Last-moment ditching?

Is this a common thing in the Roll20 community? To join a game, and then just ditch the game at the last moment with little to no warning? Because the past few times I've ran a LFG posting for my campaign, I would get a few players that were interested... who then subsequently ditched out at the last second with hardly any warning. So, is this just the norm for the community, or am I just rolling a crit and getting the stale side of it?

It will happen.  You'll have to figure out some tricks to attract better players.  Scheduling a skype/discord/something voice chat before adding someone to the group tends to work pretty well.  You don't have to interview people, just getting them to show up to a short meeting and chat about rpgs for a few minutes goes a long way.

It is incredibly common.  If you're playing D&D or Pathfinder, it's frustrating but not the end of the world because there are so many players out there.  If you're playing a lesson popular system, it can actually end games since you can't readily find people to fill in for them.  Justin is right about the Skype chat.  I personally hate it as a player and don't do it when I run my games, but it will weed people out who aren't planning to actually play.

I interviewed 30+ people for the game that I'm currently running, and I highly recommend that anyone else do so. It takes more work up-front, but I sorted out a lot of players that weren't committed or that wanted a different kind of game than the one that I run. Even then, I still had to remove some players after we had started playing, due to lack of commitment or difference in desired game type. I don't think that it's easy to create a lasting group if you don't try to get to know people before you start playing, and I think that's it even harder if you're using a rare (or custom-made) system or want to run a focused (rather than casual) or dramatic game. I think that a lot of people just want to hop in to a game if it seems interesting, beat things up or get loot or do wacky stuff, and then drop out when they want to do something new (whether that's playing a different character, playing in a different setting, or whatever else). If you're a GM, you're probably going to put quite a bit of work into setting up the game. My advice is to put just as much work into player selection.

See, it's one thing for people to actually join, play for a bit, and then leave. I can work with that. Pull the ole "rocks fall, he dies" and players take his stuff. That's totally fine with me. What bugs me, though, is when we get everything ready, they express interest, roll up a character, create a backstory, and then the day of the session.... nothing. No warnings, nothing. Just a no-show. I don't know.

Welcome to the internet Gahduvdeth, 80% of what and who you see on the internet doesn't actually exist. Overbook games and be free with the "kick player" button. There are still about 20 times as many players as GMs, with a bit of time you can build a good group. I always get emails and send them something, run a session zero with each new player and watch their attendance. One of my games has been running for over two years here with a (mostly) stable group. To arrive at my consistent eight players every week I have gone through about seventy players. I have kicked about fifteen for attendance, three for disruptive behavior, some have quit, your mileage may vary. 

Gahduvdeth said: What bugs me, though, is when we get everything ready, they express interest, roll up a character, create a backstory, and then the day of the session.... nothing. No warnings, nothing. Just a no-show. Considering this sentence (quoted above), I would say, be sure to emphasize the game schedule. It may feel like hand-holding but it can be considered group calendar management for ensuring attendance. In other words request an RSVP. Have you been relying mainly on the "Next Game Time" listed in Roll20 and the person's word that they want to play? Consider making a "Scheduling Thread" in your game's forum, and post in that thread 24-36 hours before the game. In the post, ask the members explicitly, "Have you added the next game to your personal calendar?" and you can say "Please respond here if you (are/are not) able to attend." The members of your group will receive a Roll20 Notification of your post, with the headline showing under the pink message icon at top-right (so make a good title like "Schedule Thread: Game is This Saturday May 19!").  Also if they have Roll20 Email setting turned on then they will receive an email notification of your schedule posting.  This should help avoid anyone forgetting or neglecting the game time.

It's extremely common until you have a stable group. To get a stable group, you have to run a weekly game with a fixed schedule and invite at least twice as many players as you need. Expect half of them to flake out before the game, another few will disappear after one game. After that, RL still happens, so you may continue to lose a player every couple of months. Expect to always be looking for one more player. The shotgun approach kinda sucks, but it's realistic. Players are often looking for "better"* groups and GM's are often looking for "better"* players. The main thing is, don't stress out over it and don't take it personally. Just keep your LFP listing active until you've got a stable group. *better could mean: fits their schedule better, use the audio technology they like, plays the game they like, suits their preferences for game style, setting, tone, and ratio of combat to RP, etc. Edit: I should mention that it happens to players too. Sometimes GMs create games, invite players, then never start the campaign. Players can't be expected to wait forever, so they apply to a few more games in the meantime. Again, don't take it personally.

I'm currently working through this issue myself. As both a player and a GM, I can't imagine expressing interest in a game, accepting an invite, and then just never coming. I get at least some of those might be running the "Oh, I don't want to hurt his feelings" playbook, but honestly I'd prefer if people were just blunt and said something outright rather than just leave me hanging. Oh well, from what I hear, just keep plugging away and eventually people will come. I've got at least a couple dedicated people, so it's a start.

I am kind of worried about this as my LFG recruits all have varied experience and seem to be a little disappointed at a few people I know personally that are also in the game. I have had a few people join up then leave within a day. 

Let's not all forget that this is pretty prevalent in physical sit-down games too.  I've played and GM'd a weekend group in NYC for a few years and the personnel turnover is ridiculous.  You usually see one or two reliable folks along with 3 or so that just don't show up sometimes or disappear without notice.  It's kind of inherent to any meeting of people on a consistent basis. Give it time.  Keep in touch with the people who show consistency and over time and a few games, you'll find yourself with a group or two of solid players that will stick together over different games.

It would be cool if Roll20 had a  lobby for pickup groups . Just sign in as a GM or player at the specific time you want and wait till a group fills up. It'd only work for one-shots with pregen characters or very rules-light games, but it could be a good way to meet people to see if they want to start a longer campaign together.

plexsoup said: It would be cool if Roll20 had a  lobby for pickup groups . Just sign in as a GM or player at the specific time you want and wait till a group fills up. It'd only work for one-shots with pregen characters or very rules-light games, but it could be a good way to meet people to see if they want to start a longer campaign together. It is one of the reasons that there are/were some megagroups listed a while ago. Some of them were created just for that reason and other groups have been created that cater to specific systems or styles like 1E/2E groups, GM's training, or text only.

I posted this in another thread but it applies to this thread too.  I have learned a couple of things from my game sessions. I have found that players stay for a couple of sessions, then leave, and come back a couple of weeks later. You have some players there every session on time like clockwork, and some that you don't know if they will show up for the session or not. With one-shot games this is not really much of an issue. I find that to combat this issue you can do several things. Inside the game you can run a straight published module (which I don't use much because I believe that some players may have read them, which will lessen their enjoyment of the game.). The second way to counteract the fluidity of players coming in and out is to have a story planned out with several places in the game where you can bring in a player at any moment. I like to have my games character driven. I have planned events and encounters, and give players an idea of what is going on in the world an let them decide what they want to do and where they want to go. I use character goals and backgrounds to give players opportunities in the game. Good communication between game master and players is key to running a smooth game. I have several forum threads in my game such as feedback, suggestions, adventure log, loot log, a campfire thread for characters to interact and introduce each other and for me to post pertinent updates to what's going on, and stickys such as character creation.

Yep, over book is the way to go.  Alot of people treat a Roll20 group like an MMORPG group, in and out with little or no notice.