's the main healer (not shitting on DnD here, just stating facts). That's why we don't carry any missing characters on my table.

@ken.droid-the-unique

3 ай бұрын

I'm a huge fan of the companions in Tasha's and the Essentials set stepping in for missing characters.

@johncodmore

3 ай бұрын

OK if someone lives/breaths you game system, I play 5th ed and can't even run my fighter properly, please don't give me the cleric to play.

"Hey guys, i got to cancel the game tonight. Everyone gains a level." 5e DM. I have had people talk about playing and then never show up. After the second time, I just say something like "We're going to keep playing, but you're always invited should your schedule allow it." I then never mention it again. Only one ever took me up on the offer months later, and that was a good year of gaming. What helps us is that three of us started playing in high school over 20 years ago, and we can adapt to missing players pretty easily.

@JWPanimation

3 ай бұрын

Yep saying you are always welcome back is great advice. 99% of the time they won't come back, but you did not make them feel bad about playing in the first place. That's good for the hobby and better for you as a host.

You hooked us with the thumbnail, but we stay because it's Prof. DM 😊

@miguelvillaruel7667

3 ай бұрын

True 😂

@twilightgardenspresentatio6384

3 ай бұрын

I didn’t even see the thumbnail, it hadn’t loaded yet. I just saw him saying “we gotta to talk about this” and I’m clicking and listening

My group had to do a hard reset on our campaign, because of constant cancellation, switching from homebrew to Hoard of the dragon queen (what a mess that is, but that's besides the point). We had a zoom meeting to make sure people still wanted to play. Well, when the new session 0 came up, the same person cancelled. Eventually they decided to drop out of the group. We've had a "get to know your character" one shot, and this past Sunday we dove into the hoard. We've gotten two new players and they bring the BEST energy to the table. We've already have the next session in place...2 weeks from now(!) that's insanely fast!

This is why a Keep on the Boarderlands/West Marches style campaign works.

@GMsGarage

3 ай бұрын

Agreed, I've been running West Marches for a while!

@andrewrockwell1282

3 ай бұрын

That's the kind of game I run as well. With an exception: there are plenty of times when the players don't get super far in a single session and want to delve again. They regroup up top at base camp with the horses and guards. Next session if the players that can .ake it change, then the ones who are there delve and the rest guard the horses and loot. It allows them to delve to their content while not stretching play sessions beyond the physical limits of the players.

@Androsynth75

3 ай бұрын

This. Not only does it allow for a more flexible session, it ends up being (overall) less prep work for the DM anyway. You can roll up a few 'grunt' NPCs that act as followers you can pad the party out with and share among the group (assuming they survive). It works with six, and it works with one.

@elrond3737

3 ай бұрын

A few years ago I went back to this style which I had abandoned in the 80s. I reworked keep on the borderlands to fit my style and needs. My players love it

Idea I received from my children’s band teacher. He learned a strategy to deal with low enthusiasm and low participation by junior high students. Instead of pushing for involvement, he strove to make band as much fun as possible. The kids who didn’t participate would kind of get left behind. The majority of students became me self motivated, the ones falling behind would often pick up the pace and participate well. The ones who didn’t (there are always some) faded away, but quit dragging down everybody else. This model works at the gaming table too. Have fun with those who show up ready to play. Anybody else will have to choose if they want to be a part of it going forward.

@JayAHafner

3 ай бұрын

Great share.

@monkeymule1286

3 ай бұрын

Its rarely the players that are invested and making the table fun for everyone that can't make it.

My current campaign, for all intents and purposes, took a 5 month break (one or two sessions were ran in that span) because of holidays, work schedules, illnesses and vacations. That break wasn't planned but we managed to navigate it. Sometimes things just happen. Having said that, after that long of a break I'm definitely going to talk to my players about how/when we cancel a game. We previously agreed that if we were down two players we would cancel. If they still want to keep that in place I'll just run another game to keep the pace up for myself and my players. I get not wanting to miss too much of a campaign but I also want to keep running games!

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Breaks are a great idea.

I had a long-time gaming buddy call me "unreliable" because he felt I wasn't consistently showing up for our games. This was during a time period when my son was stillborn, my live-in mother-in-law got cancer, my wife got cancer, another child was born, and significant troubles at work. I don't play with him anymore.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

I'm sorry for your loss. That player needed to be replaced.

Currently running a BECMI west marches/open table game. People can show up whenever either irl or we can talk over discord, stuff will always happen. Its just up to the players if they want to keep it going. It saves me a lot of time in prep work as well.

Switching to a West Marches style campaign fixed our scheduling and consistency issues. I will likely not run a campaign that doesn't use this style any time soon. My missing players never get XP. In my current Castles & Crusades campaign we have PCs from 4th to 6th level.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Great idea!

