D&D/D20 Modern schedule

[Melbosa]

So far that is empty for me.

[Thorin]

We need to re-open the discussion of the schedule, since the previous one is off the rails now.  Some thoughts for discussion:

1. Do we set dates and stick with them, regardless of whether everyone can make it (structured)?
2. Or do we, after each session, propose next available dates (fluid)?
3. If we choose a fluid schedule, how much allowance do we want for people who can't make several proposed dates?

[Melbosa]

I think all your options require the date schedule.  As for the options themselves, fluid is a better solution (usually) to get the most people at games, and maybe only have a 1 week max varient?

[Tonnica]

I prefer the structured type of schedule.

It's got the natural benefit of being in a rhythm so I can look forward to and prepare for "D&D saturday" or "D20 Modern thursday".

[Thorin]

I think all your options require the date schedule

A fluid date-picking system doesn't require a schedule at all.  It just requires that after each session, we all make sure to hop online to decide when the next session will be.  Putting a max variant really means deciding how long we'll wait for a player to free up their weekend before playing without them.

Both systems require flexibility for the DM, however, because the game can't be run without a DM present.

I do have a question for everyone - what days/nights of the week are you available?  At the moment I'm able to come out Monday night, Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, or Sunday night.  Daytimes are pretty much out for me, as are Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  This is likely to change in May or June, as kids stop hockey and start going to camps.

[Melbosa]

My Availability

Week Days
Days = No
Nights = Monday, Friday

Weekends
Days = Saturday, Sunday
Nights = Saturday, Sunday

Holidays
TBD

[Thorin]

Melbosa prefers fluid scheduling so that we're more likely to have everyone at the game.  Tonnica prefers structured scheduling so that she can prepare for the event.  I think I prefer a hybrid, with structured dates that can get moved once if everyone agrees.

For instance, we put together the schedule of dates that we'll be playing on, and if someone has a last-minute thing come up and says they can't attend we decide as a group whether we're willing to move it to the next possible day or not.  If it can be moved without anyone else missing, then yay, everyone gets to play, and if it can't be moved without anyone else missing then we don't move it and the person with the last-minute plans will simply miss the session.

I did this same thing once for Ustauk when he was part of our D20 Modern group still, and I believe it to be the fairest - if it doesn't affect the rest of us we can accommodate the player with the last-minute plans.

If we do go with a structured schedule, we should probably only plan three or four months of that schedule out at a time...  As evident by the big lag since before Christmas, in each season different responsibilities affect our ability to get together.

[Thorin]

Combining my and Melbosa's availabilities in a giant Venn diagram shows an overlap of:

Monday night
Friday night
Saturday night
Sunday night

Anyone else who would not be available at those times and thus would boil this list down further?

[Mr. Analog]

The only con I will bring to "fluid scheduling" is that, in the past, there have been forecasting and frequency problems. How many games are people willing to play in a month? Every Friday? Every other Friday? Et cetera.

If we go with fluid scheduling then any time any of us can commit to an event that falls on our playable days (looking to be Friday / Saturday at the moment) we should with each other.

I'm a fan of more rigid scheduling because if we do miss a game we know when the next date should fall without having to bump heads again.

[Thorin]

If we go with fluid scheduling then any time any of us can commit to an event that falls on our playable days (looking to be Friday / Saturday at the moment) we should with each other.

Are there words missing or extra in that sentence?  I'm having trouble understanding what you're trying to say with it.

[Mr. Analog]

If we go with fluid scheduling then any time any of us can commit to an event that falls on our playable days (looking to be Friday / Saturday at the moment) we should with <b>TALK</b> each other.

Are there words missing or extra in that sentence?  I'm having trouble understanding what you're trying to say with it.

If we decide to "fluidly" schedule weekend games we have to keep those days more open than usual, in case the majority wants to play.

[Tonnica]

My Monday/Friday/Saturday/Sundays are all possibles for play nights. I'm also cool with Thursdays, but those don't overlap to the majority.

[Thorin]

Lets try and plan four months worth of sessions, starting with May.  Here's my suggested schedule (Friday, Saturday):

Apr 25, 26: D&D
May  2,  3: D20 Modern
May  9, 10: D&D
May 16, 17: none (Victoria Day long weekend)
May 23, 24: D20 Modern
May 30, 31: D&D
Jun  6,  7: D20 Modern
Jun 13, 14: D&D
Jun 20, 21: D20 Modern
Jun 28, 29: none (Canada Day long weekend)
Jul  4,  5: D&D
Jul 11, 12: D20 Modern
Jul 18, 19: D&D
Jul 25, 26: D20 Modern
Aug  1,  2: none (August long weekend)
Aug  8,  9: D&D
Aug 15, 16: D20 Modern
Aug 22, 23: D&D
Aug 29, 30: none (Labour Day long weekend)


What I'm suggesting here is that we originally book every weekend that's not a long weekend, and then if people need a weekend off to do something else (camping in the summer, sports, etc) we can simply cancel that weekend.  How about that?  I'm fully expecting that there will be a couple or a few cancellations, but this way D&D and D20 Modern get pushed more to the forefront of our calendars and we hopefully won't have a month or more between get-togethers.

[Melbosa]

Great idea in theory, but if I run that by the GF she'll cut me a new one.  In all seriousness though, I use my calendar for more than just DnD Scheduling, and when I'm working out my schedules for sports, clients, social and significant other things, I need to see visually what days I have "free".  I can't block those all off like that, as I would never have a Friday/Saturday open except long weekends, and even I don't want to push my client work back to those weekends.

I believe at best I can do 1 DnD & 1 D20 in a month.  Just the reality of life.

[Thorin]

I'm not suggesting both nights are booked, I'm suggesting we pick one night and make it our regularly weekly RPG time.  I'm suggesting Friday or Saturday because that's what people have indicated in person they prefer to play on.  I already crossed off the long weekends because historically we've never played on long weekends.  I'm suggesting marking that one night as busy in our calendars because as pointed out in this old article, you need to give RPGing priority or you won't meet often enough to get anywhere.

At the same time, I pointed out that there are times when one simply can't attend a session, and that's why I suggested we check a few days before each session whether everyone can still make it.

Looking at the suggested schedule I posted, I'm also thinking we should simply plan to play whichever game we didn't play the previous session.  That way if we skip one, it won't take three or four weeks before we come back to it.