GM Thinking of starting a new Campaign (Looking for feedback)

I am looking to start a new long term 5e campaign.  I have GM'ed for about 35 years but almost all of that was at the table in my house with friends.  After about 35 years, there is not much that I can do that I have not done before with the same group of people so I am looking to expand out.  I am looking to gage the interest and get feed back on ideas. 1. If I planned for a Saturday evening (Pacific Standard Time) would this typically interfere with other people's weekend plan? 2. I CANNOT run a module or specific quest line (I have tried many times and failed).  I can set up 'things going in the background' but after 6-7 games sessions, I find that the plot is lost as the players went in a completely different direction.  Does a GM without a plan tend to hinder the game too much? 3. I also tend to run a fairly adult game.  Blood, violence's, bad choices, and (rated R) sex (no detailed descriptions but heavy innuendo).  Most games I have seen and/or read about really seem to get uncomfortable with themes of sex.  For example, at one time a Hag offered a female palladin a living dragon egg she could hatch and raise as her own, to entice the palladin, the hag also threw in a belt of giant strength.  In exchange for those two items, the palladin would have to give up her first born child who would have to be conceived within the next 60 days (note, if the palladin did not take the offer, the hag was going to have an omelette for dinner).  She took the deal and the group spent the next 6-8 sessions trying to figure a way to weasel out of the deal. 4. I have seen (and participate in one) pay to play games.  As a GM, I do not think this would be for me.  I don't want to charge people to play but (antidotal evidence) suggests that players tend to be unreliable and a long term campaign really does require players to be there most of the time.  Is this just my mis-informed idea or do on-line long term campaigns not really work well? Thank you in advance for your insight.

Is this something you are looking for players to join? Id be interested and would know some others who would be as well. I have been looking for a long term campaign too so this is perfect. Long term online sessions are a thing and are actually pretty reliable. I have been in an online 5e session that lasted an entire year and it was really enjoyable.

I guess I forgot to give you my opinion so I will. 1. Considering how this is something people mainly do on the weekend, I feel that this would be something that people to look forward to rather than interfere schedule wise. 2. Its hard to answer this question because it really depends on how much you think of on the fly. Those who have no plan must rely on quick thinking rather then influence the party in a specific goal. 3. I would not really call your description an Adult game as it is not as bad as the definition. I would say that it is a mature campaign with the themes you have described. 4. I agree that pay to play games are not fun. They make a DM see players as income rather then friends. Online sessions are enjoyable and there is a lot of people that are interested in long term online campaigns (Like me). There may be a few people that are unreliable but you can always find a couple of people that are determined to show up every week.

This seems confusing to me.  Are you looking for a group or advice? 1. If I planned for a Saturday evening (Pacific Standard Time) would this typically interfere with other people's weekend plan? This depends on the players you are playing with.  I and my friends would have free time for that, but other players may not have that. 2. I CANNOT run a module or specific quest line (I have tried many times and failed).  I can set up 'things going in the background' but after 6-7 games sessions, I find that the plot is lost as the players went in a completely different direction.  Does a GM without a plan tend to hinder the game too much? No.  Adaptability is the greatest asset any DM has.  However you should make sure to world-build.  Sandbox games are usually what I find most fun as long as they have a lot of work put into them.  I ran my own homebrew games and these are very enjoyable. 3. I also tend to run a fairly adult game.  Blood, violence's, bad choices, and (rated R) sex (no detailed descriptions but heavy innuendo).  Most games I have seen and/or read about really seem to get uncomfortable with themes of sex.  For example, at one time a Hag offered a female palladin a living dragon egg she could hatch and raise as her own, to entice the palladin, the hag also threw in a belt of giant strength.  In exchange for those two items, the palladin would have to give up her first born child who would have to be conceived within the next 60 days (note,  if  the palladin did not take the offer, the hag was going to have an omelette for dinner).  She took the deal and the group spent the next 6-8 sessions trying to figure a way to weasel out of the deal. Again, this depends on the player.  If this is what you do, you should put a warning on your game or simply tell the player they may not enjoy it due to the themes in it.  I don't mind this, but others players certainly will.  I also don't consider this very adult, this reminds me of old stories and you did not force any themes on the player, you simply told them what they could do.  I have seen and experienced a lot more, and way worse then this. 4. I have seen (and participate in one) pay to play games.  As a GM, I do not think this would be for me.  I don't want to charge people to play but (antidotal evidence) suggests that players tend to be unreliable and a long term campaign really does require players to be there most of the time.  Is this just my mis-informed idea or do on-line long term campaigns not really work well? This forum is entirely dedicated to non-paid games.  I dislike paid games myself.  I have had an online game NOW that has went on for 4 years.  I have completed 5 of them and have several thousand hours played.  This is simply propaganda.  Online games have way faster combat due to macros and can be more thematic then real life games because of music, tokens, and lighting.  Also because everything is right in front of you and you can play with a unique set of players from all over the world, learning other cultures and meeting a variety of new players.  