Lots of great advice from various sources. For my part, we generally proceed with half the group even if multiples bail out. If I can reasonably excuse their characters then I do, the PC will not be present. If I can't, then they are NPC'd. Further, if there is enough notice and I know the table won't be full, I'll use that opportunity to invite one-off guest players who are curious, so they can see what D&D is like. Or if they are already experienced they can test drive my DMing style to see if it's for them if a permanent spot opens up.

We've been playing for over 3 years together in an epic homebrew campaign. We play on a quorum basis. There were five players and two DMs (new DMs, not sure if only one could handle it). The rule was four makes a quorum. That's 3 players and a DM. Throughout the entire campaign, we've held to that rule. Despite Covid (played over zoom), losing a player to work obligations, losing a DM to schoolwork, having that DM return as a player, having the DM marry his gf, having the ex-DM get serious about another player. Though it all, we follow the quorum rule. It means the game isn't held up by one or even two players missing a session. Their characters disappear into the ether until the player can return. But yeah, scheduling is the bugaboo of RPG groups.

For a few years now, I've been involved in a VTT pf2e game. When I first joined the group, I made it clear to the then GM and other players my situation. I was the sole caregiver for my mother, who had dementia. Usually, she'd sleep through our sessions, but sometimes I would just need to leave the table abruptly to tend to her. I gave the ok for someone to take over my character as necessary for these situations. So, I think the first step is analyzing why they're bailing. It may be they're dealing with a chaotic home or work situation that makes their schedule unpredictable. If that's the case, you need to evaluate if their value when they do attend makes up for the inconvenience and also if kicking them from the group is essentially pouring salt on a wound. There's a social contract at play here as well.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Hi Sean. I agree with you. I had an aunt with polio and had to leave mid-session every game to put her into bed with a Hoyer lifter. Family comes first.

Great video and advice! Remember the line from Queen “ the show must go on!”

Happened to me just this Sunday. Game scheduled for Sunday evening. All parties confirmed on Tuesday prior they would be free. Send out a reminder on Saturday. One guy cancels. The Reason? He's on holiday in France. Dude forgot he booked a holiday to France. 🙄

@paulie-g

3 ай бұрын

To be fair, he may have just been checking whether the French have set their country on fire, declared a general strike, or both before going. This would have been a wise move.

@jeremydurdil556

3 ай бұрын

How the hell do you go on holiday (I’m inferring, in another country) without your group knowing? You play with perfect strangers?

@stordarth

3 ай бұрын

@@jeremydurdil556 nope. Been friends with him for over 2 decades. He just forgot to tell us once he'd remembered, and didn't even specify when he bailed. It wasn't until he sent us holiday photos that we knew he was away. He's an absolute scatterbrain.

@jeremydurdil556

3 ай бұрын

⁠I’ll bet he’s tons of fun to play with. Those scatterbrained folks are always entertaining. Thanks for clarifying.

@stordarth

3 ай бұрын

@@jeremydurdil556 He is the walking definition of Chaotic Neutral. XD

"If someone really wants to do something, they will make it a priority." Words of wisdom there, Professor.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Thanks.

You can also write their absence into the ongoing story. Start your session with the missing player being incapacitated in some way that is temporary and beyond the ability of the party to alter in the short term - there are a million options here. Make it an unexpected challenge that the rest of the party has to get through. Have a plan with how to reintegrate them when they get back for the next session. Yes, it may be a little clunky and obvious what is going on - but your players will be as aware of the situation are you are, and so will presumably appreciate the effort rather than nitpicking the details. And if you can come up with really interesting/humorous/original situations to justify the absence, it can even become an incentive for the rest of the players to show up to see what the twist is - "Dan can't make it today, I wonder what the DM is going to have up his sleeve this time..."

I think punctuality and consistency are important. If I commit to being somewhere, I try to be there save for ill health or urgent family needs.

I love all Dungeon Craft videos!

@Frederic_S

3 ай бұрын

What coincidence! Me too!

@Adamthegeek70

3 ай бұрын

@@Frederic_S Me three!

@edwardrobe7733

3 ай бұрын

Same same

@monkeySkulls

3 ай бұрын

wait? are we still doing that? I love all dungeon craft videos

Great advice! I've enjoyed running games with just one interested player, and it was a great time! Loved the quote from Franklin: "A word to the wise is enough..." The southern US version is: "You don't learn anything the second time you're kicked by a mule."

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Lol. That's a great quote!

DMG, page 260, Absent Players "Typically, adventurers earn experience only for encounters they participate in. If a player is absent for a session, the player's character misses out on the experience points." It is only an alternative suggestion two paragraphs later that suggests giving the characters the same XP anyway. Somehow, this alternate seems to be the one most people remember.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Yup. Thanks. I have to re-read that.

