As a DM: how do you deal with non-replies in the pre-op for an adventure?

Just a question for some DMs on here with more experience. I'm really enthusiastic to try this out and am almost finished preparing my first (newbie friendly) adventure. In the campaign message board there's really only 1 player that's communicating at all (talking about what character to make etc and playing around with his token). How would you deal with silence on the message board? Is this indicative on how the adventure will go? There are 5 players that have joined the adventure so far but if all is silent I'd rather give the place to other players that want to try out the roll20 system. (the actual play date is 8th of may by the way, I don't know if the system is set up that people that have joined the campaign get notified when a new message is posted). Thanks for your time (again :))

Hello Willem. How to deal with forum silence is an issue that some gm's have. There are as many different ways to handle it as there is GMs. Did you clearly state to the players that you expect communication between everyone during pre game for character creations and such. Some players stay quiet till game time and others love to chat. Open a line of communication with everyone and explain what your expectations are prior to the game. Due this early enough to replace those that are not willing to discuss and talk about the characters as you indicate that is what you want to happen. Everyone that is part of the campaign gets a notification (and email if they are setup to receive them) on every post made so just make a post that explains your expectations. Just a word of advice, Don't leave your players in the dark about what you are expecting from them and what they can expect from you. Open that communication now and you will see a big difference. Other people will be dropping their opinions in here sooner or later also. Good luck and happy gaming.

Thank's Pat. I have asked in the forum if everyone can reply so I can see who is still invested to play :) Maybe a follow up question: how do people handle prep-time? Do you go over creating new characters with players before starting? Is this something people do themselves or does this differ a lot?

Hello Willem M. Prep time differs from DM to DM.. For example some DM's work on advanture for over two month, writing every stage of the advanture.. some like it more loose and free for the PC's. What you got to take in account is how -you- would like to do things. One of the things i love in roll20 is that you can post your style and explain what you look for, then, players aplicate your advanture and you can pick from them. For the prep part i recommand using handnotes, they have also a GM section only visible to you. For examples i can show you one of my own advantures if your interested. Good day ^^

Prep time in roll20 varies from GM to GM as Nissim says. It all depends on your style and comfort level. Are you a map user then you have to do map work (this could include monsters, tokens, dynamic lighting if you are a paying subscriber, and other features), or you could be like me and go with just simple images for enhancing the mood of the game instead of maps. There are character sheets, handouts, notes, and the list could go on but it all boils down to what you want to put into the game. Many GM's use a session 0 which is just character creation and get to know each other. This is also allows you to explain what you are expecting from the players and them to learn what they can expect from you. Many use that moment to just get to know each other some and discover if they are compatible in their gaming style. Just think about what you like to do prior to a face to face game and translate that over to roll20. Do you want the players to show up with their characters prior to the game so you can look them over or just bring them out and use them as is right off the bat? Do you have a map prepped for the game or do you make it on the fly? The monsters, do you have their info ready to use or do you randomly flip the book open and go this is what you encounter? Take your style and just move it onto roll20 then explain it to your players.

Hiya Fillem! Sorry to hear your players aren't turning out! If I were in your shoes, I'd put out a Looking For Players post out, let them know you may require some backups for some no-shows, collect maybe 4-5 names that would be interested. So when game day comes closer, let your no-show players know that they have to reply before a date or else you'll give their spot to someone else.

I schedule a "session zero" to get people on the same page. That might mean laying down house rules, collaborating to figure out the game's schedule if it isn't already set, teaching people the system if they're not familiar with it, and so on. Session zero never involves actual game play, but character generation might begin (or even complete, depending on the system and the players' familiarity with it). Anyone who doesn't show up for session zero and doesn't notify me of their inability to attend beforehand is booted from the campaign. Period. This helps me get to know my players, and ensures that they have the commitment to actually play my game.

Fillem said: In the campaign message board there's really only 1 player that's communicating at all (talking about what character to make etc and playing around with his token). How would you deal with silence on the message board? Is this indicative on how the adventure will go? There are 5 players that have joined the adventure so far but if all is silent I'd rather give the place to other players that want to try out the roll20 system. In my experience it's a close correlation. The one who is communicative & involved on the message board sounds like a great find of a player, and you'd like to have a few of that caliber, bouncing off each other. Some of the other, more quiet applicants might get inspired/ get more involved later, once they see-hear your game world unfold. Give them enough to go-on. Maybe private message them to encourage their participation. Ask them a pointed question, "What is your character's favorite color? Can you post that in this week's discussion thread please, here's the link...". Often when it's resounding quiet, that foretells that some of those folks might not show up on game day, or fade away, or just being non-participatory. A lot of campaigns, you get out what you put in. So if some players are not putting in, it can affect the group or the fate of the campaign. If you get the feeling that participation or attendance will be low, I think it's reasonable to book/invite some alternate or backup players, and offer them they can fill a spot if there's an open spot at the game start time.