Right now I am looking for advice about what is common to on-line games, most of my experience as a GM is with people around a table.  I have tried several times to be a player on-line and the GM's disappear.  I don't know if this is common or not.  I would not mind getting a group together.  I GM because it's fun and I get to watch a story unfold that I can be a part of. Based on the responses so far, I think I will start to setup a new campaign (expected start date 7-30-22 with the start time to be determined) .  Per a private message I got, it looks like one of the responders has 1-2 people who might be interested.  So here is the opening.  I am looking for a total of 4-5 players (2-3 are 'interested' so far) who want to join a sandbox open world campaign.  This will be for a mature audience and will use Roll20 as the primary platform and will use Discord for voice and video.  I am use to being able to see the players and their expressions so I ask for video as I tend to feed (i.e. come up with ideas) based on player expressions (also I can easily tell who is talking).   

Hey Mike I am one of the more EXP online DM's so I can give you some help. I have run 9 campaigns online and sadly tried to play in a few but when ever I get in as a player, unless I know the DM the game fizzles after a few sessions(or i died a heroic death in one well run west march). Of the nine campaigns I ran one was a 2+ year West March story style that had over 200 players, so I have seen a huge cross section of the community. 1. If you get a good group expect a game that can run for as long as you have ideas and people joke and laugh. That said only about 10-15% of groups you form up tend to fall into this category. 2 . Be Patient with building group. I know we all want to rush in and play, but getting together like minded players makes the campaign go well. Here are the 9 types of players that you may get.  a. Murder-Hobos: These players take glee in killing all before them. You have a 4 year old come up and give on a flower with a mission note. He decides she must be a hag in disguise and swings a great ax....murder hoboing commences. This can be fun, but you set up your adventures understanding what you have gotten yourself into.   b. Emo's : These are the players that complain about every situation and whine how unfair it is! They can be your super invested player too but may drive the rest of the party crazy as they want you to describe the stitch count in the green cloak they wish to buy before adventuring.   c. Roll Players:  Have dice will back. They love to roll the bones and minimize the roleplay. Tactical groups with great min maxed type builds. They live to win and loot to see who can get the biggest damage in a  round~!  d. Voice-Actor Role-players: Ah you saw critical role and now you wish t try your hand at dnd and acting at the same time. This can be super fun group, if everyone is involved to that level and you have the chops to keep up. I mean some people all expect Matt to be their dm. e. Newbs: New players that don't have a clue.....sometimes the best fun other times trying to explain the attack buttons for the tenth time can drag. Usually can have some of the funniest responses to encounters. I had one new player that only wanted to sell illusionary fruit, he saw minor illusion and the good-berry spell as a way to get rich. Long live the Gnomish Druid merchant prince of the Oranple.  f. The Fun Sucker:   These people get their joy by taking other peoples joy from them. They love to steal stuff from other party members, accidently cast a  grease spell and watch the fighter die. Avoid these players at all costs, they are the true death of groups and will be sure you don't hit the 15%. g. The Basic Rules Veterans: 30 + years of dnd you can't show me anything I haven't seen! I love these players as they love and usually respect the game. Sometimes you have to change monster abilities cause they have everything memorized.  h: The Rule Lawyer: Joe if you read this, this is for you! This is the player that knows all of the rules forward and back and will argue your dm calls. These players pair well with A C and G only. Takes a real vet of a dm to handle and having some patience.  I.  I'm here for a good time: This is the groups that last. You can break the third wall, tell a few jokes and still play. Some nights you trounce a dungeon, others you roleplaying the princess and the kidnapper on the edge of the cliff and the work inconceivable may get tossed around. If players remember the reason we run games, and the reasons they play games is for a bit of an escape from reality and a good time, you'll have a fantastic group. I know most of my current best friends I meet playing dnd.  Hope that helps, if you need a player of the d/g/i persuasion I can play some Saturday nights, depending on the time, however my wife does depend dates on occasion! Hope it helps!