Just had this conversation on our discord. I tell my players up front that they need to treat game night like a job. You don't call out!... save for sickness, or a real emergency. It is very, very rare that someone does not show up. I have a two miss rule as well. Miss once, okay. Miss twice... you're out! Seems harsh, but I see game night as necessary for my mental well-being, so yeah, it's not an option.

I love Dungeon Craft videos!!!!

8:58 You talk to the players about why they are missing. Not for the players, but for yourself. You have to be comfortable communicating expectations and standards, and getting the players to acknowledge and understand what they should be doing and how they should be behaving. Its about maintaining that standard for your game and supporting the other players who are cognizent of the effort and time involved. It really helps you get it out of your own head, and properly understand what is happening. You will fumble through the words, but over time you will reinforce your beliefs and expectations. It builds confidence, trust in your word, So you are not doing it to keep the player around. You are doing it to keep your own mind clear, and set the play environment.

I'm in a group that seems to prefer to play only when the whole group is present, and that means we cancel quite a bit. As the DM, my solution was to run another campaign for the folks who are consistently more available. When everyone is available, we run campaign 1. When the ones who cancel the most aren't available, we run campaign 2. The ones who are less available have kids and large families with lots of birthdays and are of a culture that places very high priority on tradition, holidays, and family time. So I think it's important to acknowledge that some people who really enjoy D&D may have priorities that rank higher than D&D. (So, e.g., when a birthday is scheduled over a D&D session, they actually follow the gentleman advice at the end of this video and don't cancel the birthday plans for the sake of D&D.) There's certainly an argument to be made that like should play with like, but it feels like if you have a group of D&D fans that also have a ton of external family obligations, a group of them would quite literally never be able to schedule a session together.

Dan, I LOVED the hospital photo with the game book. Made my day.

Great advice, Prof. I utilize similar ones for any game I run. I want motivated players who are considerate. Very simple.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

How to Be a Gentleman, step one, be of noble birth in England, landed gentry. Step two, have money without a specific occupation. Step three, host a country ball. Deathbringer torturing his victims with a reading from How to Be a Gentleman.

Yep. The TL;DR of this one is 100%, personally-experienced true: *Consistency is Key. Do NOT cancel your session if **_one/some_** players cancel* Run the game for those who showed. Naratively escort the missing charater from the stage. KEEP GOING.

Thankfully this doesn't happen to me often. I have two long standing groups who schedules their weeks around being able to game. If someone is going to be out (unless they are sick or there is an emergency) we know weeks in advance. Even if we only are going to have half the people, we play board games or play silly one shots. As always, I LOVE ALL DUNGEONCRAFT VIDEOS!!!

Not sure how this is going to go, but I just recently incorporated a rule for those missing a session. They do not gain experience. This is to incentivize trying to make a session, as was mentioned in the video. However, I do incorporate a catchup mechanic where if there's a level gap, lower levels get an exp boost that should help them catch up. I liken this to the less experienced learning from the more experienced. I do not mind putting the extra onus on me to make those calculations, but thought it'd be interesting to see how it works. Not sure if this is something that existed before, but I don't believe this nuance is covered in 5e, but I could be wrong.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Let me know!

@matthewmcguigan4293

3 ай бұрын

In the world of mmorpgs... That's called power leveling, and is common practice. Good on you for making it work. It should make your higher level players feel like they're elite within the game as well... Which is a good vibe.

@tuomasronnberg5244

3 ай бұрын

Kids, don't do this. There is already incentive to try to make a session: you get to play a fun game. That GM is punishing people for having to miss on a fun activity, all the while - by his own admission - creating more work for himself. It's counterproductive and dumb.

@angryman2406

3 ай бұрын

I don't play the game to level up, I just play it to have fun and then levelling up is a consequence of that fun and the story going forward. We used to track experience points, and even have multi-level parties but none of us have time for that nonsense anymore; our real lives are stressful and punishing enough without the game meta-punishing us. We swapped to milestone levelling and never looked back.

@Daxiongmao87

3 ай бұрын

@@angryman2406 we tried milestone and didn't like it. To each their own.

Back when I started my online group (prepandemic, but we lived in different states), we made a point to ensure consistency. Sometimes we have to cancel, but more often we just switch to Saturday instead of Sunday for that singular session, and keep the time of day the same. Even when I moved halfway across the country (twice, both during the pandemic), we kept the same actual time for consistency for the group. I've had some people join and leave during the years. I've occasionally had someone else run a missing person's character during combat, and we work out who will do that when the cancellation/rescheduling happens. The only times I've allowed 3 canceled sessions in a row to happen (which has only happened twice, to my recollection) is when emergencies popped up around holidays we weren't going to play on. Otherwise I start a new game, to either be a one-shot to fill time or to replace the interrupted campaign. If I was able to keep my sessions episodic and self contained, though, I doubt I would ever cancel because someone wasn't able to show.