When I DM a game, I expect communication from all players. Dropping the F bomb my way is preffered to silence in all things. You don't communicate with me, I start getting an itchy finger on the trigger. I'm the type who wants to keep in touch with the players and make sure they are happy with how things are going. If these things can't happen, I feel like it's not going well. I don't like Roll20 for this though, skype is my main avenue of communication as I keep tabs on it when I'm on my computer at all times. Although Roll20 does add for a layer of communication if someone can't use skype. In games with low use of skype or Roll20 until the night happens, I generally don't enjoy it as much... it's a personal quirk I've picked up as a former MMO player. I expect communication with those I play with at all times and get to know them. If they don't want to chat and become at least E-buddies, what's the point? I don't personally enjoy the sessions as much and I feel the other players get the same impression. Way I see it, everyone, even if you're a service man or a 4AM post office attendant or anything else, you can score 2minutes of your life... pushing the power button on the computer - walking off do some things - come back, login - walk off... come back type 1 little sentence, power down, go to work. It's not asking for much at the end of the day.

There are two ways to deal with this: 1. Realize that half of the people on the internet are phantoms and appear and disappear randomly, adjust your player list so you start with 2X the absolute minimum, and add or subtract players as needed. 2. Hunt those @#%&s down and kill them for messing up your plans. I would go with option one whenever possible.

Thanks for all the replies everyone! Some great tips! Already kicked 2 of the players out after I set a 36 hours deadline where I at least wanted 1 message on the campaign forum. Am I right in understanding people use Skype next to roll20? I thought roll20 had a built in video/audio thingamajig?

Roll20 does have a built in video chat, some prefer other systems such as skype, google hangouts, etc.

Fillem, I think you did right by the 36 hour thing. I like having a session zero. If someone becomes uncommunicative, I reach out a maximum of two times spaced over a few days (or a few weeks if there's time). No replies after I make those two attempts and I consider them not interested or invested. They're then removed from the campaign and their slot freed up for someone who wants to game.

As a GM I can tell you that whether they are communicative or not is not a defining factor. Some have spare time to post while some will have set their mind and will only come by when the session starts. In fact most players will not even care as long as you gave them the answer that they have been admitted to your game. I have had players that only posted once and only showed up at the session start time, I would definitely not link enthusiasm with message board participation. Some other cases involve players who are busy to the point of not having much time to be active in the boards, yet they still take the time off their real lives to join games. You said there is only 1 player making a character and playing with the token, and you also said you kicked two players after a 36 hour deadline. Here are some questions you need to consider about your actions; -Were they warned about them possibly being given a deadline and possibly being kicked prior to being invited to your game? -Did you specify in the recruitment message that players need to be active on the board? -Did you tell the players beforehand that they must create characters and actively join your session outside of starting time? -Were you absolutely sure the players that were kicked had the time to fully use your 36 hour deadline? (Hint; time zones, 36 hours are not even two days) -The session starts 8th of may, did you make sure to give them enough warning over the span of a few days or even weeks before the aforementioned 36 hours? These are all things you as a GM could have avoided with proper wording beforehand. If you punished players by kicking them due to the lack of information on your side then you did a very poor job, those two players that were kicked are most probably angry at you right now and may have possibly wasted precious time by attempting to free their 8th of may for you. I checked your LFG of the pathfinder game you are GMing (Assuming this is the one we are talking about), and as expected you have absolutely nothing warning the players of the consequences that inactivity might bring (from the few posts that I saw). Note that inactivity in boards and not showing up in time for a session are two completely different things.

I think we kinda beat the subject dead. Now if no one else has polite and civil suggestions on how to help a GM improve the player retention and interaction, we might as well close the thread as it is skirting the edge of the CoC intended use clause and few other clauses are starting to get stepped on. Intended Use The Roll20 Forums exist to discuss topics directly related to the use of the Roll20 program. Anything that more fittingly could be discussed on another website SHOULD be discussed there.