Hey Sloane, when you say you are the "d/f/i" persuasion, are you saying you are also of the "The Fun Sucker" type, or does "d/f/i" mean something else?  I just had to ask because it just seemed like I'm reading something wrong here.

Sorry I wrote that late at night bored and jones for some dnd after beating Wrath of the Righteous. I fixed it I am a D/g/i player. Thanks for the proof reading markus.....I hope im not a fun sucker AHHHHH!

Haha, okay, cool.  After your long detailed write-up, it was hard to imagine you as a "fun sucker" type no matter how I read it...so thought either it was a typo or I'm not reading something right.

Online gaming, like online anything, is subject to a certain amount of instability. Complete strangers are often less inclined to show up on time or at all. They will just vanish from the face of the earth without notice. I have built some loyal and regular groups online, but it takes time and patience. Your neighbors and old friends are there as much for the group as the game, online the game is all they are there for. I have one group that has been stable for years, another is shaky at best, though holding together and I have one that has had a revolving door of members I don't have an exact answer for why some groups work and some do not. I have changed to shorter story lines in less stable groups, as I really don't know who is going to be around in a few sessions.  Start with  session "-1", an interview with each prospective player. A host of problems can be avoided by prescreening players. You need to be able to communicate with them. You need to consider how they present themselves one on one. You need to be sure they understand what the parameters you have set for your game, what is flexible and what is carved in stone. If possible have a session "0" where the players make their characters bonds. A group of weak characters working together will always accomplish more than several loners going off on their own. More than an IRL game you need to draw out the quiet players, even at the expense of shushing the extroverts once in a while, that guy who almost never says anything will often have brilliant ideas that you have to practically beat out of them until they get the confidence to speak up. Write your own material whenever possible. Most of the modern modules are poorly written and the porting into a digital format often has numerous errors and omissions. If you write it yourself you will, hopefully, have a good idea of what you meant at various points in the game. Maintain ownership of your game. TTRPG players are all basically Chaotic Evil Toddlers if they start writing the game for you, you will regret it.

Know your Medium . You have a lot of experience around a table. A lot, but not all of that, will translate to Audio/Video. Less of it will translate to Audio-Only. Even less to Text Only. Each medium has its own differences. For a glaring example , I run text games. It is a much slower medium, and one often devoid of emotion. If I don't illustrate emotions players will decide for themselves what the context was. (That happens around a table too, but a lot less often.) You know, I'm sure, that not all players have the same level of experience with RP or specific games. This applies to the medium , too! Just... keep it in mind. Frustration comes when there's a new learning curve. Be ready to go through a few players before you find the right mix. This applies to all games, really, but the medium adds new reasons players might bail. I've had players willing to try Text, who just decided it wasn't for them. Its slow, and slower still when we start fighting on a grid. But you'll find that mix if you're patient.