I always do a head count a few days before gameday, I also check if people or myself are sick, scheduled for nonconventional schedule or have to attend a familiy event like their children's bday. I will game on if one can't make it and their character is run as a NPC. The thing as DM I keep the Character Sheets! Players can copy or take a picture but having the Character Sheets is essential for our over 20 yrs of play. Other groups where I don't keep the Character Sheets we play on but they can miss out on XP/Levels if I'm runnning at the store.

Play the game anyway. FOMO works wonders when it comes to getting people to the table.

@orkcol

3 ай бұрын

Never thought about that

That's good clickbait. Well done.

I run a group with three players in a Savage world setting. We have a standing rule that we play every other Saturday. If someone can't make it, another person will play their character and we keep going. If two or more cannot make it for some reason then we punt and just continue to the next scheduled game. This keeps things moving forward and keeps people engaged. I have fallen into the trap before of canceling games because someone can't make it and trying to reschedule and long-term, that just doesn't work very well. I think you need a regular cadence of games and if one person is going to miss, and everyone has agreeable to it, someone else grabs their character and we keep rolling.

I've been running a Stars Without Number Game for about 2.5 years. It was started as a drop in drop out game from the beginning as sometimes real life rolls a 20, often. If I have two players, we play the game. Anyone of the four total characters will become NPCs run by me for that game session. I try to use and play the characters like the players would and if I can have them run off to do a different task during the game session, I do. It's easy for two characters because one is a tech focused PC and he likes to work on projects. If that player is out, his character goes and works on projects that further the game and work towards goals the group has within the story. The other NPC is a PI and sometimes he has to do other things for other clients. The other two are there almost every time so I rarely have to turn them into temp NPCs. I also add a few more NPCs so I can plug and play them as needed, or the players call them for some assistance and they show up. Our group has been together for a decade and I know they are not looking to bail on the game, they still show up whenever they are able to, which is most of the time.

I thought you were getting canceled I was about to summon my legion of minions to take back your honor but yeah players spontaneously canceling is annoying but, filler is a good type of thing to build the world even farther

@Frederic_S

3 ай бұрын

He got me too 😂

@MadDogRyan

3 ай бұрын

​@Frederic_S fr we must stand up for the professor if he ever does get canceled though

Let's be brutally honest . If you are running a fun game with a fun group, the players do not cancel. One player not making it here or there is one thing, if people are always canceling your game is boring

All well stated points. As for dealing with cancelations, you just have to roll with it if possible. My group that consists of close friends who are grown and with families, have utilized Google Calendar for years with email and phone reminders throughout the week to update their response at least by the day before Game Night we can all plan accordingly. Typically if we have a majority responding Yes, then we're on, unless its critical they're all present. As for missing out on experience and leveling, we have a house rule that PCs adjust with the party level at 0 XP. Overall this has worked well enough to game most weeks going on eight years now.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Nice! 8 years is fantastic!

My group is currently talking about options of what to do depending on who is there. So we have a list of things we want to do regardless of who is missing, including the GM. Heck, we may even pick something else from the list if the GM just wants to take a break! I’m currently in the process of preparing to run some one-shot modules and I’m really excited about that! What I’m trying to say is that having that conversation from the assumption that some times some of us will have to cancel. Whether the cancellation happens with anticipation or not, we should still be ready to have something to do that everyone who is present enjoys rather than coming up with some awkward work-around, or cancelling altogether. Loosing the momentum of meeting regularly can kill a campaign.

Concerning XP for players who don't show up, My own group recently had this conversation and decided that we would give them XP, but their XP caps 1 point before they would level up. If they want to level up, they're going to need to show up and finish a session. We typically say the character is back at town doing something else, or guarding the loot wagon, or sick and resting in the loot wagon. The reason we do it this way, is because it's harder for the DM to figure out how to run encounters for a group whose level may vary between 4th and 10th, it's also tough for some of the veteran players who show up every time, how much do you need to hold back on encounters to give the lower leveled ones in the group stuff to interact with so its fun for them too? So, we give them XP, but in a way so that they are encouraged to show up.

I love Dungeon Craft videos. I follow these rules all the time and explain it to the players before we start.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

One of my favorite games was a Conspiracy X (unisystem) game where about half the time it was just two players and the GM. We played at a Comic Store and others would come sit in for a session or two and then be gone for a while and sometimes return and sometimes not. It felt eerily like a TV show. Garret and I were the main characters and the other players were either recurring or one off supporting cast. One of them, Manning, even earned a slot as an ongoing character after a point. It was great. :D

For our cancellations (and when i had some time to prepare) I was able to put together short "flashback" games that were one shots. so the present players decided to play "hey remember that time when we outsmarted those two guards?" and then come up with some salient points, and players have the option to play some of the NPC's in the situation if they didn't want to use their PC. (we run a star trek game and call them "side treks" and have been great for adding to a character's backstory. )

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing.

I've recently reconnected with a friend of mine and he's running games for a group consistently. I offered to run a game for some of the people there and after having to cancel a campaign that I spent weeks preparing for because of attrition, when none of my friend's session were cancelled because of that, here's what I've learned: Play with the people that SHOW that they actually want to play WITH YOU. There is a difference between saying that you've interest in something and showing that you have interest in something.

Great advice. NEVER CANCEL; JUST PLAY. The person who doesn't show up, misses out. Maybe next time they won't cancel.

I solved this for me by introducing some guild mechanics into the players background. They all come from the same adventurers organization that is a front for a devil making contract with clients. If some players don't show up, we have either "renforcements" (other players) replacing people missing (injured in the story or called up on another mission) being summoned in/out of the adventure by the devil. This allows me to have a excuse to deal with that. If I have to few people for the main mission, I have side one-shots (usually one or two ready) to summon the players to and have them doing a nice filler with more lore on the main mission or just some fun stuff that I know they like. This also gives an excuse for them playing other characters or testing build ideas. (:

Scheduling was the most difficult for my game. It became a lot easier when I decided to stop asking, when do you want to play again. I now post (text group) the days I have available in the next weeks. Each person cancels the days they can't make it, and out of what's left, we choose the earliest. It's works like a charm. It made it surprisingly easy.

I work a crazy job: railroad. I’m on call 24/7 and never know from one day to the next when I’ll be home or going to work. I occasionally miss games but, I can give my group 24-48 hours notice. And Discord has been a literal game changer for me. And thankfully I have a very understanding group.

I would use it as an opporunity to highlight the player's who are showing up. They have their backstories, character identities that the group "might not have time for" like, ever. That is the time to be doing those things. Have a rogue and he wants more involvement with the Thieve's guild? Have a side adventure for that.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Good idea.

Went in for gallbladder surgery and still had great hair! This is one of the best videos you’ve produced in a long time, PDM. Great advice and very down-to-earth. Thank you. Shared.

What I've done over the decades is run the game if I have two thirds of the group or more. So missing a player two wasn't an issue. I as a GM would figure out what was going on with the missing characters. If we had more missing we still played but we played something different. A board game or card game. Or we'd check out a new system we were interested in or one a fast one shot. Heck now a days we have even more options in those departments than we did back in the late 1970s through 1990s. Munchkin for example is much faster to play as a fast pick up game, versus Battletech or Wooden Ships & Iron Men etc. Also, if it does become a on going and repeat deal from a player there would be a conversation. They might be removed indeed but it would have to be pretty consistent and ongoing versus the one off. Overall, I agree with your video.

The last time I had a regular group was in college where my friends and I played almost every Friday evening. It’s been 20 years since then, although I do have an ongoing game that started a week after the 5e PHB came out and we created a couple characters just to try it out. We’ve been playing with one of those characters as kind of “main character” but we’ve introduced dozens of NPCs and side characters. So we have a rotating cast of characters that allow for some who can only make it once in a while to drop in without disrupting the experience. The other characters all have a “side-kick” version we use so that the characters are still present and part of what’s happening, even if the players are not. It helps that there is a core 2 (married couple) 2 others who are very consistent, and about 3-4 others who are often not available, but are happy to be able to join when they can. Even as the DM I cannot always make it and life happens. We have sometimes gone over a month without playing that game, but we come back to it. Sometimes I play in a game that someone else runs, and sometimes we play board games or something else. But it’s nice to have this ongoing story to come back to and keep going.

While I tend to agree with a good chunk of advice you give, the "don't give the absent player experience if they miss a session" is one thing I just can't come to terms with. Giving them XP/levels while being absent isn't incentivizing them to miss the session, it's keeping them on par with everyone else so that when they do join everyone at the table is happy. When you punish them for missing, that's when your incentivizing them to not play or actively make bad decisions to make a new character because now when they do show up their experience at the table has been diminished. My philosophy is that the incentive to show up should be to not miss out on the fun we're having at the table. If someone has a pattern of not showing up at the table, then either they are no longer having fun or there is a deeper problem that should be talked about as adults. Playing the petty cards of punishment just sours the experience all around.

Our group has a house rule called NPC me. if one player is unable to attend their character is played as an NPC by either the DM or another player. this works because the group has been together for many sessions. 2 of the 4 players have been playing for many years with the same two characters so that makes it easy to know what each character would likely do in most situations. The campaign is in Season 7 and i run sessions in sequence and recap each session at the start of the next one so the continuity is easy enough to follow even if players miss a session here and there. NPC'd player characters get a fraction of the milestone XP for the session they miss though. I like rewarding the players that show. If 2 of the group are unable to attend we postpone the session.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Did that once and their character wound up dying! Oops

@mrnixon2287

3 ай бұрын

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 haha

I remember a GM who once stopped the game after 30mins. We were two players, and that was my first game with them. He flatly told us "there is no point playing, as the main characters are not here". I packed up and never attended another session.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

BASED.

@oz_jones

3 ай бұрын

Yo what in nine Hells 😂

OMG! The end of the video had me cracking up! Great advice for dealing with flakes: Don't. Cut loose and fill the spot with someone that values that spot.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Exactly!

A few of us run a public club. We simply keep the story going, and we welcome people when they show up. Our issue is that we started the club as a favor for the local library, but it's the library that's not consistent. We are looking for alternative locations that can hold five game tables, but it's a slow hunt.

I’m lucky enough to have more game groups than I can run games for. I have two weekly games, one has been playing for almost 3 years, the other for over 5. We all miss games from time to time, and more than one of us has a chronic condition- so we tend to be pretty lenient. That being said, if ever a player is being disrespectful of my or the other players time- yeah, action needs to be taken. I’m not a tv show, I don’t do this just to entertain people at their leisure. Show up, participate and be good to each other. And always appreciate the DM’s hard work!

I run an online Discord campaign. I do not cancel sessions due to missing players. I have also managed to almost never cancel a session for any reason--this group has been going on since July 2016 and still goes strong today. Four of the original five players are still in the game. The 5th spot became my unlucky one as we cycled through a couple players before finding a good long-term replacement (one let go for toxic behavior, the other for unreliability).

I've had this issue a lot. good advice. I kept accommodating the cancelling players by giving them homework in texts to participate in some way. Never got responses to those texts either. I'm tired of my own effort into the game not being valued by the players who say they're interested, but they're actions clearly state their priorities are elsewhere.

I did the talking it out with one player in my last game. It was a player who sometimes would not show up and never gave a notice that he wasn't going to show up. When I talked to him I was informed on how the job he works at has been having him sometimes playing on the day we played as well as the distance from his home and where we played is also a long distance and the his partner is not always around to drive him there. We did work it out at first and he came back to play... for a bit. Then he stopped showing up again and once again gave no notice and also was not responding to messages. The player came back one more time around four months later(when we were 3/4 done with the game now) and played for the session, only to not show up again. I didn't try to talk to him at this point.

One thing I would suggest is that you make a discord server or chat group for your game, and when certain players don't show up, you have one of the players write up a synopsis of what happened, and how much XP and loot they got. Maybe even hand out extra good loot when you have a low turnout. DON'T play the characters that didn't come. They got stuck in a hole or something. They don't split the loot, they don't level up with the team, and they know what they actually missed by reading the synopsis. Also, those notes are a great resource for later, and a wonderful way to enjoy your game in the down time. (Don't make the DM do the recap, they are already working hard between sessions.) In game consequences for real life behavior? I'm all for it.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Good idea.

We're just wrapping up a 2 year long campaign and 3+ years of playing every Monday with the same group. The key was making sure everyone agrees that we play as long as 50+% of the party is there but also our Monday factors into our essential and valuable bonding time - instead of going out for drinks or whatever. This means generally when people aren't available it's for big essential things - birthdays, wedding etc. ( Also helped our partners understand how important it is for us to play ) Through that we've maintained really good consistency. I should add if needed we do chuck in one shots from time to time to keep things fresh but also give a bit of flexibility when people can't attend important sessions.

You made an interesting point about if someone doesn't show up then the game isn't a priority. This video got me thinking about a period where I was "that guy" the consistent last minute flake, always something else on. What I realised is that even though the game was a priority to me and that seeing my friends was great at that point in my life my mental health was terrible. Work was not what I wanted, I had money stress I just felt like a failure. So even though I did want to play that depression kept me at home. What was worse was that other players started to take shots at me so not only did I feel like crap at work but the thing I enjoyed then became something else to dread until I eventually left the game. I guess what I'm saying is that in your game whether your the DM or a player if someone starts to drop out a lot take the time to check on them, make sure they are okay and try not to be too hard on them flaking.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Good point.

Another great video Professor DM ✌🏼 As a GM I use doodle to find the optimal time, message the group within a week of the session and send a summary of last time 24 hours before. Plenty of chances to know and let the group know. If a late cancellation I poll the group to play or wait. Throws peer pressure back on the player cancelling.

I needed this today. I've been pretty fed up with my current group. I am going to go old school and put up flyers at a couple of LGS's that I'm looking for new players who are interested in indie RPGs, shorter campaigns & one shots, and that kindness and reliability are more important than prior experience. Wish me luck!

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Good luck! Try inviting nice, fun people who have NEVER played!

@_Grimblewedge_

3 ай бұрын

​@@DUNGEONCRAFT1This is a great idea! No preconceived ideas of what a TTRPG "should" be like. Thanks, Prof. Your videos are incredibly inspiring.

I like using a smaller group to dive into a plot twist, maybe have them get some small token or artifact for the larger campaign. That play is fast and fun. I find that the players bond in a different way then with the whole group and that bond ties their characters together in a way that otherwise wouldn’t happen. Then when the group is back together they can share their experience, which gets everyone excited.

Meeting with a friend tonight to layout a dual DM framework to run Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands with Shadowdark rules for our kids. The idea being that everyone can be there, separate family units can run quests, people can split the party during a session... Even solo quests could happen. And as I understand it... Shadowdark is very level difference friendly.

I've been pretty blessed in this regard. I've run 2 "long" campaigns that were both 2 years each with the same group. Anytime something got canceled, it was ahead of time. Usually things like holidays when people would be out of town visiting family. Things you'd expect. There were a handful of "night before" cancels, but that's because it was a guy on the other side of the world with a 12 hour time difference and had 3 small children. They tend to get sick. Plus, he's been scrambling to set things things up and move his entire family back over here, so needless to say, he's a pretty darn busy guy. But even then, there was never a time where we showed up to a game and were wondering where someone was. We always had a 1 shot in our back pocket, so whenever a kid got sick, we'd have something to do. I don't understand people who are constantly late or cancel for some random reason. It's rude as heck.

I don't attend all my sessions, in the summer period particularly because I am often camping and attending dog shows. But what I do know is let my GM know in advice when I am going to be away at least a month in advance, and I will often write my character out of particular events when I can with reasons that make sense. After all we are adventurers, not married and my character will often have more going on in their lives then the current endeavour. Otherwise they will be just doing things in the background or be managed in a minimal manner, in the way that episodic TV shows will often shift the focus away from some characters. The key thing to good absences is to inform and be open; give the GM plenty of time to be aware of your absence and do not expect to be invited back if you flake because "I just wasn't feeling up to it". We are a relatively large group of about 6 characters so one absence doesn't change anything and I really miss the sessions. Just I never flake and I always show up when I am meant to be present.

I had a player that wanted to play but was an ambulance driver with shifts and hard to get into a regular schedule. We had a strange skorpion bite his character and thus develped ocasional headaches that left him able to fight but not much good for social interaction or contributing ideas. Every time the player couldn´t make it his character had one of his migranes and would tag along but nobody had to rolplay him. Edited because this anecdote is much mor useful than the other

I'm late to the video, but I like the "You don't show up, you don't get XP" approach. As a player, it incentivizes me to show up. I also use it in the games I run for the same reason. We're all adults and have lots of commitments, but usually we are good at showing up.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

Ай бұрын

Late is better than never! Thanks for taking the time to comment!

Our weekly game is reaching the 3 yr mark. Almost all of us have jobs that have inconsistent schedules. Our rule is if 2 or more players are out we vote to continue or play another game. Even with 6 crazy schedule La out of 8, we still manage to make it most weeks.

All of it was good advice. As for what to do, I like the advice for using henchmen but that requires them forking over gold to aquire them. It usually only takes about a half hour to setup a town or village adventure if you have everything fleshed out. Chat GPT is excellent for this, giving back stories to NPC's. You can have a kidnapping, raid, mystery, heist and so on. As for players not attending, just ask, if it isn't legit, remove them. Your time is just as important as their's. Great video.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing.

We have used the same strategy for many years now. People keep their character sheets stored on a google drive. If someone doesn't show up or is late someone else just plays their character. They play the character as best they can based on the sheet. So long as most people are there the game goes on. If the character dies that is just the risk someone takes if they don't show up but nobody intentionally tries to get them killed.

I run a weekly game, and I used to have a player that would cancel the minute we were supposed to play. We’d all change our schedule to fit his schedule. He’d always have one of two excuses: 1) I’m at work, 2) I’m hanging out with friend. I upset him when I told him that he needs to find another group to play with.

With carrying the analogy of DM game-prep being like food preparation, your game notes would be your personal cookbook.

Never cancel game night due to absences (or at least, avoid it whenever possible) that's how the scheduling spiral of death starts. Last night, 2/5 players couldn't make it. Usually, we just run the missing players' characters on autopilot, but the current situation kinda heavily involved one of them. I ran a one-shot for those who did, using their current characters. They were actually really excited because even though this was a "filler episode" and not canon to their regular game, I permit them to keep any rewards or loot the received.

I've had this happen twice with my 12yo son's group. The first time only he and one friend could make it, so we played Cairn. They had a blast. Recently, one of the players was sick, but since it was the big finish of a homebrwed ShadowDark arc, so I didn't want him to miss it (he's a good kid an enthusiastic player). I had an hour and a half. I used the random charts from SD (and a couple other), pulled a Dyson's Map and reskinned a few monsters. I told them there's no tavern, no backstory, there's just a tomb that needs exploring. They got to the boss and it was almost a TPK. Then they used their Deathbringer Dice, saving themselves from certain doom. Their rolls got hot, mine cooled down and they beat the boss (a Roper I stuffed into a King in Yellow-esque robe). They were jumping up and down, high-fiving, etc. and I think it was the best game I ever ran (tho I'm not sure I could do that every time someone calls out).

As a GM for over 30 years, I've learned that players stay engaged if they're not bored. I therefore regularly ask my players if they're missing something - more/less action, investigation, moral dilemmas or something else. If a player frequently misses sessions, I talk to them about it. If the problem persists, I find a new, more stable player. When I get a new player, I make it clear that I expect them to prioritize showing up and engaging with the group.

It's been happening recently in our game. We use the missing people's characters as guinea pigs and as trap detectors. Of course no gold, xp or magic items are awarded to them. I wholeheartedly agree that cancelling severely punishes players who showed up and very probably had to sacrifice other potential plans to make it to the dnd game. The show must go on.

Just this past weekend I had one cancel at the last minute for the second time in a row and one had to leave in the middle of the session with no prior warning even though it was scheduled. This was session one with new people. As the GM you have to try and push on and find new people, but it is certainly deflating. I am all about trying to talk about things, but some groups getting players to talk is like trying to find a penguin in the desert.

I've been having this problem more with trying to get new players. Figure out ways to try to get their new character involved in the current session, and then find out they can't make it. I recently had a new player respond to my opening and said he wanted to play a caster. The morning of, he's sick and can't come. Says he should be able to make it to the next session though. The following week, get a message that morning that he was reminded that his daughter had a performance that night (says something about his parenting skills that he had to be reminded, IMO). I think in the future, it will just be new players are welcome to attend as a guest watcher only. If they show up and the vibe is good (for both sides), THEN we can discuss what they can make and how to introduce them into the party. On a different note, I've learned the hard way that trying to "cancel-proof" your game by having a larger group of players often results in more players canceling. If they know their absence isn't such a big deal for everyone else, they're more likely to be absent.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing.

What has worked for me is to agree an absence rule from the beginning of the campaign/adventure. Depending on the size of the group, the game will go on if one or two people cannot make it. Their character will not gain xp and their character does not magically vanish for the session. The game goes on.

I had a player who had to bail a few times, last minute. The second time, they didn't level up with the rest of the party. I understood he couldn't make it on each occasion, but there had to be something for it, especially since I spend almost as much time scheduling as I do preparing.

I also struggled with this from time to time, so I came up with a solution: If two or more (out of five) are missing out, we're playing a 2nd side-campaign set in the same world, with secondary characters, where each session is self-contained.

The hardest encounter of them all... the schedule! This was always such a large issue I dealt with back when I played with the usuals. Always *something* coming up, usually the same few people. Even worse is how often they'd just... never say anything. The biggest revelation for me was priorities. People have different priorities, and some people don't put a game of DnD as a very high priority. So you'll often find "life happens" coming up because something else that's a higher priority shows up. Yeah, people are busy, but I do really believe that if you really cared about something a lot and made it a priority, then you'd always try to show up instead of just not showing up and not respond to any messages because "oh something happened". If someone is that busy that something is constantly coming up, then the reality is that they're just too busy for the game.

Lol love the thumbnail Prof! I stopped planning sessions as much as "preparing for inevitability" really and I only run sandbox type hexcrawls that arent hurt by smaller groups showing up. They already know to hire retainers and prepare. You don't show up you dont get treasure and you don't get XP. Some of my best games were just two of my players. Your SAG bit was happening to me when I ran 5e, so I started every session with an encounter of any type. Id roll on the table and then I'd make it bigger. Party left off camping? Roll 2d6 wolves. Then add 10 more wolves and have them run through the camp ignoring the adventurers and pretty much go from there.

Bravo. My game notes haven't looked like this 9:20 in decades. Ironically, it's with help from guys like Prof.DM that my minimalist Theater of Mind style is easy enough to prep, that no-shows aren't much of a bother from the time and effort perspective. I've even had bye weeks when a player takes over GM. The show must go on. Your players aren't safe if last in danger (or at all). No xp. Best to keep extra players around and let them wander in and out. I've had fun with ''bring a friend'' days and I try to use the same ''Invited Player : Expected Player'' ratio as pet owners recommend Litter Boxes to Cats.

It has happened to me a few times (during Covid when I was running several games with "pick up" players through a VTT platform, I've also been part of groups where this happened, although there it was the DM cancelling late serveral times before just completely disappearing and not reacting to us anymore (we continued playing with this group for over a year with seveal of the other players including me volunteering to DM games)

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 ай бұрын

That is wild. All sorts of flakey people out there.

I use a 1 xp per session level up system for my game. Each PLAYER gets an XP for each session they attend. Then if their character dies or they want to play another one, the new one is built at the player level. 1xp to level 1, 2xp to level 2 etc. It works well in my west marches style campaign.